More on Henry's Lake...

I forgot to tell about a couple funny things - (we did see a baby moose wandering around the camp). But when we first checked into our condo, Lance's mom was unpacking some things into a drawer, and when she opened it, there was a giant size pair of men's poop stained underwear - ewwwww!!! They dared us to put it on the end of a stick & take the giant poo poo pants down to the office... maybe you had to be there, but it was gross! The guy at the counter apologized for the 'surprise' & seemed to give us pretty good service after that :-)

Henry's Lake fishing!

Lance's mom's side of the family has a tradition of going to Henry's Lake in Eastern Idaho every June, since the 1940's. Grandpa Turner & his brothers were avid fishers & loved the outdoors. Henry's Lake is well known for its trout fishing. We had fresh trout, eggs, bacon, & hashbrowns for breakfast. We stayed in a condo that sleeps 22, down by the water. There were probably 50 of us there from the Turner's side. Lots of cousins to play with, ride bikes around the campground, go exploring, play games, etc. The weather was pretty nice. We had a great trip :-) Thanks Bruce & Darla for everything!

Henry's Lake ATV ride

Leave it to us to get in some awesome four wheeling above Henry's Lake, then get pulled over by the sheriff for treading on a non-motorized path... We got off with just a warning, but need to stick to the designed ATV trails next time :-) Some of the ride seemed like straight up with loose rocks, but we made it up & down, safe!

BASEBALL SEASON in full swing...

Tayson has enjoyed playing baseball in the summer through the Parks & Rec league here. He is quite a good batter & does well with catching too - our little athlete! Lance has spent some quality father-son time practicing with him. Here are some cute pictures of his team this year, the Orioles. (They are mixing 9 & 10 year olds).

Lance's Grandpa Jensen's Funeral

Well, Lance's grandpa was 91 and had some health problems the last couple of years. He was getting weaker and in pain from arthritis - he passed away the end of May. His funeral was in Driggs, Idaho (by Jackson Hole) where they lived in the same house that he built for 60 years. Lance turned 37 the same week and was fortunate to have lived this long without losing anyone close to him, so up until this month, he has had all four grandparents living, relatively close too, in Idaho. We went to the funeral the first week of June. George Jensen was laid to rest with full military honors (having served in WWII), with the gun salute, flugal horn, & official flag presentation... It was an honor to be associated with him. We have many good memories.

Here are the pallbearers - Lance in the middle with his two brothers (the three tall guys), then three cousins.

These are a couple shots of the family luncheon following the funeral. Lance ended up sitting at the little kids' table with some nieces & nephews, then there is a picture of the 'adult' table.

Here is Lance with his sister Natalie at the gravesite....

END OF SCHOOL PARTY!

Several families from Xavier got to play down at Bass Lake to celebrate the last day of school! (May 29th, 2009). It was toasty warm & the kids didn't want to get out of the water! The boys caught some fish, then put them back in the lake, but not before they put one down the slide :-) Silly boys. The girls went canoeing and capsized a boat or two... There was food, fun & socializing - hooray for summer!

McKenzie & Delaney

Ethan & Tayson

(The fish getting dumped out of the bucket, going down the slide...)

I thought of TJ & how he would love to go golfing, down in the canyon :-) ... it's a pristine golf course! Can you see the Perrine Bridge in the distance? Base jumpers can legally leap off here any time of year... Who knew you could have such fun in little Twin Falls, Idaho?

Xavier's Spring Concert

Delaney playing a cello solo for Xavier Charter School's Spring Concert. She was so excited to put on "stage makeup" and her hair curled. Can you believe she just turned 12?


Tayson is on the far left, with the green striped shirt. His 4th grade class sang "And Here We Have Idaho".


Emma is in red. Her kindergarten class recited a poem about the months & seasons of the year.

Here is a video clip of Laney playing the cello with the strings behind her - yikes! Sorry - I know how torturous it can be listening to middle school bands! :-)

TWIN FALLS PARK

We had a nice family outing to Twin Falls Park this May. There is a view of the lesser known "Twin Falls" (only one side of the falls is showing), and also a little waterfall coming out of the canyon wall... so close to home & such pretty scenery!

EMMA TURNS 6!

Emma had a butterfly birthday party with some friends from church & school. We did butterfly craft projects, Kim tried to make a butterfly cake... the girls had a great time :-) Thanks to Delaney for being my right arm!

SERVICE PROJECT

This project was called Join Hands Day, where many people donate of their time & funds to put together potted flowering plants to give to the elderly in the community. This was a good experience for the kids & adults. We had a memorable BBQ outside in the Idaho wind, & had such positive responses when we delivered the pots with service poems attached.

SCOUTING/ REPTILES

Tayson's scout troop had an activity at the Herrett Museum where they keep quite a large collection of reptiles. Several were talked about & displayed for the children to touch... I thought about both of Tayson's grandmas & their fear of snakes... :-) It was very enlightening & memorable!

Tayson's 10th Birthday...

Our dear friends the Olsens gave us free passes for Tayson's birthday party at Miracle Hot Springs :-) So we had a swimming party in April. There is a large dome with tables & chairs, which we used to eat & open presents in... The kids had a blast playing games in the water & soaking in the hot tub. We had to leave for home because they were getting hungry again and we had run out of food! Could have stayed & played - had a great time :-)

SEATTLE SCIENCE CENTER

So here are some pics of us and our friends (from Twin Falls) the McKees - we met up to do some fun activities downtown... they even stayed over at my parents' home for a couple nights. All seven kids got along well & we made memories Seattle style (a little soggy at times)... Fun stuff!!

the Space Needle...
Touching critters in the tidepool...

a funky mirror...
a robotic arm for giant tic-tac-toe...

Grasslawn Park in Redmond, WA

The kids got to play at a newly renovated park near my mom & dad's place, with spiderweb-like climbing ropes... cool!

Alice in Wonderland play, featuring Tayson as the Cheshire Cat

Well, I'm catching up on blogging - this one is about Tayson being in the play at school - Alice in Wonderland. He was one of three boys dressed in 'purple' as a three-headed cheshire cat. Hmmm. Well, he knew his lines & looked confident & smiled at us... so I would say he did a GREAT job!!! Here - you can see our cute little kitty... Good job Tays & Mrs. Baird's 4th grade class!