In each of the last several blog posts I have made it a point to focus on one specific aspect of life that I find rewarding. Family. Friends. Physical activity. Beautiful places.

In keeping with this theme, I want to write today about a pursuit that has taken up a lot of our time and energy. Our careers. That Rachel and I find our jobs satisfying would be an understatement. More accurate would be that we both feel a sense of responsibility and calling in what we do, and from that is derived meaning that goes way beyond mere "bread-winning." And although the day-to-day triumphs are by far the most important thing, we have both had our chance in the spotlight in the past month or so. As for me, I gave a presentation on treatment planning at a well-attended dental meeting. For Rachel this came in the form of Broadway theater that required multiple hours of preparation and has provided an opportunity for her to learn and grow in her profession. Both of us felt confident in our deliveries and were well-received by our respective audiences. Both of us enjoy what we feel are hard-earned reputations in both our professional and lay communities. Both of us work hard to support and give opportunities to the other, walking the tightrope everyday with professional responsibilities on the one side and family on the other. And we both love it.

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 Alright- let's move on to our week.

The shoes and dress go together, right?

These pictures are from one of the most delightful dates I have been on in a while. It began at an outdoor concert for a local band that we both enjoy (The Powers). Alternating between good conversation and allowing ourselves to be carried away by the music, we were already off to a good start. While there, we got a text from some friends that they were going bowling later that night and would we like to join them? Why not? So we headed over for some good socializing and friendly competition. Finally, we said our goodbyes and drove off to a country-dance club where, with another live band, we danced like nobody was watching until we were both too tired to continue. What a night!

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Evelyn's hair! 

These are from a family trip we took to Palouse Falls. We all hiked down the canyon to the top of the falls, and then Jackson and I continued along the more treacherous trail down to the base.

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Addy had her gymnastics meet. She did great!

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The nice weather has us outside more often than not lately. One day we decided to go find a private beach on the lake for a picnic. It wasn't long before the kids were shedding shoes and clothing so they could wade- or in some cases swim- in the freezing cold water. As we ate we saw several boats already out on the lake and I smiled as I listened to the kids getting excited for our own trips.

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Maren's class did a concert for the parents. Both Rachel and I were able to go, and we took her and Lindsey out for milkshakes afterwards (the other kids were in school).

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Rachel organized a "palate party" with the ladies group she started at our church. "The lake is calling and I must go" (lake CDA in the background) now hangs at the top of our stairs. I love that she puts herself out there to make stuff like this happen.

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Have a good week!

Spring Break in Vegas and my Moms Visit

In Post Falls the school districts really know how to do Spring Break well!  I am not sure who decided to meld Spring Break and the end of the semester together, but the result is just 2 days shy of a TWO week vacation.  I had been racking my brain to figure out something fun that we could do as a family.  The problem?  I had an interpreting job on the first weekend and the second weekend was General Conference (basically a weekend full of church for most of our extended family) which did not mesh well with a visit. I was on the phone with  my sister, Marissa, when we decided that it would be a great idea to come and visit her!  Two days later I had the kids packed up in the van and we were off!

What good is a long road trip without visiting people along the way? I had it covered. On Sunday we planned to go to Rexburg and spend the night there visiting with Haley, Matt, their cute family, and Grandma and Grandpa Hazard.  Plans changed half way to Rexburg when I received a call and multiple updates about sweet Kennedy.  She got a flu bug and was not doing well at all.  Normally I am pretty chill about these things, but I was a bit overwhelmed by the idea of driving 16 hours with any kind of flu bug... Sadly, we decided to bypass Rexburg and head straight to Sandy for the night.

We were lucky to find that Grandma and Grandpa Great (Barb and Don) were available to hang out on Monday morning.  We enjoyed a good visit with them and I met Cherry (Donny's wife) and got to know her a bit better.  Later that day I went out to lunch with Shannon (my sister) and dinner with Brandon (my brother)! Family time is the best! Thanks, Mom for watching the kids! We knew our time would soon come to hang out together.

On Tuesday we set out for Las Vegas.  I want to take a minute and mention that I LOVE traveling with our kids.  They are pretty awesome in the car and can entertain themselves and each other very well.  I would take a road trip with them any day!

Funny car story:
We were nearing Sandy after our ten hours in the car and the kids began to get a bit grumpy.  I pulled out a little package of die cast cars that I purchased at the dollar store the previous day.  I wasn't sure how the kids would respond, but I passed them out to see what would happen.  The kids all got the one they wanted (a miracle!) and were instantly pulled into an amazing world of make believe.  The cars became fast friends and the instant plot lines kept me pretty entertained in the front seat.  About 45 minutes into the game I heard racking sobs and saw crocodile tears coming from Adalie in the back seat. I asked what had happened and she had a difficult time pulling herself together to respond.  I had to stifle a smile as she responded, "We decided to pretend that the car fell off of a cliff and got dented.  He had to go to the shop to get repairs." (deep heaving sigh!) "Don't you realize that for a car that would be the same as a human breaking both arms or both legs!" At the end of her statement fresh tears sprang to her eyes to which Maren responded, "Maybe we should pretend that something else happened." The other kids quickly agreed and play continued.  Miss Adalie has quite a big and loving heart!

Every day of this trip made me happier and happier that I decided to go.  Being at Marissa and Wesley's house was so much fun! I loved spending time just "doing life" together, and Marissa was the perfect hostess.  An added bonus came a few days later! Shannon and Nathan decided to come down for the weekend and hang out with us as well! We spent a lot of time talking about kids and life in general, and we also enjoyed the activities we had planned for every day.  It was the perfect balance of relaxation and activity. Thanks for having us come so last minute!  We all loved it and the kids are already talking about when they can visit Marissa and Wesley again in Las Vegas.

I think the best way to share is through pictures.  Here are some of the adventures we had together.

A chocolate factory tour? Yes, please!

We visited the Cactus Gardens

we had our own little parade down The Strip. The kids all did awesome.

One of my favorite activities was taking the kids to the Las Vegas strip.  We went to the gardens and glass ceiling art at the Bellagio followed by the fountains display.  Then, we walked around The Strip and finished our evening off with deliciousness from Ghiardelli Ice Cream Shoppe. 

We took an awesome tour of a gold mine nearby.  We got an earful about the murderers and intrigue that seemed to always be present back when the mines were running. The stories were accompanied by skeletal corpses posed in the mine. Surprise! 

Well. It looks like the adults went on a hike! 

Swim Suit weather! There was plenty of cousin time with Nathan, Oliver, and Kaylee.

Easter party at the park! Who remembers when we actually "hunted" for eggs? This new system definitely rewards the ruthless and elicits tears from the slow or timid children. Our kids were somewhere in between. 

Easter is always better with a lot of kids!  The fact that it was April Fools day made it even better. A fake egg hunt and green milk were the order of the day. Note- Adalie is NOT fond of being tricked!

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On our way home we picked up my Mom and she drove the rest of the way with us.  It just so happened that her Spring Break was starting and she was already planning to fly up to us on that day.  It worked out perfectly that she could cancel her airplane tickets and accompany me for the rest of the long drive.  Here are some of the things we have done together this week.

Grandma's magnetic blocks were a hit!

A little rain can't get in the way of a good hike!

My mom and I went out to breakfast at The Old European on a kid-free morning and followed it up with a hike at black bay park.

Grandma celebrated her birthday with us!

The kids worked together to create a birthday breakfast to celebrate.

The Children's museum with Grandma

The adults went out to celebrate with dinner at Ambrosia Bistro and we saw the play Dial "M" for Murder.

These two weeks were filled with family and plenty of activity.  I loved every minute and can not wait to get together again!  Time to get back to our fun and exciting lives.  Until next time! 

Have a good week!

Last week I mentioned how I was alone all week while Rachel and the kids were in Las Vegas. They had a great time. At some point, Rachel will come on here and write about it. As for me though, it was sort of a lonely week- especially with Easter, which is much more fun when you have kids to do stuff with.

This week, on the other hand, saw the pendulum swing the other way. Instead of being alone, we had our whole family here, plus the pleasurable company of Rachel's mom who was enjoying her spring break. Rachel and Wendy did lots of stuff together, and as a family we stayed busy when I was home from work.

Here's a few pics:

We went on a walk in the rain. Maren, Jackson, and I climbed to the top of a hill overlooking the river. It was a great view!

The joy of spring!

Wendy bought these magnetic blocks for the kids, which have quickly replaced every other toy and game they have in terms of popularity. The creative juices are definitely flowing.

One of the nights we got a sitter and went out for a nice dinner followed by "Dial M for Murder," at the Civic Theater. 

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I think I've written on here for a while about Evelyn's fascination with birds. She started a neighborhood bird-watching club (and is by far it's most enthusiastic member), keeps notebooks on different species, and can tell you pretty much anything you want to know about our avian neighbors here in North Idaho. 

Well, for a long time her and Addy have been saving their money and looking on Craigslist for deals, and finally they were able to get everything they needed to introduce the newest members of our family.

Meet Kiwi and Aquamarine. They live in Evelyn and Addy's room.

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On Monday when all the kids were at school, Rachel and I drove up to Wallace and hiked the the Paluski Tunnel trail. It's a little early in the year still so we ran into some snow, but we still made it all the way up to the cave. It was really cool and really pretty.

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Have a good week!