Dirt

It's just good when your a boy.

Thijs & Dax play with dirt and a duck

Why wouldn't it go in your mouth?

East Fork 2012

Another great adventure weekend accomplished at the East Fork of the Salmon River at the Heiner's White Cloud ranch!  A group of 24 adults and kids biked or drove the backcountry to enjoy a few days of hot tubbing, camping, mountain biking, and good timing.

Justin, Ian, Eric, Matt, and Zach pedal over on Friday. 

I was told this is where the fairies live.

Willie & Jenna enjoy a morning cup o' joe.

Megan, Briggs, and Dax test the hot tub.

Sarah and Isla.  Happy Campers!

Somebody thinks they are an indian.

Dax, Jenna, and I outside an old cabin on the ranch.

A view of the backside of the White Cloud Mountains.

Saturday crew of bikers.

The field of plenty.

Tucker likes his chocolate milk.

Entrance to Heiners White Cloud Ranch

A few ponies Jenna and I wrangled to behave.

Looking forward to next year!

First Day

It's not officially school but WOW did it feel like it this morning when I dropped Dax off for his first day of Pre-Primary school.  We had visited once before for 30 minutes and Dax only complained when I pulled him away from all the miniature farm animals.  Today was no different.  As soon as I set him down he toddled off to find the classroom pet rabbit named, Pepper.  I went to find him to give him a kiss and say goodbye.  While other kids were crying for their parents I was fighting back tears as I watched my baby frolic happily around the room.  I can't believe how quickly he has grown!  How do I stop it?

Dax feeding Pepper.

Ugh, guess I better get use to it because he's only getting older from this point on.

Caught with farm animals in hand.  

When I picked him up this afternoon he was on his third outfit for the day.  Apparently, he really enjoyed the new water in the glass offered to him at meals.  Why wouldn't you dump it on your head?  Phew!  My baby is still with me :)  I scooped him up and kissed him all over.  He thought that was hilarious.

Labor Day Weekend

Papa Bob & Sherri came for a visit over Labor Day weekend and we are so glad they did!

I think we managed to give them just the right amount of activities so they went to bed exhausted each night.  First, we rode our bikes from Hailey to Ketchum to watch the annual Wagon Days parade.  Just what it sounds like, wagons, horses, a camel, and a baby bison all strolled by in various arrangement.

The boys watching the parade plus cute Isla :)

The main attraction, the Big Hitch.

  A little rain shower and a flat tire didn't stop our bike posse from riding back home to Hailey.  That evening Jean cooked up a delicious meal of grouse hunted by Nick earlier that morning.

Dax with his two favorite Papa's.

Day 2 we headed out to Redfish Lake where we managed to escape the smoke from neighboring forest fires.  A picnic on the beach and lounging in the sun was a great way to spend the day.

Throwing stones in the water had never been more fun.

Zach and Dax yuck it up on the beach.

Day 3 was golf for Bob &Sherri, biking for Zach, shopping for the girls, and fishing for the guys.  Dax was battling a cold so he was lucky to stay with Papa Nick & Ya-ya (Jean) for the afternoon.

That morning Dax and I got in a little antique browsing when we happened upon some old toy cars.  Before I could stop him he had jumped in.   One sales lady had to ask me to remove my child from the car.  After I looked at the $500 price tag I understood why!

He literally climbed in before I could say "no, don't touch".  

 Another antique dealer was nice enough to allow Dax to climb on this miniature tractor.  Thank goodness because I was tired of tearing my child away from everything with wheels.

Just like Papa Nick's!

Loved seeing you Papa Bob & Sherri.  Come again!

Alturas Lake Afternoon

A little slow on getting this post up but better late then never...
We spent last Saturday afternoon at Alturas Lake with friends and despite the smoke that socked us in from the Trinity fire we had an excellent time.  Zach and Dax had their first tubing experience thanks to the Sundbys.  And Zach and Dax both stayed in despite my many exits.

Don't worry GiGi, Dax got in the boat shortly after this.

Nope, despite his big smile Zach is not having fun.

Dax learned that he could usually get a toy on the beach
 if he surprised other kids in his birthday suit.

Little Tators

My potato plants have been looking less then happy this week.  Too much water?  Too much sun?  Too much smoke from all the wildfires we've been having?  I decided to investigate with Dax.  After some unplanned digging we decided to pull them a little early for harvest this year. 

Not a bad bounty but I'm still disappointed they didn't have more time to grow.  Maybe next year I will have more time to focus on the garden.  If not I see a gigantic sandbox in Dax's future. 

4 Legs

When I think of the number 4 in design, I think of 4 legs to a chair.  They are needed to support the framework above.  To hold together the structure, and to provide a base for weight to be bared.

In our 4 years of marriage Zach and I have built this framework of support, structure, and base.  We help each other carry the load when one of us is feeling over burdened.  We find ways to have balance in life with family, work and play. We support each other to carry on with our ambitions, whether it's skiing, traveling, or gardening.  And hopefully our 4 strong legs will provide a foundation that can spill over into our son's life to help him grow and prosper.

Happy 4th Anniversary Zach! 
I can't thank you enough for being such an outstanding partner in my life.  You push me to not give up, to see things in a new light, and remind me to laugh when I get too serious.  I love you.

The Cougar

Excited for a family camping trip this weekend Nick, Jean, Kat, Zach, Dax, and I headed North to Alturas Lake.  Five dogs, three mountain bikes, boat, and camping gear in tow we felt unstoppable for the weekend activities.  The first night quickly changed our minds.

The roar started innocently enough as we felt these cries where normal in the wild.  But after the third wake-up call at midnight Zach and I started to loose our collected parenting routine and felt confused, delirious, and desperate.  We only hoped other campers thought our child's crying was a cougar and not the freaked out 15 month old boy in our tent.  Rocking, shushing, singing, sleeping in our bags, more clothes, different hat, teddy bear, and a clean diaper didn't do it.  We couldn't calm the cougar.  In tears I begged to go home.  Zach in frustration yelled to keep it together when it was clearly too late.  Our camping cool was blown.

Not until Papa Nick showed up in his down coat, beanie, head lamp, and underwear did our little cougar's calls quite.  A midnight walk to look at the moon and stars calmed him before we could feed him a bottle of warm milk back to bed.  Alas, 4am came quickly and before we knew it the cougar was up again in a fit.  This time Zach took Dax over to Nick & Jeans tent where he quickly fell asleep once he was snuggled warm.

The morning after the cougar attack.  Milk from the bottle makes sense.

I felt like a failure as a parent when I realized our cougar was cold and kept waking up, then frightened, and frustrated from lack of sleep.  Surely he would be mad when he came around the next morning.  As if nothing happened he bounded out of Papa and Jeans tent and looked happy to see his bewildered parents sucking down coffee.  He darted to his toys and carried on in the dirt like the happy little toddler we love him to be.

Luckily, that next day made up for the nights events with a great mountain bike ride and leisure time by the lake.  But the camping crew was clearly defeated and we made a unanimous decision to head back to town that night.

Happy cougar

Lesson learned:  If the cougar is happy so is everyone else.

89 And Looking Fine

My Nana turns 89 on Tuesday so we headed down to the Bay Area to celebrate with family over the weekend.  We had a great time catching up with cousins, sisters, dads, uncles, aunts, and Nana of course!

Erin and Nana

We managed a very QUICK trip to San Francisco to stop by the beach, drive thru the city to see some sights, and buy Ali a coffee after her work day.  Love that city by the Bay and only wish we could have stayed longer.

Ocean Beach, sweatshirt usually required.

At the Ferry Building with Ali

Dinner later with the family held the first of many rumpus parades for the kids that weekend.

Blonde cutie Liam.

The next day we spent at a beautiful park in Los Altos taking pictures, and playing games with all the kids.  There are 9 (soon to be 10 with the Kosach addition) great-grandkids that Nana can take credit for and every one was as cute as a button.

Nana and her brood

That night we headed to dinner at Bucca di Beppo and had all the traditional Italian treats.  My cousins Matt and Buffy put together a wonderful slide show of Nana in her early years.  I have to say at 89 she is still a knock out :)

Happy Birthday Nana!  We love you :)

A G & G Visit

Gigi & Grumpy came for a visit and we were so excited to see them!  They stayed just outside Hotel Latham and seemed to really enjoy the accommodations.  We had a wonderful weekend of exploring the valley, eating yummy food, and taking a beautiful hike to Kane Lake.

Big day in the backpack for the littlest jockey.

Gigi hiking despite a bad knee and doing great!

Grumpy and mascot Luke.

Not a bad destination.

I recognize those big lips.

Celebratory beer after the big hike.

So happy they came and only wish they could have stayed longer!  

Please come again soon!