Backpacking

Lyrad took our children (plus Tinsley, who was visiting us from Maine) on a 4-day backpacking trip to Marble Mountain Wilderness Area, up near the Oregon border. He went with my sister's husband and my cousin's husband, and their children.
The children loved...
jumping off of rocks into the lake...

stick pulls and card games....

making popcorn over the campfire....

catching salamanders....

hiking....

walking on the Pacific Crest Trail...

hanging out with cousins...

swimming across the lake...

and relaxing on a log.

Here are the 12 children. They all had a great time. When they divided into cars for the 5-hour drive north, Lyrad ended up with all 7 teenage girls in his car. Uncle Mark sympathetically told Isaac and Spencer (in his quiet car), "Uncle Lyrad is taking one for the team." Lyrad said listening to the girls chat nonstop made him laugh.

I was home alone for 3 nights for the first time in 17 years. I cleaned, read, gardened, scrapbooked, and stayed up way too late because it was scary to be alone (and hard to sleep when I thought of all the bears, cliffs, deep lakes and other dangers up in the mountains!).