Goodbye, 2010

This was a hard year for me. One of the hardest I can remember. Having to face the idea of not having a classroom.... of being unemployed... facing the reality that people I thought would value my job in Ferndale enough to save it.. did not. It broke my heart. It filled me with self doubt. It hurt.
But now there's a new place. I like it there. The kids are older. They can do things I never could have imagined in Kindergarten. They are funny. And smart. And filled with life experience. They are not as affectionate or honest as Kindergartners. They have already put on masks to hide their true selves in many situations. You see, they care soooooo much about what their peers think. But they can write and discuss and remember with me. It is challenging. And fun. And my colleagues... they are wonderful. They always have a kind word and a smile for me. They work together. They support each other. I am blessed to be where I am now. It is just where I need to be.
And in this new year of 2011, I am hoping that my uncertainty will continue to diminish. Now that I've done this for a while, I have a better feel for what works, what doesn't, where I'm going and how I'll get all 25 souls in my charge to the places they need to be. My prayer is for the next few months to be filled with laughter and learning and community. Most of all, community.
Love, Nancy

Crazy Sweet!

That Crazy sweet Cindyanna bought me a bottle of my FAVORITE champagne just for feeding her fish and cats and bunny on Sunday. I just couldn't imagine it sharing it with anyone else, so I got her a babysitter and invited her out to lunch (with a champagne appetizer, of course!). Unfortunately for Cindy, the champagne gave her a head ache, so I had to do all the drinking. We went out to the Banana Hut. It was my first time there and it was yummmmmmmy. I had coconut prawns with sticky rice and a little salad. We talked and laughed for about 2 hours straight. It was fabulous! Thanks for coming to lunch with me!!

Little Bits

We had a little martini party out at Danette's on Thursday. Lots of laughter and catching up. Reconnecting. Planning a girls' trip. We met again on Monday for sushi. (I had beef teriyaki... I don't hate the raw fish, just the seaweed) I am so thankful for these two girls and for their insight and friendship.

Now tomorrow I am having lunch with Cindy. Yay!

Still Trying to Channel...

The Christmas Spirit.

One time on Hollywood Boulevard I saw a young girl with a baby. It was a crisp winter morning & her hair shone dark purple in the sun. She was panhandling outside the Holiday Inn & the door clerk came out & told her to be on her way & I wondered if anyone would recognize the Christ child if they happened to meet. I remember thinking it's not like there are any published pictures & purple seemed like a good color for a Madonna so I gave her a dollar just in case.

-Brian Andreas

Happy Birthday, Jesus

Happy Birthday, Jesus. I can't even begin to list all the reasons I'm glad you were born. I do want to tell you that I love you. I want to know you more and better. I want to see the world through your eyes and love people the way you love them. Thanks so much for loving me, for being there for me, for loving and caring for those I love (and even for the ones I don't, boy, do I need to grow up some more). I don't really have a gift for you personally (sorry, you're one of those "you have everything" kind of guys), but the Word says that when I do something for "the least of these," I'm doing it for you, so I'll be looking for opportunities to reach out to the needy, the broken, the heartsick. I am so glad you are here.
Love, Nancy

Ugh!!

Yesterday before I went to dinner at Danette's house, I forced my family to sit for a Christmas Card picture. We took about a dozen, and this one is the best of the bunch. Not great, but decent. I uploaded them to Costco and today I went to pick them up and they looked horrible. Ever since I got my new expensive lense Costco can't develop a single picture for me. They come out all wonky and dark. So, I returned the cards and went online for a new set from scrapbookpictures.com. They cost twice as much and who knows when they will arrive, but if they look decent it will be worth it. Look for your Christmas cards somewhere around New Year's.

Love, Nancy

Granny's Christmas Party

Every year my little granny puts on a HUGE Christmas party. She rents the hall at the Trinity County Fairgrounds and people come from all over to get together and catch up. Yesterday my mom and I drove over to Hayfork for it. My cousin Andy and his girlfriend Danielle have a sweet new baby named Cherilynn.
My cousin Logan (who was Santa) and his little daughter Josie.

My sweet Granny
Me and my Mama and Granny

I took loads of pictures and couldn't possibly upload them all here since Blogger is slow to upload and I am too lazy to resize them all. But I hope you find time to get together with people you haven't seen in a while. That's what Christmas is all about.

Love, Nancy

My Angel Tree

One of my favorite holiday traditions is putting up my angel tree. It's a solitary activity. The tree goes up in a flash, and that always puts me in a good mood. Then I carefully unwrap each ornament. Most of them have a story or association with someone that fills my heart up.

This angel was brought to me by my sweet friend Gina from Italy. I also have a pink glass ornament my Aunt Roni gave me that she bought when Uncle Blue was stationed in Germany almost 40 years ago. I have two clothespin angels with my babies handprints printed on muslin as wings. There is a cross given to me by my dear friend Marie when I was becoming a Christian. The raffia angel I bought on our trip to Kauaii is also a favorite. There is just something about that tree that touches me and helps me to remember what Christmas is all about.
Rejoice! Love, Nancy

Post a Day

Because it's the first day of Winter Break and th days of vacation seem to be stretched out before me like an endless row of unopened packages. My optimistic self is planning on posting every day until the end of 2010! Today I give you my fabulous theme wrap for this year. All of packages are wrapped in white paper, red paper with snowflakes or red, green and white striped paper with poinsettias on top. Aren't they pretty? I just love looking at them under the tree.

(Now let's just hope Pepper doesn't eat any of them like he did last year!)

Merry Christmas! Love, Nancy

Finding the Christmas Spirit...

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? [Christmas] came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more? Dr. Suess

Just about....

I was just about to start complaining about all the things I should be doing, but am ignoring while I have a little relaxation/computer time.... when I realized my 2 faithful blog readers are probably sick of listening to me complain, so here are some of the hilarious pictures from our Thanksgivng football game. Taken by Liz, photographer extraordinaire!
Mark's team: Mark, Saeng, Cheryl, Livi, Charles, Dennis


John's team: John, Dave, Me, Alyssa, Kyla, Madi


Mark's team started out by handing off the ball to expert runner, Charles. He got a first down. Yay Charles!


When it was our turn with the ball, we tried running Kyla. She ran straight into a crowd screaming the whole way!


John punting. I was sure he was going to kick by arm.


When Mason arrived he had to switch from team to team according to who was behind


Our cheering section


The football gang. I hope it becomes a family tradition.

Happy Thanksgiving

I had this great idea to make a Thanksgiving mini album with pictures of all my food and the guests and all of our festivities. And (I know you will be so horribly shocked by this...) I got all carried away and forgot to take pictures!! I made the Portabella Mushroom Bisque and the Cranberry Chutney early, so at least I have pictures of those. I'm off to go try to arrange the leftovers to get a couple of shots!

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Love, Nancy

October Ending

The last week of October felt like a freight train tunneling right through me. And now it's over and my hair is tousled and my heart is racing and I'm trying to get a grip on what just happened. I hardly caught my breath last month.

Mark had a birthday which we celebrated quietly here at home.

I went on a camping trip for 3 days in the rain with my 5th graders. I spent most of my time cuddled up in the lodge while they all tramped around in the rain. Then when they got back I consoled their tired, wet selves.... Kept an eye on them for mischief.... Tried to help them contain their energy after eating giant brownies... Encouraged them to get full nights of sleep.... And laughed and sang with them and parented and shushed them.


Then it was John's surprise 40th birthday.... With a gorgeous cake and punch filled with worms.

Then Halloween with trick or treaters at our door from 5:00 to 9:00. We actually gave out all of our candy this year. There were lots of cute kids, but more often than not, there were adults at our door with more than one bag and the speech that their "babies were asleep in the car" or adults accompanying kids with their own bags or even a few adults with the audacity to trick or treat kidless. I didn't mind, just found it odd.

Now it's November and I am trying to make a last grasp at sanity and organization before the holidays hit. But I woke up with every centimeter of my body aching yesterday so I am trying to rest and recover for another busy week, but there is laundry to do and work waiting in Fieldbrook, and shopping and cooking and the ever present cleaning. Thank God for the extra hour. Wish me luck!!

Super Swamped

Well, the camping trip with the 5th grade them immediately into Halloween weekend totally got me. I am officially exhausted and it's only 8:48 on Tuesday. Have some great pictures to post and stories to share, but it will have to wait. I am doing the dishes and going to bed early. Night all!

What's going on?

1. I went to a workshop today.
2. I got to sleep in until 7:30 and leave the house at 8:50 (as opposed to waking up at 6:00 and leaving the house at 7:15). It was nice.

3. I got my new lens in the mail Monday, and this is the only picture I've taken all week.
4. I have to go to the workshop again tomorrow.
5. I am sad Michael C. from Project Runway was eliminated. I can relate to his feelings of inadequacy and trying to prove to his parents he is good enough to be a designer. I am praying he will realize he is talented and deserving just the way he is... with out winning a contest.
6. I haven't been working out at all lately, and this is affecting my energy level, weight, quality of life, etc. Have to get back at it.
7. Stayed at work until 9 p.m. last night getting ready for my sub. That is just too crazy late to be at work.
8. Had pancakes for dinner tonight.
9. Just started reading 1,000 Days in Tuscany by Marlena de Blasi. Love it. Thanks Cindy for the Borders gift card. :-)
10. Am ready for bed at 7:53. See what I mean about energy level?

Savory Sundays

Tomorrow we are having a potluck at work, and I signed up for dessert. So I thought I'd better make double cobblers... one for home, one for school.

I use lots of different types of fruit for this. My favorite is blackberry. I pick the berries out at my parent's house. It's also great with peaches, apples, apples and pears, or like this:

Apple Berry Cobbler


Peel and slice the apples. Sprinkle some sugar and lemon juice on them. Throw some berries in too.

For the topping: Put 1 cup oatmeal, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl and mix up. Sprinkle over fruit. Melt a cube of butter in the microwave. Pour the butter over the top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for as long as it takes the fruit to cook through. Apples-45 minutes or so, Berries or peaches- 30 minutes or so.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Thankful Thursdays (It's back!)

1. Thankful my daughter came home from school today with a couple of friends.
2. Thankful the mashed potatoes for dinner came out well.
3. So very thankful that occasionally adult people I like to talk to come into my classroom and we have pleasant conversation.
4. Thankful I have a new ipod and dock for my classroom. Now if only I could get the hang of that teeny tiny touch screen.
5. Extra thankful for my sweet mama (who celebrated her birthday yesterday) and for her sobriety and newfound joy in life. Looking forward to a dinner out with family in honor of her.
6. Thankful for changing the math portion of my day which is now going MUCH better thanks to "stations"
7. Thankful I get to hang out with Cindy on Saturday at the Fire and Light Sale. I am planning to bring my chair and a Diet Mtn. Dew for the wait in line.

Happy Thankful Thursday! Love, Nancy

Savory Sundays

Tonight I tried a new recipe, and it was yuuuuuummmmmmmy and easy!

Chicken Sausage Kabobs

Marinade: 2/3 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup dry sherry, 3Tbsp. sugar, 3Tbsp. oil. Mix together and pour over cubed chicken. Marinate 30 minutes.

Alternate chicken on skewers with chunk pineapple, sausage slices (I used aidell's chicken apple), and green onions (about 1-2 inches long)

Broil for 10-12 minutes basting with leftover marinade often and turning once.

That's it! I had planned to have ours with rice, but forgot to buy rice, so we had thin spaghetti with butter and soy sauce on it for our base.

ENJOY! Love, Nancy

Weekend

I want to document my life more. I want to reflect and remember. But right now I am still in survival mode. I am struggling to make my curriculum the best it can be. I am getting to know the 25 souls I spend my days with... their quirks, their fears, their likes and dislikes, their strengths, their wit. At 9 and 10 they are harder nuts to crack than the 5 year olds. They are less likely to share, more reticent. More private. But they want to be known. They love answering the "Question of the day" each day. They try really hard to make each other laugh. They blush when they speak out in front of everyone. But their eyes sparkle and they grin. They make me grin.
I finally received the money that unemployment owed me from August. And I got to spend all of it on whatever my heart desired. So today I bought a 50 mm fixed aperture lens to go with my new camera. And, and ipod. I was the last member of the family around here without one, and I really wanted my own. Mostly for my classroom. I want to put fun music on it so when someone says something really brilliant I can puch a button and James Brown will yell out, "I feel good! nanananananana! You knew that I would now! nananananana!" It will be great! So now I'm off to upload my music. Yay!

Fearless

This weekend I went with my sweet friend, Danette to her church's annual women's retreat. The food was delicious. The company was great. I met some lovely, funny, kind and supportive ladies. I got to reconnect with a couple of people I hadn't seen in a long time. I got to spend time with Danette, who is always so kind and encouraging. And the program was just exactly what I needed. It was all about knowing and believing that we are each created specifically by God with a purpose. That He loves me just as I am. That He gave me special gifts to make a difference in this world. That I do not need to fear any of the trials of this life because He will always be there.
This doesn't mean that things will always be wonderful. It is not a recipe for happiness. But it does give me hope. And with hope I can keep on living this messy life of mine. Doing my best each day to be the best me I can be. And not beat myself up too badly when I fall short.

Thankful Thursdays

Well, I almost made it on a Thursday! It's 12:01 as I type this, so just barely in to Friday.

I am so thankful for my understanding family. For them putting up with me working insane hours and being cranky and doing less than my fair share around the house the last few weeks.

I am also thankful for the beginning of routine and focus and lots of laughter and fun and learning in Room 6. The stress is lessening and I am starting to love it.

I am blessed by my sweet friend, Danette, who is taking me to a women's retreat this weekend. Almost 3 whole days of not thinking about curriculum and classroom management (not in the behavior sense, their behavior is good... just in the teaching of 2 separate grade levels in the same 7 hours you would get for one!) and especially for not grading papers over the weekend! And not having to cook and being treated to terrific food! And hearing Betty Chinn speak!

I will try to post back on Sunday... wishing you weekend full of blessings!

Love, Nancy

Moments of wonderful

So many difficult moments these last few weeks. Moments when my eyes filled up with tears and my heart squeezed closed in my chest and seemed to stay that way. When my breath was frozen and stuck in my throat. When the air seemed to push in around me and my brain felt trapped in a vice. But then between these difficult moments there were moments filled with wonder.
Like when my niece called me on the phone to let me know her science fair project was due in February so could she please borrow my incubator in January to hatch some chicks.

Or when a girl in my class brought me a beautiful bouquet of red tulips (my favorite)

Or getting to meet this adorable boy
And take pictures of his adorable selfAnd watching his sweet sister kiss him and dance around him and call him "Co co".
When I put up the vocabulary chart and students kept laughing and trying to work the words "predict" and "confirm" and "overseas" into our everyday classroom conversation. Or when I said "It's time to stop writing." And one of my hardest, least-interested-in-academics 4th graders moaned because he didn't want to stop. When one of my new colleagues said, "Thank you for staying here" after I was offered a position back in Ferndale (which I declined). Or almost everyday when Mark muted the political conversation on the TV he loves so much to listen to me talk about my day. It has been a hard couple of weeks. But each day there is joy and wonder and cause for celebration. And I plan to revel in the wonder of all of them.

My fantasy life

So I always had fantasies of getting a fabulous digital camera and wowing my thousands of blog readers with my spectacular photograpy skills combined with wit and humor. Not suprisingly, that isn't happening. First of all, I still don't know how to use my camera very well (even though I love it). Secondly, whenever I think of uploading pictures my brain gets all wiggly and agitated because I have to shrink the pictures so much to get them to load. I have 2 hilarious shots of the 17 individual letters the Employment Development Department sent me informing me that I would not be paid for unemployment the week I was unavailable for work while in Mexico. That cost our state $7.48 in postage alone. No wonder our budget is in such bad shape! I also have numerous wonderful shots of my cute nieces from Labor Day weekend. And the clincher is I have pictures of adorable, new, precious Colton Price Taylor at the age of exactly 14 days. But I guess you'll all just have to wait because I have no desire to attach my camera and fiddle with them. I am off to play Bejewled Blitz!
Happy Weekend! Love, Nancy :-)

Thankful Thursdays

(A day late)

I am so thankful that Colton Price has joined us! He was born Thursday, August 26 at 11:47 a.m., and weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds 7 ounces. I can't wait to meet him!!

Hello!!

So sorry I have been absent from my blogging duties, but I actually have a good reason this time. First, I was in Cabo relaxing and enjoying my carefree summer. Then, I came home and had 3 job interviews, an appointment and a seminar at the Employment Development Department in 4 days time. I am happy to say I turned down the first job, was chosen at the 2nd and got to cancel the 3rd! (Unfortunately I did have to attend the boring job seminar) But I only had 4 days to prepare and begin teaching. So, I have now completed my 3rd day as a 4-5 grade teacher and things are going well. Every day I feel a little better, a little more sure of what to do and how to do it. I will try to get back here and keep you up to date. It's going to be a wonderful year!
Love, Nancy

Thankful Thursdays

As an adult child of 2 alcoholics (and a first born to boot) I am a dyed in the wool people pleaser. I have always been good at being what the people around me needed me to be. I usually hold my tongue when people say things that appall me. I have been reluctant to trust people enough to let them see the "real" me. But now that I am 42 (today... I am 42!), I am finally able to embrace the flawed, unfinished, limited being that is me. God created me. He shaped my body, my mind, my sense of humor. He did it with love. He did it with purpose. He does not care if I always say the right thing or attain the next goal. I am finally aware of the fact that my real life is actually in this (in every!)very real, imperfect, beautiful moment. There is no point of focusing on that next glittering goal, because first of all, there aren’t any more to aim for, and second of all, that takes my attention away from the true riches, which are right in front of me. And it is in this dwelling, this quiet, this actually opening to the notion that life’s real meaning is right here, that I’ve finally realized that just by being me I am enough. And for that I am forever thankful.

Thankful Thursdays

So I decided to start a new routine of posting things I am thankful for once a week... and what better day for that than Thursdays. (I had to go for the alliteration.) So here are some things from this week:

1. I am thankful for the opportunity to interview for a job and the hope of teaching in my own classroom for the 2010-2011 school year.

2. I am thankful for this puppy who loves me unconditionally and cuddles with me and seeks me out and always wags his tail and looks adoringly at me.


3. I am thankful that the girl wanted money and did all the vacuuming and dusting and bathroom cleaning this week so I didn't have to.

4. I am thankful that the boy now has a job and even though he comes home really tired and sore from all the work seems more focused and happy than before.

5. I am thankful that I have a husband who takes such good care of me and our children. This week he was commited to finding a reasonable car for the boy to buy, and he spent many hours on the internet looking and bidding until yesterday he finally succeeded. (More to come on that later...)

6. I am thankful for my new camera... which I haven't been using as much as I thought I would, but I love nonetheless.

7. I am thankful for our county library where I get numerous books at absolutely no cost. I had to stop reading Vanity Fair on page 452 (about half way) to read Eat, Pray, Love which I only had 6 days to read since there is a long list of people waiting for it after me.

8. I am thankful that I finally took the time to put some family snapshots in this photo holder that has been present in 4 different living rooms in 4 different houses in the last 6 years... just empty. Now it has a few pictures in it. Hopefully more to come soon.

So here goes....

Wish for your deepest desires, she said & when I asked if they'd come true, she said they always do, so you might as well get them out in the open while you're still young enough to correct any serious mistakes. -Brian Andreas

Wednesday at 1:20 I have a interview for a 1st grade teaching job. So there it is... my deepest desire right out in the open.

Almost here....

Well, my camera has left Seacaucus NJ and is now in Vernon CA.... I can't wait to meet it!

Waiting

So here's a picture of my new beloved camera. It is somewhere in transport on its way to me... although I can't track it yet via the internet, so it can't be too close. I am such an impatient person when it comes to waiting for things I want. I don't want to wait 7-10 business days for my camera to come. I want to hold it in my hands today. I want to take pictures of my breakfast and my crazy dog and my kids. I want to read the manual and figure out how to do things I couldn't do with my old camera. I want to take pictures and post them here 30 seconds later. I also don't want to wait for someone to call me and offer me an interview or a job... I want to unpack my supplies in a new classroom today and start dreaming about my new students and my new classroom set up and my new curriculum. I am impatient. I am tired of waiting.

Today

1. I got up later than I wanted to. (9:09 instead of 8:00)
2. I got suckered into watching "Make room for Multiples"
3. I didn't have time for a "real" workout, so I only walked the dog... although I did go up the BIG hill
4. I had to drop off Kyla at a friend's which made me even later...

BUT...

5. I picked up Madi and Livi at 11:40
6. We went to McDonald's for lunch
7. They played in the Playplace
8. We ate our burgers and fries (McDonald's has the best fries)
9. They played in the Playplace some more
10. They got fudge sundaes
11. We drove to the library
12. They each got their own library card
13. They picked out 2 books each (both wanted these fairy stories)
14. They checked out their own books
15. We went to the Summer Reading activities
16. Livi got picked to put letters on the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree
17. Madi got to be a "wild thing"
18. They made art (lots of art)
19. We went back to the children's room and did a couple of puzzles
20. They played outside on the boat thingy
21. We went home at 3:00

It was a great day....
Notes to self for next time: bring camera and a book to keep myself busy

Available

I am always available for babysitting. Last night I got to hang out with this handsome 3 year old. Check out those muscles!! We read lots of books. He is becoming one of those boys who LOVES nonfiction. He had this dinosaur book with oodles of text (which I very aptly paraphrased) and a field guide type of book about reptiles and amphibians. He wanted to read every page. I tried to convince him to choose his favorites, but he said, "My mommy reads every page." So I did my best. In the middle of the text he would interrupt me and say, "Is it a mean snake?" That was his main concern. I kept trying to figure out what "mean" meant. Does it mean poisonous? Does it mean carnivorous? He just wanted to know if it was mean. I am glad I have all this extra time and energy to spend with my nieces and nephews. What blessings.

Group Therapy

The day after we went to Yosemite, Mark went golfing and these 2 girls came and picked me up to go wine tasting in Murphys. It was a great day. We caught up on old news and new news. We laughed and talked and drank wine and laughed some more. We had lunch then were back at it... Closing down the wineries. After that we went to the condo and sat on the deck. When Mark came home we were still chatting. When Mark wanted me to leave and go with him to drive the girls to the movies we were not finished chatting. So he had to go alone and we went and had a very late dinner with martinis and more laughing. We closed down the restaurant. It was a great day. It was the kind of day that fills my heart up with hope. I stored the memory of this day away to savor when I am sad about my career, when I am lonely and have no one to talk to, when I am stressed about stupid stuff. I am so thankful for these kinds of days and for these 2 girls.

Yosemite

We had such a beautiful time at Yosemite on our little vacation. The weather was gorgeous. The sights were spectacular. The company was pleasant. I just loved it. It would be wonderful to have the time/resources to spend days there just savoring and exploring the goodness. We saw a deer super close up and birds and squirrels galore.

On our way into the park we stopped at a Vista Point where a fire had obviously been through at some past time. The girls posed for a shot for me anyway.

Not too far down the road we stopped at another little viewpoint with a pretty little waterfall by a bridge.

The girls can always use some time outside the car to check their text messages.

Once we were in the valley. We parked and wandered around until we found somewhere to eat. We had burgers and fries. I went over to the store and waited in an extremely long line to buy bug repellent and bottles of water for the hiking ahead. The girls loved the squirrels and birds and kept sneaking food to them until I pointed out the $5000 fine for feeding the animals signs. Then we were off to Yosemite Falls.

It was roaring and lovely from our long winter.
I convinced the girls to stand in the spray for a picture... despite the hair-related consequnces that we would all suffer from.
>
We walked out by a different path and enjoyed this view.
Then after much confusion, we found a bus and hopped on to go and hike to the footbridge at Vernal Falls.

This is the view of Vernal Falls from the footbridge. We were planning on only going this far then retreating to do the short hike to Mirror Lake, but Mark is always up for a challenge and insisted that we climb to the top of the falls.

We stopped about half way up the climb from the footbridge to the top of Vernal Falls and I asked some unsuspecting hikers to please take our picture. You can see they obliged me.
Before long, we were hiking up stone steps that were taller than my shins. It was 'strenuous' as the brochure promised. But, I took a second and looked up, and the scene just took my breath away. It was truly spectacular.Not long after this, we got to the most difficult part. The spray from the falls was pelting us like an ice cold shower, the rock was wet and slippery, and the climb was steeper than ever. Neither of the girls complained too much about her sopping wet hair, but they were both displeased by soggy shoes and socks. We rested for a while and munched on some fruit before descending.

After hiking to the top of the falls, we decided Mirror Lake would have to wait until our next trip. So we hopped back on the bus and made our way back to the car. As we were driving out of the valley we were treated to the warmest evening light shining on the sheer granite cliffs.

I just adore lupine. I had to get a close up of this gorgeous creation as our parting shot. I would love to go back again.