girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes

Priya had the opportunity to be a flower girl in a wedding this weekend. We decided that she would do better if she had an assistant, so Kate held Priya's hand, and the basket of petals. (You may remember Kate from a post two years ago. She was the Mary to Silas' Joseph at Christmastime.) Kate is 5, but the girls are the exact same size and looked just precious throwing the petals and walking through the trees down to the river. It was difficult to get a photo, Priya kept flitting about all over the yard. There was a little play house at the wedding location that the kids loved! Congrats Nate and Sara! What a beautiful wedding!

....snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes...  

come on, you know you want to sing it!

just for laughs

We've been keeping a pretty impressive schedule this summer. I usually sleep only 6 or 6 1/2 hours a night...getting up early to bike or run or go to kick boxing class and staying up late to hang out with all the people that are not around in the long, dark winter. Last week, I logged 93 miles on the bike. I've been working up to bike the Alpine loop at the end of the summer. I need to do some more high altitude stuff before I'm ready, but it has been a fun goal. 

The kids have been having a blast swimming and tubing in the chilly river, playing with the hose, putting undies on their heads (classic), chasing and catching chickens, building towers, cooking with me, and hanging out at the park. 

(We had to set an execution date for our rooster, pictured above on our roof; he tried to kill one of our hens; and I heard that roosters don't lay eggs.) 

Christian is building some custom doors right now, taking orders for more portable saunas and other buildings, and milling up a bunch of inventory for the fall and winter.

We are attending a wedding this weekend in which Priya will be a flower girl...and then three more wedding this summer/early fall.

Summer shots

Be-bop-a-re-bob Rhubarb pie and Powdermilk Biscuits

(This Birthday dinner sponsors)

I chose a breakfast menu for my birthday dinner this year. First, eggs are the perfect food, are they not? Second, a meal that all my children love and gobble with no complaints is a happy meal for me.

The rhubarb pie? Well, it grows fresh on the alleys of Lake City and makes a lovely custard pie with raspberries!

It was a grand party with lots of friends and family. Here is a photo of Lake City's newest 32 year-old...and my two favorite Amys. 

Chickens...etc

This week: I turned 32; one of our so-called-hens began crowing at dawn; Christian got two semi- trucks of logs delivered; Priya got a nice-sized splinter in her foot; Silas mastered the art of catching two chickens at once; and Levi continued to excel in all things adorable.

If you can't read the brass sign on our coop, it says "Women Only." Apparently, one of our chickens didn't get that message...He is proving to be a real pain in the neck...getting loose and crawling under the car, etc. If he's not going to lay an egg, well....we'll just have to see how long it takes to fatten him up.

For my birthday, I rode my bike up to Capital City, which was once a proposed site for the state Capital. A beautiful spot, but even in 2010, it is only accessible part of the year!

Busy June

A wedding, lots of work, hiking, swimming, playing, biking, concerts, birthdays, and vistors....We've been blasting away at the month of June! 

We celebrated Priya and Amy's (my sister-in-law) birthday on June 14th. I remember three years ago, I was buying raspberries for Amy's cheesecake while shopping in Montrose, when I all the sudden felt like I was going to have a baby in the produce section...we rushed home, followed closely by our midwives, (a normally 2 hour drive...in about 1 hour) and about and hour after that...there was the prettiest little baby girl ever born. Amy had brought milkshakes for the midwives. I told her to stick around a few more minutes so she could see the birth...She got a niece for her birthday and I got to eat raspberry cheesecake as part of my recovery.

Our dear friend, Monica, came to visit for a week. We went to two concerts, on two hikes, two swims in the ice-cold river. We almost summitted Uncompahgre, but ran into the worst non-hurricane wind I've ever experienced. With ice fields and a four-year old, we decided to try later in the summer. (you can see the wind inflating my pants and about to blow Silas off the face of the world in the photos.)

Bag Lady

Christian and I often feel that Lake City is a little too homogenous to suit us. There is little to none ethnic, cultural, linguistic, economic, racial diversity. ....except that one bi-racial guy, who by the way, we brought to town from West Virginia! and...that one girl with dreads, who happens to be my good friend, ...and two Italians, one Mexican, two Germans, and one Irishman, who is married to that gal with the dreads. 

Well, we're not going to be eating at a Sushi place or an Ethiopian restaurant anytime soon, but I am happy to report that Lake City has at least one bag lady. I saw her on my alley today, all wrapped up in her winter clothes, pushing her treasures around. She had a pet chicken.