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Lehmitz Family in Boulder

If you've read our blog before, you already know all of the details about Boulder, and many of you have even been there with us. So I'll spare you all of the details and just create a quick photo montage of our latest trip with the Lehmitz family over Thanksgiving weekend.


Who is that bad-mother-shut-your-mouth?



I just had to include this picture (above) We found this little cave among some large fallen boulders. The entrance is a little small though, and this picture just reminded me of an oversized birth.
Hickman Bridge in Capitol Reef

The Family

Typical men.
Tiffani starring as Mogli

Calf Creek canyon in all its fall-colored glory


The Family at Calf Creek Falls. We had to trick Mom into going on the hike, but we were glad she made it there and back safely, even if we had to carry her the last mile back to the car.

Bell's Canyon

This is actually going to be a retroactive post. For some reason, we forgot to put up these pictures, even though we did this hike in early fall, some three months ago. But, I thought the pictures were encapsulating and just couldn't go by unnoticed by our loyal blog audience, so I decided to make a quick post to take you on a tour of Bells Canyon. If you're unfamiliar with it, its the canyon that makes up the northern side of Lone Peak, the largest and southernmost peak in Salt Lake county, Utah. It starts off as a pretty easy hike up to a small reservoir that's part of Sandy City's water shed. The leafs were all starting to change and the scenery was quite beautiful. But you can keep going up the canyon, that is, if you can find the trail.



Tiffani and I actually lost it a little bit, and ended up following the stream that flows into the reservoir until we found a bridge farther up the trail.


Then we followed what we thought was the trail, but soon we realized that there were forks in the trail which had other forks farther along. So, we just kept heading in the direction we knew were were supposed to be going, not really knowing where "our" trail was going to lead. Our ultimate goal was to find the waterfall that's up the canyon. But after hiking for a couple of hours, half of it through a new layer of snow, and getting pretty high up the mountain, we decided to turn around so we could get back before dark.


But we did take a picture at the summit of our adventure.
Eventually, almost through sheer dumb luck, we decided to take another small trail that led off of the main one, and lo and behold, we stumbled upon the elusive waterfall. It was actually very pretty, nestled back in a wooded ravine, engulfed with the colors of autumn.


But such adventures are part of an average day in the life of Tiffani, the goddess of the great outdoors.

Birthday Bash at the Cabin

For my birthday, I wanted a little weekend get-away to the cabin. Will happily aquiesced to my request. We invited our good friends, Jack and Sausha, to experience the joy of Boulder.
We went to all the best places. Hell's Backbone was our first stop. It's a rickety bridge that spans a deep canyon, used by travelers from Escalante to Boulder until Highway 12 was built. I am trying to coerce Will out of his fear of heights by making him climb on cliffs with me. Will is second-guessing why he came out onto the ledge with me. On the way up to the bridge, the washboard gravel did us in and we lost a hubcap on our car. So the ride down consisted of "Eye Spy" but we were all looking for the same object. Will spotted something to the side of the road, Jack, Will, and I piled out of the car and ran towards the shiny object. Unfortunately, it was a Pontiac's lost hubcap. The search was futile.

After Hell's Backbone, we went on a little stroll to Calf Creek Falls- another popular tourist destination. The view never gets old.
Jack and Sausha at our picnic spot near the falls.

At "The Crevice", Jack pretended to be Mogli on a dead tree. These are a couple of graceful pictures of him. Just a side note, he was about five feet off the ground. Other highlights from the trip included: Team Lehmitz beating Team Christensen at Scrabble, Sausha's hot chocolate, and watching Lars and the Real Girl. If you're in the mood for a black comedy, we highly recommend this sunsational should-have-been blockbuster hit. Hooray for friends and birthday weekends at the cabin.

Photo Journal of September's Adventures

The Lehmitz family always hosts a Labor Day party. This year was the first time I enjoyed the whole array of festivities-- rides on the swather, tug-of-war over the canal, zipline adventures, and tomato fights. We enjoyed a good-ole' fashioned get-together with all the kin folk. My favorite activity was probably the zipline, just because I felt daring without a harness. Relying on my own brute strength for protection, I held on tightly as I sailed 100 yards to the dead tree. The tomato fight was pretty intense as well. I held my own and protected our flag. Each time I threw a rotten piece of produce, I gained more confidence in my throwing abilities. I will train for next season. Will and I headed up the Temple Quarry trail at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. I recounted my maiden voyage on my bike some four years ago. Of course, the trail was much more difficult than I remembered. We weren't able to make it to the top because of time constraints. Will and I turned around when we were about three-fourths of the way to the finish because he had to get home for work. The most difficult part of the journey was managing to fit our bikes in the trunk. Although we enjoy our new Camry, our bike rack does not fit on it and we had a heck of a time fanangling our bikes into the trunk.

Andrew Jenkins, the BFF of my lover, was kind enough to entreat us married folk with a day out on Utah Lake. The weather was blimey, the lake gross, and the company affable. I was impressed with Will's waterskiing abilities. Although it was his first time, I am sure next summer he will be able to Slalom ski.
The wakeboard was a much easier beast for me to manage. I harnessed the waves as I performed back-flips and aerials in the air. (Okay, I just stayed up and managed to carve.) It felt pretty natural, and by the end of the day, I was looking forward to the snowboarding season.

Weddings Galore

Quick update, August was fraught with weddings (fraught in the most positive sense of the words of course). I especially enjoyed seeing my dear friend, Sammi, end up with her lover, Brady. Whitney and I helped out and threw a bridal shower for her. We had a grand time. Here are a couple pics from that.

Katie Julian, now Fronk married her long-time lover, Blake as well. Her reception was beautiful and it was so fun to catch up with old friends.

Then, of course, my Badger buddy and former running partner, Christine Street, married the man of her dreams, John. As it turns out, Will and John even served in the same mission, albeit years apart. That will help prevent awkward conversation between spouses. She looked beautiful in her wedding gown; a nice change from camping gear and running shorts. We would have loved to make it to the sealing too, but unfortunately I couldn't miss one of the first days of school in my new job.

Will and I were also able to make it to Jared Crossley''s wedding. His little bride turned out to be a the younger sister of one of my friends. (Sorry, no pictures) Besides good food, we enjoyed visiting with good company. Hip, hip, hoorah for marriage!

The Career Woman

Will and I have recently relocated to Sandy because of my new appointment as Sunset Ridge's most inexperienced art teacher. I have finally launched into my career as an educator. For those that may wonder, Sunset Ridge is in the boonies--there is nothing around but new subdivisions clear out at 6800 W. and 8200 S. The school is really nice since it is only five years old. The faculty members are superb, and the students fantastic. Really, the only thing I have to complain about is my poor time management and trying to fill a new pair of shoes. They (whoever "they" is) say that the first year is always the hardest. I'm putting in a lot of hours, but I constantly remind myself that I'm "living the dream". So when I am downtrodden, I know I just need to watch Freedom Writers, Dead Poet Society, or Stand and Deliver to be sufficiently inspired. For now, I will survive a day at a time--revising my classroom management strategies, creating lesson plans, and putting a smile on my face. I love teaching.

Family Fun at Flaming Gorge

I should have kept the alliteration going but I can't really change the name of Flaming Gorge. I think it's an appropriate title for an article in Parenting magazine.
Enough about the title, and now a few words about the adventure.


Basically, the trip was rainy and overcast, but we still had a lot of fun. It was our first excursion up to the north country and we never knew it was so beautiful.The first day we went to a reservoir for some fishing. Kell and Ana trailed in the little raft just off-shore. Poor little Kell was fighting sickness, and kept falling asleep in the boat. When we made it to the Gorge, it was about five in the afternoon. Surprisingly, the water was warm. Some members of our family stayed ashore and looked pretty while others braved the water.My family kept telling me to not swim too far. I obeyed since I didn't want to worry my husband.The Gorge wasn't the only place we encountered water. Will and I went on a mountain bike ride around the rim while the rest of the kin was off fishing. The trail was supposed to be beginner, but we overcame many rocks and obstacles, such as flooding.

Here's a picture of what went on most of the time--a lot of fishing. My family was die-hard and the rain didn't deter them.
Ana is a little cutie, but constantly has to be entertained, especially in the car. We could only play "I Spy" so many times. The rain eventually drove us to the car and Will helped Kell get past the start menu on the Gameboy. He was practicing his Daddy skills.