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This picture came up the other day when my computer was in Screen Savor mode. I didn't remember it, and seeing that big smile made me smile.
It was taken the last part of summer. It was a day of working on the rock wall. The day, his dad let him drive a Kubota tractor. That could account for the huge smile on his face. In fact, I'm pretty sure being able to drive the tractor was the source of more joy than he'd experienced in a long time!
From the top of his cap (BYU, of course) to the tip of his chin, this picture is just perfect of my boy and his 10 year old self.
What do I love about this picture?
- his freckles sprinkled across his nose and cheeks
- his ears which stick out just perfectly
- his teeth he needs to grow into
- his smile (see above)
- and, his eyes, which have just enough twinkle to make you wonder what he's planning next.
I'm really so happy that this picture came up that day. Its so easy to take a bunch of pictures with a digital camera - no film to develop, etc - that sometimes really great photos like this get uploaded to the computer, never to be looked at again.
We love you buddy.
Just a note - Trev picked BYU to go all the way in the NCAA tournament. After the win against Gonzaga, he's one step closer to winning the whole enchilada! Go Cougars!
Last month John and I went to West Yellowstone, Montana for a Vision Source "Meeting". You'll be glad to know that there was a little meeting time for the docs with the Vision Source top hombres and a few vendors, but the majority of the weekend was spent playing! Day 1 was spent on snowmobiles, and Day 2, after the "meeting", was spent in a Snow Coach seeing Yellowstone National Park.
Yellowstone is a beautiful place in the winter. As we drove through and saw the amazing natural wonders, I was so grateful to live on this beautiful earth.
Photo #1 - Here is an example of the snowmobile I rode on day 1. I ended up with a two person machine, which meant I shouldn't have been able to climb this really big hill, which I did climb because I didn't know I shouldn't have been able to do it! :-) Also, my machine didn't have "GUIDE" plastered across the windshield. We would have ended up in Canada if I had been in the lead.
Photo #2 - Meet Bill, our Snow Coach guide. He was a great guide, has done it for a long time, and is very knowledgeable about all things Yellowstone. We did later find out, he was not going to take us to Norris, which was amazing, but involves a bit of a hike, and we think he probably doesn't like to do it in the snow. Luckily, Sherry, the other guide, thought Norris is about the coolest part, so she convinced him to meet her group there, and she lead us down the trail. So happy Bill was along, and so happy Sherry was along!
Photos 3, 4, and 5 are from Norris, the place we almost missed! Soooo glad Sherry took us there. You can see from these few pictures it is a most unusual place. The barren wasteland shot (#3) is to show where they filmed part of the first Star Trek TV show. She said now channels like Discovery, National Geographic, etc, are allowed to film there. I also thought it was amazing that the rest of the park has many feet of snow, but in this geothermic region, there isn't a flake on the ground in some areas. Photo #4 is ice that grows from the ground up. We can't remember the exact term for it, but it has something to do with "fingers". And #5 is where the steam from one of the hot springs comes up. The minerals in the steam color the ice blue. Hard to see in the picture, but take my word, it is pretty.
Picture 6 shows the herd of buffalo we had to drive through on our Snow Coach tour. They just moseyed around us and watched us go by, then they followed us until we left them in our 20 mph snow dust! We saw elk, swans, an eagle, coyote, ducks, deer, but mostly we saw buffalo. Apparently, because of the wolves, the moose population is almost non-existent, and the elk numbers are a fraction of what there were pre-wolf reintroduction. I got the distinct impression that the wolves are considered uninvited guests.
Picture 7 is one of several waterfalls we saw. The picture doesn't even begin to do it justice. Seeing it in person is truly awesome! And I mean that in the pre-everyone says awesome just because it is the trendy word of the moment way. Spectacular!
Pictures 8 and 9 are from the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone National Park. This is another case of non-justice due to photography! Again, it is truly beautiful and awe-inspiring. Picture 8 is taken from Artist's point. This is the most photographed spot in the park. Artists come to paint here and photographers snap many a picture from here. Picture 9 is at the same place, but I thought it would be good to throw one in of John and me to show we were really there! :-) I think it is the only one with either of us in it!
Picture #10 is a fellow we met on our way home. He was just standing in the middle of the road as we came upon him, and he stayed there the entire time we drove by. We practically stopped to take his picture. You can see the side mirror in the bottom corner of the picture. Obviously, no stranger to car traffic. A nice final image of our trip.
We were a little short on teenagers in our home, so its a good thing Kristin had her birthday last month and turned 13. She has been a good teenager so far, so we'll keep her on the family role for the time being!!! :-)
Of course, we'll keep her around regardless, but it is nice she's nice to be around.
Her birthday consisted of a few presents that were either needing to be ordered, socks that didn't fit, and a calculator for school. Kind of a bummer to be frank. But she was excited about her birthday menu which was the following:
- Bulgogi
- Twice baked potatoes
- corn
- store bought crescent rolls (heaven help me!)
- jello
- ice cream cake
Hopefully the food made up for the crummy present haul.
And, in keeping with tradition, the sign on the house proclaimed to all that she is 13. She was pretty excited about that too! (Not).
We're glad to have Kristin in our family. Actually, not just glad, we're blessed!
