Laura - Dave & Clan: August 2009

We barely had reached full summer mode, yet, it has already come to an end.

Here are some of the highlights of our summer.

Whitney Lake - Camping
Streams were thoroughly enjoyed by the kids!

Whitney Lake was one of my favorite camping locations. It is several miles off of the Mirror Lake Highway - all on a dirt road, but it's SO peaceful, and because of the less-groomed road, there were relatively few campers. We enjoyed fishing & campfire cooking.

One note: If you choose to go up there (yes, even in summer) - bring WARM gear. It was so freezing cold at night, Dave & Derek nearly froze. Luckily, we bundled Jenna sufficiently so she stayed warm. Once morning came, we were awoken by a herd of sheep that had been brought in the nearby hills by their shepherd to graze. It was amazing to see how many SHEEP there were! This is definitely going to be a repeat location for our family!!

Jenna preferred to be fed, and lounge at the same time (Oh No jenna - you CAN'T have my diet coke) :D

The view! Isn't it gorgeous?!

Me & Hay

Dave & Jenna -- and the dog... :o

Fishing!

Jenna & I chose to observe while the rest fished, particularly because I don't care for touching slimy worms.

Hailey LOVED fishing!! She got her own (pink) fishing rod & everything!

Dave - teaching the techniques...

FAMILY VISITS!

My sister Melanie & most of her kids came out during July for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. We enjoyed some extra activities, like visiting "Jump On It". Fun & jumping was had by all!

GO Mel!

My girls!

Nothing like story time w/ Auntie Mel to cement a solid relationship:)

The Temple!

The cousins

I LOVE this temple, it is so beautiful, and we had a great time walking through w/ the kids.

Girl's Camp - 2009

This year I was able to attend girls camp w/ my ward. It was difficult to be away from home (especially the baby) for a week, but it was wonderful to get to know the young ladies better & to spend time w/ them. We were able to stay at the Heber Valley Camp which is a luxurious (for camp) facility!

At the lake, there was this sign posted & I thought it was fitting for our time up there.

The view from the top, after one of our hikes.

The camp had some amazing challenge courses -- this was one of them that any who wanted to participate in could. It was awesome... the rope ladder, the step across & the zip-line down. It was a blast!

Myself & Kathy, our camp director -- paddling around out on the lake.

Playing some games w/ the girls at campfire

Liberty Park

This was one of our favorite summer spots to go. The kids had a great time when we'd go, feeding the ducks, playing in the water or on the playgrounds. I love this park!

PEEK-A-BOO!

Lava Hot Springs, ID

This ended up being one of the funnest trips we've had. We rented a house in Lava Hot Springs w/ Dave's parents, his sister Lisa & her family. It was such a fun town - cute little Main ST w/ lots of quaint shops. Hailey LOVED having freedom to roam the main drag w/ her cousin Dawson. There is a HUGE swimming pool in town w/ lots of diving boards & planks. Dave told Hailey if she jumped off the 30 foot plank he'd give her 20$. Hailey lamented over that, wanting the $$, but being uncertain about the jump. She spent a few hours standing on the planks, walking to the edge & then backing up. Finally, she opted out of it, and decided to enjoy the lower plank (which was still HIGH -- in fact, too high for me to jump off!), the diving boards, the water/climbing wall & the other diving boards. We loved tubing the Portneuf river that goes through town. Besides one capsizing by Dave & Derek (thank-goodness for life jackets on little ones!!), the tubing went without problem. The water was COLD, but very fun -- Perfect for family tubing!! The hot-springs were hot indeed, and felt nice after a long day.
Derek gained a new confidence as he flew into Dad!