On ToP oF TiMp!!

Yesterday we ventured out with a mission to hike TiMp! We made it, and what a GoRGeOuS hike it is!! Out of the 15 or so people we invited... Jory was the only one with the Cahonays to come up with us! He was SuCh a trooper! It ended up to be just as much fun though. I must say I dont think there is any other place I'd rather be than up in the mountains, away from everything, enjoying this beautiful land God created.

Although it took us 9 hours to complete this hike round-trip, I'm kinda mad at myself for feeling like I rushed it. I had it in my head that i didnt want it to take all of my day, when I should have been thinking it a blessing to have it take all my day.

We reached the trail, to start at 6:15 am...

There were several waterfalls along the way. One thing I love about this hike is it changes so much. One minute youre walking through waterfalls, to some rocky terrain, to meadows..... We found 'The CuBe' (off transformers)! We reached the Saddle, or the summit, where we found some new friends! They were just hangin out around the crowd of people at the top. Less than 12 yards away. I reached the top and one had taken off so fast past me down the mountain, I honestly was scared that they might charge. but they seemed to think all the people around was no big deal.

If you'll notice the little white sparkly speck in the middle of the picture (above) in the left corner of the green little park, that was my brother Matt out flashing us from a park in provo close to his house with a 1'x4' mirror. It was pretty cool to see how far flashing works. My dad (in Lehi) also called shortly after and was flashing us from his house!

On our way towards the very top....

We Made it!! We reached the VERY top at 11 am.And Jor came shortly after.WhAt is ThiS?!?! Someone we know beat us up?!? ;) We forgot our marker, so a pen had to work... We started our hike down, which we hiked along the ridge to go down the other side where the snow is to slide down. We heard its shorter, which I am unsure of.. but it was most definately more fun! ( I have a couple bruises on my bottom to attest to that fun!)Here I am about to slide down! It was pretty scary, and of course I was around gentlemen.. so Ladies first! haha It was SOO funny watching the couple guys before us use garbage bags to slide. Ummm I DO NOT recommend that! Although, HiLaRiOuS at your own expense, not the safest way! They were going so fast they went off the trail.. It reminded me of Chevy Chase in christmas vacation, mixed with funniest home videos sledding crashes!Jory slid down nice and slow.

We finished around 3:00 p.m. I was told from the trail head to the top is 7.6 miles. So along with having to park a mile away from the trail head, and a couple little scenic detours, I'd imagine we hiked a total of around 16.5-17 miles. It was TruLy alot of fun, and though Cody says he can handle that hike about once a year, I would go again in a month.

Thank you Jory for coming with us! We're sorry if we gave you a beating! :) You were such a good sport.. and did an awesome job!

ChOo ChOo TRaiNs

Today we went by Grandma and Grandpa Stakers to pick up the pennies and nickels we left on the train tracks at sunday dinner. The train tracks are right down the back hill from their house, very convenient when you have a boy like West who LoVeS trains! We were there not even five minutes and saw the train coming! West was in awe! Although being ten feet away from it was a little scary. It was a long one! West keeps telling me he wants to go back to Grandma and Grandpas to see the BiG train go. My camera died right after this shot, I was super bummed I wanted to take a couple pictures of Lys and West.. so til next time I guess!

EmBaRRaSSiNg!

CauTioN!!

The Images you are about to see may be disturbing, especially to oRgaNiZeD viewers. If you have a weak stomach, please just scroll past this post.

I admit it. I am absolutely, ridiculously, guilty of letting my pantry get WaY too un-organized! Okay, SuPeR BAD! I couldn't handle it any more and spent the majority of my morning re-organizing and de-junking!! To those of you who have witnessed this bombshell, I sincerely apologize. Especially to my Mother and Father, who have taught me so differently. One of the things that sold us on our house was our closet space, We have SO much of it, its truly a blessing! but when you are taking up all your useful space for un-useful CRaP... you better (in words of my dear husband and son)'CheCk YoUrSeLf'. Hey, I guess it happens when summer is so busy, everyone just tosses everything.. EvErYwHeRe.

So here is my finished product:

I would still love to get organizers and storage boxes, but for now, I am happy.

In order to clean the pantry, I had to sacrafice my kitchen... to the aNiMaLs.... :)

Im excited to have it organized, I really hope to organize a closet a week til my closets look fantastic. I will admit, I keep my home pretty clean but closets are a trouble area for me. I do hope my children do better than I!

HuNTiNg SeaSoN iS On!

Cody went out hunting this past weekend, it is the start of the bow hunt. His Dad, Josh and he went down to beaver mountain to Elk and Deer hunt. Opening morning started out successful for Cody. He shot a nice buck right off the bat, putting a good fatal shot on it. So they made breakfast and waited for the Deer to expire (or in my terms stop and fall dead). After breakfast they followed the blood trail, to a gut pile. So, someone else noticed the deer and beat them to it. The other hunters claimed that they didnt know it was already shot, shooting at it. But once they shot at it and looked at it they noticed it had already been shot, which Cody finds hard to believe since they saw blood immediately over 60 yards away. They claimed they shot the deer only 10 yards away and it was still, leaning up against the tree.. Go figure?! Being the sweet kind babe that I have, he let the 14 year old kid who shot it take it, being ecstatic about feeling like he shot it. But he was able to get a few pictures with it (im beginning to think he gave it away on purpose so he could continue his hunt for one).

This morning Cody and Ryan went out on a spur of the moment hunt up AF canyon. No such luck today... Just a few good shots with the camera. And maybe some potential future spots.

In other GReaT news.. Cody finished his friend Pauls bow! YaY!! I know its a huge weight off his back and is relieved to be done. It turned out great. I'm proud of his bow making skills. When the economy goes to crap, you all can call on cody to help you out in your hunting capabilities!