One more desperate shot at a bear...

Charles' dad's bear hunt started back up in November, but with them getting stranded in Cozumel for two weeks there was really only one weekend for them to hunt, and it was cold! Saturday, the 19th, we were up at 4:00 am and in the car on our way to Junction. We got there at about 8:30 and met up with Doug, Wyona, Joe and Jordi. The dog guy was there also and had let the dogs out. He said he thought  they had a bear so off went Charles and his dad to find this bear.  This is the area they were hunting.

After a while I got a call from Charles. He told me to look up at him, and there he was, waving at me from the face of this cliff. You can actually see him in the center of the picture below if you know where to look. I tried to figure out how to draw an arrow and couldn't. Anyway, he proceeds to tell he has no idea how he is going to get down. Then he says, "Watch this, I'm going to jump. Don't hang up your phone." I guess he wanted me to see and hear him die. Next thing I know he is jumping off the cliff. It felt like he was falling forever...he wasn't, but it seemed that way. I could hear him yelling, and not just through the phone. Then a big old thud and he lands on his back and rolls. He picks his phone back up and says, "that was a lot bigger of a drop than I thought it was." I yelled at him. He says it's not a big deal, you just have to know how to fall. Apparently he "knows how to fall." Whatever. Anyway, he told me to send Joe with his pack because they had a bear trapped in a cave.

Meanwhile us 3 girls hung out with the kids and tried to stay warm. Wyona took Brielle for a hike and Jordi and I sat in the car waiting.

Check out that lip...

The dog guy came back long before our hunters did. He showed us a video of the cave that they were crawling into after this bear. Then he said, "They are much braver than I would ever be." What?!  Jordi and I just looked at each other.

Thank goodness for electronics...they make long, cold waits bearable. Get it "bear"able. I'm funny.

And...a picture of the bear cave. They eventually came back bearless. They didn't get too far into the cave before they wisened up. They were all pretty bummed, but alive! And...Charles stunk like bear. I told him to stop climbing into bear caves, they're stinky. So much for a bear this year, but Jacob already has next year's hunt planned out. And he's staying in Grandma's new trailer!

Halloween 2011

 We had a great Halloween this year. I got to help out with Brooke's class party at school, and best of all it was gorgeous weather!! It  was a crazy busy day with the preparations for the party (I was in charge of games) and getting ready for the evening festivities, but it was still fun. Grandpa and Suzanne came over for pizza, and you should have seen my kid's faces when my dad showed up at the door looking like the Village People dude. They didn't recognize him at all. He did look good, but the dyed beard and glasses really threw them off. I'm just glad he had a shirt on, apparently he showed up at work that morning covered in self tanner and the vest...no shirt underneath. He got a good response though!

 And best of all...my own personal Andre Agassi. Awesome, right?! Apparently this Andre also ran the Wasatch Back.

 Super Girl and Spiderman

 Check out Cinderella's eye lashes, they were her favorite part.

 Cinderella and Captain America

 The whole group, Caleb is sad because he had just tried to touch the hot fireplace and got yelled at. Can't ever get a perfect picture, can you?! Grandpa and Suzanne were on candy duty and Charles and I took the kids around the neighborhood to trick or treat. And it was warm!! We got drenched last year. Overall, a fantastic Halloween. Until next year!!

The Annual Pumpkin Carving

 The Tuesday before Halloween, the 25th, we held our annual dinner/pumpkin carving party. We had pizza and then got to work. Grandpa came over, but Suzanne had to work, we missed the extra pair of hands!! Next year we'll plan better. Grandpa paired up with Jacob, and dad helped Caleb...well, sort of, dad carved Caleb's pumpkin while Caleb drank dad's Mountain Dew. The girls were on their own, with our help when they needed it. My pictures are totally out of order, but I don't have the patience to fix them today. Here goes...picture overload again.

 Yum!

Yellowstone 2011

On Thursday, October 20th, we headed out for our 7th trip to Yellowstone as a family. Charles had to be in Pinedale, Wyoming for work that afternoon, so we were up early and on our way. We dropped Chuck off to do some business and the kids and I picked up some food at the grocery store and had lunch at the city park. They didn't have much time to play, which they were pretty bummed about, but oh well. We climbed back in the car and drove to Jackson, which is where we spent the night.

We stayed at the Best Western Lodge which was like staying at the Ritz for my kids. Needless to say, we go pretty cheap on hotels when we go to Disneyland because we spend NO time there!! They were pretty impressed with our room.

There were bears all over the hotel property, the boys were in heaven. We tried to count them but lost track. This one was peering in the window at you when you came out of the elevator.

We drove around Jackson, went to dinner, and swam the rest of the evening. Then it was time to crash.

Friday morning we were up early and on our way to Yellowstone. It was a pretty successful day, we went on some hikes, did a lot of driving, and saw moose, buffalo, elk, antelope, and big horned sheep. We have about a million pictures because we bought a fancy new camera and were trying to figure out how to use it. It seems like I put them all on here...but I really didn't even come close...

Every time I look at this picture below I have to laugh. I took a few shots, and was still taking pictures when Charles leaned forward to walk away and I got a picture of the top of his head. He said, "Did you just take a picture of my bald spot?' Brielle, without missing a beat says, loud, "How could you NOT?!" It was so hilarious! She didn't mean it to be mean, but oh man, it was funny.

Below is a picture of Dragon's Mouth Spring. This was the highlight of the trip for Jacob and Caleb. I'm pretty sure they still think there's a dragon in there. Caleb wanted to stay there until it came out. He really wanted to see it.

I have a cute family, don't I?

When we were in Yellowstone last summer Charles got a random picture of his dad with his hand on Jacob's neck. We still laugh about it, so Chuck had  to replicate it this year. We couldn't remember the exact pose, but here are the two pictures together. Can't say I haven't felt the same way some days!

Our family

The picture below has two big horned sheep in it. I'll give you a prize if you can spot them (not really).

Here are some great pictures Chuck took of my kids with his new toy. I think they turned out great. Now if only I'd done my kid's hair...

Charles had them all sitting on a fence and Brooke was terrified. I mean scared. to. death. You can kind of tell in the bottom picture. She did not want to fall into that river.

And finally, Old Faithful, our last stop before heading home on Saturday.

It was a quick trip up and back, but I think the kids enjoyed it! Hopefully we can go back next year.