Runner Needed!!!

We are looking for another runner for the Spokane to Sandpoint relay this weekend (yeah short notice but stuff happens). It's going to be fun...so if you or anyone you know is interested let me know. The entry fee is paid and it would be only $65 for lodging for 3 nights.

The website is www.spokanetosandpoint.com. Check it out!

pictograms or pictoglyphs??

In primary today, I had my kids make a big pictoglyph (or is it pictogram?)of the Nephi/Lehi in prison story...(Helaman 5) I've always heard pictoglyphs and Matt is thinking pictogram...google image search comes up with more relevant info for pictoglyphs than pictogram. So which is it?

Anyways...I didn't think it would turn out so well but the kids did a great job.

Here's their work of art!

The Payette part 2

Saturday found us back on the Payette...this time for some white water rafting. We did the South Fork (with rapids Bronco Billy, Staircase, Giant Slalom (my favorite) ,etc.). Matt and I went with a co-worker and a friend of his (who had never made it down that section of the river without the raft dumping them all in the river...like 4 times). So we were all wondering if it would be our fate to fall in the rapids! Well the boat stayed upright but the trip wasn't without falling in! We did the trip with Idaho Whitewater Unlimited this time (we have gone with Cascade before) and the guides were great. They were pretty funny and let us do all kinds of fun things in the river that we didn't get to do before (I guess once you sign your life away on the waiver...). About the falling in part. I was playing a game of "trust" with one of the girls we went with. This is where you lock the "T" grip of your paddles together while standing on the sides of the raft and leaning back as far as you can. This is kind of ow you play...



I'm not sure if you can get away with it without someone falling in! Anyways she fell in the first time and we both fell in the second. Matt played it first with the guide and he fell in...which pretty much made me not want to play because I hate being cold but I was talked into it! I was surprised at how it didn't seem so cold....until I got back in the raft and started shivering a few minutes later...pretty much for the rest of the trip...which is apparently a good thing because it's bad news if you stop shivering;)

Matt and his buddy also got to jump off a cliff and "ride the bull" through some rapids. It was pretty fun to watch!

Here we are in all our glory:)

Starlight Mountain Theatre

I've received a few recommendations over the past few weeks to go see a show at the Starlight Mountain Theatre. So, a little spur of the moment, I got a couple of tickets for Matt and I to go watch Oklahoma. It was great! OK - maybe not Idaho Shakesphere Festival caliber - but really good nonetheless. The theatre is about an hour from Boise up in Garden Valley. It is an open air theatre and is pretty amazing how quickly that Mountain air can cool down. So...if anyone is looking for something to do one evening...I would recommend it. Nice drive...nice fresh air....fun actors...what's not to like. (Oh - the popcorn was good too!)



After the show we set out looking for a campsite. Yeah right!...Friday night at 11:00...like you're going to find one! But after a couple of tries we did! And it was the only one left! We were thinking we were all lucky (which we were) and as we were setting up our tent, a whiff from the privy let up know WHY it was the only spot left! We stayed anyway. It wasn't really THAT bad (until the sun hit it in the morning!). Ahh the results of poor planning! We were able to ride our bikes up to silver creek lookout the next day. Lots of climbing and the smoke (from California) kind of ruined the view...but it's always fun to get to the top of something! And the soak in the cool Payette was quite refreshing afterword!

So there you have it...the weekend in a nutshell:)

A week out of the heat:)

Here's a few highlights in pictures from our Cruise in the inside passage of Alaska. We left from Seattle and visited Juneau, Skagway, Tracy Arm Fjord, Ketchikan, and Victoria B.C. It was a great time and highly recommend to those who want to see great mountain/ocean scenery and wildlife (although I didn't spot a bear which I'm kind of bummed about) Oh - and the night shows and food (of course!) were all really great too!

Also - here is a video of our "wave pool" on one of the more interesting days on the cruise. The ocean was just a little choppy - let's just say the sanitization crew was out in full force on that day. I'm not one to get car sick or sea sick so it was actually kind of fun trying to get around.

So there you have it...a great way to get out of the heat! Luckily we have a cold front moving in. It should cool it down to all of 90 degrees haha!

Happy Birthday Caitlyn....yesterday!

My baby sis is now a teenager! Yikes! At least my parents have been there done that before! Right?

So some things I love about Caitlyn....

She ALWAYS answers the phone (even after one ring)....no phone screening there!

She is fun to tease...don't know if she enjoyes it so much but still fun.

She has the cutest freckles on her cheeks EVER! Look out when her sweet 16th rolls around boys!

She runs in track....what's not to love about THAT?

She has a sweet spirit and strives to do right when everyone else around her isn't (Never change girlie!)

I'm greatful to have Caitlyn as my little sis. I wish I got to see her more often! Love Ya!

I wonder why they call it Fanny Bridge??

What you see when you drive across....

What you see when you show YOUR fanny!

The bridge was right outside of Taho City. The trout were huge. There were little "candy machines" with fish food so we fed them. It was so funny to see them jump out of the water to get the food. Wish I had a fishing pole..... :)

So the race was a good time. Yeah..... 178 miles a good time?? But it really was a fun experience. Especially running in the dark as I don't make a habit of doing that often. We all did pretty well for our individual projected times. Not too competitive as a team but it's the fun and challange of it that counts. Now some of us are planning on doing Spokane to Sandpoint relay. I'm not sure if it is a first time event. I can't seem to find out any information on last years event. So who knows...maybe we'll be making history!

At the finish! Go CMARS!