jump creek falls + fairmont park

june 12 we went to jump creek falls for the first time. john and the boys, john's brother-in-law, bill and john's dad also joined us. when we arrived there were lots of cars parked up on top instead of down the hill in the parking lot. however, there were cars in the lot so we decided to make our way down the hill. john went first, then bill and we were the tail. it was really fun to see only one of bill's wheels touching the ground at a time because the ruts in the road were so deep. we quickly figured out why lots of people parked at the top. but we made it down just fine. it wasn't until we parked and then watched a car try to go up the hill, fail and come back down to park that we wondered if we'd made a mistake. actually, kg and i are optimists and knew we'd be fine. ;) john always trusts us and bill was a mess, worried he'd ruin his wife's car. :) at bill's insistence, we called kg's dad to see if he'd be available to pull us up just in case. after he confirmed he'd be available, we decided to go on our hike and enjoy ourselves and worry about it later.
here we are, happily walking along, thinking everything is going to be fine.
but this adventure is the first time i've seen real fear in river. it broke my heart. i have no idea why but she was terrified of crossing the water of the little stream and being any where near it. not like her at all. but her cry was so intense, i knew the fear was real. poor girl.

she was so scared to walk towards the water.
she finally trusted her daddy and we made it to the waterfall.
it was very pretty but there were way too many people around.




i really wanted to just sit and enjoy this scene but bill couldn't stop worrying that we may be stuck.




so after a too short hike and stay, we headed back to the cars.





can you spot the lizard?
finally at the cars, we loaded up and watched bill attempt the hill, twice, with no success.
so i told kg to go for it and we really weren't worried. sure enough all it took was a little confidence and guts! we kept telling them to just keep going and not slow down but they'd get to a part and panic. well we made it just fine and people at the top cheered for us. :) finally bill went again and made it and then john went.
but didn't make it.
took him two tries and then he was good as gold.
once we were back in boise sandee and the kids wanted to meet up for dinner and then hang out at a park. we went here, which isn't my favorite. once we were back in boise sandee and the kids wanted to meet up for dinner and then hang out at a park. we went here, which isn't my favorite. but it was funny when flower's brand new pile of spaghetti slid right of her plate, twice, and onto the floor while she was walking.
but the park was very fun!






there was lots of relaxation.

lots of spinning.


lots of sliding.




lots of swinging.

river loves under dogs!








this picture makes me laugh! if you click on it and make it big you can see flower's eyes. i'm not sure why but the whole photo is just so funny to me!








monkey and the boys eventually showed us to play as well.






a super fun day to be sure!