This week is one of profound gratitude for good friends and family who are willing to hang out with our kids. As mentioned in a previous post, Rachel broke her ankle recently in a rock climbing fall, an injury  which had the potential to seriously cramp our style. We like to be active. We go on hikes. We climb. We swim. We travel. We DO stuff. Lots of stuff. And we love it. But suddenly we found ourselves looking at the rest of the Summer a little bit differently, and we had to figure things out.

Enter Kristin and Jamie. As soon as they saw Rachel in her boot they were quick to offer their services, and it made a whole world of difference. They both happened to be going to a family camp (like Aspen Grove in Provo, for those who know what that is), and they graciously offered to take our three oldest along. This gave us some much needed time to plan for the upcoming weeks. And our kids had a BLAST.

To the whole Erickson and Misner families...Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

Ropes courses, climbing, ziplines, archery, fishing, and more. Our kids were so spoiled!

A few days after they got home from the camp, we were headed off to Utah. Our original plan was to go to Colorado (Boulder area) for a few days of climbing. We had our tick lists ready and were looking forward to the trip. Obviously, that wasn't going to happen now. But Wendy stepped up and offered to take our kids anyway, giving Rach and me a little mini-vacation. Again, the kids had so much fun, and so did we!

To Wendy- THANK YOU!

We did a couple of walks around the peace gardens. Rachel's ankle forces a change of pace for us, but honestly, it is a little bit nice.

The pace doesn't change too much though. Sometimes I actually had to jog just to keep up!

It was so nice being able to see Griffin and Erin for a fun night out. We saw Bright Star at the Hale theater. It was a well told story with lots of fun bluegrass music. Afterwards, we met up with Shannon and Adrian for a fun late night out.

We did spend a little bit of time climbing at The Front- one of the coolest climbing gyms I have been to. We did this with Shannon and Adrian. In fact, we ended up spending quite a bit of time with them. Also, even though it isn't pictured, we had fun one of the days going out to lunch with Brandon and Kendra. Really, this was a great trip for reconnecting with people who I don't get to hang out with nearly enough.

This is at the Historic Draper Theater where we saw Pippin. It was a super ambitious show for a small theater, but given what they had to work with, I think they did a really nice job. We certainly enjoyed ourselves!

Wendy enjoyed a great mini vacation with the kids. The kids had a great time hanging out with her. Here are a few of their adventures:

Kids at the aquarium.

Kids playing at Grandma's house, including a painting project for the playhouse.

Kids at the planetarium.

As we were finishing up our vacation in Utah, we got a call from my parents. We would pass by their house right on the way home anyway, and they were wondering if they could take our kids for a few days. They would then drive up to our place to drop them off and hang out with us for a while.

Really! Wow!

We just got home yesterday. Rach and I went to an outdoor concert with one of our favorite local bands. The kids spent the day at Yellowstone with my parents. And I'm sure that is only the beginning of their plans.

Mom and Dad- THANK YOU!

The kids at Yellowstone. In case anyone was wondering, the geyser still works.

Rafting the river

I am so glad for good friends and family. This broken ankle thing has forced us to slow down a little bit, but because of them it hasn't hit our family nearly as hard as it could have. Meanwhile, Rach remains in good spirits and is becoming ever more proficient with her crutches and scooter. 

Life is great. Have a good week!

Resting the leg at the concert. Also, a nice reminder of how awesome this place is. I feel like "North Idaho" has become almost just as much a part of the family as the people who live there. I love it!

Our deck has definitely taken on an important role in our house. We call it our getaway spot. Some, would call it a mental asylum. Either way, it is the place we go at night after all the kids are in bed to unwind. We tell each other about our days, read books, discuss things that are important to us, or just sit in the silence of the superlative sunsets that we are constantly blessed with here in Northern Idaho.

The problem is that these "deck nights," as we call them, had become a little bit...scary. The deck was old, and actually shook when you walked on it. We were actively avoiding the stairs, opting most often to descend to the yard through the house rather than risk one's livelihood on the ever increasing chance of a complete structural collapse. The railing was also a joke, and there were times when I considered seriously the chance of a random gust of wind blowing the entire apparatus from our house clear into our neighbor's yard. Now I might be exaggerating just a little, but in short, deck nights weren't as relaxing as they had once been.

After much talking and planning, we finally decided to do something about this situation. We needed our deck. And the upcoming four day weekend (Independence Day) presented the perfect opportunity. The only hitch? Up until now, or "home projecting" skills consisted mostly of painting (but only the simple things), hiring skilled labor, and buying stuff. We had never even come close to attempting something of this magnitude on our own. We had showed the deck to some professional contractors though, as well as to an architect during some of our many backyard gatherings, and had even talked through our plans with them. This, and the unsurpassed benefit of naivety, gave us exactly the confidence we needed to take on the job.

I have to say, we did pretty well. We chose to use long-lasting composite decking material over a sturdy wood frame. For the railing, we chose iron for both aesthetics and durability. Top notch furniture was on order, and the work began. In a mad flurry of purchases, demolition, sanding, measuring, cutting, assembly, and finishing, we managed, in just four days, to make a complete transformation or our backyard structure. To me, it looks like the entire yard got a face-lift.

Photos:

I'm wishing now that we had some better "before" pictures. These are some quick ones that I snapped just before we started tearing things down.

And now for the finished photos. First we'll do a couple of overviews. Besides re-doing what we already had, we also decided to install a lower level that would remain mostly shaded during the day.

 

The downstairs is a nice conversation area. We installed an electric lantern that creates a nice touch. We also got matching ones for the shop,  upper deck, and patio.

Upstairs, we installed another conversation area with a fire table. This is where we spend most of our time talking and watching sunsets. The flames add a touch of warmth and elegance. 

*****

As far as this week, Rachel's foot has taken center stage. After lots of doctor visits, we now know that is is very much broken, that she can't put any weight on it for eight weeks, and will then begin physical therapy which is expected to last for several months. She walks with crutches and a boot, and we have a scooter on order.

To lighten our load, some good friends volunteered to take the three oldest kids with them to a family camp lasting nearly a week. The kids were stoked, and it gave us some much needed time to figure out a new normal with minimal interruptions to our active lifestyle. I think we got some good plans into place and the next several weeks should be just as full as ever of good times.

Anyway...

Have a good week!

Fourth of July

We spent most of the weekend building a deck. We did the whole project, start to finish, in four very long days. It was definitely the most involved home improvement project I have ever done without professional help, and I think it turned out really nice. I'm actually not posting pictures here because we are still waiting on some of our outdoor furniture to arrive and I want to show true before and after shots. Stay tuned though. Our yard is looking great!

The night of the 4th, pretty much all the local firework shows were canceled due to Covid. This didn't stop people from doing their own though, and they went all out this year. Sitting on our roof, I can honestly say that we got just as good a show, if not better, than we would have had with the public ones. Wow.

Lindsey's Birthday

For the past several months you could ask Lindsey, any time, any place, how many days were left until her birthday, and she could tell you. This girl LOVES birthdays. And on July 3rd it finally happened. Unfortunately, due to Covid, we were unable to have a party with friends. We still celebrated as a family though, and Lindsey milked the day for all she could.

It is hard to believe that Lindsey is only six- her active and insightful conversations make you think she is much older. She also loves playing outdoors, even when it is snowing or raining. A common scene in our home is all the kids watching TV on a cold, windy, rainy day. All, that is, except for Lindsey. And then I look out the window and see her, in a dress up skirt and large winter coat, happily doing whatever it is she is doing. She is always the first to give me hugs when I come home from work, and she still loves to cuddle while I read her books at night. 

Utah Climbing

The next weekend we drove down to Utah as soon as I got off work on Thursday to meet up with Jon and Liz for some rock climbing. Day one was mostly sport climbing with kids in American Fork Canyon, and I have to say I was proud of all of them. Addy and Jack both led, and Jackson even toproped a stout 5.11.

At the end of the day, we went to Jon's parent's house to relax and grill up some dinner. The kids played in the yard with their new friends, and we all appreciated the cool evening shade after a great day in the sun.

Rachel in AF canyon

A stylized picture that Addy took of Jackson

Addy was pretty disappointed when she failed to send a hard climb that Jackson had done earlier. She went and found this ledge to sulk on for a while. Here's Jackson consoling her and sharing beta (information about how to do the climb) while he takes off his climbing shoes. It's fun to see kids interacting like this. They really are good cheerleaders for each other. 

Relaxing at the end of a long day

On the second day, Rachel and I were planning on a longer traditional route in Little Cottonwood. We got up early to beat the heat and were quickly through the approach staring up at the beautiful polished granite. Rach warned me that upon seeing the climb I may have to take a backseat while she takes the majority of the leads. She took first lead, and was loving it, and doing great. It was going to be an awesome morning.

Here's Rachel starting up the first pitch. 

But then things went a little sideways. Rach was already past the hardest part of the pitch, and she was run out a bit when her foot popped and she took a twenty footer right onto a ledge. Her .4 held, but her ankle was already swelling. We assessed the damage and determined that it was probably not broken, but that she was definitely done for the day. She was able to hop/limp out on her own, and we put her foot in a brace to help stabilize it and keep the swelling down. From there, we took it easy with a nice breakfast, and then met Jon and Liz (without kids this time) back in AF Canyon for more sport climbing. Rach sat in the shade and took pictures most of the day, and we actually ended up having a pretty good time.

All tied up. Since I am writing this three days after her accident, I can say that the swelling has actually increased quite a bit, and the bruising is worse than expected. She still has full range of motion and can put weight on it, but it hurts a lot to do so. If it doesn't start looking better soon then we'll get an x-ray to make sure it isn't broken.

***Update: We got an x-ray. It's broken. She'll be in a boot for a couple of months.

Without kids we could do some steeper routes, which is what AF is really known for.

Just chillin' in the shade. I sure love this girl!

The third day we had the morning to ourselves and I took the three oldest kids to a large indoor climbing gym. They did awesome! They don't do a lot of gym climbing, and they were all happy to find that they could climb a grade or two harder in an air-conditioned setting with marked, neon colored holds. Funny how that works!

Later that day we met Shannon, Adrian, Brandon, and Kendra for an afternoon at the pool and then a nice dinner out before saying goodbye. We made our way from there to my parent's house for a quick pit stop, and then drove home the next morning.

Fun trip. Hopefully Rachel's ankle heals up quickly. We'll keep you posted.

Hamilton

As you probably know, a recorded version of the hit Broadway musical, Hamilton, was recently released by Disney. It is a fast-paced hip-hop opera that, in spite of my earlier skepticism, I have to admit was one of the best and freshest additions to the theatrical cannon that I have ever seen. I loved it. 

Well, during this last road trip, we spent probably 8-10 hours of the travel time telling the story and listening to the music of Hamilton with our kids. They were enthralled with all of it. There were times when they were all laughing, singing at the top of their lungs, outraged, or crying. I think they understood many of the nuances and conflicts. They were able to spot recurring themes and we had multiple family conversations wrestling with certain issues with no easy answers. It was wonderful and I think I will always remember this trip for these talks we had.

When we got home, we did the best we could to replicate a "real" theatrical experience with our kids. We had a nice dinner before, talked about and enforced theater etiquette, and enjoyed ice cream at the intermission. I LOVED watching our kids watch the show. They were so emotionally involved. As soon as intermission came and they were allowed to talk there was an explosion of commentary and amazement. When the show ended there was not a dry eye in the room. It really was quite the experience for them, and watching it WITH them was quite the experience for us. It also led to a neat conversation about how it was a "difficult" show compared to most of the things they watch- how it required an investment on their part not just to follow the story, but to understand and feel it on a level where they could really dig in and grapple with it. And about how worth it it was. 

I think that maybe...just maybe...our kids are starting to understand the concept of "art" as a separate entity from "entertainment." 

But that is a whole 'nother can of worms.

Anyway, next week we were planning a backpacking/climbing trip down near Boise (Elephant's Perch), but I think that because of Rachel's ankle we'll have to do that another time. I'm sure we'll do something though. Stay tuned for that, as well as for pictures of our deck. I really am pretty proud of it.

Have a good week!

Our Epic Trip to Lake Powell

This is my Dad.

My dad and his boat. He let my brother and me come along!

Lake Powell was his happy place.  I remember many carefree vacations making memories. It takes one word or a picture to instantly take me back to cliff jumping by our camp, swimming by enormous cliffs that extend as far down as the eye can see and the imagination can dream, hiking to towering cliffs for the luxurious shade, taking long boat rides through the tour boat wakes, hiking to rainbow bridge, and countless more!  Thinking about Lake Powell conjures up images of my dad in his Hawaiian shirts with a larger than life smile as he guides Tiny Dancer through the waves. 

I will always have these memories, and last week I was able to bring some of these memories to life for my children. It has been my brother’s dream to take the family back to Lake Powell for a boating vacation. After many hours of work, and time spent lovingly caring for his boat that time finally arrived.

The time had arrived for me to experience Lake Powell from the eyes of a parent along with the memories I have as a child. I thoroughly enjoyed watching my children create these memories, and creating new ones with them.  As with most Epic vacations, the chronicled experience and the memories can be very separate things. Here is our Epic story.

Our Adventure

Any vacation that begins and ends with pie is a success! On our way to Wahweap marina we revisited our tradition of getting pie at The Thunderbird Restaurant, the home of “Ho-made pies!” Upon arrival we met Brandon at the dock and proceeded to load our belongings into his boat.  I must say that I am pretty proud of how lightly I can pack for a week long beach vacation. 

Classic

After a good dousing of sunscreen we headed into the boat and were off!  This was definitely the best boat ride of the trip. I was filled with awe and wonder as I took in some familiar, and some unfamiliar sights.  My memory is filled with sandstone wonders jutting out of bright blue water with hardly any land in sight. I was greeted with an unfamiliar cactus landscape that looked like, well, desert.  The water level is down about one hundred feet and the ‘desert’ area that used to be covered with water is now exposed.  Logan was quick to remind me that even back then it was still a desert. Yes. Technically that is correct, but Sandstone Fantasy Land sounds so much better.  My memories can be whatever I want, right?

We pulled into our quiet cove that would soon become an epic place of exploration. Our camp was perched on desert sand with a view of red cliffs wildly radiating from the water.  I could have the best of both worlds. I must say that whenever I set up a camp chair I had it angled perfectly for cliff and waterside viewing. I was all in to the idea of creating memories how I wanted to view them.

After a quick camp set up we were ready to swim! Our little cove had the perfect  inlet with an ‘island’ that was the first object of exploration.  I set off on an adventure with the kids to discover this new little bit of earth that we could call ours for the week.    Upon arrival we decided upon the names Pickle Island and Pickle beach for our new playground.  We quickly discovered Skull Rock which boasted a three foot tall cliff dive. Imagine the excitement! Thus began the many hours of excitement jumping off the back of the boat, swimming across to Pickle Island, and exploring up the inlet that was now ‘ours.’

Testing the waters

These stairs were a thing of pride. They took a bit to set up.

That notch in the rock is called Crossing of the Fathers. I remember driving through it in our boat because it was the entrance between the two bays. 

My mom's artistic photo of The Crossing as night fell

Bedtime arrived, and we were ready! We decided to keep the rain covers off of the tents so that we could stay cool and see the stars. The 72 degree evening had a slight breeze that felt perfect for bedtime.  An unforeseen hiccup occurred the very next morning when the early sunrise entered our tents unfiltered in the wee morning hours!  It took a few nights to get it right, but with the help of Adrian, Shannon’s boyfriend, we found a great happy medium that provided shade and a breeze!

Sunday suddenly appeared like an unwanted guest, but I gradually came to life and reveled in the stillness of the morning.  The kids woke early every morning and busied themselves hardly making a peep. Did I mention that I love the mature ages of our kids!

… Maybe I spoke too soon...

I encouraged the kids to go and explore the area behind our camp. As I was reveling in the stillness of the morning, there was a sharp cry that burst my calm.  I had noticed previously that the kids were exploring a large rock that they had found.  I saw them scamper up and sit at the top.  Now, let me back up here for a minute. One big rule that we have in our family is that you are NOT permitted to climb up something if you cannot climb back down. A few of our kids have learned this the hard way as we have had to make them climb back down from difficult perches (of course while providing a spotter to keep it safe). Ev was about to get a tough life lesson here.  All of the kids were about to learn that climbing up friction is much easier than climbing down.  After a tear filled ordeal, Evelyn finally had to let go of her fear and slide down.  She made it, but not without some emotional scarring. She can do hard things…

On to breakfast! After an excellent breakfast we headed to the boat to do some sightseeing and to visit some old familiar places.  After settling into the boat we made the discovery that the battery was dead.  This did not make sense as we had taken all of the precautions, but it was dead nonetheless.  After a bit of discussion we decided on a beach day! We had a fabulous day filled with sunscreen and extra water! Water drinking contest anyone???

Every trip to Lake Powell includes a memory of ending the vacation looking like a tomato and feeling like my skin was made of lava! This did not diminish the other memories, but my goal was to avoid this fate for my kids. I learned that sunscreen every 2.5 hours was absolutely not enough especially considering the temp was going to be between 102-106 degrees for the whole week. So after multiple baths in aloe vera for a few kids we started with a clean slate the next day. I am happy to announce that we finished without one tomato!  Shout out for sunscreen every 1.5 hours, and a shout out to spray sunscreen. This feat would not have been made possible without both of those factors.

The beach day turned out to be a great success. 

Monday we planned to go and pick up Shannon at the dock.  This meant that we needed to find some friendly boaters to give us a hand. After trying our battery jump start box with no success, it was time to flag down another boat.  We found a friendly jet skier that happily went and brought his boat. After a quick set up Brandon attempted to start his engine, and before we could blink the other boat battery had instantly died.  I didn’t even know how that could happen! Good thing there were other campers nearby. We were able to find another group that came over and used a battery jumper to fix the second boat. These guys were also pretty well versed in the art of boat mechanics and were able to diagnose Brandon’s boat as having a bad connection between the battery and the starter. After some finagling they were able to start the boat, but without the promise that it would be able to get started again. We all decided to go to shore to pick up Shannon, and to hopefully find a mechanic who was available to help us out.

It was our lucky day! As soon as we were in cell phone range we got in contact with Larry the boat mechanic. He explained a quick fix for a bad battery connection. It took two seconds and it worked! Success!

We spent the day at the dock, running errands for ice and other supplies, and eating ice cream! There was a lot of run around, but we made it.  We packed up Shannon, Adrian, Nathan, and all of their camping gear and headed back to camp.

As we pulled into the bay the boat gave a final effort and died in the water unexpectedly. No cause was forthcoming and as we looked we floated further and further from our destination.  I hopped in the water and with the help of a tow rope was able to direct the boat within inches of its docking spot. Now came the diagnosis time. The boat would start, but had a heavy clunking sound in the engine. It was time for more diagnostics on Brandon’s part. Upon closer inspection he discovered that is oil tank was dry, and thanks to a houseboat neighbor we were able to get some oil to remedy the problem.  It looks like the next day was slated to be another beach day!

Shannon to the rescue on this one! She brought ALL of the toys! We had an SUP, an overload of beach toys, and even a gigantic white Unicorn inflatable. What more could you need??? 

My favorite part of the day was definitely using the stand up paddleboard.  I had a relaxing paddle out to the cliffs, and was able to go out one-on-one with some of the kids.  They loved the SUP as well. The best story of the day was when I overheard Evelyn talking to Jack, “Did you do it? Did you paddle up the winding stream, stop, and be completely silent? Wasn’t it amazing.”

That. That, Evelyn, is what this is all about.

Hours of fun!

Besties!

Looking fabulous!

On Wednesday it was time to head to the dock to resupply. We were almost out of water, and our food supply needed more ice to stay fresh.  After a lot of work on the boat we were able to start it and not have too bad of a rumble.  We weighed the pros and cons and decided to bring everyone along to the dock on our quest to get the boat fixed. That was probably the best decision of the whole trip!

About ten minutes into the trip there was a horrendous shudder, then the boat stilled.  After some tinkering it was pretty apparent that the boat was done for the day.  At this moment we drifted into an immense cloud of tiny bugs. In a matter of seconds the bugs coated everything in sight, including us. We tried to ingnore the bugs as we resorted to trying to wave down other boats.. This particular bay is mainly used for commuting from one part of the lake to another. There is a very distinct line that the boats drive through, and we were drifting pretty far from that area. No one was looking our way, so it was time to paddle.  Picture 106 degree weather, paddling while covered in bugs, and alternately waving your paddle at anything you see moving in the distance. Finally we were able to cover some distance and be seen by another boat. Success! An hour later we pulled up to the dock with a hope and a prayer that we could get the boat seaworthy ASAP. Out of the whole vacation this is the only experience that I really could have done without! I think poor Brandon and Kendra felt the same way.

Yes. Those are bugs. Everywhere.

It is at this point in the story that I want to give a well deserved shout out to Kendra. She was amazing during this trip! She knew how much this meant to Brandon and she was there supporting him in every way despite having morning sickness much of the time and coping with the extreme temps. Kendra, you are amazing.

These two were rock stars!

The next few hours were filled with phone calls to try and get a nearby boat rental. HA! That is a funny trick! All of the boat rentals were booked out until August. It was time to implement our back up plan and begin the second phase of our vacation. We found a hotel  with a pool and began our air conditioned adventure.  

Can I just say that there is some kind of magic in hotel swimming pools.  We have mentioned this previously on the blog, and it deserves mentioning again. The kids were in heaven as the adults figured out the next steps considering our campsite and everything in it was a 30 minute boat ride from shore and we had no boat.

Welcome to the hotel pool!

Enter Amar.

The front desk attendant of the hotel was sympathetic to our case and told us that she had a friend that might be able to help. Fifteen minutes later this saint of a man showed up at the hotel with his boat ready to go!

Four adults and Jackson came along to tear down camp and take loads to shore.  Jackson was amazing on this trip. He constantly offered to help, and would often jump in without being asked. He was an invaluable helper for the entire vacation. Thanks, Jack!

I think we set a speed record and some kind of boat packing record as well.  From leaving the dock to being in the boat completely packed with our ENTIRE camp took 2 hours.  We settled in and got cozy! About 50 yards from camp Amar hit an underwater rock and destroyed his prop! Of course! Apparently we are the bad luck. The good news was that every blade was bent out of shape in the exact same way, so we were still able to drive the boat, at a little bit faster than wakeless, to get back to the dock.  We bulldozed through the waves and Brandon and I, sitting in the front, had a constant refreshing shower from the wind and wake.  

Amar had some kind of magic to pack his boat this well!

The kids and I decided to stay for an extra day of kayaking fun. We had a crazy, busy morning, and were ready to launch around 2. Those kayaks got a lot of great use! I think it turned out to be a mostly positive experience for all minus two cases of food poisoning, and one person who will probably never touch a kayak again in her life. Other than that, it was fabulous!

We made an impromptu stop at the bridge overlooking the dam. 

We finished the day with celebratory pie in honor of Brandon’s birthday! It was wonderful to sit around the table, share old and new Lake Powell stories, and enjoy time with each other.

Swapping old Lake Powell stories and reminiscing about new ones!

Lake Powell will forever be in my heart as a place full of memories of family, boating, sun, and good times. I now have a glimpse into the adulating side of Lake Powell, and the magic remains! Hooray for amazing memories and fun families! Thank you Brandon and Kendra for working so hard to make these memories into a reality.  We sure love you!

Until next time, Lake Powell.