How we spent our summer (long post)

So let me get caught up here on the events of the family since Andrew was born:

July 22 - JT, Uncle Gideon and I went up to Secret Lake in Albion Basin. The weather was great for our little hike. JT hiked much of the way on his own. I tuckered both of them out.



Notice I took the picture below with my left hand while driving. I'm proud of this shot.


July 27 - My birthday. We had a nice little get-together here at the house. My big gift was an HD Tivo (just in time for the Olympics!).



July 29-August 4 - Briggs family reunion in Discovery Bay, CA. Thanks to Andrew's good health and the fact that Angie's mom was here and able to help, JT and I were able to make it to this wonderful bi-annual event. Before it started, we were able to squeeze in a quality 24 hours with Uncle Steve and Diane. I got some dental work done and we went to a concert in the park with them. It was on to the reunion. We had a great time! JT got so much attention from great aunts, uncles and 2nd cousins. His rendition of James Taylor's "Mexico" at the talent show was the highlight of the weekend and a performance that those present will not soon forget! (There is a copy of JT's Mexico on video, but I'm waiting to post it until I get my hands on a good copy. The one I have is really jumpy and doesn't do it justice - stay tuned).








August 4 - James Taylor concert at Usana Amphitheater. That's right, the very day I get back from the reunion. Talk about an action packed 5 days! I went to the concert with my good friend James Pearce. It was his first James Taylor concert and of course did not disappoint.

August 22-29 - Wind River Trip (Angie and the boy's trip to Texas). Yet another phenomenal trip in Wyoming's highest and most remote backcountry! The only thing that could have made it better would have been to have my dad, Chris and Charlie there. That being said, Gideon, Steve and I made the most of it. This included:

• A bear encounter
• Getting up to a lake so high and so remote, there were no trails leading to it nor is it named on any map. I honestly believe there are less than 100 people who have stepped foot there since I was born. Steve and I spent the night there at 10,800 feet hugging the continental divide.
• Seeing Snowbridge Lake and the glacier for which it is named. Really cool.
• Eating lots of fresh trout.
• Pushing our limits resulting in a renewal physically, mentally and spiritually.

This is a look inside the Snowbridge of which there is a video below.

On our last day in there, we got up, packed up camp by flashlight, and were up on top of the pass at dawn.

September 5-7 - Daytripping Seattle. In the old college spirit and motivated by my cousin Chris; Charlie, Gideon my friend Sam Johnson and I drove up to Seattle for the main purpose of attending the BYU/Washington game. Luckily, my cousin Erin, her husband Clay and their son Koen liv e there and were nice enough to let us crash at their house. Out of the 4 of us taking the trip, none of us had been there before and we all came away very impressed. First of all, Erin and Clay live in a prime spot of Seattle - less than 10 minutes from the University, and less than 15 to downtown. The day started with a great breakfast provided by our hosts. W e then met up with Chris and his buddies at Pike Place Market (the #1 tourist attraction in Seattle) where we had to have a 2nd breakfast of crepes. On to the game which proved to be one of the most talked-about games of the season thus far where BYU won by 1 poi nt. After the game, Clay took us to a local burger joint. From there we rested at the house fo r a while before partaking from yet another burger joint. We topped it off with a Mariners/Yankees game at Safeco field, one of the nicest stadiums in baseball. I got to see M ariano Rivera warm up in the bullpen, literally the guy was like 10 feet from me. All in all it was 25 hours of driving for about 22 waking hours in Seattle. And I'd do it again.

One of the oddest things I've seen lately. Clay found the BYU fan pictured in the center below - notice that he has a cigarette in his hand and is drinking with his buddies. Fantastic. Rise and Shout the Cougars are out!

Here's Mariano Rivera - a hall of fame closer - warming up in the bullpen.

September 13 - Another day at the ranch. This time we went with our neighbors the Tadlers. A goo d time was had by all. Highlights turned out to be the horses and the motorcycle.

September 20 - I got a killer deal on a digital SLR camera that I've been hunting for for a while now. It's a Nikon d40 and I got it lightly used with a nice lens for $325. http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40.htm
I'm very proud of this - it was an absolute steal. The way I figure it is that family pictures are among the most treasured things we possess. Why not make them as good as possible?

Some pictures with the new camera:

Finally, here are some pictures taken over the past two months that I just couldn't help but include.
Continuing with the stuffed animal theme - we got a stuffed tiger "rug" for the nursury and it's Andrew's favorite thing to sleep on.

So that's about it, the last 2 months of our summer in a nutshell. I think I might have mowed my lawn once or twice in there - as you can see we've been busy! It's nice to finally settle down for a little bit. Maybe I can even get to the blog once in a while!