Parentheticals

The weather has been really nice, so we went hiking some more this week. We gathered more plants for the food forest, and played that we were from redwall We now have lots of currants, some serviceberries, black raspberries, a gooseberry bush, strawberries, mint, a plum tree, and some Oregon grape. We want cherry trees, apples, raspberries probably more plums, and perhaps a peach tree and some asparagus before we are all the way done. The garden is finally starting to sprout. We have tons of pea plants, and some lettuces to show for our work so far. We have also been burning all of the trees we cut down and dug up from our yard. The kids really wish we had marshmallows. Mike's next school semester started, and it has mostly been going well. Alison has been preparing to teach a bunch of people about how to get along with their kids. Her class starts on Monday. She has nearly 100 people signed up so far -that is pretty exciting. We also have been recently playing a lot of...

On Monday during the day Mikes new team at work went to an indoor shooting range for a team building activity. Mike shot four guns, and did the best with the handguns. If you are a thief, and within 7.5 yards of Mike, and he has a hand gun, say goodbye to the right half of your neck. Monday night we went on a hike at the Bell Canyon Granite Trailhead. We hiked up to the reservoir and decided that we were going to go camping there some time. Rea was pretty grouchy the entire way up, but Timmy and Sara and Gideon had a grand time. Once we got there, we saw some ducks, and then we decided to turn back. Rea and Gideon switched places as the grouchy one, and the entire trip back Gideon screamed, and Timmy, Sara and Rea had a fun time. We have since expanded our plans for a camp out to include actual shopping for a camp stove that is small enough to backpack with. We will probably not carry up our water, so we need filters as well as ways to attach our hammocks to trees. It will probably...

We missed posting last week, so this post will cover two weeks. Last weekend we went up to Silver Lake for a hike. We saw a moose in the wild, climbed on rocks and trees, took a nap in the woods, and generally enjoyed ourselves. Timmy really wants to go canoeing on the lake. I can't imagine dragging a canoe up there, but maybe one day... The kids did really well, and they hardly complained at all. After going to silver lake, the rest of the week we had a lot of meetings - Alison's calling, Mike's Board game design guild (BGDG), and Alison's writing group each claimed a weeknight. Mike tried to get his "Grab the Loot" game played with 6 players at BGDG, but there were not enough people there for that to happen. He has been preparing this game for submission to a publisher, and it wants some more playtesting at that player count. He is also trying to fit the game into a mint tin for the mint tin design contest. So far it is fitting, but he will perhap...

This week we spent some time working on the front yard. We have dug paths in a wagon wheel configuration around the yard, covered them with sand and pavers (that were being thrown away by a ward member), and also built a sandbox in the middle. Alison is ordering a patio umbrella to cover the sandbox (to keep the neighbor cat out of it), and we plan on planting various gardens in between the spokes of the wheel. Alison and the kids went on two hikes this week.  On Tuesday they joined a Meetup group hiking in Little Cottonwood Canyon.  The other big kids ended up not meeting us, so there were two 2 year olds and Rea and Sara and Timmy.  The girls still had fun, and we climbed on boulders and threw rocks in the creek and had a great time.  On Friday, we hiked Cecret Lake with Grandpa Craig and Grandma Julie.  Even Sara hiked the full 3.2 miles with steep switchbacks!  We ate currants, saw a moose up close, and watched waterdogs in the lake.  It was an ...

This week Mike has been working hard to fulfill the rewards for his Kickstarter campaign. The new colors that some people ordered came in on Friday, so he printed the last of the rewards and sent them off on Saturday - except for one person who hasn't actually told Mike which size of windows he wants in his counters. When that person gets around to answering, we'll print and be done! We're glad to get it done so quickly and to have time to spend on other things. (Note - as we were composing this, he told Mike what he wanted, so the last counters are being printed at the moment and we will be done Monday, when the post office is open.) Thursday Alison and the kids spent all day at the park, playing on the playground, eating a picnic lunch, and swimming in the pool. They went to the pool four times this week, and everyone's swimming is continuing to progress. They are really enjoying their pool passes and the time they spend outside. And still no sunburns! Thursday ev...

Last Saturday we went to my work party. It was super hot, but they provided us with free tiger blood snow cones, so we were ok. The girls liked the swimming pools and the pony rides, and the parents liked watching the kids have fun. They gave us some fireworks at the party which will come up later. Now, this week all that we did (says Alison) was go swimming and try to keep the house clean. My Kickstarter campaign started on Monday and I have been managing it fairly actively. I have 15 backers and have $240 pledged (of a $40 goal) at this point in time. If no new pledges were made from here until the time that the campaign ended I would be happy since I am already going to have to make more than 90 counters (which will take some time.) I am glad that the campaign has been quite successful. On Friday I had the day off and so we hiked with the Poulsons up in Albion Basin (up Catherine's pass.) We made it to the little stream and then turned back (because the kids were done)...