Telluride

A few weeks ago, some friends let us tag along for a fun vacation to Telluride, CO. It was so beautiful! We could really get used to this upper class thing- kent's favorite thing about the entire trip was to call down and have his "car prepared." We were definitely the only Dodge Durango in the area!

The first day we were there, we rode the gondola into Telluride (we stayed in Mountain Village). Tyse claims this to be the best part of the entire trip- and it was great for the adults too! It was the peak of the fall colors and the mountains were just covered in yellow. WOW! We went down to this cool little park they had and let the kids run around like crazy and actually got a decent family picture for us to post. Miracle of all miracles.

The second day we went up to an old ghost mining town and wandered around for the day. It was so beautiful- it had snowed the night before just lightly enough to cover it and let Emitt touch snow for the first time... he LOVED it! We were able to participate in the first snowball fight of the season and wander around the old ruins and have a picnic. It was such a great day!

Man, these pics are all over!
The third day, we tried out our 4x4 skills and scaled the side of the mountain housing Bridal Veil Falls, the largest waterfall in Colorado. Kent definitely LOVED climbing the road, and the view was beautiful.

After this day, we packed up and headed to Cedar City via a visit to the 4 corners region. The drive over Lizard Head Pass was AMAZING! At this point I am going to show off some of Kent's extraordinary portrait abilities...

We hit the biggest rain storm just as we pulled into the parking lot at 4 corners. I think all the native american vendors there LOVE the rain because people actually had to take extra time to look through the shops until the rain stopped. Kent even got to taste his first Navajo Taco made by a real Navajo! I was going to post a pic, but the thing isn't uploading and Tyse is throwing a MAJOR fit and about to break a mirror, so I am off...

After a terribly long day in the car, we were so happy to finally pull in to the Ihler's and get a decent night's sleep! What a great trip!

Labor Day Camping

So I am finally getting around to posting our Labor Day pictures. I know- I have tried at least 4 or 5 times to do so, but Tyse is a little obsessed with the computer and comes along while I am changing laundry or something and deletes the whole post. So here I try again...
we had a great weekend at Rifle Falls State Park in Colorado with my brother and his family and my sister and her family. I love camping and we have finally gotten out a couple of times this summer and really had a great time! Even the dog loved it, so the hassle and stress of getting everything together was definitely worth it. HOw does it work that a manly activity such as camping always means the poor wife has the most stressful week of her life? I haven't quite figured it out yet... I guess it is because I actually care if our children have cold weather clothes and fruit to eat some time during the trip.
Our first full day there we went on a short little hike to the falls that the campground was named after. It was a lot of fun! We hiked up and around the top and there were a million different caves for the kids to explore and wildlife all over. There was one cave that was quite a bit larger than the others and poor tyse became PETRIFIED of it. I think because of that book "We're Going On A Bear Hunt". He thought every cave had a bear in it. Luckily his opinion changed about it when we went back later that night for the bat talk and observation. He thought it was the best part of the entire trip- the rest of us don't think we saw a single bat. I am sure that in his super hero geared mind Batman was up there somewhere flying around.
The next day we went to a place called Hanging Lake to hike. My family has been going to this trail for as long as I can remember and I think it is my favorite all time hike. Rather short, absolutely breathtaking, and a lot of fun. Well, I had forgotten that terribly steep and boulder ridden in that first description. Tyse went ahead with Uncle Craig, Aunt Krista, Ty, and Grandma Paula while Kent patiently endured me pulling my pregnant belly up the hill very slowly. Apparently Tyse was great help to grandma while they were hiking- every time there was a rock of any size in the trail, Tyse would climb up it and then turn to her and say "Oh grandma, this one is a HUGE step. I better help you". He would then hold his hand out and "pull" her up the rock. It was very gentlemanly of him! I am trying to upload kiot9ti9toyigkllfldlgkgjgjkglkgflf,lg,lfg;lgl;g;lgm,tkykotyktpktltkl;tpotlktlp;tl;tlp[otportpoltpotpottltkltkllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllc,lfcmklefoifkrtgkoitgokptypkoyok

Tyse's Look alike meter

Supporting a Good Cause

A few months ago, one of Beka's cousins was diagnosed with leukemia for the third time. His name is Casey Nish. He is married, has three kids and is 34 years old. It is obviously a very hard situation to go through for his family and one in which we wish we could do more to help. Prayers are on the forefront of all the help from everyone who knows but Casey had one more request. He asked all the male family members and friends to shave their heads in support of him losing his hair. So I did. If, you read this Casey, I am considering you to be the first person on the prayer roll at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple (being built in background).


At the same time I have a cousin, Robert Carpenter, who was recently deployed to Iraq in August. So I guess shaving my was two-fold. I think I might keep it shaved until Casey recovers and Robert returns. I actually like it a lot. But it might be cold for this upcoming winter.

Emitt's First Birthday!

So, emitt's first birthday is come and gone. I can't believe it has already been a year! Those first 6 months about killed us, but he has more than made up for it in sweetness since. We had a Ball party, since he is about as obsessed with balls as his big brother. We thought it was appropriate because his only word ( I don't count Dad because it isn't fair) is "kick it". He walks around the house holding my fingers and kicks any ball, saying "kick it". I guess I should have known we were in for kids that like sports. I LOVE it!
Anyway, back to the party! We had a ball carnival kinda thing in our front yard with soccer goals, basketball hoops, and the highlight- the slip n slide! It was kinda overcast and smoky and only in the mid 80's to which we acknowledged, It is such a nice day! this reminds us of california! Bring on all that pollution!
We had a few friends over and the local Mortensen cousins, most of which are much older than Emitt, so it ended up being more a party for Tyse and his friends, but it was great and I wouldn't change it for anything!
Here is the cake eating. Emitt LOVED the first few bites- didn't even wait for the singing or anything- he just dove right in. Unfortunately, he decided nap time should be a little early on this particular day and got tired, and started rubbing his eyes. He then had brown frosting on his eyelashes, in his eyes, etc. It didn't go over very well, as shown by the upper right picture, so cake time was cut short. I don't think he ever even got a taste of the actual cake- just frosting. Oh- and his eyes were excreting brown tears and sleepies for a couple days after!

Some things about Emitt on his first birthday:

His favorite food: any fruit and pizza
His favorite toy: balls and his little stuffed animals (he doesn't see these much because Red likes to tear them apart)
How he goes to sleep: a sippy cup of milk, a short story and my best rendition of "I Am A Child Of God"
His favorite thing to do at the dinner table: feed the begging Red anything from his plate or throw it on the floor if Red is outside
He is starting to walk- has taken about a total of 3 consecutive steps a few times this week
His vocabulary includes Dad, Kick It, and I think he is trying for dog
He loves to help take things out of the dryer
He loves to play in "his" drawer in the kitchen- all the plastics. He is the organization king!
He really loves to pull all of Tyse's clothes out of his drawers, and if I am lucky he will put them back in!
He loves swimming- we are definitely wishing that the parasite hadn't closed all the pools in the state!
He is not at all interested in TV, but loves the computer- especially when he can grab the keys. He even pulled the space bar off of our laptop a couple days ago.
He has discovered the joy of unrolling the toilet paper from the roll. Joy.
He LOVES the bath- example...
He has learned to fold his arms for the prayer
He has learned a few signs to get what he wants- the only 2 he uses on a regular basis is "more" and "all done". Coupled with the finger point, he has all he needs!

We are so blessed to have such a sweet spirit in our home and pray that we can nurture and teach him the ways of the Lord and bring him up in the way which he should go. We love him so much and are so proud and happy to have him in our family!

Miller Farewell party

So the week before Jeremy and Ashley left, we all cleared our schedules and got together for one more Winger's feast. The kids ran wild, and the adults talked about all the good old topics... But the pictures were the most fun!
Emitt has missed Ginger to carry him around! That was so fun to watch her playing with him!
Here is the cutest picture of the millers- Cambri's hair is AMAZING! So cute!

Tyse and Jadi looking at the trees and the clouds... I guess that is pretty deep for 3 year olds. Who are their parents? they must be genius!
We miss you, Jeremy and Ashley!