Young Eagles Day

When Gary stays with us in Driggs, he typically takes each kid on an adventure, and the Driggs airport has been a favorite outing since the kids were very young. One year, Gary learned that the Teton Aviation Center (Driggs airport) hosts a "Young Eagles Day" every year, and kids aged 8-18 get to take a free flight. Pilots volunteer their time and unique airplanes to introduce young people to the world of flying. Gary and Sue took Brady to at least a couple of Young Eagles Days before he was 8. Then the year Brady turned 8, they were here and took him for his first flight. Brady, of course, loved it and we've gone back every year since. In fact, in the summer of 2009, they were working on the runways, so the event occurred in the fall. Since we were on sabbatical, we even made it to that one! Last summer, I took Brady and Lia, and it happened to be on her birthday. Connor came along to watch, wishing desperately that he was 8!

Connor has been looking forward to this for three years, and was so excited to finally be old enough to fly this year. So, this morning I took Brady, Connor, Lia, Lucie and Maggie. The wait was a little long, but SO worth it! Each of the four kids got to fly alone with a pilot (we prepared them to be on group flights with 2-3 other kids). It was a special morning. Brady even got to fly in the orange Coyote that he flew in 2 years ago, so the pilot let him take the controls for a bit. Connor flew in the Kitfox. As he headed down the runway with what looked like no doors, my heart skipped a beat. Luckily there were doors and the pilot closed them just before takeoff! Maggie and I got to wave to each of the four kids at takeoff and landing. Big smiles all around.

Farmers Market

The Teton Valley Farmers Market is open every Friday from 9-1:30. Lia and Sue have a stand with bread, baked goods, and "cake pops" that Lia makes. This week we came home and had a delicious lunch of local cheese on 460 bread, with raspberries and fresh lemonade. Our selection of TWR beef this week was a brisket. Corb's in charge of preparing that!

Homemade Lemonade

A couple of weeks ago, we decided we'd make our own lemonade. I'm hooked, and the kids have gotten great at juicing the lemons -- they actually argue about who gets to make the lemonade.

The Bike

Maggie has outgrown the bike seat mounted on my bike. While she loves riding her bike with training wheels very leisurely, she does not enjoy trying to keep up with her brothers or riding for long distances. Since we enjoy so many outings on bikes, we needed a solution ... and we found it: The "Trail-a-Bike!" Maggie was extremely excited about the prospect, even though she had never seen one. We ordered one from a local bike shop, and of course it came in a week late. Everyday, she'd wake up and say, "Do you think this is the day my bike will be in?" Needless to say, when we got the call to come pick it up on Wednesday, she was just bubbling with anticipation. We've taken quite a few rides already, and frankly she would prefer the bike to the truck anytime. She's decided we should now bike up to Targhee! I don't see that happening.

Lia's Birthday Camping Trip

This year for her birthday, Lia wanted to take her two best friends camping. So last weekend (July 8-10), Lia's parents, Sue and Kurt, set off with Lia, Brady, and Jory for a weekend of camping at Fish Creek Reserve. It's out toward Carey, ID, about a 3-4 hour drive from Driggs. Brady had a fabulous time - exploring, boating, swimming, chilling under the tarp, eating new foods, and just having an adventure with some very fun people.

Lia and Brady get along so well, and Lia is great with Maggie and Connor, so we also enjoy having her spend time with us.

Flooding on Highway 33

The drive between Victor and Driggs was full of adventure for a week or so. There was water over the road in three locations. There was a funny picture in the newspaper with some guys "fishing" in the entrance to MD Nursery! Our house has remained safe and dry.

Teton Creek

The snowpack has lasted a long time this year.  A better than average snowfall this winter coupled with a cold spring prolonged the snowpack in the mountains and delayed runoff.  So, here we are in the middle of July and runoff is in full swing.  The South Fork is running 24,000 cfs and the Teton River is at 2270 cfs.  Needless to say I've had to be creative about fishing, but that's for another post.

We've had some work done on the banks of the creek on our property.  The foundation structure for the bank is in place, and not a season too soon.  This phase consists of placing big rocks along the outside of the river channel.  This has eliminated excessive erosion of our bank this year.  The lower bench seen in the pictures is simply back fill using left over material.  In the future, this lower bench will be root balls woven with cable and topped with vegetation.  In the meantime, it is unstable back fill that has been compromised in a few areas.