I don't remember exactly what sparked this exchange, but a while back we were on a drive when Maren remarked, rather seriously,

"I don't want to die."

To which Addy responded, "Don't worry Maren, I'll plant you in really a pretty place."

Evelyn chimed in, "Yeah. And you're young. You have a long and happy life ahead of you. Unless you don't."

Our kids are still working on giving positive reassurances.

*****

Yesterday, Rachel and Lindsey were driving in the car. Lindsey talks a LOT.

L: Blah blah blah, blah blabbetty blah

Rach (politely): Ok. Yeah. Uh huh.

L: Blah blah blah

Rach: Yes. Oh, okay.

Etc. Suddenly, Lindsey's tone changed and she announced, "Mom, I don't like it when you say 'okay' and 'yes' and 'uh huh.'"

Rach: Why not?

L: It makes me feel like I'm eating salad...with SPAGHETTI in it! I just don't like it at all!

Rach: I say those things to show you that I am listening and have heard what you are saying.
After a brief pause Lindsey piped up and asked, "Mom, can we go to the store to get candy?"
Rach: Nope
L: Mom! Are you even listening to me??? You are supposed to say "Yeah."

*****

This week we went to the lake a couple of times to fish and swim. Our boat is in the shop getting "de-winterized" and should be ready in a week or so. Where we live, you have to get in line early for routine services since so many people have boats. Lesson learned. Next year we should be out on the water a little earlier.

Over the weekend we did a few fun things. First of all, the four older kids and I went camping at "Wolf Lodge Campground." A lot of people talk about it and we had never been there. I have to say, I was not very impressed. We had a good time though- told some good stories, made a fire, played in the creek...did all the things.

Here's some pictures:

With your clothes on? Really? 

This guy loves fishing more than I can even say. I have no idea where that interest came from. Certainly wasn't me.

Maren- Always stylin'

*****

Also, I got the chance to take my Maren to Silverwood for her first time ever. She wasn't too into the rides, but loved the shows, swimming at Boulder Beach, and doing the water-slides. Sounds like my kind of girl. The weather was perfect. As for me, it was one of my favorite visits yet to the park.

Have a good week!

A well deserved shout out to Logan!

Logan is the driving force behind our blog and most of the pictures in it, and I think he needs a bit more credit for all that he does.

I love The Hazard Chronicles. These books are treasured in our family, and they are read, reread, quoted, and referred to constantly.  Our children have an awesome family history from the very first day each of them were born. This is all thanks to my amazing husband. Logan has taken it upon himself to be our family historian and he has done a fantastic job.  He is an excellent writer and this year he has undertaken the exciting task of learning to be a stellar photographer which has shown in the uptick of quality of the pictures on the blog.  Recently, I have noticed that it has been easy for me to let him write the blog, and lately, to take all of the pictures since he does such a good job.  The result of this is that Logan rarely appears on the blog because he is busy behind the camera. Also, he does not get nearly enough kudos for the work that he does. I thought I would take a moment to brag about my awesome husband.

I am extremely lucky to have Logan as my husband!  He is a great example to me of how to be passionate about life and learning while maintaining balance with the many roles that he plays.  Logan never fails to surprise me with the topics that dominate his passion for learning.  He is constantly delving into subjects ranging from history, religion, exercise science, photography, and personal autobiographical histories. His constant reading/listening list (he always has one book on Kindle and one on Audible) rotates between fiction, non-fiction, biographies, and anything else that catches his eye. His passion for learning also includes hobbies that he not only dabbles in, but excels at. These range from photography, running, rock climbing, guitar, snow skiing, mountaineering, weight training and much more!

On top of all of his interests he is able to be passionate and constantly work on goals to improve his dentistry.  He is also able to consistently perform in the worship band at church, spend a lot of time with me in great conversation and going on frequent dates, juggle a workout/running schedule, and find time to rock climb with friends.

Whew! Have you noticed that I haven't yet mentioned him as a dad? Well, let me just begin by saying that right now he is out camping with the oldest four kids on the Coeur d'Alene river. It also happens to be raining, but I am sure that is not what our kids will remember about the time they spent with dad.  He has a way of making everything fun and exciting.

Logan is an amazing dad and he does a great job of making each of the kids feel unique and important to him. Our kids are pretty darn lucky! Here are a few things that each of them had to say about him:

Evelyn

• Dad always challenges us to foosball
• He likes to take us camping- I love exploring and building fairy houses with him
• I love our Silverwood dates and individual dates together
• I remember exploring with just him and discovering the "Hidden Lakes"
• I like to cuddle with him when we watch movies
• My favorite bedtime book he has read to us is "Frindle." I love all of the Andrew Clements books he has read.

Adalie

• He is the BEST Karaoke partner ever!
• He is the most handsome dad I have ever seen!
• I like that he moves around to cuddle with each of us on family movie nights
• He challenges me to foosball
• Dad is good at cheering us on and letting us know he is proud. He cheers me on when I am swimming and doing well
• He is a good hiking partner
• Sometimes he surprises us with unexpected fun things like rock climbing or going to the beach
• Good dancing partner for family dances!
• He is really strong and can climb FAST!
• My favorite bedtime book he has read to us is Because of Winn-Dixie

Jackson

• Dad takes me fishing and I LOVE fishing!
• He take apart things with me
• He helps me learn about how to fish and then lets me do it myself
• He always finds me to help making a campfire. He taught me to make a 1 match fire 
• He teaches me to set up tents and be a good camper then lets me do it myself
• He is an awesome rock climber and he takes me with him
• My favorite bedtime book he has read to us is Shiloh

Maren

• Dad is my movie watching partner (she is right! She has gotten out of bedtime so many times for this!)
• He is funny
• I like camping and roasting marshmallows with him
• I love his spooky bedtime stories that he tells when we are camping in a tent
• I loved the backpacking trip with dad last year
• He saved my life when I was drowning at the beach
• My favorite bedtime book he has read to us is Ivy and Bean

Lindsey

• I love to hug him when he gets home
• He hugs me all the time I go to bed
• I like going to the beach and the Kroc center to swim with him
• I love to go boat camping with Dad
• I love cuddling with him at bed time
• I love how he reads me books- my favorite is Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

Something about Logan that most people don't know is that he loves Italy. He has recently mentioned that Italy is pretty much Heaven. We actually plan to move there for a few months at a time after retirement... stay tuned as we will definitely blog about it (even though I understand that blogging will probably be completely outdated by then!).  Last night we watched an episode of "I'll Have what Phil's Having" about Italy.  Logan's new favorite quote came from the episode:

"The problem with the world is that it is not Italy."

-Phil Rosenthal

I look forward to the fun and crazy adventures that await us as a family and as a couple. I sure love you, Logan!

Here are a few more pictures just for fun.  Notice that most of them are selfies... It is my resolution to do a better job of being on the other end of the camera so that we can get more action shots of this handsome man!

 Have a good week!

Every conversation I have had with Rachel for the past few months has somehow circled back around to one thing. The Chafe 150. What a horrible name. One hundred and fifty miles of chaffing on the seat of a bike. That's what it says. Literally. Sounds fun, right? Well, I guess that to some people it does, because it was one of just 9 "Awesome Charity Rides" featured in Bicycling Magazine a few months ago. The ride is a fund raiser for autism awareness and treatment, and has seen a huge increase in popularity in recent years.

After deciding to do the ride, Rachel looked up the results from a couple of years ago, found the women's second place winner, and set that as her target time. Nine and a half hours.

That's a lot of chaffing if you ask me.

But she was all for it. Week after week, and month after month, she would go on training rides. Toward the end, she was spending enough time on her bike that it could have been a part-time job. Actually, she was riding more than she was working, so it really was like a part-time job.

A couple of weeks ago we drove the course. It was really long. It was also really pretty, winding its way up and down mountains in Idaho and Montana. But mostly, I just remember that it was really long. 

A week before the event the weather forecasted harsh rain and wind for most of the ride. To say this was disheartening would be an understatement. Rather, I can attest that seeing that forecast pretty much ruined Rachel's day. 

For the next week, Rachel put herself on a strict diet and sleep regimen. We also checked the weather forecast at least six times a day hoping for improvement. All the checking must have helped too, because on the day of, there wasn't much rain at all...just wind.

During the day, the kids and I took it easy for most of the time. We went fishing. We watched TV. We went swimming at the Kroc Center. Finally, when it was time, we drove up to the finish line to see if she would make her goal.

And she did. In spite of the wind, Rachel's official time was nine hours, twenty-six minutes, and five seconds. 

BOOM!

My wife is pretty cool.

Just about to cross

It was a good effort and it paid off. She is still hobbling around the house three days later. Well worth it though.

My goodness. Our kids are growing up and it's so fun to watch. Last week they finished the school year. They are getting so big!

Maren's kindergarten "graduation." We have a first grader now!

Lindsey's pre-school "graduation." Except that she will still be in preschool next year. Bummer for her. If she were going into kindergarten though, then she would already be the smartest kid in the class.

Evelyn playing with her STOMP group at the big end-of-the-school-year party.

Also, my parents came and spent the weekend with us. We had plans to do the Hiawatha trail, but weather got in the way. We made the best of things though, and had a great time at the old Wallace Inn, and at Triple Play. The kids loved it.

We did get to spend some time on our bikes on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes

After the bike ride we went and had pizza at the hotel. The next morning we spent time swimming in the puddle of a pool at the inn. I will never understand the attraction that kids have to these little pools, but they love them. They all told me that they would rather swim here than at the Kroc Center which has 3 huge pools, two hot tubs, multiple water-slides, a lazy river, and a splash-n-play area. Go figure. Maybe it's just the novelty.

Close up of the above picture. This is what Maren looks like when she does belly flops.

From the hotel we went to Triple Play where we went bowling and played at the arcade. At home we had a family movie night.

It was a good weekend.

What do people in first world countries do for fun?

They run up and down hills. On purpose. And they pay money to do it.

It sounds crazy, I know. Maybe it is crazy. But it also leads to a sense of accomplishment that makes it all worthwhile. We like proving to ourselves that we can do hard things.

When taken to the next level, this sense of accomplishment is shared when the hard things are done as a team. The bonds that are created when overcoming difficulties are some of the strongest there are.

And did I mention that it's fun? It is. Even if your body says otherwise for a couple days afterwords.

So, Here we are. The Road Hazards. Twelve people, two vans. All family or friends. About 200 miles. Oh yeah.

Van 1

Van 2

This sign on the van is more true than we would like to admit

About thirty seconds before the start.

A lot of the run was REALLY pretty

Finishers!

Good times. My legs are almost ready to consider doing it again.

After the run, most of us went over to my aunt Jill's home for swimming, hanging-out, and marshmallows around the fire. Besides celebrating our successful finish, I think it was really neat being with everyone.

I have a really cool family.

*****

While I was off galloping around the countryside, Rachel was hanging out with her mom. Here are some pictures of her visit:

Story time

Playhouse

And of course, dress-up clothes. Lots of fun at Grandma's house.