Think about it

Darren asked me this the other day and I have been thinking about it ever since...

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

Fat is better than Skinny

The love affair I once had with my mountain bike had become a distant memory, brought to my attention only when Darren would mention casually that he had taken my bike out (he loves my bike too). I spent the summer on my skinny tires, road biking. It's been all good, until now. I finally got out on my fat tires, climbing up Dry Gulch, mind you the NEW Dry Gulch, oooooh so much better now, made this way by tireless trail builders, including my kids. I remembered quickly how much I LOVED my mtn. bike- the angle of the frame feels like it's a part of my body, the suspension is a dream, and the brakes, ooooh the brakes! This is the kind of stuff I love to do with Darren, we even color coordinated, you'll notice. He was patient with me, since LOTOJA training I'm sooo far out of his league, and as for the downhill, I still hear his mantra in my head as I feel like I'm flying out of control - NO BRAKES! NO BRAKES! I dare to stay off the brakes for one more second ........ and then I have to brake or I feel like I might die! Meanwhile he's a speck at the bottom of the gulley. Plus I have MAJOR target fixation on a mtn. bike (like when you tell yourself over and over "don't go over the edge, don't go over the edge" and the next thing you know you're going head first over edge... it works the same with large rocks and bushes - a story for another post). Anyway, after today, I agree more and more with Darren: road biking exists to keep in shape for mtn. biking. So, fat is better than skinny after all!

The time has come

Daddy-Daughter Halloween party at last! This was the longest week of Paige's life.

Glean it Clean

We've been watching the potato field across from us since spring. We watched as huge tractors moved like oversized alien beings all aglow planting seed late into the night. The potatoes grew, overnight, it sometimes seemed, and soon we took the lush green field for granted, as if it had always looked that way. This fall, Paige was the one who started wondering aloud when we thought they would harvest the field. I think she had the late night images from earlier this year still in her head. As soon as they trucks came, so did the gleaners, like seagulls, to pick up the potatoes left behind. My kids couldn't wait to get out there! Cheap entertainment and free food! Just another reason to love Kimberly.

That ain't dirt

So the day started off good enough - picked up Jill at 4:30 AM for spinning (yes AM), 9:30 session at the temple with Darren (yes WITH Darren), baked potato luncheon at Frontier, and then the phone call from Grandma Smith - have you talked to the school yet? They've been tryng to get a hold of you, Justin may need stitches. My first thought, "not the teeth, not the multi-thousand dollar mouth!" (this worshipping of the mouth didn't just start with braces. At age one we started with the teeth issues, two oral surgeries by age two.) It was just his leg. We didn't get stitches, it'll make a cool scar. But I think he had some luck with him that day- if that impact had been a little higher I'm not sure his kneecap would have survived too well. He's still pretty sore and he has a nice bump on his head and another bruise on his shoulder. Oh, and a sore arm from the Tetanus booster.

I snapped the picture just as Justin said, "You know that won't wash off your face."

Craziness

This morning we awoke to voices coming from outside.....Wonder what the kids are doing?

Wildlife Dinner

The difference between men and women in the kitchen.......Tools

More Middle Fork (per Justin's request)

So, is this kind of like Grandpa Smith's story of roping a bear? The Indian person jumps onto an elk?

Grandma Harrison's favorite pic

Spoils

Theirs.

Mine. Jealous?

Cast and Blast

Darren and the boys went on their annual fall Middle Fork of the Salmon trip.
Preparing boats, gear and food for 6 days on the river in October is no small feat.
The fall colors were amazing.

Brady caught (and released) 33 fish!

Opening day for Geese. The geese had watched rafters go by all summer, maybe they had gotten a little too used to that. Poor unsuspecting things. Justin shot three, Brady two and Darren two.

Darren, Justin, Scott and Brandon. Darren shot this bull elk from 570 yds! Bet you're all dying to eat at my house. For those of you who know (or care) about these things...just to clarify he did not use the shotgun Justin is holding, Justin was along chukar hunting (or "chuckle" hunting as they like to call it...the sound they make sounds like they are laughing at you).
Brady went with Tad on a LONG hike to get this cow.
The rafts are way down there on the river. They are all still sore from all the hiking and carrying of meat. There was a rattlesnake involved in all of this too.
Petroglyphs Tad found last week. Brady took a picture of each one for his Idaho History class.
Rafts at Sunflower. I swear Brady grew 3 inches while he was gone! Darren said he ate like crazy. They have been talking a mile a minute since they got home. I'm so glad the boys get this experience with Darren. They learn so much, from saving for the trip and their gear, to the prep, to all the stuff that goes on just to keep moving down the river, not to mention the responsibility of safety in hunting and taking care of animals they get. They had great weather (I guess all of our rain missed them) and great company. Chris and Pete went a long this year too, I appreciate all the good influences that surround my kids!

Pillar Falls

Last week some friends and I set out to paddle to Pillar Falls. The fall colors under the Perrine bridge were vibrant, the weather was summerlike, and the company was great! We kayaked all the way to Pillar Falls and hiked around a bit. I felt like I had a mini-adventure vacation and still made it home in time to greet the kids off the bus!