Another Horse Show

Took Nicole to a fun horse show in Lewiston yesterday.  It was a beautiful, not-too-hot day of fun.

This show was put on by a 4-H club run by a good friend of ours.  It was a Ranch Horse show, which means it was about moving cattle.....  (And the calves don't always cooperate!)

Roping...  (Tricky to say the least!)

Showing off your ground work skills....  (Here, Nicole is backing her horse away from her as she stands in one spot.  Harder than it might sound.  And he did it!)

And playing fun games with your friends!  (This is the "Ribbon Race" where you and your teammate hold a two foot piece of crepe paper and if it breaks you're out.  They had to trot and lope and change directions and stop and back.  They did great.  So great in fact, that they were the winning team!)

This girl came home with lots of medals and that big ribbon represents her win of Grand Champion for her age group (which also included a $75 gift certificate!).  Good job, kiddo.

Peach Picking

I cajoled, bribed and generally guilted my kids into coming along with  mom and I to go pick peaches at a local orchard yesterday.  They were good sports and it was easy picking.

I wish the fruit showed up in this photo better.  The trees were loaded!

The five of us picked 170 pounds in less than 45 minutes!!  What will we do with all of it, you ask?  Well, eat a LOT and make the rest into fruit leather and maybe some freezer jam.  Yummy!

What a great fruit picking crew.  Thanks guys!  I'll be happy to guilt you into lots of other fun activities in the near future!

Selfies and Friends

This sweet group got together on the last day of Jordan's visit for a fun swim.  We had to take one more group picture for posterity's sake before they said their goodbyes.

Oh, and they needed to take a selfie, too.

But, it's hard to take a selfie, sometimes.  Who has the longest arms?

Why, that would be Morgan!  (Notice the lurking photobomber on the right!!)

Good friends are a gift.  We hope to hang on to this one despite the distance between our homes.  Thanks for a great visit, Jordan.  Come back soon!

Minecraft Birthday Party

Morgan planned a late birthday party last week that coincided with when his good friend, Jordan, was going to be visiting from Pocatello.  He did a great job planning all their activities and all his friends had a fun time.

He had a Minecraft theme (a popular video game).  This is supposed to be a spider from the game.

A Minecraft cake that Ellea helped me out by decorating.  If you don't understand minecraft, don't try.  I barely understand it.  I just smile and nod.

Morgan made his own pinata (starting with a box).  He did a great job.

Freeze dance became a balloon war.  Fun for all.

And we wrapped up with photo booth props.
 

This group has done lots of fun stuff together over the past couple years and they a great time last weekend spending time with Jordan while he was in town.  Hopefully, Jordan comes back again soon!

Jet Boat Stops

Our first stop on the jet boat trip was a stop at a place called Buckskin Bill's where we ate a lovely picnic lunch courtesy of Nancy and her family.  This place is  a home and museum along the river and is only accessible by jet boat.  Buckskin Bill moved to this location in 1936 and lived a very rustic life until he died in 1980.

This is the Buckskin Bill Tower.  This website says this stone gun tower was built in defiance of the forest service which was threatening to take away his right to live along the river.   Lucky for them, they let him stay.

Check out this site for a virtual tour of the museum.

Our next stop was Mackay Bar which is a beautiful guest ranch located on the river not far from Buckskin Bill's.  The kids were offered horse rides and said no at first, but why not?

Riding with a halter, bareback and shoeless on a sweet horse out in the middle of nowhere.  It's a good life.

The beach at Mackay bar was covered in beautiful butterflies.

So pretty!

Selfies on the Boat

Love these kids!