Seven and OHHH

As the weather was so poor an 08 photo will do

I was delighted to take the wifey to witness the first half of the UTES victory over Colorado St. taking us (yes I said us) to 7-0 on the season. Due to inclement weather we departed at half time, while this is not in our nature (as we consider ourselves true fans) it worked well as the kiddos were needing Mom and Dad to return and get them home at a reasonable hour. Besides the tickets were FREE so we got our moneys worth. Also of note is the fact that the last Ute game we attended was Col. St. two years ago, twas fun to reminisce on such a fine season. Here's to a W over TCU and another BCS busting season. GOOOOOOOOOOOOO UTES!!   

Elk Camp 2010

Meat and potatoes for every meal YEA!

High mountains in the Rockies in early October can only mean one thing, ELK SEASON!!!! We set out with high hopes and fewer of us than last year thus we were determined that this would be the year, that is, this would be the year we saw more than one cow. We were also excited that this year four horses unwittingly cast in their lot with us thus we knew we were going to be the few the proud, public land elk hunters who had merely to pick the largest bull Sat. morn and pull the trigger. Well needless to say at least in my case dreams did not come to fruition. 17 miles on horse-back, including a brief stop at Deadhorse Lake in October!!

Spectacular.

We saw not a thing! My woes were great and only magnified as we were aroused from a pleasant Sabbath morning slumber, as we were not hunting Woot! Woot!, on Sunday to the sound of a large mammal standing on the tarp we had our tent on sniffing at the plastic bags we had left some apples in. It then snorted and ran off. Thanks to ample amounts of snow we were able to determine, once the sun came up, that it was AN ELK!!!!! Probably a bull based on track size and the fact that it was alone. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? Ah well it was a fantastic adventure, the company was great, the food fantastic, and getting skunked is part of the learning curve right? RIGHT?? Or is someone holding out on me? If so..................
Special thanks to Andrea for allowing me the time away. I love you! And Jacob for the horses, Greg and Spence for the commitment to fellas weekend. And Slide Rock I shall never forget 30 fish in under 30 minutes. That's right! and I have witnesses so don't scoff.

Operation Face Camo

Hey after three days of horse rides in the snow you would be a bit tired too

Nine weeks of growth to conceal a toothy grin should a magnificent (or not so magnificent but legal) bull elk or mule deer buck wander through my cross hairs. It was an arduous, sometimes itchy process, yet irrefutably the results were astounding and entirely successful as every animal I saw seemed oblivious to my presence (or in other words I saw nothing).

If you can't have fun cutting it off...

Fall Conference Traditions

Two fabulous fall traditions that coincide with the feast for the soul to be found as we listen to the prophets voice are, my delectably sticky, oh so spectacular sticky buns. Really eating a plate of these on a lazy Sunday morning enjoying conference with the fam is not to be surpassed. Thank you Naomi for starting such a fab tradish. 

Are you seeing this!! I feel like Homer Simpson with a box of doughnuts AHHHHGGGG...

Also not to be missed is the fall drive over the Alpine loop to enjoy the fall colors. What a wonderful time of year, though due to marvelously temperate weather the colors were not yet in full swing this year, it was a fantastic family outing.

Us, awwwwwww.

I love us

Getting Down and Dirty

A Victor Emerges

I am well pleased to announce that on Saturday the 25 of Sept. with the help of several friends (Team Swill) I competed in my first organized race.  Now for the shocker, wonder of wonders, with no encouragement from me, someone invented my perfect race. Hereafter known as the Dirty Dash, it consists of a 10K in mountainous terrain, (that's 6.3 miles people) various obstacles, and MUD!! Let me just say that as much as I enjoyed running around the neighborhood pushing Lucy and Will in the stroller, it did not prepare me as I had hoped it would. Yet it was awesome, really a fun experience. Official time 1:30:51!!  Andrea and the kids made it up just in time to miss our finish but I slugged through the last mud hole again for their enjoyment and photographic history. 

A Kiss For Mud Man

Team Swill

Wisdom on the Wall

Working in the world of construction it is often best to avert one's eyes when forced to use the outdoor plumbing (port-a-potty) due to the content on the walls. I was pleased to find the following on such a wall the other day. "When morality is removed from society, the world becomes sick, corrupt, and marches toward hell." author unknown. I searched online to find a source for such wisdom and came up with a big goose egg. Despite the lack of a profound orator, the phrase rings true. Ironically the individual that penned "your gay" under these words of wisdom only solidified the statement.

Bear Tracks & BTUs

So an eventful trip to see the folks in their corner of rural America is now over. We went out for the purpose of gathering the winter wood supply. It is really quite satisfying to take a trip into the forest, drop a magnificent old tree and reflect on the past generations who have participated in similar activities. Plus what guy doesn't enjoy wielding a large chain-saw to overpower nature. Also of note were the fresh bear tracks on the road as we pulled up to the ill fated tree. Exciting!!

Me making short work of the mighty Fir




The sign of the BEAR!!!

Also special thanks to Andrea for whipping up the finest authentic Italian meal ever served in Vernal. YUMs all around.