July 20th - August 20th, 2014

What a busy final month of summer this was for all of us!

We did not set the pool up this summer because the wind damaged it last year and it would have taken lots of effort and $ to fix the parts so instead we made efforts to visit the lake a few times.  We went to Lake Coeur D'Alene and played for part of the day which helped cool all of us off.  It was a HOT summer and we needed it!  We even went to Medical Lake once with Delaney and Alex. I also planned a trip to Canada for all of us because I was aching to go somewhere and Finn had done a report on Canada in class last year and wanted to go "some day."  I got us Canadian money, got our driver's licenses changed over so we could cross the border and got our hotel arrangements arranged.  We were ready to go on Saturday, August 16th and returned on Monday, the 18th.  On the way there we stopped in Sandpoint and checked out their farmer's market which was a highlight for me.  I looked for huckleberries but ended up with blueberries which is o.k. because they were still delicious. We also bought a few other little things.  We then headed to Ainsworth Hot Springs where we planned to spend the majority of our time.  It only took about 6 hours of driving and we were able to even take a ferry ride across Kootenay Lake on the way.  There were lots of little towns along the way that were so quiant and artsy that I would love to check out more another time.  While at the Hot Springs we soaked in the deliciously hot water at least a couple times a day, we ate really well at the fancy restaurant there and even took a cave tour at Cody Caves.  On the tour we hiked a bit and wore real miner's hats and lights.  Our guide was the owner of the caves and was very knowledgable about caving.  There were several other folks that were on the tour, from all over, and it was very fun sneaking around in the cave and getting to know the other people too. We only went as far north as Kaslo, B.C. but that was enough to get us out and about and to give us our FIRST trip as a family, all by ourselves. It was so wonderful!!!