Rock Hounds

Carl Worth and I took the teachers quorum rock climbing this last weekend and had a great time. A few weeks ago we spent time teaching them the basics of rock climbing, safety, equipment, and knots necessary for our outing. I wish there would have been more time to truly show them how its done, but there is always another day. The above picture is not of me , but was cool nonetheless (I can dream.)
We took the boys to a place called Rocky Butte. It is close in proximity to the Portland airport and extremely easy to get to. The road was literally 30 feet from the cliff side where we top roped and then followed a somewhat scary trail to the bottom. The Trail was almost harder than the climb itself.
We had two routes going. The route I was belaying was harder and only one the boys was able to make it to the top, but each of the boys were able to make it to the top on the route Carl was tied into. The parents all said their boys had a great time and thought it was a fun activity. The young men are working on their climbing merit badge and varsity pin.

Arm Chair Mechanic

This week I put Evie down on the rug in the middle of the room to get something done in the kitchen and when I returned I found her under the chair just smiling.

She looked like a mechanic and was just working her arms as if she were fixing something under the chair.

Aquatic center and Urgent Care

The kids have been out of school the past couple of days with teacher work day, so Scott took the day off and we went to the Aquatic Center. What a great place to relax. Slides, kiddie pools, a lap pool, a wave pool, and the best part; a first aid station!

It couldn't have been more than 5 minutes into the afternoon and Tate rubbed his chin on the bottom of the wave pool after one crashed down on his head. He was bummed especially when he heard the word stitches. You can tell from these pictures that he is disheartened (?). Boredom set in long before and he decided to play doctor while waiting for the real one to come in the room.Imagine that, still waiting!Finally, he was all fixed up. The best part is that he didn't have to get stitches. The life guard at the aquatic center put on a butterfly so well that the doctor said she didn't want to pull the wound apart, so she glued it instead. I don't think she could have held Tate down by herself if he had gotten stitches anyway. It took 5-6 people at the ER in Twin Falls when he was two years old. Anyway, he's ready to face another day.

Note - Tate's injuries include, but are not limited to the following in his 5 yrs of life:

* Two broken clavicles

* Staph - Scalded skin syndrome

* Cut Eyebrow - Stitches

* Chin (x2) - Stitches and Glue

* Cut Leg - Glue

* Leg Burn - 4 wheeler exhaust

* More that are not recorded.

Sort of, but not really

Check out my Sept. 3, 2008 entry. It's sort of , but not really about my brother, Ben's wedding. Laugh...or not...life is an experience. Let me know if you've had any experiences like this before.

Glass Dolls

This is a random picture of Maddy and Eden~ G.C. weekend playing around on the couch together.

This morning Madison came in to our room to wake me up and tell me it was time for me and mom to move bedrooms. I asked her where we should sleep and she said, "I don't care, just pick a room." She said that Grandma Black promised her a porcelain doll when she turned 8 yrs old and didn't want the other kids in our family to get close enough to break the doll. Logic told her that by kicking out mom/dad of their room she could lock the door and play with the doll. Her birthday is still 7-8 months down the road. Maybe we should tell Grandma Black to rethink the doll because I like our room, or just accept that our 7 year old wears the pants in the family and will until she's 18!