Running in the Snow!

I said it was going to be a chilly run! Great Job Seth.

This can't be right - Sept. 30 and the kids were running in the snow. It was freezing!!! I snapped a few pictures of Seth that I thought turned out pretty good. It will be nice when he moves onto an indoor sport, LOL. We drove home in a blizzard - there is a good 4 inches on the front yard and still snowing. When we got home Jim had had enough and built a fire in the woodstove - it sure feels good now!

X-country

I just stole some pictures off the SSHS cross country blog. Seth has run with the cross country team for the last few years. Seth looks like a great big kid in these pictures - he's not exactly built for running, but he has been really good to stick with it. In the first picture the high school runners are just cheering on some of the middle school runners:

I like this shot of Seth navigating the creek:

He has a meet this afternoon at Bear Lake High School - will be a chilly one.

Harvest 2009

Harvest seems to consume my life these days. I'm not sure if many of my friends really know what it is I do this time of year, so I thought I would show you some pictures of this never-ending harvest.

Grain fields already cut:

Combines & trucks on the way to town:

My view of the main elevator out the front window of my office:

One of Randy's trucks coming on the scale:

The probe I use to collect grain samples:

This is where the grain ends up after I vacuum it out of the truck with the probe:

my sample room:

Barley:

Wheat:

Trucks lined up to dump in the pit:

The line getting a little longer - oops, they backed up the leg:

this is a view of the elevator from the other side ~ you know it's a good harvest when we have to start a ground pile:

These pictures were taken on Sept. 30th ~ the snow storm was on it's way so we stayed open as long a possible. Josh hung from the roof and installed a light so that I could keep probing trucks after dark:

We stayed at the elevator until about 10:00 - Colby kept the north elevator going until midnight. The rain started just before 10:00. Several of our growers managed to get their wheat finished up that night - thanks to neighbors combines and trucks. It was neat to see them working so hard to help each other out. They are a good bunch of people & the guys I work with at the elevator have overworked themselves to try and help out. Willis, Kent, Colby & Josh ~ you need a big pat on the back ~ I have 126 hours on this payroll and they work more hours than I do!

This picture is of the elevator the next morning can you see the big snowflakes?:

Hunting season

Hunting season opened a month or so ago in our neck of the woods. There are days that driving on Highway 34 at 6:00 a.m. is just like driving down I-15 near Salt Lake. Each morning and night I see trucks and trailers parked near the highway and I know they are hunters headed out to make the kill. I personally am not a huge fan of the whole game. The boys at my house seem to think it is fun - although not obsessed like many that live around here. I find myself secretly (maybe not so secretly now) cheering on the wildlife. That is where these pictures come in. For the last 2 weeks this particular truck has been parked down the road about 3 miles from our house. I have seen it sometimes in the morning and sometimes in the evening, but the somewhat comical part about it is that every time I see this truck parked in this spot, within minutes, I always manage to see some wildlife.

This morning there were 3 moose just right up the hill on the ridge above the white truck:

Kind of hard to see, but the one on the left is a young bull - a cow in the middle & a calf on the right:

I zoomed in a little on the momma & baby:

Then down the road less than a mile - guess what? Yep, 3 deer:

I didn't get any pictures, but I have seen Elk 3 times near the white truck in the past 2 weeks. Seth, the girls & I saw a trophy elk - huge beautiful thing just a few nights ago right where the truck is parked. I don't even know who owns the truck or what he is hunting (hopefully they don't read my blog), but I just have to laugh. Oh, and secretly cheer on the wildlife!!! :)

Homecoming Weekend 2009

Mara came home for the Homecoming football game and brought her roommate Makell. We had a fun time at the game - go Soda!!! 47-14 :) Saturday morning we decided to make a impromptu trip to Jackson Hole. Makell had never been in Idaho or Wyoming so we showed her a little of both. The Snake River was especially beautiful - the pictures are take in the canyon between Alpine & Hoback junction. More specifically for you rafters, at the rapids named Lunch Counter & Big Kahuna. It has been 2 years since we have

floated the river - feeling the urge to go again after being so close to the water.

field of round bales in Star Valley

the maple leaves are just getting a good start & the quakies are not far behind

in a few weeks this canyon will be gorgeous - i love the fall colors

Mara Mae & Makell Meeks ( her roommate from Orem, UT)

showing you the cool street sign in Alpine, WY - I wish I was brave enough to steal it!!! :)

Megan found her street sign just around the corner LOL!

Snake River - it was just beautiful

Shelby looking just as beautiful!

Mara Mae enjoying the river

Don't Jump!!!

Megan poses for a pix - she is a little too grown up

Shelby & I wishing we could get just a little closer to dip our toes :(

Jim was at work - it seems like he is always working on the weekends. Seth was too busy for us girls. He had a date for homecoming. They went to Logan and went go-carting, rock climbing, ice blocking (on Old Main Hill), ate out at Chili's and then to the homecoming dance. I'm hoping I can get some pictures from his date's mom - it stinks being the boy's mom - you don't get all the good chances to take pictures and say embarrassing things. We went all that way and didn't carry the camera around in Jackson to take a picture of the Elk arches or Tetons - Makell, you will just have to come back again. This time bring your mom or some of the other roomies!

LOTOJA 2009

O.K. ~ I think my oldest brother may be just a little off his rocker, but he has been training to ride the LOTOJA (Logan, UT to Jackson Hole, WY). It is a 206 mile race - I'm sure mostly uphill. I wish I could have joined my kids to cheer him on, but it's harvest you know. Seth, Meg, & Shelby drove over to Alpine, WY to cheer him on a little. Way to go Uncle Phil - you are an inspiration. The following is what he posted on our family website:

We made it! Lotoja was yesterday, and we rode the whole 206 miles! The best moment of the day, however, was coming into Alpine and find some of my best fans cheering me on. It made my whole day to see Seth, Megan, and Shelby there with their sign! They are the best ever! (Sorry I couldn't stay longer, Seth, Megan, and Shelby!)

The Old Gray Mare

This is Chip - better known as "Hallie's daughter".

My brother-in-law snapped these photos while we hung out at Mom & Dad's for the family reunion. There were a whole lot of other good pictures, but I think these are some of my very favorite.

Chip is an appolosa. She started out this life looking rather red - in fact solid red with a little white strip if I remember right. She was a cute little thing - I never thought she would look just like her momma. If I didn't know better, I would say these pictures are of good old Hallie.

I know it's not very attractive, but this is a fantastic shot - it shows kind of how I feel today - after a long day of harvest at the elevator!

Dad keeps telling us that he is going on a ride - I hope he can soon, but just having Chip out in the pasture seems to make him happy. Maybe this year he will let us take her home and feed her for the winter - who can resist that face?

Wayan Traffic

This is my favorite kind of traffic. I headed to town about 7:15 this morning and ran across this pair around Beavertail point. They were thinking about crossing the road & I remembered that I had thrown in the camera. She was a healthy looking moose & I'm guessing this is last years calf - maybe, I think I remember hearing they keep their calves for 2 years.

It was a beautiful morning - you can see the sun hitting the mountains on the west side:

I tried to zoom in a little, but it isn't quite as clear:

This one is funny - the calf thought it was hiding behind mom:

They finally decided to go around me so they could cross the road:

It was pretty cool watching them from so close - gotta love this part of living in the sticks - I do.

Football season

Here come the cheerleaders!! - We go and watch the football games, but mostly to watch the cheerleaders. (: Go Eagles :) The football team is pretty good too - the boys Megan's age have not lost in their whole big Jr. High career. They are almost as good as their cheerleaders LOL! High school is getting too close!