Summer Fun 2017

 Summer means rides on the tractor at Melanie and Emily's place. Also, a neighborhood tradition is burning your homework at the end of the school year. Gage had way too much fun doing this.

Bailey and Talon were married at the Salt Lake Temple so we were able to attend. It was a beautiful day. Our foster daughter was so fascinated with it all. She wanted to be right there with Bailey and she wanted a bouquet of flowers too.

 Jared loves any opportunity to use his chain saw. Some ward members needed a tree to come down so he was happy to do it. Gage is assisting and hoping it doesn't land on him.

 Jared and Gage built a club house in the back yard and Gage was excited to give it some color.

 This spring and summer Gage participated in Track and Field with the local Recreation Center. It was fun to go to his track meets and watch him perform.

GAGE GOT BRACES AND AN EXPANDER! Gage says they are nasty and stupid. Can you tell he was excited to get them? Actually he was excited to get them but after and day or two the excitement wore off.

 Fun with Gage's friend Garret at Seven Peaks fun center in Lehi.

 This was the summer of hikes. Look at us go!

We hiked to Dean, Clegg and Notch lakes in the Uintahs.

Jared was excited when he caught a grayling.

Here we hiked to Lackawaxen Lake near Brighton Utah. There was quite a bit of snow. 

Here we were headed to Dog Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was a beautiful hike until we got to the lake. We could see why it was called Dog Lake. I didn't take any pictures. Along the trail we saw a baby moose and it's mommy. It was a little nerve racking knowing how aggressive moose can be, but we had to get some pictures.

Gage and I went to Bridal Falls up Provo Canyon. Gage loved climbing around while I watched.  He wanted to go up a trail and go higher so I told him to go and I would watch from below. I ended up feeling anxious about him and started climbing the way he had gone. It got quite trecherous and I wasn't sure I could make it. Then I saw people hikng above me and realized they were on a trail. I had taken the hard way. I finally met up with Gage and found he was in one piece. He had fared much better than I had. On the way down we took the trail.

Jared planned a backpacking trip for us to go on. It was near Kermsuh Lake. It was in the west basin in the Uintahs. We agreed we wanted it to be more remote and secluded. Boy did Jared take that to heart. It ended up being a very very challenging hike. The path wasn't as clear as Jared thought it would be and the way was very rocky and had lots a fallen timber to climb over. It was exhausting and it was hard not to get discouraged.

We made it in one piece, with a few extra bumps and bruises, but one piece. I was struggling with altitude sickness and decided to lay down and Jared wasted no time seeing if there were fish to be caught in the little lakes. It ended up being great fishing! Gage usually get's bored fishing but not at this lake. They were pulling them in as soon as their line hit the water.

On this hike our motto became, "I can do hard things".  When we wanted to complain and whine, we would say in a silly or dramatic way, "This is challenging, but I can do it!" It became a joke, but it really helped lift our spirits and make it more fun. I think I drove Gage crazy, but hey, it distracted him.(Gage may have also been given some motivation by being given extra video game time if he could remain positive.)

Our last hike of the summer was to Lake Solitude. It's up Big Cottonwood Canyon above Silver lake. It was a really simple hike, but pretty. Jared's brother Aaron came with us and Gage's friend Jaxon also.