From the classical to country - and everything in between

We had a busy, busy June. And it hasn't stopped!
The High School boys' soccer team put on a soccer camp for the younger kids. This is Peter and Libby all geared up and ready to go!

I got bucked off my horse, May, on Wednesday, June 17th. We were riding along the side of the street in the neighborhood behind ours when she got spooked by Cookie, the 3-month old filly, and started to shy onto the street. Then she started to buck, and off I went onto the asphalt, of all things. Bruce later commented that he thought there was a belt on her saddle that was too tight underneath. Anyway, I got the wind knocked out of me, but I got up and started to walk. My first thought was, I need to go to Karen's house! She lives right by there, and she is an essential oils guru. Just a few weeks prior to that I had seen her do a world of good on Jesse, who had a really sore tailbone from falling in the garage.

I walked to her house, about a block away, in pretty bad shape. Well, I could walk, but it was all I could do to concentrate on that and get to her house. Unfortunately, she wasn't home, but some other members of our ward were home across the street, so they took me home. I had Bruce put some PanAway on me (a Young Living Essential Oil), and I could feel the ache drain away from that spot. I was very grateful. I was able to sleep that night, and the next day Karen came and did the Raindrop Technique on me. It made it so I was totally functional the next day when I needed to be. Once again, I was so grateful.

Thursday night Peter and Libby had Showmanship Practice for 4-H.
Our wonderful project leader, Kevin, and his daughter Kelsey, helped them get ready for showmanship at the fair.
Friday and Saturday was the annual Idaho Youth Games. I coached two soccer teams - Mary's and Peter's, and we had a fun time. Here are some highlights in photos from the Friday night Fun Night.Here is the long process of trying to get these three to smile all at once for a picture. Nearly impossible.
Jora and Bailey were on Mary's team,
and Jay and Jaren were on Peter's team.
Jesse's team won 2nd place in their division! Veronica, Maddy, Sarah and Allie are her soccer buddies.This is my friend Karla, who Libby has nicknamed "The Master of Soccer". Our children play soccer together, and we have become good friends sitting on the sidelines together the last few years. She just finished a round of radiation for the cancer she was diagnosed with, so I was really glad to see her and get this picture with her.
Here is Libby on the rock climbing wall. The guide said, "Has she taken a rock-climbing class somewhere?"

She must have climbed this wall at least a dozen times.

This is Josh and Joseph racing up the wall. Josh wants you to know that "Joseph started before me." :)


And here is Mary climibing the wall too.


Bruce went fishing with Dave, the fishing guru, on Friday night and Saturday. Dave told me later that he was done about four hours earlier than Bruce, but Bruce would not stop fishing. On the way home, late at night, Bruce was driving, and Dave said, "Are you tired?" Bruce replied, "No, I'm all right." So Dave said, "Then why are you listening to head-banging rock, hugging the steering wheel and going 45 mph? Let me drive!" We had a good laugh about that. But NO SALMON. That stunk.

On Monday we packed up and went camping with friends to Sage Hen Reservoir. We've been going there every year (except for last year when we thought we were moving) since 2002. This year we had Fred & Amy, Calvin & Elizabeth, Todd & Kristie, Greg & Rachelle, Gary & Tami, and Jesse and Britani up there with us. It was SO FUN. We love this trip.

The Saturday after we got home from camping, we went downtown to a nice restaurant and Josh, Joseph and Jesse were part of the Youth Pianist Showcase for the day. They got to play on the piano for the restaurant guests, and received a free lunch and about $8 in tips (each) to boot! Grandma and Grandpa (Bruce's parents) happened to be in town, so they came with us. It was just a delightful experience. But one sad thing - I forgot to get a picture of Josh while he was playing. Can you see a big capital L on my forehead for LAME!! Sorry Josh...

I also had one of my other students play at the restaurant, so that was fun too.

That night, I took Mary and Peter over to our project leader's house for another showmanship practice. The next day I wondered at the variety in my life. In the morning to be going to a fancy restaurant and then in the evening going to a farm and working with sheep. I'm glad to have that kind of diversity, and glad my kids have it.

2008 Family Pack Trip - Day 3 (part 1)

To see the report on the previous days of our Pack Trip, see my old blog. Eventually, I'll get it imported over, but that's where it is for now.

Early Thursday morning found Bruce, Mary, Peter and Libby out fishing on the lake. I have a video of it on my previous post, and here are some still shots of the kids fishing.

Joseph came out to fish also (a long time after the others were up - just to be clear). He had a bite on his first cast. Where is the justice in that???

After the successful early morning fishing, we had French Toast for breakfast. We didn't fry the fish - we saved that for later.

While we're camping, we string a long nylon rope with small loop holes in it across a wide area and hook the llamas into it so they can graze. Once a day we take them to a water source. Llamas need a surprisingly small amount of water - they take a few sips, if that, and they're done. I really like this shot of our llamas. It's always fun to look up and see them in this setting "in the wild".

After our relaxing day on Thursday, Friday was the day for our big hike to Patrol Ridge. We saddled up Achumani, put supplies for lunch, water and emergencies in his panniers, and headed out. Our first stop (after going down the wrong trail and retracing our steps) was on the other side of General Lake at an old log where we took a picture of the kids from last year. Here's 2007 compared to 2008:

The 2008 is a little deceiving because the camera is zoomed in closer, so naturally they look bigger, but you can still see the difference - they grow up a lot in a year!

And then, it's up the trail we go.

Of course, I have to have a shot with the yellow wildflowers all around. Love it!!

The hike up the switchbacks on this trail was a piece of cake because Libby was at the front and she sat down about every two minutes. This was just about perfect for me, while Bruce, Josh and Joseph were going crazy. This is why family life is good for character building! Libby was pulling the "I'm the weakling" card, and we had to work on encouraging her. She wasn't that tired, but she was sure workin' it. After some serious cajoling (and some spanks!) we got to the top of the trail.

After reaching that point, we hiked for another 1/2 mile or so along a narrow trail until we got to this view:

Ah, there's nothing like reaching the top and seeing the view! It's a life lesson that is invaluable, and one that I need to learn over and over, it seems.

It's hard to describe how "in the wild" it feels to be up on this ridge. We didn't see a soul during the whole hike, and we didn't last year either. You can look for miles around and not see any sign of another human. If you want alone - this is it! It's exhilarating and spooky at the same time.

We sat down and ate lunch here. This is the sad tale, because I forgot to pack the mayo, so we had to have tuna sandwiches with butter (yuck).

These next pictures are the classic example of six active children who will not stand still for a picture! You'll have to choose the one you like best.




Here's a good sample of my zoom lens, which I really like.

It goes from here:

To here:

Pretty cool, huh? Of course, Josh thinks this picture is "COOL" man!

Well, I still have a ton of pictures to post from this hike, and the rest of the day, so I will save this for another post. Thanks for sticking with me for this long!

By the way, the word for sticky in Spanish is ... anyone know? I just learned it today. I'll be checking the comments, and no looking in a dictionary either - only answers from your memory accepted!

New Blog

Welcome to my new blog! I wasn't satisfied with my last one, so I'm trying blogspot to see how it goes.

This video is an example of some of the things that make my life happy. It shows what a great person I married - he's stunningly handsome, he adores the children and loves to teach them and see them accomplish things, and he loves the outdoors, among other things. And it highlights how fun it is to have darling children who are learning and growing! And it shows the beautiful world that the Lord created for us - that brings me a great deal of joy also.



Thanks for visiting my blog! Hope you visit again soon.