rain, sun and a walk

 We take a lot of walks here. 

Sometimes we get tired of walking.

locally

our local golf course is a nine hole course that is used as much by neighbors to walk their dogs as it is by golfers.  luke likes to play in the bunkers and steal the flags.  so far we haven't been scolded but i'm expecting it.

there are four pubs within sight of each other and within walking distance of our flat.  one of them was closed when we arrived, and this one has since shut down.

our local provides a lovely place to spend a warm evening, enjoying a pint and some quiet.  we get this for a few seconds before...

...our view turns to something a bit noisier and more familiar.

Tim has shared with us his system for making friends.  When he sees a kid, he goes to him/her and says, "Hi, my name is Tim.  I'm five years old."  It's not what I would call the best way to make friends, but it seems to work because Tim is rarely without a 'friend.'  Last week, this system resulted in us meeting the parents who are in the process of purchasing The Greyhound, one of the pubs within walking distance of the flat.  We hadn't been there yet.  The couple has no experience running a pub and are taking a risk, but they are enthusiastic and seem to have a plan.  They have two young children and the whole family will move into the quarters above the pub this month.  They are going to sand the floors and refurbish the toilets, and then open for business.  We went for a pint yesterday so we could do a before and after comparison.  It's a beautiful old place that will easily become our local.  We've never had a personal relationship with a pub owner.  Could be a good thing...

luke fell asleep just after take off on the virgin flight to london while tim checked out the gift bag

The first time I moved abroad, I was single and focused on simplifying my life.  Mom and Dad let me put everything I owned in their basement, and I packed four oversized bags and headed for a new life in Sofia.  A lot of other things contributed to the relative ease of that move: the airlines still allowed TWO checked bags for free, the airlines still fed you domestically for free, the airlines were just nicer; I was moving to a completely foreign country so the school provided a lot more services to the new hires; I didn't have two children; I didn't own a home and then get it ready for rental before leaving; there's more but it could get ridiculous and I think you get it.

The last time I moved abroad, I had a husband and a 9 month old.  But it wasn't too bad.  We'd been planning for the move for over a year and had worked out all the details and saved loads of money in preparation.  We moved in with Mom and Dad. We owned a small flat and didn't have anything that we weren't using.  This four bedroom home has managed to collect all kinds of 'just-in-case' items.  The process of deciding to trash, give away, sell, pack for storage or take with us has been tiring.  We didn't store anything when we left England.  It either stayed in the flat for the renters or went with us.  We didn't trash or sell much because we really only had what we used.

We have said several times through this process that it's been hard because I got hired late in the season, but I think that even a February result would have meant the same down-to-the-wire life we've had this last week.

But it's done now and we've made it to England as an intact and happy family unit, and so much of the stress has disappeared.  I think I've stopped clenching my jaw.  I went to the dentist in the midst of the last minute packing because I thought I had a loose filling.  No - ligament damage from stress clenching.  You'd think I'd have noticed, and I did once the dentist pointed it out.  The pain is lessening.

I researched baggage on line for both our airlines, American and Virgin.  I called them.  I was prepared for being charged by each airline $150/bag over the one per passenger limit.  Imagine our joy when we checked in at DIA and was told that A. we'd only be charged by one airline and B. instead of paying for 6, yes 6 bags, we'd only have to pay for 2.  No we did not ask for an explanation.  Even better, car seats are free and we had them in a bag with our golf clubs, so the whole lot came free.  We checked 11 bags and had a carry on and personal item each.   I don't really want to do it again.  The sad thing is that once we're in our flat and have it all put away, the flat will look nearly as empty as it did before we arrived since it's mostly clothes.  Computers and toys make up the rest.  Thanks to the Viners we'll have some camp furniture.  After packing and storing our house of stuff, we're actually looking forward to bare necessity living.  Any bets on how long that will last?

pretending to sleep

zion national park

It's summer and that means another visit from Paul's mom and dad and another trip to a national park.  This year we went to Zion National Park for three nights and then to Las Vegas, a different kind of park but worth seeing just the same.  When we arrived at 6:30PM after driving 13 hours, it was 109F.   I didn't ever check the night temperature, but I don't believe that it got below 85F in our campsite.  Honestly, I don't think it got below 90F.  It was miserable.  The worst part was that we could hear the wind in the tree tops, but not breath of it touched the ground.

Paul and Neville got up at 5:15AM to hike Angel's Landing.  I got up just long enough to move the cot out of the tent.  I got the only real sleep there until about 6:30 when I just couldn't take it any more.  Jenny and I sat in the camp site for an hour or so without saying much.   The heat of the night loomed in our minds. Was it going to be this hot for all three nights?  What  relief we felt when it started to rain at about 8AM.  We both noted that no one changed their actions due to the rain: families continued to sit at the picnic table and eat breakfast, people continued to pack for their planned activities.  Even we just sat and let the rain fall on us.  It was so hot that it almost evaporated before it made it to the ground.  It cooled the place down at least ten degrees, and hope 'sprang eternal.'   Paul and Neville were hiking less than five miles away.  When they came back, they were quite surprised to hear of the rain and pleased to find us in good humor.  

the view from our campsite

it's so nice to find that utah has developed a sense of humor

The virgin river created Zion and ran along the edge of the campsite.  Jenny and the boys and I spent most of our time here

Luke lived in his swimsuit and if he sees it now, insists on putting it on as though he thinks the river will appear if he has it on.

neville on the angel's landing hike

neville at scout's lookout

the trail follows the spine of the ridge

you can just make out paul in his orange shirt about half way up the mountain.  there are chains to assist the climbers, and it is very steep and narrow.

court of the patriarchs

we all walked the mile up the narrows canyon to where the trail ends.  to continue, you must walk in the water.  

we took a spectacular drive to the top of the canyon

We were blessed by the weather gods and had breezes and rain the second and third nights, so the dread that crept onto all of us in the middle of the first night disappeared never to return after the short rain on the following morning.  It's a grand park and well worth the drive.  I recommend the autumn. 

the best place for some much needed down time

We celebrated Father's Day this year at the cabin and also got some rest and relaxation from our now very busy and stressful lives.  We decided in a very short time to put our house on the market to see what would happen, and the whirlwind of activity that this created has us all exhausted.  Getting the house clean and in show order is a small feat, and it was nice to shut the door behind us as we left for the cabin for two nights.

Our friends with two children joined us.  Tim loved having someone his age with us, and we enjoyed it as well.  This is the easiest trip that we've had up there yet.  Both Tim and Luke have reached an age now where we aren't constantly worried that one of them will break something or fall off the dock into the lake.  I was on-call for most of the time to give rides in the boat that GG and Gramps bought last summer.  I don't mind slowly paddling them around and drinking in the scenery while sipping a cool beverage and talking like a pirate.

Luke loves to cast his small fishing rod and reel it in.  We have to help with the casting, but he does the rest.  When one of us lands a fish, he is ready with the net and in the way trying to get his hands on the 'ish', 'ish.'

Tim caught his first fish all by himself, from cast to net.  He caught a second one, but it got off the hook just before I had it in the net.  We credit him with two solo catches.

Luke likes the tree house.

The late snows have made it exceptionally green up there.  For many, many years I daydreamed of having a family of my own to share this with.  Paul has made that and so many other dreams of mine come true but in ways far grander than any I ever imagined.  Happy Father's Day, Paul.  Somehow it seems more like a holiday for me than for you because I'm so thankful that you are the father of our boys.

summit county camping

Last winter Paul noticed the sign for these camp sites on his drive from Breckenridge to Keystone.  They are on the south side of Dillon Lake and since almost all of the trees were killed by beetles and cut down, the views are stunning.

What is it with boys and binoculars?

This is the bike path that we walked from our campsite to an Irish pub in Dillon.  It was about three miles one way, all either up hill or down.  

Both boys walked the whole way to the pub where we enjoyed lunch and Tim watched a movie (on the floor, under the table with his portable DVD player).  Paul offered to jog back to the car and collect us, but we stayed so long at the pub enjoying the beer and the lack of people, which meant that Luke could run around as he pleased, that we felt up for the walk back.  Luke made it about a mile, and then got in the child carrier and went almost immediately to sleep.  Tim showed his Attridge roots and made it almost the entire way back on his own.  He wanted a ride on Paul's shoulders for a little while, but we reckon he walked at least two of the three miles back.  The cold night, 34F, and the long walk meant that they both slept well.  

easter

Tim and Luke found all the eggs that the Easter Bunny put in our back yard.

Woodland Park, the neighborhood where Gramps and GG live, had their anual egg hunt for all the children/grandchildren and Tim and Luke were happy to participate.

TIm's booty

Gramps and Luke enjoying the day

hunting eggs

examining the eggs

Luke doesn't eat sweets, but he likes to open the eggs and dump the candy out

mine, mine, mine

hunting eggs in our back yard

Paul's first bike ride of the season

time to dye the eggs

Scooby Doo is top full of eggs that Tim found in our back yard

 

Paul's new google phone has a pretty nice camera that takes panoramic shots

the Easter Bunny left something in the garden for Mom and Dad as well

sledding at breck

We got an email mid-afternoon on Friday asking if we wanted to spend the weekend at the condo in Breckenridge and didn't hesitate to accept.  Paul already had plans to spend Saturday skiing with former colleagues in Keystone, so he just turned it into a family weekend away.  They've had enough snow now to make sledding fun.

tim's got his ski boots on because he did a short run with paul just outside the condo

paul and luke

paul and tim

happy birthday boys!

five and three already