Gorgeous Day!

The weather was perfect so we decided to enjoy it as it might be the last sunny day for awhile...

We loved the last White Knob Ghost Town and we decided to visit another.  This time we went with a couple in our ward, the Nelson's.  They have a really cute family and it was fun to get to know them better.

We were in Gilmore, Idaho.  It's near Leadore. Gilmore Ghost Town was established around 1900.  Here a bit of info I copied from the informational website. "Attempts to mill the ore locally failed. Freight wagons and mule teams were employed to haul ore to a smelter at Nicholia. All operations at Gilmore ceased when the smelter burned down. In 1910, the railroad reached Gilmore and ore was shipped by rail to Montana. Prosperity lasted until the depression years of 1929 when all major mines were closed for good. The closing of the mines forced the railroad to remove the tracks and Gilmore became a ghost town."  This Ghost town wasn't as nicely preserved as the last, but it has some really cool old buildings.  It was interesting to see how they finished their walls.

That cream paper in the walls was kinda like cardboard.  

This building was awesome.  Very big for it's time.

Meadow Lake was so pretty and clear.  You could see right into the water.  There were little minnows that the kids loved.  We could even see a couple of fish.  The boys had a blast fishing and Hailey had a great time looking for (you guessed it) rocks.

Hailey finding rocks.

These two loved wading

Hailey telling the boys which rocks to grab from the lake. 

Bo in his element. 

Brayden's 4th Birthday!!

 This kid was so excited for his birthday he was up at 6.  I had fun spending the day with him.  He told me about a thousand time that he wanted to open his presents.  He couldn't wait but in the end he did wait until five.  Pretty good for a four year old!   

I thought he'd have fun visiting the zoo but he didn't want to.  He just wanted to ride the RZR.  So, Bo came home for lunch and they rode around we had lunch together and then I took him around the neighborhood a few times.  He loved it!  Pretty easy to please.

Grandma and Grandpa were able to come up for his party.  He was super excited for them to come.  Thanks for celebrating with us!

 Here are is the after shot.

 Here he is waiting for us to sing to him!

Brayden we love you!  Here are some of the reasons why:

You are so funny

You are a great older brother

You are full of life and energy

You get excited for anything

We love your smile

You bring a so much joy into our home

I can't imagine life withour you!!!

You love:

Your motorbike gloves you got from Grandma and Grandpa!

Books

Coloring

Going Fishing with Dad

RZR riding

Your brothers and sister

Cuddling during a movie

playing outside 

Riding your bike

Pizza 

Macoroni and Cheese w/ hot dogs (Birthday Dinner)

Happy Birthday little man!!!

First Day of School 2014

Summer is officially over.  I will miss the warm sunny days, the randomness of our routine, the fun adventures we had, and having the kids at home all day.  I wasn't quite sure what to do today with only the two younger kids around...

As a Mom I am excited to send them out the door to learn and grow.  We are so blessed to live here where our kids can be educated.  But, I was praying that they would be safe, have a great first day, find a friend at recess, and enjoy class...My prayer was answered!

It was a success!  The kids all had a great day! 

Third Grade

 Conrad wants to remember that his friend Brian Baxter found a huge gold dollar.  We made a bike club and Hailey, Jackson, Conrad, Keyton Briggs, Brian Baxter and Dawson Baxter are all in it.  We ride bikes to and from school together!

First Grade

 Jackson wants to remember that he got pushed on the zip line so hard that he fell off.  He had great day and likes his teacher.

Fourth Grade

Hailey wants to remember that it's her first year having three teachers.  All of them were nice!

I just love these kiddos!  They look so grown up today.  Time flies by too fast!

Labor Day Weekend 2014

We had a fun plan for the weekend.  Saturday morning we planned on going to Meadow Lake near Leadore.  It is the highest lake you can drive to in Idaho.  We packed a lunch and were on our way with a bunch of friends and Grandma Porter.  But, as we drove into Mud Lake the sky over the Sawtooth Mountains were black and we couldn't see them.  So, we turned around and decided to visit Beaver Dick Park in Rexburg.  It was fun, but a bit chilly.

Here are some pics from the park.  Everyone else went fishing on the river and I don't have pictures from that

Bo heard about a Ghost Town in Mackay and we planned to go with my parents this morning.  We packed our lunches again and went on our way.  Today was beautiful!  We couldn't have asked for more beautiful day. Yay!

The ghost town was awesome!  The name is White Knob Ghost Town.  Here's a little history:

White Knob Mountain was the source of millions of dollars of copper ore early in the 1900s. The first mine to start the village of White Knob was appropriately named the White Knob Mine. In time, the town grew to have stores, a post office, a boarding house, a school and even a theatre. Mining operations were on the east face of the mountain. A large, electric powered tramway was built to haul the ore down the mountain to the smelter and blast furnaces located in Mackay. Later, the Empire Railroad built a narrow gauge track that wound up the mountainside for nearly eight miles before reaching the mines. Most of the railroad grade can still be seen as well as the tram towers. 

We RZR'd in and around the mountain.  There were twenty stops on the tour.  I took too many pictures this time. So, here is an overload because I couldn't decided which ones to post.

Here was the first building we saw and it was full of different tools:

 You may notice Conrad is in most of the pictures.  He kept popping in every time the camera came out.  I had to laugh, but he sure was photogenic today. :)

 This was my favorite stop.  It had a really cool building and a great mine entrance.  There was also a lot of cool rocks.

Mom and Dad

Caleb had a blast playing with the rocks:

 Another pop in but so sweet :)

 Hailey spent many stops looking for green oxidized rock with copper.  She got quite a few...

 The boys spent a lot time throwing the rocks!

 This was also a favorite stop.  What a cool picture.  This is where they loaded the buckets for the Arial tram.

 We pretty much went to the top of the Mountain

 The kids had a blast the whole time.  No complaints.

 Love this pic

 An outhouse

 Caleb finally fell asleep on our way out.  That's how it always happens...

This was one of my favorite trips we've done.  The kids had so much fun.  Conrad told my about fifteen times that "This is a really fun day!"  It was great spending the day with my parents too.  Thanks for coming!