Where in the world?

Mars?

No, just bacterial pools from the various hotsprings and geyser beds at Yellowstone National Park. I took these on our recent vacation there.
While walking through the park the sulfur fumes are quite overpowering for many, but for those brave enough to stop and look closely, the landscape - especially on a micro level - is fantastic.

Summer Bites!

The day after Rikard loses his second upper front tooth he begs and begs for corn on the cob. We hear, "but it is so sweet and juice and easy too cook." As parents we counter with the logic (yeah, yeah, we know he is a 7YO boy) that he won't be able to eat it very easily because his "ripping and tearing" teeth are missing.

In the end, he gave it a heck of a try!

Gettin' Together

We had a scheduled family gathering in the Yakima Valley over the weekend. We celebrated Grandpa Dick's 1/2 80th birthday (which means his birthday is really about six months away). Family pictures were on the agenda so here we are. There isn't one picture we snapped where everyone is looking forward.

Rick, myself and our three are on the right. Becky, Chris and their son are in the center. Chase, Amy and the boys are on the left. Linda is sitting in the center front.

This photo shows Grandpa Dick and Grandma Bert (my kids all called her Nana Bird for the longest time) and most of their grandchildren and great grandchildren. There are three grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren not in the photo.

After photos, it was time to make a splash!
Rikard was fearful of the diving board at the beginning of the day, but that soon faded and he was the craziest board jumping boy at the pool. He really gained a lot of confidence swimming this weekend.
Tatum decided that she needed to make some more advanced dives. She started doing front flips and some mid-air twists.

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It's been a crazy July and everything is up in the air!

Rick has a new middle school science teaching position. I resigned from my job at the college and will be completing my master's degree over the next year. The house is up for sale. We have to find a new place to live and new schools for the kids. And, we need to pack, clean, organize, find a new place to live and settle in before school begins September 2.

Vacation Dangers

All throughout Yellowstone you are reminded of the danger of thermal areas. Signs constantly warn you not to walk in certain areas, especially those which may be a thin crust over pools of scalding hot water. It wasn't easy herding and keeping track of 3, 4, sometimes 9 kids and seeing the sites in a leisurly manner.

Some of the signs at certain park areas are simple to read, telling you to stay out. Others are pictures worth a thousand words, telling a story of danger and how to avoid it. My kids laughed at them, calling them old fashioned and silly. Apparently they are still good enough to catch their attention. My 7-year-old asked why people would jump off the path into the super volcano.

Visitors should not step off the boardwalks, they may step directly onto a geyser:
Visitors should keep their pets on a leash, as pets don't realize the dangers off the path: Geysers may erupt at any time. You should not leave the marked paths to inspect them:
The most dangerous things we encountered were people, People who think it is okay - safe even - to approach bison and elk to get a closer picture. On our final day in the park a grizzly bear was roaming about 40-50 yards off the roadway and people were chasing after it to get a photo. We made due with photos of the bear from the car window.