Back Packing Euphoria Humor and Aftermath

Art Dog - Too many good titles to pick just one!!

"Don't tell anybody but I love my dog like a kid!!"

Super Catman "Chicks Dig Me"

Moonbeam "I'm grumpy now and just wait till 3:30 Am"

Elasta Woman's daughter took this pic. Do you notice anything missing?

Deep Thoughts "Hmmm...... You distract them and I'll steal the marshmallows"

Truth be told : Not even my closest friends like to be down wind of my feet

Super Catman sitting on the couch........zzzzzz....

Strangely, there was no arguing when we got home from the trip................

Back Packing is a great way to achieve a peaceful household.

Even if they wanted to watch TV, they can't.


When I returned home, sinister things had taken place. My mom, not knowing where we were, called all over trying to find out what happened to us. I never told her we were going, partly i didn't want her to worry. Uh, that goal wasn't achieved. I began getting messages and calls from concerned friends who had heard from my mom. Our answering machine quit working and it was as if we'd dropped off the face of the earth. Add to that some one mysteriously deleted my blog!! I had to go through a recovery process to get it back. My sister had called saying she was near tears because my blog was gone!!

Did we vanish? Or was it some kind of conspiracy? Even work hasn't called for weeks. There may be something in the air too - nobody seems to have a lot of mental function as you can see from the pics!! If you are out there - please tell me what has happened to us. The house is alarmingly quiet and we are all moving rather slow. Is this a government conspiracy or could it be extra terrestrial interference?

Back Packing Euphoria

After a marathon week of Vacation Bible School, we embarked on a much anticipated 2 day back packing trip. Fourteen of us, including kids, hiked along a remote valley trail near rushing creeks, through thick tall foliage, by colorful wild flowers and into a chain of 6 lakes.
Amazingly, the children held up quite well and we pushed into unknown territory. We camped in a dense cedar forest along pristine waters. While the men fished, us girls sunned ourselves and swam. As evening came on, the children played in the almost mystical Forest. They climbed a gigantic rock covered in soft, plushy moss. As you can see, Art Dog had his own ideas about what to do with the moss!
Children laughed and played. My husband read us all a Patrick McMannus Story after roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. The forest was alive with nocturnal life as the weary children began to drop off to sleep. Other than pack rats storming our camp and chewing Art Dogs belt and Archers holster, we and the dogs kept them at bay. By 3:30 AM, Moonbeam decided she was up for the day - oh and ugh!! Well, at least I had a mess of pancakes ready for every early riser...........
We took the way back leisurely (if you can say that about hiking a wide range of aged kids that many miles) - lol. At lunch we stopped at another lake, relaxing near the water again. The Archer packed Moonbeam in and out for which I am extremely grateful. He's 19 now, as of a few days ago. Everyone was amazed how he not only did that, but cleaned and cooked all the fish, washed pans and did many of the camp chores. He is for sure a hero of the weekend!!
I think I enjoyed almost every moment of the weekend, except for maybe at chilly 3:30 AM - ha ha. Every second I felt alive and almost euphoric - from gorging on fish and drinking ambrosia from the natural springs to playing in the water with my husband and kids, the trip was so memorable. Best of all, it was fun to do it with good friends who enjoy the same things we do.

Chicks Hike On Top Of The World

Me - Dolphin Goddess - Mist - Cronin on top the world!! The Dolphin Goddess
Cronin
Yeah, we hang out on top of mountians all the time.....

Here are some fun pics from our chicks hike today. We climbed up to a mountain top together. It was so much fun!

Narley's 19th Annual Community Pig Roast

The Sock Fashion Expert is real elated because the local mercantile owner just consented to carrying a line of her authentic porcupine quill earrings (for no charge). Check out that grin!! Groups hung around and visited...................

Elasta Woman's Eldest took charge of the little girls.............

A Family from our Church with Daughter and Grandson.





Elasta Woman's Littlest girl - She's Moonbeams best friend and arch enemy - lol

Sorry, no action shots here! But you can see me in the back corner. Mist is in front of me sporting hardly any tummy for being 4 1/2 months along!! Then there's Elasta Woman with Matthew her husband. Also Kiree...... you even get to see the much written about Haas.

Cowgirl and Her Mom.........

The Sock Fashion Expert Asks Narley Some Questions. He tells her one of the things he loves about his pig roast is how people from "the church group" and people from "the bar group" all come together.

Art Dog and Firey Playing Horse Shoes (check out the look on Art Dogs face)................

I thought I'd put up some pics from Narley Gilson's legendary 19th annual pig roast. It was such a fun day!! Narley cooked a pig in a deep pit as he always does. People came from far and wide bringing scrumptious desserts and side dishes. We played volley ball most of the day and jumped off his bridge into the river in between games. Wow did i get brain freeze from that!! Kids played in the soft grass. Adults sat around visiting. Music resonated from the house. Something about the lazy, hot summer day was idyllic, now forever to be lost in time as a memory of a great day. The kind of day where neighbors, friends and strangers come together and nobody fights, nobody judges. Its just one of those days lost in time where everybody gets along and some how enjoys each others company..........

Playing in the Forest

Here's some fun photos in the forest lupine. Kudos to SFE for putting up with me doing them!!

Bon Jovi's Brief Visit

Fun Memories for the kids at the Lake on Tuesday.

Our chicks picnic on Tuesday - Mist shared some things she had read earlier that morning. Later Elasta Woman reads another chapter of her Allegory while the children play.

Mist and Fiery had us for dinner earlier this week. She made Parmesan Chicken.

We're just getting ready to head out to Narley Gilson's famous community pig roast. That should be a lot of fun. It got me to thinking that I have a lot of photos from the week that I want to put up and will probably have more - oh ugh!! The rain and several sad reports this week got me into a bit of a funk. For the past three days I decided if I was going to get any exercise I was going to have to do it in the rain. I ran 3.2 miles 3 days in a row in the rain. Yesterday, out of boredom I headed out on the river during a bit of sunshine. Sure enough before I had gotten far tiny fine drops started to shower me gracefully. At least they were polite anyway.
I've been feeling the need to blog lately, but instead chose other means of stress relief. They involved misc fitness endeavors, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and a binge of lousy satellite television. I think the funk is passing now. The sun always comes out again.
My sister called the other day. She had sent me a box of gifts for the children including beautiful handmade robies for Moonbeam, shoes for some of the kids, artwork from her kids and a very special gift for me. It was a Bon Jovi poster board with the inscription of "Hey Babe" on it. He is sporting a flirty smile and there is chest hair being flaunted. Truth be told, I am the one who sent the unaltered version to her. She hates Bon Jovi music. When I was a teenager I used to play it a lot and so she claims to be traumatized from it. Anyway, she altered the photo and sent it back to me. Then Sock Fashion Expert placed the photo directly across from The Archers private toilet. He got home from work the other day exhausted. He sat down on his toilet and there it was looking at him saying "Hey Babe". Jon really travels.
As I was saying before I got off on all that, she was in the mall and frustrated with her kids. As she tried shopping at JC Penny, her kids kept acting like hooligans. They ran and hid in clothing racks, fussed, squawked and did what kids do best when you try to shop. She was so frustrated she yelled at them. Suddenly an over head speaker announced a tornado warning. She had minutes to exit the store or go directly to the safe room. She chose to go to the safe room with her girls. The frustration with her kids was gone in an instant. As she later drove home, she felt an overwhelming gratitude for life. The tornado bi passed her city, but 3 people else where died. Life is a gift. We should treasure it each day and remember to thank our Creator.

death of a sandal..............

The Birthday Boy's Grandpa took boat loads of kids out fishing.........
Birthday Boy showed each gift to his dad as he opened them - it was cute.

Kids at cow lake birthday party......

Moonbeam falls asleep with a friend - she is a teacher at the local school who is leaving. She will be missed.

I stopped by a friend's wedding reception. I'm so happy for her...........


Boy oh boy has it been a busy weekend and beyond! Saturday I worked a 12-hour shift and then stopped by a friends wedding reception. Sunday was church and a big birthday party bash at a local lake. Monday we had dinner at Mist and Fiery's place. Tuesday was our girls day at the lake followed by a 12-hour night shift. Just writing it all is taxing on ones brain.....

I still haven't figured out why I pace myself like this but if you have any ideas let me know :-)

Sunday was a beautiful day at a near by lake. The boys were invited to a birthday party and I thought it would be fun for us all to go. The family has 5 grown girls (the oldest girl's son was having the party). The grown sisters are loud, expressive and fun. They remind me a little of my own family. It was a sultry 80 degree afternoon. I enjoyed lounging around the lake and getting a good swim in. There were a lot of people I knew to visit with while the kids played. Earlier that morning i had just drove everybody nuts making this big stink about not finding my sandals. At the last minute before it was time to leave i found them. Well anyway, as I was saying, I was standing around visiting. I had finally dried off from the long swim and was finally warm and relaxed. Suddenly somebody says to a kid "stop panicking and swim". I look out and this little kid is way over his head. His inner tube is floating in the other direction and he has a look of sheer panic. He is starting to bob up and down. I ran out there and grabbed him. He was almost over my head and I was sinking in muck as I reached him. I held him up high as I could and carried him out of the water. I set him on the ground and went back to intercept his inner tube. Suddenly my sandal is sucked into the mud never to be heard from again....... I had to go barefoot the rest of the day.

I was a little bit embarrassed about the attention. I offered to pay kids to find my sandal, but it was buried too deep to be found. Of course, the day wouldn't be complete without me making some social foe pas, which I did. I won't even bother to elaborate on them because I don't want to remind myself - lol. I also looked rather strange walking around gingerly in bare feet. Otherwise it went pretty good. Mainly I enjoyed being around the water with friends I don't normally get to see. Some where in a dark, watery grave, my sandal rests in peace. Please allow a moment of silence, perhaps share a warm word in its behalf........