Fourth of July 2020

All Independence Day events in Idaho Falls were cancelled this year, so we headed straight up to Island Park to celebrate with my parents and with the Heinholds. I am so grateful we have the cabin as a place to escape-- especially this year! 

My dad recently bought a few kayaks and we took them out almost as soon as we made it to the cabin. Sean, Jackson, Bode, and I floated down Henry's Fork and it was so fun! We all loved it and it was such a beautiful night. We even saw a moose and bald eagle.

We had such a great time, Sean, Jackson, and I decided to wake up early the next morning and go kayaking again on Cliff Lake. It was such a gorgeous morning. We had the entire lake to ourselves, and the water was glass. We had fun paddling around some of the inlets and we saw several bald eagles. 

Bald eagle

The color of the water is my favorite.

We spent the rest of the day in Yellowstone. It was nice because it didn't feel quite as busy as normal during the summer/holiday, though we did notice license plates from all over the United States. We kept track of how many different state plates we saw and we saw almost 40 of 50 states throughout the day! We took the Artist Paint Pots trail and then drove over to Mammoth for lunch. We stopped at a little hike on our way out of the park Sean has always wanted to check out called Harlequin Lake.

The lily pads on Harlequin Lake were in bloom with big yellow flowers and it was so pretty!

The next day, on the Fourth of July, we decided to hike to Whits Lake and Upper Whits Lake. It is one of our favorite family hikes. 

The kids loved hearing about my dad and his friends burying a time capsule somewhere around this spot in the 1960s. One of these days we'll go try to find it!

We ended the day watching fireworks at Island Park Reservoir. The moon was the biggest full moon I have ever seen that night! 

A few more pictures from the weekend

Catching frogs at the pond

As I said, I am so grateful we have the cabin as a place we can escape and visit whenever we want. It has always been a special place to us, but this year it has also been a refuge and lifeline and I feel very, very fortunate my parents have provided this happy place for us.

Molly's dance recital

Molly's dance recital looked a bit different this year, but she was excited to perform anyhow! Her dance studio did a little recital for each class just at the studio instead of the school auditorium. The floor was taped off into individual squares and all guests were in masks. It was very low key, but fun to see Molly all dressed up in her outfit and perform. She danced to "Second Star from the Right" and she was darling. We took lots of pictures of her all dressed up and she told me she felt like a queen with her crown! I'm so proud of this little girl of ours. 

Baseball 2020

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we assumed baseball would be cancelled this year. We were pleasantly surprised when the league decided to go ahead, starting a month later than usual. The boys were so excited to get to play, especially after all of the other sports leagues were cancelled, and I am really grateful they were able to have a season after all. 

This was Jackson's first year in the majors and he was lucky enough to be on a team with several of his friends. He mostly played bases and also pitched during a handful of games. He did a great job fielding this year and had some big hits toward the end of the season. His was a young team, and they are already looking forward to next year!

This was Bode's first year as a minor and he had a great season. He was drafted to the Angels by one of his rookie teammate's dad. His friends Abe and Truman were also on the team, which he loved. This season Bode tried his hand at pitching and did well, and he also got his first in-field home run! His team did awesome and had a few really fun games where they came back to win. They also ended up placing third in the tournament. 

Davis was so excited for his first year of baseball in this league. He's patiently waited and attended so many games of his brothers and it was finally his turn. Sean has been the Angels rookies coach since Jackson was in rookies several years ago. Davis loved having his dad as coach and he did awesome this year! He always hit the ball and usually, to the outfield! He loved having a few of his neighborhood friends on the team. Their team did well and had a winning average, which was impressive since it was such a young team.

 

Charlie, the team mascot.

I really love this picture of my boys!

And a few more pictures because there is nothing cuter than boys in their baseball uniforms.

Here's to hoping next season we're not dealing with a pandemic anymore!