The Art of Fishing

Brian went to ride his bike at the RATPOD over the weekend with Randy.  It's a 130 mile bike ride that supports a great cause.  Way to go Bri. 

While he was gone I decided to attempt fishing with the boys.  Well, honestly I am new to fly fishing so basically they would be teaching me. I had to put a little bit of tape on Coops hook so he wouldn't keep jabbing everyone in the face. 

It was fun to watch the boys work together to get their flies on, and tie their own knots.  Brian has taught them well.

Little Kelt wadded out in his moms waders.

  I think they are just a tad big on you buddy.

Kelly and her family came down to join in the fun.  Little Coop was such a gentleman. 

Helping Kaitlyn down the hill.  Kelly also had a ton of luck - catching fish after fish. 

I also had a lot of luck catching some kind of sea creature.  I have to tell you though.  My fly fishing skills need some serious practice.  It is a true art that I have yet to master.  What a fun night.

Tree House

It's summer time, and the boys are kind of getting a little bored.  I guess not bored, but they are not very productive.  Carson and Kelton said they were headed out to build a tree house.  Now, what trees will they be using to build their tree house? 

 We have only a few small trees, but nothing that you could use for a treehouse.  Well, they did find a tree to build their house in.  Not your ordinary tree, but it will do.  They worked hard all day long.  They now have an official boy hideout built just for the three of them. 

Cooper is so dang funny.  He just sits outside by the boys and plays with ants, or weeds, or dirt. 

He is just happy to be hanging out with his big brothers. 

So Pretty

Got to go out and take more pictures tonight.  The family was awesome. 

Maddie is a total model. 

Just KELTON

Kelton cracks me up.  He is such a motivated little guy.  He likes any kind of outdoor adventure.  He woke up at the crack of dawn saying he wanted to go bird hunting with his bow.  Now, thank goodness that the birds go faster than his arrows because he is an amazing shot.  He rarely misses.  The rain was coming down and he was standing by the door dressed in his camo gear. Instead of killing a little bird, he actually helped save one. 

One of my Favs

Marsden Girls

Alright, so I am completely obsessed with taking pictures.  I can't even sleep at night!  What is going on?  Well, today I got to hang out with three beautiful Marsden girls. 

Annie's girls are absolutely adorable.  There wasn't one bad picture in the whole bunch.  So many to choose from, so little disc space.  It was fun shooting with my mom and dad.  They came up to hang out and join in on the fun.  What a blast.

Carson's turns 12

I honestly can't believe that my little baby has turned twelve.  Where has the time gone?  It was just yesterday he was crawling around in circles.  Today, he is a grown young man. For his birthday we took him down North and went to the bow shop.  He has been wanting a bow for the past year since his brother Kelton got one.  We went out to lunch, and then went to pick up his new bow.  The boys shot for a while, and off we went to more baseball games. 

Little Coop watched so patiently and posed while we waited for the boys.

This week has been filled with so many baseball games.  It was tournament time, and they seem to cram them all of the games into one fun filled week of parent tourture.  Brian and Kelton had a great season.  It was great to see Brian coaching the boys this season.  He did a fantastic job.  Kelton played hard.  He played pitcher, and catcher.  They made it pretty far until they got knocked out in the last game and lost by one. 

Carson's team played and played and played.  They made it to the finals and ended up taking second place - out of seven or eight teams.  Way to go boys.  Carson pitched some amazing games.  Although it was a great week I think I grew 3 new ulcers, gained 10 pounds by living off nachos, hot dogs, skittles, and pop corn.  Yeah, it was worth it.

Wowsers, I am absolutely beat! 

My house is a complete wreck,

 but it was all in the name of baseball LOVE. 

Good times, good times.

First Photo Shoot

So, I did my first photo shoot yesterday.  It was the funnest thing on the planet.  Natalie has the most adorable kids ever.  They were the best at posing. 

I had such a great time. Thanks guys.

Rainy Day Adventure

Wow, it has been raining a lot around this place.  We have been feeling a little cooped up so we headed over to Warm River to scout out some new climbing that we heard about.  We had a great time and found a lot of cool rocks. 

What a wonderful way to spend a rainy day. 

Be Thankful

So, I woke up feeling pretty amazing today. . . . until I got a call from my mother saying that my brother Cortney had been hit by a car while riding his motorcycle home late last night.  How can this be?  How crappy of luck can one kid have?  Now, many of you know Cortney and know that he lives for the outdoors and his family.  He is such an amazing person.  Actually, he must be some kind of angel because he really shouldn't be alive at all - several times over.

It makes me think of just how lucky yet ungreatful I am.  It seems that I often complain about the weather.  If it's raining - too much rain.  If it's snowing - too cold.  If it's blowing - way too windy.  It also seems like I often complain about not being in top shape.

Why do we do this?  Why aren't we just satisfied with the conditions or body we have?  Why does it take a death or accident to realize that we haven't said "I LOVE YOU" in a really long time?

  

So, today I am thankful. 

Thankful for my life.

Thankful for my healthy body.

Thankful for my family.

Thankful for my brother.

Thankful for the Gospel.

So tomorrow, wake up - feel the fresh air on your face, and appreciate life.  No matter what the weather. No matter how those jeans are fitting.  Say I LOVE you to those who walk out the door.  Because you just never know if you will get a second chance.