Flaming Gorge

Last weekend my family made our annual camping/boating trip to Flaming Gorge and it was definitely a trip to remember! The first night we had a crazy windstorm that woke us up quite a few times. The next morning was a bit overcast but we all headed over to a little beach area and spent a few hours playing in the boat, sand and water. It got to be pretty cold so we all headed back to camp. We slept pretty good the next night but woke up to a cold rainy morning. We decided to go to breakfast over in Dutch John and hoped the weather would clear up by the time we got back. When all 27 of us walked in to the restaurant I thought the hostess was going to have a heart attack! Breakfast was great and when we got back to camp the weather got worse. We decided to throw our clothes in our cars, leave camp and head to Vernal to stay the night in a hotel. This turned out to be really fun. The hotel had an indoor pool and hot tub and we had it all to ourselves. We had fun playing in the pool, playing games, eating dinner at Wingers and just spending time with each other. The next day we headed back up to the Lake to pack up and spend some time on the water. The day was beautiful and we had a great time. Three flat tires later (and Barrett almost getting smashed by an out of control car while he was changing the last flat tire on the highway-scary) we made it home with lots of memories. My family is great and it was so much fun spending a few day with them!


Trying to get warm around the camp fire

Barrett flying high

Luke decided to eat the sand

Having fun in the pool

Luke and his buddy Hailey - these two babies did so great on the trip. I was so proud of them! (Ever since we got home Luke walks around the house saying "Hailey" over and over. He loves his cousin)

My sister-in-law Jamie, her kids and our niece Sadie swimming

Beautiful Flaming Gorge Sunset

Fun times!!

Backpacking

This past weekend we went backpacking with our friends Rob and Meggan Gonzalez. We hiked to the Naturalist Basin and camped near Jordan Lake. The basin was beautiful, these pictures don't do it justice. There were wild flowers blanketing the whole basin. So we got there and set up camp and noticed there were lot's of mosquito's everywhere. Then we realized that it was something more like attack of the killer mosquito's. There were swarms of them everywhere. It was unbearable. We had planned on staying two nights, but the only way we could escape the mosquito's was to sit in our tents. We didn't want to spend the whole next day hanging out inside our small two man tents so we decided to pack up the next morning and head out. We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out in Park City, which was actually really fun. The weekend didn't turn out as we had expected, but it turned out great and I will never forget it!

No that is not a Muslim woman, it's Rob trying to escape the wrath of the mosquito's

And Meggan trying to escape the mosquito's

Boating

Luke loves to go boating and he takes great naps on the boat!


Barrett flying high!

Luke's Birthday Party

My posts have been lacking, I know, but this time I have a good excuse. My laptop has been on the fritz. I had to send it in to get fixed, I got it back and it is still not fixed. So, before I send it back in I figured I'd get caught up on some posts.

Luke's party was so much fun, and he totally got spoiled. Thanks to all of you who came and supported our little guy on his big day!

Here's the cake I made for Luke to dive into on his own. I was just going to give him a piece of cake that we served to everyone else but guilt drove me to make this cake. Let me explain. Growing up my mom made us elaborate birthday cakes on our birthday's. One year she made me this princess barbie cake that stood upright, I will always remember that cake. Anyway, as Luke's birthday approached and I considered just giving him a slice of cake I kept picturing my mom giving me a guilt trip for not putting some effort into it and make him his own cake. My mom died 25 years ago and can still make me feel guilty! So this cake is really for you mom, I know you were there and were proud of me for making my son a cake on his first birthday (and I didn't have to feel guilty)!

Luke is giving his cousin Hailey a push on his new School Bus, so cute!

Saying hi to his best buddy, Jack


Helping Uncle Gary clean up

Happy Birthday to Luke!

I can't believe that we have a one a year old! This past year has been the best year of my life. Luke has been the most amazing blessing in mine and Barrett's lives. I think we'll keep him:)Here are some the reasons we love Luke so much:
He has the cutest smile (I love that he scrunches his nose up when he smiles)
He can make anyone smile
He is one of the happiest babies I've ever been around
He loves to lay between me and Barrett when he first wakes up and snuggle (that's about the only time he will snuggle)
He smiles when he sees me
He sings as he walks around the house


















Here are some of the milestones of Luke's first year:
All the usual baby stuff, smiling, laughing babbling, crawling, etc.
Scoliosis curve improved from a 24 degree curve to a 17 degree (we go in next week for another round of x-rays)
Learned to walk
Learned to catch and throw a ball (oh how he loves balls)
Can say: wow, mom, dad, hello, ruff ruff, and hi
An expert at jumping on the tramp, he gets some serious air
Mastered the art of climbing stairs (he is obsessed with stairs)
Has not mastered the art of going down stairs:)
Gives great loves
We love you Luke!