Hiking the Foothills

The other day the kids and I decided to hike to the top of the foothill nearest my parents house. The kids really love climbing and hiking right now, and got a kick out of this 1.5 mile excursion. Horses had passed through this trail and left their mark, and Hayes asked of every branch, rock, or tuft of grass "is that horse poop?" I mean like every 30 seconds. Madison's pose in the second picture is a tribute to Gene Simmons of the band KISS, my kids current favorite. They know the words to "Rock and Roll All Night," and love to stick out their tongues and pretend to break their guitars. This is probably a normal phase for a 2 and 4 year old, right?

Not a Wimp Anymore

I have always felt like the family wimp because out of all my brothers and sisters, I was the only one who could not get up on one water ski growing up. However, I am a wimp no longer. On a whim I decided to try getting up the last time we went boating and got up on my third try! I was so excited because I honestly never thought I would be able to get up. Go me! I relinquish my title of family wimp!

South Central Idaho Road Trip

A weekend or so ago (I am behind on my blogging) we drove out to Shoshone to meet one of Joe's classmates who is doing a rural medicine internship there, and her two kids. I seriously loved Shoshone. It is right on the railroad and has a main street of old brick buildings. I get so excited every time we pack up for a road trip and head out of the city. The semi-arid desert of southern Idaho is not always appreciated for its aesthetic appeal, but I love it! I make Joe listen to Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins as we cruise through the mountains and buttes. It drives him nuts. We went with Annamarie, her mom, Sienna, and Alder to the Indian Ice Caves just north of Shoshone. The caves are the result of an ancient lava flow that created a cave, and now has naturally occurring lake of ice covering the whole floor. We walked on a pathway about a foot or so above the ice and and at the end of the tour we got a chance to stand on it. It was pretty fascinating.

Our next stop was Shoshone Falls, near Twin Falls. Our family had gone to see the falls last summer, but they were particularly impressive this time of year due to the high volume of water. They are higher than Niagara Falls, and far superior in my opinion.

The last stop on our trip was the Balanced Rock near Buhl. We hiked up the hill to get a closer look. Madison and Hayes are getting really into hiking.