Fun In Riverton

Why drive straight home from Rawlins when you can detour through Riverton? We decided to go visit Ashley and her family for a few days on our way home from Rawlins. We had tons of fun, including an unexpected camping trip!

This would be one of the best pictures ever of Melissa and Elise if it weren't for the fact that it is a little blurry! Still cute, though. 

 Elise is quick to latch onto people who will hold her and play with her. Brynne stepped right up to the challenge and thoroughly enjoyed being an awesome older cousin to Elise!

 

 Ashley and Derek were willing to go through all the extra work of collecting camping gear for our family (since we hadn't traveled with any) to join them for a night of camping at Popo Agie Campground in Sinks Canyon State Park. We stopped to eat pizza and play along the way, which is when I took this picture of Melissa and Ashley.

 Brynne was a great helper when it came to helping Uncle Derek set up the tents! (It didn't take her long to get black all over her face - she plays the role of camper really well.)

 Brynne took a little break to throw rocks in the river with Cousin Marshall.

 I took this picture of Melissa because she was so dirty -- dirt on face and clothes, food in hair, etc. -- but you can't see all that in this picture for some reason. Just super cute like always! :)

The kids had a great time playing on a huge bridge that went over the river right by our camp. If you look carefully, you can see Brynne in her pink shirt standing on the bridge and the water down below and to the left a bit. I took this picture standing in the middle of our campsite.

 This cute picture of Ashley and her kids shows the bridge and the river well. I absolutely loved falling asleep to the sound of the rushing water!

It was a lot of work to set up camp for just one short night and to set up camp while simultaneously keeping kids away from water and other hazards, but I am really glad we went! It was our only camping trip this summer and my girls and I love camping! And it was Melissa's first time camping ever! I felt bad loading all the dirty stuff into Ashley and Derek's car and then leaving them to take it all home, but they were good sports. Thanks for the fun memories Waltons!

Spring Break 2010 -- Roberts Family Reunion in Zion National Park

We got to spend Spring Break with a lot of Lee's family -- his dad, step-mom, and four sisters (along with their families). This was an extra special treat because this was the first ever Roberts reunion, and we got to spend time with family we rarely see. We were the lucky ones, because we only had to drive four hours for the reunion. Lee's dad came up from Tucson, Katie and Dorothy came down from Washington State, and Ramona takes the cake by flying over from Italy! And although Ruth only had to drive down from Salt Lake City, she still gets major points for housing both Ramona's and Dorothy's families! Katie's family stayed with us for a few nights before the reunion and we LOVED having them here! Now onto the fun:

One day we got adventurous and decided to take the kids (all but sleeping Audrey) on the shuttle bus to a ranger show. We lined them all up for a picture and then counted them all so we wouldn't lose anyone! In front is Elijah (Ruth's). Standing is Gavin, Kaya, Phaedra (Dorothy's); Kiersten (Ruth's); Aidan (Ramona's); Morgan and Brynne (mine, all mine!!!); and Jimmy (Katie's).

I mentioned sleeping Audrey who missed the bus ride. Well, she's so darn cute that I had to get a picture of her in here somehow (she's on the left)! Aidan loved holding Audrey's hand and walking her around the camp. They were really cute together. :)

Kaya, Kiersten, Phaedra, and Morgan in the front of the second car of the shuttle bus. These older girls played so well together! I am seriously very impressed with how polite and friendly all the cousins were with each other!!

Each day we had a couple activities for the kids. The first day the kids made "Un-Birthday" cards, and then we had an un-birthday party -- complete with a dutch oven cake (thanks, Ruth!!!). The second day Ramona did a big Easter Egg Hunt for the kids and then taught them to make lanyards. In this picture Kiersten, Brynne, and Aidan are enjoying some Easter candy and picking colors for their lanyards.

I'm sad I don't have many pictures of the actual siblings all together. We did get one picture of everyone together (no guarantees about happy kids!), but I have to wait to get a copy from Ramona. Just before we were getting ready to pack up and head out, I took this picture of Lee with his dad and twin sisters -- Dorothy, Lee, Trout, and Ruth.

We had TONS of fun at the reunion! The only real problem was how cold it was the first night (35 degrees), but we all survived -- the girls actually made out great because they had super duper nice, new, warm sleeping bags -- and had a great time!

Wind Rivers -- More Camping Fun

The only reason I could get myself to leave the Tetons a few weeks back was knowing we would be going camping in the Wind Rivers, another beautiful spot. We used to go backpacking in the Wind Rivers every summer starting when I was eight years old. We discovered the Big Sandy Lodge with cabins just before I left on my mission, and I stayed there for the first time just after Lee and I were married. We were in the Wind Rivers from last Wednesday through Saturday (July 22 - 25).

Grandma Ross with Marshall (Ashley's son) and Brynne in front of Mud Lake at the lodge. I told you it was beautiful!
My parents, Ashley and Marshall stayed in the cabins each night; while Lindsey, Morgan, Brynne and I spent the first two nights in a tent and the last night in a cabin. There were a lot of tall rocks to climb on in the campground, and the girls took full advantage of the chance to play on them. (You may remember from the Teton post that my girls LOVE climbing on rocks!)

Morgan took her camp chair onto the rocks to relax and enjoy the view.

Grandpa Ross playing ball with Marshall and Brynne at the campsite.

We drove into the Wind Rivers on Morgan's birthday (22nd) and were there for my birthday the next day (23rd). Morgan's birthday also happens to be my parents' anniversary. We decided to have a mini group party on the 23rd to celebrate all the events. Mom brought some pie, and we also made smores.

Ashley made me this nice bag for my birthday. It was really nice to get a present in the mountains.

Morgan also got a present. Aunt Lindsey bought her the "Tales from Avonlea" DVD set. She had never heard of it but has loved watching some of the episodes since we've been home.

Linz, me, and Ash making smores. (Well, actually, I'm making smores; Ash & Linz are just looking cute...)

Brynne eating a smore. Take note of the black soot all over the face. You may have to enlarge for full affect.

The highlight of my birthday was a day hike Linz and I went on. We hiked 6 miles into Poston Meadows, which is where we backpacked to every year growing up. We spent 1 1/2 hours in the meadow eating lunch and relaxing before hiking the 6 miles back to the lodge. A huge thanks to my parents and Ash who stayed behind with the kinds to make the hike possible!

On the trail with Boulter Lake in the background.

Linz and me in front of the East Fork River in the meadow.

Sitting on a rocky bar in the middle of the East Fork River. The rocky bar is completely surrounded by water, so we had to take off our shoes and ford the river to get there. This is where we ate our lunch and relaxed. The place where we set up camp the last couple times we backpacked is in the trees off to the left of my head.

I LOVE this picture of Linz!

Lindsey (quite the budding photographer) found this log and took several pictures of me on it. She also set up her timer and took several pictures of us on the log together (unfortunately I don't have copies of her pictures yet...). Just for the fun of it, try and imagine Lindsey pushing the start button on her camera and then darting across the river and onto the log with me before the picture took -- very good entertainment! :)

On Friday, we had a horseshoe tournament at the lodge. We knew from past experience that Lindsey would be the person to beat. She claimed she was out of practice, but so were the rest of us...once again she licked us all.

Me & Linz waiting for our turn at horseshoes.

Brynne had her own idea of how to play horseshoes. Check out this neat trick!

Grandma and me swinging Marshall. You can see one of the cabins we stayed in in the background.

We had our last two meals at the lodge (thanks Dad!). They make some wonderfully yummy food there! Brynne, Grandma, Grandpa, Marshall, Ash, Morgan, Me.

And yet another super cute picture of Brynne with her Grandma Ross. :)

Leaving the Wind Rivers was hard, but going through 200 pictures to try and select only a few for this post was even more difficult. We had such a good time and have plenty of pictures to prove it.

Now back to real life...