Info Dump

We have been enjoying the beginning of Summer quite a bit. I'm just going to start writing things down as they come to mind, so this might just be a big information dump.

Rachel arranged a night for us and some of her friends to go out and do swing dancing a few weeks ago. That was a lot of fun. We have also been watching the Cavs play in most of their playoff games and we are excited to see them in the finals (I went to school in Cleveland and the Cavs were sort-of a big deal). Addy and Jack are registered for Kindergarten, Evelyn has been recommended for a "gifted and talented" class next year, and Rachel has found a good preschool for Maren to start next Fall. Lindsey has not fallen down the stairs yet, so she is doing well too. I took the four older kids to a theatre to see the movie HOME yesterday, and that was fun. We made the mistake of watching a music video to the soundtrack though, and now they want to watch all of Rihanna's videos. I don't think that's gonna happen.

We also enjoyed a lovely visit from Marissa and Wesley a few weeks ago. They were on their way up to Seattle (I think) for a cruise, and our house happened to be on the way. They were here for a few days and we had a good time. One night we took all the kids out for frozen yogurt and to a live production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang which was tons of fun. The next morning we went out to breakfast (just the adults) over the river and had some good conversations before they had to head out.

Work is going well for both of us. At my work we are bringing on another doctor this week, so that will make it so that we can pretty much take time off whenever we want. That'll be nice. Rachel is also doing great at work and has been offered the opportunity this summer to interpret on a cruise ship. It's pretty nice when you get paid (well, I might add) to go on vacation. I guess that's just what happens when you are a cool as Rachel.

Well, I don't really have much else to say. I posted a few pictures below of some our our outings. Also, watch the blog during the upcoming weeks because I am planning on highlighting each member of our family (I sort of did Jack last week) and I think those will be fun posts. 

Happy birthday to Rachel! The kids got her camping stuff for her birthday and we have already tested it out. 

Evelyn- next to a large elephant tusk. This was part of a scavenger hunt we did with the kids on a rainy day. Rachel's team won...but I think mine had more fun (or maybe it's just sour grapes). Also, Evelyn is an expert on all things "Elephant." 

 These are all from a hike we did as a family. All the kids were completely happy for about three and a half miles. This is a great achievement in my book.

Just chillin' at the park.

Have a good week!

Jack

"Ask Questions, Take Chances, Make Mistakes, Get Messy!"

-Ms. Frizzle-

This is one of my favorite quotes and one that I try to live by. It is also an attitude that we try to transmit to our children. There is so much, I think, that life has to offer- so many amazing places and things and ideas to explore- so much to learn and to experience, and so little time to do it all in. So as far as I'm concerned, Ms. Frizzle was right.

Of all our children, there is one who seems to have really taken this message to heart.

This guy is one of the coolest five year olds that you will ever meet. Seriously. Whether it is running into a freezing lake while letting out a battle cry, or confidently leading a group of kids through the forest in search of adventure, Jackson is one who is no stranger to discovery. And normally, this is extremely rewarding to watch. Sometimes however, things don't turn out so well.

Like this.

Yep. That's our garage door. Jackson was curious about how it worked. This is the result.

I was at work when this happened, so during my lunch break I was a little bit alarmed to see that I had missed approximately three dozen phone calls from my dear wife within a thirty minute period. Concerned, I called back only to be greeted by a voice that made be seriously question Rachel's mental stability.

"Hey love, um, yea, so, um, oh, yes, and, well, no, see, ahh, IDontKnow, think, um, crazy, cry, Jack, oh, see, I'llSendYouAPicture. Bye." Click. I hadn't even been able to say hello.

So, there I was, imagining that our house had burned down, or that one of our kids was eaten by a mountain lion or something, when finally Rachel texted me a picture of what you see above.

My response is unexplainable. I was elated! I started laughing in front of my entire office team (I kid you not), and had to show them the picture in order to prove that I wasn't crazy (I don't think it convinced them). Maybe because it was so much less than what I had imagined, or maybe it's because I realized instantly that such a result could never be brought about intentionally by any of our kids, and I was just stunned by the absurd magnitude of what was probably a pretty benign expression of curiosity as seen on the front-end. Either way, I called back and assured Rachel that I would be home shortly to fix things.

In the interim, it appears that Rachel was able to locate Jackson, who had been in his room sobbing. He felt horrible. "I just want to be a worker and help people." he said. "I didn't mean to break it."

How could you get mad at that? When I got home I loudly announced that I could fix the garage, but that I would need someone to help me who was a really good worker. Jack and I spent the next 45 minutes together trying to figure out how to disconnect the door from the mechanical slidy thingy without wonking ourselves on the coiled spring doohickey. It was quality time. Jack actually had a lot of insights and was able to see things that I didn't. It was fun.

As for the garage, it will be expensive to fix- but not so expensive that it will seriously disrupt our lives. On the other hand, I hope that Jack learned some important lessons. I hope he learned that some questions must be approached more carefully than others, that some mistakes are bigger than others, and that some messes are harder to clean up than others. At the same time, I hope that he came away with a clear understanding that we are not upset at all with him for wondering about things; to the contrary, that we are actually quite impressed that he even had the wherewithal to be seriously considering the mechanics of a garage door opener. Seriously, while talking with him I was actually pretty amazed that he was able to clearly articulate what he thought had happened, and then test it with me by reproducing the experiment (except for the part where it breaks) on the garage door on my shop. I'll tell you what, there is more that goes on in a five-year-old's head than I sometimes give credit for.

If he keeps this up, then Jack is going to make a great worker one day, and whatever he ends up doing, I'm sure he will help a lot of people.

I love this guy. This is a roller coaster that him and I made with K'Nex blocks. It has a motor and everything. Jack directed the entire construction and it took about 3 days, but it turned out great.

Dancing Through Life...and some other rambling thoughts

Today is Mother's Day. I should be making breakfast in bed for my wonderful wife right now. But I can't. Instead, I am sitting in a small hotel in the middle of Louisville Kentucky waiting for a cab to pick me up and bring me to the airport.

Don't get me wrong- it's been a good weekend. I came here on a quick trip to take a class on Invisalign braces. Normally I love stuff like this- I honestly love what I do for work, and these little courses provide a lot of great opportunities to learn new things, see new places, and meet new people. This particular weekend I'm just not too thrilled about it though. It's been a long week at work (same number of hours...just longer hours than normal), and it's Mother's day, and Lindsey is at home throwing up and I'm really not that big a fan of Louisville anyway. I didn't even get to see a horse race.

Can't wait to be home.

You know what- let's focus on last weekend instead. That is something I can be a lot more positive about.

Cinco de Mayo. This is a big day for us. Because, besides being a very good day for a Mexican Army (and a very bad day for a French one), this day happens to be the anniversary of the day Rachel and I got married. Ten years. It seems like such a nice, round number, doesn't it? It's hard for me to imagine that. Ten years. Really? Where did that time go?

It seems like just yesterday we were eating lunch together at "The Wilk," making awkward small-talk about our college majors and somehow both seeing something in the other that made us want to deepen the relationship. It was so recently that I was borrowing by cousin's truck- the one with the torn vinyl seats and the passenger door that won't open- so that I could drive up with her and hike Mt. Timpanogos. I remember being giddy as I planned out a marriage proposal, because I already knew ahead of time that she would say "yes." I remember looking for our first apartment together thinking, 'wow- this is going to be OUR place. US, as in...together.'

It's been the most wonderful, adventurous, and spectacular ten years of my life. And in some ways it seems like even longer than that. It's weird how time works. When I think back to those early days it seems like it all took place just a blink of the eye away. BYU. Dancing. Talking. Climbing. Hiking. More Talking. And then we were here. But at the same time, it is difficult for me to remember life being any other way. So much has happened in that ten years that it is crazy to even think about. College graduation for both of us. Moving across the country. Getting through dental school. Starting a family. Starting careers. Having more kids and becoming a "big family." Moving again. Losing loved ones. Buying a house. Owning and running a business. Losing faith in a religion. Making difficult large-scale career changes. Having kids in school. Making friends. Becoming part of a community. And always lots and lots of dancing, talking, hiking, playing, climbing, and more talking.

It has been amazing. All of it. Good times and bad- I wouldn't trade a single second. Maybe because I honestly have a difficult time remembering what things were like- or even what they could be like- without Rachel. We are so much US that in some ways I feel like independent 'ME' has changed to the point that it couldn't survive anymore without a 'HER.' I know that sounds a little sappy and to some people maybe even a little pathetic (I can't help but feel sorry for their poor, embittered souls)- but that's the honest truth. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

The real celebration of these past ten years is taking place next month when my parents have graciously offered to take the kids so we can enjoy a week of fun and relaxation together. That will be a good vacation. At the same time, we have definitely not allowed the day to slip by unnoticed. Last weekend we hosted a large Cinco de Mayo party at our home, complete with Mexican food/drinks, music, decorations, and even a pinata for the kids. It was fun, and I have really come to enjoy hosting events like this.

On the day of our actual anniversary we did what we always do...we danced. Lately we have been getting out a lot more for this reason, and I have enjoyed it immensely. It's crazy because 16-year-old Logan would never have guessed that I would say that. But it's true. I have always loved music, and for some reason it is liberating to get out and just let it move you without caring at all what you look like (but taking comfort in the back of your mind that at least you look better than the guy next to you who is prancing around like an injured bird in it's last moments). So we danced.

And as we danced, I was thinking- what a good metaphor for our marriage. Dancing. The give and take. The cooperation. The fun. The complicated mixture between total spontaneity and carefully executed moves. The back and forth between surrendering entirely to the music, and the desire to shape that music into some coherent form of expression. It really is a beautiful thing, when two people know each other so well that all the interactions between the individual, the couple, and the music just flow together, becoming something that is entirely new and artistic, and yet at the same time somehow recognizable enough to be called "dancing."

And so it is that Rachel and I continue- as the song says- dancing through life. It is fun, and exciting, and beautiful. The music is ever-changing, the dance steps constantly evolving. But I could never in a million years ask for a better partner.

Dancing through life. I like that.

A walk on the boardwalk for our anniversary.

Some of the kids during "the great candy trade" after the pinata.

In recognition of Mother's Day- Rachel is super mom! Really. This picture says it all.

This is the cutest little sick girl I've ever seen.

We've had a pretty relaxed week...nothing super exiting to write about. Sometimes weeks like that are nice. The highlight of my week was probably climbing with a new partner on some of the great harder routes in our area (Dad- it's the guy you met at Q'emiln) and setting plans in motion for later in the summer. The weather is also getting really nice and Rachel and I have started sitting on the deck in the evenings after kids are in bed and watching the sun set behind the mountains we live by. Beautiful. That's all I can say. Absolutely Beautiful.

Here are some pictures of our recent exploits (including a lot from last week with Grandpa):

Museum w/ Grandpa

Painting Jackson's room (with Grandpa)

Backyard picnic (with Grandpa)

Our family with the General Lee. Also, I just noticed that Evelyn is sucking on Lindsey's foot. Ok- that's weird. 

Evelyn's magic show

Evelyn went to a friend's birthday party and came back looking like The Joker. Creepy.

Weekend Run: Canfield Mountain. Beautiful. Overcast down low, but was soon above the cloud cover and overlooking a sea of white (as seen in background).

It is Wednesday night and I am sitting in my shop right now eating frozen burritos. We just got back from the Kroc center where Evelyn went to "Club 7," the other kids went to their free babysitting, and I rock climbed for 2 hours (on-sighted an 11d today and set a 12b). When I was done the kids ate a fast-food dinner in the car, and then went right to bed when we got home. They are good kids.

Rachel has been home all evening with some of her lady friends doing a Pinterest night. I have no idea what they are making tonight, but this has become a monthly tradition for Rachel, and her group seems to be growing. It's the same group we went dancing with a little while ago, and who we will invite to our home for our annual Cinco de Mayo BBQ (also our wedding anniversary) in a few weeks.

As for our week- things have been pretty eventful. 

The biggest bit of news was our visit from Grandpa for a full 5 and a half days. The kids especially loved having him here, and they are still talking about camping in the back yard, getting ice cream, and telling stories. I had to work most of the time, but it was still a good visit and Grandpa got to do a lot with the younger kids including painting Jack's room.  It is now referred to as 'The creamsicle room."  On Saturday we all went to a "mountain festival" in the small town of Kellogg where they had a classic car display and live music featuring a great band and one of the best singers in all North Idaho (sarcasm). Hey- they seemed to be having a good time playing music, and I was thoroughly entertained (not sarcasm), so I guess we all won. From there we said our goodbyes and Grandpa was off for his house. That evening the kids had a "kids meeting" in the backyard to regale each other with stories about grandpa's visit and to commiserate with each other in sadness because he had to leave.

That night, Rachel and I went out and had a wonderful date at a local place with a really good cover band (definitely not sarcasm). We ate and danced and had a great night together to cap off what was already a great week.

One more thing that should be mentioned here...

Rachel is awesome.

Now, that sentence could easily stand on its own, but I'm not going to let it. Instead, I am going to tell you exactly why Rachel is even awesomer than normal this week. Because on Saturday night she got a text saying that there was a desperate need for an interpreter the next day. All it said was that pay was good and that it would take a few hours in the morning. Rachel responded and said she would be willing to take the job. That's when she found out the venue. 

Now, I can't say too much here because of confidentiality rules. Let's just say that this ended up being the biggest job that Rachel has ever had. She was interpreting in front of twelve THOUSAND(ish) people, in probably the largest venue we have in the area. On top of that, her boss (and friend) from work would be there. Stakes were high on this one, and I would be lying if I said she wasn't at least a little bit nervous.

But all those nerves were for naught. Rachel totally rocked it. I think she has reached the "Jedi knight" status that she told me about when we were dating- that coveted position in the interpreting world where linguistic genius intersects with practical reality and forms a sort of magical "flow" of communication. It is amazing, and it is Rachel, and it is awesome. By the way, these are all my words. Rachel is far too humble to admit to any of this in person. Just know that I am pretty lucky to be married to someone like her.

Alright. On to pictures.

The only picture we actually have of Grandpa while he was here. At least it proves that I'm not just making it up!

Maren with her chosen classic car

First haircuts.

Okay. These pictures are a little bit embarrasing. This week was the first week that Lindsey has slept in a crib. Until now, she has been sleeping in her car seat. And it's not that we didn't have a bed. In fact, we have two bassinets and 4 cribs. So really, there is no excuse. It's just that it was so easy, and she didn't seem to mind. The bassinet was in the way in our bedroom and she wasn't ready to share a room with someone else just yet.  I know- we are terrible parents (but I don't really think that). Anyway, this week we finally got around to putting one of the cribs together for little L, and she couldn't be happier. Just look at the way she stretches out. Couldn't do that in a car seat!

Just a random picture of my amazing wife

I don't know why, but I like it when numbers are nice and even like this. 50,000 views on this blog- average 122 views/post. Not too bad for such a personal affair. 

My Saturday morning trail-run was to the top of Mt. Coeur d'Alene. 11 miles. Here is the cabin at the top to prove that I made it in one piece. Pretty trail.

There are three big events to cover in this post. Let's get started.

Big Event #1- Easter:

We had a great Easter. We spent the better part of Saturday morning at a local church that was hosting a free BBQ, live concert, and "easter egg hunt." This was awesome. First of all, they had a great band with an old guy who played the guitar in the style of Stevie Ray Vaughan (maybe my all-time favorite guitarist), and I seriously could have gone just for the music and had a great time. On top of that though, they had good meat on the grill, crafts and other activities for the kids, and a large bounce house. With hundreds of people taking part in the festivities it really had the atmosphere of a community gathering, and was a lot of fun for everyone. This is especially true since our three older kids are now old enough to run around fairly unsupervised, leaving Rachel and I (and "the youngers") to enjoy ourselves.

Now for the "egg hunt." This was one of those things where they just throw a bunch of eggs onto the field and then blow a whistle and let the kids go wild. And I'll admit- I have not been a real big fan of these events in the past. They seemed contrived and designed in such a way that they would almost always result in tears. But I have to say, I am coming around. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't at least a little bit entertained by how serious some of the kids took this contest, and amused at how clueless others seemed to be. Also, I have to give props to the way the church organized this event to minimize the amount of violence and heartbreak that took place. See, when the kids were done, they all went and traded their eggs in for a bag of candy. And they all got the same amount of candy, regardless of how many eggs they had collected. And nobody seemed to care. Candy was candy, right? Nobody is going to cry or complain when a nice old woman trades you a big bag of goodies for nothing by worthless pieces of plastic. I thought it was brilliant.

There was one competitive aspect though that led to some little scuffles. The organizers had cleverly drawn numbers or pictures on some of the eggs, and these marked ones could be traded in for special prizes above and beyond the normal bag of goodies. The marks were small enough that they were supposed to go somewhat unnoticed in the inevitable frenzy of activity. But some kids- Evelyn included- happened to be very good at scanning the field ahead of time for these treasures and planning their strategy accordingly. This led to some pretty remarkable sprints, dives, and dogpiles, and I would not hesitate to place my bets on some of these kids for the future NFL draft. Also, I am proud to say that Evelyn was second to none in this very competitive arena, and that she came away with a very large share of the booty when all was said and done (about one minute after it started). I am even more proud to say that when she saw other kids who did not get as much as her, she was very good at offering, totally of her own accord, to share in the spoils of her hard work. It was one of those parenting moments that make you smile and think that you must be doing something right- or maybe that you just got lucky to be the dad of such an awesome little girl.

Big Event #2- The Bike
After the egg hunt, they also had a raffle. Everyone that was there was issued a ticket at check-in, and those who stayed through 'till the end had a chance to win a variety of prizes. And guess what? Evelyn won a bike! A good one. The only problem was that (and I am ashamed, as a dad, to admit this) she did not know how to ride it. She had never shown much interest in learning, and whenever I would try to teach her it would just end up with her getting mad at me. But that has all changed. The day she got her new bike we went to the park and...voila! She can now ride a bike. I guess the prospect of riding around on a shiny brand new prize was more incentivizing than anything I had been able to do up until that point. Whatever the reason, we now have 3 bike riders in the family, and two more who are eagerly trying to catch up. It's been fun.

Big Event #3- The Date
Rachel is a part of a big group of "CDA Moms that Rock!" It was one of those things that she got involved with a while ago by looking on meetup.com, but since then she has made many good friends and participates pretty regularly in their activities. A while ago Rachel had purchased a new dress while on a shopping trip with some of these friends, and ever since then she has been looking for an opportunity to go out on the town to dance. Well, that time was this week, and it was a lot of fun. Rachel organized the event, and there were 16 people (8 couples) who showed up. We started by going out to a fabulous dinner at Twigs, followed by a brief walk to a downtown piano lounge where we had a VIP section reserved for our group. The musicians were great and took requests and we had a fun time socializing and, of course, dancing. It's been a while since I pulled out my West Coast in public, but it was a good time and I think that Rachel did a good job at making me look good. All this, despite the fact that she broke her little toe (I am being serious) earlier that day and she was wearing heels.

Well- that pretty much sums up how we've been doing. My dad is coming to our house in a few hours, and he'll spend the next several days hanging out with us. Other than that, we are loving the changing seasons and the beauty of North Idaho.

Have a good week!

I had to throw this selfie in. With Spring here, I have been trying to get out more on hikes/trail runs- usually early in the morning on the weekends. This is at a local peak after a 4 mile run- the sun just starting to shine over the mountains. You can see the lake in the distant background. Beautiful.

So...Lately, Rachel and I have found ourselves participating in a lot of things surrounding what one might consider to be "pop culture." Things like sporting events, concerts, plays, comedy shows, movies, political discussions, religious gatherings, community events, and popular literature. Things that I think reflect in different ways the popular consensus of the masses when it comes to values, tastes, and concerns pertinent to our small corner of the world. Taken together, I think it is fair to say that all these things could be representative of our "culture," defined (thanks to Google) as "the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively."

Which leads to an interesting question. Because if these things could be considered "culture," then what exactly does it mean to "be cultured?" I ask, because when I think of this somewhat pretentious label then I tend to think more in terms of classical art, literature, music, and drama which, in all honesty, seems to reflect a bygone and somewhat romanticized era much more than the one we actually live in. In fact, that is exactly what the Google definition of "cultured" seems to point at- "characterized by refined taste and manners and good education;  artistic, enlightened, well read, refined, polished,sophisticated..."


Refined taste and manners? Artistic? Polished? Sophiticated? I would like to see an objective definition for what any of these terms actually mean. Personally, I do not believe that there is one. These things are all matters of opinion, based either on individual taste or else on constantly changing cultural norms. And so that leaves us with "well educated," "enlightened," or "well-read." And indeed, that does seem to be what "being cultured" is meant to imply- that a person's personal sense of aesthetics are somehow loftier than those of a perceived underclass due to a privileged and highly educated position within society. In this way, the term starts to seem a little conceited.

And yet, it rarely comes across in this way. People from all walks of life tend to value "being cultured" as an admirable trait, perhaps somehow having an intuitive sense of a term that it turns out is actually very difficult to pin down. Sort of like the words "healthy," or "good," or "beautiful," or "just." These are all essentially contested ideas that are extremely useful to us- even indispensable- despite the fact that it may be impossible to get universal consensus on what they actually mean.

So by now, if you are still reading this then you are probably seriously wondering to yourself what's wrong with Logan's brain. Yeah- I wonder that sometimes too. Seriously, why do I go off on these random digressions? I find them enjoyable, I guess. And sometimes I come away with insights that I am glad to have come across, and that's valuable to me. Maybe it's weird- maybe it's just me. Maybe we're all weird and this is just my particular way of expressing my weirdness (there I go again...I'm such a nerd sometimes).

Okay. I'm done. I promise.

So...like I started saying in the beginning, Rachel and I have been pretty active lately. As mentioned, we went to our first backyard BBQ of the year this week and got to hang out with some friends. Last night we went to a comedy club, and that was fun. But most importantly, we dressed up last weekend and went to see the Broadway production of Camelot which was a LOT of fun. I have never seen this musical performed live, but I have always loved the old film with Richard Harris in it and I was excited to be able to go and see the real thing. We dressed up and had a nice dinner beforehand and basically just had a great night.

Besides that, we are just marching on. Things continue to go well for us. We are looking forward to a visit from my Dad in a few weeks. The weather is really nice. I have a good bucket list of peaks I want to climb this year. Rachel and I finalized plans for a super duper incredible vacation this summer...things are good.

Here are some other pictures of some of the stuff we have done as a family.

I LOVE this picture of Addy and Jack. First of all, it looks like it could have been taken in the 80s. The clothes. The grainyness of the photo. The poses. It's classic. Second, I think it's just an awesome picture of twins who are also best friends. Addy and Jackson have a special bond, and I think it shows here. It's sweet. Finally, check out Jackson's hair! What a cool kid, right? I wish I could pull that off and still maintain the respect of my patients. I love these guys.

 The next several pictures are from one of our many trip to the Science/Discovery museum.