KiDs FiRsT BaCkPaCkiNg tRiP

I wanted to post some pictures of the kids first backpacking trip! There are a lot of them so beware. We hiked 5.5 miles into chimney lake where we stayed for 2 nights.

Nojah taking a breather looking out over the canyon. I was showing him Sawtooth in the distance where he had climbed to earlier this month.

We took breaks about every 1/2 mile on the way up taking us about 6 hours to get there. I had gotten off of work that morning and with no sleep made this journey. This is about mile 4 at Laverty lake, we stopped to let the dog drink and the kids sit.

Well, apparently we hadn't let the kids sit long enough because miss poopy pants here got a little irritated about mile 4.5.

I would imagine it must be even MORE irritating when mom stops and takes photo's instead of taking her bag, the fit lasted about 10 minutes and we were off again. Seriously it wasn't any worse then what we have at home on occasion.

Beautiful Chimney Lake, the first night we ate hot dogs, roasted marshmallows and went to bed.

Here is camp, the kids had a little tent which they were not impressed with. They wanted to sleep out under the tarp with mom and dad. Wish we would have known that before packing the tent . We did make them sleep in it though because we have bivy sacks and they didn't. The temps got down into the high 30's low 40's so we were afraid they would get cold. No complaints though both nights.

The 2nd day we did a day hike up to Hobo Lake about a 1 to 1.5 miles up from Chimney. The kids played in snow fields....

And in ICY cold water.

Here we are coming down from Hobo lake looking over Chimney. The kids played around camp the rest of the day and tried to fly fish with Tob.

The third morning Alexyss woke up with a belly pain and wouldn't get up or eat. This wasn't good due to the fact we were hiking out that day. We packed everything up between our packs so she wouldn't have one and then headed out, thinking it would be a slow walk. She didn't even make it a 1/4 the way around the lake before she dropped to the ground holding her belly screaming.

My thoughts were for Tob and I to take turns hiking down the trail ahead, dropping our packs and coming back up to carry her down every mile or so. He said no he thought we would just stay together as a family. So this was her ride down.

All 5.5 miles of it.

We would stop every mile to take a break and during those breaks she would rest on the ground or in daddy's arms. It was a sad little sight.

But after about 3 hours we made it back to the car! We had pizza and milkshakes when we got home. Lex was sick most of that night with a temp of 102. She didn't eat much for a couple of days but then was back to normal.
So that was our trip. In between the smallish fits (which would happen at home or hiking) and sick little girl it was fun. We always love a good challenge and are pretty proud of the kids for what they can do.

1st day of school

Well, I can honestly say I am not impressed with the pictures, but you can't retake the 1st day pictures, can you?! The kids started school on Monday and despite the constipated look on Alexyss' face in the first picture she was the most excited to go! They both have fantastic teachers and it looks like they are in for a good year. They also seem to have outgrown all their clothes, but I figure we will get around to school shopping someday. I am not spending $200 in gas to go get $300 in school clothes. Heck I could just shop online and spend $500 on clothes and get me some too. :0) I know, I know it's not all about me. Well, sorry about the late post I have been working and have a little overtime this week. Nojah started soccer yesterday and they can't find a coach for Lex's team. As you have heard before I get quite frustrated with the sports programs around here. I would coach, but working full time nights I just can't make it work. I think you have to be able to attend the whole game to coach?? Also I don't want to miss all of Nojah's games. Hopefully they find someone to do it. It really is a good age to coach, they are pretty cute. Well, so there you have it, kids are back in school and soccer, life gets busy once again!

The last couple days

So the last couple of days have been busy, but a good busy. We had my nephews birthday! Danny turned 7 on Sunday and we attended his birthday at the park. Melissa did some cute little donuts instead of cake which was fun and we fed the squirrel some of those donuts. I believe that is what is jammed in his cheek for the photo. The kids played all sorts of games and had a great time playing with their cousins. We really miss them.

Ahhh, I can't believe how grown up he is. 7 and starting 1st grade.

Then yesterday a friend and I drove to Lewiston and took the kids to the water park. We have been meaning to go all year and figured we had better get the job done before school starts. The kids had a blast, what a fun little park and cheap too! Here is Lex sneaking into the lazy river.

Nojah tackling the waves at the wave pool.

Racing down the slides was Alexyss' favorite thing. She always won, however in my defense she wouldn't wait for me to even get to my slide before propelling herself down her own. Oh well, she's only 6 I guess I can let her win this time.

Here is Nojah as he came out of the big dark green slide. Both Nojah and Micah lived in the wave pool most of the day, but thoroughly enjoyed the slides too. It was just great to be in the water since it was 100 degree's.

Alexyss and Aaron ready for the waves to start back up so they can ride them on their fancy tube.

After we finished at the park we went to the Country buffet to eat. I am not sure if my kids have been to a buffet or it's been a long time but it was the funniest thing to watch them wander around picking out food all by themselves. I think Alexyss' first plate full consisted of cantaloupe, tortilla chips, olives and jello. Nojah did a little better with pizza and fruit, but they thought that was the greatest thing and they ate for only $1.99 each which I thought was great. They loved the dessert bar and couldn't get enough. I am surprised they didn't hurl on the way home. Speaking of the way home we had a monstrous thunder and lightning show for the full 2 hours we were driving. What an incredible view. Lots of debris on the road from high winds, and pelting thunders showers. The fog rolling over the road and the fact we were the only ones out on this steep winding back road made it a little creepy but exciting. We came home at 10:30 last night to a very dark little town. Luckily tob had gotten home from work before we arrived so there was a candle in the window. We had a great time the past few days and I am kind of tired. I don't usually get pooped too easily when I am not at work but I am ready for a day of rest. That means it's time to clean the house. I guess that's rest. I have been trying to get the kids to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 for the past week in preparation for school that starts Monday, however I think the earliest I have managed to do is 9:30. I am not doing so well! We'll try again tonight.

Huckleberry Heaven

Today we went huckleberry picking to stock up for winter. WE LOVE THESE BABIES! They are fabulous for muffins, milkshakes, pancakes, cheesecake, pie, and fruit salads. My all time favorite memory as a child was HOMEMADE huckleberry ice cream. YUM! Last year was a very low moisture year and they were impossible to find and this year of course there is plenty and they are out for the pickin!

This is my little friend I acquired at lunch. Alexyss was not impressed that I let him sit on me throughout the meal. He eventually flew away first checking out Nojah, who almost dropped the camera trying to get rid of the poor little critter.

We also enjoyed the summer flowers and saw some HUGE fish in a very little creek. I am talking great big steelhead? HUGE. They were really struggling to get up stream to spawn :0). I wished them good luck with that!

Ahh, the end result a bowl of yummy huckleberry's! I think Tob has milkshakes in mind tonight. I know were going to eat them all before I ever get them to the freezer!

A little fear of mine

Notice I am behind the camera? About 3 or 4 years ago I had this urge to rock climb so we bought all the basics. Keep in mind one of my greatest fears is HEIGHTS. Why I felt I needed to overcome or could overcome this fear I am not sure. In the past few years, with friends, I have climbed only 3 times and Tob twice, however 0 in the past 2 years. Yesterday morning I got off of work, had 3 hours of sleep. We had the opportunity to go climb with some friends, so off we went. This was a pretty good rock in height to climb, I'll ask tob approx feet (I am bad with those approximations). They boys found them when they were working. Pro instructor there says it's about a 5.10 rating. I don't know it just looked tall and scary. Tob climbed to the top, Alexyss climbed a little ways, I climbed about 1/4 of the way and chickened out, and Nojah opted not to climb however his 8 year old friend, his mom and dad all made it to the top and I believe that their 5 year old son made it further then me. I now have an obligation here in the next couple weeks to get some sleep and redeem myself. AHHH, why did I have to buy the gear and force myself to get over this fear of mine? Anybody want some rock climbing gear? :0) I told Tob it was being sold on EBAY.

But mom I want to go hiking too........................

Nojah and Lex enjoying some licorice on the hike up.

The kids looking down at hurricane creek. This may appear as a huge drop off because it was. The last 0.5 miles of our destination was along this edge until we got to slick rock falls that joins the raging river below.

Barefoot at slick rock falls. After we played awhile we hiked to the top of the falls for an even more spectacular view.

Since Lex wasn't able to accompany Nojah and I up to Sawtooth she decided she wanted to go on a hike too. So on Sunday we headed up to Slick rock for a 6-7 mile round trip for the day. Her only disappointment was there was no snow for her to ski on like we got to. It was another beautiful day, however the weekend is NOT the best time to go on a popular trail with 60 other hikers. Other than large numbers of people the day was great. The kids probably spent an hour playing in the falls and eating lunch. Nojah lost his sunglasses in falls creek on Friday's hike and then left his Yankee's hat up at slick rock on Sunday. We were already 1/2 mile down when I realized this and made the kids stay put while I went for a run to fetch it. This is not the first time he has left his favorite hat behind so he knew he was in trouble when I said "where is your hat?" I had just gotten them past all the major drop offs and didn't want to turn them around and hike them back up it so I just ran back up there myself. Besides the missing hat the only other excitement was Alexyss taking a fall that resembled someone sliding into home base after I said "hurry up, let's catch Nojah". That's usually what happens on our hikes and it always seems to be my fault. So she has some good scrapes and bruises. I told her to ignore me when I make comments like, hurry up, race you, or pick up the pace while on a trail. It never turns out good. Oh well, hope everyone else had a great weekend and got out to enjoy the sunshine.

Sawtooth Summit 9132 ft

Nojah, Shadow & I on Sawtooth Summit. Chief Joseph, Matterhorn and Sacajawea behind us.

Nojah and Shadow on top of Sawtooth.

The boulder field.

Nojah and I before the last 500 foot scramble to the top.

Sandy and I below the boulder field

Today Sandy, Nojah (Shadow, Cane, Myah, and Caz the dogs) and I hiked up to Sawtooth peak in the Wallowa Mountains. The hike itself is only about 3.5 miles up to the peak, however you gain almost 4000 ft of elevation, so it is steep! The peak itself is between 9100-9200 feet and you have the most beautiful 360 degree view. This isn't a normal 8 year old hike so we were quite proud of Nojah for the journey. At the top they have a box to sign and he wrote his own little paragraph about the adventure up. I wish I could remember what all it said but he was pretty excited about it. His favorite part of the hike was sliding down the snowfields on the boulder patch. At about 6 miles on the way down he was ready to do it again and about 6.3 miles he asked if we were almost there. Round trip was 7 miles. Anyway, it was a great day out. Alexyss stayed with some friends for the day and got to go to play at the lake. Thanks to Annette for taking her.