Covered Bridge Bicycle Tour

This was our latest fun. Rick and Theresa rode the Covered Bridge Century in Albany, Oregon, crossing five covered bridges over 100 miles on Aug. 9th. The actual century was on Sunday the 10th, but we rode it alone on Saturday the 9th. We had to carry all of our own extra water and food, so we were each carrying about 15 additional pounds. The road varied with stretches of flat, hills, valleys, and one 15% grade uphill stretch. The hills were easy, though, compared to the constant headwind we experienced for more than half of the ride. (Unfortunately, we never had a tailwind.) We had so much fun, though -- crossing beautiful covered bridges, passing Christmas tree farms, flower farms, quaint towns, and eating wild blackberries along the way (and only one flat tire). We were dead at the end, but it was totally worth it and so much fun!!!

Theresa's B'day Party

Surprise! Happy Birthday, Theresa. (Theresa just realized that Leslie E., Kristy, and Dana were hiding in her hotel room waiting to surprise her.)

Tami and Leslie H. rode up to Spokane with Theresa, but Leslie E., Kristy and Dana all surprised Theresa when she walked into the hotel room. What an excellent and fun surprise!! Here we are all after the surprise and hugs. Bottom L to R Tami, Theresa, Dana, Middle L to R Leslie H., Kristy, Top Leslie E.

The girls shopping in the mall. We can't even go shopping without taking pictures! :0)

After shopping for a couple of hours, we went to TGI Fridays for dinner! Yum!

Unfortunately, Kristy and Dana didn't stay for the ride and went back home the night before. (We missed them.) The rest of us stayed for a 50 mile (round trip) ride along the Spokane River to Coeur d'Alene. Here we are just getting started (about 10 miles into the ride), flexing our humungous muscles, of course.

This was a major rest stop on our way back because both Leslies were starting to feel the effects of heat stroke. We stopped to have a major water fight (mostly drenching Hickman) and refill our water bottles. This is the Washington/Idaho border at the rest stop. We had a great time! Thanks for the great memories girls!

Sailing

The winds were blowing steadily, so Rick decided to take out the sailboat on the river. Here Rick and Theresa are setting up the boat and raising the jib. (Preparing the boat takes about 1 1/2 hours each time.)

Rick, Kendall, and Chase took out the boat with only the jib up. (Rick was worried that the winds might be too strong with the kids to put up the mainsail.) They sailed all over for about an hour.

Rick and the kids heading back to the dock. Chase doesn't look very thrilled, but Kendall clearly is having a good time.

Bruce Rawlins came to the river and then he and Rick took out the boat after putting up the mainsail. They sailed until dark when the wind died.

Dworshak Reservoir -- Annual Summer Vacation

Aaaahhh, Dworshak! One of our favorite places to spend a week relaxing, swimming, skiing, and making memories. We had an excellent week with good friends, good weather (except for rain the first night), good food, and no crowds.

Eating popcorn popped over an open fire and playing cards became the activity of choice for the kids at night.

We played the "lily pad" game or "tube obstacle course" in the floating docks again. Chase beat everyone hands-down because he could just float his lightweight body over each tube, without missing a step!

Theresa

Rick - nice cut!

Chase

The men's tubing adventure -- go for it, guys! Theresa was driving the boat and was successful in knocking each of the men off at least once!

Trevor has a beautiful new Malibu ski boat that you can wake surf behind! Here's Rick surfing behind the boat. The funniest part was having all the adults sit on one side of the boat to help make the wake bigger. We're only going about 9 mph here.

Chase and Kendall

Tara, Whitney, and Gracie

Kendall

Tara - she later asked, "Okay, I can wakeboard now. So, how do I jump the wake?"

Whitney

Tara and Arielle

The dads -- okay, they're weird (L to R - Rick, Ira, Ken, Trevor)

The moms - not quite so weird (L to R - Shelli, Leslie, Dana, Theresa)

Chase -- total cutie!

Whitney and Gracie

Here's the whole group -- the Halversons, L(H)arsens, Holles, and Hickmans. (Notice in the kids that there are only two boys -- Chase is one of them!) We're so lucky to have great friends who love to have the same kind of fun that we do! Who could ask for more? We had an excellent week with everyone! Thanks for the memories!

Home Improvement

We tackled the deck, replacing both the upper and lower decks. We also removed one set of stairs. This picture only shows the completion of half of the upper deck. The lower deck has also been replaced, but not the upper deck on the left. We're saving that for later.

Thank goodness Ira has a tractor that made the job easier.

With the help of our good friend, Ira Hickman, we tore out the grass on the south side of the house, poured concrete, and built a new fence. (The hardest part was removing the tree stump.) Now we can store our boats, RV, and/or trailer at our house. We also have an extra place to park a car in the driveway so now we can fit three cars.

Chase's 13th Birthday

Chase had a swimming birthday party for his 13th and of course, there were more girls present than boys! You go, Chase!

Chase's Spring Concert -- with solos!