Dax's 16th Birthday

Can you believe that Dax is 16? Where has the time gone? Things are changing so much for the Ockey family this year.

Dax really wanted to get his drivers license on his birthday. So, Mom made an appointment near lunchtime and she checked him out of school and drove him up to get everything all settled at the DMV. We now have another great driver in our home. 

Another Ockey driver

We met Mark for lunch at Cafe Rio, which was Dax's choice. After lunch, Mark let Dax drive home. It was Dax's first time driving without a parent.

Yummy birthday lunch.

First time driving the old van, Blue Beauty.

Dax was scheduled to work, so we had to take him dinner at the ball field. Then we had mint brownies late at night when he got home. We did have to wait a few days to enjoy his favorite dinner at Brick Oven, but we finally made it. 

Happy Birthday umpire Dax!

We went to check on Dax at the field!

Our Brick Oven adventure.

We are so proud of Dax. He is an awesome young man who takes improving himself seriously. He is always trying to find ways to set goals and become better. Dax is a hard worker and a great student. We cannot wait to see what he does in his high school days. 

Dax mostly drives to the fishing ponds. 

Dax is the best!

April Adventures

 Stuff just keeps happening over here! So here are a bunch of fun pics from April 2025.

These three are all going to Argentina, but different missions!

Mark and his friends went to the Minecraft movie....twice!

Dax laughing hysterically at pictures.

I am honestly going to miss all of the shoes at my house once they are all on missions. 😢

We went to see Cirque de Soleil, and it was so cool because it was ice skating, too!

Mom went to the Tulip Festival.

Now the rest of the family went to the Minecraft movie.

We had a cool hibachi company come do dinner in our backyard.

It was fun to have friends over!

Mom is working with different brands and this is what she saw when she walked into an office.

Seth had a piano recital and did so well!

Dax was a great umpire this year, following in Mark's footsteps.

Dad loves the chickens as much as anyone else.

Our traditional Passover dinner.

These two walk over and fish at the local pond a lot.

We have been enjoying all of the fancy treats at Thirst.

Seth played super well in tennis.

Easter Sunday! 

Dax, who took this picture of you?

Seth catching little baby fish.

Dax loves fishing so much.

Mark's buddies get together for testimony gatherings. It is amazing!

Mom did a walk though UVU looking for art.

Grandma and Grandpa came to watch Seth play tennis one weekend.

We love visiting all the temples in Utah. We took Alice and Charlie with us to the Tooele Temple.

One of our neighbors served in Argentina, so he invited us over and we made gnocchi.

Mark loved it!

Mark also got to try mate. It is disgusting.

We were so grateful for their kindness in showing us some Argentinian culture.

Mom and Dad love their Hale tickets.

We made some pretty cool mugs.

It was fun to go to Hawaii Fluid Art with Seth.

Does it look like Seth is falling into the whole?

How about now?

Dax is Inventing Again

Dax has always been pretty inventive, all the way back to when he made those homemade gifts including a shopping cart for Mom. So when he started watching videos about homemade smokers online, we weren't that surprised. We were also not surprised when he took an old cardboard box and mounted a sturdy shelf inside with wood glue and nails. He created a hinged double door, and then covered the entire thing with tinfoil to protect it from the flames. Finally, he added a rack to set the fish on during smoking. Looking at the final product, we were pretty skeptical.

I wish I had taken a picture of the inside.

Of course, Dax still had to catch the fish, so he talked us into going down to Salem Pond on the same Saturday afternoon that Mark was at Prom. He and Seth fished near the bridge with little pieces of bread. They caught a few fish each, but they only brought two home, a tiny rainbow, and a much larger tiger trout, which we'd never seen before. 

It's a cool fish!

When we got back from the lake, Dad helped him clean the fish and fire up the smoker. He put wood chips in a small pan in the bottom, placed a pan of water on the shelf above to boil for steam, and put the chips in the top rack. Then, he and Seth took turns watching the smoke billow out of the cracks around the door. 

The stump held the door close.

After about an hour, the smoke started to slow, and Dax wondered about adding more wood chips. Unfortunately, the new chips squelched most of the remaining fire, and he was losing heat fast. He decided to add a bit of newspaper to the wood chips to get a steady heat going. Just minutes later, he came in and grabbed our largest cup for water. 

As you've probably guessed, he was soon dousing a small inferno. Despite the tinfoil, the cardboard had caught fire! As Mom rushed out with a pitcher of water and put out the flames, Dax was sure he was in some trouble. But this was exactly what we'd expected. We were just glad that he'd spent the day doing something that didn't involve a screen (other than those instructional videos). 

Mom was too busy putting the fire out to take a picture with the flames.

Poor little smoker.

Best of all, when the flames were out, Dax pulled the two fish from the blackened rack. They were nicely cooked, and with the butter, salt, and pepper we'd put inside, they weren't half bad. We each took a taste, and then Dax finished those smoked trout right down to the last bone! It was definitely a day to remember.

Big Bend Day 4

This morning came a little too early after the long day yesterday, but you have to use the ends of the day in Big Bend, because the middle is so hot! We drove into the park and headed down to the Castolon area, which is quite remote. We made a few stops, mostly at overlooks, but we did stop for a short hike at Sam Nail Ranch. We also enjoyed looking through the donkey ears, which reminded us of yesterday's ride.

We hope Seth always loves holding our hands.

The clouds were cool in this picture.

Just having some fun along the trail.

The mules ears are in the background.

We also stopped at Tuff Canyon.

Yes, they were seeing who could spit the furthest. 

We wanted to get to the end of the road to do a hike into Santa Elena Canyon, where the Rio Grande river enters the basin. This was the busiest hike, and we managed to get the last parking space in the large lot. Then we hiked down to the edge of the river. 

We had to cross a small inlet, but it was dry. Mark liked spotting turtles on the bank, though. Then we climbed a large embankment and headed up the canyon wall. Steep switchbacks carried us up above the water, and then we slowly descended back into the canyon. The trail was really busy, but we got to a point where the walls provided a bit of shade, so it was really pleasant. Again, we spotted turtles right there in the Rio Grande. 

We stayed in the shady canyon for awhile, and then headed back toward the Visitor Center. It was pretty small, and there wasn't much to look at, so we moved on. Lunch was at a picnic area and Mark was really excited because of all the birds. We spotted a scarlet tanager and a gray hawk, both of which were new. Then we coasted back to the duplex.

The trail along the Rio Grande was beautiful.

We had to keep reminding ourselves how close to Mexico we were.

Mark chose this trip to see birds, and he was right!

Finally, the trail faded into the river.

The narrow canyon at the end was pretty.

The boys spotted several turtles swimming right off this rock.

This guy looked like he was begging for food.

We laughed at this selfie for a while!

Mom sure is going to miss Mark.

Most of Big Bend didn't look like this.

Mom made lunch at a small picnic area.

We loved the bright red head on this bird.

Mark was excited to see this hawk.

During the heat of the day, the boys watched some TV while Mom and Dad rested. We were heading back into the park for dinner at the lodge in Chisos Basin. We were still hoping to see the bears or cougars that are possible. 

At dinner, we were surprised at the prices, but there was nowhere else to eat within an hour, so we enjoyed what we could. Seth and Mark had burgers. Dax loved his trout. Dad had a steak, and Mom enjoyed her ravioli. Then, we must not have been too upset with the bill, because we ordered and split two desserts. 

Dax is all about trout at these places.

Seth spilled his water!

The dessert was okay.

The view back toward the Window was spectacular.

The boys were still on the grind for bears and cougars, so Seth, Mark, and Dad went hiking around the Chisos Basin. They saw only deer. Dax's foot was really hurting and starting to look infected from the injury he sustained at the hot springs the day before. He ripped the nail and got moss under it, and it was getting swollen and red. He and Mom stayed in the car and chatted, where they saw deer and rabbits as well. 

After it got dark, we drove back to the duplex, hoping to see something in the dark on our last night in the park. This time we weren't so lucky. 

The desert colors are really nice.

The sunset on the Window was different this night.

Dax and Mom stayed back together.

They did spot some rabbits.

And they saw a deer near the van.

It was a long fly day back to Utah, but it had been worth it.