Roadless Elk Hunt

On April 24th Mitch Wilhelm found out he had drawn the Book Cliff Roadless Elk Hunt, and ever since that day he and Jake have been planning for the hunt. That day I began telling Mitch that he needed to make sure he killed his elk on the first day, and I kept telling him that all summer long (last year Jake drew out for this tag and spent 13 days in the roadless area and 13 days without cell service... IT WAS AWFUL!). Jake and Mitch worked most nights after work getting the horses in shape, training the mule to ride and pack, and doing who knows what else. I kept thinking this hunt is actually more of a job than anything. They (Jake, Mitch, Glade, SIX horses, and a Mule) took off for the hunt Monday morning. Sunday night Jake was like a little kid waiting for Christmas. He was anxious, excited, and scared all at the same time. I talked to Jake Monday made sure to tell him to remind Mitch he needed to kill on the first day and then I figured I wouldn't talk to Jake again until Sunday. BUT I WAS WRONG!!! Yesterday afternoon my phone rang and it was JAKE! He said they were on their way home! Mitch had killed an elk on the first day (he listens A LOT better than Jake does) and it had taken them two days to get it out of the roadless area. They got home late last night and were so exhausted and happy. They only had one episode with the horses, which is pretty good with that many horses. I am glad they had fun, and even more glad to have them home! 

Heading down the trail.

The horses at camp.

Camp... I don't think there is ANY way all three of them stayed in that tent!

Jake called this elk within 14 yards of them. It is bugling at them right here.

I couldn't not believe how close they were... and then Jake told me this picture (not the others) was zoomed in. 

 Mitch said Jake kept saying DON'T SHOOT!

Mitch and the elk. 

All their hard work paid off. According to them the hunt was fun until Mitch shot the elk and then they work began! Not an easy task getting an elk, three men, and 7 horses up a six hour trail ride. 

Bring Your Dog to Work Day!

Today Nate and Dave both brought their dogs to the BLM. This was the best work day EVER for Brilee! Nate has bird dogs and Dave has two hound puppies. Here are some pictures of Brilee on her new favorite day!

The hound dogs were in "Time Out" so they were barking and Brilee wouldn't not turn her head away from them.

Mazy and Nebo

Goldie and Gunner. Nate had just turned Mazy and Nebo loose so all attention was on them.

Brilee and Goldie.

We Now Have an EIGHT MONTH OLD!

Brilee is now a big eight month old baby! She is changing so much and is getting a more vibrant personality by the day! As I write this she is crawling all over my lap to get to my feet which she for some odd reason wants in her mouth! On her eight month old birthday she had her bottom TWO teeth surface and finally show themselves. What a cool day to grow teeth. Brilee is so fun and the best thing in our life. She makes our days all happy because of her sweet personality. Jake left on Monday to take a friend hunting in the roadless area of the Book Cliffs. I asked him to write down eight things he loves about Brilee, but instead he wrote thirteen (he said he just had to many to narrow to eight). So this months list is from Dad.

1. You love dogs and animals, and aren't scared.

2. Your smile.

3. Your big blue eyes.

4. When you laugh.

5. When you snuggle up in the mornings.

6. How you can hold your own bottle.

7. When your Mom reads to you and you spend the whole time grabbing the book instead of listening.

8. How you sing in the car.

9. When you talk, you have a sweet voice.

10. When you sleep all night long.

11. When you bounce in your bouncer. 

12. How you roll all over the place when we try and get you dressed. It almost takes two of us to get you ready!

13. When you scream and giggle when you see me. 

Fall Days!

I am so excited for the fall! It is my favorite time of year. Yesterday we went up to the cabin for a hot dog roast and to enjoy the fall colors. The leaves are starting to turn and there was a chill in the air! When we got there it was pouring rain, my parents were out on a walk, and Granny was debating on wether or not to come up. They ended up coming, the weather cleared off, and it turned into a beautiful day. We are so lucky to have the cabin, and I am happy Brilee will have so many great memories there.

Relaxing in the hammock. 

Ty Man with his new Red Rider.

Hiking down the hill. Jenny and I once pushed a stroller (with Chloey and Elly in it) down this mountain!

By the fire.

Brilee, Elly, and Grandma.

Nothing like taking five little kids who aren't scared of heights to Ice Cave Peak.

I love the trees!

Trying to get these kids to sit still is a hard job!

Hiking out of Ice Cave Peak.

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!

I don't know what people traditionally do on Talk Like a Pirate Day (other than the obvious) but in our family we did a lot of canning! Today Granny and her helpers made a batch of salsa and a batch of spaghetti sauce. We didn't talk like pirates either. We are coming to an end on the canning season and I think everyone is ready! 

Here are Granny's goods. (We all have shelves at our house full of these goods too!) THANK YOU SO MUCH!

More goods.

Ben and Andre's spaghetti sauce.

All the peppers and onions for the Laws' salsa. We were all in their crying our eyes out thanks to the onions!

The tomatoes.

All mixed together! YUM!

Now and Then.

There once was a little tiny baby who was so little in comparison to the big huge swing!

Now there is a big baby who weighs to much the swing won't even swing her! 

Wendover... The Place for FAMILY Fun!

Last weekend Jake, Brilee, and I met Ben, Andre, Matt, Melissa, and all their kids in Wendover for the weekend. Matt and Melissa were going to a concert so we went to help baby-sit their kids. Jake and I left early Saturday morning so we could do some shopping, and visit Carly!!!! (Who is doing awesome! She is such a tough cookie. I can't wait to see you again Car!) We had a great time with Carly, Paul, and Kristen. Brilee loved playing with Emery, and we loved just being able to talk with Carly and Paul. When we got to Wendover we went to the buffet (with 7 kids!), went swimming, played Go Fish (this is where we lost Jake and Ben), played Memory, and watched some awesome Strawberry Shortcake movies. After Matt and Melissa picked up their kids and Brilee was out for the night I met up with Jake and we went to the Golden Nugget and... DID NOT BECOME RICH! We had a good time though! Thanks for the invite guys! Next time we go we will try and arrange it so we have seven fewer kids! 

Emery is such a pretty dog!

Giving kisses.

Upon arrival at the Montego Bay!

The babies enjoying the buffet. They both tried mashed potatoes for the first time here, and they were a hit for both of them!

Getting ready to swim!

Brilee was a fish again! She just loves to splash and kick. 

Garden on Steriods

I remember saying I would put a picture of the garden every week on the blog, but I lied! So here is a catch up of our garden. Granny works so hard on it, and it pays off. On Monday we picked six boxes and four buckets of tomatoes (and my Mom had come earlier in the day and picked six bags of tomatoes). Today we canned two batches of salsa, and then went to the garden to pick more tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, watermelon, and cantaloupe. Today we picked six boxes and five buckets of tomatoes! It is insane, and so much fun! While we were making our salsa Allred's Garden called and said their peaches came in, and so Granny left to go buy six boxes of them to start canning! It's a lot of work, but come January it is so rewarding. 

All the tomatoes.

The kids dancing and enjoying the garden.

Some of the tomatoes. (After we picked.)

The peppers and cucumbers (zoom in on the peppers there are about one hundred on each plant!)

All the babies.

Another Day at the Cabin!

We went to the cabin yesterday. It was such a nice day, we had so much fun! Jake and I went on a horse ride to the top of Lake Mountain and off into Dry Fork to scout for elk. I rode Uma (of course) and Jake rode Coyote. As soon as we got to the top of the mountain it started raining, lightning, and thundering. We quickly went into the trees and got off our horses. We sat there getting rained on waiting for the lightning to stop. When it finally did we decided we could handle a little rain. We took off again off to Dry Fork. We rode through some down timber and then decided we were being to loud on the horses. We tied them up and took off down into Dry Fork. We saw lots of deer, but we didn't see one elk. When we got back to the horses it had started to hail. It hurt so bad, and we were getting so cold. We hung out in the trees again and when the hail stopped we took off on a run to get off the mountain before the next storm came through. We made it down the mountain in 48 minutes. I was proud of us. I hadn't been on a ride like that in almost two years, and I forgot how fun it was. I love going places with Jake, it seems like it is always such an adventure. While we were gone Brilee went on a walk with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Stacia, and Michael. She also took a little nap with Grandpa. Thank you so much for watching her for us so we could go! We had a blast, and we were all exhausted by the time we got home last night. 

Such a big girl at the cabin.

Right after he put her on his shoulders she pulled out his hearing aides. She has the quickest little hands.

We love ole' Uma Jean!

Taking off. 

Nothing like a nap at the cabin.

They went to Loggers Road to go on their walk. They were glad they had Michael to push the stroller up the rocky hill. They all had to take a turn pushing, but I hear Michael had to push the majority.

Grandma's turn!

Grandpa's turn!

Stacia's turn pushing Bri Bear!

I would like to tell myself Brilee is sad when Jake and I are not with her. This picture tells me differently. 

Brilee's first time on a horse! I was a little nervous so she was only on long enough to get a picture taken.

Yummy dinner! Steak, crab, salsa, corn, cantaloupe, pasta salad, and apple cobbler!

We wanted to look for Moose sheds and so we started walking around. Jake started saying "I think I found something. It looks like a bowling ball. HAHAHA It is a bowling ball." Probably the most random thing I have ever found on the mountain. We won't tell you what else we found!

UGH the grass! We took three different pictures and there were issues with all of them! We did have a fun Rhino ride though. 

Brilee and Mommy!

Remember the smile I told you about... HERE IT IS AGAIN (in a cheesier version)! I think it is so funny.

Our MPG on our way to the cabin was 5.2, but on the way home we hit 98.8! (Something tells us we may have a problem!)