Finding Joy in the Journey

Race Across the Sky

Our inspiration for this years vacation was RACE ACROSS THE SKY! My brother was chosen to race in one of mountain biking's most prestigious events. Race Across the Sky is a 100 mile intense bike race that few will get the chance to enter and even fewer will finish. It was so inspiring to watch my brother train for such an event, so to have the opportunity to be there on race day was amazing. There is really no way of describing such this race. You really have to check it out for yourself. www.raceacrossthesky.com Uncle Codyman was awesome! He never got off of his bike except to change his tire, twice, and he still came in 9th! Did I mention there were over 1,000 riders! So amazing to be a part of the crew! Thanks for the fun bro! We love you!

Lovin' Leadville

We loved this little town. It's such a gem and well worth the drive. We enjoyed the sights and took in all the fresh air. This place is unreal! We even got to take a couple of practice rides with Uncle Codyman.

Bike Rides, Zip Lines, and Water Slides!

How can you go wrong? The boys had to bike ride everyday. We sometimes pedaled 15 miles! One day we saw an add for a zip line ride over the Colorado River. How could we pass that up right? We didn't get pictures, but we will never forget it. I was the biggest screamer of all! The boys didn't even flinch! FEARLESS! When we finally decided it was time for a hotel for a night instead of our tent we opted for the indoor pool play house complete with water slides! Wooo Hooo!

Oh the joys of a road trip!

Road trips are character building opportunities right? Thankfully we are easily amused and tend to deal well with the unexpected. We laughed a lot, especially on rainy nights in our tent. We prayed a lot, for safety and speedy recovery. Poor Brev got really sick. We did get to visit moab though for the nearest emergency room. We had a great time. Out of all the vacations, road trips are the ones that we remember the most.

Arches

Along the way we stopped at Arches National Park and enjoyed the scenery. We love places like this. The boys can't get enough. They climb and hike on everything.

Salt Lake

Our first family trip to Salt Lake was amazing. We took lots of tours and enjoyed a good dose of church history. It was amazing to stand in Holy places where so many have sacrificed for the kingdom. To see the temple was just breath taking. We even got to hear Mo-Tab choir practice! We will be back for General Conference soon.

SERIOUS Scouting

My boys are serious scouters. They took a 5 day back packing trip! No kidding around here. This was not for the faint of heart, hence you don't see me in the photos. Only dehydrated food, a shovel for the bathroom facility, and LOTS of mosquito nets! Bryce is such an awesome dad! Did I mention he took another dad and 12 more boys! They hiked their hearts out. What did I do for 5 days without my boys???????? BEACH HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh I missed them dearly, but I prefer sand and sunscreen to dirt and mosquito repellent any day!

Fun with Friends

I love summer days filled with friends. We had so much fun having the Sotos over. We took day trips to the pool, the beach and the mountains. It's so hard to get together through the school year so heres to summer days. Can't wait to do it again next summer.

The Garden Guru

Bryce is amazing with his green thumb. It was our first garden in the new yard so we weren't sure how it would do. I should have known better. The garden guru came through. We had amazing tomatoes, beans, carrots, peppers and more. We have a deal: Bryce grows the garden and I'll cook it up! I did notice this year that Brad and Breven seem to have taken after the Guru too! They are developing green thumbs as well. Lucky me!

The Beach Fun Has Begun

We HEART the beach! Family fun days at the beach are the best. Does it get any better than this?

Big Bear Biker Boys

My brother Gerry raced up in Big Bear the weekend of Father's Day so we headed up to cheer him on and camp together. What fun! He is such an amazing athlete. He swept! Spending time together is always the highlight. We had both our dads up for a dinner of BBQ ribs, baked potatoes, beans, and corn on the cob. Oh, and of course I made home made ice cream. I love the dads in my life.

Open Ocean

We hit the open ocean with Pops on his boat the SEA LEVEL! We toured the bay for a little while and then took off into the open waters! We saw jelly fish and sea lions and even playful dolphins. The boys fished and then we all stayed the night snuggled inside. Thanks for the fun Pops!