Happy 15th Anniversary

Happy 15th Anniversary to us!!  We have definitely come a long way in 15 years.  We've gone from just the two of us to now seven of us!  It has been a good ride and I am definitely not ready to get off anytime soon.  

For our anniversary this year, we had a nice night at home.  

The kids put together a restaurant for us complete with a menu and all.  They were the waiters and servers and everything.  As you can tell though, Brooklyn was not the happiest. The rest of the kids were very helpful and happy to serve.

According to the Internet, the traditional gift for a 15th wedding anniversary is crystal as it represents the pure and sparkling love between a married couple. The 15 year anniversary modern gift is a watch which symbolizes the beautiful time that the couple has spent together, and the many more days and years to come in the future. 

Well, we did not get each other crystals or watches, instead we got each other a new washer and dryer:

and a toaster!  Real romantic right?!  Well they are kind of shiny like a crystal though.  Our other washer and dryer and toaster lasted 15 years with is pretty good I guess.  Thankfully we will last much longer than that.

Happy Anniversary Russell!! I love you so much!

Red Fish Lake: Idaho Trip Day 7

We spent our final day in the Sawtooth Mountains at the famous Red Fish Lake. This is the most famous lake in this area.  Because of this, the place was so crowded.  

The Sawtooth Mountains also have a ton of hiking and mountain bike trails.  Russell wanted to try out one of the mountain bike trails before we left.  We looked on the trail map and discovered a trail head was right near our camp.  This trail led through the forest and mountains straight to Red Fish Lake.  This was the perfect trail.  He jumped on his bike and headed out while the kids and I drove the truck to the campground near the Lake and picked him up when he was done.  After biking that far, Russell was ready to jump in the lake and cool off.

We drove around the lake looking for a good beach area to play on.  Finally we found a fee area with no one around.  It was worth the $9 we paid to use the area because we had the place to ourselves.

Once again we had a great time kayaking and playing in the water.  Russell and the kids kayaked around the shore.  They kayaked over to the beach area near the Lodge and were surprised at how crowded it was.  They said there were people parked right next to each other and kayaks everywhere.  They paddled back to our little area and were glad we had the place to ourselves.

This was another beautiful area.  The mountains and trees surrounding us were awesome to look at.  The water was fun too. The kids had a blast kayaking all over the place. 

While everyone was out kayaking, Brooklyn and I made a new friend with a chipmunk.

 

This funny chipmunk smelled our lunch and came over to investigate.  He gathered all the chip crumbs from the ground and even found some treats on Logan's chair.  After a while, we left him a trail of chip crumbs to see if we could get him closer to us.  The funny part was that the chipmunk would gather the crumbs and then run away and bury them in the sand.  I don't know if he was just saving them for later because he didn't have room in his mouth or what he was doing.  It was exciting to watch him dig in the sand and chew the chips.

We loved playing in the water and seeing the famous Red Fish Lake.  After playing for a while, we headed back to camp to get dinner ready.  We also decided to start setting down camp because we were heading home in the morning.  

The next morning we finished setting down camp and headed home.  This trip was so fun.  Except for losing the dog that is...  We really liked this area and I think we will come back another time.  There is still so much we were not able to see.  We also had a great time hanging out with Tami and Roy. 

Lady Face Falls: Idaho Trip Day 6

The next day was a beautifully sunny day.  It had rained the day before so the dust was settled.  We decided this would be the perfect day to go for a hike.  The hike we went on was near Stanley Lake and led us to Lady Face Falls.

We wanted to go on a hike but we didn't know what to do with Truly.  She could not walk that far on her beat up paws and we couldn't leave her alone at the trailer.  So we improvised. We put her inside the undercarriage of the stroller!  At first we were not sure if she would fit but then we figured out a way and she was happy to ride in style.  She was so happy to be strolled along that when we took her out for a few minutes she tried to climb back in on her own.  Poor pampered dog...  It was a bumpy, dusty ride but Truly and Brooklyn didn't care, they slept the whole way.

The trail was actually really nice and very well maintained.  It was perfect for the stroller and there were only a few spots that were too skinny or too rough.  As we made our way up to the falls, the last hill was a killer pushing the stroller because it was so rocky.  Finally we made it up to the turn off to the falls.  From there the stroller could not go any further so I packed the baby and Russell packed the dog. 

The trail took us to the top of the Lady Face Falls. This was kind of disappointing because we couldn't really see the Falls unless we climbed over to the edge.  This wasn't the safest thing especially for little kids and gimp dogs so we didn't get to see the Falls very well.  The big kids climbed down, which sent my heart racing with fear, and were able to see the waterfall. Thankfully they were safe.

The Falls were pretty cool though when you got close to them.  Down below people were swimming in the river.  Somewhere there was a trail that lead to the bottom of the falls but we didn't know where that was.  If we didn't have to wrestle the hurt dog, a baby, and the rocky road, we probably could have found our way down but we were ready to head back.  Next time...

The hike was beautiful and the scenery was amazing.  There are a lot of hikes throughout the Sawtooth Mountains.  This area is a backpackers paradise.  Russell and I talked about coming back here when Brooklyn is a little older and going on some of the hikes with the kids.

We made it back to the truck by late afternoon.  The hike back always seems to go faster than the hike there. We were all dusty and tired but we had a good time.

Back at camp we took time to rest and play in the river.  It seemed like anytime there was an opportunity to get in the water, that is right where the kids went.  This was a perfect way for them to get all of the dirt off of their feet though!  We also did some more fishing with Roy and Tami and caught a few more fish.

That night it was a full moon so it was cool to watch the moon rise in over the mountains into the sky.  We have been having a great time camping with the Pryor's. It is very nice to hang out with them and get to know them better.

Petit Lake: Idaho Trip Day 5

We were so excited to have our dog back the next morning!  Poor Truly though was pretty banged up.

All four of her paws were skinned up so badly that she had no pads left.  Her belly and chin also had road rash.  We still have no idea how she got out of the back of the truck but we are glad that her collar was a little wet and loose so she was able to slip out.  Other wise we would be seeing a different story.  

Now we really have to baby Truly because it is hard for her to walk.  In fact she really doesn't even want to leave her kennel.  Each day Russell changes the dressings on her legs and she hates it.  We have to hold her head so that she doesn't try to bite his hands.  It was hard trying to keep her bandages clean while we were camping.  But we are so happy to have our dog back!  The kids are simply overjoyed.

We decided to visit another lake in the Sawtooth Mountains.  We went to Petit Lake.

This little lake was quite hidden in the mountains.  The scenery around this lake was breathtaking!  We could see the whole Sawtooth Mountain range from where we sat on the beach.  We took the kayaks out again and explored the whole lake.  Russell and the kids paddled around the lake while I watched Brooklyn and Truly.  They found little coves and even some private cabins with little boat docks.  I loved how secluded this lake was.

In the middle of the lake, well a ways out from the shore, was a floating log.  Emily decided to climb up on the log to see if she could balance.  Here she is just seconds before she fell back in the water.  The kids like wrestling this log. 

Brooklyn liked chilling in the shade of the umbrella.  Poor Truly didn't know what to do with herself.  She didn't want to walk because she couldn't but everywhere she laid the ants annoyed her so badly.  Finally we made a little bed for her on one of the kayaks and she was safe from the ants for a while and she was out of the dirt so her bandages could stay cleaner.  We kept her in the shade and she tried to relax.  From now on, we will keep her in her kennel while riding in the truck.

Custer Ghost Town: Idaho Trip Day 4

We decided we couldn't sit around camp all day wishing and hoping for someone to bring our dog back to us.  Even though this was a terrible thing to happen, we couldn't let it ruin our trip.  We decided to leave it to the microchip in Truly to finally find us.  So we spent our 4th day in Idaho checking out the sights at the Custer Ghost Town.  

Our first stop on the way to the Ghost Town was the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge.

This giant gold dredge was used in 1940 to search for gold along the Yankee Fork river.  The dredge weighed 988 tons.  It ran for about 7 years before it was shut off and left where it sat.  The gold claim was supposed to have about 11 million dollars worth of gold in it but it never produced that much.  In fact the owners walked away because they felt like they were not producing enough to make it worth it.

Each of these buckets that dug up the ground weighed about one ton and there were 71 of them used on this dredge.  This seemed like something cool to tour and learn more about so we decided to go on the tour though the dredge.  We learned a lot about how and when it was used.  We were in awe at the size of this machine.

This whole thing was powered by two Ingersoll-Rand diesel engines each producing 350 HP.  This is the engines, gears and switchboards.  These things were so huge!  We loved touring and learning more about this piece of history.

When we finished with the Dredge, we continued up the road to the ghost town of Custer.

Custer was a mining town during the 1870s.  This little town was a booming place while the mining and gold rushes were going on in this area.  When the mines and gold dried up, however, so did the town.  When the mining companies moved out, so did the money and the industry.  It was fun to walk through this town and see some of the older homes that had survived the years.  There were some homes, a school, and the saloon.  There was also a little cemetery.  One sad story we learned was about a family that was lost in a mudslide or avalanche in the winter.  The parents survived the slide but the three daughters were buried.  

On the way back to camp, we stopped at the Sunbeam Hot Springs.

The Sunbeam Hot Springs is located along the Salmon River.  The Hot Springs run right into the river so in this area there are little pools of hot water that you can lounge in.  The river is cold water but where the hot springs mix in, a warm pool is created.  The kids loved sticking their feet and hands in the warm water.  They didn't have their swimming suits or they would have sat right in it.  The bad thing about the Hot Springs is that it smelled like sulfur like in Yellowstone.  This was a beautiful area.

On the way back to town and camp, we turned on our phones in hopes of hearing something about our dog.  As we got into an area with service, my phone chimed with a message.  We all crossed our fingers hoping it was something about Truly.  As we listened to the message, it was a message from the agency that programmed Truly's chip!  Her chip had finally been scanned and they knew where our dog was!!  We were so excited we were shaking!  We had to listen to the message a few times in order to get all of the information we needed to call them back to find out more information.  When Russell called them back, he found out that Truly was taken to a vet in Boise, ID.  Boise is about 4 hours away from Stanley so we did not think to call any vets in that area.  The vet gave us the name of the guy that brought Truly in and we were able to get a hold of him and make arrangements to get our dog back.  The guy seemed kind of annoyed at us for calling and thought we had just abandoned our dog in the mountains.  We told him that was not the case and explained the situation and our search for the last two days.  Apparently, this guy had found Truly on the side of the road all beat up.  He picked her up and then drove home to Boise.  He stopped to get gas in Stanley which is where he talked to the gas station attendant about ten minutes before Russell came looking for Truly.  After getting gas, he headed to Boise.  We never would have found Truly if it hadn't been for her chip!

That night Russell and Emily drove all the way to Boise and back to pick up Truly.  We were so grateful to have our prayers answered and know that she was okay.  It turned out to be a great day after all!

Happy Birthday Russell

 Well Russell's birthday was probably not the best birthday he has ever had.  We were so stressed out and worried about our dog, Truly, that we couldn't really think about anything else.  We didn't even take one picture for the whole day.  We spent the day driving around Stanley looking for any sign of our dog or any information we could find.  We drove to every campsite, campground, store, or house we could and talked to everyone and anyone that was outside.  Nobody knew anything about our dog and nobody had seen anything.  We were so confused and worried about what had happened to our dog.  We really thought that by looking at every campsite, we would be able to find the people that had picked up our dog.  Russell also called every veterinarian in the area and the surrounding towns in hopes that the people that found her took her to a vet.  Still there was no news.  Tami and Roy drove clear to Sun Valley and talked to some vets down there too.  They didn't find Truly but they did talk to the lady that found her first.  This lady said that she found Truly on the side of the road and that she had given Truly some water.  She didn't pick Truly up because she didn't know what to do with her but then a few minutes later she felt guilty and went back to find Truly but couldn't find her.  She said Truly had a lot of road rash but seemed to be fine.  She hoped that someone had come back to get the dog while she was gone.  Well at least that was some news to know that Truly was okay but we still didn't know where she was.  We finally decided to just trust that things would work out.  Truly has a microchip implanted in her so if she is taken to a vet, they will be able to find us when they scan for a chip.  Now we just had to wait and hope.

What a great birthday right?   Well we did have cobbler that night and that was really good.  The kids also got to go fishing in the river with Roy.  They were excited to catch a few fish and it took their minds off of Truly.  Sorry Russell.  But happy 38th birthday anyway...

Stanley Lake: Idaho Trip Day 2

We made it to our destination for our big family trip of the Summer, Stanley, ID.  After leaving Balanced Rock, we got to our campsite really late around midnight or one.  Luckily the Pryor's were already there and had saved us a place.  We camped about twenty mile south of Stanley, ID along the river.  We didn't really know where to camp so this looked like a good place.  Now that we have explored this area, we found some other good campsites we could use if we come back up here.

Our first day was spent at Stanley Lake.

 It was so fun just relaxing at the lake kayaking and swimming.

We kayaked all over the lake.  The scenery was so beautiful!  The lake was also quite peaceful with hardly any waves.  We kayaked around the whole lake discovering different areas.  We floated through downed trees and near bridges.  Along the lake, it was fun to see the different depths of water.  Some areas were really shallow and we could see and touch the bottom and other areas were really deep. We were also able to see lots of little fish swimming around our kayaks.  Tami and Roy had a two person kayak/canoe that was really fast.  Because it was V-shaped, it just cut through the water much better than our flat bottomed kayaks.  We tried to race Roy  but he beat us every time.

The scenery was the best part of sailing on the lake.  I could have just kayaked out to the middle of the lake and stayed there all day!

Brooklyn also liked sticking her feet in the cold water.  At least for a little bit.

The water was quite cold but the kids didn't seem to care about that.  They were just happy to get out of the heat. Truly did not like the water at all.  The poor dog just wanted to sit in the shade but Emily and the other kids just kept trying to drag her out into the water.  Russell even got her on the kayak for a few minutes.  

After spending the day at the lake, it was time to head back to camp. We loaded up the truck and put Truly in the back with the kayaks.  We secured her in with her leash and headed back to camp.  When we got back to camp, we realized something had gone terribly wrong.  Russell got out and Truly was gone.  All that was left was her collar.  Emily immediately started screaming and crying.  It was so terrible.  We didn't know what had happened to Truly or how she had gotten out of the back of the truck.  As I was trying to hold onto Emily, Tami rushed over and grabbed Brooklyn and the other kids as Russell got back in the truck and sped off to try and find our dog.  Roy followed after him to try and help.  

While we waited, the kids were just heart broken that their dog was missing.  We didn't know if she was dead or just hurt somewhere or what had happened to her.

After driving around and searching for a few hours, Russell finally got some news about Truly.  He drove clear back to Stanley Lake and couldn't find Truly.  Then he asked some people at the Lake and found out that someone had found a dog on the side of the road and had taken it into town.  Russell rushed to the town and asked everywhere.  Someone at the gas station said they had talked to a guy about a hurt dog and was sure it was our dog.  This was great new but we still didn't know where our dog was who had her or what was wrong with her.  Russell left his phone number and campsite with the gas station person.  We just kept hoping the people would come back to the gas station and ask about us.

We were really heartbroken that night but we had some good news, our dog was alive.  We said a family prayer that night and had faith that we would find her.

Balanced Rock: Idaho Trip Day 1

This summer we took two fun trips.  The first one was to Texas and the second was to Idaho.  We had heard a lot about the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho and decided to check it out this summer.  It was originally going to be trip with my whole family but, in the end, it was just us and Tami and Roy.  This was a really fun and eventful trip.  We had a great time.

As we were looking up things to do on our way to the Sawtooth Mountains, we found out about this cool rock formation called Balanced Rock.  We decided to check it out on our way.  

While this was an interesting rock, I don't know that it was worth the hour drive out of our way to get there.  It felt like we were driving to the middle of no where as we were trying to find this rock. Finally we made it and as we looked up from the road to see the rock we just started laughing!  We had driven out of our way to see this little funny looking rock in the middle of nothing.  Well we decided to make the best of it and got out and hiked up to the Balanced Rock.

We look some fun pictures and it was good to get out and stretch our legs. Okay so the Balanced Rock was a pretty interesting formation in fact the base at the bottom is only about 3 feet in diameter and this small base holds up a 48 foot tall, 40 ton rock.  

This area was a bit of a tourist trap and not much to do or see.  There was a nice little park near the Balanced Rock that we were able to stop at and have dinner though.  The kids liked running around in this shady area.  We were also able to fill up the trailer with water here so that we didn't have to find somewhere in the middle of the night.  

After eating dinner, we got back on the road headed north to Stanley Idaho.