Sand dunes & waterfalls

Is it strange that in all our trips to Idaho this is only the second time we've been here

with all this sand?

Climbing up is hard.

Jumping off is fun.

Next time Zack plans to bring a sled. And some drinks. And more energy.

See the Tetons?

While we were in the area, I decided to go to Mesa Falls. It haven't been since college and Matt questioned my ability to find it. It's not rocket science. There are signs. There also used to be a trail so you could get closer to the actual falls. From this lookout you can see them, just not very well. Lame. We probably should have driven to the upper falls. Zack was not happy about our view.

It was still worth the drive. We may not go back to the falls, but I'm pretty sure we'll hit the dunes more often.

Fulfilling the Dream

Zack likes combines. He's always liked them. A lot. But somehow we have never been able to make it up to visit Grandpa during harvest time. Instead, Zack has settled for playing with his combine toys, climbing in it in the shed or watching the home movie Grandma filmed for him.

Thanks to a late harvest over Labor Day weekend, he was finally able to take a ride on the buddy seat (which is much less bumpy than a back hoe seat),

and harvest the barley

and even watch it unload. Finally!!

Wow. And to really make a day of it he got to ride in this, (or at least be in it when Uncle Bruce backed it up a few feet).

He'd like to know why we don't use this when we go camping. It has a big bed.

Such a lucky boy.

Everything August

Alright, the rest of August, here we go....

Short arm cast:

No cast (dry skin & everything):

The end of this:

and this:

Who am I kidding? That will never be over. At least it's not all day...

First day of second and fifth grade:

Snowbird hill climb champion:

Kindergarten soccer:

Rain gutter regatta:

Winner: boat most likely to be eaten by a shark

First Rage game (& win):

First day of kindergarten:

(indulge me here, he's my baby)

I think that's it. At least that's all I have pictures for.

California Cousins

Every day I have plans to update the blog, but I just haven't been in a blogging mood. I'm still not, but I have nothing better to do so here goes. I am going to post all of August. How fun.

We hardly ever get to see Max, Abby, Charlie & Leanne. The kids were totally surprised when they showed up. We went crazy with activities. First up, was $2 Tuesday at Thanksgiving Point. It was really busy but still fun. We waited in a long line to get into the Dinosaur Museum. It's the perfect place for boys to visit.

Charlie refused to walk, but at least she's light and she says the funniest things.
We've never been to the gardens. I had no idea this water feature existed or I would have been better prepared. It was hot enough that the kids dried of quickly.


The beauty of the gardens was not lost on these two.

They all loved the mazes,

waterfalls,
and hanging out with Nana.

We were so worn out we didn't even attempt the farm. Later that night Matt & Leanne took the kids to the canyon for a cook out. Check out Noah's hair. This is precisely the reason he CANNOT have longish hair (unless he's going to create an 80's tribute band).
The next day we hiked to the Timp caves. I love this hike, it's so pretty. But it's also stressful with the little kids because they don't seem to worry about falling off steep cliffs. Abby and Zack led the whole way up.

This is a cave, just not THE cave.

This was the big news on the hike-a rattlesnake eating a chipmunk. Gross, yet strangely fascinating.

Water break.

At the top, I promise. The nice man who took our picture neglected to include the sign that says it. You'll have to take my word for it.

Inside the cave:

The long walk back. For some reason, going down seems to be more stressful and tiring than going up. On the last day we went downtown to walk on the moon,

to walk on Mars,

and to get soaked.

I just like this picture of Max and Ben. Even though we went a bunch of places, the best part of their visit was watching them have so much fun hanging out together.