Outdoors in August

In August we also went to the family cabin site-affectionately called The Pines for a little getaway with nature. The boys love it, and since there's indoor plumbing now , I love it too. Here we are at Meek's Cabin Reservoir:

Here's Porter at the bottom of the Y. I hiked it with him when a friend and her family came to town to visit. Its funny how the hike always seems shorter than it is-or maybe it's shorter when there isn't a 2 yr old climbing it with you.

And canning. Lets not forget canning. My sister came over the middle of July to can so jam with me. She had never done it, and I wanted her to learn how. Instead of a monthly craft, we learned a useful skill instead. These are strawberry and raspberry jam, all from our garden! This summer I've also done beans, beets, and salsa. It's my dream to put in a canning kitchen in the basement when we finish it someday...

We went to Boise, ID in August for Evan's family. His big sister Linda, had 3 kids with big events. We're grateful they squeezed it in in one weekend! Her daughter was baptized on Saturday, her son had a mission farewell sunday, (first grandbaby AND missionary in the family, and we are so proud of him) and a baby blessing the same day. Talk about crazy! She handled it all very well, and we ate ourselves silly. We headed to Salt Lake that night where we slept soundly until monday, when we hopped a plane and arrived in Washington D.C. (yet again). This was the first time there that we didn't see any historic sites, monuments, or parks. (We did stop in at the Air and Space Museum the last day, for Evan) We spent our days in the hotel room, which was treat enough for the kids. Eating out-YES PLEASE! and doing a lot of walking and riding the metro-as usual. It was great to see Evan during our time there, since we hardly see him during the day on business trips. It was like a real family vacation! Thanks again to Evan's company for the wonderful accommodations and putting up with our kids during meals!

Me and Henry at the Nationals baseball game

At the Air and Space Museum