Ye Ol' Waterin' Hole!

Last weekend we went with some friends to their super secret watering hole! It was awesome!

The drive in was harrowing (not really, it was a rough road, but the driver was amazing), but once we were there it was super fun and we were alone!

First we checked out the little swimming hole...

Then off we went down the trail a ways to find the cliffs for jumping.

 

Found them!

 And jump we did! Often! (Except for Maura and I...my finger was bandaged, and Maura was a wimp.)

After much jumping and having fun we headed back to the swimming hole for food and relaxing!  It was so awesome!! Can't wait to do it again!

***WARNING***

If you have a weak stomach...don't read this post...really yucky pictures included!

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Okay, you've been warned...here goes!!

I'm an 11 year old scout leader.  It's a blast.  Scouts are super fun and totally high energy.  I really enjoy being around them and we do some fun things.  I have a great partner (Angie Houston) and it's going well!

A couple weeks ago we were talking about sharpening knives, axes, hatchets and such. Then they were to use their sharpened equipment to prepare wood for fires.  You know, cutting larger pieces into tinder and kindling.  All was going well until we went outside to chop kindling...

  I was using a neighbor's axe that had just been sharpened to demonstrate.  The first instructions I gave were; "Be very careful, this axe is sharp.  This is how you cut a large plank into a smaller one...WHACK!"  Yep, off came the top of my finger.

At first I thought I had nicked my nail...it didn't hurt.  Then it started to bleed and I looked at it...whoops!  I left Angie in charge while I went inside to wash it out and put some pressure on it.  Dallin came in and said "Mom, you look pale, you should probably lie down."  Well, the boys came in and treated me for shock, put pressure on the wound and then bandaged me up.  We had just done a First Aid unit the meeting before and they knew exactly what to do!

I ended up in the ER thanks to a good friend and neighbor it went very well.  No stitches (there was nothing to put back on-the boys looked, but couldn't find the little part) but a tetanus shot, pain meds and some good bandages.

The next day I had to work and was really worried about it, but I made it through the day just fine.  

Here's a picture of a day after (I think) when we were changing the bandages.  My finger looks pale and gross because I had a bandage on it all day and it was just wet.

Now almost two weeks later and it's doing much better!  The black parts are where they had to cauterize it (with Silver Nitrate) to stop the bleeding.  The pink areas are new skin growing back in.  The swelling is almost completely gone and I've been off pain meds for four days now.

 I wear a bandage most of the day because it is still open and sensitive, but at night let it air out.

So there you have it...the dumbest thing I've ever done.

Well, at least it was a memorable scout activity and they got to practice their First Aid!  

The best comment of the day was just after Dallin said; "Mom, that was really dumb, you should have leaned it against the tree before you tried to chop it with that sharp axe!"  

Yep, lesson learned.

I'm not sure I'm raising children...I think I'm raising fish!

Maura LOVES to swim.  She is now an independent swimmer that can swim the length of the pool all by herself-and she is SUPER silly!

 Doing a twirl off the diving board!  If this girl could wear a tu-tu in the water she would! Next year she will be doing swim team for sure!

 Dallin doing a front flip off the board.  Dallin really did well on the swim team this year and I think next year we are going to try out the diving team!

It was great to have cousins along to swim! Jeff also did well on the swim team this year and he tans better than any of us! :0)  Morgan  and friend Brigham were there to have fun too!

I think this is the best part of Summer in Arizona-the great swimming pools!

The power was off yesterday from 6am-3:30pm. I was worried at first-it was a hot day!  But we kept the doors closed and the refrigerator and freezerclosed and all was well. The temp in my house never got above 82.


My kids, on the other hand, thought the world had ended!! No Wii?? No computer?? What are we going to do?? They lamented.  So I told them about the good old days when I had to do my homework by candle light and draw water from the well; how I had to use an outhouse and churn my own butter. Then I had to walk to school-uphill both ways-with dirty newspapers wrapped around my feet leaving a bloody trail in the snow...


After much griping, we ended up having a really fun day.


We had a great time playing games and doing things without electronics! Melissa Julien and her kids were in town and we played board games, had Nerf fights, ate popsicles, jumped on the trampoline and even played "Sardines" in the house!


My kids were having so much fun it took them a while to realize when the power came back on (and then of course there was a mad-dash to the Wii)!


The power should go off more often!  I wonder if I could make a deal with SRP...


I love, Love, LOVE hanging out at home with my kids!

We can't go through Utah without stopping to visit the Radford's.  This time they caught fish and Maura learned how to fillet.

 The boys blew up a lot of things with vinegar and baking soda! Awesome!  (Dallin is standing next to Bryson who just happens to be turning 8...have I mentioned how much these kids have grown?)

 Then back to Jen's house to play.  David came and brought his dogs!  We went to the park and played ball before seeing fireworks.

My cute sister, Jen

Colin

The Mookster with a cute hair-do done by Rae.

Before leaving Wyoming we stopped to say goodbye to Garrett,

 And Grandma Jones.

 We also saw where they are planning to build the temple! It's East of the main highway against the mountain almost directly across from the Red Baron Drive In.  (If you've ever been to Star Valley, you know where that is!)

It will be built at the base of the mountain where the sun is shining on it...just a little south of Afton. It will be a great blessing for people in this area!

Fun with cousins!

The best part of our vacation was seeing our family!

Maura sure loves Brannen!

Ahhh, the local creek...a little colder than those in Arizona.

 Then they got brave!

 Brave enough to jump off the bridge!

Okay, Dallin was the only one brave enough...but we all had a good time!

This is the same bridge I use to jump off when I was in High School.

Of course we would do it at night, after a dance, fully clothed, without our parent's permission...

Love that I was here to see Dallin do it!

A visit to Wyoming must always include a day at the lake.  Grandpa Jonesy and Grandma Colleen were great!  We had a fun day boating that included a picnic on the beach!

The Mookster

Big D

Cousin Bran

Our trip to Wyoming this summer was much shorter than usual *sigh* but it sure was fun!

We visited as many friends as we possibly could and thoroughly enjoyed it.

One fun discovery was a park with this great climbing structure!

And this great merry-go-round.

 A funky rock wall...

Also at the park were hundreds of firefighters camped out.  It seems the entire Wasatch Front is on fire!  My sister and her family never were evacuated, but it came pretty close.

We are so grateful for skilled firefighters who prevented what could have been a great tragedy!