Hiking at Red Rock!

The first weekend that Chris was here with us, Mark, a friend of Joey's from work that also is hosting a foreign exchange student, invited us to goin hiking to the top of Turtle Point at Red Rock Park. Little did we all know just how far of a hike it was. Needless to say not all of us made it to the top......but the ones that did got a great view(would have been better without the smoke in the air) but we all had a great time!

Stayin cool in Vegas!

Ashley and Katelyn spent the last week of the summer down here in Vegas. Practically everyday they were out in the water. With the 110 degree heat during the day it was definatly the place to be. We also did some last mionute school shopping and they were able to meet Christopher at the airport. It was a great way to end the summer, one last big splash with the girls before we all had to head back to school!

A New Addition to the Family

Joey and I had the opportunity to be able to host a exchange student from Germany. One of Joey's coworkers presented the opportunity and we jumped at the idea of becoming host parents for the school year. So on Thursday night August 20th Christopher(Chris) flew in on a plane and became a part of our family for the next 9 months. Ashley and Katelyn were here to help us meet him at the airport and get him settled into life here in America. While the girls were here we took a little time to take in a few of the highlights on the strip. He has been adjusting well so far and really is nice to have around. Welcome to the family Chris!

Wild at the Zoo!

On sunday before we took the girls on the plane back to vegas we decided to get up early and go to Hogle Zoo. It was actually a great time to go. We got up early and were there when the zoo opened in the morning. All of the animals seemed to be out and making themselves known because many of them were waiting for their breakfast. A few of the monkeys were really making noise when we got there. The best part as seeing the new baby giraffe.....it was so cute!

Family Reunion in SLC!

August 15th was yet again the day for the annual Cooley-Bauer-Gorton Reunion at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. We all gathered and had a great time throwing frisbee, eating KFC, seeing the relatives we seem to only see once a year as well as catch up with our own family. The best part is letting the cousins get together and have some fun. Joey and I decided to take the kids on a walk in the park and they had fun throwing rocks in the lake......wading in the little wading pool.....and of course rolling down the hills. It was definatly a good day, despite the morning filled with rainclouds, it turned out to be a day of fun for everyone.

Memorial Day

We decided to join Mom and Dad to go and visit graves in Grace, Thatcher and Soda Springs on Sunday of Memorial weekend. We met Jana and Barkley in Grace and thought we would see a few of the sights. Spending some time at the graves in Grace as well as Thatcher, then we headed over to the old farm that Grandma and Grandpa used to live at. It was hard to see things so gone but we were able to sneak into the house and see it as well as go up to the barn. We even got a few owl pellets from the barn that we thought would be cool to break open and see what the owls were eating......but those pics are to come. Here are a few more pictures of the time we spent up there. It was alot of fun, we did get rained on, but was neat to walk down memory lane a little bit and tell a few stories of what we remembered on the farm and at the cemetery over the years. We even made it in time to see the geyser in Soda Springs!