Shoshone Falls

On a drive out to Utah at the end of August we stopped to see the waterfalls at Twin Falls, Idaho.

 It was sunny and nice out and the view was spectacular.

 Shoshone Falls is 212 feet tall and 900 feet wide.  It's part of the Snake River where the river cuts its way though a deep basalt canyon.

 I had no idea there was this fantastic waterfall in Idaho so close to the route we take from Washington out to Pocatello and Utah.

It's really beautiful and inspiring.  This world is amazing.

Ape Caves with Malachi's Family

One day Jacquelyn and I went with Malachi taking the kids to Ape Caves.

 Here we are at the entrance to Ape Caves.  Myself, Malachi, Andrew, Jacquelyn, Mallory and Spencer.  It is so beautiful and mysterious there.

 An interesting sign we saw on the drive down.

 Malachi wanted to start at the upper end and work his way back to the main entrance so we hiked the trail to the upper entrance.  This is on top of a rugged rocky lava flow.

 Going down into the upper entrance.

 Pretty picture of grandma.

 Mallory and Spencer in the cave.  I love it in Ape Caves.  It's always fun to go through the cave.  It takes a couple of hours and is hard walking over ground that is often uneven with fallen lava rocks.

 Andrew, Malachi and Spencer on a ledge.

 Malachi and Spencer in the lava tube.  We had head lights to wear and flashlights to carry.

 Malachi in the cave.  The lava tube is 1.5 miles long for the upper cave and .75 miles for the lower cave.  The cave is drippy wet and stays an even 42 degrees F. year round.

 Spencer in a  small arch.

The trail back to the parking lot.  It was a great outing.

Father Son Campout

Malachi invited me to go to the Puyallup South Stake Father Son Campout with them.

 He we are.  Me with my son Malachi and Malachi with his sons Andrew and Spencer.

 This is Malachi's tent that we slept in at the fields west of the stake center, which are called The Meadows.  The weather was great.  We put up a table of free cake and other goodies that Jacquelyn made.

 We got to play some ball.  Andrew loves baseball.  Spencer is on the left and Andrew on the right.

 Andrew running the bases.

 Andrew at bat.

Spencer and Malachi.  It was fun.  I'm glad they invited me and I got to go.

Isaac and family visiting in Puyallup

After the family reunion in Pocatello, Isaac and his family came to Puyallup for a visit. They were on summer break from school in Minneapolis.

 Joslyn in her car seat.  It was a long drive all the way to Washington for her and Dorian but they made it in good shape and we were sure glad to see them.

 They stayed for about a week.  One day we went out to the ocean.  It was a little windy and cold but still fun to get out and see the beach.

 Dorian and Joslyn loved running in and out, in front of the waves.

 Joslyn was not letting those waves catch her.

 We found some crabs on the beach.

 Since it was too cold to swim in the ocean we stopped at Lake Sylvia State Park for a picnic and to swim in warmer water.

 Joslyn says hi.

 On another day I wanted to get out with the kids so we went to the children play area in the mall.

Kids can have fun just about anywhere.

Family Reunion in Pocatello - Arrivals

We had our biennial Family Reunion in July of 2019 at Pocatello, Idaho.  It was Joshua and Rebecca's turn to host the event and we all gathered to their home in Pocatello.  Most of the family were able to come.  We did miss a few though.  But we still had a big crowd.

People started arriving on Wednesday.  The weather was great and everyone was excited to spend time together and have a good time for all.  This is Agnes greeting people as they trickled in to her home in Pocatello. 

A favorite activity as people gathered was to try out their new Pickleball Court.

Of course people have to eat and there was lots of food on hand.  We were all taking turns and each family had a couple of meals assigned to prepare.

That evening we gathered to hear some stories.  It was great just being together and to renew and strengthen family ties.

Family Reunion in Pocatello - Cave Exploring

Thursday morning with most everyone here, we went on a trip to see and hike a cave.  This was our first big activity of the reunion.  Crystal Ice Cave was formed in a volcanic rift.

Isaac's family starting down into the mouth of the cave.

The trail into the cave.

Mary-Anne and Kim with Jacob, Julia, Christian, Elliott and Asher.

Jim and Tianna.

Jacob and Elliott.

Christian, Ethan, and Jacob.

Even Lucy went through the cave.  Brave dog.

Rebecca and Asher.

Agnes and Joshua.

Mary-Anne, Nathanael and Jonathan.

Amery, Josiah and Hannah.

Jarom and Paige.

Jarom, Asher, Jacquelyn and Tianna.

Agnes and Joslyn.

Joshua and Isaac coming out with some of the children. Elliott, Christian, Agnes, Joslyn, Asher.

Jacob, Elliott, Joslyn, Agnes, Joshua and Isaac.  What a fun experience.  I love caves.