The Richmond Family

A Morning on the Mountain

2011-01-19T10:51:00.003-07:00

I am lucky to have a husband who supports me with my hunting. When it works out with his work schedule he will take the twins for a couple hours in the morning so I can get in some good hunting time. Yesterday I went up in the mountain on a peak that I hunted a lot last year. I chased a couple huge (one 160ish the other 190ish) bucks. I came within 80 yards of both, but couldn't get any closer. Yesterday didn't turn out as good. I stalked into what sounded like an animal walking over dead-fall and found this guy.

He had a very grumpy face and was not happy that I interrupted his feeding.

Besides this guy I saw five does, a snowshoe hare, and another hunter. I would call it a semi-success. It's always better to be out hunting than home in bed.

Dall Sheep Phase III - Coming Home

2011-01-01T12:09:00.003-07:00

Back at the lodge I ran for the sauna, bathed, and enjoyed a great dinner over the fire with roasted wieners, my sheep, salads, and smores.

It was great to see the other hunters and staff. We shared hunting stories and got re-aquainted. Mario shot a stud ram on the first day, 40 in. with 15 in. bases. Bill missed one and was planning on going back out in a few days. Stories were told on the front porch of the boys cabin with the smell of cuban cigars Mario and his guide were enjoying in the fresh night air. The other woman hunter who also won this hunt was still out in the field.

The next day, Sunday, was pretty lax. Johnny and I went for a hike up the river from the lodge and glassed for black bear. It was a slow day and we didn't see anything. It was decided that we would go back to Anchorage the next day. Packing was bitter sweet. Sad goodbyes were given and I was homeward bound.

Part of the Ultima Thule crew.

Paul & I at the drop off site in Chitina

Tuesday was spent as a tourist day in Anchorage. Johnny, Mario, and I did some shopping, checked in our rams with the wildlife office, and ate some great food. Mario dropped of his ram and cape at Knight Taxidermy where we met Russell Knight. He will be hosting The History Channel in his shop for prehistoric restorating. He gave us an extensive tour of his facility he was very friendly.

I flew out of Anchorage at 1:23 a.m. and arrived in Salt Lake at 8:00. I saw my husband first, it was so good to see him. Then I noticed he had our twins with him. Autumn saw me and yelled "Mommy" and came running. It all came spilling out then. Tears flowed as I held my children that I had missed so much. I was home and it felt great. I am an average housewife who was able to go on a hunt I never dared dream of. It has added to my character and increased my confidence. Best of all I have a wonderful family who was so supportive of me and a husband who beams with pride when he talks about my hunting adventure. What could be better than that!?!

Dall Sheep - Phase II

2010-11-21T18:00:00.005-07:00

I have to say that I love Alaska. Everything is so BIG, the mountains, the valleys, the rivers. I couldn't think of a better setting to kill my first sheep.

The next three days turned out to be quite uneventful. We saw 15 rams, but none were legal. A legal ram has to either have a full curl or be eight years old. After glassing, listening to Johnny’s guide stories, eating and sleeping for three days we were picked up and moved to another location. It was another amazing flight. The plane flew low over mountain passes and close to cliff edges. It was another thrilling ride, more exciting than a roller coaster. We landed where Canyon Creek Glacier starts, surrounded on three sides by tall rugged mountains covered in snow and ice. After finding the most level spot on a mound of granite rocks we set up camp. It was raining as we secured the tent and put our packs under tarps. After a delicious Mountain House meal we retired. My spirits were lifted at the new prospects of this area and I had a hard time falling asleep, wondering what the next day would bring.

The rain had stopped during the night and the morning of Friday the 13th greeted us with overhanging clouds that threatened rain. After an hour of hiking it started to rain and the rain gear went on for the rest of the day.

We rounded the base of the mountain which opened into the canyon the rams were spotted in. One of the rams was bedded down in plain view. We backtracked to avoid being seen and went behind a hill of rickety rocks. From there we hiked to the middle of the canyon opening and peeked around to see where the ram was. We were clear and started toward the rams. The entire path was hiking over pile upon pile of rocks that the glacier had dumped in its wake. We came to the base of a glacier and without skipping a beat Johnny started up its steep face. I hesitated for a moment, concerned that I had to hike up a chunk of slick ice in the rain, then started up. There were rocks frozen into the glacier that provided good footholds up the 100 foot slope. Our next obstacle was a glacial stream five feet deep and at the narrowest part five feet wide with water roaring down a two-three foot channel. At one spot there was a small rock island we slid onto and climbed up the other side. After crossing a field of rocks and ice we came to a steep rock slide with cliffs jutting up the last thirty feet. On the other side was the grassy slope the rams were supposed to be on. We slowly made it to the cliffs and found a path of dirt about four feet wide. We started up the very steep chute. By gripping the rocks on my right and planting my walking stick on the left I clawed my way up the last obstacle.

Johnny spotted a ram bedded down at 350 yards that was legal. He stood up and I fired, he appeared hit. The final shot hit the spot and he was down. Thick fog rolled in and I would not have been able to shoot again.

I started shaking as the excitement of the moment settled in. I had just shot a dall sheep and successfully completed a hunt of a lifetime. I thanked Johnny and we hiked to my ram. He was beautiful with a perfect white coat and wide sweeping horns. I stood in awe at the beauty of the mountains around me and was so grateful that I had the opportunity to hunt these amazing animals. It is a hunt I will never forget.

We loaded our packs, Johnny with the meat and me with the horns and hide, and headed down the same chute we came up. We dropped the meat at the stream crossing and headed back to camp. It was a long hike back and I was ready to get out of my wet clothes and crash in my sleeping bag for the night. We ate the celebatory raspberry crumble provided by Mountain House and were out for the night. We went back in the morning with the sun shining down and picked up the meat. When we made it back to camp Johnny cooked up tenderloin on a flat rock. It was so amazing to eat fresh meat after six days of eating Mountain House, trail mix, and jerky.

Paul & Lonnie came to get us at 4:00 and we were on our way back to the lodge. I told Paul I was in no hurry so we went for a longer flight scouting for more sheep. He flew me low to the ground, close to cliffs and banked hard a few times to get my stomache rolling. I loved it and never felt nauseous. My hunt was coming to a close. I was having mixed feelings. I was excited to get home and see my kids, but I was not ready to have it end.

My Amazing Dall Sheep Hunt - Phase I

2010-11-21T17:21:00.004-07:00

The trip to Ultima Thule Lodge was a bit long, but well worth the wait. I arrived in Anchorage around 2:00 p.m. and found my luggage with no problems. I met another sheep hunter on the same flight and we discussed our upcoming hunts while waiting for our luggage. This was his second dall sheep hunt, the first he came home empty handed. I enjoyed our conversations about hunting and could see he was a true hunter who loved it for the joy of hunting. His advice to me was to never give up, even when I felt like I couldn’t take another step, get up and keep going. He said it all comes down to mental toughness. Thanks, Wade, I hope you had a great hunt. I boarded a shuttle to my hotel on a rainy, overcast day. The locals say this is one of the wettest summers in a long time. I arrived at my hotel and waited for dinner with Ultima Thule guide Johnny, hunter Mario, and George, a friend of Johnny’s. We enjoyed a great meal at Glacier Brewery and got acquainted by telling hunting stories. Mario is from Spain and has hunted all over the world, he is a class act and I liked him from the start. He runs his family’s candy manufacturing business.

The next day I was picked up at 8:00 a.m. to begin the four and a half hour drive to Chitina’s airstrip (pronounced Chitna). We arrived at 2:00 p.m. after a few stops for snacks and lunch. The airstrip was a large parking lot with one log storage building that identified it as Ultima Thule Outfitters’. Johnny showed us the fishing wheels used for subsidiary fishing. Paul Claus, Ultima Thule owner, was due in at 3:00 to pick us up. He arrived on time and in a plane that is truly awesome. It is an Otter with a modified jet propulsion engine. It looked like a hover craft landing and only used about 30 yards of the runway.

My excitement showed regarding the plane and I was able to ride as co-pilot. I love flying in smaller aircraft. The country is beautiful with the Wrangell Mountains in the north, Chitina River directly below us, and the St. Elias Mountains in the south. It was a bit overcast so we couldn’t see the peaks, but there were two peaks above 16,000 ft. and a handful of others between 10,000 and 14,000 ft. on the Wrangell side. The lodge is indescribable. Everything that wasn’t taken from the land is flown in. They have a small tractor, four wheelers, a dozen or so structures, and gorgeous flower gardens. Dinner was excellent, sheep steaks and wild mushrooms over a bed of mashed potatoes.

The next day was Monday, August 9th. At 11:30 I was flown out to my hunting area in a SuperCub airplane with large tundra tires. We saw a lot of sheep on the way which was encouraging. I had three different landings, one in Hawkins Glacier where I was dropped off to wait for Paul, another on a glacier that we were going to hunt, and a third on a tundra knoll that my guide, Johnny, preferred over the glacier area.

It was beautiful in both spots, but the knoll had more impressive panoramic views. I could see the Barnard Glacier directly below us feeding into the Chitina River, University Peak to the northwest, and rugged, steep mountains to the southeast.

Supercub on tundra knoll

University Peak with Barnard Glacier belowCamp #1

I was excited for my hunt to begin. Johnny and I saw a few small rams really close to camp. The excitement was building and I couldn't wait to see what opening day of dall sheep hunting would bring.

Wildflowers

2010-07-12T15:10:00.003-06:00

We went for a drive looking for deer the other night. Porter and I went for a little walk and picked some wildflowers for Autumn.

She was very excited to get the flowers and would continually say, "I love my flowers." It was a cute moment.

Brayden is the one that put flowers in her hair while Porter and I were out for a walk. I thought they were a perfect touch.

2010-07-12T09:16:00.003-06:00

It is amazing how fast these two grow and change.

Autumn is busy all the time, just going, going, and going. She loves to climb on anything and is pretty dang good at getting herself around. She loves to color, do puzzles, take baths, read to herself (she memorizes her favorite books and recites them to herself at night), her dolls, purses filled with random stuff, her fingernails and toenails painted, and Porter. It is so fun to hear her say "I love you" on her own now. She comes up with some really funny things to say like, "What are you talking about then?"

Porter is a boy through and through. He loves balls, cars, boxing, football anything (especially shirts that resemble a jersey), shooting, Little Jake books (stories about Little Jake and all of his hunting adventures), trucks, tractors, motorcycles, boats, taking baths, coloring, dinosaurs, and of course his sister. He is very protective of her and will scream and holler if anything is wrong with her. He is also talking really good. He has an analytical mind and studies how things work. He is free with kisses and hugs which makes me very happy!

The best part is watching them interact with each other. There is a true bond that is very strong. They fight, they hit and pinch, but more often they play together and talk about what is on their mind. Last weekend Brayden took Autumn to Lehi with him to stay with her cousins Sierra and Savannah while he went to an archery shoot. It was the longest we've had the two of them apart. We were able to witness them talking on the phone and it was a priceless moment. Porter's face lit up as he told her about his day. I could hear Autumn on the other end with bright and cheerful responses. It was amazing to see how excited they were to talk to each other. I love being their mother, they are the greatest joy in my life.

Kolob Canyon

2010-06-25T13:38:00.004-06:00

I found these pictures from November of 2009 recently and thought I'd post them. Brayden and I stopped by Kolob Canyon on our way home from St. George while the kids were with Grandma Richmond. Our intentions were to go on a good hike, but we ended up hiking only one mile to this lookout. It was pretty though!

Me being a poser.

Two love-birds.

Holy Mess!

2010-06-09T14:44:00.004-06:00

So far Autumn and Porter have been pretty good about staying out of things and not making any huge messes, but they do love to dump out laundry detergent. This is not the first time they've done this, but it is the messiest. As for the orange hat, I have no idea . . . . .

Picture taken 1-2-10

Beautiful Autumn and Porter's New Do

2010-06-09T14:35:00.004-06:00

Autumn looked especially beautiful this Sunday so I got some pictures. I had just attempted to cut Porter's hair the day before and had a major mess up. Porter HATES getting his hair cut and screams the whole time. He jerked forward just as I was touching up the last bit of the top and caused a huge buzz streak down the middle of his hair. So he got the full buzz do. I personally hate him with a buzz. He is too pale and his hair is too light. He looks like he's going through chemo. This was back on 4/18/10 so he looks much better now.

Easter 2010

2010-06-09T13:45:00.006-06:00

We had a great time for Easter. Beaver had an Easter egg hunt in the High School gym due to a snowstorm that left about 4 in. of fresh snow. It was a little crazy with all the kids packed in there and candy spread out on the floor. It was hilarious watching the mad dash. Autumn and Porter were more interested in watching the kids grab candy than getting any for themselves. It was hilarious.

We traveled to Blanding to hang out with the Richmond's. Autumn and Porter's cousins Sierra and Savannah were there as well and the twins loved it. They love their cousins so much and they play together really well. Porter is a little out numbered, but he still has a good time. We decorated eggs on Friday and enjoyed a picnic out by Deckers (about 20 miles south of Blanding with fun rocks to play on). There were 100 eggs for four kids. The Easter Bunny was busy at Deckers. All the kids had a great time hunting for eggs, playing on the rocks, hiking, and riding in grandpa's Rhino.

Autumn and Porter in their Easter clothes.

Autumn & Porter at the Beaver Easter Egg Hunt

The kids loved decorating eggs and I found out that Brayden is quite creative with egg decorating.

Porter plopped down and raked in the eggs.

Grandpa Richmond and Autumn enjoying Easter candy.

The cousins playing on the rocks.

Autumn showing off a cool rock she found.

Porter is loving life.

Porter loved throwing rocks off the cliff.

Fun in the Rhino

The First Snowman

2010-06-09T13:34:00.003-06:00

So I'm no snowman expert and these pictures show it. We had fun though and the kids loved it. Every time it snowed they would get excited and ask to build a snowman.

Autumn had fun even though this picture doesn't show it!

Porter loves the snow. He'll pick up handfuls like this and throw in up in the air and watch it fall down.

Pictures taken on 2-20-10

Western Hunting and Conservation Expo 2010

2010-02-22T15:28:00.003-07:00

We had a great weekend at the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo in Salt Lake City. We attended Feb. 12th & 13th. My awesome sister Tamara took care of Autumn and Porter so we could just relax and enjoy our time there. (Not that we don't enjoy the kids, but all you parents know it's good to have alone time every now and then!) After applying for hunts, attending seminars, and helping John Bair, our good friend and auctioneer, we enjoyed a yummy dinner and a concert by JoDee Messina. Saturday we checked out the booths and attended more seminars. One was by Carl Malone. He was pretty funny to listen to. He didn't have anything written down and he was all over the place with his topics of discussion. It was almost like a sermon. He gave his views on service, raising kids (for him whippings are the key), Mormons, and a little bit of hunting. The best part about Saturday was attending the newly formed Full Curl Society, a fundraiser group with wild sheep as the benefactors. At this I drew a DALL SHEEP hunt! It is a hunt worth about $20,000, and will be fully guided. For those who do not know what a dall sheep is, here is a photo.

Needless to say I am a little bit excited. It will be an awesome experience and will challenge me physically and mentally. Here we are at the Saturday night dinner before the Josh Turner concert. I am on cloud 9 from winning the dall sheep hunt.

Here is the handsome Josh Turner performing. He was really entertaining and we had a great time. Brayden even asked me to dance a couple times which made the night even better.

Happy 3rd Birthday Twins!

2010-02-02T14:17:00.004-07:00

On January 25th Autumn and Porter turned three years old. It really has gone by so fast. I was looking at their baby pictures and I cannot believe how fast they are growing up. I love my babies. They had a fun birthday party with their cousins Sierra and Savannah, and their friends Trevon and Tatum. We had a camping themed cake to go with the sleeping bags they received from us. Autumn helped make the cake, at least she helped to make a bigger powdered sugar mess. I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

Grandma and Pa Richmond were at our house the week before their birthday and gave them MegaBlocks which they absolutely love. Porter really likes to make bridges for his car track out of the blocks. They also received puzzles, golf clubs, walkie-talkies, footballs, and play dough. They loved opening their presents and eating their cake.

Christmas 2009

2010-02-01T14:57:00.004-07:00

This Christmas was so much fun with the twins. They started catching on to what the whole thing is about. Porter was brave and sat on Santa's lap requesting his race track and cars. Autumn was in line and I could tell she was getting progressively apprehensive. When it came her turn she declined sitting on his lap and opted for a wave instead. Brayden teased her that Santa wouldn't bring her baby doll since she didn't sit on his lap. She was worried and would say, "I not sit on Santa's lap. I not get baby doll."

We headed to Grandma and pa Richmond's in Blanding for Christmas. All the family was there except for Stewart and Carrie who live in Alaska. It was so much fun to have all the kids playing together. Autumn and Porter LOVE their cousins. Porter especially loves it when Coleman is around so he can play with a boy cousin. They also love their uncles and aunts and they were spoiled with attention the whole time we were there.

Christmas Eve was a special night with the reading of the Christmas story and the little ones acting out the parts. Sierra and Coleman were Mary and Joseph, Nana was an angel, Autumn was a shepherd and Porter was one of the wisemen. They all did great. The Elves visited and left some new pajamas.

Christmas morning was not a disappointment. The kids were overwhelmed with a bombardment of presents and they were happy with what they received. They had fun playing with their new toys. Porter loved all his cars and his race track. Autumn was thrilled to get a baby doll from Santa and also loved her purse with little dogs in it.

There was about two feet of snow, so we had to get the kids out to play in it. Grandpa Larry shovels the snow into a pile off of their deck and this year it was a good sized tower. The twins did their best getting to the top. They had a lot of fun for about a half hour then they were done.

Christmas Tree Hunting

2010-02-01T14:29:00.005-07:00

This year we had better luck hunting deer than a Christmas tree. It was a tough year to find one that was just right. It was still fun to have an excuse to get out and enjoy the beauty of winter. Autumn and Porter love going for rides, so it was worth it. They liked the snow and they were excited about their new gloves.

Here are some pics by the decorated tree.

Brayden & Paula's Deer for 2009 (One big, one small)

2009-12-07T11:22:00.005-07:00

Well we both got deer this year. Mine took all three seasons and just a couple days before the close of the rifle hunt. I must say that I had a blast hunting deer this year. I have not enjoyed it this much for a long time. Brayden was a trooper and would stay home with the kids while I would go looking for deer. Brayden found one spot that was my honey hole. I was on deer about every day and saw some really nice ones (170-180 class bucks). I came within 80 yards of a beautiful four point during the bowhunt, but he winded me and took of. Man I still have a lot to learn about hunting. I finally shot this two point at about 250 yards while he was trotting away. I was standing up and shot him free hand. I must say again that I LOVE Brayden's gun. He went down after a few steps. The kids were with us on this hunt which was really fun. Autumn will still out of the blue say, "Mom shoot a deer?"

Brayden's deer is obviously much bigger than mine. He shot this beauty on the Pansaugant during the muzzleloader season. We all went camping as a family and endured 20 degree nights, cold windy days, and a trip to the emergency to patch up Porter's forehead after a stumble in the trailer. The twinners were super troopers and went hunting with us every night. They did so good and hardly complained about spending 4-5 hours a night in the truck. After one week of hunting, on Friday night, we were all sitting in the truck watching a water hole. It was amazing the amount of deer that were coming into the water. This nice buck came in three different times and on the third time Brayden decided to take him. It had his back leg shot off by another hunter which was the final deciding factor in shooting him. I got the shot on video and in the background you can hear Autumn, "Daddy shoot a deer." It was so fun to have Autumn and Porter with us. I'm glad we stuck it out through the cold and were able to see dad shoot this awesome buck.

Hanging out in the trailer.

Porter at the hospital.

Porter looking AWESOME in his thermal PJ's.

Brayden glassing for deer.

The beauty himself. . . deer or man, you decide!

The whole family.

Speed Goat Hunt '09

2009-11-20T14:26:00.004-07:00

October 9-11th we went hunting by Loa for doe antelope tags that I drew. The weekend involved A LOT of driving, but it was a very fun hunt. We brought our tent trailer to camp in. Let me tell you how much I love that thing! It makes camping with the kids much more comfortable for multiple night camping. It is one of my favorite purchases. We didn't see much on Friday night, so we came home to some yummy dinner and just hung out until bedtime. Saturday I got up bright and early and hiked up the hill by our camp. We had seen some antelope there the night before, just before dark, so I thought I'd try to find them in the morning. No luck this time, so I headed back to camp. We ate breakfast and headed out in the truck to see what we could find. We drove for a couple of hours and around 11:00 we found a herd about 1000 yards away. I grabbed the gun and my pack and went after them. Luckily they were in terrain that had a lot of rolling hills so it wasn't too hard to sneak up on them. I got within 450 yards and something spooked them over the next ridge. They weren't looking at me when they spooked, so I thought I'd continue my stalk. I reached the place they were before they spooked and was able to peek over the hill. There they were! I was so excited. They had no idea I was there. They were 340 yards away. There was one that had a collar of some sort. Brayden really wanted me to shoot that one if I had a chance (so did I). I set up next to a tree and made a steady rest with my backpack. The collared goat was wide open. I took my shot and she dropped in her tracks. I didn't even see her move after I shot. The rest of the herd ran about 100 yards up the next hill. Since I had two tags I hurried and set up again where I could see them. They were now 440 yards. I found one standing alone and took the shot. She dropped in her tracks. I was so pumped. Two shots within about three minutes and they both went down in their tracks. I love Brayden's gun. It gets the job done. The hunt was a blast! Brayden's parents and little brothers, Dylan and Chase, came that evening. Dylan and Chase had drawn the same tags as I had. We went out with them the next day with no luck, but still had a good time.

As a side note I was on this hunt when I found out about the death of my step-sister Heather Christensen from a phone message from my dad. I was shocked and my heart went out to my step-mother most of all. She is very close to her children and I knew it would be very hard for her. Heather is an amazing person and I had a great time living down the hall from her in college. She knew how to have fun and loved to laugh. She never compromised her standards and along with her roommates was able to keep the spirit in their apartment. I spent most of my time in their apartment because I liked how I felt when there. After college years she always greeted me with a huge hug and smile. Then she'd update me on the old roommates. She was very motivated and knew what she wanted. She showed a lot of dedication and it paid off. She was doing what she wanted when she graduated to the next stage of life.

More Pics from Blanding - Sept. '09

2009-11-20T14:13:00.005-07:00

Brayden and I took the kids glassing for elk one night. They had a blast playing in the dirt and running around the bushes. I hope they grow to enjoy the outdoors as much as their mom and dad. So far it's looking good.

Grizzly Bear, Spike Elk, and Football

2009-09-24T15:36:00.007-06:00

Well the time finally came for Brayden to go on his Grizzly Bear hunt in Alaska. He has dreamed of hunting grizzlies since he was about four years old. Luckily this year he drew the hunt at Orem's SFW banquet. It was their grand prize for the evening, worth about $10,000.

He shot a beautiful grizzly on the third day of the hunt. They had chased the bear about 20 miles over two days before he was able to take the 300 yard shot. Brayden is known for his quick shooting and he had two more bullets into the bear before it went down. Even though it was a guided hunt, he packed out the head and hide to get the full experience. He absolutely loved the hunt and said it was everything he could have wanted.

While Brayden flew off to AK, the kids and I went to Blanding to hang out with the Richmond's and try my luck hunting elk during the archery season. On Wednesday, Sept. 2nd, I headed out to South Elk Ridge to the same water hole Brayden killed his bull last year. I arrived around noon to about 10 moo cows taking a drink. My hopes were squashed of ever seeing elk in this water. I had no other ideas so I went ahead and set up our ground blind and sat for the rest of the day. After two hours of sitting I heard some very loud animals walking behind me. I peeked out the window and saw a herd of elk! I was surprised that they came in so soon after the cows. There was one small bull with them that was fun to watch. The elk came right in without hesitation. I thought it was going to be the shortest hunt in my hunting history, but it was not meant to be. I drew back several times trying to get in the right spot so my arrow wouldn't hit the blind. Finally I was able to take a shot, but it was no good. I didn't see anything else for the rest of the night.
I headed to camp by myself and got settled in. I heard a bear growl about four times 50 yards from camp. I debated on going home, but the bear got quiet so I stayed and had a peaceful night. The next morning I headed back to the blind and got settled in. There were elk bugling above and below me. I love to hear elk talk. As I was listening to the bugling I looked up and saw a spike, cow, and calf headed into the blind. I got set up and as soon as the spike gave me a good shot I took it. The arrow hit its mark and he layed down on the bank of the pond. Since I was on my own I felt overwhelmed on what I had to do, but that didn't last long. I was worried about getting the meat taken care of since it was getting warm quick. I snapped a few photos with the timer and got to work. It took four hours to quarter it and pack it to the truck. After five trips it was done! Well kind of, I still had to cut up the meat and freeze it. I admit I felt good to have done it on my own.

Porter and Autumn enjoyed going to many football games with Grandma and Grandpa Richmond. Porter loves football and would get very excited every time we mentioned going to a football game. Autumn also loved going. She likes to move around constantly switching laps. It was a great week for the Richmond family.

Reading Time

2009-09-24T15:28:00.003-06:00

Autumn and Porter got really quiet during playtime so I got a little nervous about what they were doing. When I checked on them this is how I found them! It is too cute to not share.
Here is more random cuteness.

Our solution for hunting with the kids!

2009-09-22T16:39:00.003-06:00

I discovered last year that kids can really put a damper on your hunting season. Brayden came up with a way to just take them along with us!

Okay, not really! But aren't they so cute!?!

24th of July

2009-09-22T16:16:00.003-06:00

We were home in Beaver for the 24th of July. Brayden was gone somewhere and for the life of me I cannot remember where he was. Anyway, we went to the parade and Autumn and Porter loved running around getting the candy. We ate a great lunch at the park and enjoyed the festivities going on. Later we went to the horse races which the kids loved. Each time the horses came by Autumn would say, "horses running fast." I love the expressions of amazement that they get with new and exciting things. That night we went to the Rodeo with the awesome Limb family who let us hang out on their truck trailer. Porter loved eating all their popcorn which they were nice enough to share with us.

Enjoying the park festivities.

Porter hanging out at the rodeo.

We had so much fun at the horse races the first day we went again the next day. They loved it again until the last race when they discovered a wasps nest under the railing they were standing by. They both were stung about four or five times and there was a rush of people from the stands to get them away from the wasps. It was very sad and to say the least it freaked the poor little ones out. They actually calmed down a lot quicker than I expected, but they still remember that they don't like wasps whenever they see anything that resembles them flying around.

The top two are at the horse races the first day and the bottom three are pics of the wasp stings from the second day at the horse races. Autumn got a pretty fat lip from one of the stings. It was a very sad time and I felt horrible for letting it happen!

Petting Zoo

2009-09-22T15:31:00.003-06:00

Back in early June we went to Thanksgiving Point's Animal Farm with Sierra and Savannah. Autumn and Porter loved looking at the animals. This was back when they didn't talk as much as they do now so it was a special treat to hear them saying the animal names and sounds. They really liked the ducks, the baby calf, and the horses (from a distance). When they went on the pony ride they did okay for the first minute, then they both got terrified and cried until I finally took them off. I'm not sure what triggered their fright, but it happened about the same time. Autumn and Porter love their cousins and had a great time with Sierra and Savannah (Nana).

They really thought the white peacock was cool.

Fishing Fun

2009-08-20T15:24:00.002-06:00

We took the kids fishing a few times this summer. We always have fun, but we are the worst fishermen in the world. We rarely catch anything but moss and weeds. We still like to go and enjoy the beautiful lakes. Autumn and Porter love it too and so far we've been lucky and they haven't fallen in!

I love Porter's face in this pic. He is such a cutie.

4th of July Week - Non Stop Fun

2009-07-07T16:10:00.005-06:00

Last week's fun-omoter was sky high. We had a great time in Blanding with Grandma & pa Richmond and all the cousins. It was non-stop fun for the kids and I loved the free time I was able to enjoy. I'm sure Grandma was ready for us to leave when Sunday came around, it was a full house.

On Tuesday the kids had the farm tour. They saw pigs, goats, and sheep, then topped the outing off with rides on ponies. Autumn was reluctant at first, but loved it after she got the hang of it. Every time we got her down she would repeat over and over and over, "turn," "ride horse," "turn." She was quite persistant. Porter didn't like it from the start and didn't end up liking it at all. We had him go one round with Liz where he didn't cry, but he was very uncomfortable. After naps all the kids put on swimsuits and played in the backyard water park. They had a kiddy pool with all kinds of toys to play in. Autumn and Porter loved sharing the pool with all the cousins, as long as none of them dumped water on their heads.

The week was full of other random events. Wednesday they went to the Dinosaur Museum in town and then made hats that night. Thursday was a free day. We took Autumn and Porter fishing and had fun catching 3 inch bluegills. Autumn liked to touch the fish, but Porter only liked to look at them. Friday Liz was baptised. All the kids posed for pictures afterwards which is always entertaining with 10 kids 9 and under. When it was dark enough we had our own little firework show. I found out I am not a good lighter. I would use about two matches on average for every firecracker. I also threw a crackling ball at Jamie who had to jump out of her chair and dash away. Someone else should take over that job for next year.

On Saturday, the 4th, we enjoyed Blanding's celebration. The parade was fun. It was fun to see Autumn and Porter catch on to getting candy - well kind of. They were really slow and there wasn't much hustle from piece to piece. Still they had fun stuffing their pockets with candy and watching the floats. Brayden, Robby, Laurel, and I went for a ride up to Arch Canyon while awesome aunt Jen entertained Autumn and Porter at the carnival. It is a beautiful canyon and well worth the drive. In addition it was hilarious watching Robby rally Regan's Land Cruiser.

That night we watched Blanding's fireworks display. They did a great job and we had fun watching Autumn and Porter play with their glow-sticks.

The Kid's First Archery Shoot . . . This Year

2009-06-25T00:22:00.002-06:00

On Saturday we went to an archery shoot at the Timp Archers range in Provo Canyon. We love this range and have spent countless hours shooting here. If there is one thing we miss about living in Pleasant Grove, it is archery leagues and weekend shoots.

We took the kids along for the first part of the day and they walked with us through the first set of targets. They loved identifying which animal we were going to shoot. On about every target Autumn would say, "Shoot that elk." Only one of the 14 targets were an elk, but to her when you shoot at all it's at an elk. She actually did really good at identifying the animals. She got the mountain goat, sheep, deer, and bear right.

On the second round we were joined by Regan, Mori, Sierra, Savannah, and our good friend Dave. Dave ended up being the babysitter and packed all our kids around. He is such a trooper and a great friend.

Dave & Regan packing kids and me in the background with Porter.

Autumn & Dave

Dave and all the kids (except Savannah who was in Regan's pack) Ahhh cute!

Dave packing Autumn and helping Porter. Also shown is Mori and Sierra.

It felt so good to be shooting again with Brayden. We have many memories of fun shoots with good friends made along the way. I look forward to doing more of it with the kids. I hope they like it as much as their mom and dad!

The Best B-Day Present Possible

2009-06-12T14:50:00.008-06:00

As a warning, this is going to be a long post.

As some may know, for my birthday Brayden surprised me with a trip to Kauai, HI. He announced it on Thursday (May, 21st) and I had to be packed and ready to go early Saturday morning. So I had one day to get everything ready. Brayden's sister Jen had this trip to hike the NaPali Coast Trail planned for months in advance. I knew about it, but I had no plan of going. The group included Carol (Brayden's mom), Marilyn (Brayden's aunt), Jen (B's sister), Carrie (B's sister), Robby (B's brother), Laurel (Robby's girlfriend), Janice (Jen's friend), and Phil (Jen's friend). It was an awesome group and we all got along great. Carol, Marilyn, Carrie and I arrived the evening of Saturday May 23rd. We didn't have time to do much besides grab a bite to eat on the way to our rental condo. It was dark so we didn't see much.

Day two we woke and packed our backpacks and left for our three day hike. We hiked 10 miles, four to Hanakapi-ai waterfalls and six to our campsite for the night. It ended up raining half the day and we were drenched by the time we made it to camp. Not only from the rain, but from multiple river crossings where everyone (except Robby) at least slipped ankle deep in the river. One good thing about Hawaii is when you get wet you don't get cold, just wet.

The next day we split up and Jen, Phil, and I went to check out the Hanakoa waterfall while the rest of the group went on to the beach. The falls were beautiful and well worth the two mile detour to get there. There is a known band of "hippies" that live on the beach year round. We could hear them not to far off on the way to the beach. We were invited to join, but decided to head on down to the rest of the group. I'm sure I could have had more exciting things to write about if I had joined! Our group of three arrived at Kalalau Beach at around 4:00 p.m. The rest of the evening was full of relaxation and exploration. It was an amazing beach with an unbeatable panoramic view. I had a great time standing ankle deep in the ocean and lying on the beach soaking up the sun.

On our final day of the hike we woke bright and early and hit the trail by 7:00 in the morning. I was not looking forward to hiking the 11 miles out, but surprisingly it was not near as bad as I thought. Jen, Janice, and I broke ahead of the rest and made great time. There was no rain and it was a beautiful day. We ate lunch at Hanakapi'ai Beach around noon and waited for the second batch of hikers (Robby, Laurel, and Phil) to complete the two miles left. We completed the hike around 2:30 p.m. It felt really good to be done and to take my backpack off for the last time. I was sweaty, tired, and had a stench I had never smelled on me before, but I felt amazing!

The next couple days we hit the tourist attractions and just relaxed. We hit a luau on our way out of town where Robby proposed to Laurel. It was a fun ending to our stay in Kauai. I was sad to leave, but I was very excited to get back to the family.

Panoramic View of Kalalua Beach

The Napali Coast Beauty!

The Napali Coast Hikers

Needless to say this was an amazing vacation. I love my husband for being so generous with this birthday present. It was a great get away. It was my first time to leave the kids, and I missed them. I'm glad I was able to do it though. Also thanks to Jen for planning and arranging the trip. She did a great job. She is definitely the adventerous one in the Richmond family.

T-Ball

2009-06-12T14:33:00.002-06:00

We bought Autumn and Porter a T-Ball set. Porter LOVES it. He will play with it for a long time by himself playing hitter, pitcher, and catcher. So far he has a pretty good swing. He is showing promise to becoming a great ball player. Autumn likes it, but nothing like Porter. She will hit a few times then she's pretty much done. She also still lacks the coordination to make much happen.

The Biking Duo

2009-06-12T14:16:00.002-06:00

We finally got Porter and Autumn little tricycles. They have loved zipping around on them. So far they just scoot with their feet, but they can get going pretty fast. It's fun to see them having so much fun together.

My Little Musicians!

2009-05-07T15:24:00.005-06:00

I am hoping Autumn and Porter will grow up loving music, so these first signs do my heart good.

Autumn playing her princess piano.

I was watching some of April's LDS Conference (I know I'm way behind) with Porter and Autumn in the room. I didn't think they were paying attention, but while they were eating a snack Porter started singing and waving his arms around. I couldn't figure out what he was doing then realized that he had watched the conductor leading the choir and was copying him. Autumn then copied Porter. It was super cute to see. Here is some video of them in action.

Easter Outfits

2009-04-23T14:48:00.004-06:00

So what else do you do when you get new outfits for Easter besides WRESTLE! As you can tell Autumn is not thrilled about the idea. . . .

but that's okay, because there is always the after wrestling cuddles.

Porter is like his mom when he watches TV. He gets sucked in and transports into another world. He likes his new duds though.

He's usually a happy kid.

Autumn is excited that she got to tackle dad and be victorious.

Here is her cute new dress and her pretty hair. She was so excited when we put her dress on. I told her she was so pretty and she walked around with a big smile and I could tell she agreed with me.

One of the Disadvantages of Glasses

2009-04-15T15:19:00.004-06:00

Poor Porter took a tumble and fell on his face. Well with glasses this is what happens! He was pretty unhappy about it. This is the second time he's done this, but the first time its drawn blood. I hate when kids get hurt.

Beaver's Easter Egg Hunt and Playground Fun

2009-04-15T14:53:00.005-06:00

Beaver has an Easter Egg hunt put on the by Beaver Betterment Club. Porter and Autumn had a ball picking up the candy and then had to go spend some time on the playground. They are getting much more advanced in their playground skills. It's fun to watch them climb all around and have a blast.

Porter hunting for eggs

Autumn enjoying her sucker

They didn't care much for pictures, they just wanted to eat their candy

Autumn loves to swing

Porter is also a swinging fan

They are getting good at rocking the aligator.

Every time Autumn passes this opening, she's stick out her head and cheese it. It was pretty funny to watch.

There was a guy talking to Porter on the other end. Porter didn't know where the voice was coming from. He would stick his face way up in there and laugh. Then he'd look at me and hold his hands out like "where is he?"

Mom's Family Reunion

2009-04-10T14:46:00.003-06:00

Here are some photos of our family reunion with my family. We got together in Monticello and explored the beautiful country around there. We also had an Easter egg hunt which the kids thoroughly enjoyed.

Porter rock climbing at Hamburger Hills

The family at Hamburger Hills

Me and the twinners at the Citadel ruins

Brayden and niece Jessica at the ruins on the way to the Citadel

Porter and Autum after the Easter egg hunt

We had a good reunion and enjoyed seeing the family. We also attended my great-uncle Bennion Redd's funeral. He was a great man full of love and generosity. It was good to hear more about his life and the many acts of service he did.

Out for a ride

2009-04-10T14:41:00.003-06:00

I took the kids on a short ride above our house. As we were driving along Autumn said she wanted out, so we got out and explored a little bit. Autumn seemed to enjoy herself and Porter was having a good time running around in the soft dirt.

What good looking dogs!.

Wheeler's Already?

2009-04-10T14:18:00.003-06:00

When we were setting up for Orem's SFW banquet Autumn and Porter found these four wheelers and played on them for a solid 45 minutes. They would just sit on them and grab the handles and wiggle them back and forth. Then they'd jump off and switch four wheelers. It was really funny to watch.

When they started them up, they changed their attitude towards them and decided they were not ready for wheelers yet. Whew.

Seriously, Will the Luck Ever End for This Man!?

2009-03-25T13:14:00.003-06:00

(This is just a random photo, no one I know)

As you saw a couple posts ago, Brayden drew a muzzleloader deer tag on the Pansaugant unit this fall. This is a great deer unit and produces huge bucks. It's second best to the Henry's deer unit.

Well we went to Orem's SFW banquet on Saturday and Brayden draws the grand prize of the night. An Alaskan Inland Grizzly Bear hunt! He has been dreaming of this hunt since he was a little boy. Now he gets to do it for the price of airfare. The hunt costs $10,500. Needless to say, he is very excited and can't wait to hunt Alaskan grizzlies this fall, hopefully with his bow! To see info on where he's going, check out this link http://www.lakecountrylodge.com/.

So in one year he gets to hunt TWO incredible species in great areas. No one deserves it more. I love you, babe.

Random Cuteness

2009-03-09T15:05:00.003-06:00

Porter's cool new outfit!

Showing their love!

Just posing for a photo.

Porter's new haircut.

She's looking so grown up!

Hanging out together on the floor. And yes that is a foot that Porter's chewing on.

More loves!

They are growing up so fast right now. Everyday they are saying new words and doing new things. It is so much fun to watch them learn and grow. If I could freeze time right now I would. I love the stage they are in.

Saying Prayers

2009-03-09T15:02:00.003-06:00

The twins have been really good at picking up what to do for prayers. We thought we'd finally take some pictures of them saying prayers since they are super cute.

We are still working on staying still during prayers. From what I hear this could go on for years to come!

Our Little Nerd!

2009-03-09T14:55:00.002-06:00

I'm starting to realize that how we do Porter's hair makes a big difference in how he looks with his glasses. He can either be stylin' or a complete nerd. Either way, he's still cute to me!

Stylin'

Our little nerd boy!

As a side note, we have not had to order new glasses for almost three full months. This is a huge change from the end of last year where we ordered three new pairs in about three months.

Paunsaugunt - Here Comes Brayden!!!

2009-02-13T16:26:00.003-07:00

Brayden drew a muzzleloader deer tag for 2009 at the Hunting Expo in Salt Lake! He is very excited and is already planning and getting his equipment ready. With this tag he has potential to shoot a monster, so it will be fun to see what he gets. The hunt is in Oct-Nov timeframe, so I don't think the kids and I will be going camping in the cold. I am so happy for him and I know he will have a lot of support from his hunting buddies! Good luck Brayden. Go kill a monster!

Snow Canyon Hike w/ Grandma Guymon

2009-02-10T14:36:00.002-07:00

My mom came down for a couple days in the end of January. We thought it would be fun to go to St. George and get warm. It was a beautiful day, almost 60 degrees. We went on a short hike near the entrance of Snow Canyon that went to a slot canyon. The kids had a ball running around and playing with Grandma Guymon. It was really pretty with all the red rocks (reminded me of San Juan country), and it was fun to go get warm.

Here's Porter's funny run. It's usually more exaggerated than this.

Here's all of us.

Grandma Guymon and the twinners.

Grandma packing Porter.

Me packing Autumn. And yes, I'm leaning forward. I feel like I'm going to fall backwards with this pack on, so I overcompensate.

Porter's B-Ball hoop

2009-02-10T14:31:00.003-07:00

Brayden got Porter a basketball hoop for Christmas. He really likes it. It's still a bit too tall, so we have it by the steps so he can reach. Autumn likes it every once in a while.

Here's Porter showing off his b-ball skills. Too bad the ball he picked is a bit too big for the basket.

Here are some random pictures from that day of mom & dad with the kids.

Porter's Tattoo

2009-02-10T14:23:00.004-07:00

I had Brayden watch the kids while I hosted Bunco at our house. He took them out to eat and play around. The next day I was undressing Porter for his bath is this is what I found. At first glance I thought it was a rash or something. Then discovered it was a huge skull tattoo. It made me laugh out loud. Autumn was pretty concerned about it and kept pointing to it during their bath. It lasted about a full week.

The Twins are Two!!!

2009-02-05T15:18:00.006-07:00

Autumn and Porter turned two on January 25. They are such awesome kids and I love them more than anything (except Brayden). We had the Richmond grandparents over with Dylan and Chase for their B-day celebrations. It was a good time. I branched out and made a cake with a deer on it. I was happy with the results for my first attempt at decorating cakes. Hopefully they'll just keep getting better over the years.

Autumn is our sweet, caring, precious little girl. She is so dainty and delicate. She's definitely all girl. She has started to say some words including mommy, daddy, moose, mess, snow (noose), nose, eye, mouth, baby, cracker, bye, more, and a few others. She is always concerned about her brother and looks very disturbed when Porter is in time-out or when he's crying. She will often come over and rub his back. She is getting cuter every day and I love her so much.

Porter is our active comedian. He will talk up a storm (in complete gibberish) and use hand and facial expressions then laugh at himself. He loves running around the coffee table in the living room over and over and over. He has quite the funny run. He tucks his arm up to armpit level and will swing them much faster than he runs. Brayden says he gets his run from me, but I don't think I look quite that silly! He is also starting to say some words. Mostly just cracker, but he'll say other words when prompted and pronounces them very well. He says ball, deer, baby and others. He's a better talker than Autumn, but he doesn't do it as often. Porter is also very sweet. When Autumn is crying he will come over and stroke her hair and give her kisses and hugs. He loves giving big wide armed hugs. He is such a joy and I love him very much.

Okay, it is a little goofy looking. I'm leaving room for improvement. :)

The Twins 1st Sledding Trip

2009-01-19T21:12:00.003-07:00

I'm a bit behind on posting, so I'm going to gradually post past events.

We took the kids for a short sledding trip over the Christmas break in Blanding. We'd ask them if they wanted to slide down and they'd say no, but when they went down they had fun. They got cold really fast, so they spent most of the time in the truck watching the other sledders. They enjoyed that just as much as doing it themselves.

Here's me and Porter braving the hill. Not too exciting, but it's Porter's first run, so it's worth posting.

Horseback Ride

2009-01-01T17:32:00.002-07:00

Out of the blue Porter decided to get a horse back ride from Autumn. It was pretty funny to look over and see Porter sitting on top of Autumn and to have her walk around like a horse. I had a good laugh.

The Perfect Tree

2009-01-01T16:59:00.003-07:00

So we found the perfect tree this year. Too bad we only had it up two weeks before Christmas. Here are some pics of the beauty.

Twins in Their Sunday Best

2008-12-17T15:50:00.003-07:00

I thought the twins look especially cute on Sunday, so I took a few photos.

Porter is starting to get fascinated by the TV. Notice what he's looking at on the TV. He loves wildlife animals, so this is fitting.

Dad and the kiddos

Here are the cuties. When Autumn gets excited about something she will double point and get a really excited expression. It is really fun to see how kids have no reservations.

As you can tell he was really excited to get his picture taken.

Autumn also wasn't very excited to get her picture taken, but she posed anyway. She was really funny when I put on this dress. She got really excited and looked down at her dress. Then she proceeded to lift up each layer and study out how it was put together. I could tell she thought she looked really cute and was excited to have a girly dress on.

Christmas Tree Hunting

2008-12-17T15:40:00.003-07:00

We finally went out to get our Christmas tree last week. We went above our house in the Beaver mountains. We found a great tree. The kids came along and had an okay time. Porter enjoyed it more than Autumn did, and the dogs loved it.

Brayden chopping down the awesome tree.

Autumn doesn't know what to think. She had a hard time walking in the snow with her boots. They were a bit too big, so I'm sure that didn't help the situation.

Porter had a good time (even though he does look a bit dorky). He likes the snow.

Brayden's Texas Whitetail

2008-12-15T13:55:00.002-07:00

Brayden went on a whitetail hunt the first week of December in Texas with our good friend Adam. They went with the owner of PearTree Game Ranch. He had a great time and shot a beautiful whitetail with his bow. He was spoiled and got to fly down on a private jet, eat great food, and stay in a beautiful lodge. I was really jealous, but very happy he got to go.

My Talented Sister Tonia Webb

2008-12-03T16:09:00.002-07:00

My sister was in the 2News kitchen this morning showing off her skills at making gingerbread houses. Each year she makes a gingerbread house for Midway's Swiss Christmas. These are not what you typically think of when you think of gingerbread houses. They are HUGE and immaculately decorated. She incorporates so many details that really make her houses one of a kind.

2News hasn't posted any pictures on their website, all I could find was this link http://www.kutv.com/content/morning/story.aspx?content_id=53bb3952-ce21-4c10-9853-537727bb9b23 referencing that someone was coming. The house she made this year is unbelievable.

Here are some pictures of 2006's gingerbread house to give you an idea of what she does.

You can't see it, but there's a little girl at the top of the stairs peeking down at Santa.

She puts pictures on the wall and decorates every nook and cranny.

The outside view. On the right is a picture of the actual house she replicated.

Way to go Tonia for sharing your talent and donating so much time to a worthy cause.

Here is a link to Midway's Swiss Christmas site. http://www.midwaychristmas.com/cottages.htm In the slide show, the house after the barn is another one that Tonia made. If you're up there is weekend it'd be worth it to go to Midway and check it out.

iDog

2008-12-03T15:38:00.004-07:00

Autumn and Porter received an early Christmas present from Grandma and pa Tippetts. They are called iDog. They play music and flash lights on their faces. They absolutely love them. Autumn will dance and get a huge smile every time the music comes on. There's more they can do, but for Autumn and Porter, they just like the music and lights. These dogs kept them entertained for a full hour on our drive home. They are great gifts. Thanks grandma & pa Tippetts.

Here's Autumn dancing to the tunes of her new iDog.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-03T10:42:00.003-07:00

Thanksgiving was a little crazy this year. We ended up hitting four different parties in three days. We started out going to my dad's Thanksgiving dinner in Spanish Fork on Thanksgiving day at 5 pm. We left at about 6:30 to meet up with Brayden's mom and sisters in West Jordan to go to the Twilight movie (Brayden stayed home with the kids :) Thanks babe). On Friday Brayden's family had Thanksgiving at about 3 pm. I made the rolls, so that took most of the day. I was able to slip out and go shopping with Brayden at Costco which I love at Christmas. There is so much to look at and so much to see. After dinner we went up to Salt Lake to stay at Spring Hill Suites Marriott with my dad and family for our Christmas party. They all went to see the lights, but we decided with the kids it would be too crazy, so we stayed back at the hotel. When everyone returned they went swimming. We didn't bring our suits, so we sat on the sideline. Porter was going crazy trying to get in so we stripped him down (with a clean diaper) and put him in with his uncle Dave. He loved it. The last time we went swimming was the end of June and he wasn't a big fan back then. He has changed his ways now and he had a ball. We asked Autumn if she wanted to go in and she just shook her head very slowly with a serious face. It was pretty obvious she didn't want in. After swimming we played games and went to bed. Autumn was so wound up she didn't fall asleep until 1 am. In the morning we ate breakfast and were on our way to my mom's Thanksgiving dinner. This is the only place I got pictures of. I was slacking the rest of the weekend. All of the cousins made gingerbread houses that turned out really good. My sister is a master gingerbread house maker. She always makes gingerbread houses for the Midway Swiss Christmas. See future posting for more details. Autumn and Porter loved playing with their cousins. It is fun to see them interacting with other kids now. They absolutely love playing with other kids. Shortly after dinner we headed home. My cousin Aubrey Walker from Idaho passed through and stayed the night with her five children. What an awesome family. I was so impressed with their manners and their concern for others. I hope to raise my kids to be as polite and helpful. Her older boys (7 & 9) offered to help set the table and get things ready for breakfast Sunday morning. They are great kids with great parents and we loved having them come by.

Porter at Grandma Guymon's Thanksgiving dinner.

Autumn playing with her older cousins. They are all so awesome.

The gingerbread houses that turned out AWESOME.

Whew! This one is finally done. It's a wordy and crazy post, but that's how the weekend felt for me. CRAZY!

I love sunset pictures

2008-12-03T10:39:00.003-07:00

I love taking pictures at sunset. It gives such an awesome glow to the kids. Autumn has an awesome cheese face in this picture. It almost doesn't look like her.

Autumn's Curls

2008-11-24T15:21:00.002-07:00

I'm starting to discover that Autumn has a bit of curl in her hair. Brayden has been saying this for a long time, but I wouldn't believe it. I just thought it was from laying on it and sweating making it look like it had curl. Well now I believe. It needs some coaxing, but it's there and very cute. I would love it if she continued to grow beautiful soft curls.

Autumn and Porter hanging out.

Here are the curls (more like waves). Aren't they cute!

I was trying to get her to smile and was pointing at my smile. She just put her hand up to her mouth! Not what I was looking for, but still cute.

Just Some Random Cuteness

2008-11-24T15:11:00.003-07:00

Autumn and Porter were so cute on this day (11-11). They played together so good and were happy little kids. I love it when they have days like this. It makes me so happy to be their mom and love them even more.

So handsome!

Look at that darling face!

Cousin Fun

2008-11-24T14:55:00.002-07:00

Porter hanging out with Grandma Richmond before church.

We had some of Brayden's family come over for the San Juan Bronco's semi-final football game on 11-08 in Cedar City (unfortunately they lost to Manti, they didn't play very well that game). Regan and Mori came with Sierra and Savannah. Autumn and Porter love their cousins and had a great time with them. Grandpa Richmond and Dylan came as well. Grandma Richmond stayed a couple extra days to attend work meetings in Richfield. She is such a great grandma and I am so happy that Autumn and Porter are lucky enough to have her. Grandpa Richmond is an amazing grandpa too. I really do have the best in-laws in the world.

Frankenstein and the Mad Scientist

2008-11-03T20:39:00.003-07:00

For Halloween this year we had Autumn as Frankenstein and Porter as the mad scientist. I decided Autumn is too cute to be scarey looking. I've been letting Porter's hair grow so it would be wild. It turned out great. We all went to the ward trunk or treat party and had fun seeing all the kids dressed up.

Autumn as Frankenstein.

Porter as the Mad Scientist

This was before the Trunk or Treat

Earlier in the day.

Zion's and Angel's Landing

2008-11-03T17:17:00.006-07:00

Last weekend we decided to go to Zion's and see the sights. We also decided to hike Angel's Landing. The trip started out pretty comical because our camping trailer crank attachment (the thing to crank up the tent part) got lost. So we were pretty much out of luck unless we could find someone in the campground with the same crank. Well I went on the search and after two full campgrounds being searched I found one. I came back to a fully raised tent trailer and thought Brayden found one. Well he used the crank for the jack lifts and ended up bending the crank. So we had a working trailer until we took it down at the end of the weekend. That night the kids did not sleep good at all. We were up about every half hour or hour. I don't think I slept for more than two total hours that night.

Saturday was a fun day. We checked out the visitor's center and rode the shuttle to Weeping Rock. It was so pretty. The colors were amazing.

Brayden & the kids at Weeping Rock. You can see the water dripping down in the background.

The hike up to Angel's Landing was so pretty. The leaves were changing colors and it was amazing. The hike about killed me in some places. I knew I was out of shape and this hike proved it! The kids did awesome. They didn't complain at all and both even fell asleep at different points in the hike. It was well worth the hike. I was pretty amazed at how precarious it was at the top. It was like boulder climbing with the aid of a chain. I thought they would have fences along the drop-offs to stop you from falling a thousand feet. It made it exciting, especially with the kids in backpacks. I never got real nervous, but I can see how people do get scared.

Mid hike with the beautiful fall leaves.

Brayden going down some of the boulders. Notice the sheer drop-off to the left.

All of us on the top.

Here is some video of the rocky section of Angel's Landing.

We had a great time enjoying one of Utah's many beautiful parks. Zion's is awesome. Now that we live so close to many of Utah's parks we hope to do more exploring.

Anyone Wanna Jump?

2008-11-03T16:43:00.003-07:00

Autumn and Porter love to jump (or run around) on the trampoline. They have a blast running from one end to the other. They also like to tackle each. It brings out the cutest laughs from them. We put them in there when we are doing yard work and its kept them entertained for up to an hour.

Their hair gets really crazy and stands up on end. Right before I took this picture Autumn's hair was full of static and standing up all over the place. I touched her and got a big shock and her hair went down significantly.

Just Hanging Out

2008-11-03T16:33:00.002-07:00

These pictures are just for fun. I thought they looked cute in their new outfits.

Autumn showing some attitude

I am embarrassed to say this, but Porter would do a funny arm fling across his chest, so Brayden started calling it the retard sign. Now when we tell Porter (and now Autumn) to do retard they will fling their arm onto their chest. It's quite funny, but to some it may be offensive.

Here they are just showing off their good looks.

Little Kissers

2008-10-08T09:35:00.002-06:00

Autumn and Porter are learning to give kisses. This started from me asking them for kisses, then they turned to each other and decided to give each other kisses. I thought it was really cute because I didn't prompt them to do it. They just did it on their own. They also love to wrestle. It's pretty mellow at this point. They mostly just fall on each other and laugh about it. It's really cute to see them having so much fun together.

Grocery Shoppers

2008-10-07T15:12:00.003-06:00

Here's a little video of my grocery shoppers. When I need to get just a few items at the grocery store I'll let Autumn take over the cart pushing. Porter has a good time riding, but Autumn definitely likes it more. She is still a little out of control and needs constant steering help, but she's catching on. It's cute to see them doing grown up things, and it's cute to see how proud of themselves they are.

The Boy is his Daddy's Son

2008-10-07T08:23:00.004-06:00

So like his dad, Porter loves to look at hunting magazines. It will entertain him for a good half hour. He will turn the pages and look for deer or elk, point, and say "du". Since his eyesight is so bad, he has to lean way down to look at the pictures. He's usually closer to the page than the above picture shows. We have glasses on order for him, but Eyeglass World sucks and have failed to get his glasses to us from an order back in FEBRUARY! Never go to Eyeglass World.

Porter is really becoming quite the character. He makes me laugh every day with the new things he's doing. And YEAH!!! He's finally walking. It took him 20 months but he's doing it. It is the cutest walk to. He picks up his knees really high and holds his hands out to the side. He's so proud of himself and always has a big smile. He now has one kind of legible word, "cheese". It sounds more like "seeths" but he knows what he's saying. It's for taking pictures, not the food. He talks all the time, we just can't understand him! He is such a happy boy and I love having him around.

Memories

2008-09-19T11:02:00.000-06:00

Memories
I thought that this one would be fun to look back on memories.Here are the rules:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

The Elk Hunt 2008

2008-09-18T10:36:00.012-06:00

Brayden drew the coveted archery elk tag for the San Juan unit. He's been putting in for 18 years and the past 3 years he thought he had it for sure. So needless to say he was very excited to have drawn this year. We went to Blanding on August 12th and started camping with Adam Bronson and Regan. I ended up camping for the next three weeks with different people coming and going. The second week of the hunt we were lucky enough to have almost all of Brayden's high school friends come hunt. Adam Bronson, Dave McPherson, and Steve Kartchner came to hunt with Brayden. It was so fun to have them in camp sharing stories and catching up. A big thanks goes out to them for taking the time to come out and help. I must also mention that thanks to Adam, everyone ate very good. High grade meat and potatoes every night. It wouldn't have been the same without you guys.

Camping was really fun and Autumn and Porter had a great time in the dirt. These pictures were taken about 10 minutes after we got to camp. They wasted no time getting dirty. We went for a lot of walks in the stoller and ended up bush wacking a few times to take shortcuts. I love our stroller, it can go about anywhere.

The third week into the hunt Brayden made it happen and put a beautiful bull down. It came into a pond he'd been sitting on and hunting around for the majority of the hunt. It was about 3 in the afternoon. He shot it at 45 yards, and the bull went down about 50 yards from where he shot. When he walked up on it he saw that one side had broken off a brow tine. It's a 5x6 with a lot of character.
We packed the kids in and took some pictures. They thought it was pretty cool. Autumn just pointed with wide eyes and would say "da, da". I think she was trying to say deer, but I'm not sure. When we moved the elk for another position it made some gurgling noises and Porter about freaked out. He cried pretty hard about it. He didn't like that at all. I posted video of his reaction at the bottom of this post.

We stayed another week in Blanding while Brayden helped Regan hunt. Autumn and Porter love their Richmond grandparents and had a blast playing with them and their cousins Sierra and Savannah. We love Blanding and enjoy every trip we take there.

More Camping Pictures

2008-09-18T10:36:00.011-06:00

Here Autumn and Porter are hanging out with their cousins, Sierra and Savannah. Notice Porter's "I'm bad" expression and posture!

The enjoyed eating in the camp trailer. We bought a used one just before the hunt and I must say it made camping so much better. Autumn would climb from one side to the other going over obstacles and feeling like she was so cool. Porter is sporting his sunglasses that we got shortly before we left.

Here they are having fun in the firewood. In the background is another one of our purchases for the hunt. The blue motorcycle is now ours. My first attempt on the bike ended up with me laying it down after five feet and it putting a nasty burn on the inside of my knee about five inches long. By the end of the hunt I was able to ride on straight roads and to do wide turns. I still have a long way to go. Funny thing (not really), Brayden took the bike out toward the end of the hunt and layed it down and got a huge burn on the inside of his lower leg. We now both have burn scars from this motorcycle.

Autumn and Porter spent quite a bit of time hanging out in these little chairs. They liked to sit around with all the adults and feel like they were part of the action.

Finally Home

2008-07-08T07:32:00.002-06:00

The twins and I have been gone for a long time. We left Thursday June 25th for the Frost reunion and then stayed in Blanding until June 6th for the 4th of July celebration and the Black reunion. Autumn and Porter were good travelers, but I could tell they were missing home by the end of the trip. I was expecting a dramatic response when we walked in the door of our home, but nothing exciting happened. They do seem happy to be home and back into their old schedule. Overall it was a good trip and very fun to see all of our family.

Marion & Verda Black Reunion

2008-07-08T07:27:00.001-06:00

The Black family had a reuion on July 4th-6th. It was at the Dude Ranch in Monticello Stake's guest ranch. It was an awesome place for a reunion. Autumn and Porter had a ball playing with their cousins and riding in grandma's wagon. They thought they were pretty cool sitting up and riding in the wagon. They couldn't get enough of it. They were also introduced to watermelon wedges. They loved them and each ate two full pieces. They also enjoyed sitting in the little kid camping chairs. They sat and watched kids playing in the nearby playground for a long time.

4th of July Celebration

2008-07-07T16:14:00.002-06:00

After the Frost reunion my mom and I met Brayden's mom in Moab and we started the second half of our long vacation. Carol took the kids and I to Dylan's baseball games that night in Moab. It ended up being a late night for them. We ended up leaving Moab about 10:30 pm. The twins enjoyed playing with their cousin Liz while watching the games. The 4th of July was spent in Blanding with my awesome in-laws. Autumn and Porter had fun watching the parade and hanging out with the Richmond family and Grandma Guymon. They both got sprayed by the fire trucks and didn't mind at all.

Frost Reunion in Ouray, CO

2008-07-07T15:49:00.004-06:00

Autumn Swinging.

Porter swinging.

Dave carrying Autumn on our hike.

The Frost side of the family had a reunion in Ouray, CO on June 26th-28th. I went with mom and hung out with her the whole time. We had a good time seeing cousins we have not seen in a very long time. Ouray is beautiful. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of Ouray or I'd post them. It is really a beautiful place with high mountain peaks surrounding the city with a lot of tall pine trees. We celebrated Grandma Frost's 90th birthday that is coming up in October. We had a dinner in her honor on Friday night. The twins played in the playground before dinner and had fun swinging. I'm not sure how I ended up with a black and white and green photo for Autumn. I'll have to play with my camera and see what happened there. On Saturday we went on a "hike". The so called hike ended up being about 500 feet long down to the Box Canyon Falls. We also did a 1/2 mile verticle hike to overlook the falls. It was pretty, but I don't think it qualified as a real hike! My awesome brother-in-law Dave Webb carried Autumn for me. I had Porter on my pack. It was a fun time and the kids had fun playing with their cousins.

Hiking Red Canyon

2008-06-24T10:59:00.002-06:00

Brayden needed to check the church attendance in Hatch (a small town by Bryce Canyon) for work, so we decided to make it a family outing. After church we drove to Red Canyon and did a short hike. It was really pretty and we had perfect temperature. Autumn and Porter love riding in their backpacks. When Brayden and I walk by each other they will talk back and forth. It's really cute.

Fishing!

2008-06-24T10:52:00.002-06:00

We went fishing on Saturday. Autumn and Porter had fun playing on their blanket. Brayden caught a few small fish. The kids didn't like the fish very much. I had them touch the fish and they weren't quite sure how to react to them. Brayden had one fish on the line and hung it in front of Autumn and as soon as she reached out her hand to touch it the fish started flopping. She about did a back flip. It scared her pretty good. It started getting cold so we quit early.

All Caught Up

2008-06-20T20:44:00.003-06:00

As you can tell I've been updating our blog with the latest and greatest photos of the twins. I'm all caught up! Now I will just need to keep on top of this so I don't have to post past events. It's been fun to see other people's blogs and read about the fun things going on in thier life. I hope people reading this one will get an idea of how Autumn and Porter are developing and stay up to date on what we are doing. Happy Blogging!

Playing in the grass 6-12-08

2008-06-20T20:29:00.002-06:00

Autumn and Porter are doing so much better with grass these days. Porter will actually crawl all over the place and he seems to actually enjoy it now. Autumn will tolerate it. She won't move from where I set her down, and she will lift up her legs as much as she can so the grass isn't touching her. It's pretty funny to watch. I had fun taking a ton of pictures of them playing in the grass and got some cute ones with daddy too.

They love their daddy. They get really excited when he comes home. They point and say "da" over and over. He is so good at playing with them and teaching them new things. It's fun to see him so head over heels for these two cuties.

Watching the dogs and being soooo cooool! 06-08-08

2008-06-20T20:18:00.002-06:00

These kids never cease to amaze me with how cute they can be. We took the dogs up to a local resevior to practice retrieving. Autumn and Porter hung out in the back of the truck. They loved watching the dogs and they felt so cool in the back of the truck standing up. It was funny to watch. We bought Autumn some sunglasses which she is sporting quite nicely. Porter broke his glasses so he gets to wait for new ones. It's nice to be so close to places like this so we can run up for a quick family outing. We love living in Beaver. Good people and beautiful country. The only thing we'd change would be to have family close by. Otherwise we are truly happy campers.

Autumn & her cute hat 5-24-08

2008-06-20T11:14:00.002-06:00

Autumn loves hats. She rarely will take them off when we put them on her. This one is her favorite.

Finally it's warm enough to go CAMPING! 5-30-08

2008-06-20T10:54:00.005-06:00

We have been waiting for a while for the weather to warm up so we could go camping. We finally got a good weekend the end of May and headed out to Big Twist by our hometown Beaver. The kids started out pretty unsure of what was going on. They have really hated grass in the past and will cry anytime we try to put them down on it. Not just an "I'm unhappy" cry either, it's full blown "I'm freaked out" cry. I put them out on a blanket while we unloaded and they cried the whole time. Finally they ventured out off the blanket and realized that grass wasn't so bad and that dirt was pretty cool. Porter really enjoys chewing on rocks. I haven't noticed him swallowing any yet, but he loves to chew on them. Porter hasn't been too sure of the dogs up to this point, and out of the blue he started petting and laughing at the dogs like they were old pals. They got real adventerous and crawled all over the place. They both really liked watching the fire and we had the all important discussion about "hot".

At night we put them in our mummy bags and scinched up the top so only their heads were poking out. They slept pretty good. Autumn woke up a few times in the early am, but we didn't hear a sound from Porter. When we woke up he had scooted his bag across the tent floor and was about six feet from where we left him. He was still sound asleep.

Hanging out with dad and the dogs.
Porter enjoying the dogs.

Bathtime 5-24-08

2008-06-20T10:47:00.003-06:00

The kids love their bathtime. Porter has gotten into splashing lately and will hit the water with his hands as fast and hard as he can. It makes quite the mess, and Autumn isn't a big fan since she's the one getting splashed in the face! They still love to play with their toys and hang out in the tub. As soon as they hear the water running they will run (crawling version of run) into the bathroom and stand up by the tub waiting to be put in.

Time to eat, or sleep 5-14-08

2008-06-20T10:37:00.002-06:00

Autumn loves mac & cheese. She sucks on the noodles as you see above. Porter also enjoys his mac & cheese. This day he was wiped out and decided to take a nap in the middle of lunch time.

Hangin' out 5-14-08

2008-06-20T10:32:00.001-06:00

Here are a few random pics that I thought were cute.

Look at those blue eyes 4-22-08

2008-06-20T10:25:00.002-06:00

Both Autumn and Porter have beautiful blue eyes. I love how expressive they are with their eyes. You can see mischief, joy, anger, among other emotions just by looking at their eyes.

Easter 2008

2008-06-20T10:19:00.002-06:00

I took the kids the Beaver Easter egg hunt. They didn't do much hunting, but they had fun watching the other kids run around. Autumn got really cool purple sunglasses. They got to sit on the Easter bunny and duck's lap. (Poor girls that had to dress up like that!)

Picture Time 3-10-08

2008-06-20T10:14:00.002-06:00

I think they are the cutest twins I've ever seen! Notice Porter's haircut. He's now sporting the frohawk.

Crib-time Fun 3-02-08

2008-06-20T10:06:00.004-06:00

Autumn & Porter love to stand in their crib and rock it back and forth. They have a good time and think they are pretty cool now that they can stand up. I got some fun pics of them playing in thier crib. I love how cute their short little legs are.

Mohawk Man 2-20-08

2008-06-20T10:00:00.002-06:00

Porter actually started growing some hair! I gave him a good mohawk before I gave him his first haircut. He sports it pretty good I thought. Also as you can see, Porter had to get glasses. He has pretty bad eyesight (-7.5 for those who know what that means). I think he looks darn cute in glasses. If only Autumn would leave them on him!

1st Birthday Bash

2008-06-12T15:14:00.003-06:00

On Feb. 2nd we had a B-day party for the twins. We joined forces with my sister Rose for her daughter as well. It was fun to have a lot of family come by for the party.

Autumn enjoyed her cake more than Porter. She got a little messy. Porter was more concerned with sucking the frosting off of the candles.

Autumn got really tired and fell asleep on daddy's lap. Porter stayed up and played with his cousin Taylor.

The Twins 1st B-Day

2008-06-12T15:00:00.003-06:00

The twins turned one on January 25, 2008. I took some pictures of them on their birthday. They are growing up so fast. Autumn made the funniest face, so I had to post it.

Snowshoeing on Jan. 12, 2008

2008-06-12T14:52:00.003-06:00

We went snowshoeing with the kids and the dogs in early January. It was a beautiful day up in the Beaver mountains. The kids did really good and the dogs loved breaking trails in the snow.

Christmas Toys Playtime 01-07-08

2008-06-12T14:27:00.003-06:00

Autumn and Porter loved playing with their new Christmas toys. They had a pretty funny reaction to one of their new toys. It was a ball popper that would shoot little balls into the air while playing music. We turned it on and they both immediately started crying. Not just a whimpering cry, but a full on "I'm freaked out" cry. We had to laugh. They love it now and will play with it for a long time.

Welcome to our blog!

2008-03-24T16:06:00.000-06:00

Hello family and friends. Welcome to the Richmond family blog. The stars of the show will be Autumn and Porter with Brayden and Paula as supporting participants. We hope you enjoy viewing our family updates.