Grand Canyon Cowboy

I love this picture!! This photo is of Steve Sanderson (Cael's dad) going through Lava Falls in the Grand Canyon. For those that don't know, Steve has been a river guide (he drives the boat, entertains us all, prepares food, etc.) in the Grand Canyon for quite sometime. You can just barely see Steve and his hat peeking out above the water. I'm guessing the orange speck to the right is Steve's helper, maybe one of the boys?

Lava Falls is a gnarly rapid. I think Steve said there were about 13 other people on his boat in that picture--but they are in the "down and in" position, which is why you can't see them. It means get low in the boat and hold on!! On our trip, we stopped before the rapid and got to walk along and look at it before we went through it. I was sooooo scared when I saw it and I was wishing for a way out! But it was fun and Steve did a great job getting through it.

Our Cataract Canyon trip we just did was really fun, but there were no rapids like that!! There is nothing like the Grand Canyon!

Back from PA and Cataract Canyon River Trip

Hello all! I haven't posted for a little while because we haven't been around much! We just got back yesterday from a camp in Pennsylvania. Tate and I were lucky enough to go with Cael and hang out while he worked the camp. We had to stay in the dorms, but Tate was amused by so many things, so it wasn't hard to stay busy. And we got to see Cael a lot more than I expected, so that was really awesome! The people out there were really nice also, so it was cool. However, the plane ride home was a nightmare with Mr. Tate. He was just tired and cranky and he threw a few fits and screamed a little. But boy oh boy is he glad to be home!!!!

Before we went to PA, I joined Cael and his team on a river trip in Cataract Canyon (southern UT). I left the Tater man with my mom and had a nice break. I really had no expectations going into the trip, so I really had a good time. I just relaxed, swam, ate, read my book, and hung out. Cael also had fun but was a little disappointed because there weren't big rapids like in the Grand Canyon, but seriously, what could compare to that trip?

I would like to share some stuff about the trip though, so here goes:

-The first couple days were basically a lake bake--there were no rapids or fast moving water at all, we just floated. But the water was so awesome, and we got to jump in and float a bunch. We stopped at a few different areas and got to check out old Indian graneries and petrified wood.

-On one of the lake bake days, I was floating in the river and i swam over to the boat where Cael was dillydallying, and grabbed his leg and pulled him in. I'm a real stinker. The next day, we were all on the boat floating down the river, and I was sitting on the edge of the raft. Cael reached down and tapped my back, and into the water I went! He felt bad and helped pull me back in, but I made it difficult because I was laughing so hard. He swears it was an accident. Hmmmm...accident or revenge? You decide. :)

-Our second night camping we had the most awesome campground--huge, open, with almost a white sand beach. The interesting thing was that in the areas where there were trees, there were TONS of spiders hanging on the branches! It was one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen. I guess the park service in the canyon has been trying to get rid of a non-native tree growing there, called tamarisks, so they released tons of these little green bugs (beetles?). So we were all guessing that the spider population just exploded with beetles to eat!! Interesting what kind of effects something like that would have the area.

-The third (and final) day was our day of rapids. I think the guide told us there were 38, but it didn't feel like that many. Still fun though! There was a big rapid named "Satan's gut" which somehow, Cael's wrestlers managed to turn into "devil's butt". Sorry, I like immature humor. :)

-There was a rapid called Repeat. We literally jumped out of the boat before the rapid and floated through it. I made Cael hold my hand, I was so scared. Basically, you bust through the middle of the waves and swallow a lot of water. And I could not figure out when to breathe and when to hold my breath! But it was over quick. The hard part was after the rapid--we had to swim as hard as we could through the current to get to the left side of the river so we didn't get swept downstream. I don't remember a time when my arms and legs have been more tired than that. About three of the wrestlers got swept down a bit and the boat had to bring them back up. I am a dummy, though. When we got to the shore, we climbed back up the rocks and jumped into the water and rode the rapid again. My heart was beating so hard I could hardly breathe. What a rush!

-On the third night, our camp site totally sucked. We basically pulled up to a rocky ledge with barely enough space to fit everyone's cots. There was a rocky ledge hanging over us, which freaked me out too. Once it got dark, a ton of scorpions came out and were crawling around. It was crazy! I was seriously having a hard time not feeling like there was something crawling on me.

I had a great time! Well, hope you are all doing well! Cael, Tate and I are heading to San Antonio next Thursday to visit Ann, Tyler and Izzy. Momo and Bobo are going as well, so it will be lots of fun! Shopping, golfing, Sea World and more!

Our Trip to Lincoln

Howdy! We recently returned from our weekend in Lincoln, where Tate and I attended Miss Isabelle's baptism. It was really fun! We got to see Anner B-nanner, Christy, Tyler and Dan, Gma and Gpa Hranac, and the adorable trio of little girls!! I got to hold lotsa babies, and I was so excited because they are all finally at the age where they really respond to you, so I was getting smiles from them!

We spent a lot of time at Ann's in-laws, which was nice except Tate thought he could run the household. Jeesh! I never knew how difficult it is to keep a handle on a toddler in a non baby-proofed home! I was seriously following him around constantly because he wanted to grab EVERYTHING he saw. But he was being pretty cute. Tate found a dog toy--a rubber shoe--and after I put it on his foot, he would not take it off! What a goof! He was also crazy about Izzy's balloons and he was just crushed when he let go of his pink balloon outside and it flew away. :(

It was great to see everyone!

Tate and I are heading to E'ville tomorrow. I am going to fly to Utah on Friday and meet Cael and join him on his river trip in Southern Utah. Tater is going to stay with his wonderful Gma and Gpa in E'ville. Talk to you all later!

Estherville in July

Hello everydude! Just a little update. The Tater and I have been in E'ville (commonly referred to as Esther-smell, among other things) for a few days to break up the time while Cael is in California and Utah for wrestling camps. A big thanks to Mom and Bob for putting up with the three of us (Bonnie is here too) and for feeding us and playing with Tate while I sleep half the day away. It is nice to have the company.

I put some photos of Mr. Tate up from our visit here--some of them are from early in the morning in Gma and Gpa's backyard and some are from the baby pool in E'ville today. And, yes the lady holding his arms in the water with the really ugly, long and stringy hair is me. I know, I need it cut dangit!!! It was such a fun visit! I can't believe how much he really liked the pool! Tate tried to walk (well, run) in the water and didn't realize that it was a bit harder to move in water. As a result, he had a few face-first moments into the water, but he never cried! He just got up and kept playing. It was too cute!! And even though his lips were turning blue, he was pretty upset when Gma and I made him leave. We will definitely be going back to the pool!

In other exciting news, (ha ha) Tate saw a cat outside tonight and pointed to it and said "cat"! I was so excited! He kept pointing and saying it, so I think he has the word cat pretty cemented in his mind now. Tate was following the cat around the yard trying to get close enough to touch it, but I wouldn't let him. We don't know where that cat had been! Plus, they are not the friendliest of creatures. We are definitely dog people!!

Also cute, not sure I ever mentioned it, Tater has been saying "eio," from the Old McDonald song. At first, he was saying "eiei" but he's moved on and added the "o" sound. So cute!! And tonight, Cael was talking to him on the phone, trying to get him to say a few of the words he knows, and Tate was actually responding (saying clock)!! It was so sweet!!

Well, hope everyone is doing well!!

Tate is 17 mths today

Mr. Tate turned 17 months today, July 3rd. Wee hoo! Time sure flies when you have a Tatey Tate. I love the pic of him, doesn't he look just like his dad?

Not much is going on around here, Mr. Tate had spaghetti for dinner tonight and succeeded in dumping the bowl on his head. He was covered from head to toe in spaghetti sauce. It was pretty stinking cute. But it sure made him stink too.

Grandma Pat came last night to watch Tate and gave Cael and I a night off, so we went to Red Lobster--where I ate an entire basket of cheddar bay biscuits by myself--and then to the movie Get Smart. It was pretty funny! I can always tell if a movie is truly funny (I seriously think everything is funny) by how much Cael laughs out loud. And he laughed out loud quite a few times.

I just started the process of painting our upstairs bathroom. After 6 years of living here, I finally got sick of the lovely chartreuse color the original owners picked out. This room is TINY but it is still a ton of work! Eeeek! But it will be worth it!

Anyhoo, hope everyone is doing well!