Baker/Garrison Wheel-a-thon 2015

Another year and tires go around for the Baker & Garrison School fundraiser :)
It's the annual Wheel-a-thon!
Crazy, because I feel like this just happened; and here we are again with kids another year older!
The Baker school (3-6 grades) ride 16 miles and the Garrison School (K-2) ride 8. That's a lot of miles for little feet and tires. Willow and I rode with Garrison School so the photos I got of the older kids were on passing or at the end of the event.
The weather was sunny, blue skies, and little wind. It was great! In fact, it was 80 degrees!
The small kids were all smiles, ready to take off.......

We are thankful for all the volunteers who provide a great service of handing out water and snacks at every mile. It's a refreshing treat.

I assumed Willow would fall asleep on the ride. But, she didn't want to miss out on the action....

Ava got to ride 16 miles on her new bike (birthday present)......

Gretchen gave great ecology lessons in-between the rotations of wheels. That was great......

Group photo of both schools....... every kid made it! We grow them strong in Snake Valley ;) 

Huge "Thank you" to all our sponsors! What a grand day!

Blue Skies; Blue Duckwater

My friend Gretchen recently took her kids to a beautiful thermal warm springs called Duckwater. I've wanted to do that for years! I was bummed were unable to go the day that she went but her pictures look so amazing that we decided to take advantage of the warm September weather and make the 2.5 hour drive on Saturday. I was excited for another weekend adventure. With the kids in school that's when we have to make plans you know ;) Duckwater is on the Shoshone reservation. The water is about 92 degrees. The water is clear and blue. Seriously, it draws you in like it has power. So inviting!

My friends Meg and Julie were able to share the experience with us. Bryan has been gone to Kentucky for bat surveys all week. But, he's been here before....

I think Willow agreed that this place was fantastic!

So worth the drive here!

Julie's picture below says it all:

I called this the "staircase to heaven"..... Haha

Willow likes to put her feet up and float in the water. She's a strong swimmer already. She's also the only one who treated the spring as clothing optional ;)

So there are sections where you can jump into the water which was such a thrill. We did it over and over again.....

Time went by too fast. We took breaks to dry our pruney skin...... lol

Isaac showing us his muscles..... haha
I love my little man; always making me laugh.
He proves all the time to me that we named him right; as Isaac means "laughter." 

Isaac also let loose with my camera which I always appreciate. His pictures turn out good! Like these last ones.....

Willow, my little wild thing, turned into a real beast (just after this photo was taken) at about 4:00 pm after going all day without a nap. She fell asleep as soon as I buckled her into the carseat.
When we return to this beautiful oasis in the desert (and we will) ~ I want to camp and extend our visit. What a fine day!
Blue skies; blue water