Taking a plunge at the end of summer parties

It is time for the end of summer parties for us. We had two picnics/parties this last week that were a lot of fun.

Our young men and women had a boating party during the week. It was a good time to hang out with them.

I am Emmy, hear me roar!!!!!

Br Muai throwing a football for our young men.

The Elder's quorum put a ward party together for the weekend. It was a lot of fun for all of us. Most of the food was cooked in dutch ovens. Then they had a dunk tank and a few games.

Fried bread in a dutch oven. It was very good and very hot.

Emmy is learning to walk with one of our young women.

A fun sight for us on the river. And yes that is a giant smiley face on the barge.

I came prepared for the dunk tank.

And it was a good thing, he was going to get me one way or the other. Although it took some goading to get him to go up and push the plunger while I was not looking.

The tug of war was fairly popular. Here the girls dragged the boys along pretty good. When they had the men come out my side won.

Lots of Picnics

Summer is picnic time in the Tri-Cities. The stake did the 24th of July celebration and then LIGO had a summer picnic.

The 24th of July picnic celebrates the Mormon pioneers entering the Salt Lake valley. The stake up here went all out at one of the state parks.

Our little pioneer, she even has a bonnet.

Emmy and Daddy played the ring toss game. We even got one!

Panning for pyrite. The real stuff is too expensive.

Emmy helped Mommy find some.

LIGO had a summer picnic as well. We have some great people there, so it is nice to get out with them in a non-work environment. Emmy made a few friends as well.

Emmy with Mandy, one of our summer visitors.

I love little incongruities like this.

Remember, no swimming around the dock.

The Columbia was a little bit nippy. But Emmy still liked to splash in it.

Summer Fun has Begun

Summer fun has started up here! We found a little grill (very little, but it fits our house, yard, ...) that cooks a good hunk of meat. Emily has gotten her very first swim suit and swimming pool. Picnics are becoming regular occurrences (we just refuse to feed the seagulls).

We broke in our grill with some kababs. Mmmmm.... they were good.

Emmy got her first swimming pool. Someday we will even put water in it for her. Until then she enjoys eating the grass.

There are lots of parks in the Tri-Cities. So in the summer that means PICNICS!!! Emmy likes the watermelon.

One of the parks up here has a little kids wading pool. So all the kids that are around come running with (and without towels) for a quick splash in the pool. Emmy is not ready to go out alone in the water, but she can play in it. Though for right now she thinks the water is a bit cold.

Stick Shifts & Tall Ships

There are some things that you evidently don't forget, like riding a bicycle. When it comes to driving, you don't forget how to drive stick, but you can tell when someone has not driven one for a few years. I had to drive a small truck with a stick shift a few weeks ago to help someone move. No problems with the stick, just a little jerky for the first few blocks, then smooth sailing after that. I had not driven a stick since coming back from my mission in '04, not bad.

Memorial weekend was fun. We got out to a few parks. And had a picnic with half the Columbia ward.

We went back to the Ice Harbor dam. This time we found the visitor center. They have a viewing area to watch the salmon (and other fish) swim up the fish ladder. It is actually pretty neat. I'd post a picture, but evidently we were the only ones to follow the signs saying no cameras (you even have to check in with the guard to get into the dam, so ... oh well, no pictures).

Then we drove by Sacagawea state park to see if they had BBQ pits or grills there for a picnic on memorial day. There was a pretty big crowd out. It took us a minute to figure out why, then we saw what it was. There were two tall ships sailing down the Columbia river.

When we came back to the park on memorial day it was pretty empty. Which was great (for us). We had about 30-40 people there, so it was lots of fun. I guess we should look for more parks with 'no alcohol' signs posted, it is pretty easy to find a spot at one of those.

Here are a few shots of the ships.

Boom!!! A little bit of show here.