Loser Family Reunion - 2009

August 18, 19, and 20, 2009 Loser Family Reunion at the Story Ranch in Wallsburg, UT. We arrived Friday afternoon and took the grand tour of the facility- W O W! Sadly, Danielle had to leave right after we got there and we missed her the rest of the weekend. Happily, uncle Bill and Debbie were able to come from California with Dad and Cindy. Saturday, Nichole let the girls play in her makeup bags. They really had fun with it.

Later, we got together and took a ride on the 4-wheelers with the girls in the back of one of the Gators and we drove up the canyon and looked at the beautiful fall colors. We had a great time and were so pleased to be able to share the time with so much of the family together. Rick drove one of the 4-wheelers with Nichole on the back. He had the stamina to drive all the way up and a little of the way down before Nichole had to take over and drive him back home. His sweet smile says it all...

Each night we (Bill, Debbie, Dad, Cindy, Rick, Kerry and I) sat on the porch that faces west and enjoyed the evening thunder showers that rolled through. Sunday, Dad, Cindy, Bill, Debbie, Rick and I went for a drive on the Mirror Lake highway to try to find a Moose in the wild for Bill to see. No luck on spotting a Moose, but we sure had a nice drive.Here is the view from this porch in the day time. Steve's Fox trotters are often browsing through the pastures, what beauties!

Then, at night, we (Kerry, Adam, Rachel, Nichole, Jared, Catherine and I) stayed up till the wee hours of the morning playing card games at the kitchen table. We made some precious memories and hope to continue the tradition every year. Next year we hope to include more of the extended family in the fun. Family is what it is all about. Families can be together forever.

Horned Toads - Who knew?

Down at the ranch Kerry, Kadee and I drove the 4-wheelers down around Losty Loop. On the way back I almost ran over a Horned Toad that made the dicision to freeze in the middle of the trail and rely on his stellar cammo. Luckily, I happened to see him and swerved at the last second to miss squishing him. I, of course, captured him and let Kadee hold him for a couple of snap shots. He was a fat little guy!

The next week, Kadee and I saw another Horned Toad on the side of the road and stopped to see if we could catch him. Unfortunately, this toad was dead and all that remained was the exo-skeleton. When I picked it up, a couple of crickets fell out. I put the shell on the side of the 4-wheeler and took it up to the playground to show Kerry. Kadee was sitting on the 4-wheeler in front of me, learning to drive and she was wearing a loose fitting flared skirt. When Kerry saw it, he picked it up and tossed it into Kadee's lap. Kadee's whole body tensed in seizure-like fashion when she screamed. I tried to brush the thing off but it had died with it's claws retracted and they caught on the skirt fabric, so when my hand brushed by, the skirt fabric stretched tight and it pulled back into place, giving the appearance of the toad jumping at Kadee. So, she screamed again, and seized again. My response was less than helpful at this point because I was silently laughing so hard that tears were streaming and I could not see to unhook the claws. All I could do was hold my hands over her eyes and turn her head away from the grizzly sight. We now refer to it as the Horny Toad Incident.

Two weeks later I found a baby Horned Toad. Here is a pic with him in my hands with a dime to show how small he was - so cute. By the way, Kadee was not afraid of this guy. Apparently, they have to be hollow to be scary.