The holiday season continues around here with lots of fun and traditions on the horizon. This week the big project was getting our Christmas lights up on the house, and we were none too soon as it started to snow just as I was plugging in the last strand. It was perfect- like the weather gods had been waiting patiently for me to get off the roof before pulling the levers that changed Fall into Winter.

Winter also means the ski resorts start to open, and we took our first family outing on Sunday after church. The kids haven't forgotten a thing, and we all had a good time.

Lindsey wins for whipeout of the day. That is why she is wearing my gloves. Hers are full of snow! 

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Also, we are pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 gingerbread competition. Team A won by a landslide! Both teams did great though. Good times.

Have a good week!

Note: Even if you don't read this blog, please vote on the gingerbread houses. The stakes are enormous! Pictures are at the BOTTOM of this post. Choose your favorite and leave a comment on here, on Facebook, or just tell us in person. 

Thank you!

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In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving we had a couple notable happenings including a "friendsgiving" at our house, school pictures, parent/teacher conferences, and some exciting developments at work that will come out at a later time. We also did some hiking, went to some movies, had fun on dates, watched a lot of football, and lived the good life up here in North Idaho. I didn't write about these things as they happened because I didn't really feel like it.

Here's school pictures:

(They are all a little bit grainy because they are proofs They did not offer the option for digital downloads and we really only use them for the blog and I could do a better job with my cell phone anyway. Just putting them up here for documentary purposes. It just seems like the expected thing to do.)

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Now that we got that stuff out of the way I can write about Thanksgiving. My parents and grandparents came up for the holiday and we had a great time hanging out with them. We had a wonderful time and made some great memories!  Here are some pictures to show off the highlights:

Thanksgiving dinner. I don't know why I look like a mentally challenged deer in the headlights, but it's the only photo we had. I guess I'll take one for the team here.

Hot chocolate at the Coeur d'Alene parade and holiday lighting ceremony at the resort. 

Hiking around in the newly formed Post Falls Community Forest

Bowling. Can I just say that Rachel is pretty awesome!

Milkshakes

Adult night out. We went to dinner and then watched the Ellen Travolta Christmas show at the resort. It was kinda like listening to a staged reading of Chicken Soup for the Soul.

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Gingerbread Houses!

Many people know that we always do an annual gingerbread house competition at our house. The winner is decided by votes. If you are reading this, then that means you, as well as the people who you are with at the time, as well as all of your friends who you are going to show this to. Right? Okay. So, choose your favorite, and let us know which one you like best by leaving a comment here, or on Facebook, or by just telling us in person or on the phone, or via IM, or in an email, or even in a letter that you put in a real mailbox.



Actually, don't do the letter thing. We only check our mail about once a month. But anything else is great- the more votes the better!



This year we have two structures to choose from:



Team A

A lighthouse by the sea. Please take special notice of the furniture inside, the ocean animals, and the "pretzel-work" around the lamp.

Team B

 A more traditional Christmas Cottage with Santa landing on the roof. The "guy" on the front is actually supposed to be a bird.

So...which one will it be? Let us know, and have a good week!

Happy Halloween!

We have lots of candy at our house. Kids were up late. Fun day. I've decided that Halloween should always be celebrated on weekends.

A "nice spider bride" who "shoots black widows out of her hands"

Lindsey at preschool. Check out Rachel's dress :)

Kids with Lou- their children's leader at church. She is moving to San Francisco later this month and our family will definitely miss her.

I am getting behind! When this happens, it really drives home to me the main reason we do "The Hazard Chronicles" in the first place. See, it's been over two weeks since I wrote on here- two weeks full of activity and good times and funny episodes and meaningful conversations and noteworthy events. When I try to remember this all though, it sort of just blurs together. I have pictures, sure, but I don't have the emotional context for those pictures any more so I can't write much about them.

What I remember for the family is that we have spent a lot of time out in the beautiful Autumn weather we are having. For me, there has been a resurgence in my interest in rock climbing, and I have gone eight times since the last post. Rachel and I have each had a chance to be out with our respective groups of friends and there have been some good times there. We also went out together to the Banff Mountain Film Festival, and as a family to meet some new friends in Spokane.

It's been an eventful couple of weeks, but most of these events took place close to home, and for whatever reason this makes it more difficult to record things. These are the things, however, that become our building blocks, individually and as a family. The small things that, in the day to day don't seem to amount to much, but which collectively represent some of the most significant parts of who we are.

For whatever reason, we feel like it is important to record these things. It gives us a way to look back and see where we have come from. And it is fun. And it is us.

On to the pictures!

Rach made a sign with her friends. It will go in our back yard.

We have spent some good time outside.

Apple picking!

Have a good week!

This post will be brief, but there are lots of good pictures:

On Friday afternoon I loaded the four oldest kids in the car and started driving toward the North Cascades. We were meeting friends at a campsite, and the next two-and-a-half days would be spent in exploration of this beautiful corner of the world.

We got amazing weather while we were there. The fall colors mixed with the rugged terrain left me speechless on many occasions.

Some of the best times were had just sitting around the fire or playing in the woods around the campsite.

One story I have to include here:

All the kids sleep next to their water-bottles in case they get thirsty in the night. Well, one of the mornings, Maren wakes up and says "Dad, can I have some of your water? My water tastes gross."

"What's wrong with your water, Maren? It came from the same place mine did."

"I don't know," she responds. "It just tastes yucky." She pulls her water bottle out, and now that it is light we can see a distinct yellow tint tint coming from inside the container. "Look!" she cries, "It's all yellow!"

I try to hide my look of shock as I glance over at Jackson who is unsuccessfully trying to make himself disappear into his sleeping bag. Finally, he meets my gaze. "What?" he asks. "It was so cold last night. So cold, and, you know..." he trails off.

Oh, I know. Say no more. "Here Maren," I hand her my water bottle. "drink my water. As much as you want."

I don't think she ever put two and two together. 

That is probably a good thing.

Five adults and ten kids. We descend on the campsite like a hoard of army ants :)

The dog's name is Kenai (I have no idea if I spelled that right). Our kids fell in love and cried when it was time to say goodbye. Now they think we are getting a dog. Keep dreaming, kids. Keep dreaming.

Early on the first day we took a short drive up to look at Liberty Bell and the surrounding peaks. It is impossible for me to look at these mountains without subconsciously asking myself when I can come back to climb them.

Although we didn't spend any time on the big mountains, we did climb quite a bit on lower crags. I haven't climbed at my limit at all in over a year, and I had mixed feelings about my performance- I led 5.11, and I top-roped some 12s (it was pretty ugly though). If anything, it was motivation to get back into shape. The kids all did okay too, but I think they had more fun running around with the dog or building forts than they did on the rock.

When we got home, Rachel and I went out together to watch a screening of "The Dawn Wall," a climbing film about a book that I just finished.

It was a good weekend.

Rachel and Lindsey had fun at home while we were out exploring. They went out to breakfast, painted pumpkins, went swimming, and went to the movie theater. 

Have a good week!