St. George

Our annual end of summer trip to St. George is here!  Robin and Guy are always so generous to let us stay in their house down there and we look forward to it every year!  This is our van all packed and ready to go for the week!

Once we get there we basically do the same thing every day.  We wake up in the morning and take an early morning hike before the sun heats everything up.  Then we have lunch and sometimes a nap and then spend the rest of the day at the pool. At night we watch movies, play games, eat treats and then start over the next day.  It's amazing.  Here are some highlights from our week:

The kids always request to hike at the Dixie Rocks at least one of the days every year we go.  It's super fun with lots of little hideout spots to discover.  Both Roosteries, Waaa Waaa and Buzzard came along for the hike today and we had to get a picture of all of them together.  

The pool is soooo fun down there and when I say we spend hours there every day, I'm not lying.  Literally we are there for 3 or 4 hours a day.  It's the best way to beat the heat!

Last year we discovered the White Rocks hike and the kids wanted to do it again this year.  It's really fun to see the contrast between the white and red rocks and this place has a lot of open rock that the kids always love to run around on.

Keen's birthday is usually smack in the middle of our St. George week and this year we celebrated again while we were there!  I'm sure another day of cake and presents is coming when we get home, but for now these gifts and a trip to Nelson's Frozen Custard did the trick! Happy Birthday Keen Gregory!

Josh met us down there for the last couple days and we loved having him with us!  We took a hike together in Snow Canyon and went on the Pioneer Names trail.  It was really cool cause we climbed up the rocks and saw names that had been written in wagon grease when the pioneers came through.  It was really cool to see!  

This is such a fun week that we get to spend together before the kids all get back into school and we're so grateful that we got to be there!  

Next up?  We'll see if school actually starts for the kiddos this year...Corona has messed everything up...

 

Wasatch Crest

Andy requested one thing for his birthday this year - to ride Wasatch Crest together.  We were happy to oblige!  Josh and Andy have ridden this together a couple of times, but this was my first time and it was just as incredible as they said it was!  We started up Guardsman's Pass and had a bit of a climb at the beginning.  But once we got to the top of that pass, it was lots of downhill and traversing and just a little bit of uphill here and there.  It was absolutely gorgeous the whole ride!  It was so fun to see the valleys from up top and the wildflowers were out in full bloom.  I could not get enough of the scenery that we were riding through and kept thinking how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful state!  We had a really fun group and stuck together most of the ride - though I always bring up the rear which is totally fine by me.  I hope this is Andy's request every year cause I would gladly do this again!

 

Butt Pics

We've got some crazies in our life...and not sure what we're supposed to do about them...

 

Beck's 6th Birthday

We are usually at the lake for Beck's birthday so he gets an extra day of celebrating every year when we are home and make his cake.  He wanted a caterpillar cake and fireworks for his birthday this year - so that's what we gave him!  We celebrated with the cousins and had fun watching fireworks out in the front drive.  It was the perfect thing for a 6 year old birthday party!

 6 year old stats from Dr. Erickson:

Height: 4'1" - 96%

Weight: 56 lbs. 7 oz. - 89%

My favorite things about 6 year old Beck:

1) Beck is a very smart kid.  He thinks things through and likes to do things the right way.  I can often see a look in his eye as he's trying to figure something out or make sure he does something exactly right. He reminds me a lot of his Papa Losee in that way and that's always a good thing!  He's a great student and loves to learn.  I know this one has a bright future ahead of him!

2) Beck is my little friend.  He never shies away from giving me a hug and likes to be by my side.  I really missed him as he went way to kindergarten this year - it isn't quite the same without him around the house.  I am so grateful when he wants to sit down and talk to me and I hope that never stops!

3) Beck has a voice that he does that is a mix between a gremlin and ET and it is super funny/obnoxious.  He won't do it on command but when he's around people he's comfortable with, the voice just comes out without a second thought.  Unfortunately for us, we hear it quite often.  I can only handle so much of the gremlin before I have to tell him to turn it off.  He's such a funny character that Beck!

We love our boy and can't wait to see what this 6 year old does this year!  Happy Birthday Beck!

Tilly

Tilly has fit right in to our family since she got here.  Sure, she has an accident once in a while and no, she doesn't always listen to us.  But she sure has taken a liking to this guy and loves to sit right here on his shoulder.

 

Rodeo

Super last minute we found some tickets to the Spanish Fork Rodeo tonight and took the boys down to watch it with us.  I'm pretty sure none of our kids have ever been to a rodeo so they didn't quite know what to expect.  Every other town in Utah has cancelled their town days, rodeos, demolition derbies, carnivals, etc because of covid, but Spanish Fork said they were continuing on.  We were SOOO excited to be able to do and watch something that felt really normal.  We had the best time! The boys were so into everything that was going on and of course thought the bull riding was the coolest.  We loved being out and around people and feeling like things were "back to normal" for just a day.

 

Bike Rides

We have loved every minute that we get to spend on the trails up behind our house.  Lately we've been doing lots of early morning rides and watching the sun come up and taking in the awesome views from the top of the trails.  The kids are doing great and take things slow and steady (just like I do!) but it has been so fun to get out on our bikes!  Josh and I have taken Eric's Trail the last few times we've gone and it's a great ride that goes clear back in the mountains before it comes back down to where we started.  It's a blast and I'm so grateful that we have all these trails so close to our house!

BBQ

Uncle Greg came to town and we had a BBQ together tonight while he was here.  The kids had fun making their own shish-kabobs...though some turned out lopsided with olives...

 

S'mores

We had a s'more night tonight with the kids and some of their friends.  One of our favorite summertime treats and it never seems to get old...

 

Beutler Reunion

We gathered as a full Beutler clan last week for a reunion and to celebrate Mom and Dad Beutler's 50th wedding anniversary!  It seemed like the perfect thing to get together.  We rented a big house at Bear Lake that fit all the families so it was a big party! The cousins loved being together and we all partied until late every night.  We played lots of games and ate a ton of food and enjoyed being with each other.  It's not too often that all the families can be in one place at one time so it was great to have that chance for a few days. 

We took a drive up to Bloomington Lake the first day that we were there and it is such a gorgeous setting.  The water is a tad bit cold but that didn't stop anyone from jumping in.  There's a cool rope swing that we all took turns playing on and doing tricks into the water.  And those that didn't swing just had fun playing near the shore.  It was a hit!

There were lots of arts and crafts for the kids to do during the week and my boys especially liked drawing and making bracelets with the other kids.  Josh and I went for a run each morning and the views along the run were pretty incredible with the big open fields and then the lake behind us.  It was really gorgeous.  

One of the days we spent the whole day at Bear Lake down at Rendezvous Beach.  We rented paddle boards, boogie boards and a water trampoline.  The best thing about Bear Lake is the shallow beach that goes out so far! We played and played and played all day on that beach and I never worried about the kids because it's so shallow and was hardly ever even past their waist.  We played cornhole, the kids buried each other in the sand, hunted for seashells, sunbathed, boogie boarded their little hearts out and soaked up lots and lots of amazing sun.  We could not get enough of that beautiful lake and didn't want to go home when the day was over!

But the whole point in gathering was to celebrate 50 years of this amazing family!  We had a night where we watched slide show of old videos and pictures, told childhood stories and even gave mom and dad a memory book with old pictures and memories written by each of the kids and grandkids.  It was a really special day and definitely the highlight of the week.  They have created an incredible family and passed on so many great traditions and qualities to their children.  I'm so grateful that we got to be together for these few days and remember the life they've had and look forward to more life ahead!

 

Buds

Love these two little buds!

 

Boat Week

Boat week 2020 is finally here!  We all wait for, think about, dream about and can't hardly contain our excitement for this one week of the year.  It's one of the most relaxing and fun few days that we get to spend together.  Mom and dad have just redone the cabin and it's so nice and updated and we feel so lucky to be able to have that little place to call home for a week every July.  This year was full of trying new things, inviting friends up for the day, being crazy, eating lots of food and sleeping in hammocks.  Doesn't that sound just like what you'd want to do on vacation? Here are the highlights of our week:

Desh was amazing this year and rode on the kneeboard all by himself.  I started out on the back of his board with him then dropped off so he could ride alone.  He did awesome! And Josh helped each of the kids learn how to be captain of the boat.  The girls are actually getting pretty good at navigating and driving on their own (especially when the lake is pretty empty of other boats).

Gracie came and stayed with us one night then spent the next morning with us on the boat.  It was so fu having her!

We had some really great early morning water most of the mornings and took full advantage of that!  There's nothing like a glassy lake to make you want to jump in and ski.  Rease is rippin it at slalom skiing!  She has gotten so good and confident over the past year and seems to have no fear.

Beck's birthday usually falls right in the middle of boat week, so we did gifts and cupcakes while we were up there this year.  

The Chalks and Hammers came up one of the days and the kids all had a blast tubing, kneeboarding and hanging out in the sun!  I'm always so glad there are enough kids that want to ride the tube cause that's one thing my body can't take as I get older.

Liev. Rhen and Keen rocked the wakeboard this year and all did so great.  We saw so much progress made just in one week and they all seem to really love it!  Liev just wants to learn to do jumps and he's so cute getting in and out of the wake.

Papa and Grammie came up and spent a night with us and a day on the boat.  Papa is amazing as always at skiing and we love to watch him.  We are so glad to have them whenever they make it up there with us!

Nights are spent around the campfire roasting hot dogs and marshmallows and playing games.  This year we started playing ultimate frisbee down at the park and that ended up being our favorite post lake activity!

We found a rope swing this year on the far side of the lake at Baby's Bottom.  I'm not sure if its always been there but the lake is high enough this year that we could easily reach it.  We spent an afternoon one of the days just playing and jumping from that rope swing.  

The best part of the week is that we get to be together laughing and joking, eating and learning new things and soaking in the sun.  Even if we aren't out skiing or kneeboarding, we're making memories together that will last forever!  Even in the midst of the pandemic going on around us, we were able to get out and spend an amazing week together (without masks).  Boat Week 2020 did not disappoint!

 

Camping Payson Lakes

We went on a camping trip to Payson Lakes with our friends the Hammers, Chalks and Flints.  We reserved the group site there and it was perfect to fit all our families in one spot.  We had THE BEST time together and camped right next to this small lake that was so fun to wander down to and play at during the day and evenings. The kids loved fishing, throwing rocks, finding creatures and running around the lake.  One of the days we drove over to the main lake that has kayaking and paddle boarding and spent the day there.  We took lunch and just hung out there all day getting in and out of the water.  It was really a beautiful place to spend the day.  At night we cooked, roasted marshmallows and listened to the older kids tell stories from their missions.  Gavin, Brock and Tayson just recently returned from missions and we loved hearing about all their different experiences there.  We loved being together and enjoyed the company so much!  We decided that this better be a yearly event! 

 

Injury

I've had a sore achilles and shin for the past few months but it's finally gotten to the point that I needed to get it checked out.  The inside of my left shin has been sore for years and I do get shin splints so have always just been really careful touching that area or doing anything that might bump up against there.  Lately though my achilles on that same side has gotten really sore in the mornings and when I run, especially right after a run.  It's super tight and feels like it is going to tear more and more if I don't have it stretched out really good.  Just a few weeks ago I noticed a lump right on the lower part of my achilles that hadn't been there before.  I figured it was time to get it looked at before something major happens.  I saw an orthopedic surgeon who took x-rays and did an ultrasound on it to see what was going on.  He said that I do have a tear starting in the achilles and that lump that is formed is fluid in between the strands and some scar tissue starting to form.  He does think that it will go away eventually but wants me to decrease activity with certain things so that I don't tear it more or even rupture it.  So...basketball and volleyball are out for a while :( 

He also referred me to a physical therapist and wants me to get some therapy in for a few weeks while I'm "resting".  

He did say that the pain in my shin is actually a stress fracture.  You can see that lump on the left side of the x-ray and he said that is a stress fracture that has started to heal on its own.  So that's the pain that I've been feeling there.  He wants to keep an eye on that area over the next several months and take a new x-ray later to see if it has changed.

So, that's a big bummer overall.  I'm glad that I don't have an injury that keeps me in bed, but I'm going to have to take it easy on some things for a little while.  Getting old really sucks...