Our Dam Tour

This weekend we went on a tour of a dam on the Snake River. They have an elaborate system in place to help the spawning fish get over the dam using a fish ladder and crazy "rivers" that run all through the structure of the dam. At one point, they have viewing glass so that you can see the fish as they go up the ladder. A person sits at a window and counts all the fish going through the dam. Some steelhead trout were up to 3 feet long! They wouldn't let us take pictures since they've tightened security from 9-11, but this is a pic of the fish viewing spot that I found on their website to show you what we saw.

Getting Squashed

Today I picked the pumpkins that we grew so that I could put them on the porch. (Well, actually the ones I planted didn't do so good- but this one was a volunteer from last year's pumpkin that I threw in my compost area!) While I was decorating for Fall outside, our neighbor, Jack, came over and asked if I wanted some squash. It was so big he was cutting it with a saw! I thought it was funny so I had to take a picture of his giant squash.

Latest pics

Hayley and Clara got their school pics recently. I only got downloads of them but I like them enough that I think that I will end up ordering prints. Usually it is the other way around! Today we went up in the mountains in Idaho. We saw a 3,000 year old tree and thought that it was incredible that it was on the earth before Christ came! We did lots of hiking and some off-roading and just pretty much exploring in the woods. The kids played in a giant hollowed out cedar tree. Jeremy and I have been trying harder to make family time a priority. So far we have been having lots of fun!

What's Up

Last night we bought Jeremy an '06 Frontier that we hope will do better in the snow than his little Mazda. Today we drove up onto the mountain in the next town for some off-roading. We had never been up there since our other cars wouldn't make it up. We found lots of mountain biking and hiking trails and we stopped and hiked around while it sprinkled rain on us. We saw some deer up there while driving down.

Here's some pics of the dance studio that I painted murals at. The girls will get lessons in exchange. There's also a pic of the tree that I did at a friend's house. Their house is very country so it works. I also did 2 murals for my mom's group this summer and I'll try to post those soon.

Family Walk

Today we went to a little known trail in our town and hiked around. Clara found a bird's nest, and Hayley used some big weeds and put them in her hair to make herself look like a peacock. Zack and Jeremy were two cool guys hanging out.

I'm also posting a pic for my sister, Ginny, of my waterfall that I built while Jeremy was at work and had no clue what I was up to. :) It's about 4 feet across, but a giant pumpkin vine has volunteered to sprout next to it, so it makes my pond look small. (The vine is about 35 feet long!) Hope your weather is as nice as it has been here lately, it reminds me of San Diego. (sigh)

More pics

Okay so Jeremy and I are really proud of our yard since we started out with just dirt. It's been almost 4 years since we moved here and here's some pics of how much work we have done! My garden is doing well this year. I had to stake my corn during a windstorm that we had. I built a small waterfall in the backyard one day while Jeremy was at work and surprised him. Zack thinks that he is big enough to toddle up the ladder to the slide on the playground. His diaper is so big in the pic because he had gotten into some water. ;) -Laurel

More Stuff

Well, looking at what pics to post, I realized that I had left some stuff out. Hayley turned 9 and had a great birthday. Thanks for the cards and gifts! Here's the kids with their teachers, and Hayley's new school haircut. She never wears her hair down so I thought I'd better get a pic!

Oh, and during the Lentil Festival I ran a 5K. Well, ran and walked it but I was very proud of myself! Love, Laurel