Special Edition: The Messes We Make

Here is a 'reality' post for all those out there who are getting a little disillusioned by all the glossy posts on these blogs of ours.
Warning: some of these photos are extremely graphic and if you don't live with a pack of little kids you should use viewer discretion.



It is really tempting to explain and rationalize some of these pictures, or post the 'opposite' versions so you wouldn't think less of me. But that's not what it's about.

July Chronicles

We spent the 4th of July with my Aunt and Uncle, Marie and Jerry (& awesome Erik) in Montrose, CO. Aaron and I tried our hardest to win something, anything by entering every contest from the tricycle riding to hop ball, but alas we always came in the first place losers: 4th. But it was a fun carnival and the Thuns showed us a good time making homemade ice cream and doing fireworks. Erik and I even ran our very own "Four mile Fourth of July" fun run. I forgot my running shoes so I had to wear Chacos. Whoops. Erik is a good sport.

The rest of the month we relaxed and caught our breath after the busy months before. We did a little camping, a little grilling, and a little canning. My friend and partner in reviving traditional homemaking skills writes a much more eloquent narrative on our canning adventures: http://majjcshow.blogspot.com/2008/08/if-you-want-best-jam-in-land-you-gotta.html
Aaron was inspired by Thun's beautiful, plentiful garden so he came home and built me a fancy designer garden with boxes and the whole 'square foot gardener' set up. We only planted a box of lettuce though because we figured we only had about 6 more weeks in the season. It's hard to garden at 7000 ft when it snows on Memorial Day and starts freezings on Labor Day. We were so proud we got one green pepper, one yellow squash and about 15 tomotoes. That was our real success.
I got to do the flowers for another wedding this month. That was a fun diversion, as usual. It was my first silk flower wedding and it turned out nicer than I expected.
Addie learned to ride a two-wheeler. Aaron and I would have never put her up to that but she asked so we thought she deserved a shot. She got it in about 3 sessions. Don't underestimate your children!
Enoch has started using words with gusto. He picks up about 3 a day. The most common words are "shoe" and he'll retrieve everyone's and deliver them personally to you any time we get ready to go; "cookie" which he uses for anything edible and yells with increasing intensity if you don't listen. He's the most famous for this word because he stands up and yells "cookie!" every week in the middle of the sacrament. It gets his dad's attention and chuckle from up on the stand. And lastly he repeatedly shouts "car" with unmatched enthusiasm, over and over and over whenever we drive anywhere. He measured in at the 10% for height and weight at his 18 mo check. That good old 'Hopkinson Head' measured in at the 70%! Right in line with our other kids...and their dad.

Chamonix, France

After our alps hike we spent a couple of days in a little French resort town called, Chamonix. We fell in love with this place and spent an extra night here. Le Hotel Chamonix is a quintessential little french hotel with the cast iron railed balcony and geranium pots... but we were WAY UP in the attic on the 5th floor. No provincial balcony but a stunning view. Adding to the quaintness and the irony of being on the 5th floor, there was NO elevator. We had just finished 2 back-to-back days of hiking and were, admittedly, sore. I'm sure they always knew when we were coming or going during the day by our murmuring ascents and descents!
The gondola across the glaciers goes all the way to the Italian side of the Alps. One section is 3km of unsupported cable!

Silly Swiss Alps Video Clips

I am not kidding, when I opened the car door at the trailhead in Col de Forclaz, my first steps in the alps, this is what I heard...

Tour du Mont Blanc hike

We didn't have time for the classic 10 day Tour du Mont Blanc so we hiked a 21 mile loop at the very top of the route.
Monday we hiked 11 miles over the pass of the Fenetre d'Arpette and stayed the night at Champex Lac.
Tuesday we hiked 10 miles back around to Col de Forclaz on the Bovine trail.
The wildflowers were everything I had hoped for and more.
The glacier was mesmerizing. We even saw a huge section crash off the bottom.