We arrived at our East Fork camp on Wednesday, July 16. Yes, this post is long overdue. I only got out my camera on Sunday, when we went into town for church, so I missed taking shots of most of Ali's family, Timmy's closest cousins.
After church, we went to the park in Tropic and had a picnic lunch. The boys, after changing out of their church clothes, had a fun time playing.
Spencer at the park
Spencer Flying. Even though he rocked with all of his 2 pounds, he never made the spring budge. ha ha.
Our boys love to swing. When we visit Great Grandma and Grandpa, the make a beeline for the
swing set and it takes much effort to get them to come inside and say hello.
Timmy, Skyler, Hunter and Eliza playing on the twirly thing. These are the cousins closest to Tim's age. Luckily, no one threw up.
the whole time Tim swings, he chants, "
Underdoggie,
Underdoggie!" the chants are loudest immediately after we run under him.
Me and Spencer, posing. Notice the camping hair: I wouldn't be seen in my regular congregation with such a hairstyle. Yikes!
this picture reminded me of the
verizon ads that show "How many bars" Well, in this tiny town there were less than 3 bars, but in camp we had zero! I was so happy. Troy gets business calls on every vacation we go on. Except this one! He does ride out to a spot where he can get some reception to check his messages. He usually doesn't call back, unless it's an emergency.
It took a little
convincing to get all 3 of them to sit at the top of the slide long enough to snap a picture.
3/4 of our family's favorite place to be. Guess who the minority 1/4 is?
On the way to church we drove through some grazing areas. There were cows galore. Spencer was fascinated, and learned to "moo." It sounds more like "
Booooo." But it is still cute. We didn't have to look out the window to know when there was another cow, we just a heard a chorus of Moos and Boos.
Every hill had this many cows. the Moo and Boo song didn't stop until they fell asleep
Most of the cows were "nursing" if that's what you call it. I don't think I had ever seen a baby drinking its mother's milk before this trip. It was a learning session for all of us. Just ask Hunter what
he learned about fighting cows...
Timmy thinks this picture is hilarious. Every time he sees it he says, "That cow is sticking out his tongue at me."
The calves were very unpredictable and
skitterish. The would start out in front of the car (Or rhino, or motorcycle) without any notice. It was scary.
Spencer liked helping to "fix" the bikes any chance he found. However, I had to check and make sure no screwdrivers were between the spokes before I started riding.
The
rebar was easy to find- we brought it from home.
This was the "Fort" it was a huge pine tree with low branches that hid the kids from our sight, but had a fun play area tucked away underneath. They lined the entrance and walkway with large stones, and tried to keep the girls out, but with parental persuasion, the girls were allowed.
This is what it looked like from the inside of the fort. Tim and Pepper liked digging in the dirt.
This was home sweet home while we were camping.
This was the campsite. It was much more beautiful than my
birthday camping trip.
Luckily, all my spokes survived the trip.
Sometimes, I wonder if we spend more time fixing motorcycles than riding motorcycles...
Timmy and Troy all decked out in helmets and pads and ready to ride.
Off they go (on Mom's bike!)
I never cease to be impressed with pioneer women who lived in a constant state of "Camp." I may be smiling, but I am filthy. It takes a few days being home before the dirt disappears from the cracks in my dried hands and under my nails.
This tricycle has seen more miles than most 2 year-
olds' bikes see in a lifetime.
We went for a walk with just the 4 of us. The boys took turns on the bike.
Timmy and I are racing. Pepper was the winner. She ran circles around us, and probably walked 3 times the distance.
The skies were beautiful. They seemed so clear and blue. I wish I could capture that in a bottle and store it to be opened mid January, when the weather here is so gray and bleak and depressing. It lifts the spirit.
Spencer's feet don't even reach the ground or the pedals. This is how big Timmy was when we bought the trike.
Now there is no passenger on the tricycle.
Timmy's tongue.
Me pretending I'm not dirty.
Spencer wanted to pick up every rock on the dirt road. It was a long, slow, very enjoyable walk.
Tim loves to "stop and take a break" under every tree we pass. He does the same thing when we go on walks through the neighborhood.
This was a pretty standard view from the back of the Rhino. The rocking motion put them to sleep every time. The bumps made their heads loll to the same side, too so they were always drooping the same direction.
Thank you for sharing your new toy with us, Grandpa! We all loved it!
You can see Troy in the front seat. He always drove. It makes me nervous.
This was a rainy day. Even the cloudy days were beautiful.
Sometimes words can't describe...
Troy standing at the top of the world. You can't see how high he is, but it is a long way down
Can you find the deer?
This is Tim's cousin, Avry. They are all sucking on their camelbak water packs.
Here are all the bikes leaving camp. There were a total of 19 bikes in camp this trip.
We had 6 families there. Mine was not one of them this year. I was sad that they decided not to join us. They were busy planning a wedding and doing other camps, conferences, and vacations.
Bradley, Skyler and Aaron loading up.
Me and my lover posing in front of an "East Fork" sign.
I then sat on the sign and Timmy wanted to stand in.
We didn't dare disturb the sleeping baby. Can you see how dirty his face is. That is what happens when water drips from the Camelbak hose, and dust from the Rhino mixes with that water.
We would stop periodically to stretch our legs and visit. Especially the kids need a break.
One tradition they like to uphold is to ride into "Hatch." It is a timy town 10 miles from camp. We stop at the small church there and eat lunch and play at the small playground.
I found these 3 longhorns while we were coming home from Hatch.
This was also the ride where we found the weird lava rocks. They all climbed it. I didn't.
This was a potty stop that became a fairly long break.
Grandma always has a snack in her pack to share. How fresh the snack is, that is to be determined....
Grandpa is flexing his big biceps.
Ali found a frog at the lake. She was hoping if she kissed him, he would become her prince charming, but he remained a frog.
Cheese!
Spencer did not want to touch, or kiss a frog.
Grandma ALWAYS has to touch the water, even if it is freezing. Emily and Ashton joined her. So did the biting horse flies. I stayed in the Rhino and read "The Host" by Stephanie Meyers. I loved it, and couldn't put it down. I finished it in less than 24 hours. I did the same thing when New Moon came out last month. I loved it, too!
Timmy is already practicing riding with a passenger. Avry is nice to let them sit on his Honda 50.
You can't see the book in my lap, but it is there. Along with a plastic bag to protect it from the dirt and possible rain.
Avry found a snake. Tim did not like the snake one bit. He wouldn't even get close enough to Avry when he was holding it to fit them in the wide angle lens shot. Oh, well, he must have inherited Pa's love of snakes. Ha ha.
Me and my boys. This is a lookout Troy and I rode to on his CRF 450 it was brand new and when I was pregnant with Timmy. We drove very carefully, as usual.
This was Tropic Resoirvoir. We never went fishing or boating or swimming, but we thought about it every time we drove past.
I don't know why, but I really like this picture of the boys sitting on the door step of the trailer.
They were always playing in the dog's food and water. Tim would get so distressed any time a speck of dirt or leaf or bug got in Pepper's water, so he was constantly dumping and refilling it.
In their matching shirts. They were getting a little small, but I didn't want to buy new clothes to go camping.
I got a shower this morning, so I felt great! I actually smelled like soap instead of dirt or sweat or a thousand other camping odors.
Time to buckle up the boys.
After the ride, we cooled off in the shade with an otter pop. Yes, we are apoiled we all have a fridge, freezer, toilet, sink, shower, stove, microwave, heater, generator, when we camp. But I still feel like I'm roughing it.
They look timy, but these deer were fairly close by.
We rode in to Ruby's Inn one day for lunch. Here is Pa taking a break on the grass under the tree with Timmy. I mailed my family a postcard from here.
The backdrop of these next few pictures is Bryce Canyon National Park.
This might be strange to post all the "out takes" but if any of you have kids, you will appreciate that we have just as difficult a time getting our kids to be still, look at the camera, and smile.
Let's count: 2
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven. Which do vote for?
And me by myself. Not as clean as the post-shower shot earlier this morning.
Timmy climbing the Fort Tree.
Higher
and even Higher
Now climbing down. Kind of cool silouette.
Spencer didn't spend much time in the fort with the big kids.
Going on another walk while Troy goes for a ride without all the passengers. He likes to ride fast.
Every boys' dream: sticks galore. For a boy a stick is not just a stick. It is a weapon, a sword, a skateboard, a ski pole, a tool, a fishing pole, a telescope, an arrow, a walking stick, a javelin, and many other useful things.
Emily came on this walk with us. It's hard to see in this picture, but she had a pretty nasty cut on her shin.
We stayed over a patriotic holiday, and flew our American flag every day in camp. Timmy learned about how many stars, stripes, and how to fold a flag from Grandma Melissa.
Emily thought Timmy would like to play catch. He didn't. But Spencer did.
He wouldn't throw it to her, though, he had to place the ball into the glove. Go figure.
It was still fun.
This is Troy's family's claim to fame. This is the Tropic Resoirvoir Trailhead map and Info Board. If you zoom in on the middle right side, there is a photo tht looks like this:
The caption says: Motorcyclists enjoying the Paunsaugnt trail in Blubber Creek. His dad is in the Front, and Troy is on the far right with a white t-shirt. Their helmets disguise their true identity, but Troy can recognize a rider and his/her bike at a glance. This is definately our group.
Timmy in yet another tree.
Amy is the spotter, and gave him a small boost.
Grandma playing in yet another body of water, and coeerced Timmy in after her.
Grandma strikes a pose,
And Timmy copies it.
This is the limekiln canyon ride. in a flash flood. I have NEVER seen such mud as this. It was so slick and sticky and flung everywhere off the tires of the bikes and Rhino.
It dumped rain on us for a short time after lunch at the creek. We are all wearing our rain gear.
The mud just caked everything. Look how thick it is just on the bottom of my boots.
Grandpa modeling a very nice blue rain poncho, and feeling much better not that his hood is no longer on his head with a helmet over it. He was getting a little hot and clausterphobic.
I like how clean everything is after it rains. The smell of the woods after rain is wonderful. We saw a beautiful rainbow on this trip that made me remember the promise God made to never flood the entire earth again. After the
rain in our house last weekend, we saw another rainbow, and I realized God has a sense of humor. Because it sure seemed like a flood to me.
We sure love our Spencer Baby.
He loves to ride in the back of that Tonka dump Truck.
This is when my man is Happiest: in the dirt, on his bike, with his family.
Although it may seem like I complain about the camping trips, Honestly, what more could a wife and mother ask for? My family is together, happy and having fun. We have none of the worries and stressses of life back home. We left our business, our construction, our housework, and we just play all day. We can do whatever we want whenever we want to. Life is good at the East Fork.
I was inside feeding the boys breakfast and keeping them out of the mud. Here's a view of Troy and Amy clearing off broken up cinder block, lumber, and concrete from the area we need to build the wall.
