This week I am reading a "graphic novel." I'm really not sure if there is a difference between this and the more colloquial term "comic book," but I have to admit that I am really enjoying myself. I've never been very interested in this genre- in fact, I think this is the first I have ever read. Surprisingly though, I think the book I am reading could actually be described quite accurately as "literature." Go figure.

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I've shared this story with some people before, but I want to get it down it print. So, lately I've been feeling pretty good about our lawn. At the beginning of the year I told Rachel that I would be in charge of keeping it up, and the results had really been showing themselves. Not only did I mow, but I also watered it and fertilized it. At first, we didn't notice much change, but then suddenly, almost by magic, things took a turn for the better. I was awesome- the king of my castle.

But then, very delicately (which means not delicately at all), Rachel took all the air out of my ego.
"It looks pretty good, doesn't it?" I asked her one day. She agreed. She then reminded me of our rapid turn-around and how incredible it seemed.
"Well," she said, "I thought you might need a little bit of help..."
"Oh?" I asked. "Have you been watering it too?"
"Not exactly." She replied.
"Ok..?"
"Well, I sort of hired a lawn service and didn't tell you about it."
...
...
"Oh."

So much for that. Apparently lawn care isn't my strong point.

*****

As for our week, it's been just as fun-filled as ever. Evelyn, Addy, and Jackson have been gone every day at our church-sponsored daycamp in downtown Coeur d'Alene. The theme was "wet and wild" and they had a blast swimming in the lake, playing games, making crafts, learning songs, and having water fights. So fun.

In the meantime, Rachel has had a good time having Lindsey and Maren to herself. I was even able to meet them for lunch on a couple of days, and it was good to be able to focus more on the "little" kids.

Eating lunch at a local restaurant

Playing on the velcro wall at the bounce house

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For the weekend we took a family field trip to some nearby caves.

These bathtub looking things were my favorite

Afterwards, we walked to Canada. See that green post next to me? That is Canada. We are international travelers.

There were more huckleberries in Idaho though.

We also toured a dam. This ended up being a lot cooler that I though it would be.

*****

Besides doing family stuff, Evelyn and I had a great daddy-daughter date to Silverwood theme park and Boulder Beach. The weather was perfect and we had a blast riding the roller coasters or water slides, eating good food, or taking in good entertainment.

*****

Have a great week!

View from the deck

What a whirlwind of a month!

Last week I wrote all about the Hazard Family Reunion. To give a short recap of the event- it was pretty awesome. Enough said.

The drive home from the reunion was mostly uneventful. The kids travel well, and the miles passed quickly. We made one quick stop in Deer Lodge to say goodbye to our "all dead" van and to eat lunch at the local Pizza Hut (the only real restaurant in town). The mechanic said he could hang on to the car for a month for us until we figured out what to do with it. We haven't given it much thought since then, but I guess we need to come to a resolution sometime in the near future.

In the meantime, we arrived safely back at our house where Marissa, Wesley, and their cute little Oliver were waiting for our return. They had flown in the day before and would spend the entire week with us. Also, our house was apparently invaded by ants while we were gone (hot weather maybe?), and our house guests had been forced to wage a war in our absence for which we are very grateful. Stupid bugs. They had even managed to short out our air conditioning, which Wesley was able to fix while I was at work the next day.

On Friday night we got a sitter for all the kids (actually 3 sitters to help level the playing field a little) and went out on a great double date. After eating at one of our favorite restaurants we decided to exercise the artistic sides of our brains a little and paint some pictures at a local studio. I think we were all pretty happy with the outcome.

We also spent some time just getting out to explore the area.

We went to the annual Post Falls Days parade and the traditional hot dog lunch afterwards. 

Here's a hike we did in the area

We accidentally stumbled into the middle of the coolest little community event- it was called the Kinetic Fest and was sort of just a celebration of creativity. How fun!

Hanging out at the park

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Also, as part of our week we went car shopping. Here is Rachel with her new 2013 Toyota Sienna. I think she's pretty excited.

His and Hers. Two new cars within a month of each other. That's just how this month has gone. We have also had to replace our microwave, our vacuum cleaner, and a part of our air conditioning. Weird.

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And now for a really fun part- new family pictures! Most of them were taken by Mollie Costley in North Dakota. Unfortunately, Lindsey was not super cooperative on that day though, so my sister helped us out later on when things were a little more manageable.

Why does this look all stretched out?

These three of Lindsey taken by Allison Kay Photography. I think we'll use this tongue pic, but we also really like the other two.

*****

Have a good week!

Note: Please excuse the excessive amount of pictures on this post. I think all of these will be fun to look back on 20 years from now though, so I am including them for posterity's sake. 

The big news this week is the Hazard Family Reunion.

It's a little bit weird because up until now, if you had said those words, I would have immediately thought of my grandma and grandpa, and all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins from my dad's side of the family. Some of my favorite memories growing up have been of Hazard family reunions- camping, or staying in a cabin somewhere, doing river trips, exploring the countryside, building treehouses, and of course participating in the famous (infamous?) family dance. Hazard reunions have always been a good time. Also, like my grandma likes to remind us so often, "it's amazing we're all still alive." We have definitely had our share of close calls, adventures, and "classic" moments (defined as moments that probably never should have happened if we were thinking a little more clearly at the time). These moments though, have worked together over the years to forge extremely strong bonds between us. Our shared experiences have brought us together in a way like no extended family I have ever seen before.

And now the torch has been passed. For the first time, I have started thinking of "The Hazard Family Reunion" with a different set of people. In this one, I am someone's dad instead of someone's kid, and a brother instead of a cousin. "Grandma and Grandpa" refer to my parents, and I somehow have to convince myself that I am one of the responsible grown-ups in the group (not always an easy thing to do). 

It's fun, but in a whole different way than it was growing up. Because now there is even more history than before. When I look at my siblings I still see, in some ways, the brother who tested the bicycle ramps we would build, or the sister who I tied to a tree and left behind with the sprinklers pointed at her. I remember going to school concerts or sporting events, and hating them because they were boring, but at the same time feeling a sense of pride that my brother or sister was a part of them. I see the parents who read to us at bedtime, or who gave us roadside geology lessons on family trips while we rolled our eyes in the back seat of a car. I remember making "beds" across our big 15 passenger van when it was so loaded up with rafting gear that we couldn't even find our seats, or sledding down the treacherous slopes of Mill Hollow while trying to avoid the sharp pointy rocks at the bottom (we weren't always successful). 

And then I see how these same people have all grown up and are living out their own dreams now, each in their own way, and how much fuller that makes the experience of reunion. It's fun to watch them as they raise their kids, advance in their careers, do things with their communities, or fall naturally into their own family roles. It's fun to wonder about what experiences lie in the future- what will our "classics" be? What will our kids remember? What will "The Hazard Family" mean to them? Who knows? But whatever it is, I have a feeling it will be something good.

It's sort of cool, you know?

For the reunion we all met at my sister's house in North Dakota. I had never been there before and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I think I had a desolate wasteland in mind- the kind of place where you would test nuclear bombs or something. I mean, North Dakota- Really? 

Well, let me be the first to say that I was completely mistaken. It was BEAUTIFUL. Every time we would get in the car I would have my face pasted to the window like a kid looking at a candy shop, just trying to take it all in. The area where my sister lives is pretty remote (the whole town is only 750 acres), which meant there were plenty of opportunities for this.

I shamelessly stole this picture off my sister's Facebook page. Allison is a great photographer., and if you need someone to take pictures for you in Norther Utah then you should call her.

The first day of the reunion we all went to Lake Sakakawea and motored out to a little camping spot. We played all afternoon at the lake, and that night the majority of us camped (some people with very young children went back to the house).

We also spent a lot of time hanging out at the house. We ate a LOT of great food.

On Independence Day we went to two local parades (where Matt was in the color guard) and did fireworks at night. Both parades that we went to lasted for about 10 minutes each, but threw out enough candy to supply each of our kids for the next year!

We got a family picture at the parade.

It was a great family reunion.

*****

The story of our trip would not be complete without telling the story of our car.

This is a picture of the van when we cleaned in out right before we left (Maren was sleeping). This is pretty much what it looked like when it was packed.

Unfortunately, this is the view out of our car window a few hours later. What you are seeing is the top of a tow truck. Rachel and the kids were able to ride in the car as it was being hauled off to the shop.

And this is the view of my Durango after we transferred everything into it from our van. The van would stay in Deer Lodge, Montana until the mechanic could figure out what was wrong. The Durango became our family car in the meantime. To say it was small would be an understatement, but at least we were able to cram in and make it to the reunion.

The van, I am sorry to say, is "all dead." And, as Miracle Max would remind us, "There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do. Go through his clothes and look for loose change."

I don't know exactly what happened. Something with the engine blowing up. And in our case we can't even "look for loose change" because the van is three and a half hours away. Anybody have a friend in Deer Lodge who wants an all-dead Toyota Sienna? It looks like we'll be getting a new car soon. Bummer.

But sort of exciting too. New cars are fun.

*****

And now for a fun highlight of this girl.

Lindsey is my super giggly, cuddly, fun-to-be-with TWO YEAR OLD! One of my favorite moments every day is coming home from work and seeing Lindsey run to me, almost tripping over herself with exitement, and a giant grin on her face as she says "Papa's home!!!" and gives me a big hug. She loves to go on walks while holding hands, and she loves to read books. She has a broad vocabulary by now it it is exciting to be able to get some insight into the way she thinks as she verbalizes her perspective on the world. She is my Sweetheart.

We celebrated her birthday during the family reunion with presents and a big cake. Happy Birthday Linds. We love you.

Have a good week!