Thoughts this morning

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My flower garden did well this summer, thanks to Carmen and all her watering attention.
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One thing I like about running in the fall is how tall I look as I head west in the morning.
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I can't believe Jaclyn's bus didn't pick her up today.
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I really enjoyed standing outside the school this morning chatting with my fellow school moms after the kids found their names on the class lists and headed inside.
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That's 3 fingers for 3rd grade!
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Can I just sit here if you're taking first-day-of-school pictures?
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Carmen can't take her favorite accessory to school with her, so her fashion scarf and metallic flats will have to be enough for the first day of 5th grade.

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As per usual, the kids got some of the friends they wanted in their class, and some not. We weren't desperate for one particular teacher, so it was impossible to be disappointed there.

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Now today my big plans today are laundry, finishing my Shutterfly book while it's still 20% off, making caramel sauce with apple slices for after school, and if there's any time left after that I might clean up a little around here.

If you think I have your email address, well I don't

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Last weekend we had the best time at Ken's parents ranch!
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We did a little bit of work,
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A whole lot of play,
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Even cattleguards are fun with cousins around.
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Carmen wanted to take the kiddie quad home with her.
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We enjoyed a little bit of nature,

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Make that a whole lot of nature.
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And then we came home, where for me, the relaxation continues. Steven BBQ'd his second meal for Duty to God (Deacon) on Sunday and now Jaclyn is 5 days into planning and preparing 2 weeks of meals for Personal Progress. I hardly know what to do with myself.

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Maybe I can rebuild my email address book? Send me a note via email - please!

Sisterless

Pathfinder Outdoor Skills #6

Jaclyn's at EFY, Carmen and Chloe are each at sleepovers - Steven doesn't mind at all.

(I have to pick Jaclyn up at 7am tomorrow morning - what kind of check-out time is that??? I have a friend who holds a theory that the EFY people are just trying to get out of serving breakfast.)

The Film Camera (and a bonus)

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On Saturday after Ken and the big kids ferried over to the Crypt trail head, Carmen, Chloe and I to the International Ferry down to Goat Haunt which is located at the Glacier Park end of Upper Waterton Lake.
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The Canada/U.S. border cut into the forest.
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The American end of the lake. From here it is possible to enter the United States through customs and backpack in to Glacier Park.
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Chloe learned how to skip rocks and Carmen practised the skill further. The similar postures are an effort to keep the rock low as they throw it.

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After we returned to the town of Waterton we hit the beach with floaties that we found in the shed of the cabin where we stayed.

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Chloe prefered the tube - she had a hard time working the oars of the dinghy.

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Monday:

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Naturally, the kids weren't deterred by the murky water or the colder day or the wind. Steven flew ahead of the girls up the canyon - Ken hurried along the top to stop him and turn him around when we realized how far and fast he was going.
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Chloe doesn't let a little cold water get the the way of her fun. Ever.

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Jaclyn and Carmen found a small natural waterslide. The water was a little too high and murky for their usual longer one.

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The bonus: Not from the film camera, from my Flip video camera.

A Tale of Two Cameras Part 1: Digital

We lost our pocket-sized digital camera somewhere (I think in Montana) last winter, so we have relied on the kindness of others to share photos for occasions where we weren't willing to put the SLR at risk, like say, scout camp.
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But last weekend we really needed (don't lecture me on needs vs wants) two cameras, so I pulled out my dad's film camera for my day with the little girls and Ken took our digital camera with him for his hike with the big kids.
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Here is the remainder of our long weekend as told by the digital camera. (I don't have a knack for naming things - I know some of you would have names for the cameras but if I tried, and I didn't, all I would come up with would be *Digi* and *Filmie* so it is better that I leave that kind of thing alone.)
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The big-kid hike was to Crypt Lake. This hike begins with a ferry ride across Waterton Lake from the town. Ken, Jaclyn, and Steven all emptied their Camelbacks by the end of the hike - it may have had something to do with the 35'Celsius weather we had that day.

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(Chloe decided she wanted to make postcards from our photos, and now I can't reverse the editing that added text to this picture.)

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Here Jaclyn is climbing up the ladder to enter the tunnel. I'm not sure if the tunnel comes before or after the cliff with the cable bolted into the mountain to help you not fall to your death - I've never done this hike myself. I think Steven is giving us the 'hang loose' signal.
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Ken exiting the same tunnel. The tunnel continues to shrink in height untill tall guys like Ken have to walk while crouching at the end.
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Ken doing a little fly fishing at the top.

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Later in the evening, after we had reunited from our separate adventures:

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We spent a lot of time restraining Flex on his leash. We did let him off-leash once in awhile, but the deer in the area are known for attacking dogs (not even kidding) and it stressed Carmen far too much to have Flex out from under the protective care of his retractable leash.

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Saturday night we went back down to the lake for more dinghy time. (Oh, that's right, you haven't seen the film photos yet: you don't know there was dinghy time earlier - this somewhat replicates for you what it was like for me to wait for the pictures to be developed -have you forgotten what that is like? I had.)

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No pictures from Sunday. I'm either suppressing the evidence or we really didn't do anything. Believe what you want to believe.

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Monday we went to Red Rock Canyon. The water was so murky from the mudslides earlier in the week, and the day was much cooler. I really didn't think the kids would want to wade their way up the canyon. Did they? Didn't they? Can you stand the suspense till I post the photos from the film camera?

Jumpstart to the weekend

We took an extra long one this past weekend (5 days for Carmen, Chloe, and I).
By Friday night we had already:
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Cooked . . .
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and eaten campfire food
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including tin foil cherry pies!
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Stayed up late throwing sticks into the lake.

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Hiked,

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and rested.

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Then we met up with old friends at the top of Bear's Hump who came prepared with peanuts. (It is such a no-no to feed the wildlife in a national park! The people we ran into are locals and it seems they do it all the time.)
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Spotted our first of six bear sightings.
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We also went to our peanut-toting friends' ranch where Carmen rode horses, Steven made a kill (grape Crush), and I shot my first handgun (crazy).

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Friday night we went out to eat and then saw a local production of *Singin' in the Rain* where we adopted our new favorite tongue-twister:

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Moses supposes his toes's are roses, but moses supposes errrrroneously!

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