A Whole LOT of fun and a plane crash

One of the highlights for our family this past week was the soccer tournament. Why was this a highlight? Well, because it means we are done! Abigail enjoyed being on a team this year, though she struggled at times when others scored and she didn't. She improved so much though, and during her last game she scored 3 goals!! Great job Abby. John and I enjoyed coaching, but it will be nice to have our Monday evenings back.
What a fun group of kids:)










Yesterday John and I decided to take the kids on their first "Real" hike. We brought two of our nephews along, who are pretty great hikers, and we knew having them along would make it more enjoyable for Sam and Abby. Sure enough the kids LOVED it. We did Blackiston. It is a very short, very EASY hike to some great Falls up by Red Rock Canyon. It was the perfect choice for my three first timers!
Here they are all enthusiastic to begin.


Overlooking Red Rock. Doesn't that look so nice. It was so hot and I wanted to go play in that water so bad. What I didn't want though were the other kids joining me. :)) (That would have been an adventure! Maybe with a few more adults to supervise sometime.)



Caleb took this photo for us at the falls. I was so glad the balcony was enclosed with fence. Sam would have loved to get a little bit closer. I could tell he wanted in that water! How is it that kids can be afraid of something imaginary (like a monster under their bed), yet when confronted with real danger, such as a cascading and crushing waterfall, all they want to do is get closer? That's Sam for ya, I guess.




Speaking of Sam, he managed to do the entire hike while carrying his toy Bow & Arrow. He walked with that Bow slung over his shoulder and the whole time would mumble something. Every once in awhile we'd hear, "Bear." "I do it." "Kill him." Apparently he sensed my caution about bears and felt the need to protect. Needless to say the bears stayed far away.



When we got back to the waterton town site we met up with some of John's siblings for dinner by the lake. It was a beautiful calm evening. The kids enjoyed making this lean to.

The parents enjoyed visiting. And then...tragedy struck.

You may recall in previous posts me talking about John's love for flying remote control airplanes. It's his brother Jordan who got him hooked on the hobby and ever since then these planes have been the activity of choice for John and his brothers. So last night Jordan is flying his plane and keep in mind he's pretty good at it. We're enjoying the show, watching as Jordan flys it over the lake and chases people passing by in motor boats etc. It was pretty fun to see, and John was debating whether to send his plane up her not.



All the sudden, (this is the tragic part), the plane nicked a tree limb and went plummeting into the lake. My initial instinct was to laugh my head off, but...oh wait..I did!




In hindsight, it really is kinda sad. (For Jordan that is) The plane shorted out and may need to be replaced entirely.

Jordan we are sorry for your loss! That was a very sad way to end a really great day!