"winter" 2015

The weather this Winter was unreal! I loved that it felt like Spring 90% of the time, and I didn't miss having a wet, snowy, slushy winter at all! Some of our adventures this winter were as follows....

*Trip to the Bookcliffs! Russ and his cousin Wade love to go out to the Bookcliffs and go shed hunting, hiking, hunting, etc... Russ was still not back to 100% with his ankle at the time but was getting a little stir crazy in the house so we decided to take a (long) drive down to the Bookcliffs for a day. Thank goodness we packed the guns with us because we did more rabbit hunting than anything else, and I celebrated by beating the boys to the first kill of the day, as well as the first kill of 2015!

*Russ got cleared by Physical Therapy on a Friday towards the end of January so to celebrate we took the dogs out the next day up HobbleCreek canyon to put the ankle to the real test. It was a pretty good hike and Russ's ankle held up perfectly and was only a little sore by the time we made it back to the truck. Also, I don't think the dogs hated it one bit!

*Russ's Trophy buck from his Archery Hunt 2014 got published in the winter edition of Trophy Hunter Magazine. It's a huge accomplishment and we were so excited to get a copy! Russ got to submit his story and pictures and he ended up getting 3 pages! Also, funny enough he just so happened to be the centerfold of the magazine! Nice work babe!!

*Island Park 2015! Our annual snowmobiling trip/winter vacation was on February 3-8 this year. Due to the warmer Winter we've had even Island Park Idaho was affected and the place that is normally crazy snow and freezing winters was actually pretty terrible snow and averaged about 30 degrees or more. Therefore, the boys ended up only snowmobiling 2 days and the other days were spent in the cabin all day. We watched lots of movies, played lots of games, hot tubbed, and lost lots of money in poker :) Despite it not being the best for snowmobiling it was a great getaway with friends and a much needed break.

First time I've ever seen the actual ground up at Island Park. As we left the cabin Sunday morning we actually were getting mud everywhere because the normal iced roads had melted. It was strange.

Where I spent most of the trip :)

*Russ got his deer, Butch Cassidy, back from the taxidermist. It's been a debate as to where the deer would hang when we got it back so we had to do some rearranging, but we love how his deer turned out and love the final arrangement we decided on.

*Valentines Day. I had to work the night of Feb 13th so since I would be sleeping Sat morning Russ and Wade took off early to do some shed hunting. Work ended up being terrible and I got off work late so I missed saying goodbye to them, but Russ surprised me with me finding surprises all over starting with a rose on my car as I left work, and continued right up until I found my card on my pillow. LOVE HIM! We celebrated Valentine's by taking off to Daniel's Summit Lodge up by Strawberry Reservoir, hoping to avoid the crowds. Well it was still packed and we had quite a wait for dinner but it was worth it. After dinner we got some ice cream for the drive home. I'm so grateful for an amazing husband and special valentine who makes me feel special and loved no matter what the occasion.

*Outdoor/Hunting Expo. My friend Mindy and her family live in Logan and so it's really hard to get together. Luckily our husbands have similar interests such as hunting and all things outdoors so we planned to meet up at the expo this year. We've typically gone with the Douglas's so we stuck with that tradition and added Kyson, Mindy, and adorable baby Kiah to the mix. I didn't pay much attention to the booths this year, but it was so fun to get to catch up with Mindy and play with her lil babe. I just wish we lived closer so our visits weren't so far apart. But I'm grateful for such amazing friends in my life, whether near or far. Love you ladies!

Chelsea was cold on the walk back to the truck and wore Kellen's hoodie. She hates camo and NEVER wears it so I tried to document the occasion. She knew what I was up to and hid her identity.

* The Doggies. Our 3 pups remain the babies in our life and they continue to be just as cute, fun, and occasionally overwhelming as ever! They love to come inside and have treats and chew on antlers dad lets them ruin. (antlers are the only "toys" Crush can't destroy within 10 mins). When they're inside and dad's home they love to doggie pile on him and ambush him in the recliner, they just can't get enough of them. They also love to go adventuring with us out in the mountains and play fetch with their ropes in the yard. Remi has also decided lately that she loves to roll around in our laundry, and I have no idea why haha.