Pioneer Day Retreat

Jeff has been wanting to go to Salina Canyon all summer long. The 24th of July holiday was his perfect chance. He took Levi and Daisy and headed down with his dad. Grandma, Isaac and I joined them the next day. It was supposed to be a 'work' weekend, but Grandpa and Grandma took time for coloring and card games with the kids.
In the interest of full disclosure, camping is not my favorite thing to do. I told Jeff it is akin to getting your driver's license renewed. It is a labor intensive arduous process with a lot of details that seem entirely unnecessary. Still, it must be done. It is one of those things in life you have to put yourself through. It turns out this trip was not quite as painful as a driver's license renewal. I completely enjoyed the time catching tadpoles, hanging out with my family and savoring the beauty of God's creations.
Since the kids and I don't operate heavy equipment, we got to spend time riding horses.
I was afraid this little mare was going to get her hooves rode off. The kids were on her more than they weren't.

Isaac and Levi both loved 'helping' dad in the skid steer.

And when he wasn't riding with dad, Isaac was running his own operation.

Grandma rigged this hat up for Isaac. Everyone else in camp was wearing one and he did not want to be left out. Grandma saved the day.

Going for four-wheeler rides with Grandpa and Grandma was not only a great time but doubled as a nice nap inducer.

Ever since the rodeo, Daisy is convinced she is going to turn her horse into a barrel racer. Levi, however, is the one who really got his cowboy on during this trip. He advanced from the buddy saddle and the lead rope to riding and reining on his own. Now he is going to have to fight Daisy for the saddle when we all go riding together.

Stampede Sensation

There are few events that we look forward to with as much anticipation as the Ute Stampede. The glorious occasion came upon us, and we reveled in every fabulous moment.

Our whole family got seats together for "Family Night" at the rodeo. We danced to the music, cheered for the cowboys, and played and unofficial round of musical bleachers. We ate nachos, snow cones, and, of course, rodeo burgers.

This was Daisy's first year doing "Mini Drill," which she, of course, loved.

They got to ride in the parade.

There is a total of three wonderful parades throughout the rodeo. The kids make a haul on candy.

This was the 34th year of the Ute Stampede Fun Run. I've done the 5k four times. This year Daisy and Levi decided they were ready for the kids Half-Miler.

Daisy had sore muscles after running so hard.

Levi was all business...surprise, surprise.

...but a half mile was a little longer than he anticipated, so mom jumped in for a little motivation.

It was well worth it when it was all said and done. We're gonna practice up to be even faster next year.

Parades, parades, and more parades...

...and popsicles...

...and cousins.

Isaac fell and sustained a lip injury, which he was unusually proud of (just in case you were wondering what was on his face...)

I got to attend the rodeo with the Most Handsome Cowboy in Town.

The last night of the rodeo, we got a babysitter and went with friends. We sat closer than we ever have before, and we were amazed how much more we got to watch the rodeo without the kids there.

The week before the rodeo was the annual Lavender Days 5k. When I started running, I convinced my mom to sign up for this race with me. We were so nervous. It was a first for both of us. We had so much fun. With one notable exception (when they mindlessly scheduled their race on top of the Ute Stampede) I have run the Lavender Days race every year since. This year I got to do it with my niece and sister-in-law.

Now that the very best part of the summer is over, we have a few more things to look forward to before we will let ourselves think of the dreaded return to formal education. More camping, more late nights, more horse back rides, more runs, more summer.

Destination: Beautiful

We celebrated Independence Day with Grandpa and Grandma on their mountain. Everything was so green and beautiful this time of year. This place is truly unique, and I love that I get to take my family there to make memories together.


We packed the kids' fishing poles and tackle boxes, so they were anxious to get down to the pond.

We tried conventional fishing for a while.

Grandma even helped Isaac work on his cast.
But when that wasn't working, we were true to our redneck selves and stripped down to our skivvies to get down to business.
Daisy gave it a shot.
Levi put forth a valiant effort.

And dad was the victor! He caught a fish with his bare hands!


...and, once again, was certified The Coolest Dad Ever.

Back at camp we ate lots of good grub.
And stayed hard at work
And Daisy took us on some great four-wheeler rides...

...to beautiful places like this.

My parents had this brilliant idea to take logs from their property, mill them down into lumber, and use it to construct a tree house for the children. So...the men spent their 'vacation' working their guts out hauling and milling logs.
The women and children designated themselves as the management and supervisory crews...and we did a good job at it.

We made a lot of progress over the course of the weekend!

And a few days after we finished our camping trip we got to see Grandma again when we celebrated her birthday.