Uintah backpacking!

The weekend of the July 18, the Boy Scouts went backpacking for the week. Kenny headed up on Friday after work and met up with them. Hiking and fishing have been put back into "active duty" from this short trip. Well, he came home on Saturday and the craziness ensued - buying new gear for the family. Here is a list of our aquired gear: hiking boots for all, tent, 2-sleeping bags, Haven's backpack, 2-fishing poles, 3-backpacking stools, fold flat dishes (which are cool), LED lantern, sleeping pad, water bottles, sandals (for Katie), a cute comfy pillow (also Katie's), food, and fishing gear. We became regulars at all the local outdoor shops-pretty much on a first name basis. So we packed up our gear on Friday early afternoon and headed out on this long weekend (Pioneer Day) and boy we had a blast! The weather was good except for a 6 hour rain storm on Saturday late afternoon. We woke up Sunday ate breakfast and headed home. How our own bed sounds good!

We hiked from Trial Lake up to Wall Lake and then up to John's Lake where we made camp. John's lake is just above Twin Lakes. Lakes, lakes, lakes. We lost track of how many lakes we saw but I'm guessing it was around 10-12. They were everywhere and they were gorgeous. What a beautiful site and what a fun adventure. This one will definintly go in the memory bank!

Golfing in the heat....

Haven decided it would be fun for all of us to go golfing in the middle of the day on one of the hottest days of the summer. And Haven figured Dad could sweat it out with us.

We all met at the East Bay golf course at 3:20. Boy we were quite the site. Dad was the expert of the group with Kenny right on his heals to take his title. It was my second time on a course. And although Haven has been golfing quite a few times, he is still learning and having a lot of fun at the same time.

In the end, we were all very hot and walked away with a tad more experience. It was a fun afternoon!

Kenny.........Dad........
Haven..........
Katie.......

New Arrivals!!

Our babies have hatched! We didn't get to see them but our neighbor did. He said they were smaller than an action figure but they looked good (ahhh, cute). He counted six babies and there were eleven eggs. Unfortunatly, some did not make it. Good luck little babies!

These pics are of the empty eggs.

Pitter Patter of Little Feet

It's only a matter of time until the Atkins family will hear the pitter patter of feet...in the front yard.

Katie was trimming the bushes in the front yard when she came across a nest of quail eggs tucked away in the branches. At first the mother flew the coop but we are very glad she has returned. We plan to keep a close eye on the nest since it is right by the front door. We believe there are 10 or 11 eggs so that means lots of little mouths to feed. We are excited to see the eggs hatch which we think will be in one or two weeks. We'll try and post pictures when it happens.

July 4th Weekend

Kenny and I got a bug to get out of Dodge for the weekend. We left Thursday night (July 3) and headed up to Logan. We spent the night at the Anniversary Inn. We woke up and thought it would be fun to go to Bear Lake and go golfing. When we got to Bear Lake, the golf course didn't have any openings so we went further North to Montpelier, ID. We spent the afternoon golfing and had quite the time. It was Katie's first time on a golf course, and it showed! On the way home, we stopped in Paris, ID and visited the historic tabernacle. What a beautiful building with amazing craftsmanship! If you get a chance you should go check it out!

We came home Friday night (July 4) just in time to catch the Stadium of Fire fireworks over at the park. Great fireworks this year!

The next morning (July 5) we decided to get on the motorcycle and drive down to Manti and go to the temple. The ride was nice - not too hot! We arrived at a little bed and breakfast, changed, grabbed some lunch, and headed to the temple. It was a very memorable experience! After the session, we were able to see the famous spiral stairways. Then we spent about a half hour talking with the temple workers listening to the stories they knew about the Manti temple being built. It was fun and very educational.



We had a lazy Sunday morning but finally decided to head home. We drove through Moroni and on through the Nebo loop. It was a beautiful day and the view was lovely.



Our July 4 holiday weekend was one we will never forget!

Hike to Bride Veil Falls

We took a quick hike up to see the Bride Veil Falls in Provo canyon. It was the first time Katie did the hike even though she has lived in Provo for many years. It was perfect timing. Kenny just finished a softball game so he was really hot. The canyon was nice and cool and the hike was really nice. It was a great evening hike for the family.

A's in the finals

Haven's baseball team made it to the state tournament this year. They were one of the top four teams in Provo. It was Haven's first year playing but he really enjoyed it. He spent time playing catch with Kenny to learn how to throw the ball well and how to hit.

Kenny was an unofficial assistant coach for the team and had a great time working with Haven and the other boys to improve their skills and teach them how to have fun!