The picture speaks for itself. We went camping this weekend at Priest lake, and It. Was. Beautiful. Our kids are old enough to help out with camping chores and to explore the trails and forests by themselves. They are responsible enough that we let them. And they are cool enough that we have a good time hanging out with them.

As much as it may shock some people to find out, this has not always been the case. For a few years there I was pretty much fed up with camping with kids. Frankly, it was a messy, stressful, hellish nightmare that didn't do anything for anybody. We kept going though, so that our kids would learn to camp well and not be afraid of the forest. Well, it worked, and these times out are now nothing but sheer bliss.

Now if only we could get them to be so good on the car ride to and from the campsite.

Baby steps. We are making progress.

The tent team

The kitchen crew

The pyro people

We even managed to do s'mores- twice!- without anyone getting burned or ruining any clothes. This is a major achievement for our family.

Card games are always a staple of camping

Have a good week!

The dappled light filters through the trees as we stroll along the riverbank, hand in hand, basking in the senses of the brisk early morning. Conversation comes easily, rising and falling to a natural rhythm that allows for both expression as well as reflection. By and by, savory smells of breakfast waft through the air as the town behind us begins to wake up to a bright new day. The reverent dawn having come to a close, we turn back on our tracks with reluctant enthusiasm to synchronize the opening of our favorite local restaurant with our arrival. Walking ever faster with nervous impatience in our steps, we feel compelled onward by the rising sun toward adventures that had been planned just hours before.

*****

The previous day had been a whirlwind of activity with band practice, church, and a family trip to the beach in the headlong pursuit of "rest" that has come to typify our Sundays. In the middle of all of this Rachel and I looked at each other, a thought passed silently between us, and we and nodded our heads.

Phone calls were made.
Meals were prepared.
The car was packed.

Three and a half hours later we were sitting on an outdoor porch, drinks in hand, enjoying the clean acoustic vibes of a Leavenworth folk duo as the day expired its last, sweet breaths into the cool night air. We both had extremely busy weeks coming up, and the kids only had four days left until the relentless march of Summer Vacation overtook us, laying waste in the process to our carefully and precariously balanced lives. In other words, we needed this.

*****

Which brings us back to the beginning of our post. After relishing our meal (eggs benedict and potatoes) and paying our tip, we were off for the real destination of the trip: Castle Rock.

Leavenworth is a town of two faces, really. The first, and most common image that arises in the public mind is that of a cute, if somewhat contrived, Bavarian village. The streets bustle with tourists almost constantly and a person is assaulted on all sides by the savory smells of cured meats as well as images depicting giant, menacing nutcrackers. It is a unique place, and offers more nightlife than would be expected for a town of just two thousand inhabitants.

The other, more wild side of Leavenworth is what keeps us going back though. Hidden closely behind the carefully manicured image of quaintness and whimsy, a person can find a set of mountains, rivers, and canyons that are almost unsurpassed in their potential for outdoor recreation. To get an idea of the climbing alone, consider for a moment that there are at least three different guidebooks that are needed in order to read, with very few repetitions, of all the established routs in the region. Besides this, there are hundreds of miles of trails offering access to some of the most dramatic landscapes in the country, not to mention easily accessed rivers which satisfy a broad range of whitewater enthusiasts

This wasn't always the case, of course, and the history is a little bit relevant to our purpose here on this weekend. In 1948 Fred Beckey walked up to Castle Rock, and with the help of two friends, established the very first multi-pitch route in the entire state of Washington- a state which now is known as the home and stomping grounds of some of the best climbers in the world. By either coincidence, or more likely, a keen eye for quality, the route lives on today as one of the best in the area, and it seems appropriate that it would be featured as Rachel's inauguration into the world of traditional rock climbing.

*****

How is one supposed to describe a climb? This question, rhetorical in nature, is meant more as an acknowledgement than anything of the limitations of human language. The answer is that you can't. It is ineffable, requiring the use of words and ideas that only have meaning to those of a similar mindset. It is like trying to describe your favorite meal, or a particularly moving piece of music. It is more of a feeling than an event, making it much more significant, even in the moment, than what could ever be described thereafter.

Suffice it to say that we climbed six pitches of beautifully clean granite, reveling in the physical movement as well as in the extraordinary vertical world we had become a part of. We took our time, often pausing at ledges to take in the view, share private moments, or continue our constant stream of conversation. Life's demands were vanquished for a moment, swallowed up by our circumstances, and time itself took on the curious quality of both standing still and rushing by all at once.

In short, it was magical.

Pulling over a roof on P2

Clean slabs on p5

Summit!

*****

After a celebratory meal back in town we returned home, refreshed and ready for our return to normal adult responsibilities. It had only been twenty four hours, but the time meant so much more than that. These little respites from life- intermissions in the hustle and bustle that typify our normal operations- are absolutely indispensable to our happiness and well-being. We are so fortunate to live in such a spectacular place, and to have the resources to take advantage of it on such a regular basis.

Have a good week!

We were going to go camping.

But then the weather forecast looked gloomy.
And Rachel had to work.
And kids were grumpy.
And it sounded like a lot of work.

Not worth it.

Instead, we went practice camping in the backyard. Here's how practice camping looks.

That is me, reading a book. Meanwhile, Jackson made a fire, Evelyn cooked dinner, and Addy and Maren readied the tent. It actually turned out pretty great. And now we know that when we go real camping, all the kids can help. No excuses.

*****

Rachel has been helping out all year in the kids' classrooms. Last week she was able to go on some field trips with them.

Evelyn with her weirdie friends

Addy and Jackson went on a bird-watching walk

Not a field trip, but a presentation that Ev did on...birdfeeders? I think? I dunno. I wasn't really in on this one.

*****

Yesterday we planned on hitting the beach, but it turned out to be just breezy enough to make us think twice. Instead we went to the indoor water park.

Lindsey really liked when the huge bucket emptied on her

I did this slide with Lindz about a thousand times. Ugh.

The Flowrider (wave surf machine) was definitely a favorite....

...It also made for some pretty spectacular whipeouts. Who did it best, Rachel or Jack? 

He actually got a little hurt on this one, but it wasn't five minutes later that he was back in line, ready to try again.

Have a good week!

We just returned from a wonderful Hazard Holiday weekend, and as much as I want to just dive right into describing these events, I feel like there are a few housekeeping items that we need to go over first.

For example, we had our fourteen year wedding anniversary. Fourteen! Fourteen years, and I still get just as excited as ever at the thought of spending an evening with Rachel watching the sunset from our deck, or curled up under a blanket watching a movie. Fourteen years and we still enjoy going on dates together, usually at least once a week, and sometimes much more than that. Having Evelyn available to babysit has really made this easier, and we often go out spontaneously after putting kids down for the night. Fourteen years and we still read books together, take classes together, and discuss together our thoughts about life. We have both become more vulnerable, and at the same time more comfortable with each other in discussing the deepest parts of ourselves. We laugh harder with each other, and we cry more openly into each other's arms. We are both very different people today than we were when we got married, and yet we feel more connected than ever before. For those who understand the reference, we are each other's "Johnny Lingo," inspiring in the other a degree of self-confidence and assurance that might not ever be possible otherwise. It's been fourteen years standing side by side, hand-in-hand, through victories, failures, heartaches and most of all, the unspeakable joys that life has to bring. It has been an amazing ride so far, and we look together with eager anticipation at what the future might bring.

Rachel, my love- it has been a WONDERFUL fourteen years.

And that's only the beginning.

Here's to our future. Cheers.

*****

As many readers of this blog might know, we usually celebrate our anniversary with a big trip which isn't always able to happen at the same time as the actual date. This year we have planned a splendid road trip up through British Columbia and then back down through Seattle that will take place in July. For now however, we simply bask in the lovely weather of spring and count the blessings that we are able to bring to each other.

Part of that, of course, includes the start of a long season full of social events and backyard barbecues. To kick things off, we hosted about 50 people for a lovely evening around the fire-pit, full of good times and good camaraderie. We were able to make some new friends and reconnect with old ones. I really like that our home is able to accommodate these types of events so well, and that there is able to be something for everyone, from the very young to the very old. To this end, we recently added a pool table to the mix which, so far, has been a lot of fun but has done nothing to boost our egos as we clumsily try and figure out how to actually play the game well.

Other recent events have included dancing at the piano bar, rock climbing at our local park, swimming at the beach, and a very upscale dinner party at the resort with a bunch of my colleagues. Things have been peacefully busy (or busily peaceful), and we seem to be on a mellow sort of auto-pilot from now until the end of the school year. It's a nice groove to be in.

Here we are testing out the newly-installed pool table. That thing is a lot heavier than it looks!

*****

Here is something that is kind of neat. The Kroc center (local community center), in celebrating their tenth anniversary, commissioned a local artist to do a painting. It will be placed permanently near the child care area. Do you recognize any of the children in the painting?

*****

One tradition that has really become an indulgence around here is that of the annual Hazard Holiday. I don't know if there is ever a time when we are so self-consciously full of  ourselves as this, but we have fun and it has led to some great memories. This is especially true of this year, where we forced our children to take a walk with us down memory lane and visit all the sites that were meaningful to our courtship when we were in college (at least, those that were still standing). Of course we threw some fun stuff in there as well to try and give some respite, however brief it may have been, to the constant eye rolls and gagging noises coming from the back seat. (Actually, I'm just kidding about that last part. Our kids actually liked all the stories about when we were younger and they got pretty excited about see the areas we were talking about.)

We started out in Provo- home of Brigham Young University. We saw the apartments that we used to live in when we were dating, the house we rented after we got married, and the places where we spent our time at work and at school. It was a nice walk.

The rest of our trip is going to have pictures to go with it, the story evolving in the captions. I think it is more interesting to read that way. And honestly- a little easier to write. Also, some of these pictures are pretty good, but as always, the quality isn't there because of limitations on Blogger. Click on them for full resolution. It's funner that way.

Our tour of campus started on the south end where we walked up the same stairs that brought us both to our classes every day. Behind this graceful crew of girls is Y mountain, which is visible only because the Widtsoe building (Home of the molecular biology department- one of my majors) was torn to shreds. I'm not bitter though. Really, I'm not. The new Life Sciences Building is amazing.

Here is the home of my second major- Biochemistry. One by one, turning the next generation into science nerds. Oh yeah!

I'm pretty sure this is a picture of Adalie tattling on Maren and Jackson during our ten-hour drive.

After walking all the way across campus we ended at the Bean Museum where we saw live animal demonstrations and gawked at the magnificent variety of dead things. It was pretty cool.

We wanted to have milkshakes at the place where Rachel and I used to go on dates, but it was torn down (not bitter, I promise). Instead, we went to a new burger joint. It wasn't quite as good.

This is the big, wide open field we were walking in when we shared our first kiss. It was raining, and the air smelled like dandelions. It was very romantic. Now it is a building.

Here's a picture of the park where we would go to and talk until all hours of the night while we were dating. It was the site of our first date. It was where we broke up...and where we got back together. It was where we first said "I love you." Except that it's obviously not there any more. It was torn down and replaced with this building.

Seriously, it's like the town of Provo is out to get us- dismantling our past one brick at a time, leaving nothing in the relentless wake of progress but tender shadows of memories- memories which will eventually fade, and then die as mere teardrops, lost in the great sea of humanity.

But these sure are nice looking apartments, right? 

That night we stayed in a hotel WITH A SWIMMING POOL!!!!!! Honestly, I don't get it. We have access to amazing natural beaches where we live, we own a boat, and we go regularly to three different water parks. And still, there is nothing that can beat the incredible thrill of a small, puddle sized swimming pool in a hotel. It makes no sense. I give up.

The next morning we went to Rock Canyon- a place I visited probably five days a week when I was living in Provo. I am looking so triumphant in this photo because I went back to an old climbing project of mine- a slabby 5.12b that I was never able to even reach the second bolt on- and after a twelve year absence I onsighted that sucker. BAM!

The kids all got to climb as well, in a place called "The Kitchen." Some of my earliest climbing memories were on this formation. Also, Maren is super fashionable. Just sayin'.

This house has SOOO many memories. This is where my grandma lived before she died. Rachel and I both teared up a little when we took this picture.

The aquarium in Draper was a highlight for everyone. They probably tore down something important in order to build it.

We also got to spend some time with my Grandma and Grandpa Hazard at their house. The next day, they took us to the Curiosity museum. My cousin, Krystalee, was also there with her kids. This was an unexpected bonus stop for us and one of our favorite parts of the trip.

Overall, I'd say that this year's Hazard Holiday was a huge success. Kids and weather were both (mostly) cooperative, and we got to pack a lot of activity into a short amount of time. That's just how we roll.

Have a good week!