It was kind of a random week. I can't think of any big memorable events or anything- just several smaller things. School is starting up again next week and we've been getting ready for that with shopping and back-to-school nights. If you ask me, it can't come soon enough. I think that Rachel feels the same way.

Anyway- here are some photos with little stories attached. I find that this is a good format for weeks like this. 

Quick climbing day with Rach. In this photo, Jackson is belaying Addy, who is leading. Also, on this day, Jackson did his hardest lead to date.

Our office played kickball against other dental offices. We didn't win, but we had a good time.

Silverwood. Not much more needs to be said about this. It is still there, and it is still just as "fun" as ever.

Everyone should have a friendship like this one in their lives!

Addy and Maren spent most of the day together

Jackson got a pet lizard. He has been wanting this for a while and saved a lot of money to get it. I don't understand it, but it is small and clean, so to each their own. Howard a is pretty chill little guy.

Just being a family on a summer evening. We have fun conversations. It feels much like hanging out with a group of friends more than anything, which is exactly what it is. 

Alright- have a good week!

Man, I don't even know where to start this week. Last night, Rachel and I were walking around at the Idaho State Fair. Evelyn and her band would be on stage in about an hour, and our kids were off entertaining themselves. It was a nice intermission in what felt like an extremely busy and "good stressful" time in our lives. There have been a few things this week that will probably cause shockwaves in our family for years- all in a good way, hopefully- but it will be nice to move past them as summertime winds down to a close. Also, I am going to purposefully omit a few items from this post, both to leave breathing room for other things as well as to allow events to run their course over the next several weeks.

Anyway, let's get started:

On Tuesday, Rachel and I took a drive up to Wallace. It's an old mining town that has been in the midst of major transformation in the past several years, and is poised for even more change down the road. Situated right in between two ski resorts, it has an artsy feel to the downtown area and it was fun to walk around and discover some of the restaurants and shops. We didn't take any photos or anything, but I just wanted to make sure this date-night was mentioned in this post. It was a nice evening.

Moving on, we had a big get-together with my work on Friday night. We all got a box together at a minor-league baseball game and just hung out with good food and good company. Also, I think there was a game going on in the background, but I couldn't tell you for sure who won without looking it up on the internet. Mostly, it was just a nice excuse to socialize in a more relaxed environment. Good times with people who really do feel like they have become an extension of our family.

This team is so awesome. Please ignore the guy photobombing the group. We pretend not to know him ;)

Next, I want to share a couple of throw-back photos from 2018:

This is a camping trip I went on with the older kids and some friends. At the time, we mostly just hiked around and did some light cragging down in the valley. Liberty Bell (big one on the right) had me captured though. It was the closest thing I have experienced to love at first sight. I have never felt so inspired or compelled by a single line, but there is a crack system that follows its way up that feature that would just not work it's way out of my head.

Last week, I got to do that climb. I met up with Brett early on Saturday morning in Post Falls, and we hooked up with Jon and Adrian on the wall later that afternoon. We did most of the climb on Sunday, and it was every bit as good as I had hoped. Something about just moving up huge features like this lends a feeling of occasion to the day, like something significant was accomplished. I love it!

Jon and Adrian aiding through the roof

Brett

Adrian

Jon

What a beautiful summit. Definitely a view that has to be earned.

Ok. I started this blog talking about the state fair, and that's how we'll end. Our family spent a great afternoon looking at booths, going on rides, eating unhealthy food, and relaxing in the shade. We saw several friends there, and again it reminded me how lucky I feel to have such a diverse social circle.

Night time was what we were really there for though- specifically when the band Minerva stepped onto the stage amidst cheers from probably the biggest audience they have ever had. And they ROCKED it. Evelyn and her band were up there having the time of their life, the crowd was responsive, and the music seemed to come easier and sound better than it ever had in practice. Experiences like this will stay with these kids forever, and already I am a little bit jealous of Evelyn's teenage years. What confidence they have! What a night!

Note: For those who want video of the performance- I think I put some links at the very bottom of this post. Please note that the energy and quality of a live performance can never be accurately recorded on a cell phone, but we try anyway.

Alright- stay tuned for more fun down the road. Have a good week!

Highway to Hell

Free Fallin'

I Love Rock and Roll

It has been a really wonderful week, where all the things just seemed to line up and balance really well. We saw three (three!) Broadway musicals this week, all acted superbly by professional touring companies. One of them (Sister Act) was interpreted by Rachel, and she did an amazing job. As for me, I go a lot done on the website for the dental study club, and I played in the band at church on Sunday. We also went backpacking as a family and had a wonderful time exploring in the mountains, followed by a fun afternoon walking around the charming town of Wallace. There are some little stories here and there that I will include in the captions, but the main thing is just that we had a good week.

That is all. Enjoy the photos!

Oh, and as always, you can click on photos to see them bigger and with better quality. I'm just mentioning it because I think that some of them on this post maybe deserve that more than on others.

Rach and I went to Seattle to see Hamilton! These are tickets that we actually got forever ago during Covid times, and then they were rescheduled, and then they were rescheduled again. The day finally came though, and it was sooo worth the wait. What a wonderful day, capped by a wonderful evening!

Come From Away is a play that we saw a few years ago in New York. It was fun and wonderful and has an extremely hopeful message regarding the goodness of people. However, since we had already seen it we weren't originally planning on going when it came to Spokane. But then Addy entered the picture.

 "If I pay for my ticket with my own money, will you go with me?"

Tickets were fairly expensive, and we figured that if it was worth it to her, it was worth it to us, so we told her we would. We were thinking she would probably just get the cheapest ones available.  This was Addy though, and Addy loves theater. That same day, she went on and bought the best seats in the whole theater. I have to say, it was a night to remember. Seriously, Addy and Rachel both made great dates and it was one of the most enjoyable theater nights in my recent memory. And that's saying something!

Sister Act was a show by the Summer Theater that Rachel interpreted. I think we all had a great time watching the show, and it was one of the few times the kids have actually gotten to see Rachel at work, so that was kind of cool too.

This is the first photo of many that we will post of our recent backpacking trip. All the kids did great, and they are now planning a kids only overnighter where Rachel and I are not invited. I think that is cool.

Relaxing on the trail

At one of our snack stops I forced people to get together for a photo. Also, Lindsey looks like she just saw a ghost.

We decided to shave off much of the hike by climbing straight up this talus slope. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I think that some kids maybe regretted the decision about half way up. It was cool though, when the kids who had already reached the top went back down to take the packs of the others and to talk to them on the way up- "because it is always easier when you have someone with you." Little things like this, especially when unprompted, make my dad heart happy.

I love mountain lakes- especially during sunrise and sunset. There are several photos here of the latter, and the colors were legit. The entire landscape seemed supersaturated and made the experience a little surreal. 

These three girls slept in a tent, Jack and Lindsey used bivy sacks, and Rachel and I shared a tent. Jackson was super nice to carry the girls tent for them even though he wasn't planning on using it.

More sunset photos. I think I am down there pumping water for our dinner.

That evening, Jackson got a little too excited jumping around on some logs and fell in the lake. He didn't bring a change of clothes. He was in for a rough evening.

Our campsite had this makeshift chair that was actually pretty comfy.

So, it turned out that Evelyn and Addy had carried some extra clothes with them, and since they were so thankful that Jackson had carried their tent, they let him change out of his wet ones into theirs.

Also, we should always remember the whooping and cheering we heard from the forest as Jackson changed. I guess he was running around naked and said it was just so liberating. Alright then. 

I woke up early, because I am me, and walked to the top of the mountain.

Rachel with her stick that Lindsey gave her.

This was our favorite log, and we took several pictures on it. The setup was just too good though, with the waterfall in the background and everything.

We started calling Lindsey "our little dirt clod."

I feel like these pictures all need captions, but don't have much to say about some of them. They are just photos we took along the way. Addy and Maren spent a lot of time hiking and playing together on this trip.

Summer sausage and cheese are actually really good together. Throw some trail mix in with it, and it is like mountain charcuterie

I love that I captured this moment with Lindsey and Rachel with their sticks.

Celebration lunch after the hike

Have a good week!