Some summer goings-on

 The place for miscellany.

Sunday, June 21

Winnie drinking pickle juice while Aunt Jessica, Chewbacca, Miriam and Ana watch. We had a hot dog roast in Grandma and Grandpa Scott's back yard.

Seth roasting marshmallows for s'mores.

Winnie going on a ride in Grandpa's trailer.

Thursday, June 25

Ana, Bekah and a neighbor shoot pictures along the Greenbelt. Grandpa Scott took the girls downtown because all three of them were learning about photography.

Tuesday, July 7

Seth skanks at the Opskametrist's concert by the Greenbelt.

Rebekah shoots more pictures for her online digital photography class at the Greenbelt.

Saturday, July 18

Andrea and Seth at the Petersons' home for Oakley's fifth birthday party.

Winnie running down the slip and slide at the party.

Thursday, July 23

Winnie, Miriam, Bekah and Ana listen to Grandma Hendricks sharing family history stories at her house during a visit.

Winnie trying on wooden shoes such as those made by her ancestor.

Bekah and the picture of the windmill at Grandma's home. Grandma sent the on a  hunt for it.

Tuesday, July 28

The Parri Ward Young Women gathered before testimony meeting at girls' camp. Stake camp was cancelled, so the ward threw together a three-day camp for the girls at Fall Campground. Seth and I went up for bishop's night.

Saturday, August 1

Winnie plays in the creek at Freeman Park. We played games and cooled off in the creek before having a Sandwich Tree picnic.

Rebekah skipping Seth in a game of Phase 10.

Ana trying on Winnie's nose plugs during a game of Phase 10.

Tuesday, August 4

Winnie's elaborate restaurant setup in Grandma Scott's family room. She would spend hours every day playing at Grandma's. Grandma assured us she loved it. Living at Aunt Patty's house just across the street gave Winnie easy access to Grandma's toys.

Wednesday, August 5

Winnie wearing Seth's birthday present from Uncle Jason (the purple sequin jacket) and Andrea's hiking hat to be a magician and perform a disappearing quarter trick.

Winnie picking huckleberries past Kelly Canyon. I am nearly 38 years old, I have lived my entire life in southeastern Idaho, and I had never been huckleberry picking. When a sweet lady in our ward said the harvest is plentiful this year, I decided to take the girls on a hunt. It took us a while to find them, but once a nice lady pointed out what the bushes look like, we spread out and picked two cups.

Bekah picking huckleberries. 

Miriam listening to her audiobook and picking huckleberries. We formed a committee and decided we would use one cup of our huckleberries to make muffins and the other to make syrup. Neither disappointed us.

Saturday, August 8

Miriam draped in her comforter and reading in her room at Aunt Patty's.

Monday, August 10

Winnie riding her bike in the neighborhood and holding Andrea's hand.

Sounds Summer Musical

 We started the summer knowing nothing about Music Man. Now I'd say our family is all fairly well versed. We can sing along to several songs and have spent an inordinate amount of time wondering what magical powers that marshmallow could possibly have to turn Marion into a blithering doe-eyed dumbbell.

It all started when Rebekah's band teacher reached out to her to see if she's be willing and able to participate in the pit orchestra for the Sounds Summer Musical. Now, anyone who knows Rebekah knows that she's always willing to play. And our schedule proved that she was able. So she began rehearsals.

In preparation for the production, our family watched the 1962 film to familiarize ourselves with the musical. And then we got to watch the orchestra and cast perform on their opening night on Thursday, August 13. 

Rebekah and one of her mutes. Usually the production is staged at the Civic Auditorium, but due to COVID group size restrictions, they moved it to Thunder Ridge High. For all the fancy accommodations Thunder Ridge boasts, they lack an orchestra pit. So the orchestra just sat on their chairs in front of the stage to accompany the cast.

Rebekah playing with Professor Harold Hill and Marion on the footbridge.

Happy, smiley, pretty, talented Rebekah.

Hike #7: Monument

Hiking season almost can't feel complete without going to the Darby Wind Cave, so Friday, August 7 we caravanned with Grandma and Grandpa Scott, Uncle T and Bennet to the trail head and set off. It's a popular hike, so we saw quite a few people (and dogs), especially while we were on the way out. However, we timed it perfectly so that we had the cave all to ourselves as we crawled back into it for a space.

Winnie, Miriam, Bennet, Ana and Bekah on the trail.

Winnie and her grass. (?)

Ana, Bekah, Miriam, Bennet, Andrea and Tyson topping for a snack at the overhang.

Winnie posing poetically on the monument. I had assumed we'd eat lunch at the monument on the way back down and shoot a bunch of pictures, but the search and rescue was training at this spot and had it all roped off.

Headed up to the mouth of the cave.

Rebekah coming back out.

Grandma Scott and Uncle T on the way back out.

Ana, Bekah and Winnie eating lunch at the overhang.

Hike #6: Sentinel Meadows

We had a designated "hike day" on July 31, so we decided to try out a  new one in Yellowstone. I was looking for a hike that (1) wouldn't take too long to get to, (2) was 5-8 miles and (3) would let us see some cool Yellowstone features. Sentinel Meadows seemed to fit the bill.

Checking out Ojo Caliente before the trail forks. We stayed right to go to Sentinel Meadows. If we had gone left, we could have hiked to Fairy Falls.

Ana, Miriam, Seth, Winnie and Bekah on the trail.

Seth checking out the sinter mounds of hot springs. There's an old incomplete bath house near one of them. The park started building it in 1881 but abandoned the construction as park administrations and priorities changed. We never saw the building; we would have had to go off-trail to see it, and I was very concerned about staying on the trail.

The girls looking at a frog they found in the marshy stream.

Winnie near one of the streams we crossed. 

While the trail had some beautiful flowers (I learned a new one: fringed gentian) and a few Yellowstoney features, the black clouds of biting deer flies that attacked us left us running away rather than enjoying the sights. And one part of the trail required us to cross a muddy field that enveloped our boots. Poor Winnie started bawling at one point (the deer flies and mud were too much for her), and the couple who caught up to us on the trail got to experience that as well as the flies and mud. The insect repellent that lady was carrying seemed to do nothing to deter the bugs.

A stop in West Yellowstone for some ice cream seemed to smooth things over for everyone.

Camping near Tyler Creek (and hike #5: Tyler Creek)

 We wanted to take the trailer out for a spin and check a few things off our summer bucket list: go camping, float a river, go mountain biking. So we selected a weekend (July 23-25), invited Grandma Susan and Grandpa Dennis, and headed north to check out a new campsite they had discovered previously.

After picking up dinner in Rexburg, we met up with the grandparents (there were four vehicles for the eight of us) and caravanned in to their find only to see it was already occupied. So we drove a little farther down the road and found a beautiful meadow to park our trailers in.

On Thursday evening, we set up the trailer, let the dogs roam (they brought Ruby and we brought Peach) and found a little friend in camp.

The frog Ana found and Seth caught in a pitcher so the girls could see it.

After getting acquainted with our friend and our locale, we turned in for the night.

The following day, we hiked from the campsite Grandma and Grandpa had hoped we would be at all the way to the source of Tyler Creek. 

Miriam, Peach, Winnie and Ana getting ready for the short ride to the other campsite so we could hike.

Ana, Grandma Susan, Miriam, Grandpa Dennis and Seth hiking along an old logging road.

Rebekah stopping to take pictures of wildflowers along the way.

Peach and Winnie scampering to the head of the creek. We all drank from the creek source. It was crisp, cold, clean and delightful.

Bekah taking pictures while Seth checks out his GPS.

Seth had been hoping to see an arrowhead along the way. He had even told our hiking party that if anyone could point one out to him, he'd pay them. While on our way back, he stopped for a minute and looked down. Not two inches from his boot was an arrowhead. His dad was incredulous; Seth was ecstatic.

Grandma Susan and Miriam talking at a stopping point along the way back. Grandpa Dennis had a trail camera that he wanted to check on.

Bekah getting tackled by Winnie.

The rest of the day was spent taking it easy at camp. Bekah and Ana shot their bows, everyone had a little down time, and our family went on a little walk around the area to check out the marshy creek that ran through the meadow. Then we revisited Tyler Creek just to splash around and get cool.

Bekah, Ana, Miriam, Winnie, Seth, Peach and Grandma Susan sitting around camp.

Ana, Miri and Winnie enjoying their 20 minutes of screen time.

Miriam, Seth and Bekah walking along the marshy creek.

Peach at the creek. That's one happy camping dog.

Winnie sticking her front side in the creek.

Seth and Miriam having a contest to see who can keep his feet in the cold water the longest. Miriam won.

Winnie sporting her new goggles and nose plugs. Does a 7-year-old really need those for playing in a creek? Of course not. But she had ordered them for swimming lessons, and then the lessons had been canceled due to the Idaho Falls mask mandate. So she needed to wear them for her sake.

Saturday morning we loaded up the bikes and left Peach in the care of Grandma Susan at camp (Grandpa Dennis had left the night before so he could teach a gun class Saturday) so we could bike around at Harriman. We went about 8 miles and stuck to the easy trails for Winnie and her bike's sake (it's a fixed-gear bike).

Ana off her bike for a break.

Seth, Ana and their bikes on the Big Bend Loop.

As we finished our biking and loaded up to head back to camp, throngs of people were arriving at Harriman to enjoy the trails at the state park. But the masses weren't contained to Harriman. All along Island Park, we saw crowds and crowds of people. We realized that our family camping trip had coincided with Utah's state Pioneer Day holiday weekend, and we gaped at all the vehicles and people.

Our last hurrah for the weekend was floating from Big Springs to Mack's Inn. And we weren't alone. The new hotel at Mack's Inn runs a shuttle to the drop-off and lends out all sorts of floating crafts. The river was so full that we occasionally bumped into other people's kayaks, rafts, canoes, tubes, etc. And we "got" to listen to their Bluetooth speakers playing rock music. (One couple was in kayaks. The husband tried to speak to his wife, and she shouted back at him, "I can't hear you!" over her music. *facepalm*)

We ignored the throngs and enjoyed the view of the river and its surroundings. We tethered the tubes and two-person raft together and drifted down the river unless it got too shallow; then someone would get up and drag us over to a deeper part. We splashed, we laughed, we got wet. Winnie would jump out and back in again, shivering because she was cold and wet. Seth, lying in the raft and soaking in all the water Winnie would bring back in with her, would snuggle Winnie. 

As we got close to our pullout point (which was a small point not as far down the river as the main pullout point), the sky darkened, the wind picked up and lightning flashed across the sky. Seth, Susan and I started dragging our chain of floats to get out as quick as we could. When we got out of the water, Grandma Susan and Bekah stayed behind with our watercraft while the rest of us dashed back to Big Springs to get the truck. We could tell that our pullout was fast becoming a popular spot (all the people on the river wanted to get out as soon as possible because of the thunderstorm), so I stayed in the van with the the three younger girls and the heater blowing while he got the truck as close to the pullout as possible without getting stuck with all the new traffic. He parked it, dashed through the trees, got Grandma, Bekah and the tubes/raft and hauled them back to the truck as a long line of vehicles tried unsuccessfully to navigate the narrow mogul-pocked road to the pullout. 

Instead of staying to eat dinner at camp, we packed up everything as quickly as possible and got out in case the rain made it too difficult to pull the trailer out of the meadow. The awning we had left out on the trailer wasn't happy we had left it in the wind/rain, but I'm sure we can replace that one piece. :-)