C.O.M.P.L.I.M.E.N.T.

Each time we are out in public and the kids receive a good word for their behavior, they earn a letter. When they get the "T" at the end, they get a party. It has worked really well, and I smile every time I hear one of them thank our server by name at a restaurant, or hold the door open for a stranger as they try to get their letters. This week they completed the word once more, and as a celebration we designed a day of fun, made even better by the free Silverwood tickets that a friend gave to us.

It started out pretty cold, but Silverwood is Silverwood, and it got warmer as the day moved on

Train ride!

It was Lindsey's first time at the park. She had a blast!

Besides Silverwood, we ate way too much pizza for our own good, went rock climbing and hiking with some friends, and had a milkshake party.

Also, Evelyn, Addy, and Jack each had sleepovers this weekend with different friends. It has been a busy few days.

*****

I do have to tell one story of a COMPLIMENT letter that they did NOT earn. See, Addy and Jack are in an archery class. They love it, and they are getting pretty good at coming close to hitting the target every time.

Jack and Addy on bottom right

Well, Rachel and I had stepped out of the house for a moment when we got a text from a neighbor. "Do you know that your kids are shooting bows and arrows in the front yard?"

I went home to investigate, and got there right around the same time as the police officer. She had come to investigate the little yahoos and to meet the crazy parents who didn't understand that lethal weapons are not allowed to be practiced in a neighborhood. I was surprised then, when she held out her hand and smiled warmly at me.
"Are these your children?"
"I'm afraid so."
"Well, they are the most charming kids I've ever met! As you probably know, I came because I heard reports of bows and arrows being used. When I got here, the kids came up to me and explained very clearly what they were doing. They showed me the blunted arrows and the targets in the ground. They spoke to me politely, but also like we were equals. That is uncommon in kids. Anyway, I don't actually think they were doing anything wrong per se. Nobody is getting in trouble here, but I do think is scares some of your neighbors and so it's probably best not to bring the bows in the front yard."

I was a little embarrassed at having a cop show up at our house, but also a little proud of my kids who would have the social awareness to explain in clear and polite terms their side of the story. It was a good compliment to receive. I assured the officer that we would keep the target practice contained to safe areas, and we all waved her on her way.

Yes, they were good...but they still didn't get the letter. After all, a cop had to come to our house.

With Easter officially in the rear view mirror, I can finally feel like our winter is over and spring in out in full force. I went out in the yard today and mowed the lawn for the first time, and then set up our sprinklers- a new system we devised at the end of last year using multiple hoses and timers that will hopefully make for easy maintenance. Spring cleaning is next, and I have big plans for the shop to finally reach its full glory (gym/rec room/workplace). We'll also call this week and make an appointment for our boat to get de-winterized (I refuse to use the word "summerized"- I think it sounds weird), and the winter clothes, skis, and sleds will all go into storage. The sun is out the kids spend lots of time on their bikes and scooters. It is a good time of year.

For our weekend we took a quick trip to Rexburg to celebrate the holiday with my family. Griffin and Courtney (two of my siblings) came up with their kids as well and we had a full house and lots of bonding time with cousins. The community egg "hunt" was comical but fun, and the climb up "R Mountain" was a nice way to spend the afternoon. Adults got to spend quality time together as well, and we talked long into the night catching up with each other's lives. It was a good trip, and ended too soon.

Everyone in this good looking family made it to the top! Also, Maren's face got attacked by her hair in this picture (it was a bit windy), but it was the best one we had of the group. Sorry Mare : /

Here's a cute one of Maren

But in this one, she kind of looks like the girl from The Ring. We have got to figure out that hair!

Addy likes the view

This morning Rachel and I had our usual Monday morning breakfast date, and then went rock climbing at some nearby cliffs. From the breakfast table to the top of the first climb took 17 minutes. I love where we live!

Rach crushing it on her first climb of the year

Well...

       ...Have a good week!

Note: Most of the pictures here are worth clicking on for better resolution.

Nick: I'm trying to get a short notice climbing trip out to Vantage this weekend...Interested?

   Me: Yeah, I'd be down for that. Details?

Nick: I don't have it all laid out yet...I'll keep you posted.


Two days later we were on the road. It was pouring rain.

I had never been to Vantage before, but I had definitely heard a lot about this oasis of climbing in the middle of an otherwise mundane desert. Tall columns of basalt were said to provide infinite opportunities for short, high quality routes, and most of my climbing friends spoke highly of the area. The only hang-up might be the weather, but we were confident that things would work out.

Several hours later we pulled off the freeway onto a forgotten street marked with a dead-end sign. A couple miles further and I was maneuvering my Toyota minivan into a glorified road turn-out that could have been mistaken for a used Subaru dealership, each car competing with the next for the number of stickers on the back windows. Vehicles were scattered haphazardly along a makeshift dirt road with bearded men and crunchy women wandering to and from the two latrines stationed at the far end of the climber's camp. The cool air smelled of woodsmoke, dirt, and weed, creating a unique laid-back atmosphere that falls somewhere between Camp 4 in Yosemite and an outdoor music venue. The rain was still falling, but only lightly, and we were cautiously hopeful as we set up our camp.

Once our site was established, we hefted our packs and aimed our sights toward the cliffs. As we meandered around small boulders and sagebrush the sun started to make its appearance, further stoking our optimism while at the same time creating out of the sky a dramatic composition of clouds and light that, in itself, could have made the trip completely worthwhile.

After about a quarter mile we came to a narrow cleft in the ground, almost invisible if you don't know where to look. We squeezed ourselves into it, and at least one member our our group had to remove his pack to fit through the narrow notch as the walls closed in around us.

Descending deeper and deeper into the earth, the notch seemed almost like a secret passageway of the kind I used to write about as a child. Back then, they opened up into other worlds, with dinosaurs or tropical jungles for my imagination to explore. In this one, however, I was met at the end with an equally fantastical scene, not of mystical creatures, but of an endless wall of gorgeous climbs, their bolts and chalked holds spaced closely together, its continuity broken only by a great sea of fleece and down jackets packed even closer together, each with a small set of legs protruding out from the inside. This, I reasoned, is what sport climbing heaven might look like, the occupants sharing beta and mimicking moves as their fellow cherubs worked their way up and down the various routes.

As for the climbing itself, there isn't much to say. It was lovely. The weather cleared and we were able to do enough in two days to keep my hands stiff for the next week. We did a nice mix of trad and sport, crack and face, mostly on pretty moderate level routes. The highly featured cliffs led so some interesting moves and positions that you don't see very often in other types of rock, and I'm pretty sure that we were all happy to be out again after a long winter of climbing on nothing but wood and plastic.

*****

As for our activities closer to home, it was a pretty normal week. Rach and I went to a high school production of "You Can't Take It With You," and went out afterwards for appetizers and good conversation. Also, Rach had a girl's night out with her friends while I was away climbing, and although I haven't asked her about it, I'm assuming she had a good time catching up with people.

The kids are enjoying the nice weather and spend more hours playing outside now than they do watching tv- a nice change for everyone. They participated in a North Idaho Easter egg hunt by hiding eggs with gift cards in them, and then posting clues in an online Facebook group for people to find. Afterwords, they enjoyed ice cream sundaes at the resort. This next week we are preparing to head down to Rexburg for Easter, and are looking forward to seeing family down there.

Life is good.

Have a good week!

Today, I took a lead from Rachel and tried cycling. I say "tried," because it didn't go so well.

It was on a stationary bike at the gym. The course I chose was of "medium" difficulty- not long or steep- only about 6 miles, but I pushed hard the whole time. Sweat was dripping off my forehead, creating a visible puddle beneath me. I'm sure that people passing by could hear me gasping for breath. They probably looked at me with wonder. They probably thought to themselves "who does this guy think he is?" I didn't care. I had my earphones on and the music was blasting, pushing me forward. I was going to rock this.

When I finished the ride, I made a mistake. I stood up. And then, like a palace of snow on a warm day, I felt the foundation give way and started going down. My legs were simply gone, having somehow been replaced with noodles of spaghetti. It was pathetic, and the only thing that stopped me from creating a scene was my floundering for the handle bars of the bike to help me up again.

Now, not to brag or anything (hint- I'm about to brag), but I'm no wimp. I realize that I'm no professional athlete, but for a 36 year old dentist with a family I like to think I keep myself in decent shape. I can run a 19 minute 5k, onsite 5.12 rock climbs, and bench press close to twice my body weight. And yet, I cannot remember the last time I felt so...wasted. Because of this, I reasoned with myself that I must have accomplished something amazing that day. In fact, I had probably set some sort of record with my herculean effort. I took a picture of the screen summarizing my ride so that I could share it with all who wished to bask in my greatness. The first person on my list?...Rachel.

Later that morning, sitting across from her at a restaurant I told her of my amazing ride. She looked impressed. She then asked the question I knew she would..."So, what were the stats?" I was ready for this, and with a flourish I whipped out my phone and showed her the picture I had taken. She looked at it for a couple of seconds, and then raised her eyebrows and said "cool," and handed the phone back to me.

"Cool? That's all you've got? I mean, those are pretty good stats, right?"

"Yeah, I guess." She was being gracious, but everything about her body language said something to the effect of "That's cute. You are able to ride a big boy bike now!"

"Ok," I asked her. "I know you've done this course before. How did you do?"

She considered for a moment. "I can't remember."

"Look it up," I demanded. Oh, the double edged sword of technology- a perfect record of all of our successes and failures at our fingertips. It keeps us honest, I guess. Mostly.

She appeared reluctant, but then pressed a few buttons on her phone and handed the screen across the table for me to see. At first, I couldn't comprehend what I was seeing, but then it set in.

She had averaged more than 3 miles-per-hour faster than me, and on a day that was simply routine training for her real races that she would be doing later on. I was dumbfounded.

Correction- I AM dumbfounded.

I mean, I knew that Rach took this biking thing seriously, but here she was making me look like a child on a tricycle after giving something my very best effort. I have to say, my respect for her grew that day.

Rach- you are amazing. That is all I can say. And now, I challenge you to a race- on foot! I need to regain some of my dignity :).

*****

As far as our week, there were two major events. First of all, we went skiing for the last time of the year. Conditions were horrible, but the kids wanted to say goodbye to the small resort where they learned to ski since we probably won't be going back there much anymore (we already got passes for next year at a larger resort). Also, did I mention that conditions were horrible? We couldn't have gotten any more wet if we had jumped into a lake with our snow clothes on.

Here is an actual selfie that I took on my way home:

On a happier note, we finally made good on our promise to the kids to celebrate the workbooks they completed over their summer vacation. We were just a little late, I know, but it was the school fund-raiser night at triple play which is what the reward was supposed to be in the first place. It was a fun time.

Evelyn with her best friend, Sonja

Have a good week!

The school districts are out to get us.

Growing up, I didn't realize how much parents rely on school. I didn't realize it because both of my parents were teachers. If school was out, then they were out. To me, the whole world just sort of ...stopped moving during holidays and vacations...or something like that. I never gave a second thought to all the rest of the people. The ones who had normal jobs that didn't allow for 3 week Christmas vacations or random snow days without warning, or lengthy summer vacations, or spring breaks extended on both ends by "faculty training days." The fact that normal people had to work on these days, while at the same time finding ways to take care of their children, was completely beyond me.

Fortunately, Rachel's job is super flexible and allows us to handle these times with relative ease. We have it better than most. But still....it's not super simple either.

Anyway, as you might have guessed, the kids just had their annual spring break. I am wiped out. In the past week I have gone skiing three times, rock climbing twice, and on one long road trip to visit my parents with the kids. Rach stayed back for some time to herself which included; shopping, time out with friends, taking herself out to breakfast, lounging around, and going to the movie theater.  On top of this, I have maintained my regular schedule at the office, actually gotten a workout in at the gym on most days, kept up in my online college course as well as in my guitar lessons/practice, and held down the house mostly on my own while Rach had some down time. It was exhausting, punctuated by brief moments of actual fun and relaxation. But mostly exhausting.

Today was the first day the kids were back in school.

It was heavenly.

Rach and I resumed our standing Monday breakfast date. I got to sit on the couch for a few minutes and read my book. When the kids got home I made burgers on the grill and we celebrated the coming of spring with a nice outdoor BBQ. Once they are all tucked in, Rach and I will pour some nice drinks, sit on our deck, and talk into the night watching the sun set behind the mountains. Really, it is a wonderful time of year in a beautiful corner of the world that we happen to live in. Things are back to normal, but only here could "normal" feel so extraordinary.

Even if the schools are out to get us.

Enjoy the pictures, and have a good week!

Watching the pond skimming and ski jumping competitions at Silver Mountain. Jack wants to try to be in it next year. We'll see.

Evelyn was so cute helping Lindsey. Skiing as a family is one of my favorite things to do right now. The four oldest kids are good enough that they can ski pretty much the whole mountain on their own. Lindsey still needs a little help, but she is getting it. The rides up the lifts provide some of the best one-on-one conversation time that I have had with the kids.

Green canyon hot springs near Rexburg

These two are besties. Here, they were caught steeling chips while the rest of us were swimming.

A walk around the BYU-Idaho gardens. This is probably my favorite place to visit in Rexburg. Jackson had fun climbing on top of all of the buildings. Where would he get that from...?