Family Fun

We made our annual 4th of July trip up to Idaho Falls again this year to spend the holiday with my sisters and brother and nieces and nephews.  It was a great weekend and we made a lot of memories:

The first night we were there we went to the Idaho Chuckers Baseball game to watch my niece Marissa sing the National Anthem.  She did an amazing job.  She brought tears to my eyes.

The next day was the 4th so we went to a ward breakfast and flag ceremony and then a parade in the morning.  That evening we went to dinner and the amazing fireworks show that Malaleuca puts on each year (the biggest west of the Mississippi).
We went river rafting down the Hoback River the next day and had quite the adventure.  Sadly, I did not get any pictures of this.  Needless to say, we lost three passengers out of one boat and had a foot of water in the other boat by the day's end.
We were also able to go up to a ranch owned by a friend of my brother's.  It was a beautiful place that was great for fishing (since the ranch had it's own pond stocked with fish) and four wheeling.  This time I remembered my camera:

We went on a four wheeling ride to an old abandoned lead mine.  Near the entrance of the mine there is a beautiful look out point.  Above is part of the gang: (Top) Samantha, Rebecca, Paul, Sara, (Bottom) Kayden, Camron Meaghan and Alexa.

Kayden and I in the old mine tunnels.  It was dark in there and we only had one flashlight!

We decided to go back and get everyone else so they could see the mine as well.  Above Josh is exploring the mine tunnels with his cousins.  (This time we grabbed more flashlights.)

Jaxon was cautious and decided to observe the mine from the outside.  The entrance was pretty neat and there was a nice cool breeze coming from it.

Here is Camron and Kayden ready to go for a ride with Uncle Paul.

Jaxon and I getting ready for long ride.

Kayden loves riding with his dad.  He wanted to help him drive.

This is my niece Sara and McKay just before our long four wheel ride.

This is Sara and McKay after the four wheeling ride.  The trails were dusty and they got dirty!

This is Kayden and Jeremy after the ride.  They got dirty as well.  If you click on the picture, you can see that Kayden even has dirt in his teeth. 

We had a good time fishing at the ranch as well.  Anyone who wanted to catch a fish, caught one.  Here is Josh with a fish that he caught with his dad.

McKay being patient while fishing.

Jaxon reeling one in.

Becca caught the elusive golden trout.  Plus she looks so stylish.

It was a great trip.  We had a great time together and we made lots of memories.  It was a great way to spend the 4th of July.  The boys loved being with their cousins and Aunts and Uncles.  We did miss Grandma and Grandpa who are busy serving a mission and can't wait until we can all make memories together again!