1st CampOut

I have been itching to go camping for so long! We hadn't been since Feb 2010 out at Eagle Valley Reservoir. So in light of the up coming Elk Hunt, we headed out to Cave Lake to go camping with the Starleys. It was perfect weather- not too cold, just a little rain and so nice to be outside all day. I was a little worried about Dallen and the cold weather, but it really wasn't cold at all and we have a tent heater so it wasn't bad.



Dallen did great! He loved being outside all day and slept better at night camping then he has yet at home! I still had to get up to feed him so I was pretty tired by the end of the day without a nap, so time around the camp fire was minimal. But besides that, we had lots of fun. The trip went by way too fast- the guys went out in the morning to scout and then we rode the 4wheelers in the afternoon. Cael fished as often as he could and caught a couple too.





The big story of the trip was with Lily though. We decided to go riding without her one afternoon. So we just left her at camp, not tied up, and thought she wouldn't wander because she didn't know where we went or where to go looking. Well, we come back after about 4 hours and she was no where to be found. I was freaking out! I was hoping someone picked her up and saw her tags and called me. So I checked my phone and there was a message from a local number. It was the park ranger saying they had picked her up and the message was from 2 hours earlier! Thank goodness! So we go down to the station and it's all locked up. I can hear her inside and again was freaking out that she'd have to stay in there all night. :( Thankfully the ranger pulled up and said he picked her up after chasing her back and forth from the lake. Earlier that day I had taken her down to the Lake so she knew how to get there and back to camp. She rode around with him most of the afternoon and he had just recently locked her up in the bathroom in the station. I was sooo grateful! He was worried she was going to get hit by a car on the main road. Ugh! I would've died! So yeah, we learned our lesson. Don't leave Lily behind. She knows she's part of the family and will try and find us. Oh Lil...!

Anyways, it was a great trip and sooo nice to finally camp!

Dallen at 3 months

Here's a random sampling of Dallen at 3 months+. He's so much fun! He can completely hold his head up now, is working on his core muscles and definitely wants to sit up, but still working on it. :) Tummy time isn't his favorite, but he has 'accidentally' rolled over or done a half roll a couple times so he's almost there. He loves attention now and isn't as content as he use to be sitting in front of toys. He reaches for everything and is starting to bring everything he touches to his mouth. He smiles all the time and giggles and coos a lot too. He's even ticklish on his neck and above his knees. It is the cutest thing to hear him talk and laugh. We love spending time with him and cheering him on in his little achievements. :) He's still a cuddler, well, when he's sleepy and he still naps often. He's up to a 3-3.5 hr feeding schedule (thank goodness) and maintains that through the night (not my favorite). But after feeding at night, he usually goes right back to sleep, so I can't complain too much. We love him to pieces!

Blanket Cuddler

Talkin and Bouncin away

Fell asleep hangin out with Dad in the garage

And another sleepy pose

pumpkin head!

Lily begging for her share of attention too!

Ridin the Schnauz

Smiler!

Riding Butterscotch with the Phillips

Little Farm Boy

Rhino eyes!

Tummy Time- 'Now how do I do this roll over thing?' :)

A Spikey Buck Hunt

This year's hunt for Travis was the archery buck and spike elk. He's never hunted archery before and was anxious to try out his bow and all his new gear. He hasn't hunted big game for himself since before he started PA school 3 years ago, so he was very excited to get to hunt for 4 whole weeks. I was rooting him on, mostly from home with Dallen, hoping he would fill his first archery tag and our freezer. Dallen, Lily and I did go out about once a week with Travis to 'help' with the hunt. Obviously it wasn't a very serious evening hunt on those days with a bouncin schnauzer and a fussy baby. We still had fun though hiking around and getting out up into the mountains. Travis' Dad and Nick came up for opening weekend while I went to Breckenridge for the family vacation. Nick came back a couple more times to help with the hunt as well, so I got to see Mindy then too. Sadly Travis didn't end up filling his tags although he came pretty close a few times. Once there were too many tree branches in the way; another time he jumped them and didn't have time to pull off a shot; and numerous times they just got spooked. It's a whole new type of hunt trying to get one with a bow and arrow. And although he wasn't successful this season, he's already known around here as a die-hard-hunter.

A few mountain goats-the white specks on the hill

One of the bucks he got close to, walking away from him

Dallen's first hunt!

Breckenridge Cabin Vacation

For our family vacation this year we decided to forgo the usual camping trip and make it a cabin trip to Breckenridge Colorado. We all love camping but decided it would be a lot easier with the little ones to do a cabin trip instead. The cabin was a 4 bedroom 2 story place with tons of beds. One room had a king size bed and 2 bunk beds! So we all crammed in and had a great time. We did one activity each day and then hung out and played games, video games, and just socialized at the cabin. It had a nice hot tub and fire pit that we also enjoyed as well as resident doggies that came around. Lily nor Travis came because it would've cost $150 non-refundable deposit for Lily to come :( and it was the opening weekend of Travis' archery hunt. I missed them both. (p.s. the mark on Jacob's head was from a propane lantern that he burnt himself on the day before the trip)

One of the activities we did was ride the train in Georgetown. We chose to do a train since we hadn't ridden one in a really long time and because it was an activity we could all do together. Grandma and grandpa even met up with us for the ride. The sites were beautiful but we mostly enjoyed watching each other play with the grand babies. :) I couldn't pass up getting a picture of grandpa taking a picture of the choo choo- one of his favorite past times.

The next day we went up to the ski resort and did a few activities up there. The older group took turns watching the babies while we rode the alpine slide and coaster. I did the coaster and probably loved it more than I usually would since I'm now a limited mommy. I definitely miss riding roller coasters etc. So the younger girls decided to do a bungee trampoline bounce and Sophie and Jacob rode the ponies. Well, Jacob wasn't too excited about that so Joy got to take his turn. :) Everyone had a great time and Dallen did great once again on another gondola ride.

The last day we spent on Main street and took family pictures and went shopping. It was quite the task trying to get a good picture of all the grand babies-ha! The shops were super cute but not exactly all that stroller friendly with lots of steps to get in. Never would've noticed that before. :) It was a great trip and well worth the 8.5 hr drive.

Snowbird CME

This year for Travis' CME Conference we went to Snowbird Resort in Utah. I'd never been to a ski resort in the summer and it was so fun seeing all the fun activities they have and the beautiful views from 11,000ft. It was Dallen's first gondola and chair lift ride and swim in the heated pool. Dallen and I hung out during the day while daddy was in class and then we did the only activity the 3 of us could do, riding the chair lift and hiking at the top of the mountain. It was so relaxing getting away from my 'to do' list and just spending time with Dallen playing, rather than just taking care of him. It's so fun watching him grown and showing him so many fun new things. :)