80 Year Old Adventurers

 We convinced Grandpa and Grandma Judy to go kayaking with us. They wondered if they could do it but they actually did a great job! It was a beautiful day and the only people that got in the water were the kids because they wanted to. We were glad that Grandpa and Judy didn’t end up in the water!

Island Park

 We’re off on another weekend getaway. The Murdocks invited us to their cabin for the weekend. We met them at the Big Springs River to float. It started raining but we decided to go anyway. It rained and then hailed for almost a half an hour and then the sun came out and warmed us up! But then another storm quickly rolled in and the last hour we were freezing! Sweet Luke curled up on my lap and shivered but never complained. It was hard and borderline miserable to be drenched and cold in our swimsuits but we survived and made a memory! Haha. Right when we got to the cabin we jumped in the hot tub to warm up. We’re so grateful to be cozy and warm and dry now and to be hanging out with family!

Kayaking

 Since Tenley had volleyball camp today we knew we wouldn’t have enough time to go boating so we decided to float the river instead. It’s been a while since we’ve done that and it was a lot of fun! Luke and I shared a kayak and he’s always a blast to be with. Brad and Kade brought fishing poles and Brad did catch a fish. It was a really hot day so it was perfect to be on the river.

Brad and I had a fun date night tonight. Jeff Dunham was performing at the fair so we got to see him and walk around the fair a little bit. There were a lot of people there tonight! And we were out late but it was fun! We laughed a lot. Kade and Tenley were the best babysitters. The dishes were done and everyone was sleeping when we got home.

Wildlife

We went on what could very well be our last kayak trip of the year. And it was over 100 degrees! We haven’t kayaked the river on a Saturday before so we definitely saw a lot more people but we also got lucky and saw a lot more wildlife! We saw deer, otters, a beaver, big horn sheep and a black bear! We were watching Keena go after a deer when Kade noticed a black bear drinking from the river just 20 feet from him! Keena scared the bear away which was good. It was pretty exciting. 

Mine and Luke’s double inflatable kayak seems to have a small hole somewhere so we were slowly losing air in the bottom and paddling was a struggle. Brad hooked the kayak up to his and towed us along for a bit. Then I held on to Ryder and Tenley’s kayaks and Tenley held on to Kade’s kayak and Keena got in Tenley’s kayak. We had a sweet train going on and Brad got a great workout! 

The Pond

We met friends at the pond today and enjoyed paddle boarding and kayaking. The kids also swam a lot and jumped off the dock. It was a lot of fun! I’m really enjoying the summer and I don’t want it to end!

The Lake

Instead of floating the river today we decided to hang out at the beach on Holter Lake. It gets busy on most of the beaches so we kayaked over to another beach and had the place to ourselves! It was really nice. We spent some time cliff jumping and jumping with the rope swing too. Everyone but Luke gave it a try. Tenley and Ryder were really brave! I missed taking a picture of it because I didn’t bring my phone but they all loved it. We got off the lake right before a thunder storm rolled in. It was a good day!

Front Flips

We floated the river again today! We’ve all been enjoying the kayaks this summer. It was a little cooler than it had been lately so there weren’t too many people on the river which was nice. The kids were brave and all three of them did front flips off the cliff today! I was so impressed. Their competitive nature really comes out when someone else does something cool. They all have to join in. We need to figure out how to teach them to cheer each other on more than trying to one up each other! 😬

Cliff Jumping

We took Dan out to kayak the Missouri River today. It was a pretty adventurous day! We went 15 miles which is the longest float we’ve done so far and the kids had fun jumping off cliffs again. And then we got caught in a crazy rain storm! Ryder even caught some hail. The lightning didn’t get too close but the thunder sounded so loud in the canyon. My poor little boys were feeezing. Luckily it wasn’t too windy but we did all feel cold. Prayers and primary songs helped the boys and Luke even fell asleep after I covered him with my life jacket. It lasted about a half an hour and then the sun slowly peeked it’s way out again. The double kayak that the boys and I use has a slow leak in the bottom so we were worried about making it all the way, but luckily we did! We made some good memories!

Floating the River

We floated a new section of the river today and it was my favorite so far! It was really beautiful! Ryder had his own kayak this time and he loved it. He did a great job. His arms were tired by the end of the nine mile float but I think he enjoyed it. We found some good cliffs to jump and the kids were diving and doing flips by the end. Unfortunately Brad lost his watch on one of his jumps which was really sad but other than that it was a great day!