Mini Sawyer

Watch out, he's got that crazy look in his eye!

Grandpa shares some chainsaw wisdom.

We took advantage of dad and mom and had Ezekiel sleep in their apartment the whole weekend. We camped out in the front yard and got to sleep in while Grandma and Grandpa got to get up in the middle of the night, rise early, change diapers, bathe the lad and entertain the little one. It was pretty fun, at least for a weekend.

Sparklers and Fireworks

It was so cute watching all the little ones balance their pyromania with their fear of flying sparks. We also had some really nice fireworks, some of which were enormous, professional-grade mortars. Ezekiel was not excited about those, but as scared as he was of the loud noises, he fell asleep halfway through the show.

Scallywags and Rapscallions

I had to post these pictures of some of the guests.

Pirate Party

Uncle Jeremy and Auntie Tara did some cool decorating
with streamers.

Zeke gets some help blowing out his birthday candle.

We couldn't pass up this opportunity to have Ezekiel's birthday party with his cousins. I threw together some cupcakes, mom assembled a wonderful meal and Jeremy and Tara did the setup. Ezekiel took some time to warm up to the chocolate cupcake, but then he ended up getting away with two of them. Happy Birthday, Little Man!

Four Wheelers, Innertubes and Canoes

Auntie Jelinda and Uncle Everett lead the way.

My view on the four wheeler—Zeke gets cuddly on these things.

Aaron and McKenna brave the cold water.

They look like they are having so much fun!

For those of us who spend the bulk of our time in town, it was a treat to get to cruise around on quads and play in the creek. I didn't get in the water, but I guess it was FREEZING. Brave daddies and uncles braved the cold so the kiddos could ride the stream.

Dropping by the Ranch

Uncle Jeremy lets Zeke navigate the driveway.

Better than the rides at Disneyland!

A artist and his craft.

Not much room in the hatch.

Ray and Judy were hosting the church picnic so we headed over to check it out. In addition to all the perfect picnic food, we enjoyed touring the property with Jeremy and getting to see the workshop and some of his latest handiwork. Beautiful!

"Fly" Fishing

We had pretty big smiles for this early in the morning.

It seemed like the bends in the river would never stop! It was AWESOME!

This was my little friend whom I dubbed "Tim".

Jim offered to fly me out to a tiny airstrip in the Idaho wilderness called Magee Airport. I'm not sure how much of an "airport" it is but I'll tell you what, this place was amazingly beautiful. I got dropped off around 7:00 in the morning and fished my little heart out until just after 11:00. Lets just say that I've got plans for Tim's larger friends.

Family Gathering

The families that gathered for Independence Day festivities:
The Mahurins, The Mackenzie & Emily Craiks, The Coffees,
The Jim & Lorraine Craiks, The Jeremy & Tara Craiks,
The Everett & Jelinda Craiks, Larry Craik, The Aaron & Kris Craiks,
Charlie Kack and The Fackenthalls with Sebastian.

Doing their best silly faces.

Annaliese borrows some accessories.

It was so nice to have so many of us together in one place for a bit. A sort of mini-reunion. This was our attempt at a full group shot. And then I just had to throw in two more from the bridge...

Legend of the Falls

Sebastian gets a little rock climbing lesson from Gene.

Shy smiles for Uncle Larry.

Taylinn and Max discuss really important stuff.

As we all needed some recreation, we did a bit of the tourist thing and checked out some local waterfalls. The first one was just a tiny walk from the road. Someone (we won't name names) got the idea to take a dunk in the pool above the giant drop, then several others (you know how you are) followed suit.

Then over to check out the dam that now covers what used to be Thompson Falls. There are some fun little trails and a couple of bridges to explore. It was such a blast to see all of the kiddos running around and finding rocks to throw into the water.

Trout Creek SDA Church

A caterpillar and a leaf! Major excitement.

Taylinn makes sure that Zeke has a neon reptile of his own.

The children's story is the perfect lead-in to his sermon.

What a treat to get to worship with this group. And, to have the congregation swell with an influx of Craik relatives. And to get a Jeremy sermon as well—awesome message. (You can find some of his recent sermons here.)

Ezekiel always enjoys Sabbath School, but he thinks that it is especially fun to get to share a classroom with Taylinn.