I'm a Hurricane!

Hurricane Danielle

See See See!!!! Hopefully I'm not doomed to be as infamous as every Katrina in the world, but Danielle is looking pretty benign. :)

Look how pretty!

"If I look different, it's because I got baptized"

That's what Emma said to one of her friends a few days after her baptism. I thought it was awfully cute :)

While we were in Utah, we had the pleasure of attending Emma's baptism. Emma was very brave and let me French braid her hair for her special day. I also got to take a lot of fun pictures the day before. My only regret is that her Aunt Sarah wasn't there to make them really sharp... good thing Emma is cute no matter who takes the picture!

I started the photo shoot much the same way as I did Abbie a couple years ago... only to realize that Abbie and Emma, though they are sisters, are quite different. Emma didn't actually enjoy the photo shoot until she got to show her own style a bit more:
She is quite an agile little lady, even if she is wearing lace. It made for some fun pictures...
She's standing on a fence in this picture...
And lounging on top of a play house in this one. That's how you do pictures Emma Style :) Love you babe!

Old friends, New places!

So, while we were in Utah, we made a quick stop in Coalville... Why? This is why:
Yeah, I miss Angela quite a bit. I wish she could still live just a mile away so we could make our weekly trips to the library or Costco together... it's just a bit more endurable to do a long shopping trip when you have someone to giggle with :) However, I do have to admit that the place they live is a WAY nicer home than where they lived here... bummer that you can never have it all, ya know?

I was very glad to know that her kids hadn't forgotten me. I hadn't been there five minutes when Talmage started calling, "Dawna's Mom, I just need to show you one thing..." and then he would pull me to a new part of the house for a demonstration!
Thanks for letting us drop by for lunch, Annie!

In search of the Golden Trout

Over this past weekend, Jon went on a backpacking trip with a couple brothers, nephews, cousins, and one father-in-law. They headed to the Mount Whitney and Cottonwood Lakes area. Their Quest: To Land the Golden Trout! The Golden Trout is the California state fish and can only be found in these freshwater lakes above 10,000 feet. It's a beautiful fish, but rarely seen because it's so hard to get to. Of course, my dad, being the master fisherman that he is, couldn't die happy if he hadn't mastered the Golden Trout. Last year for his birthday, he took this trek in one day and did indeed capture his Golden Trout. This year, he invited any who wanted to take the challenge on a 4-day trek in search of the Golden Trout. Here's some highlights from the trip, but for all the details, you'll need to get a report from Jon. Here's Jon at the trail head. Poor Jon arrived at base camp around 1:30am the day the hike began... I can't imagine he slept well in the car... but there he is, raring to go :)

That day, six of the fifteen hikers headed to the summit of Mt. Langley, a lofty 14,026. Here's Jon at the summit and the survey marker:
And the whole group that made it to the top:
The next day, Jon took a crack at the Golden Trout... and did in fact land FOUR! Woah baby!
Isn't it a beautiful fish!?! Really a very golden colour. Unfortunately, since the Golden Trout is the state fish and in fact quite rare, you can't keep or eat any of them, so I made sure Jon took our camera to get some good pictures. I must admit that I was very impressed with the pictures he took--AND he didn't even lose the camera.
Such a beautiful place! Here's the whole group: Rob, Jon, Chris, Matt, Joe, Dad, Ben, Allen, JD, Blake, Michael, Calder, Luke, Levi, and the lonely lovely little lady Abbie. Quite the crew.

Here's hoping I'll get to go next time! What a fun adventure! I really haven't done it justice on this blog; this is just a little tantalizing sample of what Jon and everyone could tell you about the trek. You really should ask them... or just maybe Jon might take an interest in blogging, just this once, and favor us all with a story or two :)




And back on the home front the day after the hike, Xochitl spent some quality time getting to know uncle Ben :)

Ease back into life...

So, yes, as some of you may have noticed, it's a bit harder to blog--or go shopping, or clean house, or pretty much do anything--with 3 kids... but I think with Naomi starting to sleep through Some nights, I'll hopefully be back into my normal swing of things...

Just a quick post tonight to ease back into blogging...

A favorite moment from our recent vacation to everywhere in the western United States:

All my family at the bottom of the 328-step Uncle Tom's trail at Yellowstone National Park. Larry and Dawna both walked down and up all those stairs all by themselves! I love my family!