NC springtime

Well the azaleas came and went in almost a flash and the best days of spring are already behind us. Life seems to speed up to double time about April and doesn't end until the school year is over. I keep meaning to write a letter, and figure if I start with just one week, it is better than trying to go back a month. And working my way backwards is also easier than trying to remember everything from a certain point.

Saturday May 23rd was two hikes and a picnic, luckily at the same park. Since it was Memorial Day weekend, there was no soccer, but Olivia and Dawna had an Activities Days hike at the nuclear plant's cooling lake's county park. If you just ignore the large concrete reactor stack billowing steam, it is actually quite pretty out there. I had a practice hike with the stake teachers and priests who were doing a 10 mile practice hike with full packs, for the upcoming 50 mile trip to Tennessee/Virginia part of the Appalachian Trail. Aaron calculated that he could miss this hike because 2 of three were required, and he didn't want to be all hot and sweaty for the ward picnic following the hike. I just took a change of clothes and did a wash-cloth rinse off in (very well-maintained) restroom. I tried an internal frame pack that didn't fit me well and was quite sore when I was done with the 10 miles. We saw a black snake, some deer, and a baby box turtle (the size of a silver dollar). I talked with someone who may be a lead for Logan's job hunt!

Dawna and Olivia had a group of 8-9 year old girls who were a little slower. They may have done 1.6 miles. Dawna only reported a few squished snakes on the drive out to the park!

Maddie has a friend whose family lives on some acreage in a very nice home fashioned after a French villa. On their land they have a hobby farm with goats, chickens, and a few foxes that want the chickens. They are very down-to-earth and welcoming to Maddie and their daughter's other friends. Their family was doing some hay baling on a near-by field as part of a cooperative and invited Maddie to come help. We took her down with a water bottle and gloves, and then drove Dawna's van to be dropped off at a mechanic's home for a repair. The phone call from Maddie later in the evening was "I am having too much fun, I am going to stay later!" The rest of the family went out for dinner at Arbys, which Maddie reminded us later, we had not been to since stopping at Wendover NV on the way out to Emily and Logan's summer wedding three years ago!

Because of a corrupt deal between the school board and teachers on the year-round calendar who wanted the day before Thanksgiving off, they took Memorial Day this year and made it an instruction day -- grr. So I have the day off, Aaron has it off, but the three youngest kids have school. Aaron will hopefully be making some more progress on his Eagle project proposal, and will try to get some skateboarding in.

We wish you all blessings and health where-ever you are!

-clark, dawna, and family.