I'm SO glad for summer! We needed it so so so so much. Leaving town for the mountains was something I HAD to do. And even after we came back, it's been good. We've been able to go running, we've been able to go swimming, our kids have gone camping and canoeing. My oldest has been able to practice driving (er...not as much as he needs to, thanks to ( Read more... )

Table Rock is what everyone calls it. Table Mountain is what's on the official map. The trail starts at 7000 feet and ends at 11,109 feet, spitting you neatly out right under the nose of the Grand (as in Grand Teton). It's a GORGEOUS hike--and straight up! We all felt the altitude hit at some point. And once it starts to "level out" (haha), you're ( Read more... )

We did a couple of hikes in Teton Valley. One was up Darby Canyon, where in the 1950s, a group of hikers from a nearby girls' camp got hit by lightning and died. We hiked to the monument and then up to the Wind Caves, which are kind of cool--a waterfall comes out a cave in the side of the mountain. We tried this hike when our oldest kids were ( Read more... )

A few southern California pictures. Up in the hills above Santa Barbara, looking down towards the ocean, and also the inside of a Chumash painted cave up there:


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A mix of pictures from our travels this summer. (Travels are not yet over--the kids all have various camps this month.)

Theodore Roosevelt National Park (southern unit--there are three unconnected parts to this park) in western North Dakota. It smells very nice, of grasslands!


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We toyed for a bit with the idea of driving from Idaho to Devils Tower (no, there is no apostrophe, and yes, it bugs me, too) and then up through South Dakota, but it would have taken a long time and our boys have a trip early Monday morning. So instead, we drove straight back to North Dakota, which is 1000 miles. In one day. Yes, we are insane, ( Read more... )

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Well, our house is still yucky and we still only have a 9-month job to look forward to in the fall. But it was sunny today! And I think all the school assignments are in. Whew!! And at least one family is glad we'll be here next year. My 9YO has a friend down the street whose dad teaches Norwegian in my husband's department, and given that he and ( Read more... )

Here's a fun one: Woodland Critters ABC, by Patience Mason and Robert Mason. Patience makes these very cool creatures out of acorns and other found woodland items, and they jut have funny personalities I've never seen anywhere else. This is a whole alphabet book made up of them, beautifully photographed and laid out on the page. It's really quite ( Read more... )