Our family has a bug. For the past several weeks, it seems like someone has been sick. It's never really bad- just enough to make people grumpy. As soon as one person gets over it, someone else picks it up. This week it was finally Rachel's turn. And now that she's getting better, I think it's mine. Yuck.

Well, with that introduction, let me just say that we had a great week. I know it might not sound like it, but we really did. This week was all about Evelyn. On Tuesday she turned the big oh-five and and it has been a week of celebration. We had a family party on her actual birthday and she got a real bike. We haven't taken the training wheels off yet, but she is doing pretty good riding around our driveway and in the street in front of our house. It won't be long before she is riding a two wheeler (which she is very excited about...one day.)

On Saturday we had her "friends" party. The theme was from the movie Brave, and Rachel did a great job with it. Evelyn wore her Brave dress, and we had archery competitions, turned ourselves into bears with homemade bear head-bands, and followed the blue wisps on a treasure hunt to find the target-shaped cupcakes (complete with handmade arrows). Everyone had a great time.

That night we went to the church for a ward movie-night activity and actually watched Brave on the movie projector from my office.

Oh- I also went climbing again during a lunch break from work- I love living where I can do that.

Well- it might be that my head feels fuzzy, but I can't really think of much else to write.  This week you get no philosophical musings or commentary- just plain boring information about our week. At least I wrote.

 Evelyn's Bike. She's very excited.

 Maren was sick most of the week so her and I had a lot of cuddle time. I sort of like it when she's sick. Also, we watched the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey  They call it a classic. It's not. In fact, it's probably the longest, most drawn out, dullest movie that I have ever seen. Call me shallow, but wow. This is what I looked like during most of the movie.

 Brave.

 Bear Ears

The party friends, minus the rowdy boys who were wrestling and sword fighting instead of coloring. I sort of have to take responsibility for that one. Oops.

 The kids enjoyed the activities, and you can see some of Rachel's decorations here (I helped with the target). Evelyn enjoyed coloring various movie scenes from Brave, and Rachel decorated with streamers, celtic knots, and a banner that proclaimed 'Be Brave.'  It looked great, and the kids had fun.

Spring time is here! We will probably still have a couple of cold spells, and maybe a few more snow storms, but I can definitely see the sighs of Spring and it is so, so nice. As I write this I am looking out our big back windows at a beautiful sunset over the mountains. The most beautiful part of it all is that it is 6:00- the days are definitely getting longer. In the summer time up here we get sunsets around 11:00 at night, but in the winters they come as early as 4:30. That's hard. Also, the last little patch of snow in our yard melted today. Birds are out on the feeders. As far as I am concerned, it is Spring.

This week the weather was especially nice. Nice enough for climbing. And so on Thursday when our last patient cancelled, I left work a little early and decided to drive to Q'emiln Park and kick off the year with my first roped solo! Let me tell you, I am totally into this. For Christmas my staff bought me some gift cards which I used to buy the proper equipment, and now I can safely and confidently climb without a partner. In fact, many people believe that roped soloing is the safest form of climbing that there is since human error is virtually eliminated in the equipment set-up. Anyway, I drove to the park, set the ropes, and did my first climb of the year on an easier 5.11 that I've had my eye on. It was a good start to what I think will be a great year. Oh- and have I mentioned that I love climbing. I don't know what it is, but when I'm climbing and totally focused on the rock and fluid movement of it all it totally makes me feel alive. I know it sounds cliche' but it's true. I love it.

Of course we also had Valentines day this week. Rachel and I decided to use the day to check out some local eating places that have been featured on the "foodie" channels. One of the places I actually heard about from my sister in Texas who watches that kind of stuff (Thanks Haley). Well, for lunch we went to a place called Jimmy's Down The Street where they were supposed to have awesome pecan rolls. In my opinion, the rolls were good, but nothing to write home about. Maybe I'm just not a pecan roll type person.

For dinner we decided that nothing was quite as romantic as curling up together with pizza and a movie- so we rented "Saving Private Ryan," put it in our ClearPlay, and enjoyed some nationally award-winning pizza from Capone's pub and grill. This pizza was good! So was the movie! It was a great Valentine's day.

Yesterday there were two notable events. First of all, Addy and I went on a date. I took her bowling. It was pretty awesome because every time she threw the ball I thought I would have to run down and give it a push just to get it to the end of the lane. Seriously, I counted and it took an average of about 30 seconds for each of her throws to make it down to the pins. Sometimes the ball would actually bounce off the pins. She still got excited with each roll, however, and jumped up and down every time the pins fell down. It was fun. Afterwords, we went and got ice cream.

The other notable event yesterday was the birthday party that Evelyn went to. The party had a race car theme, and the kids made pinewood derby cars ahead of time. Evelyn did a great job with hers, and it was fun going out to the shop with her and helping her to sand, paint, and decorate her car. At the party she had fun racing it (even though it didn't win), eating junk food, and playing with her friends.

There is one other thing we did this week. We went on a family walk. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it was really fun. Here is what Rachel had to say about- straight from her journal:

"I want to forever remember the kids at this age and as they grow up.  I am such a proud mama!  I love seeing their different personalities shine through...

...We walked a block and found ourselves in a 'wilderness' area near the train tracks. There was a walking path on one side and large fields with horses on the other.  I love the variety of places we live close to! 

Evelyn led the way in the beginning.  I asked her if she wanted to walk with Adalie.  Evelyn responded that she was lonely in the front.  Adalie immediately piped up, "Wait for me!  I can be your friend." Jack joined the group and the three adventurers ran away giggling. Logan and I kept our distance in the back and just watched them explore.

On one side of the trail there was a large hill covered with roots, brambles, and obstacles that would be formidable to any little person.  I was very impressed when Jack marched right up and took on the challenge.  He slowly made his way to the top never losing sight of the fence that was his goal. It was crazy to watch him climb through dense branches that were a foot taller than he is!  He took some time, but there was no stopping him!  Logan met him at the top and they celebrated together.  Meanwhile, Evelyn was trying to make her way up the steep slope.  She was struggling, but she would not be deterred.  She was wearing her boots and her Snow White dress.  I knew that she was getting pretty scratched up, but she was not going to give up.  I was so proud of her when she, too, celebrated her victory at the top with Logan.

Meanwhile, Adalie was attempting to get up the first part of the slope.  With a simple prompt Jackson was by her side offering to help her make it up.

I love how our kids are becoming such good friends. I am constantly noticing their offers to help each other, and to share with each other. Each of them have a very special and unique relationship.  It is great to watch these friendships blossom and grow.  Maren is also beginning to integrate herself with them.  Life can get pretty crazy, but it is also so wonderful!"

Oh- I was just about to end the blog for the week and then realized that I forgot something very important- Maren's Birthday! Our little Maren is now officially one year old. We had a little party at our house with the traditional cupcake for the birthday girl. She loved it and so did everyone else. We sure love our Maren. 

Well, that pretty much sums up our week. Obviously we are staying busy and living an adventure.

Our Maren on her first birthday

 Me at the top of my first roped solo

 Me and Addy on our date

 Addy's score. This was all her- I was actually pretty impressed!

Bowling with Adalie.

First of all...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MAREN! She is 1 year old today. She's had a great year. We're having a birthday-party family night celebration tonight.

So, besides that, we had an awesome week last week. The highlight was on Saturday when we all went to the Spokane Boat Show. Now, I have never really been that into boats. I mean, sure I liked going water skiing occasionally with my friends, but it was never really a significant part of my life. On top of that, I saw a lot of people who did have boats who didn't really use them that much. If anything, it seemed to be a hassle that took more time to plan and prepare than it did to actually do. Because of this, I never thought that I would even consider owning a boat one day. But all that changed when we moved to Post Falls. Why?

Well, first of all, Post Falls is right in the middle of a bunch of places to go boating. I mean, I could leave from my house and within 5 minutes be at one of three different boat launches. Add another 15 minutes to the drive, and the list of places to go boating seems endless (just off hand I can think of over a dozen). It is just a good place to be if you like being on the water.

Second, because we live next to a huge lake with a huge river coming out of it, it is pretty easy and inexpensive to get a boat slip. This is where you just keep your boat "parked" in the water all the time when not in use. Now, obviously you take it out from time to time, and to travel to other locations, but it means you can have a home base. 

See, when I was growing up and my friend wanted to take us boating, we would meet at his house, then have to hook the boat trailer up to the truck. We then carpooled (since we didn't all fit in a truck) to the lake, which was over an hour away. Once there, we would have to launch the boat. This always seemed to take a lot longer than it should- I don't know why. Anyway, after all that, we were finally on the water and we could enjoy a couple of hours of skiing (or whatever). When we were done we had to complete the process (in reverse) all over again. It was fun, but it was a hassle. And it took all day.

Compare that with a Post Falls location. Scenerio: "Hey, what do you want to do today?"

"Let's go boating"

"Okay, I'll get the kids in the car." 

Five minutes later we have parked the car and are getting in the boat, which is already sitting in the water waiting for us. Now, let's say we ski for a while and then it's time for lunch.

"What do you want for lunch?"

"Let's just go home and make sandwiches"

"Okay."

I park the boat in our slip. We get out, and five minutes later we are home eating sandwiches.

Suddenly, having a boat starts sounding like less of a hassle and more like a thing we would actually do on a regular basis. So, when the boat show came to town we thought, hey, let's have a gander.

Let me just say- I saw a lot of nice boats on Saturday. Like- really nice. And I guess it makes sense- I mean, around here nice boats are about as common as nice cars are in Beverly Hills. Like I said- it's a good place to have a boat. My favorite ones to look at were the large cabin cruisers. It sounds nice to have a sort of "home away from home" out on the water. Impractical...but nice in a romantic sort of way. I think Evelyn's favorites were the pontoon-style house boats with the water slides and roomy interiors. Rachel was a fan of the 56 foot motor yacht. Addy and Jack liked the small dinghies- probably because they could jump in and out of them without any help (a fact that I am sure the workers there loved). As for Maren- I think she'd be happy in pretty much anything. Anyway- we had fun looking.

Later that night, we had a babysitter come over and Rachel and I went to an adults-only stake Valentine's dance. That was fun. Rachel was later presented with a "best female dancer" certificate by a friend, whereas I only managed to pick up a nickname as the "dancing fool." Both are fitting, I think.

Like I said- It's been a fun week. And who knows- maybe one day we'll get a boat.

Despite all the fun "options" out there, we decided the most practical (and fun) for our family would be a small ski boat- sort of like this one...but older.

 I took this picture because it this has almost become a ritual in our home. Whenever I come home from work, the kids all run and hide under the counter. It doesn't matter that I am standing there and watching them, they still hide. Then mom says, and I quote "Our house is so quiet. I wonder where all the kids are." Usually there is some suppressed giggling at this point from one or more of the kids. I then walk in front of the counter and say, "I don't know, maybe I should look for them." (More giggling). Then I look down and say "Oh my goodness- there's a foot (arm, head, etc.) sticking out from the counter." I bend down and act surprised to see them and they all three totally bust up into laughter. Then they all give me hugs and go back to whatever they were doing before I came home. It's fun.

Every Friday I take the kids to Library playgroup. I am almost always the only adult guy in the room- which honestly I sort of like because then all the moms look at me and say "awww- what a great dad." Anyway, they have this new thing they do at the end that I have started calling the playgroup mosh pit. There really is no better way to describe it. Someone almost always ends up getting hurt and crying but so far all of our kids have managed to come out on top. It's pretty awesome.

Well, it's February now so I guess it's my month for the blog. Just so you know, this post is going to be a disjointed bunch of stories and stuff, but hey, that's pretty much our life.

First of all, I have to say that there are three words that I have come to fear more than any other. They are uttered constantly by all three of our older children, and I'm sure that if Maren could talk she would say the same thing. The words: I'm still hungry. Seriously- it seems like overnight all of our kids have developed full adult-sized appetites. It has become normal for any one (or all) of them to eat more in a given meal than Rachel or I do. It's crazy.

I've got to tell a story about Jack. That kid may be the smallest of the trio, but he definitely knows how to tease his sisters. Also, it's like he knows exactly where the line is where Rachel and I get upset, and he walks that line very carefully. The results are nothing short of hilarious. We often get tear-filled reports from both Evelyn and Adalie tat Jack won't stop standing next to them, looking at them, or breathing on them. You get the picture. He is great at provoking them without really doing anything and then standing back with a sly grin as we tell his sisters to get over it. He'll then go right back to bugging  them. I love it.

Oh- another fun quick story. The other day Evelyn came and asked Rachel where the wipes were. There was just something about the way she asked that made Rachel suspicious, and she askes, "Why do you need the wipes?"
"Oh, we just want to clean up," was the response.
"What are you cleaning?"
"Adalie's room"
"What is in Adalie's room that you need to clean?"
"We were just playing a game, and we need to clean up now."
"What game were you playing?"
Pause. Silence. And then, hesitently- "It's a game called eggs."
Yep- Eggs. Nine of them. Hidden. And broken. Fun game. Whoever came up with that one was a genius.

Last Sunday we were awesome parents. We came home from church and put the kids downstairs with all-you-can-watch Disney movies and pizza. We then pretty much ignored them for the rest of the day while we watched the Super Bowl upstairs on our projector. I have to say that even though my team lost, I'm just glad that in the second half it at least turned into a real football game.

I should mention that Rachel went to an interpreting conference last weekend Friday/Saturday while I got some good kid-time in. It's good that she was able to do that.

The business is going great. Rachel is an awesome advertiser.

The weather feels like spring. Most of the snow is melting the sun is shining, and there are a lot of birds outside. I've started walking to work on occasion. I like it.

Last thing. This doll is named Creepy. She scared me every time I see her. Rachel and I have both walked into a room and mistaken her for Maren. She lives up to her name. Sometimes it's downright disturbing...