Spring Trip!

 

Each spring, when the kids complete another year of school, we reward them with either a small gift or a special family outing. Sometimes I think the teacher deserves that special reward at the end of the year as much as anyone else--or at least she thinks she needs it.

This year, we planned a little family trip during Kayla's short break from college. We left Monday for Bruneau Sand Dunes. In less than an hour and a half, we had arrived. They are the tallest single structure dunes in North America. Rising to 470 feet above the small lakes that lie at their feet. It's like a giant sand box. Kaderick had never been there, and his excitement was unequaled. Science tells us they were created by a huge flood (we think it was Noah's flood), which is fascinating to imagine.

 

 

Sometimes the wind blows the hills completely smooth and at other times it creates a wavy design. At times the sand is cool on your toes and at others, its dangerously hot and can even burn your skin.

 

 

The hill there behind the little lake in this photo is one of the tallest and of course, is made entirely of sand.

 

 

Because it is desert, it is often hot and dry, but in the spring it is quite pleasant. There aren't many trees, but what is there are those gorgeous allergy-laden Russian Olives.

 

 

The littles took Kammy's tee-pee and acted like regular little Indian.

Kaderick also had a "packing list" which looked like this:

 

1. Cheeto the stuffed dog
2. Camouflage pillow
3. One box of rubber snakes
4. One large sprig of mint from the garden in case something stinks...
5. One old smashed egg carton just because
6. Lots of unhealthyish snacks

 

 

As you can imagine, the deep sand is a little hard to navigate, but not for this little man. He scampered across the top like a little lizard, barely making a dent in the sandy earth.

 

 

After several hours of play, he finally admitted that his "super powers" were wearing out and daddy must carry him the rest of the way down the mountain.

 

 

He did really well physically. We carted his emergency bag everywhere, but his only reaction was to mosquito repellant.

 

 

We opted for "shadow" family pictures. Trust me when I say that sand and wind does no favors to ones appearance.

 

 

 

Of course the kids still looked "normal."

 

 

My favorite pictures were taken at sunset. Of course. If you know me at all, you know that I love to watch the sun go down.

 

 

I could not but think of Isaiah 35:1

 

“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.”
In all that barrenness, the flowers can still bloom and that is amazing to me. What a promise that we can bloom in the barrenness of this dry world.

 

We stood on the mountain and sang:

 

Too Much To Gain To Lose  

Too Many Miles Behind Me
too Many Trails Are Through
too Many Tears Help Me Remember
there's To Much To Gain To Lose. 

       Too Many Sunsets Lie Behind The Mountain
       Too Many Rivers My Feet Have Walked Through
       Too Many Treasures Are Waiting Over Yonder
       There's Too Much To Gain To Lose.

I've Crossed The Hot Burning Dessert
I Was Struggling The Right Road To Choose
But Somewhere Up Ahead There's Cool Clear Water
And Defeat Is One Word I'll Not Use. 

Oh, Too Many Treasures Are Waiting Over Yonder
There's Too Much To Gain To Lose!

 

God has been so good to us and given us another successful school year. I don't have Kalli, Kammy, and Kaite's official grades back, but I know they are easily all on honor roll.

Kayla just received her GPA for the first semester of college and you just can't get any better than a 4.0!

We are so proud of our college student, 10th grader, 7th grader and 3rd grader!

 

On the second day of our trip, we made the drive into Twin Falls, across the beautiful Perrine Bridge, where Evil Knevil made his unsuccessful attempt to "jump" the canyon on his motorcycle. Fortunately for him, his parachute did what his bike could not. Just last year though, Eddie Braun made the jump successfully! 993 feet across with a drop of 486 feet to the Snake River below. It is the 8th tallest bridge in the United States.

 

 

From there, we headed to Shoshone Falls. This falls controls much of the spring run-off from the mountain snow pack before sending it down the river to the farmland and our own yards. After that, what's left heads to the Columbia River, before eventually dumping into the Pacific Ocean. The drop is taller than the Niagara. Normally, the width is much narrower, however; this year we officially beat out Niagara Falls in height and width! It was beautiful!