Boating

Yesterday Will and I and the kids, along with Will's brother, Jimmy, and his girls, all took the boat out for a day on the lake. The weather was hot which made the water feel all the better. It felt good to be outside and not have any worries. Those kinds of days are far too rare.

Splashing in the water:

Kyla is coaxing Liam into the water.

Moira jumping off the dock

Jamie jumping off the dock

The kids were playing on a log on the tiny beach by the dock when Jimmy had an idea to see if it would float with them on it.

When the wakes would come in, staying on the log was like riding a bucking bronco.

Then Will got the idea to stand on the log:


He didn't last long.

That log gave us at least an hour of entertainment. Sometimes the best things in life really are free.

The girls feeding a family of ducks

Jimmy and Moira riding in the tube behind the boat

Moira, Will and Liam had a turn too. Liam had a big smile on his face the whole time.

Will slalom skiing

Jimmy wake boarding

This is the bridge near Robie Creek:

We could get the boat under it - barely.

Before we left that area, Jimmy jumped off the bridge.

So did Will.

We spent eight hours on the lake. It was the most fun I've had in a long time.

Summer Happenings

Summer has finally arrived. I was beginning to think that it would go from spring right to fall. But the heat is here and the kids swim almost every day. We continue to plug along, keeping busy with general randomness. Here is a snippet of what we've been up to lately:

I took the kids to the MK Nature Centre last week. Not only is it beautiful and educational there, but it's totally free. Can't get much better than that!

This picture is small so it's hard to see, but in the middle is a deer. Apparently there were five does wandering around, but we just saw this one. I had never seen deer there before so it was very exciting.

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Penelope watching a squirrel

Sugar

Will bought me some Sweet William and planted them in the garden outside the window by my sewing machine so when I looked up I would see the flowers and think of him. Isn't that sweet?

Moira's garden outside of her bedroom window

Suki cooling off in the shade

Last night Will took the girls for a scooter ride around the block. They had lots of fun.

Last Saturday I set up my booth at the Flying M Coffee Garage in Nampa for their Supa Summa Craft Fair. It was hot, but one lady bought three of my skirts so I was happy.

A parade went right past our set up

Athena 2010

It was the Athena Highland Games again this weekend. This was our eighth year that we have been going. The first time we were there Moira had barely learned to walk and Suki was a little puppy. (That was the one and only time we took Suki with us. She didn't like all those people.) Time has gone by so fast.

This year was an especially exciting game because Moira got to join the Boise Highlanders in the parade and the tattoo (A Scottish tattoo has now become an evening entertainment performed by pipe and drum bands. It used to be a signal to local tavern owners that it was time to turn off the beer taps so that the soldiers would return to their barracks.)

Waiting for the parade to start

This is Eric and his mom. Eric was Chieftain of the Day for this game. He is also the field vendor co-ordinator and he is the one who takes care of us. He has watched our family grow over the years and we have seen him start his own. We look forward to the games every year and it's in big part because of Eric. His mom is great too and she is very interesting. And, yes, that is her Volkswagon Beetle convertible. It just goes to show that you are never too old for a really cool car.

Here comes the band! They won the parade's first place award this year.

The dancers got to hand out candy to all the bystanders

There were lots of horses in the parade, much to Kyla and Liam's joy. All weekend, Liam kept saying that when he gets bigger, he is going to ride a horse too.

The girls got their faces painted. Liam was too scared.

I find it quite odd how our family is always entertained by pretzels.

This is Tasha, Tamara, Camille, and Daphne Jackson, also known as the Jackson 4. They dance with the Highlanders as well.

On Saturday night there was a tattoo. Moira got to march in with the band and dance the fling. Carole Klungle, who is the "voice of the Boise Highlanders" announced to the audience that this was Moira's first time dancing with the band. It was very exciting.

This is the mass bands that's at the end of the tattoo. It's a thrill to see all those musicians on the field marching and playing.

We had a good trip this year. The sales were poor and the weather was hot, but having Moira participate with the band and seeing people that we only get to visit with this one time a year, made the trip worthwhile.

Liam and Kyla fell asleep as soon as we hit the highway outside Athena.