my star scout

On the 20th, David earned the rank of Star Scout.  We're quite proud.

There was a moment of humor:

"...and David has earned his Fingerpainting merit badge..." (Note the raised eyebrow.)

"Er... FingerPRINTING merit badge."

I have two guys in the "Eagles Nest," and someday hope to have three.

mount st. helens

Since I moved to Oregon, I've always wanted to visit Mount St. Helen's and last week we finally went.  It takes about four hours to get there, but is well worth the drive.  So awesome, in the real sense of that word.

We saw some wildlife...

Inchworm enhance...

The closer we got, the more impressive the mountain became.

The view from the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center.

Getting closer.

From the look-out at the Johnston Ridge Observatory, about 5 miles away.
You really need to click on this to get a feel for the great sweep of land.

 

On the way home, we stopped to visit Bigfoot.

learning to dance

At the lovely wedding reception we attended the other night, David got dancing lessons from his sweet friend, Katie:

Then more lessons from his sister, Heather:

They grow up so fast!

is this a big weed...

or what?

I suggested that we cut it up for firewood...

(Hmm, maybe we've let the yard get just a tad out of hand...)

Shoshone Falls

A beautiful place I'd never been was Shoshone Falls, near Twin Falls, Idaho.  Notice the double rainbow:

 

Here's an old photo of how the falls looked when they were first discovered, in the 1800s:

 

 Our Happy Crew

Geronimo!

On our way home from Aberdeen, we stopped in Twin Falls at the bridge over the Snake River.  As luck would have it, while we were there, two men came to jump off the bridge:

The river is really beautiful, and the view is spectacular:

Nelson, Aaron, Heather, and David were brave enough to walk out on the bridge:

(See those itty-bitty people?  That's them.)

David and Heather met I. B. Perrine, the main founder of Twin Falls.

Here's our happy crew:

The Nat!

While in Idaho, getting Aaron from school and visiting with my Dad, we went to Indian Springs, which we used to call "The Nat."  It looks just like it used to when I was a kid!  Great fun.  Don't you love the multi-colored doors on the changing rooms?

It was a great day for swimming.

Even my Dad got in the pool:

There's this great barrel in the middle that you can go over:

 

 What a great time we had!