Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Aspens, Bugs, and "Fun Bumps"

Last weekend, Bryce and I had a fun but busy weekend. On Friday night, we met his parents for dinner at El Sol. The food was so good, but it upset my stomach. That night we stayed at the Douglas'. Saturday morning, we were able to go to the temple and do some work while Marilyn watched the boys for us. They had a great time with Grandma and she is always so good to the boys! After the temple, Bryce and I took the boys out on the four wheelers. We drove up Logan Canyon and turned off at Right Hand Fork. We parked there and then headed up the canyon. When we came to the split in the road, we went right and headed up towards Mount Logan.
This was definately one of my favorite rides. It weaved in and out of the Aspen trees and the trail was in great condition, so it was safe. This trail had many "fun bumps" as Cooper calls them. They are man made bumps but they are fun to go up and over. When we got half way up, we decided to stop in some shade and eat lunch. The boys had a great time climbing on all the fallen tree trunks and we took a few family pictures up there with Bryce's new camera. The bugs were loud and all over the place. We finally decided to take off because they were driving us crazy.
When we got up to the top of Mount Logan, we saw a huge patch of snow. We decided it would be fun to go down and play in the snow. I was carrying Clayton in my arms. I was going down a steep part of the mountain and it had lots of gravel on it. Needless to say, I slipped and my butt slammed into a rock and then we preceded to slide a little more down to the snow. I sat there for a few minutes trying to catch my breath and compose myself. I don't think I have ever fallen as an adult, but it didn't feel that great. I had a huge bruise on my cheek the next day and it is quite sore, but it will soon heal and be fine. Bryce reminded after the fall, that I am not young anymore and I need to be a little more careful!
Anyway, we all had a fun time throwing snow balls at each other. Cooper and Bryce tried to throw them out into the trees and over the cliff. I helped make snow balls for Clayton. He enjoyed throwing them at Bryce, but kept saying, "Cold, cold," while holding out his hands.
On the way up the trail and on the way down, Clayton fell asleep. He always takes naps on the four wheeler because it seems like we are always out during his nap time. Bryce found a back strap that he uses to strap Clayton to him when they ride. It's always cute, but makes Bryce's arm tired in the process.Our ride took about 3 hours total and it was a fun day. After we got back to Logan, we stopped up at the cemetary to say hi to papa and let the boys have a ride on the backhoe. Later that night, we attended an Alpine summer party at the park. We had good food and the kids had a great time playing with the water balloons.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

My First 1st Grader

Yesterday, Cooper started his first grade year at Freedom Elementary. This year Cooper has a new teacher, Mrs. Engstrom. She seems to be very nice. She is new to Freedom but has been teaching the last 10 years.

Cooper hopped right out of bed yesterday morning when I told him it was time to get up. He said, "Today's my first day of school." He got dressed, ate his favorite breakfast (pancakes), spiked his hair, took a picture, and we headed to school.

As we walked into the school, Cooper ran up to the principal to say hello and give him a high five. After that, we finally made it to his classroom where we took some more pictures, helped Cooper hang up his backpack and then hugged him goodbye (trying to fight back the tears). As we walked out to the car, Clayton kept asking, "Where cooper go?" I have a feeling its going to be a long year.....for Clayton too!

Willow Flats...Mail Tree...Boss Canyon

A few days ago, Bryce and I took the boys up to Franklin, ID to do some four wheeling. As usual, Clayton could not wait to get on them. As soon as Bryce had them off the trailer, Clatyon quickly climbed up on one. We started on ride near Willow Flats. We went on a little windy trail that ran parallel to the main road. It was a fun little trail that weaved in and out of the trees.
After we crossed over the road and the river, we headed up a trail that took us through the beautiful flowers and green trees. We ended up stopping around 1 pm to eat lunch and let the boys run around for a few minutes. Cooper and I always ride behind Bryce and Clayton, so that the dust stays out of Claytons eyes. Anyway, Clayton loves to put his head under Bryce's arm so he can look back and see us. It is so cute and always brings a smile to my face.
There is a long stretch of road that goes from Willow Flats all the way up the "mail tree." We stayed on that road going bt 25-30 mph. It started to sprinkle a little and the rain was cold and stung the skin. At times, it was a little chilly, but for the most part it was a perfect day! We took the kids to the "mail tree". Years ago, before the postal service, the mail deliverers would take the mail in a big bag from Montpelier Idaho, Logan, Utah, and other surrounding areas, up to this tree. It was a big hollow tree and that is where they would drop off and pick up mail for their towns. The tree kept the mail from getting "weatherized". They have signs on the tree that say, "Do not cut down this tree" from the National Forest Services. The boys climbed around on the rocks while we were there and Cooper had a good time hiking up on a small cliff. After the mail tree, we headed up Boss Canyon. The trail started off kind of rocky! We had to go down a river rock bed, and then wind up through a trail that had been kind of washed out. There were a few spots that scared me, but the trail ended up getting better, so that made me happy!Because of many fallen trees, the trail winded through the trees. I thought it was a nice ride. We even went through a few creeks and over some small logs. As we got closer to the top of the trail, it started getting pretty rough. Its hard on the hands and wrists to fight the four wheeler, but we made it to the top, where the boys got out and inspected the "rescue cabin."The ride back down didn't take us very long, once the Jeep let us pass him. We stopped at the river on the way back and let the boys play in the water for a few minutes. Cooper also drove our wheeler back the last couple of miles. It was a nice ride that took us about 4 hours. We all had a great time. Bryce and I have decided that purchasing our wheelers last year was a good idea. We have definately gotten good use out of them and it has turned into our favorite family activ

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Bountiful Peak

Two weeks ago, Bryce and I decided to take the boys and head out on the four wheelers. Its such a fun family activity and the boys seem to enjoy it alot. My riding partner is usually Cooper and Clayton rides in front of Bryce. Clayton is so intrigued by four wheelers right now. He wants to be on them constantly. We ended up going to Bountiful Peak. We were going to go up the Farmington way, but it was closed, so we went over to Bountiful. We rode for about 3 and a half hours. The trail takes you on a dirt road up and around the mountain peaks. It is really beautiful up there and it over looks the whole valley. The road was very level so it was safe for the kids. There was quite a bit of traffic and the dust was pretty bad, but other than that, it was a great ride.



We wanted to ride up to the Bountiful towers, but due to a landslide, they closed part of the trail and we didn't make it all the way up there. As soon, as we dropped over the other side of the mountain range, it was so green and there were a few little ponds. With the sun on the other side of the mountain, the temperatures were perfect. The boys had a good time throwing rocks into the pond.
On our way back, Clayton crashed out in Bryce's lap. Everytime we take the boys, he always ends up taking a nap. Cooper and I rode behind Bryce and Clayton so we were covered in dust when we got back to the truck....but it was well worth it because we all had a great time!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Tony Grove

Before my parents left for home, we decided to take a day trip up to Tony Grove. Tony Grove is located up Logan Canyon. It was so gorgeous up there. Everything was so green and the flowers were very pretty. My dad thought he was in heaven with all the plants, grass, trees and flowers.
We went with Steph and the kids and mom and dad. The lake was nice and full and the kids had a great time playing in the water. Jaden and Cooper spent their day trying to catch fish with their hands. Jaden actually caught three baby trout. As we were leaving, Cooper got bit by a horsefly. He was tough though and Steph came to the rescue some mud mixed with spit! After that, he was fine.
Clatyon thought he was such a big boy. He would march around looking like he owned the world. He went on lots of walks with Steph, Grandpa, and Grandma. He enjoyed throwing rocks into the water. At lunchtime, he carried his sandwich around and ate it like a big boy.
All the kids enjoyed spending the day with Grandma and Grandpa. We missed Jocie and her kids. Grandpa made sure to show the older girls some of the flowers he was taking pictures of. The weather was perfect up at Tony Grove and all of us had a great time.