It's Summer....and Pouring Down Rain.

We are eight days into our summer vacation from school. One whole week was quite warm and on Sam's birthday I had the sprinkler going just to give the kids something to cool off with. Now, into the the second week, it's not just raining outside, but it's raining cats and dogs. The kids are at their dad's, it's late evening, and the sound of the downpour all together make for the perfect recipe of creative juices flowing strongly enough to entice me to pick up my writing again.

Looking back on my blog, I realize that Thanksgiving was my last post! What happened, was life. Between mothering and teaching and the blurry line that exists between the two, the desire to put my thoughts into words lost out to the desire to put my thoughts to rest. The truth is teaching young students takes a LOT out of me creatively and when I got home on a school day, my brain needed to go to sleep. This is why the kids and I live for summertime!

I realize my life is changing rapidly and I am trying to not only figure out how to deal with the changes but to relish them as well. One big change is my oldest, Samuel, has graduated from Eighth Grade at St. Mary's and as I try to figure out where his best option for high school is, I struggle with the idea of,  "What if I make the wrong choice for him?"

On the other end of the spectrum, Cecelia is seven years old now and doesn't need me to help her go to the bathroom in the early morning hours while we are camping anymore. This may seem like a strange thing to some, but it was an eye-opening moment for me when, in the cold morning air, before anyone else was awake, she announced to me that she was going to go to the bathroom. Now, we were tent camping at my sister and brother-in-laws property and the only facilities was the "tent toilet" hole in the ground. I asked if she needed me to go with her (secretly hoping I didn't have to crawl out of my warm sleeping bag) and she said, "No." With that, she was unzipping the tent, zipped it back up after herself, and was gone.

In my half conscience state of morning grogginess, so many past camping trips flashed before my eyes. All the times, of her sleeping with me, waking me up to go to the bathroom not only at the crack of dawn, but all hours of the night. The nights of nursing her to sleep and ever so gently lying her down so I could sneak back to the campfire. The nights of lying her down in our tent and worrying whether or not I would hear her if she woke up. The pictures of her sleeping cuddled up next to her cousin or her sister. The night of her getting sick all over me, all over the bed, all over the trailer. Those days are in the past as she gets more and more independant every day.

I smiled to myself as I heard her zip the tent up behind her. How easy my life was now! I miss my babies, but I want to freeze them in the age they are right now.

After I got up that day we were camping, as we stood around the morning fire to warm ourselves, I mentioned to Cecelia how proud I was of her for being able to take care of herself. That was when I found that she didn't make it to the toilet tent. She thought the tent shed used for sheltering tools to clear the land was the bathroom and popped a squat in there....without toilet paper.  Her older cousin ended up having to burry her waste.

So, yes, my kids are growing up fast, but to my satisfaction they still need my guidance and I hope to always lead them in the right direction...whatever that may be.

My favorite thing is to see my children snuggled together.

Hiking then....

a little later....

Hiking now!

and now with the boys....I'm the one lagging behind.

Adventures in Wonderland: Part One, Fifth Post

The goal: get my legs, lungs and heart strong enough to carry me 93 miles of rugged, up-and-down trail with a 30-40 lb. pack on my back.

 

To be honest, I was in the worst shape of my life, but the thought of that never put a damper on my resolve to fulfill this dream. I was already packing an additional (pre-loaded and unwanted) 20 pounds, so putting a heavy pack on my back wasn't a huge priority in the beginning. I started out carrying a 15 pound Camelbak loaded with only water for my training hikes.

 

At first, my training involved one hike a week, usually to Mt. Peak (Pinnacle Peak) which is a steep 2.4 mile round trip jaunt that usually took about 30 minutes to summit. The trip out to Enumclaw, where the inactive volcanic cone is located in the midst of farm land, took me 40 minutes, one way, but the drive was worth it and usually very enjoyable, especially with the Celtic band Gaelic Storm blaring through my van's speakers (yes, I'm a single mom of five, drive a van and listen to very loud Irish music...how cool am I?)

 

Having Tuesday and Thursdays off from teaching, I made use of those days to train. My grandmother, Nana, offered to watch Cecelia anytime I needed her to and encouraged me in this quest of mine in every way possible. As school let out at the end of May, the hikes became more frequent and I would begin to drag bring the kids along with me. Oftentimes, I would be watching a friend's child or my kids would have cousins stay the night and they would join us. Emily came with me occasionally, but I was getting worried about her not joining me as frequently as necessary. When she did come, she would oftentimes bring the three boys that she nannies for and at one point we had nine children tagging along!

 Emily and my hiking buddies on a trip up to Mt. Peak.

 

At first they were all excited about the prospect of hiking as most kids would be, but as the Wonderland hike got closer and closer, to some, not all of them, it became a chore. "Load up! We're going hiking!" once followed by whoops and hollers of glee, turned to groans of, "Again?" This is telling as to how often we went because my kids are outdoor fanatics and usually jump at the opportunity to get out in the woods. However, once on the trail, they were happy hikers.

 

 

Throughout our time training we hiked everywhere from Mt. Peak to trails on Mt. Rainier. The week before we were to begin our backpacking trip, however, I knew I needed a longer and more strenuous hike to get a good idea of what a day on the Wonderland trail would be like. Up to this point, our longest hike had been a 4 mile climb to Rattlesnake Ledge. I wore my backpack and brought the boys (and a few extra kids). The view from the top was unbelievable! The climb was challenging and the weather was hot! But, still, I needed something that more closely resembled a day of hiking Mt. Rainier.

 

Mt. Si would be the perfect final hike that would give me an idea if I was ready or not. With completely loaded 40 pound backpacks Emily and I set out with Samuel, Hunter and my sister-in-law, Shawna, who was in town visiting for awhile. We got a later-than-desired start so the mid-July weather was quite warm at the onset. The distance to the top was four uphill miles.

 

Each mile literally felt like 3 miles but we never wore out or felt entirely exhausted (until the last mile down). The boys were quite the troopers. It was the perfect hike to prepare us for the big one the following week, including the black bear sighting we experienced on the way down!

 

 Sam on top of Mt. Si, looking down on North Bend.