Magic Valley ~ Part One

Last weekend, Mom and I took a short overnight trip to the Twin Falls area.
While we were there, I wanted to stop off at Shoshone Falls and take some pictures for Bob and the kids.  Assuming that there would be but a trickle going over, I thought it might help them
really appreciate what we saw when we visited the falls in May.

Above photo taken May 2011

Above photo taken October 2011
While there wasn't as much water going over as in May, I was very surprised by
the volume of water to be found in October.  Add that to the beautiful Fall colors, the empty parking lot and the rainbow starting in in the canyon and ending in the falls, it was
simply amazing!
Here are some of my favorite photos from this trip for your
viewing pleasure:

I wish I could have captured the entire rainbow on the camera.
The best I could do, however, is the beginning and the end.

{My favorite}

Ember turns seven!

Emma's dear friend Ember turned seven this past weekend.  So hard to believe...especially when it means Emma is just a couple of months behind her!  She celebrated with what had to be the best party ever!  The day was gorgeous...the parents sat in the sun....first soaking it up and then sweltering in it.  You couldn't ask for a nicer day for an outdoor party in mid-October!

I had to sneak a picture of Ember's guest list written out so nicely on her white board.

The frog pond

Pictures with the strongest man and balloon pop it!

Yum....carnie snacks!

Fun decorations

and....

face painting!  Cassie did an awesome job painting
the kids faces and/or hands. 

I loved this pic...two boys the same age as the girls, spiders (no butterflies or dolphins for them!),
bare feet and holes in the knees.  Gotta love boys!  :)

Each of the kids got a guitar after popping their balloons.  For the girls, they stayed guitars.  For the boys?  Yep...they turned into guns.  :)

All the guests.
Do you see that pie Ember is holding?  It was what had to be the best
cherry cobbler ever!! 

Enjoying cobbler and ice cream on the trampoline.

Presents!
{All of the boys are off hunting each other.}

I love that the girls can actually read their cards now.
This one was a special card from her momma...doesn't the girl on the front
look a tad bit like the birthday girl?

And here's the one that put it all together.

Last weekend...

...started with an early trip out to the farm.
We beat the sun...and then got to enjoy a gorgeous sunrise!  I'm used to getting
photos of the sunsets, but, oh, this sunrise!

The guys are making progress on the shop!  The roof is on, the front wall has been rebuilt (that'll be a sliding door there on the right), and now they are working on putting in the insulation.

Digging the trench to run electricity from the house to the shop.

While the guys were slaving away outside, the girls were slaving away inside.
I bought $17 worth o produce at a local fruit stand and came home with...

...28 jars of delicious salsa and 7 jars of stewed tomatoes.  Yum!

We made two double batches of chocolate chip cookies for Mom and
Dad's freezer...

...and enchiladas for dinner.  All of this cooking was happening at the same time...I imagine it was
an interesting aroma when you walked into the house.  :)

The fruits of out labor.

While the guys took a trip to Lowe's, Mom, Emma and I enjoyed the cool evening air. 
If you look closely, you can see Emma standing using the fire pit as a stage while she entertains Mom with a story.  :)

Me and my little nut.

Yep...she's  a nut!

The shop originally had four large doors on the front.  They were built about 50 years ago out of wood from a very old house in Richland, Oregon.  We figure the wood is at least 100 years old.  Over the past four weekends, Ryan has been very carefully taking the doors apart.  He hopes to sell the wood to someone who will use it to make picture frames, etc out of the old wood.

Even Emma gets to help on the shop!
~~~