What a day

This has nothing to do with today. Just showing off our Sam on the tramp in Jackson Hole

Since we've been home I can't say I've been much fun. The stress of getting my home back in running order and mentally preparing to begin our routine was tiresome. So I decided to mix it up a bit and have fun today. I do love being back in Seattle. It's such a lovely time of year here and I have missed my friends immensely. Today, Sam and I went over to Ashley's. Dave calls it our day of Ashley envy or more appropriately Ashley worship. And quite frankly she deserves all the envy and praise. She's quite remarkable. Lori, along with Maverick and Micah came as well as Wendy. Ashley, Wendy, Lori and I were making plans on taking some cooking classes together. It seems we all feel we're in a bit of a rut so what better way to mix up our kitchen time then with some new recipes. Well we really never got around to planning as it was so much more fun to visit. And besides the kids thought so too.

The Serafins built this amazing tree house that the Swiss Family Robinson would envy and so the kids were not seen or heard from for about 4 hours. After the 4 hours Nina, Rollin and Sam showed up with faces and bodies covered with dirt. Nina looked like a dalmation and quite happy it seemed to be one. They were looking for worms to feed the fish of course. It was a joy to see, just earlier Mav had shown up with face covered in popsicle leftover. This is what I love to see, kids being able to be kids: Exploring, playing, inventing, running, climbing, digging..........

As we were driving home Sam said, "I love Ashley. I loved today it was the GREATEST day ever. I want to live in her house and have those orange plums every day. Weren't those apples delicious mom? Do you think Dad will build me a tree house like that?"......he went on and on and on. He really did have a most fantastic day. I could tell, he usually doesn't say too much in the car but he talked to me the entire way home.

We got home had dinner: salmon, rice with olive oil (Ashley's recommendation--thank you very much--delicious!) and really truly the yummiest Kale. Ashley had a little to spare so she offered us some and I (AND Dave) were so grateful she did. We sauteed it with some olive oil, garlic then when it was soft(er) we added some balsamic then at the last minute a few tbs of Feta. Neither Dave nor I could get enough. It's just remarkable how yummy veggies are fresh. You kind of forget and then you get it and it's hard to go back to chilean cherries or peruvian cucumbers......You get my drift here I 'm hoping? Oh how I love late summer (local) harvest.

We were in a hurry after dinner as Dave had to be at the church for a meeting and Sam and I had a meeting at his school. Sam was excited to go see our blackberry bushes so he took of on his bike carrying his man with the parachute. I told him I would pick him up on the way out. As I headed out I noticed him on the side of the road in the midst of all the blackberry bushes. He had crashed his bike and was pretty scraped up. He was bleeding and crying and then he'd see a thorn and cry louder and harder and he was a miserable mess. I picked him up, gave him lots of loves and kisses and when I had finally got him settled and we were driving off he said with his sad voice, "This is the WORST day of my life....." Just a blink of an eye and the world can change in the mind of a 6 year old I guess.

The ranch

I have loved the ranch since the first time Dave took me there. We were newly engaged and as much as I didn't want to love it, hating myself for it, as I was a girl loyal to Northern Wyoming and the Big Horn mountains, I fell desperately, completely and utterly in love. Jaclyn was there with me my virgin visit as she has been part of the Sharp family long before I ever entered into the picture having befriended the Sister's Sharp at an early age. It had snowed that visit and Jaclyn and I needing a little Davis sister time, strapped on some snow shoes and hiked to the mid mountain, looked down at the beautiful valley below we then sat, faced the sun and soaked in some vitamin D. It was lovely. It was amazingly peaceful. We were far away from the cares that seemed to beset us. We still snow shoe for exercise and a gentle cleansing of the cluttered mind in the winter and the scenery is still as lovely as ever. But the summers there... The care free summers grab tight and almost haunt you, begging you to stay until the bitter cold and wind of November sets in. This summer was no exception. Wyoming had an early summer of plentiful rain so by the time I arrived in August the hills and surrounding areas were still green. The hay fields were newly cut and the sprinklers were watering constantly for the next crop due late August or September.

Dave introduced me to an amazing run through Weber canyon up 3 miles to the top of the mountain where the run down is just as amazing and can be done in 1/2 the time. One must gage your every step as to not misstep, avoiding the spring of waters that flow and having a watchful eye and open ear for the cattle that wander freely up there. Before entering the canyon we run on a beautiful path. On either side are golden fields of grain that are usually associated with vast acres in Kansas. Then up we head to the loan tree which is our turn around point and with each step the trail gets a little more narrow and uneven from corrosion of the previous hard winter. The higher you get the less trees and then you reach the top. The openness of the trail allows you to see a panoramic view of the valleys below. It's quite amazing. I love the run. Aside from the pesky grasshoppers that grab by the hundreds at your moving legs, it is a most perfect activity. Coming down is a thrill. You run fast. So fast that you can out run the grasshoppers and most certainly the terrified cows trying desperately to escape human contact in fear that they may become dinner I imagine.

Aside from my selfish behavior at the ranch I love the way Sam loves the ranch. He plays, he digs, he runs. He is one of the lucky ones as his dad is the favorite son. Dave is the one who can drive the tractors. Dave is the one who knows many of the secrets. Dave will allow Sam to use his imagination and make whatever his dreams may be and oft times bring them to reality. Dave is kind of cool that way........

We fish at Murphy's lake, we swim and float in the Salt River (or at Lava Hot Springs) we eat outside under the white canopy, we ride bikes, we ride four wheelers, we go to Rocky Mountain Seafood in Afton for some seared tuna or fish tacos. We shoot arrows at the target that is attached to the wall of hay in the barn and yet still lost an arrow or two. We get to see the most remarkable meteor shower because the skies are clear and the city lights are too dim. We walk home from church, we ride bikes to the park, we see elk, hear wolves and coyotes cry in the cool evenings, water ski at the Palisades, go to the Alpine slide in Jackson, go to the rodeo in Jackson. Escape from the valley to the big city of Jackson (Hole). We roast marshmallows, have fireworks, go to Valley Market at least 2 times a day. We hike, we play, we love. We are with family. Either extended or we three. We are happy there

Aidan's ranch experience

Here's our boy Aidan. He turned 8 in December but actually waited to be baptized in the Salt River until it got warmer. Brave soul. It's a cold river even in August. It was an extraordinary venue even with the visiting horses. Aidan's paternal granparents came up from Orem, his dad of course and then us (Jaclyn, dad, mom, Carolyn, Jason, Merissa, Sam, Dave and me.) Gramps (as Aidan refers to him--bob) baptized and his papa (Mikes dad) confirmed him. Merissa sang and Dave and Sue gave short talks. It was a perfect day. It really was.
Here we go.......
Pre baptism BBQ
The uninvited guests that were most welcome.
I hesitate to post this picture because I should have cropped me out of it. However, I wanted to show this picture of Mike with Aidan. He does love his dad (AND mom!)
Proud Papa

Besides the big Baptism at the ranch below are other activities Aidan enjoyed while at the ranch:

Trout never looked so good
Another great activity for Aidan was riding a bike 1/2 his size down to see the Elk.

He caught the big one up at Murphy's lake. Well maybe not THE big one--but one anyways.

He was a great sport and rode the ferris wheel with Aunty Lisa at the county fair. The good news is we saw the whole valley and fortunately spotted the star on the mountain side.

This was a GREAT ride. Bob, Dave, Aidan, Sam and I rode our bikes 6 miles to Thayne. Sam took a break or two but Aidan rode sans break. He earned a huge milkshake. The picture above is the end of the ride. I had driven the truck to the end point and allowed the boys to ride home in the back after their super ride. We all slept well that night.

Below is picture of Aidan and Uncle Jason going down a fall in lava hot springs (they are the ones in the white raft) That was just one of many falls Aidan went down.

Aidan loved exploring around the ranch. He especially loved going out past the metal building and looking for bones--cow bones that is. Well he found a rather good skull, he cleaned it and from what I've heard he plans on displaying it in his room. Good luck with that Jacks.

When I was a little girl and we were visiting my grandparents we would go to the "mountain" on Sunday. That was out idea of keeping the Sabbath day holy I guess. How I loved it. While at the ranch we decided to keep the same tradition. We made some ice cream and brownies, took the four wheelers and up we went. Mom was terrified and ended walking down most of the way but Aidan and Sam enjoyed sneaking in their own ever so slight drive of an ATV.
Aidan was so darling his entire trip at the ranch. He would go out an explore almost everywhere. Another favorite activity was climbing trees. It doesn't look like it here but he's quite high in the tree which overlooks the gorgeous valley below
Aidan also couldn't believe he could see two states from where he was. Here he is pointing to Wyoming, standing in Idaho. This was very exciting for him
Walking with Mom
When in Rome or rather---Wyoming--one must have a rifle and a cute cousin that will hold the frisbee.

The Missionary

Last week I had the opportunity to go to California to visit Deidra and her family. This was a particularly big weekend for the Rader family as Deidra baptized her youngest and was sending her oldest out on a mission to serve in Buenos Aires. Two quite remarkable rites of passage. Cal's baptism went off without a hitch. His brother the now infamous missionary baptized him and his father confirmed him. Deidra and Jeff both spoke, Haley and Megan (along with some girls from YW) sang a beautiful arrangement of Beautiful Savior. Dad was a witness, mom led the singing and I served the refreshments. A mighty handy job for me and one that I enjoy. What could beat being around food? Cal requested snickerdoodles, brownies, rice crispy treats and chocolate chip cookies. Then of course Milk and water. Surprisingly enough the milk was the first thing gone.

The missionary "farewell" went well. Jordan did a great job speaking and was remarkably calm. Me on the other hand was a bit of a mess. How does a mother handle it if the aunt can't even keep it together? Deidra is the chorister and played the I'll sit on the stand the entire Sacrament meeting because if I sit where I see his face I'll cry card. Well she made it, and again as I stated before, sobbed. Two years is a long time. Now I know ever so slightly how Lori feels. I don't like this 2 year gig and so I've determined that Sam can't go. Especially after today when he told me I was his favorite girl in the whole wide universe. He will never marry because of that very reason. Dave said that was fine he didn't want him dating until he was 26 anyways, besides why date before then he would just be buying some other guys wife dinner. As horrible as that seems I'm going to have to agree. 10 years is too soon for that kid of mine to date. Especially with those lips of his.....But I digress....Jordan was ready to go, ready to be a missionary, ready to teach and preach and do as missionaries do. And so that's what he's doing. He has grown a foot or two and is in the MTC as we speak. I can't stand it. Here I am at Education Week hoping to see him. Stalking him rather. They're not nice at that MTC any more. The parents don't take their sons and daughters in, they just have to drop and dash. Perhaps it's better for the missionary but what about a mother?? It's heartless. But needless to say, Jordan was fine with it. In fact, he preferred it. We Love You Elder Rader! Good luck.

Owlets

I thought I would catch up by telling about our 2 weeks at Owlets. However, I couldn't pass up the picture of the 2 Spidey's above. One spidey, it seems, is a little more modest than the other. But too it seems he takes his super hero play very seriously. The half naked spidey it seems is wearing his cousins undies--however they did fit the color scheme.

Kolette and I were in charge of the archery at Owlets. Surprising too most as neither one of us had a clue really how to teach. I had taken a class in high school--how many years since that! And Kole is married into the archery pros. As she is married into the archery pros we felt a little pressure going into this. As we should. The pro archers frown and often "fire" the incompetent. That could not be an option for us. After all we do have our pride! 

With owlets the "mothers" take on an activity and for 2 weeks, 30 minute sessions the kids go to various activities: arts and crafts, climbing (wall), archery, horseback riding, drama, nature and trampoline. The kids learn songs, earn patches for their vests and there is usually a nice swim at the end of the day. So for 2 weeks Kole and I fretted over which activities, challenges, games and events for our archers. We learned the commands: (1) stand in shooting position (2) stand in loading position (3) knock your arrow (4) fire position (5) fire at will......I have heard from more than one camper that archery was their favorite. Above is a picture of Sam's Horned Owl group on Indian day. Other days were William Tell Day (one of my favorite days as we had drawn some apples(rather Matt did) and put them atop some pictures, but we had also put some real apples and challenged some of the groups if they could pierce the apple and if they did we would make them an apple cake--well Matchy did it twice! It was remarkable! Other games-- Hit the balloon day, best score day (an obvious choice) 
Robin Hood day. Here Sotir is a fox. As in the Disney feature of Robin Hood--Robin Hood is a fox. Kole and I slaved over making the hats. We were pretty proud of ourselves until we found quite a few thrown at leisure about camp. 
Here's Sam on Midnight--Led by Mary
LuLu on the first day at archery. I'm not certain she returned as she favors the equestrian world a little more. However, she would come over for visits and gummy bears.

At the end of the two weeks the groups get to put on a play they had "written" themselves with Ms Judy as the director. Above is Sotir ever in character, below is Sam as the astronaut and right in the middle Sotir is holding the owl necklace as he was one of the first campers to win Camper of the day. Sam won it toward the end--he had a lot to learn it seems.

All in all we loved our owlets camp. Sam even mentioned he liked it better than Calleva. I think because we had archery--and possibly mom too. That always makes for a good combination. 

Next off to Seattle for a day on the hottest day of the year no less and then on to Wyoming to reunite the family!