Grandkids are fun play toys!

We enjoyed having Staci and the boys come for a visit. Ashley and her gang came over and we went to the Childrens Museum and the next day to the Heritage Farm. We looked like a preschool on an outing. It was chaotic but fun. At the Childrens Museum, the babies loved the water area, Dallin and Parker loved the balls, and they all loved the helicopter. The train at the Farm was a hit as well as the pony rides and the playhouses. I ran out of battery in my camera at the Farm...oh well...I am still a grandma in training. But I have decided that grandkids are really fun "playthings". Lots of good times had by all.

A new baby boy added to the family.

I have spent many fun hour with the grandkids this summer. We welcomed Nathan and Staci's new son Landon so most of the family was together in Boise. He is such a good baby and so sweet. He was blessed wearing Nathan's blessing outfit. Staci did a great job arranging a brunch and hosting us all.

All the grandkids loved playing together...6 under age 4 years is a real zoo. It is also incredibly fun to watch. They are so active and individual.

Havasupai Falls Trip

I have always wanted to go to Havasupai Falls from the time I was in college so this was a dream come true for me. We spent 4 days having a blast...hiking, jumping into falls, swimming, floating down the stream, eating and camping. We drove all night on Thursday and began a hike down the canyon at 6am. It was still cool and the switchbacks were not bad. As we hiked the 10 miles into the canyon where we found a magical world of azure blue water, huge falls and groves of green trees within a desert world. We hiked through the Indian village to our campground. There were lots of people at the campground but for some reason I wasn't bugged. I was just happy to be some place cool. The hot temperatures made the water really inviting. We did the trip with Ashley, Justin, Justin's friends Tom and Sarah, Sarah's aunt and uncle, her 2 brothers, and a couple who were Tom and Sarahs friends. It was a great group.

We spent the next two days floating on inner tubes down the cascading terraces, swinging off rope swings, hiking to the four falls, eating and even attending a church meeting in the Indian village. I managed to pull a muscle in my leg which has dampened my summer activities but it was worth it. We all got a little banged up bouncing down the stream in our inner tubes and jumping off ledges with them into the pools below. It was incredible!
The last night we got up at 3am to pack up and begin our hike out. Since my leg was not working too good, we left our packs to be brought out on the mule train later in the morning. It turned out to be a really nice way to do it. I enjoyed the evening/morning hike out. The stars were awesome, we saw frogs and scorpions, and the sunrise was beautiful as dawn approached. It took us about 4 hours to hike out. We were thirsty and hot but we had cool drinks and watermelon waiting for us in our coolers up on top. We waited for our packs and watched the mules carry out the mail from the village(one of the last places to still have mail delivered by mule.
Ric and I had the best time especially being able to share it with Justin and Ashley and their friends. We recommend the trip to anyone even with the heat, the indian dogs, and hiking. It was worth it.