A long time ago Kari and I counted backpacking as a thing we did. We weren’t great at it nor did we do it a lot, but once we had kids it became an activity left behind. Fast-forward 12 years and we’re back at it! Tory and Tegan are both more than capable of hiking […]
School’s back in session. Everyone resume normal life scheduled.
Second half of our Minnesota trip at my folks place in Battle Lake. Sarah and Freddie were there for most of the time, and Jeff showed up later in the week. The weather was meh, but we still got out to fish, hit Granny’s in BL, and have a fish fry. Here’s the pics:
Grandpa Gary and Grandma Pat both turned 70 this year and that means it was time to party! Tracy, Kari, and Jarrett arranged a weekend at Barn Again in Mondovi – we stayed in the Barn and partied on the patio and in the bar. It was a very fun weekend of too much eating […]
We keep coming back to the Desolation / Gray section of the Green River every year because the permits are easy to get. And it’s also an awesome trip. This year we were joined by The DeFords (Josh, Heather, Serisa, Aliya); The Linehans (Jerr, Hilary, Knute, Finn) Paula and Trey The water was a bit […]
Up until recently the kids were not so keen on mountain biking. It’s understandable really – the bikes made for kids are heavy (especially relative to their weight, geared inefficiently, and have generally lousy components. But the biggest reason is that mountain biking is simply hard in a way that other sports are not. It […]
It’s becoming an annual tradition for us to host Easter, thankfully we love doing it. The weather wasn’t spectacular, but given the forecast Kari was claiming all week (torrential downpour all day) it turned out pretty okay. We weren’t stuck indoors and the kids got to hunt eggs in the back yard. Looking forward to […]
Slideanide is a canyon that our family has done in the past, but we thought it would be a great place to bring some first-timers and some folks that were ready for a step up. The DeFords have been adventuring with us for quite some time but haven’t canyoned much beyond the Leprechauns. It was […]
We ended an epic weekend with a slightly easier canyon, or a mix of two canyons commonly referred to as Epic Blarney. It’s basically a hike up the East fork, and a decent of the West. Joining us were Jarrett and his friends Jeremiah and Scott; Paula and Trey; and Brian Kahn and his son […]
Tory’s good friend Jeremiah’s family has spent most of the winter in the Florida Keys. They us all down for spring break – but it was simply too cost prohibitive for all of us to go. So Tory flew down by himself. I’ll say this – the first time you put a child on a […]
Lot’s of canyoneering this spring. This is the day we descended Monkey Business in North Wash! Along for the ride: Zif, Barb, Lily, & Sarah; Ram;
Final races of the year – two days at Soldier Hollow; Classic on day one, skate racing day two. I’m adding these photos way after the fact so I’m not quite sure what to say. Both kids did very well, raced hard and got their butts kicked a little by the course. Soldier Hollow is […]
It used to happen once in a while – I’d forget to post for a few months here and there. Over the years as the kids get older and it’s harder to keep up and get photos, I’ve dropped off even more. If you take a look at the dates, it’s been over a year […]
Another annual tradition is spending a few days in the Bear River Yurt system with the McKains. This year we spent 3 nights, each in a different location. Day 1 was spent at Lilly Lake; Day 2 at Ridge; Day 3 at East Fork; Yes it’s a lot of travel and pulling heavy gear but […]
So I had to look up how to spell twelfth. I tried twelveth but that’s clearly wrong, indicated by the red dotted line below it. Anywhoo… Tory turned twelve this year and celebrated with friends Jeremiah, Christian, Sophia, and Talon. Kari found a bowling alley and arcade down in Salt Lake and it was a […]
Tegan celebrated her birthday by taking some friends to the Midway Ice Castles on opening night. There were a ton of people there but it sure was neat! She brought Manon, Morgan, and Ella along, and they all slept over after eating ice cream and watching a movie:
Grandma and Grandpa Moe have been spending winters in Arizona for the past few years. They like it very much and while Kari and the kids have made a few trips to see them, I’d never been. Not that my previous absence had anything to do with it, we made plans to spend Christmas with […]
For some reason we rarely get good photos at Halloween. Here’s a few from the night. It being a weekday and all, we had a small-is affair starting at our house. We then strolled the neighborhood trick-or-treating, ending up at Kristen and Pete’s. Spring Creek is becoming a top-notch Halloween neighborhood! Tegan was Granny, a […]
For UEA this year we decided to spend time in North Wash on a Canyoneering adventure. Prepping for the trip we discussed getting the kids to step it up a notch by attempting harder canyons. And having them repel on their own. They weren’t too psyched about that leading up to the trip, but I […]
Even though she’s 8 now Tegan still has cute ways of saying things. She’s getting into cross country skiing this year in a program called Kickers and Gliders. They aren’t learning to skate ski yet, but I’m pretty sure that’s coming!
For the third year in a row we headed up into the Uintas with the Marsh family to pick out (and cut down) a Christmas tree. For the kids it’s a chance to sled and jump and play in the snow, and to be honest, for us adults too. The weather was warm (relatively) and […]
Tory’s class held a ‘Rendezvous’ where all the kids dressed up in ‘mountain’ or Native American attire had a fun day. Including square dancing!
UEA Break is two days off of school for the kids while the teachers attend a convention put on by their union. I think anyway. For us it’s two days off that we’ve traditionally spent in southern Utah canyoneering. This year we got a call from aunt Jenny that she could use some help moving […]
Here’s a gallery of our two woodcutting sessions this year. The first trip up we spent the night, just our family. The next, a few weeks later we simply came up for the day. Check out the new trailer too!
Every summer we try to get out for an overnighter with the kids somewhere. Usually it’s been in the Uintas for one night. Pack it all into a couple of backpacks, and get the kids to hike in. Years ago this was quite a feat, but lately it’s not so tough. They love to hike […]
Yet Another Ruby Horsethief Trip. Being late August, this trip was much mellower than the earlier June Ruby trip. Which was a good thing, except we did it in two nights instead of three. We were nearly forced out of our Blackrocks 7 camp in the middle of the night… Kari woke around midnight to […]
Tory made this video and sent it to me while I was at work. He’s been skating for about a week here, and we’re learning together. I never learned to skate growing up, and he’s already better than me :)
Tegan has a little actress inside of her. Some days it’s a little shy but she really likes it. Especially when Seneca and Serisa are also involved.
Grandma Pat and Grandpa Gary came to visit for a week visit. It’s always so nice when they come, we celebrated Grandma’s birthday, the girls got their toenails done, and generally hung out.
After failing to get on the river at Flaming Gorge earlier this spring, we gave it another go – this time with the Marsh’s. We spent two days on the river, camping just below the Little Hole boat ramp. We arrived the night before and camped at the Canyon Rim campground and secured the site […]
Kari and the kids headed up to the Unitas for a night of car camping with Babbie Tai and Aspen. The next morning Julie and Luke showed up to hike and hang. I wasn’t there but it looks like it was a bunch of fun!
We’ve done the Ruby Horsthief stretch before, and we’ll do it again for sure… It’s an easy class II float that is great for the kids, and our current skill set. This trip was a bit different as we booked it at high flow without really realizing it. This made us a bit nervous about […]
Well, the last day of school has arrived. Here’s the bus stop crew getting on for the last day this school year.
End of the year Field Day is something the kids look forward to. I remember looking forward to it myself when I was a kid. Here’s Tegan’s kindergarten Field Day:
We were pretty excited to get the new boat out for the first time on a float down the Green River below the Flaming Gorge dam. Unfortunately we were rained out instead. Still, we had a nice time camping with friends and commiserating with each other in the rain!
Tegan’s Kindergarten play, Mystery of the Missing Jewel Fish… Tory did the same production when he was in Kindergarten, but I don’t think I documented it…
A spontaneous Mothers Day found us hiking into Diamond Fork hot springs. We took a new route – hiking in from the north. It was a quiet hike with only a few others on trail. The hot springs were busy as usual, but still a very very nice day with the family!
After renting and borrowing rafts the last few years, we decided to plunge in and get our very own. The kids were there as I unboxed and inflated it for the first time. We still need to name her, so if you have any ideas…
We do this one every year, and sometimes twice! North Wash is a great place to take kids canyoneering – easy access and a wide range of difficulty levels. Got most of the kids down East Leprechaun this year and they all loved it! We also went through Blushing Bride canyon for the first time. […]
Kari booked the Lilly Lake yurts for a second trip this winter. Coincided with a visit from Tracy and her boyfriend Matt. The weather was much warmer this time and was a bit harder to get in – the snow had melted from the track in a few places. Very nice trip with great weather. […]
