Just a Thought

The bi-annual Hunt family reunion is coming up in less than two weeks. I've decided to be more proactive in my packing and start getting things together now, thus potentially easing my stress next week while trying to prepare ourselves for a 579 mile roadtrip. I've been using Pinterest to get some ideas of how to enjoy, rather than survive, those miles in the car with three young children.

The packing and putting together of travel activities would go much more smoothly if I didn't have children at home who needed attention, food, or bathing at least once in a while....

To My Fathers

The person I am today has been influenced by many people and experiences. And since it's Father's Day, I would like to take a minute to send thoughts of love to my dads. Yup, plural. I didn't always consider that as a plus, yet over the years I've come to appreciate how both men shaped my life, loved and encouraged me, and now cherish my children. 

Though their parenting styles differ as much as their personalities, each have taught me a great deal about things in life. 

My dad is the one I call when I have a question about fixing something - anything, really - as he seems to know it all and have done it all. As his Father's Day card states, "I may not know how to jiggle the chain to make the toilet work, change the oil, etc....but I do know that I can ask you to do it for me." Through the hundreds of miles that separate us, I still call my dad to help me fix things. Sometimes I make strange noises in his ear, other times, I send a picture via texting. And then there are the times I start a sentence and have him diagnose my problem halfway through my thought. It's a kind of comfort to know that he will be there when I call....and that he can fix it!

My step-dad, Mark, is my go-to for technical or hiking/fishing/outdoor questions. He helped me develop basketball skills, opened up the world of hiking, and can speak computer. I have to admit that he was also the one who dealt with my frequent frustration over math problems and editing essays in school....not some of my best moments. Yet he stayed there with me despite it all.

I love that my dads are there to support me. I love that they were gracious enough to both walk me down the aisle at my wedding, one on each arm. I love that I can find bits of them within the man I have been blessed to have as my husband. And that both of them get along well with that man whom I married. 

I love that they are part of my life and the lives of my children. Thank you for that, Dad and Mark!!

Kindergarten Graduate

Today marked the end of the first year of Morgan's formal education - the end of kindergarten. She enjoyed school as she loves to learn about new things and interact with her classmates. Her teacher, Mrs. Leach, was kind, patient, had endless amounts of enthusiasm, and expected the rules of her room to be followed. 

Morgan had a good foundation going into kindergarten and once told her Grandma Nancy, "School is okay. I already know everything." Apparently it wasn't in a bragging sort of tone, more of a matter-of-fact kind of statement. Her reading improved immensely as did her penmanship. She is able to comprehend what she reads (or hears), doesn't love math, loves to draw and create her own stories. Her behavior in the classroom earned her several Bear Hugs for listening ears, quiet feet, and quiet voice as well as the school-wide ROAR achievement. 

While her enthusiasm for first grade has not diminished over the excitement of summer break, she tells me that she's looking forward to being able to sleep in and not have to move, move, move to get to school each day. My child in so many ways!

Way to go, Magoo! We are so proud of your accomplishment!

Celebration bouquet, gathered by Morgan and Amber from our yard

As Mrs. Leach reminded us parents - "Everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten."

Cherries and More Cherries

Our cherry tree produced well this summer - Chadwick picked several gallons worth which we have happily been eating. And drying. And eating. Even Darwin will munch on them off the ground. It's such a pretty sight - hundreds of bright red clusters dispersed throughout the green of the leaves. I think it's more fun to eat the cherries off the tree than from the bucket inside.

We're hoping to have friends over tonight to pick the rest of the cherries left so that they, too, can enjoy the sweetness. We are tired of eating cherries!

Good thing the raspberries are coming on....

MK Nature Center

Friday I was able to chaperone my very first elementary school field trip! We went to the MK Nature center near downtown Boise - a place I had walked through from the park side entrance but never knew that there was a whole building full of fun activities, a gift shop, and animal facts on the opposite end of the preserve. The trip combined both am and pm kindergarten classes and it was an energetic, chatty group of about 50 little people with parent chaperones. There wasn't enough room on the bus for all the kiddos and parents, so I opted to drive with the mom of one of Morgan's little friends. We had a good chat and it was neat to get to know more about her and her family. 

At the Nature Center, we all piled into a big room and had a welcome session by one of the volunteers. She described the differences and similarities between the Nature Center and the zoo (cages vs. no cages, scheduled meal times vs. no human feed supplementation). Kindergarten students don't have a super long attention span and when a hungry squirrel climbed, head first, down the bird feeder near the window it caused quite a distraction. Rather than trying to compete with said squirrel, the volunteer told everyone to get a good look, counted to five, then asked everyone's eyes to go back on her. I was sitting near the back of the room and had a good view of the back of people's heads; it totally worked! It was a riot to see all 50+ heads turn toward the window and then snap back at attention. Brilliant. 

Morgan and her "buddy" for the morning

We were broken into four groups and went out to explore the center and surrounding area. We saw owls, fish, a turtle, numerous taxidermied animals, and a deer. The kids loved the time there and our volunteer did a fantastic job.She had the little people dig up worms which she then carried around in her hand for the next 15 minutes until we got to an exhibit with trout, then fed the fish between the hollers of joy from her audience. 

She also showed us the leftovers from an owl meal - the owl will swallow the entire mouse, digest what it can, and deposit the bones and some fur on the ground in a neat little pouch. The kids were enthralled.

No one was lost, no scrapes bumps or bruises, and lots of smiles at the end of the time. Mrs. Leach looked like she needed a nap at the end, but she powered through with enthusiasm and sent us all home for the weekend.  

Ice Springs Campground

Our maiden voyage with our Mesa tent trailer was an adventure. We acquired the trailer last fall from my parents and have been staring at it all winter, waiting for a good weekend to take her out for a test run. We were a little nervous to get going as the trailer is quite long and is at the max of our towing capacity. My dad was in town en route back to Albuquerque from a long road trip; his advice and thoughts on hauling and trailers was super helpful! And he had the chance to visit without getting involved in a work project, which was a first. =)

Neither of us have been to the Anderson Ranch area for camping, so we set our sites there for the first trip. The week prior to the trip, I made a list, broken into categories of course, of the items we would need and took an inventory of the equipment already in the trailer (Mom left it well stocked!). Chadwick ran the Idaho Potato Half Marathon in the morning and we saddled up and left by 1:30.

Weather was lovely, the campground not too far, and we only had to make one u-turn to find the spot. It was the weekend before Memorial Day and we had the campground to ourselves. After unloading children and dog, we set to work. Darwin promptly found a deer limb and trotted into camp with his prize. After chastising him and chucking the thing, we kept about our business. Darwin brought us another limb. Process repeated. After the third limb, we started investigating and realized the campground is popular with hunters; two separate deer carcasses were nearby, limbs removed and hides remaining. It was a battle we fought all weekend!

Wildflower bouquet

Not 30 minutes after popping up the trailer, Spencer and Morgan were playing on the bed when suddenly Spencer disappeared! He had fallen between the mattress and side, which we hadn't buckled appropriately. I didn't see the fall but he must have landed head first as his little face was scraped and he hollered for quite some time, poor guy. We properly attached the siding of the sleeping area and made strict rules about how to be on the bed. It took the rest of the afternoon for my heart to slow to a normal pace and rhythm.

The weather was lovely, though cold. Dinner was leftover pizza we purchased on the way out of town topped off by s'mores around the campfire. Bedtime was....a long process. My dad got used to sleeping in his Jeep while on the road and chose that over the chaos of the trailer. Smart move. Spencer started in a pack and play and lasted about 30 minutes before hollering. Little guy was freezing, and since half of me was our of my sleeping bag trying to keep him quiet, I was freezing as well. It was the longest night ever, and why I didn't think to force him in the bag with me is something I'll never understand. Chadwick finally took him at 6:00, held him in the bag until he defrosted, and the children slept another three hours. Sunday was a cranky day for baby and me - I informed Chadwick that I was leaving that afternoon. He told me I was staying. I fumed, he fixed breakfast, Spencer fussed. The day passed well despite those things - it was mostly warm-ish, we had a lovely Sunday school lesson in the woods while the birds sang hymns, and a good nap in the afternoon.

Chadwick did Dutch oven for goulash dinner and apple cobbler for dessert. Followed again, of course, by s'mores. No one lasted too long as the sun was setting. Chadwick took Spencer and did a good job of keeping him warm. Despite the 30 degree weather in the morning, we were all in better spirits.

Morgan and Spencer love being outdoors and exploring all that nature has to offer. Mallorie alternated between love and whining about going home. We played horseshoes, went on a hike, and enjoyed the quiet. Darwin was in heaven for the most part. And Fall Creek was too high for good fly fishing.

The campground had a bathroom two sites over. On the floor was $0.16 - I saw one other camper from down the road use the women's side, and the coins never budged. I was not about to pick them up and wondered how long they had been sitting there.

Lessons learned? Keep the baby in the sleeping bag. Simple meals make for less crankiness for prep and cleanup. Don't pack so much food. Buy a battery for the trailer so we can use the heater briefly in the mornings to remove the chill. Repeat more often so we can get used to the routine.

Bop-Bop

One year ago, my Bop-bop passed from this life into the next. The grief process has been slow and steady and I'm grateful I can write this post without breaking into tears.

His favorite picture of the two of us, 1999

He and I were quite close, especially after his retirement. I loved his sense of humor, his slow smile and silent chuckle that spread from the grin on his face to a movement of his shoulders when something amused him. The man had a memory that never ceased to amaze me (and those with whom he talked) and I loved to listen to his stories from "back then." It was not uncommon for my siblings and I to tease that when Bop told a story, it often included the little details such as the time, weather, and color of shirt he was wearing. The truth isn't far from that. Unfortunately, I did not inherit that talent of awesome memory.

Bop-bop worked at Sandia National Laboratory his entire career. My best friend from college, on one of her first meetings with him, asked what he had done for a living. "Oh, stuff," was his kind, but final, reply. It caught her off guard and I'm sure there was awkward pause for a moment while she recovered her composure. Honestly, I don't know that any of us really know what he did; it was top secret at the time and he never chose to elaborate even when the information was de-classified.

He married his high school sweetheart, a gal from the other side of the alley in Chicago. They never lived more than a 10 minute drive away during my childhood and I have numerous memories of biking to their house for an afternoon, sleepovers and watching Tom Cruise in "Top Gun," sleeping in their fifth wheel on family camping trips, taking walks through those campgrounds with their dog in tow, listening to his stories and waiting for a quiet, funny comment in the midst of the normal family chaos.

Proud Bop-bop with first great-grandchild, Morgan 2010

As we danced during my wedding reception, he leaned in and whispered that while he thought I was beautiful, he preferred me in jeans. I caught a glimpse of his missing me as a young girl in that moment.

Smiling at Mallorie 2013

He and my Nana became "hoop heads" during my years of playing ball in high school and promptly purchased season tickets to the UNM Lady Lobo basketball games to watch some of the players who were on my high school team. They continued attending every home game until the season his cancer took hold.

Happily munching one of his favorite food, a hot dog, at Zoo Boise 2010

Service for his family, especially his wife, was part of his legacy. He showered her with flowers for every holiday, had a wonderful taste in jewelry and loved to buy her something sparkly for anniversaries and Christmas.

Bop-bop, Nana, Me 2013

He took in my step-dad and brothers without hesitation in 1989 when Mom re-married. He and Mark seemed close and Mark took it hard when Bop got sick. Actually, Mark seemed to adopt Bop-bop in the same way over the years, for which I will be eternally grateful.

I am blessed that I was able to travel home the February before his passing to spend a few days with family, meeting up with my brother David during that time. My only sadness is that I didn't get to chat with him once more before he slipped into the next life early in the morning of June 6, 2015. He was at home, being cared for by my mother, dad, and Nana.

Four of us (prego with Spencer) 2015

I miss you, Bop-bop and think of you often.

2011

Five Little People

Evelyn, Arthur, Taycie, Luna, Spencer

The year 2015 brought forth lots of little people in my circle of new friends from the Meridian 5th Ward - from April to July, there was at least one baby born each month. And now we have these beautiful spirits with us. From first boy to first girl, child number two to child number five, each child has a different place in his or her birth order. Yet each has brought a measure of joy into the household. It has certainly bonded us as mothers in some way - baby showers, nursing woes, and time in the mother's room at church.

It was fun to have a little photo shoot with these little cuties. Spencer was hungry and quite the crank for this particular setting. Luna was happiest in these photos, Arthur kept waning to crawl off, and I don't think Evelyn took her finger out of her mouth the entire morning.

Moms and kiddos

Loving the ruffle bum

Mallorie, Mayley, Bennett, Ty, Fielding

The older siblings played, ate snacks, and ran interference for the photo shoot of the younger children. They are a handful of energy!

It's been so fun to watch our littles grow into small people. It would be great to get a similar photo in like five years....

Pollywogs!

After spending several hours down the street with their favorite babysitter, my girls returned home, triumphant - they had managed to net a total of 12 pollywogs from the pond! They were gloating and so excited. I found two glass flower vases and made that the new home for our "pets."

What does one feed a pollywog?? I had no idea, and neither did Chadwick. The girls took plastic cups and caught ants, which they deposited into the vases and watched as the pollywogs ignored the ants and the ants eventually drowned. I went to Walmart and picked up some floating pellets designed for aquatic turtles, newts, and frogs. I don't think any of the pellets have been consumed, but it makes me feel better to know that I am trying not to let the little guys starve.

Some of our pollywogs have legs, others are still very much in the fishy-looking stage. Our plan is to let them morph into frogs and then return them to an outdoor habitat. This may have to become an annual tradition!

One of the bigger ones

Yup, baking pan-turned-aquarium