Fourth Festivities

July 4th was on a Wednesday this year. Having it midweek means it stretched out the celebrating over an entire week. We started the previous Friday, on June 30, and finished celebrating as a family on Friday the 6th. 

The annual Salmon River Days kicked off the celebrations. It was a wonderful, and long, parade. Kathy saved us a spot by the Mahoney House, where we the procession from the lovely shade! Some of the boys' friends watched it with us, too, which was nice! 

On Saturday night, we went to the Demolition Derby. It was ran by the Eagles for the first time this year, rather than the Spokes and Chrome Club, so it was a bit different and rather unorganized than usual. There were hardly any cars in it (only 3 big cars with more Herbie Derbie smaller cars), but tons of motorbike and 4-wheeler balloon busting. It was also more expensive than normal, which is kind of a disappointment. However, Josh's ticket number was pulled out of the raffle, so we won a free case of pop, which was a bonus!

On Independence Day, Tiffany's family arrived. It was beautiful weather, and we ate and played outside for several hours. Edward and Kathy bought some bounce houses to use for family reunions, so they set them up, and we set up our racquetball net, croquet set, and new cornhole game in the yard to play with as well.

That night, our family was invited to the Jackson's for dinner, games, and fireworks. We went to purchase some fireworks to take to their house, but unfortunately the firework stand was closed due to selling out!! Several of the other guests that came were in the same pickle. Thankfully, Eli had plenty of giant sparklers to share! It was comical watching the kids/teenagers with those things! Dinner was SUPER delicious: there was a smorgasborg of good things to choose from, and the homemade golf hole and cornhole games were fun for the guys and kids, too! We could barely see the city fireworks display from their house, but we weren't too bothered. I personally am tired of driving up the old dump hill and sitting in sagebrush to watch the show and wish they would pick a new venue!! I miss laying out on park grass to watch the fireworks display above my eyes.

On July 5th, we went floating in our innertubes/inflatables as a family down the Salmon River that afternoon. The sun was shining, and the river speed was just right! It was very enjoyable! We had dinner as a family that evening, and our own fireworks/sparkler show after sundown.

Josh and I had ridden the motorbike out to the Amish store that afternoon, and on the way there, his phone dropped out of his pocket. It hit my foot, but at the time, I didn't know what it was and for some reason thought it to be a bird or something we must've hit, but I didn't say anything. When we arrived at the store, Josh realized his phone was gone, so we left after I bought a few items, and we left. I told him I knew right where it was--well, the general vicinity anyway. We drove to that spot, parked, and about a .5 mile section of the road's borrow pit on foot, but couldn't find it. I kept calling it, so that we could hear it ring if we couldn't see it in the deep grass, but to no avail. There was one last section that it could've been in, but Josh was stressed out about being to dinner on time, so we drove home to eat the family meal. Thankfully, I'd already made my salads earlier in the day, and although we were a little late, the boys had taken the food down to the meal for me. After the meal, we enlisted the boys help and drove back the 10+ miles to the last section that we hadn't looked, and I started calling the phone again. This time, someone answered. Her father had found the phone, but he didn't know how to answer it when I repeatedly called earlier, so he had taken it to his daughter. That had happened during the hour gap from when I had last called to this time. We met up in town, and got the phone back, and shockingly, there wasn't any damage!! That was lucky!! He was so glad to have his phone back!

On Friday the 6th, we had a memorial service for Josh's younger brother Caleb. He died 35 years ago when he was 18 months old of cancer. At that time, the family lived in Magic Valley. A short time later, they moved back to Salmon, and Edward and Kathy have been dreaming for a long time of having his body exhumed and moved to the Salmon Cemetary, and finally they made that dream come true this year. They had a graveside service to dedicate the grave. Kathy and Tiffany talked and shared memories and insight about his life, Malachi and Molly sang a song, and Edward dedicated the grave. It was a lovely service.

That afternoon, we ate a big meal, and played outside together for several hours. Tiffany's family left that evening, and Gideon and Malachi's family left the next day. Amanda and Ryan came to visit that evening--Ryan had never been out to our place before. We sat around the yard for a while, then had a bonfire with goodies, and some of Josh's family joined us for that, too.

Since we were already at the cemetery,
we visited his grandparents' graves, too.

This was the first time we'd seen Gideon & Alyssa's
daughter Vivienne. She's adorable! I got to hold her
a lot, which was super fun for me!

The racquetball game had a TON of usage! It was so fun to watch all the kiddos
play it with each other so much! 

I love to play games!!! We also played croquet, and I lost big-time to Mal!

I kind of liked spreading out the festivities this year; it felt more relaxed! The holiday celebrations this year were a fabulous mixture of family, friends, food, and fun--the perfect combination!

Summer Project #2: the deck

Our deck was built in 2011. We've loved it and we use it all the time! The last time we sanded and stained it was 2012, and it badly needed to be done again! However, neither Josh nor I enjoys the task of sanding that's so essential to do before staining. 

Our friends the Oliverson's used a product on their deck last summer that they raved about--they said it didn't need to be sanded beforehand, and it seals the wood for 10 years. It sounded like just what we wanted! At the end of June, I purchased a giant 5 gallon container of it at Home Depot (it's called DeckOver). The instructions were very particular washing the wood beforehand, the size of roller brush to use, certain weather conditions to apply the product in, and specific amounts of drying time. I wanted to make sure I followed all the instructions, since this was a new product that neither Josh nor I had used before. 

So, when I had time, and the weather was right at the beginning of July, I cleared all the furniture off the deck, washed it all down (including scrubbing off all the bird poop), and waited 24 hours for it to dry before applying the first layer of coating. However, when I went out to get started the next morning, I noticed that Josh had moved the sprinklers when he left for work early that morning, and it was spraying the stairs to the deck. I was infuriated, and knew that I'd have to wait another day to start the task--which would then interfere with guests coming for the July 4th holiday. After I cussed him out, and he apologized (He said when he left to go to work, the water wasn't touching the deck. The water comes from a pump and it can surge and increase pressure or drop pressure consistently, so I realized it totally wasn't all his fault after talking to him.), I decided to work on minor tasks associated with the deck instead, as I was gung-ho ready for a project day already. 

I took some larger nails, and started poking all the dirt, leaves, and build-up that was in the cracks between the boards until everything was totally cleared out. It was a rather tedious task, but I'm glad I did it prior to putting the thick coating on--as it would've stuck to some of the gunk in between the cracks, and the deck wouldn't have had proper drainage anymore. Also, there was some water damage along the base of the house that borders the deck because of a broken gutter we've had and excess water leakage had occurred, peeling away the paint on the house in several spots. I pulled off all the peeling paint, sanded some of the base surface, and repainted two coats onto the damaged areas. I also trimmed up the bushes and trees along the northern border of the deck so that when I did paint the coating on, the leaves wouldn't interfere or get stuck to the freshly painted deck and railing. By the time Josh got home from work that afternoon, I was a lot less mad--working seems to help my mind focus and de-stress! 

So, the following morning, I started the task of putting the new coating on. It was super thick, and very time-consuming. And I was sick to my stomach once the coating started to dry. I thought it would be a lot darker, and so did Josh. When we bought the tub of coating, we thought it would match the picture on the can, but it didn't. Instead, it matched a little tiny rectangle at the base that showed the color of the coating. It wasn't at all the color we'd envisioned or wanted--it was a very light gray color, not a rustic brown like we'd been wanting. I didn't know what to do--the 5 gallon containers aren't sold locally, and it was $175 for the bucket, and since it had already been opened, we couldn't just take it back. I continued to finish the entire surface (what else was I to do?), which took me about 4 hours. It requires two coatings with 4 hours of drying time in between, so about the time I finished the first coating, I started on the second coating. Thankfully, by this time, Josh was done with work and had come home, and he started helping me. By then, the heat of the afternoon sun was directly upon us, and the directions specifically say NOT to apply it in direct sunlight. It dried SO quickly, and was so thick to put on, that it was difficult to apply it before the paint dried up in the tub that we dipped our rollerbrushes in. We had enough left over after both coatings on the deck to apply some to the handrailings and steps, too. We let it dry all night, and then moved the furniture back on the following morning. It was hard to get used to the sight of the lighter deck at first, but we're adjusted to it now, and we don't mind it so much. We're just glad we don't have to apply any stain or sealing coatings to the deck for hopefully another 10 years!! 

The deck before we began this project--it was way overdue for a new staining. The
railings held the stain nicely, but all the surfaces that are flat (the floor and the top
of the hand railing) were very weathered after so many years of being untreated.

The picture on the tub (ON THE LEFT)
is the color we thought we were getting.
The little rectangle (ON THE BOTTOM)
is the actual color. It's rather
misleading, don't you think?!

See the difference between the old stained wood (ON THE LEFT)
versus the newly coated woo (ON THE RIGHT). It was SO much lighter!

We had to block off the steps so the animals
and kids wouldn't make tracks in the wet coating.
The cat still managed to get on the deck, but
since it's so lightweight, no damage was done.

Letting it dry all night

The end result!

June 2018 Randoms

June 4: I had a teacher work day on Monday, June 4. Exactly one year ago, I began moving into my classroom at Terreton Elementary,and now one year later, I wrapped up my first year of teaching homeroom by packing it all up for the summer! The classrooms across the hall are getting renovated, so they had to move their things into both of the 2nd grade classrooms. It's weird to think that when I first started moving in a year ago, it looked eerily familiar to this sight that I left behind on this day!  

June 5: I freaking love hammocks!!! This is what I LOVE to do the most during the summer months:

And I really like when Josh sits/lays in the
hammock by me! It's just as relaxing for him!

June 8: This was my first strawberry picking of the season from our garden. This is only the second time I've ever been able to pick strawberries from our garden in the many years we've grown them. After much trial and change over the past few years (including adding a net over the top of the plants, cutting down a tree, and transplanting the plants to a different spot), we finally achieved some success! This is the most we've ever gotten before, and it was exciting! They were so yummy and juicy! I was hoping there would be many more pickings throughout this season, but I think I finally understand why I never have much luck with strawberries in my garden: because this particular breed ONLY grows strawberries ONCE a year!!! It's a June-bearing type rather than an ever-bearing variety. Totally makes sense now, but I always thought it was due to other reasons. Next year, I'm digging them up and planting the kind that I really want!!!

June 11: Ammon was mowing at the golf course in the morning, and as he was going up the hill to the upper teebox on nine, the wheels spun on the wet grass, and he spun out and the mower went into the ditch. Josh's employees always seem to land the mowers in the ditch! However, after four years of working at the golf course, this was actually Ammon's first time doing it! Josh put these pictures on the "Employee Wall of Shame" (aka the golf course facebook pag)e, and Ammon took a lot of crap from some of the golfers over the next few weeks about it!

June 13: My sister surprised me with these in the mail. It was a super fun surprise! Trina had surprised us by coming to Ammon's graduation party in Salmon at the beginning of June. While she was here, we got talking about books. She and I both share a love of Roald Dahl, and I told her I've been on the hunt for the book "Fantastic Mr. Fox" all year for my classroom. Every time I went into a thrift store (at least 2 dozen times over the past year), I'd search for it, but never got lucky. I got home to find a package waiting for me with several Roald Dahl books inside my classroom library, including the highly coveted, eluded book! I was so thrilled with the surprise!

June 13: Micah got stung by a bee on his cheek while riding his motorbike with friends. He swells up like his dad!!

June 15: I took Micah to the doctor to get some steroids to help with the swelling, because after 2 days of applying topical and oral antihistamines, nothing was working!

June 18: Josh and I both appreciate beauty in the world around us! Josh captured some low-lying clouds on the mountains overlooking the golf course, and I was impressed by the amount of blossoms on this year's lily plant in our flower garden!

June 24: We seem to not get enough sleep anymore!!! Aging isn't all it's cracked up to be...

Josh on the church lawn during Sunday School. Naps are lovely!

Resting on the deck, basking in the sun's glory on Sunday afternoon.

Okay, I was staging sleeping in the first photo, but Josh wasn't ;)

June 26: The twins hauled hay bales for Grandpa again this summer. On this particular day, they were in a hurry so we could go to town and open checking accounts, and Micah was driving. He got the hay truck stuck in the borrow pit next to the road, and couldn't get the truck to back up anymore due to the wet, thick grass. Josh took his truck down and pulled out the hay truck with it. Micah floored it in the process, and ended up hitting the hay bale right behind him!! It was funny listening to the twins argue over the whole ordeal--they basically argue about everything--because Jonah kept thinking he could do it better, and he kept telling Micah so, but Jonah actually backed the car up into another car in the church parking lot just a few weeks earlier, which Micah recalled for him!

First Camping Trip of 2018

Usually, our first camping trip of the season is in the spring--like March or April, but that did not happen this year. Our first family camping trip was long overdue by the time the end of June came around!!! Josh and the younger 3 boys had been camping with the scouts in March, and I had gone camping with the YW earlier that week, but we hadn't gone together. As soon as I returned from camp, I told Josh that I was ready to go camping as a family--the relaxing kind of camping (not the kind with crafts and activities and skits and group bonding activities and songs and kitchen and bathroom cleanup--don't get me wrong, it was fun, but I was ready to decompress!). He got some new trailer tires right away, and we went camping on Saturday the 23rd, the very next day after I'd returned from YW camp!!

We went up to Williams Lake, our usual go-to for the first camping trip of the season. We like it because it's close to home, has a nice campground, and a good public access to the lake. We set up camp and headed to the lake. The dock was pretty busy, so we pulled over along the road, and trekked all our water toys down to the lake on the trail that leads to a private beach access. We were able to take out Kanyon's new kayak for the first time! He'd gotten it as a Christmas present and it had been in storage all winter/spring. It was kind of chilly, so we didn't stay long on the lake, but it was nice to spend time relaxing with the family on the water!!

While we were camping, Josh inspected the trailer and realized there was more damage done to it than just a blown tire, like I had originally thought. It not only broke the frame, but it sent rubber shards through the insides of the kitchen cabinets, drawers, shelves, and it broke the wheel cover surrounding the tires. We knew we would have to fix it all before our next camping trip.

We spent the night at the campground on Saturday, and left the trailer at the campground and headed into church on Sunday. Ammon was speaking, and we didn't want to miss it. We headed BACK to the campsite on Monday after Josh was done working. We'd never done a split-night camping trip before, but it worked out well for us! Our stuff was still there, and we once again headed straight to the dock. This time, there wasn't a ton of people (since it was a weekday), and it was much nicer weather, so we were there for several hours. 

Kanyon loved floating around in his new kayak! Josh and I took the inflatable canoe for a stroll, and Josh decided to jump off the high rock into the lake. We rowed over to the rock, and he got out and climbed up. It was all fun and games until he tried to get back into the boat after his jump, and we ended up tipping over. I couldn't get back into the boat--no matter what we tried. I just don't have the upper body strength to pull myself up and in while being in the water. So, Josh rowed over to where Micah was, and I held onto the watercraft from the outer handles and floated along. Micah had gotten out to jump in the lake from a rock cliff not too far from us, but was having difficulty getting back in his tube. He stood on a rock, got in the canoe, and I took the tube from him and managed to get myself in. That was quite the adventure! Josh and I had a little fight over it all--I'd been holding all of his stuff in my hands when he'd tried to get in the boat and accidentally tipped us over, and I screamed in the process. He didn't think I needed to scream, but my hands were full, and my brand new flip flops fell off and I thought I'd lost them forever, but I couldn't grab for them without losing everything in my hands, so I just panicked and screamed instead. Then he yelled at me to stop screaming, then I yelled back about my shoes. It was quite the scene that I can laugh at now...only because my flip flops (unbeknownst to me) floated to the top of the water, not sank, and all was well in the end!!!

We spent Monday night at the campground, and packed up camp on Tuesday morning and left for home. Mountain lakes are very calming for me, and spending down time with my family: swimming, playing card games, and hanging around the campfire was just what I needed!!!