wow -- this kid is growing up!
morning sun and first day back to school make for pained expressions
now we're more excited!
Poor little Matthew had to wait to start pre-school two weeks (or was it 3?) after the big kids headed back. He was SO VERY EXCITED for his first day!
he's such a big kid! he wishes he could go to Mrs. Laurie's preschool everyday!
We decided we needed to use out Nat'l Parks pass and so we headed out to Promontory Point to see where the golden spike was driven to join the east and west railroads. It was late in the day when we got there, so we only got to see the Jupiter engine.
The kids realized that the engines are very big.
Before the engine got fired up for its last run of the day, we got up close and personal with the engine and the tracks. And since we'd come this far, we really couldn't leave the area without heading out to explore the spiral jetty. Mark had been here before, but it was the first time for the rest of us. Kinda cool.
The jetty is WAY out there and the last mile of the journey, is best done by walking (which is what we did). The road is really rough, so it's a slow drive with lots of manuvering around rocks and potholes. Our van was totally a dust ball by the time we got home. I'm just glad we still had 4 tires and everything else intact!
The jetty is made out of rock and we had a good time climbing around.
I could not believe how desolate the "lake" can be. Salt as far as the eye can see.
I love this picture -- looks like Jacob is standing in snow. But, no -- salt.
Jared just takin' a break.
One last look. It's really kind of beautiful.
At a recent court of honor, Ryan became an official boy scout.
Jared received several merit badges.
And received his Life scout rank! Wahoo! Oh dear, now we need an eagle project.
Meet my nephew Josh and his wife, Nicola. We love these two. They are the kind of people you meet the first time and immediately love and enjoy being around. Our family would be empty without them. Obviously, they are hoping to adopt. They will be awesome parents, we have no doubt. The hard part is finding the baby that needs to join their family. You can learn all about them HERE! and you can pass this link on to others you know as well. We want to help them begin their family. You can also check out their blog.
So this is yet another "catch-up" post. A few weeks ago, we went up to the Uintas with Eric to fish. My boys look forward to this day all summer. This year it turned into somewhat of a family day and it was great! Eric, Grandpa, David, & Sarah headed up early to find a sweet spot at the lake.
Eric got the kids set up and they started catching fish like crazy -- I think Sarah caught 2 before the rest of us even got started! Above photos show Mark helping Jacob with one of his catches, and Jared carefully hanging onto his wiggly, slimy catch.
Eric spent most of his time tending to everyone's fishing poles. He finally got a chance to put his pole in and Matthew was patiently waiting to see what he'd catch.
Here's Matthew taking his turn with the pole.
Jared patiently waiting for a bite.
Ryan and Rachel waiting for a nibble. I think Rachel caught the biggest fish of the day.
Good rock-throwing buddies, Zach and Matthew.
Jacob & Sarah showing off the day's catch -- 15 fish in all! Each kid caught at least one, so it was definitely a successful day. We caught way more than15, but some of them got thrown back because they were small. 
Eric, Zach and Jacob holding up the fish. Thanks Eric!
Catching all that fish worked up an appetite, so we had a tailgate lunch in Grandpa's truck. Then we headed down to Kamas for some ice cream. Yum! Everyone else had to head back home, but with Mark having the whole day off, we decided to head back up into the mountains for a couple more hours. We stopped and played at this waterfall.
The boys had lots of fun throwing rocks into the water and doing some rock climbing along the riverbank.
Perfect weather, great fishing, beautiful mountains, and family to share it with. Sometimes life can be VERY good!
Ryan has been wanting a ripstick all summer and he picked this one out. Since he already knew what he was getting for his birthday, we tried to spice things up a bit by sending him on a treasure hunt for it. After following clues and looking several places in the house, a final clue led him outside to the tree, in which he climbed up and officially took possession of his new ride!
He's a natural ripstick rider.
Many hours of fun and friends are spent riding this contraption. Happy Birthday Ryan!
The official tying of the boy scout neckerchief.
All of us. 
