Homeward Bound

The vision of the camper rolling down the dirt road, dust kicking up behind it, wind carrying that dust out over the alfalfa fields, as the cabin grows smaller and smaller is rather bitter sweet. With great care, we carefully tuck away our time from Utah this summer into the very essence of what makes us who we are as a family and who we are as individuals, draw the line and move forward into our next chapter.

On the road again, we have time to quietly process and absorb all our wonderful experiences, lessons learned and time shared together as this Utah summer comes to a close. There are endless memories to remember and cherish, yes that is true. And yet, really, it all just blends into who we are, impacts how we step forward into a new day and what we dream about for our future.

Benjamin woke this morning, in our bed, and looked up and out the window. I watched him quietly from the other room and then heard him say, “Aw YES!” He sat up, looked at me and smiled. I smiled in return and asked him why he had said that. He looked at me and said, with a smile, “because it is morning time”. May we all begin our days with such joy!

How do I sum up all that we have learned, the great love & joy we have felt, the adventures, the laughing, the fun, the freedom-the mystery of it all? So many wonderful things have been planted. Now we will happily watch them grow as those tiny seeds, so gently planted, begin to grow within who we are and become a part of how we see the world and ourselves.

At our school, each day begins with a morning verse~something beautiful spoken aloud to create an energy present within the classroom as well as each child-something deeper than what rides along the surface, a knock on the door that leads to that deeper, richer part of each of us. I will conclude with the morning verse used in the upper grades because it seems to capture the gifts Utah brings into our hearts, the shifting of our spirits and the renewed joy within our hearts.

I look out into the world

Wherein there shines the Sun

Where glimmer all the stars,

Where lie the silent stones

The plants that live and grow

The beasts that feel and move

Where man in soul creates

A dwelling for the spirit.

I look inward to the soul

That lives within my being

The spirit of God is weaving

In sunlight and in soul-life

In heights of world without

In depths of soul within.

Spirit of God to thee

I turn myself in seeking

That strength and grace and skill

For learning and for work

May live and grow in me.

~Rudolf Steiner

And so we begin another chapter....

Finally to the top

Well, after all the weeks of attempting to get ALL THE WAY to the top (and over) the mountain that exists behind the cabin, the snow had finally all melted and we made it. Once you get to the top, it opens up and there are several other trails you can take. There is actually “traffic” up there!

Anyway, we all cheered as we ventured into new territory. Although we had been there last year, no one really remembered so it was new to us.

There was an old trail, no longer able to 4 wheel along, that went straight up. The water had washed out most of the dirt, but also created little pools of water all the way up on little plateaus. I think those were man made so the entire little trail did not wash away. The kids and I decided that some hiking would be fun as we ventured up and decided to hike to the top.

The kids, always running ahead-Hunter leading, ran ahead and made it to the first little pool along the trail. Hunter called out that there was a turtle shell in it. So we all moved faster. A turtle shell on the top of a 10-11,000' mountain. What kind of crazy turtle was this?

Upon our arrival, it did look like a turtle shell, however, I knew what it really was right away. I just did not have the heart to say so. Why be the one to point out reality when it will show itself and the disappointment it may bring soon enough anyway? Let Life teach that lesson, not me!

Katie poked at it and it sank and would resurface after some time. She would poke it again, it would sink, we would wait for the bubbles in this mud puddle to subside and thus went the process.

We left that pond as we heard Hunter yell from above that there was another mud puddle. So we all ran to that pool, again....looking for another turtle shell. We talked of this turtle the entire time we hiked. What kind was it, how did it get there and Katie became determined to get it out of the mud puddle, announcing that she would get to keep it if she did. It could go in her treasure box, but it would belong solely to her as she was planning on doing all the work it would take to get it out. She was the bravest as she fished around in the unknown mysterious murky water.

I went and gathered wild flowers to press and dry. The vision of them still resonates with me. It's windy at the top and the long grasses and flowers bent in honor of that refreshing mountain wind. We could see for miles and miles, the world just laid out in front of us for us to gaze upon and appreciate its glory and amazement.

I stood for a long time, flowers in hand, letting the wing blow through me, over me, taking with it any remorse, regret, sadness that I carried and then allowed the freshness of that mountain wind to fill me with something greater, something pure & simple, something fulfilling to my spirit, something worth carrying back down the mountain with me when our time there came to an end.

The kids were still at the turtle muck puddle. Katie insisted that I hold her hand so she could lean in as far as she could over the muck to move the “shell” with a stick. It's hard to find sticks on top of a mountain because we were far past the tree line. So, even this was a success. I mentioned that some things should just be left as they are. Some things are better to just be left alone, maybe where they want to be. This “turtle” probably had quite the journey to this place so I said I would leave it. Katie insisted and I almost had to say, “Get ready for disappointment,” but said that to myself instead. It was bound to unfold the way it did.

She pulled out one mashed up, clear plastic bottle that looked quite similar to the turtle shell she was fishing out. I mentioned that. She was convinced otherwise. Later, thinking about this afternoon, I realize that is how we all are in a way~ that although something is so plain to see, right there in front of us, we chose to see what we want to see, and more importantly, what we need to see and what we want to believe at the time.

With bravery and determination, Katie fished out the “turtle” shell. It was merely a flattened clear plastic bottle, quite similar to the other one. Her shoulders sank with disappointment and I heard her sigh and say as she shook her head, looking at it, “Sorry guys. I think it was that bottle all along. I am so disappointed.” Hunter came to her, stood by her, put his arm around her waist, his shoulders equally as slumped. To my surprise he said, “I am sorry Katie.”

I had to ask him later why he thought to say sorry at that time. He told me that is was him who had first said it was a turtle shell. It was as if he knew he had started the hope in Katie about that bottle being something more, although that was what he believed it to be as well. It was heart warming for me to see in him such warmth and compassion come from him and direct it towards Katie. He stood by her, offering an apology, because he could see & essentially feel her disappointment. I was really proud to be his mom on top of that mountain that day.

We headed down, with our original plan to find more mud and collect aluminum cans on the way down. It was quiet as we descended and I got to thinking about that “turtle shell” and the valuable lessons we had just learned up there in the pass. We never did make it to the top and that did not really matter to us anymore because the lessons we learned were more important than our final destination.

What did we learn standing at the edge of that muck puddle hoping so desperately to retrieve the shell? So many things.

As a child, Hunter learned compassion and how to apply in when the time is right. He learned togetherness and shared responsibility. He learned that sometimes all you can offer is a kind word and soft touch and that regardless of how small that may seem at the time, it can be grand.

I think Katie's lesson was even deeper. I think she learned that despite how you might hope for something to be something it is not, it just is going to be what it is and sometimes, with that, comes great disappointment. How often have we all been misled into believing something will be what we so hope for and it just is not what we expected and hoped for it to be. Rather it is just another disappointment or some sort of let down. How have we learned to weather those disappointments?

Katie learned that life goes on. Maybe her shoulders were hung down, heavy with disappointment, and that “ah shucks” kind of feeling held her for awhile, but as we descended, she found other things to smile about. She was able to leave that disappointment there by the muck puddle, draw a line in the sand and step forward, still hopeful for her future, what awaits her in this Life.

Benjamin, although busy doing his own thing, was witness to all this love & compassion, learning about family, how to treat people, when to “show up” when someone needs you.

As a parent, I learned it is much easier to allow your children to learn these lessons on the edge of a muck puddle on top of a mountain than it will be to learn later on when we are all older, more set in our ways and less likely to handle disappointment with the grace of a child versus the sunken spirit of an adult. I realized that she was going to have this heavy-hearted feeling after her discovery despite my best efforts to redirect her and yet, had to respect the lesson enough to step away and let her work through it, being present for her, and yet creating a distance so she could come to realize how to move through such feelings & experiences relying on her own self confidence. And she lived to tell about it.

If I were to move all the road blocks out of the way for my kids, I believe that in the long run, I have done them a great disservice by never allowing them to learn how to move them themselves in the safety of their own childhood, wrapped in the love of our family. Even more, is that they would never have the opportunity to learn to BELIEVE in their ability to do so which, in my opinion, is ultimately more important that actually overcoming. I think our family is safe place to fall, a soft spot in a world that can seem hard at times.

Scott and I sure do love those kids ~ how can ya not, ya know? And yet, as an adult, it is such a balancing act to know what to allow to penetrate and when to step in and assist in helping them move through things on their own.

How to you create opportunities to experience pride in oneself or a sense of strength within your spirit during childhood?

That stupid clear plastic bottle, although at first glance was simply garage, actually delivered something quite special to all of us.

So, down the mountain we went, each kid singing their own song, Katie reciting her 1^st grade play, 'Rose Red & Snow White”, Hunter making up his own songs about loving Mother Earth and little Benjamin mostly just having a conversation with himself.

We stopped and played in the mud. The kids talked of “mud school”, created a new path for the running water, diverting it over the edge. Funny how redirecting water can be empowering for them. For some reason, it is like they can actually see their impact.

I rested. I laid back on the 4 wheeler and watched the clouds go by. The day before we had been at the rodeo where the kids had gorged themselves on cotton candy. Not really, I bought one bag for them all to share, and that was plenty. Obviously. And now, here the clouds were, slowly drifting by, pulling apart just like that cotton candy. The wind, more gentle now, rustled the leaves of the surrounding trees, creating a vision and sound of natural static. I am not sure how long I stayed watching, experiencing, living into it- but a peacefulness & joy wrapped itself around me and settled deep into my heart. I felt happy. I felt satisfied. Completely content with everything.

We got back late, after dinner time, and Scott was beginning to worry. He was thinking about an intervention, asking himself if he should start up the mountain to find us.

But we arrived, singing, a bit sun burned, filthy and full of joy!

Modern day Cowboy

The Rodeo~July 14th

Well, we had waited all year for this! Last year, we had to leave before this infamous rodeo, even a bull flies all the way from Hawaii to compete, there was even a Japanese television show recording it. If you remember, Ben fell and smashed his sweet little face on a wooden table damaging his front tooth and we had to head home because we needed to get to the dentist before he went off on his own vacation.

Anyway, it is funny how you have a plan, think it will be one way and it just ends up to be not what you thought! Scott had been baling all day on an extremely bumpy field, he came home hungry & tired which, in turn, made him rather grouchy. Understandable. The kids were already tired from a hard day of play outside, they probably should have had showers but instead we had time to only wipe the dirt off their faces. Both Katie and Hunter were very clingy to Scott as we had not seen him much during this hay season.

You know when you just want to eat, or relax, or whatever and there is a little person essentially petting you, love bumping their head against you, sticking their finger in your ear, laying their head down into your lap, pinching and poking for your attention, all that? Yes, that was dinner at the restaurant. But after we all ate, we were all feeling much better and headed to the parade.

The parade was great. Katie brought a little satchel my mom had made her last year to collect things in so she could collect candy and all the things she was planning to win at the fair. After the parade, we headed over to the carnival where the rodeo was taking place.

OK..since when did the games at a darn carnival get so expensive! To throw three darts at the balloons cost $5!!!!!!!!!!! That is not even a buck a dart. What a rip off! So we spent $5 at the dart game, left with a bear for Ben. Spent another $5 at the fishing game where Hunter won a plastic trumpet which is already broken. We wasted $10 at this total rip off basketball game and lost another $10 at the break a bottle game. So, then the guy at that game felt bad for Katie so he gave her a little platypus. That thing cost us $10!! So you do the math....and that all happened in about 15 minutes!

The rodeo started with the bucking broncos. That is something crazy to watch happen right in front of you! I have somewhat become a cowboy history buff.

The first organized rodeo was in 1869 and took place in CO. When the cowboys would have a day off, they would get together with other cowboys from different ranches to compete to see who was the better cowboy. They did pretty much exactly what they do now. That is what too much testosterone and free time will get you!

I find this bit of history actually quite fascinating. The old western movies have somewhat created this false image of what a cowboy looked and acted like. In all actuality, they did not carry two six shooters on each hip. In general, a cowboy did not carry a gun at all and if he did, it was really only used to put a steer out of its misery. Even carrying a rifle was rare because of how you had to carry it caused bad sores on the horse where it rested.

Cowboys did run into trouble with Indians & individual land owners, but not exactly like it has been represented. This mostly was during the cattle drives. During the late 1800's, Texas longhorns were only selling for about a nickle in Texas but if you could get them North, you could get as much as $40 so many ranchers hired cowboys to take their steer north. Oklahoma was Indian Territory and crossing that state sometimes caused trouble, but mostly the Indians charged the cowboys to pass and they did so without trouble. A cowboy was actually more likely to die by either getting struck by lightening or to be trampled in a stampede than anything else. Apparently, if you were tramped in a stampede, there was really nothing left to even bury.

For whatever reason, the long horn steer the cowboys drove North were skittish. A bolt of lightening, the hoot of an owl, even just the strike of a match could freak them out so much a stampede would begin. Each night the cowboys would circle and circle the herd until they were in a tight circle and would lay down to sleep. Then the 1-2 cowboys would circle the herd all night, singing to them, whistling or softly talking to them to keep them calm. A sound of a human voice was soothing to them. If a stampede would somehow get started, all the sleeping cowboys would jump up, get on their horses, and ride with the stampede.

Now, imagine how dark the open range would be and they just rode blind. And fast! Sometimes they would even have to fire three shots right next to the leaders ear to get them to stop.

Once things all settled down, the day would begin like it always did. Bright and early with pancakes, biscuits and bacon and strong black coffee. The herd, although all mixed together during the night, would find their regular traveling place and follow in line, usually the same bull steers leading with the females and calves to follow. The same slow ones always in the rear. That is where the bandana comes in handy. Being at the back of the line was a dusty place to be. It was not unusual for those men to have an inch of dust on them by the end of the day.

During the season before the cattle would go to slaughter, they were out on the open range, grazing. Some stuck together, some traveled miles away, some alone. When the time came, several ranchers got together and organized the “round up”. The cowboys would create about a 20 mile circle, sort of like a web, and bring in the cattle. They had horses they used in the morning, ones they used in the afternoon, and even another that was best at night. It has been said that a ranchers would never actually directly fire a cowboy, but rather take his best and favorite horse away indicating that “your time is done here”.

Although a cowboy rarely owned his own horse, it usually belonged to the ranchers, he almost always owned his own saddle. Some days were long and a comfortable and well made saddle was essential. When a cowboy sold his saddle, it meant he was done, the days of him being a cowboy were over. Thus the phrase, “Don't sell your saddle.”

Another essential “tool” of a cowboy was his hat. Did you know you could tell where a cowboy was from based on what his hat looked like. Hunter was just saying he did not like the brim of his new hat because it was too wide and not shaped like the traditional cowboy hat that you picture. I told him it was a desert cowboy hat and that was why he needed the wide brim tp protect his face from the sun. And that was true! Hats were used to keep the sun out, the rain off your face, wave over a reluctant fire-there were all kinds of uses.

The winter of 1886-87 was the worst ever remembered in human history. This winter changed the entire course of cattle ranching. That year is known as “The Big Die Out” because so many cattle froze and starved to death. The ranchers/cowboys were unable to round up their cattle before the winter storms hit and it was that way for the rest of the winter season. The cattle starved to death and froze. It was a great loss and things were forever changed after that.

Ranchers started to realize that they would need to have a plan B when winter came. That plan was to farm the prairie and grow feed for the cattle to be prepared for when the ground froze again. And fence in the cattle. The year following that particular winter was the beginning of the end for what was known as the “open range”. Ranchers started to fence in their cattle as well as the many people who moved west to farm the land for 5 years until the government signed it over to them to own it personally. And so it began...”this land is my land”.

So, sadly enough, cowboys became fence menders & farm workers, staying more stationary than ever before. And then the life of a cowboy just kind of faded away and ceased to exist all together. Those years of roaming the open range and living the life of a cowboy really all only happened within about 30 years.

The rodeo brought all that back to life though. Of course, this time....with cotton candy. There was excitement as the men held on for dear life as they were bucked of horses and bulls. The women came out and barrel raced, wow, to see that horse gallop that last stretch in the arena was a glimpse of what a wild horse must have looked like so long ago, running through the open range, neck outstretched, mane extended out from speed.

Ben cried and screamed as these couple of dare devils came in and did some jumps on their dirt bikes. I mean really screamed. Really, the kids could hardly watch! He buried his face into me and cried and screamed and cried. I smiled at the cowboys sitting around us and shrugged.

Katie began to look a little green-started shifting in her seat as though something was coming up. Suddenly she turns to me, says she is not feeling well and going to throw up. UP and OUT we go, running to the bathroom, her hand over her mouth, lucky enough to reach an open stall and then the puking came. But she made it and she felt much better after!

We waited a year for this evening at the rodeo and it WAS worth it!

The moon rose over an open field and its light shone down on the dirt road back up to the cabin. It had been a long and exciting day. The rodeo.

Salt Creek & the Salvage Yard~July 12th

All the melting snow comes down and flows into Salt Creek, supplying the entire city of Nephi with its water. Up closer to the mountains, however, it is just one of our favorite places to play. The water is freezing cold but that does not stop any one of the kids from taking their shoes off and stepping right in. They spent their time throwing rocks and fishing with their newly found fishing poles which were long sticks that has been smoothed down by the continual rushing water. Who knows how far away they came from. We walked up the rapids a bit to find it was rushing too fast for us to cross or play near so we had to turn back. Plus, more rain was rolling in. Our time there was cut a bit short, but great fun none the less. We deserved a good of play today too because we had a busy bit of running around.

Just some errands to do, but they took us all the way north about 30 minutes to Spanish Fork. We have been driving around with our recyclables in the back of the truck for about a week looking for a place to recycle them at. At first we thought we could take them into Fountain Green, but there they only have two bins and they only collect cardboard. Honestly, I am not sure what everyone who lives in these small communities does with their recyclables. Tossing all that in the trash is just unfathomable to me.

Anyway, they had a recycling center there but they only took aluminum cans. No problem. There certainly was quite a lot of beer drinking while we had all our family out. So, we went.

I started sorting the trash in the bed of the truck, the kids are sitting there in the truck and right in front of us, a giant bull dozer type of thing, comes and starts smashing up this car!! I am not kidding the thing was about 30-40 feet from us. I am thinking there is going to be debris flying and kinda freaking out, but the kids were hooting and hollering from inside the truck as though this was the coolest thing they had ever seen! You should have heard Hunter!! Then suddenly, the whole darn car is up in the air and he's heaving it up onto the top of a bunch of other cars. Some guy walks over to me, tells me that if I crush all the cans, we can earn $.05 more per pound. I had already told the kids they could split the money so went and asked them if they wanted to get out and crush them. They would earn more money if they did. They all scramble to get their shoes on, pile outta the truck and start smashing cans in the middle of this salvage yard!

I gotta tell ya though, they were sure excited with thinking about how much they thought they were going to get. After all was said and done, we had two 5 gallon buckets to carry over to the weigh in. A whopping 6 pounds. The total came to $3.60 which they split 3 ways. Katie's comment was that she was surprised because she thought it was going to be more after all that work. But they all sat there and held onto their dollar and change the whole way home anticipating what they will buy at the carnival/rodeo on Thursday.

It took me back to my own childhood – I still am a garbage man's daughter at heart and that is probably why I cannot bring myself to throw out all those plastics. As a kid, crushing cans was my job at home. I can remember lining them all up, with only a slight indent and then crushing them all in a row. I had forgotten this until today at the junk yard. The kids thought this “assembly line” was a great idea.

I am sure we looked like quite the sight, all of us lining up beer cans, then crushing them with most slipping out under our foot, then just stomping on them with both feet as though we were dancing on hot coals right there next to a 40 foot high pile of junk cars and who knows what else!

But the kids cannot wait to go back. They are already planning that if we crush the cans as we go here at the cabin we will have less work when we get to the salvage yard next time. We have our own “dump” here, a hole where we throw our garbage into. Katie is already talking about going there to see if there are any more cans to take! So, if you all happen to see my kids digging through the garbage at the park or when we come to visit you at your house, you will know why! I cannot help it though....it does make me smile!

Nebo Loop

Mount Nebo loop has been closed since winter. There is still too much snow up there to pass over if you can believe it! But even the cattle will welcome you!

Katie & the Hummingbird~July 11th

I had not even shown Katie the picture of Scott and the hummingbird, but the story was so fascinating to her that she went right out there the very next morning and sat patiently. She sat and sat and waited and waited with determination and excitement, with a true hope and belief that soon the hummingbird would land on her finger, just as it had her dad's. And sure enough- it did!! She came in giggling and giddy, saying how THAT was the most wonderful feeling she had ever felt. It tickled, she said and told how she had to do her best not to giggle while it sat perched on her finger. It was absolutely amazing to her.

She was proud, almost honored in a way because the hummingbird did come to her. Hunter and I just do not have the patience for it and even after we have sat for so long waiting, when one finally does come to the feeder, it is as though that is the moment we have to stretch or move in some way. So, hummingbirds have only come to perch on those who are patient enough to wait.

The Kitten Rescue

Scaredy Cat, one of the kittens we got last year and left out here, not only survived, but had kittens just over a week ago. She had seven. We all have enjoyed seeing those tiny little things and it seemed like all was going well BUT THEN....one was missing. We had kept Scaredy in the bathroom at the shop so that when she did have the kittens, she would not want to go and hide them like their instinct tells them to do. Then all the kittens would never been found and just be wild cats and most likely unlikely to stick around and serve their purpose of keeping the mouse population down.

We had the bathroom door open for a while so Scaredy could get out, stretch her legs, but then we noticed that she was moving one of the kittens. She carried it to the corner of the shop, a really terrible place to go, so after she went back for another one, we took the mom and the baby and put them back into their little bathroom space. But the next morning, one kitten was missing. We looked and looked and found nothing.

We decided to go back Friday night and check again and see if by chance we might find the missing kitten. There was a little white kitten just not doing so well. Scaredy had all the kittens on the hard cement floor, too cold of a place for those little ones. So, Katie warmed up the little white one while I created a warmer place with an old snowmobile cover the cats had taken over. Katie went to bed last night with her fingers crossed for that little one, shed a few tears, and we both went to bed hoping for the best.

But Saturday morning, we went down to check on the the kittens and then there were five – the white one, the weak and cold one from the night before, was gone.

Really? Is the mother eating them-where are the kittens disappearing to? Do they do that!?!

So, we decided that an intervention was in need. We brought all the remaining kittens and the mom up to the cabin. We gave Scaredy some warm milk, thinking that if we can get the mom feeling good, the babies will do well too. She lapped up the warm milk leaving a sweet little milk beard, cozied into her soft & warm new spot and we left them listening to the sound of those little kittens nursing.

We will see.

I had to tell Katie, and really myself as well, that life on the farm is what it is. I told her that we can feel good about what we have done and we just have to leave it at that. Life on the farm is tough and you have to be strong to survive and be able to fend for yourself. The kittens that have died just were not going to be strong enough to make it and that is just how it is going to be no matter what we do. It is a hard lesson to learn and even harder to accept and understand, but I think it's a valuable lesson to learn that sometimes, despite what you do, how much you hope and love, some things are just out of your control. I am grateful actually my kids have the chance to learn that lesson now through these kittens.

Another visit to Bear Canyon

The ladies and the kids all went hiking at Bear Canyon. What a beautiful place and no matter how many times we go there, I never tire of its beauty. The mountains, the rushing water, the variety of trees all peacefully growing together creating this peaceful forest.

The kids all did a great job hiking, although towards the end, I did have to carry Ben. My sister carried her little one, Patrick, as well. But all the kids had a great time hiking, singing & making noise (to keep the bears away), playing clapping games, and all sorts of fun. Hunter had gotten a bear bell for his birthday and it came in quite handy!

We hiked in as far as we thought the kids would want to go and just watched them all play in the stream. That was the farthest my little crew had ever gone before. I often have to ask myself what is more important; getting to the marker point that I thought we could get to OR just going as far as the kids enjoy & it being about them enjoying their time in the forest, experiencing a love of nature. After all, who knows what they will remember, what details, what experiences, but I do think they will remember how they felt and if I can do my best to make those experiences wonderful ones, then I hope those will be the memories that are linked to happy moments in nature.

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.

Freedom

“Let them go forth in freedom.”
~Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf Education

I have said it before and I will say it again that I cannot quite put my finger on what makes our time here so special nor can I tell anyone about our time here with the hope of total understanding unless you were to come here for yourself and truly open your heart to it. What makes here so different than at home? There really are all the same things to get done, the kids still bicker at times with one another, Scott and I still may roll our eyes at one another, but what we have here cannot be recreated at home. So I continue to ask myself what is IT.

I have concluded that it is FREEDOM.

Our little Noll family certainly is not too far absorbed into the rat race. Scott and I, personally, do our best to steer clear of it and even when we can feel it imposing on us consciously remind ourselves to NOT go there. So it would obviously make sense that we would firmly protect our kids from the little mini rat race recreated for them. Obviously it looks different for a 5 year old than it does for a 35 year old, but the overall substance is the same, that need to rush forward to the next best thing, never really giving yourself the chance to become fully absorbed into your moments.

We do not overextend our kids in the summer. To us, that is what summer should be all about ~ relaxing, slowing down, finding something to do with yourself, getting bored and seeing what comes from that. Right or wrong, at this point in their lives, we have chosen to hold off on all kinds of things we could be a part of in the summer: camp, classes, sports, etc. What we find comes in exchange of that is a sense of freedom. We have no commitments other than to our stomachs when it tells us we are hungry, to our bodies when we need rest, and to our hearts when we need time to recharge. I sometimes feel quite guilty our children will not have had those kinds of summer experiences in their early years and yet obviously do not feel guilty enough to change anything. There will be time enough to catch up with all that when our kids are older, when they are not as interested in fairy houses, running along side the Rhino, or waking up in the morning and “Mama, look at that beautiful mountain!” be the first thing out of their mouth. I watched Katie skip through the tall grassy field in her mud boots and her pajamas this morning, she did it at her own speed with no one telling her how to do it a different way. It was just her own thing, she was totally present within that moment.

So, we are free from all that summer busyness. I will admit that it is an honor to watch just what comes from them, just what comes through them and what comes out. While their little hands create, their imaginations grow. Einstein argued that knowledge is limited to all we know and understand in the present, while imagination can embrace all there ever will be to know and understand. Accordingly to him, imagination stimulates progress. Great inventions, he said, require an imaginative mind. If all Scott and I do now is encourage them to participate in things already created for them, things geared by adults, activities with rules to follow, too much competition- at what point do we encourage our children to dig deeply into their childhood and discover how they fit into the world, how they matter and who they are and sense themselves becoming through just letting them play?

So, back to FREEDOM.
“Let them go forth in freedom.”
For me that means, keeping quiet, challenging myself to not talk so much & projecting my ideas onto them by pointing out what to look at & what to do and disrupting their play by interjecting, which for a long time I thought I was contributing. Why not allow them to create their own play wholey made up from their own ideas? I aim to lead by example, find joy in the little things, so what if they color out of the lines? Thinking of that in particular, I have to ask myself if it is more important to color within the lines and push for “perfection OR if it's alright just to let them have the experience of coloring. I figure that developmentally, they will color within the lines when they are ready~they are not going to NOT know how to do that what they are 10! What good comes from me nagging about them not being able to right now? I think that example about coloring within the lines can be applied to just about anything.

I believe that when you have the chance to live deeply into your childhood, you have a better chance of growing into who you are suppose to become, who you were meant to be and to discover that greatness within your unique spirit.. These summers in Utah only enhance the beauty found in their childhood.

Fairies

How do you teach your children to love the Earth? How do you teach them that there is a peacefulness that rests there within it that is so wonderful to know? How do you begin to teach your children about goodness, both in people and in the world itself? How can you convince them to believe in something they cannot see? I have often wondered how to tell them. What words do we use for them to know the joys found in Nature and the goodness in the World?

We certainly do not have the answers, but I saw this in our children the other day ~ an understanding, an appreciation, a true love of Mother Earth and happiness brought by it. Summer Solstice is a time for celebration. In many countries, there really is a great celebration, even a maypole dance, bonfires late into the night & a great party. Even the fairies and gnomes and all the rest of their friends come out to play. We know about this well kept secret and spent a lot of time creating the best fairy houses and playgrounds we could think of in hopes they would come bearing special gifts and trinkets for us.

Katie created such a lovely place right there in the crook of the birch trees. Below she lined up sticks, leaning them against the truck and covering them with fresh leaves. She pulled grass to create a soft little place inside. Then she sanded a piece of wood, making the best fairy slide she could. She plucked flower petals and gently laid them along a flattened branch. Then she filled each flower petal with some sort of treat for the fairies, such as minced up dandelions or something of that nature. She created a place for them to sit and eat, even including a baby seat. She positioned a branch shaped like an “L” upside down and hung a smaller branch from it with string creating a little swing. She worked on it for a long time and I could see the anticipation of what was to come, the hope of the fairies, the belief in something greater than herself, something full of goodness and purity that just might reward her for her efforts.

Hunter pulled lots of grass and created a soft bed for the fairies. He used an old railroad tie that had up heaved itself from the ground creating a small tilted opening just big enough for him to get his little hands in there to lay out the grass. He gathered sticks and set them up, leaning them along the timber to create a climbing space for the fairies. He used an old stump for a seat and picked several flowers that he used to create boucey houses for the fairies! He worked hard and I was impressed with the stick-to-it-ness he showed.

Ben and I gathered rocks. We laid them into a circle leaving an opening for the fairies to come and go. We picked numerous little daisies and displayed them on a unique branch missing its bark. The flowers lined the branch creating a lovely walkway. And that was all Ben was interested in. On to the next thing.

We talked all about how hopeful we were, we guessed at what sorts of things the fairies might leave and crossed our fingers.

Later that day, Katie and Hunter began doing something they had never done before: taking care of the trees. They decided they needed to clean up the areas around the fairy houses so their little feet would not get snagged on any of fallen branches. They found a box and began to pick them all up. I noticed and quietly began to participate. They were excited with telling me how and why they were doing this. They were caring for the fairies by caring for the trees. There are several viney type things that wrap themselves around the trees. This obviously makes it hard for the little trees to grow. So, after they were done picking sticks, they ran from tree to tree pulling down the vines yelling to one another, “Over here! Let's rescue this one. Let's save this tree.” They even talked about which trees they could save at home and what gifts they could make for them.

The next morning we awoke to excited voices, jumping on the bed and giant smiles. The fairies had come.! We threw back the covers and all raced outside to see. I loved that they had already snuck outside to check without us first. They were all very patient saying Hunter could show his first, then Ben, and finally Katie. The fairies had sprinkled clear gems with fairy dust embedded inside. There were also numerous little gem type leaves from the Oak and Maple trees. Of course, this was acknowledgment for helping the trees the day before. And gold!! Yes, sprinkled in and around each one of the houses was a trail of gold as though the fairies danced and played the night away leaving golden little footprints behind. We heard, “LOOK! They used the boucey house!” from Hunter. “They ate all the food I left them!” from Katie. And “Isn't this buw-te-ful!” from Ben. Hunter looked up into my eyes with this look of astonishment and said, “Mom, I did not think I believed in fairies yesterday, but today I do. I really really do.”

In the early evening when the excitement had passed and everyone had either chosen to collect their treasures or leave them where they were, I looked out to see Katie sitting next to her fairy house. She sat with such reverence. I could see she was using her oil pastels & sketch book (something she picked out at the art store after she had 2 not so loose teeth pulled before we left). There she sat wanting to capture this creation in her book forever, this memory of joy, this visit from the fairies.

How many more years will we be blessed with this magic? Who knows, so we drink it in as much as we can until we too are full of wonder and imagination. It really was like magic to watch their imaginations at work. But more than that, to me, it was about believing in the goodness in the world~that although you may not always actually see it, that hardly means that it does not exist-just like the fairies. They allowed their imaginations to transport a plain old back yard full of tall grass, dirt and weeds into a magical land where the fairies wanted to come and play. Maybe the way in which we believe in those fairies changes as we grow. Right now, the magic of the universe takes the shape of a fairy. What remains as we grow and change over time and the vast distance our imaginations once covered does not seem to be able to stretch so far anymore?

I have to believe that what remains is an appreciation of nature and the miracles presents within it. The very simple notion that a seed just knows what to do, is that a miracle? Or that each snowflake is different, each tree and flower carrying its own unique qualities. That snow remains on Mount Nebo despite that we stand and sweat looking at it. Or as we picnicked at Bear Canyon, gazing at the rapids, that the water is ever changing, but still looking the same somehow and its movement has this capability to just carry our troubles away and we walk away feeling refreshed and revived. So many everyday, ordinary things...

I have to believe that what remains is a truth-that overall, the world is good and it is our duty while we visit to continue to create goodness in all that we do and rewards follow our goodness. So, I think Scott and I have decided that there really are no words to use to be able to tell our children these truths, but rather just let them play and realize it for themselves. And hopefully the “fairies” will always reward the goodness we aim to send forth.

Hunter turns 5!!!

What a wonderful week we have all had.

I have not seen Scott this dirty in a very long time. Last night, he was not home until after 9pm. He rushed off before dinner to help Farmer Scott with the baler that broke down. He was FULL of dirt, dust and hay when he returned. But they did manage to finish the field and start on another this morning. Scott's excited to be learning the in's and out's of the farm, be working side by side with Farmer Scott and just becoming more a part of what goes on here. There have been some great changes for the farm.

The kids and I drove up log canyon road again, this time thinking for sure we would make it to the top. Again, we ran into too much snow and had to turn back. Of course where there is snow, there is water, where there is water, there is mud. So the three kids spent the better part of the afternoon playing in the mud. And, low and behold, even Benny got himself muddy!

The water had almost seemed as though it were going to stop running, something rather sad to think about because we have gotten into the habit of checking to see how much is flowing just about every time we pass it. One day this past week, it had just about stopped running under the culvert, just a little trickle. The week before it had been gushing. But as the days heat up, the snow continues to melt and the water keeps running. So, lucky for us, that there is still mud to play in...at least for the time being.

We went into town on Wednesday to swim. As I said, the temperature is heating up and it has been into the 90's this week. It is rather tolerable though because there is not a bit of humidity and THAT makes all the difference. It is just dry and I can see it in the kids' lips as they become cracked and I spend my time reminding and reminding them to get something on their lips. I looked down at my hands the other day and they were just so dry they looked like I had aged about 30 years. My mother's hands, I thought, and it made me miss "home". Funny, how "home" really is where the heart is...what you carry within your heart.

Laundry....I must say that if we just do not wash it by hand, the whole process takes about a half a day. Ugh! And we always arrive back home, crabby and just needing to expand our bodies and spirits into the wide space around us at the cabin. It will somehow become 2-3 in the afternoon and all we have accomplished is laundry at the laundry mat.

That was yesterday. Luckily, Scott took Hunter with him to work and they got to work on setting posts for the new hay shed going up; not an easy task at all for one man, a machine and a small little helper. So, Ben and Katie headed out with me to find a new laundry mat. The one in the nearest town, Nephi, has about 4 machines working and they tear up our clothes, never dry them completely (unless I just keep dropping in the quarters) and I just can't support a place that has all the same broken machines as they had last year. Thought we could combine our trip with a stop at the nearest Walmart, about 30 minutes from here.

Well, that town, although a college town, apparently has no laundry mat, so we kept going to the next town, found one, great machines, all open, hooray, the coin machine only take $1 bills, back into the truck, to the gas station, "we're thirsty", buy waters, ask for change in singles, not sure if they have enough....what?, beg and plead, get the singles, back into the truck, get the quarters, Ben drops the quarters, fill machine, fill another, and another, and another and another and another, sit outside and wait, Walmart too far to back track, get wash into dryer, drop in more quarters, "we're hungry", get all clothes in the dryer, back into truck, find place to eat, eat, leave, fold laundry, leave, head to Walmart, spent 1.5 hours gathering what we need, back into truck, head home, call Scott, no answer, worry Scott is under a post with a broken leg, call again, no answer, head to ranch house, no one there, stop at shop, find Scott and a very dirty Hunter, drop off Katie, take Ben back to cabin and unpack groceries.....by this time, it is time to start dinner!!! I really did have to remind myself SEVERAL TIMES to just slow it down, who cares, no rush, so what if the lady slicing the sandwich meat is soooo slooooow I am about ready to rip my hair out, relax, let it go, breath.

But TODAY ~ a very special day indeed. Hunter was up at the crack of dawn, his day, his birthday. We let him open one present right away in the morning. He picked the biggest one. It was a rifle, a handgun in a holster and a red cowboy bandanna. He was in cowboy heaven. All morning we had to call him "sheriff". Ben was his deputy and Hunter actually did a really great job sharing his new toys with Ben even though it was hard to do. The kids and I spent the morning cleaning out the bottom of the fort we built last year. Katie and I pulled all the weeds, then the boys and I collected two sleds full of rocks to create the walkway. Hunter always gets a treasure map for his birthday and Katie and I had already decided that the "treasure" would be inside the fort. We ate Hunter's favorite lunch, Miss Link's quesadilla's.
Then the kids filled up the small plastic pool we tried to use for sledding last year. It works much better for water than for sledding and they all got naked, danced around the hot driveway, jumping from foot to foot doing their best to not get their feet too hot, and then getting back into the pool. This was my chance to complete the treasure map.

Ben never got dressed after that, so as the kids discovered the map and set out in search of clues, Benny followed along wearing only his flip flops...he even crawled right into the fort, sat down, and got his butt full of sap, but he was just so happy to be part of this great day. We had a wonderful dinner together, Hunter's request: "pig meat", watermelon, and red jello. After we sang and ate cake, we set out for some Rhino driving around the field. Of course, Hunter got to steer. I have this imagine still in my mind of his shaggy blond hair blowing in the wind, wearing his new red bandanna, sitting there on Scott's lap, smiling and steering, laughing as he takes a hard right and heads right out into the field~ no boundaries, nothing in the way for him, just a sense of freedom that he seeks out everyday and there it was for the taking, so right there in front of all of us.

It is hard to believe that Hunter is already 5. I cannot honestly say that I think the time has gone too fast, there were certainly nights in the very beginning that could not have gone fast enough. Even Scott said tonight that it is hard to believe the little boy he is becoming and we both wondered what he will remember about his youth.

Hunter has always challenged me, even from the very beginning he had his own ideas about even how he was going to enter this world!! But regardless of all that, the challenges I face with him, the patience I so desperately seek sometimes, all really just fade away and at the end of the day, he does truly push me to be a better parent, a better person. There is just something so special about him. His eyes light up and joy fills his face when he knows he gets to spend the day with Scott, he gallops down the dirt road pretending to be riding his wild mustang through the dessert, he marches up the hill, alone, singing "I'm a tall, tall tree" to keep the mountain lions away, he kisses me so long at bedtime that we end up giggling and then have to start again.

As his mother, I do face challenges in how to help him grow and change and become the best man he can be, one filled with passion for the things he loves, a genuine and honest kind of man with a big heart, someone who offers kindness and understanding during the times when they are most needed ~ someone like Scott. I have so many wishes for him, but more than anything, I want him to know LOVE, feel it, experience it, truly know it and be able to openly give and receive it to not only people, but to all things. Scott and I sat out on the deck after all the kids had fallen fast asleep after a wonderful day for a birthday and we just held Hunter close in our hearts. He is "home" with us, in us.

Father's Day

It has rained all day today and it has finally stopped. The misty clouds that remain slowly roll over the hills and engulf the canyon. The sun peeks through and sprinkles light over the mountains and hills. I marvel at nature's beauty and just take the time to watch beauty happen before my eyes. It's quiet, only the sounds of birds, the water rushing down from the mountains and the stillness that surrounds us.

We spent Saturday doing many cabin chores. Ben and I moved a log pile closer to the cabin in hopes for another winter visit. We enjoyed thinking about how ready we would be for those cold, snowy nights. Katie could hardly wait to wash the laundry. And she completed quite a bit, dipping and scrubbing by hand. After she was through, she looked to me, let out a big sigh of satisfaction and asked me if I knew what her favorite place in the whole world was. I guessed several guesses for fun, but then, her face filled with joy and she responded that is was here, right here. Later that afternoon, Hunter said he wanted to stay here forever. He never wants to go home, just wants to live here forever.

I do not know exactly what happens to us while we are here. Maybe it is the peacefulness, the quiet, the beauty, I do not know, but to hear our kids express how they love it here, we must do something right while we visit. Time is just irrelevant. Everyday tasks become group efforts and there is a shared feeling of success and accomplishment when through. All our little “jobs”, silly as they may seem on a larger scale, become opportunities for our children to feel what it feels like to complete something, to know and understand accomplishment, be able to define it in each of their own ways, then bring it into their sense of knowing and help them to define who they become. Watching this happen, seeing and knowing this truth is like magic. I hear pride in their voices when Scott gets back and they all go running up to him and tell him what they did. I see a look of satisfaction on their faces that speaks volumes as they look over a job well done. And I feel their sense of ownership as I quietly watch from afar.

Saturday afternoon we 4 wheeled up Water Hollow Road and checked the ponds. Lots of water!! We traveled farther up to The Cotton Woods, an area where water creates a small pond and Katie and Hunter spent a good part of their time playing in the mud. Katie discovered she loves mud and playing in it is her new favorite thing. She made mud socks~up to her knees. She made mud gloves~up to her elbows and sang all about how she loves mud. Hunter just took his pants right off and stepped in and all we could hear was “squelsh, squersh” and on it went. Benny was not too sure of the mud. We watched and laughed as he tried to go in over and over, but would get one foot in and you could just see it on his face like, “uh....no, I don't think so” and he would step back out.

As we rode up to the top pond, we saw a buck, several deer and two female elks. We also saw a Great Horned Owl earlier in the day just down from the cabin. It just sat in the tree watching us watching it and finally took flight and it was quite a sight. We got caught in the rain, but none of us cared. It just made for more fun!

The rain came in the night and it rained for the better part of the day. We went to town to pick up more supplies, some needed (like water) and some just for fun (like ice cream and coffee). On our way up the driveway, we stopped at the wash to stand in the drizzle and gaze in astonishment at all the water flowing. We could actually hear the rocks being pushed by the water it was flowing so rapidly. Katie and I ran up the rapids to check on a large pool of water. We had played there the day of the rattlesnake encounter. We noticed that the water had once flowed down in two areas, but one of them had gotten all damned up so we spent the afternoon digging a deeper channel for it to go. She and I held hands and hopped over and through the rushing water. Suddenly she looked to me and said, “I am so glad I have a mom like you.” Truly ~ my heart filled with such joy and love, it was a wave that washed over me and I felt myself falling into that moment as it engrained itself into my memory forever – she and I together in the rain. To have her not only feel that way but to be able to articulate that to me was really a special moment for me that I will cherish always.

After we get the kids to bed, there is about 2 hours of light left. Scott and I grab the camera and sit on the deck and wait for the hummingbirds to come to the feeder. Really...when is there another time to just sit and watch and wait. Scott really gets on a mission to get the best photo-op he can. I wish I had a picture of him taking the picture. They come zooming right past us as though they are just as curious about us as we are of them.

Father's Day was a wonderful day. Benny looked at Scott with a giant smile and said, “You are not my fada”. Then we had to explain that “fada” and dad are the same. “Oooooh, I know,” he says. To tuck the kids in and listen to how they wrap up the day, to see a smile take over their face in excitement for tomorrow gives us both hope for the new day and all of its possibilities.

Playing All Day

To listen to them create their own games. To watch their kindness towards one another if one has fallen down into the dirt and rocks & to offer a helping hand. To witness them helping one another work towards a common goal, something that really has no importance to me, but to them, is the whole purpose of that moment. To know that we have no where else to be. Nothing else to “get done” other than what lies before us, the now, this moment. To be a part of the richness present within their childhood~ those are the gifts of today.

I heard Hunter say to Ben “Oh, you sit right here little guy” and outstretch a hand to him to help him climb up the 4 wheeler as they pretended to drive. I heard Hunter ask politely what he could do to help while Katie was digging out a deeper canal for the mountain water to run. I watched Katie rescue Ben after he slipped in the snow, holding him safely, comforting him and helping get the snow out of his boot (yes, there still is a ton of it about 200 feet higher than where we are).

Everyone has adjusted already despite the short amount of time we have been here. The cats are hunting lizards. The kids are enjoying getting back into Nature and finding things to do in it. Katie is running through the tall grass chasing the dog. The dog is running too but I think she is more likely feeling like she is herding Katie than being chased. Ben has spent the better part of the afternoon playing outside in just his underwear. That is a good look for him....mud boots and a t-shirt hanging down over most of his underwear but not quite. Today, we were miles from home in the middle of nowhere and, of course, Hunter has to go to the bathroom ~ #2. So he adjusted just fine to that sort of business. Actually, he had been asking the entire day before if he could go out in nature. I have to draw the line somewhere, ya know? But, there we were, and that was going to be the only solution. Funny how some kids are just born into being a part of nature and adjusting well to that. I tell ya what, Hunter would rather go in the forest than at Target!!

We 4 wheeled up Log Canyon road this afternoon, just me and three kids on the 4 wheeler. We just had to stop as soon as we saw snow we could play in. We must have been there for over an hour; Just stopped in the middle of the trail, skiing down the snow, throwing snowballs, and then stepping one foot over, kicking off our boots and splashing in the tiny little stream created from that snow melting. I just faded away and the three of them all just played. It occurred to me what a gift it is to create NOTHING to do, to have no where to go, to just be able to remain silent and never have to let their play end. I just stood by, thinking, appreciating all the beauty around me and just stayed quiet. They just played and played and it was as though that was all there was, nothing else, except that moment and the “work” they had created for themselves. I felt so blessed to have this day ~ to just be in my own thoughts while they were all so content just to play in the mountain waters and dirt.

When we were here in February, I remember hearing that we were in an avalanche warning. We did not really know what exactly that meant or what we should do about that. So, whatever, just filed that away. But today as we were heading up the dirt road behind that cabin, it was clear the destruction an avalanche can have. Trees were snapped in half like they were toothpicks. Then in other places it was merely just the tip of an evergreen or birch tree that lay across the road. We were in awe with the power, obviously no longer present, but was once there. Eventually, we had to turn back around because there was too much snow and not enough road; just a size of about the width of the 4 wheeler and maybe 12 inches and then the cliff. We were smart. We turned around. As soon as I got the 4 wheeler turned around, Ben shouted, “Mama! You saved the day!” It's certainly nice to be someone's hero!

Katie brought with her a very special “little one”, Sparkle. We stopped to pick up a branch Katie insisted was so beautiful we had to take it back to the cabin and show dad. Suddenly, she screams out, “MOM! Sparkle is missing. I dropped Sparkle.” And then hysterical crying.

Oh boy! Please, please, please let us not have lost her, such a special gift from Granny Evergreen, who brought Sparkle to Katie last year in Kindergarten with Mrs. Cassidy. Oh, not Sparkle, the only special little doll she will most likely cherish and save forever. Not this one. Not today.

So, back up the snowy mountain track we went. Katie crying hysterically, Hunter, Ben & I scanning the dirt road. I just looked up into the canyon, out into the beautiful blue sky and just said a little prayer, just tossed out that energy into the universe, “please”. And before we knew it Katie is yelling out that she sees her, face down in the dirt. Sparkle....no more adventures for you. But, really it has been a good thing. Nothing like the fear of something being lost and gone forever to reignite love and affection towards it~ I think that must apply to just about everything from a little doll to a person. As soon as we got home, she started making a little clay soup bowl, plate, cup and saucer & a spoon and fork. After all, she was hungry after that near escape. I could practically hear Katie sighing in relief the better part of the afternoon.

Scott has been gone most of the day tending to things at the farm. It seems that as soon as we arrive, there is much to take care of, wrap up or initiate. So, although it is bedtime for the kid's, he is still out and about. The machine that cuts the hay is being delivered tonight, the pump is not working, all kinds of good stuff. So, I am just sitting here watching the shadows slowly move across the hills and mountains, listening to the boys playing with their bow & arrow while Katie is still feeding Sparkle.

The Making of Rattlesnake Road

Warning....if you are planning to visit this summer~ you might want to skip this blog.

It rained tonight. The clouds rolled over the canyon behind us bringing a wonderful heavy but short rain. When I tucked Katie in for bed she looked at me and said, "Mom, I am so glad it rained tonight ~ good for the crops." That a girl, Katie!

We all woke up bright and early and set out to walk up the wash, usually a trail of rocks cut out from water that flows down from the mountain. NEVER in all the years we have been here have we ever seen it running, but this year, the water is running like crazy! The dog, of course followed as she usually does, and the two cats actually came too. It looked like a scene from The Incredible Journey, all of those animals sticking together walking down the gravel road setting out for adventure.

As we set out, Katie actually found another shed antler. Unbelievable! That girl has got an eye for nature and she is just so in tune with things. Read on and you will get the full meaning of what I am saying.

Anyway, the kids and I had a great time splashing and throwing rocks. We sang as we hiked, Hunter mostly, singing a song about rocks, Katie making ones up as we went along and Ben just joining in at the last moment. Although it sounds very sweet, it actually most likely stems from "Safety School" - what I have termed our little morning lessons about being smart in Nature. Today's little golden rules were 1) Always stick with a buddy 2) Hike loud. This way you will scare off anything lurking around, like a mountain lion or rattlesnake and 3) Call "HELP" when you need it but at no other times.

The sun was high in the sky and although we had started out with it being rather cloudy, the sun was shining on us now so we headed back to the cabin for lunch. We had lunch at Jesse's Restaurant, the name which Katie created long ago at our little play kitchen at home. I was the cook, Katie was my daughter, Hunter was a cowboy who lived in the mountains hunting all day, and Ben was his horse. Katie and I put on our aprons and served them lunch and Hunter was so into playing, telling us stories of his adventures, his time spent traveling through the mountains and of all the animals he shot, he even offered to shoot a buck for us and let us just have the meat for our restaurant. Of course, Jesse and I were pleased to hear this! :)

Scott and Katie went up to check on generator at the pump house on the 4 wheeler before dinner. There is a little road up to the pump house. We all had been on it earlier today, playing tag, collecting rocks, just running around.

The story I heard about the trip up to the pump house goes something like this...

Katie leans into Scott telling him she sees a snake.

Scott is trying to see it, looking all around and still cannot see what Katie is talking about. In his head, he is thinking it is going to be a blow snake, whatever THAT is, but has seen those up there before. (thanks for letting the rest of us know that!) So, he puts the 4 wheeler in reverse and can see this snake slithering away. Really the only thing he can see of it IS THE RATTLE!!!!

SO when he saw it was a rattlesnake, they stopped and watching it for a second. In Scott's brain, he is thinking to himself that he has a rather short window here and needs to decide what he is going to do about this. So he decides it is better if he tries to kill it than let it slither off into the woods. He tells Katie to stay on the 4 wheeler and picks up two big rocks. He whips it at the snake and it lands hard onto its back and he must have sort of stunned it. Then he threw the second rock and he thinks he actually hit it on the head. After that, he just keeps whipping rocks at it. He said that he could see its fangs and it was just sitting there with its mouth wide open striking at a rock in front of it!!!! Yikes!

Katie is about 20 yards back calling out if she can come and see what is going on. Scott is telling her to stay back. He's just nailing the snake with rocks and can see it is still moving but not really in any direction. So he tells Katie to find a stick and bring it to him. She does. He jabbed it with the stick several times. Then lifts it out onto the road and pins its head down using the stick and gets out his knife and cuts its head off!!!!

I am at home with the boys making dinner. I hear the 4 wheeler come pulling up and Hunter comes tearing into the house yelling how dad needs me for something. I tell him I am making dinner. It's important he says. I step out onto the deck and see them all standing there, Scott saying that he has good news and bad news. I am thinking there was an accident, Katie fell off the back of the 4 wheeler. Then he says, "Well, we had our first encounter with a rattlesnake but we killed it." Then he steps aside and I can see the snake laying all the front of the 4 wheeler STILL MOVING!!! Scott still smiles and laughs when he thinks about what my face looked like. Can I just say I did not know he already cut its head off!? All I hear is rattlesnake and all I see it a snake still moving!!

So, of course, there was the story of this which includes a lot of hovering around the snake, some freaking out on my part as the thing is still moving and then the next step. How to skin the snake, keeping the rattle attached. It was one of the creepiest things I have seen in a long time....Scott is pulling the skin back off from where its head once was and the other end half is still moving. I just had to walk away.

So now that road up to the pump house is called Rattlesnake Road. Ya all can come by and see the snake head on a stick in the tree.

We researched how to preserve it and right now it's soaking in a special little anti-freeze cocktail.

Someone up there is looking out for us. That was EXACTLY the same place Katie and I had veered off for a little hike, where the kids and I were this afternoon, a road we are on all the time! Certainly makes us think about all the adventures we DO NOT want to have. It amazes me that all this time we have been talking about snakes, Katie did not even know it was poisonous until they were leaving. I guess that just goes to show how, as adults, you just think your kids are "getting it" and then maybe they are really not.

I told Scott tonight I was nervous about running in the early morning because that is when I think the mountain lions are out. Ya know, been out scavenging all night and now are headed back to their den. He laughed and told me that the chances of that were "so slim". My comment was, "Ya right, just like the chances of seeing a rattlesnake."

He really did not have much to say about that.

I think it might be time for a little scotch.

PS>Scott has a great video of some of this we will have to see if we can upload. Stay tuned...

Packing Up & Heading West

It seemed as though we had been getting ready to go to Utah for so long. I think we must have started our own little family count down about 25 days ago or so. Each morning the kids would run over to the numbers eager to take another one down. And then, finally, the day was here!

Each time we go, it seems we pack less and less. I find myself asking, " What do we really need?" Our time here is always about each other, nature, peace & quiet and just really slowing things down. So, really, what do we need~not what are all the extra things we think we should bring, but what do we really need? With that being said, packing up still seemed to take longer than I wanted. But off we went, the two of us, three kids, 2 cats and a dog full of anticipation.

We pulled out of the drive-way and we were all giddy with excitement. Hunter announced that this year he was not going to ask when we would be to Utah as much as last year. He actually did a pretty good job. And when he did ask, our answer was "in two days".

We got to the middle of Iowa the first night and just needed to be done. For the most part, Friday was an ordinary day; up early, Scott worked most of it, some other craziness thrown in there, so we were tired and decided not to push it.

We woke up the next morning, had breakfast but before we got to driving the cat started puking. Nothing like holding the cat's head over the litter box to start off your morning with an entire day of driving. I guess she was fine after that but we were certainly tempted to leave her in the Walmart parking lot for someone who had a much shorter drive than us!

The kids and I gathered around the table to start on a few projects while Scott drove. I noticed Hunter not quite acting himself, starting to lay his head down on the table, looked rather flushed....yes, you know where I am going with this. And then, all the color in his face was gone and I asked him if he felt like he was going to be sick and you know Hunter, he said nothing, but then just started puking all over himself. I did not even know what to do, try and catch it all in his shirt, have him do it on the wood floor, see if we could make it the toilet without leaving a fruit snack trail behind, hold HIS head over the litter box. Well, needless to say, we DID need to pull over. We gave him some motion sickness stuff and in no time, he was back to himself.

The cat not so much. She puked AGAIN the next morning. Luckily, it was on the floor mat but cannot say that Scott's pair of flip flops left on the mat were very lucky. They were deserted somewhere around Rawlings, Wyoming.

We stopped at a Pioneer Museum as we were traveling through Wyoming. It's called the Archway. It is approximately where the Mormon, California & Oregon trails all met. It is also 1,733 from Boston as well as from San Fransisco. Interesting. We seemed so far from Boston.

We went on a tour and learned all about what life was like if you dared to travel west in those days. Before the railroad was connected (which, by the way, took 6 years to do) the only way people could get out west was to simply walk. Many were not wealthy enough to afford a wagon and numerous families just took a hand cart. A hand cart was like a mini-wagon with two wheels that you just pulled. Imagine pulling your meager belongings into the unknown in search of a better life! Each person was allowed to take about 17 pounds. Everyone had to walk. If you had young ones, that you would have to carry, you simply could not go. One account was that while traveling, a herd of buffalo came, crossing their path, they waited 2 hours for it to pass. He estimated that there were 2 million of them! At one point, the Pony Express could travel 2000 miles in 10 days!

People who could afford wagons initially packed up all kinds of things~organs, fancy furniture, books~only to later leave them along the trail. It became known as the "Prairie library" because so many had left their books, which, at one point, were too important to leave behind, but later to realize they were worthless out on the trail. What good would they do to help save your life? So, in so many cases, by the time you did actually get to where you were going, if you were so lucky, you essential had nothing. You just started living that dream with nothing but the dream itself and the hope that the life you will now make would be better than the one you left.

Later as we continued to drive through Wyoming, I just could not help myself looking at the landscape and thinking about all those people. How spoiled we are to have had someone carve out a highway for us, how easy & worry free. Here, in a place where you do not see a tree for miles and miles, all these people just set out to cross this land vulnerable to the elements. It is just so vast! And there in the distance lurk these snow capped mountains which you will need to somehow get around. Or over. In one case, the men on a wagon train actually dug through instead of going around and that was actually faster!!

To never lose hope and be so determined to keep keepin' on, to hold onto whatever dreams you believed would come true "out west" and just continue on despite death, disease and extreme hardship truly amazes me. I just cannot think of anything comparable today to what that must have been like. Such a driving force.

As we drove out, I think Scott and I both pondered why we love it here so much. How can it feel so different than life at home. I am not sure if either of us came to any real conclusion about that, but do know that there is something about being here- together, some days only seeing and hearing one another- that fills us with a joy we have not experienced elsewhere. This, to us, is a place to become truly grounded in what we value most, to just slow down, to make the time to really look & see each other and what's around. Katie , Hunter & Ben wake up each day believing the world is at their feet, that anything is possible. And as the older, sometimes jaded adults, we cannot help but get on board with that. And so we all wake up feeling that way. It must just be something about the west~ that anything is possible.

We pulled in this afternoon and are unpacked and settled in. Katie already found a shed antler ~ something I have been looking for for years and she just came upon it, right in front of her, of course, not looking for it at all. But isn't that the way it goes? When you look too hard for something, it just may never come to you. And think of what you miss looking at in the meantime.