S'mores!!

I really miss having our fire pit. I didn't realize how much we used it. Patrick bought these monstrous marshmallows and I really wanted s'mores. So Jenn & I planned on taking the dogs up the canyon, making tin-foil dinners and roasting marshmallows. Well we didn't get the dogs up there but everything else worked out perfectly! It was so fun, I wish we could do this every night. I would be huge though, I couldn't stop eating s'mores!

Patrick was on coal duty, we really wanted a fire but Patrick insisted that coals would be better because we didn't have enough time for the whole fire experience. He was right but it just doesn't feel right.

The dinners were delicious!

The s'mores were really good, but the marshmallows were actually too big and I usually eat 2 marshmallows per s'more. We had some strawberry marshmallows too but they're not as good as the original.

GK had so much fun! Patrick & Brandon kept going into the "forest" to get more sticks and he would love to follow and play with them. They both would take him to the river and throw rocks in (why is that SO fascinating??). Jenn would take him for little walks over the bridge, he loves bridges! It was so much fun. I can't wait until we go again.. I got some coconut covered marshmallows to try out but they might be gone.

... And Then We'll Know Where We Are!

Patrick has been wanting to go to Twin Lakes all summer long. He had these big plans of going and staying all week. Well this summer has just flown by and before we knew it, it was the last week of September and too late to go to Twin Lakes. So we thought... But get Brandon and Patrick together and they'll make anything work. They found a Twin Lakes that is lower in elevation, shorter, and closer! So we sent G.K. with his Aunt Shell (Michelle) and we were off.

Now the drive was the prettiest thing I've ever seen. I couldn't believe all the fall colors. It was beautiful. We got there in good time (thanks Brandon!) and started on our way. There were a lot of people there which made us all feel a little safer. Mostly boy scout troops, which made us feel a little less safe! It took me a while to realize this is the same trail we would take on our 4th year hike in Girls Camp.

It took a while to get there. I think that the mileage is sketchy when it comes to hiking. I swear the elevation isn't accounted for! But we got there with plenty of daylight to set up camp and for Patrick and Brandon to even go fishing for a little while. (Yes Patrick was sitting IN the fire to start it, and yes he did almost set himself on fire!)

Jenn and I really stayed close to the fire. It was really warm. We had packed up some hobo dinners and they were oh so yummy in the mountains.. a little heavy though. We also had S'mores and hot chocolate. We had brought a ton of food and I thought the less I carried down the better.

That night we didn't sleep a wink. I wish I would have thought like Jenn to bring Tylenol PM, I thought about NyQuil because I have a cold but I usually sleep like a rock.. Not that night. There was an animal in our camp, and Brandon and Jenn's rain fly on their tent sounds like footsteps. I was also a little chilly, we had those hand warmers and they kept me good until just before sunrise and then I was really cold and I had to go to the bathroom (all that hot chocolate!)

But we had a yummy breakfast of banana muffins and oatmeal. Then it was fishing time. Jenn and I made way cute swivel bracelets. If you want one I think Jenn is going to start a business! We even made them for the guys. Fishing is fun! Patrick kept a couple of fish for lunch.

It was a little windy where we were fishing. Jenn and I kept trying to find warm spots in the sun. I think this may have been when we got sunburned.

We went back to our camp for lunch. We had only seen 1 other person before lunch, then after we had a ton of people coming through. We didn't realize but we had camped right off the trail.

So we packed up and headed home.

Wasatch & Topaz

On Friday night when Patrick got home from work we went up American Fork Canyon to Aunt Knolls where my Dad helps with the Wasatch 100. It is a foot race where people run 100 miles all up in the mountains. It goes from Farmington area to Midway. I love coming here. It is the roughest road I think I've ever driven on. But it is beautiful! The runners are so nice and inspiring. I wish we could have stayed up and helped but I need a lot of sleep and it's too tempting to stay up all night as the runners come in.

On Saturday we loaded up the car and drove down to Topaz Mountain! We have been there before and loved it. It is just outside of Delta, you can only use your hands and hand tools. I wish we could have used explosives because I think we needed them. Last time we went you could see the topaz all over, the ground shined in the sun with topaz. This time we got totally skunked. Not one full piece of topaz. Vickie is an expert and even she didn't find any. It was still a blast though! G.K. had a riot digging through the dirt and rocks. He was a big helper. We had packed hobo dinners and they were delicious. It was so quiet and pretty, we had so much fun.

 

 

VinHagen

All we were missing was GK's coon skin cap

There is nothing like a little ping pong John Wayne style!
Things can fall out of a baby backpack, who would have guessed?
Looking over the pond at VinHagen was very romantic until GK poops his pants!
GK finds love out camping. At least it wasn't a family reunion!!!
We wanted to trade this in for the government rebate but they wouldn't give us the full 4500
It was nice to get the family portrait out of the way for the year.
The Hilbilly hot tub was a hit. What happens in the hot tub stays in the HOT TUB. 
The girls liked bathing in the not so Hilbilly hot tub. I stuck to the Lake.

If you ever wanted to know where Wyatt Earp used to spend his summers well here it is.  

Family Reunion

 

Patrick's Mom's Family reunion was just up American Fork Canyon this year. We had planned on camping up there but we forgot to find a babysitter for D'Ohgee (even though we could have taken her with us) and Lyndsey was having a little family reunion party of her own and we didn't want to miss that! So we just woke up early on Saturday and spent the whole day up there. We got there before everyone was awake to help cook breakfast. It is such a feast! We had hashbrowns, eggs, pancakes, bacon, and sausage. When we got there is was really cold but itstarted to heat up quick so after breakfast was all cleaned up we went to play some games.

 

We played volleyball, kickball, and duck duck squeeze/soak. It was really fun. It felt good to get a little wet. After the games we ate lunch and had free time. Patrick panned for gold and found a few flakes and then he played horse-shoes. 

 

The big deal the whole reunion was that Patrick's Uncle Reynold had every single one of his kids at the reunion. It was a total surprise. Some came from California to see him. There were a few that I hadn't ever met before and they are so nice! I hope I get to see them again. Patrick's Aunt Camille and two of her daughters watched G.K. so I could get in a couple of games of Nertz (love that game). He was So tired but I really think he was loving the pretty girls too much to fall asleep.

 

Before we left we had to share a marshmallow or two. we were such a mess. It was nice to be so close that we could just go up for the day.

Memorial Weekend Stay-Cation

 We had such a fun Memorial Day weekend. It didn't all go quite as we planned it but we had a lot of fun! On Friday evening we were planning on going to the Jordan Walkway with Jenn & Brandon. Patrick and Brandon couldn't get away from work so Aunt Michelle came over with McKell and we ate some lollipops thanks to The Peppermint Place~ G.K. was so sweet to share his sticky sucker with Aunt Shell! We did go for a short bike ride but G.K. was screaming in the bike trailer. It was past his bed time and we took the sucker away. 

 

On Saturday I went for a run with Dave up to City Creek Canyon, we took the trail and I forgot how much I liked it. My Mom came too and she walked around the Capitol. It was such a beautiful morning! I will learn to take my camera. In the afternoon we went to play tennis at the Middle School. I really suck, Jenn has only played a couple of times and she is really good. Don't let her fool you! It started to rain and G.K. was tired of being in the Pack 'n Play so Jenn and I played with him.. i.e we took pictures of him! On Saturday night Patrick and I took G.K. to Won Won Wok for some sushi~

 

On Sunday we went to church but we only made it for sacrement meeting, we went home and had a relaxing afternoon. I harvested some Strawberries! The first of the season! Brandon and Jenn came over because we wanted to do a test run camping with G.K. We had planned to set up the tents in the back yard and see how well it went. We had hot dogs and hamburgers and Jenn brought some yummy dips w/ chips. We were all stuffedwhen it started pouring rain! G.K. was so tired so we just put him in his bed. It did clear up when we were eating our S'Mores over the barbeque-er. We contemplated setting up the tents and grabbing G.K. but I think we were all too tired for that. So between the dogs being restless all night and the fridge making noises, no one got any sleep, we should have set up the tents!  I guess we did test out camping: eating way too much and not getting any sleep, but at leat G.K. got a good nights sleep.

 

Then since Jenn & Brandon just couldn't get enough of us we decided to go to Park City for some shopping! We went to Main street for Lunch and remembered why we don't shop there. Our lunch was $40 and it wasn't any good! So we went to the Outlets where I love to shop. They had some really great sales. We didn't need anything but it was sure fun to go shopping! 

Astle Family Reunion

This weekend we went up to Grover Wyoming for the Aslte family reunion. Every 3 years our family is in charge and we took it to an extreme this year. We had no running water

but thank heavens Jason has some connections for the Port-o-Potties!

We had lots of fun activities planned. We had a zip line that worked really well. We had a shooting range. And we just played lots of games. The kids got to make a Sheriff's hat, and everyone got in on the watermelon eating contest! There was even a bubble gum blowing contest.This four-wheelin' ride  got me into a lot of trouble, but it was really fun. I think the ride in the truck was more bumpy. Patrick took it really slow. The canyon was beautiful.It was Patrick's Mom's birthday while we were there. What a fun way to spend your birthday! All of her kids know how much she like to go "haunting" so they planned a few outings for the birthday girl. Jason and C'aira's boyfriend were the culprits. Patrick knew all along and was "pretending" to act scared when I heard he fell really hard on his back. It is still hurting him.

My Mom and Dad came up to cook some dutch oven for everyone. It was delicious! They made chicken, spare ribs and 2 kinds of potatoes. It was really fun for me to have them there. I don't get to see them as much as I'd like to. My Dad can sleep anywhere (really!). I think this is his heaven.

These kids were full of mischief! They sure are adorable though! 

They were really good helper all weekend!

This watermelon was so yummy! I couldn't stop eating it. I think I swallowed a watermelon seed because my stomach is all bloated. J/K I think everyone joined in the contest, even those who don't like watermelon.

We had a lot of fun. At the end of the day we had an auction, and got a chance to talk a lot about Norma and Ralph Astle, Patrick's Moms parents. It's amazing the legacy that parents have on their children and their grandchildren. It was fun for me to learn more about them and some of the rituals and traditions that were made a long time ago and a lot are still being done by their kids and grandkids still. It make a little anxious and excited to know that Patrick and I will be in charge of carrying out these and our own family traditions soon. 

MOAB

This past weekend we went with Jenn and Brandon to Moab. We had such a good time.  We got to see a lot of the Arches and we even took the Hummer four-wheeling. It was pretty hot. The campground had a really nice pool, the water had a lot of natural elements in it. I think they were herbal remedies. I think we broke Brandon's tent, the wind blew and it just took off, I couldn't stop laughing Jenn had enough sense to go catch it.  We had a really good time, I wish it could have lasted longer!