Fishing with Bob and Mark's New Room

The fishing wasn't great, but we had a great time!

Dad grew up fishing, but he really doesn't like it. It takes a lot of time, equipment, and patience, but worst of all, you might actually catch a fish. So Dad and the boys were very excited when Uncle Bob offered to take them out on the boat. We finally found a weekend in the summer when we could all get together. It was decided that Bob and Dad would take the kids to Strawberry Reservoir, and Mom would watch Katelynn while Steph repainted the nursery into Mark's new room.

Bob wanted an early start, so Mom had breakfast ready at 5:30 am. All the kids were wired and ready to go, and we got to the lake a little after 7 o'clock. There weren't really any people around when we launched the boat, and we started trolling almost immediately. Within five minutes, we had our first bite, so we were really excited. We weren't able to pull that fish in, and unfortunately, it was a long time before we had anymore luck. The kids didn't seem to mind, though. They had a great time casting Bob's practice pole. Each boy also took turns driving the boat. Best of all, we managed to reel in two little fish, both of which we let go.

Raymond and Seth are great cousins.

Mark and Dax love to spend time with Abby.

The grebes carried babies on their backs!

Dax was pretty intense as a driver.

Seth isn't very interested in the fishing.

Mark and Dax love it, though.

Seth got to reel in the first fish!

See that deer in the shade of the rock?

We didn't either, but Abby spotted it for us.

Abby has always been like one of our own family.

After lunch we decided to give it up and we headed for the dock. As Dad backed the truck down the dock, some threatening looking clouds rolled in. We got the kids in the truck and as Bob was hooking up the boat, the rain and hail came in buckets. He got soaked in minutes, but we made it down the mountain.

You can see Bob securing the boat and the rain pelting down.

When we got home, we checked out Stephanie's handiwork. She had painted a massive mural on the east well of the bedroom. It depicts a moose standing in a pond in front of the Tetons. Mark had requested scenes from Yellowstone and the Tetons, his favorite places, so he was thrilled. On the wall above the bed, Steph added seven smaller pictures including a wolf, an elk, bison, bears, Lower Falls, Old Faithful, and Morning Glory Pool. It turned out to be so beautiful. Sometimes we walk into the room just to check out the pictures. Mark was really excited to move into the room the next day. Now he can be in his own little corner of Yellowstone anytime he wants!

Steph painted the nursery 12 years ago and all our boys loved the farm animals on the walls.

Mom was on Katelynn duty. They had fun together.

Mom took the kids to the park the next day.

Our boys are pretty sweet with Katelynn.

They aren't getting a sister, though.

We always have fun with the Ferlans.

This is the mural on the east wall with the Tetons reflecting on Moose Ponds.

The wall above Mark's bed has some of his favorite scenes.

The colors on Lower Falls are so beautiful!

Grandpa's Hospital Party

We drove right past this fire on our way up to Grandma and Grandpa's house. 

The first weekend of August we decided to support Grandpa at his annual hospital fair, since it is his last before retiring. On the way to their house we drove right past a fire in this huge wheat field. It couldn't have been burning for very long because it looked like the firetrucks were just arriving and getting set. We were amazed to see the flames so close.

I felt so bad for the farmer. 

The Hospital carnival was a lot of fun. There were games, treats, and lots of good food. The boys enjoyed lots of bounce houses, rock climbing, bubble balls, and snowcones. Dax claimed to have four bags of cotton candy, too! Mom and Dad enjoyed the prime rib dinner and free drinks. Then Mom and Dad took turns jousting with the boys and Dax recorded the only strike of the day in big-ball bowling.

Seth loved this dragon bounce house.  

Grandma and Grandpa are so much fun!

Mark decided to give the rock climbing wall a try. 

Dax climbed, too. 

They both did really well!

Dax made it to the top. He is a natural climber! 

The boys were so glad that Grandpa invited us.

We ended up with 3 beach balls because these boys were great water gun shooters. 

It was a serious water gun!

Seth really wanted to joust with Dad.

Dad is an excellent actor!

Seth knocked him right off his feet! 

Grandma got stuck holding Grandpa's brownie for most of the night while he talked with everyone. 

Seth got his hair painted red and blue!

Dax won a prize for getting the only strike!

Seth knocked Mom over, too!

But Mom took Mark out. No way was she going to let him beat her!

On Saturday morning, we went up to the Museum of Idaho. We've been there several times, and the main event is always changing. This time it was Space themed in preparation for the upcoming eclipse. There were a lot of interactive games like packing a space shuttle, designing a colony, and landing a probe. The boys always enjoy the forest rooms at the end, too.

Mark took a nap in an astronaut bed. 

Seth pretended to eat some astronaut food. 

The older boys and Randy took a spin on the astronaut bicycle. 

The Museum of Idaho has a great children's area. Dax loves the hidden caves. 

We had a fun time in the museum.

Seth rang the museum bell! 

Finally, Grandpa took us to Rupe's for lunch. The boys love the burgers and fries, and especially the ice cream. It was a really fun weekend trip. And it was fun to have Grandma and Grandpa all to ourselves!

Yosemite Day 7

The last day was seven and a half hours of driving. We stopped in Winnemucca for lunch and Wendover for dinner. Then we made one other stop that was pretty cool. Just west of Elko there is a museum called the California Trail Center. We weren’t planning on stopping for it, but we’d been in the car so long that Dad pulled in anyway.

We were excited that it was free and that it had a Junior Ranger program. The boys immediately got to work learning about the California Trail. One of the major focuses of the museum was the Forty Mile Desert. This is an area out west of Wendover where the Humboldt River disappears into the ground. From that point, there is no water for forty miles, and it took most pioneers two to three days to cross that section. Since there was no good way to carry three days worth of water, especially considering all the people and animals that would be drinking, many people, and even more animals died on this stretch. We also learned about a phrase pioneers would use: Facing the Elephant. This meant facing your most difficult task, or your biggest fear. It had a bunch of quotes from journals using this quote.

There were lots of pioneer games to play.

We explored a big covered wagon.

Seth loves to dress up! 

The boys have collected a lot of Junior Ranger badges this year. 

The museum has some outdoor exhibits, too. We enjoyed our candy sticks next to the wagons.

We had a lot of fun at the California Trails Museum. 

We stopped at a Mexican restaurant for dinner. The food was okay.

Dax thought the salsa was too spicy!

Other than that one fun stop, Dad read books aloud to the boys, and we drove and drove and drove. Though we left Fernley by 10 o’clock, it was after 9 pm when we got in (including the time change). Everybody agreed, though, that this was one of our greatest vacations ever!