Summer fun in the hills

We've been settling into our new home in the foothills and made some time for a few adventures in the area.

First off, we've added a new member to our family. We recently adopted Heidi, a 6-year-old Austrailian shepherd and lab mix. Her owner just passed away, and we were selected by the owner's children to bring her home. She has been very pleasant as we are adjusting to each other. Here are the kids relaxing with Heidi after going for a splash in the kiddie pool.

The boys and I went on the traditional father and son campout with men and boys from our new branch (church congregation). I tried to capture L, our youngest - who is very light, hanging from the handle of the manual water pump. We were initiated into plinking with bb guns and the locals' fascination with riding quads. We left early and I had to forego an anticipated hike because L woke up Saturday feeling ill and unable to keep food down. He is feeling much better.

We stopped at the local grocery store for their Tuesday night special on ice cream. This is the view just outside. H was on his way home from Cub Scouts and getting ice cream, so we didn't feel too bad going without him this time.

We fulfilled one of our ambitions of our family's move by participating in our community's 4th of July parade and festivities. It was advantageous to spectate near the beginning of the procession as paraders' bags of candy were full and generous downpours of candy came regularly to our pack of kids and their friends.

On Saturday we went to one of the nearby lakes - really a dammed portion of the river - to swim. With temperatures in the 90s, the water was perfect. The older kids and some others with PFDs swam across the river to a rocky outcropping where the water was deep. We're looking forward to lots more exploring in our new neighborhood.