The Hazard Chronicles

A couple of weeks ago Spring officially came to Northern Idaho and we are absolutely loving it. Since it’s sort of been a while since I wrote anything on here, this will be a somewhat disjointed post, but I’ll try to cover everything:

Rachel’s Job- Rachel has fallen into a pretty good routine with work, and is totally enjoying her job. Besides working at Sorenson, she also takes the occasional community job if it looks worthwhile. She is becoming fairly well known in interpreting circles, and is starting to be recommended for more and more people at time goes on. Just yesterday, she got to interpret a large conference with a celebrity keynote speaker which she thought was a lot of fun (I can’t say too much more about who this was or I might get Rach in trouble- I just know it is someone from the music industry who has won over 20 Grammys).  She loves what she does and we often find ourselves in friendly arguments over who has the most perfect job. (I still think I win though- either way, it’s a fun debate to have)

Hikes- With the coming of Spring we find ourselves getting outside more and more. I usually take the kids on hikes and picnics during “Papa Fridays,” and together we have discovered some really neat places in our area that I didn’t know about before. Even Maren has become a pretty good hiker, and although it takes us a little longer, the other kids are really good at waiting and including her in their explorations.

Rock Climbing- I have been climbing a lot lately, both indoors and outdoors. I can tell that I’m getting stronger, and I have already sent several projects that were totally beyond me at the end of last year. In fact, if things keep going the way they are then I will probably have the most productive climbing season of my entire life this summer, with many of my hardest routes being completed over the next few months. I have to say- it feels good to know that I can still improve despite being technically “past my prime.”

Maren- My Maren is officially in the “terrible twos” and it is driving us crazy! She thinks she is very independent, and has developed a sassy vocabulary to go with her attitude. I am convinced that children’s cuteness is an evolutionary development specifically geared towards keeping them in their parent’s good graces. Because at the end of the day, despite everything that might have happened beforehand, it is impossible for me or for anyone else to deny that My Maren is…adorable. Absolutely precious.

Arbor Day- Yesterday was Arbor Day. While Rachel was interpreting in the morning I took all the kids to the park where the city was giving away free trees to plant. They had about 10 species to pick from, and after much deliberation and a democratic vote, we decided on a “flamingo willow” because it looked like something that Dr. Seuss would draw. We then came home and planted it in front of my shop before going into the house, getting some ice cream, and watching “The Lorax” on our projector. It was a fun morning. Hooray for trees!

BBQ- let the grilling season begin! Need I say more? I’m off to make dinner.

Have a good week. (Also, make sure you scroll down and check out Rachel's post that she did today of our trip to Rexburg).

The "lunch perch"

Jack is totally going to run this in an inner tube one day...I just have that feeling. Hopefully he invites me to take pictures (and hold a rescue rope)

The Explorers. I'm sure that Jack is already over the hill- this is pretty much the order of Adventurousness around here. Jack is reckless. Evelyn is a calculated risk taker. Adalie is cautious. Maren just tries to keep up.

Jackson carrying our tree. We both took off our shirts so we could be "real men." He was a great helper.

Our little tree. It should bloom in a few weeks.