Cottonwood

Well, our journey began last Saturday, June 13th. Jordan got off of work early, so we left the house around 2:30pm. Let me tell you, it rained the entire way to Bear Lake! I've never seen anything like it before. What normally would take us an hour and half to drive to took us over 2 hours! Evanston was a happy sight to see when we finally made it there!!! I drove Liz's car, since it was getting fixed in SLC and she needed it back, and Jordan drove the truck with the 4-wheeler and boat.


Once we made it to Bear Lake, the weather had simmered down. But, it was terribly cold. Sarah didn't take her nap in the car since the rain was pelting loud, and Jordan had gone to work at 4am, so they both dozed off to sleep at 8pm and I was left awake alone. But, soon I joined them and retired for the night.


The next day, Sunday, was beautiful at the lake. It was chilly, but despite the cold, it was sunny and bright. What a wonderful thing to see!!! We just had to take a walk on the beach together!


Sarah enjoyed getting outside and not being stuck in her car seat (but that didn't last too long since we headed out to Cottonwood in the afternoon).


Jordan also taught Sarah how to toss rocks. I'm still not sure it was the best of his ideas, but Sarah had fun saying, "One, two, one!" She doesn't quite understand there is another number after two and it is three. All well, it's so cute!!

Liz, Mike, Abby, and Aiden met us at the cabin around 11am. They hurried and repacked everything into the Saab from their truck while I gave the kids a Sunday School lesson. After which, we all left for Cottonwood!!!

The drive was nice, although Sarah once again didn't sleep, and soon we were at our beloved Cottonwood in Star Valley, WY. I love it there! Everything is so peaceful and serene. It is a break from reality and the stresses of life. The only thing we have to worry about is when to start cooking the next meal. Ahh, the relaxation and bliss.


When we arrived, it was raining. We unpacked all of our things, took our place in the loft upstairs, and prepared to make dinner for everyone. Justin and Lindsey didn't come till Monday, so we only had Becca & Adam, Liz, Mike, Abby, & Aiden, Mom & Dad, and my little family. Jordan decided he wanted steaks, asparagus, new potatoes, and salad, so that's what I made. He helped of course, since he is an amazing hubby who does help me a lot.



We went to bed with it raining outside and hoped the next day would bring some sun since family pictures where in sight. We woke up and weren't too surprised to see it was still raining. Jordan and I loaded the boat up with our fishing gear and off we went fishing in the rain. Abby decided she wanted to come along, so naturally she came. She's a cute 5 year old, huh! I was holding Sarah and wasn't able to get a good picture of us both together.



Fishing this year stunk despite the spring runoff. I tried to catch the largest fish, but Mike won me out. I did, however, catch a fish. Just not a keeper. Most weren't. In fact we only kept 2 fish out of the three days of fishing we did and we had 5 fishermen out in the boat. All well. There is also July when I go back!!



Later that day Justin and Lindsey arrived. No one saw them coming, so they had to run to the cabin in the pouring rain! (Sorry guys!!!) We then waited for a break in the rain so we could all run outside and get some family pictures. Here is the product of our rushing out.

From left to right, bottom row: Lindsey, me, Sarah Marie, Abby, Liz, Aiden, and Becca
From left to right, top row: Justin, Jordan, Dad, Mom, Mike, and Adam

There's the gang minus Jon whose on his mission in Cebu, Philippines. We thought about building a snowman and putting a tie on him so he could be Jon, but we didn't have enough time to build one between spurts of down pours.

Liz also took some pictures of all of us couples. Isn't she nice?! Thanks Liz!

To the left is a great picture of Adam and Becca. Aren't they a cute couple?! Becca and Adam will both be fine psychologists one day and they will also have some really adorable kids. Auntie Roo is so good with all the kidos!

To the right is a picture of Justin and Lindsey. After 3 years of marriage they are still two love birds. I think they'll always be that way and that can't be bad. Justin and Lindsey reside in Queen Creek, AZ.

To the left is a picture of Liz and her family. Abby, Mike, Aiden, and Liz. Abby is 5 going on 20, Aiden is 1 and dribbles everywhere! and Mike is Mike and teases everyone like crazy. Did I mention he cheats at games?! Well, he does. Even at Chutes and Ladders!! Well, Mike is a teaser of all teasers and we like that part of his personality. Aiden is going to be a lot like Mike and we can't wait till Liz gets phone calls from the school saying Aiden was 'acting out in class again'. He is one class clown!!

To the right is a picture of my family. Sarah is getting older and older so quickly! She's saying new words every day! Her favorite right now is this phrase: jibber-jabber, jibber-jabber, k. When she says 'k' it is so content and firm as if she is resolute. It is so adorable!! Nana also told me that she loves listening to Sarah talk, even in baby jibberish, because her voice sounds so musical. Perhaps I do have a little maestro on my hands. No complaints here.

The next day was great. We had a long period of sun while the next storm blew in. So, off we went on our 4-wheeler and explored nature around us. Legislation just passed a law that would make all off road vehicle trails off limits next year. So, we decided to take full advantage this year and go off road. Sarah had fun and found some mountain primrose flowers.

Sarah enjoyed the ride, although it was a little chilly. You can see the snow on the ground in the picture of me and Sarah on the 4-wheeler. It was cold!!!

After our little 4-wheeling adventure I put Sarah down for her nap. The rest of the family wanted to go hiking, so I left Sarah with Jordan and went hiking to Dead Lake (actually called Slide Lake). On the trail we saw where 2 avalanches had come down during the winter. It was a sight to see! Nature is pretty forceful. The only thing that survived was the young trees that were too little to snap, but bent instead. All the other trees where up rooted or had snapped off. Becca has those pictures on her camera, so those will have to come at a later time.


After the hike, we came back and made a fire for our cook out. This year Becca was in charge of the hot-dog roast. She made a very yummy fruit salad. She also brought Sarah's favorite chips...Cheetos.




We decided, since the sun was finally out, that the fishing might change. So, we all loaded into Grandpa Thorne's fishin' boat and in our lines went. With 5 lines in the water, we were sure to catch something. Well....it turned out Mike was the only one who caught something and it happened to be the first keeper. A nice cutthroat.

Some butterflies were also out, so Liz, Becca, Abby, and Sarah went butterfly catching. They caught a little skipper and then put it in the viewing cage until it calmed down. Once it had, they let it climb around for a little bit. It decided to land right on Sarah's head! She didn't even realize it was there, but we did!!


The next day it rained again. But, we were grateful for the sun we did have the day before since it was supposed to rain our entire trip. So, we stayed inside and played games. When the sun did come out, we all bundled up and went back out to enjoy a few minutes of sun.


Sarah, the entire trip, loved to put my hat on. She didn't want hers, just mine. So, one day when I was getting her ready for her shower, she put my hat on and went parading around the cabin in nothing but her diaper and hat on. Cute, huh!!

We also saw a lot of deer this trip. We saw a few doe that were still pregnant, but we also saw some fawns who couldn't be more than a few days old. They were so cute!! We saw a lot of bunnies as well. I was beginning to wonder where the predators were, but then I remembered how early in the season we were. With all of the bunnies something is bound to have a feast.


Jordan, Justin, and Mike also saw Mr. Beaver who flapped his tail at them a couple of times while they were fishing on the lake. he's been pretty busy as well. There is a large beaver dam that has been built up on one of the river deltas.

All in all, we had a wonderful trip at our beloved Cottonwood.