Beautiful afternoon :)

We were sitting around yesterday afternoon and decided to just get in the truck and drive up to C.J. Strike Dam. It's so close to base and it's one of those places you almost forget exists until someone mentions it.

Mom wanted to take some nice pictures so we thought it would be the best place to go. Boy was it ever. We weren't there for long, not even an hour, it was extremely hot and being close to the water those darn mosquitoes were out to get me. Poor Jasmine has bites all over her legs, guess she takes after me, I have them too. BUT that didn't take away from the beauty of the lake and the surrounding area and drive up there.

So are you ready for some pics? If not, then I suggest you go on and do something else, cause I might bore you LOL

When you first leave base there really is no much to see, well, actually, there IS nothing to see, it's just mountains in the distance (far far away) and then plain flat land. The minute you start heading towards Grandview, then you start seeing green, and what a difference it makes.

The kids enjoyed seeing all the cows at the Simplot right at the beginning of town. Now you have to realize that Grandview is one of those quiet small country towns, I guess everyone knows everyone.......there's probably just 6 generations in the whole place LOL

There's a lot of farms, horses, corn etc. It's just really pretty out there. This next picture I actually took from the truck while it was moving but I like how it turned out. It's blurry on the bottom from the motion of the car but the top part is perfectly visible.

Within a few minutes we started seeing the Snake River which is 1038 miles long and runs from actually originates in NW Wyoming then flows down the canyon where it enters Idaho then runs across southern Idaho then through Boise and the Idaho/Oregon border before heading north.
It passes through Lewiston Idaho before entering Washington.
The Snake river runs through a number of gorges, including one of the deepest in the world, Hells Canyon, with a maximum depth of 7,900 feet (2,410 m).
Here are two pictures of the river as we head to Strike Dam.

We reached the dam and this is the first picture as we see it. There's something so peaceful and calming about being near the water. You truly feel close to God and your worries tend to just slip away.

I just had to take this picture, I loved watching them all walking but especially Nicholas holding his Uncle Chris' hand....how sweet is that?!?!?

The moment we got there I think we were all just overwhelmed with how beautiful and quiet it is. The kids loved looking out at the water and they even got to see some fishies, which mommy being the paparazzi that she is, had the camera ready and waiting though you can't really tell, so I'm not even going to show those LOL
But here are some views of the dam before I show you family pictures, which I'm sure you're all dying to see, especially my family in South Africa :)

The boys enjoyed skipping stones over the water and I did manage to catch the one that Nicholas threw, so it's become one of my favorites.

We were all just hanging out on the picnic table when my MIL took this one, it's great having candid shots :) Please don't laugh at me, I HATE having my picture taken and always feel that I look NOTHING like that in real life....or at least I hope I don't LOL

As usual, I get caught doing things I'm not supposed to.....*sigh* LOL

Now here are the family pictures.....enjoy them :) My MIL was really happy to get such good pictures with all of us and her boys and grandkids.

And to end it all, here are some great pics taken on the drive back to base. Now I'm really sorry if I've bored you all, that was not my intention, but I wanted to show you the great afternoon we had and the beauty that God continues to bestow upon us all, it just goes to show that if you look further than your immediate surroundings, there's ALWAYS a sign of His love.

Tomorrow I'll probably post the little videos we made with all the pictures, they came out really good :)

BTW I updated my food blog with a recipe for Chicken Fingers with Honey Mustard. It's really good so if you're interested in trying it out, just pop on over to Full Bellies, Happy Kids.

And now I have to go, I have the house to myself, everyone took off for gift shopping and I wasn't allowed to go because it's for my birthday tomorrow.....oh well, it's been a long time since I've been home alone. What should I do???? I feel so naughty I just want to do something totally unexpected that I wouldn't usually get to do with the kids around.......should I break something? Have a neighborhood party? Couple drinks? Turn the music real loud and dance without being embarassed? LOL There's so much to pick from, but you see, I'm just not a person who lives on the edge, so I'll settle for starting my Basil Burgers for dinner and making some Portuguese Rice Pudding for dessert and maybe clean up the house a bit. Oh you little devil you....aren't I just the naughty chef??? LOL

Hope you all enjoyed the pictures and again thank you for the prayers....my MIL is handling it very well under the circumstances, but please keep her in your prayers so that the test results come back negative to the cancer having spread anywhere else.

God Bless,