memorial weekend

I was super excited for Memorial weekend because I didn't have to work and I could play all weekend with my family. There were several things we thought of doing but we were hesitant to do any of it because of the ligament pains I was dealing with. I was dying to go camping and roast marshmallows but Friday morning it had snowed, that made our decision NOT to go. Decisions weren't made till last minute but we decided to attend Paul and Patty's farewell party at their house Friday night. It was fun having the cousins hang out at the house for the last time. We will miss their yard that is spacious and provided endless entertainment for the kids.

Saturday the only thing I REALLY wanted to do was go over to Reed High School where they were having a fundraiser event with FREE pony/horse rides. Brielle loves riding and with it being free I didn't want to miss the opportunity. Thank you Aunt Beth for informing us of the event because we had so much fun. There wasn't any line for the pony so sBrielle rode it multiple times and loved every second. She tried to make the pony go faster by rocking back and forth. I think it's safe to say we have a little cowgirl on our hands. She really didn't need us to be next to her but we did it just in case.

This isn't the best picture but I posted it because I wanted to point out how much snow we still have on the mountains. I can't believe it.

We were going to leave and Brielle did a great job saying good-bye and willing to leave without incident. Shortly after I noticed no one was riding the pony so I told Matt we should take her back. I wanted take advantage of all the free riding she could get. When we put her on the pony she was SO excited she started to clap with excitement.

We just finished up the pony rides when Julie and Zach called and said they were packed and ready to go Elko. We all decided that morning to follow Paul and Patty up to Elko for the weekend (plus it was something we felt was safe enough for me to do). I was excited for a road trip and to get out of town. Brielle loves and adores her cousins so we knew she wouldn't mind the trip either.

Books are one of the main sources of entertainment.

The van has a DVD/TV in it and Brielle wanted to try out the headset.

Once we arrived in Elko the kids were ready to get out and play. We went straight to Paul and Patty's new home to help unpack for a little while. The kids had fun exploring the new house and playing.

There were plenty of boxes to play with.

Brielle found Julies' purse that was pretty heavy. The best part was watching her try to lift it up and carry-it didn't work the first couple times and knocked her down. She was determined to overcome the weight and she did.

Merlin, Norma, The Nash and Taylor family all went up to be in Elko for a night. It was fun having the family around.

Grandma playing peek-a-boo with Brielle

It is Memorial Weekend and you can't go without family gatherings and food, especially a BBQ. Aunt Judy did a remarkable job feeding the troops-none of which she was really expecting. However she was generous enough to feed and house us which we were really grateful for. I can say I have never gone hungry at Aunt Judy's house. We also had great company and enjoyed our time visiting with Marcella and her family as well as some of the Miller cousins that came down from Utah.

Are we shocked that Brielle found dirt and enjoyed every second playing in it. Yes that is dirt, not chocolate all over her face.

I have never been up to Lamoille Canyon before so we gathered the troops and headed out. I didn't realize how close it was from Aunty Judy's house- 30 minutes or so. Torie escorted us in Uncle Lavell's truck. It was nice being able to look out and see the canyon. Torie is an expert at spotting out mountain goats and she didn't fail us this trip. We saw two or three mountains goats-which was amazing. They are SO hard to spot. We weren't able to go to the top due to too much snow. We pulled over a couple times and took a few small hikes up to waterfalls. I was excited because I figured it was too cold to worry about snakes and ticks but I was SO wrong. Tyler had one that Julie flicked off, then she had one crawling on her arm and she tried to flick it off in the van, and one of the Miller girls had one in her hair. I have never seen a tick but I have always heard they are tiny and you really have to look for them. However these ticks were on steroids-they were HUGE! I saw my first tick on this trip and it happen to be crawling on Julie's head rest on our way home. We figure it was the tick Julie tried to flick off.

The gang-Millers, Taylor's, Nash, and Jones family.

Can you see the mountain goat? It's between the trees and above the tip of the tree that's on the left.

There were beautiful waterfalls everywhere.

Driving away from Lamoille canyon

On our way home we saw this guy with the parrot, Brielle like the bright colors.

We were able to see some deer

The weather was so nice we played outside the entire day.

Autumn looks very lovely with a clown nose

It fits Brookie too!

Tia learning how to skateboard.

I have had this craving for some time to eat smores. So when Aunt Judy said we were going to have smores after dinner I was ecstatic. I was so excited to have toasted marshmellows with chocolate bars and graham crackers melt in my mouth! I jumped the gun and was the first one to cook them.

Brielle's new thing, sticking her finger in her ear. Now I am not sure if she thinks her finger is like headphones cause she is sitting here watching a movie.