Island Park Canoeing

The water was a little low and the weather was a bit cold, but canoeing down Max Inn was still pretty fun. And since we went at the end of the day we saw plenty of moose.
 The only mishap was at the end when we were getting into the trucks. I opened the tailgate of the trailblazer and a propane tank fell out onto my foot. Not the broken one, thankfully. I screamed and Matt rushed to me exclaiming "Why did you do that!" Good question, I thought it would be fun to break my other foot!

Island Park Boating

The water was a little low this year, but the kids found ways to entertain themselves in the dirt and water.

 Jemma's photo shoot.  She loves the camera!

Island Park Birthday Party

Bennett is laughing so hard in the picture below because he played a sneaky trick on me. He knew he was getting his scriptures for his birthday. He went with me to pick them out. But I told him he couldn't look at them until his birthday. The sneaky dude found them and slipped a 20 dollar bill under the cover. When he opened them up he exclaimed thanks for the money, I was speechless. I couldn't figure out how that had happened. He then started laughing hysterically at his trick. Silly boy!

Island Park Treasure Hunt

Bennett made a special request. He wanted to celebrate his birthday with his cousins and he wanted a treasure hunt. Heather made that happen. The kids had a blast running from clue to clue.

The good thing about breaking your foot is that your husband feels a little bad for you and will carry you around when you're being slow.

Island Park

Our 4 wheeler excursion!

 It seems like such a big production getting everyone ready. So many kids! But so fun and worth it!

Ouch! July Continued

The kids and I came back to Idaho a week later after the 4th of July. There was so much to do and get done. Heather and Jason received their endowments in the Rexburg Temple (I wish I had a picture).

After that Grandma Betty had her 90th birthday. Michelle, Mom, Heather, and I took her to lunch at one of her favorite places to eat, Babes'. (I wish I had a picture).

Then it was time to get everything ready to head up to the cabin in Island Park. All the McNichol clan were headed up for a week of fun. There was so much to plan and get ready, so I helped things along by breaking my toe and fracturing my foot.

I did it while doing something very exciting.  Hanging wet laundry. I turned around, and stubbed my toe on the vacuum that was behind me. It hurt. Really, really bad. I sat down for a few minutes, holding my toe, and rocking back and forth. (I did take a picture of this). 

90th Birthday

The first week of July when we were on our way from Island Park to Grace we stopped in Idaho Falls to see Grandma Betty.
Her birthday is this month on July 18th, and it's a big one. She turned 90!  She loves to read, so we brought her a few books to pass the time.

July

July was extremely eventful in the Washburn household.

We started the month off by going with the Washburn gang to Yellowstone.  We did spot 2 large elk and took the trek down to the river to take a better look.  Then we drove around for a few hours listening to our children, plus a cousin or two yell and talk and scream and laugh and be noisy in general.  I was very happy to get out of the car in West Yellowstone and watch the kids drive away with the men back to the cabin in Island Park while the ladies all went to The Playmill and watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

 We stayed up in Island Park and took a couple pictures by Jason's Cabin before we headed to Grace to finish our Washburn reunion.

 July 4th dawned and found us in Soda Springs, Idaho.  We are so glad Soda Springs has an excellent parade.  They throw tons of candy.  The kids go absolutely crazy with the sight of all that sugar.

 And I am even more excited when we found a face painting booth!  Just in case there is any question, Jemma's face was painted as a fairy princess.  Jacks thinks he rockin' a star, and Bennett is very patriotic with his American Flag.

 The men also tried to kill themselves off. They played in a 3 on 3 group.  The "old men" were pretty winded and sore after their games, but they did alright keeping up.

After the tournament, we jumped in our car and headed back to Lander, Wyoming. We wanted to be home to watch fireworks since Matt had to work the next day. We made it in time for the rodeo. Unfortunately, our excursion was cut short. Bennett touched a horse and not 5 minutes later started swelling up. We raced him home to get him some medicine. Luckily the allergic reaction stopped and we were able to enjoy the fireworks that were exploding all around town.

My Children

We got some new swim gear. I'm pleased with the results.