Road Trip Day 3: Thursday

I started the day with an early morning run up the mountain, some on trails, some not. I realize this is bad boy scout form, but the area I was in was remote enough that I think I made very little impact. The run itself was awesome, as I was able to crest the hill and get a great view. And then running down, especially when I got back on the trail, was a blast. All in all, a most tubular experience.

We tried to go on a hike afterwords, but Theo wasn't very interested, so we walked a ways, and then let him down to explore before heading back and piling in the car.

The drive this day was beautiful as we made our way into Oregon and Washington on some back road highways rather than on the main I84. We stopped off to snap some photos. Here's the panorama setting on our new camera:

We also stopped in Battle Hill Park and wondered which battle occurred in central Oregon. We settled on WWII. In the park we climbed the communal oven

and attempted another hike, but the trail ran out quickly, so we played in the flowers instead.

We debated for the rest of the ride whether to get all the way to Cait's sister's house (which was the main destination of the trip) or camp another night. We were in no rush, but we were having a hard time finding good camping as we had neglected to obtain a Washington map. The decision was made for us by the driver side window motor going out and the window not rolling up at all an hour outside of Seattle (more on the adventure of fixing the window later). And the weather was pretty chilly. So we drove into Seattle and after showers and a little chat, we went swiftly to sleep.

Road trip 2011:Day 2

After a rough night for all three kids, Theodore of course was up at the crack of dawn while Heber and Eeva slept in a few more hours. We played outside and tried to keep him quiet while the other kids slept, but he was sad until Heber woke up to join in the fun. Ben and Janice made an absolutely delectable breakfast of cherry tart, and even Theodore ate it up.

We played for a while in the great back yard, causing minor destruction.

Eva, the youngest, sat quietly and watched.

Then we hit the road when it was time for the guy's nap. We drove. And drove. And drove. Until we reached Boise, where we made an unfortunate decision to drive in and see the campus of Boise State. It wasn't that unfortunate, just that we didn't know where we were going and ended up driving around a lot. 

We started on our drive again and found a camping spot in Oregon near Baker City. It was a nice spot but a little scary because it was very isolated and not part of a regular campsite. We cooked hot dogs and s'mores and Theo played at the water's edge. 

Cait's first fire:

Road Trip 2011: Day 1 (Tue)

While Cait worked away the morning, I worked with Theodore (I worked, he watched shows) to get packed what hadn't been packed the night before and load up the car. It was a tight squeeze with clothes for a week and a half, boxes of Lauren's baby clothes we were returning, camping supplies and lots of food. But it all worked out. We even put Theodore *gasp* forward facing. It was a hard decision for Cait, but it would have been really tough to take care of him otherwise.

We made a not-so-quick trip to Target for some extra supplies and then made the drive up to Pocatello. The guy slept really well for the first part and then played and ate nice the rest of the way.


We stopped somewhere in Idaho to play in a random reservoir, mainly just to prove that we were impressively impulsive, but also for a fun break from driving. We were a little afraid to dive in the open water, but we did and it was refreshingly cool.

Playing in the Mud

Then we finished the drive to the house of my cousin Janice and her husband Ben. Theodore enjoyed chasing the chickens around with his cousin (or second cousin, whatever). We also enjoyed a delicious meal mainly from their very impressive garden, and talked into the night.

In the Sand

A moment of disagreement (Theo seems more determined)

Post-Dinner Groove

Future Plans: Summer 2011 Edition

Time for another update as to our future plans, since people ask a lot.

Cait, I think, still favors the idea of nursing school and becoming a midwife, or going to grad school in public health or some such thing. The job she is working at now (lactation consultant for WIC), which is great for building her resume and getting connections (and she loves it), so she might stay there for a while.

I am planning on graduating either in December or April. I have 11 or 12 credits left, but there are some classes I want to take and we have pell grants to pay for school till the end of the school year. I probably wont be able to finish my Comparative Literature degree, since I would have had to go to school full time+ this spring/summer to fit with their deadline and I went to zero school+/ So we'll see. I'm starting to study for the GRE (as in the last two days) and might take it in the fall. I think I will try library science school and then look at getting into the foreign service somewhere down the road. At least, that is what I tell people when they ask.

It's tough to say who will go back to school first when I finish. Cait is probably more anxious to get back but staying at home has made me anxious too. So, that will depend on a number of things, including the timing of future children (if any) and the possibility that I forsake school to pursue my dreams of becoming a professional novelist/runner. I don't know which of the those contingincies are more likely. On second thought, I probably do.

For now we know this: vacation for a week and half, starting now (not like most of the summer hasn't been a vacation), marathon at the end of the month. School starting in September. And Christmas in December (although we refuse to commit to a location of celebration just yet).

So there's the update you've all been dying for.

'Thon Thursday: Five Fingers

So I've been running in my Vibram Five Fingers for a while now. I've loved them so far. I've hurt my foot in them a couple of times, one time which put me out for a couple weeks, but that was as much from over-training as from the shoes. Both times after I got hurt, I thought maybe I should transition back to sturdier shoes, but I couldn't, because I loved the way the five fingers felt. Since then, I've down 4 5k's, 1 half marathon, and numerous training runs, including a 15 and a 16 miler. You can see in these photos of them on the line (after washing them to get the stank out) that they've taken some wear. The red stitching I put in a few days after I bought them, because they had been returned with the stitching coming undone in that spot. My sewing job wasn't tops, but I got them on a 65% discount, so I'll take it.

But they are starting to wear out, as you can see from the photo below (on the left foot, the obvious hole on the forefoot and wear on the toes). Most of the damage occurred in the Hobbler Half Marathon, which had a lot of downhill, forcing me to put on the breaks a lot and wearing down the forefoot and toes some. Only on my left foot, though, which probably speaks to a running imbalance. Which makes since since my legs get sore consistently in different ways.

So, I will probably retire this pair of five fingers from races or long runs after my marathon at the end of the month. I'll probably run a little more in traditional shoes and a lot more truly barefoot. But, if I am going to replace them, I'm debating between the running version of the five fingers (mine now are multi-sport), which will hopefully last a little longer or a minimalist shoe from Asics or Adidas. We'll see.

Blogging

Anyone who follows our blog regularly has probably realized that my blogging output has really increased lately. In fact, between me and Cait, we haven't missed a day in over two weeks. This was brought on by Cait taking a hiatus from blogging and me realizing that if I wanted a blog, I would have to do it for a while. After posting for a few days, I realized that I wanted a blog. I've never really blogged on my own much, but this summer, with so much going on and me being the only one to chronicle it, I really got into it for the first time. I've worked to create a queue of blogposts that I schedule to come out later, so I don't have to worry about blogging everyday, leaving me with only the "Yesterday we..." portion that I have to write before a post is published for the day.


I am blogging because I want to remember this summer. It has been AWESOME. And my memory is terrible, so I wont remember it if I don't write about it. Sure, I could just write a personal journal, but the incentive of having other people reading the blog and informing those precious few of our readers who really want to know what is going on in our lives of exactly what is going on in our lives.


Of course, I still write also to get attention. Here's a secret: every blogger wants attention. Every blogger wants comments. But that has really has gone down on the priority list and I am writing about things I want to remember and things that I want my kids to be able to look back on and see for the first time. This includes my thoughts about politics, running and the gospel as well as about what our lives our like on a daily basis. I'm excited to see how long I can keep up this level of writing and hope to maintain the "yesterday we" portion, if nothing else.


Sure, blogging is narcissistic, and it always will be. But so is almost everything we do in our lives. But blogging is mainly about remembering and sharing. And there is much beauty in that.

The Guy's Haircut

I know a lot of you have seen these pictures, but we wanted it on the blog, so:

The Guy's Haircut

Yesterday:

Cleaning the house and park trip in the morning. Naps/Lunch. Then family Costco/Library family night. 

Hair Cut

A lot of these pictures have already made the rounds on Facebook, but I wanted them here too. I was down doing a load of wash while Atticus (I thought) was reading books. I came up to find him crouched on the kitchen table with scissors in his hands and hair clippings all over the table. I didn't get a shot of the direct aftermath, but the first pictures are pretty close.

After First Trimming

After Bath and Final Cut

Combing it Out

Hipster

Hipster+

Blue

 So here's the Before (which we now really miss, but I am also starting to see how everyone thought he was a girl):

And After (which is like a week and half later, but he looks so much older):

Sneaky National Institute of Infant Nutrition

We got this document in the mail the other day.

 

I like questionnaires, so I started to fill it out. I like when people want to know about me, or my baby, so sue me. But, with my highly attuned anti-formula radar, and so after ignorantly filling out the first page and a half, I got suspicious. I "Googled" on the internets and found this article. Oh well, I'm sure someone is really interested in the infant nutrition. Someone.

Yesterday:

Got up in time for church. Theo would not sit still once again. He did run back to nursery after we left to wave goodbye to everyone, which was cute. Ate lunch, took naps, had the Lees over for dinner, went on a walk and then struggled for hours to get the guy to bed because we missed his sleep window once again.

Camping in Rock Canyon

We started off the afternoon with dinner in Rock Canyon Park, before looking for a campsite. The pond at one end of the park had flooded and left a fine stream to play in, even if it was very cold.

Mom eating one of her delicious veggie wraps in the park

After setting up camp we went on a hike up Rock Canyon.

Getting ready for some milk in the dark

We woke up in the morning and I took a 15 mile run, most of it with my friend Matt Beatty, while Cait hung out with the guy and took him on a hike.

Waking up

Ice bath in the river

Looking to join dad or pull him out

Yesterday:

We finished up our camping trip. I did my run. We came home, rested and cleaned. Cait took the guy to the park while I finished the cleaning, then the guy went to bed early and we watched Fight Club, which will probably be our last Netflix movie and our last foray into mind bending dark movies for a while.