Meet Mr. Kayak-er

Home for the summer from BYU-I, he has decided that the acquisition of one new life-endangering skill a year is not enough. Since he did not become a snowboarding fatality on the beautiful slopes of Grand Targhee and Kelly Canyon this winter, he has decided that Kayaking the roaring rivers of Western Washington this summer could possibly pull it off. Never mind that he comes home from kayaking lessons on calm lakes scarred and bloody. Trivialities.

Let's take this past Saturday, for instance. He and his kayaking trainer take to the Snoqualmie River at near peak stage. His comments on the experience afterward? "Well, I spent more time in the water than in my kayak, and at one point, it looked like what we would call a 'yard sale.' Right BEFORE I hit the rapid, the edge of my kayak caught an eddy, flipped me over, and let's just say that me, my kayak and my paddle all went completely different directions." So he goes down feet first, tries to dodge boulders and rocks, and when he has a chance, tries to breathe as he takes on the rapids without his kayak realizing rather late in the experience that badly timed breaths equal mouthfuls of water. His trainer was able to chase down the runaway kayak, and Dallin was able to head off and recover his paddle.

My comments? Thank heavens for helmets, life jackets, full-body wet suits, experienced trainers and complete ignorance of what was happening on my part. Saturday while they were out on the river, I mentioned to Jim that I was hoping Dallin would make it home alive. Jim said he was hoping for a little more than just alive. I guess he's right; comatose and paralyzed wouldn't be that easy to deal with.

Leavenworth at Night
The whole story starts below here at the BOTTOM of the previous Leavenworth post, and until I figure this blog thing out, you have to read from the bottom to the top. Sorry.




Superman that he was, Darren still needed an occasional break.




Aubrey is pleased at the opportunity to carry Nate's crutches.




Leavenworth is a Bavarian-style village filled with all kinds of unique little shops. We found a few and diverted ourselves heartily. During the Christmas season, they cover it in Christmas lights which really do look a heck of a lot better than my pathetic night-time picture taking skills show.

Leavenworth

Our condo from the back overlooking the start of the sledding hill.

Jim shed a few years himself. . .

In February, because of the snowstorms and the difficulty of getting through closed mountain passes, we had an unexpected opportunity to rent a very nice condo in Leavenworth for less than the price of a tank of gas. Due to the big heart of the kids' teacher and Jim being able to flex his schedule, we were out the door in hours with a huge cooler of good food and a van filled to the top with snow gear.

Off the back deck of our condo was a hill just meant for sledding. Even Nathan, in his surgical protection boot was down the hill on a sled and crawling back up again.

Darren packed him around Leavenworth on his back when Nathan couldn't handle crutches anymore. It really wasn't fair how much fun we had.

Spring Flute Concert

Marci and Jamie just performed their first terrifying flute solos in a concert this past weekend. They actually did remarkably well in spite of knocking knees, (literally) skipping several measures of music, and queasy stomachs.

Warm At Last!

The Smith's condo had a great pool and hot tub which kept a bunch of cousins from a spot of hypothermia.

The Rain Didn't Stop Anybody

Getting Away from the Rain in Seattle to . . . the Rain in Seaside

Smith's met us at Seaside, Oregon for a fun couple of days. The cold rain and wind didn't stop the kids from building sand castles, playing frisbee, or even swimming.

He Said He Would and He Did

Darren got Scuffy (a skunk) when he was about 7 or 8. He loved Scuffy so much, he constantly told us he was going to take him on his mission with him. We just laughed. . .

We shouldn't have. His backpack or "black purse" as he calls it came to be officially called the "Scuffymobile." It has a little pocket just right for him. He put Scuffy in a little bomber helmet for added protection.

East Coast Trip

We went into Palmyra and took a tour of the E.B. Grandin print shop where they published the first Book of Mormon.

Darren had been working as a "glazier" installing and working with glass and windows and had to check out every interesting window on this trip.

Sacred Grove in April 2007

We were expecting that by April "Spring would have sprung" in the Sacred Grove. It was still a beautiful, peaceful place to be and the dead leaves only added to the quiet feeling there.

Jim and Darren

Jim and Darren at the Smith Farm and on way to Sacred Grove. Notice the sun has come out!

When we started out for the Sacred Grove, it was pouring and we were obliged to take advantage of the fashionable collection of umbrellas at the Visitor's Center there.