YeHaW!

Without going into too much overload... here's the picture recap of some of the ranch activities. I was about to type "highlights" but I think the highlights are an entirely different blog post... one with more reflection... requiring more time to think.

Our first day there, Scotty and I set up a climbing route on a giant Aspen tree for my rock climbing class. Daniel and I taught the class and practiced basic climbing skills on the tree the first day, and then took the kids up Darby canyon the second day. I loved having the experience to climb in Darby Canyon. It was a fun climb, and it was awesome to get the boys excited about climbing. I cleaned the route at the end of the day, climbing with a ridiculously swollen sprained ankle... I sprained it on the first day, and then I refused to acknowledge it for the next two weeks. I didn't miss a beat at the ranch... climbing... hiking... working... but I'm wondering if I did the right thing ignoring it because it's still swollen two weeks later!




Tin foil dinners in the fire pit. This is one of my favorite pictures of Sue and Dick, the Ma and Pa of this ranch!

Here are pictures of the three bunk houses Scott so skillfully took. Talk about a wild bunch! Being one of two women among these little animals was in some ways out of my comfort zone, but in other ways I feel like I fit right in!




It's so great to have Scott make the ranch part of him just as it's part of me. And I love how welcoming and loving Sue and Dick are to both Scott and me. I love that Dick steals Scott away the second he gets there and takes him off to do some sort of job. I am so grateful for Sue and Dick and the beautiful experiences they have created for hundreds of families and people. This was my eleventh year visiting the ranch. I am about as lucky as they come; I have so much to be grateful for.


At the trail head in Coal Canyon for Taylor Mountain... one of my favorite hikes! It felt good to know I can still cart my possessions on my back up a mountain and keep up with a bunch of energetic boys.

At the top!! We had a wonderful view of the Tetons and our itty bitty campsite below. We had a great group... no complainers... and everyone made it to the top telling jokes, laughing, and high-fiving each other to the peak.


Taylor Williams and Anders Taylor... competing for who got to be the Taylor of Taylor Mountain.


Scott was experimenting with taking pictures through the polarized lenses of his sunglasses. He's so creative! I love how it changed the coloring!

I just thought that this was an incredible feat of superhuman strength.... One to share with the world o' blogs.


Bringing up the rear, le photographer.


On the way to the Heron Project: gorgeous sites to be seen every day! With all the real estate flopping, Dick told me Scott and I had the chance to get our own piece of paradise. I told him I wish I could afford a down payment on paradise. I'm so happy I can soak up paradise each summer for a couple weeks.



It's so fun to be able to share the ranch with family! Kirsten and I grew up going together. My parents spent their first summer up there last year. Johnny would make a fantastic mentor. I'm so glad Bob and Dana brought their kids (minus one) to Victor to pick up Will at the end of the session. I've got such a great family!

Will was a little embarrassed to get a picture with Dick. I'll have to send this picture to Dana, though, because I think he'll be happy to have this one.


The Heron Project: Completion Date and Time: Saturday 3:34pm: After the boys had left!
This is an awesome fort/lashing project we had going with the boys. It's so they can sleep and camp-out it Dick's nature observatory where we have a Heron's nest and other wildlife living. The boys worked hard on it, but weren't able to finish everything by the time they went home. Taylor, Max, Scott, and I finished it up once they left. It felt so good to leave a finished project, and we hope it holds up over the winter! I am convinced that in the day that I have a backyard and a kid or two, Scott and I will attempt something like this in our yard. It was so fun to learn how to make!


A good-looking guy with a good looking truck... that truck belongs in the wide open fields.

So after leaving the ranch on Saturday evening, we got some shakes, made a stop to drop some backpacking gear off at the girls ranch, and head over the hill to Wyoming for some Jackson Hole time. After a long long long long search for reasonable hotels, we ended up camping out in the back of the truck, which was just as comfy as any hotel. The next day we wandered Jackson Hole like smelly vagabonds, though. Someone at the Jackson Holt Art Festival told us we look just like locals. My favorite part was the Art Festival, but we loved walking around the shops, eating at our favorite pizza place up there, and of course getting our buns in the Bunnery for breakfast. I love all of the memories associated with Teton Valley. The National Parks with my extended family... river rafting with my family as well as my friends in college... the ranch. And I love adding all of my good times with Scott to this list. This is our second trip to Jackson in a year and a half... I feel pretty good about that!

We're not really shoppers... but we enjoyed the window displays! I did walk away with one of my most desired purchases, however. A hiking guide book of the Targhee area... and identification pamphlets so I can identify local birds, flowers, and edible plants. I'm a geek, I know! But I've already gotten good use out of it. Scott and I saw a black bird on the roof of a shop. A crow or a raven? I whipped out my identification card and recognized the distinctive call... a raven. Man, good thing I had that kind of information on hand.

Scott had a crush on the happy mannequin.
I took this picture for my nephew. Andrew, do you know what kind of dinosaur head that is? I love how it looks like he's eating the fish in the background.

Waiting for lunch at a great Mexican place where we shared fish tacos and fried ice cream before heading home!
The typical JH shot. Sort of. I've got a weird back arch thing going on.

We drove home listening to Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen. I'm loving it. Scott was getting sleeping about two hours into our drive, and I finished the drive that welcomed us back to Utah. I was wide awake and enthralled at the kind of experiences I was hearing described on the ipod. I'm excited to finish the book and move on to Stones into Schools.

I woke up this morning with a sore throat and congestion... Looks like my body held out just as long as it needed to! I've got a lot of catch up to do! And before we know it, we'll be heading up to Vancouver to spend some more time with the Hannays! This is shaping up to be a busy and wonderful summer!

First Thing's First

Before I attempt to synthesize my grounding and recharging experience at the ranch, allow me to introduce you (whoever you are) to our dear friend. Of course I named him once upon a time, but the name hasn't stuck in my mind. He's a snake with a forgotten name.



He lives in our bathtub/shower... which has always bothered Scott a wee bit. Each morning before showering, he would remove the nameless snake from the shower and put him on the side of the tub or hang him over the shower curtain. I would surprise him (but this happened each morning so I don't think it was a surprise for very long) by tossing the snake back into the shower at his feet.

What the world needs to know about this snake is that he was a birthday gift from my nephew Andrew. When immersed in water, he grows up to 600 times in size! Or so the box says. I was desperate to know the truth, and I loved having a little critter hanging around for a while. Scott indulged me in the snake growth study because it was an extension of my birthday... so he couldn't say no!

We set out to measure the snake via before/after pictures. Since the snake (let's call him Eddy) is our first "pet" I suggested we take family portraits. This is what I got out of Scotty:



Look at Scott trying to feign affection for this slithery friend...



Fair enough. We got a little caught-up and busy, so we never took an after shot. I figured we'd do it eventually. Here I am... back from ranching and farming for two weeks... eager to see my snake.

WHERE IS HE??? Scott?

tick tick tick...

All that stands in our way are 8 model rocket kits and sculpting clay. Funny how much I love living outside.

Life is a Bowl of Cherries

And bowls of cherries come at great cost.

(Look at what happens when I get talking... or typing. I don't stop. But it does feel good to get caught up again. This is all for the sake of journaling... so I guess you can't write too much)

The bee post reminded me (because of the similar feeling of terror) of a question I wanted to send out into the cosmic void. What is the proper cherry tree etiquette when the cherry tree is on the street-side of the sidewalk? On Sunday I pointed out to Scott that the house across the street has a gorgeous cherry tree with GORGEOUS, red cherries, ripe for the picking! So many cherries going to waste because no one had picked them!



We started out picking a few here and there in passing. A couple days later, I brought a bowl across the street with us, and we had a very sneaky cherry-snatching operation. I kept one eye on the tree, and one eye on the light in the entry room of the house. Things seemed to be going fine, and our pile of loot was looking delicious, when the worst happened. The phone inside the house started ringing! Terror-stricken, I darted across the street shrieking at Scotty to follow; I was so worried a neighbor was calling the cherry tree owner to tell him/her that thieving was afoot outside. Scott obnoxiously and casually skateboarded across the street, stopped in front of our condo, and decided that was the perfect moment to take a phone call. I was fuming with anger and panic as I peered around the wall, motioning for Scott to please come hide himself before the cherry tree owner came out and saw him. Andrew showed up right at this moment, probably thinking I was insane.

I put it behind me as soon as my heart calmed down and my sense of rebellion diminished. We hung out in the kitchen, snacking on cherries when Scott excused himself to use the restroom upstairs. A few minutes later, Andrew and I heard a stern knock at the door. No one ever knocks on our door besides visiting teachers and home teachers. Of course it was the cherry tree owner, coming to confront us! I was seriously numb with terror! "I'm a thief!" I thought. "I'm going to get caught!" I thought. "I can't deal with this!" I thought. I motioned to Andrew to answer the door, and I ran up the stairs. I figured Andrew could answer the door and tell what's-his-name-cherry-owner that he had the wrong house. Coward: Me.

I heard another knock on the door (I found out that Andrew had jumped up to hide the bowl of cherries after the first knock. So glad he was caught-up in all the excitement like I was). I listened at the top of the stairs, failing to notice that the light to the upstairs bathroom was off. Scott wasn't using the bathroom, but I was too consumed by my felony to pay attention. Andrew opened the door, and I heard Scott's voice, "Oh, man. I was going to try to scare Lindsey."

"It worked!!!" I yelled from upstairs!! Scott wasn't even in the dog house for pranking me. It was too funny, and I was being too ridiculous. I love that Scott knows when and how to take advantage of my ridiculousness.

I love that boy. We have a lot of fun around our house.

I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee... won't my mommy be so proud of me?

I have digressed.

The summer before fifth grade, my friends McCaye Badger, Becky Oblad, and I became professionals in the world of experimental bee elimination. We were fearless. There was a fire hydrant in my front yard where a colony of bees had set up camp. I feel like that bee-infested hydrant occupied the entire summer for us... or at least a month of it... or a week. We tried everything. We taped the entrances of the hydrant so the bees would have no exit strategy. When we untaped the hydrant, the bees were waiting, angry and anxious to escape their quarantine. We tried putting pieces of ham and turkey (because according to eleven-year olds, bees are drawn to lunch meat) inside water balloons to trap the bees inside and test whether or not they could sting their way out.

Fast forward to sophomore year of high school. Tyler Snelgrove's back yard. At the wise old age of fifteen, we (I remember Steve being there, Tyler, and maybe James?) decided to catch bees in a tupperware container, freeze them for several hours, tie string around them while they were frozen, hang them from the gutter, and then let them thaw out to find that they had been mysteriously roped.

I don't know why.

And I'm sorry to those of you who vehemently defend the rights of bees (my nephew Andrew being included. After seeing Seinfeld's Bee Movie, he has a very soft spot for bees and their vital roles in their families). But the bees never seemed to mind my scientific endeavors. I've never been stung by one.

BUT. This summer the tides have turned. Either I have digressed in guts or the bees are getting even... years later. Scott and I haven't put the screens on our windows yet, and I have been attacked by HUGE bees the last couple days. We're practically inviting them in with our wide open windows.

Two of them set up camp in the bathroom yesterday. One of them left, and Scott "took care of" bee #2 last night.



And today Scott got a frantic phone call from me while he was at work. A gigantic bee flew into the room, and I swear I've never been so panicked. What's my problem? I smash spiders. I set mouse traps. A bee? I used to be a BEE HUNTER! I'm usually the kind of girl who would have a little chat with the bee... give it a name... bring it a little plate of lunch meat.

I don't know what I expected Scott to do, but I guess misery loves company, and I wanted a little sympathy and advice.

After laughing at me for a few solid minutes Scott asks me very practically (I love that that he gives it the seriousness that it deserves... he goes along with all my stupid bits), "So Lindsey, what do you think you're going to do?"

"I was thinking of just giving him the bedroom. We don't need the bedroom. In fact, maybe we should just give him the house."

The bedroom now belongs to the bee upstairs. Until Scott gets home. I guess I'm one of those girls who needs her husband to kill the bees. I never knew I was so scared of bees all of a sudden. My panicked phone call to Scott took me completely by surprise. I'm kind of grossed out by myself.

But you know what. I'll win this in the end. Once the bee spends an afternoon trapped in our non- air conditioned bedroom on the top level of our apartment complex, he will be sorry he forced me out of my own room while I was in the middle of folding the laundry. Right now I'm wondering if bee's have a cooling mechanism. Do bees sweat? Do they get so overheated that they implode? Something I must know. Will google.

To put the heat into perspective, I just went to get the butter out of my cupboard to make a late lunch, and it has liquified on the plate.

Happy Canada Day!

What better way to celebrate than to go to a good old fashioned (American) rodeo tonight?

*Editor's note: I'm adding a picture to this post instead of creating an entirely new one. The girls who posted these on facebook was kind enough to crop my crotch shot out of the photo before she introduced them to the world.




Scott and I have had a busy summer so far. Lynne, Rick, Margy, and Oliver came to town for a wedding, and we had a great time having everyone all together. I'm excited because we get to see them again in just a few more weeks when we head to Vancouver for John's wedding. Scott's parents are so generous, and made sure to stock us up with a feast of Trader Joe's goods. We stayed up at my parents' house, and it was kind of fun to be living under my old roof again. It was so nice of my parents to let us all invade their home. The second I walk in their house the volume level triples, I think. By the way, I don't know if I ever noted that Scott found deep psychological meaning in our initials. I said to him one day, "L-A-H. Scott, my initials spell LAH... how appropriate! (followed by an operatic LAAAAAAAAH)" He looked at me and said, "Yeah. And to add to the irony, my initials are S-H, as in Shhhhh..." I don't think there could be a better way to sum up our relationship than our initials. The Sea Witch from The Little Mermaid summed it up pretty well:

URSULA
What I want from you is - your voice.

ARIEL
But without my voice, how can I-

URSULA
You'll have your looks, your pretty face.
And don't underestimate the importance of body language, ha!
The men up there don't like a lot of blabber
They think a girl who gossips is a bore!
Yet on land it's much prefered for ladies not to say a word
And after all dear, what is idle babble for?
Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation
True gentlemen avoid it when they can
But they dote and swoon and fawn
On a lady who's withdrawn
It's she who holds her tongue who get's a man

With how much I talk, I'm lucky I bagged Scotty in the first place.

I've also spent a lot of time this past week with the nephews. I was with them last Thursday at the Dinosaur Museum, Saturday I stopped by to hang with Ben and Sarajane, Monday I kidnapped the kids (I was the Kinder Van for the day) and brought Andrew and Ben down to SLC to play, and Tuesday I went up and watched all three while Kirsten went to girls' camp! We've been able to swim, wash my car, watch shows, play pirates, make creepy potato head creatures, and lucky SJ got to take like twelve naps a day. These little dudes and the little dudette make my day. I'm so glad I've been able to spend so much time with them lately. I have so much fun seeing Kirsten's little family grow.



(These are Donald Duck's nephews... not mine. But there are a lot of similar qualities... destructive being the one that first comes to mind.)

On Thursday we went to the temple. We really made a night of it, and that was really fun for me. I always feel guilty and incomplete when we are rushing to make the session and I'm still catching my breath a half hour into the session. It was so nice to get there with time to spare, sit together in the temple, and really be able to express my gratitude, share thoughts and feelings with Scotty, and communicate with my Heavenly Father. I really heard him talk back when I prayed. It felt incredible, and I want to do my best to have that experience more often.

Last Saturday we made a trip to the Instacare in Bountiful (we were hanging out at John and Jana's) to take care of a weird ear infection I developed. I haven't had one since I was a kid when I used to pull the fluff off my blanket and shove it in my ears to make my ear stop hurting (then I'd fall asleep and forget about it). When my mom took me to my pediatrician, he pulled out so much cotton, he couldn't figure out how it all got there! He told me that I shouldn't use ear swabs without my mom's supervision. I didn't tell my mom until this weekend that the cotton in my ear was not from an ear swab, but my blanket. I was weird then. I'm weird now. I've got some anti-biotics, and I'm hoping the whole thing clears up before getting to the ranch because I won't let anything stand in the way of my ranch time (it only come around once a year)!



It's going to be so weird to be up at the ranch, away from Scott for so long. I'm nervous about it. I've never had a problem with being homesick. I was 12 when I first when to the ranch for two weeks and I don't think I ever felt homesick while up in the Tetons. But I'm sad to think of my hard-working husband at home while I have a transformational experience in the mountains. I owe him big time for encouraging me to go. Scott is always thinking of me and what will make me happy, and I'm ridiculously lucky to have him! I've never met someone so humble and filled with gratitude. I feel like being away from him for a week in June helped me realize how badly I want to be more like him. As I think about leaving for the ranch, I feel like I know the lesson I'm going to learn before I even learn it. But the ranch never fails to knock me over the head with many lessons I never expected. Dick never fails to enlighten me with his conversation; Sue never fails to inspire me with her example; and the landscape reminds me what this life is all about... that God abounds and is the center of everything in this life. All things testify of Christ: that He lives and that this is His work. How can anyone look at the gorgeous creation of this Earth and not wonder about its Creator?



Just getting the last minute things together. I wish I could make two weeks' worth of lunches and put them in the fridge for Scott, but I think Day 12's jam and almond butter sandwich might get soggy.

There's no cooler way to spend a Thursday than taking your nephews and niece to the dinosaur museum and then driving them around Grandma's swimming pool in your kayak.

And then Friday comes around and life catches up to you. And you find yourself doing all the things you didn't do on Thursday. But it's been a good day. I don't mind all the catch-up work, especially when it's sunny and warm outside.

I lied.

The reunion is next month. This weekend we get to spend some time with Scott's parents who are in town for a wedding!

This weekend I'm looking forward to a lot of time outside! And I can't believe that this is coming up so soon!

Vapor Trails

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Gerard Manley Hopkins

I am Kayak. Hear Me Roar.

Anyone have ingenious advice or strong opinion on kayak paddles? We're making the purchase this week. We were lucky enough to inherit two free kayaks. I think it's finally time to spring for the paddles. I think it's also time to expand my minimal skills from the swimming pool to actual river.



I'm always trying to keep up with this guy. Grrr...

EHS

High School reunion this weekend.



Is this something I go to?

I feel like I see a lot of EHS people around from time to time. I was talking to Doug about his five year, and he told me I should go - that he was able to see people he never expected to see again doing all sorts of crazy things with their lives... like guiding African safaris and diving for the Mandarin. I was thinking about the Real game a couple of weeks ago. I was sitting there with Scott and Ty when I noticed someone looking my way from a row or two in front of me. It was JuleeAnn Sudbury! Apparently her husband works with Scott! It was unbelievably fun to see her and see how happy she was. It had been five years since I saw her! And we were such good friends! More and more I'm looking forward to this "reunion" and hoping that there will be more encounters like my one with JuleeAnn.

A long time ago when the earth was green...

I had a birthday (over a month ago). Scott went over the top with my birthday this year. He surprised me clues for a week-long scavenger hunt. He took me to Anthro to get "whatever I want" (I got hair clips for ten dollars). He surprised me the night before we left for the river with a surprise party with a ton of my friends and my family members. I had no idea that many people could fit in our apartment! He organized the whole thing! He even invited Kyle and Allison, and it was the first time we've really hung out in months! Scott also gave me music in my kitchen again so I can rock out while I do dishes. I really did have a fantastic birthday!



The day after my birthday we took off for a week on the river, and Scott said "Happy Birthday" to me every day until the trip was done.

The day after the river we started babysitting my cousins for a week.





The day after babysitting was over we left for St. George to hang out with my parents, Kirsten, Nick, and the kids. I put all these pictures on my mom's computer, so I don't have them to post.

But I do have this picture. And I will say that THIS is why I love my family. Nephews in keens (thanks to my dad).



The day after St. George I caught up on A LOT of laundry.

We had about a week to be normal, and then we left for California to celebrate Robbie and Kelley's wedding!













The day after we got back I left for a week long girls' camp (completely unprepared with the classes I'd have to teach and the activities I'd have to organize. Whoops.)

This was also the day of Scott's birthday. I felt terrible leaving him on his birthday, but he came and joined me on the most beautiful mountain with the most remarkable sunset, dutch oven cobblers, fifty young women singing happy birthday, and an incredible telescope to view the rings of Saturn.







Scott worked hard for a week while I put out teenage drama fires, taught certification courses, led a lot of hikes, and really got a new perspective and appreciation for Scott and for our marriage. I'm so grateful for him! I came home pretty smelly. And I had to teach the Young Women a few days later. The YW testimony meeting gave me plenty of inspiration.

The day I got back from camp we went to P.F. Changs with my parents, grandparents, and the Evans' clan for a Father's Day/Scott and Dad's birthdays celebratory dinner. Scott is completing his kayak set-up for his birthday. We've got two kayaks... no paddles... and one PFD between the two of us. It's time to complete the set. I love Scott. I think his birthday is my favorite holiday! I do think it's funny that his birthday will always be the same week as Father's Day, and my birthday will always be the same week as Mother's Day!

Dad sent us home with the great wall of chocolate and plenty of leftovers. What a wonderful Dad!

We spent Saturday getting the house back together and exploring Emigration Canyon.

We spent Sunday hanging a bit with Andrew, eating dinner with the Evans family up in Fruit Heights, and visiting our wonderful buddy Eric (who was engrossed in a wild game of Killer Bunnies). Since neither of us had our Dad's nearby, we gave daddy day greetings over the phone. I was able to sing to my dad's answering machine in Boston... which I'm sure he just LOVED (he never called back for a second verse). Happy Doddy's Day, Dod! I sure love you!



Somewhere in the middle of all this we kayaked the Provo River with Matt and Andrew and we went to the Real game with a bunch of people from work. I have NO CLUE when those events happened. The Real game was AWESOME!

I'm just getting things organized and getting life back on track while trying to shake a headache I've had since the trip to California. I don't get headaches often. They never last this long. Scott told me to drink plenty of water. I informed him that I've eaten half a watermelon, but he had the nerve to tell me that watermelon doesn't count for my water intake.

I'm looking forward to life getting back to normal. Happy to be back and blogging.

For those of you who don't know the Shel Silverstein poem about the unicorn. I used to have it put to song as a kid... so that's where the post title comes from.

A long time ago when the earth was green,
There were more kind of animals than you've ever seen.
And they'd run around free while the earth was being born,
But the loveliest of all was the unicorn.
Now the Lord'd seen some sinnin' and it caused him pain.
He said, "Stand back! I'm gonna make it rain."
He said, "Hey brother Noah, I'll tell you what to do,
Go and build me a floating zoo.
And you take those green alligators and a couple of geese,
Two humpy bumpy camels and a chimpanzee,
Take two catsandratsandelephants, but sure as you're born,
Noah, don't forget my unicorn."

It's a long song... I won't go on. Why do these things get stuck up top?

It's a Neil Young Kind of Day

I want to live,
I want to give
I've been a miner
for a heart of gold.
It's these expressions
I never give
That keep me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.

And in Four Days...

I get to celebrate twenty-six years of this fella.



















Here we were a year ago! This is my favorite holiday!

Doesn't this sound fun?

(besides the Legally Blonde)

Utah State Capitol Movie Night

July 1 - The Sandlot (1993) MADE IN UTAH
July 8 - Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003) MADE IN UTAH
July 15 - Planet 51 (2009)
July 22 - Forever Strong (2008) MADE IN UTAH
July 29 -The Goonies (1985)
August 5 -The World Fastest Indian (2005) MADE IN UTAH
August 12 -The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
August 19 - Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
August 26 - The Blindside (2009)

Films will be shown at dusk on the southeast corner lawn of the Utah State Capitol and are FREE to the public. So bring your picnics, blankets, and friends, and enjoy this years Movie Under the Stars!



Scott and I went for a Sunday night dirt bike ride up through City Creek, ending up at the Capitol to watch the sunset in the Western sky and thunderstorms and rainbows in the Eastern sky. It was such a gorgeous night. Sitting in the rain watching the lightening was one of those "life is good" moments. I'm so glad I married my best friend. Who else would sit in the rain and watch the lightening?

There's so much to catch up on!

But after a long and wonderful summer day, Scott and I arrive at our house at 11pm tonight to find that a black cat has climbed the stairs to our apartment and nestled up on our front door rug. Creepy, right? What does that mean?

I need a better reservoir. Deeper. Wider.

Phew!

1 week of river tripping... plus...
1 week of watching cousins...plus...
4 days of St. Georging...

equals...

not being home for nearly three weeks... a messy house... moldy food in the fridge... sad plants hanging on for dear life... a disastrous camping closet with all our gear thrown throughout the room... and a full day of cleaning. But I did it! Just in time for another busy week!

And it's GREAT to be home!