THE ute stampede

talk to anyone in nephi, and chances are they will tell you that their favorite time of the year is during the ute stampede.

it is a BIG deal here.

we didn't go last year because we were still finalizing all of the details with our house, but believe me, we got a lot of guff for not going.

so, we made it a goal this year to go. plus, neither of us had ever been to a rodeo so we were able to kill two birds with one stone!

the evening began with the horse parade...which max loved. he has an obsession with horses so i don't think he took his eyes off the parade once. except when flying taffy + otter pops came his way. then he was diving into the streets like the rest of the kids.

our ward was in charge of concessions at the rodeo, so danny left the parade a little early to go and sell hamburgers + treats + drinks, etc... after the parade was over, the kids and i walked over to the rodeo grounds. it was crazzzinesss.

around 7:45 we found our seats, and at 8 the rodeo began. i guess i didn't really know what to expect...but i didn't expect to be scared for their lives!!! the "horse bucking" was the first event {p.s. we don't know rodeo terminology fyi...} and i really thought the first guy was dead. i was worried the whole time for them. remind me why that is supposed to be entertaining?!? i still have yet to figure that out...

besides the bucking, the rest of the rodeo was pretty mellow. some cowboys roped baby calves, girls rode around the arena in their sequined rodeo attire {don't get that either...} and the "wild child" jumped over a semi on his motorcycle. we did however, get completely spoiled since our ward was in charge of all the food. we were able to eat as many hamburgers, snow cones, red vine ropes, and drinks as we wanted. {this kind of back-fired later though...}

we thought the rodeo would be over by 9:30...but it was still going strong when we left. max + avery were completely exhausted, so we made the walk home. when i put max down he was acting a little strange but i thought he was just tired.

until i heard him at five a.m. saying "water, water." in a little tired, raspy voice. :( usually when i hear him during the middle of the night, he's asleep again in a few minutes. but this time, i thought i should peek in on him...and when i opened the door it smelled like throw-up. all that rodeo food didn't sit well in his tummy apparently...

we were supposed to leave for capitol reef that morning, but we waited until the late afternoon to make sure he wasn't really sick. luckily, he pulled through and our next adventure began!

pine view reservoir

ok...now i can begin playing catch up for reals! after our camping trip, we came home for one day {to basically water the garden + do laundry!} and then we left again to spend time up in layton/salt lake area. we had a BLAST and we are all so incredibly exhausted it's kind of ridiculous! but before i tell you about all of the fun we had...i realized i never wrote about our adventures at pine view reservoir over the fourth of july weekend: {was that really twenty days ago?!?!}

the day began bright and early with me, danny, avery, missy + aaron. we left max sleeping at danny's parents house and they met up with us around lunch time. aaron + danny wanted to make sure that they had glass to ski on...so we obliged since we are awesome wives :) avery was a champ and didn't make a peep until we got her strapped into her life jacket. she hated that thing. i guess i don't blame her since it was kind of smashing her head...

she also could have been embarrassed by her father...the lake does crazy things to him :)

aaron had some pretty sweet jumps + flips:

but he also had some crazy falls...which made his hair lovely:

and we all had a wonderful time! avery got even more tan {if that is possible!}

and somehow i didn't get any pictures of max but he was there! he was fascinated with all of the boats, birds, water, sand, etc...

thanks mom + dad for letting us take out your boat!

our little gardener

it's been over a week since i last posted and i'm now realizing just how very behind i am!! i have so much to catch up on. last night we got back from a four day camping trip to capitol reef with danny's entire family {pictures to come soon!} so i've got laundry coming out of my ears...but everyone {including danny} is asleep at the moment so i thought i'd start playing catch up.

...

this little guy is in LOVE with the outdoors. our backyard neighbor gave him a little wheelbarrow and he is in heaven every time he pushes it around. the funny thing is, it just kind of came naturally for him. neither danny or i showed him how to work it...but he wheels it around like a pro.

the other day we were out weeding and he grabbed his wheelbarrow and started filling it up with weeds. once it was full, he took it over to the garbage can and said "dump!" then, once danny dumped it for him, he brought it back to our weed patch and said "more!" he has been talking more and more and it is pretty much the cutest thing ever.

he also LOVES to help me water in the mornings. right after breakfast we pull on our crocs and head out the door. i grab the hose + max grabs his watering can; i water the plants...and max waters the dirt. sometimes he still has his clothes on...but usually he sports his diaper proudly :) i wonder what the neighbors think!

we can only hope that this love for gardening + helping in the yard continues into his teenage years...

stewart falls

every time i think of stewart falls, i am reminded of when i was eight years old and i got lost on the trail with my cousins amanda + chris. we thought we were capable children so we ran ahead of the rest of the family and before long, we had no idea where we were. it was a few hours until we made it back to the lodge where we were staying. talk about traumatic.

luckily, when we ventured out for our weekly saturday hiking trip with our family of four, we encountered nothing traumatic. {except sore muscles, and sun burns!}

thank goodness for that!

the hike was a little longer than i remembered, but it was a beautiful day. the trickiest part of the hike was maneuvering the 7-8 fallen logs across the path {try climbing over a fallen tree with a baby strapped to your front! haha} and crossing the random patch of snow but when we finally made it to the falls it was all worth it. it is seriously so gorgeous up there!!

we took some pictures, ate our lunches, and then headed back down. both max + avery fell asleep on the way back. we wore them right out!

we are definitely trying to take full advantage of the beautiful weather. if i had it my way, it would be summertime 365 days of the year!

george family reunion 2011

a few weeks ago was the annual george family reunion in good old rigby, idaho.

not only that, but it was my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary!!!

we didn't know when we would be able to make it up next, so we loaded the children up and made the trek.

danny had training for seminary that weekend, so the kids and i went with my parents and danny came up later that night. my mom is the queen of snacks for road trips...and max ate basically non-stop from provo to rigby. she was worried that he would get bored in the car, but i told her as long as he had food to eat, he would be good! and he was. max ate + played the whole time, and avery slept the entire time!! we didn't have to stop once!

it was nothing short of a miracle.

we first stopped at my grandparent's and enjoyed time with them. max was SO interested in my grandpa's dog, prince, but he was also terribly scared of him. prince followed max everywhere and by the end of the night, they were almost little buddies! that night, we slept at my aunt + uncle's house in rexburg and stayed up way too late eating, laughing, and listening to my brother + cousins make up songs on the guitar.

saturday we met up with one of danny's old mission buddies + his cute family. they took us to this new frozen yogurt place in rexburg, kiwi loco. my how rexburg has changed since i was there! they are moving in a few months to north carolina {so jealous!!} but hopefully we'll follow their lead in a few years :)

that night we had a bbq at my aunt + uncle's in rigby and my uncle lyle made his to-die-for vinegar chicken. i think it gets better every time i try it.

sunday was the main event of the reunion: a delicious family meal and a little celebration for my grandparent's 60th. my grandpa is suffering from parkinson's, but it was so sweet to hear him tell my grandma how much he loves her. they have one rock solid marriage and they are two of the most amazing people i know. i hope danny and i can grow up to be like them!

we are so glad that we were able to go! all but one of the my dad's eight siblings were there, and i got to see some cousins that i haven't seen in years. max and avery were the only great-grandchildren there and they were getting hugs and kisses left and right. max made buddies with just about everyone and avery was loving being held every second :)

aren't families the best?!?

finisher.

happy {be-lated} 4th of july!!!

i'm almost positive that this is officially my favorite holiday of the year.

you can't beat bbq's, fireworks, parades, festivals, and the warm weather.

i realize that basically everyone in blog land has already re-capped their 4th of july holiday, but this year my holiday was a little bit different than years past...

i ran in the freedom run 10k!!!

yes, i just had a baby. no, i didn't train. yes, i'm crazy. and no, i can't walk!

but aside from all that, it was a BLAST. me + four of my closest girlfriends woke up bright and early on the 4th {along with thousands of others!} to run 6.2 miles.

it was insane...i was definitely tempted to "accidentally" get on the 5k route, but i stuck with the 10k. and i did it!!

i am a finisher.

{bloody heels and all!}

pre-race pictures:

{kate, dayna, kim + me...keri hadn't come yet!}

post-race pictures:

right after the race we headed over to our friends to watch the parade. ellie + max made some more quality 4th of july memories {see pics from last year here!} and we had fun just hanging out.

the rest of the day we took it easy. we got sno cones, stopped by at the freedom festival, and went to our family bbq. we enjoyed yummy food, set off multiple rockets, and lit fireworks...until we got rained out. we didn't make it home until late that night, but what a fun day we had!

{ellie + max in the GIANT sand box at the freedom festival. they both loved it!}

{avery + danny at the park. she didn't have anything festive so i jazzed up a little onesie. it turned out a little clown-esqe, but she made it look cute :)}

mmm isn't she scrumptious?? we could just eat her up. she's got some rolls on those legs of hers...which is a new thing for us. max was skin + bones :)

hope all of you had a wonderful 4th of july holiday!

god bless america.