Today, as soon as we got home from church, the kids found this set up at the top of the stairs along with a challenge to "choose your weapon and bring it on!"
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| "Choose your weapon and bring it on!" |
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| Let the games begin! |
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| Jack was definitely the most willing to engage |
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| Maren was the official water-gun-filler-upper |
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| Eating popsicles after the action |
It has been non-stop fun ever since. Summer is definitely here and this is one of the best ways I know of celebrating it.
Besides getting each other soaked, we have had a really good week! So much has happened that it is hard to remember it all. On a personal note, this week I sent three of my hardest boulder problems to date- all rated v6 (5.12c/d), and I feel like I am just barely beginning to get into shape for the climbing season. I have set a goal to send at least one v8 (5.13b) by the end of the summer. It'll take a lot of work, but I think it's doable. I try to climb at least 3 days a week, and each time I feel that I am a little bit stronger. At our local climbing area (Q'emiln Park) I have done all but 3 of the hardest routes in the guidebook- routes which I will probably do sometime in the next few weeks. It is fun to be able to have the time and energy to put into this. We'll see how it turns out.
On Wednesday we took the kids on a hike and it was one of the funnest outdoor things we have done with them so far. Rachel and Maren stayed together and I went exploring with the rest of them. We found caves, climbed, hiked to a waterfall, and collected rocks. As our kids get older these outing become more and more fun. We have set out a schedule where I will take each of them on a 1-on-1 papa backpacking trip this summer. We also have a lot of family camping trips planned which will be dependent on how Rachel is feeling with her pregnancy. I am looking forward to these trips and to exploring more and more of this beautiful corner of the country that we call home.
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| Tai Chi? |
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| She knows how to strike a pose |
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| She doesn't really know how to strike a pose. This pained expression is what we get whenever we ask her to smile. |
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| Addy has really surprised me this summer with how willing she is to go out and take chances, makes mistakes, and get messy. |
Friday we have Papa Days while Rachel works. We had a fun afternoon together and then went to the Kroc Center where Evelyn and I went swimming (the Kroc staff watched the other kids in the play room). Evelyn is turning into quite the fish, and can now hold her breath for 15 seconds while swimming underwater. This is a big achievement for her and she feels very proud of herself for accomplishing it. All I say is that it is a good thing she can hold her breath because she still sinks like a stone in deep water and now I know I have more time to rescue her when needed. It's a good thing we have scheduled swimming lessons for her this Summer!
When Rachel got home from work on Friday, Jackson and I packed up my car and drove up to the mountains where we met with our local ward for the annual father-son camp out. After this weekend it is obvious to me that either the mountains were made for Jack, or Jack was made for the mountains, because this boy is insane! He played the whole time with kids who were more than twice his age, taking on the role of LEADER in various exploratory ventures into the woods. When other kids wanted to turn back, Jack encouraged them to push onward. He crossed logs over creeks and broke the trail when there was none. At one point a 9-year-old got stranded while balancing on a log and started crying, and it was Jack who ran back and held out his hand. "Don't worry," he said confidently, "I will rescue you." Jack then helped the boy balance as he finished the creek-crossing. I just tried my best to stay out of the way and let him do his thing, and I was a very proud papa. Jackson's self-assurance is something that I really admire about him and I hope this is an attribute that stays with him as he grows older. Unfortunately, my phone died after using it for a flashlight so I don't have any pictures. Sorry.
Yesterday when Jack and I got home, we got a baby-sitter and Rachel and I went to spend the afternoon with a couple of friends who we haven't talked to in years. It was really good to catch up with them, and we look forward to hanging out with them more since they recently moved into a house near us. When we got home we had dinner and put the kids to bed and then watched The Truman Show. I forgot how much I liked that movie. It always makes me wonder though, what Truman's life was like after he went through that door.
Well, that's about it (I think) for this week. We are grilling in the back-yard tonight and I need to get things started.
Life. Is. Awesome.
Have a good week!
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