HIGH ADVENTURE....

OK, Summer is officially in our home...

Thursday was the last day of school, followed by a wonderful "retirement party" at our staff luncheon for a fantastic PE teacher who just retired from our district after 35 years teaching, inspiring, and motivating students (and staff)! Thanks Pat, you are awesome!

That evening we attended our annual staff BBQ (hosted by Jill and Steve again this year, thanks guys!) We had a great time.

It was such a busy week with not much time to prepare for the weekend, but we had planned on meeting Aunt V. and Uncle Steve in Leavenworth Friday afternoon for a brief 24 hour hiatus including an awesome white water rafting tour. I had an appointment in Wenatchee in the morning, so we got up early, packed and we were out the door in about an hour!

TUMWATER CAMPGROUND
was a great spot! The Talbots have been camping out there for awhile, and I am so glad they invited us to join them! I wish we could have stayed longer. Unfortunately, other home obligations (dogs, plants, lawn, scouts, job applications, etc.) cut the trip short, but we sure had a lot of fun in the 24 hours we were there! Wow!

Friday night we visited to play catch up, met new people, BBQd hotdogs on the open fire, and Jeff and Max even tried a little fishing. We hit the hay at a decent time to get up in time to pack for our day's adventure on the Wenatchee River.

Here are the kids with their "twin cousins" Hannah and Hailey. They had so much fun!

Check out the awesome moth perched outside the women's restroom door!

Here is the view right outside our campsite. The river was rushing pretty good, and I'll admit, I was a little nervous and kept reminding Max not to go near the water without us! Of course, I had no idea that these rapids were NOTHING compared to what we would tackle the following day.

Wenatchee River
is roaring this time of year. I don't know...people were saying this was nothing compared to years past, but when those white waters started showing themselves as we rounded each corner driving along the river, I was super nervous (not just for me and Jeff, but for our 14 year old daughter whom I was dragging along on the adventure). My fear was quickly squelched, however, once we began the "high adventure" tour just south of Leavenworth. The 16 mile, several hour expedition was amazing, wet, cold, exhilarating, and extremely well guided by Chris, who took us all on as a "family private party." 10 people in one boat....I wish I had photos, but I was afraid to bring my camera along for fear of loosing it. Here are a couple shots in our wet suits before take off. Chris and Christina...thank you so much for the great adventure!

and a shot of the river less than a mile from where we "put in" at earlier in the day.

If you want to see some similar views of what we took on and survived today, check out the slide show of the same route at the link HERE! Photos #12, #13, and #14 seem awfully familiar! We were soaked!

So....Now....I'm exhausted and heading to bed! Happy Summer Vacation Everyone!