Basecamp Manager

I debated trying to pretend I have a life tonight by avoiding Facebook and blogging, but the fact is that it feels more productive than watching a movie, I want to sew but I'm afraid the machine will wake up L-train and our plans for taking out the boat and having a dinner picnic got squashed when Brian got called on another SAR a few minutes after he got home (4th one in 6 days--, he got to shorthaul someone yesterday!). This time, it's two broken legs on a ledge on the Snaz in Death Canyon. He was flown in and will probably be there all night. So here I am. Hello Blogger. After getting all of his gear ready (food, water, sleeping bag, backpack etc) it really segues nicely to my fourth and final post about my work: taking care of my man and my girl. This includes:

Trying to beat Liesel in a push-up contest.  Okay, not really-- but it does include waking up a few times a night (or like 5 lately) to re-swaddle, sooth, feed and endure. Then I get up between 6:30-7:00 and feed her, do the dishes I couldn't do last night b/c she was asleep,  get breakfast ready for B and I and get him out the door. 

Then we get her b-fast ready. Feed her solids-- she is really perfecting her pincer-grasp as seen above and loves eating pea-sized pieces of bread.

Then I stare at her rolls. Blow raspberries. Make funny faces. By this time she's been up an hour and is ready for bed b/c she spent 1.5 hours crying last night and that was exhausting. This is my chance to shower, read scriptures, tinker on the internet and plan the day. 

When she wakes up, typically we'll either go for a jog, head to town for groceries/errands or pack up for a hike and do something out in the park.

While we're out, she stares lovingly at strangers. Somewhere in there was nap #2, making lunch, feeding her lunch, nursing her twice, sweeping and mopping, doing the dishes, making dinner (sometimes), reading books, playing outside and trying to teach Liesel how to crawl. 

By around 4pm, Brian comes home and then the chaos begins. It's feed, bathe, dress, read a story, nurse, bedtime all while dinner needs to be made or baked and she's fussy and tired. Welcome home B. But really he loves it and she is so ready for him by that time. She goes to bed between 6:30-7pm. Then the party begins. Kidding . . . 

(Her new favorite pastime is turning off the light while taking a bath)

Now that I feel slightly more justified in not having a full time job, I'll go back to posting about only the fun things we do.

Don't worry mom, I always carry bear spray.

The forks

Today (or tonight. . . I guess this is what you do when hubs was sent on a SAR-- so many this season!) I'll introduce you to what is maximizing living in a national park. A couple times a week I'll run on the jogging path or do a long bike ride and at least once a week I'll do an all day hike somewhere in the park. Most of the time with Brian when he's assigned to patrol up a canyon. L knows the drill now: play with the yellow buckles, fall asleep sucking on the side of the backpack, wake up, make cute noises, smile at strangers, fuss, get taken out and play in the dirt, eat, watch mom eat, chew on an apple, get a diaper change, back in the pack, fall asleep, wake up mad, fuss, fuss, fuss, take the boat, smile at strangers and then finally home and can play with toys. Here are a few random photos from hiking this summer:

Ramshead Lake

Bearpaw/Trapper trail

Jenny Lake loop

One of Brian's coworkers gave us a sit on top kayak that we've taken out on String Lake. We'll also borrow the park canoes and go out on Leigh Lake and chill on the beaches. 

Garnet Canyon

North Fork Cascade

This photo makes me feel like singing "the hills are alive. . .!" Maybe it's because she's a Liesel?

Why I don't have a Costco membership.

Exhibit A (1 puffed ball with powdered fake cheese is gross. 300? Grosser).

(Today I'll introduce you to my part time job: Moose Corner Daycare where I work about 12hrs a week). 

I've never been a fan of things in bulk. I had nightmares after watching the Indiana Jones where he falls into the train car filled with snakes. Touring factories has a haunted house feel to me. This is in part due to my days in food service (ala Applebees and the university cafeteria); hand me ten black olive and it looks like a delicious snack-- but hand me a #10 can of black olives and I want to barf. Ranch dressing? A tablespoon perhaps but I'll pass on the 7 gallon bucket (every time I hear the word "Hidden Valley" I picture myself as an awkward 19-year-old dropping ramekins of the creamy white slop and having it splatter 4ft up my leg-- more amo for the sorority girls). 

Even cute things (ala kittens) in bulk have a creepy quality. Exhibit B here is the perfect example:  

Exhibit B (side note: this photo was called "box-o-kittens". . . uhhhh?)

This brings me to my last point. I love my baby. I LOVE my baby. I love kids. But 5 babies and 10 kids (under 4) and suddenly my things-in-bulk-phobia rears its ugly head. 20 green colored snot ropes oozing from noses? No thanks. 10 poopy diapers filled with sand? Um, please let me wash my hands 600 times. 5 different bags+bottles of breast milk to keep straight? Help. 36 cream filled cupcakes with neon frosting in ears, up noses, on hands, pants shirts etc? Wow. 

Don't get me wrong. There are things I do love about working part time at the Daycare. How all girls are obsessed with games involving them as orphans and all boys will stare out the fence at the diggers. I love the funny things they say and I'm amazed when they come to me with a bloody busted lip and I say "you're alright" that they actually believe me. I love that they get so excited about stories, bananas and me pretending I'm a gas station for their bikes. I love them attacking Liesel with kisses and "gentle please" love-ies. And I especially love that today was only 4 hrs instead of the 34 like last week. 

laundry day

On my FAQ list here at Lupine Meadows, competing for the #1 spot,  is this: So what do you do? In an attempt to answer this I'm dedicating the next few blog posts to my work. 

Today I would like to introduce you to what is Laundry Day, which exists three days a week (2 days of cloth diapers, 1 day at least of everything else). 

Step 1 requires getting to the laundry room. Juggle laundry and Liesel by reenacting Jenga and then proceed over the river and through the woods (as seen above). Cross dangerous bridge over Cottonwood creek and picture you, your laundry and Liesel falling in. Then picture your panic if that were to happen. Then tell yourself to stop picturing this. Do at least one tap dance a week to avoide a snake slithering right under your feet while yelling "Gross! Gross!" Laugh at yourself for doing this every time. Then you arrive at this: 

(yes, that pink thing in the foreground is a life size replica of a bull's testicles. Have I mentioned Lupine Meadows is a bachelor pad? I love it nonetheless). 

A lovely 1/2 burnt shed known as the Temple (oxymoron maybe?) because the bodies used to wait out the night here until the coroner arrived to pronounce them dead. Charming, ey? Other charming things include the dusting of bat guano (aka poop) on everything (check out the black on the shelf and on the blue toolbox) that I try to blow off the washer before lifting it up. The bats chirp incessantly while there-- reminding you that they've claimed this cave. I can't argue. Upon arriving to the Temple, realize that you forgot your quarters. Pack up Liesel and Repeat steps 1 and 2.

Step 3: Wash clothes. Realize your regular detergent is out. Wash everything in Dreft for babies. Wonder if Brian will notice his uniform smells like baby powder. Notice that you can still identify the peaches and oatmeal on L's bib. After it was washed. Sigh and continue. 

Step 4: Dry clothes in dryer. Pull them out. They're still damp. Debate spending the dollar to dry them again. Decide that you have too many loads and walking down here 10x a day is enough. Repeat the Jenga move and drape damp laundry on cars, chairs, cribs and couches. 

Repeat steps 1-4 for whites, pastels, darks, Liesel's clothes, towels/rags and sheets. This will take the better part of 8 hours. Feel guilty that all you accomplished during the day was the pile of folded clothes on the bed. Wonder if your life is pointless. Decide its not. Reminisce of the joy of having a washer and dryer inside. Wonder if you are the bomb wife. Decide you are. 

The Iconic American West

Where the buffalo and the cowboy roam. 

And the elk sit outside the chapel. 

And the sky is BIG. 

This weekend Brian took Saturday off and we headed up to Gardiner, Montana (North Yellowstone) for John Hender's wedding. It was a little Grand Canyon High School reunion and it was one of the funnest weekends I've had all year! We saw a wolf on the drive up through Yellowstone and we arrived right in time for their wedding in the little rock chapel. 

Between the wedding and the reception we checked into our room-- a small apartment for guests of NPS employees. It was built in 1912 and the antique door intercom still worked (they don't make things like they used to). It was an adorably quaint little room. We then drove the few minutes and hiked to the confluence of the Boiling (above) and Gardiner River. 

This spot was so awesome. Cascading scalding water +freezing snow melt = best natural hot springs ever. 

After the hot springs we gussied up and drove the hour north to John's reception. 

Brian, John and Pete-- GCHS alumni-- all working in the parks. B was the MC for the reception and he did a dang good job. 

This reception was just what a Montana reception should be: bride in cowboy boots, big red barn, hay bales, BBQ pork and cole slaw, country swing and a whole lot a dancin'. Brian and I have only danced a handful of times (mostly at weddings). . . so after Liesel made her star appearance (for real, she was like a celebrity), I found a spare shower room out back, set up the pack and play and put her down. B and I danced the majority of the next three hours. We were swing dancin', two-steppin', gettin' low-low-low and slow dancing. Man I love dancing. A little too much. I literally woke up competely sore the next morning (like as sore as I was after the Grand). I guess I got a little too Jiggy-wit-it. This was the best date we've had in like a year. And would you believe L slept through the whole thing? Miracle.

The next morning we drove back through Yellowstone with Pete. Loved it. 

Brian defending our lunch (aka, chucking sticks) from the ravens. 

Thank-you boiling mud volcanoes, crashing waterfalls, deep canyons, angry Bison, too many cherries, nursing sessions, overlooks, flat hats, rangers and Western Family Lemon cookies.  And thank-you Yellowstone. 

sunday.

how do you spell camping?

 n-o-s-l-e-e-p.  Kidding. Sort of. If I could have curbed my semi-conscious nightmares (Liesel being suffocated by sleeping bags. Liesel rolling all over the tent. Liesel's eyeballs freezing) then I actually would have gotten a great sleep since L only woke up once. All-in-all, we had an awesome time backpacking to Holly Lake in Paintbrush canyon (6.5m up). Check out the view from our campsite (above).

 I know I can't go a post without mentioning the wildflowers. Enough already. But seriously, I can't help it. I'm addicted to knowing their names, their bloom time and their business. 

 

Does it still count as backpacking when the tent, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, pots, pans, stove, utensils, tarps . . . are already there? I think yes. Especially since I'm carrying two days of wet and dry diapers, binkies, baby clothes, my clothes and food. Oh, and a huge baby. 

Brian arrives at Holly Lake. Angela pauses for a photo op. 

I want thaaat. Liesel trying to get in the grub. 

L went to bed at 8pm. Meanwhile B and I ate Thai peanut noodles, lemon herb tea, jumped on snow bridges and watched the sun set on the peaks. 

All things must go in mouth. Sticks? Check. Rocks? Check. Dirt? Check. The really disgusting tarp that's been in the cache since 1988? Check. 

We forgot her beanie, so she had to borrow Brian's. But, DANG that's adorable.

The next morning somebody wanted to be up with the birds at 6:10am. Who can resist that face?

Sunrise looking down canyon.  

We parted ways. A hiked down and B went up: