Speaking of Wonder Kids....

For those who don't know-and I'm terribly sorry that you have to read this news on a blog site-I'm expecting our third wonder child. We are extremely scared about this one as they will officially have us outnumbered. Luckily-Gavin is a fairly obedient child-so maybe.....no-McKinley will teach him how to make mischief when we can't stop them. She's a good teacher.

Anyway-we are expecting a baby in December. The doctors say the 17th, I say the 5th. The ultra sound tech says she is 97% sure it's a boy. Apparently there is too much going on down south to be a little girl. I was a little disappointed, not that we are having another boy-but with the pictures. Both our others have been extremely clear. Maybe there wasn't enough gel, or their machines aren't as nice. Who knows. I'm just glad they have the technology to figure it out before hand. I'm not good with surprises. In fact-I despise them!

Here are some of the not so clear pictures.

This is the 97% sure picture. I suppose she is right. There really is too much going on. I always say "supposed to be" anyway. There's always that 3%.

I'm always fasicnated with pictures of the spine. It's usually one of the clearest pics they get. It makes you realize how cramped they really are in that tiny space. No wonder expecting mothers always have to go to the bathroom-they have this tiny human jumping all over right on the bladder!

It's always reassuring to hear that little heart beat pumping along. Especially before they start moving a lot. I tell you-especially working in the health care field-it is a miracle that life is created as it is. The way these little creatures form and grow all on their own. The science of it is mind boggling-so much that the scientist still haven't figured it completely out. Makes me a little excited for the time I'll be able to use all my brain-not just 10%!

Anyhow-I apologize again for those of you who are reading this that I probably should have told i in person, or over the phone. I've hidden this one for quite a while. There are people who see me every week at church who still don't know. Well-now everyone knows. Can't hide it much longer anyway. I'm off....

Matthew here: Since I've sat here the whole time she wrote this, I get to say something too. I am excited to be a dad again. It is kind of fun. Not the whole sleeping of the floor of the hospital while the nurses step over you thing, but the snuggling a little bundle of baby. Now to share a photo from the ultrasound. After you scroll down so you can see the picture, you have to go stand a long ways away from your computer to really see it.

Doesn't it look like a guy wearing sunglasses looking to the right with his mouth open? Erica didn't believe me at first but she finally conceded. If you don't see it, you are still too close and need to back up more. Enjoy!

Wonder Kids!

Some kids have natural abilities in some areas as they are small. It's funny to see 1 1/2 year olds to talk really well or a 2 year old to be potty trained. Our kids seem to have natural balance and a general sense of craziness. McKinley started riding her bike without training wheels this spring before she turned 4. Gavin learned how to ride his trike by himself and not long after graduated to a two-wheeled razor scooter. Watch the video for yourself.

The video was taken June 15. He will turn 2 on September 14. It says on the box for the scooter that they are for ages 5+ (unless your name is Gavin and you are totally awesome).

Kids are just amazing. They sure make us smile. As much as they drive us crazy, especially at bedtime right now, they sure are cute. It definately changes the way you look at things. Sure, there are some things that you can't do when you have little ones. But you start to see ways that you can take your kids to do the things that you enjoy. You don't get to do it as much but sharing and teaching your children is sure fun. We have loved taking McKinley up to the ski hill. She thinks she owns the place now. She follows my mom around everywhere through the main office, into the ticket office, in the kitchen to get our shift drink. She is almost too much. It is a blast to watch her learn to ski and hear the things that she says. Somedays I wonder whos child she really is....

Gavin is just starting to get big enough to teach things to. He loves to ride on motorbikes. Whenever we go to my parents house he wants to ride on a "cycle". He will ride on grandpa's blue one, on Uncle Morgie's green cycle, and on Daddy's if you let him have his way. We've been going up in Kelly Canyon to pick huckleberries this last week. Gavin has learned the correct picking method to turn the branches upside down so you can see more berries. He doesn't pick into a bucket, he eats everything that he touches. Here is "Huckleberry Gavin" himself.

Warming his feet with Grandpa

The River of No Return

I had the awesome opportunity to spend a week floating down the Salmon River through the wilderness area. We took our scouts for their High Adventure Trip. It is called the River of No Return because once you spend time down in there, you don't want to return. I think that is why it's named that, I might be wrong though. It may have something to do with all of the death defying rapids that you have to navigate. Either way, it is a super rad trip. Our bishop and the other teachers quorum advisor both work for Tour West which guide raft trips on the Salmon River and through the Grand Canyon and Cataract Canyon. We were lucky enough to be able to get Tour West to let us use their rafts and gear to spend a week floating the river.

The trip basically goes like this. Wake up stinking early on Monday to drive 3 1/2 hours to Corn Creek which is the end of the road by Salmon. Get on a raft and float 10 to 25 miles per day. Eat, play, and sleep on beautiful sandy beaches. Spend time with excellent people, and get to throw scouts off the rafts and squirt them with water. Enjoy the scenery through 80 miles of the canyon and just relax. Get into a van at Carey Creek on the Riggins side and drive for 8 1/2 hours from Riggins to Boise and then from Boise to Rexburg. That is about how the trip goes.

It was so awesome. As I've thought about it, the only thing that could have possibly made the trip better would have been to have Erica come along. We had such a good time floating and talking and just relaxing. Brett let me row the raft on the third day which was a lot of fun. It takes a special talent and a lot of practice to do it well. I was starting to get the hang of it in general. I also rode an inflateable kayak through a few rapids which was a blast. I don't know what else to say about it. I guess the only thing left would be to post some pictures. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words....

Salmon Falls

Camp at Swimming Hole

Camp at Swimming Hole

One of many creeks

Just floating

I don't remember the name of this rapid

Me after floating through Ludwig Rapid