Camping in the Uintas!

This was our first weekend to get up camping in the Uintas and, as usual, it did not disappoint.  We camped near the Wolf Creek Summit, at an elevation of about 9600 feet.

Emma had fun practicing with her sling shot.

Somebody got a little tired on our hike.

The bath water is pretty dirty after our camping trips.

 photo courtesy of Abigail

breakfast time

 We did a little fishing at Mill Hollow Lake.

Andy and Ben decided to have a little fun with the mud puddles.  I wonder how many times he'll need to take the car through the car wash?

I think we missed some rain showers by just a few miles.  

 Aww...giving Sarah some love...

Even Sarah enjoyed the view.

More Summer Snapshots

We are taking advantage of every last day of summer.  Emma had soccer camp last week.  It's amazing how much more "into it" she seems this year.  Last year, she pretty much skipped back and forth on the field and, occasionally, tried to kick the ball.  This year, she's all about it, even scoring a few goals.  

Katharine and Emma

July 24th is known as "Pioneer Day" here in Utah.  It is the celebration/holiday to commemorate when Brigham Young and other Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake area when they were forced out of other locations.  They entered the Salt Lake area on July 24, 1847.  Each year, we get together with friends for a BBQ.

Summer Snapshots

We have about 4 weeks left before "it" starts up again.  You know...the "s" word.  Normally, about now, I start getting some new ideas for the upcoming school year but my mind hasn't really even gone there.  I went to Target the other day and the school supplies are out!  I couldn't even look at them and, normally, I love buying new school supplies.  I guess that is a sign of a fantastic summer...

Emma and I had some mommy/daughter time one afternoon.  After a nice lunch, we went to see the movie Inside Out.  Great movie!

The owner of the Pedal Hopper is moving the bike to Detroit, so we wanted to have one last hurrah.

pushing the bike into a parking spot

We've been doing a lot of this...she is getting so close to pedaling on her own.

This girl is a go-getter!

So proud of this girl!!

The first day of soccer camp was a bit rainy, but all of the kids still had smiling faces.

My mom sent a few of my favorite books from when I was little.  Abby loves looking at them.

turning a box into a house...

We had some visitors the other evening.  The baby was very curious while the mom sat and munched on grass for about an hour.

Tetons and Yellowstone Adventures!

We recently got back from our vacation to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.  Sometimes we forget that we have such amazing places just hours from our front door.  Grand Teton N.P. is about 5 hours away and Yellowstone N.P. was another 30 minutes from our campsite.  On some of these photos, the pictures just don't do it justice.

Luckily, we had just enough time to set up camp before a thunderstorm rolled through.

The girls and I hunkered down in the tent until the storm passed.  

Later that evening we ventured out for a walk down to Jackson Lake.

the Grand Teton

It's a good thing we brought along all of our rain gear.  Splashing in the puddles was a huge hit!

There are no breaks in potty training!

The next day, we explored Yellowstone.  Andy and I hadn't been there since we made our big move from Alaska to Utah.

lunch at the car while we waited for the predicted eruption time

We drove the lower half of the park, which took about 6 hours (with stops).  One of our stops was the Midway Geyser which was very cool.  

It was fun to feel the steam on your face as you walked along the trail.

We saw lots of these big boys (and girls).

It wouldn't be camping without s'mores!

Mornings were a bit chilly, until the sun came up and over the trees.

morning frisbee practice

Camping in the Tetons reminds us, a lot, of camping in Alaska.  However, they don't supply bear bins much in Alaska.  There was one of these at each camp site.  

One day, we went for a 4-mile hike.  Emma was a trooper the entire way.

It didn't take long for this guy to move off the trail.

appetizer

another hike down to the lake to watch the sunset

The next day, we drove to Jenny Lake.

Jenny Lake

 next stop:  pizza at Dornan's

This was our view during lunch.

After lunch, we drove into Jackson for the arts festival.

Then we spent a couple of hours enjoying our time at our camp site.

After dinner, on our last night, we walked down to the general store in the campground for ice cream. Yes, Abby ate her whole ice cream cone.

After you finish looking at Emma's very dirty face, take a look at that huge ice cream cone.  That is a small!  

We saw a fox on our walk back to our camp site.

Emma insisted on carrying the empty backpack.

Emma insisted on taking a picture of us taking a selfie...

We had such a great time and just really treasure the memories we are making with the girls.  Our goal is to visit one national park each year.  Next stop????