Diamond Fork . . . Dream or Disaster?!

I have to say that Ben and I have had very high aspirations this summer when it has come to camping.  We imagined ourselves going several times a month . . . and trying out new places that would be a little adventuresome.   We both really like camping . . . and so we liked talking about all the things we would do . . . as a family:)

I'm not quite sure why it is already the middle of July and this weekend was our FIRST trip out to the wilderness . . . but it was.  We thought we would have a trial run.  Go somewhere relatively close by . . . just camp one night . . . easy meals . . . etc.   We wanted to see how the kids would do . . . well mainly how Gwen would do:).  We went to Diamond Fork.

At the beginning, things were going GREAT!  We built a fire, cooked hot dogs, etc.  Then when we were putting up our tent we realized Gwen needed her diaper changed . . . she smelled terrible! I went to get the stuff I needed only to find that we had forgotten her diapers and wipes at home . . . along with our toothbrushes, extra clothes, and soap.  We were RELATIVELY close by (60 minutes roundtrip) but it didn't seem worth it to go home and then come back.  Luckily, Ben found some people in the campground who had kids . . . and diapers to spare!  We were in luck.  We could deal w/o toothbrushes and soap and extra clothes . . . we're pretty tough:)


We enjoyed the rest of our evening hiking and eating smores!  We were all having a great time. Finally it was dark, we were tired, and it was time for bed. The girls went to bed really well (Gwen only cried for a minute and then sucked her thumb while looking at the stars through the top of the tent). I was so excited! We were going to be able to do more of this! A few hours into the night . . . Gwen woke up:(  She not only woke up . . . she wanted to SING (mostly "I Am a Child of God"), TALK, and who knows what else. This went on for HOURS as Ben tried to help her fall asleep in his sleeping bag. I REALLY like to sleep at night . . . so of course this was killing me!

. . . Morning finally came.  Our girls wake up as soon as "it's light outside."  Ben had taken the girls out of the tent to start building another fire and making breakfast so I could sleep in a little. (I'm so lucky!)  Things were going okay . . . but when my kids are tired . . . meltdown's (especially with Halle) happen VERY easily and frequently.   All morning it seemed like someone was screaming bloody murder or had fallen and gotten hurt or had almost lost an eyeball . . . or you name it!  To give them some credit, they were calm too . . . it was just such a mixture of everything!  Needless to say . . . Ben and I are not sure just how adventuresome we are going to be when it comes to camping the rest of this summer (at least with our kids:).   Hopefully the girls will at least have this one memory of camping this summer!

Have I Ever Wanted to Fly?

Not really. I don't mind being up high. It's the jumping out into the air part that I don't really like. Ben and I have a friend who organized a "couples retreat" at a ropes course located by the Provo River.



I don't think I have been to a ropes course since Junior High with my choir. But this was so much fun! We did ropes course activities, but we also played games in groups that force you to be unified and work together. I was happy to learn that Ben is REALLY good at throwing shoes at a rope (so it will swing towards us) to save us all from a sinking raft in shark infested waters.

Unfortunately, this picture is not of me . . . BUT this is a picture of the most scary thing I did. I climbed up a tree . . . and was about 25 feet up (with a harness on of course), stood on a small platform, and had to jump out to a metal ring.     The goal is to reach the ring and hang on it . . . and then let go and be lowered down. I ACTUALLY JUMPED! And I REACHED THE RING! Amazing I know. I have to say I was shaking so badly and pretty scared. I felt like I do right before I teach Relief Society! (okay, maybe a little worse).

Ben and I both had a great time (even though they served Costa Vida for dinner and we've been eating Cafe Rio leftovers all week--a similar meal to Costa Vida--from Liz and Jon's baby blessing last Sunday! -- yes, Ben snagged leftovers from his mom's kitchen on our way back to Springville:). I don't know that this retreat helped me get any more comfortable jumping out of trees or anything, but it did help us have fun together and be unified.

Jasmine

Jasmine is our goldfish (named by Halle).  Abby remembers that we bought her on July 10th of last year . . . so of course, we need to celebrate her birthday this year on July 10th.  Abby and Halle are SO excited about Jasmine's birthday.  They have been planning her birthday for weeks.   They wanted me to make a fish cake and wanted to buy her presents . . . like a castle for her fishbowl.  Ben would egg them on and tell them we should invite her fish friends over and take them downstairs to watch Finding Nemo with us.  They would laugh so hard and think about how Jasmine would have the best birthday ever!  Abby is really convinced that Jasmine knows it is her birthday and that she is so excited about it!  

We ended up decorating brownies, singing Happy Birthday, and together we blew out a candle for Jasmine.

Happy Birthday Jasmine!  We are so amazed you have made it this far!

(And Lisa . . . we  can't thank you enough for babysitting our fish while we have been out of town!)

At Nana & Papa's House . . .

We floated the Boise river and went to the 4th of July parade . . . well at least the end of it:)

We watched fireworks at Ann Morrison Park.

The girls played with their cousins (and aunts . . . wish I had more pictures of those!).

We were there for the main event . . . the blessing of babies Parker (son of Marie and Scott Arrington) and Neal (son of Liz and Jonathan Dewey)!  Such sweet babies.   We are so happy we could be there and see everyone!

At Grandma and Grandpa's House . . .

We hiked Multnomah Falls.






We ate ice cream in Cascade Locks . . . these are THE BEST ice cream cones! (The ice cream started melting 30 seconds after they handed them to us!  As you can see, Halle's hands are covered ice cream:)

We went swimming.




We visited OMSI (Oregon's Museum of Science & Industry).


We played croquet. Abby got REALLY into this!



We visited the Rose Garden in Portland.




We rode the carousel in Jantzen Beach and ate more ice cream! It was so fun to be in Washington for a few days to visit with my parents. The days went by way too quickly! I love how church was canceled (OK, we got out an hour and a half early:) because the air conditioning in the church building was out and it was too hot!




Thanks mom and dad! We had so much fun!