Kanarraville Falls in Photos

After teaching all day at the Rural Schools conference in Cedar City a group of us headed to the hills to take a look at Kanarraville Falls. LIke always, it didn't disappoint. Take a look!

Neighborhood Campout

Tara and I love our neighborhood.  Over the past ten years we've had some great families move in and we couldn't be happier with all the wonderful people we've grown to love.  We have developed some fun traditions around here and we hope they continue for years to come.

Each summer several of the families in our area get together for an overnighter.  It usually is a campout, but this year we stayed in a cabin.  We did have a fire and rode a bunch of 4 wheelers so it may count as a bit of a campout, right?

Stolen from Lauretta's Blog

Friday night we had a lot of fun spinning tales around the fire.  A special log was added to the mix and it created a blue flame that mesmerized the kids and adults alike.  After some tall tales, Bree and I got the group involved with a couple party games.  I hope everyone had a good time and no one was to upset with a little wet surprise.

Stolen from Lauretta's Blog

The kids had a great time overall.  How can things go wrong when you've got a cabin full of kids all wanting to play?  Big D was the only one who had a rough go.  I think he must have been eating a bit too many treats as he started puking early Saturday morning.  The illness was over quickly and he was back at the festivities by noon.  We were glad to have Dylan back to full strength.

As part of our trip we headed over to the Smith Moorehouse Reservoir for a little lake fun.  The water was a bit cold for any serious swimming, but we found plenty to do from the shore.  Kennedy and Alex learned how to fish thanks to Ryan and Judi.  They couldn't get enough of casting into the water.  I guess we're going to have to buy some poles before too long.

While the kids we trolling for fish, a few of the dads headed across the lake for a "little adventure".  Rob mentioned that we needed to be initiated in the flying idiots club so I paddled with him, Sam, and Russell across the water to find a rope swing high in the trees.

Rob set the bar as he climbed up the hill and flew out over the lake dropped into the water below.  Sam went next and then it was up to me.  How could I chicken out after the boys had already joined the club?  As I prepped for flight the last advice Rob gave was "let go of the rope."  Once I was in the air and I realized how high I was off the ground his advice rang true.  I didn't want to let go, but I did and fell down - about 25 to 30 feet into the freezing water.  Holy Cow!  That was as cold as I've ever been!

After a full afternoon of fun with our friends we cleaned up at the lake and began our journey home.  What a wonderful trip.  Thanks to the Balls for sharing the family cabin with us and thanks to all our terrific neighbors for including us in the fun.

NFL Lockout

Like many of you I hope the lockout ends and there isn't a loss of real games, but it has provided us with some classic material. Check out this remake from Field of Dreams.

Photos of the Day

While driving through Springville earlier today I came across this classic billboard. Got to love me some Hank Hill!

Jared, the Builder?

Two months ago Tara and I bought the kids a new playset.  Our old swingset has worked great, but we could tell that Kennedy had outgrown it.  To use the swings she would shorten the chains by looping them over the top bar.  So, when Toys R Us had their spring sale on the large wood playsets, our fate was sealed.

The problem is that the playsets are complicated to assemble and I knew it would take more time than I could invest.  The boxes sat on our back porch ever since.  Every week I would hear about it as the kids inquired as to when I would finally build the new playset.  I put it off cause I knew I wouldn't have time until the first draft of my book was turned into the publisher.  Since I shipped the draft off a week ago, there were no more excuses and the holiday weekend became a perfect time for a new project.

I am not a handyman.  I am comfortable using tools, but I am prone to making mistakes and not following the directions very well.  The result embodies the adage - "There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to do it over."  I can't tell you how many times I had to take out the bolt and reassemble part of the tower.  Either the boards were on backwards or I stripped one of the screws.  Eventually, everything came together and the project was finished.  It only took four days, two people, and a few deposits in the Swear Jar.

The results speak for themselves as our 4th of July BBQ was the perfect opportunity for the crew to break in the new playset.