The Colors of the Tamaracks

I love it when the colors change and the autumn rains bring out the musty smell of fallen leaves. We are surrounded here by tamaracks, which I genuinely treasure. They are tall and graceful, not ill-shapen and puffy like some other evergreens. They turn a vibrant shade of yellow before they drop their needles, and leave a golden trail up the driveway to the house.

We've had such rain and mist, I've not been able to take their picture properly this season, but last Sunday afternoon, the clouds parted and I walked outside with my camera to attempt to capture them.

Our Family...plus one!

This is Peyton Joan Laramie, Barry's sister's baby. We took the day for a special ceremony in Inchelium at St. Michael's Parish and enjoyed the family time on the reservation.

Barry loves Peyton. You can see how he looks at her and talks to her... he is quite smitten.

Bull Riding! I hear it was a bar phase in the 90's.

The day Silas rode his sheep, I tried a mechanical bull...it's actually quite fun, except for the shoulder pain the next day!

Oh, The Things We Do For Fun...Mutton Bustin' Again

Last year, if you can remember, there was a small distraught boy who couldn't believe that such a terrible sheep existed that would throw him off onto the hard dirt ground of the mutton bustin' arena. This year, my little champion held on as if his life depended on it and rode his wild sheep nearly to the fence on the other side! He was so brave, not displaying fear! Although he did not win a medal, he was my favorite contestant and he made his family proud.

 

I Really Can't Resist This

Potty-ing By Twos!

I feel like I'd be failing in my blogging responsibilities if I didn't make some comment on potty training twins...the thought of which brings countless images of cloth-rubbing flooring to mind.

If you thought that asking one toddler to "potty in the toilet" was a challenge, try asking two tiny autonomous rulers to make their mark in something flushable rather than in their pants. Children have a myriad of reasons why they are not interested in using the toilet, but the reasons only multiply when two are asked to use the toilet in the same week.

I thought for a while that I would start with Elise, when she had mastered the skill, I'd move on to Emmitt...after all aren't girls "easy" to potty train? I was spending so much time in the bathroom, sitting with Elise, that Silas and Emmitt began making all kinds of mischief. Surely taking both 2year olds captive at the same time would be better than being tied to a bossy yelling 2 year old in the bathroom while the other 2 year old and his "enabling" brother disassembled some couch, or bed, shoe rack, or stack of clothes, cupboard,or half-prepared lunch.

We bought a "baby potty", one that requires dumping into the toilet, so both of the kids could sit at the same time to do their business. This tandem training began to work and Elise could sit on the toilet and wear "big girl pants"  without much incidence from the first day. Emmitt took longer, he had to first gain the self-awareness to understand what "pottying" felt like, so we washed many many, "big boy pants" that first week. I was constantly looking for dirty laundry to throw into the wash because I needed that one dirty pair in a half hour or less!

Two weeks later, I am happy to report that both the twins are successfully using the toilet, with few accidents, and that Elise is still sleeping all night (12+ hours!!) with no accidents. I think her bladder must be the size of her entire stomach.

I'm looking forward to Emmitt's next step of controlling his own stream and keeping the bathroom floor (and bystanders) clean. This, I know is a lot to ask, and I'll be patient...this struggle Emmitt will face on his own, without the guidance and dictatorship of his little twin!

Greenbluff's Peach Festival

At the Harvest House in Greenbluff there's live music (supplied by a decidedly elderly, yet surprisingly energetic band), fresh lunch faire, desserts (including donuts made before your eyes), a grassy hill that calls out to be "rolled", and of course, peaches of every variety.

The twins were especially photogenic, and all three were in a good mood as we watched the crowds and enjoyed the green slope of lawn. I love this next picture. I think it will go on our picture wall in the living room.

Silas wanted me to capture his "flight", so I did my best, although I'm sure this picture is far less exciting than the one in his imagination. 

Grandpa Pat, Yaya, and Grandma Jean all accompanied us on our farm adventure. It was a lovely outting, but I think poor Grandma Jean was set on edge the entire time because of all the dogs roaming around off of leashes. There was one great dane that was as tall as a horse!

Silas was able to ride the Wiggly Worm at Walter's Farm, a Greenbluff favorite for the kids. Walter's has a play structure and a huge covered box filled with dried peas instead of sand. I LOVE the pea pit because sand is so hard to dig out from every crease and crevice, but the peas fall right off.

Silas is a big goof ball, you can guess where he gets his charm...I'm not sure how I'll get him to smile a normal smile for the remainder of his childhood. "Normal" pictures may be a thing of the past.

Crazy Summer Fun

The flight of his life began on a sunny Sunday afternoon while mommy was huddled into a puddle trying to convince herself that flying was safe and God is strong and good enough to protect her son. He may not appear excited, but Silas was probably just masking his anticipation with the confidence of his gender. "Papa Dennis" took my eldest up into an airplane, a J-3 Cub to be exact, and claimed that Silas was one of the only children to ever hold the controls and observe the plane's appearance as he turned and climbed through the air. I've always recognized "Claridge-like" patterns in Silas, but never more than his thrill over this small propeller plane.

Silas high in the air over the pond.

I did have Dennis take me up to preview the safety of the J-3 pleasure flights. I didn't have quite as much fun as Silas, but it was thrilling to see everything from the sky.

Silas couldn't have all the fun! Shauna and I decided to try out some new tricks on the zip line. Double the weight turned out to not be too much for the little line. We even dropped on top of the water trampoline at the bottom!

We Honeymooned Again: Radium Hot Springs and Banff 6 Years Later

Here are the pictures, without dialogue. It was a wonderful trip. Just imagine us having fun and taking advantage of adventure.

Some Relationships are Just Like That

...enduring; spanning miles and years; comfortable, yet willing to challenge.

I had a great little visit with my East Valley ladies, April and Tamara the other day. April is home for the birth of her sister's twins, so we took the opportunity to have lasagna on the porch and play Scrabble. Of course, Tamara creamed us in Scrabble (thanks, I'm sure, to all of those two-letter, "it's a word that's allowed in Scrabble...I don't know what it means" words), but we all laughed most of the night anyway.

The kids were free to roam our five acres while I finished getting dinner on the table. Tamara made sure everyone followed our two family rules: 1. No using the drill in the dirt. 2. Don't point your guns (pretend at present) at any person.

April took all of these lovely pictures.

Silas and Elise have a special love for their helmets. They like to run around wearing them long after the bikes have been put to the side.