Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Summer vacation - Beautiful Montana

Montana was breathtaking! So many trees, creeks or "cricks" as they say and an abundance of wildlife. We spent most of our time fishing! Ethan fishing at Rock Creek.
Kelsey finally willing to pose for the camera!
Cousins rule! The Denkers and Robertson clan: Kai, Keegan, Riley, Kelsey, Lake and Ethan.
Camping in Glacier National Park. Chris and his cousin Craig setting up our tent...yes, I said tent! No trailer this time...we all slept in the tent...even Chris!
Weenie roast
When it comes to describing Glacier National Park, I truly believe words do not do it justice! Look for yourself!
Gotta love Riley! Everytime I turned around, he wanted his picture taken!
Posing duirng our 2 1/2 mile hike to Avalanche Lake.
Again...breathtaking!!!
Fishing again...this time at Avalanche Lake. I love this picture of my guys!
Catching fish at the same time! Good job boys!
Chris left Montana with fond memories of fishing, spending time with family and about 50 mosquito bites! OUCH!
On our way back to Stevensville from Glacier, a trip to the ER was needed. Kelsey had been sick all week and come to find out she had a double ear infection and an upper respiratory infection. Thank goodness for antibiotics!
Our last day in Montana was spent celebrating Lake's baptism. Here we are just minutes before. Thank you Craig and Lisa for an enjoyable time! We miss you and love you!!!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Summer vacation - Life in Idaho outside of farming

Beautiful picture of the Twin Falls, ID temple!Enjoying Father's Day at Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, ID.Horse and buggy ride in Burley with Uncle Alan.Familiar site the first week of vacation, Kelsey asleep due to being sick.
In our 17 years of knowing eachother, I never once had the opportunity to ride on a motorcycle with Chris! The hour plus ride was amazing! Thanks Uncle Alan!Love that red helmet! Approaching City of Rocks in Idaho.
Rocks, rocks and more rocks! Every boys dream!
Cousin Kyle, Riley and Ethan watching Chris climb to the top of the rock. Thank goodness he made it safely!Had to include this picture so you can see the size of the rock Chris climbed!
Riley made a new friend while eating lunch. This little chipmunk came and sat right beside him waiting for him to drop food. He did take off with one of Riley's chips right after I snapped this picture.
Kelsey adores her dad!Great picture of the Denkers and Heward family! From left to right: Ethan, Loma, Kelsey, Chris, Levi, Henley, Riley, Aunt Melody, Uncle Alan, Jenni, Eric, Macey and Kyle.
Thank you Heward family for making us feel so welcome! We love you!!!

Summer vacation - Farming in Idaho

Our first stop on vacation was to Burley, ID to visit Chris' Aunt Melody and Uncle Alan and their farm. Riley was our little farmer. He enjoyed learning the ropes. Chris, Riley and cousin Eric feeding the calves.Kelsey is much more comfortable with the animals she's familiar with. This cat came running right up to her while out touring the farm. Riley became the permanent pacifier to all the newborn calves.
I loved feeding the babies!
Like I said, Riley couldn't get enough of farm life. Look at that smile. He enjoyed every minute!
Ethan decided he wanted to bottle feed a baby as well. He tried to go in a pen where the new babies were, but after falling face first in cow poop, he changed his mind! I wish I could of gotton a picture of that but unfortunatley it happened when it was raining! He's all smiles now!

Where the wild things are...

I love to take photographs. During our 11 day vacation, I took approximately 1200. Not a typo, yes 1200 pictures. Thank goodness for digital cameras! These are a few of my favorites. I love wildlife!
Chris bottle feeding a newborn calf in Burley, ID. Not really wild, but when feeding a calf for the very first time after birth, they are pretty crazy! Chris nicknamed him Jerry!
Chris spotted this owl on the side of the road while driving through Montana.
Love those Rocky Mountain sheep in Montana!
This one may be difficult to see. It wasn't difficult to see with a telescope. Sitting atop the small patch of snow is a grizzly bear. Yes, a grizzly bear in Glacier National Park! Whoa-who!!
White tailed deer walking along the trail right next to us in Glacier National Park.
Pronghorned antelope that roamed the plains in Wyoming.
Mama burro with her baby along the side of the road in South Dakota's Custer State Park.
And the cream of the crop, driving along the road with hundreds of bison surrounding our car in South Dakota.

Everyday, we were blessed to witness Heavenly Fathers creations from wildlife to wildflowers. What a breathtaking vacation!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy Independence Day!

As our nation's holiday comes to a close, I am so grateful to live in this country where I can choose how to live my life. As our family had the opportunity to go to South Dakota and see Mt. Rushmore, I became ever more grateful for our founding fathers and the determination they had to make this country choice above all. Tears streamed down my face as everyone in attendance during the lighting ceremony sung America the Beautiful in unison.
I love the USA!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Oh, the places we've been... (within 11 days!)

Our wonderful trip started on Saturday, June 20th. This is where we wandered!
This concludes our trip...just kidding. We want this to sink in before the pictures and stories come!

End of year concerts and performances

Riverside Prep sure does keep us busy during the end of the school year! On Tuesday, June 16th, we rocked out to 50's music during the elementary Sock Hop. There's Riley getting ready for his big dance number! This is the only picture we have of him facing us! He did a terrific job!!! The next night, we enjoyed listening to Ethan and Kelsey perform songs with their fellow band members.
Beginning band (Ethan) performed first, then Intermediate band (Kelsey) joined in for one song.
Love this picture of Ethan!
Intermediate band was next on the list to perform. Kelsey did a great job but what happened next shocked us all!
As awards were being handed out, Chris and I turned off the cameras and started talking. I know, bad examples!! As Ms. Parker explained how the final award was earned, which was the Patrick Gilmore award (handed out for outstanding contributions to band), she talked about a student who was always prepared for class, on time, someone who would take over the class at a moments notice, a great helper and so on.
With each comment, Chris and I jokingly said, "Oh, that can't be Kelsey...not our Kelsey" and then BAM...this awarded is presented to Kelsey Denkers. We couldn't get the cameras out fast enough!!
This is the award of all awards. She was given a plaque with her name engraved on it as outstanding student for the 2008-2009 school year for middle school. There is a bigger plaque that stays in the band room throughtout the year the will show her achievement for years to come! We are so proud of our Kels!
Of course, we had to celebrate...and what better way then to dive into banana splits at Richie's Diner!