August 2011 - part 2

The second part of our trip was a glorious week in the Uintah Mountains at the Evans cabin. We seriously couldn't have asked for better weather, better friends and family or more beautiful country. First thing when we arrived at the cabin, LucyMae went with Sam to get the horses from the big pasture to bring them over to the little pasture by the cabin. And when I look out the window to see them coming, my little 3-year-old is riding bareback, and loving it! She's a pro....my awesome little cowgirl.

For the first couple days of our time at the cabin my siblings and my dad came to join us. We  had such a great time. And Tenille especially had a great time with my girls, doing the things I never do with them. They LOVED getting these curlers in their hair....although due to the fineness of their hair, they just fell out after a while and the curl did not hold. But it was still a fun little party. And LucyMae and Samantha loved playing with their boy cousins!

We went on as many horseback rides as possible...and loved every second of it. It was especially fun to watch my little brother, Howie, showing so much interest in the horses. He was out there with Sam helping/learning how to saddle them up, brush them down, and all that jazz. He was quite the little horseman.

I think LucyMae probably went on the most rides of anyone the whole week. She was always on somebody's horse with them, even is Sam or I were not on the ride. SHE LOVES HORSES!!!

Sam even let me lead on a ride with my sisters. It was fun to show my sisters where Sam proposed to me. And we got to see a HUGE herd of elk...kind of crazy how close we got to them. If you look closely in one of these pictures below you can see the herd through the trees.

Everybody had a good time on the horses....I'm so glad the Evans' have good horses that we can feel comfortable putting people on.

Ben was such a happy kid....look at that smile! And I LOVE the bumbo.

This is what a true cowgirl looks like....LucyMae learns quickly...

COUSINS ARE THE BEST!!!!! I'm so glad these two had so much fun together and like to play together. Aren't they adorable?

Cowboy Paul....doesn't he look like a real cowboy?

We can never get enough of beautiful sunsets....

 

Then we had our wonderful friends from South Dakota that moved to Utah, the Baums, join us for a couple days....and we had a BLAST!!!! It is so fun to watch our kids play together. Watch the movies below of them dancing to the music of Tangled.

And now, when I'm writing this (March 2012), the Baums have moved back to South Dakota!!!!!! We are LOVING that!

And then, one of the main purposes for our trip to Utah was to be able to be with Serenity when she received her endowments. She asked me to be her escort and I was happy to do so. It was such a wonderful experience to be with my family in the temple again. And we just had to take a picture with the bag-piper on the corner...because we LOVE bag-pipes.

Then back up to the cabin for more fun....this time joined by the Evans' themselves!!! Oh how we love being with family.

Like I said we went on as many horse-back rides as possible....it was SOOOOO fun!

We had fires and lots of yummy food, and lots of catch-up conversation and games and just plain old fun.

We attempted to take some family pictures with the horses and the cabin....and this is what we came up with....anyone with photo-shop think I can make something good out of these somehow? I would really like to if possible....

Saying goodbye to the cabin is always difficult and sad...but we are so grateful for the time we do get to spend there each year!

And then it was Rennie's farewell on Sunday, and goodbyes....NO FUN!!! But she gave a wonderful farewell address in our home ward and we all were so proud of her.

 

The family, or most of them, that gathered at the park afterwards for her little open-house....so fun to see all these wonderful people.

On our way home we stopped at Martin's Cove, despite the crazy winds and rain (luckily it didn't rain the whole time). Sam had never been here, and it was fun for me to see it again. Such amazing stories to be told here. So much faith and sacrifice and suffering and beauty and nobleness of the human spirit!

So, that pretty much sums up our month-long trip to Utah. It was AWESOME!!!!

Here are some funny videos too: