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end of summer.
The last two weeks of summer slipped happily by, as we soaked up lazy mornings in pj’s, reading whatever we wanted, and spending time with friends and family. Gabe has been begging Judah and Dad to play Risk with him all summer. If you’ve never played before … Risk is a big commitment. So Uncle Eddie and Nate had him over one Saturday afternoon to play Risk and Mario Kart, and he was a very happy boy. After we returned from our road trip, David’s priority was to sell our last two rental houses, with the help of our fantastic realtor. One of them needed a good bit of…
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sabbatical.
“Too often we try to avoid the scary place where we love so deep, so much, our hearts could break. But without the bitterness, we would never appreciate the sweetness.” Katie Davis Majors We have four weeks left of a 12-week sabbatical, and even though that seems a long time, in our hearts David and I are already gearing up for our return to church ministry on September 1. I was so determined, when we first embarked on this season — on our first sabbatical — to “get fixed.” I wanted to use the time efficiently, to disconnect well, to rest well, to make new memories with my family…
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family reunion.
Yesterday we had a gathering of part of my mom’s side of the family. As of this summer, three of the six Enlow siblings now live in Columbia, and some of their kids and grandkids do too. My cousin Laurie, her husband, Jon, and their five girls are moving to Peru in August, and drove down from PA to say good-bye. So that called for a pool party! Kenny and Shari hosted us all, and Liz organized the food. It was so fun reconnecting and seeing all the kids play together. …
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first week back.
Good morning from sweltering South Carolina! The heat hit us like a ton of bricks this week. After getting used to cool mornings and no humidity, summer in our state seems fiercer than ever. Nonetheless, it’s good to be home. I read back over this post from our return from the road trip three years ago, and it made me very grateful that this re-entry couldn’t be more different. We don’t have school or co-op to catch up on (our last trip was in September) and David isn’t working. It’s been a delightfully slow, restful week, catching up on all the details like getting the oil changed and van washed…
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days 16-19: driving east, boulder, driving east, home!
We packed up our Wyoming apartment Thursday morning and hit the road — with, of course, a stop at Persephone Bakery for an iced coffee. When planning the trip, we decided to break up the return drive with a day in Boulder, Colorado. It was about 9 hours from Jackson Hole, so we drove all day Thursday, with a stop at a pretty roadside picnic area for lunch. David had booked us a suite for two nights in Boulder. We’d spend Friday exploring the town, then set out first thing Saturday for the 24-hour drive home. Our Boulder hotel was the nicest place of the trip – a…
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day 15: rest, death canyon hike.
We did it, friends! We are home, safe and sound, as of noon today, Sunday. We were so eager to be back that we pushed through and did it a day early. It’s more wonderful to be back in our beautiful, clean, spacious house than words can express. Those last three days were not for the faint of heart. But I’m getting ahead of myself . . . On our last day at the Tetons I have to confess that the kids and I wanted nothing more than to relax. We encouraged David to take a giant hike by himself, knowing the challenge and fresh air and mountainous beauty is…
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day 14: jenny lake and cascade canyon hike (by david).
On Day 14 we had an ambitious hike mapped out, said to be one of the best in the park. So I bribed Judah and Amie with snacks, ice cream, no-more-hiking-this-roadtrip-I-swear, and my undying admiration if they would join me. They agreed! Reluctantly! And so off we set on the Jenny Lake to Cascade Canyon Trail, 10 miles from parking lot to the top of the canyon and back. The key to hiking in the Tetons in July is to start early. It can be a blissful 50’s at the start and a sweltering 80’s at the end. After almost two weeks of daily hiking/walking 6+ mile days, we’ve found…
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day 12: rest day, and day 13: string lake.
While David and Amie had their date Sunday morning, the three boys caught up on Loki and Bad Batch episodes, and I read a book. It was a very relaxing morning. I headed out at lunch time, after the others returned with the van, in search of Earl Gray tea and a shady spot to sit. I drove into Jackson, and could not believe the swarms of people everywhere I turned. This town is seriously the most crowded I’ve experienced. Of course big cities are crowded — especially New York — but it’s huge. You expect it to be crowded there. This is a small town with a…
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day 12: phelps lake hike and day 13: a morning surprise (by amie).
Hello, this is Amie. Sunday morning, my Dad and I went to Phelps Lake in Grand Teton National Park on a daddy/daughter date. The trailhead is about a forty-five minute drive from our Airbnb. We jumped in the car. I was living the life with a bagel in my lap and a mug of hot chocolate cradled in my hands. Off we drove on a road that people say you can see moose. No moose, but it was still nice to have Dad’s undivided attention! We reached the park gate, and Dad showed the fourth grader pass, which, if you have a fourth-grader (in our case, Gabe) you can get…
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day 11: fairy falls hike, grand prismatic spring, drive to jackson hole, wyoming.
In reflecting on our four days in Yellowstone, I’d like to say that I feel very loyal to the park. We’ve heard several people knock it, and I think I’d feel similarly if all we’d done is the really tourist-y sites. Actually, that’s what our family says about the Grand Canyon, because we just remember it as hot and crowded with gimmicky tourist shops every few yards it seemed. But we only saw a portion of the South Rim, so it’s not really fair. People I know who’ve hiked to the bottom of the canyon or visited the North Rim feel differently. Though we wouldn’t have traded the more famous…