Bloomington Lake

 This was our first trip to Bloomington Lake since July 2010, a wedding and two kids ago. It is quite a bit busier than it was back then. Too many people have found out how beautiful it is.

Taking a little dip to beat the heat!

Both kids were great hikers on the way in, only about 3/4 of a mile. 

 Then Ellie turned into a mountain goat when we got around the lake to the huge rocks.

 She was being very adventurous and Benson felt like he needed to do everything Ellie did, which made us a little nervous.

He was definitely getting tired and just sat with me for awhile so Danny could go for a little swim. He only perked up for a picture when we promised him a milk shake when we got done hiking.

 Sleepy and hot. It was 90 degrees out while we were hiking and we went through a lot of water!

 Ellie, part mountain goat.

 Benson got a free ride out of the mountains. The huge group of people were waiting and watching people on the rope swing. Too many people.

Ellie finished the hike finding all different kinds of wild flowers. Pink, purple, blue, yellow and white.

Weekend Fun

 We went to Bear Lake for the night and tried out our new hammock. It was the best idea Danny had and maybe the best $50 spent on Amazon!

The creek was shallow enough on our side to get their feet wet.

 We discovered how fun these three duck decoys that Mitch and Miriam left in the barn could be. They were named and dragged around the grass for an hour.

 Three days of softball games is exhausting.

 Again, the best $50 spent.

 Hours of entertainment.

Sleepy Benson. Ignore the bird poop on the fence, it's a cute picture!

No Child Left Inside #2

 This time we met at Sacajawea Park and learned about owls. Then the kids got to see what is inside a real owl pellet. 

 Then we looked for some birds along the river.

 And finished with a craft, coloring and making our own owl masks! 

Playgrounds Never Get Old

First Day of July

 We spent the day at American Falls Reservoir and it's a good thing we took the tube, because the water was pretty rough!

 Benson thought the tube looked pretty fun and just wanted to float around on it.

 Now everyone wants to pile on!

 Where's Abby?

 Daddy even "pulled" them a little. And by "pulled" I mean, dragged them with the boat idling! Any faster and it threatened to sink them without enough weight in the back. They didn't want to go faster anyway!

 The water was pretty chilly.

 Benson was getting awfully brave and wanted to float on the "trampoline" side.

And jump a little first.

 He could have floated on the waves all day.

 Oh, pictures.

 The big girls didn't escape a few dunks.

Headed back to the dock. Everyone was a little sleepy.