Hike to Dragon's Tooth

Last weekend the kids and I hiked to Dragon's Tooth on the Appalachian Trail. I did this once, pre-kids, ages ago, and didn't realize that the final 3/4 of a mile are more rock "climbing" than hiking. We were impressed to see dogs and small kids make it up and back just fine.

We like things a little more interesting. It was clear from the start that we had three VERY different "hiking paces" with Grant springing up ahead and Spencer lagging behind. We managed alright on the way up but on the way back we missed a turn and traveled a ways down the AT before turning back. Then Grant bounded ahead and Spencer and I missed another turn, adding to our separation. Good thing for cell service. Grant bummed a phone and called me and Spencer and I eventually made our way to Grant and we all continued down the mountain.

I don't think they will be in a big hurry to hike with me again any time soon.

My toe trail socks. I love them!

First Days of School

I forgot to post these - first day of school pics! We are off to a great start. Spencer has a better schedule this year; one that allows him to actually GET to his locker. Grant has the same teacher he loved last year, she looped up to 5th grade (there are only two classes of each grade which is nice). It was a pretty smooth transition for all and we are looking forward to a good fall!

Annual New River Camping Trip - 2012 Edition

We just wrapped up another annual New River Junction camping trip with the Ifjus, Cooleys, Cranwells, Porrs, Shermaks, and others who came-and-went throughout the week. Because it is so close, there is a fair amount of coming-and-going throughout the week, depending on the weather.

It's fun to watch the kids get older and more independent. They helped more with setup, cooking, and tending the fire. Work was done on the rock "whirlpool" in the middle of the river, and the kids built some fires on the rock ledge and cooked hot dogs.

Robert got a new (used) car

Robert doesn't get many blog posts of his own, so here's one! Robert got a new (used) Mercedes E320. He's having a lot of fun with it!

Grant - Summer Theater

This is Grant's third year doing the Act and React camp. Spencer took a year off for some other things, but may rejoin again next year. This is a four-week camp where the kids write a script, create the sets, learn songs, and put on an hour and a half live production under the tutelage of Alicia Lloyd. It's an impressive effort!!

Grant's character was King Alfalfa of Asparagon and his side-kick was Veggie Cow!

Spencer's summer

Here are a few summer shots of Spencer! Here he helped me to download some video at the Innovation Space on campus. It was great to have his expertise!

In addition to a week at 4-H camp, he and Davis did a Tri-Challenge camp at Camp Alta Mons. There they got to go mountain biking, hiking, and canoeing. The camp was only about a 40 minute drive from the house, but the funny thing is they took buses basically back past home to bike about 10 minutes from our house. Spencer came home from camp with more bug bites than I have ever seen on a person.

Spencer has done a bit of cooking this summer which thrills me to no end! One day I had some chicken in the refrigerator, he made his own marinade, fired up the grill, sliced the chicken, and grilled it to perfection! He's also made a homemade cheesecake and this dish (below) called beef bulgogo, which was awesome. Keep it up, Spencer!

Pool time!

We spent a lot of time at the pool especially at the beginning of the summer. Hours were spent playing "sharks and minnows" in the deep end. It's great to see the kids come together like that, with no adults meddling!

Derecho

I have a backlog of posts that should have gone up and didn't! This summer has gotten away from me as it's been very busy and in some unexpected ways.

This is old news, but on June 29th we had a "derecho" come through the region, bringing 80+ mph straight line winds. It hit as we were leaving a pool party at the Country Club and it was very scary to be driving and watching trees fall across the road as we went.

We had so much tree damage and hundreds of thousands were without power. We lost power (and thus, water since we are on a well) for 6 days. The kids and I moved in with Oma and Robert stayed with the pets!

It was nice to spend that time with Oma and maybe even just get out of our routines for a while, but we were glad to get back home after that. We lost a few trees and Robert and the neighbors spent quite a bit of time chopping up and moving trees.