Clambaking

Notable events this year:

• Peter did the clamBIKE, and the young men came along. The young man in front of him crashed (sustaining minor but bloody and painful abrasions), Peter slammed on his brakes, and flew over his handlebars, catching himself with his bad wrist. But he seems okay.
• Calvin requested a lobster leg. Luckily, Uncle Lance was happy to donate one of his (lobster's) legs to the cause.
• Lance and I went snorkeling. He had his wetsuit, and wouldn't even spare a hood. Gosh! I numbed up after 5 minutes, and was fine.
• Peter and Lance and a few of the other guys made a swim.
• I and a few of the other ladies made a swim. We fought a rip tide on the way back in and won.
• Calvin and Megan created a sand unicorn (pictured above). As they were building, Calvin happily said, "I feel like one of those professional sand sculptors!"

Lovely weather, a fine strong wind and a following sea. A real nice clambake.

School or bust

Mr. 2nd grader

Ms. 4th grader

Keep sailing Bob

We spent the labor day (or Communist day as Peter likes to call it) in Rhode Island with the Balls. They took us sailing and kayaking in Newport.

Peter and Randy almost smashed into a multi-million dollar yacht (the wind was horrible), the kayak Calvin and I were riding in had a hole in the bottom and started sinking, and we almost lost Marcus and Bryn out to sea in a kayak (they had overshot our picnic destination). Shortly after we took our boats out, they shut down the marina and stopped letting boats out because of the weather conditions. But despite the weather and the sinking boat, it was good fun and an excellent adventure.

The bridge in the above photos gives you a good idea of how temperamental the weather was- they were all taken in the same hour.

Vermont Vacations

We trekked up to Sharon, VT again with our ward. We enjoyed perfect weather, loads of friends, and the peaceful Vermont atmosphere.

We hiked to the top of Patriarch Hill with the primary (around 3-4 miles). You can see the Joseph Smith monument in the background.

Senior primary was invited if they brought a water bottle. Junior primary was invited if they brought a parent.

The wildlife is always a feature here. This year the kids collected at least 50 frogs and put them in the bottom of a canoe. Lance and Dani found a skunk skulking about their tent.

We played at the river. Even the adults got in on the action and a found a small cliff to dive from.

Aaahhhh. (credit to EP for the photo)

Church goers- a little scraggly and slightly smokey, but they had a shower the night before and they were mostly clean.

Suddenly an Artist

I've been a little worried about Ivy's fine motor skills. Her favorite things to draw are tornadoes, hurricanes, and scribbles (all three are congruent objects), and she always has Bryn or Calvin draw anything more complicated than a tornado for her. This girl couldn't even complete a circle or put eyes inside a pre-drawn circle.

Until today- she surprised us all with a carefully penciled portrait. At this rate of progress, I suspect tomorrow she'll get something into the Guggenheim.

Left to right: Calvin, Ivy, and Bryn (next to an upside down balloon)

Salisbury Beach

We enjoyed a terrific outing with friends at Salisbury beach. The water was great for boogie boarding when the tide was out, although very chilly.

The big hit of the day was playing the game of "run away from the wave," which still delighted even the 9 year-olds. 

I brought my trusty full-sized garden shovel and dug to China (complete with stairs). When the tide came in and filled it with water, it made a lovely soaking tub.

She may have gone full blown looney from too much sun

Some photogenic beach bums

They thought the barricade would save them from the water

Platte Clove 2013

And a video I made with a few highlights: 

On Top of Mount Logan

We ventured to the top of Mount Logan and enjoyed the view of the valley. Many rocks were thrown at the peasants below. We even saw a dragon.

Hungry?!?

I got a sandwich for dinner. It was delicious, but I wish they would make the portions bigger next time.

Quarry Waterfall

I have never been to the quarry or the waterfalls in Providence Canyon. My dad and his rhinoceros remedied the situation.

The falls were better than I expected (we saw 3 of the 5), and we made a nice snack from a patch of wild raspberries just above one set. The quarry is impressively large and I enjoyed hearing Dad's stories of when he was a kid and there was regular blasting coming from up there.