Sometimes, the area we live in just looks like an ugly desolate brown desert. (I guess that makes sense seeing as it is the desert-- the Owyhee desert!)

But in the mornings and evenings, I think it is beautiful.  It helps that there is a reservoir out our front door. 



During the past month's heat, the kids have been swimming in the reservoir 4 or 5 times a day.  Here are some pictures from a recent hot summer evening......

I don't know where that big black rubber thing on the dock came from, but the kids put it to use as a makeshift waterslide.

The cat and dog will follow the kids to the dock.  Leif brought his book for me to read to him.  

Heidi's friend, Allison, was over for the day and they swam from sunup to sundown.
 

That pretty little desert area behind Alison is FULL of ticks.  We found that out last time we lived here and it hasn't changed.  Almost everyone, including me, have had one this summer. 

Sometime that evening, I told Heidi to paddle with the air mattress way out into the lake and bring back what looked like a piece of trash floating out there.  She paddled and paddled and paddled.  As she was coming back she kept yelling and complaining how heavy the piece of trash was and that her arms were tired.  I yelled back, asking her what the trash was and she said it was block of styrofoam with rope wrapped around it.  I told her that it must not be too heavy or it wouldn't be floating in the water so please quit being a wimp!  10 minutes later she was finally back to the dock.  As we were taking the styrofoam block from her so we could look more closely at it, we realized why it was so "heavy".  She had been dragging 15 feet of rope with a metal crawdad cage attached at the end.

Oops.  I guess that wasn't floating trash.  It was a floating marker for someone's crawdad cage.  There was a nice big crawdad in there too!  We had fun looking at it and scaring each other with it and then I said we better put it back.  Um, and Heidi could you pretty please paddle that crawdad cage back to where you found it?  Oh, she wasn't very happy with me! :-)



By the time we went home the sun was almost completely down.  I wish I could capture laid back days like this and put them in a bottle.  Life is good.





Funny

Most of the day Leif runs around with just a t-shirt and underwear. He's at the age that he can use the bathroom by himself and he thinks the lower half of his clothes are not worth putting on.  But I didn't realize what an ingrained habit this half dressing had become.

This morning Hailey overheard the following conversation between Leif and the little neighbor girl.

Evelyn:  Hi Leif!

Leif:  Hi Evelyn!

Evelyn:  Do you wanna come play?

Leif:  I tan't.

Eveyln:  Why?

Leif:  Betuz I have pants on!  We're going somewhere.


Oh my.  We certainly wouldn't want to be caught wearing pants while playing next door......

Sweet summer memories......

 
A few weeks ago, the Alberdi family took us to a wonderful swimming hole outside of Richfield.  It was perfect.  The water was much cleaner than the Snake--yet not too cold, hardly anyone was there, and there was a diving board.

Reagan taking the plunge too. This kid has no fear of heights- reminds me of Taylor that way.

It was so fun to have a lazy afternoon visit with Michelle and her boys.   We miss seeing them more often.

  

 I'm getting a bit tired of the heat but overall it's been a great summer.  I'm not sure I'm ready for it to end.