Emily's Rodeo Ride

It took a while for Emily's video to download, but now, here it is for your viewing pleasure.

She says she can't wait until she can do it again. I love my crazy girl!

---Allison

Gavin's Rodeo Ride

I tried to post both Gavin and Emily's rodeo ride, but for some reason it won't let me. So here is Gavin's, and I will do Emily's in a seperate post.

Gavin was so excited to get some unexpected money from his ride. He was a hoot to watch! Anyway, here is Gavin's ride on his sheep.

Gavin and Emily (and several of their cousins) heard about this fun opportunity and couldn't wait to give it a try. Neither of the kids have ever ridden on a sheep or a cow, in fact, I don't even know if they have ever been to a rodeo before. Regardless, they couldn't wait to get on and ride! Surprisingly, they each showed up with a certificate and $3. The kids were so excited. They didn't even know that they would get a prize from the rodeo itself. Their uncle Bryan had previously given an incentive of $5 for each catagory (the sheep and the cow) for the child who stayed on the longest.

Is it a surprise that both Gavin and Emily won the money? Not if you know them! Not a bad days work I'd say.

---Allison

Bryce Canyon Vacation

We went on a week long family vacation to Bryce Canyon a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, Tim and Spencer were unable to join us until the 2ND to last day due to some circumstances out of Tim's control. I have to tell you, I sure missed them. It's always hard to go on a family vacation without having the whole family there. Especially when the kids that were with me have different interest and/or activity levels. Luckily, I had my parents and most of my siblings (missed you Adam and Angela) there to visit with and to help me out when I needed it. I felt the worst for Spencer, though. I just imagined him sitting a home alone by himself knowing that we were having fun without him. Tim did his best to make it up to him that week and we've already made some plans for him to go on the deer hunt this Fall to try and pay him back for his missed vacation.

Anyway, although it was stressful at times, we were able to do a lot of fun things. I was kind of worried about how the elevation would effect Ethan, but he seemed to do really well. The overall favorite things that went on were the rodeo (this will have a post of it's own), horseback riding, staying in a tee pee, hiking, visiting with family, and of course the swimming.

Here are just a few pictures from this amazing and one of a kind vacation!

Spencer, Emily and I went on a 2 hour horseback ride through the canyon. It was AMAZING! Although hot and dusty, we were able to go to places that you never could by simply hiking. It was well worth the money and definitely a highlight.

Spencer, cousin Austin, and Tim.

We drove to quite a few lookout points when Tim arrived. It was the best way to see as much as we could with our limited time.

Here is the tee pee we stayed in. It was much bigger than a tent would have been and the kids loved the novelty of it.

These last 4 photos were on a short hike that the kids and I went on. This was the only hike that Ethan and Gavin went on. Emily was able to go on some longer hikes with my extended family while I stayed back at camp with Gavin and Ethan. The reasoning was, I didn't trust Gavin on some of the more dangerous hikes, and I didn't think Ethan would tolerate the longer hikes very well.

Out of order from the others, but Emily on her horse. She was disappointed because Spencer and I had mules and she wanted one as well. But in the end, she was pleased with her horse.

Again, these photos are out of order (sorry) but these last few photos are from the same hike as above. We went to a waterfall and let the kids play in this small river. Gavin's shoe fell off and my dad luckily caught it down stream. He was standing guard just in case it was a child instead of a shoe that was swept away, but either way, I was glad that he was watching and standing guard. It would have been a long hike back to the car with only one shoe.

Gavin and cousin Boe at the swimming pool. The kids all got to spend some fun time with their cousins. It was quite hot during the day and the swimming was a nice treat. Plus, it kept them somewhat clean since we were always so dusty and dirty. Kinda gross, I know.

So all in all it was a great trip. It would have been better had we all been together the whole time, but we made due with what we were given and made the best of it. Stay tuned for the "Rodeo" post. A lot of the cousins signed up to ride in it for fun and it was HILARIOUS to watch!

Take care!

---Allison