4-Wheeling in the Uintahs

This weekend my husband and I got to go on a fun adventure!

 We got to go 4-wheeling in the Uintah mountains,

with our friends 

and my husband's parents.

 It was fun to get out into nature

 and enjoy the beauty of this earth...

 as well as some great company!

 The scenery was gorgeous!

 The fall leaves are starting to appear.

 It was a little smoky from some recent fires,

 but the views were still breathtaking.

I feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful land. 

 We spent most of the day in the mountains and covered close to 40 miles.

It was such a fun way to spend our Saturday.

One Year Older ( I don't know about wiser!)

I have such a kind family!

This year on my birthday we were all recovering from the stomach flu.  We spent the day sleeping and recovering from the awfulness of the previous day.  A few days later I came home from a meeting to find that my kids had secretly gone to the store and prepared a small party for me. 

They got me a birthday cake.

The card was heartfelt and thoughtful...

 with some money to go shopping!

I also got some new running shoes!  Thank you to my sweet husband and thoughtful kids!

Our Cross-Country Runner

This year our second son is competing on the cross-country team.

He has had two meets so far this year.  The first one was his first time racing a mile and a half. 

He got a side-ache part way through which slowed him down a little...

 but he was still able to finish strong.

 Last week he had his second race and he ran really well, cutting 2 minutes off his previous best time.

 He ran a smart race, starting conservatively, and then moving up the whole race.

It was a sprint finish!  It has been fun to cheer for him and to watch him improve.

My New Sister-In-Law

Meet my new sister-in-law:

Trúc

She and my brother were married recently and we are just so excited that she is part of our family.

They are a beautiful couple!

They love each other so much.

Congratulations Nathan and Trúc!

The Blessing of Work

We have been so blessed.

This summer our boys have been very busy...they have had so many opportunities to work.  They have spent their summer working hard on several projects.  To name a few:  lawn mowing, catering, pulling out carpet, weeding, yard clean-up, garden-tending, and pet-tending.  They have been able to pay for all their summer activities, all their school clothes, all their back-to-school needs.  This has been a huge blessing for them and for us.  They have learned how to work and have been able to understand the value of work.  They are careful how they spend their hard-earned money.  Money is tight for us and having them be able to pay for their needs has really helped us as well.  Shooting gear is also very expensive and they have both earned enough to pay for their own new shooting clothing for this coming year.    I am grateful that they have been given so many opportunities to work, it has been such a blessing for our family.

Labor Day

This year we had our traditional camping trip with our family on Labor Day.

 However, it was a little different than previous years because..

 we camped in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard!

 We had a tasty dinner...

 and played a game of dodge ball in the dark.  Aunt Cristi is a good shot!

 The evening was cool and there weren't any skeeters...

 Some families set up tents,

 but we laid out some tarps and slept peacefully under the stars until it started to drizzle.  We quickly moved all the kids into the basement and then, of course, the rain stopped.

 Aunt Julie did a few hair-dos the next morning and we enjoyed a tasty breakfast.

 Then we headed up the canyon and spent the day on Grandpa's four-wheelers.

 What fun!

 The hardest part was waiting for our turn...

 but Grandpa told us some fun stories to pass the time.

 Everyone got a turn to ride up to the top of the mountains.

 The view was magnificent.

 The company was even better!

It was a great weekend for all.

FHE at the Range

The days are getting shorter.

 The leaves are turning and fall will soon be here!

 We decided we better get in one more family night at the range before we run out of time.

 We brought up the grill and had a delicious bbq

 with our good friends.

 We got in a little high power practice too.

 Not bad!

 Dad scouted for some deer since we hope to find some here in October.  They saw a few bucks!

We sure enjoy these cool evenings at the outdoor range!