the latest adventure

Yeee Haaw!! Welcome to the wild west.... or Bear Lake. A couple weeks ago, we headed up to Georgetown, Idaho to visit my sister GayLynn. We had a blast. We went to the rodeo and watched Callie run barrels and poles, spent a day at Bear Lake, did the slip'n slide, played card games, and rode horses.
Here we are at the rodeo waiting for Callie to do her amazing run. We had a great time watching her and the boys loved the horses. Eli especially loved the tractor that came out to "mow" the dirt in between events.
Carver is my cute little "great" nephew! He is such a cutie, he and Eli were a hoot together, causing all sorts of trouble. These two cute boys are only 11 days apart.... I can't imagine the trouble they'll be as they grow up together, but I think they'll be great buds.

Hahaha! I love this picture. I think the boys look so cute up on the hay bales in their matching shirts.... but Eli did NOT like the feel of the straw on his bare legs! His face cracks me up.
Will absolutely LOVED farm life. It just made me even more anxious and excited for the things I've always said I wanted (land, big gardens, animals to take care of, etc.). Both Will and Eli just had a blast running around, getting filthy, helping take care of animals, ride the 4 wheeler, and being outside. It was fun to let them run loose for a few days!
Will also LOVED the horse. Newey is Callie's horse that she rides and races on. She is a sweet horse and Will had a lot of fun riding her. He was not one bit nervous or scared, I was so proud of him. He rode all by himself and even made her trot a little.
Eli on the other hand prefered to ride the 4 wheeler. He is my risk taker and thrill seeker baby that is for sure. Anything loud, fast, or dangerous, he's ON it! He did like the horse too, but still wanted the 4 wheeler. Above is my niece McKenzie and her little boy Carver with Eli.


Will wanted to be buried in the sand while we were at Bear Lake. He was cracking me up with his goggles on his head and his eyes closed. He was a good sport though and had fun digging himself out of the hole!

Bear Lake was awesome. It was overcast, so we weren't melting in the sun. The kids played in the water a ton, and we ate lunch, had snacks and chit chatted. My parents also came up to Idaho with us, so we had quite the group. On the day we went to the lake, my brother Mike and his kids met us up there. It was a blast. Eli didn't like the cold Bear Lake, he just dug in the sand and ate cheetos the whole time.
Will and Cade (below) are pretty good little buddies. They are only a couple years apart, and they have a lot of fun together. Will has issues when I ask him to take his picture..... I wanted to get a picture of the two boys because they both looked so cute, and they originally both had their goggles on top of their heads. They played a lot together at the beach and Cade was so nice to Will when he accidentally set his pet turtle free in the lake. Yep, he let their turtle loose in the lake, never to been seen again. I'm not sure if I should say poor turtle, or lucky turtle to be back in his habitat?
We got home from Georgetown on a Tuesday, and Friday morning we left to head up to the cabin. This time, we took my parents and my sister and her family up with us. It was a lot of fun, as usual. It was also really nice to have millions of people there (which is how it has been both other times we've gone up).
We did a little hike/walk at Bear Gulch. It was amazing. I'm going to post better pictures when my sister sends them to me from her snazzy camera! Bear Gulch is the old railway that went to West Yellowstone, so it is about 45 miles long. People bike it, hike it, 4 wheeler it, and in the winter, snow mobile it. It was breath-taking. The views were amazing and the wild flowers were incredible. It's called Bear Gulch because the trail is lined with huckleberry plants and when the berries come on, it attracts the bears!
Grandma and Grandpa Hopkins with a few of their Grandkids. These are the cousins Will lived with for 6 months. Amazingly they are still friends.... they are actually more like siblings. I'm so glad!
Here's the old rail tunnel. I know it doesn't look that cool, but it was seriously neat to see this. It is old and caving in and really intriguing.... I'm thinking some awesome family pictures could be taken here..... and with a nice camera (not my dingy point and shoot), they could be really awesome.
Nice photo Scott (above). I guess our point and shoot isn't totally worthless. :)
We also floated down Warm River. It was an adventure! My boys love it, but as usual, Eli would prefer to sit in a lawn chair and eat peach rings while the rest of us float the river. Almost every picture I have of this kid is him eating.....
The table all set and ready for our Sunday dinner feast. I bought these pretty blue napkins at IKEA for Martha to have at the cabin and they looked SO cute with her bird plates. I couldn't resist a picture. And I'm totally in love with these plates, they are so, so, pretty. It made our yummy dinner even more yummy!

It wouldn't be a trip to the cabin without feeding the giant trout! I love seeing everyone lined up on this little dock. The fish to feed are always fun to see. They are huge and some of them jump out of the water. Of course, once again, when we hand Eli bread to throw in, he just eats it. It's pretty funny to watch.
We had a great time at the cabin. Played lots of games, floated the river and we visited the Ashton ward for church. It was a great weekend and SO great to see Scott after being gone from him for almost two weeks. Now, we are set to move in two days!!! I can't wait, it has been nine months since we've had our own place and we are more than excited to move into our little condo and figure things out.

Next post.... our NEW place!