July the 4th and some other RANDOMNESS

I suppose I should start with the Randomness. These are pictures I had planned on posting, but didn't. Now I have a bazillion (an actual number) so the time has come.
First: Once upon a time, Michael and I went on a hike. We started up a trail, then saw a cave in the distance and decided we would try to get to it. We never did. It was much steeper than we thought. We ended up just above the cave when I decided I was much too nervous to go any farther. It was one of those mountains made of loose rock that shifts with every step. I kept envisioning what I would do if I fell. So we called it close enough and headed down the mountain. These are a couple pictures from the hike. Granted, they are from my phone, but you can still see how beautiful Cache Valley is.

Man, he is cuh-ute!

This picture has been my wallpaper on my phone for a while now. I told Leona I would put it on the blog, so here it is. To explain, Reid and Lliam have "gangsta" faces they do. One day I was at their house wearing this hoodie when Reid came up to me and told me to put my hood on and put my hands in my pockets (like him) and make this face. It was

No explanation needed. Superman sometimes helps my mom do dishes. (More truthfully. . . he just plays in the dishwasher).This is when Paige is the happiest! As you can see! She LOVES it!

Done with the randomness and on to the 4th of July! Michael and I packed light for the weekend and made the trip out to the Basin on our motorcycle. It was SOOO much fun, but required a few extra stops than usual (butt breaks). I wanted to get a picture of both of us on the bike, but it is hard to do when we are the only ones around. I felt really hard core (even though we are FAR from it). Michael has a black leather jacket and a black helmet. I have a Red-ish leather jacket, and a red-ish helmet. I am sure we looked pretty cool. (Ha!) One of our butt breaks was taken by Devil's Slide.

We spent the weekend in with Michael's family. One of the festivities was a children's rodeo. We watched hours (literally) of children chasing bunnies, kittens, puppies, chickens, and goats. It was entertaining at times, but far too drawn out. My favorite event was the Mutton bustin'. Little kids volunteer to ride sheep to see how far they get. Our 4-year-old nephew participated and was in the top 4! I had a hard time getting a picture, but here is my best one. You may have to click on it to see a larger version.
This little girl was sitting in front of us. I have no idea who she is, but I loved her 4th of July outfit, and her uber-cute high-pitched voice. Michael said she sounded like a munchkin. I loved it. I am sure he will think it is cute when we have our own squeaky munchkin. After the 4th of July parade, we did some target shooting and took a walk in the fields. I found this SWEET mushroom that was almost the size of a volleyball. The plantlife is loving all this rain we are having. In Michael's words, "Fungus likes rain too, Alta."

Leif. . . Want a bite?
And a close-up brought to you by macro photography.

If you have ever been out on my parents farm, you may have experienced the mushrooms we call "smoke-bombs" or "puff-balls", etc. They are usually smaller than a ping-pong ball. We found some the size of baseballs. I tried to get an action shot.

Before:
Action!

The plant life was just booming (or should I say blooming) because of the rain we have been getting. I love it. Michael went out with the camera and got some pretty awesome shots to share with ya'll. Enjoy!

Click on this one. The larger view makes the clouds seam much more ominous.

There was a fire by the parent's house a few years ago. That explains the skeletons of trees you see. Click on it for a better view.

I loved seeing everyone at the reunion and only wish it could have lasted longer. You can thank Michael for this post, because he has started nudging me and saying "Hey, you can blog about this." Thanks Babe!