My first date I went on with Rachel lasted for almost 12 hours.

We went country dancing in Salt Lake City, and then out to dessert afterwords. It was a fun time. On the way home we started a conversation in the car. That conversation continued at a small park across the street from her apartment and lasted late into the night. Rachel has always been a great person to talk with. Better, in fact, than anyone I have ever met in my life. This has always been an extremely important part to me of our relationship, and I don't imagine we will ever run out of things to talk about.

But then we started to have kids. Don't get me wrong- we absolutely love our kids. But they take time. And they make it extremely difficult to have 12 hour long conversations. I consider myself lucky on some days to even have a few uninterrupted minutes when we give each other quick run-downs of our days before falling asleep out of sheer exhaustion. This isn't the norm, of course, but it is definitely a challenging proposition any time the kids around to to actually have any semblance of a real conversation. This has been one of the biggest challenges for us of raising kids.

That is also why this weekend was so awesome.

Thursday night we dropped our kids off at my parents house, and for the next 3 full days, we talked...and talked and talked. Obviously we did lot's of fun stuff too, but mostly we just talked. It was amazingly refreshing. It was wonderful! I love Rachel so much and I am glad my parents were able to give us this gift of time together. It was one of the best things anyone could have done for us at this stage in our lives. So, Mom and Dad, if you are reading this, then THANK YOU. 

Day 1

Upper Mesa Falls

We hiked the mile down to the Lower Falls also. When we got there, Rachel stayed at the canyon rim and I climbed down to the river level.

 After we hiked around the falls, we drove up to Mack's Inn and went to the dinner theater there. It was a fun evening filled with good food and entertainment. After the show, we drove to Driggs.

Some random fishing hole outside of Driggs where we spent the night. We had taken out the seats of our van and replaced them with a mattress. It was actually quite comfortable.

 Day 2

We started the day off by driving to Jackson Hole and having an AMAZING breakfast at a local restaurant. After breakfast we went to the town square where they had their annual Western Days celebration in full swing. We watched a parade, visited booths, saw some street performers, and listened to live music. We also walked around and took in all the art galleries/Western shops which characterize downtown Jackson.

After all the walking, Rachel needed a little break. As it turns out, Jackson has the largest public bouldering park in the country. So while Rachel relaxed, I got a little climbing in. This is only one of the three boulders they have set up. There is also a climbing/mountaineering memorial. It's a pretty neat place.

After our break, we drove to Alpine Canyon and hiked down to look at some of the rapids. The river was running higher than I think I have ever seen it, and the amount of debris in the water was incredible. 

After our hike to the river we went back to Jackson and had a really good dinner at another local restaurant (but not as good as breakfast). We were planning on going to the rodeo that night, but it started raining, and since we are only fair-weather rodeo enthusiasts we decided to go to a movie instead.

That night we drove to the Trail Creek Trailhead (on Teton Pass) and spent the night in our car again. Also, about half way through the night the clouds all blew away and the sky was absolutely brilliant with all the stars. It was a beautiful reminder about how amazing our universe is.

Day 3

We got up and drove to Idaho Falls were we had another wonderful breakfast.

After we ate, we walked along the pathway next to the river and appreciated the beauty around us. Also, I saw a duck fall off of the waterfall and that was pretty funny.   

Around lunch time we headed down to Pocatello where Rachel's brother (Brandon) lives. The rest of her family came up too, and we had a good afternoon of conversation and games. Also, Brandon grilled dinner for us and it turned out really, really good. Late that night we drove back to Rexburg.

The next day we went to the Zoo in Idaho Falls with our kids, my parents, Allison and Clayson, and Al's roommate who's name I can't remember. Evelyn's favorite animals were the giant tortoises. 

Well- that was our weekend. We are feeling good and refreshed and ready for real life to begin again.

Have a good week!

Some updates: Summer is beginning and we are taking full advantage! Today's update will be a bunch of pictures.

 Evelyn and I went to see CYT's production of Rapunzel. The kids did a great job and Evelyn LOVED it.

For home church we did a family talent show. Evelyn was very proud of her picture (her talent was art). Addy did some exercises for us. Jack showed us his skills on the climbing wall. I played the guitar. Maren sang. Rachel did sign-language to a song that we all sang together. It was fun.

We went to the "Dog-d'alene" Lots of dogs. Lots of people. Lots of fun.

Parenting of the year award: "Look mom- I was hungry but then I found this corn on the ground and it is super good!" Um.....yeah.

Rachel and I went to see Wicked in Spokane. It was an amazing night out with an amazing woman. 

This is from last week when we spent the day in Spokane. This is at a petting zoo we went to. That same day we also went to a parade and a kid's fair.

Yesterday was our 9th wedding anniversary. It has been nine wonderful, crazy, sometimes-stressful, always fun, and in some ways totally unpredictable years since we committed our lives to each other. Since then, I have only fallen more in love and enamored by my amazing wife. I know that by now I should stop being surprised by how awesome she is, but whenever I think I have her figured out she goes and does something else that renews my sense of respect and admiration. I could not have married a better woman. My children could not have asked for a better mom. Rachel- if you are reading this, then please know that I love you more today than I ever have before.

As for our week- it was good.

We went to Evelyn's Kindergarten singing thing. She had fun and so did we.

We had a Cinco de Mayo party at our house. It was great because someone else planned the whole thing- we just provided the venue. I love our house/yard and I think it will be the location of MANY summertime celebrations.

We climbed trees at the park.

A movie from last week of Evelyn dancing. Pretty good!

Maren made a friend. They came up with this game without any adult supervision.

We've had a lot going on this past couple of weeks. Let me start a few weeks ago when we got the phone call that my Grandma Hill had suffered a debilitating stroke. It didn't look like she was doing so well, and recovery was highly unlikely. Over time things went from bad to worse, and calls started going out to family to meet and say their final goodbyes.

Well...family met.

Almost the entire Hill family got together for Grandma's funeral. It was amazing. I do not think there has EVER been so much of the family all in one place as there was this past weekend. Seriously- I think that if Grandma could have seen how we came together then she would have been smiling and telling everyone how she loved us all "a whole bunch." This is the woman who moved to Provo so she could keep the family together as grand-kids started going to BYU. She opened up her home to anyone who wanted to come, and Rachel and I have many fond memories of family nights and drop-in conversations with her during our time in school there. Amazingly, she never missed a single birthday of mine, Rachel's, or any of our kids- I assume the same could be said for each and every other person in her family as well. And whenever we went to visit she was always sharing news of who was expecting, and who was getting married, and what number she was on for her famous "list" of family members in chronological order. Really, grandma was all about family. So the fact that we were all able to meet over this event could be considered, I think, as a worthy achievement on her part. Because not only did we meet- but we knew each other. Grandma would have been proud.

Besides meeting with cousins and other long extended family, this was also a fun time for us because we were able to meet with all of my siblings. My parents got hotel rooms for all of us, and we enjoyed being with each other and catching up on things. When the weekend was over, I caught a flight home, and Rachel stayed in Utah for several more days visiting even more family and friends. Overall, it was a very good trip. Sometimes unplanned things- even when the occasion necessitating them is unpleasant- can turn out to be really, really good.

As for me, I came home and cleaned the house on the first day. And then, the house stayed clean for the next FOUR days. This has got to be a record or something for us. I guess that's what happens when nobody is home. Rest assured that our house is back to it's normal state of semi-disarray now that the kids are back. And while it was nice to have it cleaned- it feels more like home to have it look "lived in." While everyone was gone I got a lot of climbing in, and am continuing to improve. I am regularly sending stuff in the 12b region now, which is better than I've ever climbed before. Also, I continue to meet cool people and enjoy the new friendships that come with a shared hobby.

On Thursday night Rachel got home with the kids. We had a good "Papa Friday," and the weekend has been a relaxing change of pace for us. On Saturday we went to the local YMCA for a thing they were doing and the kids had a good time. Today was church and relaxation. I made an excellent Chicken Madeira for dinner- although it still wasn't quite as good as the meal at the Cheesecake Factory. Things are good.

Maren at the YMCA. I promise we didn't drug her- she's just making a weird face.

Evelyn at Bridal Veil Falls in Utah. Her and I hiked up together to the base of the waterfall. It was a hard hike, but we made it.

Ev and Griffin at the waterfall.

Here are some pictures from Rachel's phone.  The captions are not working right, and for some reason Allison and Clayson's picture wants to be with these ones.  The top few pictures are from Easter morning at Grandma Wendy's house.  Our Easter bunny decided a few years ago to provide a very limited amount of candy and to give a small gift to each person.  This year all of the kids received fun games and outdoor activities in their Easter baskets.  These toys made for a great Momma Day at the park (somehow we only got a few pictures..). Ig-a-loo at 30 weeks is the next photo down.  The final picture is of Evelyn getting her groove on in a mini Zumba class at the Kids Health Fair this weekend.  She had some attitude with her dancing and she stood out as one of the best dancers in the group!

Easter morning!  I love the movement and excitement of this picture.

Allison and Clayson made the hike too. They were very gracious to carry Addy up to the falls, and then to sing Frozen songs with her all the way down. That is how you win friends with 4-year-olds.

A couple of weeks ago Spring officially came to Northern Idaho and we are absolutely loving it. Since it’s sort of been a while since I wrote anything on here, this will be a somewhat disjointed post, but I’ll try to cover everything:

Rachel’s Job- Rachel has fallen into a pretty good routine with work, and is totally enjoying her job. Besides working at Sorenson, she also takes the occasional community job if it looks worthwhile. She is becoming fairly well known in interpreting circles, and is starting to be recommended for more and more people at time goes on. Just yesterday, she got to interpret a large conference with a celebrity keynote speaker which she thought was a lot of fun (I can’t say too much more about who this was or I might get Rach in trouble- I just know it is someone from the music industry who has won over 20 Grammys).  She loves what she does and we often find ourselves in friendly arguments over who has the most perfect job. (I still think I win though- either way, it’s a fun debate to have)

Hikes- With the coming of Spring we find ourselves getting outside more and more. I usually take the kids on hikes and picnics during “Papa Fridays,” and together we have discovered some really neat places in our area that I didn’t know about before. Even Maren has become a pretty good hiker, and although it takes us a little longer, the other kids are really good at waiting and including her in their explorations.

Rock Climbing- I have been climbing a lot lately, both indoors and outdoors. I can tell that I’m getting stronger, and I have already sent several projects that were totally beyond me at the end of last year. In fact, if things keep going the way they are then I will probably have the most productive climbing season of my entire life this summer, with many of my hardest routes being completed over the next few months. I have to say- it feels good to know that I can still improve despite being technically “past my prime.”

Maren- My Maren is officially in the “terrible twos” and it is driving us crazy! She thinks she is very independent, and has developed a sassy vocabulary to go with her attitude. I am convinced that children’s cuteness is an evolutionary development specifically geared towards keeping them in their parent’s good graces. Because at the end of the day, despite everything that might have happened beforehand, it is impossible for me or for anyone else to deny that My Maren is…adorable. Absolutely precious.

Arbor Day- Yesterday was Arbor Day. While Rachel was interpreting in the morning I took all the kids to the park where the city was giving away free trees to plant. They had about 10 species to pick from, and after much deliberation and a democratic vote, we decided on a “flamingo willow” because it looked like something that Dr. Seuss would draw. We then came home and planted it in front of my shop before going into the house, getting some ice cream, and watching “The Lorax” on our projector. It was a fun morning. Hooray for trees!

BBQ- let the grilling season begin! Need I say more? I’m off to make dinner.

Have a good week. (Also, make sure you scroll down and check out Rachel's post that she did today of our trip to Rexburg).

The "lunch perch"

Jack is totally going to run this in an inner tube one day...I just have that feeling. Hopefully he invites me to take pictures (and hold a rescue rope)

The Explorers. I'm sure that Jack is already over the hill- this is pretty much the order of Adventurousness around here. Jack is reckless. Evelyn is a calculated risk taker. Adalie is cautious. Maren just tries to keep up.

Jackson carrying our tree. We both took off our shirts so we could be "real men." He was a great helper.

Our little tree. It should bloom in a few weeks.

Rexburg Trip

I love trips to Rexburg!  Our whole family has a great time, and it all begins with a fun road trip.  The kids are great in the car, and Logan and I have a lot of time for wonderful conversations... one of our favorite things.

This trip did not disappoint. I think if you asked our kids about their favorite part of the trip they would unanimously agree that the visit to the Hart building at BYU Idaho was at the top of the list. For some reason this building has magical charm and excitement around every corner!  We have visited often and have created many fun memories there.  There have been many times where the kids have fondly reviewed memories and wished they could transport themselves back to the Hart Building.  Who knew that a campus building could hold so much appeal and admiration.  Oh the joy of children!

We packed our weekend with activities including; going on walks, visiting with some cute ducklings, watching the Lego Movie in the theater, rock climbing with the adults, wonderful meals, and enjoying great company all around.

We love the attention, love, and carefree times we have in Rexburg.  Thank you to everyone for making our trips so enjoyable!  I am also glad that our weekend trip magically matched up with Allison and Clayson's weekend trip.

Once again I forgot to take pictures... If anyone happens to have some on their camera or phone please send them my way.

Sunshine! Glorious sunshine!

(This is our blog from two weeks ago.  I wrote it, but it didn't get published.  We still don't have access to the pictures from the week, but I will try to add them later. I have another post coming about our great weekend in Rexburg).

We have been busy this week playing in the sunshine.  Logan took the kids to the Discovery Park on Friday with a picnic and ended up finding a fun hiking spot.  On Saturday we went to Tubbs Hill to hike around, then we went to the big wooden park to play and have a picnic.  Hmm.  I sense a theme here.

The three older kids are laughing and playing in the backyard as I write this.  I love watching and listening to them as they explore their world and play pretend.

On Tuesday, the Disney movie Frozen came out.  We had a pizza/movie Frozen party, and to get us ready we painted and colored pictures of the the characters.  We had a wonderful day, and the movie was as good as we remembered it.

We are headed off to Falls Park to hike to the waterfall and play around a bit...

On the way to Falls Park I overheard this great conversation from the back seat.
Addy: Evelyn- Do you like to pick your nose?
Evelyn: Yes.
Addy: Momma and Papa don't like to pick their noses.  It is yummy on me, but it is yucky on them!

Lovely.