Stanley/Red Fish Lake

Last weekend get-away before school starts! Our friends, the Sainsbury's, invited us to go camping with them in the Sawtooth mountains this past weekend. We arrived late Friday night, threw down the tarp and slept under the stars the first night. Saturday we spent most of the day river rafting on the Salmon River (Chris Sainsbury is a former river guide). We stopped mid-way down the river to jump off a bridge and play on a rope swing and then finished the afternoon with lunch on the river. The kids had a blast and EVERYONE got soaked from some of the rapids! Later that evening we went to Stanley Lake to fish and watch the sunset (which was spectacular!), and then returned to our campground for s'mores.

Sunday morning we attended sacrament meeting in Stanley and then headed to Red Fish Lake a few miles away, where we spent the rest of the day picnicking on the shore, fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding, and playing on the beach. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and the water felt great. Red Fish Lake is one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen with the huge, rugged peaks of the Sawtooths behind it, and the clearest, bluest water around. We did NOT want to go home and back to reality! After 4 years of living in Boise, this was our first time to the area, and we will definitely be returning every summer! We live near some pretty incredible scenery!

Good morning sunshine!

Our camp

Gearing up to raft

Chris in mid back-flip

Eric taking a big leap

Austin getting ready to rope swing

Here comes Tarzan

I was NOT prepared for that cold water!

The crew

Fishing at Stanley Lake-how cute are they?!




Austin has caught onto fishing really well and is good at casting!

These 2 munchkins were soaked from playing in the water

Eric giving Austin tips

Love this pic of these 2 cheeseballs

The grandeous Sawtooth Mountains

The Sainsbury clan-such a fun family!

Our little family

The beautiful Red Fish Lake

Austin loved swimming on this sandy beach with clear water! It wasn't too cold either!

Love that Gapper...

Some of the kids and I tried out the kayak

And the paddleboard--loved it!

Eric caught a few fish!

The boys fished for HOURS. How could you not want to with this view?


This lake is amazing and we are so lucky to live so close!

End of summer Fun

What a summer it has been! It is bittersweet that summer is soon coming to an end as school will be starting and schedules are resuming again. Between all the fun days at the pool, waterpark, playing with friends, and just being outside, we have also gone camping twice, went to CA for 3 weeks, spent an extended weekend in UT, participated in the Relay for Life and Climb to Conquer Cancer, and competed in a couple of triathlons. WHEW! Busy is good though and for me, it was a 180 from last summer when I was dealing with a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis and we were trying to figure out treatment options. I think the kids are exhausted though and so I think earlier bedtimes and stricter routines with school will be a good thing! :)

One of our favorite activities this summer was to go to Roaring Springs Water Park...

We spent one HOT afternoon at the Western Idaho Fair. Lots of baby animals (the baby goats were the cutest!), and riding on the giant ferris wheel were the highlights.

We spent A LOT of time at the pool this summer which shows in the bleached-out hair and the swimming skills!

11 Years and counting...

It is really hard to believe that Eric and I have been married for 11 stinkin' years! Where does time go? We have sure had many trials and challenges in that span of time, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world to be lucky enough to spend it with THIS guy. Our lives are anything but dull, that's for sure! ;) What an adventure we have been on so far and I can't wait to see what the next gazillion more years brings!

To Eric: Thanks for putting up with all of my "shenanigans" all this time. You are truly a special person with the warmest, most giving heart of anyone I know. You have always been my ROCK, and you have such a calming, patient, and reassuring way about you. You are definitely the YING to my YANG! I think we balance each other perfectly in the ways that we need to grow and learn. Thank you for 11 wonderful years--you are the best! Love you forever...XXOO

Emmett Aquabike

Me and my coach ;)

Getting ready to start the race

Since May, I have been preparing and training for a race--called an Aquabike. It is the swim/bike of the triathlon and is a 1 mile swim and 25 mile bike ride. Back in May, I looked up the fastest women's time from last year and told my husband that I wanted to beat that and take 1st place. (Am I crazy or what?!) I knew that it was ambititious, especially after the year I had with treatments and all, but I really wanted to do it. I guess it was kinda like saying, "Take that cancer!" I wanted it by my own mini version of the Lance Armstrong story (emphasize MINI). And I am a competitive person who likes to win!


That's me looking ahead for the swim finish



Starting the bike leg

So, did I accomplish what I set out to do?? Of course I did, silly! ;) I trained hard (but not too hard, thanks to the advice of my doc) and felt prepared at the time of the race. The week leading up to the race had it's challenges though--we found out 2 days before the race that we had lost over $2000 in fraud (long story, I'll spare you the details). I was so wrapped up in that those 2 days--filing police and FBI reports, gathering all my evidence, etc.--that my head was NOT in the game come Sat. I guess all that anger and frustration prior to the race paid off because I kicked some serious #$%!!! ;) My swim was under 30 min, which is what I wanted and even though my bike was a couple min shy of my bike leg goal, I still ended up finishing 1st place in overall female by a landslide---like 8 min. I was elated, no ECSTATIC that I did what I set out to do. It made me feel powerful and strong and more than that, it made me realize that we really CAN DO ANYTHING WE SET OUR MINDS TO. Like winning this race and BEATING CANCER!!!!

I have one more race in Sept that is a bit longer in distance. I'm excited! I figure, why not do this now when I'm feeling good and myself again? I don't know what a year will be from now and I'm trying to live in the moment. A big thanks to my #1 fan, Eric, who supported me throughout all the training. I couldn't have done it without him. And my kids who keep inspiring me to live life fully and enjoy it!



Finish line with 2 of my cheerleaders

So grateful for his support!