Another month

Well another month has gone by, too much activity to write much. Today at work we finished the big project (Flying Saddle Lodge) that we were supposed to finish by August 1, so I have a moment to breathe. In the mean time along with finishing this project and another one (Teton Literacy Program), this month has included...

* Getting a fishing license, two fishing trips, including a visit from Mike's Brother-in-Law, Joe and his Dad. And.. I caught a fish!

* Rafting one last time and taking the Romanian Students that are working this summer at the office... and giving them the whole experience.. Yep dumped the whole boat. It was quite a shock since we had to go at 7:30 AM to get Teo and Alin back by noon, so it was COLD. Teo had not considered the possibility she might get wet, and so was quite shocked... We recovered though, and got back into the raft, only to pass search and rescue 20 feet downstream looking for a dead body! The mood before we flipped and the mood after the flip was remarkably different!

* My September week in Albuquerque - Lots of parenting responsibilities during this monthly visit. Saw Sara's new school. Got the new activities underway, Worked lots on Kelsey's driving skill, although not a real road yet! Not to mention that September is the birthday party visit when both of the girls have their birthday parties... So Kelsey was an overnight Friday, Sara was an overnight Saturday, and we all parted company exhausted.

* Hiking the King - Snow King Ski Area which comes right down to my office. I was shocked the first day I walked with Randy, a co-worker that is 12 years older than me and had knee surgery 3 months ago, at how out of shape I am. I began a daily regiment of walking at lunchtime. Maybe I'll make it to the top before the snow flies! (HA)

* Joining the Ski Patrol - Something I've always been interested in doing.. So I did. Thought it might be something fun to do with Mike and although he wanted to do it in the past with me, this year he is not too keen on it. Thinks his skiing isn't up to par. So after much debate I decided to go for it. It should be good exercise, and a fun way to get involved in Jackson. What I DIDn't know is that the training is so intense. I will have the same training as an EMT-Basic when completed. So it will be hard-core study from now until Christmas.

* A few very nice horse rides - the latest of which (last Sunday) was a 16-mile (8 miles each way) ride to a Ghost town. Fun until Jane jumped over the creek and I flew off the saddle and connected in an unnatural way... After that (10 miles or so more) it became more of an endurance/torture ride for me. Mike was also hurting pretty bad by the time we got off the horses (7 hours of riding later). Our muscles have recovered, but the Deep purple/black/green/blue Hershey bar sized bruises on each of my inner thighs are still interfering with my Ski hill hiking.

* We did think the Farrier had hit on a good idea to have a chiropractor come see Jane and perhaps help her foot problem and maybe other problems too. We did have the guy come, and it was very interesting seeing him make adjustments with Rubber mallets. She did seem to have some room for improvement, but in the end her foot problems have not ceased...

* Mike spent the month fishing and finishing the barn job he had.

* This coming weekend we are heading off to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho for an Alpaca show. We are quite excited to see Coeur D'Alene, and enjoy the drive through the fall forests. We will be having dinner with Mike's son, Dan, in Missoula on the way. And then of course there are the Alpaca... I had a dream last night that this is the year I should buy! ;-)