Family Time

We have had a lot of people visiting this last week. My dad, Jen and Ezell-their foster son- arrived first. Then Scott's parents, my sister and her family, Scott brother, Greg and his wife Vanessa, and Scott's sister's family as well. It has been a busy past few days, but also a lot of fun. The guy's spend their time working on the shed (quite the task seeing as it is about 30 feet high). The rest of us find our own adventures.

On Sunday, we DID finally make it to the top of Log Canyon road. Once we arrived, however, we could not continue because there STILL was snow up there blocking the road to continue farther along. Where we ended was wonderful, it was actually the same place last year where we saw the mountain lion tracks. The kids and I were all on the same 4wheeler. It works for us and I was just thinking about how great it is that we all fit. There will be years when we will no longer all fit and I know I will always say what fond memories I have of the days when the kids and I could all fit onto one.

The kids played in the snow. Ben mostly stood and blew into the coyote call over and over, but he truly enjoyed that and I figured what better place to be so loud...at the top. Hunter had found two sticks for himself that were the perfect size. He used them as ski poles and “skiied”. Katie just went up and up and up and up. I followed her up to where she had climbed and from there ~ the view was breathtaking. I truly could have just sat, breathing in the mountain air, listening to the wind rustle the trees, feeling the cold of the snow under my boots, but the warmth from the sun on my shoulders.

Our Katie....words cannot begin to encompass her free spirit. She climbed through all that snow wearing her mudd boots and a pink floral dress. The contrast between her bright & shining smile, looking so alive againt the white snow is a vision I will cherish within my heart for many days to come. She is so at ease with her world, how she fits, who she is and she climbed that mountain with a kind of excitement and hope. She clawed her way past me up to the top of where the snow ended and she turned, looked down at me and the look on her face was as though she was “home” ~ where her heart is.

We began our way back down, we were the last to follow. The rest of the group had gone ahead. Hunter chatted the entire way down saying how he had no idea we were going to be able to get to the top today and how great it was that we did. When we set out he was not really looking forward to it. I think the attitude was one of, “Not this again.” and it is rather bumpy and the edge is rather steep and it can be a bit scarey. But on our way down after chatting all about how amazed he was we made it, he said, “Mom! This is a great day! Actuallys, this is the greatest day ever!” I told him to use his big sky mountain voice, so there we all were coming down the mountain with Hunter yelling out how this was the greatest day EVERRRRRRR! Katie made up songs the rest of the way, creating her own verses, like “The Noll's went over the mountain. The Noll's went over the mountain. The Noll's went over the mountain – to see what they could see. And all that they could see. And all that they could see -was a dead gross deer leg, was a dead gross deer leg, was a dead gross dead leg – was all that they could see.” We stopped and played at the first sight of snow on our way up which was where the avalanche had come through and apparently, that deer was in the wrong place at the wrong time and all that was left was his leg. Funny, that was what she thought to sing about!!

We all gathered and set off a few fire works in the driveway tonight. They were rather small but the kids loved them none the less. Ben was initially frightened of the sparklers and could not even bring himself to hold onto an unlit one. He finally was so tired and so upset I just took him in. After we came in and started getting ready for bed he turned to me, wiped the tears from his eyes and said, “Mom, I am not afraid anymore. See. I am okay now. I want to do a sparkler.” So, we went back out and he did. It was a wonderful process to see. He began afraid but ultimately overcame that fear on his own terms – without much help from us. I was proud of him. It was not about the sparkler, but rather something greater, something that emerged within him, brought forth courage and in the end, joy.