Motorbiking in the Mountains Part 2

 After being unable to get into Allen Lake with his friends Greg and Matt the previous weekend, Josh went back on a solo ride the following week in October when the weather was good. The ride was totally different than the previous weekend! It was sunny, the snow was melted, and he was able to reach his destination. He loved the ride and captured some gorgeous pictures along the way!

Made it to Allen Lake!

See his motorbike laying on the narrow single track trail?!

Allen Lake is the center left in the distance.

This was where Josh and the guys had to turn around the week
before on their group ride. 

His motorbike fell and the clutch broke during
the ride--thankfully he had some zip ties to 
temporarily fix it. 

He tracked his 35 mile roundtrip ride!

Josh's Mountain Motorbike Jaunt

Josh went on a long dirtbike ride with friends along a singletrack trail through the mountains at the end of September. He had a fantastic ride! 

His high school friends Greg Young and Matt Groll love to ride motorbikes together, and they came up for a ride near Salmon and asked Josh to join them. They went from Hughes Creek to Butcher Knife Ridge Trail towards Allen Lake until the snow got too deep and they turned around, going back down through Axe Park Meadows. It was supposed to be a beautiful fall day, and they'd planned to ride 80 miles, but only got in about 20 miles since the unexpected snow changed their plans. 

We went out to dinner together that night at 28 Club, along with Scott Nelson, and the fellas recounted lots of memories from their youth, which was so fun to hear! Josh is passionate about going on dirtbike rides, and it was so good for him to go with others who love it, too, especially in the mountains that surround Salmon, which are his favorite place to be!  

celebratwin' seventeen

Jonah and Micah turned 17 in September. We celebrated over the course of a week, since their birthday was mid-week this year. The Sunday before their birthday, Josh and I made their requested birthday meal of steak, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob. They opened a few of their gifts (Jonah got new church pants and Micah got a bulletin board for his bedroom), and then we had their birthday dessert of homemade pumpkin pie. 

 

On Tuesday evening (their actual birthday), I drove home from Mud Lake and Josh & I took the twins out to dinner after cross country practice. We ate at the Junkyard Bistro, since that's the only nice restaurant open in Salmon on a Tuesday evening now. It was pretty busy that night, so service was slow, but the food was good, and I was glad to go out to dinner with the boys! When we got home, Josh and I gave them their main birthday gift: a weight bench with some weights. We decided to put it in Jonah's room since there was more room for it. 

They had their friend birthday party the Friday following their birthday. I made soup for dinner, and also made and set out a bunch of snacks for the evening, too. They had a bunch of guy friends come over and they spent the evening eating, playing games in the yard, soaking in the hot tub, and had a great time hanging out!

We sure love having these boys in our family! They are awesome kids, and we hear good things about them from everyone who comes in contact with them! They are hard-working, serviceful, athletic, and smart. They are both kind and help out so much at home and stay on top of their responsibilities at church, school, and work, too. We love them and are so proud of the young men that they are! 

Favorites at age 17:

JONAH

color - black, white, gray

food - steak

friend - Tyler

sport - golf

activity - dirt biking

TV show - Mandalorian

game - Settlers of Catan

MICAH

color - orange

food - bacon

friend - Boaz

sport - cross country

activity - hiking

TV show - The Chosen

game - CodeNames

The Final 2-year Wish List

When we moved into this house in 2010, we couldn't afford all the big furniture purchases or larger expenses that we wanted at the time, so we created a 2-year wish list. I posted the list on the fridge as a reminder of our hopes and dreams, and crossed off the items as they were purchased/completed. Since 2010, every other year in the fall, I revisit that list and update it with new items. Here's our previous lists, just for reference:

It's now been 10 years since we've moved into this house, and our financial situation is much better than it was back then. Josh and I now discuss annually what our plans are for each year; we decide what we want to purchase and where we want to go and the projects we want to complete within the year. We create goals that are affordable and attainable for the year, so we don't feel like we need a 2-year wish list anymore to keep us on track. Therefore, the 2-year list we created in 2018 is our last one. 

We were able to accomplish the majority of the list, but once again, we didn't complete them all. However, I still feel like we were successful in our efforts!

2-Year Wish List as of Fall 2018

1. Install gutter on garage

2. in garage (we have plans to complete this item this summer)

3. Buy a new truck (purchased March 2019)

4. Couple's Vacation to Mexico (completed AS A FAMILY Nov. 2019)

5. Go Hot Air Ballooning (completed Sept. 2019)

6. Pay off Josh's credit cards (completed July 2020)

7. Pay off Kala's credit card (completed February 2020)

8. Get a new wood stove

9. Get a new upright freezer

10. Get an enclosed trailer for the streetbike (purchased June 2020)