The Hazard Chronicles

We had beautiful weather all week this week, and the forecast is showing even better next week! The highs are around the upper 80's (although one day we did get into the mid-nineties) and the sunshine is plentiful.

So what did we do? We went camping, of course! Actually, it has been a while since we camped because we have been intimidated by the prospect of 3 kids (but mostly just Jackson) in the wild outdoors with no retaining walls for an extended period of time. You put that boy outside and he just goes crazy! Don't get me wrong, I think it is a very good thing. I am very proud of his adventurous little spirit, but it makes it difficult to watch the other two when our attention is constantly being drawn away by the one.

Anyway, we finally did get out. We went into the National Forest and just sort of drove around the un-paved forest-service roads until we found a spot with a fire ring that looked nice. By the time we got there it was already getting late, but up here the sun doesn't go down until about eleven so we had plenty of time to pitch the tent and explore the area and eat dinner and roast marshmallows before bedtime. It was a lot of fun.

That night, on the other hand, was not so much fun.

I think this is the worst night they have ever had. Ever. Evelyn did great. She slept with Rachel and me in a separate tent. Addy and Jack, on the other hand, were not happy campers. From the time we put them to bed until the time we woke them up there was only an hour-and-a-half that they were both sleeping. The rest of the time at least one of them was screaming- and I do mean SCREAMING- so that it was impossible to get any sleep. In the morning they were cranky and touchy and grumpy. We had breakfast which calmed them down a little bit, but then we left for home not too much later so that they could get some much-needed sleep.

But it was worth it. We will definitely go camping a lot and hope that they just get used to it. I think that maybe they were just scared by the unfamiliar surroundings. That will change and things will get better. I hope. Because Rachel and I love camping, and we're not going to stop, but if things don't get better then we might all end up needing to be institutionalized.

All right

I also have an announcement to make. Are you ready? I am considering doing something that is crazy, and that some would argue passes the line into stupidity.

Every year up here there is a big Ironman contest. You know, one of those triathlon things. It consists of a 2.5 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, and ended by a 26.2 mile run. It sounds horrible. Actually, it sounds like self-imposed torture. Why would anyone willingly subject themselves to that. These are the kinds of things that POWs come home from and write books about (okay, that's probably going a bit too far), but the concept is not too far off in my mind. I would ruthlessly mock all those who would even consider that such a thing might be worth doing, but the problem is that there is this small part of me that is drawn- sort of like a moth is drawn to a bug-zapper.

I think the analogy is accurate in more ways in one, but still, if I don't do it then there will always be this question in the back of my mind about whether or not I even could. And I guess that is the allure. This is one of those things you do so that you can prove to yourself that you can. Also, although I hate endurance sports, I always somehow find joy in the pain that is associated with them. It's weird, but I do, and apparently so do a lot of other people (the fact of which is the only piece of convincing evidence that I am not some sort of psychopathic masochist).

Anyway, I have decided that this is a goal I want to pursue. It would be at least a year away, so I have time to train and to learn how to really swim as opposed to just staying afloat (something I am very good at). The prospect intimidates me, and I am still not 100% convinced that I want to give it a go, but I figured that if I posted it up here then it would take me that much farther into the commitment. Also, if I don't end up doing it then I can look back and read this when I get old and feel deep twinges of regret of a missed opportunity.

So...That's that.

Oh- One more exciting thing happened this week also. We got our first ultrasound. We are happy (so very happy) to announce that we are having ONE healthy baby.

We don't know anything else about it yet other than that it is about the size of an avocado pit.

Okay, the rest of these pictures are in reverse-chronological order, so it would be best to scroll down to the very bottom and then work your way up. I am way too tired of this blog right now to care enough to change it.

On the way home- can you tell that nobody got any sleep?

Breakfast.

Yeah- they were tired.

Addy-our girly girl. I didn't bring the brush. Rachel didn't bring the brush. But somehow we found Addy brushing her hair first thing in the morning.

Good morning!

Time to wake up.

The best part of camping for Evelyn was that we allowed her to eat as many roasted marshmallows as she wanted. Yes, we are bribing our children to enjoy the same activities that we do.

Dinner time! Come get it while it is hot!

Our cute little Addy girl...before she went to bed.

Here's a video of Evelyn after we had already put AddyJack down for bed.