I had a great Friday!

Some days start out on the wrong foot, don't get any better, and by the end of the day, I lament that I hardly got anything done that I wanted (or needed) to. It was like I was stuck in slow-motion all day.

Then somedays just go well. It is almost like I have extra time, as everything goes smoothly and at the end of the day I am amazed at all that was accomplished. It couldn't have gone better even if I had a clone helping.

Friday was one of those good days.

I needed to go to the public library to finish some genealogy research --I had a question on one name that I wanted cleared up before taking them to the temple on Saturday.

As I got there, the Book Nook was open--not its usual time.

They had a sale on fantasy/sci-fi books. 5 for a $1. Even the hardcovers. There were lots of David Eddings, a Timothy Zahn, and before I knew it, I had 20 books! If you know of any authors you like, I could go Monday and look for them.

Then I went to do research. You see, at the public library, you can get Ancestry.com for free.

For the next 3 hours, I searched and re-searched censuses from 1870 to 1930.

In the "old days", that would have required YEARS of ordering microfilms from SLC.

And I found some great things,

like the sister of my great-great-grandmother, Anna Moran.

She came from Ireland, with 5 siblings, but we only knew the names of 3 of the others.

Two were missing.

I found one of them, Ellen Moran.

And I found more children in some of the families.

It was exhilarating!

But wait, there's more!

Kevin got the washing machine fixed that evening, so we could catch up on the laundry.

I was able to mow the lawn (the rain had stopped)

and we went to a wedding reception at the church.

Yes, it was a very good day!

Extreme water sports

"Running the canal" is high on our list of favorite Idaho activities.

The water is numbingly cold, but with the hot sunshine--after the initial shock as you sit in your tube--it becomes a very refreshing ride. The body parts in the water stay cool for an hour or so after the 45-minute float is over. Participants like to show how their hands are almost too numb to tighten into a fist.

That's because the hands are in the water. A lot. For steering.

You see, this canal isn't a tame one.

The current is fast.

With curves to negotiate.

Low branches that can flip a tube and trap the floater.

Low bridges.

And, best of all, a monster-sized "check"--a semi-dam that causes huge rapids.

This year, the check dumped several of us out of our tubes. Kind of scary!

We are so grateful to Grandpa for providing the inner tubes and giving us a ride up to the head of the canal. There are people stashed in every possible spot in the pickup for the ride.
One day, this was the group that went. I had offered to stay with the little kids so their moms could go. A few minutes after the group left, the sky suddenly darkened.Then we heard thunder. Close by. The temperature dropped from 88 degrees to the 70's. And rain began. Those poor canal-runners!
What would they do?
On the canal at the first check, two of them were flipped and lost their tubes. After finally getting them and mounting again, the rain began pelting. Hard. Was there hail mixed in with it? And they began seeing the lightning, with the thunder coming less than 5 seconds later. The moms worried about not being there to raise their kids.
Everyone was SCARED! And COLD!
They got out at one point, said a prayer, and then figured the fastest way home was on the canal. Afterall, its level is lower than the surrounding land. The lightning SHOULD hit some tall point, like a tree or a building. But everyone paddled like crazy to make the trip as short as possible. Everyone had a warm shower and hot chocolate to warm up. With a few prayers of gratitude for making it safely.

Extreme water sports: Kids' style:
Future canal-runners!

When the cat's away...

I had planned to get up bright and early this morning to get a whole host of things done, after all, tomorrow is the first day of school. But that was before I stayed up 'til midnight reading a good novel. It seems that always happens the first night my husband is away on a business trip.

Like I don't have self-control enough to go to bed at a decent time.

Tonight will be different!

Vacations in Idaho seem to always involve water. River water, canal water, irrigation water. It doesn't matter. We know how to have fun with them all! This year brought a new experience. Grandpa Bailey rented a 9-person raft. We spent a day at Warm River (which is called warm only because it doesn't freeze in the winter), and floated the river twice--different crews each time. This was the first crew: Deborah, Adam, Catherine, Grandpa, Nicole, Elizabeth, Alice, Connor, Brenna, and Emma. I really wonder what Grandpa is explaining here. Look at everyone's faces!
Loaded up and ready to launch.

And away they go. The float lasted almost two hours, down to the Ashton boat docks just after the big bridge. There were a few rapids, some wildlife and a very interesting ride.

We decided we want to do this next year too!