A Bit of This and That

This summer is going by so fast, like all summers do.  For me, it felt like it started earlier than usual this year.

Derrick's parents came up from Mexico for visit us around the first part of May, and for me that seemed to kick off summer.  They stayed a week with us, and then flew to Seattle to spend a week with David and Tara.  It was great to get to see them.

We had our International Convention in Seattle in the beginning of July, and the first part of summer was the build up and excitement of that event.  We had a great time over there.

The convention was at the Husky Stadium, which officially made it the first outdoor assembly we (as in Montanans over there- I hear a lot of other states do have outdoor assemblies quite often) have ever been to.

There were delegates from all over the world there.  It was great to see them in their native garb, and we were able to at least say hi to quite a few of them.  We were able to sit with all of our family all three days.  It was very hot and sunny, which partially made me happy because for once I was completely prepared for it with umbrellas, tons of sunscreen, sunglasses, hat.  It all went by too fast.  It was a beautiful event in our lives, and I am so glad that we all got to share it together.

Beyond that, we have been enjoying the regular fun times of summer in Montana.  So far we have been camping twice, once up Painted Rock with friends, and once in T. Falls with family.

This is the third year we have done the family camping trip in T. Falls.  The first time we went there we were all a little disgusted that we hadn't put a little more forethought into reserving a camping place at any of the lakes we like to go to in Montana.  Everything was all filled up, so out of desperation we decided to go to T. Falls.  It seemed ridiculous, like doing a big camping trip in your backyard (since we all grew up around there and some of us still live there).  But when we actually settled into the state park there, we realized the water was great, the fishing was better than most other places, and it was genuinely one of the most beautiful places we'd ever camped.  It also just seems a bit appropriate that for our family camping trip we all gather at where our roots started.

The last two years have been completely sunny and perfect for playing down by the river, but this year it was a bit cooler.  It was still warm enough to spend some time by the river, but on Sunday it drizzled most of the day and cooled off.  We took advantage of that weather to drive way up into the boonies and pick huckleberries.

Last weekend, Derrick, the kids, and I went on a day hike back into the Bitterroot National Forrest.  This time we hiked about three miles in to three little lakes.

We first stopped at Baker Lake to have a snack.  Since it was the closest lake in, there were more people there, and I could see why.  It is high enough that even on a warm July day, we were surrounded by snow capped peaks.  There were fish jumping everywhere as we walked along it shores, and you could actually see fish swimming around in the shallower edge water.  We continued walking further in, and eventually hit Middle Lake and then Gem Lake.

We'd been wanting to see Gem Lake ever since reading about it in our hiking book.  The book described it as having aquamarine waters.  Honestly, it didn't quite live up to the hype of the book, but it was still a lovely little lake and we were able to play in some of the snow piles around it's edges.

I think Kloe enjoyed this hike a bit better than last years big hike.  There were still some moments when she was not loving it (mostly the going up up upward moments) but over all she seemed happier with it.  Derrin just plugged along.

There was one part on the way down when Derrick and the kids started playing on these crazy rock formations that looked like pure death to me.

I am insanely afraid of heights, and watching them climb on those things had my hands sweating and trying to hold myself back from begging them to come down.  It's one of those mom things I think:  On one hand I want them to be fearless and able to explore the world.  On the other hand, I want to wrap them in bubble wrap and keep them locked up in their rooms where nothing can ever hurt them.

I felt the same way the very next day when we took them inner tubing down the Blackfoot River.  Both kids have had years of swimming lessons and are honestly better swimmers than I am, and the stretch of river we were going down was a fairly calm one.  It still scares me, even as I want them out there.

I remember my poor mom worrying like that, especially when we were playing on the river.  I'm talking about her worrying when when I was already an adult with kids of my own.  I have been assured by lots of other mothers that this worrying thing does not just go away.  Reminds me of an Elisabeth Stone quote, "Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body".

There is only one more day of July after today.  It is hot out there.  Kloe and I went to Splash MT yesterday to beat the heat.  It was only the second time we have been there.  Both times we met up with Sabrina and her kids and had a great time.  I am hoping for more of those good times in August.

Derrin didn't go with us this time because he was riding bikes with his buddy Austin.  This summer has been one of increasing freedoms for my boy.  He's been allowed to go riding with Austin into town, and to have more exploring time.  He has thoroughly enjoyed it, and although he still likes to hang out with his fam (I think?), I can tell he's really itching to just head out with friends.  It's a normal thing- I can very much remember feeling that way when I was his age.

We have more things planned for August.  More hiking, more camping, and Derrick has signed up to pioneer that month (and I am still thinking about it).  Dustin, David and Tara are coming next weekend, and we are very excited for that.  The three brothers are planning a backpacking trip for the weekend, and I am excited for them.

Sooo, here is to hoping that August doesn't zip by as fast as the rest of summer has!:)

Variety, A Necessary Ingrediant

You see this beautiful jello?

(Here's how you make this).

This jello represents an astounding victory for me.  I don't think I have ever mentioned it in here, but I have never really developed my skills in the kitchen.

My mom did try to teach me how to cook, but I had zero interest in learning how to.  Instead of seeing it as something I could enhance my life with, I saw it as another way to keep me tied to the kitchen instead of outside playing with the boys.  Watching them play out the kitchen window while I washed dishes was bad enough. I might add that doing dishes was the only chore besides sometimes dusting and vacuuming that was expected of me.  My mom even did my laundry for me until I moved out at 21 (my own kids started helping with laundry as little tots).   In short, I had moments of indignant spoiled brattery, and some of the effects and residual thinking from those days are still with me.

My stand on the issue has been this: 

1.  Food does not equal love, and just because I don't cook fabulous meals doesn't mean I don't care about you.

2.  Studies have shown that a lack of variety in diet (not including fruits and veges) is not necessarily a bad thing, and people are better able to maintain weight when not always presented with new foods.

3.  I am a creative person, but not when it comes to cooking, so deal with it.

So, for years, I have made my standard fare: spaghetti, tacos, beef stew, shrimp parmesan linguine, and a few other meals thrown in there is add a little variety. My list doesn't sound SO bad, except for it never has really changed.  Same ol' thing, day after day.

My family has recently began to protest.  Some of their points were:

1.  The way to a man's heart really is through his stomach (or it is a close second... haha). Please care more.

2.  Food is one of the best pleasures of life, and you are the preparer of most the food we eat.  Please care more.

3.  Variety is an actual human need (not exactly the words used, but it's what I heard).  Please care more.

 In response, I have kicked it up a notch in the dinner arena.  I may not enjoy all the steps it takes to get a meal on the table (Like making out new grocery lists with ingredients I actually have to search for in the store instead of all of my old standbys, paying for stuff that will basically soon be a waste product, finding room for all of that stuff in my cupboards, actually trying to cook something on a hope and a dream that it will taste right, and then cleaning the whole thing up), but I have determined that I need to care more.  Maybe food doesn't equal love, but doing all the work to make a nice meal does show that you care a great deal for the recipient to the meal.  And I do care a very great deal for my family.

SO, Pinterest has become my best recipe friends, and I am happy to report that we have not had spaghetti even ONCE in the last two weeks. 

I even made meatloaf for the first time ever!!  It was met with gagging and crying from one of my children (guess which one), but it got a couple of thumbs up too.  I still don't think I will be making it again any time soon.  It was just not worth the drama.

I made a Ranch Chicken dish that taught me that even if the directions hint that it's okay to use frozen chicken while baking, it will guarantee runny sauce and about an hour longer to cook.

I made chicken enchiladas that, while being declared as a new favorite my one of my children (Guess which one.  Hint:  it's the same one who gagged at meatloaf), also had about four pounds of cheese and other delicious fatty stuff.  It lasted for two nights, which was awesome.  The increased risk of heart attack for all of us, however, has made me aware I need to rethink this recipe.

I definitely gained weight during the first month of trying new foods.

The kids have begun to make other culinary requests of me.  Both have requested treats for their classrooms this year.  At first I was not fazed.  Kloe just wanted brownies, so no big deal, right?  I carefully made two sheets of brownies, and they turned out beautiful.  When I went to cut them into kid size pieces the next morning, I ran into a snag.  They were so hard my knife couldn't even make a dent.  I had to grind and saw before I could break any bits off.  Kloe, being the thrifty chocolate lover that she is, still kept the giant hard-as-rock pieces to gnaw on later.  Unfortunately, she put them in giant plastic baggies, the kind that are easy for a 'dog left on her own' to grab and snack on.  Those brownies may have been too hard for my knife, but they were no match for Jessy's insatiable hunger for all things forbidden and chocolate.

That same week, I attempted round two of brownies for Kloe's class.  Still traumatized by the other brownie incident, I over compensated with extra eggs and oil (not that much though).  These brownies also looked fabulous.  The next morning, however, the middle of one of the pans was nothing but goo.  A spoon was the only thing worth using for that section.  I was almost in tears (over brownies!) when Kloe came out of her room and said she wanted to use these gooey brownies anyways.  SO, I cut around the goo, put the half baked brownies in a container, and sent her on her way.  She later reported that they got all thumbs up.  What I learned from this is that 5th graders do not care so much about quality, as long as they are permitted to ingest sugar during school hours.

Derrin was the kid who requested jello.  Now, you may be thinking why in the world was I intimidated by the jello request.  Mostly, it was from residual scarring left from the brownies incident.  SO, I turned to my friend Pinterest, and found the most  complicated jello recipe I could find (which still wasn't that complicated because, hello, it's jello).  I very carefully followed the instructions (I have finally begun to internalize how important that step really is when dealing with food projects), and voilà!  A masterpiece!  Of jello!!

Who ever knew life would ever get this exciting? *And I am rolling my eyes, but really, I am pleased with this turn-about*.  But, we all eventually have areas in life we need to grow in.  Apparently, this was the area that my family voted for me, and that's okay.  Now, off to find new recipes.

First Family Backpacking Trip into the Wild

Derrick and I took the kids on our first ever family backpacking trip into the wilderness this last weekend.  

We went up to Little Rock Creek Lake instead of Canyon Lake (both in the Bitterroot National Forrest), because it was supposed to be an easier hike, and our overall goal had more to do with getting the kids hooked into backpacking (so they'd be excited to go again next time) than doing the actual hike itself.  We invited the another family to join us (Nicole, Travis, Alaina and Luke- I don't use last names in here...), got our gear together (I bought Kloe an Osprey backpack second hand for TEN BUCKS, scrubbed it up and now it's good as new.  Derrin used a backpack I bought at a rummage sale years ago for about ten bucks too.  Thrifty backpacking: it is the way to go), woke up early Friday morning and headed out.  

The kids were very excited- Kloe woke up before any of us (around 5:30), and was practically bouncing with glee out the door.  We were on the trail around 8:00, trying to beat the heat.  Somehow Derrick and I were left behind while everyone raced ahead, but we have a solid policy of slow and steady.  Pacing oneself is the name of the game in backpacking.  

So... the hike went on a bit longer than some of us anticipated.  

My dearest Kloe (if you ever read this as an adult), I hope that you have some fond memories of it (?).  I realize there were some tears, but didn't you learn some great lessons like... well, what it is to hit that wall and have to push through it?  You are (were?) one tough little kid.  You may have cried when you were overwhelmed by the length and the intensity of the trail, but you pushed through it every single time.  I am proud of you.

My dearest Derrin, you were a trooper.  I think you may have found one of your new favorite things this weekend.

Some highlights from our trip (for me) included:   *The day hike we did the next day.  We trekked 3.5 miles further in, and despite the horseflies we (well, I) enjoyed seeing the wild beauty back there. *Travis told fun campfire stories (about the "Miner 49-er", which Kloe especially loved.  *Kloe says here favorite part was climbing all of the rocks.  *Derrin says his favorite part was catching six cut throat trout in a half hour.  *It was fun spending time with our friends.  A lot of bonding can occur on a hike like this one.  *We picked lots of huckleberries!  A new picking spot has been found...

All in all, we hiked 17 miles and gained 3000 ft. in elevation this weekend.

We were so tired when we finally made it back to our truck on Sunday.  After collapsing in exhaustion and cheering in celebration that we could finally stop moving, we drove into town and ordered burgers and whatever other fatty deliciousness we wanted.  It was pure bliss to just sit there and eat.  Going home and walking through our doors was heavenly.

We might go on one more backpacking trip this summer, but if it happens we will make sure it will only be a couple of miles in- and the next day there will be no extra day hiking.  

 

Mexico. Alls Well that Ends Well.

We got home from Mexico last Friday afternoon (it is now Tuesday afternoon).  By last Wednesday the little chest cold I had mentioned had blossomed into something... more.  As in a flaming sore throat, burning ears, throbbing head, and the absence of the will to go on living.

The day before had actually been a great day on the beach for all of us.  We had all swam out in the ocean, ate Mexican food under giant umbrellas while surrounded by hundreds of voices we couldn't understand.  The kids had wandered down the beach with their grandparents to find bigger waves to jump in.  Derrick and I alternated between laying in the sun and sitting in the shade, somewhat peacefully.  I couldn't help worry out loud to Derrick that most likely Dave and Kathrine were lying unconscious on the beach somewhere while the kids had most likely been kidnapped.  I was patiently awaiting a phone call from their abductors, when I finally spotted them walking back our direction.  The kids were beat from playing so hard, and by then I was beginning to understand that my little cold was morphing into something bigger.

We left our little vista by the sea the next day, and after stopping in town for lunch (I laid down in the truck and napped), we headed back to Guzman.  I crawled into bed at that point, but the kids got to hang out with their grandparents for the rest of the day.  We had planned on going to the big market in Guadalajara the next day before going to the airport, and I woke up planning on being tough for the sake of shopping, but Dave ended up getting horrible food poisoning the night before and needed a bit of extra time to recoupe before heading out.  Kloe said she didn't feel so great either, so I tucked away a plastic bag and paper towels into my back pack just in case.  These items came in handy the first time she threw up on the plane, but the second time (while we were landing) happened so unexpectedly that I didn't get the bag out in time.  Ah, memories.

Fortunately, we had a layover in Houston so we had some recovery time before our next two flights.  By the next day Kloe was feeling much better, and I felt like begging someone to please PLEASE just carry me through the airports.  When I found out they had changed our flight gate in Denver from 52 to 92 I almost laid down in the middle of the airport and said GAME OVER MAN.  For once Kloe was pulling me along and making sure I didn't get lost instead of vice versa.

When we finally made it home, I fell into bed and didn't get up for two and a half days.  I laughably tried to go to work yesterday morning, but left after a half hour and went to the doctor where I was diagnosed with bronchitis and two ear infections.  And then there were antibiotics.  And soon I am predicting wellness and a happy ending.

Ocean news

Both mornings we've here, we've woke up to a heavy mist hanging over the ocean.  The humidity is very high, so it's always a bit sticky, but my skin! Oh, how it has soaked up the moisture and became all I hoped it could be, even if for only a few days!

We went to the Santiago beach yesterday.  It is spring break for Mexico too, so there were hundreds of other families there too.  it wasn't the wide open beaches we experienced last time we were here (was it five years ago sometime in february?) But it was still fun- great for people watching.

So, for now we are waiting for this mist to burn off, the breeze to stop, and for it to heat up about ten more degrees, and then hopefully to the beach we'll go again.

Learning Spanish....

Mexicana time

We are on day four of our trip down to mexico. We spent friday through saturday in guzman, and now we are in a vista overlooking the ocean in monzanillo. We spent our time in guzman hanging out at dave, kathrine, and peggys house.They live in a pretty big house, especially by mexican standards, right across from an orphanage and very close to a bus stop. Needless to say, there is always a lot of activity out on the streets (they live on a corner, so its a bit surrounded by people coming and going. Great if you are into people watching, which I am).Their house is has a small yard with lots of tall happy healthy plants. Gramma peggy has been having a great time growing pretty much whatever she can get her hands on. Peggy looks fabulous. Since going to mexico she has lost weight without even really trying, made lots of friends, and she looks happier than I've ever seen her. It was nice to see that:)

Anyways, the whole house and yard has a tall pointy fence (ornate and pretty, but capable of skewering a climber-would-be) around it. It's actually great, because as much as mexico has seemed to help the health and mental disposition of all who moved there, it still poses some big dangers, such as being kidnapped for ransom. So, the fence is a good thing. Now, most people would look at the top of that fence and think climbing it would be a bad idea, as the pointiness is communicating that very idea. My daughter, however, decided to laugh at danger, climb the fence, and straddle the tall wood post the first day we were there. Guess she wanted to pose a fearless disposition to all mexico that first day, and indeed i saw plenty of spectators on both corner streets when I finally came out and saw what she was up to (peggy has casually told me kloe was outside climbing the fence, but it had been 2 in the morning when we had got there the night before, and pitch dark, so I missed the insinuated implication that kloe was out there toying with death). All the watchers were pretty quiet, all the better to not miss the crazy little white girl either falling to the sidewalk and breaking, or more likely falling toward the points and getting skewered. My first inclination was to run at her screaming GET OFF OF THERE, but instead I found myself talking calmly and quietly like you might do to a person ready to jump from a tall building. "Kloe dear, please (whispered:for the love if god) get down from that fence."- all said in soothing mr. Rogers tones. I wanted to help , but she insisted on scrambling over the points like a suicidal monkey, and after a few heart stopping moments, jumping to the ground.  To keep from killing her myself at that point, I maintained my mr. Rogers persona, and gently told her to never ever do that again.

So, that was first thing after coffee on the first day. After that, we mostly hung out and met quite a few of their new friends from their congregation. That friday we met Lucy, herlindo and their 9 year old daughter casia. Kloe and casia hit it off immediately.Lucy said after they got home, casia pined for kloe and missed her until they met again the next day at meeting. It was such an anne of green gables situation. others we met (and I'm writing this for the sake of my memory) were armina and her three children tamara, samantha and oscar (her husband oscar sr. Was sick, but we are having dinner with them on weds so we'll meet then), and tonya and her husband danela.  Jasa's parents were also there, and also the bargases.

We left there yesterday (sunday), and drove to monzanillo where we rented the vista I mentioned at first. There is a pool here, which the kids have been in almost constantly since we've been here. They did pause briefly to go knock a coconut out if a tree and then drop it from the top floor to see it shatter below, but then it was back to the pool. They are taking a nap right now- first time I've made them do that in a long time, but they've already about worn themselves out, and we still want to drive to the ocean to play there today.

My only complaint so far is that I am trying to get sick- some sort of chest cold and headache.  I am not really surprised- while my mind loves travel and experiencing new things, my body has many times told me to KNOCK THAT CRAP OFF AND STAY HOME- that was my body typing in all caps.  Rude!  Anyways, I'm fighting it with the tools I have- ibuprofen and hydration.  

I'm writing this with my phone in mexico... both have a way of making my blog publish weirdly.  Let's see what this looks like...

Mexico time

Just before our first flight

The Fam Visits Seattle

We spent this last weekend in Seattle with David and Tia. It was SO good to see them. I wish we lived closer. I wish I had a vehicle that's abilities included warp speed travel...

ANYWAYS, our time there included sushi (at Marinepolis, one of our favorite sushi joints), going to the aquarium, spending some time at Alki beach, and on Saturday the guys took the kids on a ferry ride to Friday Harbor while Tia and I stayed in Seattle and had a marathon girl-talk in which we solved all of the world's problems before going to a movie and dinner.

We ended up taking Jessy with us on our trip. I've never had the experience of traveling with a dog before this little one showed up. She is good in the car, sleeping most of the time. Whenever we would stop for her to go out and go potty, it felt like we were traveling with a rockstar. There was one instant where her rockstar status was severely compromised, but I will get to that in a minute...

I had coffee for breakfast every morning I was there and it was so stinking great. I knew I would pay for it when I got back (and I am), but it was heaven. I always feel really good in Seattle. It might be that it's closer to sea level there, or maybe the extra humidity, OR maybe the fact that it is always vacation time with no responsibilities, or the conversation with Tia (which I suspect may be the real reason- what beats a good talk with a friend in the feeling better department?), but I just felt great.

Then we come home.

Fire on the Mountain

It turned into fire season here while we were over there.

And no coffee means a big, all-day head ache.

And there is road construction on the road leading to my house again.

And I forgot my wallet at Safeway.

And I was going to drive back to Safeway to get my wallet, but then I realized I'd lost my keys, so I couldn't start my car.

I finally gave up finding my keys and borrowed Derrick's, had to reface road construction again and made it back to Safeway. The good news is that my wallet was still in the shopping cart out in the parking lot where we'd left it.

SO, I went home and took a nap.

That has been the bulk of my first day home, with a couple loads of laundry in there too.

School starts a week from today. I can not believe this summer is over. I was able to do pretty much everything I'd hoped to at the beginning of the summer, but I still need more time!!! We have one more camping trip this weekend, a final hurrah to summer. It's with good friends, it will be awesome. But then school starts. *sigh*

SO, on that sorry note, I will tell the story of what happens when you take a puppy to a beach in Seattle...

We'd been working with Jessy to go potty while on a leash the whole time we were over there. She'd stubbornly refused to go at all unless allowed off of her leash, which was only allowed while at David and Tia's place.

We went on a couple outings to Alki beach in West Seattle. It has one of the best views of Seattles skyline I've seen, AND you get to be in sand by the water while seeing that view. It is a win/win for all involved. We decided to bring little Jessy with us because she'd been inside for most of our visit over there; puppy needed to stretch her legs and run around.

We knew she wouldn't love being on a leash, but those are the breaks. As someone who has never been a dog owner as an adult, I have been very surprised by how many places flat out don't allow dogs, and the places that DO allow dogs all seem to require leashes. Seems unnatural, but I didn't make the rules. We would follow the rules at Alki beach; Jessy would wear her leash.

The guys dropped us off so they could find a parking place. We (Tia, kids and myself) made our way down to the water. Jessy was being drug along by her leash. Derrin was limping along in a dramatic fashion because he'd hurt his foot by jumping from high places earlier in the day. Tara and I were carrying our beach chairs, getting ready to do a lot of sitting, talking, and taking pictures of the kids frolicking. Kloe was already heading for the water with every intention of jumping in.

We set our chairs down and proceeded as planned. Eventually the men joined us, and we all were enjoying our time by the water. We were completely surrounded by people (that beach is crazy busy), but it felt like we were the only ones on our little spot of the beach, enjoying our time together.

Then Jessy happened. The puppy who wouldn't go potty while attached to a leash the WHOLE TIME we had been there? Well, whether it was the sand, the sound of the water hitting the shore, or just the relaxed atmosphere we'd all been enjoying, she was all of a sudden in her comfort zone. All of a sudden she was squatting and without thinking I cried out "OH NO!!!", just so if anyone else on the beach WASN'T witnessing our dog soiling the sand, they were now alerted to have the opportunity to do so.

Oh Lordy. There was a lot of illegal puppy poo there, and as new puppy owners, we have NOT developed a good checklist of puppy related things to take on all outings, the first of which would be a plastic baggie for such an occasion. I stood up and started fumbling for my shoes, only thinking "MUST FIND BAGGY". In my shoe finding haze, I missed the heckling calls from the group of people closest to us, but I heard later it was to the effect of "Get that dog off the beach!!" And when I heard them shouting to pick up the poo, I shouted back,"Well yeah, of course we will" because I am a QUICK thinker like that. Did they want me to pick it up with my bare hands and carry it away as penance? Maybe they did, because I felt their eyes on us until we had the situation resolved. David was the one who ran up and found a bag, and then I scooped up the shameful deposit, problem solved. SOOO dramatic. *sigh*

In looking for the baggy, a sign was discovered by David and Derrick that while dogs were allowed on the sidewalk above the beach, they were not allowed in the sand. This was a huge surprised to us, because we had seen literally dozens of dogs down there. If you can't take your dogs to the beach, where CAN you take them? Not only were they not allowed, however, but there was a five hundred dollar fine for having a dog down there. Derrick and David took off with Jessy, intending on going for a walk and avoiding a fine.

As for Tia, myself and the kids, we stayed. We couldn't let the hecklers think they'd driven us off, so we hunkered down and enjoyed the rest of our time there, every extra minute a triumph.

Eventually we had to pack up all of our stuff and go out to find the men and the cars.

We were a pitiful looking crew. Derrin hobbled along like he'd actually LOST his foot at some point, so I carried a chair and my big camera with one arm, and held on to him with the other. Kloe was completely soaked from jumping in the ocean, AND she had about four cups of sand in her underwear from scooting along the beach on her behind while playing. She walked bowleggedly along behind us, tears in her eyes, every inch screaming pitiful, miserable girl. Tia finally took pity and started carrying that 8 year old girl on one hip while carrying one of the chairs in her other. We should have been carrying tin cans so West Seattle could at least throw dollars in there to help relieve our suffering.

Eventually, we found the guys, the puppy and the cars, loaded the broken children in them, and back home we went.

Our Family River Adventure

We took the kids floating down the river this last Saturday for the first time this summer. It turned into such a beautiful, hot August day, and a summer without at least one river float feels as dismal as a winter without a least one ski adventure.

We missed out on going with a bigger group that planned on starting earlier in the day. Our float trip was not so much the product of good planning, as an impulse brought on by a warm, unexpectedly free Saturday. So, instead of the usual large floating group, it was just our little family of four and our friend Parker.

Since this was very possibly the only float trip of this summer, we decided that we'd make it be a long one. We were looking forward to a least three hours on the water, enjoying the hot sun, the cool water, and all of the junk food we had packed away in our cooler (which also had it's own inner tube).

We all carried our tubes down to the water, and put them in it, gasping at it's chilly-ness. The boys all got ahead of Kloe and I, so I held on to her tube's rope with my foot and paddled us both out to where the current was a little faster. She allowed herself to towed along with much grace.

Whenever we float the river with our kiddos, we always have them wear lifejackets, and we always link up our tubes into a big caravan so we can be together and safe. When we caught up with the guys, we all linked up and relaxed. Tubing is the singularly most relaxing thing one can do.

Well, it's one of the most relaxing things you can do UNTIL you find yourself caught in a current,  hurtling toward the side of a mountain with no brakes (brakes on river inner tubes would be a very cool thing). We all paddled our arms furiously against the current. Well, Derrick and I paddled. The kids mostly voiced dire predictions of what our near future would entail, like hitting the mountain.

I hit the sharp points first, with all of my family's and coolers weight hitting against me as their buffer. My tube managed to survive the first bounce. It did not fair so well on the second bounce. The rocks punctured it and it deflated immediately. By this point Derrick had pushed himself, Derrin and the cooler back into the current to stop hitting me against the rocks.

Without all of the bouncing against me, it actually was a lot less dramatic. It was fairly easy to stand up on the rocks (pointy though they were) and deliberate about my next move. I still had Kloe and her big tube with me. It was a pretty easy choice; either take a long walk back to the car for a different tube (with girl in tow) or climb on board with the girl and share a tube for the next two and a half hours... um, maybe not such an easy choice, but a logical one.

So, we set off together, side by side, for the rest of the float. It was actually pretty great getting to be right there with my girl, eating Twizzlers and Whoppers. FYI, Whoppers happen to FLOAT. We unwittingly set several little round brown whoppers free on our journey, to the interest/disgust to any river floaters coming up behind us, I'm sure.

Kloe complained dutifully about the unfun-ness of sharing a tube with ones mother, but it was pretty apparent she secretly enjoyed telling me how and where to paddle in fast water areas.  She was very focused on pointing out any potential inner tube popping rocks, which she now assumed I had a complete inability to avoid without a LOT of guidance.

Anyone who has ever made a long river float will tell you that you will NEVER see anyone getting out to use the bathroom. It is just a quiet understanding that like the fish and all other river life, you will become one with the river in that sense. It's fine that we all do it, we just don't need to talk about it. Well, Kloe never got that memo, or maybe she was trying to be polite, but she informed me that she was indeed going to 'become one with the river', as I sat there with her, side by side, in a tube. Yippee... it would have been much nicer to have just remained unaware of what was happening, but I had the privilege of full awareness. And you are WELCOME for that little tidbit.

Two and a half hours later we made it to our destination. It turned out to be a pretty fantastic day, and maybe by some miracle we'll get to do another river float soon.

Without Her

Hated that this day was here, that we were up there on this beautiful day standing around a beautiful stone with her name on it. Without her. I hate not having her with us. HATE it.

It's been nine (actually more like eight and a half) months since she died, and we are all doing our best. But there are still times when I have to remind myself that she is really gone.