If a picture is worth 1000 words...

then I threw out 1,100,000 words today.

Yes, 1100 prints. You know, from before the digital revolution.

Save the date!

Sunday, October 11th

Instead of having two crazy days of birthday parties this year, we are having one. Yes, two parties, one day. I think it will be saner that way. They will overlap at food and cake.

If you are so inclined to attend the 6th and 2nd birthday parties of my adorable children, then you are invited.

Adaya will be celebrating her 2nd birthday at 11am. It will be a play date consisting of ponies, finger food (fruit, veggies, crackers, cheese), and cake (more finger food for the youngsters). Party will conclude around 1:15 (also known as nap time which is unlikely to happen due to company).

Josiah will be celebrating his 6th birthday at 12:30pm. It will begin with previously mentioned food and cake. It will then proceed with all things Lego. Beginning with Duplo, and after the young ones have parted, continuing with major choking hazards. There will be a lego building challenge (MOC - my own creation), lego awards, lego games, and abundant free build time.

Be there or be square (without studs).

And so it begins, again...

This weekend my daughter said a very simple word. Yet it is a word that requires much of a parent. It will probably continue to be a much used word for the next several years. Today it was her most used word.

Why?
Why?
Why?

women's backpacking day 4 drive home

Our trip home included a stop at Saltz Falls. Note our hitch hiker, Ben, in the first photo. We learned on the way home that he is a friend of our friend, Megan. And Megan was supposed to be on this hike only she hurt her back.

Meet random person on trail. Agree to give lift home. Discover you have a mutual friend. Learn more about person over lunch at A&W. Realize that you have prayed for random person you ment on trail. Conclusion: Perhaps it wasn't such a random meeting afterall. God's hands are all over this one...

women's backpacking day 4

It was a foggy, foggy morn. We set the alarm for 6 so we could get Brenda home by three. It was an early, early morn.

It seems that I don't have any decent pics of the trail home. We hiked out about 6 miles. It was an easy hike. Took about two hours. We picked up a fifth person on the way out. That's an interesting story...

women's backpacking day 3 at camp

Diamond View Lake was amazing. We were the first to arrive and picked the very best campsite. The view was beautiful. Well, I guess you can see that for yourself. As for the afternoon's adventures, I'll let the photos speak for themselves. No, there was no dip, just wading, the wind was too chilly. Most of my sunset photos were taken on a log while Juli fixed up my heal blister, which had gotten worse every day. Our day ended with a little fun around the campfire with "the stick game."

women's backpacking day 3 on the trail

It was a gorgeous day for a hike. The beautiful weather carried through the day. It was accompanied by gorgeous views. Day three was a gentle 5.5 mile hike. It brought us to our camp site at Diamond View Lake by one thrity.

women's backpacking day 3 morning at Marie Lake

It was a beautiful morning. The fog rolled across the Lake. The sun glistened through the tree. We left early in hopes of getting to our next campsite early enough for a dip in the lake. We were feeling greedy too. After climbing down for water, we had hopes of getting a better camp site.

women's backpacking day 2 campsite

We camped on the ridge at Marie Lake. There were lots of people on the trail and the campsites at water's edge were taken. So after setting up camp, we had to climb down to get our water. While Kristan pumped the next day's water (I pumped all the water for that day's hike that morning), I took a foot soak. Oh it felt good to get my tired, blistered feet in cool water. I don't know exactly how I went on two packing trips without blisters from my boots and managed to get them on this outing. Of course we had beautiful skies that evening as the storm cleared out before sunset. Then I saw about three shooting stars in the crystal clear skies before bed.

women's backpacking day 2 on the trail

Our second day was a bit easier. I do believed we hiked over 8 miles though. It was an overcast day. The sky was white all day, except when it was looking grey of course. We spent a good deal of time playing the ABC game with animals. During lunch it began to rain. Thus we were unable to climb Diamond Peak (which would have made the second day the most challenging). We'd have been fools to climb a mountain in a storm. So we put on our rain gear and continued hiking to Marie Lake.