The Hazard Chronicles

 A breakdown of our week, person by person:

Evelyn: Does she even live here anymore, or just pass by in the night? She has been spending a lot of time with friends- mostly in Coeur d'Alene, going to concerts, playing drums, and being a teenager. She is definitely feeling the freedom that comes along with a driver's license. She is also feeling the sharp pinch of not having enough gas money. So far she has managed to get by on the little money she makes from babysitting and whatnot, but she'll need a job soon if she is going to keep up her current lifestyle.

Adalie: Pretty chill week for her. I think she is still recovering from New York (See last week's post). The first few days back she was really tired and it led to some entertaining moments. The four oldest kids (not just Addy) spent a full day on Wednesday with the church youth group doing a ropes course thing.

Jackson: While Addy was in New York last week, Jack spent a week hanging out with my dad- mostly helping with their upcoming move, but also doing some camping and fishing. It looked like a fun guy's week. Jack has recently gotten very interested in drawing in his sketchbook, and spends a lot of time in his room doing this. I think this is a phase that every kid goes through, though the subject matter changes. This time around it is anime characters. Not super original, but his pictures are better than most that I've seen. You can tell he puts time into it. Also, he led the most difficult pitch of his life on Saturday- a 5.10 friction slab. I led it afterwards and it was pretty legit- enough so that I was actually pretty impressed by his boldness and composure. That's pretty cool.

Fist bump for a bold lead. As I was doing the climb I got through what I thought was the crux and told him nice job. I could hear his smirk in the response- "thanks, Dad, but it's not over yet!" He was right-the entire pitch was thoughtful slab climbing with a little spice to go with it!

This is from his time with Grandpa- painting under the stairs at their house. This little room told an entire family history as, over the years, it became a graffiti wall of sorts- the one place that a kid with a crayon can go wild. 

I especially liked this one

Camping and fishing with grandpa

Maren: The ropes course on Wednesday is an annual event and Maren is finally old enough to go. She came home with lots of stories of getting tangled up in swings. Her biggest news this week is her first recital for voice. She has done lots of stuff with the school choir, including a few small solo lines, but this is the first time she has stood up in front of people and done an entire song on her own. You could kind of tell it was her first time singing into a mic, but by the second verse she had hit her stride and was having fun with the song. The number she did was "Mamma Mia," and she got a ton of compliments afterwards. She has a big voice and a good ear, so I think there is real potential for her if she decides to continue in this direction.

Lindsey: Lindsey spent most of the week at a church youth group day camp thing- mostly doing arts and crafts and learning some songs and stuff. When she came home in the afternoon she almost always got on her bike and rode to one of her friend's houses. It seems like she is having exactly the kind of summer I would hope for a nine year old.

Rach and me: We have had a few great nights together this week. On Tuesday we went to the Arbor Crest release party where they had good hors d'oeuvres and a jazz band playing in the gardens. As we took in the ambiance we spontaneously planned a trip to New York for later this year, inspired perhaps by Addy's recent trip and the feel of the music in the background. We are excited! We also had a fun date night on Friday perfecting some efficient multi-pitch climbing systems. We did 6 pitches total, and by the end had our transition time between pitches to under 2 minutes. She's a pretty fun climbing partner.

Family: The biggest outing we had together was at Tum Tum on Saturday. I call this place "The outdoor climbing gym" and I love the feel of it. Some of our friends happened to be there as well and it was good catching up with them, doing a little climbing, and just sort of chilling in a very relaxed sort of way. Afterwards we went to a great pizza place, because that is what we do. Overall, a very fun afternoon.

Looking forward, we have a short work-week coming up because of Independence Day. We're planning to take advantage of the time with a visit to the coast and go on a family backpacking trip. Should be good.

Have a good week!