Swimming

Having a pool at our new apartment has been great. We go swimming almost every day. The girls are getting braver with the water, too. Lyra likes to sit on the edge and jump to our arms. We even let her go under the water some of the time and she seems to like it. We bought Lisa a life jacket so she can swim all around the pool without holding onto anything. I think she likes being able to do it by herself. She used to absolutely hate getting water in her face at all, but now she will run and jump in without worrying about it. We are all getting rather tan, too!

Craters of the Moon, July 2010

Two weeks before moving from Rexburg to Twin Falls, we went for a day hike at Craters of the Moon National Park. We have driven by it several times on our way to backpacking destinations, but never made the time to stop. The hike was planned by Krista Ramacher, a friend we met in Idaho Falls this past year. She actually lives right there in Arco and Lisa was very happy that she had brought her daughter, Meredith. They are about the same age and had a fun time running and jumping around together. It was a great hike for them because it was a bunch of short trails and we would drive from one point to the next. Lyra did very well in the carrier again and even fit in a little nap while we explored. I loved going down into the caves and feeling the cool air, such a contrast from the sweltering heat among the lava rock outside. And although it seems like a barren wasteland, I was pleasantly surprised by the varieties of life everywhere I looked. Neon green lichen growing on the rocks, lovely white flowers blooming between the cracks, small birds and rodents, bugs and bees...those craters are teeming with life! Very enjoyable afternoon.

I liked this next one cause at first I thought I took a picture of everyone staring at the ground, but they are actually looking down into a huge crater

Here is Ryan's "STOP taking pictures already" face

This type of rock is called Pahoehoe, which I think means "ropy" in Hawaiian

I loved how some of the rock actually look like petrified wood

Goodbye, Rexburg. Hello, Twin Falls!

Here are a few pictures of our last week in Rexburg and our first week in Twin Falls. We are getting settled in to our new apartment and starting to explore a little bit. Gail and Lee made the trip all the way to Idaho to help us with the move, for which we are very grateful. This week Ryan will probably try to make it in to his classroom and get started with planning. Only two weeks until his first day of school!

About a week before leaving Rexburg, there was a beautiful evening sky so I went for a drive with Lyra, windows all rolled down, and stopped to take this picture. One of the things I always loved about Rexburg--the beautiful fields on the skyline.

Of course we spent lots of time at the Rexburg splash park this summer. Lisa asked to go there every day. It pretty much became part of her regular schedule. Lyra got a kick out of it too once I finally bought some swimmy diapers so she could play in the water.

I have seen this canyon numerous times as we drove over it on our way to California. Now we live a two-minute walk away from a paved trail that makes its way along the edge for a short distance. Beautiful sights to enjoy. We can't wait to explore the hiking and fishing spots around Twin Falls.

How to entertain a 10 month old while trying to unpack: put her in the kitchen sink!

How to entertain an almost-five-year-old while trying to unpack: make a bigger mess by adding a fort to the mix. (a little more involved here)

Or just give her a broom. She's getting pretty good with sweeping actually!

Our new apartment has a pool and Lisa asks to swim every day. On this day she wanted to curl her hair. Before going swimming. What do you know--I'm so starved for hair styling moments with her that I actually humored her and curled a few strands.