Family Picnic & Hike

Wow, I'm super behind with all that's been going on in our family.  But here's a start.  :P

The day before Independence Day, we spent the day with my side of the family again.  We ate lunch and went for a hike.  Lot's of fun.  :)  Here's a ton of photos from the day:

My nieces, Zoe and Kristine.

Aubrey being a little too dramatic for the camera.

My lovely mother, Judy. 

Me 'n Rigdon.  :)

My brother's Lab, Cola.

THE HIKE:

It was a really hot day, so the kids cooled off in the creek.

Me and our kids (Jed was working.)

My sister, Penni, and her daughters.

 On the way back to the trailhead, we stopped back at the creek to cool off again.

Rigdon stayed out this time,

while Ronin tried to start a water fight.

My First Time and I Survived!

Today I got to try something completely new.  Mountain biking!

I've wanted to try this for years now but just hadn't.  

Today changed all of that and I was pretty excited.

It certainly helps that this during this past year I have become friends with Julie who is totally into mountain biking. (We met through our husbands, her husband is also currently serving a military deployment in Iraq with Jed.)
Julie was just the push I needed.   She also brought her son along for the ride too.

Since Julie had biked this area before, I had no problem letting her to choose which path to take. 

Although I must say, when she mentioned doing the "911" ride, I wasn't so sure a path with such an ominous name would match well with a novice.  We ended up choosing an easier ride - whew!  (Actually, I would have happily done it, I like challenges.  I'm just not sure I would have finished in one piece.  Which I was ok with.)

We're off!

It didn't take long to realize a few things:

#1. I am WAY out of shape for something like this!  It was kicking my butt within the first 4 minutes.  No amount of Zumba could have prepared me for this.  (I think I've found my new, exciting exercise challenge for the summer.)

#2. I am so glad Julie brought her son, so I wouldn't be the only one saying, "Hey, can we walk up this hill instead of pedal it?"  or  "I need to take a quick break!"

Feeling the burn!



I knew Julie was in better shape than I because she competes in marathons and triathlons.  Still, she amazed me.  Here she is, pedalling up those steep hills like it was an absolute breeze.

I told her she is my "Go-For-It-Girl." She'll get out and try anything she thinks would be fun or challenging (including motorcycle lessons!)  Gotta admire a girl like that.

Photo op during one of our many short breaks.

Perfect day for mountain biking - 65 degrees, overcast, and a breeze to cool you off.

Along our way, we came across the 911 trail and so Julie and I decided to try a portion of it out.  Wow!  This trail lives up to it's name, and I only tried about 2 minutes of it. (Julie says it's gets worse the further you go.)  Sooo fun!  It wet my appetite, but I'm not ready for it yet.  I am definitely going to need to hone my skills to do well on that one.

 

My new goal:  Be able to complete the 911 trail by the end of summer without actually needing to call 911.

Our way down the trail was fast and furious through a lot of thick trees, sudden turns, blind corners, steep edges, and tiny, 12 inch wide bridges to pass over.  I almost biffed it a few times.  Which leads me to learning a few more important things:

1. Having excellent brakes are your friend!  I certainly would have gone over many-a-ledge or crashed down into the creek and rocks had it not been for being able to slow down on steep, rocky slopes with sharp, blind corners at the bottom.

2. Wearing a helmet and gloves are a must!  Julie's son crashed once but came out fine with no abrasions.

One of the easier places of the trail.


Luckily, the bridges got wider the closer we got to the bottom of the hill.

I am happy and also surprised to report that I made it through my first moutain biking experience with no crashes!

To sum this all up in two words: I'm hooked!

We ended our trip with a cherry on top:

Tonight - I am feeling the soreness starting to seep into my thighs and buttocks.  Exactly where I want it.  LOVE IT!

General Conference Weekend

It's General Conference weekend!

General Conference is two days of listening to gospel teachings directly from the highest church leaders/prophets of our church via TV or radio.  You can hear their wonderful messages for yourself here: http://www.lds.org/

It is a tradition with my side of the family to take a long drive to the mountains while listening to General Conference in the car.  During the two hour lunch break, we have a hot dog roast and just enjoy the fall colors and fresh air.

This year we hiked one of my most favorite trails, Mink Creek.

The boys were pretty excited for our little trip.  Mountains and wilderness are a boy's paradise.

 Aubrey was still feeling sick from the surgery and allergies, so she wasn't exactly in the mood for hiking.  She'd rather be in bed sleeping but I had her come anyway.   My mom was with us as well. 

 We decided to make our own campsite by a creek since the area had everything that we needed: dry wood, lots of rocks, and water to put the fire out when we were done.  I gave the kids their assignments: Aubrey - get rocks and build a campfire pit, Connor and Ronin - go find us some wood to burn, Me - take pictures!  Rigdon, your job is to just sit there and look cute, but stay out of the creek, ok?

Rigdon decided he wanted to help out too and just copied what Aubrey was doing.

Now that we had our wood, Connor's trying to break the longer sticks into shorter pieces.

Grandma showing Connor a more effective way.

 Connor's favorite part of a cookout - starting the fire.

Aubrey helping out too. 

Now that we've got enough coals, let's get cooking!

  

The boys found a great spot by the stream to eat their lunch.

Yummy!

It wasn't long after eating, that the creek became irresistible for the boys to stay out of.  Ronin was soon rolling up his pants and jumping in.

Rigdon was next.

Mostly he just preferred throwing rocks in the water.

I thought the kids did a great job building this campfire...Jed would be very proud.

Time for some exploring.

Later, I challenged the boys to climb one of the mountainous hills.  They took off without any hesitation.  This pic is of them making their way back down.

Meanwhile, I found some glittery rocks for Aubrey which made her perk up a little bit.   Soon she was looking for more rocks on her own. 

We had a wonderful time!  Until next year!