Fifteen Fantastic Facts about McKenna

January 5th was McKenna's birthday. She is an awesome girl, you know! I truly am proud of her. Her birthday was a bit of a shot at reality for her. I don't think that she had realized just how busy she is at this time in her life. She just goes about doing what has to be done. But, on her big day, she had basketball practice at 5:45 a.m. School was calling her attention from 8:00 to 3:30. Then the Freshman Class Officers were in charge of the concessions stand at the basketball game beginning at 4:15. She didn't come home until about 10:00 p.m. She said, "I don't even have time to celebrate." She was right. But we did party the next night. She is marvelous!!!

So, in honor of the girl's 15th birthday I am writing THE 15 THINGS I ADORE MOST ABOUT MCKENNA.

1.  Her smile is like sunshine. It warms your heart.
2.  She has gorgeous long, naturally curly hair that I am totally jealous of.
3.  Her funny sense of humor. She can be quite a practical joker.
4.  Her brilliance. She is REALLY smart. (Must come from her father.)
5.  She is very adventurous. She was the first to want to kayak with me. She's the first to say yes to a hike. She's the first to jump off the roof. And the first to do a back dive off the cliff.
6.  She is very compassionate - especially when it comes to the elderly and animals.
7.  Champion of the one word conversation. Mom: How was school? Kenna: Boring  Mom: How was practice? Kenna: Boring  Mom: What was the best thing at school today? Kenna: Nothing (Everyday for the last 6 years has been like that.)
8.  Extremely competitive. She hates to lose.
9.  Maintains the same happy face, whether she loses or not.
10. A really good example to everyone around her.
11. She is extremely stubborn. No, that is an understatement. What is more than extremely stubborn?
12. Very creative - with a shoe box or two. She can make an entire condo or townhouse with people, furniture, and pets.
13. Very dependable. She is the constant in all her friends' lives. They know they can always count on her.
14. Persistent. She never gives up. Which is why she has become very good at basketball, volleyball and softball.
15. That girl can burp like no other!!! Total earthquake, folks. I didn't know girls could even do that.

She has been an absolute joy in our life since the moment she was born. Sure love you McKenna! Thanks for your wonderful life.

Life is Good  - When McKenna is a part of it!.

Snow Days in November?

As everyone knows up here in the frozen tundra of North East Idaho, "Snow Days" or "Cold Days" are bonus school vacation days. You can count on them ... and we do! We may not get many days for Spring Vacation but we get our two weeks of Harvest Break and then up to 10 days of  school closure days. Every so often, like once a decade, we use all ten of those days. But even more rare is a year without a school closure. They are loved by students and teachers here and envied by every school-aged child everywhere else in the valley.  They usually come during the months of January and February when the cold winds seem to blow the dry snow around and the temperatures can dip well below -20. How nice it is to hear that telephone ring at 5:00 a.m. and know, without answering, that school is canceled. What do you do then? Call all your friends, cheer, praise the bus supervisor, and then crawl back in bed for a couple of more warm winks.

We had NO snow on Friday!

But, a snow day in November? And then two of them - unheard of. Uncouth. Freaky. Absurd. And absolutely WONDERFUL!!! especially if they just happens to come on the week of Thanksgiving. So, with the Blizzard of 2010 (as it is being called) wreaking havoc outside we have hunkered down and baked cupcakes and muffins, designed the Christmas card, cleaned the bedrooms (somewhat, teenagers in charge of that), thought about doing ironing and caught up on the Blog. Oh yeah, we've played in the snow. It is, after all, a SNOW DAY!!!

Gobble Gobble. Happy Thanksgiving!

Kenna's shelter - protecting her from the 30 mph winds.

Katy trying out the shelter. "It's warm in here."

Poor Trent, however, has not had Snow Days and so we have carefully watched the weather report and road reports to make sure that he can get to work safely. Sometimes the 40 mile drive can seem like a 1000 mile drive. When the road report says dangerous ... it is. Lucky for him, he has made down and back safely each day. Our fingers are still crossed for one more day.

Life is Good - and even better on a SNOW DAY!

Fall Activities

One of my favorite activities in the Fall is canning. So, I decided it was about time to get some pictures of the festivities. We can Chili Sauce, Green Beans, Carrots, Corn, Bottle Tomatoes, Peaches, Apples and Salsa - lots and lots of salsa. Canning season does begin to drag toward the end, I must admit. But today, a couple months later, when the roads are drifted over and the wind is blowing like a banshee, I can look in the storage room and be grateful that I don't have to go to the grocery store. 

One of a billion batches of salsa that we made.

The assembly line. From beautiful washed tomatoes to smushy gushy salsa guts.

 Home canned goodness - Life is Good.

Senioritis

I've got Senioritis. Collin's a senior and I'm quite sick about it. I have been heard saying, "I can't wait for that kid to be out on his own." But, seriously, I'm quite nervous about it and not ready for him to be making big grown up decisions. Sheesh. What's he going to do after he graduates? He's got a year after he graduates before he goes on a mission. Should he go to college for the year? Should he work? Should he do half and half? Has he even thought of these things? He's 17. I doubt it. Will he ever without me forcing him?

No matter, I love him. He is fun and brings a lot of joy (and torture [three younger sisters]) to family.

Life is Good - even with teenagers.

On Top of the World

Table Rock mountain is in the Teton Range. It rests at 11,106 feet above sea level. We would climb almost 4100 feet. It is quite a hike (strenuous in all the hiking books) with fantastic views of several mountains, including the Grand, and the valleys below. We hiked it Saturday as a family, not all willing or happy about it, either. But, if we made it to the top, some great lessons would be learned. And some fantastic memories would live on.

Making our way up the trail.

There are two trails up the mountain. One is less steep but longer and is called Huckleberry Trail. The other is about two miles shorter (still nine miles round trip) but extremely steep. It's called The Face and in 1.5 miles you climb 2100' in elevation. We went up The Face - because we could! Aunt Sus was with us and she coaxed the twins along every step of the way.

On top of the world and fairly happy about it.

We all made it. Collin arrived on top two hours before us. (He's lucky he didn't have hypothermia after that long wait.) Kenna got there about an hour before us. (She was so determined. Once she sets her mind on something she doesn't look back.) At the top I felt like crying. It was a great moment. The view was even better than I remembered.

Coming down - like a horse headed to the barn.

What we learned? We can do hard things. And, with family support we can accomplish great things. That is the best part of the hike.

Life is Good and absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

Good Bye Old Friend

Our family picture 2004 (The kids insisted that Cruiser be in the picture. I'm so grateful that he was.)

 Seven and a half years ago, our nephew (cousin) Greg called up and asked if we wanted a puppy. His two dogs had parented the cutest little golden fluffs of hair that have ever been seen. One of them was a runt and easily captured the heart of all Greg's family. They didn't want him to go. An easy solution was to give the little guy to us and then he would still be part of the family.


I don't remember really anticipating that we would get a dog anytime soon. We had a cat and that was enough for me. I had grown up in a family that was never allowed to have pets. I didn't know how to take care of a dog. But, how could you say no to that little guy or to that cute Greg? So, Cruiser entered our life. As he grew from puppy to full-grown Golden Retriever, we watched how he became more and more part of the family. He had more hair than a person could imagine. His tail wagged so hard that sometimes we thought he would break a person's leg. (You've heard that saying, "The tail that wags the dog." That was Cruiser.)  He spread out on the kitchen floor and made it almost impossible to cook a meal. He stood under the kitchen table at meal times (even when company was over) hoping for a morsel of "people food." He curled up next to you when you'd sit on the floor and want his belly rubbed. He slept with Collin for years when he was afraid to sleep alone. He lived in the house, just like the other kids, and thought he was a human. He easily befriended anyone, young and old, who visited the house, even those who didn't like dogs. When he went on walks he always allowed everyone to pet him. He gently took food from your hand and NEVER!!! growled at people. When Katy took him to school last year for a speech, calls of "Cruiser" were heard up and down the hallways from students and teachers.  I don't know if any other dog in the world has been more loved than him. In return, Cruiser loved his people even more.

Last summer, Cruiser experienced his first Grand Mal seizure. It was scary. The vet told us that it could be just a coincidence or it could be a sign of things to come. After a few changes in diet and a round of medication he didn't experience anymore for some time. Then it happened again. It didn't seem to be coincidence anymore. Recently the seizures became more violent and came more often. New meds just weren't helping. Until finally he was having so many that they were making him disoriented. A decision had to be made. So on Friday, August 13, we took him to the vet to be put to sleep. We said goodbye to possibly our dearest, most devoted friend and family member. Our hearts have been broken ever since.

I'm sure that within time we will stop crying and we will get a new dog to fill the space that Cruiser left in our home and in our family. But, no other dog will ever fill the space in our hearts that a large, hairy, lovable, kind Cruiser has occupied. We love him so and miss him even more.

Cruiser with Trent and my nephew Hunter on July 24th

Life is Good - even if your heart is weeping and tears are streaming!

Summer Weekend Vacation

Our family is changing. No longer do we have ample time to just do whatever - based upon mom and dad's schedule. Now, we are juggling 6 schedules. As soon as school ended we began searching for an open week for the family vacation. So many possibilities were out there - Seattle, Oregon Coast (again, we love that place), San Diego, San Francisco, etc. But, when we looked at all the weeks, there wasn't one single week that was open - NOT ONE!!! How could that be? No matter how we tried to maneuver the trip nothing worked out. So, there was only one option - a Weekend Vacation. We decided to stay close and do some things that we haven't done with the kids. We opted for West Yellowstone to Jackson. Playmill Theater, Yellowstone Park (we have done that but found some new places to explore), Bar J Wranglers, Alpine Slide, Jackson Hole Tram, and a ski lift. It all worked out to be an exciting and fun memory building time.

Across from the Playmill Theater. We saw Beauty and the Beast.

Adri and Trent sitting on a very cute bench in West Yellowstone.

Collin and Kenna at the top of a very large rock they have climbed.

Collin - 'nough said!

Adri, Katy and Kenna rock climbing.

Waiting in line. On your mark, get set, GO!!

Jackson Hole Tram. 2.4 miles up and 4600 feet in elevation. My ears were popping like crazy.

Posing at the top of the world. The Grand Teton is in the background.

Life is good and filled with memories!