Freak Out

Nicole came back to my mom's house from a walk to the park in Grangeville. She told me she hurt her toe.

"I'll show it to you, but don't freak out, mom. It's reallly bad."

Really. Hmm. Is it hamburger, or a bloody pulp? Exactly how does she expect me to freak out? Am I supposed to cry or scream, or perhaps just faint?

It wasn't all that bad, but it looked like it hurt. She ripped a nice flap on the tip of her big toe. I was rather impressed she was keeping her composure so well. I was not, however, inspired to freak out. Maybe next time.

I took a photo of said-toe the next day specifically for blogging purposes, but it was a tad on the icky side, so I thought I'd spare you. Maybe next time.

Camping for the Dogs

Our dog, Zoey, is the best camping companion. She's not a big fan of driving in cars, so that part isn't so fun, but once we get there, she's a doll. She comes immediately when you call her, she doesn't wander off too far. She doesn't bark. She's friendly to everyone, but she's not particularly loyal. She'll sit or lay by anyone who'll have her. I think she'd go home with just about anyone. Luckily, she came home with us this time.In short, she's just a fabulous dog. Sadly, our Schnauzer, Zip, rarely gets invited on camping trips because he barks at everything. Other than that, he's great too. Oh, and he has been known to nip at people he doesn't know. Other than that he's terrific. Really.

Zoey was such a trooper on the beach. She'd find a sliver of shade and sleep the day away with no complaining. Sometimes the shade was in short supply, so Ellea fashioned this shelter for her by draping her beach towel between a chair and a small shovel. Zoey must've appreciated the gesture, because she stayed put for a couple hours! What a great dog! She might look a little funny, but we sure like her!

Ka-bobs on the Barbie

We set up the barbecue for dinner the last night of camping.

It got a little crazy for a minute.

But the resultant shish-ka-bobs were pretty yummy, so it was all good!

The River Runs Through It

My family loves camping on the Selway. We spend every day on the river.

We spend a lot of time in these tubes. There's a couple mile stretch of river that we float down. It has one bigger rapid (nothing too crazy) and a bunch of very small ones. It's a good time.

A couple years ago a couple people bought these pontoon rafts and tried them out on the river. Now there are several in the group that have them. I tried one out for the first time. It was fun, but not as easy as it looks to make it go where I wanted it to! I was exhausted. I'm sure I could get better with practice, but floating in a tube is still more relaxing!

Morgan and His Girls

That Morgan. He's quite the ladies' man! As I mentioned the other day, he is smitten with little Elise, but he's also terribly fond of another Selway girl, Jessie! They're mostly inseparable when we're camping. Playing on the beach, playing at camp, watching movies, eating other people's food. It's a great set up. It's a good thing that Morgan has two older sisters who've indoctrinated him in the finer points of Barbies and dolls. He can play alongside a girl quite happily.

The movie on night one was a Barbie selection. No complaints from Morgan. Smart boy. Him, two girls and a movie in a darkened camper. Not sure how many more years we can let this go on un-chaperoned......

Idaho Vandals

This Selway group is made up of predominantly die-hard Idaho Vandal fans. A lot of Idaho Alumni, actually. We have lots of fun meals together on the annual August trip and on hors d'oeurve night, we also had "Vandal night" this year. Everyone was encouraged to wear their Vandal gear and a rare group photo was snapped. Sadly, Glenn and I forgot to bring Vandal gear of our own, but our kids had theirs. We've trained them well! Very anti-BSU (Boise State--our arch-rivals) around our house!

Morgan's in the front row between his two favorite girls. Nicole is on the far left and Ellea is two to the right from her. (Photo courtesy Mike Uhling.)

Go Vandals!!