Happy Independence Day!

July 4, 2024

This year we had a family reunion on Dad's side of the family.

We went to a parade in the morning.

Joyanne had her hair done all patriotic like.

We had a BBQ in the early evening.

Then we went to the Melaleuca Fireworks show.

The fireworks were fantastic!

Being with family was the ultimate best!!!!

Jamie and Family

Maren, Grant, Ben, and Leah

Jaden, Joyanne, and James on the blanket closest.

Joyanne's cute hair.

Grant waiting for candy at the parade with other kids.

Noah, Hailey, Beacham, and his sister, and Grandpa.

Joyanne's hair with Beacham in the maroon shirt.

 

Home Fun

 

June 15-24, 2024

While Jaden and I were in Des Moines, Iowa for Nationals Speech and Debate, the others partied on at home.

Gravity Factory is always a good time!
James, in the foam pit.

Grant, doing his amazing tramp flips.

Whoa, buddy! 😶

James jumping.

Another bound into the squishy pit.

Swimming at Heise Hot Springs was so relaxing.

Studly Grant! 😄

Do you see James' dark tan lines???
That's from working out in the sun at Yellowstone Bear World.

Heise Hot Springs was very crowded.

Dad went to Boise for some training, and when he went to play disc golf, he got a nasty cut on his leg.
He thinks it was a small stick that got caught in his leg.
It was pretty painful. It's still taking it's time to heal a month later.

Oh, Yahtzee!
Our fun Sunday game we enjoy playing.

For Father's day, Dad received a flashlight and this quote from our church.

Yummy Breakfast Bake for Grant and James!

Disc golf was fun with all the flags around.
But, I do believe this may have been around Memorial Day in May or Flag Day on June 14th, not sure which.
Trying to keep up with all the pictures can be challenging at times.

Weasels

June 26 & 28, 2024

We enjoyed a yummy meal at Mo Betta's.
It was a first time for most of us. We enjoyed the very filling food.

This was my order, with 3 different kinds of meat, brown rice, and a delicious macaroni salad.

When we saw this little creature in our window well, we thought it was a ferret.
After posting it on Facebook, we learned it was a weasel.
We tried to catch it at first, when we thought it was a ferret, to keep as a pet.
When we learned it was a weasel, we stopped trying to catch it.
The dogs sure went crazy over it, but thankfully they didn't catch it.

 

World War One Museum

Monday, July 24, 2024

We drove to Kansas City, Missouri and went to the National WWI Museum and Memorial.
The day was super hot, and the chocolate I bought for my mom's birthday melted from walking to the building to the car. It truly felt like we were in an oven when we walked outside.

 

Adventureland, the Zoo, and Riding the Rails

June 22nd & 23rd, 2024

My pictures are a bit backwards.

On Saturday, the 21st, we (the Rigby Debate Team) went to Adventureland.

The next day, in the morning, we went to the zoo and then to Railway Explorers.

We went to an Amusement Park in Des Moines called Adventureland.
They had a few fun rides.
The park wasn't as great as Lagoon, but some of the rides, like the Monster, were thrilling to ride.

Nathan and Creed having fun at the midpoint of our railway explorer ride while the workers turned our cars around.
We were able to see fireflies on the ride back.

Jaden and I at the midpoint of our railway excursion.

What it looked like going over one of the bridges on the railway excursion.
It was kind of nerve-racking looking down, hoping not to fall.

Jaden capturing our moment on the bridge.

Another bridge view of those tall trees below the bridge.

Awwww, can I really make it across? Scary!!!

Me, up front, with my friend, Paula, behind.

The nice worker guy who was giving us instructions on how to cross the bridge.

We went to Railway Explorers on a journey across train tracks where we were able to go a few miles with beautiful views all around.

Our fun group riding together.

And . . . we're off!!!

Jaden resting on the long caterpillar.

We had fun visiting the Blank Park Zoo.
The giraffes were our favorite, but it got pretty hot.