Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day dad! It is so fun to look back at all of the things we did as a family! I am sure I loved each and every minute of each event, but these memories are even more important to me now that I have my own family. Now I really know how hard it is to get everyone to go camping - and to pack for them and feed them! It seems like the things I just really took for granted in my childhood are some of my most precious memories now! I love you so much! Thank you for being such a wonderful father to me, and for helping me set the bar high for family time!

Gramps trying to make his fish look bigger than mine! Dad took us out fishing and is now the man behind the camera!

Out for a ride in beautiful Wyo!

Start of Summer!

Summer is here!! Better yet, school's out for summer. . .

Coop and Sid hangin' out between photo shoots.

On our way to visit grandma Gayle - Wyoming sure is far away!

New Puppy!

Wade brought home a new little surprise the other day. It's an adorable little Welsh Corgi. After being in our home for just 5 minutes she felt comfortable enough to take a poo right on my shoe. Bruce is thrilled with the new addition, who now gets all of the attention.

Deer Hunting and Halloween

Wade did get a deer tag this year and was fortunate enough to fill it. We have already enjoyed some yummy steaks and are thankful for his efforts to feed his family. On the other hand, I could not let this particuliar method of bringing home the big game go un-noted. I was just sure that he hit this deer with his truck, but I did indeed find a bullet hole and the meat was edible. I still do not know how he rolled it up into such a nice and tidy ball to 'bungy' onto the 4-wheeler. The man's got skills.

We were in Dumont, CA at the sand dunes for Halloween so we carved pumpkins and went trick-or-treating out there. The kids had a blast - like always!

Summer Fun!

We did a lot of really fun things this summer! We used each day to the fullest!

We made smores' with all of the Hughes cousins.

We played in the rain with our friends.

Sidney had many, many baths in the sink.Sid also learned to love ice cream!

Time in Wyoming!

The kids and I spent about a week in Wyoming this year. We had planned to stay longer, but what can I say?!?!? I was worn out!

Almost ALL of the DeWitt grandkids - we are missing T's adorable little one - I think he was taking a nap? Maybe we lost him for a minute? Things tend to get a little western when all the grandkids are visiting at the same time! But OH, the stories we could tell!!

Grandpa was sure to take us fishing several times.

We visited the mules and cats at least once everyday.

We went to watch the fireworks.

The kids had a frog they thought was pretty cute. Sid wasn't as sure, but she really wanted to check it out.

Summer Boating!

We also decided to buy a boat this summer - we call it my graduation present, since I am FINALLY done with school! After counting it up, we realized I have gone to college full time for 10 years. WOW - I DO deserve a boat! We have had a blast with it so far!

Bear Lake!

We went to Bear Lake over the summer (the end of August) and had a great time! The water seemed a little cool to me in, but the weather was as beautiful as we could ask for. The kids sure didn't mind the water temperature! We stayed in a little house on the water. It was like we had our own private little beach!

Alaska!

We both had a great time in Alaska! We flew into Anchorage where some friends then picked us up and took us to their house in Kenai. They were gracious hosts the entire time and we will forever be thankful that they opened their hearts and their homes to us!

Homer is where we went Halibut fishing. What a day! We were on the water about 7:00 and after a 45 minute ride out into the ocean we dropped anchor and just started catching fish. The limit is 2 per person and we had 7 people on the boat - we were after 14 halibut! The first two fish were caught after about 2 minutes, by Abigail (age 10) who set a new boat record for catching two halibut at the same time. Both hooks on her pole had a fish on - way to go Abigail!

The only downfall of the whole trip was that Wade caught a Manta Ray. Oh Wade! Really Wade and I thought it was pretty cool, but it is a lot of work for nothing. We saw a ton of otters - litterally - okay well at least a lot of otters. They float on their backs with a rock on their tummy, then they get clams and crack them against the rock on their stomachs. They are actually pretty cool little animals.

This is the type of equipment they have to put boats in and out of the ocean. The tide changes so much that it makes it difficult to just do it yourself.

This is one of four active volcanoes in Alaska. We stopped at a lookout on the way back from Halibut fishing and admired the scenery!

This is a Bald Eagle flying. We saw a lot of Eagles. In fact, before this one took flight, we counted nine of them together in the field below this.

This rock is out in the ocean and would actually be black if it weren't for all of the bird poop! There are many species of birds that come to this rock island to nest.

Can you spot the Mountain Sheep? Wade could!

This is the river where we went King Salmon fishing. This photograph was taken about 10:00 p.m. In the summer it never gets dark in Alaska - it makes it hard to go to bed!

Brian, one of our friends, had his friend take us out fishing. What an awesome trip! Brian caught a King right off and we were super pumped - However, we had to let it go because it was a native King and you can only keep them on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. It was Friday. We didn't catch any other Kings, but had light action on a few small fish. There was a light drizzle of rain throughout the night, but what an awesome trip! A shout our to our Super-Awesome guide - Tim, he worked his butt off for us, all the while cracking jokes and staying very positive - he never gave up hope on us Nevadans!

Here is a herd of caribou. The scenery was just beautiful all around us at all times!
This is Brian and Wade getting a better look at the caribou.

There is beauty all around!