Is it a monkey or is it a bishop?

I was looking at some pictures from last spring and found these from a short hike I went on in April. It was great. We went to Coyote Gulch. Jarod (My Brother) Hall, Matt (The Bishop) McGhie, and Tyler (The Perfectionist) Wangsgard all drove down to Escalante UT. There we met my dad and a few of his amigos who flew from Vernal.

We camped out near the 40 Mile Ridge and then hiked into Jacob Hamblin Arch and down the Gulch to Jug Handle Arch. It was a great trip.

Being the adventurous guys we are, Dad, Jarod and I decided we didn't need a tent that night. The wind blew a little and filled my head so full of sand I was digging it out of my teeth, ears, eyes, and nose the entire next day. I love the desert and have dreams of living in Kanab UT. Julie is really excited to move there too. She just says we have to wait until they have an Old Navy, Target, and running water.

Near Jug Handle Arch there was a wild screeching coming from something hanging in a tree out over the water. I was able to snap a picture before the noise maker escaped. Was it a monkey or was it a Bishop?

Definitely a bishop, anyone with a weaker connection to heaven couldn't pull off this Moses pose.

Tyler coming out of hibernation that morning was a sight to see.

Matt and Tyler enjoyed throwing rocks while the rest of us stayed out of the way. The other bystanders got much closer once I quit throwing rocks though. That is Lobo Arch in the background.

Coyote Gulch is a beautiful area. I will be going back again but it won't be for a while. It really isn't a short drive. I was gone from the house for about 33 hours. We spent about 15 of them driving. I am so thankful for the good friends I have and the healthy body I have to be able to go on adventures.

A Hot Day Spent In Nature

Well, we started off picnicking up American Fork Canyon last Saturday. Most of Adam's family joined us and it was great to get together. We were next to a stream though and pretty soon.................

....... all the kids were in it and soaking wet. So eventually we gave up on trying to keep them dry and just let them have fun. This is their clothes laid out to dry.

Hobble Creek Half 2009

Adam ran the Hobble Creek Half Marathon last Saturday. He had a goal to finish it in the top 100 and he did it! His time was was 1:34 and he placed 81st in the men's overall and 12th in his age group. He is awesome. Good job, Adam. We are proud of you. The kids anxiously waiting to see thier daddy coming up the road.

Our first view of him coming.He made it! Here he is with his top 100 medal. We need to find a special place to display that. He worked hard for it.

Mick's First Day of 2nd Grade

Mick started school on the 19th of August. He is in 2nd grade now. His teacher is Mrs. Mclean. He and I both are very happy with her so far. He is loving school which is such a relief to me cause we had a rocky start last year. Here's to a successfull second grade!

Swim, Swim, Dive?

On this the last day of swimming lessons, Tori is going to go down the waterslide and she is happy and excited.
Here she and her coach come out at the bottom. She is still having fun.Here is Mick trying to talk himself into going off the diving board. He tried 3 different times and never could brave it, which if funny to me because last year he had no problem doing it. He finally was pushed in by a coach.Here Mick is pouting about it.Here is Tori right before she jumped off the diving board. She wasn't scared and had no problem doing it.But after she came up out of the water she was crying and was super mad that her head went under the water. I don't think she would have done it a second time. Maybe next year, they will be more brave. I love them anyway and truth be told, I don't love to jump off there either.

Hike #1

On July 25th, we decided to go on a short hike for the day. We went up Payson Canyon and I can't recall what the hike was called now, but it took us to a spring that comes up out of the ground. Rock Springs? I think that is it. It was almost a 5 mile hike total and it was about 1 mile farther than Tori could comfortably go so that last mile was long, but we did enjoy being together and being outside.

This is the destination. This pole fence was around the spring to keep the cows out. Mick saw it and said, "We came all this way to see a pig pen!" I guess it wasn't too impressive to him.
Tori loves that Adam packs a first-aid kit in his backpack and every single hike, she finds some little owie she needs patched up.

After we got back to the truck, we had a nice little picnic and headed home. The kids were exhausted and went to bed really early which was a nice little side benefit.