Trek Day 1

We met at 6am at our Stake Center and we were cheerfully welcomed by our Stake President.
He told us he could have paid for all of us to have a day at Lagoon with the money they have put into trek, but he wanted us to have a memorable experience that would help us grow and learn.
He said a beautiful prayer asking for our safety and that all wildlife would turn away from us.

We, then, boarded big yellow school busses, which drove us near Evanston, Wyoming to Desert Livestock where we would begin a 30 mile trek.

Noah started out in another family, but soon switched with an older boy and joined our family.

Daddy and I were excited to be a Pa and Ma for trek and have 6 kids: four 14-year old boys, and 2 girls, one being Joyanne.

We started out trekking along with lots of energy and excitement.

Noah and Kaden pulled in very front.
Ian and Braxton took the middle with Daddy helping.
Joyanne, Elizabeth and I took the rear.
We switched positions from time to time, but mostly kept to those positions.

We saw a prairie dog along the way.
He was sure curious about us pioneers walking along, and not very frightened by all the people.

Aren't these two cute?!

Joyanne and Noah sure make good siblings.

I loved having my own daughter apart of our trek family.

We would stop every couple miles and rest.
We also had bucket talks where we would sit in our trek family circle and talk about "The Family Proclamation".

Then we were off again going uphill and down.

It was hot to trek, but we had a nice breeze that would cool us off.
Water was our best friend, and we drank at least every mile, if not more.

Silly Guys!

To entertain themselves the boys stuck little weeds in their hair.

Our bishop was a great, inspiring leader who walked beside us the entire way.

Our watchman on the hill, who was our beacon of hope along the way.

Ma, Elizabeth, and Joyanne

Mary Jane Shaw and me taking a much needed rest.

What a handsome pioneer!

Our tents were such a relief from the sun, the wind, and to rest our weary feet in.

Joyanne's violin was so enjoyable to listen to the first night.
She played along with Elizabeth on the flute.
She also played with a friend, Kennedy, and his Viola.
I sang along to many songs Joyanne played.

Our first evening ended so nice and relaxing.

Happy Father's Day!

What a great day!

Daddy was surprised with gifts throughout the day at random.

Hiram gave a talk in church about Fathers and did a great job.

The primary kids sang for the dads, and of course, it was so cute.

These kids sure love their dad and all he does for them.

I love how Daddy puts his family first in his life.

He's always thinking about our kids and what more he can do for them.

He truly is the best dad ever!

And little Grant wanted a picture with his daddy on this special day.

Soccer, Fishing, Floating

Jaden was pretty excited to make the competitive soccer team again this year.

He has been practicing like crazy, and Daddy has been helping him.

Daddy took Grant and Hiram out to float down the river.

While they floated, James, Noah, and I tried fishing off the shore.

We saw fish jumping out of the water everywhere, but we didn't catch a single fish.

I think we needed a bobber to keep our hooks from sinking in the river.

But we had fun anyways.

Sanding Down the Table and Floating the River

Our kitchen table is starting to look its age.

We have had this table for 15 years and it is looking worn out.

We spent the day sanding down the table.

We are getting ready to refinish it.

Hiram and I had fun sanding down the whole table in about 4 hours.

Daddy also went kayaking with Noah down a river near us.

They had a lot of fun.

Ouch!

Yesterday I took my brother, John, and his 2 daughters to ride Scorch, my nephew's horse I'm caring for.

John looked great as he galloped around the pasture.

The owner of the pasture said I'd be fine to ride their horse, Cowboy, bareback with a bridle if I wanted to.

So, I put a halter on Cowboy and climbed on.

He started to follow Scorch, but I stopped him and turned him the other way.

Then Cowboy started chasing the other horse, Silver, around the pasture.

With no saddle on and the horse galloping, I knew I was in for some trouble when Cowboy wouldn't slow down to me saying "Whoa".

My body was flying around the horse's back and my legs were banging against his side as I clutched to the halter lead rope and his mane.

I remembering my friend, and horse trainer, telling me that if I was going to fall, to fall off as gently as possible.

So, I attempted to slide off the right side of the horse, but tumbled hard to the ground, and my head banged against a rock.

The rest is a little hazy to remember, but I think . . .

Surprisingly I quickly got up and said I was fine.

I remember swaying a bit as I walked and pulled out my phone.

I looked at the screen to text and thought, "Ummmm, Daddy's name looks familiar to me. I'll text him and ask him to help me."

I walked over Cowboy and somehow managed to get off his halter, but then I started realizing I didn't remember where it went.

Then I started wondering who these horses were, and where was I?

At this point I started panicking, but thankfully Daddy showed up and took me to the hospital.

I wasn't sure what day or month it was.

As I looked at my husband, I barely made the connection that I was married to him.

I knew I had 6 kids and their names, but I couldn't remember anything about them.

I couldn't remember what I had done that morning, or even anything that had happened that week.

It really disturbed me that I couldn't remember anything.

I was then taken for a Catscan of my head.

Thankfully everything came back saying I just had some bruising and a concussion.

I was still confused and disoriented and just wanted to go home and go to bed.

They said I could do just that, and gave us some safety precautions to take for the next 5 days.

After I got home and my kids came in to talk to me, I started feeling a little better and my memory started returning.

I napped for a couple hours, and by the time I woke up, I felt more like myself.

My head still hurts, especially to lots of noise, or if I have to think to deeply, like trying to write all this down.

But my neck is what hurts the most.

It is so stiff and throbs with pain.

I've been icing it and putting "Deep Blue" on it, but it still hurts so much.

I know it will take a few days to recover, and I'm grateful I'm alive.

So I posted on social media that I fell off a horse riding bareback yesterday. Hit my head, went to the emergency room, have a concussion, but I'm STILL SMILING!

I'm grateful I'm alive and I'm grateful for the prayers and kindness I've received.

Remembering Loved Ones

We visited my side of the family on Memorial Day.

My sisters grave, grandparents, and great grand parents.

I really miss the family that has passed away to the other side.

Grant is named after is great great uncle who died from epilepsy.

After visiting those family who have died, we went and visited living family and enjoyed time spent together.

We swam in the pool, ate yummy food, played games, and listened to great music.

Family is the best!

James's Fieldtrip

I went on a field trip with James and his class to the Clark Planetarium.

We learned a lot about our solar system, and even about another solar system 500 light years away.

We were able to ride the bus, which was an adventure all on its own.

I love spending time with my kids.