Absolute joy

Today we had pure fun in our front yard. Aaron hung the tire swing. Hopefully you are also having a grand finale to summer. I heard that the weather is supposed to drop 20 degrees between today and tomorrow. Get your BBQs and tire swinging in now! If you need a ride on a tire swing, you know where to find it. 

Fall is upon us...

The kids birthdays are past. (By the way, if any of you Utah folk have photos of their actual birthdays please email them to me. I don't have any.) 

Anyway, in my life August is the sprint at the end of the summer race. It takes all of our energy, but in the end we are all so happy with what we have done during the summer. We had a super time traveling to Lake Powell, and the Wasatch Front. We saw a lot of good friends and family, and got to move to a permanent home. It's been action packed. 

But school started this week. Brooklyn is in 3rd grade and Ian is in 1st. Lucas can't stand that 

they get to go to school and he can't wait until his pre-school starts. We are finding a great place for him and he should start next week.  

I started a new job last week. I am working as a teacher at a private school downtown called Foothills School of Arts and Science. I will be teaching Spanish to 4th-8th graders and will be doing Service Learning projects with the 6th-8th grades, as well as leading a little choir group. 

Having been out of the work force for the most part over the past 8 years (other than my part-time work with Boise Elementary Spanish) I am finding it both invigorating and exhausting to balance all that I used to do with work on top. Aaron has really stepped it up on house and kid duty! Hooray.

But we got the kids off to school on Monday. 

They are going to Washington Elementary. It is the oldest school in Boise and one of the best, so I've been told. 

It's a good thing that public school in Boise is decent. Otherwise I would have to figure out a way to afford the tuition at the school where I now teach. 

I find it somewhat disturbing that teachers can't afford to send their own kids to private schools.  (And I even would get a tuition discount!) It feels strange when people ask me if my kids are going to Foothills and I have to say no. And honestly I wish they were. The school is great and really supportive of faculty. I'm sure that if I needed to I could get them in the school. 

Yet the facts remain, Boise public schools are not bad. I hope that the kids will really learn something this year. Like maybe how to learn.

So far I've only heard reports on what is on the lunch menu and how many resesses there are each day.

Maybe I'll bring my camera to my new classroom and post some pictures of my new home away from home.

The Birthday Present

I will be updating with more pictures of Ian and Brooklyn's birthdays soon, but we have had an exciting development in our family. We went to Utah and stayed with family and friends for an end of the summer trip. While we were in Provo visiting our friends Tyler and Alyson Bingham and Neil and Megan Valentine we had a life changing event.

It was Brooklyn's birthday, August 9. She has wanted one thing for her birthday or Christmas for years now, and we always say no. "Maybe when you are older. Maybe when we are more settled. Maybe when Lucas is potty trained." We have run out of excuses, we are getting her a dog for her 8th birthday.

It was as if all Brooklyn's prayers and hopes were answered. It just so happened that right on her 8th birthday our friends invited us over and said they had 9 puppies at their house. (Alyson's mom breeds Aussies.) To be honest, we weren't planning on giving her a puppy and she knew it. Even though we had said, "Maybe when you are 8." she knew the chances were slim to none. But when Aaron saw the puppies and their mom, he said, "If we had a dog that's the kind of dog I like." I couldn't believe he just said "If we had a dog" and went silent for fear of jinxing it. He immediately got on Tyler and Alyson's computer and researched the breed, obedience schools, and when he called Alyson's parents I knew he was seriously considering what we thought would never happen. HOORAY!

Meet our Australian Shepherd "Jetta". At least that's the name we have for her so far. We don't get to bring her home until the end of September. But we will spend the next month preparing.
We are all still in shock that Aaron agreed to getting her a dog. What a great dad he is for allowing her this opportunity (even though he would rather do without a pup in our lives). She will be an active dog and everything we have read about the breed says that they need a job to do. We think her jobs should be catching frisbees, and keeping Lucas out of the street.
Our new house has a built in dog door to the garage and a dog run, and I think it might be in the neighborhood bylaws that if you live this close to Camel's Back Park (1 block) you must have a dog. Really, Aaron had no choice.

New Home - Lemonade Anyone?

We have finally landed. After moving 4 times in 5 years we have found home. We have an offer on "the big house" and have bought a great place in the coolest part of Boise. We live in the North End in Hyde Park. The selling point for this place wasn't that it is only two years old, has beautiful finish work, wood floors or granite countertops, all that is just icing. The real thing that sealed the deal for us was that this is the most prime lemonade stand location a person could ask for.  The kids set up shop the first weekend that we owned the home. We hadn't even moved over yet. They were great workers, each with their own station - ice, pouring or money collection. They even sold Otter Pops to offer more selection. Everything $.25. Who says you can't find a deal these days? With snow cones selling a block away for $2 for a small, our stand was a welcome and inexpensive treat. 

So here is a peek at our new house, and new hobby. Our street just so happened to be on the route for a bike tour across America. There were cyclists passing us all day happy to stop by for some quenching lemonade. Many of them had never heard of Otter Pops and we learned that in Canada they are called "Freezies". Our little stand is now documented in a number of cyclist photos from their ride. We even got a photo of a few of them.  

So next time you are on 13th Street in Hyde Park remember we are here. Stop by and say hello. You may even catch us out front offering a cool treat on a hot summer day. 

The Finale

We continued our fun all week wake boarding, and surfing. One of the highlights was when we put two boats next to each other so their wakes would meet up and we would surf the center of the wakes. SO FUN!!! Of course Aaron was a natural and not only was able to let go of the rope, but also rode for a LONG TIME.

I never got to the point of letting go of the rope, but it was fun regardless.

Sunday was our last day on the houseboat and we spent it going on a historical hike to "Hole in the Rock". Down this crack the pioneers brought 80 wagons and 250 people to cross the Colorado River. Amazing! We did our share of suffering there too. As soon as we arrived at the bottom of the canyon to hike up, Brooklyn threw up. She was a tough little hiker and tried to keep it from slowing her down, but she and I ended up hanging out along the trail while the others went to the summit.

Emily & Brooklyn making memories at "Barf in the Rock"

Everyone else at the top.
Cutest picture of a 5 year old boy.Aaron and his little hikers.

There are no pictures of what happened next... and we are all grateful.

We embarked on the four hour ride to return the houseboat back to "the slip". Brooklyn puking all the way, and one by one every member of our party beginning to feel queezy. By the time we pulled in to the slip most of us were either running to the bathroom, or puking over the edge of the boat. Was it the food from the refrigerator on the fritz? Was it the germs from the little boy that was sick a few days prior? We will never know. What we do know is that we were all miserable. Aaron and I were in no shape to drive, so we opted to check into the hotel at Bullfrog Marina. It was a sad scene. Brooklyn rested in bed (over the worst of it after being sick all day) while the rest of us squished into the bathroom. We have never had family unity quite like that. By around 9:30 p.m. I could tell we needed some help and I called the medical clinic. They said we needed to come in and so we headed over there just in time. Aaron and I were severely dehydrated from being sick and they immediately hooked Aaron up to an iv and after 4 pokes to get it in he was on his road to recovery. I tried to reassure the kids that Daddy would be fine but it was unsettling for everyone to see him in a wheel chair, then hooked up to an iv. After tending to the kids and getting everyone settled I was also hooked up to an iv.

The following picture is the next day while we left Lake Powell. We were determined to continue on to Moab to see Arches National Park. At first glance this might simply look like a not so great family picture, but if you could feel the effort going into those feeble smiles you would know that this is the happiest we could look after the night we had just gotten through.

But all's well that ends well. With a case of water and Propel powder in tow we made it through the rest of our vacation. We snacked on Saltines and enjoyed unlimited electrolite enhanced beverages. Arches National Park was gorgeous. It made it all worthwhile. I'm glad we didn't wimp out and skip it.

How ya feelin'?

more Lake Powell

When going out for the day, we would load up the ski boats and head out exploring the nooks and crannies of Lake Powell. Occasionally we would all pile into one boat to save on gas, and that was an adventure in itself with over 20 of us. 

I rediscovered my uneasiness with steep cliffs and drop offs that I have previously felt at the volcanos of Kona, HI. I am usually pretty sane and rational, but not on rock face drops. While we climbed up to view Indian ruins all I could do was focus on getting myself up and I was useless as a parent. Luckily my friend Therese stepped in and helped get my kids up and down. You can see in the following picture Aaron carried Lucas (I have no idea how he did it).  
The kids loved the view and cliff edges. Here is a picture of Taybor, Ian, T.J., Lucas and Brooklyn. 
We made it to the ruins. Although my stomach was struggling with the heights, the ruins were inspiring. How could people live here?!? Thanks to the Wagstaff's and Schick's for making this trip possible for us.  (Pictured: Denny, Therese, Jeremy, Ian & Brooklyn)
Brooklyn was lizard hunting and caught one by the tail. Now we all know what happens when you catch a lizard by the tail, right? Brooklyn was taken by surprise! Here is a great shot of her holding the tail while it was still shaking around in her hands. 

Road Trip 2008

I made a goal last year to travel to a place I have never been to, every year for the rest of my life. Last year we went north to Canada - Calgary & Banff. This year our destination was Southern Utah - Lake Powell and Moab - Arches National Park. So far meeting my goal has been everything I hoped it would be; inspirational, gorgeous and exciting.

We returned home today from our "big summer vacation". We left on June 21st and drove south through Utah (Or my-tah as Lucas insists it is called. For some reason he has adopted possession of the state. "It's not your tah, it's my tah!") 

We were graciously invited to join friends and their family on the houseboat pictured, "Big Wave" in Lake Powell. We had never been to Lake Powell and had never seen a houseboat for that matter, so the whole trip was full of new experiences. I will spend the next few posts sharing our adventure, but tonight it is late and my mind is less than clever. Enjoy a few photos for now.

Captain Brooklyn steering the 90 foot houseboat. We drove the boat for about 4 hours out of the slip to find a place to park for the week.  

Lucas gets a haircut. He requested this himself...

Yes, Lucas has a mohawk. He loves it and tells everyone about it. 

Ian found hours of entertainment, along with all the kids, ensuring proper eye protection.

more to come...good night.