Our adventures out West

0In August, we headed west, to Denver, Colorado for Uncle Kevin's wedding to "Princess Tess." We started out with a mini family reunion, however, with ALL of Dave's siblings.


Kristin and Kevin picked us up at the airport. The kids all had to pull their own suitcases. It was so cute to watch them, all lined up like little ducklings.


We met in Colorado, I'm not exactly sure where, but it was definitely remote, and certainly secluded. We didn't run into a lot of other people! We camped, of course (no hotels out there). It was a great few days. The kids ran around, and the adults visited (some of them ran around, too!) The nights were chilly, as were the days. Here are Emily and Josh with some of their cousins, playing in the snow.

Emily and her cousin Anna played all day long. They just love each other!

Taylor, working hard to chop wood for our fire.

Mark, cooking a delicious meal over the fire.

The adults, relaxing around the fire, and talking.

Emily snuggling up with Grandpa, for warmth!

Roasting marshmallows

David, enjoying a s'more.

Here is Joshua with his cousin, Willy.

The area we camped in is rich in railroad history. I was impressed with the rough terrain they were able to get trains into, just to get the silver and gold out! A pretty lucrative time for some. The railway is no longer around, but there are a few tracks left. Joshua was excited to get out there and run his Thomas train on the rails.

Emily and I walked the rails. It was a beautiful area!

Here is Benjamin with his cousins, Taylor, Dallin, and Ryan. They had so much fun playing together!
And, finally, the highlight of our trip: Kevin and Tess's wedding in the Denver Temple. It was a beautiful wedding, and they are going to be such a happy couple!
Emily and Joshua were fascinated with Tess, "the princess." They are still asking about her. They may never call her Aunt Tess, just the princess. Oh well, there are worse nicknames! Emily went through the line at the reception at least 5 times, maybe more. Tess and her parents were very patient with her, especially when she started bringing them bits of food that they had to tactfully dispose of! Here she is, admiring Princess Tess.
Finally, here are my kids with Grandma and Grandpa Hoopes. This is actually in Salt Lake, a week or so after the wedding.


After a fun week in Colorado with the Hoopes', we drove across the mountains to Utah to see my family. Sarah and John were there with their kids, as well. We had a great couple of weeks together.

All of the great-grandchildren love Olde Mor. Probably because she reads to them and sings songs in Norwegian.

Dave and John took Benjamin backpacking up Big Cottonwood Canyon. I believe they camped at Lake Blanche, but I could be wrong. Here are some pictures of their fun 2 days.

Starting the hike (note Ben's backpack, with his sleeping pad strapped to the back! How cute!):

The top of the peak, on day 2:
Benjamin in a little bit of a tricky spot:

Dave, John, and my dad also hiked Mt Nebo, the highest peak on the Wasatch Front.

I had more modest ambitions this trip, and made it up to Cecret Lake, one of my favorite hikes in Little Cottonwood Canyon. I like it because of the wildflowers, and now, because it is a good hike for my kids. Although, Ben did complain that it was way too easy for him! Here are Mormor, Morfar, Ben, Emily, Joshua, and Matthew at the lake.

Emily and Mormor were great hikers! (Of course, Emily did it in a dress!)

My dad let the kids use his tools, and Emily and Matthew spent hours in the garage, sawing up old boards.

We also hiked up to the hotpots out of Spanish Fork, but I didn't take any pictures of it, unfortunately. We had such a fun trip to Utah/Colorado! We really miss the west, but were happy to come back "home" to Ohio!