Trauma on the Madison River

We took the kids rafting. The river was shallow probably up to my knees but it was quick. We thought it would be a good idea to attempt to have an adventure with ten kids and five adults. An adventure is definitely what we had.



The kids were a bit bored as we were blowing up the rafts so they took a hike. Beaner and Kaiden made it all the way to the top of the hill. Where is Bud? He and Kaiden are never separated.



Oh there he is, lost in the grass lands. Are we having fun yet?



We put in the rafts and set sail. There is Cindy, Ann, and two-month-old Logan, check.



Big D and I have Livie and Bear, check.



Here is Bud, Aubrey, Kaiden and Beaner, check.



Oh, there is Whitley and Bug, check. But where is Chad and Nater?



Is that them about a 1/2 mile behind us? Yep, that's them.



You wouldn't know it, but this is where our adventure went wrong. We finally got everyone together and tied the boats, except Chad's because he's still way behind us but don't worry he catches up with us real quick.

I remembered seeing remnants of an old bridge as we were driving and I casually said, "Wouldn't it be funny if we sandwiched ourselves around the pylon?". The answer to that question is NO. We wrapped around the pylon and Bug starts yelling, "Bale, Bale". So Bud decided that now was the time to start listening to his sister and he jumped ship. At this point the water is only ankle deep but it's still fast. Bud racked his knees on the rocks but he wasn't strong enough to fight the currant to get back into the boat. Big D is at the pylon trying to untangle us so we can continue on our way and now he has to save a life that is being sucked under a raft. The terror in Bud's eyes was heart breaking. Big D picked him up and put him on my lap where he stayed cuddled in the arms of safety until we stopped at the halfway point for lunch.

We didn't think he was traumatized too bad until we took him rafting a few days later in Island Park. He couldn't relax and enjoy himself. He felt like he needed to personally tell everyone every time something was sticking out of the water. Hopefully someday he will be able to enjoy the water again.



Here we are at the halfway point eating lunch. Bud got a bit chilly after being in the water so Auntie Ann hooked him up. Needless to say more than half the kids refused to get back in the boat and continue our journey. That's okay, some of us did and it was a lot more peaceful without all the drama.

Water Park

I gotta get me one of these, I mean for my home town that is. This water park in Bozeman is free. The kids love it as well as the BIG kids.



This is true friendship for you. We tried to get Big D to rub in on Chad's back for him but they both refused.



Beaner and Aubrey were like two peas in a pod. They have very similar personalities too. Both are a bit on the dramatic side and a bit introverted. I think it was good for Beaner to be around someone who was the same personality type she is, it was like holding up a mirror. Here they are waiting for buckets of water to fall on them, how fun.



Livie and Bear were the cutest, they paled around every where. Livie is a live wire she just goes and goes. I think a couple times Bear tried to hide from her to know avail, and boy did I hear about it. Livie is a chatterbox and every time Bear did something she didn't like she could come up to me and say, "Your darling did..." She never called him by his name. One day we were heading some where and Bear was trying to get away from her for a minute. He tried to ride in the other car and was told no because they didn't have a car seat for him. He screamed at the top of his lungs as he was being carried back to our car. I don't think Livie even knew why he was screaming she just kept talking and of course they were laughing and chatting after Bear settled down.



This is the famous mushroom waterfall. Big D loved this one! The girls thought it would be funny to have a water fight, but it was lost on everyone because they were already wet, that is when they focused on me. I was dry so I could take pictures but that meant nothing to them they thought it was more important to get me wet than document their escapades. I eventually went under the mushroom waterfall just so they'd leave me alone, little stinkers.



Here is proof that Auntie Ann really went on vacation with us. She used to go on all our family vacations and help me with the kids, that was back when I just had Bug. Then Ann went on her mission and she's never come with us again, until now. This is her first summer off from school, she's going into nursing and she's taken summer school since returning from her mission. I'm so glad she took the summer off.

I did not get any pictures of Bud at the water park. He and Kaiden were too quick for me and then I got unwillingly wet. I will catch them tomorrow.

Family Birthday Party

In between Boston and Montana we had our annual family birthday party. This year Jay and Ape were in charge and they did a fantastic job. We had a fireman theme, we love themes in our family.



We went to the firehouse and got to play on an old fire truck, the kids were in heaven.



Then the kids took turns dressing up in the gear and running an obstical course. The kids were in heaven.



First they had to carry this heavy hose about five yards.



They dropped the hose and went inside this trailer and had to pull a twenty pound weight to the window.



After they got the weight the window they had to climb out and down a ladder. What fire fighting experience is complete without a ladder climb.



They ran over and had to hit this log as hard as they could until it cleared the other two logs.



For the grand finale they ran over grabbed the firehose and had to spray a toy house until they closed the door and shutters with the water. By the end of the evening the house was full of kids getting soaked.



The big kids couldn't stand watching all the little kids have all the fun so they played dress up too. Stand back ladies, he's all mine.



The guys wanted to see if they could make it as fire fighters. Let's just say some can and others, not so much.



The guys kept getting stuck on the window because they had to carry the hose out the window. Jay said they usually dive out the window, if it's not too high.



Instead of having to hit the log the guys decided they had to jump over the logs three times.



Can you tell who the real fire fighter is? I think it's almost every little boys dream to grow up and be a fireman, well, I think we added some more boys to that list, and quite possibly some girls.



The only little firefighter we were missing was Beaner, and she wanted to be a princess instead of a firefighter,



so we let her. Isn't it funny that they are sisters and soooo different. I actually love it that they are developing their own sense of style and fun.

Dream Houses

I never knew I could have more than one dream house, but I do. I spotted this house as I was driving the coast up to Maine.



This house is in Maine. It belonged to a man named John Hamilton. He was one of the first men to build ships in Maine, or something like that. His view is out over a lake, wow beautiful.



I spotted this one coming in from whale watching. I bet it cost a pretty penny.



Sorry I couldn't fit the whole house in the picture, there are so many trees that it's hard to get good full shots, but look at that paint job. There are a lot of purple houses over there. I don't think that's going to spread out west any time soon.



I loved this Federal style home with the widow's walk. This house is in downtown Newburyport. The whole town is a historic museum from another time. I loved walking the streets soaking in the architecture of a former era.



This purple house has stained glass windows in almost every window. It was located out on Plum Island. The location in and of itself makes this one a dream house.



When you say a house has character over here, they know what they are talking about. Plus, it doesn't mean it's a fixer upper like it does in Idaho.



Just look at the intricate architecture. I love the corbels. The roof even has character.

Lord's Hand in June 2009

6/30/09~ We had our first people come look through our house last night. It was amazing how fast we cleaned the house when we heard they were coming over. Okay, maybe not clean as much as shove stuff under beds and in closets, lets hope they don't want to look in the closet. ;0) I realized it's going to take a lot of work to sell my house. I don't know if Big D is up for all that work, especially with how much traveling we still have to do this summer. I guess it will push us to work hard and fast in between trips and before school starts.

6/29/09~ Trying to get ready to leave for another two weeks and I'm still trying to recover from the last two weeks I was gone. The grass in our backyard was a foot and a half tall. I got so bored mowing it, because I had to empty the bag with every two seconds, that I started carving stuff in the lawn like, "I Love You" and a track for the boys' trucks. It was fun, but now I have to re mow because some of the lawn was so tall all I did was lay it over. I've also been pulling weeds in my garden. The weeds are two feet tall. I will be lucky to get any vegetation out of the garden this year. The funny thing is every summer I think, "Ok, maybe this summer isn't going to be as busy." I am wrong every year.

6/28/09~ Lowell and Rae blessed their new little girl, Madie, today. Of course Lowell told us where the blessing was to take place and I still got it wrong. We all walked into a church and there was no family there. We found the right building and sat down seconds before the Bishop announced the blessing. Good timing! Madie is a doll! She was even really good during the bless, as soon as Lowell said, "Amen" she started screaming. Another lady in the family with good timing I see.

6/27/09~ We celebrated Bud's birthday with a trip out to eat with a friend, a long with our big family birthday. It was Jay and Ape's turn for the family birthday party this year and Jay being a firefighter, we had a fireman theme at the fire house. It turned out awesome. It was every little boys fantasy come true. It was fun to watch the kids go through some drills. Then it was the big boys turn. Lowell, Jay, Brook, and Big D had to make it a competition to see who could get through the course the fastest. I think Lowell ended up winning, but that's just because Jay only did it once everyone else went two or three times. It's going to be hard to top this years party, good luck Brook and Andy.

6/26/09~ Today is Bud's birthday. I miss my kids so much. I can't get home fast enough. I scrolled through my pictures on my laptop as I was flying into Phoenix and I got all choked up. I probably shouldn't have done that. It wasn't any better that as I was in Phoenix Big D was in Chicago. I missed him too and we'd just spent a week and a half together. Lowell called me as I was waiting for my connection in Phoenix. He asked where Big D was and when I told him he said, "Wow, when you need your space you really need your space." I had to laugh. That was the cost of extending my vacation, we couldn't fly home together. I left Boston and hour and a half before Big D and he made it in to SLC twenty minutes before me. So it all worked out nicely. His was the first face I saw when I stepped off the plane, as it should be.

6/25/09~ We left Newburyport to stay in downtown Boston for the night. We are hoping that helps with our early morning flight. So instead of having to wake up at 3 a.m. we will have to wake at 4 a.m. I know I'm excited for that extra hour too. We went down to Quincy Market and saw a "Cheers" bar. I don't think it was the real deal but someone said that it was where they filmed the show. I guess there is a different bar that they actually patterned the show off of, but since we aren't bar people we really didn't seek it out. But I did love the show "Cheers".

6/24/09~ Today was a bit interesting. The lady that is traveling with us needed a prop for her presentation so I had a mission for the day. I punched info into my Lola and she sent me into downtown Lawrence, about twenty minutes away. I didn't think too much of it until I had to walk two blocks to get to the store. On my jaunt I passed by a parking lot with about half a dozen gang bangers and their thumping music. I couldn't just turn around as soon as I saw them, I'd draw attention to myself, so I kept walking. The problem with that is I had to pass them again on my way to my car. No need to fear a prayer of, "Please keep me safe. Please keep me safe." made me invisible to the evil, at least that is what I'm telling myself. I almost asked some construction workers on the street to walk me to my car, but I had an even better chaperon. Oh, and the store didn't even have what I needed. I hurried back to my comfort zone and stayed there the rest of the day. It kind of put a wrench in my adventurous side. I'm looking forward to going home soon.

6/23/09~ I drove along the coast all the way up to Maine. Some of those houses, WOW! I had to pull over and take pictures a couple times. I found an abandon lighthouse, at least that what I think it looks like. I had to stop and just watch the surfers brave the waves. It's been raining the whole time I've been here but it hasn't got me down. It's a different kind of rain, it feels more like a mist in the air than rain drops. Don't get me wrong it knows how to to the big drops too. When I got up to Maine I toured the grounds of one of the first ship dudes in the area, John Hamilton. He lived on the edge of a beautiful lake with some amazing views. On my way back I stopped at a roadside street vendor. I wanted to buy some maple syrup, but I didn't think that would be very fun to take home on the plane. So I bought some mango pepper jelly and I don't think it's going to make it to the plane. Big D and I have been enjoying it way too much.

6/22/09~ I saw my first Hollywood film crew, in the middle of Essex, MA. They are filming a Adam Sandler, Salma Hayak, and Chris Rock movie over here. It's beautiful enough, I bet they film a lot of movies over here. It's just new to me. I also went Antique shopping today. A couple stores I don't think there was anything under $1000. A little too rich for my blood. I've met a lot of really neat people. Every where I go there are people from all over the world. I love it!

6/21/09~ We went into Boston today and went to the Museum of Fine Arts. Wow, I am so amazed. I got to see my first "real" Monet, Von Gogh, Renoir, Titan, and many many more. We also went to a ladies house that she built after a Venitican palace. Isabella Stewart Gardner traveled all over the world collecting art. She built this house to display and share her art with others. She lived in the house up until she passed away in 1924. We were laughing about some empty frames they had hanging, one said Rembrandt on it. We jokingly said maybe someone stole them. On our way out we asked a tour guide and sure enough she said there was a break in about ten years. Two guys dressed as Boston police to get through the door. They tied the two security guards up in the basement and had the house to themselves. They got away with a lot of very valuable stuff, including the TWO Rembrandt. After that museum we went over to the Boston Commons and say all the old brownstones. I am so amazed at how beautiful every thing is around here. They have taken great lengths to preserve our history over here. I could be here for a month and not see and experience every thing.

6/20/09~ We went whale watching today. There was about ten to twelve Humpback Whales about thirty miles off the coast. We followed a mother and her calf most of the time. We got to see a full breech (when they jump out of the water) about twenty yards away from our boat. Even the tour guide was amazed. She confessed that they don't see that every day. I got to meet the lady that is over Big D's training, we invited her to spend the day with us. She is from South Africa and invited us to come stay at her cottage. Wow, what an invitation. We also made it to the Salem Witch Museum. That was very interesting! I knew a little about it but I didn't know that it was all started because one little girl, Ann Putnam, was bored. After about a dozen people were hung and many others imprisoned she felt guilty to come enough to come forward and apologize.

6/19/09~ I have been taking tons of pictures today. There are so many churches here that are just amazing. I got some advice on a hot spot for beautiful churches, downtown Amesbury. They weren't lying. Ten churches all in about a two mile radius of each other, and they are all different denominations. The only thing that stinks is the weather, it's been over cast and rainy so my pictures probably won't turn out too good but I sure have had a great time taking them. I found an old cemetery and walked around taking pictures. I got to the back of the cemetery where all the really old old headstones are. I was taking pictures and I started sinking in the mud. Oh baby, that freaked me out. I thought I was going to break through some two hundred year old casket and be laying with the early settlers.

6/18/09~ My first day on my own. I would have a lot harder time with this if I didn't have Lola, my GPS. I've loved exploring all the back country, the non-tourist areas. I've seen tons of beautiful homes and yards. I don't know how anyone could not have a beautiful yard here, it's so green. I've found some architectural salvage stores that I could get addicted too if I lived here.

6/17/09~ Our flight was fun. Big D slept and I couldn't quit looking out the window, even when all I could see was the clouds. Did you know there are more clouds above the clouds? I loved seeing the landscape, when the clouds would part. I don't know which state we were flying over but it looked like a beautiful quilt with straight lines that went on and on and on. At O'Hara Airport we were offered vouchers to take a later flight, so now Big D and I have $600 of free airline tickets to any where. By the time we got into Boston I was excited to get to the hotel but I couldn't get over all the beautiful things to see. I was glad I wasn't driving.

6/16/09~ I am off to Boston, wish me luck. I'm a bit worried about traveling by myself. I've even had some nightmares about it lately. But I will survive and I will have a great time. I just hope I don't forget anything. And yes it looks like I am going to have to wear my neck brace on the plane but that's okay. If it helps me to be able to enjoy my trip with very little pain it's worth it. It was cute, when I was packing Kinnzi could totally tell something big was getting ready to happen. I walked in the room and found her curled up inside my luggage. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to do that when someone was traveling without me.

6/15/09~ I've been able to take my neck brace off for an hour here and there. I end up with throbbing headaches if I keep it off for too long. I'm going to look like an idiot if I have to wear this thing on the plane. At least I'm getting some movement back in my neck. It is funny, Bug has had to be my eyes when I'm driving, which probably isn't the safest thing to do. I just have to have her look left and right for me when we come to a turn. I took my niece and nephews to the park to get lunch and they thought it was so fun to watch Bug help that they all wanted to help. I had to fire them all, too many chiefs.

6/14/09~ I know I was whining yesterday about my neck, and yes I am still in immense pain, but I think the Lord is helping me to recoup quickly. I made it through church and I didn't think I would. Big D was telling everyone that I didn't do the dishes right and now I learned my lesson. I told people I was just wearing my neck brace to help my posture.

6/13/09~ My neck went out on me again. Leave it to the worst possible time, just like last time. It always seems to happen right before we leave on a trip. Last time it was a couple days before we left for Montana and this time it's a couple days before we leave to Boston. I am so pissed! We are trying every thing we can think of to get my neck up to par: muscle cream, massage, my neck brace. I can't believe this is happening now. Why can't my neck go out in the middle of the winter when we aren't going anywhere or doing anything? Someone must think this is really funny.

6/12/09~ The day I knew was coming, my computer crashed. It's been acting funny for a few weeks now but I haven't had the resources to do anything about it. I feel bad because Brook's been using my computer to look for a job and now I can't help him. After we get home from Boston hopefully I will be able to take it in to the computer doctor and they will fix all the boo boos.

6/11/09~ All this rain is really putting a damper on our summer plans. We came up with a summer motto, we actually made an adaptation from Dora's famous song on Finding Nemo: "Just keep swimming swimming swimmin". Our summer motto is, "Just keep moving moving moving". We've been playing kickball, Frisbee golf, taking walks, etc. We've been trying to just keep moving.

6/9/09~ We took the Yukon in to the auto body shop today. Next time we see her she will be all pretty again and no more boo boo, at least that's what I had to tell Big D as we drove away and he had to take a last look over his shoulder. He is so ready for this whole ordeal to be over and it will be, soon.

6/8/09~ My sister Ann was up visiting for the weekend and she went home today. It's always sad when my sisters leave. A little piece of my heart twinges with longing for them to stay. I guess I should just be grateful they only live a few hours away and not on the other side of the U.S. We had a great week because my sister Marie came home the first half of the week. I hope they both feel loved when they come home and missed when they leave.

6/7/09~ We put on a Baptism for one of our young ladies from Primary. It was really nice. We were suppose to do it yesterday but everyone was at TOFW so we moved it. I hope Amber, the young lady, felt special. She had a wonderful turn out and a lot of support.

6/6/09~ I went to TOFW today with my mom, Grandma Lovely, and my mother-in-law, Grandma Ellen. We had a great time! Our wells are definitely full. It was a little sad, the last time I went to one of these I had my two sister-in-laws with me. I felt a twinge of loneliness not having them with me. Who knows maybe some day they will want to come with me again. Until then I will enjoy whom ever comes with me.

6/5/09~ I ran Itch around town to run his errands and to pick up his kids. He does so much better when he has his kids. I've been very impressed how he's doing with them. He has been so gentle with them and he's really stepped up and tried to help them through the divorce. He is a rock. Grandma Lovely, Grandma Ellen, and I went to our first session of TOFW tonight. I haven't been able to go to the gym for the past few days so I was pretty antsy the whole night. I had to come home and run the track for a bit. I am stoked to go to the rest of the conference tomorrow. I need to remember tissues, I got choked up about ten times tonight.

6/4/09~ Itchy cut his hand pretty bad and had to have surgery. It really freaked us out because it took awhile to get the full story as to what happened. Here is what happened from his lips. He was at home carving a piece of wood, he is very talented, when one of his chisels slipped an went into his thumb cutting a nerve and an artery. He knew it was pretty bad so he cleaned it up and drove himself to the ER where they told him he needed surgery to repair the damage. At one point we thought he hurt himself at work. My sister, Marie, called from SLC and asked why Itch was carving and driving at the same time; she said that when you say there's been an accident it means a car is involved. So apparently a "carving accident" equals driving and carving. It's nice to have something to laugh about. He's doing well. He's pretty bummed, it seems like he just keeps getting kicked while he's down. He's not giving up, I'm so proud of him; he's come a long way in the last few months.

6/2/09~ I fear Big D and I are going to fall into old habits. We've been so excited about not having to go to bed at a certain time that we've been staying up till the wee hours of the morn. I went to bed and midnight then got up at 5 a.m. to go to the gym, the rest of the day I was toast. I can't do that anymore if I want to keep going to the gym.

6/1/09~ Our first official Monday of Summer and all we did was run errands. We did get lunch in the park, which I love but we weren't able to stay and play. I had to take the Yukon around to get quotes to get fixed. When the tire flew off it caused some body damage and Les Schwab is going to pay to fix it.

Whale Tale

We went whale watching on Saturday, June 20th. The day started out so well blue skies, calm seas, a peachy husband.














We saw some amazing sights that are way more amazing in real life than in a picture.



We followed a mother and her calf around thirty miles off the coast of Massachusetts.



I think one of them liked the attention and started to perform. The tour guide said it was more of a show of hierarchy or discipline.



All I knew is it was amazing. The tour guide was even amazed. She told us that doesn't happen everyday.



It really gave me more of a respect for these huge animals that I didn't have before.



By the end of our voyage everyone in our group had upset bellies but me. I think Big D was the worst, he almost blew chunks. He was no longer peachy as much as green.



Big D was so happy to be done with the tour. The tour was suppose to be between three and four hours it was more like six. We were all starving but it's a good think none of us ate before the trip.

Walking on the Beach

We loved walking on the beach. We tried to do it as much as possible. We probably would have done it more if it wasn't raining the whole time we were there. This is Hampton Beach in New Hampshire. The water really wasn't too bad but you can totally tell we are tourists with our rain coats on playing in the water. I think that might be an oxymoron, or at least just moron.



At first we tried really hard not to get our shorts wet, but then the tide would come in.



I think we both went home looking like we wet our pants, but it was so worth it. Big D is such a big kid.

Every once in awhile the camera would react with the water in the air and it was either hard to focus or I'd take a picture and all you could see is water droplets.



I think Big D's co-workers thought we were crazy. They wanted to walk the beach with us but not in the water. I think they're crazy, how can you come to the ocean and not play?



We wrote a little message to our kids in the sand. Ahhh, what good parents we are, we leave them for a week and a half and all they get is an "I Love You" in the sand as proof of how much fun we were having without them.

I'm Home

I have never been so happy to see the desert. I loved loved loved all the trees in the New England area, but man did I miss the mountains. I loved walking hand in hand on the beach almost every night, but boy oh boy did I miss my babies.

I had a great vacation. I would probably put it up there with the best of my life. I could tell I had a great one when I was just as giddy to come home as I was to go to Boston. We played hard and wore ourselves out.

Big D and I asked each other if we would ever move to New England and at first we said yes. After a week and a half we realized that even though it is way more beautiful over there, there wasn't any family and that is what make home, home. We might not live in the most aesthetically beautiful part of the U.S. but with our family all around us, it is perfect.

When I was going through security they flagged my carry on, I knew they would. I was smuggling home antique corbels. I didn't want to put them in my checked luggage because I knew they'd want to see what they heck they were if they x-rayed my bag and I didn't want them to cut my lock off. I was watching the guys face as he was x-raying my carry on. Stopping the conveyor belt, going forward and back, squinting, and finally flagging it.

Another person came over and grabbed my bag and asked whose it was. We walked over to a special counter and she talked to me like I was a terrorist, "Don't touch the bag or put your hands anywhere close to it until I tell you other wise." She opened my bag and swiped a cloth to make sure there wasn't any bomb residue. After that came back okay she just stood there looking at this bubble wrapped blob and asked, "What they hell is that?" I told her they were antique corbels and offered to unwrap the bubble wrap so she could see them. The tape was pretty tight so I asked her if she had any scissors, dummy me it's the airport, no one has scissors. I got a little bit opened and showed her. I think she rolled her eyes and probably thought I was a dink for bringing home they old decaying wood brackets. After she cleared me I had to laugh about they whole thing.

Big D and I were not able to fly home together because I'd extended my vacation. I flew out an hour and a half before him and he made it to SLC twenty minutes before me. I didn't think it would bother me so much not having him right there. I looked through my pictures on my laptop as I was flying into Phoenix as I was listening to the song Big D wrote for me three years ago for Christmas and I started crying. I realized at that moment how much I missed my kids and how excited I was to be home. It's amazing that even though a plane cuts travel time down immensely, it still wasn't fast enough.

As soon as we landed and were on the road we called Bud to wish him a Happy Birthday. Big D asked him if he was doing anything fun that day and he said, "Yes, I'm going home." Well that did it, now Big D couldn't drive fast enough.

I am so so so happy to be home. I missed everyone!

Museum of Fine Arts

On Sunday we went into Boston. One of our stops was the Museum of fine Arts, wow. I could have stayed their all day. I never did get to see it all, but I saw the best stuff.



As we walked through the front doors this is what greeted us on the ceiling. Amazing! I know the photo doesn't do any justice, sorry they don't allow flash photography.




We thought long and hard about what we wanted to see first.



Big D really enjoyed getting some culture. I hope he knows that's inapropriate, at least infront of his wife.



I took some painting lessons. I think I'm good enough to run with the big dogs, what do you think?



It's a good thing our whale watching expedition didn't turn out like this. I don't think I would have enjoyed the walks on the beach near as much.

We had a great time playing with Monet, Renoir, Titan, Von Gogh, among others. We like to run with a very exclusive crowd when we are on the East Coast.

Sand Sculptures

We were walking the Hampton Beach and found the amazing sand sculptures. They are having their annual contest and WoW there are some talented sculptors.



This sculpture came in 1st place. I probably wouldn't have chosen this as 1st, it had the least amount of detail. It is still beautiful.



I thought this one was pretty cool. It came in 2nd. Look at all that detail. See that dark line behind the sculpture? That is seaweed, that is how high the ocean swells were last night. Can you see that heap of sand in the background? That used to be a sculpture.



The 3rd place sculpture was neat too. The sculptures all had three days and 10 tons of sand to finish these masterpieces.



This sculpture is my favorite. Look at the detail in the peacocks and the water fountain. I looks like the water is really falling over the fountains edge.



This is Big D's favorite, as the other sculptures favorite. This sculpture won sculptors choice and people's choice, but no money. In other words he got a pat on the head for all that hard work.



I also liked this one. The imagination and creativity that went into this one is amazing. I could go on and on with all the sculptures. We are having a wonderful time and the best part, that is the ocean behind the scultures.