Stupid TiVo! & Great Family Day

I was so excited that last night was the start of The Amazing Race, one of my favorite shows. But for some reason, my TiVo did NOT record it. I checked my To Do list on there on Friday and it was there, so I have NO IDEA why the stupid thing did not record. ARG! No other shows were scheduled to record, it was 3rd on my priority list, so it should have recorded. What a bummer! I wonder if iTunes has it?

Anyway, onto more happy things. Yesterday we took the kids out to 4th of July Pass to go hiking. It's been too long since we've been on a family hike. The first place we stopped to hike was along a river. We quickly discovered that wasn't going to work. Either way we decided to go meant crossing the river to keep going. Joel thought he could carry the kids across on his back, but after one trip he realized that that probaby wasn't the best idea. Here he's laughing because I told him I was just waiting for them to fall in the water so I could get a good shot. :) They didn't.

While Joel & Rebekah were crossing the river, Lucas & Tyler found a caterpillar to play with. I don't know how it did it, but the caterpillar was stranded on a rock in the river. Can caterpillars swim? The boys decided to rescue him and moved him to a rock on the edge of the river. That right there was reason enough to stop. Oh, and I got this great shot of Lucas too. He's usually so hard to photograph cause he likes to make wacky faces. Here's a great shot though. :)

We headed down the road a bit and found a GREAT hiking trail. For some reason, there were lots of fallen trees all over to path that the kids (and Joel & I) had to climb over to continue. Of course the kids thought that was great. But I had Samantha in the backpack, so climbing over and under fallen trees was quite the workout.

There is something about getting out with the kids into nature that brings us together as a family. No bickering, no whining, no fighting! Just running and climbing and exploring. I love it and they do too. Why don't we do it more? Living where we do there are more places to hike than we could do in a lifetime. And what's better, it's free! :)

The weather has suddenly turned cool here in North Idaho. Fall has arrived, and it is most welcome! We've had more than our usual share of hot days this summer, so I'm welcoming the cooling off. I even had a fire going in the wood stove on Saturday morning to take the chill off. Leaves are starting to turn and the days are noticably shorter. Welcome autumn!!

Comments

[Melissa Kaiserman]

I love your ideas for family outings--so fun! Yesterday was such a beautiful one for a hike. And yes, autumn is almost here. I've got the bread machine going right now and think I'll make soup for dinner...

[zalaine]

Cold and rainy in Nampa too. I am not quite ready for the rain but They ( whoever they are) always said we need it.

LOL about the Tivo thing, we were big West Wingers and always had 3 backup families who were recording it for us when our machines goofed.

Family time looks groovy - this is the best time of year to take pictures. Beautiful colors that make us see the Nature of God.

Great day for a soup dinner - Fully Loaded Baked Potato is what I am thinking...

[Tawnya]

it was cooler and rainy here in vermont as well... I cant wait for all the colors though! :)

[Jana]

What a beautiful place to hike, my boys would love it there! Looks like you had some wonderful family time and you got some great pics that will be fun to scrap.

[Mary Ellen]

Hi Sheila! Wow! Fall in Idaho must be beautiful! I miss MI...leaves changing and that *fall smell* in the air. I had to laugh that you have the backpack on instead of Joel! That was me! Totally! Six kids--every single one in the backpack until they were 2..LOVED it! Shopping, the grocery store, everywhere, must warn you though...as soon as I didn't have kids to put in the backpack any more, I started gaining weight! :(
Love your photos! Looks like some great pages in the making! Maybe a mini-album..."family fall" :)
It's actually starting to get cool in the mornings here in Phoenix so I started walking again. YEAH! I NEED it so bad!
Take Care.
Mary Ellen

[Amy Sorensen]

I agree: family hikes are AWESOME!!! It looks like you went through some gorgeous country---great pics!

[Carrie]

That IS a great shot of Lucas! Looks like you had a great time. :)