On the River

Last night, we were on the lake. Today we were on the river. Tomorrow, we will be at the ocean. It's been a busy water weekend for us - and I believe we will be sleeping well tonite.

Last Christmas, Mom and Dad purchased a gift certificate for river rafting at the Harlow auction. It allowed for 6-8 people, so Mom and Dad invited Michael and Michele, John and I, and the Whites. Upon making contact with Brian, the main guide, we were told that we could take our kiddos too....that it was a very-friendly ride. Excellent, as we didn't have a babysitter and the 80 or so dollars (for 5 kids) we would have had to spend for the 6 hours we were gone was kept with us. =)

It was a fantastic time. The river guides were phenomenal - huge shout out to Brian, Mark, Craig and Elizabeth for taking their time to bless our lives so richly. (And let us not forget "Bennie", Brian's dog who was a major bonus for the girls!) We were in two different boats, Mark and Brian were the guides, and the adults ran the paddles while the kids looked over the bow ready to brace for the impact of the rapids. There were only two "class 3" rapids on the trip, both quite short - so the majority of the time was fun, but not hazardous - full of gorgeous scenery, lots of water fights, and clever banter among the boaters.

The pictures were just a few I was able to take during our lunch break. They had a camera that John used extensively - so as soon as those our posted on their website (www.ocrap.net [hee-hee] - that's short for Oregon Christian rafters and paddlers) - we'll be able to put up more pictures.

Thank you, Mom and Dad for making this happen. We all had a blast!




Oh - and this last picture, I just now am downloading at 7:15 pm - proving the above statement about sleeping well tonite to be very true for our two precious guys who have both worked so very hard this week.....