School, Birthdays, and a Bike Race- Eventful week for us!

This is a long post, with lots of pictures and lots of content. Enjoy!

BACK TO SCHOOL

I can't believe that we have 4 kids in school now!

First, we have Evelyn. Evelyn has always been a Daddy's girl, and I am so, so proud of the person she is becoming. I feel like her and I have a special relationship- parents with a lot of kids probably understand what I mean by that. You love all your kids, of course, but you feel naturally drawn to some personalities more than others and over time this makes it so you feel closer to some kids than others. I think this is normal, and with me, Evelyn is that kid. I also really hope that this special bond is strong enough to survive the tumultuous years ahead as her emotions begin to outgrow her body (already starting- ahhhh!). But like I tell her every night, Evelyn is MY. LITTLE.GIRL. No matter what. Even when she's big.

I want to be a: ARTIST
Favorite subject: ART
I Love: MY FAMILY AND PARENTS
Favorite Movie: TEEN TITANS GO! (I have no idea what this is)
Favorite Food: CORN FLAKE CHICKEN & STROMBOLI
I like me because: I AM SMART! 

To be honest, Evelyn is sort of having a hard time in school and it makes me really sad. She is super smart and will do awesome in all her classes, but she tells me she doesn't like doing the same things as her friends so she doesn't like going very much. This makes her feel like she doesn't really have any friends, and sometimes this makes her cry when she is all alone. She says that nobody is mean to her or anything, but she just prefers to spend time on her own and people don't let her. The things she likes most are art, math, reading, and science. The thing she likes least is recess or PE, because they make her go outside and really she just wants to stay in and read books or draw. 

As she was telling me all this I was totally brought back to elementary school in my mind, because the person she was describing was ME when I was her age. I was a quiet kid, and it never bothered me except for when it bothered other people. I have spent many, many recesses at a table in the library with stacks of books. I know what it's like to feel social pressure to like the same things as other people, and I know what it's like to pretend that I am enjoying activities when I really wish I could be somewhere else by myself. I hurt for her right now, because I see that it is hard for her. The best I can do (I think) is to listen and let her know that I think she is totally fine and that I am there for her. 

I also do not worry about her AT ALL. She is a fun and interesting and independent person, and can be totally charming in smaller settings or when she feels like she has control of a situation. This will serve her well, and can even become an asset to her as she gets older. How do I know? Because that's STILL me. Because I still pretend to enjoy large group activities when I wish I could be somewhere else. I still prefer more intimate social settings, and I've grown up enough to know that people are different, and everyone doesn't have to like the same things as the "cool kids." This lesson wouldn't make much sense to a 2nd grader though, because the only social time you have in school is on the playground where everyone seems to be "plugged in" except for you, and it can get very lonely sometimes. Don't worry Ev- I get it. My best advice is to try having fun even when you're outside of your comfort zone, and know that it gets better.

Here's some pictures about Evelyn:

Evelyn requested we do an "Art unit" for Family night. This is from the field trip we took downtown to look at museums and galleries. We also looked at architecture and urban art. Evelyn wants to run a gallery one day, and is most interested in "mixed media."

This is an "abstract" drawing she did as part of our unit.

Fishbowls. The lighting made it hard to take a picture, but there are colorful gummy "rocks" on the bottom too. This was Evelyn's idea for Family Dessert Night. She is so creative!

Evelyn brought these home the other day. She said she always wanted a pet, and since we didn't let her get one she was going to start raising slugs in a jar. Yuck! Thankfully, that phase didn't last long.

Next up, we have Adalie.

I want to be a: INVENTOR
My favorite subject: READING
I love: MY MOM
My favorite movie: FROZEN
My favorite food: CHEEZ-ITS
I like me because: I'M SMART

Addy is super sweet, and sometimes her gentle personality can mean she gets looked over. I am sorry, Addy. With a big family, a lot of parenting seems to be about putting out fires (solving fights, fixing "bonks," trying to keep the house from self-destructing, etc.), and sometime this means that the kids who are not fighting, or bonking, or destroying don't get as much attention as the others. We (parents) try not to let this happen, and I think we usually do a pretty good job, but sometime it is inevitable. I love it though, when you get up early in the morning and sit with me on the couch and we talk about stuff. I love it when you grab my hand when we are hiking and we purposely fall behind other people just so we can be together.

Addy is, in a word, awesome. She was a little bit nervous to start school, but after that first day she never looked back! She is one of those people I have always looked up to- she seems to just excel at everything without even trying. It's not fair! Academic learning seems to come easily for her, she plays well with others in big groups and in small groups, and she is at ease talking to people of all ages. If my instincts are right, then I would guess that she will be popular both with her classmates and with her teachers, and that school will be a time she will look back on with fond memories for her whole life. You go Addy! My sweetie girl is growing up!

Nothing to say about this picture- just a nice picture of Adz.

Background: Addy has this obsession with flying. Did you see how she wanted to be an inventor? The reason for this is that she wants to develop human-powered flight in the form of mechanical wings. It was kind of neat for her then, when she got called on in a magic show at the fair to help with the levitation act. Even though this was about a month ago, she still talks about "that one time when I flew!" 

Now for Jackson:

I want to be a: SUPER HERO
My favorite subject: SCIENCE
I love: DRAGONS & MY DAD
My favorite movie: LION KING
My favorite food: CORNFLAKE CHICKEN
I like me because: I ROCK CLIMB

Jackson is cool. There is no other word for it. He is active and ambitious and curious about the world and not afraid to take chances. At all. This is terrifyingly fun to watch! Jack is the kind of person who will do whatever he wants in life, if for no other reason than the fact that he wants it and won't rest until he has achieved the thing he set his mind to. Does he get frustrated along the way? Oh, yeah. Big time. But this frustration seems to somehow fuel his own persistence and desire to succeed. It's almost like he has to prove to himself that he can do things- not in spite of their difficulty, but because of it. He has this crazy internal motivation that just does not allow him to stop. I am so impressed with the things Jackson does- not for their own sake, but for the patience and practice that often go into them.

The hardest thing for his teachers is going to be directing his considerable excitement in a direction that will lead to success at school. The problem with being so intense, like Jackson is, is that things that fall outside the center of his focus tend to disappear altogether. So...how to turn his mind to things like homework? You tell me. If that can be done though, then there will be no stopping this guy.

Jack got a basketball hoop for his birthday. He practices every day, and it is hard for us to get him to come in for dinner. He even wanted to skip cake one night so he could stay out and practice longer! It certainly wasn't me, but somewhere (champ camp, I think) he became very interested in the variety of skills needed in basketball- not just shooting. To his chagrin, other kids his age don't seem to care as much about these "details" like ball handling or defense. He is getting pretty good at dribbling the ball, and loves practicing his passes. He is a pretty good shot too. Could it be that we have a future point guard in our midst?

A preying mantis we found in our yard. Jack was the first to touch him and the bug attacked him! After that, Jack was still the only one who would let it crawl on him.

And finally, Maren:

I want to be: A MERMAID
My favorite subject: MERMAIDS AND SEAWEED
I love: MY MOM AND DAD
My favorite movie: FROZEN
My favorite food: FISH STICKS
I like be because: I'M CUTE!

Maren is a darling, and she knows it. There is something about the timbre of her voice that simply endears her to people, her Papa included. The hardest thing with her, I think, is that she is aware of the effect she has on people for better or for worse. She know how to be cute, just to get an emotional reaction out of people. And she does this extremely well. But she also knows how to draw reactions by being obnoxious, or loud, or quiet. Sometimes I think that she has super powers- not to read minds, but to control or manipulate them through her own actions. Her timing is so perfect, it's scary.

Maren is starting preschool this year and is very excited. She says that her teacher is funny, and she is very proud to have her very own backpack just like the older kids.

Maren has developed a strong liking for elephants. This has become our thing at church- she asks me to draw "funny elephants," and she gives me input along the way. It also serves the utilitarian purpose of keeping her quiet. These are a few of our creations.

BIRTHDAY PARTY

Adalie and Jackson's first day of school coincided with their birthday! This meant that they got started on the right foot with their classmates by bringing cupcakes for everyone (don't worry, we talked with their teacher ahead of time to make sure this would fit in with their first-day-of-school plans). 

We had the party later that weekend, and I think everyone had a good time. Six years- they are getting so big!

They spent a lot of time decorating these cupcakes. They are each different, and each cupcake has a story that goes with it.

At the party we made animals out of pipe cleaners. Here's Addy's horse and my blue lizard.

Castle pinata.

Jack with his cake- Rachel dubbed this "Pops, the middle aged dragon." He's a little overweight and saggy in the eyes, but I guess that just provides a nice contrast to Addy and Jackson's vivacity? At least the kids liked eating it!

Bike Race

You may remember that a few weeks ago Rachel rode in a local bike race. This weekend she did another one- a regional race this time in Spokane, with a lot more prestige and sponsored organization behind it. This one was a 50 miler, and after driving the course last weekend Rachel has been a huge bundle of nerves. There were a LOT more hill climbs than expected, and she wasn't sure that she would be able to hit her target time. Well- she did, and came in exactly on schedule with her goal. Go Rachel! I am so proud.

The obligatory spaghetti dinner the night before

She made it, and she made it in style! The kids and I are so proud of her.

Well...there's not a whole lot more to write. Here are a few more random pictures I have to share.

You may have heard about the wildfires and Washington and N. Idaho. Yeah- this is what it looked like around here for weeks (That is not fog).

After it rained for a few days, this is what it looked like. Much better. Rain is good.

I often walk here on my lunch-break. What a gorgeous place we live in!

Rachel trying to show the kids that the bug was harmless. They didn't buy it.

Have a good week!

Love of my life

My Alaskan cruise experience would not be complete without mentioning this guy:

When this picture was taken we had no idea what was in store for us.  I did not realize how lucky I was to be marrying this handsome man. I love looking at this picture and thinking about how much both of us have changed, grown into ourselves, and discovered each other.

One of the many things I adore about Logan is how awesome of a dad he is!  I loved hearing updates from home about the many adventures he had taken the kids on.  He did an awesome job and he had a fun time doing it.  I arrived home on a Sunday afternoon to find the house completely cleaned, the lawn mowed and beautifully green, the kids happy, and Logan putting the finishing touches on a nice Sunday dinner.  Did I mention that this guy is Super Dad?

Lets rewind the clock to 2007... We began this blog to share information about ourselves for our family and friends as we set across the country for dental school in Cleveland.  Since that time this collection of our life stories has become our official journal as we print them yearly and add them to our growing collection of "The Hazard Chronicles" yearbooks. Back in the beginning it was easy to update every week and keep everyone informed of what was going on in our lives and we fluidly took turns writing our adventures. As time went on life seemed to get a little bit busier... imagine that.  Life became a bit overwhelming and the blog was carefully and lovingly placed on a backburner.  This is when Logan volunteered to become the main writer to keep our stories alive.  Thank you, my Love, for doing such an amazing job keeping our story going.

There is, in fact, another naturally occurring effect of Logan writing the blog every week.  He has opportunities to brag about me, but I rarely have the same....  It is my turn.



When this picture was taken I knew a little bit more about the drive that my husband has to learn and experience the world.  This was taken the month after graduation at BYU.  Logan's final semester was filled with 27 (yes 27) credits of advanced science classes of which he aced each one (somehow while balancing two jobs and plenty of time with me!).  Two of these classes were graduate level courses that he needed to receive special permission to take "just because."

"Life is amazing! I wish I could experience and learn everything about everything. I should probably get started now if I am going to even scratch the surface!" -Logan

OK. He didn't actually say that, but he totally could have!  Those words exemplify him in every way. I have been thinking about this blog for a long time and trying to figure out how to include everything that I want to include.  I have decided that the best way to get a broad picture of Logan is to write down some of his activities since the beginning of the year.

As a reflection of the above quote, Logan really does want to learn a little bit about everything.  He is constantly creating 'courses' for himself in different topics.  Each of these topics involves multiple books and online college courses, as well as written assignments and reports.  He is always enrolled in at least one online college course (he is currently enrolled in two).  This year a few of his topics have been: foreign affairs in Iraq and Iraqi history, micro economics, macro economics, a fascinating in depth study of Hitler and Nazi Germany, and he is currently doing individual studies on the major world religions.  Logan has really motivated me in this area and we are currently taking a course together online titled "Public Policy Challenges of the 21st Century." We study the units separately and then we come together for an evening date on the deck to discuss and debate what we have learned.

A bit should be said about the books that Logan has read this year. He is currently reading book number thirty-one. These books have been a good mix of fiction and non-fiction, and a good many of them have numbered over 500 pages.  Some of his favorites include: "Long Walk to Freedom," "Mistakes were Made (But not by Me)," "Guns, Germs, and Steel," and "The Brothers Karamazov." Along with these books he makes it a point to read the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CDA Press, and Idaho Statesman every day (he really does- I "test" him every few months and I am impressed with the diversity of subjects he is constantly informed about). News is definitely written with a slant, and it is good to get it from a variety of sources to maintain a balance of views, right?

Physical goals are also important to Logan.  He makes it a point to run at least 35 miles each week, and he does it at a pace that should merit the respect of almost any runner out there. This past year he has spent a lot of time rock climbing.  He is one of the best (maybe the top) climbers at the Kroc Center, and he has met a lot of other climbers and really enjoys his time there. The rock climbing staff is constantly setting climbs specifically for him, and I believe the current climb in his honor is a 12b titled "Logan's Run.".  Of course he is almost always the one to get the first ascent of these routes. It must also be mentioned that Logan (according to him) is currently in the best physical shape of his life.  He has been consistently flashing 5.12's and he has red-pointed 5.13a's.

As winter comes it is natural that he would move indoors, and what better thing to do than to practice the guitar?  During the winter he works out at the Kroc and spends part of his early morning doing self created courses for guitar.  I have been impressed with some of the pieces he has perfected over the past year. I can request virtually any song from him and after about 20 minutes he will astound me with a beautiful acoustic finger-style rendition of my song. Lately, he has taken to exploring the many possibilities of the electric guitar and it it clear that he finds a lot of joy and fulfillment in his music. I love listening to him play!  He has a gift that he has honed.

Logan has also been loving his career with Loftus!  He is especially doing really well in the oral surgery field of his career. This has been an area of focus for him since dental school, and he loves the more advanced procedures like impacted wisdom teeth, implants, bone grafts, and gum grafts. Besides this, he has become the go-to doctor in the practice for Invisalign, and is one of the main organizers for community outreach programs that the practice does. In short, he is loving where he is working and is enjoying his rapidly growing and loyal patient base.  He also enjoys working with the team and interacting with the other dentists.

Our spiritual journeys have been a little bit tumultuous over the past 3-4 years.  We both feel that this is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to balancing our lives and raising our family.  We have found a wonderful church family where we feel that this part of the puzzle has come together for us.  We are setting down roots and balancing our lives with weekly attendance and activities at First Presbyterian CDA (PCUSA affiliated).

For me, the most important goal I have is to strive to remain balanced.  This balance includes: family time, mom time, wife time, me time, friend time, fitness time, professional time, educational time, and spirituality.  All of these categories are important to me, and I have often turned down good things because I could feel that the balance was off a bit.  I feel that when everything is balanced is when I can excel in each area because they definitely play off of each other.

Logan is a great example to me of finding this precarious balance.  So far I have shared little bits and pieces from his professional, personal, educational, spiritual, and physical.........  These alone are pretty impressive, but it just gets better when you add the amazing job he does with the husband and dad roles.

I must say that my favorite part of this balance is that Logan is an excellent husband!  He is my best friend and I love that we talk about EVERYTHING together.  Every night is a date night and we definitely take advantage of this time together... from dates on the deck (a pretty common occurrence), to Seahawks games on the projector, to talking deep into the night, to reading our book together (probably number 168 or something like that), to an occasional movie.  We definitely take advantage of the time we have after the kids are asleep.  On top of all of that time we make it a priority to go on an out-of-the-house date night at least 3 times a month.  Some of our favorites are: bike rides, festivals, any kind of live music, rock climbing (we actually need to do this together more often!), Broadway plays, walks downtown, hikes, etc. There is always something fun to do where we live.  I love this place! Logan is my favorite person on earth and I love just being with him.

As if that wasn't enough, Logan is an awesome dad!  Every Monday he has a "Papa Day" with all of the kids while I work in the afternoon.  He seems to always have something fun planned to do with them.  We follow Papa day with Family Night.  I love family night!  We have a lot of fun traditions that I hope our kids will treasure as much as I do.  Saturdays are "sacred" in our home because we make it a point to schedule a family activity.  Sundays are one of my favorite days because we have church in the morning, family dessert night (each of us take turns rotating and doing this one-on-one with each kid), and we try to do a family activity on Sunday night as well (family walk, family dance, or something else).  Aside from these weekly things it is also important for us to take each child on special one-on-one dates with us.

With all of this craziness Logan also somehow manages to clean the house early in the morning because he knows a clean house is good for my sanity, keep the lawn green and beautiful, and have a wonderfully positive can-do attitude.  Did I mention that I love this guy!

If you ever think there are simply not enough hours in the day you can ask Logan how he manages. He will probably begin his response by telling you to wake up at 5 am every morning.  Ummm. No thanks, I will try and make do with the limited hours and enjoy that extra hour of sleep...

"Logan, my love, I can not tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world."

My Alaskan Cruise

I feel lucky that I have such a variety of opportunities presented to me through my profession as a sign language interpreter.  That is a fancy way of saying I have an awesome job that allows me to get paid to go cool places like on an Alaskan cruise. This fabulous job also comes with a lot of confidentiality rules, so lets just say that sometime in the recent past I sailed with Connie, my friend from Sorenson and team interpreter, up the coastline to Alaska.

I was amazed by the "people herding" skills of the cruise lines at the Vancouver port.  People streamed flawlessly through numerous lines and checkpoints for a variety of cruise companies.  Connie and I arrived at the front of the first line only to be surprised with the news that our cabin had been upgraded! We were in a balcony suite on nearly the top floor!  This is unheard of for interpreters.  They are generally resigned to the deep dark bowels of the ship (which I wouldn't complain about on a cruise where I am working), but given the opportunity I would take the balcony any day!

For any of you who have been to Alaska you know that it is a rainforest and therefore a very RAINY place. In the days prior to the cruise I kept an eye on the weather for the ports where we would be stopping.  The days varied between 70-100 percent chance of rain.  Oh well.  I figured it would still be great.  The weather turned out to be absolutely beautiful for the entire time (aside from rain on the morning of our Juneau port.  As the ship docked the sun peeked out and gave us sunshine and beauty in one of the prettiest places I have ever seen (more about that later).

I checked off everything on my wildlife list (except for a bear, but I have seen one of those before).  I saw the northern lights in the distance, humpback whales, a large pod of orca whales, a few dolphin pods, seals, and an expanse of ocean covered completely by jumping salmon.

The client went on a five hour whale watching excursion, and of course we were able to go with him. We were lucky to catch a group of seven our eight humpback whales hunting together.  I learned that there has to be a female present for a group to be able to hunt.  She swims in a circle and creates a bubble ring that traps a school of fish inside, then she makes a sound as loud as a jet engine that confuses the fish.  The other whales are then able to swim up through the tunnel and eat the confounded fish.  Every 3-4 minutes we would notice birds circling a particular area, next a bubble ring would appear, then the whales would surface together in the circular area.  We watched this process seven or eight times at varying distances from our boat.  Such a wonder of nature!  On the boat we had a tour guide who was enamored by the wildlife and you could tell he loved every minute of his job!  Here are a few quick facts that I learned that may come in helpful for trivia one day:

• The tide in Juneau comes in and out every 6 1/2 hours.  When we went on our bus ride to the dock there was an area that was about 300 yards wide that was full of mud and had a steam of water through the center.  On our way back to the ship the water reached the edge of the road.  
• Alaska generally gets over 100 inches of snow, but last year they ony had 24 for the entire winter!
• A whale tail is the strongest muscle in the animal kingdom.
• starfish can regenerate even after they have died.
• starfish are full of sea water and that is why they have their rounded shape.
• Bald eagles can be 3-4 feet tall with a wingspan of 6-7 feet.
• a mouthful of food for a humpback whale contains 1/2 million calories.  Humpback whales eat almost 24/7 during their summer stay in Alaska.

While on the ship we received our interpreting schedule in the morning that included the events and activities that the client wanted to participate in.  The time not spent interpreting was our time to spend however we pleased.  I enjoyed many evening entertainment shows, time in the hot tub, walking around at ports, a little bit of reading, enjoying the delightful buffet, and I even kept up on my cycling training schedule in the gym.  

On the last day of the cruise I discovered the Constellation lunge.  This room spanned the entire front of the ship and offered floor to ceiling window views.  On the first day I noticed a table selling binoculars to the passing cruise guests.  My reaction was that it was an expensive tourist trap that would never be used.  As I sat in the constellation lounge watching the changing scenery I would occasionally glance around and covet the binoculars of the other passengers...

I must also mention that every night we ate dinner with the same wonderful group of people.  I feel very fortunate to have had such a great time.

I think the best way to tell the rest of the story is through pictures.

Connie was a great team and she was a fun friend to have around!  I miss my buddy!

Spoiled rotten with our balcony... This is an early morning picture that just can't quite capture the feeling of serenity and loveliness.

Our first port was Icy Strait Point.

This was the only time we needed warm weather gear.  We were on our way to see the Hubbard Glacier.

My artistic photo of the glacier.  The sun was shining off of the face and apparently it is very abnormal to even see the sun when you are near the glacier.  Often the mountain in the background is completely covered by low lying clouds.

These were my two favorite pictures from whale watching.

Juneau was an amazing town perched on the side of a mountain.  If you look closely you can see a few waterfalls behind me.  I could seriously live here.. If it wasn't Alaska.

We traveled through the inside passage for most of the trip.  Roughly translated this means surrounded on both sides with beautiful hills and astonishing mountains.  If you look closely you can find waterfalls, seals, sea lions, and bears near the shores as you sail through.

Papa Week

So, Rachel has a really neat job. She is a sign language interpreter. At first glance, this is sort of like "huh- cool" in a nonchalant sort of way- the same way one might react to a deer or something standing on the side of the road. It's unique enough to be notable, but not so special that it evokes a particularly strong response. At least that was my first reaction. Over time, however, I have changed my mind about this. Rachel's job isn't just "huh-cool." As I have watched her over the years I have come to realize more and more that what she does is actually "amazingly awesome."

Let me brag a little bit here. Rachel is a good interpreter. Like, really good. And this puts her in a lot of neat situations. Now just as a disclaimer I have to say that I don't know details about any of this because the nature of her work involves high degrees of confidentiality. That said, she has interpreted countless intimate conversations between people with their doctors, lawyers, accountants, social workers, and lovers. She had interpreted for Fortune 500 companies and for the Department of Defense. She has done stage interpreting in front of tens of thousands, and she has done covert drug deals meant for nobody to hear. She has interpreted for art students painting nudes, and for nursing students pumping stomachs. She has had to be a voice for celebrities presenting before hundreds of well educated business people, as well as for angry high-school dropouts who can't say two words without dropping the F-bomb. She has done break-ups and meet-ups. She has been on the other end of 911 calls, and has watched people receive life changing news, for better and for worse. And then, at the end of the day she comes home and is somehow just Rachel- the wife, the mom, the friend. It is amazing.

Well, recently (can't be too specific or the HIPAA police might come) her job has taken her to a venue she had not been in before, and one which she has been looking forward to for some time. A cruise ship. That's right. They paid her to go on a cruise and interpret for just a few hours each day. The rest of the time was for her to spend how she pleased. When she arrived at port with her team they gave her an upper room with a large balcony and then they were off to Alaska. By all accounts she had a fabulous time, and I will see if I can convince her to blog about it. In the meantime, you get me.

So...that's that. Rachel has a cool job that puts her in cool situations. And that isn't even scratching the surface of how interesting things get once you decide to delve into the art, science, and philosophy of linguistics which underscores everything she does on the job. The truth is, I am enamored by her and by what she does.

While Rachel was gone, the kids and I hung out and had a good time. They had to have babysitters while I was at work, but this did not stop us from having fun when I got home. Below, I have copied snippets of the email/text conversations that we had with Rachel while she was gone. There are also a few pictures at the bottom of our week.

____________________________

Hey Love,

I hope you are having a great time on your cruise. I just thought I'd send you a quick email to say hi and to let you know that we all miss you, but that we are doing well.

On Sunday, Jack got to ring the bell at church, and they did a "noisy offering" that all the kids got to be a part of. All the money this week was going to school supplies for low-income families, and all the kids under age 10 ran around with buckets collecting loose change and bills from whoever was raising their hand. It was a little bit chaotic, which made it fun and cute. I am glad that the kids enjoy going so much. I really do to; I love the community involvement of 1^st Pres, as well as the aesthetic and the relaxed, “big tent” mentality. I think things are finally starting to feel settled for us on this front.

That afternoon we had a picnic dinner (Mac-n-Cheese) at Hauser Lake. The kids went exploring and found a water snake, which was sort of cool. We had fun right up until the end when it was time to go...then it became very frustrating because Maren was swimming in the water and wouldn't come out and I was holding Lindsey and didn't have my swimming suit on. I think I provided good entertainment for the other people who were there as I stood on the beach trying to coax her out of the water despite outright defiance on her part. I kept telling myself "People are watching- be nice. Be Nice. BE NICE!" Eventually I had Jack swim out and drag her from the water by the handle on her life jacket- Maren floating on her back and flailing in protest all the while. It was hard not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation- and easier to laugh than to get angry.

Yesterday we went shopping at WinCo where the kids did a great job helping me get stuff. If I had a dollar for every person who told me "you have your hands full!" then the trip would have paid for itself. Really, the kids were pretty good though. We also went to the Kroc where I got my "fast" run in for the week. It is probably the only time I will get to run before you come home. I was planning on doing another 13 miles on Monday when you get back, but it turns out I had agreed a long time ago to cover Post Falls that day for Dr. S, so I'm not sure how that's going to work out. Maybe that evening? We'll see. That night we had a "PPP"- Papa Pizza Picnic- at Falls Park which worked out really well. Our kids are needing less and less supervision and it is fun to watch them be kids without having to intervene all the time.

At night time I have watched some really good movies- "The Man From Earth" was really good and raised some interesting questions. We should watch it together. I also watched "The Seventh Seal," a classic Swedish film from the 50s that explores a number of issues. It was one of those movies that seems like it has many layers, and I will be thinking about it for a while.

Anyway- things are good here. I hope you are having fun. If you get the time to send an email I am sure the kids would be happy to hear from you. 

I sure love you,

-Logan

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Hey guys!

I love you and miss you a lot, and I am enjoying every minute of this cruise! Our ship has 11 stories and the top one has a swimming pool and a hot tub. Every night I get to try new foods. Last night I ate frog legs, and tomorrow I will be eating escargot which is fried snails. At night we watch special performances of singers and dancers. I took a movie of two dancers dancing while they were hanging from silks in the ceiling.

Our ship stops in four different places in Alaska. Right now I am off the ship in a place called icy Strait point. I am going to go in a small boat on an adventure looking for whales, dolphins, porpoises and other animals. I will take a lot of pictures and show them to you when I get home.

I love you guys forever and ever no matter what! I hope you have fun with the babysitters and with Papa.

I will send another email when I can. I love you guys.

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Hey Love,

This is an email from all of us:

Evelyn: The sky here is really green and misty because of forest fires. I am a little bit worried about the fires. I hope the animals in the forest are safe. I love you and miss you a lot. We were scared because we thought there was an alien landing our backyard. Also, please get some seashells if you can find them.

Jackson: I lost the thing that you gave me to remember you with but I will find it in the morning when you come home. I love you. That's all.

Addy: I love you. I really really really really want to be with you. You are the best mom in the world. I miss you very much.

Maren: Please give me powers that I can be a mermaid.

Me: Hope things are going great for you. As Evelyn mentioned, the sky here is full of smoke- it's kind-of a twilight zone atmosphere- muted sounds, well-defined orange globe of a sun, colors look like they are from a technicolor film. It's interesting.

I had some babysitter problems this morning and got to work late. How frustrating. At least it gave us time to write this email. Due to lack of stimulating conversation at night (I miss you) I am watching a bunch of movies. Besides the ones I told you about earlier, I have also watched "Run Lola Run" which is a German film, and "Memento," a trippy film that probably requires several viewings to put together. Both films play with ideas of free will and reality. Tonight is either "The Manchurian Candidate" (1968 version) or Minority Report.

Anyway, Molly should be here in about 10 minutes so I need to go.

Love you,

-Us

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Hey guys!

I love you and miss you so much! Right now I am getting dressed up for dinner. Every night all of the guests dress fancy and go to a fun dinner at a really nice restaurant. The waiters call you sir and madame, and instead of ordering one meal you tell them 4 things you want to eat. You tell them an appetizer, soup or salad, main meal, and a dessert. I have been trying new things each night. Last night I age duck and the night before I ate frog legs! Tonight I am trying escargot, which is a fancy word for fried snails.

Today I saw something I have never seen before! I saw a glacier. The glacier is almost the size of our town! We brought the cruise ship right next to it in the ocean. I took a lot of pictures to show you when I get home. I also have many stories to tell you.

My friend just now got a video of dolphins jumping in the water right outside the balcony in our room! I am off to a show now before dinner.

I love you guys!

Good night, good night, sleep tight.

-Mom

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Good morning!

We are in Juneau, Alaska and today I’m going on a whale watching trip. The city is set up against an enormous mountain. I am not often in a place that is so pretty that it takes my breath away and brings tears to my eyes. I could seriously live here…if it wasn’t Alaska. It is beautiful. I will take a lot of pictures. It is a little bit rainy here, but it should be sunny this afternoon. Alaska is an extremely rainy place, and we are very lucky to have sunlight for most of this trip. The rain makes it beautiful and green.

There is a grand buffet dining room that is lined with food all day long. Every few hours part of the selection changes. Sometimes they have food from China or Mexico. But they always have a mini dessert bar where the options are constantly changing. 

I am thinking about all of you. I am having a fabulous time, but I miss you…

…(later that same day)…I have had a wonderful day! We woke up and went whale watching and I had fish for lunch! I was surprised because I really, really liked the fish.

I learned all about humpback whales, and the guide said there were more of them than usual today. We were able to watch the cool way that they work together to catch fish. I want you guys to be thinking about questions you have about whales. When I get home I will tell you all about what I learned and you can ask me the questions you have. If I do not know the answer then we can find out together.

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Well, that's all you get for now. I think Rach will do a post a little later with more pictures/details of her trip. For now, enjoy some pictures of our week:

Since Addy did the drama camp this summer she got free tickets to Shrek, the Musical. Her and I went and had a great time. I seriously love Broadway style shows- most of them strike a really good balance between being really fun and being really insightful. We usually watch these kinds of shows with the "Best of Broadway" series in Spokane, which is fun and fancy and provides a great excuse for a "night out on the town." That said, I have to admit that the Coeur d'Alene Summer Theater has totally won me over- they bring in great talent from around the country, do an  awesome job pulling out all the stops on their productions, and usually have smaller venues making for a more intimate viewing experience. I am already excited for next year! (Sorry about the fuzzy pic. For some reason strangers have a hard time figuring out the camera on my phone).

Taken through our car window, which obviously needs to get washed. Anyway, this was taken in the late afternoon when it is usually pretty sunny. You can see all the smoke in the air from wildfires rising up to meet the blue sky. The whole town smells like we are at a campfire. It needs to rain!

This is a walk we went on. The night before we had read a story about a little girl in the "olden days" who lived in the mountains and had to walk down the hill every day to pump water. Despite the really brown field in the back (cut low to prevent fires), the walk was actually really pretty. The kids had fun exploring along the river, and we got a nice refreshing drink at the end from this still-functional relic of an earlier Post Falls.

Happy Birthday to Me and Some Childhood Recollections

It's a good day today. It's my birthday. 33 years old- not bad. A lot has happened in that time, a brief overview of which I will share a little later in this blog. As for today, I woke up early and ran a half-marathon. It was a good run, but despite beating my personal goal of 1:40 I came in feeling like I could have done better. I guess there is always a next time. When I got home, the kids had made me breakfast and we relaxed a little before Rachel loaded up her bike for the pedalfest (an annual 26 mile bike race that she had entered- capped at 500 contestants due to popularity). I stayed home with the kids and fought sea monsters, dragons, and giant spiders until we located the secret magic treasure that would make them go away. After we had finally secured the safety of our home, the kids all had baths to wash off the dragon snot, and then we drove down to watch Mom cross the finish line. She had a good showing and came in 3rd place- a surprise to me (but it shouldn't have been) given the number of more "serious" bikers in the race with much better bikes and more racing experience. I am proud of Rach- she definitely knows how to drive herself hard with a stubborn persistence that I hope our children pick up on.

Just now I finished mowing the lawn and am about to sit down to read a book while the kids have quiet time (Rachel is working a few hours today). Later, we will have a birthday party for me, and then Addy and I will go see a live production of Shrek, the Musical. It is being done by the fairly prestigious Summer Theater, and one of Addy's drama teachers is in the play, so that should be fun. Anyway- it's been a good day. Happy birthday to me.

And now on to my actual blog entry:
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My family is awesome. Can I just say that? It's true.

Lately, I have been reading through some of my old journals and looking at pictures of growing up. Unlike some of my siblings (I am assuming), the home I remember most when I think of my childhood is the yellow one we had in California. The day-to-day events that stand out to me are picking (stealing, in retrospect) oranges off of trees as I walked to or from school, making forts or catching crawdads in the nearby creek-bed, playing roller hockey in our long driveway, and going on bike rides to Rahilly Park. On the weekends we would collect pecans, raspberries, and mistletoe to sell to neighbors for candy money which I would spend at "The Treat Store," or go to Applegate Zoo and feel bad for the decrepit animals living there, or swim in the muddy waters of Yosemite Lake.

School for me was an unwanted lesson in sociology as I watched good friends from elementary school develop strong racial and cultural prejudices against one another as we entered middle or junior high school, sometimes even resulting in violence. I can still remember the names of some of my friends- Victor, or Kong, or Maria, or Gene, or Kao, who each fell victim to gangs or drugs (or both), their lives tragically stolen from them before they had even had a chance to get started. These were kids I had had footraces with on the playground, or built tunnels with in the sandbox. They were good kids. Oblivious at the time to intense social pressures that I didn't have to deal with, I didn't understand why school seemed increasingly difficult and unimportant to most of my fellow students. After all, it wasn't even that hard- you just had to set goals, work hard, and study. All it takes is for people to apply themselves, right?

How naive I was.

My family life, on the other hand, was blissful. I had a stay-at-home mom, and a dad who was around virtually any time I was, including summer vacations (he was a high-school teacher). I remember my mom reading long books to us including The Secret Garden, Little House on the Prairie, The Mixed-up Files of Basil E. Frankweiler, Harry Potter, and of course The Book of Mormon. I remember my dad helping me with math homework and extra-credit science experiments. We spent a lot of time together and went on a lot of vacations. At least that's what it seemed like to me. I especially remember trips to Yosemite or the beach where we would hang out with my grandparents, or to my cousins' house in Weldon where we would explore "The Rocks", or ride horses to Paul's Place. We also did some long family trips to Utah to visit extended family, and once we even drove to Illinois on a parent-guided tour of US and LDS history. In doing all these things I feel like I formed strong bonds with my siblings- my family was strong, and they were easily the most important people in the world to me.

As we grew up, my siblings and I started going our own separate directions. I left first at the age of 19 for a two-year LDS mission to Brazil. I was home from that for only a few months before moving out to attend college at BYU, during which time I saw my brother very briefly before he left on his own mission. While he was away I got married to a beautiful sign language interpreter and elementary school teacher (Rachel), became heavily involved in academics and scientific research, and started preparations for dental school. While the rest of my family still lived together, I moved to Cleveland, Ohio for more schooling, and from there to Northern Idaho where I live now.

In the meantime, my brother returned from his mission, got married, and moved to Oklahoma for law school where he stayed after graduation for a job. His wife, Ashland, is a nurse and stay-at-home mom, and they were just recently able to move to Utah- a move that I think they were both excited for. My sister, Haley graduated from college, got married, and moved to Texas with her husband, Matt. He was an army officer who spent a lot of time overseas, but they recently moved to a small oil town in North Dakota where Haley spends most of her time with the kids while Matt works hard as a business administrator. Allison graduated and moved to Utah where she got a job and met Clayson, who helps design computer software and works from time to time on a family-owned ranch in Idaho. They got married and recently bought a home in Logan (Utah). Courtney also graduated from college and moved away, working now in the greater Salt Lake City area helping autistic children. My parents have stayed in Rexburg the whole time as we have each gone on to build our own lives elsewhere. They are strong members of the different communities they are a part of (work, church, neighborhood), and seem to be enjoying their now-quiet home with brief interruptions of chaos from the grand-kids. Things are going well. The family continues to grow, and I think everyone is happy despite small first-world problems.  Life is good.

Alright- that is all well and good. But why did I give this abbreviated family history? The truth is that I don't really know. Maybe most people would see it as entirely irrelevant to events this week. It just seemed sort of important to me though, and this is my blog. When I think about my family today I feel extremely proud to consider myself a part of it. Each of my siblings have gone on to become very successful adults by pretty much anyone's criteria. We have some amazing people who have married into the family too, and some incredible kids as a result. Like I said, my family is awesome.

We have also grown apart in some ways though- not in bad ways, but in natural ways. Time and distance have separated us, and many of us have our own families to worry about now. As our family, educational, or cultural backgrounds have diverged we have each become different people than we once were. Like my parents, we each have our own communities at work, at church, or in our towns where we play active roles. On a day to day basis we really don't have that large an impact on each other's activities or choices. Again, I think that all of this is not only inevitable, but is also very right...but sometimes I still miss crawdad fishing and roller hockey.

And maybe that's why this past weekend was so good. Due to a fortuitous converging of circumstances, it just sort of happened that we had an impromptu family reunion of sorts. Everyone but Matt was there at the same time (unfortunately he had to work), and for a while it was like old times...but better. Because now we weren't just kids- we were grown-ups, each living very full lives of our own and coming together not only as siblings but as a diverse group of experienced adults...and as friends. Somehow that seems more important to me now than mere genetic similarities. It was really, really fun.

Now, it's not as if we never see each other. We do stay in touch, and some people even live close to each other. But getting everyone in the same house, with all the kids and all the noise and all the personalities all at once- well, it was cool. I don't know that there's much more to say about that, but at the same time I don't feel like I have given it the significance that I feel it deserves. And who knows- maybe it was just me. But I had a good time. I think other people did too. Hopefully we can do it more often in the future.

Here are some pictures:

These first few are from a trip that Dad, Griffin, Clayson, and I took to the Darby Wind Caves. I had never been there before, though I have wanted to go for a long time. The trip did not disappoint.

Here we are on the hike up. You can see the entry to the cave right behind Griffin's head to the left.

Another picture of the 3 mile hike. In this one the cave is seen in the distance on the mountains behind us. 

Just before you get to the cave you come to this beautiful waterfall coming out of an underground river.

Here's my dad (Griffin behind him) just before getting to the entrance.

The cave seems to get narrower and narrower...

...and narrower...

...and narrower still.

Eventually it opened up into a large cavern with a steep drop-off. This is where we were planning on stopping, but there happened to be a rope there descending further into the abyss (well, at least the remains of what used to be a rope).

Despite the questionable quality of our lifeline, Griffin and I decided to do a little more exploring. The smarter people stayed behind so that there would be someone left to tell the story of our demise.

At the bottom of the pit, we found the underground river (you can't see it very well...just know that I am above it)

Griffin and I by the underground river. The wall had a bunch of cool fins on it, and the ceiling had mineral deposits that sparkled in the light of our headlamps. I tried to get pictures but none of them turned out very well...I guess some things are just meant to be experienced. It was a fun trip.

 These next few pictures are from a walk/scavenger hunt we took at the BYU-Idaho gardens.

Of course the kids had to visit the Hart Building. This has almost become a tradition.

They are doing a skit on the stage, I think.

The kids also did a good job helping grandpa to do all the yardwork. 

And finally, this is our "garden" that I came home to. The other side looks just as bad. Apparently, there was a 4-day stretch of 100+ degree weather while we were gone, and I had not arranged for anyone to come water the plants. So sad. 

One more. This is from Rachel's bike race today

This is right after the finish line. You can't tell in the picture, but Rach was breathing pretty hard. After I took this she basically fell off her bike and collapsed into the grass. That's how you know it was a good race. I am proud of her.

The next generation

Almond Reunion

I have done a lot of driving in the last week.

Last Friday after work I got in my little supercar and hit the road. The last few days had been spent getting things in order and packing our stuff. Rachel had left earlier in the day with the kids and I would meet her in Rexburg late that night (or early the next morning, if you want to get technical about it). It was a pleasant drive and besides a short rest-stop along the way, I made good time. I walked in the house at 3:30am.

I woke the next morning at 6:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep. Sometimes I don’t like my natural alarm clock. Surely, I would pay for this lack of sleep later in the day.

After a casual morning with my parents we all got in the van and drove to a campground on the Palisades Reservoir. That is where we met Rachel’s family. The next several days were filled with boating, talking, cooking, and games.

Good times.

Making Breakfast

Having fun on the lake with Aunt Marissa

Me and Rachel before one of the most terrifying experiences of my life

Maren and Wesley

The babies

I got drove back home Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Today (Friday) I am planning on making the trip all over again to see some my family this time. Rachel stayed down there the whole week with her family while I went back to work.

Bubble wrap with Grandma Almond!

Isn't she adorable?

Now just cross your fingers for the supercar. I seriously consider it a miracle each day it makes the 10 mile drive to the office.