High Adventure

This summer Hunter's High Adventure took him toward Stanley, where they hiked in to Heart Lake, and stayed for 2 days, exploring the surrounding lakes. Then they had an afternoon at Redfish Lake before heading back to stay overnight in Garden Valley, and floated the Payette River the final day. It was a small group of boys, and they all had a blast!

Girl's Camp

This year, Brinley's Girls Camp was held at Camp Smokey, right next to Alturas Lake by Stanley. It is a beautiful camp, and had plenty of room for our 37 girls and 16 adults. Monday we got there just after noon, quickly did a flag ceremony, then got to work getting our cabins moved into. Since it was raining pretty good, we mostly stayed inside until it cleared up, and it turned into a beautiful evening. We got the open activities set up, including axe throwing and slingshots, and the girls had a great time exploring and hanging out with each other. 

Tuesday morning the girls had their Faith Walk in the woods, which was a wonderful experience, and the afternoon was spent at the lake. The girls enjoyed lunch on the beach and had so much fun kayaking, paddle boarding, and swimming. That evening the girls performed skits, and Cahl ran a flag retirement ceremony, which was really moving. 

Wednesday morning bright and early, several of the girls and adults participated in a Polar Plunge. I hadn't planned on plunging, and I really wish I had. Next year! After breakfast, the girls all packed a sack lunch and we took off for a hike. We hiked the Alpine Creek Trail, and it was about 7 miles round trip, with some girls, including Brinley, going an additional couple of miles. It was a pretty hard hike in some spots, but overall it wasn't as hard as I personally thought it was going to be. Some of the girls struggled pretty good, but at the end of the day they were very proud of themselves for finishing. 

Thursday morning we packed up camp and headed home. We stopped at Kirkham Hot Springs for a few hours, and the girls had a blast soaking in the springs and swimming in the river. We all had a great time, and I'm so grateful that we were able to go together!

Swimming

This year Brinley finished her Level 6 swimming, and will be ready to do the Swim Instructor training next summer. 

East Coast- Days 7 and 8

Friday I spent almost all day at the Holocaust Museum, which was amazing. It was so informative and so well done, and very emotional. I didn't take a single photo today, as it felt disrespectful in such a special place. I also spent the rest of the day in bed, feeling super under the weather. 

Saturday was our last day in DC, and we toured the Capital building before heading home. It was so cool to see all the architecture and history on the other side of the nation- it is pretty overwhelming to be in the middle of all of it at once. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to go and see some of it, and I can't wait to go back and see more!

East Coast- Days 5 and 6

I spent Wednesday visiting the White House visitor's center, and touring the White House. It was super cool to be able to go inside and see the rooms in person, and I even made friends with a security guard!

After the White House, I headed over to check out the American History Museum. I loved the pop culture exhibit, but my favorite exhibit was the dresses worn by the First Ladies at the inaugurations. I was so in awe of them I didn't even get a single photo!

Thursday morning I had a ticket to tour Ford's Theater and the house where Lincoln died, and I followed that with a trip out to the Arlington National Cemetery. 

The cemetery is incredible, and so humbling- it's hard not to get choked up while going through it. I'm bummed that some areas were closed while I was there, so I wasn't able to see all the things I had wanted to see, but I'm still so thankful that I was able to experience it. 

In the evening, Cahl and I went down to the Waterfront area for dinner and a stroll along the river.