a moving experience

Posted on April 25, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Some snaps and notes from our moving days…

8am Eyeliner is wonky. I really could use a shower but husband called to confirm the plan for the piano placement. So instead I straighten my hair, fill the to go mug, and head over to the new house.

10:30 Kids move from doing schoolwork upstairs to an empty bedroom

…while we tag team checking in boxes and Alannah directs mover traffic in the lower level

11am First casualty, a big green glass demijohn bottle. Sigh.

Some comic relief

noon lunch break.

Alannah drives Moira to work. Husband and I muse about the possiblity of nodding off.

3:30pm three books randomly fall out of a box. One happens to be the title an adult son asked me to please read. (Soon, I promise)

4pm B is worn out. Abbie is reveling in that moment when you find the box with your toys.

5pm A child reports, "I hear swearing in a bunch of different languages," which confirms my hunch that they have begun to move the piano. God bless them. That was no picnic.

7:30pm Take out pizza and salad for the family. Make a cold meat and fruit plate for myself.

Now comes the unpacking.

Exploring – Wheeler Creek Trail

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

I fell behind logging some of our hiking adventures. In retrospect now though Wheeler Creek is probably my favorite trail so far. It is just outside Huntsville, UT and runs 11 miles. We didn't see all 11 miles, mind you, but probably got a third of the trail explored.

The nice thing about this hike is that the trail – at least from the trailhead up about 3miles – is so wide. Though it is a steady incline it is also regular walking the whole way, not too much actual climbing. After the last few hikes which entailed a fair amount of actual climbing and hoisting and well, sucking air for some of us, this one is remembered fondly.

The trail wound up the canyon with views of the mountains all around and the stream running alongside. There were mountain bikers and the occasional fellow hikers but by and large it was much lower traffic than many of the other trails we have hit. Making a note to self to return especially as the trees turn in the fall.

of steers and spurs

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Few things make Colorado girls feel like they've come back home like a night of college rodeo. It's about as iconically American West as it gets and it never gets old. When we found out we had arrived in time for the regional college rodeo we sure as heck weren't missing it. At $4 a head it was half the price of your average movie ticket.

Every place has a story. This one is reading really well.

There's a story behind those chaps. I'm tellin' you. There's gotta be. You don't sew that into leather for nothing.

Aidan said if he was ever to do a rodeo event it would be steer wrestling.

His sisters pointed out that you don't get to pad up like football for steer wrestling…

So much fun. But I'm pretty sure we are all gonna be saying, "Son of a gun!" for the rest of the week now at least. Have I mentioned the emcee?

awesome

Exploring – Snowbasin

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

It was so warm in town we figured we would venture up to a trail near Snowbasin ski resort. When we got there the trail was still pretty soggy and as you can see there was still plenty of snow. We decided to backtrack down the mountain a little way and hiked through the canyon but not without looking around the area a little.

Exploring – Great Salt Lake

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

From the looks of it our east coast friends got buried again. Not sure how it happened but in this neck of the woods it was sunny and 70s. We took full advantage of that and headed to the beach. In March.

Wild

It is super fun right until you get salt in your eyes. Lunch restores good humor in record time though.

The lake and the mountains have become my landscape, my real world.

– Georges Simenon

Keep close

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

"Keep close to Nature's heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."

– John Muir

When we learned we were moving back to the mountain west I was determined to spend as much time up IN them as possible. We have always been hikers but our ranch in Colorado was 45min from the nearest trailhead. There were also farm animals to tend to twice daily. Things stacked up. It didn't happen nearly as often as we would have liked. That was one priority we had this time around – to keep close, to break away early and often, to climb mountains.

We started with Mt. Ogden since the western face trailhead is just a few minutes from our front door. It had been days since the last snow but the weather had already warmed to the high 60's. Short sleeves and sunglasses.

The peak is 9000ft so there was still a fair amount of snow as we neared the top. I made the mistake of taking the big girl camera along. It survived the climb but it definitely impeded my progress as the trail got icy. Next time – iPhone.

The views were incredible as expected.

I can't tell you how friendly everyone we passed on the trail was. Everybody said hello, talked to the dogs, asked about the conditions ahead or offered input on same if they were coming the other way. So by the time we were stopped for lunch and I was snapping this picture it didn't surprise us a bit when a couple passed and insisted I get in the frame too. I paused for a half second and said heck yeah because remember why? Because it's important that mom gets in the picture.

a thing of wonder

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Break, break as my husband would say. So many things floating through my head lately. I have been reading like crazy and working on new (paleo/grain free/AIP) dishes and exploring our new area. We are buying an older home and are planning our projects. Also have yet to tell you about the biggest, most embarassing fiasco that happened AFTER all the events in the other day's story. Stay tuned for all that. But I digress to show you how we spent the day that was going to be a back-to-school day. : )

SNOW!

Surely the novelty has long worn off for east coast and midwestern friends and I do feel for you! Cold, icy snow is no fun. Let me tell you though, that bright, sunny, warmish snow is a blast. Especially when it melts the next day. From a photographer's standpoint it was heaven after years in a dark, wet place. (which I loved too but is a challenge to shoot in!)

The littles spent an entire morning making a snowman and pelting each other with snowballs. It was exactly what they needed. We are still in that place where their nerves are a little raw and they are extra sensitive. Things that normally roll off your back tend to suddenly appear impossible to ignore and tears make a regular appearance. Nothing better than to cut loose and run and play. It's a simple cure for most of what ails a person.

"There is no bad weather, only inappropriate clothing." – Ranulph Fiennes

Expect variations on this theme in the days to come. ; D

"A snow day literally and figuratively falls from the sky – unbidden – and seems like a thing of wonder."

– Susan Orlean

Wishing you days full of wonder whatever the weather.

a few moments in Rome

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

(another in a series of random, non-chronological tale telling)

The ragged flag flying alone before those old shutters caught my eye while we sat and ate our lunch purchased from a small shop in Rome. Our feet were killing us. Ok me, mostly. I noticed it wasn't just me though. A lady was walking holding her sandals, wincing as she went. If I hadn't been so freaked about the germs and sharp objects that amass after millions of feet walk over pavement I might have been tempted.

Shortly before our break we had been walking down this street lined with vendors hawking their goods. In a split second a crowd came running at us like a scene from a zombie apocolypse movie. They darted around the corner before they reached us. There had been a scare that inspectors were coming around to check for licenses. It's nothing short of amazing how quickly those tablecloths can be gathered up…. and laid back out again as though nothing occurred.

And really nothing did. Nothing out of the ordinary. In moments all was calm. People went on shopping. We went on eating. And a wedding carried on at the end of the street.