Josh's hobby

Josh continues to make knife handles.

This is one example of his work this summer.

First Day of School

Ready or not, 6th grade and 8th grade, here we come!

Back to School Night

Our city hosts a back to school night to celebrate the start of a new school year. 

The entire park is filled with fun activities.

Jake jousts it out with his friend Yuki M.

Grand Teton Relay

Did you know that 

12 friends + 24 hours = 180 miles 

Josh watches the sun rise over the Tetons after doing his final run in the race.

He ran through the town of Driggs and up the road towards Bates.

 Josh and Jarrod at the start of the race in Ashton, Idaho

 Somehow we only ended up with pictures of Jarrod running. Hmm... 

Josh and Jarrod relax in the one of the team cars and at the hotel between their legs of the race. Each teamate had to run 3 legs, of approximately 5 miles a piece.

Josh and Jarrod were able to run through Driggs and Bates. We thought it was very fitting. Here they pose at the last of their legs, on the road in Bates. The Tetons and Driggs are hidden in the background.

"Tough As Nails" team photo at the finish line at Teton Village in Wyoming 

 This was quite the accomplishment for Josh who is (and we quote) "not a runner.

We are proud of you Josherboy!

Cedar Badge

Jake attended Cedar Badge, a week-long leadership campout hosted by the Boy Scouts of America. We were shocked at the growth that we saw in Jake after that one week. We also learned:

1. When parents aren't around, bathing is optional.
2. Dropping your kid off at a random scout camp is H-A-R-D. Dixie calls it "Missionary Prep".
3. Scout closing ceremonies take forever! Consider yourself forewarned, and come prepared.
4. The $150 charge to attend the camp was 100% worth it!
5. Your child will either (A) lose something or (B) break something. Hopefully not both (Jake went with option A and lost a brand new tarp).
6. Giant grizzly bears can and do live in Idaho. Just hope that they've had enough to eat or that they take notice of #1 and move on to better smelling options. (They had to be emergency evacuated from their camp at midnight after a rogue bear came too close to camp. It was euthanized a few days later).
7. After a week of no contact, parents miss their little beggars and they miss us too!

Birthday Surprise

Josh unveils his birthday surprise for Dixie, 

a new bench for the front porch that he made.

Alaska Basin

Josh attended High Adventure with the Boy Scouts and hiked to Alaska Basin in the Tetons. He loved every minute of it despite buckets of rain and an episode of carrying a double pack. All of his race training paid off!

Josh standing in front of the Grand Teton

The Tetons are gorgeous!

Josh knows how much Dixie loves flowers. Rather than pick them, he snapped photos to bring to her. Lots of hubby points accumulated on that one, Babe! 

 Josh's camp site. The basin was beautiful!

His fancy-schmancy tent kept him nice and dry. 

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