Havin fun before Jonathan leaves

Here's most of us before the trip. See how happy Cameron is? Not for long.

Here's Jonathan's token "I'm crazy!" look.

Today I guided my first river trip. I attended a week long guide school back in March and haven't gotten on a river since. It was great to drive down to the Green River. The water is clear and deep and the fish are just waiting to be caught. Next time I go to the Green I'm bringing my fishing pole. So, when I say I guided my first river trip, don't assume that I do this commercially. I was just taking my family down. My husband, two of my kids, my brother, and two of his kids went. We really filled the raft. Next time we're renting a bigger raft and we'll go when the water is higher. It was at 830 cfs today. The kids were punks at the start but after a couple of rapids they chilled out (literally) and things were better. There was a lot of wind which slowed us down, but the whole time I envisioned my next trip in my head. No kids, early morning, a cooler full of water and lemon mint drinks from the Arab lands, and plenty of class III rapids. Of course, none of these things will ever happen except maybe the early morning put in and the rapids.

Here's me giving my safety talk. I know. . . scary!

Here's my nephew, who is 12, wearing a child's PFD. Do you think he qualifies for an adult one now? It looks like a bolero jacket.

 

Even though the kids were slightly unruly, I was glad to take them out on the water and show them a small section of the Green River. I remember rafting down the same section with my cousins when I was about 7 years old. I wore a red, white, and blue bathing suit and one of those orange life preservers. I don't remember paddling but I did have a great time with my cousin Mandy in the bow of the boat. Today my niece, Alexandra, who is 11 was the best paddler of the four kids, and she was the only girl. Don't tell my sons or her big brother.
Jonathan is bustling around this house gathering his things for his big trip. He'll leave tomorrow morning and I hope he will accomplish what he plans to. I don't know why I even say that. He has always accomplished what he has planned. It's like he has his own magic lamp. He desires it, he plans it out in his mind, and he attains it. It really is amazing to see this happen over and over and over.
As for me and my summer, my goals sound very simple but they involve a lot of heavy work. Packing, driving, cooking, hiking, reading, settling disputes, smiling when I don't want to, smiling when I do, rubbing sunblock on Hector's white skin and everyone else's, enjoying the moments, spending enough time outdoors, and sleeping. I'm sure there's other things in there that I have to do like clean and shop but those are boring and I hate them so I try not to mention them too much.
Friday is the day of our hike up Mt. Nebo. It's 11928 feet and the highest peak in the Wasatch Mountain range. Last year we hiked Mt. Timpanogos. It was a butt kicker but we made it. This year the hike is supposed to be 9 miles of strenuous hiking. I hope I can make it to the summit before I wring my children's necks for complaining too much. They complain a lot more when they are with their cousins.
Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the river but if I had posted them, then you would probably want to go too because it's so gorgeous. I wouldn't want to clutter up the river with any more people. As my toddler Helen would say, "It's mine!!!"