Ranger XP 900-Oooo

Introducing our latest and greatest 4wheeler: Polaris Ranger XP 900! It's a bench seat in the front which seats 3. It fits Dallen's car seat perfectly and has really nice accessories- a roof, a full glass windshield, more comfortable seating and doors, and most importantly, it's more powerful. We love the orange! Travis got it street legal and found a box for the bed to fit all of our gear. The only down side is that there isn't much room for Lily with all of us riding together. She doesn't fit well in the bed with the box and gets too hot back there without a roof. So I let her sit with me sometimes and we all just squish. There have been a few times the Ranger Crew, 6 seater, would've been nice to take friends but this one maneuvers much better and fits in more places than the Crew. I absolutely love having a Ranger and am so glad we decided to buy one now and not wait until the possible Crew 900 came out.

SFW Banquet with the Starleys

Nick and Travis took the weekend off for the infamous Beaver County Sportsman for Fish and Wildlife Banquet. And it happened to be a winter wonderland that weekend as well. So we took the kids out and went sledding, built a snowman, and ate some snow. Nick, Mindy and Cael also enjoyed skiing at Eagle Point Resort up Beaver Canyon. Jay and Tamara and Nick's cousin and family also came to town for the big event. So we got a sitter and headed over to the Elementary school's gym. 

At the banquet you purchase tickets to get in and for the dinner and then you can purchase raffle tickets to put in for dozens of prizes. There's also an auction for other prizes including guns, bows, specialty hunts, and other gear. Last year Travis won the auction for a pair of hiking boots that he loves that ended up being $100 cheaper then what retail would've cost. This year Nick had his eye on a bow in one of the raffles. Well they started the evening auctioning off a large cowboy buckle. I immediately tuned out the auctioneer since I of course was not interested in a cowboy buckle. While he was rambling on, I spotted my friend Shawna across the room and raised my hand to wave to her and say hi. Next thing I know the auctioneer is pointing at me saying 'we have $80 right here right here...' And then he stops. He looks at me and reprimands me for waving during an auction because I'm telling him, no no, I don't want it! My face must've been beet red! It was THE most embarrassing moment, but a laughable one as well. Thankfully I didn't end up with a cowboy buckle. 

Later in the long long evening, as they were drawing the name for the bow, we all were startled to hear Nick's name called! We cheered and were just so excited to have someone in our group win a big prize. :) Travis and I ended up winning a few small things and just enjoyed the evening out with friends. 

Moab with only 3 and Lily

Travis and I love Moab; we love that there is such a variety of outdoorsy things to do. This year we decided to keep our trip low key and just camp out the 3 of us and Lil. We went the first weekend in March so it was still pretty cold at night. So we altered our normal sleeping arrangements from me and Travis sharing a double sleeping bag to me and Dallen sharing the double sleeping bag. Travis used the cot and his new single bag while Lily ended up cuddling up between my legs halfway through the night. Besides the cold nights, the trip was perfect. The weather was wonderful for hiking and I even got a little sunburn the 2nd day! Can't go to Moab without getting sun burnt.

The first day we did a 4+ mile hike at Fisher Towers. It's 20 miles up the Colorado River, pretty far from the usual activities we do closer to town. It was nice and quite and just beautiful. Dallen hiked a whole mile through snow and mud and of course took a few breaks to play in the sand. He's such a strong hiker and insists on doing it all on his own, litter stinker. But after a mile he was pretty pooped and took a little snooze in the pack. I think this hike is one of my Moab favorites.

The next day we chose another hike neither of us had done before. It was actually on a 4x4 trail. Travis had high hopes that a Jeep would come by, but no luck. So we hiked the steep Moab Rim Trail to the amazing view of the town of Moab, Arches, and La Sal Mountains. It was a 1 mile 800ft climb up 'slickrock' that Dallen again insisted doing on his own. I was on the border of having an anxiety attack most of the time since there were a lot of steep drop offs that he of course had to wander on over to and check out. He again was a really strong hiker and probably out hiked Lily! She was having a really hard time getting up the steep rock, dragging that belly of hers with her back legs. Plus it was pretty hot and she was panting hard. Dallen ended up in the pack again after about a mile and took a nap. After he woke up we took a nice long break at the overlook and then headed back down. He hiked the whole mile down the steep rock and did a great job keeping himself from going too fast down the trail. It was such a different type of hike watching him and helping him that we both just thoroughly enjoyed our time together.

The last day we went to Hole 'N the Rock mini zoo. Dallen loves animals and this was the first time we've ever taken him to a zoo. It was so fun seeing him walk right up to the animals and hold out his hand trying to feed them like we do at home with the horse behind our house. It was a perfect ending to our little trip. 

Valentine's Sickies

Right before Valentine's Day, Dallen came down with a nasty cold and fever. My parents also took Emily to the MTC in Provo that same week and decided to come down afterwards for a little visit. So of course I got sick the day they came and was sick while Mom was here visiting for a long weekend. Travis and I had planned to go on a date without Dallen while Mom tended but decided it wasn't worth it since I was so congested and exhausted. So we had a Valentine's weekend at home while my Mom helped take care of Dallen and I. It was still a nice visit with her here and she was happy to have Dallen finally warm up to her and want to play with her. Whenever we visit Gpa Joe and Gma Jeanette there are always so many people that he just never warms up to anyone. So that was Mom's goal, to become buddies with Dallen. He got better half way through the weekend so Mom's trip wasn't in vain. It was a nice break to the mundane winter routine as well. Hopefully next time they come we'll be able to enjoy the outdoors more and have some fun!

Heeb Family Professional Photo Shoot

I LOVE how this family photo turned out! December 2012 at the cabin in Frisco right after Christmas. The photographer took a few extra good ones I wanted to post as well. The grandkids one is a favorite...even if it's my kid that's screaming.

January Cabin Fever

January has been FREEZING! Below zero temperatures and constant snow on the ground. We weren't prepared for this. Last winter was pretty mild so this was quite the shock. We all are and were getting cabin fever between the cold weather keeping us in and each of us taking a turn with a nasty little cold. It took me forever to get all of the Christmas decorations put away since the lights were frozen to the gutters and the cords buried under snow. Any chance we got though we'd take Dallen outside and play in the snow or puddles. 

One weekend we decided to head up North to just get away. Well, it was just as cold there with a horrible smog called inversion so we definitely didn't get away from the weather, but it was nice to get out to eat and visit with friends and just shop around. We even took Dallen to the Aquarium but he only lasted an hour. He wasn't feeling very well since he had a cold so we'll have to try that one again in the future.

At the end of the month we headed down south to St. George, this time to nicer weather. We decided to go hiking in Snow Canyon and ended up doing 3 different trails for a total of about 5 miles. Dallen even hiked 1 mile himself! We started on sandstone and these windy single track trails that he really seemed to like. It was so fulfilling to see him enjoying the hike as well. What a strong little guy! We ended the day visiting with the Phillips in their new house. It was great catching up with them since it'd been such a long time.

Hopefully February shapes up to be a little nicer or it'll be more books and play dates for us!