Car Creativity

I know I don't post much anymore, but I thought the world needed to hear this:
We are almost over our colds, so things are clearing up in the nose area, but today in the car Sophie says to me: "Mom! If I stick a little boogger to a big boogger, it makes a boogger monster!"

Fall

Just thought I'd post a few pictures on here since I haven't put anything up in a while!

 
The cousins and their costumes! They had a lot of fun tick-or-treating together.

 
Not a great picture, but the ballerinas for Lydia's party. They had a great time twirling together, leaping around, and wearing their ballet clothes. What a fun way to celebrate Lydia!

 
Noah, Lydia, and Sophie discovering a wooley bear (a kind of caterpillar) on a hike a few weeks ago. Little creatures are SO interesting!

And a Few More......

Here are a few last pictures of our time in Colorado. All of us, but especially sister Pat, went to great lengths (and heights) to capture the perfect picture (this one of Alberta Falls). We are fortunate no one was injured in the process. We took turns cooking and enjoyed some great food. We were able to take some beautiful hikes toward the end of the week, and this last picture is the view from our windows on a clear day. It was a rich experience--one we hope to repeat.

A Patch of Blue

While in Colorado, we would get up each morning and start looking for a patch of blue in the gray, overcast sky. Finally, on the last full day we were there, we found one while hiking around Bear Lake in Rocky Mt. National Park. There were several more after that, allowing us to get some great pictures, including this one of Bob and Pat . The last picture was taken on the trail to Alberta Falls. What a difference the sun makes!

September Surprise

We had been told that mid-September is the best time to see the golden Aspens in the Rocky Mountains, so my siblings and their spouses met us near Nederland, Colorado, for a "half-way" reunion, driving from California and Michigan. We rented a house on the side of a very steep hill (mountain?) with a challenging, switchback driveway. The first morning we were there, we woke up to snow and 28 degrees. The lovely deck was viewed from inside, the hot tub was used twice, and the pictures of our hikes could be captioned "Winter Wonderland." We went to the local hardware store to buy gloves. (It was in the 70's in Michigan and in the 90's in California. Needless to say, most of what we had packed was never worn.) Trying to get up the driveway in Bob's front-wheel-drive van was the biggest adventure of each day.

In spite of the weather shock, we had a wonderful time of being together and exploring part of beautiful Colorado. I'll post more pictures later--some of the Aspens minus snow as it melted later in the week. We actually sat out on the deck on the morning we left for home. We were really grateful that the inside had as much room as it did!

Goodbye photos

I was thinking about all of you this week and realized I never posted the photos from the day we left. I'm glad I took them.

It's been a slow week so far. Gabe was sick from Sunday through Tuesday, so we really didn't go out at all. He enjoyed just playing with me and hanging out together, although I do spend an indordinate amount of time cleaning to avoid being taken over by the biting ants. I have never in my life had such a clean house. Dishes are washed immediately, floors are swept several times a day, clutter is dealt with as quickly as possible so that pests don't have places to hide. I feel like I'm turning into my grandma, but now I feel I may have misjudged her. I always thought she was too obsessed with cleanliness, but she lived poor for most of her life and I imagine she had to worry a lot about pests and vermin. Which also makes me wonder, in America how did we manage to avoid living with rats, mice, all kinds of insects, snakes and other species that are natuarally attracted to human dwellings? Did it involve horrible chemicals? Oddly, just at this moment Gabe screamed because there was a frog confronting him in the hall and in the time it has taken me to type this, he has now decided he wants it for a pet and is calling it "Ribbety".

Anyway, other than that we have been practicing on the motorbike and helping out at school. I also go shopping at numerous places to avoid too many pesticides on our food. I'll be going with Gabe's class on a trip to the market on Friday. It's a crazy place to take kids as it is dark and easy to get lost, but fortunately, there are only 12 of them. I guess that's all for now-a small snapshot of our lives and a few snapshots from another life. Miss you guys.

More of our house

The first picture you see is the giant front room. As I mentioned, it echoes like a train station and we often find ourselves having difficulty conversing in that room. The next pic is Gabe in his hammock bed. He sometimes likes to spend time in it even when he's not sleeping. It's got a mosquito net and he likes to rock himself in it. The next picture is our bedroom. You mostly see the mosquito net in the foreground. The lone window in that room opens onto the giant room (that's how I took the picture). The last picture is of a small bedroom at the back of the house which we'd like to fix up if we stay in this house. It's kind of nasty, so no one wants to be in it right now. So that's our house. We like it:)

Our house

We've been promising pics of our house and here they are: The first ones are pics of the kitchen. The bedroom you see pictured is the downstairs bedroom and we also use it as an office of sorts. The bathrooms are too small to take a picture inside, but you can see most of it from the hall. There is no sink, so the bucket under the tap serves as a sink.

For our faraway friends...

Brian just called from LA. He is there for a few days training for (one of his) new jobs. I regretted that he didn't take pictures with him, since he will see some old friends from our time in CA. So, here they are, for you beautiful, faithful friends so far away, but close to our hearts and so deeply loved...here are the most important pieces of our lives:

Always smiling, always dirty Noah

Ever serious Sam prepping for his gold belt promotion

For our faraway friends...pt 2

For our Anniversary (Aug 2...12 years!!) we visited the park we were married in. They updated it beautifully with a pergola and tasteful landscaping, plants and rocks along the meandering stream flowing from the fresh spring. Of course we didn't take pictures of that, as much, because THIS is so much more beautiful to see:

One thing I like about him being gone is that it makes me realize how much I cherish our friendship. I miss him, not only for the help he is with our busy family, but because he is my best friend. I think he called to say, "I arrived safely." But what he said was, "I miss you." I'm so glad that he prefers my quiet, simple, hippie style to LA bustle and trend.

The other thing I like about him being gone is that I don't feel the need to cook healthy meals and the kids picked fish sticks, Froot Loops and Corn Dogs for our dinners this week! :)

Our trip

We had such a wonderful time on our trip to Colorado. In some ways it was hard to leave the simple, easy pase of mountain/vacation life to come home. I've posted lots on our blog, but here were a few pictures I couldn't fit in.
 
I think we were in paradise for the kids. Rocks everywhere! Big rocks, small rocks, piles of rocks, what is it that is so enticing? The minute we got to the cool, dry mountain air Toby's hair went pin straight. It stayed like that all week until we came home and instantly curled up again. I guess we'll have to stay in Michigan just for curly hair!

 
It was quite cool for most of our hikes. I thought it would be warmer since it is August already, but whether because of the cool summer we seem to have had, or because summer is nearly over in the mountains we were very glad to have our fleeces. Even Elinore who would wear short sleeves all winter if I let her stayed bundled up. When cold it seemed like snuggling with Daddy was the best help.

 
You probably can't tell from the picture, but Elinore is actually hugging this little aspen tree. I think she did this all on her own accord.

 
This is one of the two coyotes we saw. We felt pretty lucky to see them right in the middle of the day, along the road in the national park. We saw lots of other wildlife, as well. Marmots, birds, prairie dogs, elk, a little fawn literally next to our cabin, bunnies,... Elinore liked the wildlife best when we were safely inside our car or cabin!

Mom and Dad, we hope you have as wonderful a time in Colorado as we did. We have a few hikes to recommend to you!

Sophie Turns 3

Sophie recently celebrated her third birthday with a doggy party, complete with a couple of real canine guests. Bob, her next-door neighbor, came with his dog who gave Sophie a gift--a dog. Her Uncle Joel also brought his dog. When she had finished opening her gifts, she had three new dogs, much to her delight. After dinner, we all had delicious doggy cake. Lydia was very helpful in showing Sophie how to arrange her new doll house.

Sophie enjoyed her special day, as did all her guests. Happy Birthday, dear Sophie!

The Place

Here is a picture of Sky Blue Cottage and the "green space" across the street where we had a family picture taken. It was just a short walk down the hill to the beach where many castles, forts, and compounds were constructed. Kids and sand are always a great match. Except for the clean-up afterwards, I think adults like it too.