The Tales of our Adventures

::wildflowers

::these two have an understanding

::is there any greater love than watching a friend's naked child?

:Lily quickly turned the dock into a stage.

::Selma is quite happy to become a wild dog for the weekend, hunting snakes and fawns.

:This swingset was so fun.

::Yum: waffles for breakfast.

::Hugo is starting to accept snuggles from more members of the family.

::on the dock looking for tadpoles in the morning.  We never did catch one.

::on a mule with a hunting hat.  I think she's never been happier.

::there was a hill covered in fossils, and Michelle is a fossil hunting maven.  Each girl found and took one home as a souvenir.

::early morning snuggles

::Watching a butterfly out the window

::Hugo actually did a great job running around naked until about two minutes before we left, at which point he climbed on top of the piano and peed all over the piano and living room.  I sort of think it was intentional, that little miscreant.

::If you squint you can see the mama deer with her fawn! Such a beautiful thing.

So I can't help myself from sharing a few stories from the weekend.  Perhaps the most dramatic was when Selma (our pup) spotted a fawn and chased her into the wilderness.  Selma has only run off once, and it was while on a hike with Ben.  He was walking with friends on a trail, and she darted off after some wild animal, and was retrieved many miles away thanks to her dog tag.  We forgot to take her tag with us to the farm (eek!).  She spotted the fawn and ran at breakneck speed.  Apparently, both Selma and the fawn are quite the skilled runners.  Patrick heroically sprinted after her... for miles, while she ran after this little fawn: up a mountain, up and down the ridge, and finally pouncing on the poor thing. Well, thankfully for the fawn, it turns out that Selma has no idea what to do with prey quite that sizable, and so the fawn just bounded up and away, while Selma collapsed from exhaustion.  That must have been the single best day in Selma's life.  We spent the evening worrying about the fawn (would she find her mother? Was she okay?) only to see her, happily frolicking with her mother the next morning.  The happiest ending to the story.

We hunted and found fossils, saw countless types of scat, and hiked up to a lookout tower for dinner.  The boys enjoyed a 35 mile bike ride (look out Tour de France), and Michelle and I soaked in some mineral springs (so relaxing and amazing!  I have been dreaming of them since getting home!).  

But excitement aside, I think the best thing must have been doing absolutely nothing.  We read and cooked and napped and enjoyed one another's company.  What a restful place!