Craters of the Moon

Look Mom it's a rock. Isn't this rock pretty? Look this rock is shiny. I like this rock. This rock has glass on it. Look Mom rocks, rocks, rocks. One of our first family pictures with Taby. Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!

Dad and the girls on top of the cinder cone.

Resting under the one lonely shade tree on top of the cinder cone. That tree is probably the most loved tree in craters of the moon.

This is the beginning of our hike up the cinder cone. I was very proud of myself that I made it to the top and didn't even have a stroke! Like always the pictures don't do it justice. This ended up being my favorite part of craters of the moon. At the top you over look the whole park and it is amazing to think that once long ago everything you see was once volcanoes and red hot lava.

Craters of the Moon

A welcome break from Drivers Ed. Look at that rare grin of Jeremy's. He was in Science Heaven. I realized that I married a very smart man. I think his knowledge of the geology really made everything at Craters that much more interesting. This is the kind of stuff he has been studying through his Masters Program, and it was fun to see him put that knowledge to use. You couldn't wipe that smile off his face for three whole days!
Our cute little Jr. Rangers in their Craters of the Moon Hats that they someday will be buried in because they cost us more than their coffin would!

The best part of the whole trip for the girls was completing the Jr. Ranger program. This is a picture of them getting their Jr. Ranger Badges and taking the oath to bring Ranger Tiffany chocolate chip cookies and root beer floats. Poor Ranger Tiffany would have to settle for an otter pop!

Maggy was tuckered out after hiking to the tree molds and through all of the ice caves; probably a good 4-5 miles. Dad gave her a break and gave her a ride back to the truck! Hold on to that hat girl!

Strolling along the ice cave paths.

Craters of the Moon

There are some neat things here in Idaho that we decided that we needed to take advantage of. Craters of the Moon is one of those places. We had a lot of people tell us that it was a little piece of hell on earth, but we spent the weekend there and had a blast! Yes it was HOT, Windy (thank goodness!), dusty and yes the shade was very sparce! On the upside the girls thought it was awesome, learned a lot and there were NO Mosquitos! A Picture of the girls in the Scout Ice Cave. Maggy was a little unsure of being down in a cave, that was wet and cold! The temperature in the ice caves was 45 degrees and nice relief from the 98 + degrees it was on the hiking trails!
Dad and the girls in the Indain Ice Caves.

Maggy being a trooper and she takes a stroll back to the truck after our 2 mile hike to the tree molds!

A quick rest and picture of the group at the tree mold area.

We thought we were going on a guided tour of the ice caves, but ended up on the wrong trail. Needless to say we never caught up with the cave group, but ended up looking at the wild flowers and tree molds. Payge still is trying to decide if the monkey flowers really say, "OO-OO AH-AH" when you touch them. All though she swears that it's just Mom. What do you think?

Ribgy Lake

After many days of begging we finally made the trip to Rigby Lake.

Maggy doing her movie star pose.

Ryver had a blast too. Gathering rock and splashing in the water. He was covered in sand and didn't even care. (Either did Raini.)

The girls filled the boat with rocks from the bottom of the lake then brought them to the shore for everyone else to play with. You can tell that this was a serious mission from the expression on Payge's face. They were all business.

Maggy's cute little bum. Little girls "crack" me up.

Baylee and Best Friend Emma. This was our last play date with Emma before she moved to Cleveland. We are still trying to figure out what to do without her around! We miss you Emma.

Taby's Two Months Old

It's hard to believe that Taby's already two months old. Sniff, Sniff. She is such a joy to have in our family. Is a pretty baby who loves to be held especially on her tummy. She loves to snuggle, is not a fan of pacifiers, and is just starting to melt your heart with her fun coos and smiles. At her doctors appointment she weighed 11 lbs 6 oz., and was 23 inches long. She was my smallest baby, who now has turned into my fastest growing girl!

Fourth of July Fireworks

We did fireworks at home this year. The girls thought it was great and we didn't have to fight the crowds.

Fourth of July Weekend Fishing