Christmas Time

We got our Christmas tree up last weekend.  I have really enjoyed having it up all week so far and will continue to enjoy it this month.  It's already December 1st--wow!

My Christmas tree is an artificial pre-lit tree with white lights on it.  Nothing fancy.  It's a hand-me-down tree from my oldest brother.  It has worked very well for us.  It is a "Memory Tree", meaning that the ornaments are mostly all just ones we have collected over the years and growing up, and from places we have been on vacation, etc.  Ones that have special meaning to us.  For this reason I love decorating the tree because I get to unwrap all my ornaments out of the box and remember each and every reason that I have them, and where we got them, or who gave them to us, etc.  It is so fun!

Thanksgiving Weekend

 My sister and her 4 kids, and my parents came to visit for Thanksgiving weekend.  We took them to the shooting range and did some target shooting.  Uncle Mike and cousin Kylie were there too.  I think everyone had a fun time and the weather was beautiful.  Probably the warmest Thanksgiving weekend we have ever had.

 I was very shocked that my sister Wendy was so excited to go shooting.  I never knew that about her.

 Don't mess with Nicole.

 Love the Henry rifle.

 A little friendly competition with Uncle Mike.

 Heidi shooting the .45.

 We had a fun time together!  We don't get guests very often so it was so nice of my family to come visit and stay with us. 

That night was the Festival of Lights fireworks and lighted parade.  It was awesome!  I especially enjoyed the fireworks.

Game Playing

We got to play some games with family this week.  We had a really fun time!  We love to play card games, as well as physical games like basketball.  Will's brother and family have been here visiting for the past week so we have been able to hang out and play with his family.

Costumes

Our Halloween costumes!  For some reason I can't get the photo to turn upright.  We went to our church party where they had dinner and some games for the kids, and a "TRUNK-OR-TREAT".  Heidi helped with one of the games called "Pin the face on the pumpkin".  It was a blast! 

Pumpkins

 We got together at a friend's house for some pumpkin carving.  We had a great time! 

 They have a 3-week-old baby that we got to meet and hold, as well as play with their other two children.

 Will and Matt each working on one

 Winnie and Ned had fun with the pumpkins, especially blowing out the candles!

Fishing Video

Fall Fishing

 Saturday was a beautiful day for some fall fishing!  We drove up in the hills by where we live and fished this little stream.  It was awesome!  We saw tons of fish.  We love fall fishing.

 After a hard and stressful work week we needed some R&R time to just enjoy and breathe the fresh mountain air.

 Most of all it was super fun to hang out with each other and have a good time.  We packed a picnic lunch and just enjoyed the day together.

South Fork Float

We went fishing last weekend.  Our good friends Terry and Helen took us in their drift boat on the South Fork of the Snake.  We put in at Palisades dam and took out at Spring Creek bridge.  We had a blast!  WE caught fish and go to enjoy the pretty scenery.  I can't get enough of how beautiful the trees are in yellows and reds. 

This was the ice cream fish!  Our little deal with Terry and Helen is always the one who catches the biggest fish buys the ice cream.  It was awesome to catch this fish.  I was using a dry fly and got to see the fish come up from under the water and sip it up.  So awesome!  Beautiful fish.

Right when Will got on the oars and Terry started fishing, he caught about 3 fish one right after another. 

White fish!  I'm pretty sure this is my first white fish I have ever caught.  Count it as a new species for me!

Beautiful colors!  The day was pretty decent.  Kinda cold but really for October it was nice.  We got rained on a little bit but nothing a little rain gear can't stop.

Helen, Terry, and Will

The sky, mountains, trees, water, everything, was so beautiful!  We saw several eagles, a beaver, and some cattle along the way.

Will's cutthroat he caught on a streamer.  We have so much fun with Terry and Helen.  We love to give them excuses to go fishing when we visit them.

We are Adventurous

 Most of our friends and family say that we are adventurous.  I think this weekend's trip is another proof of that statement.  We took an overnight float trip on the South Fork of the Snake River.  We took cousin Conner with us.

 The fall colors were gorgeous!  We enjoyed them very much as well as the beautiful cliff and canyon walls, and wildlife.  We saw several bald eagles! 

 One of my main concerns with going was whether we would stay warm enough.  Since our last backpacking adventure where I froze, I got a new, warmer sleeping bag and we were able to take an extra blanket this time since we had more room to pack it in the boat.  And I succeeded in staying warm all night.  It was a much better night than the last time when I froze and hardly slept any. 

 We had yummy food to eat like pork and beans, beef stew, chili.  And of course some snacks along the way.

 I really enjoyed the red/yellow/green colors everywhere!  It was so beautiful!

 Will and I took turns rowing the boat.

Float

 Will and I are always up for a good float down the river.  We got to go last weekend.  We had a great time and it is so awesome to enjoy nature in this way.  It was a beautiful day.

 Getting our fly rods ready to go.

The colors up the canyon were already starting to change!  That is one reason we love fall fishing.

Backpacking Trip 2012

 As a family tradition we go on a backpacking trip every summer.  We like to hike to high mountain lakes each time so that we can fish, too.  We love the beautiful scenery and fishing.  It is a nice way for us to remember how blessed we are at home to have such nice things, a warm home, nice bed to sleep on, and good food to eat.  It helps us remember the blessings in our lives, plus it also gives us a nice break from work and cell phones and other things like that.  We really enjoy just talking together and spending time together.  Hardly ever do we see anybody else when we pack in to these kinds of places, so it is very nice to be alone and enjoy the beautiful world together!

We also feel very blessed and fortunate to have healthy bodies so we can go and do fun things like this.