"Are you with the interpreter?"

A group of people approached me at the Idaho Democratic Caucus last night. Rachel and I had arrived earlier that evening intending to spend the time together at the lively event while voicing our support for Hillary Clinton as president. As an aside, I'll just say it's sort of bizarre being in the vast minority of Democrats, in a state where Democrats are already a vast minority to start with, knowing all the while that you stand with the majority of the American public (according to both polling data and betting odds). Idaho is interesting that way.

Anyway, like I said, we had planned on spending the evening together. Toward the beginning of the event however, a call went out to the group. "We have some deaf people at this caucus who would like to participate, and we don't have anyone here who knows sign language. Is anyone able to help?"

Rachel and I nodded at each other and Rachel stood up and raised her hand. Amidst applause, she took her place on the stage next to the presenter in front of the 2,100 people assembled. That is where she would stay for the next four hours.

*****

"Are you with the interpreter?"

"Yes, she is my wife."

"Well, you need to let her know that she is one of the most poised and professional people I have seen, not to mention entertaining."

"It's true," another person added. "I don't even know sign language and I am having more fun watching her than I am listening to the speakers she is interpreting for!"

Yep- that's my wife. Rachel is a classy, beautiful, and extremely talented person, and I am proud to be her husband, even (maybe especially) when that makes me an accessory at times. I love watching her do well in things, and there seems to be an ever growing list of areas where this is the case. From her interpreting prowess to her enthusiasm for biking to her complete mastery of the elusive soft skills of mothering and friendship- she never ceases to amaze me. So Rach- you are not only poised and professional like the people at the caucus said- you are that and so much more. You are the love of my life.

*****

OK- enough with the mushy stuff.

Besides the caucus, Rachel and I went on another date this week to two of our favorite places- Q'emiln park for rock climbing, and Bardenay after it got dark to get food. I love that climbing season is starting. I'll admit, I'm not quite into pushing the grade as much this year as I have been in years past, and mid-level 11s are probably about the highest I'd be able to lead right now. Even so, getting out on the rock is always very nice, and Rachel and I were able to get two routes in before darkness fell.

*****

As for the kids, they are doing awesome. Yesterday was their last day of school before Spring Break and they are excited to be visiting Grandma and Grandpa in a few days. Last week we got out on a family hike and it was fun watching the kids run ahead of us so they could climb on the rocks as we went. I remember it wasn't too long ago that we had to either carry them or else slow the pace way, way, WAY down for them to be able to keep up with us on hikes. Not any more! I think we have some actual backpacking trips in store for us this Summer!

*****

These are pictures of the kids on Sunday at church. The pony/donkey rides were part of a lesson and the kids loved it!

*****

Over the weekend I went shooting with a friend of mine. He is the kind of guy who's house I would go to if the Zombies attack- I'm pretty sure we'd be able to hold them off indefinitely with the arsenal at his disposal. On this particular trip we shot a .22, a 9mm mauser carbine, a 40 S&W handgun, an AR15, and a 300 WSM.

*****

Finally, some completely random bits of our week:

A walk to the dam that Rachel and I did with Maren and Lindsey while the other kids were at school

All in the name of science

This guy is totally going to be a climber one day

I went into my office at work after seeing a patient, and there on my desk was a present with wrapping paper and everything. It was from Jack. I opened it and found this picture along with this half-eaten piece of brownie. Now, it has been weeks since we made brownies, so I'm a little wary of that, but it was a really sweet thought. Thanks, Jack.

For the last couple of weeks it seems like life has sort of been on autopilot. You've been there before, where you are just in your groove and things are going smoothly, and it doesn't really seem like that much noteworthy stuff is happening? But then you wake up one morning and realize that in fact, lots of stuff has happened, and that you haven't recorded any of it, and you think "zut alors, I've better do a blog post!" Yeah, I'm sure it's happened to everybody.

Luckily, this oversight is not quite the calamity that it might seem at first glance. After all, we do have some pictures, and I happen to have an exceptional memory of the last two weeks worth of activity. So take a deep breath and try and relax while I give you a glimpse into what, for us, is pretty normal life.

Let's start with pictures of a bag full of random stuff (keys, climbing stuff, bits of food, etc.) and a sweet little girl. Lindsey is at an age where she is somehow EVERYWHERE AT ONCE and keeping up with her is becoming tricky. This makes it very difficult sometimes to have peace and quiet, like when you just want to take a Sunday afternoon nap. That's where the bag comes to the rescue. This is a trick that Rachel came up with and it worked perfectly. Older kids downstairs watching a movie, Lindsey in her room with the bag- and mom and dad enjoying a few moments of uninterrupted tranquility. It works like a charm.

Liberty Lake trail in the rain

Eating pie and ice cream at a favorite restaurant

Climbing some rocks

Watching the St. Patrick's Day parade (can you tell that we've gotten a lot of rain lately?)

Surprise treats at the grocery store

Hiking Tubbs Hill and discovering a new bouldering area that is under development

Next up are a lot of pictures of somewhat random things we have done- but not random at the same time because taken together they all tell the story of a family that doesn't sit still for very long. We are constantly out doing stuff. Spring is here (it'll be really rainy for the next month or so though) and getting out is getting easier and easier. I also shortened my work day to end at 5 rather than 6, and this combined with the recent daylight savings makes it even easier to live the highly active lifestyle that we love (and that our kids are forced into by virtue of their parents).

Also, note that the last picture in this series (the one with me and Ev) is so much more clear than the others. That is because I just upgraded to a new Galaxy S7 on the day of its release. Yep, I'm on the cutting edge of technology for at least the next three and a half weeks. This makes me feel powerful and important (and lucky that my upgrade date just happened to fall on the day of the S7 release). More notably, Rachel was finally convinced to ditch the ol' I-phone and get a Galaxy as well. I guess all these years I have been right after all, eh Rach?

Speaking of Rachel, this is a life-sized poster of her that sits in the Kroc Center (a local community center) right as you walk in for everyone to see. She's a celebrity! Actually, the Kroc Center has been very good for our family. Also, of all the organizations around here (businesses, churches, clubs, etc.), it is our feeling that the Kroc does more than its share of outreach into the community and Rachel has gone out of her way over the years to be a part of that outreach. The center is currently doing a "pay-it-forward" campaign and decided to highlight certain members as part of the marketing for this initiative. There is also a video of Rachel somewhere on their website, as well as a place to make donations to this great organization.

It's been a while since there was a work picture of me on this blog. Actually, I'm not working here. In fact, I'm paying money to be here. This is study club, and I am doing a pretty awesome surgery (Caldwell-Luc sinus lift with simultaneous implant placement) with Lynsay (assistant) and Sal (mentor) to make sure things go smoothly. They did, and before long I will be doing these procedures as a part of my regular practice. Can I just say that I love what I do? I do! I genuinely love going to work each day. I have an awesome team who keeps me entertained with their incredible singing and off-the-wall conversations. I have awesome patients who share a little bit of their lives with me each time they come in (sometimes more than a little bit). I have the privilege of taking part in a community of professionals who are working together to elevate our neighborhoods. And I get to do some really cool stuff every day that combines my intellectual love of science with technical skill in the hands. It is a profession which will always push me to be better, and which brings with it opportunities for real service in terms of income and skill-set which can be put to good use in a variety of settings.

Also, immediately after the study club was over I went and ran a 5k with a time of 19:30- not a bad showing considering the fact that I had just completed the most intricate procedure of my life. Not a bad day at all. Also, I should mention here that Rachel is riding her bike about 75 miles/week and is soon contesting my status as the most athletically fit person in our family (it's not hard when 5 out of 7 are under the age of nine). I really need to stop eating deep dish pizzas...but we all know that that's not really going to happen.

This is a throwback picture of our family a little more than six years ago. I don't really have a reason for including this other than I was thinking about it and I think it's nice.

Have a good week!

Our week in pictures

It is feeling like Spring here and I love it. We have gone on some nice walks/hikes. I have started running outdoors again in the mornings. Projects are starting to get underway that have been waiting. It's a good time of year.

It has also been a pretty busy week for us, as far as social stuff goes. Here are some pictures of our most recent exploits:

Evelyn's Birthday

Evelyn had her birthday party. This is the best group shot I could get even though there are some people missing. We had the party at a little ceramics studio where the kids each got to pick out something to paint. It was a lot of fun.

Here's the cake Rachel made. It is an art palate.

Here are the ceramic things the kids painted, ready to be fired. We will pick them up in about a week and see how they turned out.

Maren's Birthday

Maren did an "under the sea" theme at our house.

The snacks that Rachel made- gummy crabs, grape "seaweed" sticks, beach scene graham crackers, and a Little Mermaid cake.

I hung the octopus up. That was my creative contribution.

The kids painting seashells.

A Night Out

I realize these pictures are nearly identical, but they are at different places. This first is a nice dinner we had at Clinkerdaggers (a pretty nice local restaurant), and the second is at the theater where we saw the CYT production of the Mary Poppins Musical. It was a great night.

Random Stuff

This was where Lindsey stayed for almost the entirety of Maren's birthday party. She is a good sport.

Evelyn heading off to school. She has a style of her own and I like it (it was hat day in her class).

Jackson randomly decided that he was going to do exactly 100 healthy things. He made a grid on a paper with the numbers 1-100 printed off in the little squares, and he checks one off each time he is healthy. Here I caught him running laps up and down the stairs- with his shirt off, of course...because he's a guy and he can do that.

In the meantime, I am on sort of track for my personal goal of eating ONLY 1 Little Caesars Deep Dish Pizza each week. Jackson is my motivation.

Well, that's about it. This next week looks like it might be a little more relaxed, but that's not likely to last long. Especially not if the weather holds. Did I mention that I am excited for Spring?

Have a good week!