Cousins or Camping?

We had a pretty boring summer, as far as summers go, up until the end of July. Then all of a sudden, our schedule turned crazy-busy, and on-the-go for about two weeks. Here's the basic rundown: 

July 26-28: visited Grandpa P in Spokane and went to Silverwood north of Coeur d'Alene

July 31-Aug 2: Kala went to Boise to visit Krissy

Aug 3-5: went camping at Stanley Lake with the Stephensons

Aug 7: floated the Salmon River with the Tolman family

Aug 7-8: ward campout

Aug 12: Kala's Praxis test in Rexburg

Aug 13-15: Josh and the twins went backpacking and camping in the Bighorn Crags

It was a super fun, but also very tiring, two weeks! It definitely felt like summer during that time, and I liked that we had so many exciting things going on. But because we were so busy, we found ourselves making choices to do some things which meant we wouldn't be able to do others. There were things that Josh and I both missed as a result of our schedule: Josh missed going to the Elder's Quorum party and wasn't here for my birthday because of his backpacking trip, and I missed out on the Shakespeare in the Parks annual show because I was gone to Rexburg all day for my Praxis test. And the kids missed out on the ward campout, which has never happened before, because they were having such a good time with their cousins after the family float trip that they didn't want to go camping. Josh and I drove up and went to the dinner at the campground, but we didn't stay overnight either since the kids weren't with us. I'm glad that they value family time! 

The night before the float trip, Kanyon told us he didn't want to go camping the next day because he wanted to stay home and play with cousins. We weren't sure how we felt about him being home alone overnight, but then during the float trip, Ammon said he'd also rather stay home, and then on the way home from floating, Jonah and Micah expressed the same opinion. So even though our camping trailer was all ready to go (cleaned out and hooked up to the truck), we decided that it just wasn't going to work out for us. I took a few pictures the following day as they were playing in the yard with Uncle Malachi and the Entrikins and the Beesleys. I only have a few memories of playing yard games and night games with my cousins in the summers of my youth, so I'm glad my boys have LOTS of opportunities to make those same memories, and in a super fun yard, too!

Malachi pulling Kanyon around on the giant stride

Malachi giving the rules and boundaries for Hide-and-Seek tag

Looking for the hiders in the game Sardines

Standing along the fence during the game No Bears Are Out Tonight

Playing Sharks and Minnows (it's like Freeze Tag)

They also kept riding all the scooters/trikes available down the narrow cement path between grandpa's shed and the front door of grandma's house. The path has an incline, and the kids would line up at the top, all ride in a line, and then turn around at the bottom, go back to the top, and do it all over again. It was fun to watch them work together as a team, and create their own little activity! It kept them occupied for quite a while!

When I think of summertime, I think of the big vacations and the camping trips and staying up late and sleeping in. But really the essence of summer comes in the smaller, basic things, like: playing in the yard, being with friends and family, feeling the warmth of the sun, splashing in the water, and making lasting memories. And that's exactly what these pictures represent--some of those unplanned, magical moments of summer!

River Rafting

For Christmas last year, we gave Josh's mom a gift certificate for a river rafting trip down the Salmon River with the Rawhide Outfitters. She has always wanted to go on a professional river float, and never has, so we figured that would be a great gift. Before Christmas, we consulted with all of Josh's siblings to find the best possible weekend for everyone to join us this summer, and we scheduled it for the first weekend in August. We were very excited and looked forward to it all spring and summer! We originally booked it for 15-18 people, which would've filled 2 rafts, but as the date grew closer, our number decreased: Gideon & Alyssa couldn't join us, and Jessalyn moved to Hawaii to attend BYU-I and couldn't come either. We weren't sure if Josh's dad would float because he's deathly afraid of water, but we figured he'd drive along the road and watch as much as possible. When the day arrived, we were very surprised to find out that Edward was joining us on the river! We ended up with a group of 13: Kathy, Edward, Tiffany, Coral, Josh & I, Malachi, and the kids Ammon, Jonah, Micah, Kanyon, Isaac, and Joel. Because our original number was larger, the outfitting company changed a few reservations to add others to our group the day of our float. We had two gentleman from New Orleans, a woman from California, a couple from Idaho Falls, and a couple from Salmon. We got on the bus that morning and drove down past North Fork to Spring Creek, the getting in spot. 

Kanyon & Ammon wore their new matching shirts
that they got at Silverwood this summer. Kanyon doesn't like
tank tops, but he wanted to get a twinner shirt with Ammon!

Wearing our life jackets and ready to float!

It was an absolutely beautiful day for a float!! We had three boats and two kayaks in our group, and our guides were Steve, Luke, and Justin. On the first calm stretch, Jonah and Joel rode in the inflatable kayaks (aka the "duckies").

At the beginning, Josh & I, and Ammon & Kanyon rode in Luke's boat with the couple from Salmon, and Micah was in Steve's boat with the rest of the extended family.

I find it funny that Micah's the only one looking at the
camera. I don't think he was quite as enchanted with
Steve's stories as the rest of the boat was!

We had a little stop at the Hulihan place right before Pine Creek and were treated with yummy snacks by our outfitting company. Then our guides gave us a little history about gold mining in the area, showed us how to pan gold, and we walked inside an old mine.

When we got back to the boats, we changed the seating arrangement because the big rapids were coming up and I didn't want the boys in the kayaks for that stretch. All 4 of our boys rode with us in Luke's boat, and I'm so glad! Mr. Hulihan got some great pictures of us going over the biggest rapids, which was definitely exciting! And surprisingly, Ammon bravely "rode the bull" at the front of the boat for that section!

After the large rapids, Edward tried riding the bull too!

And then Kanyon had to as well! During that time, the driver was swinging the boat around to give him more of a ride, and Jonah fell off the boat and into the water. So Micah, Ammon, and I jumped in for fun, too!

Edward decided to up the ante and rode the bull standing up. It completely surprised me! I would never have thought he would float the river, let alone be so daring! It was so fun to see!

Kanyon thought he wanted to take a dip in the water too (later I learned it's because he had to go pee!!), but he didn't like it, and wanted back in soon after he jumped in.

And Ammon thought he could get back in the boat just be lifting his feet up and over the edge, but he found out he had to be lifted in by someone in the boat, just like everyone else!

After the boys saw Grandpa standing on the edge of the boat, they wanted to try the standing-up bull-riding in front, too!

After being on the river for a couple of hours, we stopped at Panther Creek to get out and have lunch. It was super delicious! Rawhide has excellent food and it was an enjoyable stop for all of us (despite the abundant wasps who apparently smelled the yummy food and wanted to eat it as much as we did!).

Right after we got back in to finish the last stretch of the river for our float, our guide Luke decided to do a "burn-out". I had no idea what that was, but he spun the boat so quick in one direction that it threw both Josh and Ammon out of the boat. They both went under the boat, which made me panic because of Josh's throat, and I started screaming. Luke didn't seem too bothered, though, and thankfully, they floated up the other side of the boat after being under it. Unfortunately, they both lost their sunglasses in the fall. Josh's was a cheap pair, but Ammon's were the Nike $300 prescription pair that we bought a couple of years ago that he used for sports goggles in the winter and outdoor sunglasses in the spring and summer. That was a real bummer.

For that last stretch of the river, Micah and Isaac rode in the kayaks, and then Ammon switched Micah and rode in it at the very end (much to Micah's dismay).

This was Kanyon's face at the very end. It was a calm
stretch and he was disappointed there weren't more rapids
then! He liked it when it was exciting with white water!

We got out at Cove Creek, and Kanyon and Joel found this soft crawfish in the water at the loading dock. I'd never seen one before, and thought that was so cool! They found another hard-shelled crawfish right after that near the same spot, too.

On the way back to town, we stopped at Hulihan's again to purchase and pick up the pictures he took of us on the Pine Creek Rapids and the boys played in the gold panning station as we were doing that.

It was a truly enjoyable day! We had SO much fun, and I'm so glad we got to experience this as a whole family! I just went for my very first time a few years ago, and never thought it would be possible to afford doing it as a family, so I'm very grateful we could have this experience with our children! And Josh's mom and dad loved it so much, they want us to all go again next year!!!

Summer 2015 Top Ten

Today is September 1. How did that happen?! Time passes so quickly sometimes, doesn't it?! Especially the summer months it seems... Here's the Top Ten List we created at the beginning of June of things to do this summer:

1. Watch Jonah, Micah, and Kanyon play soccer

[completed 6/25] The boys all had a great season (which lasted all of May and June). Jonah and Micah were on the same team "Blue Dolphins" in the U-11 league. They both played the striker position, and did excellent, scoring in every game! Kanyon was also on the blue team in the U-8 League, called the "bluebirds". He played the positions of defender, forward, and goalie and was also an amazing little player!

2. Go to the Tolman extended family reunion

[completed 6/28] Aunt Louise's family hosted at a private park in Tremonton. I took the boys to it, and we ate, talked, spent time with cousins, played games, and although it was one of the hottest days this entire summer, we had a good time!

3. Watch Ammon's golf tournaments 

[completed 7/14] Ammon competed in 3 Jr. IGA tournaments in Eastern Idaho this summer. He also entered in 3 of the adult tournaments in Salmon throughout the summer as well.

4. Celebrate July 4th with the Tolman Family

[completed 7/4] Tiffany's family and Malachi came to Salmon for the July 4th weekend. We watched the parade, played in the ditch and in the yard, played games, did fireworks one night, watched the city fireworks, and waited to hear about Gideon & Alyssa's baby being born!

5. Host the Perkins Reunion

[completed 7/12] We were so excited to host the reunion for my family this year! My parents, three sisters, two brother-in-laws, and one sister-in-law and her young son came to Salmon for the reunion! We ate, floated the river, shot guns, cooked banana boats, played in the yard, and went to church. We had such a wonderful time!

6. Visit Great Grandpa Perkins

[completed 7/27] My Grandpa Perkins just turned 98 in July. Our family went to visit him in Spokane overnight. He still lives on his own, and takes good care of himself. He told me lots of stories, and I enjoyed seeing him again!

7. Go to Silverwood

[completed 7/28] We haven't been to an amusement park as a family in 5 years. Now that our youngest is taller than the average adult ride height restriction, it made all the difference for us; we didn't have to split up once! We spent two days at Silverwood: the first day at the amusement park (and thankfully it wasn't busy), and the second day at the water park. We had SO much fun as a family! It was a fabulous vacation!


8. Float the Salmon River with family 

[completed 8/7] We gave Josh's mom a guided float trip for her Christmas gift this year. It was the first time she and Edward have floated the river, and we had a truly enjoyable day floating the day stretch of the Salmon River with Rawhide Outfitters!

9. Celebrate Kala's birthday
[completed 8/14] Holy cow, I am now 36 years old!!!

10. Host a barbecue
[completed] We didn't have a large barbecue this summer like we have in years past, but we did have the Jackson family over for grilled steaks in July and the Roylance family over for grilled hamburgers in August. The only dinner we had in the yard that felt like a true barbecue (usual-style) was in August when we hosted the Elder's Quorum Prime Rib dinner in our backyard, although I'm not sure I can count that since we weren't in charge of the food this year since Josh was released from being in the Elder's Quorum Presidency a few months ago.