Yellowstone Weekend

Last weekend was our first visit Yellowstone (well, for me and the boys at least). We went with Marta’s sister and kids and had a great time seeing the sites and wildlife of the park. A few of the highlights:

• We saw a woman nearly get mauled by a huge elk upset with her bright pink jacket (it was a pretty obnoxious jacket).
• The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone made my stomach drop as I got close to the edge. We held onto the kids pretty tightly there, but the views of the falls and magnitude of the place was awesome.
• We got caught in middle of a Bison held crossing. A few decided to just hang out in the middle of the road for a while so traffic came to a halt. We were so close we could hear them breathe.
• On the perimeter of the Bison herd was a coyote that was stalking. It was tiny compared to these beasts but we watched him appear and disappear in the tall grasses as he watched the herd.

I think the best part of the trip was just letting the cousins spend time together. They had a blast seeing the sites, playing in the hotel pool, and just hanging out together.

The "Last" Project

We began our remodel in November, 2006 by tearing out a screened in porch we had just built and digging a big pit. Now in September 2012 we can officially call the remodel complete! Motivated by James, Tiffanie, and Amber coming into town and wanting to have a place for them to stay - and after several weeks of late nights - we have finished the basement bathroom. laundry room, and family room. It has been a lot of work but we're pretty pleased with how everything has come together.

Last week the final components for my man cave arrived - just in time for the BYU-Utah football game Saturday (that game didn't turn out all that great). Theater is made up of an 82 inch motorized screen, 1080p projector, and built in surround-sound speakers. The walls kind of look beige in these shots but are really grey. Now that the projects are done I don't think I'll have too much trouble filling some time down here.

Ready to Mash

When Beau was a baby I told Marta that if I could get this kid to be left-handed he'd pay for his own college. His first toy was of course a baseball with a little rattle inside. I'd hand his toys to his left hand and have him throw them to me with his left. I was - mostly - joking. Then as the kid turned out to actually be left handed I felt like I had tempted fate a bit too much. So I've backed off a bit and haven't pushed him too much into baseball. But the kid loves it...and I'm honestly not too upset by that.

Reviewing the latest baseball pics I was reminded of his first season when I took this A's shot. Same kid, same bat, same stare.