Last Sunday we played a game of Settlers of Catan as a family
Monday morning Henry started bright and early getting his reading in
Then he found Lyza's tablet unattended
Last Saturday the weather didn't look too great so we decided I would work Saturday and then take Monday off so we could spend time together outsider. We saw a post about various waterfalls in North Idaho and we decided we would try and see some of them. We planned our route and headed out for the day. The first stop was Torrelle Falls, about 10 miles North of Priest River (just over an hour drive). When the gps told us we had arrived this is what we saw. We kept driving a little, drove back, looked around and decided to keep going to the next destination.
Next detination was mission falls. We jumped out and started down an forest road
We got close to the river but realized we were not at the right spot
We hiked back up to the van and had some lunch
We drove back accross a bridge to try and get to mission falls from the other side of the river. We found the right forrest road but it was covered with snow and mud. The snow was deep and the mud was soft. It was over a mile of those conditions to get to the falls so we turned around and decided to head to the next distination.
Another 45 minutes of driving and when we were less than 10 miles from the campground where the hike starts we found this...
The road was close to all vehicular traffic
What a flop. We turned around, defeated. We made a stop at Torrelle Falls on the way home and these are the magnificent falls (sarcasm)
Maybe they will look more impressive with a long shutter?
For hours of driving on a beautiful day these were disappointing
At least there were pretty flowers right there?
After that flop of a day we decided to do something we knew would be fun: go play at the river
It was beautiful out and reminded us that we don't need to drive hours to enjoy a sunny day
Sometimes while I am working in the home office (aka bedroom with a fold-able table and kitchen chair) it feels like someone is watching me
Our apple tree is coming to life
And we are seeing blossoms everywhere
Tuesday afternoon Kim took the kids back to the river to play
She messaged me that she saw a bunch of big birds hovering over what looked like a nest on the other side of the river
I grabbed the camera and tripod and headed right over
We could see a nest at the top of a tree but it was really far
Zoomed all the way in and then heavily cropped you can barely make out the bald eagle on the nest
During one of my starring-out-into-the-backyard breaks I noticed two birds around our bird houses (one on the perch for the house on the left and another on the branch right beside the house on the right). Those houses have been up for years and the only life I have ever seen on them has been squirrels.
Kim and the kids made this giant cookie for a challenge by one of our favorite cook book groups, Our Best Bites
Nixon and Mason had fun making bubbles in this soapy water
Our tulips started looking lively this week
There have been LOTS of song birds around the neighborhood and I have been lucky enough to be in the right place a few times to get some cool shots of them
I caught this one flying away
I have also noticed these little birds gathering materials for their nests
These big tulips were the first to open up this week
The HOA had some of the trees in the neighborhood trimmed and the kids enjoyed watching that through the window
Nixon got to play some Yatzee Jr.
We have been going on lots of walks around the neighborhood
This is Mason's reaction when you take a picture before he is finished his build
Now he is ready
When all the kids play ring around the rosie it is so cute
Nixon and Mason got to play "Sink or Float" this week where they had to predict if certain objects would sink or float in water
I don't think Mason was right
The kids started some rock candy
Mason enjoying the tulips
Mason is getting really close to riding his bike without training wheels
Henry and I did some bird watching in front of our house on Friday night and saw lots of birds
This one was working on a nest
These red ones are pretty
We also saw some flying geese
Here is a video of Happy Henry before bed
Saturday morning Kim got up really early and got dropped off in CDA for a 8+ mile run. She saw this beautiful sculpture, which has a cool story: https://www.krem.com/article/news/local/kootenai-county/the-story-behind-lake-cdas-mysterious-giant-metal-die/424365553. The short version is that it is a huge metal tank that washed up on someone's beach about 6 years ago. They added the dots to it and it floated away last year and ended up washing up on the City beach in CDA. No one claimed it so the City moved it and has it on display.
She started out her run with a beautiful morning
Henry found Lyza's tablet again
With all the disappointment not seeing any falls earlier in the week I took Nixon to falls park in Post Falls to check out the falls/dam. This time of year there is lots of water pouring through.
I have been wanting to get some long exposure shots of the falls for a while now and yesterday was my chance
If you are not aware, long exposures give the water the unnatural smooth texture you see in these pictures
It was really windy and there was so much water
This is really a sight to see in the spring
Nixon and I also got to do some hiking and exploring
Down river there is this cool bridge
We found a new way to get to the other side of the bridge
We also saw geese, goslings, and ducks at the pond
The colors on these mallards are so cool
It was fund spending some one-on-one time with Nixon
I am glad we don't need to stick our butts straight up in the air to eat
Someone shared some food with Nixon so he could feed the ducks
When we got home we were greeted by the newly opened tulips at our house
Kim and the kids made another giant cookie yesterday
Henry was more than willing to help eat it
Kim and the kids played some Disney Headbanz while Henry and I went on a walk last night. Don't they look so cool?
Take care
