A Long Labor Day

I'm counting on the fact that no one reads my blog anymore because I rarely post.  I sure hope so, because this one is going to be an over share.  But I have a lot of feelings and emotions rolling and writhing around inside of me, and writing is my under used form of therapy.

But before I get to yesterday, I have to start with Saturday.  It was a long weekend culminating in a really rough Monday.  Friday night we got a call saying that Ryan's brother and his family would be arriving mid day Saturday.  This was news to us.  We were expecting them in the evening.  We had made plans to go on a mountain hike, and this was kind of important to us because it would be the first and only one we will probably get this year.  It's just been a very long, very stressful, very busy (and not in a good way) summer.  This hike was happening or else.  Ryan's brother and family have never actually arrived here when they said they would, like ever.  We plan on their expected time being + a couple of hours on what they say.  We left a house key for them, and went adventuring anyway.  It was a glorious hike.  (I will include photos at the end of this.)  It was 3 miles of uphill and then the return trip of those same 3 miles downhill.  It felt so good, but we were sweaty, dusty and a good tired at the end.  We got back home and our guests had arrived when they said they would.  Whoops.  Oh well.  It's not like we left them stuck outside.  We had a dinner provided by Papa Murphy's (I did not feel up to cooking a nice dinner), and had some visit time, did showers and got the kids to bed.  At that point Ryan left to do bishopric house calls, and wasn't back until after our guests had all gone to bed.  When we got up Sunday morning, Michael, Blair and baby Cora had left for the airport and Simon and Charlotte were left in our care for the week.

During Ryan's early morning bishopric meeting we received a group text telling us that Ryan's uncle had passed away after a very long 6 year battle with cancer.  Not a very nice start to the day.  Well, I got 6 kids ready for church, installed two booster seats, and let Emma drive us to church.  We made it in enough time so I could give my sad husband a hug before sacrament meeting started.  Where Ryan was able to watch me keep 6 children reverent instead of my usual 4 from his seat on the stand.  Yay.  And if meetings and settings apart and the counting of tithing wasn't enough for him to do, Ryan had another house call to make in the evening.  It's been four years since Ryan was called to the bishopric.  There's a part of me that is glad we are on the "home stretch" (only 1-ish more year to go!!!) and the other part of me is particularly tired of it.  And that about sums up Sunday.

I didn't sleep well that night.  Sometimes my hormones include a night or two of insomnia just before that time of the month, and this was one of those times.  So, holiday or not, I was not exactly primed to have a great day.  My kids have been very helpful entertaining their cousins, but two more kids is still two more kids.

Yesterday, Ryan discovered that our kitchen floor spewed water from between Pergo planks when he stepped on it by the sink and dishwasher.  So we looked around for obvious spills.  Looked under the sink.  And then Ryan started messing with the dishwasher.  All looked fine inside, but he unscrewed the kick plate and we found a steady stream of water coming out.  We mopped up the water under the dishwasher with paper towels, and told the kids that the dishwasher was out of commission permanently.

The kitchen floor is warped and ruined, at least on that side of the kitchen.  Pergo is just about the worst flooring to use anywhere it might encounter water.  You know, entry ways, bathrooms and kitchens...  Those are all the places the previous homeowners put it.  The fake wood has seen some water damage near the toilet, in front of the bathtub, refrigerator (it has a water dispenser), and kitchen sink from the normal wear and tear of a family.  We've talked about replacing the floor for years, but, you know, it's just flooring.  Trees fall down, decks need to be refinished, ovens die and these things have taken precedence.  I didn't really want to replace the floor right now.  We just replaced our double oven, because those about died completely (just how long is it going to take to bake a batch of cookies...?), and our fridge is old and worn, and the produce drawers need to be handled with care or they fall apart.  But who wants to spend money on appliances that still semi-work when you could TRAVEL and see new places?

Never let anyone tell you home ownership is easy.  It's a money pit, I swear.

During all this, I'm getting asked about a hundred questions an hour.  What time is it? Can you stand by the bathroom door while I go potty?  When do the cousins go to school?  When do they come back?  Why can't we do X?  My mom does X this other way.  Our X does (insert something cooler than what we have).  Do you have Star Wars on your tv?  When can we watch a movie?  Why won't they let me into the play room?  Look at what we made with the Lego's.  Can I color?  Where's the glue?  When will my mom call?  Why won't Elizabeth come out of her room?

On and on and on.

Let's not forget Ryan's phone is nearly non-stop beeping, signaling new incoming text messages.  Work.  Church.  Family.  Work.  Work.  Church.  Family.  Family.  Work.

So, with the hopes of a fun family trip pushed back a little longer because of the floor and dishwasher issues, and hormones, lack of sleep, Ryan's long and busy week and his attention being commandeered all. the. freaking. time, the thought of hand washing dishes for 8 people this week (first world problems, I know), and taking care of 6 children this week, two more children to haul around to various activities... well, it all came crashing down.  Ryan found me sobbing on the bathroom floor.

If that wasn't enough, just as we were leaving to go to dinner at a friend's house with two pies in hand (yep, more dishes to wash), Ryan's sister called and wanted him to shear her kids' sheep.  In a couple hours.

You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding.

She graciously drove the sheep to our house, so we could leave early from our dinner engagement so Ryan could wrestle sheep in the twilight.  For the 3rd time this summer.  She drives an hour and a half one way for free shearing.  I didn't feel like being polite and making small talk.  So I made sure my kids got showered, and I washed dishes.

I know the floor doesn't look bad in this picture.  But it is, and the kitchen was a disaster.  There are big, black gaps between the wavy planks.  And the more warped the planks become, the more of the wood-looking covering gets scraped off by passing feet.

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But at least we still have these pictures to look back on from Saturday.  We drove up to Mt. Rainier and hiked a small portion of the PCT.

 It's about 2 miles of mostly gentle but relentless uphill hiking to Sheep Lake.

 Arriving at the lake means snack time!

 The kids did not want to do the final leg of the journey to Sourdough Gap.  It's one mile of pretty steep hiking.  So, we left the kids with one phone, snacks and water, and did the last bit by ourselves.  I felt slightly irresponsible, but they really are old enough for something like that, right?

 This was a particularly tricky part of the climb.

 Ta da!  Ryan and I made it in 30 minutes.  That's a pretty good pace, let me tell you.  We were breathing heavily when we arrived.

 Sheep Lake (and our children) are in the background.

 We made the downward journey in 23 minutes, and found our kids safe and sound.

 I make no apologies for buying a selfie stick.  It's the only way to guarantee a family picture on our adventures.

 We are not typical looking day hikers.  We did not look like we stepped out of an add for REI or Cabella's with fancy backpacks and hiking poles.  Nor were we in shorts and leggings.  Just jeans and tennis shoes for us.

It's huckleberry season, and we foraged a pretty good amount of berries.  None made it home with us because they only made it as far as our mouths.

The weather was just about perfect.  The air was clean and crisp.  The sun was shining.  There were still some flowers blooming.  It was warm enough for a t-shirt while walking, but once we stopped, we definitely needed our sweatshirts.  It was blessedly free from phone calls and texts.  We listened to Michael Vey book two on the car ride there and back.  It was a great trip.