Family, It's what We Do in Summer

Maybe it's the music coming from my computer as I edit these Family Reunion photos...maybe it's the cloudy grey skies outside threatening rain...maybe it's that school starts this week...or maybe it's the knowledge that summer is winding down too quickly; but something has me in a melancholy reflective state of mind.

Family reunions...they are a guaranteed part of summer activities whether we like them or not. We recently had reunion parties on back to back weekends with Dean's family and my own. These photographs remind me how much emotion, chaos and fun we have with our families...so many things to love.

 I love that we celebrated Grandpa Owen's 83rd birthday and had him pose with a bunch of his Great Grandchildren. Unni and Gramps gave each of them a Mickey Mouse.

 I love that Uncle Chet stopped to tie his nephew's shoe before helping him down the backyard slide.

Unni HATES having her photo taken...which makes me so happy to have this one of her smiling with her arms around her sweetheart.

I love that the men of Dean's family had the rare opportunity to be photographed with their Native American brother who was in town. Who incidentally put up with way to many hand raised "How!" references.

And speaking of rare...look at the post hiking beard the hubby is still sporting. I imagine these two grown men were up to no good when they were little men.

I love that Olivia and Henry will finally actually hold still long enough that I can photograph them looking at the camera...and Grandpa Owen doesn't!

 I adore how Grandpa choked up with emotion as he posed with his youngest grandchild Chet.

 Baby Levi, who might be the chubbiest, happiest baby I know...lights up his grandma's eyes like no one else can.

 I love how families are changing. John and Annette's has grown

with the addition of wonderful in-law children...

and a new little red-headed one.

Switching sides of the family now...but not the sentiment. We marked what would have been my Grandmother's 101st birthday with a Fredrickson family reunion. My Grandma Kay died a few years ago...but we use the date as the opportunity to gather and remind us from where we came.

As crazy as this was...I love that my mother's best friend from high school came to perform as a clown at our family reunion.

This was just after my brother Blair sent a text to Dean sitting in the seat next to him..."I wish that clown could make me disappear!"

 I love that Clown Miriam showed the kids how to blow bubbles...

 and the teenage girls were thinking this clown is nuts!

 Brown eyes run deep in my family...almost black. I love that baby Cohen has the most expressive faces anchored by those big brown eyes.

 Cousin power...

 I love how it moves from generation to generation never losing it's force!

Katie Scarlet...we already know how much I adore her! Look how she adores that rice-krispie-chocolate thing she is lusting after.

And I love, love, love...that no matter when I see my brother, he is proudly wearing his yellow Jiggy bracelet and tells me how much he misses my daughter.

 When Cohen's mama wasn't looking, I love that Dean fed him a cupcake...

 and Cohen slurped up every sugary morsel!

I noticed Thing 1 and Thing 2 running around and then found mischievous Thing 3, but was thrilled when I finally discovered that my cousin had a Thing 4!

Able to dead lift over 355 pounds, my niece Chalise is so buff. I am impressed that she and hubby Chris competed in a Cross Fit competition just before the party.

 I love that my brother is always the king of the ruckus, throwing water balloons at his grandson...

 and then running away as fast as he can.

Following the water fight, I love that my beautiful niece asked if I would take a photo of her and her hubby of seven years...and I captured this one!

 See what I mean about those gorgeous deep brown eyes...they are everywhere!

Suntanned faces will soon start to fade into winter pale. But the memories of great family moments like these will never fade. Family...it's what life is all about, isn't it?

On Top of the World

Ten years ago I would have NEVER even considered going on a backpacking trip in the high Uinta Mountains. Ten years ago I was wimpier and whinier! But being brave, I decided to make this a Filthy Fifty item and attempt the adventure.

Backpacking demands that you stuff everything you are going to need for four days in a high-tech lightweight backpack...sleeping bag, tent, clothes, food, toothbrush, water filter, cooking supplies, etc. Oh...and for me...my best friend Mark III; which incidentally added five huge pounds to my total backpack weight of twenty-five pounds.


EVERY ounce of weight matters when you are packing. You have to be prepared for any type of weather, first aid, emergencies, etc. Camping in a remote wilderness area there is NO cell phone coverage and NO fast food drive-thru when you get hungry.

From the trail head to our intended camp site at Beaver Lake is a 7 mile hike with 3000 feet in elevation gain. Really not that steep or long, but it is at high altitude and you are carrying a heavy pack. Around mile 5 we stopped and rested at the Big Meadow for a snack and a drink. I have been working all summer at getting myself in shape. I didn't want to be the one holding up the group. Although I may be a grandmother, I refuse to act like one.

The Big Meadow holds such nostalgia for Dean. He spent his youth running through this meadow and hiking this trail. And I know we both were reliving the time we brought Jocie to the Big Meadow. Her young skinny legs easily making the long hike in and then out all in one day...about a fourteen mile round trip.

But this time we would be staying for 4 days.

Stunning...

we arrive!

The next thing to do...

find a place to set up camp.

And immediately tie up the Diet Cokes so they could be chillin' in the lake. I negotiated with Dean, that he would pack in two Diet Cokes for me if I went on this trip. You can bet I brought 16 ouncers! Cass and Bob also packed in Diet Cokes. Ridiculous...I know!

Oh the photography up there!

It would be impossible to pack in enough water for the entire four days, so we brought along two water filters to purify the stream water and make it suitable for drinking.

This water tastes amazing.

With the exception of the moose who was standing in the middle of the lake eating when we arrived, we had the entire place to ourselves. Tranquil air gently settles on the pastoral scene. Each of us found something to do that first evening...

losing yourself in the moment catching fish...

making a big splash...

or capturing the setting sun melting into the Wilderness.

Chet was nominated to make a fire.

as we watched the full moon and the sun exchange places watching over us.

Plans were made around firelight for tomorrow's adventure and then we crawled into the most comfortable sleeping arrangements and drifted off into la la land...NOT! Sleeping was the most difficult part for me, but I'm not whining!

Coffin lake is located about two miles from Beaver Lake. With no visible trail, first thing in the morning we bushwhacked our way to the lake

and spent the day in a high mountain playground.

This was supposed to be a funny face shot...as unknown to me, Cassandra attempts to push me into the lake.

Yes...it's that pretty! We left Dean on the banks of Coffin Lake to catch us a trout dinner as the rest of us hiked up to the even higher elevation lakes.

Filtering more drinking water in this icy cold lake, it was my idea to wade through instead of navigate more boulder fields surrounding the lake. I had a tiny melt down (OK it might have been bigger than that) in the middle of the lake as my feet turned into frozen paddles and refused to move. Chet came to my rescue and talked me back into reality, urging me to continue making my way across.

This socks and shoes putting on rock spot came in handy.

Bob and Chet decided to navigate up a steep boulder field to attempt reaching the ridge line. You can't even see a third of this steep slope.

Cass and I discovered lake after lake while we waited for the boys to come back down. We played with the camera a bit while we waited. They abandoned the venture after getting low on drinking water.

Nature is spectacular and impressive in this hidden world high in the mountains.

The flowers growing from these lily pads resemble gorgeous perfect yellow roses. I couldn't help notice the clouds as they dance and reflect in the water of the small pond.

Meanwhile...the fisherman has done his thing and shows off a couple of the beauties we would soon be eating for dinner.

The mountain air breathes life into my soul.

Unplugged from real life, we have time and space to dip our toes into gurgling streams and soak up one another.

I love the mountain man face Dean quickly acquires and settles into.

They are completely giddy as Chet reels in his first fish. The boys caught fish as fast as they could cast out the line and reel the fish in...letting many of them go to swim another day.

But this one was delicious!

On the third day, we made plans to hike to the top of Thompson Pass with an elevation of around 12,000 feet.

I'm showing Dean how to smile for the camera. Don't be jealous of my hair. With no grooming equipment but a small comb...I opted for two pony tails most of the time. Which by the way is a Filthy Fifty...wearing my hair in a pony tail for the first time in FOURTY years! I've been growing it out since my birthday, and it's finally long enough to make a pony tail...or two!

Expert backpackers, Bob and Cass...sans Olivia and Henry...were delightful to camp with! Although we all couldn't stop talking about the little ones the entire time...I think Bob missed them the most!

Living on freeze dried food and granola bars for days can start to got old. At this point, anything like fresh fruit is a priceless commodity. Cass pulled an apple from her pack...lightly ate around most of it and then tossed it into the bushes. Incredulous that she would throw so much of it away, Dean scolded his oldest daughter and hunted down the abandoned apple. He munched most of the rest of it except the seeds...Chet and I even begged for a bite.

I have been on many hikes in my life, but I've never seen a landscape like this one.

Cairns of stone mark the way to the top.

The air became increasingly thin as we huffed and puffed our way to the top. Bob and Chet decided to race the rest of the way. Chet won...must be these teenage lacrosse legs of his.

The view is breathtaking! Not much grows here on top of the world...the wind and the cold are not very hospitable to vegetation.

My boy...turning into a man so fast I can't stand it!

Probably my favorite photo of the trip...Cass immediately berated Bob to get down from that rock before he fell off the cliff.

I love this bunch.

I love that my daughter and son-in-law jumped at the invitation to tag along on this little adventure in the mountains.

I also love that for $20 I bought a tiny remote that makes it so much easier to take this group shot.

The view as we make our way back down the high mountain tundra.

Following a long day of hiking we arrive back at camp and soak our tired dirty toes...

and play again.

I don't know why my younger self would never have gone on this hike. I don't know why I let things like toilets and shampoo and a warm cushy bed keep me from Paradise and a moment like this. I wish I had been wiser and more willing to step away from comfortable into the unfamiliar. Maybe it's from the great loss I experienced...but my older self wants to see and learn everything I can from this world.

And it's never too late to start...