Camping with friends 2009

This weekend I was able to gather a few of my old friends for an overnighter camping trip. It was so fun to see everyone and their families.

These friends go back about 15 years and we all met from a young adult ward. We have traveled from Florida to California (and between) and to Hawaii together and have had a blast doing things like camping, running rivers, snowmobile, cross country ski, spelunk, hike, kayak, snorkel and just plain have a lot of fun.

We have watched each other grow in our own personal ways such as finishing school, getting married, becoming parents and bringing additions into our circle of friends.
It was great to see everyone again and to be able catch up with what we have missed as well as bringing up our crazy old stories and just being able to chat with one another.

Thanks Friends

Tooele County Rodeo

Bull Riders














Lincoln Doug and Brinley














Brinley after blue cotton candy














money goat chasin'














Brinley with her rodeo friends














Wow! What a night to say the least! This year the County fair was a little different it was what they call a ranch rodeo. I have not heard of this but did overhear what the cowboys behind me were saying. Everyone that is in it is a local. It was not professional to say the least but as my brother would say (those are the best kind).

It starts out that Lincoln got up the mutton bustin contest and backed out. That's ok because they had the stick horse races and he and Brinley did that. They had absolutely know idea of what they were supposed to be doing and ended up with no score but next year, they will have it figured out for sure. Next was the money goat for 7 and under. Lincoln chased that goat around the whole field and then decided next year that he needs his tennis shoes instead of oversized cowboy boots. He didn't get any money but he had fun. After that was the money calf for ages 7-10 which was also quite fun to watch.

Then the Rodeo. Everyone including the clown, announcer, paramedics (it seemed) were all amatures. It took over two minutes for 4 men to rope a calf and tie it's feet EVERY TIME. This got old, then we had the bucking horses. That was good however, there was one horse that didn't want anyone to ride him and he ran head first into a fence and the guy flew over the fence. COOL! He walked away. Then came the Bull riders. They had men dressed in wigs and tight shirts with balloons in them and fairy's, drunkerds prisoners, everything was a little strange for me. They had a contest for best costume. CRAZY! One normal dressed guy rode the bull and was thrown off. The bull started trampling him and then when he tried to stand, he fell over, his leg was totally broke and facing the wrong way. AAAH! That wasn't all. Another cowboy fell off his bull and tried to climb the fence and the bull totally body slammed him into the fence. The paramedics were very slow and it made for a long night. I think one of the things that made my stomach so sick this morning is that the ambulances had the men in them but hadn't left the rodeo until after it was over. This is like an hour later.

They had announced fireworks the whole night so we basically stayed through all of that for the fireworks. Finally, the rodeo ended and they announced sorry no FIREWORKS tonight. UUUGH!. I am done with rodeo's for the year and I think I will stick to the more professional ones from now on. Here is video of the stick horse race, Brinley was first and the Lincoln.

Ellis Family Reunion 2009

Lava Hot Springs

What a fun little vacation. We camped at Lava Hot Springs this last week and it was so much fun. My children couldn't get enough of the pools. We managed to stay the whole time with no sunburns. Shayne and Monique go every year and were nice enough to show us all the fun things to do like the park, pizza place, thrifty side walk shops and more. A big thanks to my family for taking such good care of us and helping us out for our first year at Lava.

This is some big animal, about the size of a medium dog hanging out right by my tent. It was very nice and posed quite a few times for me.

Happy Birthday Brinley

Brinley had a wonderful birthday this year, she went bowling for her birthday. I didn't take the camera but I know who did and maybe they will forward some pictures. These pictures are from her party after bowling. My big 4 year old that weighs 26 pounds and wears 24 month clothes. We love you Brinley.

Name Calling...

Apparantly we have named our kids wrong. They both decided this week that they would prefer another name. Lincoln would like to be called Michael and Brinley has chosen Annie. Very interesting. We will see how long this goes on.

Mutton Bustin - 2009

What a fun evening for us. Lincoln decided to do Mutton Bustin at the Deseret Peak Stampede Rodeo. He even used his own money to purchase some cowboy boots from the DI. They were a size 3 and he wears a size 12 in childrens. That is ok because after we got out the shirt and hat along with the loaner vest from Aunt Monique, he fit right in. We are so proud of him. He wasn't nervous and didn't even cry.

It was fun for all of us and I do have to say that the kettle corn was delicious! We love to go to this rodeo every year and look forward to going to it in the future.