Reavis Ranch

We again made the trek to Reavis Ranch.  This year we knew what to expect and Dallin was a little more prepared for the long hike.  It was a great time!

I can't believe he is almost as tall as I am...

 Our fearless leader, Dan Rogers, giving us some instruction and discussing a "little detour" that turned out to be quite the hike through sticker bushes!  Check out the guy on the far left...I swear his pack weighed more than I do!  AND he carried a full gallon of water in a water jug!  Now that's old school!

 The gang getting ready to go! Left to right...

Dan Rogers, Dallin, Lisa (Rachel Grimes' sister) Jon Mitchell (Angie's dad) Angie Houston, Natalia Carter, Steve Jones (Natalia's dad), Stacy and Erik Guthrie, Bob (Bishop's friend), and Jacob (Bishop's nephew).

 The fields of tall grass are really fun to walk through... a little eerie...I always imagine something hiding and getting ready to jump out and eat me...makes me hike a little faster.

 The giant tree!

 I love my little backpacking stove!  It weighs about 1 lb total! Works great!

 Home sweet home

 Beautiful scenery and fall colors

 Dallin called this the "passage to Narnia"

 We startled this little buck off the trail and he bounded about 10 yards and stopped to watch us.

 Ugh! Made it!

 A little snack while we were waiting for everyone else to hike out.

 Good times!

Camping trip to Mt. Lemon

We took a couple of days and hit the mountains! It was rather last minute, and we convinced Katie, Kevin and the kids to join us.  We spent two nights, took a trip through the mud caves, and mostly just hung around the campground enjoying ourselves.  A great way to start Fall break!

I just got myself a ukulele and I'm trying to learn how to play it.  Maura loves it!

 Damian is such a cutie!  He had a dirty face the entire trip! :0)

 Yes, that's my son. Trying to avoid having his picture taken.

 I brought my new little backpacking tent to give it a try...I like it!

 Eating dog food...

 The fearless beasts

 BB guns were a good distraction as well.

 They played the hilbilly game of life.  FUNNY!

 Working on my uke skills...

 More dirt...Damien, what a riot!

 Packing up...

 We had a skunk in our camp and silly Ryno decided to chase one...dumb dog.  Good thing we had a truck he could ride in the back of on the way home.  Trent and Jeff spent a good hour getting the smell out.

We had a terrific time! I love that my family enjoys camping!

Happy Birthday to Dallin!

The Big D and I spent some quality time on his special day!  I picked him up early from school and we had some lunch before taking him to his old school for a visit!  He's been asking to go visit his friends and teachers so we arranged it and he took treats to share and spent half the day.  I'm so glad that the Montessori school was such a great experience for him and that he has fond memories!

Dallin invited some friends for dinner, cake and then an evening of League of Legends at "Howie's Game Shack".  They played video games there for almost 4 hours!  Teenagers!! UGH!

 This is a great bunch of boys!

 A backpack for his birthday in preparation for our upcoming hike to Reavis Ranch!