Dog Days of Summer

After a being on the move for much of late June and July, it has been nice to be home in Vermont.  Because Labor Day is "late" this year, the craziness of Trek was delayed a bit and John was able to spend some time doing some of the things he doesn't usually get to do, like Valley Stage-- a local, family friendly bluegrass festival:

Picnic time with the First kids

         

While John was gearing up for Trek, the kids and I put in some hard time at various pools.  Cally figured out how to make a hammock with a towel on a fence-- a cool place to hang during "adult swim" at Maple Street Pool.

We did manage to get to Circus Smirkus:

We also checked off another item on our summer "bucket list"-- cub bike races at Catamount

Rainbow Bike Race

Before everything started to get really busy, I got to get away with five of my favorite ladies and run the 100on100 relay.  And making it extra special, was celebrating Caroline's 40th birthday!  We ran through heat, humidity, and thunderstorms, but it was such a fun experience.

We met up with the Meyer cousins at Waterbury Reservoir for a fun day of beating the heat:

Underwater "boyagers"

        

Wrestling fun

 Once Trek training gets started, the kids look forward to several events-- their favorite being the dress up bowling night:

Amongst the chaos of Trek training and my school year starting off, we managed to host 8 house guests!  Our good friends Tim, Sophia, Beckett, and Iris passed through the area for a few days with their friends.  The heat was high, but we romped at North Beach and joined John's trek leaders at a BBQ on the beach.

Once John's trek students and leaders were in the woods, we took a deep breath and tried to get our ducks in a row for the start of the school year, no childcare for the kids (Tammy was away), and a drastic change in our "schedule".  I think we were all ready for a little more structure in our lives.  The kids were starting to fight more, they were wanting to see their buddies more, and I was also ready to settle into a routine again (although that usually takes a little while).

We did manage to do one last fun event before the first day of school.  The Cleary's, up the road, had a Pop Up Fire Show to raise funds for a trip to Burning Man in Nevada.  It was certainly an experience:

Quick Tour

Summer isn't over, but once it gets close to August, I get a little bit of the "Sunday Blues".  I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I always think of June as my Friday, July as my Saturday, and August as my Sunday...... And so, we did make the most of the rest of my Saturday upon our return from our "Out West" trip (as the kids are referring to it).  

The kids did a week of Forest Camp.  It is the only camp I signed them up for all summer (because it was one of the only full weeks we were around).  It was a sort of primitive skills camp with days spent walking in the woods, whittling, swimming in a stream, cooking over a fire, and making forts.  The kids loved it!  I don't have a single picture of their experience, but I do have a photo of the hair weaves they got:

I was skeptical about the whittling, as I was a victim of a whittling accident in high school (six stitches later), but the counselors had many expectations and whittling privileges could be taken away (as was the case with Hazey).  In any case, the kids had an amazing week.  They learned a lot, used their imagination, and made cool "agreements" like getting along with everyone and not leaving anyone out. 

Meanwhile, I put a day in at the "office" and got a little time to do some things for myself.  I went to a doctors appointment, caught up with friends, went running, got out for several mountain bike rides, cleaned the house, and did a little soul searching about potentially living abroad (more on that later).  Having a little time to myself was exactly what I needed. 

enjoying a little "me" time at a waterfall

On Friday, we picked the kids up a little early from camp and headed to Whitton  Pond in New Hampshire.  We met up with the Clarke/Munson crew and had a lovely evening up there.

Dinner with Finn, Avery, Ander, and Cleo

Saturday morning, we headed to Hermit Island in Maine.  We booked campsites here months ago because I'd heard it was a great place to visit.  It lived up to it's reputation!

There are only campsites on the "island" and four beaches, hiking trails, and biking all around. Aunt Nif, Uncle Rob, and Will met us after their week in New Hampshire.  And, our friends, the Dormer's from Boston also got a last minute reservation and joined us. We had great beach weather and the kids had a ball together.

Sand kids

Hikers

        

Ping Pong

        

Family

We left Hermit Island on Monday morning.  We "swung" through Boston to drop off so he could grab a bus back to Burlington.  The kids and I continued on to Connecicut so we could get some time in with the grandparents.  First stop was Darien:

Next stop was Farmington to see Nana and Grandpa.  We also got to have dinner with Lynn, Mark, and Chris.

Uncle Mark and Cally

Hazey and his playmate

Goofballs

Family!

Biking on one of the Farmington  Bike Paths

Biker Dude

And we rounded out the week with an impromptu visit to the Krull's house on Lake Champlain.  We had a lovely dinner and even spent the night.

Dylan and Hazey

Future prom dates

Piper and Cally

Swimming on the lake

A Trip of a Life Time- Part II- Idaho and Utah

Part 4- Sun Valley, ID

The drive from Missoula to Sun Valley was amazing!  It wasn't quick, but John and I both agreed that it was one of the most picturesque drives in the United States.  We drove south down the Bitterroot Valley, over Lost Trail Pass, and  along the middle fork of the Salmon River. Just before leaving, John gashed his hand on the big chain ring of Stephanie's bike (trying to get my pedals off), narrowly avoided a trip to the ER and we almost ran out of gas, but it was worth it because we LOVE our visits to Sun Valley.

Sara Gilman is the best kind of friend anyone could ask for!  She is always eager to open her home to my family and does what ever it takes to make our stay easy. She was my roommate junior and senior year of college and I love her like a sister.  She's unflappable and strong and we just adore her husband and kids.  

Cally hardly remembers meeting Anna (age 7) and Josephine (age 10) when we visited three years ago, but she was quickly taken in by the big girls and happy as could be.  We hoped that Hazey and Cam (both 4) would become fast friends, but it didn't exactly work out like that, yet.  Mike, jokingly, tried to keep score of which families kids had more fits...... and it pretty much would have been even!  That said, the kids had some fun relay races, played a lot of the Game of Life, and "School". 

Because John brings so many students to Sun Valley Trekking's yurts in the winter, his dear friends Joe and Francie offered to let us use one of their yurts while we were in Idaho.  Sara and Mike were excited and so were Bo and Brady (two of our dear friends who live in Boise, but also went to Middlebury). 

Coyote Yurt is in the Smoky Mountains and look out on the Boulder Range (all near the Saw Tooth Mountains).  It involves an hour long drive up almost 4000 feet in elevation and a 15 minute hike (with way too much gear).  We had 7 adults and 9 children and we had such a great time!

Our Sherpas

The load"

Home Sweet Home

Old Friends are the BEST!

Fast Friends

Kids Meal

Tres Amigos

Future Friends

"And these are a few of my favorite things"

Monkeying Around

Me, Brady & Gretchen

         

Smores

Marshmellow Bellas

Morning Sunshine

Story Time

The Whole Crew!

 There really isn't anything like old friends! It's really amazing what an impact your college friends can have on your life.  It was so great to not catch up with my friends, but to see the friendships grow with the spouses and kids. Over the years of John going to Idaho, he has come to love my friends and they love him.  And the kids!  Oh my was that cute to see!  And John deserves huge props for doing all the shopping and almost all the cooking for the crew. He was right in his element and we all so appreciated his motivation and help.

Sherpa's on the outbound!

And one of the best parts about driving that 4000 vertical feet was that we got to bike down! Sara and Mike were kind enough to drive our kids and the Bo and Gretchen's kids down to Galena Pass while we had an amazing mountain bike ride down.  In fact, John and I actually rode the single track down twice..... just because we could!

Since the yurt was not available for Saturday night, Mike and Sara decided to drive their RV up to Galena Pass to camp with some friends.  Galena Pass is gorgeous and has miles and miles of lovely single track for more riding. 

Sadly, Bo and Gretchen had to leave, but the rest of us joined a big group of the Gilman's Hailey friends for a really fun night of camping.  We were even visited by sheep and sheep herders who let the kids ride the horses. 

Nerf Sword wars between Cam and Hazey

Brady in her happy place

Cally chatting it up with Monique-- her new friend

    

Sparkler Fun

On Saturday afternoon, I encouraged Sara to borrow my bike and get out for a ride on her beautiful trails.  It was so cool to see how fired up she got about mountain biking!  On Sunday, John  and I got out for one last ride together.  It was epic!

Oh Idaho!  How we love thee!  And how we love the Gilmans!  You guys are the absolute best.  I am so glad that Sara decided to be my friend many years ago, even though she had reservations based on my Freshman Facebook picture.  Apparently, Jamey was in a class with Sara during the fall of her freshman year.  I was on a NOLS course and Jamey said, "Oh, my sister is coming to Middlebury as a Feb Freshman and I think you guys will be great friends".  She went home and looked at my picture in the famous "book".  I was wearing a Laura Ashley dress with a string of pearls around my neck and she said, "really?".  Well, Jamey was right.  Sara has been there through thick and thin.  She has offered such great advice over the years and I just love spending time with her.  I am so glad that we have an excuse to hang out with her and her lovely family.

Part V- Park City, UT

John has been telling me stories of his climbing buddy, Geoff Tabin for years.  I have met him, briefly at a bar, but he lives in Park City and we've never been there together.  Geoff is an opthamologist who started the Himalayan Cataract Project. He's climbed all the continents highest summits and he worked for the University of Vermont Hospital before moving to Utah so he and John spent a lot of time climbing. He is a brilliant, but quirky guy, who does amazing things for the world and clearly admires John.  He opened his home to us and even took John climbing for a morning. 

While John went climbing, I took the kids on a drive.  We weren't sure where we were going or what we were doing, but we knew we needed to pick John up in Salt Lake City around noon.

Cally at Emerald Pass

One of 3 Moose at Guardsman Pass

        

        

On top of Knob 10,420!

For an improptu hike with no food or water (and I wore flip flops?!?!), the kids did great.  We ended up driving down Guardsman Pass, by Brighton and Solitude ski areas to pick John up in Salt Lake City.  Big Cottonwood Canyon is gorgeous and undeveloped (and the water source for the city).  Considering all these beautiful mountains are within a half hour of the city, is pretty amazing.

John had a great morning climbing in Little Cottonwood Canyon and when he got back we explored Park City and utilized the municipal pool before meeting up with another old Outing Club student of John's for dinner in Salt Lake.

When I purchased our tickets for this trip, I looked for the "best deal", not the best flying schedule.  It turns out, Jet Blue only has one flight a day in and out of Salt Lake City.  Our flight home left Salt Lake at 10:40 pm and arrived in JFK at 4:45 am. The kids were total troopers.  They love airports and are so helpful.  

The kicker was that we had a 4+ hour layover in JFK....... however, the kids and John has no problem sleeping through most of that layover!

This was an amazing trip.  It could not have worked out better!  It was so wonderful to see so many old friends, meet so many of their partners and children, do so much and show off our family.    We put 1700 miles on our little Nissan rental car, but we broke up the drive in such a way that car ended up being a good break from the action.  It was the only time that we all hung out together (most of the other times the kids were off doing kid things with their new friends) and we never had more than a half of a day on the road (and it usually ensured that Hazey would take a nap).

It was definitely a trip, and not a vacation.  We didn't read any books and John was never fully able to disengage from work, but we did and saw so much.  As I coordinated the trip over the course of the past few months, I wondered how it all would turn out, hoped everyone would have fun, but mostly got butterflies in my belly because of the excitement I had about being in the mountain west.  My expectations were exceeded.  Now we just have to figure out what our next great adventure out there will be-- rafting, backpacking, horse packing.........

Here are the quotes fro the family about the the trip:

Hazey-  "I liked everything about it."

Cally- "I liked it because it was different."

John- "The west in the winter is the kiss, the west in the summer is the full embrace."