Vermillion River

Superior National Forest, at the edge of Voyageur's National Park.   Mitch has been working in the area much over the past few years,  just beyond the U.S. Customs office, where the road ends and the wolves are plentiful.
I made it up there with him for a quick trip late January.  We boogied around on the lake a bit.  Gorgeous rock up there, some of the most ancient rock found on earth. 
I'd really like to see The Gorge, but Mitch's ankle prohibited us from that much of a hike at this time.
We've stopped here at the Vermillion River Falls with the kids in the past, a pretty spot, shorter walk, though the snow was deep, much more than we had at home at that time.   
To me, the northeast corner of our state is real Minnesota at it's finest.

Basketball: Mason & Eric's 8th grade year.

This afternoon was the first day ever that all five of our kids got off the school bus together.
Beau began pre-school classes a couple of afternoons a week, so he gets to ride the bus home those days.  And Mason & Eric's basketball season finished up Friday night, so it's the first we've seen much of them after school since practice began months ago. 
Their first game was the 2nd of December, their last - the 2nd of March.
We put on plenty of miles, but some schools were just too far to make it to on a school night with younger kids (as far as 260 miles round trip!) 
I think we made it to about 18 games total, of which I had my camera with only a handful. 
I've come to the realization that these action shots are almost exclusively the only way I've gotten photos of Mason & Eric for a couple of years now.  They abhor having their regular photo taken, but they really like action shots of themselves doing what they're passionate about (sports, fishing, hunting, etc.)  They actually spend time looking at old football photos on the computer nearly every day. 
So now I wish I'd had my camera with at every game.  And I'll be sure to be more consciously aware in the future - kids like photos of themselves doing the things they enjoy & are proud of.
I like those photos, too.   Here are some. 
Mason is #15, Eric #13. 

I haven't become a stat keeper yet.  I just get into watching the game, no clue how many points they may have put on the board. 

But that last photo, from way outside the 3 point line, was during the final game.  And it was nothing but net.

2012 (a personal post)

It's February 29th already.  Leap Day 2012.
I had all these thoughts on my mind at one time to post for the new year...  it's not so new anymore.

About 2012:
I was really, truly, strongly looking forward to a fresh new year. 
By the end of October 2011, I realized we'd made a full circle around the sun and were in a very similar place to when things became jumbled up & started getting off kilter for us the year before.  2011 was challenging right from the start.  From unneeded harm & stress brought on by outside sources.. to serious deer tick illness & mishaps with vehicles..  schedule changes & bad luck making solid, quality family time together hard to come by,  and then the increasing difficulty of Mitch located out of the area onward into fall and the holidays. 
I was looking forward to putting the year behind, and turning a new page to 2012.
I felt a huge feeling of relief that we had a calm new calendar year ahead of us to embark upon.

Well, about an hour or so after midnight into the shiny & new year, I was woke by a distraught four year old who had thrown up in his sleep. (nothing says happy new year like scrubbing sickness & giving baths in the middle of the night.)
New Years Day as I was washing laundry from the aftermath of the night's sickness, our still "new" high efficiency washing machine started shredding & burning up clothes like mad again (already repaired once for this issue) ...this time the victim being Mitch's most expensive Under Armour long underwear (which keep him very warm when working & hunting.) 
Discouraging.  But Beau was feeling fine & we headed off to a New Years Day visit. 
We agreed to take a nephew home with us for a sleepover, only to be woke again before daylight to more & more throwing up.  Our poor guest was not well, and unfortunately was unable to hit a contained area with his illness.
Our first 36 hours of 2012 were a little disastrous. 
I joked that these weren't real good omens.  But they were trivial things. 
I was determined it was going to be a great year. 

Mitch was back out of town after that, on the home stretch of work to be done, when he fell, injuring his ankle badly Jan. 10th.  Some breakage.  A lot of stress & damage to the entire anatomy of his ankle joint.  It was pretty ugly, and I imagine (and witnessed) very painful.
What a lot of people don't seem to understand about Mitch's livelihood as a small business contractor, is that injuries & time unable to work, or simply without work, are not compensated in any way. 
Being injured, and unable to be on the job or making progress, are no light or laughing matter.
Needless to say, with strict instruction to stay off it, he was back to work one week later, trying to keep progress rolling.  Needless to say, his ankle has not healed as soon as hoped. 

I was still determined 2012 was going to be good.
Don't get me wrong.. Every year- stress, hardships, bad luck, or not - the kids are fantastic.  Good memories are always made.  Lightness is always present with them around.  And the wheels keep turning; they're a busy bunch.  It's just that I've been hoping needing for things to settle down to a level pace, to be consistent, for us to be together, under one roof, with security and quality time, fewer incidents & less outside interference.  Simplicity.  I need to get back to things being more simple, as they once were.  At the very core of my being, simplicity is what I depend on most to balance these busy times raising a large family.

By early February, Mitch's ankle was broken, he was frustrated with how much it had set him back with work, we were bombarded with several thousand dollars in vehicle repairs, and I came down with influenza, the sickest I've been in decades.  No exaggeration: with Mitch hours away unable to help, me burning up with a fever nearing 104 degrees, trying to get the kids fed & through our evening school routine; I felt that I'd bite the dust for sure.

Despite all that..  and much more that I can't share about here, that has been far more challenging & difficult than all else combined...  I haven't bit the dust, and I have a little hope left that 2012 is going to be alright.

Here's some better stuff going on:

Since Jan. 1st, I've had a craving for broccoli & cauliflower, and our whole family has been eating lots of it.  This makes me happy.
Johnathan discovered he likes kiwi.  We've probably gone through 50 pounds of oranges.

Mason & Eric have been keeping us busy & on the go, watching them play basketball.   Their final game is this week.  It's been a long, long season, but it's flown by.
With up to three away games a week, getting home close to midnight, I was worried about their grades, but they both made the honor roll again 2nd semester.  Report cards were great.  As 8th graders, they played very well on the court with 10th-11th graders. 

Johnathan & Lilly are doing great in school, too.  They've been very busy little social bees.

A couple of my photos were published in the Jan/Feb issue of Lake Country Journal again this year.
This time I earned decent money for them, which was flattering. 

We booked a family trip - our first ever air travel with the kids - all seven of us.  Headed to Colorado once school gets out.  It should be a fun adventure, with lots of new scenery and much needed time away together. 

Beau turned five.   Five.  I can't even believe how fast five years have flown by.  I was pregnant with Beau when Mitch left his previous job & became an independent contractor.  It seems like life has been very fast paced & unpredictable since then.  The time has flown.  He's been my best & most caring little companion these past years..  I'm so proud of the boy he's growing into. 
He started preschool and rode the school bus home this week, and is very happy about it.

I've made it to the library a couple of times and have been reading a number of good books.  I've also been pouring over book after book of house plans, intent on seeking the perfect, most functional & efficient layout.  We've talked about the possibility of relocating.  I have never been very (if at all) open to that idea in the past.  For some reason that has changed in 2012.
 
Along with hitting up the library, Beau & I have gotten into a routine of going to Goodwill anytime we have to go to town for errands or groceries.  We've scored some fun finds.  Useful and/or unique, thrifty finds delight me.
 
Mitch, still hobbling, has reached completion stage on the vacation home he's been building.  I finally had the chance to see it.  He has done a great job.  Not only the fine quality of his work, but the custom detail & design elements that he's contributed to it as well.   It's gorgeous.   Also, being on a site accessible by lake only, this project has provided a fair amount of logistical challenges.  He's juggled them successfully.    

We've finally been getting snow this past week.  After a winter of brown ground & dusty roads, we finally have snowbanks.  The kids are reveling in it.  I watched them today, like penguins, sliding on their bellies down little chutes from their snow fortress. 
The perk in the scenery is nice.  The moisture is very needed for spring.

Even in the late, lifeless months of winter, Beau manages to bring me "flowers."  A bouquet of sumac the other day.  And today, a big bunch of tall brown weeds, with snow piled on top of his stocking capped head, and mittens dripping.  Most of all, beaming and enthusiastic.

These are the daily things that make everything alright and guarantee me that good times are always ahead. 

Happy Leap Day.  Happy 2012.

My apologies for webcam images.  I resolve to make up for lack of photo quality soon. 
This post is slightly long & not entirely rosy.  I had to get it out of the way though, so I can move forward.  Sometimes I have so much to say I get stuck saying nothing at all. 

Camp Miller 2012

Our family is very fortunate, in that for one of our annual extended holiday celebrations, we've had the unique opportunity to join together reunion-style at a beautiful old YMCA camp, tucked in the tall pines of a few miles of lake shore.  We gather in the main lodge, visit, play games, eat, & visit some more.  The kids run around in the large rec room below, playing dodge ball & other semi-organized games.  We are able to use the camp's cross country skis & hit the trails.  And we all pack our sleeping bags & pillows & bunk it in the bunk hall - winter camp style.  It's a great time.

This year my aunt Terry had a surprise planned for the kids:
Wishing lanterns that we let fly from the lake after dark.  They were beautiful.
Traditionally the launch of a Wish Lantern symbolizes the release of worries & problems.

  The kids were in awe.  Maybe us grown-ups were, too.

Dad (above), Terry & Uncle Bruce (below)

Beau and I, about to release our lantern. 

It was a fun family gathering, on the frozen lake, under the night sky. 

This year Mitch & I were given the privilege of staying in the Yurt.  I've been really fascinated with the yurt for a couple of years. 
Unique, sleeping in a canvas structure on the 7th of January in Minnesota.
There was a beautiful pink sunrise over the lake that shone through the canvas walls in the morning. 

Lilly headed out on cross country skis with Carl & Ava after breakfast. 

She was a natural!

Good memories, here.  The kids absolutely love it. 

We look forward to next year. 

* Personal note: I have some mixed feelings about the wishing lanterns from an environmental point of view, but they're made of fire proof paper (as not to burn down any trees) which is biodegradable, and all things considered, are much friendlier than several festive alternatives humans partake in. 

stringing popcorn and our animal tree

Time sure gets away from me.
Backing up a bit, I thought I'd post some more of our happenings leading up to the holidays.
During our 12 days of Creating, one night we popped popcorn & strung it in preparation for our animal tree.

When Mason & Eric were small, we began decorating an animal tree in the woods with treats for them to have on Christmas. I remember the year Johnathan was newborn, having him snug in a carrier inside my winter coat, as we walked out & made our holiday offering for the woodland creatures.
Then for a few years my mom hosted a similar event at her house, and invited a small tribe of cousins & kids.  One year we even made a hayride out of it.  The simplicity seemed to be slightly lost, though.. I recall once we made it there, kids throwing food at a tree in the cold, in a hurry to get back inside.   
It had been a while, though, since we had done an animal tree. I don't remember doing one at all in Beau's lifetime, and this Christmas I really wanted to get back to basics & enjoy some of the small, simple traditions of our holiday season. 
I wanted to take our time so that the kids could take part with care & thought.
So, we strung popcorn garland, along with garbanzo bean strings, and we stuck raffia loops into apple ornaments.
And when we were prepared, we took our box of goods to the woods & found a small, lone standing tree.  (this one was pretty straggly.. but it's hard to find one standing all on it's own, that we can reach the top of.  Most of the small ones are in clusters.)

We scattered apples & sunflower seeds under the tree, for the critters who are low to the ground.

For our star, we toasted a piece of bread, cut a star out of it with a cookie cutter, spread some peanut butter & dipped in sunflower seeds.

We hope the birds & animals had a very merry Christmas.