Yellowstone!!!

Yellowstone is SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!! It was just so cool! We loved it!

Old Faithful!

Lower Falls

Buffalo Stampede - COOL!

Leaving the Park because we kept forgetting every time we went in! I have SO MANY pictures of Yellowstone, so I tried to only grab the most interesting.....

Grand Tetons

After Yellowstone, we drove through the Grand Tetons on the way to Martin's Cove. They were SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! We stopped for lunch on the side of the lake, and then visited a Gift Shop before we had to move on. I was NOT ready to leave these mountains - I could have looked at them all day - just so majestic!

Skipping rocks after lunch....

This is a side view, so it looks different from the traditional view.

4th of July at Martin's Cove

My parents took their P-day (preparation day) on Monday so they could show us around Martin's Cove.

Here we are at the front entrance gate.

....by the pioneer museum....

We wanted to let the kids pull the handcart, but we didn't do the whole thing - too far this time. So, they pulled it across Veil Bridge, and then we walked into Devil's Gate - it's a landmark the pioneers would look for where the river goes between the rock.

After the bridge

.....walking with Oscar! He's kind of a celebrity there. He was the previous owners (of the land) dog, and every summer he walks back to the ranch and goes on the treks with the kids. He usually picks out someone who needs a little extra help and sticks with them. He picked Kelcie when he went with us. I think this dog it really connected somehow to the Spirit because there are so many stories of him protecting the kids on the trek. If you want to read about him, here is a link to a story they did in the Friend magazine: http://lds.org/friend/2009/07/oscar-trail-leader?lang=eng&query=oscar

Devil's Gate

Talin and Kelcie's turn on the way back.

On Veil Bridge, we saw some friends from Medical School that we haven't seen in 9 years!!! I've often wondered about them, and it was so fun to see them!!!!

Oscar with Kelcie and Grandpa

Then, my parents took us up into Martin's Cove - you can really see how it would be a protection in the weather. It's really beautiful up in there and such a special spirit just knowing all that happened there and throughout their whole journey to Salt Lake.

Missionaries at the Cove.

They have a spot where you can cross the Sweetwater River (another pioneer story where 4 men helped the whole party across the icy cold water, and then ended up dying because of their sacrifice), so my dad took those who wanted to in just a little. Talin thought this was great!

Baby robin's in the axel of the Mission Truck - they haven't moved it in weeks so they won't hurt them. Lafe got an awesome picture!

At Fort Seminoe hiding in the TP from the rain - ha, ha!

To complete the experience, we had to visit the Blacksmith shop! He tried to "shoe" Jamie - he, he!

4th of July!

We were pretty excited that we got to spend Independence Day at Independence Rock!!! That's the landmark where all the Pioneers knew if they made it here by July 4th, then they would be fine to make it to Salt Lake before the snows. The Martin Handcart Company didn't even leave Iowa until the end of July.

On the rock - I was sliding.........

Lafe and the kids went around the other side and climbed up to the top!

They had posted a flag for the 4th, which was really neat because it was gone when we drove by the next day. The kids are jumping?

Instead of fireworks, they had a fireside on the correct way to retire a flag - really neat. They had cut it up and did the ceremony for it, and then we burned the pieces. It was a really neat experience.

Mount Rushmore

We headed to South Dakota - when else are you going to be that close to South Dakota??!!? By the way, the Black Hills of South Dakota are just BEAUTIFUL!!! We got there in time to go to Mt. Rushmore to see the night lighting, and it was so worth it! When we first arrived, you couldn't even see the mountain! We just assumed where it was because of the entrance to the park. Then, the cloud moved and we got this beautiful picture.

I love the row of flags with the mountain behind it! The kids loved reading the different states and when they joined the union.

That night, they had a special guest at the lighting - the last known living worker on Mt. Rushmore! It was his 90th birthday!!! Really cool - and fun guy!

Night lighting of the monument. While we were waiting for the lighting, we saw some good friends of ours from Mesa (Adams and Syreks) walk down to find a seat - we had a blast talking to them afterwards! They were doing to same trip, just behind us!

Once again, through the flags.

Here we are the next morning at the park - Literally seconds after this picture was taken, it started to rain.......and rain, and rain, and rain!!!!! So, we went souvenier shopping at the museum and ran with ponchos on our heads to the other store.

It finally stopped raining just long enough for us to do the hike under the monument - it was beautiful! We LOVED Mt. Rushmore!!!!!!!!!!

Chief Crazy Horse

Just south of Mount Rushmore, there is a monument in the making - Chief Crazy Horse. It's going to be HUGE!!! All of Mt. Rushmore can fit inside just the head of this one. So far only the head is done - if you look really hard on the mountain you can see it. The foreground statue is what it is going to look like.

My monkeys on the "Nature Gate" - Every animal you can think of on this gate!

I Love to See the Temple

I'm the Primary Chorister in our ward at church, and this month we're learning the song, "I Love to See the Temple". I'm so exctied, I had to share my idea!!! First of all, most of the kids already know this song - which I love because it's one of my favorites! So, I'm first showing a slideshow of kids in the primary at the temple (if it works ???) to remind them, and then they had to put the song together in order to build a temple Here's what it should look like when it's done!!!
I don't remember what it's called, but I did the words with pictures for as many as I could - that way junior can do it, too, and it makes it more challenging and fun for senior. Wish me luck!!!

He's SWIMMING!!!!!!!

This was the summer! (I decided that for him :) ) I NEEDED him to learn to swim and he wouldn't let me teach him - at all! So, I signed him up for swim lessons with a lady that my brother and Lafe's sister went to, and she was GREAT!!! He has completley transformed in the water! From screaming if I tried to take him off the step to practice, to wearing us out because he wants to be underwater ALL the time!!!

I missed the better picture, but he swam all the way out to Miss Judy, and then in this picture over to Ryan.
Floating......

SOOOOO glad he's decided this is a good thing........although, this does put him in the SCARY stage because he's over-confident so I have to watch him SUPER close! Hopefully, he'll keep progressing..........

They're up!

This morning they put up some trial flags from Ethan's Eagle Project. They hung some up before, but they were on an overpass, so ADOT said no. Plus, one bracket broke. So, this made a better bracket, and hung them up by the director's house so she could keep an eye on them for the trial. It was neat - they had Ethan lead the Pledge and the mayor came.

Aren't they pretty!
Here's Ethan with Lee, the director of the program, and our Mayor!!!

First Week of Summer.....

So, it was the first week of summer, and I just had to document all the goings on around here!

Remember our kittens?.....These aren't them. Our neighbor found a stray's kittens in her backyard and so we brought them in to see if they'd nurse from our mama cat - she wouldn't have anything to do with them.......at first. So, I called shelters, but they were all full - cause I was done with kittens - our's were about to go to homes, and I really didn't want to nurse them myself! Well, we got them to bottle-feed and then, after about 3 days, our mama started to nurse them and take care of them! But, she doesn't have much milk left, so we still feed them every once in a while. They're cute and getting more used to us - I didn't want them to be more strays. This one is Rainy.....

...and this is Angel and V - Angel has two spots on her back that look like wings, and V has a white "V" on the back of his neck. Anyone want a kitten???
I was thinking this summer I would put out an activity for a day, and then a movie day, a treat day, etc. Well, on Tuesday, Laura got these out with a friend and it has lasted ALL WEEK!!! Kids come and go and they just keep making them! It's been SO FUN!!!!!

We played a lot of this.......new game for the summer because I heard it was way fun and Talin can even play it!

Some of this........Summer Reading Program

SWIM TEAM!!! Laura and Kelcie started Swim Team this week and had their first meet yesterday - they both place 6th in their heats.

Ummmm...........this was Erin........."playing" with her siblings.......

Erin finished her Crosstitch of the Temple - one of her 10 hour projects for Personal Progress.

After making a bunch of Blackberry Jam - our favorite! - we decided to try making Blackberry Pie! REALLY EASY and SO YUMMY!!!!!!

I finished MY cross stitch!!!!!!! O.k., I've had this so long I literally can't remember when I started it! My best guess is about 12 years ago.......but I finished it! It matches what I want to do in my kitchen. And......I already have another one - I pulled it out, and it'll probably take me another 12 years - it's difficult! but beautiful!

This kids had a "homework burning" - Ethan's idea! It was actually really fun - might end up a tradition!

Erin brought these home from school from her last day of Sculpture (she was in school two more days than the other kids) and the kids enjoyed making their own sculptures out of them!

So, that was our first week - with LOTS of playing and running around!