Sawyer Brown!

We were so excited when we found out Sawyer Brown was coming to concert in Fort Hall! It had been way too many years since we'd seen them! Front row, center seats, and it was AMAZING! They are still just as entertaining and talented as ever. We could have listened to them all night! Such a fun show that brought back so many memories. It was fun for Sawyer to be taken back to his childhood, and for Bailey to really get to experience what we've always told her about.

I think what makes us love Mark Miller so much, is that you can tell he loves what he does. He has a great time while he's on stage.

After the concert, Jim came back out to pack up some of his equipment.

A great night with all my favorite people!

Dan Freeman: A Celebration of Life

We spent the weekend in Ketchum and Stanley, celebrating and remembering the amazing life of Dan Freeman. It was a weekend he would have been proud of.  The service was held on Saturday afternoon in Ketchum. So many people came from all over the country to celebrate Dan. There were great speakers that gave perfect tributes to him. It was one of those rare kind of services, that although you feel sad, you also walk away feeling inspired, and like you want to live life to the fullest, follow your dreams, and make your mark on the world.

Here are a few of the El Capitan alumni that were at the service. We didn't think to take the picture until after a few of them had already left. Troy and Shannon Pinkerton were also there. And yes, we even sang the fight song :)! 

 After the service, we drove over to Stanley and spent the night. On Sunday we hung out at the cabin, relaxing around the campfire until everyone got there. 

Russ, Kim, Grammy, Papa, Tricia, Mark, and Bailey at the cabin in Stanley.

I love this picture. Me and Cris were long time childhood friends, and here we are with our own beautiful daughters.

Once everyone arrived, we took a special hike to the meadow (Dan's favorite place). Dan loved the Sawtooth Mountains, and he used to say that taking a dip in the frigid lakes and streams of the Sawtooth's was 'good for the soul.' Many people got in the water, and a few even took the whole plunge!

Hiking to the meadow! 

The meadow is a beautiful place. It's easy to see why Dan loved it so much. Mark has so many fond memories of this place, so it was nice for him to be able to share some of those with Bailey. 

This water is so cold, that just standing in it for 10 seconds is painful!

 I knew in the back of my mind that once the first of Dan's Harvard buddies took the whole plunge, that Bailey would end up doing it before we left the meadow. She is a lot like Dan, and lives for an adventure. On all the hikes we take, she usually ends up in the cold water. Two years ago, Dan took us on an incredible hike to a beautiful, remote lake in the Sawtooth's. She ended up in the freezing cold water that time as well. This time, when she got out of the water, she said, "I didn't know Dan very well, but I feel like I know him a lot better now." I guess it really is 'good for the soul.'

Getting ready to take the plunge!

She did it!

Dan would be proud.

Crazy girl!

The 'Good for the Soul' club! These are the ones that went all the way in.

Mark and Kim in the teepee that holds lots of memories of their childhood vacations to Stanley.

Duane and Dave! :)

It was a perfect weekend celebrating a great guy! Rest in Peace Dan....until we meet again!

Work It!

Bailey has been teaching guitar lessons for a year. She has 3 students, and teaches two days a week before school in the mornings. That gives her enough money to put gas in her car, and to do something fun every once in awhile. She has been wanting an additional job so she can start saving for college. I have discouraged her from working, because she is involved in so many things. I didn't think she could fit it in without having a nervous breakdown. She was offered two cleaning jobs recently, and she took them both! Ahhhh, now she has 3 jobs! She cleans a small office building once a week on her own (I usually help her), and she cleans a big office building three times a week with a crew of kids. Her boss for the big building is her friend Parker, and she works with her best friend, Emily, so she's been enjoying it. I've got to hand it to her, she's handled it like a champ so far. She's been a good, dedicated worker, with no complaining. There have been some long nights of homework after work, but she's still done great. Cheers to responsible teenagers who work hard and think about their future!

Hahaha! I asked her for a couple work pictures, and this is what I got. Totally posed, but hilarious! 

Cutest office cleaners around!

Gentri!

Bailey and Emily fell in love with Gentri at the Stadium of Fire over the summer. We found out they were coming to do a show at BYUI, so Bailey got Emily tickets for her birthday. These two crazy girls had tons of fun! They went to dinner before the show, then got to Rexburg plenty early so they would have good seats. They were on the 4th row! So fun! They said the show was AWESOME! Afterwards, they waited in line to meet them....twice! I guess their first picture was a little blurry, so they got back in line. It was well worth the extra wait, because they got selfies with them! So funny!

Indian food for dinner.

So excited to get into the show! 

4th row! 

Gentri!

The girls said they did an awesome patriotic number.

I bet this song got the whole room of girls screaming! :)

 The  girls said there was an amazing piano player. They would go out to the audience and ask for two songs. The piano player would be able to combine the two songs off the top of his head. They said it was so cool!

Hahaha, she's a dork! Waiting in line to meet them!

So fun!

Selfies!

Claradee Guitar Pics

Bailey and Mark had some guitar pictures taken by Claradee Photography. I love them SO MUCH! Here are a few of my favorites.

Acoustic:

Bailey loves her ukelele, so she wanted some pictures with it too!

Electric:

I love this one! I think it shows her personality so well...fun and sweet, with just the right amount of sass!

Yellowstone: Mount Washburn

Mark and I took a final trip up to Yellowstone to hike Mount Washburn. It's a 6 mile hike to the top of the mountain, with an incredible panoramic view. There is a cool watch tower at the top that you can go in, and it has signs to explain all the different landmarks you can see in the distance. We were grateful for the tower, because it was SO windy at the top. We couldn't even get good pictures, because we couldn't hold the phone steady. A few times it almost blew us right over! The rest of the hike was nice; the wind was only at the peak. Crazy!

Starting our hike!

The view from part way up. 

At the top!

I was trying really hard not to get blown away!

This is a view from the top. You can see the Grand Canyon area of Yellowstone, Yellowstone Lake, and the Grand Teton off in the distance.  It's crazy how different each side looks.

When we finished our hike, we decided to drive a little further up the road to see Tower Falls. You could see the waterfall from the viewpoint, but there were problems with the trail that lead to the base of the waterfall, so it was closed off. We REALLY wanted to see it from the base, so we hiked down to the river, bi-passed the trail, and followed the river until we found the base. Yep, sometimes we're a little naughty! So fun and worth it though!

Hiking to the river.

Almost to the base of the waterfall!

Tower Falls! So beautiful!

This was our last Yellowstone trip of the year, but we'll be back to explore more places in the spring!