Flashback...

My blogs are getting further apart- meaning I have much to catch up on. The Eddins have been on several fun outings this summer. Here are the most recent.

Island Park: camping was great fun, but we froze at night. Jack loves playing with "Mi Mi" until she can't take his loves anymore. Good food, nice weather, and great company.


Labor Day Weekend-Jenny Lake: Another nice day with a little wind. We took canoes across and hiked Hidden Falls. It was gorgeous! Both Val and I got stomach flu that night, along with a little soreness from paddling against some 2ft waves.
Labor Day: We survived enough to get out the snow gear on Monday and go 4-wheeling somewhere close to Leadore. I was sick and freezing! I loved the scenery though.

Just playin' around

We took the pontoon boat out again, for mutual this time. This was quite a load headed for the rope swing.
Gotta love this cute little guy!
My little warrior.

Jack loves the park. He comes down the slide laughing everytime.

Summer Time

Being busy is just a part of summer I have decided. We only get so much good weather that you have to do as much as you can before it snows. The 24th of July is Bancroft's biggest day of the year. Val got asked to pull a float, as well as sing at the Chesterfield townsite. We took the pontoon boat out on the lake to cool off inbetween. On Sunday we took a long car ride to southern Utah for the Skidmore reunion. We spent the next day hiking in Zion's National Park. Its hard to post all the fun pics from a trip, so I picked a few of my favorite. Jack was a trooper on the hikes. Val took him up the Narrows where they lived on Chex Mix for four hours.
What can I say?

I was amazed at all the beauty in this place! I was able to hike the Narrows, Weeping Rock, and the Emerald Pool hikes. Val did the Angel's Landing hike that is a rigorous 2.5 miles up-very steep. Not for me, I stayed behind and helped tie quilts. It was a fun trip, glad we went, but also glad to be home. (No scorpions, rattlesnakes, or desert beetles to get into your bed!)
Thursday-Val was in charge of the ward fair booth for the day. We went over to Grace to visit and let Jack see the animals. He loved it!

"Cheese"

This kid is learning quick to stop and look at the camera, and occasionally say "cheese". I am in the market for a new camera, and I'm asking around to see what people have and like. So, if you have a moment please let me know what you like about your camera.

Clean checks

Yes, I was back in Rexburg helping my aunt Shelley with the end-of-semester white glove checkouts. Sure made me feel glad I wasn't a college kid anymore. Trying to pass your finals, move home, sleep deprived, and still have to thoroughly clean the apartment...been there, done that.

My brother Jordan loves little kids. He played with Jack on the tramp alot.
I got to see Mel, which doesn't seem to happen very often. We are daily phone talkers, but it is sometimes hard to remember the last time we saw eachother in person. These are her kids Tucker and Brooke. Thanks for watching Jack while the fam went floating!
My sister Mindy works at the Backyard. Anyone for hotdogs and custard? I'll take the oreo custard. Anything Oreo has to be good!

I think that I finally figured out my template problem.

Anyway, here are a few pics from recent activities.

This is one of my very most favorite pictures. Our neighbor gave us some free passes into Lava Hot Springs, so we played one evening and had a great time!

July 3rd is less busy on Alexander Reservior than the 4th. It was a Skidmore get-together, so we cruised on Uncle Gary's nice boat and docked on the pontoon boat (aka party barge). We took a waterbed matress to try and catapult eachother, but it didn't work so well.

Sushi anyone? Jack has a future in fishing living so close to Grandpa Roy. He liked swating this perch with his spoon. July 4th all the Smith cousins gathered in Bancroft for a day of soapboxing, paintballing, floating*, and eating. *Note: Don't take small children (like under 6) down the river in Lava. I had to work that morning. No parade, but we definately saw plenty of fireworks that night in Lava.

On the 5th we were able to go to Utah for a quick Layne Reunion. This is my great-grandma who will be 93 this year. She is fun to visit with and shares many wonderful stories.

That morning we attended a baptism of...ok...my mom's cousin who works for the government lives in China, adopted a boy from Mongolia-ya his. This cousin married a girl from Finland, has two girls of their own, then adopted this little boy as well as one from Cambodia. They sang "I am a Child of God" in Finish and Chinese. What a cultured family! We love to see them and glad they were in the states for a few weeks. Did you follow all that? This is not the best picture, but I found three of them together and took a click.

June

I know it is now July, but it came so fast that I need to do a recap of a few things that happened in June before I start blogging the new month.

We gathered with the Smuins at the American Falls Dam for a bit of fishing. Alesha was queen of the waters, Val tried his luck, and Kayla forgot to get a license. It was a gorgeous day with tin foil dinners and lots of sun.

Jack, in his own way, likes to help weed. He also tests the soil for acidity-usually spits it out. This flower bed has so much grass in it that it all had to go.
We've gone on several adventures, and the best traveling playpen is the back of the truck!
Sunday afternoons can drag on and on, so the Eddins boys gave us a concert to remember. Jack has a fret marked into his forehead.