Erickson Extravaganza

Elk Camp Revealed!

2009-11-03T14:16:00.000-08:00

As one of the first of two girls allowed in this place, I am here to document what "Elk Camp" is really about.

You see, normally it is like a black hole that sucks our husbands away for a while, leaving us home with kids, and a greater-than-normal work load. We hear a few stories about an occasional kill, or funny "boy" stories, never really knowing what they experience.

I am here to tell you... I can see how they get addicted.

There are some factors that just plain are not fun (I've heard about these):

-The 4.5 mile bike ride in. Doesn't sound too bad, right? Well, did I mention that you are pedaling all your gear in a bike trailer, in the dark, through snow, rain, wind, and 1,000 ft. of elevation gain?

-Setting up the tent, in the dark and rain, through stage 1 hypothermia.

-scattered sleep (partly because of being sick, but also because you have to wake up to stoke the fire every 2 hours, or you freeze.)

-packing out anywhere from a 50 to 150 lb. pack up 1,000 ft. of elevation gain in 1 mile in the dark. Oh, and then biking the meat out 4.5 miles and then biking back in uphill 4.5 miles.

Which brings me to my next point-

How absolutely AMAZING of an experience all of this can be.

Now, these are the things that you can never know unless you experience them first hand:

-The pure elation, excitement, and genuine camaraderie that comes with a kill. (Good job Nikell...and Brett!) It is the experienced teaching the inexperienced. Elk are very unique animals and it is a great accomplishment, even moreso than I imagined. It is a group effort all around and it is a lot of work, but nobody complains. It's sensational.

-The peace and serenity of being in the woods from sunup to sundown. Watching wildlife and listening to the God-made sounds (especially an elk bugle. It is majestic!). It gives you time to really think about the ones you love and the things that are important to you. You forget the business of the world you left.

-It brings you back to the basics: FOOD, WATER, SHELTER, and WARMTH. It makes you realize the work our pioneers went through and helps you appreciate our many, many luxuries. It makes you want to eliminate some of the things you don't need as well.
-And lastly, it never EVER gets old waking up on top of the world, and watching the sun rise.

I guess what I learned is, it's a lot more than just "elk hunting".

I can see how they get addicted.

BOO!

2009-11-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

The 3-eyed green monster, Cade!

The little monkey, Jay!

The oldschool tennis player, Jon!

and his 80's fitness girlfriend, Brynne!

2 adult parties, 3 ward parties, lots of candy, fresh scones and two scary movies later, we say goodbye to Halloween!

Out of Nowhere!

2009-10-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

We go from scribbles and squiggles, to people....with hair!

Go Cade!

New Kicks and Cookies

2009-10-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

I went to the shoe-store to get some work shoes and Cade found these shoes and fell in LOVE with them...

all by himself.

I couldn't resist. :)

Every time he wears them he says, "I wuv my new white shoes, Mom."

Also, we fed the hungry and made decorate-your-own dessert!

Cute cheesey grin...

First Snow!

2009-10-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

You read that right.

My Running Partner

2009-10-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

She always wants to go (no matter the weather), never complains, and pushes my pace. Thanks for logging lots of miles with me through the years, Zoey.

You're a girl's best running partner!

Me and you, girl.

Tootie at 9 months

2009-10-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

Look at that double chin!

We just can't get enough of this chubby little chunk! He really is such a sweet spirited little man.

-standing up to things and even standing up w/o assistance for a few seconds at a time!

- cut your top two teeth for a total of 4! Ouch.

- talking jibberish a lot more.

-waving and clapping

-speed crawler now

-nicknames you've developed: tootie, tootness, Jay-toots, Jay-Jay, chubber chubs

-You are well watched over by your brother. He gets you toys to play with, tells us when you want more food, helps "wash" you in the tub, and loves to be the first to open the door when you've woken up.

Babies.

2009-10-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

HELLO BABY.

Gage Dustin Gatten

10/12/09

I had the opportunity of going to Seattle spur- of- the- moment and witnessing this amazing miracle thanks to my awesome husband.

GOODBYE BABY.

I'll miss your speed and zippy-ness. Moving on up to "crew cabs" and "family" vehicles!

Our Lil Punkins

2009-10-11T23:50:00.000-07:00

Greenbluff

...October Festival...

We had fun with our little family going to greenbluff farms. There was live music, games, crafts, good food, hay rides, ponies, and we got to go pick out our own little "family" of pumpkins right from the pumpkin patch.

Here is a cute pic of Cade listening to Daddy's ipod on the way there:

Cade and Jon in the pumpkin patch:

Cade's pumpkin:

Jon pulling Cade in the wagon. :)

Jay and his little pumpkin with Brynne:

We also waited in line for 40 minutes to get our fresh, home-made PUMPKIN DOUGHNUTS!

They were worth the wait, as you can see on Cade's face...

It was a VERY chilly day, but we love the FALL!

Hair Pro

2009-10-11T23:20:00.000-07:00

Brynne's brother, A.J. is in cosmetology school at Toni n Guy.

She got to be his model for his freshman test-out.
It was a "club" themed style. He did an amazing job picking out all of her hair, makeup and jewelry and styling, and she had fun walking the cat walk! It was quite the party! DJ and everything!

Front view:

Side view:

back view:And here is the rat/hairspray ball that was left after the style was taken out!:

Way to go A.J.! You are gonna be the best Hair Pro ever!!

Cade's First Trip to the Dentist!

2009-10-06T16:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Aunt Cassie giving us the book, 'Going to the Dentist'

Cade was ready for, and LOVED, his first time in the BIG chair!

Aunt Angie cleaned his teeth,

He got to watch a dog movie about brushing and flossing,

and then got to see his Papa (Dr. Gatten) who checked him! He did great.

The best part was his new toothbrush and prize!

Go CADE!

(It did make mommy miss her old job, though. :( )

The big 35...

2009-09-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

35=halfway to 70!

(I'm just sayin'...)

The day started out with his favorite breakfast,

then after work he rocked a league bball game,
then we ended the day stuffing ourselves with Nate's New York Pizza. He LOVES it there! We opened presents...

And had cake!
mmmm....Jay likes it!Thanks Zack, Lizzie, Austin and Brook for joining us!

WE LOVE YOU JONNY BABY!!!

Am I drooling?

2009-09-21T00:21:00.000-07:00

KEITH URBAN

& Little Big Town

My girl, Angie and I had a night out to watch one of the best performers ever!

We marched our cowgirl boots to D'Lish's Burgers to start the night, then headed to the show at the Spokane Arena. Huge. Packed.

(Just a sidenote, I took a billion pics and videos, but I narrowed it down to what still seems like a lot!)

Here we are making love to his cardboard cutout before the concert. :)

below: Little Big Town opened. They are AMAZING. Lots of harmonics.

Then when this part of the show started our hearts melted. He is an amazing, amazing performer. SO smiley and into what he is doing. One thing I underestimated wad his guitar skills! He is his own lead guitarist and writes most of his music. The guy was breathtaking with his instrument. (In that I mean his guitar. :)

Many times he marched through the crowds while performing. He was a total crowd pleaser!
He also was such a good guy. Took a moment to thank us all for whatever it took to be there in this economy. Also, stopped to think of his wife (Nicole Kidman) and dedicate a song to her. :) What a STUD!! It was a GREAT show!!

(Another sidenote...I love a lot of other songs more, but I chose this video b/c it shows how cute he is when he sings. And this was even toward the end when he was tired.)

p.s. You guys know I am still Jon's no. 1 fan. :)

"That's a little bigger than a deer." -Jon

2009-09-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

Jon went bow hunting this week with Brynne's dad, Steve and bro-in-law Tyler Morton.

Steve proved, once again, that they just aren't up to his level, yet...and put them to work ;). It was Jon's first time getting in on an elk kill.

Congrats, Old Man.

Sunday

2009-09-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

It's funny how your feelings on rest change from childhood to adulthood... :)

Mommy: K, finish your sandwich, then we are going to take a nap.

Cade: I don't wanna take a nap Mom!

Mommy: Yeah, we need to get our rest. And Sunday is the day of rest. Did you know that?

Cade: Why?

Mommy: Because Heavenly Father gave us one day to rest. But we still take naps other days.

Cade: I want Sunday be tomorrow, Mom!

Another cute thing today; my boys making ME cookies! This might be a first...

On the Move!!

2009-09-16T16:26:00.001-07:00

MONTHS OLD

-crawling!

-trying to pull up on (short) things

-says "dada" and the 't' sounds a lot

-total flirt, gives away smiles

-starting to become a momma's boy...and she LOVES it. :)

"That race is seriously insane." -Jon

2009-09-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

206 miles. 3 states. 1 day.

LOTOJA

(Above: Jon and Trevor Wood)

This is Jon's 4th time doing this bike race from Logan, UT to Jackson, WY. It is a general climb (with a few 3-4 mile hard climbs in the first half)! There are 1,000 competators. He finished in

11 hours 47 minutes.

His best time yet!!

I don't know what all of you think, but I think that is WAY too long to be on a bike! We (Cade, Jay and Brynne) were his support car. We met him 3 times during the race and at the finish line to give him his "refueling". Cade LOVED watching the race, especially when he would spot his dad! WAY TO GO JONNY!!

Above: His starting wave. 6:49 a.m. Cat 5.

Above: Finishing the 'King and Queens' climb. Halfway through and the most difficult of climbs.

Giving everything he has to finish...with a fist pump! We both had tears when I saw him after the finish. What an amazing, amazing accomplishment.
We stayed with my old roomie, Monica, and her husband, Andy while in Logan. We went on a run and to lunch together (and Jon went golfing with friends Afu Latu and Jarman Lyle). I sure love and miss this girl.

We also stopped to see our friends' (Will and Jessica Maus) new Gorilla car wash and condo. They just moved down there recently. Jay and their daughter Lexi were totally flirting and crawling around together. So cute. :)

After Jonny's finish in Jackson Hole (Teton village), we drove 10 miles to Victor, ID and stayed in an amazing lodge. He just sat in the hot bath for a while and I picked up SUPER good food from Grumpy's Goat Shack. We love hitting local food joints. We also had breakfast at this diner above the next morning.

A fun (and long) weekend!

After the Storm Comes the Rainbow...

2009-09-09T14:07:00.000-07:00

Recently, I (Brynne) have been very stressed out. Busy, crazy, exhausted and very emotionally weighed down. I seemed to have been caught in a web, not knowing how I got there. Certain things had been weighing on my mind a lot, and I had been wondering what I can do to make certain situations better, or to help. I was wanting and wishing I could force things to change. This weekend, Jon was elk hunting and I was alone to deal with the emotions at their peak. The weather at the time almost seemed parallel with my feelings. Sunday was a HUGE storm. There was thunder, lightening, and wind that I thought might blow our house over. It made me cringe and just want to curl up in a blanket.

Then something amazing happened.

The rain came to a hault and all of the sudden this appeared. A beautiful, double rainbow directly over our home (That's my red car parked in the driveway). All the sudden I had a sense of peace. Right then, I realized that I wasn't alone. Heavenly Father was aware of my situation and each situation surrounding mine.

My own blessings started to come to mind. I started thinking about the amazing husband I have, who loves me for who I am and is so good to me. For my two divinely created boys that bring me so much joy being their mom. The temporal blessings and our needs being met in this economy. And most of all, the gospel to bring me peace when I need it.

I heard a quote that same day that struck me: "If our lives and our faith are centered on Jesus Christ and His restored gospel, nothing can ever go permanantly wrong." -Howard W. Hunter

I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who is aware of me...

And for rainbows after the rain.

Titanium Man

2009-09-07T17:35:00.000-07:00

Kennewick, WA

Olympic Distance

(Above: Brett, Brynne and Mikin...siblings!)

LtoR: Mike Staub, Dana Davis, Brynne, Brett Gatten, Nicole Morton, Ken Staub, Mikin Morton)

We all went over together as a group of friends and family for this triathlon. The girls stayed in the Hilton, we all had Olive Garden the night before and then we hit the country mercantile on the way back for homemade sandwiches, ice cream and chocolate!! That was the best part. :)

Ken: 2:20 (3rd in division)

Mike: 2:41

Brynne: 2:53 (1st of 2 in division)

Brett: 2:54

Dana: 2:58

Nicole: ? (2nd of 2 in Brynne's divison :)

Mikin: 3:22

Harry+Dallas=FOREVER

2009-09-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

Harry and Dallas Fougeron

Sealed August 7th, 2009

Spokane, WA LDS temple

Harry and Dallas (Jon's little sister) got married 8 years ago in France and we were all so, so very happy for them and their decision to be sealed last month. It was one of the most amazing sealings we have been, or will ever be at and we are grateful to have been a part of it. They really were ready, and to see them walk into the room was like the last piece of the family's puzzle. The experience was so emotional for everyone. It is hard to put into words the joy that was felt.

Cade giving hugs as they walked out of the temple.

The Erickson Family

(LtoR: Jon, Cade, Brynne, Jay, Sherry, Brandon, Audrey, Bruce Jr., Emma, Dallas, Harry, Nancy, Bruce Sr., Dan, Camila, Kelly, Sofia (not pictured: Corbin)

Jonny and his 2 boys
The Grandkids:
Emma, Jay, Cade, Camila, Audrey, Sofia, Bruce (not pictured: Corbin)
Everyone stayed for a week at Bruce and Nancy's home on Hayden Lake. It was a fun-filled time with plenty of "chillaxin" on the dock, boat, playing games, a talent show, doing hair (Brynne highlighted Dallas and Kelly's) watching movies, etc.

Grammies night time ritual with the kids:
Bath time in her bath, watch bambi, and have milkshakes! Mmm!
(Camila and Jay)
(Corbin, Cade and Sof-Bof)

7 months FLEW by...

2009-08-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

Jay Marshall is 7 MONTHS!!! What??!

-eating tons

-trying to crawl (get on all 4's and "rock" or do the plank)

-SAID YOUR FIRST WORD! "DaDa"...of course. :)

Random videos

2009-08-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

Brotherly love:

Cade is still the one who makes Jay laugh the most.

A boy and his dog:

Cade recently taught himself how to turn on the sprinkler in the back yard. Now I find him naked running through the sprinklers quite often. Zoey is always right there with him.

Tri Time!!

2009-08-11T22:17:00.000-07:00

Coeur d'Alene Olympic Triathlon

"The Scenic Challenge"

1 mile swim. 26 mile bike. 6.2 mile run

the start:

the finish!!

The results:

Brynne placed 1st in her division!

(time of 2 hrs. 53 min. Cut a 1/2 hr. off of last year's time!)

Jon's team "We've Been Robbed"

(including Brandon doing the swim, Jon on bike and Sherry on run)

got 3rd in their team division! (out of 36 teams!)

(time of 2 hrs. 20 min...J's bike time was 1 hr 12 min. That's fast.)

So, we both came home with medals this year!

We had lots of other friends and family members complete the race as well.

Brett beat Brynne by less than a minute!

Mikin and (friend and also Brynne's boss) Dana did awesome on their FIRST tri!

This is definitely one of the most challenging tri's we compete in, but so beautiful and fun and nice to be in our home town. We also love all the support! Hard to beat the fun of RACE SEASON!!

Lazy Days

2009-08-10T11:14:00.000-07:00

CORBIN PARK

We have a beauiful little park right on the Spokane River literally a couple of miles from our house. On free, lazy days it is easy to walk or jaunt over to chill for a while without the crowds. It is a rock beach, too which gives Cade something to do (throwing rocks in the water) and there is no sand for Jay to eat! It's great.

People swim across the river and cliff jump on the cliffs below.

This is our ode to Corbin Park. We love you on a lazy, summer afternoon.

Salmon River at Riggins

2009-08-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

Who: Steve, Jon, Brynne, Cade, Jay, Zoey, Brett, Wyatt and A.J.

What: Whitewater rafting, the salmon hatchery, the beach, cliff jumping, good food, blackberry picking, cribbage etc.

Favorite stories: Floating through a class 3 rapid (the roller coasters) in our life jackets for fun. We couldn't stop laughing and swallowed A LOT of water. Our heads looked like peas in the rapid!

(below: Jon diving off the cliff)

Last Favorite Story: Right after these cliffs where we cliff jump there is a big hole with some waves to the right. We always go right, but we saw some guides going left our first time down and I (Brynne) was oaring. We decided to try it and I started oaring left, well, long story short it sucked us in right OVER the rock and we got NAILED. My Dad and Z-dog fell out and got stuck in the undertow. I somehow stayed in the raft as it got tossed around like a sock in a washing machine!! It was stuck in the hole and I was just trying to stay away from the swinging oars (needless to say I got some GOOD bruises from them!). My Dad (somehow) came up and found the rope hooked to the raft. He pulled while I high-sided it and it finally came out after a couple of minutes!! It was CRAZY!

Good times.