21 June 2015 - "Camping" in Stanley

Grandma and Grandpa Phil brought Emily home on the weekend. On Monday, they took Madeline to karate and got a great action shot of her doing a flying kick.

We needed to go pick up Jessica from work, but with six of us, we didn't have a vehicle with enough seat belts for everyone. Fortunately(?), this is still legal in Idaho. (Don't worry, I drove slowly).

On Tuesday, we drove to Stanley for a camping trip in the Sawtooth mountains (camping for Joanne is staying in a cabin with a queen bed and full bath with hot shower). This photo was above Great Falls on the south fork of the Payette River, about half way between Caldwell and Stanley.

Redfish Lake is one of the most beautiful places you'll see on earth. The lake is at about 6,500 ft. elevation and filled by snow runoff. It's cold, but fun to play in anyway. It is named for the sockeye salmon which are red, and abundant in this area.

This is Stanley Lake, about 10 miles from Redfish Lake. Our cabin was at Redfish, but we drove over here one evening to enjoy the scenery as the sun was beginning to set.

A family shot on the shore of Stanley Lake.

Our slow children.

Here's a shot of Phil and me doing stand-up paddle boarding. Neither of us had done it before. I fell in after less than 30 seconds on the board, but eventually I got the hang of it. The next morning, we rented two of these and four kayaks and paddled about two miles of Redfish Lake on glassy smooth water with Sawtooth vistas all around us. It was glorious.

14 June 2015 - Emily in Utah

This summer was Emily's turn to spend a week in Utah with Grandma and Grandpa Phil. They started their week at Timpanogos Cave.

Then a day at Lagoon.

Standing on Mars (at the Clark Planetarium).

Capping off the week with a trip to the Logan Temple.

Not a True Aggie yet, but true blue nonetheless.

They made a stop at the City of Rocks in southwestern Idaho on the way home to Caldwell.

This summer, Jessica is a working girl. She did an internship at this quilt shop during the school year, and did well enough that they hired her for the summer.

On Saturday, we went to Twin Falls for the Summer Heat Meet. Here is Jessica during her 400 IM. Emily wasn't home yet but Jessica and Madeline swam in this meet and did a great job. Jessica actually won her heat in this event.

7 June 2015 - EFY and Utah visit

This week we went to Utah for Jessica to attend EFY (Especially for Youth) at BYU. This is check in day.

On Tuesday, Tiffany's family came to Orem. We went to dinner at Carrabba's (Italian) and then to the Provo temple. Here's her baby Natalie eating toys. Emily was the baby sitter, with other girls to help.

A shot walking up to the Provo temple. Hard to find a more beautiful view.

On Wednesday I had a meeting with a Brazilian research partner of mine at Westminster College in Salt Lake. We went for a burrito and planned my trip to Brazil this coming September where I will deliver the keynote address at the International Congress on Competitive Intelligence.

On Friday we hiked to Donut Falls for National Donut Day. Here you can see the water falling through the 'donut'. We also celebrated by eating donuts.

Joanne, Madeline, Bailee and Emily on the trail to Donut Falls.

A view looking up Donut Falls.

Fording the stream with dry feet.

A group shot on a rock in the middle of the stream.

Joanne and me on a bridge across the river on the trail to Donut Falls.

On Saturday, Jennifer's sisters had a baby shower for her. It's less than two months away now!

A group shot of the women at the baby shower.

On Monday we took Phil's boat to Deer Creek. We measured the water at 65 degrees, perfect for a refreshing swim.

This is the two younger girls riding the tube (Jessica was already at BYU). I thought this was a very pretty view with the water, mountains and sky in the background.

Joanne and the girls catching some air.

31 May 2015 - Memorial Day

We've had a gazebo frame in our back yard since we moved in but haven't ever done much with it. For one of Emily's Personal Progress projects, she helped me build a top for it (a 'pergola').

Installing the cross beams.

Emily's a power tool master.

Almost finished. You can see this picture is darker, it pretty much took all day.

On Memorial Day morning, we took a family hike to Jump Creek Falls, about 45 minutes from our house in southwest Idaho. It is a good family hike and a cool place.

The spring-fed falls is about 25-30 feet high and forms a cold pool of water at the bottom.

Not far from Jump Creek is Map Rock, a large volcanic boulder with Shoshone hieroglyphs carved into it. The rock is right on the shore of the Snake River. This is a close-up of a carving showing deer are in the area.

You can see the map below the girls' feet in this photo.

After our hike, we went to Aunt Kathy's house and celebrated Emily's birthday.

She had to blow the candles out quick because Shaylee made her an ice cream cake.

Joanne made Emily a Star Wars string bag.

After we ate and had the birthday party, Jessica and I had a motorcycle ride for a little while. The Boise River is running high, fast, and cold right now.

Joanne and Emily have been making crocheted monsters a lot this spring. They've made some pretty funny ones.

After Memorial Day, the girls went back to school for the last four days. I attended an honors assembly on Madeline's last day of school. She received a certificate for High Honor Roll, then we went home on the motorcycle.