Road trip to Georgia

Much to our dismay we loaded up the moving truck last Monday and Tuesday afternoon me and Steve took off to Georgia. This is how big we were. We pulled up by an eighteen wheeler and we were about 2 feet shorter. Being this big made the trip very interesting. Also when you are towing a vehicle you can't back up, so we had to be very careful about the exits we took and where we gased up and where we stayed the night.

In a car the trip is supposed to take 31 hours. In a moving truck the trip took 40 hours. I have never enjoyed road trips and was not excited about this one, but me and Steve had a great time.
I thought it was a beautiful drive once we left Wyoming. Missouri really surprised me at how green it was. In my mind I had always pictured it dry and ugly. Maybe because of the way they treated the early mormons. We loved seeing all the cool old barns and I would love to go back and photograph them.

We thought this sign was pretty funny. At times we felt like we were nowhere.
We would get up and leave the motel by six and drive until 9:oo. Luckily for us their are alot of rest stops along the way. We could only ride for about 2 hours and then we had to stretch our legs.
I got a GPS for christmas and this tool will save or marriage and allow us to go on road trips. We hit St. Louis and I was driving. Because of road construction they had a detour through the city. We were going all over and would have been completely lost without the GPS. It was scary for me to drive and at one time I had to get across three lanes of traffic in about 20 seconds. Not easy in a car, but in the truck it was scary. Luckily I did and we made it through.

I can't wait to drive it again, although this time in a car. Georgia is really pretty and the people we meet were so nice and friendly. I guess it's that southern hospitality coming out. Kevin found a nice little three-bedroom home to rent in a quiet neighborhood. It's a college town and they have the busiest wal-mart in Georgia. I will be grateful for our quiet wal-mart in Cedar Hills. The ward is so nice and alot of people dropped over on Saturday with food and to welcome them into the ward. We meet one of their cute neighbors on a walk and she had the best accent. I love the way they talk. I wish Heather and Kevin the best and I think they will really love the time they spend in Georgia. That is if they get used to the humidity.

Taylor's party

We had talked of Taylor inviting some friends up to the cabin all summer, so we finally found a date that worked with us. They loaded up in a van and came out Friday afternoon. They were only in the cabin for a few minutes when they decided to hike the mountain. I was outside shucking corn so I watched them and it only took them a few minutes to hike up and around the cliff. Wouldn't it be great to be young and have energy again.

Zach brought out some guns and Taylor had his so they went shooting. Some of the girls had never shot a gun before. I think Shea was the only girl that enjoyed it.

They all graduated this year so I decided to see how smart the kids from Lone Peak are and had them play this is a fork, this is a spoon game. Didn't seem to smart to me.

The weather forcast for this weekend was not good. A high of 71 on the wasatch front. The weather out in the basin is always different, but since we were going boating I was worried. We woke up to a brisk 50 degrees, but it was sunny.
By the time we got to Starvation I think it was in the 70's. They started the day cliff jumping. The water was warm but when you climbed back out the air was chilly.

A couple of the kids had never jumped off a cliff. Once they climbed on the boat, they all commented that it wasn't a very high cliff. But at least they were safe.

Derrick had to be last. We got a few hours of good water and sunshine and then the winds started so we ended the party early. They were a great good of kids and very easy to be around. What impressed me was the girls all had modest swimsuits on and no drama. Taylor said that's why their his friends.

Moon Reunion

I'm sure this will come as a big surprise but we went up to the cabin again this weekend. Heather and the girls were able to come with us. On Friday morning Braelyn looked out the window and said there's deer. We looked out and saw the cows and told her they were cows. She said there were deer and we looked up on the hill and saw about 7 deer coming out of the trees and running up the mountain. They were also there on Saturday morning. They must sleep in the trees. One mother had little twins running behind her. It's amazing how fast they can travel. I wish I had that ability.

Both Braelyn and Berkley love to go for four-wheeler rides so we loaded up the ranger and went on the loop. After you get to the top there is this old corral. I think it is beautiful and wish I could go back in the past and see it in use. Steve would have loved to live back then and spend the summer up in the mountains. When my Grandmother first got married she lived in a tent up in the mountains, while Grandpa herded sheep.

Saturday was the reunion at the ranch. Wade and Karen's kids are some of my favorite cousins and I love visiting with them and catching up on their lives. Karen had planned games to play that afternoon but we were all content to visit and the kids were having a ball running around and playing in the ditch and on the four-wheeler.
Braelyn was so happy when Kilee came. They have turned into best friends and they spent the day playing.
Here is Berkley with my nieces daughter Kali. I wanted to show Berkley's big brown eyes and Kali's big blue eyes, but my camera isn't that good. It was a great weekend and I'm lucky to be part of such a wonderful family.

Another good weekend

On Thursday I headed out to the cabin by myself. This is the first time this year that I was able to go out alone. I pulled the boat to Duchesne and then went up. I don't know what it is but I love being alone up there. Maybe it's because I can be as lazy as I want to be and nobody knows. On Friday Taylor brought Braelyn out to spend the weekend with us.

We had a family barbaque at the ranch house and as always the food was great. This is my little sister Kellee with her daughter Karson.

Grandma Moon and Karson.

When it got dark the fireworks started. You couldn't have a more beautiful back drop then the mountains. They were pretty good. Steve and Taryn were supposed to come out that night, but Steve's flight was delayed and he missed his connection so he had to stay the night. Luckily he got an early flight and they made it to Starvation by 1:00.
This was the first time Steve hasn't been on the boat, but Taylor did a great job of taking it off and driving. Kellee, Kirk and Kylie came with us. There is a big sandy beach that the girls had a great time playing on.

Braelyn loved playing in the waves.

Taylor keeps himself entertained on a beach. Him and Kirk tried running up the sand cliffs.
Taryn and Steve showed up the same time as the Hudgins so we went and had lunch and then we went cliff jumping. Steve was busy sitting on the boat so there are no pictures of us girls jumping the cliffs. I was surprised that Talitha joined us since she hates cold water.
Carly brought a friend and they tubed for a long time. Steve loves teasing and gave them a great ride. Watching them get thrown around on the tube I really can't figure out why people love it. It had been overcast most of the day but around 5:00 the sun came out and the water became smooth. Taylor and Taryn got some good wake-board time in, but by the time Steve got ready to ski all the boats had come back out and the water was choopy. It was a still a great day being with friends and family.
We stayed the night at the cabin and this is what I got to wake up to. She looked so sweet and was an angel that weekend. I hope I get many more weekends with my sweet granddaughter at the cabin. That day we attended my nephews farewell. He is going to Peru. I wish him the best. It's wonderful to see my nieces and nephews growing strong in the church.

George Strait

For our birthday's Taryn got us tickets to George Strait.

We had the grass seats but Taryn went early and got us a good spot. Which is a good thing because traffic going into the amphitheater was terrible. It took us two hours to get parked. We saw a LDS church about 10 blocks below it and parked and walked the rest of the way. We arrived during Julianna Huff, but I didn't mind. Then Blake Shelton played. I like his songs but was not impressed with his attitude. It was really hot that day and I was worried about the heat but once the sun went down it was nice. George is such a class act. It was wonderful and thanks to Steve's great binoculars it was like I had a front row seat. I don't know how he picks his songs since he has 57 number one hits, there was one song that I wished he had played and that's I get carried away. It's one of my favorites, but I could say that about most of his songs. Thanks Taryn for a wonderful gift.

Deer Creek with Galloways

Monday night we invited the Galloways to come up to Deer Creek for a lake side family night. Taylor got off work at 3:00 so he meet us up there. The water was okay and the boys each took their turn on the wake-board or skim skate. Here is Taylor's dismount off the skim skate. He even went feet first into the water.

The best part of boating is the yummy food. I had been at scout camp all day so Becky shared her food with us.

The boys had worked really hard and needed some food to get strength to go again. After dinner the water was still a bit choppy but me, Steve and Taylor had to get in a ski run.

Everyone drove the boat, even Becky but she said her legs were shaking. She was a good sport and hung in there when Taylor started driving, and he was driving very fast. It was a fun night at the lake and with friends.

July 4th weekend

Of course we headed out to the cabin for the weekend, but this time we brought the boat to have some fun at my favorite lake Starvation. Taylor brought Zach with him. We got up there Wednesday night and the electricity was off. Luckily few minutes later it came on and we were able to eat dinner. Then that night Steve, Taylor and Zach went for a ride. They saw a fox and put the spotlight on him, but he wouldn't look at them. The boys got up early the next morning to shot some pot-guts, but apparently they are not early risers.

When we got to the lake the battery was dead, so after jumping it we went to Indian bay and let the boys jump cliffs for awhile so we could let the battery charge.

It was cloudy and not really warm, but the water was perfect. We each skiied and there is nothing better then skiing on smooth water. Later both boys wake-boarded. They both caught some air. The top picture is Taylor and the bottom one Zach.
We went and picked up my sister Kellee and her two daughters and headed over to the big sandy beach. Because the lake is so full there wasn't much of a beach, but the boys and Kylie had a good time playing on it.

We waited about ten minutes to long to get off the lake and had to put it on during a rain storm. Even with the weather being a bit colder we still had a great time.


Taylor had to work the next two days so him and Zach headed home and it was just me and Steve. We are adjusting well to almost being empty nesters and the next day we took the boat out with just us two and had a relaxing time. Steve skiied but I just enjoyed being in the sun. The clouds started rolling in around 1:00 so we took off and headed back up to the cabin.

Our old friends who have moved to Las Vegas came up that afternoon and we had a fun time showing them the scenery on four-wheelers. Christy is hooked to her cell phone and we just laughed because she got coverage in the weirdest spots up there. Once she even got it on our porch. I guess I need to bring mine with me when we go for rides.
It was getting dark on the way home and as we rounded a corner all three of us jumped and screamed at a tree stump that looked like a moose. The only wildlife we saw on that trip were deer. Christy was great at seeing them. They stayed for dinner and left around 11:30 that night. The next day we both woke up sick and just layed around the whole day. All in all it was a great weekend.
The boys found this on their drive and it smells just like a mushroom. If anybody knows for sure what it is let us know.