North Mountain Hike February 2008

After a long hike, Mia fell asleep on Jamie's shoulders... So cute!

I don't know how Jamie carried her like that because the terrain is pretty rough and Mia is not exactly light either...

February 2008

Our family ranch in North Tuba area, my dad getting the hay ready to feed the cattle. It's funny how they come home on their own and wait to be fed.

My husband Jason putting out hay for the cattle, you have to be careful because they can get pretty rowdy trying to get a bunch for themselves.

The kids will just play in the sand hills, we like to take the golf clubs up there and just swing away. But, it can be hard trying to find the little golf balls in the sand hills and bushes. We lose so many golf balls, so we go to the thrift stores and buy bags of used balls.

Ariel's friend Katrina taking a swing, it's so cute how her leg does that every swing.

My husband Jason taking a swing.

We have lots of fun doing this but looking for and gathering up the golfballs can be a chore. Especially, if we can't remember where the ball went. It's almost like Easter egg hunting. YOu always leave some eggs behind. We lose so many golfballs.

Mia love to watch her grandpa Jason but she don't like it when he picks on her.

We had this Gene Simmons action figure in out truck. I don't know how it ended up there but I decided to shoot some photos of it too...

Not only do we hit golf balls, the girls love to play on the sandunes. I remember we would play for hours doing this back in the day.

And here's grandpa picking on her to smile for the camera but she's a stubborn little one. She just gives him the evil eye...ha..ha..  

My granddaughter Mia, she is always with us when we go back up North.

Mia decided to take a swing at golfing. Instead she kept swing like she was playing hockey...ha..ha.. Just too Cute!

The girls taking swings, ha..ha.. Katrina and that little kick...

Jamie and Ariel playing some hand clapping game.

I love this photo... It looks like it's an ad for a Dodge Ram 4x4 truck commercial.

North Mountian Cont.

I get up close and personal with the cactus, sometimes it bites back...ha..ha..

My girls... Jamie, Ariel, Bernard and KJ... Oh yeah, that filipino boy is a good friend of KJ's and Ariel... He just one of the girls too...ha..ha..

Sun setting quickly... I always carry a flashlight, because by the time I get to the level trail, it is very dark by then and you can not see the ground. The glow from the city lights is blinding.

North Mountain Hike Cont.

Sweating, Huffing and Puffing my way back down the trail and taking pics as I walk. My family is usually waiting at the truck for me because I take my time heading back. Oooh... that looks cool... Click... Click...

Love the color variation in the sky and the bird was an added bonus.

Silhouette of a lone cactus.

Looking north from the top of the mountain.
I live down there, somewhere... I think more eastward...

Just a fun shot, makes for a very interesting design.

North Mountain Hike January 2008

January is the perfect month to hike the local mountains in the Valley. We live closer to North Mountain just off 40th st. and Shea blvd. I like to climb to the top of the mountain first and then take pictures on the way back down. I never leave home with out both of my camera's in tow. Here are a few shots of my adventures...

June 9th - Last Day at Carlsbad Beach

Well today is the last day we spent in California. I did not take pictures of this day because we had a lot of packing, cleaning, and loading up to do. We spent the first part of the morning having donuts and juice for breakfast. Talked a little about our week and heading back to the sorching heat. But, I think we were all a bit tired and wanted to go home and sleep in our comfortable beds. Not in the "Bouncy House", that's what the girls nicknamed our tent, because of the wall to wall double air matresses. Also, we missed our husbands, family, and friends. It was amazing how fast the camp came down and we were on the road by 10 am. As we drove out of the city of San Diego, I was a bit sad to leave this beautiful area. I vowed I will come back someday but with my family. Maybe, campout on the beach again, attend a baseball game, go to the local attractions. Like seaworld, legoland, the zoo, and visit the Naval shipyard. That was one thing I really wanted to do but it was just not appropriate for this trip. I remember visiting that place back in 1988 with Phoenix College's cross country team, we ran a race at Balboa Park. It was fun to go with a bunch of flirty girls. Flirting with the Naval soldiers begging them to let us get on the ship but they would not budge and let us get on the ship.
We drove out of the rolling hills and hit the humongous wind mills. I knew just over that was the desert. As we drove closer to Yuma, you could see the rolling sanddunes, and you could feel the heat. We made a quick stop in Yuma for lunch and continued on to Phoenix. We arrived about 4 pm, and got to the church about 5 pm. Everyone, unloaded their stuff, and one by one, people left for home. My husband got off work and came to pick us up. They first thing I did when I got home was lay on my comfy bed, while holding my husband, I fell asleep.

These pictures are of some of the early morning wildlife at the beach. The awesome surfers and dolphins, just amazing how they play in the same ocean side by side. The surfers ride the waves and the dolphins challenge them by swimming in the swell of the wave and jumping over them. It was way cool to watch..........

June 8th - Days End

The beautiful Young Women leaders, from left to right, Me, Janet Rampton, Noma Faller, Tracy Gardener, Donna Irwin, Amber Bird. Bottom row, Christen Sierra, Jennifer "Yo! Jenny!", Jami Fatellah (Our fearless Pres) These women were such a blast to hang out with. People think we are a bunch of serious Mormon women, but we are quite silly when we get together. The girls love that about us and we relate better with them when we let them know, we're not serious at all.
A serious pose with our two priesthood holders, Doug Coates. Our first counselor in our ward. He's a bit serious, probably because he's a lawyer and owns several businesses in the valley. Then, there's Brad Neilsen, the original surfer dude. He grew up in Newport beach California and grew up riding the waves. Who knew he was the real thing? He's actually pretty cool and I can see why his girls love him so much. He was a Stake President at one time but you would have never guessed. He works in TV and owns several businesses in Payson. He gives us free ice cream coupons to his Dairy Queen in Payson, which is way cool.........It was a bit cloudy and cold this evening, which made for a very beautiful sunset. With the sun piercing through the clouds and reflecting off the ocean.

The real gangsta chicks......These two were so funny with their Italian accents. They wanted a picture to show how crazy they are, no wonder Jami's son's are so crazy and funny. They had to learn it from someone......possibly thier Mom.