July Continued...

Well here is the rest of the fun stuff that we did in July. I didn't want to take forever loading pictures, so here is slide show with all the happenings!:

We went hiking to Bloomington Lake one Saturday. Its a beautiful lake in the mountains by Bear Lake. It was one of Amanda's childhood memory spots. We hiked in 0.6 miles to the lake. There is a sweet rope swing, along with cliffs and snow to go sledding into the lake on. We just went on the rope swing this trip because it was just the three of us.
Then we went up to the Salmon River Scout Camp along with Brian's cousins, Jason, Alex, Mitchell, and Kyle. It was last minute trip, so we didn't get to Salmon until 2 a.m! Alex knew one of the kids working at the scout camp who said he'd take the guys down the river. We had to wait for a couple of hours until he got back from the morning river run. So we just played around in the kayaks in the eddy by the camp. Avery loved it (and eating the rocks). Oh yeah, we discovered Avery's 1st tooth!
When it came around for the guys to go down the river, they somehow convinced us to take Avery down in a raft! (we are really dumb parents sometimes). Avery wore a little kid lifejacket and we headed down the river. The first rapid we got soaked, and so Avery didn't really like the rapids after that (plus he was tired).
The next weekend we went to the Lott Family Reunion up in Twin Bridges, Montana. We stayed with Brian's aunt Lynn for the three nights we were there. The first day there we hiked the Black Butte. It was a crazy hike. First, we didn't end up following a trail, and second, there was a lot of steep parts with only loose rocks. The last section of the hike was kind of scary, but we made it! Avery fell asleep on the way up. It was great view from the top! The rest of the reunion was hanging out with cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, mom, dad, you name it. We learned alot about the Lott family and how they settled in Twin Bridges. It was fun to learn about Brian's heritage. We also had a kazoo show and a stick pull contest. We were in the semi-finals. It was so much fun!
On the way back, we went the Island Park way (which adds another hour to the long trek home). There was some really beautiful scenic areas. We stopped at Mesa Falls in Island Park and got a few pictures. However, Avery by this time was getting sick of the car, and so we hurried home and were sooo glad to be back in our apartment and beds!BLOOMINGTON SWING:

JuLY fUn!

Ok, so we haven't posted anything for a really long time, and so we thought we would just bring ya'll up to date on what has been happenin' with us.

Well in the beginning of the month, we were able to Avery to his first parade & fireworks for the 4th of July. It was just a small Pocatello parade, and we found out about it right before it started, but it was still fun. The funny thing about it was that they weren't allowed to THROW the candy instead, they just HANDED out candy. Apparently Avery doesn't look like he needs a lot of candy, because we only came home with a handful of tootsie rolls :). Later that night, we went to the IF fireworks (Amanda & Avery's 1st time). We went with Aaron & Shaunie Fife, Trevor & Candace (Shaunies cousin & husband), and Colin & Vanessa Carr. Avery did really well, but was very sleepy when the fireworks started. He tried really hard to keep his eyes open, but eventually fell fast asleep.

Well over the month, we have been doing some other fun things. We have been kayaking a few times (Amanda learned how to roll the kayak!) There will be more about our kayaking adventures to come.

We also got Avery's swing finally put up. We have had it for a while, we just needed a couple of screws and that for it. Amanda went to put him in it for the 1st time, she tried to adjust the strap and ripped it apart with her super human strength (the strap was a little weathered, and it turned out that it didn't need to be adjusted). The swing still works with only one strap though. Avery loves it and does not like to be taken out of any swing.

Avery has been eating more solid foods (like noodles and veggies and stuff). He tends to get a little bit messy though, so we thought you might want to see what we have to clean up after lunch. However, Avery loves having his face washed- he loves wet rags. He will play with them like its his favorite toy.

We also bought Avery a blow-up swimming pool for him to splash around in. (He doesn't get to splash alot in water because we don't have a bathtub). He is fascinated by the splashing and doesn't mind that the water is cold and that it splashes his face.

to Bone & Back!

Well Brian's brother Lance's work sponsors a race called "To Bone & Back." It is a 20 mile run to Bone and then 20 miles back to Idaho Falls. Some people run the whole 40 miles (it is quick elevation rise, so a lot of hills), but most people divide up into teams of 8, each person taking 5 miles. Lance asked Brian as well as family Taunya, Bret & Jane and Jill to participate. Brian & I had been running a little bit in the mornings all month to get ready.

However, a few days before the race, Brian's grandma passed away and the funeral was the same day as the race. So instead of running the relay, all the Turpins ran the 5-mile solo, which was 2.5 miles from the start of the race, turn around, and run the 2.5 miles back to the start.

Well I was hanging out with Avery in the van waiting for them to come back. I saw the first couple of runners come in at about 34 1/2 minutes or so, so I decided to move the car closer, thinking I had a while before anyone else came in. I was wrong, because as I was parking, Brian sped passed me and through the finished line!!! He made it in just over 36 minutes!!! A little bit later, Bret came in, then Jane, Taunya & Jill. I didn't get a picture of Brian coming in because he was just too fast!!! Hopefully next year they (and maybe me) will get to run the whole relay!

Down the Oneida Narrows!!!!!

Brian has been wanting to try kayaking down the Oneida Narrows near Preston. Amanda's brother Michael bought a kayak, and so they decided to go. We heard that people floated down it on tubes, so Amanda and Brian's nephew Dawes floated down the river in tubes. It was a blast! It was a little crazy with some of the rapids, but we were cautious, even though some of the rapids were smaller than they looked. Amanda and Dawes only got out once in order to dodge a big rock.

After we had made it down the river, Dawes wanted to go over to Glendale Resevoir to try out a cool rope swing. It was a pretty sweet swing!

Then we went back to Brian's sister Joy's to get Avery. All in all, it was a grand day!