Vacation 2011 - Johnsons Shut-In's

Sunday night after we had all settled in our cabins we headed over to check out the shut-ins. I forgot my camera in the truck and was to lazy to make the long walk back, but we ended up going back the next morning were I got these pictures.

The shut-ins are these rock formations with water flowing through them. I took this picture from a high observation site, you can see all the swimmers scattered though out the rocks.

The pool of water on the top of this picture was a great spot with shallow water that we spent much of our time the first evening.

This was were we went the next morning, a lot deeper. We all swam across this pool to another pool which I was told was 20+ feet deep. The second area also had high cliffs (40 feet high) on one side which Mark jumped off. I wish I had pictures from the cliffs but I couldn't swim with a kid and a camera.

The rocks actually look pretty dangerous, but other than being slick in several places I didn't think they were to bad. The kids were required to wear life jackets most of the time and seemed to like playing in the larger pools of water rather than exploring the rocks, which made it easier to watch them. I felt like I was counting counting 1,2,3,4 (my 4 kids) constantly though!

We found that Anton hates water! He was by far the most stressful kid ever, bawling a lot! He never really warmed up to the idea of playing in the water, but due to the extreme heat we made him get wet to stay cool and then would take turns holding him on a rock or in very shallow water. Poor kid seemed out of sorts most of the trip. Thankfully he has been a happy camper since we got home!

Is it poisonous?

2-3 water snakes were found along the way. I asked a guy at the visitor center what kind of snakes we most likely ran into and he said the common water snake which isn't poisonous.

Vacation 2011 - Hot Days

I wasn't exaggerating when I said it was HOT! In fact I think the heat will be one of the main things we remember about this vacation! :) The positive side is all the water activities that we were able to enjoy. Past vacations to the mountains or Great Lakes weren't so warm.

I wish this sign included the very high humidity too.

Ice cream or a slush were on the menu one hot afternoon!

Elijah digging in the rocks for crawdads or rocks to throw in the water.

I was brave and helped the boys catch these creepy crawlies.

Mark helped Ethan and Elijah fish in the little pond by our cabin. The didn't have much luck, only lily pads to my knowledge.

John's family found this box turtle crossing the hwy the kids got a kick out of him before releasing him into the pond near our cabins. We also saw a box turtle crossing the hwy the next day, I'm not sure what they were up to on the hot road.

Since it was so hot and we had a big ice cream snacks we ate supper late a few times.

Happy 4th of July

We had a fun 4th of July weekend again this year. The annual neighborhood picnic, fireworks and swimming were highlights for our family!

Here is Ethan and Cody being pulled around the pond by the wave runner.

Anton would prefer to hang out on dry land with his blankie.

I really liked Grandma's new purchase. This "raft" had a nice mesh center that would keep the little biting fish away and the kids loved it!

Karl skiing in a big circle around the pond. A few of the kids went skiing as well but I didn't get pictures of them.

Summer Fun

June has been a busy month for our family. It seems like we've made a trip to town nearly every day between Bible school and swimming lessons. Thankfully those activities are over and everything went well! July looks to be a busy month too, some of our plans are vacation and putting new siding and a few windows on our house. I am so looking forward to both!

Amelia jumping in the deep end. She did a great job in swimming lessons this year and is swimming well! I think she could save herself if she needed to but another year a lessons is in her future.

Ethan wasn't at all interested in swimming lessons, he said they were boring. He does very well swimming and diving. Since he is to the point of only learning the different swimming strokes I don't think I'll send him again.

Our garden is starting to produce veggies! Here Amelia is picking snow peas for supper.

We bought Elijah his own bike for his birthday. He wasn't sure about it at first but is enjoying riding more and more with Ethan and Amelia.

Not sure if anyone else is being invaded by these adorable little frogs but we've had our fair share jumping around this year!

Happy 3rd Birthday Elijah

Today we're celebrating Elijah's 3rd birthday and Fathers Day. We are very thankful for the children God has blessed us with! Happy Birthday Elijah!

The kids spent the evening with my parents Friday while Mark and I went out to celebrate my birthday in peace and quiet! They bought Elijah a cake which he LOVED!

A cake with a track-hoe on it, what's better than that?

Something Elijah has been working on recently is learning to ride a dirt bike. We bought training wheels this spring for Ethan's old bike and Elijah is brave enough to ride it by himself!

We stay pretty close since he isn't the best at braking and sometimes doesn't turn in time and runs into things. But overall for his age he does very well.

Seriously..... is that a burn out in my flowers? It seems Elijah got a little close to my garden and the training wheel went up the rock behind the flowers causing his back wheel to go off the ground. Apparently he just kept giving it gas until Mark helped him out.

Potty training is the other thing he's working on. You're probably wondering why I have a picture of a blue stained kid for a potty training comment. Well since he has been a big pain during this process we are having to be creative. A friend suggested putting food coloring in the toilet water so when they go potty it will change color. Elijah was very excited about this experiment so we tried it. We just need to remember to put away they food coloring so he doesn't take matters into his own hands. :)

Summer Project #1

Mark and I have cleaned up more than our share of muddy kids over the years, which prompted our first summer project. Adding more concrete by the shop!

The all to familiar muddy kid.

All the kids liked playing in the area Mark dug out before the cement truck came.

Ethan learned how to tie re-rod and smooth out the concrete after it was poured. He LOVES guy stuff like this!

Getting things leveled out.

We had a little extra so Mark built a box and made a crossing for a creek. My vote for the extra was to put a little concrete pad in front of the shop door. Since that would require digging with a spade instead of a skidloader my idea didn't fly. :)

The cement is laid! We added a load a gravel and have to get the drain covered and we're good to go!

You know you're a farm kid if....

Most of these pictures are a couple months old but I wanted to post them anyway. You know you're a farm kid if...

Your mom takes the "buddy seat" and you have to cram behind the tractor seat or sit on the dirty floor every time you ride along.

You get to help your dad fix all sorts of cool stuff.

You actually get to ride in the equipment that you watch on the Mighty Machines show!

You take your afternoon nap on the tractor or combine floor regularly.

Or you pretend to take your nap. :)

You bring dad lunch or coffee time or supper and always ride a couple rounds.

You have a good pair of boots... even if you don't have pants.