Galena Hike - 9.1 miles

I don't usually rate hikes as hard, but this one was pretty challenging... it might have just been because I did leg day the day before. But we made it in 3 1/2 hours with an elevation gain of around 2,300 feet in the first 3 miles.

It was a lovely time with my gym bestie. We have grand plans of opening a gym one day when we are 70.

Hunger Games aka Maria squirting the littles with the hose

I love our NO TECH Sundays!!! We are off cell phones and enjoying being present for each other. The kiddos stayed cool in the heat with this random game of finding things in the garage to shield the water.... but that didn't work to well. Maria's an expert at getting people soaked!! The had a blast.

Party Hard, Sleep Hard

We have been having so much fun with our friends the McMillens this summer. We've had many sleepovers, meals, and good times at the lake. Life is such a joy because of them.

They are such a blessing to our family. It's been nice too to have our home clean- new floors and carpet!!! for all to enjoy. It's been a busy summer of getting our home organized and ready for the new school year. Home truly is a heaven on earth.

Wild Waters

I am so grateful at least 1 thing has been open this summer!!! We have had a wonderful time going with each other and friends. It's been calming and a great way to get some time out of the house because of COVID.

Also as a side note, sometimes I just write about things that are positive but on this trip we had a young man who was super rude to Maria and called her a bad name. She handled herself really well but I was ready to kill the kid. We never found him, but he would have gotten a good talking to.

Life is wonderful. Sometimes there are yucky things we have to deal with. It helps to have friends you can count on. I know Maria had a great time with her friends even though this happened. She loved going down slides with them!

Emigrant Gap Waterfall

It took a little bit to find the place, but once we did it was magic!!!

After a bit of a drive we hiked the short hike to find this gem. It was slippery, cold, and a bit treacherous but absolutely PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The girls jumped multiple times and so did I. It was dangerous and made your head spin!!!

We ended the amazing day with Pancho and Willies... TOO MANY CHIPS!!!!!!!!! And ice cream sundaes. It was a completely fulfilling day!!mo

Mermaid and Dino Tats Plus Dippin' Dots

We've been thoroughly enjoying our time at Wild Waters this summer... even with masks!!

11 Years

Mt. Judah Loop Trail (Not completed)

We had wanted to go to the Donner Tunnels but didn't know how to quite get there. Instead we happened upon this trail and decided to just do a few 4 miles. It was a lovely hike and everyone did great. We had a picnic and unbeknownst to us, we were rather close to the top. Next time!! There was a nice breeze and we had plenty of water. 

Eli (very matter of fact): "There are really only 3 things to do on a hike. 1. Look around 2. Walk and 3. Chat"

He especially loved chatting with Nina about dinosaurs and minecraft. She's a good listener. 

Grand Finale

We took the walking bridge into Portland and enjoyed a riverside lunch and cruise on motorized scooters. It was phenomenal!!!

Eli totally crashed it. Then there was a moody 20 minutes of not getting a turn because he crashed it.

Jody wanted to visit a place from childhood... it was really nice, but COVID ruins everything.

WHY YOU DON'T SMOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On the left is a smoker's lung compared to a normal lung.

We ended the day at the large 3 story mall in Portland that felt like end of the world. The deals were great, but it was creepy with no one inside.

Beautiful Portland!!! Such a blessed to visit our Uncles!!!!!!

But glad to be back to sunny skies!!!