Pioneer Day Excitement

The Days of '47 epic weekend started with a rodeo. I haven't been to a rodeo since I was probably 5 years old, and really didn't know what to expect. But angry bulls running at people? Pure scary excitement.

Look at the height on this guy. People do this for fun? Who thought of riding a bucking animal in the first place? Definitely not a woman, I can tell you that.

So in remembrance of Pioneer Day, we decided to recreate Pioneer times and live outside without any amenities...well not really, but we definitely "roughed it" over the weekend. We hiked up into the Uintahs and camped at Echo Lake. In a tent. Without facilities, if you catch my drift. And I'm not much of a pee-in-the-woods kind of girl, but dehydrating myself didn't seem to work. TMI. Sorry.

Brett was in his element. He's such a cowboy-redneck at heart.

It was truly beautiful and remote.

Scott & Elyse even went swimming. In a high mountain lake. COLD. CRAZY.

I'm not wearing my sweatshirt for protection from the cold. I'm wearing it for protection from the 10 billion mosquitoes that also seem to love the scenery.

We hiked up to a lake that was even more remote than the one we were camped at. I really felt like we were the only people around...it was kind of scary/liberating.

Scott caught a mystery fish. Really pretty though, no?

Sunset. It seems tranquil, but that is only because the mosquitoes are too small to capture on camera.
All in all, it was a lot of fun, but we were glad to come home. We ate at Chick's in Heber with the Lam Fam which is a 24th of July family tradition and then slept away the afternoon until we went to fireworks.

They look so pretty, right? We went to Liberty Park with Scott and Elyse. We totally talked up how amazing the fireworks were when you were close enough to see the ground show and set up really close to the field where they set the fireworks off. Well, about halfway through the show there was some sort of explosion and one of the trailers that held the fireworks TIPPED OVER and started shooting fireworks right at us! I saw one lady get hit and I remember thinking that is so close, and then it was like a war zone with fireworks exploding all around us. We grabbed our chairs and ran! It was so scary!! What a way to end the weekend!

And can I just give props to myself for posting 3 in a row? I better get some comments for all this hard work. ;)

Derby, Night Hike & Farmer's Market

So it has become tradition to go to the Demolition Derby out by my folk's. Must be the redneck in us, because I honestly don't know why it is so entertaining to watch a bunch of old cars smash into each other....but it is fun.

A little taste.....

Don't you wish you were there?

Later that week, Brett & I had the "great" idea to hike the face of Grandeur Peak since the trailhead is pretty close to where we live. We thought it would be a nice evening "nature walk", if you will.

Of course, it is a lot steeper than we realized and took a lot longer.

We reached the peak at sunset. Note to self---when going on a hike after sundown, bring a flashlight. It was a great adventure climbing down a really steep mountain in the dark.

Does anyone love the Farmer's Market? You not only get some nice, fresh produce, but Brett gets his German food fix, I get my shopping fix, and we get entertained by a piano bike.

I love summer.

California Knows How to Party

So the beginning end of June/beginning of July we took a Lam Fam va-cay to the golden shore (aka California). We stayed at a beach house in Oceanside, which has a special place in my heart because that is where we stayed when Brett proposed. Awww....

Enough mushy stuff.

We went Deep-Sea fishing which was extremely awesome for the first 20 minutes of the day....then nothing for the rest of the many, many hours we were at sea. We slept over on the boat the night before so we could get out far enough to catch some Albacore Tuna. I was one of the lucky ones...we caught about 8 fish total, so not everyone even got to reel one in. But it was fun anyway. And I ended up taking like 3 naps...something about a rocking boat just lulls me to sleep. So here are some pics for your enjoyment.

Me and my sister-in-laws...they are so cute, even on fishing day! Please ignore my hair.

My first and only catch of the day...a 25 lb Albacore tuna. He tasted really good!

Brett was the master angler catching 3 of our 8 fish, including this beauty--a yellowtail.

Isn't this a cute one of the brothers and Mike?

Beach day...lots of boogie boarding fun. Don't let the sky fool you...it was overcast almost every day we were there. I tried boogie boarding and almost drowned. I think my place is on the beach.

Don't be jealous.