First Day of School 2013

The night before school starts is always a little emotional for me.  I think ahead of all the challenges and opportunities my kids will face, their triumphs and temptations, and I mourn the passing of lazy, summer days.

 We prepared backpacks, stuffed them with the necessary supplies.  Then we talked together about how great school is, how much they can learn (most of which is accompanied by groans from Caleb and Dallin) and Mitch gave each of them a Father's blessing.  In case you're wondering why none of the boys have shirts on, it's hot here in August, and our kids think this means that summer pajamas consist of a pair of comfy shorts.

On the morning of the first day of school I asked for a photo.  

I know that many kids are excited for school to start.  Can you tell that is not the case in my house? With the exception of Brandt, this photo accurately captures my boys' attitude about the matter.

But Brandt was excited. It was his first day of preschool and, with his new backpack, he was ready to conquer the world.

The other boys weren't quite so sure, but they did finally smile for my pictures.  

Here's Adam on his first day of 1st grade.

Dallin's first day of 3rd grade.

Caleb's first day of 6th grade (his last in elementary school)!

We walked to school together.

After finding some decorative trash along the way, Mitch offered to come into Caleb's classroom and meet all his new friends.

Caleb declined.

Once we dropped off the older boys we walked Brandt to preschool, not far away.

He was excited to see his new teacher.

And despite previous frowns, everyone had a good first day of school and I'd say things are off to a good start.

Flatiron

I've been wanting to do this hike for a long time.  It's the one people talk about, have stories about, and it's the one they point out, "you see on the mountain right there?" when in sight of the Superstition Mountains.

Let's borrow Wikipedia's photo to give you a visual:

Flatiron is the first jagged peak from the right. 

Mitch has hiked it several times with friends, family members... a random hiker group.  He's even done it in the dark!  

You can imagine my excitement when Mitch asked me earlier this month if I'd like him to take me.   When I gave him a hard time about not bringing me before he said, "Well, you're finally not with child."

Right.
Well, every time a previous trip was planned I was either pregnant or nursing a little one. By the way, this whole trip was made possible by my amazing parents-in-law who agreed to watch over said little ones.

We got up early to hit the mountain by about six (in Arizona it's important to beat the sun).    The air was cool and the light a little dim when we got started, with all the colors muted.  The thing about this hike is that it's steep.  And rocky.  And steep.  Just getting to the first real landmark, Siphon Draw, my heart was really pumping. 

 And then we were scrambling up the slick rock, pausing for breath, and then plunging ahead to hike up the ravine, climbing rocks, weaving between branches of  a few scattered Mesquite trees, and climbing more rocks.

And yes, I am wearing a dress.  Big mistake.  I wouldn't recommend it for steep hikes. 

 Ahem. 

Anyway, as we reached the "first top" as Mitch termed it, I had just gasped out, "How many 'tops' are there?" when I was momentarily stunned by the sight of the hoodoos, stark against the sky and lit up with the rays of morning sunlight, desert plants scattered at their feet.  It was such a beautiful sight!

 Mitch pointed out Flatiron:

Mitch took this picture in 2008.  We forgot to take one.

And then we continued to the summit.  

The 360-degree view was spectacular.  We rested as we sat together quietly, taking it all in.  There was mixture of reverence and triumph in looking out together at the desert floor below and the mountains around us.  Of solitude and togetherness. A good feeling.

The hike down was seemed to go by in a flash.  I had so much fun, and I was so happy that I finally got to go!

12 Years

I've been married to this man for 12 happy years.

For our anniversary he whisked me away to Tucson for an overnight getaway.  We stayed in a resort on the foothills that had a beautiful view of the city.  The place looked like a huge fortress/mansion and we got turned around more than once in the labyrinth of hallways inside.  We went to dinner at Roma's, a little Italian place Mitch found on Yelp in a completely frightening neighborhood that was truly a hole in the wall.  But inside it was clean, bright, and full of smells to make your mouth water.  The food was delicious.  We browsed around downtown on foot for awhile and hit Bookman's before heading back to the hotel.  We sat in the hot tub near a waterfall outside and watched dozens of bats swoop and dive overhead.

The next morning we went on a beautiful hike to Seven Falls, which is dry this time of year, but still majestic.  It made me want to come back when there's water gushing down.  In this desert landscape it would be truly a sight to see.  As it was the only waterfall we saw was a hiker relieving himself, unconscious of our presence at first.

On our way home we stopped for a movie made after a book we had both read, Water for Elephants.  And then we went to pick up our boys, who had so much fun with their cousins it was hard to drag them away.  I'm such a lucky girl.

Lost Dutchman Marathon

It has been one of Mitch's lifetime goals to run a marathon.  Last fall he trained for and ran his first 1/2 marathon, and did great, so he decided to continue training for a full marathon in February.  All was going well until he got sick over the holidays and lost a full  month of training.  When he got well there were not many weeks left to train, and I was worried that he didn't have enough time.  But in the end he did it!  He ran a strong 26.2 miles and I am so proud of him!

My Love

I'm in love with this man.

And I count myself one lucky woman because he loves me back.

Run! Run!

 Mitch ran his first half-marathon last month!  I am so proud of him for accomplishing this goal!   Brandt is proud too.  I ran the 5k and felt good about my time.

A week or two later Dallin participated in his first 1-mile fun run.  He really ran hard.  Caleb also showed great effort in the 5k and they both finished with good times.  It was neat that Grandpa Tom got to be involved too.

 

Mitch

This is the man I love...


Look quick.
He may ask me to pull this post, even though I tried really hard not to appear sappy. In fact I didn't really say anything at all, other than that I love him. Which is just a fact.

I didn't go on about his sense of humor, what a wonderful dad he is, or enumerate the ways he takes care of our family. I didn't gush about how he makes me feel like a queen. Nothing about how he pushes me to accomplish my goals, even when I have almost given up hope in them, or how the sun shines brighter when he is around.

Nah, he can have nothing to say about this post.