Park City

First, for anyone who might be a little anxious about our status, given recent weather reports: we're fine. We did lose power for a couple of hours yesterday, but we weren't flooded.

For those of you wondering what the heck I'm talking about, here's some context. Usually, our little city receives .8 inches of rain (on average) for the entire month of July. Yesterday, in about an hours' time, we got 2.25 inches. This also happened to break the previous record for rainfall in a single day. It was a little crazy. More so, I'm sure, for people still dealing with the aftermath of flooding.

Moving on.

The kids and I (Dan had to work) spent the first several days of the week in Park City, part of our family's annual summer trek. We've been going up there during the summer since I was in high school. As our families expand, the logistics of the trip get trickier, but we always enjoy it. The kids especially.

This year, we got passes to the Olympic Park that allowed the kids unlimited access to some of the facilities.

My dad stayed with Oliver so I could go on some of the rides with my kids. (Which was really great of him).

Of course, the Alpine slide was a favorite, although some of us (myself included) were a little skittish about the ride after my dad and Evelyn crashed on it last year; my dad tried to shield Evelyn and ended up with some pretty bad road rash. Happily, nothing like that happened this year.

Our worst obstacle, in fact, was having little kids (including ours) who don't weigh much, stopping midway down the track.

Jared, Mitcee, Brielle, Joshua, Andrew and I spent some time on a ropes course--one that was high enough up that we had to be hooked into a climbing harness. What looked pretty easy from the ground turned out to be fairly challenging--at least, if you're like me and not exactly the strongest person around. By the end, my upper arms were pretty trembly, since many of the segments of the course required a fair amount of upper-body strength to keep yourself on target. At the end of the course was a zipline (not the one pictured below). For me, that was possibly the hardest part of the course, since you had to step off a platform that was probably thirty-forty feet up in the air.

Not unlike a leap of faith, I think.

And of course, there were the other ziplines. (The extreme zipline was closed in the afternoon when Jared and Mitcee wanted to try it. As for me--you'd have to pay me a pretty serious sum of money to get me to ride a zipline like that: the extreme zipline starts from fairly high up the mountain and shoots you down to the level of the parking lot.)

This zipline was a little more manageable, although you still started off pretty high up in the air. At least on this one, you were strapped in and unable to go anywhere when they finally opened the shutes.

It's pretty clear to me that my son is braver than I am. I went down once, to say I did it--and I had to close my eyes when I was first released. (After that, of course, I felt a little silly, because it's not nearly as dramatic as most roller coasters.) Andrew went as many times as he could manage (three, maybe?)

Here's Andrew and Joshua on their way down the mountain.

Evelyn pretty much stuck to the Alpine slide. I think we ruined her for high, fast things at Lagoon.

We spent the rest of our time swimming (except for Wednesday, when it was too cold for most of us), watching movies, playing games, doing crafts--and eating entirely too much food.

Like I said, we enjoyed ourselves.

We came home just in time to celebrate Dan's birthday (and our tenth wedding anniversary!). We went to dinner at the Ninja (Dan ordered sushi) and then Dan and I went to see Love's Labour's Lost, which was funny and charming and, yes, probably more for me than for Dan.

For now, I'm happy to be home, happy to be dry, and especially happy that, having weathered ten years together, Dan and I have lots more excellent years to look forward to.

Festivals, Friends, and Wild flowers

Unusually high numbers of thunderstorms in the last two weeks have meant seeing something like this outside our house almost every day (I can't find exact data, but I'm pretty sure we've gotten more than the .8 inches we usually get for July):

However, even the damp weather couldn't dampen our enthusiasm for the visit of some very good friends. (Sorry! I couldn't resist the bad play on words).

One of my best friends came to visit this week. Hooray! I've known Karin since we were both 11. We were roommates together for two years at BYU, and she moved out to Philadelphia shortly before I moved to State College after we graduated. I haven't seen her for almost three years, so it was particularly nice to see her again. She brought her kids with her, two boys who were born the same years as my two oldest kids.

We took everyone up to Cedar Breaks (again), which the kids seemed to enjoy because they had partners in crime. They were also committed to filling out their junior ranger books and getting their junior ranger badges at the end of our visit.

The weather was perfect. Beautiful, a little cool. Thunderstorms massing behind us.

Andrew with his old/new friend Ezra. (They played together when they were younger, but I don't think either of them remembers that). It's a peculiar kind of pleasure to see your kids play so nicely with a good friends' kids, watching the friendship get passed down into another generation. These two little boys had enough similar interests (er, obsessions) that they really got along well.

We took a short hike down to a nearby lake. You can see from recent rainfall how lush and green everything was.

And the wildflowers! (These pictures are for my mom, who loved the wildflowers up at Cedar Breaks).

Wild columbines--one of my favorite.

Taking a break mid-hike. You can see the spectacular cliffs in the background.

The lake was our destination; we stopped here and ate lunch. The picture doesn't convey quite how buggy the area around the lake was, though. My kids insisted on leaving the picnic grounds as soon as possible; Andrew hit the low point of the hike and cried because he dropped his pretzels. He insisted he was having *no* fun and he just wanted to be back in the car. Oddly enough, as soon as Karin and her boys caught up with us (they were finishing their lunch in a more leisurely fashion), Andrew perked right up and was just fine.

We got back to the car and went back to the visitor's center to get junior ranger badges for the kids--just in time. The thunderclouds burst just before we got to the visitor's center, so we sprinted to get out of the worst of the rain.

That night, we went to the green show for the Shakespeare festival. The theme for the night was "Music Hall," and they sang several rousing songs, including the classic, "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts" (which has been playing on repeat in my head for the last several days--so if it's now playing in yours, you're welcome!).

Evelyn--that child is almost never shy--jumped up as soon as the performers got down in the crowd dancing, and got a private lesson from one of the performers.

We were all sad to see them leave the next morning. But we're planning a road trip to visit them in Washington in another year or two . . .

Later in the week, another friend from PA, Steph Asalone, came on her annual visit with her roommate, Tiffany, to see the festival plays. It was good to see her again, even if they spent most of their time at the plays (understandably!)

This is what we did instead: we cleaned the kids room. It may never be this clean again (this took two hours to accomplish), so we had to document it.

Plus, Andrew really wanted Bubby to see his nicely-made bed.

This is what we do while Dad mows the lawn.

All About Dan

These are questionnaires the kids filled out last month for Father's Day, re-posted here for your enjoyment (spelling intact):

From Evelyn:

My Dad is __13__ years old
My dad is really strong, he could lift: my baby brother
My dad's favorite color is: blue
My dad's favorite food is: tomato soup
My dad always says: don't eat your food with your fingers
My dad is the best at: cooking
My dad's job is: Coke hour
My dad laughs when: something's funny
If my dad had time, he would love to: make me some lunch
My dad and I like to: play games
My dad really loves: me
I LOVE my dad because: he watches TV with me

From Andrew:

My Dad is __34__ years old
My dad is really strong, he could lift a: baby
My dad's favorite color is: blue
My dad's favorite food is: gritz
My dad always says: be quiet! The baby is sleeping
My dad is the best at: yelling at me
My dad's job is: chemistry
My dad laughs when: I scream
If my dad had time, he would love to: golf
My dad and I like to: play the wii
My dad really loves: Mommy
I LOVE my dad because: he lets me play his iPad.


Okay--maybe not all about Dan. Here are Oliver's stats from his doctor's visit two weeks ago:
Weight 19 lbs 14 oz (5th percentile)
height: 29.5 inches (34th percentile)
Head circumference: 18.5 inches (65th percentile)

Notice a trend? Yes, our babies all have big heads. And he's slowly catching up.

Cedar Breaks, Mulan (and a week of being unprepared and unphotogenic)

I feel like we spent the first half of the week recovering from our last trip out of town. To be honest, I'm still struggling to find my equilibrium in a summer schedule that's both fun and productive . . .

Wednesday, I tackled the aquatic center on my own with all three kids. Surprisingly, they did pretty well. Andrew's old enough now that he can do some things on his own (the slide, etc.), so that helps him from getting frustrated with the slow pace the rest of us keep. Oliver enjoyed splashing in the shallow parts of the pool--at least, until his lips started turning purple and we decided we'd had enough for one day.

My mom came down on Thursday and we took Evelyn down to Tuacahn for a performance of Mulan. I'd never been to the smaller, indoor theater, but I liked it: it was intimate, air-conditioned--and, more importantly for my daughter--we were done by 8:30 instead of 11:30. Evelyn loved it. Well, okay, she could have done without the entire middle (which terrified her: she was sobbing out loud at one point). She also received solicitous attention from several of the retirees sitting around us: *two* different people offered her a mat to sit on, so by the end of it, she was elevated enough to actually see the stage pretty well.

Afterward, we discovered that the main characters came out to the lobby, and snagged a picture with Shang, Mulan, and the official-whose-name-I-never-remember.

On Friday, we decided on an impromptu hike to Cascade Falls. It wasn't until we reached the trailhead (following the ranger's directions) that I realized I'd been here before--two years ago, as part of the Clark family reunion.

The problem with impromptu hikes is that sometimes you're less than prepared. We did pack water, sunscreen, and snacks, but I failed to consider the temperature difference between home and the mountains. When we left, the weather was cloudy and in the seventies. I suppose I assumed it would be the same up higher, too.

Well, not quite.

We drove through some pretty spectacular low-hanging clouds on the way up--at times it was difficult to see the winding road around us, which freaked Andrew out no end. Then we drove into a rainstorm. We started to rethink the hike, and then the weather started to clear. But it was still cold. And we had no coats.

So we got creative. I found a 0-3 month windbreaker suit in the trunk that still sort of fit Oliver--as long as we didn't try to fit his legs into it. We put leg warmers on Evelyn's arms, and my mom carried a wool blanket from the trunk. Andrew was a little cold--for about five minutes. After that, his body energy warmed him up.

In the first of our unphotogenic poses, you can see how dark the sky was when we set off on the hike. It actually made for perfect hiking weather: low sixties, breezy, beautiful.

 Oliver was not impressed by the cascade at the end of the hike. Judging by my picture, I wasn't either. (I think I was actually trying to commiserate with the baby, but mostly I just look sort of stoned).

 Then we took my mom to Cedar Breaks since, despite the fact that she's visited us numerous times, she'd never actually been up here. She was shocked, I think, to find such dramatic landscapes so close to where we live. (You can't see it in the picture, but there was a gentleman standing outside of the log barriers taking a professional picture. My kids were pretty freaked out that he was so close to the edge. For that matter, so was I. I like my heights safely barricaded, thank you.)

Fortuitously, we managed to hit Cedar Breaks right in the middle of their July wildflower festival--and just after two weeks of heavy (for us) rainfall. So the wildflowers were pretty spectacular, as you can see in the backdrop of this picture.

I think everyone but Oliver enjoyed the trip--and he at least got to nap on the way home. Our only real mishap happened on the way home. We'd stopped for a treat/lunch and Evelyn wanted a soda. But she managed to spill it less than half a block from the store. Luckily, my mom was able to jump out and take care of things before too much damage was done (though she got drenched in the process, as the rain had resumed).

We spent Saturday morning working on the yard with the help of our hired hands (aka Bubby and Poppy). As a result, our yard and home now look like someone actually lives there.

Red, white, blue

Just when we thought we were home, we turned around and headed back up North for family holiday fun. It was worth it--though I must say I don't love the drive!

We spent much of the fourth with family, starting with a local neighborhood parade with Sarah and her family. There wasn't much to the parade--a few police cars, a fire engine, and lots and lots of children in strollers, on bikes, on scooters (sounds like a Dr. Seuss book . . . they came by scooters, bikes, and trikes). There was the random group of ponies, a Native American dancer, and a mini-train with children in the boxcars. Oh, and we can't forget the homeless man that stalked past us too. But it was just about perfect: not too long, the kids got enough candy (i.e., too much) to be happy, and best of all we got to sit in the shade the entire time.

Oliver before the parade:

 Andrew and Evelyn before the parade. Why the weird poses? I don't know.

After the parade, we followed up on a family Fourth tradition and retired to a local venue for cold soda (most of the adults) and ice cream (kids). We also polished off four rounds of family fries among the thirteen of us.

The kids cones--baby cones really--were free, and the perfect size for Oliver. He couldn't eat it fast enough. He ate the entire thing (okay, I ate most of the cone).

And me, looking more freckled than usual.

We had a lovely lunch at Sarah's house of pulled pork sandwiches with a home-made slaw that Dan actually liked (he usually abhors slaw). Oliver ate lots of watermelon and got incredibly sticky in the process.

That afternoon, we headed to my aunt Dahnelle's house. She'd prepped for all the kids and had two kid pools going out front: a tiny, shallow baby pool that was perfect for Oliver (the water was pre-warmed by the sun) and a bigger kid pool with a mini-slide and dragon head that spewed water. My Evelyn was particularly thrilled that the other "Evelyn" (her second cousin Evalynn) was there to play with.

Dan and I spent the time talking with several of my cousins (Dahnelle's girls, Erin, Mikayla, Demetrie; three of Tera's boys: Kevin, Nolan, and Traven), and my aunt Jeannie and her friend Jeanette. It was lovely to see so many family members in one place.

Friday was pretty casual after the craziness of Thursday; we hung out at my mom's house, and Jeni brought her kids over to play for a little bit. Then we drove *back* up north so Dan and Andrew could go to the Bees game with the cousins; I took Oliver and Evelyn back with me, as none of us were prepared for such a late night (nor was there room at Sarah's!)

I can't help but see the timing of our trip as a kind of tender mercy. As I drove down I-15, I could see black storm clouds on the western side of the freeway. It was clear that it was already raining out toward the lake. We rounded the point of the mountain and ran into some rain and some strong winds--at one point, I had to fight to keep the car in our lane, the wind was blowing so powerfully. Still, we made it home without any major problems. But my mom greeted us with some concern: apparently the news had reported traffic at a slow crawl at the point of the mountain and drivers were dealing with sleet, in addition to the lightning storm. If I'd left even 15 minutes later, that would have been me. And I hate driving in inclement weather. The freeway alone is daunting enough for me.

Saturday, I was back on the freeway, heading up to reunite with my older boys and to attend Jasper's baptism (the son of Dan's cousin Jason). It was a really lovely service--it would have been lovelier if my sleep-deprived oldest child had been a little less cranky. (After the baptism itself, he complained of boredom and tried folding the paper program into an airplane--and then protested loudly when I confiscated the airplane).

Afterward, we had lunch at Jason and Liza's beautiful home (it's an older home, but it's been gorgeously restored): fried chicken, some of the best beans I've ever had, watermelon . . . perfect food for the Fourth of July weekend. I *had* to eat Evelyn's chocolate chip cookie (warm, slightly melted chocolate from sitting in the sun--pretty close to perfect, for a cookie) when she wouldn't eat it. Andrew ate his own weight in treats, pretty much: cookies, ice-cream . . . and then ran around the yard as part of a water-gun gang. He was a little out-matched (he and his four-year-old second cousin Vince were matched up against Jasper and one of Jasper's older cousins), but he had fun anyway. Oliver slept for about ten minutes, and then decided he didn't want to miss any of the party.

And I mean, look at this face--why wouldn't he want to play? (This is him with a mouthful of strawberries--one of his recently discovered favorites).