Wyoming- Who Knew??

Shadow Lake, elev 10,267ft

Some thoughts from our recent backpacking trip to Wyoming:

- Who knew that Wyoming is hiding some of the most spectacular country I've ever seen? I guess the people who made Grand Teton and Yellowstone National parks, but still- it felt like we'd discovered a secret.

- My kids are pretty tough. When I expressed this to Lucy, she replied, "Why are you always surprised?" Good question.

- Backpacking food is really pretty dull.

- "All The Civilization You Need" is one of the best town mottos I've ever heard, but it wasn't enough to convince us to buy property in Pinedale, WY.

- Theo sure did love his LifeStraw water filter. He stayed extremely well hydrated, and also peed constantly, putting the River in Wind River.

 

- We hiked for 20 miles at 9,000-10,000 ft elevation. Then we were very tired.

- I shook my head when I felt how heavy Martin Gregory's pack was. Then when we got to the top of the hike and he pulled out 5 cans of soda on ice, condescension changed quickly to gratitude. Sprite has never tasted so good.

- speaking of Martin Gregory, the man is amazing. He's 78, for heaven's sake.

- Backpacking is more fun and hurts more than I remember.

Along the way

Our campsite at Marm's Lake

I sure am fond of this girl. She just keeps getting better and better.

"Adventure is just another word for disaster"

A boy and his LifeStraw filter.

Hey Martin! Wait up!

 

Before the hike...

And after.

Spring Has Sprung

I may complain about Atlanta, but I've never lived anywhere that beats it in the springtime:


Lucy swims in our backyard blossoms.


Don't you love the feel of pollen between your toes?


Sweeping it up by the bucketful.



Our street.


Azaleas

Mind Your Own Business, Chloe!

Chris is gone and I have been staying up late. Way late. Too late. In the order of 3:30 am late, mostly because I'm snuggled up in bed watching Netflix on my iPad. It is heavenly.

Yesterday morning, hungover and regretful, Morning Carrie called Claire and requested an intervention. "Call me tonight at midnight and tell me to go to bed! I mean it!"

The only problem is that by midnight, Nighttime Carrie is back, and when my phone hadn't rung by 12:14am, I was gleeful. "haHA! Claire forgot! No conscience for me! The night is young! Vampire Diaries until dawn!"... and then my Netflix cut out. Loading...loading...loading...loading...I'm sorry, your service is currently unavailable.

What else could I do? I went to bed.

I hate Chloe.

Maybe Chloe should do my taxes.

Picture me, at the Post Office, with people in line behind me, realizing that I have the address, but not the name, of our accountant, and I really, really need to actually mail off our tax info TODAY...

Ring Ring
Claire: Hi, NPB, Claire speaking.
Me: Chloe? You have a second?
Chloe: Of course
Me: I need to know the name of the lady who did our taxes last year, maybe you could search my gmail under..
Chloe, cutting me off, literally with NO pause, no sound of typing: Her name is Jane Shea.

I'm not kidding. The entire call length, as documented by my phone, 18 seconds. That girl is amazing.

She Didn't Get It From Me

Amount Lucy spent to buy 6 chocolate-covered doughnuts: $2.49 ($0.40/each)

Cost of advertising (letting them sit on the counter where I'm working around them all day): $0.00

Amount I've paid Lucy each of the last 2 days for a chocolate-covered doughnut: $1.00

Profit: 150%

Touching The Ground Is For Suckers

Theo races the ball return at the bowling alley in our friend Jeff's house.

A Cat By Any Other Name

The new cats are here, and the name game is well underway. Here is a summary of preferences thus far:

Sisters, et al- Galusha Pennypacker and Cap'n George Backstabber

Lucy- Starbuck and Apollo

Theo- Oopsie and Butterfly

Lucy/Theo negotiated proposal- Starbuck (pronounced 'Starbutt' by some), and Butterfly

Carrie- Whim and Chaos (from a fortune cookie,"A failure to schedule will mean a life dictated by whim and chaos.")

Chris- anything but Starbuck and Apollo

Levi- Fluffernutter and Captain Fuzzypants

Tim- doesn't care so much, as long as we get the anatomy right

Gordon- Sam.

Inspiration

With February here, and the trees only starting to get leafy, I started to look around for a project. Here is a wrap up of what I have completed so far:

Project #1
Inspiration: the table has had a short leg since we bought it for $100. I found this on Pinterest. Or maybe Amazon Prime.

I liked this idea a lot, and I knew I could do it.

How I did it: Wandered around the playroom until I spotted an old Disney Princess tea set which has fallen into disuse, as most of the pieces are missing. Found this plastic bowl for free and used every inch of it to make this cute thing that will fit for a long time.

Still have to do something with piece of old rice on floor (dumpster find).

Truth

Lucy: (says something nice about a mediocre dinner)
Me: Thanks, Lucy, for being such a staunch supporter.
Lucy: Well, I'm not really, only compared to Dad.

Thoughts from your Dear Leader

It all started with Beth pointing out that Viv is a cyborg. Which she is. But that just opened up the topic- if Viv is a cyborg, then what are the rest of us? Surely we can all be iconic sci fi/fantasy characters too...


Rachel is a sprite. A fairy. An ethereal being who traverses the world followed by trails of stars and rainbows. She has unbelievably good luck. She leaves no footprints. She doesn't eat anything. As once pointed out by Viv, she will show up for a week-long visit with only a half-full school backpack for luggage. She never complains about the pish-posh because she actually isn't constrained by corporeal boundaries. As Wikipedia points out, she is "mostly harmless unless threatened."

As already mentioned, Viv is a cyborg. A "self-regulating human-machine system" with "physical or mental abilities far exceeding a human counterpart."(Wikipedia again) Consider: (and please use your best robot voice to read this part)
"I will learn to cook...(2 months elapse)...cooking accomplished."
"Advanced degree desired...(18 months later)...MBA accomplished."
"Ten o'clock is bedtime. It is ten o'clock. Therefore, I am going to bed."
"Will follow strict parenting guidelines...total consistency achieved...cyborg unit Levi in progress.."
I could go on, but those of you who know Vivian already know what I'm talking about.



Claire's character didn't even require discussion. We've all known for years that Claire's role is that of genius IT/communications expert. Need to dock your spaceship in a hailstorm, but don't know current wind speed velocities? Claire's your girl. Need to override the security cameras at Grand Central Station in 2 1/2 minutes? Claire again. Need someone with an accurate ear, fast fingers, a keen ability to filter out the important information in a matter of seconds, and who can kick your butt without getting up from behind her desk? You guessed it. CLAIRE.

I don't remember who suggested it, but Sarah is the Blue Fairy from Sleeping Beauty. Adorable, helpful, amiable but not a pushover, and tuned in to things like small children and bunnies in the forest. Merryweather is the bravest of the three fairies, and also the one who saves the day by changing Sleeping Beauty's death curse into a sleeping one. Raise your hand if Sarah has ever saved your day...Yep. See what I mean?

When Beth first heard about this topic, she asked if she could be the wise oracle on a hill. Um...no. That is WAY too calm for Beth. No, Beth is the Wizard of OZ. At first you are intimidated by the giant head with flames, and all the crazy activity, then you start to suspect that maybe she's just a regular person, pulling a bunch of levers, but THEN you realize that even that is kind of magical, really. She's good hearted, and she doesn't like to be caught exaggerating behind the curtain. Sorry, Beth, Wizard of Oz it is. Props to Sydney for suggesting it.

Now, I realize that I'm the only one who has been allowed to choose their own character, but I've tried not to be too easy on myself:

Once upon a time, in a famous group chat, my sisters referred to me as a "tiny, tempermental figurehead ruler who is more of a nuisance than actually evil, like Kim Jong Il." While I know that Kim Jong Il isn't exactly a sci fi villian, he does kind of SEEM like one, doesn't he? Can't you just imagine him piloting his crazy spaceship around the galaxy, laughing maniacally and forcing his subjects to read his ridiculously long, pointless blog posts?

Everybody Cut, Everybody Cut...Everybody Cut Footloose

The big night had finally come. The big night that Beth and I had been waiting for, planning for, talking about for months. The big night where Beth and I went out on the town...ALONE.

Only problem was, we couldn't decide what to do. A movie seemed in order, but which one? Moneyball, a critically acclaimed excuse to watch Brad Pitt move around onscreen, or Footloose, the feelgood, not exactly critically acclaimed shoutout to our childhoods?

Somewhat to my surprise, we chose the high road, opting for "Moneyball", and were soon nestled into our seats. And while the movie was well cast, well scripted and well acted, it also is apparently aimed at people who give a hoot about baseball. After an hour, almost as a joke, I leaned over to Beth and whispered, "You know, we could still sneak into Footloose..."

Imagine my surprise when my righteous, law-abiding sister sat straight up in her seat, turned to me intently and said, "We have to do it right. Now!" I sputtered, "Should we go one at a time?" Without missing a beat, Beth said, "NO." And before I even knew what had hit me, we were walking nonchalantly out of the theater.

We sauntered towards the bathrooms, hoping to look like two respectable middle aged women with incredibly weak bladders. Also hoping to pass the Footloose theater on the way. No such luck. After a pause at the bathrooms, we walked back, through the lobby and down the opposite hallway, at which point a security person broke away from a group of employees and fell into step behind us. We walked a little faster...so did she. We turned a corner of the hallway...so did she. I was seconds away from throwing myself at her feet and begging for leniency when Beth casually grabbed my arm. "Did you know I LOVE Liam Neeson?" she asked, pulling me over to look at a poster. And the security lady walked right by!

We waltzed into Footloose, to the sweet strains of "Let's Hear it For the Boy," and slid casually into the closest seats. Even the realization that I had just plopped into a handicapped seat wasn't enough to dampen the thrill. In fact, it maybe heightened the rush of being just a little bit bad.

So if you ever go out on the town with Beth, watch yourself. Sheesh, now I know where Rachel gets it.

I Heart Old Friends

There were a lot of good things about our trip to Colorado this weekend, but my favorite was getting Lucy and Kelty back together. You may remember that they were born on the same day, and we celebrated their 1st birthday with matching cakes.

Of course we had to have a reenactment:


As we've moved around the world, it's meant a lot to me to stay in touch with the people that I came to love in different places. It made me really happy to see these girls, and hope that they really will be good friends forever. Aren't they cute?

Coming Of Age

Lucy, 11:00 am, Oct 2,2003






Growing up in a house full of pesky little sisters, with attentive, involved parents, there was nothing better than staying up late and having the house to myself. I still remember the sweet, sweet sound of the quiet- reading my book without interruption, eating whatever I wanted out of the kitchen, wandering around without anyone watching me or wanting anything from me. It was heavenly. Peaceful. Solitude. There's still nothing I would rather do.

Last night Lucy reminded me that I had agreed to let her stay up as late as she wanted on her birthday. "That's cute," I thought, as I imagined her fading off around 11pm. "Sure kid."

I went to bed at eight. Theo at about 8:30. When Chris came to bed at 11:30, she was still going strong. I stirred around 2am and heard her laughing out loud at something. At 5am she stumbled into bed with us, muttering something about 'partying all night'. I have no idea if she'd fallen asleep before that, but this morning, looking at the fleece blanket, Harry Potter legos, Little House on The Prairie books and chocolate chips scattered around the couch, I have my doubts. Not to mention that it's 11am and she's still asleep. (see photo, above)

So that's cute and all, but it makes me a little nervous. I'm not sure there's room on the couch at midnight for both of us.

Just Because Someone Asks You a Question...

We went to a birthday party today that had a clown there to perform.

Clown: Hello little girl, would you like a balloon animal?
Lucy, leans over to Chris and whispers: I don't want anything from a guy in a clown suit!

Absolutely

Today I was wearing this fantastic shirt that Chris and Lucy were kind enough to get me for Christmas one year. Theo studied it intently for a few minutes and then asked, "Is that Rachel?"

Live Free or Eat Apples

Top moments from my visit to New Hampshire this last weekend:

- Levi reciting for me how to train a horse: ("One- a soft hand. Two- a firm voice. Three- a sunny attitude...")
- Levi instructing the fireman at the fire safety day about the parts of the fire truck: "These, these are called stabilizers. They can also frequently be found on a front-end loader."
- Levi in general.
- Taking a Sunday nap in the same bed with Viv and Levi. So cozy.
- Meeting sweet little Gwen. Getting to spend some one on one time with her during church. Smoothing down her soft soft hair and having it bounce right back up again.
- Apples, apples, apples.
- Watching Jerry try to dissect out the octopus that had attached itself to his ravioli.
- Getting busted by Viv when she found one of her shirts packed up in my suitcase. Completely an accident, I swear!
- Crisp, clean NH air on a Sunday afternoon hike.

I'm too sexy for my white high tops

Fifth grade was the first year that anyone in my class showed up to school dressed as a Playboy bunny for Halloween. I remember this quite clearly, because a)I didn't know what a Playboy bunny was, and b)I showed up wearing this:


I remember the wheels turning in my 5th grade brain as it slowly, foggily began to dawn on me that maybe dressing up in costume wasn't just about showing off your creativity anymore. Also that maybe my parents should have said something.

This week the mom talk at the bus stop has been all about what to wear to the neighborhood eighties party. I'd been thinking about it- white high tops with stacked socks of different colors, oversized shirt, pegged, baggy pants. Pretty easy, really. But then, as I was listening to the other ladies talk..."I hope my skirt isn't too short for a grown woman"..."I'll probably never be able to wear my off-the-shoulder sweatshirt ever again"..."Hope I can still squeeze into my Madonna gear"...I slowly, foggily realized that I'd missed the point. Again. The point was NOT to go dressed like I actually DRESSED in the 80's. The point was to look good. Or at least try to. I'm not sure if we actually pulled off sexy, but at least I realized it before I got to school this time.

Half Dome 2011, Questions and Answers

Woodpile: So, Carrie, what made you guys decide to go for it?
Carrie: Well, mulling it over with Viv one day, she said "You know Dad's new philosophy..'don't put anything off'." I guess that's what did it. That and constant badgering by my husband.

W: Is Chris the best husband ever?
C: Yes, yes he is.

W: We've heard various numbers bandied about. Can you tell us exactly how high and how long this thing really is?
C: From the first signpost, roundtrip, the hike is 16.4 miles. Add the extra 3/4 miles to find the trailhead and 3/4 miles of lost wandering and it's a solid 18 miles. Also, 4,876 feet up.

W: Did you get lost?
C: Quite. At first we couldn't even find the trailhead, (of one of the most famous hikes in the world), and then later we had to backtrack about 3/4 of a mile.

W: Did you see any animals?
C: Yes, 1 dead mouse, 2 alive mice, 1 bat, 6-7 beetles, 2 deer.

W: What was the worst moment of the hike?
C: A tie- 1)When Chris dumped the chocolate covered almonds in the dirt 2)see 'getting lost,' above

W: Did you pick up the almonds, brush them off individually and eat them anyway?
C: Of course.

W: Chocolate covered almonds sure sound good- was that the best thing you ate?
C: No. I ate a lemon cookie from Beth that tasted like heaven.

W: And the best moment of the hike?
C: When we had reached subdome and knew we were going to make it (before we had seen the cables), we took a rest and stared up into the night sky, and Chris said "We're higher than some of the stars!"

W: Were you really?
C: Yes.

W: Did you get scared?
C: Yes. Thundering waterfalls in the daytime are awesome. Thundering waterfalls in the pitch dark when you can't see the edge of your trail and the rocks are slippery and the path is marked every 200ft with photos of dead hikers who were swept over the falls last week...terrifying.

W: Did anything else want to kill you on this hike?
C: Have you SEEN those cables?

W: Would you do it again?
C: Yesterday the answer was, absolutely not. Today I would say, probably not. Ask me tomorrow.

W: How much of your hike did you distract yourself by composing this blog in your head?
C: Oh,Woodpile, you know me so well.

Pleasured As Needed

I envy Chris his world travels. I envy the adventure. I envy the food. I envy the alone time. But mostly I envy the notes he gets on his pillows at luxury Asian hotels. So, imagine my joy when I arrived at Claire and Gordon's after a long shift to find this note taped to the front door:

'We welcome Your Excellency to our bashful home away from home. Where the blankets are magical, and everlasting Rhubarb Upside-down cake pleasures you as needed. Enjoy our complimentary dark nuts and the jovial swan friend.

We are your slaves.'

I wish i had a picture of the jovial swan friend to include with this post, but you'll just have to trust me.

On My 39th Birthday...

Theo: Dad, can I see your bum?
Chris: No.
Theo: Why not?
Chris: Does Mom let you see her bum?
Theo: Mom's don't have bums.