Hi...: August 2009

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Pine Valley

I'm still catching up from our summer vacation. Nearly done.

Backpacking to Mill Flat was on my list of things to do this summer. I wasn't exactly sure how we would get us and our stuff 5 miles up a mountain, but I didn't really care. It actually went quite smoothly, mainly because Tanner and my parents decided to come as well. Max was so tough and made it up completely on his own. I got to hear lots of memories from Tyler about how he used to do this hike with his family. It's funny, both our families hiked Mill Flat lots of times, but we did it in two very different ways.

Tyler insisted that Max had a walking stick (that's the way they always did it). Max loved it, but it made him go incredibly slow. He forgot it after a break and his pace increased twofold.

Someday I hope to look good enough to be in a family picture. For now it will have to be this trio of terror.

Tanner and Max right in the middle of breaking the water filter. Notice my coat on Max, the person who packed the car forgot to bring Max's little backpack full of his clothes. He was a dirty little boy by the time we got home.

I actually started out with Tessa, but she ended up being the hardest to carry. Those Kelty backpacks were not meant to be nice on your back. Notice how far forward Tyler has to lean. I was practically at a 90 degree angle. However, we are in complete debt to Annaca for letting us borrow it.

So he made it up completely on his own, but on the way back we were in a bit of a hurry so Max took turns riding on the guys' shoulders. He was quite magical, because whoever was carrying him ended up doubling their pace for some reason. I had to run to keep up (an awkward picture: me bent in half carrying Tessa and trying to run "smoothly" so she didn't suffer brain damage from all the bouncing.)

I looked even worse when Tessa fell asleep and I tried to keep the bouncing to an absolute minimum. Her nap didn't last long.

"Borrowing"

Still catching up on Utah. Tyler decided to "borrow" a few things from Tanner while he's on his mission. Tanner's wrestling gear was mixed with his clothes, and Max was all about dressing up and having a wrestling match.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Missing Utah

Coming back to Texas was much harder this year. We are all trying to adjust to living in a apartment that is about six times smaller than my parents' house. Max and Tessa don't know quite how to handle it and are literally bouncing off the walls here. I pity the poor people who moved below us while we were gone...but not as much as they pity themselves! The kids are also missing constant family and friends. I will readily admit that I am not nearly as much fun as Maddi and Lincoln.

Tyler is back in school during the week and working in Waxahachie on Saturdays. It has been a sad adjustment not seeing him as much. He is working on patients now, and not loving trying to figure out how the crazy Baylor system works. One happy spot in coming back to Texas was getting Tyler's board scores. He was pretty sure he would be retaking them but instead he did pretty great. He calls it a "miracle". Maybe, but I don't think he gives himself enough credit.

This transition has been really hard on me. I'm missing the dry heat of Utah, and can't get used to the humidity. Every time I run I lose about half my weight in sweat and it is uncomfortable, embarrasing, and just plain gross. My longest training runs for the marathon started as soon as we got back to Texas. And since Tyler has to leave every weekday by 7:30 and every Saturday by 7:00 I am finding it pretty hard to get my runs in. Last Saturday I waited until it was light enough that there was a good chance I wouldn't be killed then went out and ran 5 miles as fast as I could so I could get home and Tyler could get to work on time. I got the kids fed and ready for the day and ran 5 miserable miles pushing them in the stroller. Then I dropped them off at a friend's house (thank goodness for Beth!) and finished my last 10 miles. Of course by the time I finished it was nearing noon and just a tad hot. Not the greatest 20 miles I've ever done! Definitely not something I'm looking forward to repeating two more times. (On that Saturday everyone back in Utah did their 20 miles together and then had a huge, delicious breakfast and pool party at my parents' house. That was a bit of salt on my wound!)

So we are here, and hoping things will start to get better. Usually we're pretty happy with Texas, but right now we all would rather be back in Utah.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Not sure why...

...we didn't spend more time here during the summer.

The weather was perfect with thunderstorms followed by sunshine on and off the entire time.

Tyler struggled with the fire...he's no Eagle Scout... Eventually it was roaring, just took a little dried wood, and his wife nagging him to take a few more seconds and actually do it right. Not pictured is Tessa taking her skewers and trying to roast a dried cow pie.

In all my ranching genius I accidentally herded the wrong brand of cattle into our meadow. In other words, I walked in their direction and they decided to jump through a broken part of the fence. The little rascals! I had lots of fun running through knee deep black water trying to get them back out.

This little cabin brings back memories. I can still remember losing Fluffy the cat in one of the giant cracks in the cement and having to leave. I was heartbroken, but she surfaced just as we were taking off. Oh, the joy. Oh, Old Mable. Definitely glad we upgraded to the new cabin.

We drove through Cedar Breaks and promised ourselves that next time we would stop and stay awhile. It is so beautiful, especially during a thunderstorm.

Tessa really enjoyed the watermelon. I was cheap and bought the seeded kind. I'm sure she has a few watermelons growing in her tummy from this trip. Either that or she'll end up with a bad case of appendicitis (inside joke...most of my jokes are).

We enjoyed the playhouse. Good thing, because my dad informed me that any winter now the thing will most likely crumble. Sounds safe, doesn't it?

I had fun taking lots badly exposed pictures. Tessa had fun sticking her hands into a wet cowpie while I was doing this.

The three kids in the family have an obsession with rocks.

Uncle Kim let us ride his 4-wheeler so Max came prepared with a helmet. He also wanted to wear it on the ride up to the lake in the stroller. Safety first!

The best part of the trip was definitely tubing down the river. Never mind the little worms that were squirming over our bodies when we got done, it was worth it.

Sorry Maddi, I don't have any pictures of you to document that you were there. I think they are all on your camera. I'm glad you came though. And it was great that my dad stopped by for a few hours to fix the fence. At least he liked my salty soup.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

24th of July

On Pioneer Day while Tyler studied for boards we went to a Roadrunner's game to watch baseball and fireworks.

Tessa made a new friend and left my side for the first time since arriving in Utah.

Max met a new girlfriend.

And I realized I may need to teach my child a few basic manners. I'll probably start with chewing with your mouth closed.

For some reason when I load pictures to blogspot it makes them about two shades lighter than they appear on my camera and computer. I'm not sure why.

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