Our Summer in Pictures

Here are some promised pictures of the summer. I will try to continue taking pictures and posting them more regularly!

Crazy Summer

Wow! Summer is flying by and we haven’t updated the blog in ages. Colby has been extremely busy with camp, and I have been busy working, seeing friends in Jackson, and running back and forth from camp at every chance I get to spend time with Colby! We see each other on average 2 or 3 days a week, which was expected, but it definitely not easy!

The chickens are doing so great! They are in the routine of being “freed” from the run every morning before I leave for work. They spend all day hiding under trees in the shade, grazing on grass, bugs, worms-whatever they can find. When I get home from work in the afternoon, I usually have to spend a few minutes looking around the yard in their favorite hiding spots. I quickly count for 8 chickens, and then spend a few minutes watching them and giving them treats. They love garlic, spinach, greek yogurt and pretty much anything else from the kitchen (I think strawberries are their absolute favorite). I’m sad to say I only know the names of the 4 brown hens and 1 black hen at this point. The black chickens just look so much alike! I think 3 may be roosters. I have been greeted a few mornings with crowing from “Josh” the only chicken I am 100% sure is a rooster. He is the top of the pecking order, and all of the hens bow to him, except Fergie, the biggest Saggita. She is a feminist.

We have spent a few days hiking and camping. The weather has been amazing. The average is 75 during the day, and 40s at night (at higher elevations). On the 4th of July, we hiked to Taggert and Bradley lakes in Grand Teton National Park. The water was frigid and only the bravest swam. This past Friday we camped at Curtis Canyon with beautiful views of the Tetons. We didn’t encounter bears either trip, which was a blessing. There has been higher bear activity this summer due to the later snow melts. They haven’t retreated to higher elevations as they normally would.

Colby’s sister Emma has been here at camp for 2 weeks now. She is having a blast spending time with her brothers and building relationships with the girl counselors (she is 15). Colby parents will arrive this Thursday, and we are SO excited to have them. We hope to raft the Snake River, visit the Grand Teton and Yellowstone, and spend as much time as possible together. They are excited to see camp and get a better idea of what Colby is doing out here!

I will work on posting pictures soon!

Love to all,
Colby and Lucy

Chicks Love Worms

I hope these videos help you understand why we think the chicks are so hilarious!

Empty Nesters

I’m going to be honest, this week has gone by so quickly, I do not even know which day we moved the chicks out of our house and into the coop. I do know they were causing large amounts of sleep deprivation and I attribute that to their lack of space in the horse trough. I could hear them squeaking every morning long before the sun rose!

Here are pictures of the chicks the first day in the coop.

The past week we spent any free time covering the chicken run with wire and burying wire around the perimeter so that we can have peace of mind when the chickens are out in the run. With all of the natural predators in this area, we did not want to risk their safety. We are way too attached!

The previous owners of Camp Creek built the chicken coop and dubbed it “Coop-De-Ville.” (There’s a sign and everything!) I’m looking for something more interesting. I thought “The Femi-Nests” was a funny name, but do any of you have better ideas?

I am terrible at keeping up the blog!

I am so sorry to all my faithful readers! I have not been a very good blogger the past few weeks. It has been incredibly busy. I have been working on adjusting to my new work schedule and of course caring for the chickies (as well as caring for Colby). I hope my lack of updating hasn’t disrupted my following!

We have been in Jackson for 3 weeks and 3 days. So far, Colby and I have:

Attended Cornerstone Church in Wilson, Wyoming and met so many wonderful Christian couples! It has been amazing to see the work of God in our lives as we wondered what Jackson would hold in the way of community. God has been faithful in answering our prayers for strong relationships that will encourage and direct us toward greater love and understanding of our Heavenly Father. All I can say is WOW!  We are so blessed. We cannot wait to get more involved with the Cornerstone community and serve.

I started my first “real” job. I. Am. So. Tired. I could not have felt more compelled to work at a job than I did through talking to Denise, the office manager. Denise’s son is a faithful camper at Camp Living Water. When she heard we were moving out and that I was a nurse, she offered to hire me if I could not find another job. After we moved here, I met Denise in her office and coincidentally, one of the nurses in the office had just quit working at the office. After speaking with Denise over a few days, I realized what an amazing opportunity it would be to work in an office with such a positive environment and team work mentality. I have found that to be true in working there the past week. The doctors and nurses alike are incredibly friendly and encourage learning. The schedule is also great for my involvement in camp. I work 4 10-hour shifts and have a rotating day off during the work week.

We have had our first official yard-saling weekend. In Jackson (Where there are tons of rich people) Every spring and summer, weekends are full of yard sales. Colby and I found great deals! Colby bought 2 pairs of skis (cross country and downhill) as well as poles. I bought a pair of Vasque hiking shoes for $5! And we found some other good deals including a Bocce set, Polaroid camera, mason jar cups, and pillows. I think in total we spent $56. I cannot wait for more!

We have hiked! I love hiking. Even if it is still in the snow…

“Chicks Man”

After 2 weeks in Jackson, we decided we had settled in enough and it was time to get chicks! The only problem was trying to find them. I spent some time looking on the internet for local flock owners to no avail. Unfortunately we had to go with a mail order at the local pet and feed store. They are just as cute, though!

So many cute chicks. How do you choose?

"Fergie" She is a Saggitta.

Saggita’s are a mixed breed but I’m having trouble finding information about them.

"Golden Boy/Goldie Hawn/Golden Nugget"

"Goldie"

"Justine Bieber" She/He is a black austrolorp. We won't know if she's a hen or rooster until she grows up!

"Josephine" Black Sex Linked Breed

"Doris"

"Henrietta" Gold Sex Linked

"Vivien" on the left "Lady MacBeth" on the right

I will keep posting pictures as they grow!

We Aren’t Leaving Anytime Soon

I doubt you thought we would change our minds after spending over $900 on gas to get out here. But if you were having doubts about our move here, I wanted to ease your mind by letting you know I GOT A JOB! Which means we’re semi tied down here! I’m way excited! It’s at the Women and Family Health Clinic of Jackson Hole. 3 cheers to that paycheck!

Let’s celebrate with pictures!

Elk Migrating Through the Gros Ventre Wilderness (aka our backyard)

A few Hundred Elk

Elk Grazing a Few Hundred Feet From Our House

I Love it Here. It's even beautiful when its Rainy...

I have more pictures of our road trip that I plan on posting tomorrow.

Oh, and did I mention I bought an Iphone 4 to celebrate my employment? So exciting!

Suprise Wedding

Saturday Morning Colby and I walk into the kitchen at Camp Creek:

Colby: Hey, where should we unload our U-haul?
Sherry: Hey, did you hear there’s a wedding in like 5 minutes?
Colby: Yeah, Summer told us but we didn’t believe her.
Sherry: I just found out an hour ago. They booked an officiant a few months ago, but the weather isn’t nice enough for an outside wedding, so they called us to see if it was okay to have their wedding here in front of the fireplace.

After the wedding party arrives..

Sherry: I’m having trouble figuring which one is the bride.
Me: Is it the girl in the black dress?

A few minutes after the wedding..

Sherry: Hey Lucy, can you be the wedding photographer?

I attempted to help out the family with wedding pictures, but much to our shock, the bride requested no pictures. “We already have enough!” She kept repeating and frequently apologized to me on behalf of her Mother, who apparently was not aware that her daughter did not want to celebrate her wedding in the traditional way, with flowers, rings, or any photographs (Did I mention she was wearing black?)

So as strange as that was, it was even more strange when her Mom puked all over the bathroom after the wedding. Glad I was busy unpacking so that I did not have to witness it!

Hoback Nation Welcomes The Stevens

We are here! Hoback Nation has welcomed us with open arms. Yes, the people of Hoback have named this community Hoback Nation. Maybe I should rethink my blog title…

I have so many things to share and write about already! If only there were enough hours in the day. Here are some potential blog posts:

The Never-Ending Rode Trip: The week we spent 37 hours in a U-haul

Anything and Everything Camp Creek (The property we live on, and the restaurant the Poinsetts have re-opened)

The Surprise Wedding at Camp Creek (if only I had pictures!)

Hoback Entertainment:Watching Big Horned Sheep play chicken on US Highway 191

Church (We actually met Christian people our age! How fun and exciting.)

I will be brainstorming more ideas and hopefully writing about our trip out here in the next couple of days. Until then, I am posting a few pictures from our trip.

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What is a Hoback?

To all of my steadfast readers: I know you are probably wondering about the name we chose: “Home, Sweet Hoback.” We really did not make up a name that had absolutely no relevance. This entry is for everyone who wants to know what/where/why/who is Hoback.

Hoback is the name of the town we will begin residing in sometime in mid-April (depending on how fast our U-haul accelerates).  We have an amazing connection with Colby’s future employer (director of Camp Living Water), Sherry Poinsett. Sherry recently bought a unique piece of property formerly known as Camp Creek Inn. Sherry has dubbed the property “The Compound.” The property has enough buildings to house a small army (and yes, there is kool-aid, too).

Here is a run down on the property: Sherry and Bob’s house, the cabin (for us!), a duplex, 7 A-frame rental cabins, the restaurant/bar (with additional housing upstairs), the poker room/outhouse, the Tee Pee, and my personal favorite, the chicken coop. Needless to say…please come visit!!

Here are a few pictures from our trip in January:

That's our teenie house. Luckily, the color matches all the other buildings...not for long!

I'm not sure which one is ours...

One of our Neighbors out for a Stroll

Sorry these pictures are not the best quality. I will take better pictures for future posts!

For those of you still wondering the exact location of Hoback in relation to the rest of the world, first find Wyoming on the map of the United States (that can be difficult enough…) Jackson Hole is located in the Northwestern part of the state, and Hoback is located about 15 miles southeast of Jackson Hole.

If you are like me, you are probably still wondering “Why the name Hoback?” And if you are even more like me, you will most likely search around on google and find that John Hoback was a fur trapper from Kentucky who traveled throughout the west, specifically Northern Wyoming and Idaho, before being killed by Indians. His last dated writings were recently discovered in Cabin #4.