1st Day of School!

 Monday was the first day of school for this bunch.  I think we all looked forward to the day with some nerves, excitement, and a little fear of the unknown.  Some were more excited than others; some more nervous.

A. started high school this year. She found all her classes and got to them on time even while jostling through halls full of hundreds of students! X-man is top dog at his school in fifth grade. He has a male teacher who will be fun. He told me yesterday there are a couple of all boy tables at lunch. Fun!  L. is in the third grade. He loves the newly covered playground and P.E. 

B. is a sophomore this year. She is excited about her Theater class and her Culinary Arts class. Yum!

And so another school year has started. So far we've survived the first few days. Seminary starts next week. YAWN!!  

Vacation--almost done!

Even though summer vacation is almost over (sad), I am not done with our vacation. I'd better get going!

 We were able to go visit our Aunt C and Uncle B one day.  

We went up the mountain in a gondola and played on the obstacle course at the top, ate lunch with stellar views, and even hula hooped. We've got some very good hip-swivelers in our family! 

We had a blast. 

X-man, A, and L. in the gondola. 

I was wondering if the height factor would make anyone nervous, but once we started up (and down) no one seemed worried we were suspended rather high in the air by a cable. 

 My boys. 

 B. with her Aunt C. 

They are so good to our kiddos.

 We played around on an obstacle course at the top of the mountain. 

Climb that rope, A!  

 B. and L. climbing over a wall.

 X-man was the only one to make it to the top of this spinning rope ladder without falling. You had to have good balance. 

Brave B. didn't hesitate a bit when we asked if she wanted to try the bungee jump on the trampoline.  They stuck her in the harness and let her fly!

 BOING! BOING!

A. got buckled up for her turn to take to the skies. 

 Flippin' out!

A. had enough bounce going to do flips!

 We had a "beary" good time with our Aunt C. and Uncle B!

I know that was cheesy...That bear is made of nails!  All stuck together some how. 

We headed back to Bumma and Bumpa's for more fun. L made a very special treasure hunt for Bumma and Bumpa's 46th anniversary. The treasure was a kiss from him. Treasure indeed!

We picked choke cherries to be made into Bumma's World Famous Choke Cherry Syrup. Each grandchild has their own choke cherry tree. 

 Close to the end of our trip, we went up into the mountains to do some four wheeling. 

X-man waiting his turn. 

 VaRoom. Rmmmm.

We four-wheeled up to a mountain canal that farmers dug out over a hundred years ago to transport mountain run-off to their fields. It's still flowing today. 

Of course, water + boy = soppy wet boy!

X-man wanted to be Huck Finn. He roped together some branches and logs and floated down the canal. 

 A. made a heart-shaped mud pie just for 

YOU!

 Bumpa got out his saw and cut up some logs to make a hefty raft. L. climbed on while Bumpa kept him from floating away too fast.

 A. tried the raft, but it started dragging a little. 

Floating on this mountain canal was one of the favorite activities of our whole trip! We're already planning on bringing little inflatable rafts and inner tubes next time for a lazy day of floating in the mountains!

 Friends at first, friends at last. 

Friends to the end.

The Old Black Bridge. 

That finishes up our fun-filled vacation--full of memories, fun, and love!  Now on to a new school year--full of homework, fun, and growth! 

Of Tents, Fish, and a Little Smoke and Dirt

Perhaps it's the breath-catching scenery or the cool, crisp air. Maybe it's cooking food over an open flame or tromping through a grove of aspen trees. It could be the heart-thumping excitement of catching a fish or the warm sweetness of a cup of hot cocoa with stars overhead surrounded by folks you adore. It is NOT the open hole latrine or the hard gravel pit that the tent is pitched on!  But when we visit my folks, one of the highlights of the entire trip is CAMPING!

For one night. 

I need my plumbing and soft bed. 

Cool Campers!

On the way up to camp.

 My dad and I pitching the tent. Note the gravel pit. It was a little hard.

 Soaking up the sun. 

Bumpa getting the fishing poles all wormed up. 

He put on his cute waders to help us fish our hooks out of the lake when they got caught.  He was very spry, hopping over the rocks, going from one fisherman's tangled line to the other. 

Fisherwoman A. 

She really got the hang of fishing, waiting for a bite, casting the line, and even stabbing the juicy, squiggling, brown worm with the hook. If I'm ever stranded in the wilderness, I'm having her on my team. She'd keep us well-fed. 

SUCCESS!  

One of the many fish A. caught.

She even took the slippery fish off the hook and held it like it was her friend!  

I'm so glad she's not all prissy and afraid to hold slimy things. 

 I didn't hold the fish. Or the worm. I held the camera.

Fisherman L LOVED fishing. He would stay in the mountains and brave all the bugs (and even the bears) if it meant he could fish! He got the hang of casting AND catching too.  

Fisher X-man, patiently waiting his turn. 

 Caught ya, fishy!  

(It's flopping around on the line.) X-man was so cool, calm, and collected when that bobber started bobbing around and popped under the water. He'd quietly wind in his line and fish and have it flopping around before we even knew it. A few times an overly-excited mom went to "help" and foolishly let the fish get away in her excitement! X-man sure taught her to gather her wits with his calm ways!

An enthusiastic B. sat with her fishing pole baited, ready for the BIG one. 

This 

is 

exciting!

Here fishy fishy. 

Fishy????

 Still waiting for the BIG one. 

These rocks are hard. 

 AHA!!  The BIG one! Caught at last. 

Just took a little patience which is no problem for Miss B since that IS her middle name!!

She caught the biggest one. 

A campsite visitor came strolling through at dusk.

I didn't use my zoom. That's how close Bambi really was to us! 

 X-man, A, B, Bumpa, L, and Bumma enjoy a morning breakfast of oatmeal, 

hot cocoa, donuts, AND PopTarts.

And a little smoke. 

Smoke does follow beauty. 

 Hanging out with Bumma, looking for the camp chipmunk. 

 Sunshine!

 Hiking a serene mountain path on our way to do some more fishing. 

The faces were getting tired of Mom's insistent cry, "Smile for the camera! This is for posterity!"

 More fish!  We caught 16 fish in all. Quite a catch. 

Bumpa and the boys (really just Bumpa) cleaned the fish. I don't think I have any budding surgeons since fish guts really grossed them out. Bumpa cooked up those fish, and we all had a taste. Some were more enthusiastic about CATCHING fish than EATING them. 

My wonderful parents! 

This is the spot where they went on their first date--a picnic.

We helped celebrate their 46th anniversary!

 Seasoned campers--you could tell, because we had a certain smoky, grimy, fishy, camping smell!

 X-man hunting for strawberries. 

They were so tiny and more orange than red and oh! so sweet!  

The view from our campsite. I know I already put this up in an earlier post, but I think this is a beautiful picture and I took it. I'm a little proud of that. 

I love the mountains. I love how life with it's busyness and problems stills with the quiet of nature. I love how I still and quiet. In the quiet, I feel the greatness of God. I am small, but I matter to Him.