Hailey and a friend, Hank, displaying the pictures they painted at the Creative Arts Center. My Modern Woodmen service club decided to make artwork for the Veterans hospital in Boise as the activity this month. I thought many of the projects turned out beautifully and hopefully they will help brighten up the halls for our Idaho servicemen who are staying there.

Box Canyon Hike

We did a fun hike last week during spring break. I've been wanting to hike to Box Canyon Springs for quite a while now, but I kept putting it off because I'd heard it has lots of poison ivy (poison ivy and I go way back and it's not a good relationship) and really the trailhead is not very inspiring--- it looks like you are going to hike through an old dried up farm field, which you do for quite a while. But finally, it starts getting a little more interesting. Some lava rock outcroppings and fissures in the earth appear that are interesting to climb around and explore......Then the springs themselves come into view, where they mysteriously come up from the floor of the desert. The beautiful clean spring water around here always amazes every time I come across it. What a refreshing change from the Snake River.
The trail follows the rim of the canyon for a while, with a view of the creek in the valley below.
Then the trail descends to the valley floor-- can you see that lone figure down on the trail? It's Heidi.
Okay, I'd heard that Box Canyon was cool, but I really wasn't prepared for this gorgeous waterfall. Look at all that water!!
Mom, if you're reading this, I think I actually underestimated the width when I was describing it to you. :-)

I loved how green and lush it was by the falls, contrasting with the gray dormant hues of the desert.

I would brave the poison ivy in the summer to come back again to this little corner of Eden.

Washing coyote teeth

Doing the laundry for a household with many kids can mean lots of rocks, sticks, bottle caps, crayons, gum, permanent markers, and coins make their way through the wash. But today when I pulled a coyote jawbone out of the dryer, complete with a furry nose and some canine teeth (that I had to disentangle the dryer sheet from--eeek), I decided I've seen it all! At the bottom of the dryer and washer I found a various assortment of coyote teeth that must have fell out of the jawbone during the spin cycle. :-)

Reading to sick kids

This week everyone in the family (except me) had the fever, cough, nausea thing that is going around. Though the kids felt miserable, I have to say that I enjoyed skipping out on scouts, activity days, YM/YW, clogging, and 3 hours of piano lessons this week. Isn't it too bad that it requires a sickness in order for us to stay home,read and eat homemade soup? While the kids were laying around on the couch passing around the thermometer and eating Vitamin C drops, I read aloud to them Sid Fleischman's book- Chancy and the Grand Rascal. It was a wonderful book! Imagine Tom Sawyer, Paul Bunyon, and a touch of something I can't put my finger on, all rolled up in one book. Have you heard of Sid Fleischman? He also authored By the Great Horn Spoon, The Whipping Boy, and Jingo Django. We own them all and they each make a lively read aloud. Try Chancy and the Grand Rascal and see if doesn't make you want to go live on a little island in the middle of the river and raise a chicken to perch on your shoulder. :-)