The End of an Amazing Month!

We rounded out our trip with more kayaking (of course), playing on the water slide and rope swing, fishing and relaxing.  It was the best trip ever!!!

James fished nearly every evening.  Emily loved to join him and Jacob got in on the action after his Keener program was over.

 Emily caught a huge catfish!

An amazing rapid run by James.

 Samantha learned some new monkey skills at the playground.

 James caught more bass and catfish than we can count.

 Kathryn and Sarah - sisters are great!

 Emily loved fishing any chance she got.

 Samantha loved jumping off the dock.  We put her in a wetsuit so she would stay warm and she never got tired of jumping off and swimming in the river.

 Sarah loved the water slide.

 A beautiful dive by Kathryn.

 I ran this huge rapid - up...

...and over - very fun!

Jacob learned some new surfing moves.

Kathryn catching her first surf - great job K!

This ramp was at the camp where Jacob stayed, it is how he entered the river each day.  This is a video of him coming down the ramp from the river.

This is what it looked like to him as he came down the ramp.

Our last picture from our vacation, taken with our new friend Viva (she is the one that told us about The Works - need I say more?)  Thanks again Viva!

We are home now, safe and sound and trying to figure out when we can go again.  It was the trip of a lifetime!

A Vacation Within A Vacation!

James had a business trip in Chicago so the girls and I took a little trip to Ottawa to drop him off at the airport and see the sites.  We had a wonderful time.  Out hotel was within walking distance of Parliament Hill.  We toured the Parliament building and visited all the historic statues on the grounds.  We learned a lot about how the government works in Canada and even got to see the chair that Queen Elizabeth sits in when she comes to visit the Senate.  We visited the war memorial with the tomb of the unknown being guarded by soldiers.  We even got to see the changing of the guard, what great luck! 

 As we were looking at one of the statues a police officer came up to me.  At first I worried there was something wrong, but he just wanted to tell us about the statue and point out that it was a whispering wall.  You can sit at one end and whisper and a person at the other end can hear you as if you are sitting next to each other.  We had such a nice visit with him and he let us take a picture of him.  He even pointed out the US Embassy across the river and sang The Star Spangled Banner with us.  It was a lot of fun. 

  Later we met a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer.  She did not have her horse with her since they were doing construction around the Hill and it spooked the horses.  She invited us to come to the RCMP Stables the next morning for a private tour of the stables and to meet her horse.  It was a very cool opportunity and the girls were in heaven to see all the horses and even see some of the officers practicing the Musical Ride that they are famous for.  In downtown Ottawa they have a city block full of shops and vendors called the Byward Market.  All the folks we met said it was a must visit location and we are so glad we listened.  The market offers lots of cute shops, farmers selling produce, cheese and butcher shops, jewelry, crafts and other fabulous things.  James bought me two beautiful silk scarves and some earrings and a necklace.  We also enjoyed a local treat called Beaver Tail.  It is fry bread with cinnamon sugar and lemon juice on it.  It was delicious.  

For dinner we stopped at another Canadian only restaurant called The Works.  They offer 100 different ways to have a hamburger.  We opted for a burger with peanut butter, bananas and bacon on it - FABULOUS!!! And another with pineapple, egg, cheese, caramelized onions and a beet - FANTASTIC!!!  If you ever have the chance, I highly recommend The Works.

Kathryn and Sarah in Kid's Camp and A Dinner Cruise

Kathryn and Sarah attended kid's kayak camp last week.  They had a great time and each learned to roll their kayaks up.  It was a super fun week for them and they learned a lot.  James had kayak school all week as well and had a great time running the river and working on skills.  This is a video of one of the rapids he ran.

While James and the big girls were kayaking all week I enjoyed some one on one time with Emily and Samantha.  We had a great time reading books, playing games, paddling around a bit, swimming and watching movies.  It was fun for me to just watch the two of them play together, they are such good friends.  It was a relaxing, wonderful week.  At the end of the week we had a dinner cruise.  Samantha, Emily and I rode on the boat out to where James and the other girls were finishing up a day of kayaking.  They hopped on, towed their kayaks behind the boat and we all enjoyed a delicious dinner with a beautiful view.  It was a fun night.

Family Night of Climbing the Rock Wall and Fishing

For Family Night last night we hung out on the dock catching fish and taking turns on the rock wall. 

James loves to fish and caught several catfish and bass.  It was a beautiful night!

 

The rock wall is really high!  All four girls made it to the top.  Pretty impressive if you ask me.

 Kathryn

 Sarah

 Samantha

 Emily

  

More Paddling and Other Fun Things!

This is a video is me running McCoy’s rapid for the first time.  This is a class IV rapid.  I was super excited that I ran it without flipping.  The good news is that if I had flipped, I would have been able to roll back up.  That is a great comfort to me.  

 Jacob, Kathryn, Sarah and James were all out on the river together at lunch time.  Clearly they are having a great day!

 The water slide on the dock is a daily favorite.  Samantha is fearless and talked Emily into trying it.  The girls had a great time on the slide.  

 Go Samantha!

 Sarah can really get some air as she slides off.

Cannonball Kathryn!!!

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Jacob celebrated his 15th birthday last week.  Wilderness Tours made a cake for us and we surprised him at dinner with the cake and gifts.  The girls saved their money all summer to give him and ipod touch.  He was super excited and amazed at their kindness.  The girls also spent the entire morning making fabulous cards for him.  This trip has been really great for him to realize how much the girls look up to him and value their big brother.  They miss him everyday and run up to see him with lots of hugs whenever they spot him.  James and I gave him a much needed life jacket.  He was very thankful and all his keener friends ooohhhed and aaahhhed over it.  We had a fun evening spending some time with him.

Ottawa River, Canada - First Week

We are in Canada at the Ottawa River kayaking and camping for the month of August.  Jacob and Kathryn worked all summer to earn money for their kayak classes and we will be here for 3 weeks.  Jacob’s camp lasts the entire 3 weeks and he is having a great time.  The instructors for his class are the best of the best in the sport and he is learning a lot.  We see him here and there throughout the week and for a few hours on Sunday for church.  I took a week-long class and learned to roll my kayak in moving water this week.  I had the best time!  I can roll up on either side, and even learned to hand roll (rolling without a paddle).  The best part of my class was my super instructor Brenna and two great ladies named Carol and Janine.  We had such a great time together and we learned a lot.  James, Kathryn and Sarah are taking their classes this week, they are really looking forward to it.  While I was in class this week James and the girls had fun riding bikes, playing games, jumping off the dock and playing on the water slides and rope swing. 

This is a video of me rolling – I had the goal to learn to roll this year and I am so glad I reached it!

Just for fun I started to learn to hand roll, it actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

On the Road - for the month!

On August 3 we headed north to Ontario, Canada.  On our way we stopped at Niagara Falls – It was amazing!  We had a great time walking around the falls and seeing the rainbows they create.  

Horseshoe falls - Canada in the background.

American Falls

Next stop was Palmyra, New York to see the Hill Cumorah, Joseph Smith’s home and the Sacred Grove.  We learned a lot and had a wonderful experience there. 

 This is the Smith home.

 On the Smith farm - the Palmyra temple is in the background. 

  This is the Monument at the top of the Hill Cumorah – Moroni is on top.

Happy Birthday Samantha!

We celebrated Samantha’s 6^th birthday on July 17.  We had a few friends over for a party on the morning.  The kids had a blast with a slip n slide and water guns.  She has such nice friends and it was a great party.  Samantha asked for horse cupcakes which turned out really cute. 

That evening we went to 88 China Buffet for dinner, her favorite restaurant and opened presents there.  She got a raincoat, polly pockets, diving toys and a watch.  She had a great day!

We went camping and rafting that weekend at the river and had cake again to finish celebrating her big day.  Samantha is a blessing to our family with her funny jokes and movie imitations.  She is thoughtful and loving and we are all grateful to have her in our family.

A Busy Summer!

Well it is already August and I just realized I haven't posted anything since May...what can I say, it has been a super fun and busy summer.

In June, Jacob and Kathryn held a kid's camp for 10 preschool age children to earn money for kayak classes in Canada.  Each day they had a letter of the day and a theme.  It was a great experience for them and the kids are already asking when camp will be next summer.  At the end of the month Jacob and James attended High Adventure which included canoeing 50 miles and adventures in living the scriptures.  James was in charge and did a super job!  One of the many tasks they had was to keep their gold plates (sand filled ammo cans painted gold) with them at all times.  This was a challenge since boys will be boys and they had a great time trying to steal them from each other.  They came home exhausted and happy.  James and Jacob attended youth conference the next week with 5 other stakes.  They both had a wonderful time.   The girls and I missed having them around for the month of June and I think they missed us a little bit too.

Jacob and Kathryn taught swimming lessons the entire month of July to earn money for kayak classes in Canada. Do you see a theme?  They also worked washing cars, babysitting, doing odd jobs around the house and Kathryn even earned money reading books - thank you Liberty!  

Kathryn attended sewing camp and made a skirt and a dress, they look great.  Her sewing skills have really improved and she already has 3 more projects to work on. 

In July we spent every weekend at the river.  It was great.  Jacob learned to surf in bigger holes and James and Jacob played on the Ocoee River (where they held the 1996 olympics - bigger water) for the first time.  Sarah and Emily reached new milestones in their kayaking, going down the Nantahala River for the first time.  They both did really well and are definitely hooked on kayaking.  Emily said the best part is getting splashed in the face.  Emily flipped her second time on the river and lost her paddle.  She did not cry about flipping, but shed several tears over the paddle.  Dad shed a few tears over the paddle too.  Kathryn is a super star at kayaking.  She went down The Falls (class III rapid) at the Natahala for the first time.  She is amazing!  Samantha and I had a great time being shuttle bunnies (following the kayakers in the car) and I can now quote the entire movie of Tangled.  :)