HIKING MOUNT NEBO

My hiking buddy, A, and I set a goal to hike Mt. Nebo again. We did it about 7 years ago and were in really great shape then. It was a REALLY HARD HIKE. This year, I was NOT in great shape and probably weigh 20 pounds (or more, ahem) than I did then.

At the start. Bright, shiny, happy faces.

We knew before we even got there that we wouldn't make it all the way to the top, but we wanted do to do what we could. We waited a little too long into the fall and it had snowed up there. Needless to say it was VERY MUDDY!

A snapchat on the way up, showing our altitude.

It was a beautiful day, and despite the mud, we had a great time and loved the hike! Plus, it was great to reach our goal.

Our goal: The Saddle- 10,680 ft.

GORDON FAMILY REUNIONS ROCK!

My husband's family really does put on a great reunion. We have such a blast even though we do almost the same thing every year. It just never gets old.

BREAKFAST IN THE MOUNTAINS:

Princess P holds her new cousin! Aren't they pretty in pink??

When your mom gives you a tattoo...

Awesome A, Sister S and Elder D wait patiently for their breakfast.

We sure do love cousin time!

The guys gotta mountain bike down!

RED NECK SLIP-N-SLIDE:

One of the all time favorite traditions of the reunion.

Then, because going down on your bum gets boring, we have to go down standing up.

Sister S helps Little W.

Me with my cute boys!

Princess P, Miss G and Miss J- the Middle School girls.

LEFT FORK OF THE HUNTINGTON

We sure don't have much water in the state of Utah this year. It has been very sad for our river running habit. Nothing is flowing, so when my husband saw that there was a bit of water in the Huntington River, he wanted to run what he could of it.

Big C on Huntington Creek

Princess P and I went up the canyon with him and hiked. It was interesting to see the devastation caused by a forest fire there a few years ago. The campground is even closed to overnight campers and the slopes of the mountains are bare, so you can see all the pretty little waterfalls. It was very interesting. Plus, now there are log jams so huge it's caused the hiking trail to be rerouted. Mother Nature sure can be destructive when she wants to.

Me with Princess P, hiking along the river.

There was a lot of logs over the river, so Big C had to portage a few times.

TRAIL GROOMERS UNITE

I'm not sure how your family is about wanting to go work on their time off, but it's not a very popular choice around our house. Big C is helping his brother with the Scandinavian Days Vike on a Bike race this Saturday and felt like the course needed some maintenance. The kids were not excited about it AT ALL, but went anyway...

The happy workers!

A beautiful Sanpete scene. I think I might just have to paint this...

Working the trail. Many hands make light work.

Successful end of the job. We ended up having fun together and found it wasn't bad at all.

YSA SNOW DAY

Big C took his ward up Fairview Canyon yesterday to play in the snow. It was kind of a small turn out, but I think everyone had a good time. My kids sure did. 

C Man driving Princess P.

I brought the kids up too and we snowmobiled, ate hamburgers and hot dogs, took the college kids tubing and just enjoyed a lovely, sunny day on the mountain.

Some of the YSA kids.

DON'T LET THE SNOWMOBILE DRIVE YOU

We went up on the mountain today to play in the snow, but it wasn't very cooperative. I took C Man out to do some skiing in the trees (where there would hopefully be some powder), but it was bullet hard. Quote from C Man: "Mom, I didn't even leave any tracks." So that venture was short-lived. We ended up back at the truck and the rest of the snowmobiles and decided to go for a ride.

C Man, Big C, Princess P on top of Skyline Drive.

Bullet hard snow is good for one thing- snowmobiling. Especially if you aren't very good at it -- like me. I really struggle with getting the machine to do what I want it to and not the other way around. I have wrecked and fallen off the things and gotten stuck more times than I can count. It's true- I suck at driving snowmobiles.

C Man, Princess P and ME! On top the world- the view is amazing from up here!

So, back to the bullet hard snow... It's great for me because then I don't get the machine stuck at least. I'm still a chicken about trying to climb super steep hills, but I actually did okay. I only fell off once and I only told Big C I hated him once. Overall, not too bad (in retrospect). I did learn not to follow my husband everywhere he leads. My skills are just not up to it, but I made it back in one piece and lived to tell about it.

Elder D with friends and his uncle up Fairview too.

WINTER SPORTS

Winter in Utah lasts a L O N G time. You've got to have something to do to get out of the house! I don't know what I would do if I didn't get out regularly, probably develop depression. Being outside in the winter helps SO much!

C Man, SIL J, Elder D getting ready to shred 'Walkers' in Fairview Canyon.

My cute niece is learning to snowboard and do great! What a cutie!

KNOTTY BEAR CABIN FOR NEW YEARS

Big C got online one morning a few weeks ago and reserved a cabin at Eagle Point for us for New Year's! It is kind of out of character for him, so I was very proud of him. (He's not one to vacation much and he's definitely opposed to spending money- at all).  We invited all of his family and most of them came. We crammed in and had a great few days together. It was such a fun way to end our Christmas Break.

Big C and our B and SIL.

We got there New Year's Day and spent the first two day skiing at Eagle Point. The snow was great and it wasn't too cold. 

Me and Big C getting ready to go ski.

My boys! C Man, Elder D, Awesome A and Big C.

The girl cousins, skiing! Miss G, Miss A and Princess P.

Lots of the family!

Hot tubbing was a huge hit!

The beautiful cabin we stayed in- Knotty Bear Cabin.

AUTUMN LEAVES FOR FHE

'Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is a flower.'

I sure do love fall! The colors are amazing and it is such a wonderful relief to have cooler weather after the burning summer. It does mean going back to school, but I'll take it if we can have gorgeous turning leaves to ease the pain.

The cousins on the hike with he beautiful trees.

We took advantage of combined Family Night tonight to go up and see them. We hiked up to the Ephraim Tunnel out Left Hand Fork and it was such a wonderful night to do so!

Princess P and Cousin G on the hike.

Cousin L and C Man at the top where there is a tiny waterfall (that I never took a photo of for some reason...).

Princess P and Me!

COLORFUL COLORADO

We had another invite to my BIL's cabin by Dolores, Colorado again this year for Labor Day. We had such a great time last year and the older kids were thrilled to be able to go this time.

Colorado scenery is the best! This is a hike we went on and it was gorgeous!

We hiked to Geyser Springs and it was a little stinky, but beautiful!

One night the kids gathered around the kitchen table and read Sister S's books in different accents. It was hilarious!

At bedtime, the boys would gather round the computer and watch The Walking Dead and the girls would go read.

Big C went fishing again this year and let Princess P catch the fish this year.  

We went to church in Cortez again and some of the kids forgot clothing items...

The cousins in the beautiful valley.

We went to Telluride again and the boys biked up to Bridal Veil Falls again.

What a view! Is it redundant to say how beautiful this country is again? Too bad. I said it.

Art gallery on Main Street. They even had a radioactive cat from one of the photos I talk about in my classes!

Sister S with her favorite bumper sticker. hehe.

The boys ready to bomb down the trails at Telluride ski resort.

The free gondolas are so nice! I love to ride in them and see the scenery and they haul the boys and their bikes to the top.

Main Street Telluride. This place is definitely a family favorite!