an afternoon at Rainbow Lake

We spent the afternoon playing at Rainbow Lake.

Highlights included when a friend lost our rented oar

Jake and Thomas R climb on a paddle board

and when Lander not only found the submerged oar, 

but a few other toys to go along with it!

Lander holds up his loot--swimming goggles and a dive toy

having fun at Tae Kwan Do

Today's tae kwan do class was held at the Nature Park. We decided that the animals weren't the only ones who could have fun!

today's class poses in a tree by the "duck pond"

Happy Birthday to Dixie

Happy birthday to me, 

Happy birthday to me,

Happy birthday to Dixie,

Happy birthday to me.

The boys are funny. They think that a birthday means no chores or responsibility. Silly kids! Dixie's birthday wish was to clear out some of her overgrown flowers. 

It's hard to believe that we are already to the "get rid of them" stage after working so hard to get the flower beds filled! This is one shasta daisy plant that Dixie dug up. Another plant was over 5 feet tall! There is a large wheel barrow under the load. She promises!

gathering Shoes for Love

After several months of preparation, Jake was able to finally complete his Eagle Project, a shoe drive for the Dando Amor charity. He gathered used and donated shoes that were delivered to orphanages around the world.

Here is a Video of Jake's Eagle Project. Even after watching it zillions of times, Dixie still cries each time she watches it. 

friends and neighbors donated their time to sort and organize the shoes

all tuckered out

Between family reunions, fun adventures and working on his Eagle Project, someone was T-I-R-E-D. So tired that his mom could not get him to wake up. At least he looked cute as he slept!

view from Jenny Lake

This view always inspires me. I'm surprised that this isn't called Inspiration Point. Instead, the real Inspiration Point is across the water and up the mountain a bit.

Inspiration Point

 We decided that we needed to show Hanisha (our friend from India) a bit of the west and decided that the Jenny Lake hike would be just the thing.

Lander and Jake at Inspiration Point, overlooking Jenny Lake

While we rested, we found that the little chipmunks were very used to being around people. This cheeky little fellow climbed right onto Lander's lap!

We heard that Cascade Canyon was very beautiful and that a bear had just been seen on the trail, so of course we had to go investigate. We are naturally dumb like that.

We didn't find a bear, but we did get on of Dixie's all time
favorite photos of Josh and Lander. Score!

and we soaked our feet in the beautiful creek

before making our way back down the mountain.

Dixie and Josh

 When the hike was finished, we decided to drive over to the Church of the Transfiguration. Josh's great grandparents were married in this very building.

Lander and Hanisha

Riding the Firetruck

We heard a strange sound, like an old siren, and wondered what was going on. When we opened our front door, this is what we saw:

(Lander is wearing black making a peace sign)

 Brett Bagley driving an old firetruck with most of the neighborhood kids piled on. 

 Around and around and around they went, sirens blaring. Kids waving. Everybody smiling.

Absolutely one of THE BEST memories that we will ever have of living in our neighborhood!
(see Lander hanging off the back!)

something great to imitate

Children are great imitators

So give them something great to imitate

-Anonymous

Truer words have never been spoken, and greater examples would be hard to find!

Dixie's parents stand in front of a herd of bison at Yellowstone National Park

Island Park Family Reunion

We have a saying on our refrigerator:

What lasts?

Ice cream melts,

flowers wilt,

the leaves of autumn fall.

Summers fade,

seasons change,

and children don't stay small.

Balloons pop,

snowfalls stop--do summer's last?

Never!

Weekends fly,

today will die,

but...FAMILIES ARE FOREVER!

the entire Farnsworth family poses for a picture in the meadow by our rented cabin

This was the theme for our family reunion that our family hosted in Island Park, Idaho. It was an amazing experience with lots of good memories. So many memories, in fact, that it required a separate scrapbook.

Reunion Quiz and Answer Session

Q: What happens when your computer decides to metaphorically blow up?

A: You are stuck with only this picture to remember your super-awesome family reunion

Josh snaps a selfie at Yellowstone National Park

Luckily, Dixie is like a little Boy Scout and is always prepared. And knows how to pirate pictures from her Facebook account. Unfortunately, she's too lazy to find any more.

Charity, Jenna, Brianna, Devin, Lander, Brennden

Sydney, Tristan posing at Big Springs, near Island Park, Idaho

We wanted to tour the little cabin at Big Springs, but it was closed (5 minutes before we got there...who planned this? Oh yeah, Dixie...whoops!), but we did see a moose!

Okay, so I decided to steal more pictures. I think Heather took a few of these and who knows who else... (Thanks family!)

Birds swimming at Big Springs

The river literally starts RIGHT HERE. It just bubbles out of the mountain in a giant spring.

A bunch of the Farnsworth clan decided to stop and feed the enormous trout at the Warm River as we drove up to the cabin at Island Park

Then we stopped for a quick hike down to Mesa Falls

Jake, Devin, Brennden, Grandma Nala, Caden, Grandpa, Dalin, Brianna, Charity, Karli

best Father's Day ever

Lander makes a card for Josh on Father's Day 

Sand Dunes

We have lived in the area for practically eons, but we had never taken our kids to play at 'The Dunes'. Since our drive back home passed right by them, we decided to stop.

The boys were bored.

Okay, maybe not. It was actually a lot of fun!

Aldhous & Hancock Lakes

One of the main reasons that we went on our camping trip to Kilgore was so that we could ride the trail to Aldhous Lake.

Correction: Dixie and the boys rode their mountain bikes to the lake. Josh RAN. 

Showoff!

Our first view of the tiny Aldous Lake

Jake and Lander ride over a little bridge

And then we hiked a little trail to Hancock Lake

Jake, Josh and Lander

 Jake, Dixie & Lander at Hancock Lake

Kilgore, Idaho

We decided to go on a little adventure near Kilgore, Idaho. 

 Dixie was freezing! So she stole borrowed Jake's jacket. It mostly fit.

  Josh is a whiz when it comes to backing a trailer.  

TIME OUT!

Time outs...Not just for "little" boys

It's Legit

What happens when...

...Lander finally deep cleans his room? You get this:

Piano Lessons

Jake wanted to learn a song on the piano so Lander helped him out. Mom tried to convince Jake that he should take up piano lessons again, but no luck!

"I believe in science"

Okay, so maybe quoting the line on paper doesn't have the same effect as hearing Josh's silly voice, but Jake sure did enjoy science this week. He took this picture of the frogs that they studied. 

Beaver Dick Park & the Menan Buttes

Lander loves going on scout campouts. Especially when his dad gets to come with him. This campout was really close to home, but a lot of fun.

Lander at the Snake River at Beaver Dick Park

Hiking down the Butte and looking over the beautiful Snake River plain

Lander stands at the top of the Menan Butte 

A New Job & "A" Parking Pass

Dixie applied for a job as an adjunct professor at BYU Idaho. And got it!

No interviews.

No questions.

Just a phone call one day saying "can you start in 4 days?"

Um, yep, think I can do that!

Dixie was given the coveted "A" parking pass as part of her BYU-Idaho employment 

I tossed and turned the night before my first day of work, worried that I would miss my (gasp) 3 a.m. wake up time. I awoke exhausted, but as soon as I looked into the mirror, all fatigue vanished. Everything screeched to a halt.

What. The. Freak??? 

I woke up with a bloody eye. Seriously....

Of all the luck!

Instead of fretting, I decided to go with it and turned myself into an object lesson on blood clotting. When in Rome, right? And then snapped a selfie to prove that I really am legit.