- WRIGHT'S LAKE - DAY 4

- WRIGHT'S LAKE - DAY 3

Early morning view of the lake as we start our hike.

We thought it was an easy one mile hike to Enchanted Pool (a place not on the map that Eduardo heard about and wanted to find).

Eduardo and Steve, thinking they're just going for a little jaunt before they head out this afternoon on an overnight hike to Grouse Lake.

We hiked, and hiked and hiked, wondered if we were lost, and then.....

came upon the most beautiful, secluded pool and waterfall. Enchanted Pool. It was gorgeous. Well worth the 7 mile round trip hike!

The guys climbed up on the rock and then wondered how they were going to get down!

Everyone was pretty tired when we got back to our campsite. Our feet hurt and I had blisters where I've never had blisters!

Eduardo and Steve, soaking their feet before they pack it up and carry huge packs on their "real" hike.

Saying goodbye to Eduardo and Steve.

As if 7 miles weren't enough for 1 day, Kurt and I walked around Dark Lake later in the evening - approximately 1 mile. Beautiful. We'll come back and fish here tomorrow.

Kurt fished for about an hour tonight while I made dinner. He didn't catch anything again this year :(

- WRIGHT'S LAKE - DAY 2

We got up early this morning and finished setting up camp. We're not roughing it too much this week. I had to bring our portable solar shower.

Here's the view of the sky from the shower.

We went on a 1 mile walk around the lake on the loop trail. The wildflowers were beautiful and there were butterflies everywhere. I love being out in nature.

This photo was taken from a bridge. This is one of the streams that feed into Wright's Lake. We love taking the kayaks up this stream.

Eduardo Jiron and Steve Brown joined us for a couple of days. Eduardo works with Kurt and Steve, a pilot for Southwest, is Eduardo's neighbor. It was fun to have them there, especially when they did the dishes after dinner!

- WRIGHT'S LAKE - DAY 1

Today after church we drove to Wright's Lake for a few days of camping, hiking, kayaking, biking and relaxing. We arrived at about 6:30 p.m., set up our tent and threw some tin foil dinners on the fire. We were asleep by 9 p.m. Tomorrow the fun begins!!!

- GETTING READY TO GO

Today we spent the day packing and loading the 4-Runner and Kurt's truck for our camping trip at Wright's Lake. We'll drive up tomorrow after church and stay until Thursday afternoon. We have been looking forward to this camping trip since we reserved our site in January. I'll update my blog when we get back.

Kayaks and bikes are ready to go!

Kurt's like a kid in a candy shop with his new camping table.

- MORE LANDSCAPING

Kurt and I found a great deal on some plants at Home Depot yesterday. We hadn't planned to spend this morning putting in another drip system and planting another area in front of the house, but we couldn't pass this deal up (and we're leaving on Sunday night to go camping for a few days). So, we planted 4 Green Beauty Boxwoods against the house, 7 Africanus Blue Agapanthus in the middle of the bed, and 18 Blue Salvias in the front. It looks nice. So much better than the bare dirt we've been staring at all summer. Maybe if we keep planting 32 square feet a week, we'll have everything landscaped in 12 years?????

Kurt digging the holes.

Planting the Agapanthus.
Hey Mom C..... does this wheelbarrow look familiar?

Kurt taught me how to do the drip system. It was pretty fun. Way easier than I thought it'd be.

- PIONEER DAY ACTIVITY

Tonight our Stake had a Pioneer Day Celebration at Henningsen Park in Lotus. It was so much fun. We had chili, hot dogs, corn bread, snow cones, and cotton candy. Everyone had a great time. Each ward was in charge of a pioneer activity. Kurt and I headed up the stick pull game for our ward. I love the 24th of July!

Placerville Ward's activity....Joseph Smith's favorite game - Stick Pull.

Three Legged race.

Tin Punch

Diamond Springs ward helped the kids make yarn dolls.

Covered wagon rides around the park for all the kids.

Tug-O-War. The Elders won!

Kurt, Dan Wills, Bishop Anderson and Mark Perkins.

- NEW FLIP CAMCORDER

I bought a new camcorder today. I'm so excited! It's the Flip Ultra. Great price at $99. Simple to use - 3 buttons - record, zoom, and play. Just my speed. It's about the size of a cell phone so it'll fit in my purse. You can only record 1 hour at a time, but that's all I want. A USB arm flips up and you plug it into your computer to email the video, save it to your computer, or burn a DVD. I LOVE it...and the video quality is pretty good!

- OUR GARDEN

Today I picked some strawberries in the garden. I love it out there. Ever since Kurt put the drip system in, everything is flourishing. It's so fun to walk out and pick a pepper when I need one. We're loving the zucchini and cucumbers and can hardly wait for the tomatoes to ripen (they're just starting to turn red). This is the third year we've planted a garden since we moved to Placerville. We had to put up a 6 foot fence to keep the deer out and build grow boxes because the soil is REALLY rocky here. It just gets better every year.

Our strawberry patch.

There's nothing better than fresh picked strawberries!

We have 2 watermelons so far. They're about the size of volleyballs.

Two of our pumpkins. They're turning orange already. I'm not sure they'll still be around by Halloween.

Tomatoes and peppers.

Some of our bell peppers.

Photo of the garden from our back deck.

- HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGIE!!

Happy Birthday Angie!!!! I can't believe you're 27 years old today!!!! It just doesn't seem possible! We are so proud of the beautiful woman you have become. Thank you for being such a sweet daughter, sister, mommy and wife. We love you SO much!!! HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!