We've gone a drillin'

It has finally come time for us to invest into a $$$ source of water. Until now (for 2.5 years) David has diligently trucked water into our 3,000 gallon underground holding tank. These years have not been without mishap:

• lots of showers with abrubt endings..."Would it be tacky to borrow water from our neighbor to rinse out this shamoo?"
• lots of creative water conservation techniques..."Is this worth flushing?" or "Will Mia's dirty bathwater kill my basil plant?"
• one known incident of decomposing rodent in the tank for an unknown period of time..."Does this water taste fishy to you?" and "Why do I smell like a dead animal while I am bathing?"
• mid-winter, barefoot, interior tank sterilizings that resemble sub-arctic crevasse entrapment (I was consistently on the outside of the tank cheering for David through the tank's 12" opening)

Alas, those days saw their end as these trucks rolled into our cul-de-sac last week.

It took them four days to drill into 720 feet of granite. At first, we had hit only 1.75 gwpm, much to our consternation, but after convincing us to hydrofracture, or essentially break up the weak spots of our well walls, we ended up with 8 gwpm- a nice improvement.

The well site looks like some type of volcanic hot-spot right now:
As far as I am concerned, this well = water with which to irrigate, which = a grassy backyard for Mia & pups. Does anybody know of a good landscaper?

Windermere Marathon II

We had lovely weather as we ran the annual Windermere half again this year. It was a lot of fun, especially since we know a lot of the people who participated. David ran really fast, as always, and Joe was right on his tail! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to run because I had injured my knee earlier that week, but with the aid of a Priesthood blessing and lots of anti-inflammatories, I still beat last year's time and I was pleased.
All viewers should be grateful that this is only an upper-body shot. David and Joe had worked hard to grow Steve Prefontaine moustaches (get out your magnifying glass and follow the blue arrows) and David even wore the iconic red shorts...the almost non-existent red shorts. They might have been 6" total, from waist to hem-line. As Mom R put it, David would have been arrested had he bent over to tie his shoe. He insists that forsaking modesty for full mobility is worth the sacrifice. Don't worry though...he had a pair of pants waiting for him at the finish line.

With all the excitement in the air, Mia could not help bustin' a few moves:

11

Mia is getting old. Can I still answer in fractions (11 & 1/2 mos., for example) when asked how old she is? She is certainly developing her preferences. It's so fun to watch her become a woman with opinions!
She loves to rock her "baby" and "sing" to her (it sounds like a Native American chant) as she, not so gently, pats her on the head and caresses (or pokes) her eyelashes. I actually got this doll when I was ten. I remember wanting the doll with the pretty dark skin and my mom thought it was funny. Perhaps a prophetic intuition?

Mia really likes the way she looks in these sunglasses. I have never seen such vanity as when she first spotted herself in the mirror with these ultra-cool pink shades.

We love our sweet girl!

A Unique Gift

This is what my brother gave my mom for Mother's Day:

It's the digital sign from the Sullivan on-ramp construction zone. My mom wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. He might be a border-line hacker.

Methow Valley

This last weekend, we camped in a most beautiful town that seemed to be straight out of a Dr. Seuss book: yellow fields of wild sunflowers, blue skies, poofy clouds, vibrant green aspen groves, and and a clear-watered, raucous river. It is known for its world-class mountain biking, and we did just that. We were in heaven (except for the fact that we missed Mia. She was partying with the grandmas at home)!

I didn't realize that I had such a lovely hair-do before taking this picture. Sweat+ helmet+no shower is the secret.
We found this cool homestead that had to be at least 80 years old. Its foundation were four little boulders at each corner upon which it teetered. Perhaps that explains its current condition. David is pretty convinced that its former inhabitants were geniuses. He would be happy as a mountain recluse. The sunshine makes everything beautiful!

Made it to the top! This trail, The Upper Buck Mountain Loop, was the best mountain biking of all time (not that I am a trail connoisseur). We, and the locals, highly recommend it.

I'm Legit

I can't say how excited I am to attend church today. Although I assure you that I never intentionally wallowed in self-pity, Mother's Days prior to this one have carried a pang of longing and inadequacy. It was so irritating to me when all of the mothers are asked to stand at the end of sacrament meeting to receive their little pot of petunias and then, usually as an afterthought all of the Relief Society aged women are asked to stand because we are all mothers--really. Well, there was no fooling me! I just felt silly standing up to receive my petunias. I usually made a break for it with the pretense of needing to prepare something for a lesson. Last year, as I was sneaking out of the chapel to avoid the petunia distribution, a man who must have sensed my motive said to me, "Oh, come-on. Get over it." I thought I was in one of those nightmares when I wanted to kill somebody out of revenge for a fallen family member or something important, but I just couldn't access the ability to do so. Instead, I said "Pardon me?" He must have thought again about his comment, and hoping I hadn't heard it, just smiled sheepishly.

This year, because of a really brave young woman, I get to be the mom to the sweetest girl ever.
This young woman, who knows what it is to fiercely love a child, made the sacrifice of a lifetime to let me know what that kind of love feels like.

This year, I'm legit and we aren't getting petunias, but Ghirardelli chocolates. Whoohoo!

Four Years Ago...

we had a good day:
We still really like each other- even moreso (as they say)! My husband is not difficult to like. On the contrary, I secretly hope he won't discover that he has to work harder to like me than I him.