Gem Lake

We are normally rafting on the Lower Salmon river over the Labor Day weekend.  But we had a little change of plans this year and were able to do some fun things closer to home.  Today we packed lunch and headed toward the Cabinet Mountains to hike to Gem Lake.

 

It was a fun and beautiful hike.  But the best part is that the trail was lined from top to bottom with huckleberries. 

 

They were ripe and ready to be picked. We grazed going up and did some serious picking coming down.  We talked about all of the good things we could do with the berries we collected and decided on some homemade huckleberry ice cream.  Yum!

Oats

What do we know about growing oats?  Nothing!  Except that our local county extension agent recommended that oats would be the best way to get rid of weeds and revitalize our (former) horse pasture.  So we tilled, planted and waited.  I'm sure the neighbors were all laughing as they drove by and saw us seeding with walk along lawn seeders.  Oh well, we have the prettiest oats on the road.  They have choked out a lot of the weeds and are now turning a nice golden brown.  The kids have a great time playing hide-and-seek in them and the chickens love it when we bring some home for them to eat.

Horse Camp

The girls were able to attend Horse Camp in Nibley again this summer.  My childhood friend and neighbor, Amy, is always willing to take my girls and cousin Natalie on a new horse adventure each summer.  Five days of catching, grooming, saddling, riding, feeding and watering.  And how about a few crafts, picnic lunch and swimming in the canal thrown in at the end?  Doesn't that sound like most girls' dreams?

Even Izzy was able to get a few rides in.

 

Their favorite horses, Rusty, Rufus and Flash (Peppy isn't pictured) were loaded up for trail riding.



 The girls rode in the pasture and fields around Amy's farm.  This year they also learned how to herd and cut (remove one from the herd) cattle.

On the last day they loaded up the horses to take them on a trail ride up Green Canyon.  This is a first and the girls really enjoyed it... despite seeing a rattlesnake on the trail!

Thanks for the great memories each summer Amy!

Seattle

Tia and Yuki's wedding brought us to Seattle at the end of July. It was a wonderful wedding and a fun reception. Yuki will be a great addition to our family and we are so happy for Tia (my brothers' daughter).

The wedding was also a great excuse to become Seattle tourists for a few days.  Kirk had to fly home to be the responsible part of our family while Mike, Molly and I hit the town with the kids.  We fit as much as we possibly could into a few days of sightseeing.  The kids were all troopers - walking miles and miles and foregoing naps, quiet time, regular bedtime and other normal activities to see the sights.

On Sunday we spent the evening at Ballard Locks.  One of my favorite spots in Seattle.  All of the boats were coming in for the weekend and it was fun to see them up close.

Monday we started at the space needle everyday and ventured from there.  The first day we took the monorail into downtown.


First to Pike's Place Market for gourmet Macaroni & Cheese from Beecher's, pastries from Le Panier (my favorite part), deliciously fresh but overpriced fruit, lots of people watching and window shopping at all of the fun vendors.

In the afternoon we hit the aquarium.  The river otters were entertaining.

For dinner we took the kids to Genki Sushi for a new experience.  The food comes past your table on conveyor belt. You take what you want and pay by the plate.  Maren was quoted as saying 'This is the best restaurant ever!'.  Not everyone agreed with her but everyone was brave to try something new.   

The next day we started at the Space Needle again.  While the younger kids explored the fun things outside the Pacific Science Center, I took the older girls to see the King Tut exhibit.  It was fascinating.  We also walked the Olympic Sculpture Park.

Then it was off to the Ferry for a afternoon trip to Bainbridge Island. Seattle is so beautiful and it was so fun to see it with Mike and Molly and their fun kids.

We didn't leave without a visit to see the Troll under the bridge.  Luckily the girls didn't wake him up even after crawling on top of his head.

Clark Fork Rafting

We spent another amazing July 4th weekend rafting and camping in Montana's Alberton Gorge.  Great family and friends always make the trip memorable.  This year we had warm weather, great rapids and lots of fun. 

This year we mixed it up with a little cliff jumping.

There were plenty of kids to be found playing and enjoying each other.

A few of the favorite non-river activities included archery and pine cone launching

Thanks to everyone who joined us and made it such a great trip!
And thanks to Verna for some of the photos!

Painting

The color decision was made and I have started painting the farmhouse!  Rosemary was kind enough to volunteer her help and we began the project today.  We were able to paint three sides of the house (none of the garage) with one coat. Right now it looks like lipstick red which is not what we wanted.  With a little drying and another coat, it should look like this beautiful color:

Behr Dozen Roses

Tomorrow... a second coat, maybe some trim paint and possibly some red on the garage!