Provo River Rafting

 Rafting down the Provo River, I think, is a must do! We had a great time, hot weather, cold water, and lots of good memories and pictures.

 Catherine, the photographer-capturing the moments

 Lauren, the screamer-making the rapids more exciting

 Russ, the lookout-helping us spot trouble areas in the river, like trees and branches

 McKay, the backup paddler-always helping us making it through the rapids and staying in front of the other rafters

 David, the left side paddler and raft roller-aiding us by being a lefty, as well as bringing entertainment as he rolls off the raft

 Todd, the guide-navigating through the river and instructing the paddlers

 The lovely ladies of the ship-Emma, Catherine, Lauren

 The whole crew as we stopped to play in the water

 What a fun day!

 The front three men-the muscle of the raft

 Emma, the hair soaker-she hung her hair into the water getting a much closer view of the river

 What beautiful scenery

 Son and Father

The second video catches the best part.  We saw a bridge and was wondering why people were being chickens and getting out of the river to go around it. Then we saw the second bridge and realized why.  But we stuck together and made it through!   We held our heads high as we floated passed everyone else on shore.  What a great adventure!

24th with Russ' Family

 We met Russ and the kids at Liberty Park as we waited for Jenny to cross the finish line.  As we were waiting, we enjoyed seeing the parade with the nieces and nephews.  As we saw this float, both Todd and I looked at each other and thought "are we in Atlanta Georgia?"

 As Jenny took her last final steps after 26 miles, her 4 girls---Lauren, Emma, Sierra, and Savannah ran with her.  What was the true miracle is that Savannah wanted to be picked up and carried instead of run.  Jenny bent down and carried her 2 year old even though she was dead tired.  Who knew this runner was the mother of 6.  What a remarkable woman! 

 The kids loved seeing the crazy people at the parade and race.  You can see what a treat it was for the kids to sneak up and get pictures with this clown!

Days of 47 Rodeo

 To celebrate the 24th of July weekend, we thought we would see a rodeo.  This was my first time and so I thought it seemed fit to wear our "cowboy shirts" as Todd likes to call them.  We saw all the cowboys do their fancy riding and lasso-ing.  Then at the end, they even had dirt bike tricks.   

South Fork Dinner

 

 After a busy week, we enjoyed a quiet Friday night with tin foil dinners and s'mores at South Fork Park in Provo Canyon. I prepared the tin foil dinners, and Todd made a great fire to cook them to perfection.  Todd has gotten tin foil dinners down to an art now!

 

What a nice time to relax and get away from everything. 

  S'mores anyone?

Timp Cave with Mark and Louise

 

 We hiked up to Timp cave and met Mark and Louise, Todd's brother and his wife, ready to go through the cave tour.  

 I enjoyed seeing the cave "popcorn", "soda straws" and "columns".

 As we hiked down, we saw a great view through the canyon.

 Afterward, we soaked our feet in the river and had a delicious dinner at Cafe Rio.  We enjoyed the evening with Mark and Louise.  Thanks for planning it!

Warning: Rock Slides 

Here is Todd being extra, extra cautious when walking in areas of potential rock slides.  As we hiked down, we did hear the clapping sound, just to turn around barely missing a falling rock. Glad we had the falling rock seminar by the park ranger.  Who knew that falling rock sounded like clapping!

"What do you do on Saturday night, go down and throw rocks in the lake?"

 Since Todd and I had a little taste of gold panning in Alaska, we thought we would try it on our own.  One Saturday night, we headed up to American Fork Canyon and started panning.  We are very new at this hobby, so at this point, I felt like we were just throwing back the rocks in the river as we panned.  The classic Parent Trap quote did come to my memory.

4th of July

 What a nice start for a 4th of July! We watched the parade while sitting in the shade while the kids waited for the candy to fly!

 In the afternoon, the kids did slip n' slide, water guns, and we enjoyed a delicious cook out. 

We drove home during the peak firework hour, so we saw quite a few fireworks throughout 3 counties. 

Hailey and Chris' weekend

 After the tin foil dinner with the family, we had Hailey and Chris spend the weekend with us.  We had a great time hosting them. The weekend included bocce ball, movie night, and smoothies.  But the best part was driving Nebo Loop, having a picnic, and soaking out feet in the river.  The yellow flowers were everywhere.

 We stopped for a picnic at Blackhawk camp ground.  The jean picnic blanket sure came in handy.(thanks Mom and Grandma!)

 My favorite part about the Nebo Loop is the Utah valley overlook.  We stopped there for pictures and to see the whole valley!  You can see Mount Timp, Utah Lake, Y Mount, etc.

 This overlook is called Beaver Dam overlook---not sure why the name??? but there are plenty of trees.

 We walked around Payson Lake. 

After soaking our feet in the river, we spotted a deer.  Then, it was time to go home since we always guarantee wildlife on our tours. (Last year, when Hailey and Chris were here, they saw a moose.)