The Ranch

This past weekend we left civilization behind and headed up to the hills of Ovid, ID. It is a small town just North of Bear Lake. Tim's Grandpa Carver has some property that he refers to as, "The Ranch." Tim & his brothers have many wonderful ( and not so wonderful) memories of going up to the ranch as children. Recently, Grandpa Carver has been working hard to get his property all fixed up. In the past few years he has added 2 small cabins, a new outhouse, cement for a food preparation area/table and a new fire pit. It was the perfect spot to go camping. It was also great to see all of Grandpa's hard work.

We did have a wonderful time at the Ranch, but despite how nice it might sound, we were still camping. I believe that everyone should be required to camp at least once a year. This experience gave our family the opportunity to realize how blessed we truly are. I've never appreciated running water so much! I'm so grateful for my refrigerator, a warm shower, the roof over my head, bug spray, clean clothes, a washer and dryer, etc. I could go on and on. Yes, we only camped for two nights, but it was long enough to make me grateful for all of these things!

Here is the man responsible for all of this. He's resting on the log after a long day of hard work!


Tim slept with these 3 crazy boys in the tent, while I slept with Cooper inside the cabin.


Jenny & Parker roasting marshmallows


The boys were using the flashlights and making shadows with their hands


Grandpa Kent & Cooper


Grandma Ann's Got Her Gun

Tim shooting "clay pigeons." Eric took the "Sharp Shooter Prize" hitting 3 out of 4 clay pigeons.


This was a first for me so I have to document this moment. I shot a gun. It was scary holding a loaded gun, but it's nice to add that to my "Things I've Done" list. Trying it once was enough for me!


Parker & Brice


Cooper is always so happy and content


Eme is working on putting her whole hand in her mouth


Ashton refused to put his swimsuit on when we first got to the beach, but he finally gave in.


Payton deep in thought (what's new?!)


The boys loved getting muddy


Mommy & Cooper (they both need some sunless tanner)!


Grandma Ann enjoying the beach (or at least pretending to)!


Sweet Coop


The highlight of this weekend was the beach. I LOVED it! We went to Bear Lake's North Beach. We pulled our car right up to the beach. It was extremely shallow water for about 50 yards out which was great for the little kids. The guys loved playing frisbee and football in the water. The kids loved running around in the water and building sand castles. I loved that I didn't have to worry about anyone drowning. It was so nice! Here are the boys building sand castles.


Another highlight was the marshmallows. Tim was able to fit 5 or 6 in his mouth. This is just before he spit them out into the fire!


Payton learned how to roast the perfect marshmallow...


He was having so much fun making them, but didn't want to eat them so he was "selling" them to anyone who would take them. Price: FREE!


We were all pretty exhausted by the time the weekend was over.



I must mention that there was one unfortunate event of the weekend. Jdub was not able to come with us because he was busy getting his appendix out. We missed you, Jdub. If you're interested you can see pictures and read the whole story here!