Great Basin is pretty great

We went to Great Basin National Park earlier this week for some camping. It was really nice to get away from some of the stress that our new house is giving us. First, Leslie got pretty scared on the narrow road up to our campground as it wound around the mountains for a while, finally ending up at an elevation of almost 10,000 ft.

We set up camp, had some hot dogs, made some smores, and had a great night of star watching.

When we woke up the next morning, we went on a tour of Lehman Caves. Molly and Austin liked it mostly. They both clung on pretty tight when the tour guide wanted to show us how dark the inside of a cave really is. She only shut the lights off for a second so there was no crying...... me or the kids.

We took some pictures, but they really do not do it justice. That place is absolutely amazing. From there we climbed back up to our campground for some lunch then some butterfly catching for about an hour. Then we all geared up for a hike that would lead us around 2 mountain lakes. The hike was around 3 miles, and we stopped quite a few times to take some pictures, admire the views, and rest a bit. Molly only wanted to be carried the last couple of tenths of the hike. She is in really great shape. 3 miles is a long way for 4 year-old legs to go. After it started to rain on us, we decided to just head home instead of stay another night. It is pretty nice that we live relatively close.

Happy Birthday .... Tiger

Austin turned 1 year old on July 10. We had his favorites (he told us) for dinner- Tri-tip, potatoes, and squash. After dinner, we sang "Happy Birthday" to him. He didn't know what to think about the whole candle thing. His big sister helped him blow it out. Leslie also made the coolest tiger cake.

It was very cute and very delicious. Austin got to get all messy with his cake and ice cream. He got so messy that we had to change his outfit before he got to open his presents. He wasn't too sure about how to tear into that wrapping paper, but his big sister showed him how to do it.

4th of July Weekend

We had such a blast over the 4th of July weekend. The parade in Eureka was excellent as you can tell by the candy bowl that Molly has. She also had a great time in the foot races where she came in just out of the money for her age group. She also got 37 nickels in the nickel scramble. It was also great for us as we got to go mullet watching. Check out the Mississippi Mudflaps, Camaro Hair, Kentucky Waterfall, Shorty Longback. Well, that one was the best one of the bunch. I tried to imitate it later as we all dressed up, I just ended up looking like the lead singer from Alabama. If you could not tell, Molly looked just like Hannah Montana. Molly also had a blast as she played on Dirt Mountain (A bunch of dirt that had been moved in preparation for our foundation for our new house). Check out how dirty she was. She would roll down the little hill, and dust would just fly everywhere. The fourth of July in Eureka really is the best celebration around.