Smoky Mountains Trip

We have been saving and planning all summer for our Smoky Mountains Trip. We left on Monday, set up camp and had a super dutch oven dinner - my first to make by the way - of chicken and rice, rolls, and chocolate cherry cake. It all turned out really yummy which was a big relief to me! On Tuesday we went river rafting on the Pigeon River. James, Jacob, Kathryn and Sarah did the Upper Pigeon which has more white water and then we all went on the Lower Pigeon. We had a super time and liked our guide so much that we invite he and his wife back to camp that evening for dinner with us. They brought along their dog Bear which was a huge hit with the girls. Wednesday found us back in the water with floating down the creek near our camp ground and then we took James and Jacob back to the Lower Pigeon River the try out the white water canoe on it. The girls and I played in the river at the take out point and waited for them to float on down. No one was ready to come home on Thursday which is the sign of a truly good vacation in my book. We are already planning our next opportunity to go to the Smoky Mountains again.

Hiking in the Sipsey Wilderness

The kids and I took a little hike in the Sipsey Wilderness, just south of our home. We went on a 1 mile hike that lead to a swimming hole and water fall. We spent several hours playing in the swimming hole and then hiked back to the car. It was a super day and we will definitely go there again.

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Jacob is officially a teenager! How did this happen??? We went camping for his birthday, rode bicycles, had a delicious dutch oven cake (no picture provided) and opened presents at breakfast. Some of his favorite gifts included a cool Star Wars toy, a rain jacket, and especially an automatic dart gun from all of his sisters. We had a great time camping, and spent the rest of the weekend playing around and went to Red Robin for dinner - YUMMMM! After dinner, we were all so stuffed that Jacob opted to save his cake and ice cream for Sunday with the Missionaries over for dinner. He had a super day, which made me very happy. Jacob is a fine young man and we are so blessed to have him in our family.

Emily loses her first tooth!

Emily was so excited she lost her first tooth - it hung on there for quite a while. Oh, to be six and toothless again...

Super fun date!

We went white water rafting with some good friends a couple of weeks ago. It was the same river James and Jacob went down at scout camp, it was just too much fun as he took me down it too. We had a super time! James and I are in the back of the boat in most of the pictures, although we did sit in other parts of the boat through out the day. Our guide was fun, we surfed on the white water and he even abandoned ship a few times, just to catch a little air when we hit some 'bumps'. Needless to say we are hooked, looking forward to more water adventures in the near future.

Happy 4th Birthday Samantha

I had intended to write a few notes with these pictures when I posted them 4 days ago, somehow I got distracted and 4 days later I am finally getting around to it... now I notice that the pictures are not in the proper order. Oh well, so it goes sometimes. We started Samantha's big day with a delicious breakfast, then off to the market for the morning - not to worry, we decorated our tent with balloons and all the other vendors wished her a happy birthday. After the market we came home for presents, swimming and cake and ice cream. That evening we set off fireworks which has become a tradition for Samantha's birthday since it is so close to the 4th of July. Emily was exhausted from the busy day so she missed out on the fireworks, but she did not seem to mind, sleeping soundly on the couch.







On Monday we invited some of Samantha's favorite friends (that live near us, not to be confused with all her favorite friends that are spread all over the country) over for some swimming and cupcake decorating. She had a super birthday and we are so grateful to have her in our family. She is a happy soul and while I am delighted that she is growing and I get to see her personality develop, I am a little saddened that my baby is now 4 - where did the time go? Did I take enough pictures that I have documentation to reflect on when she has babies of her own? Boy it goes by way to fast - stay tuned to my next post or two when I will repeat this sentiment when I post Jacob's 13th birthday!

Happy 4th of July!

For the 4th of July we had a few friends over on Saturday evening. We set off bottle rockets during the day, had a BBQ and went swimming. This is all the kids watching the parachute guy come back to the ground.
The swimming was so fun that I didn't get too many pictures.

Once the sun went down, James helped everyone with the fireworks show. We had sparklers, big and little fountains and ice cream cones for a treat.



What a fun way to end the day.
On Monday we went canoeing and kayaking with our good friends the Sandstroms. We had a great time with our friends and just as it was getting a little hot, we stopped and played in the river, had some lunch and gave the kids a chance to try out the kayaks. This is Sarah and Emily paddling around the swimming area.
Samantha ready for some lunch.Emily trying out some paddling.
Kathryn and Jacob took turns on a kayak we rented, they both had a great time with it.
James spent most of the day manning the other canoe, but when we stopped at a swimming area for lunch he took a turn with the kayak.
My friend Minna and I took our two youngest with us - Emma and Samantha.
After earning his canoeing merit badge at camp, Jacob was quite good at the canoe and the kayak. We had a great time and will definitely go again!