August 2019

I spent the first week of August holed up in my office working on my dissertation. On the 1^st, we took a short walk around the Green Belt with Leah & Austin’s family and Isaac. We got rained out pretty quick, though. On the 3^rd, Kory was kind enough to hang out in my office with me while I worked on the dissertation. He’s so supportive! Later that night, all of the kids came over for pizza and to hang out before Austin had to head back to Phoenix.

On August 8, Kory, Isaac, and Phoebe headed out to Michigan for a few days. They visited people Isaac taught, old companions, attended one of Isaac’s branches and saw some beautiful sites. They swam in the lake and hiked the sand dunes and visited a light house.

Back on the home front, Morgan entertained herself by learning Russian. Caleb had a great idea for doing smores in the kitchen with the flame from a candle. Caleb ran a bit in preparation for cross country, which started back up on August 12. Chloe was gone to Girl’s Camp for part of the week and then to Yearbook Camp for the rest of the week. One night it was just Caleb and me, so we went to see Spiderman: Far from Home at the theatre in Blackfoot. The next night, we watched Antman and the Moth together, since I had never seen it. On Friday, I took Caleb and Morgan to Rigby Lake for a few hours.

On the 13^th, Kory and I took off for a trip to Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada. I had been there in high school on a choir tour and always wanted to go back someday with my husband. So, we ran a few errands, then we headed north on I-15. We always love heading north because there is so little traffic. We plugged my phone in so we could listen to my specially selected Canada Playlist. We stopped for lunch in Helena, MT and ate at Panda. We crossed the border at Carway and came into Waterton through Cardston—where we took a quick stop and got a picture of the temple.

We checked into the hotel then ate some hotdogs and poutine at Weiners of Waterton. We hiked up to the Prince of Wales hotel and then around town. We stopped for icecream and ate it overlooking the water and listening to a group of people singing and playing on ukuleles. We hiked around to Cameron Falls then headed back to our hotel. Kory read and I soaked in the jacuzzi tub. It was so relaxing that I fell asleep in there for a bit. We hit the hay pretty early and slept great.

On the 14^th, I woke up earlier than Kory, so I got up and got ready and went out for a morning stroll by the water and on the pier by all the Peace Park Signs. Then I went back and got Kory out of bed and we ate breakfast at Waffleton. We shared one with berries and cream and one with ham and cheese baked in. Topped off with some delicious hot chocolate. After that, we headed out on a hike to Bertha Falls. It was a cloudy day, so it was nice and cool. We loved the view of the water from up on the mountainside. We enjoyed the falls and then decided to head up further to Bertha Lake. It was much steeper, so after another 45 minutes or so, I stopped. Kory pushed on and made it to the lake while I sat and read on a rock. By the time we got done our feet were killing us and we were exhausted. We grabbed some sandwiches and ate them in our hotel room then slept for a couple of hours. I used the jacuzzi tub again and Kory gave me a foot rub. We got up and drove around to some of the other canyons, but a storm blew in. We got some take-out pizza from 49 Degree North Pizza. We ate in our room again. The storm got worse, so we went and exchanged our boat ride tour for the next morning. I like watching storms, so we parked our car down by the water and watched the storm. Kory read In Cold Blood and I wrote in my journal. The storm blew through pretty fast although it was still very windy after the rain stopped. We went to Welch’s and I had Saskatoon Berry pie and ice-cream. The girls said the berries taste like a cross between a blueberry and a cherry. I really liked it. After that, we went back to the hotel and vegged.

On the 15^th, we woke up, went for a short walk, then ate breakfast at Breakfast of Waterton. We had Eggs Benedict, which I love. Our boat tour left at 10:00, so we headed down to the pier to get on board. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and the views were spectacular. The tour took about two hours and crossed over the international border, we saw the Continental Divide and came to the end of the lake, where we were officially in Glacier National Park. We really enjoyed the boat ride. When we got back, we grabbed some hotdogs from Weiners of Waterton and then rented bikes. We headed out of town on a paved bike path. Before we even left town, we were startled when a black bear came running across the path. He didn’t seem to interested in us….thankfully! We enjoyed a gorgeous ride—although I was hating some of the steep parts. I need to get in better shape before I go back to Waterton again. We rode back into town, grabbed some pop, and biked up to Cameron Falls. We sat on a bench and chatted and enjoyed the view. Then, we returned our bikes. We got cleaned up and then went and had some fried chicken and then drove up to the Prince of Wales hotel for some dessert in the lobby. What an amazing view!! Afterwards, we hung out at the hotel for awhile and then waited for the sun to go down to seen if we could get some good stargazing in. Unfortunately, it was still pretty light and we were tired, so we went to bed.

On the 16^th, we got up and packed our stuff and grabbed a waffle on our way out of town. We drove out on a different road which was amazingly scenic and pretty! We enjoyed that. Then we just flew on down through Montana, listening to music, reading a book together, and just talking. We both really love these little getaways. So worth the effort!

The week of the 19^th was just kind of wrapping up summer and getting geared up for school. We cleaned the kids rooms and sorted through clothes and bought school supplies. Cross country started back up for Caleb. On the 22^nd, Kory and I and Kristi and Ellie took my mom and Linda to lunch for my mom’s birthday. We went to McKenzie River Grill and everyone liked it and we had a nice visit.

I officially submitted my complete dissertation draft on the 19^th, which should have made me feel relieved, but instead I just worried that my chair would think it was terrible. On the 22^nd, for my Mom’s birthday, me, Kristi, Ellie, Aunt Linda, and Mom went to dinner in Idaho Falls at the McKenzie River Grill. It was fun to hang out together. 

The next night, Kory and I went to that restaurant again for dinner with Mike and Maria Ricks. Mike was Kory’s roommate in college and his first cousin and they have some great memories together. After dinner, we went and got ice-cream at Reed’s Dairy. 

On the 24th we took the kids to Texas Roadhouse and McKenzie was our server.

On the 25^th, I went to Rexburg for Ellie Anderson’s mission farewell. She will be serving in the Denver South mission. David and his family came up for it as well. We had a nice day visiting and hanging out together.

August 26 was the first day of school for Chloe (8^th) and Morgan (5^th). They both survived. Caleb’s first day at the 27^th. 

On the 29^th, I went up Ogden Canyon to have a little get together with my friends Annie and Wendy. We stayed at the Wolf Creek Condos. We went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant, went for a short hike, sat in the hot tub, watched a movie, and mostly just talked and caught up. We had a great time and I cherish their friendship.

August 30^th was Caleb’s first cross country meet. It was in Pocatello at the Mink Creek Nordic Center. It was hot and steep but Caleb survived. Jared and Karna were also there cheering for Kaleah, who runs for Hillcrest. 

On the 31^st, Kory and biked the Tetonia/Ashton Rail Trail. We went from Felt to Lamont and back, which totaled about 20 miles. It was a gorgeous day and we really enjoyed it.

So that’s it for a busy August.