Maple Grove Hot Springs in the fall...

A bunch of us got away a few weeks ago 

on Friday night and Saturday

to Maple Grove Hot Springs

along the shore of Oneida Reservoir

 in southern Idaho.

Autumn's colors were breathtaking! 

The campsites were complete with picnic tables

and a resident flock of turkeys 

that wandered and clucked. 

This is one of Scott and April's favorite places. 

They found it when looking up all the different hot springs in Idaho. 

A few years ago, 

when Zac was on his mission, 

they invited our family to meet them there 

and we had such a great time together!

First Visit to Maple Grove

And then THIS happened!!!

Paul was one seriously hurting man! 

It's been 4 years since that experience 

and Paul said he was up for going to Maple Grave again 

but would opt out of the hot springs soak this time 

(the wound care Dr. 

suspected he had a break in his skin 

and some bacteria from the hot pots 

wreaked havoc on him.) 

Yes, you noticed that?
Paul affectionately refers to Maple Grove 

as "Maple Grave". 

He sat in a comfy camp chair on the edge of the pool

while the rest of us soaked in the hot springs,

sharing stories and looking 

 at constellations.

We brought kayaks to enjoy the reservoir.

Friday night's sunset was one for the ages. 

Thanks, Paul, for the beautiful picture below!

Saturday more of us went kayaking. 

We all loved having Anna

join us for our get-away.

My favorite spot 

was where the hot springs run-off 

entered the reservoir 

Rascal is not a fan of getting splashed, however,  

so this was NOT his favorite spot. 

Sorry pup. 

Thanks, everyone for the fun time! 

I've thought of our little get-away 

a dozen times since then. 

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

-L.M. Montgomery

Love that wet-dog smell!

A few months ago, 

I saw the cutest picture of our friend Caitlin 

kayaking with her dog Roo. 

It made me wonder if our Rascal would like kayaking. 

We'd never really had him swimming before 

so we decided to give it a try and headed for the lake. 

Rascal was a little skittish 

(spell check tells me it's "skittish" not "skiddish" - who knew!) 

at first 

but in about 10 minutes 

he was hanging out on the front of the kayak

looking around and licking the lake.

He fell overboard 6 times that day.

Five of those times he climbed right back in 

but one time it took a few minutes and for just a split second

I thought I might need to go in after him!! 

It gave me flashbacks of an experience 18 years ago

right after this picture was taken.

Little Hunter (on the left)

stooped down and leaned over the boardwalk

stretching to touch the water below.

The Mr. was cautioning him to stay back and watch out. 

I remember my 8 months pregnant self saying 

I'd jump in after him if he fell in

so no worries. 

Yup, you guessed it. 

It wasn't 60 seconds later that

Hunter went head first into the water.

I jumped right in after him but the poor little guy had met 

an unseen rock with his forehead - ouch!!!

***

Fortunately, 

Rascal got a toe hold and climbed back on board. 

That night I had nightmares of Rascal drowning

so before we went kayaking again

we headed to the pet store for 

a dog PFD.

It works great!

We love that smiley dog!

Thanks for the fun idea, Caitlin!

=D

Yellow water lilies, a swimming hole, and being all in...

Scott and April told us about a neat little place 

they'd gone kayaking through lily pads. 

A few weeks ago they invited us to come check it out!

As we crested the hill, this was the sight spread out before us!

The lily pads had totally taken over the waterway 

since Scott and April were there last!

Scottie went out to see if it was possible to paddle through them. 

Nope, no going through 

so as he was turning around 

he decided to pick a yellow water lily for April. 

On the shore, we were talking and laughing 

and when we looked back out at Scottie, 

this was all we saw! 

A foot!!!

Yikes! 

Turns out yellow water lilies have super thick, 

fibrous stems which make them near impossible to pick. 

Scottie's an all in kind of a guy for sure!!! 

He reminds me of an awesome talk last General Conference...

Stand Up and Be All In

Plan B took us to April's childhood swimming hole! 

I've heard the best stories of her growing up 

on "the Ranch out to Henry". 

It was such a treat to see it first hand! 

Many years ago, BC (before children) the Mr. and I 

carried snorkel gear in our car, 

you know, 

just in case the opportunity arose. 

 ;)

We learned that from Scott and April. 

So when we got to April's old swimming hole, 

she grabbed the snorkel gear from their truck and Scottie and I were off. 

Rascal was all in for a minute but it was mighty cold 

so he turned tail and climbed back out.

We followed Scott and April in their flaming watermelon 

through pastures and fields and past this guy. 

We ended up at Blackfoot Reservoir 

where we found lots of open water. 

We sure love these two!

Thanks Scott & April for your great company 

and the super fun day!

Wonderful water...

We got lucky this summer and made it out in kayaks a few times 

to enjoy some wonderful water. 

At the beginning of summer, Gary told us Pineview Reservoir was so full 

you could kayak the inlets way back into the willows. 

He was totally right and it was a whole new experience!

Back in the willows and reeds, we came upon this young man 

with a bow and arrow, only thing was the arrow was hooked to a fishing reel

which was hooked to the bow and he was bow hunting for fish. 

It wasn't long at all and he had this huge fish!

He told us it was a carp and that they weren't very good eating 

because they were bottom feeders. 

He wasn't going to take it home. 

I thought about that and felt sad. 

Maybe there are too many carp and the population needs managed?
Don't know but I hope some hawk enjoyed an easy meal.

We got to go to Hyrum Reservoir just last week.

It was our first time there and it was a nice little place.

Sean joined us and he and the twigs traded back and forth 

between kayaks and paddle boards. 

Zac and our girlie thought to bring a ball and we had so much fun trying to score baskets in everyone's kayaks or on the grey part of the paddle boards!

No pictures of that though because there was LOTS of falling in 

so the camera was playing it safe and staying dry. ;)

Water, family, and friends are wonderful!

<3

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream...or kayaking on the country's birthday

The twigs are working so many hours this summer that we haven't been able to go on any vacations together. It's a different "season" for our family dynamic. I'm grateful the twigs have strong work ethics and wouldn't trade that, but at the same time I sure miss vacationing together.

Everyone had the 4th of July off so we decided to make hay while the sun was shining!

We ditched the parades and went kayaking. Our girlie suggested Causey Reservoir and we were early enough in the day that we had the water to ourselves for a little while.

We started at the North finger and paddled to the dam, then down the longest East finger of the lake.

It was a gorgeous day and we had a blast! The stream that fed the East finger was still flowing much more than I'd imagined with it being a low water year. Everything was green and lush. We got out of our kayaks for a few minutes and played in the stream. That's some COLD water!   :)

We loved having Jenny join us! 

Best two Jenny quotes of the day...

"I love parliamentary procedure!"

&

When asked if Hunter was climbing out of his kayak and up the steep bank 

in pursuit of a flower, she responded,

"No, it's a snake, pretty much the opposite of a flower."

 Happy 4th of July - we love this beautiful country!