Wallace is a neat town, and we have been spending a fair amount of time up there as we try and get our new house all furnished. It has honestly been a lot of fun. So far we have gotten most of the necessities in place (couches, beds, etc.) and are starting to turn our attention now toward a more personalized feel. We have commissioned some custom art pieces, and Rachel and I have both discovered the joy of "antiquing" as a pastime. It may take a while, but I think the end product is going to be really neat. The idea is that when you step into the house it should feel, in a way, like you are stepping out of the real world and traveling back in time. It is intentionally not a house that is conducive to daily living, but is more a place of gathering and relaxation. It is warm and cozy and nice, and I think it fits our family well.

Also, each time we go to Wallace we seem to discover a new little gem about the place. Two weeks ago was the rededication of the town as the "Center of the Universe," and last week we found a beautiful little trail to hike that is just a mile from our house. We have met our neighbors on both sides- one, a family with young kids that lives there full time, and the other, a young couple from Montana who use it as a winter vacation property for skiing. We have also found some favorite places to frequent and are becoming familiar with some of the shop owners- namely, the girl at the ice cream parlor, the person who runs the art gallery and does pottery classes on Sundays, the guy at the gem shop who insists on giving free things to our kids even when we tell him not to, and the barista at the café with a particularly good taste for literature.

As far as our day-to-day, life is good. Our kids are still doing all their things. School goes well. Rach and I are both working fulfilling careers. I had study club this last weekend which is always fun and motivating. Rachel and Addy will be running a 5k this weekend. We saw some plays and watched some football. I like where we are at, as a family. 

Have a good week!

The gentleman on the stage has given himself the title "Prime Minister." He reread the Center of the Universe Proclaimation amid pomp and circumstance. Wallace is a great quirky little town!

These last two are from the Center of the Universe festival in Wallace

The beginnings of the Rec Room

Main room is getting close to being done. Still some decorative touches to be made.

Bedrooms are still pretty sparse, but everyone now has their own bed to sleep on. Also, a shoutout goes out to these two girls who helped me all morning to assemble three queens, a twin, and the bunk bed in the photo. That was a busy morning!

The next several photos are from a little walk/hike we went on last weekend. The leaves are starting to change color and the air was cool enough to be comfortable. It's a good season.

Photographing the photographer

Jackson went with friends to see the Broadway tour of Hairspray

Rach and I went and saw Admissions- a play that says all the things you aren't supposed to say out loud and leads to some interesting conversation.

I've been thinking lately and this post is going to get a little bit "meta" for a second. Please indulge the aside for a moment from our regular narrative. Or don't. You can skip to the fun parts if your want.

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The Hazard Chronicles. I started this project in 2007, and I have written almost weekly ever since. At the end of the year we print everything out to make a "yearbook" of sorts for our family. I love these books, and we will continue to make them- forever, hopefully.

But things are changing a little bit, because more and more "The Hazard Chronicles" are becoming "The Logan Chronicles." Up until recently there hasn't been too much of a difference. Our kids were young and we have pretty much always done things together. My limited perspective can't even begin to keep up with a dynamic family of seven though, with an increasingly diverse range of interests and activities. I can't be a part of everything- nor should I be- and I don't want to become the nagging parent/husband who is constantly asking people to write things. 

A part of me wants to though. I feel that there is value in a personal record, and I have always kept a journal of sorts. I can tell myself all the stories I want about "when I was younger," but memory fades and these stories are inevitably flawed, sometimes beyond recognition, when trying to make sense of current events. I feel like I gain valuable insight into our family though, when I go back and read about our Cleveland days. Just as I gain insight into myself when I read the words I wrote back in high school, or when I was walking the streets of Brazil, or when I was becoming a dad, or when I was grasping at shadows trying to hold onto both a business and a faith that were quickly slipping through my fingers. The people who wrote those journals are different from who I am today, but they have all shaped me and are a part of me. Seeing the world again through their eyes gives me a far clearer picture of who I am today than trying to rely on memory alone. And I guess that I see that as an important thing.

Anyway, just know that when reading these posts, whether you are friends and family in the present, or someone far in the future looking back, that you are only getting one very small part of the Hazard Family through these words. You will likely not hear about all the mini-dramas of high school, or travels that our kids have with friends during extracurricular activities. You will almost always see our kids through my own filters, but not very often through Rachel's or their own. And when writing, one is always a protagonist in their own narrative...even when maybe they shouldn't be. That is a little bit tough for me to accept. But I'll keep doing it because I think that someone has to.

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Okay- now we can get back to the regularly scheduled program of our little family doing little things that seem big to us. Because that, I think, is the human experience, and it is a beautiful thing.

Actually, in spite of my intro, I did nag Addy to write a little bit for this one. A while ago, her, Maren, and Jackson started planning a backpacking trip with just them. Nobody else could come, including (especially) adults. Well, they pulled it off this weekend at Steven's Lake, and by the way they talk about "lavender farts," I'm pretty sure I didn't miss out on anything. Here is her blurb:

Jack, Maren, and I (Adalie), went backpacking on our own this week. There were a few casualties, but overall it went surprisingly smoothly. However, no backpacking trip goes perfectly, so I have a few stories to tell. First off, Jackson and I were just sitting at the campsite and Maren was pooping, when we heard in the woods, "Guys! A squirrel is watching me poop!" Then, a few minutes later, we saw Maren running from the woods, still pulling up her pants. "Guys, is it still following me? Is the squirrel still following me?" After she calmed down, she told us about how the squirrel watching her poop had jumped at her. She got scared and zoomed away from him and ran for us.

We ate dinner, then went to sleep. Maren woke me up in the night, and asked me what time it was. I looked at my watch and was shocked to find out it was only 11:30. It was super bright out. So bright, in fact, that one side of the tent was white. By this point, Jack was awake too. After about 15 minutes, we finally got the guts to figure out what was making he light. Maren poked her head out and immediately said "Guys, you've gotta see this!" Jack poked his head our and gasped. I then stuck my head out and saw the brightest moon I have seen in my life. It was reflecting off the lake to make one of the prettiest night scenes I have ever been a part of. We were awestruck.

All in all, we had a great backpacking trip, and all feel very accomplished to have completed it without any adult supervision. That is all.

Planning the trip at home.

*****

While the other kids were running from squirrels and staring at the moon, the rest of us went to our Wallace house. We spent the afternoon exploring the town, and in the evening Rachel and I went on a little date. It really is a nice place, and a neat location. For some of the kids it was their first time there, and it was fun to watch their enthusiasm. Furnishings still consist of just a few airbeds, but that is rapidly changing. I think that within the next month or so we'll have all the basics.

Wallace did this thing on 9/11 where a bunch of people paraded up and down the town stairs, led by the local fire crew- like a tribute thing to the first responders. Now I'll be the first to admit that we aren't the most patriotic family, but the stairs went right by our house and Lindsey was out there anyway cheering them on, so this just seemed fitting.

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As far as day-to-day life, we are fully back into the swing of things with school and extracurriculars. Ev went to a high-school football game on Friday night with a bunch of friends and said she had a good time, although she wasn't able to tell me for sure which team won. She is already looking forward to the next one. 

Also, she has a "walk-fit" class for PE. They walk. That is all they do. I think that is funny.

The regular NFL season also kicked off this week, which for us means a lot of good times with junk food.

We start almost every day by eating breakfast together on the deck. It's a lovely start to the morning.

Football season is here!

Have a good week!

The short version:

1) The kids went back to school

2) We had a pretty good relaxing weekend

3) We bought a second home

*****

The long version:

School started today. I'll post some back-to-school photos below, because that is what we do. Usually around this time of year Rachel will jump on and do a big family update, so you can look forward to that if you are into that sort of thing. For now, I'll just do a little caption profile of each kid.

Evelyn is a freshman. That is crazy to think about. She says she is nervous for high school, but she also asked me to drop her off forty minutes early today so she could have enough time to socialize with her friends. She gets straight As, likes to skateboard, draw, and make her own jewelry, is the drummer in a rock band, and is known more commonly as "Moth" to her peers.

Adalie is going into 7th grade, and she doesn't want to grow up. She likes school for the academics and the friends and the cross country meets and the arts. Basically, all the things. But she doesn't want the school year to start, because that means that she is officially one full step closer to the responsibilities of adulthood, which freaks her out. This year Addy petitioned the school on her own accord (and won) to be able to do homeschool PE, making time in her schedule to enroll in both band AND drama. Yes, she is that kid.

Jackson is a very confident nerd, a title that he wears well. He has a pet lizard, plays a lot of Legos and Minecraft, and loves chickens, which is why he refuses to eat them. He got into honors English this year based more on his writing and creativity than on his grades, which I think is cool. He is actually really excited for school, as well as for the after-school homework club thing that he is a part of.

Maren is maybe the most kind and thoughtful kid I have ever known. She is constantly doing things or buying things for other people, just because she knows it will make them happy. She is quick to do small chores when asked, and is a reliable friend in times of need. She loves to spend time with her bunnies and is increasingly finding joy in the world of children's literature. For this reason, it's not surprising that she is most excited for English and Social Studies at school. Math, on the other hand, is a different story...

Lindsey is a diva. 

That is all.

*****

This last weekend, we had big plans. It was the last week of summer vacation, and we were going to go to the Pacific coast, or on a big backpacking trip, or something like that. We thought people would be stoked to end summer with a big bang, you know? That's what I would want. It turns out that we were wrong.

"Ok then- since it's the last weekend of the summer, what do you want to do?"

That is what we asked, and Evelyn didn't hesitate to step forward with ideas. She said that if she could have the same budget we would use on a backpacking trip, she would plan a weekend that the kids would appreciate more than anything the parents wanted to do. 

"After all," she reasoned, "Our family does big things all the time. How about we take this last weekend to just relax around here for once?"

Fair enough. I'll admit that "relaxing" isn't one of my strengths.

The weekend she planned was actually a ton of fun. We went downtown and walked around the parks, got pizza, and saw a movie. The next day we went on a hike around Tubbs Hill, enjoyed a family bike ride, played at the beach, and then made ice cream sundaes. We finished it all off with a backyard BBQ, inviting some of our closest friends to join.

It has been a great summer, full of great things, but Evelyn was right. It is actually nice to stop every once in a while and just allow life to slow down. I'm glad she stepped in to do that for us. Also, I think it was good for the kids to have time to catch their breath a little before school started.

Who's kids are these?!

Dancing in the park to a live band. Well, one of us was dancing. The other was trying to coax the family to keep walking. I'll leave it to your imagination to figure out who was who, though you might be surprised.

The mastermind of our weekend

Jackson and his Heelys. 

Sometimes I think of our family like the Breakfast Club. We're all pretty bizarre, and not one of us is alike. But it somehow works, you know? I like us.

I love this picture of Lindsey at Tubbs. If you look at our blog photos, it's clear that someone knows how to use a cell phone camera.

Send off of summer, and a welcoming of a new year. Bring it on!

*****

I'm a little bit nervous to share this because we don't actually close for another couple of days and it would be embarrassing if for some reason it didn't happen. At the same time, there don't seem to be any loose ends and I am impatient and excited. 

Basically, in between all the other adventures of the summer, Rach and I found time to look at and buy a second home. I think we'll call it "the mountain house," or something like that. 

We were originally looking for something a little more remote and "cabin-like," but in the end we were totally won over by the charming town of Wallace. It lies 15 minutes away from two different ski resorts where we get passes, one of which is expanding to nearly double the size this year. It is also right on the river, as well as on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes, a bike path that we find ourselves on a lot in the warmer seasons. The town itself has cultivated an artsy feel that draws on its unique mining history, and is a delightful place to just walk around, peeking in at all the little shops or restaurants along the way. It's a quirky little town that you will probably be hearing more about in the coming weeks.

As for the house itself, we couldn't have asked for more. The basic stats are that it has four bedrooms, two baths and is about 2,600 square feet. Of this space, only 1,900 is being used, which leaves room for some fun projects and customization (starting with the bonus room). A lot of modern updates and remodeling have taken place over the last few years, all to a fairly high standard, which makes it more than ready for us to move in later this month. The house sits on a hill with a stunning view of the Silver Valley, and yet is still easy walking distance (about two blocks) from all the offerings mentioned in the last paragraph. 

In short, I think we'll make some great memories here. Some people have wondered if we'll make it into a short-term rental. Rachel wants to, I don't, so we probably will at some point as her hobby project. That isn't why we got it though. We got it because it sounded fun to have a place to get away, and a little bit because we had some extra money we could afford to risk and it seemed like a more fun and tangible way to speculate compared with other things. 

Also, have you ever tried to furnish an entire house from scratch in two weeks? Holy cow! I can't even begin to think about how much stuff we will forget about until we need it!

Anyway, here's a real estate video on the home:

And here are some pictures that you won't see in the video.

Okay- this first picture is literally taken directly from the video, so you can ignore that last sentence. The house sits on a hill. I love the view from the upstairs windows. There is also a garage at the street level that you can't see, with a door that leads into the unfinished basement.

The town of Wallace maintains these stairs that go up onto the hill. Our house is right by these stairs (It's the one on the left that you can see in the photo)

This is just showing how close we are to the town. This was a major selling point for us, because it essentially turns the entire town into a "backyard" of sorts that people can walk to while others stay at home.

This will be our first big project for sure. A full-height attic with easy access. Bonus room! There is so much space for ideas here! I think when we are all done, the house will boast 5-6 bedroom and two separate living areas. At least, that is the long-term plan. 

This is the basement that you walk into from the garage. It's more of a cellar, and will likely remain unfinished for some time. We'll improve this entry to be more inviting though.

*****

One more thing- Football season is upon us. I got these photos of Rachel as she was doing her fantasy draft. She definitely takes this thing seriously!

Have a good week!