tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46304817722699128632024-02-18T23:25:45.310-06:00~~ Reflections From Roaring River ~~Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comBlogger388125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-24093777455861049502012-08-24T08:15:00.000-05:002012-08-24T08:15:11.627-05:00Where's Waldo?Can you find the two cats in this picture?<br />
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Marie in tree; Skarloey leaping out of tree<br />
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<br />Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-54825907036603339222012-06-14T15:27:00.001-05:002012-06-14T15:27:27.718-05:00Three years homeThree years ago today, we arrived home with the most incredible little boy who has grown into such an amazing big boy. I look at him and see the 6-foot handsome man he will be someday.<br />
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In the 3 years since that surreal day in June 2009 we have learned that he:<br />
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<ul>
<li>is tough as nails but also super sensitive</li>
<li>can name 50 trains in the Thomas & Friends lineup, but is not afraid to wear a princess dress if it lets him be like his big sister</li>
<li>dislikes every food his sister lives for (bread, pasta, pizza, mac & cheese)</li>
<li>much prefers spice and flavor </li>
<li>loves to snuggle</li>
<li>sometimes likes privacy on the potty, sometimes likes company</li>
<li>likes to sleep with his head under the pillow</li>
<li>loves swimming, paddling, fishing, camping, going on any adventure with daddy</li>
<li>loves school (his mother's day out) and his buddies there</li>
<li>can name all his colors but gets confused with numbers and letters</li>
<li>still can't say the letter L (wook at my wips)</li>
<li>still loves anything that rolls (trains, trucks, bulldozers)</li>
<li>can't really carry a tune but has great dance moves</li>
<li>melts my heart every single day.</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYcWoTkLDEUW5PLLUz_GXnnRBSCrexJU-NAI8NJNLg77wU27n0aswTcJp7yUd7er6AQCxUHr0GgTv0t62hNZMYPvlZGe3RcXPmP0TQrm4sBeTnqmQno_bmGrbIgrR5d8MfAWJt4vm3wk/s1600/IMG_4802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYcWoTkLDEUW5PLLUz_GXnnRBSCrexJU-NAI8NJNLg77wU27n0aswTcJp7yUd7er6AQCxUHr0GgTv0t62hNZMYPvlZGe3RcXPmP0TQrm4sBeTnqmQno_bmGrbIgrR5d8MfAWJt4vm3wk/s400/IMG_4802.JPG" width="400" /></a>Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-89896035930388326622012-06-13T19:15:00.002-05:002012-06-13T19:20:14.225-05:00Wordless Wednesday - gravel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-20231238020739573082012-03-27T22:22:00.000-05:002012-03-27T22:22:53.415-05:00A turtle storyThe weather yesterday was glorious. So glorious I ditched work and took Delilah, my ornery sprite of a mare, out on the trail. The trail winds up through the woods, then spits you out onto a bald with a beautiful view of the valley and bluebird sky. My industrious husband built most of this trail with his own hands and a mattock, connecting and smoothing out old cattle trails so we would have several miles of stomping ground for horses and hikers.<br />
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There's a point at which the trail crosses an old log road and we often hoof it up the road to the blackberry patch on top (not producing now, but the hill-pull is a good workout for field potato horses). About halfway up, we encounter a few low-hanging branches and as I'm about to maneuver around them, I look down and see a turtle. About the size of a cereal bowl. Head extended, legs out, surveying the scenery with no fear, even as two giant creatures loom over him. I hop off to move him off the road lest my prancy, go-her-own-way steed trip over him on our way back down. As I reach down to move him, I see another turtle about 3 feet away on its back, head and feet tucked inside its shell. Weird. I place turtle #1 by a log on the side of the road. Then I lift turtle #2 and find him pleasantly heavy, hopefully indicating that life is still in him. I right him and place him by turtle #1. A little taken aback by the fearless turtle and the supine turtle in such close proximity to one another, I survey the road. Lo and behold, I spot yet another turtle a few feet away, also supine, legs and head drawn in. I glance up the steep bank on the side of the road. Perhaps they were all three racing down the hill and got going so fast, two of them rolled and landed feet up. Can turtles right themselves? Maybe two were so tired from their race, they decided to nap on their backs. Maybe there's a mountain lion in the woods stalking me now that was previously playing "roll the turtle." I gently lifted turtle #3, also heavy, and placed her (just to be fair to their unknown genders) next to #1 and #2. I look around and, seeing no other turtles to rescue, hop back on Delilah. We continue up the hill and roam around for a few minutes on top. When I can't stand it any longer, we head back down and find...<br />
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ONE TURTLE! Original turtle! Turtle #1! Head out, legs out, one red eye just looking at me as we stop to look at him. Turtles #2 and #3 are gone! I shout my incredulity and scare Delilah. Then I take one last look, scan the immediate vicinity for mountain lions, and we move on down the hill.Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-4248092608889781922012-02-28T15:58:00.000-06:002012-02-28T15:58:23.700-06:00Irony<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;">I majored in advertising and minored in marketing. Yet I resent the heck out of the manipulative tactics companies use to sell their product to people who don't need it. Or maybe I resent the fact that the manipulation works. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;">Look at these stats:</div><div style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;"><ul><li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;">The average American consumes twice as much as they did 50 years ago.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;">We see more ads in one year than people 50 years ago saw in a lifetime.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;">We spend 3-4 times as many hours shopping as our European counterparts do. </li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">In 1946, the U.S. was ranked happiest among the four most advanced countries. Fifty years later, the U.S. ranks 10th among 23 nations, many of them developing countries.</span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">And this crazy quote: <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">When asked how much money would be enough, John D. Rockefeller replied, "Just a little more."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">Ten years ago, I shifted my career in communications from marketing/selling to consumers to educating employees. I feel good about this. I'm not changing the world, but I feel like my company makes a worthwhile contribution. I don't fault people who sell for a living ... at all. I just want to be able to distinguish my <i>need</i> for something vs. my <i>want</i> for it -- the want that some salesperson or ad put in my brain.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">My last post talked about Simplicity Parenting and we're tackling the steps as I type. But I want to go a huge step further and try some Simplicity Living. I'm not sure exactly how to do this, but some inspiration from others seems like a good start. <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;">I lifted these quotes from my weekly mindfulness email*:</span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;">"Consumption...must be balanced to an amount appropriate with well-being rather than to the satisfaction of desires. </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;">Our ultimate happiness comes from being engaged in life, not just in acquiring more stuff. Ask yourself, "How much time am I investing in activities that have nothing to do with buying, acquiring or consuming?"</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">"When you are living in contentment, you automatically start to have a lighter footprint, a lighter use of resources. You don't have to keep adding more and more to your life. In fact, it feels really good to want what you have, to take care of it, and to be aware that everything you're using is a representation of energy...and you feel more and more part of a family."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't usually ask real questions here because I think I only have 8 readers, but, what the heck: What are you doing to Live Simply? Come on, step out of lurkdom. Say.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">*I apologize for not sourcing these, but I wanted to keep this post simple and I don't think the authors read my blog. </div></div></div>Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-58448943364923861872012-02-26T06:36:00.004-06:002012-02-26T06:39:55.611-06:00Parenting more simplyMy new goal.<br />
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I signed up for a Simplicity Parenting workshop hoping to learn how to use fewer (and softer) words to get my spirited child to behave better. What I came away with was a toolbox full of great ideas -- ideas I've heard and actually use (though to a lesser extent than recommended), but I'd never heard these ideas tied to such powerful research and child psychology. Disclaimer: I'm about to way oversimplify the research - I'm sure the book can fully enlighten anyone who's interested.<br />
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Anyway, the man who led the workshop and wrote the book <a href="http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS369&q=simplicity+parenting&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=5950708981884422634&sa=X&ei=UydKT9jUGIWG0QHL4MGVDg&ved=0CEsQ8wIwAw" target="_blank">Simplicity Parenting</a>, Kim John Payne, compared the stress on kids today to adults suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He said we're seeing the highest rates ever of ADD, ADHD, OCD, ODD, and a whole long list of other Ds. The U.S. uses 90% of the world's prescribed Ritalin. etc. etc. All thought provoking, eye opening, disturbing. Yet, is it really surprising? It seems so logical once you know -- more, faster, better. Toys, games, books, computers, media, lessons, classes, sports, advice, activity, choices. STRESS. Stress then leads the kids to fight for anything they can control.<br />
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Bottom line (again grossly oversimplified): A lot of the things we're doing for our kids with the best of intentions are whacking them out -- and they're behaving/coping/responding accordingly.<br />
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Payne's basic hypothesis: Take away the stressors and you can restore family harmony.<br />
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The next hour he spent on ways to reduce stress on your kids. Get ready; it's dramatic.<br />
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<b>1. Simplify your home environment. </b><br />
Significantly reduce the toy inventory. Donate half or more. Put another quarter out of sight/access. Establish a toy rotation that rekindles interest without having to invest in new toys. Create a simple environment that invites your child to go deep, use their creativity, create their own toys and entertainment. Get rid of your huge children's book library. Donate most, put others out of sight/access. Keep only 5-6 books out at a time. Again, this encourages kids to go deep. Think back to your childhood books. Which ones still linger in your mind? How many times did you read them back then? Hundreds? That's the idea!<br />
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We tackled this step today:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once the toy purging was complete, simple toys that had been stepped over for months became interesting again.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Egg cartons and toilet paper balls entertained most of the afternoon. And yep, that's a diaper on her head. Don't know why. Don't care. Maybe it's her thinking cap.</span></td></tr>
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<b>2. Establish rhythm. </b><br />
Predictability helps kids feel safe. Establish home routines your child can count on. Minimize the choices you offer, and sometimes don't offer choices. Your authority and gentle direction helps a child feel safe and builds trust.<br />
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<b>3. Simplify scheduling.</b><br />
Quit signing up for every sports team, enrichment class, lesson and organized group event that comes up. Do fewer play dates? Skip Disney World. Stay home. Sit down and read a magazine. Let your kids be bored. Don't suggest endless choices of activities. Don't hover. Let them figure it out, make it up, create it, tear it down, pretend, fantasize on their own.<br />
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<b>4. Filter the adult world.</b><br />
Eliminate screen media. Phones, computers, tv, video games. It's toxic and damaging. Today's images move way too fast for kids to process. Screen media changes they way kids' brains develop. Also, watch adult conversations in the presence of the kids. You don't think they hear you, but they do. Use this test before having an adult conversation in front of the kids: Is what you're about to say true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?<br />
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The workshop closed with this: Think of one of your fondest childhood memories.<br />
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Did it involve money? Was it extravagant or simple?<br />
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There you go.Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-72029997052603036742012-02-12T15:51:00.001-06:002012-02-12T15:53:52.722-06:00I'm down in a hole, and other crazy winter adventures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Actually, this is not me, but I couldn't resist quoting Gillian Welch. Is this dramatic or what? Spence went caving with some of my climbing friends, and this was their first stop at Neversink Pit.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ig14FWiD0_TPKJ9nz4SRE-HonuA79XRlHaomKMrxYtZEyd-XADER76VIReZGE9YYCtxpCBqHMhucsVoftLqYBHbC1D0rBPaahf1kYeN4VY6qSEkgjLf6eC7UJOxp0NPNWx1RRHZzbIQ/s1600/Neversink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ig14FWiD0_TPKJ9nz4SRE-HonuA79XRlHaomKMrxYtZEyd-XADER76VIReZGE9YYCtxpCBqHMhucsVoftLqYBHbC1D0rBPaahf1kYeN4VY6qSEkgjLf6eC7UJOxp0NPNWx1RRHZzbIQ/s400/Neversink.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once you get down, then you have to climb back up.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Can you read this? Would you rappel on this? Me neither.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC54aoqVALmZJTJcp6WOnthYSiLiajJUEYiAyPmWU0I5z1y-qARrddY3utw81jkablpnUXjUTq4CUCfv5USSBrTZt_QazH2cguMnI3E7Bnsdrj8JaH4JXPRSz2r0dz3Y4wJLT4RXNLdLM/s1600/IMG_9352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC54aoqVALmZJTJcp6WOnthYSiLiajJUEYiAyPmWU0I5z1y-qARrddY3utw81jkablpnUXjUTq4CUCfv5USSBrTZt_QazH2cguMnI3E7Bnsdrj8JaH4JXPRSz2r0dz3Y4wJLT4RXNLdLM/s400/IMG_9352.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My climbing friend Denis and his friends from Russia, Igor and Olga, outside Tumbling Rock cave in Alabama.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Spence and Jess</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJrN-Pr5Uz3O89-PvIbynQfVkaHHfbrmy9VmjO4R9VuvSM699Jd9jhZSQbRr3i0T2cvMU1EqhbkeNbe-oXC5x8kvIlWgzns4fah8XeOHYbKDx6r30w_5212GePY1ce2XHG_FLSMK4F0RI/s1600/IMG_9358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJrN-Pr5Uz3O89-PvIbynQfVkaHHfbrmy9VmjO4R9VuvSM699Jd9jhZSQbRr3i0T2cvMU1EqhbkeNbe-oXC5x8kvIlWgzns4fah8XeOHYbKDx6r30w_5212GePY1ce2XHG_FLSMK4F0RI/s400/IMG_9358.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Are those stalagmites or stalactites?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>In another adventure, my friend Paige took her new canoe on its maiden voyage down Roaring River on Super Bowl Sunday.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUsbE2jF6gAonTrwsGdzErvoL8LakgNQf22qaPb2ZvvZPgaa2JR9monqkDJQiG80snUZE3y8Dw4vphr24ErsjUSk5Jv99WpEoB-6CgqpyImT6PY85QThRBCWWm1BwZSdrA9PM8QXXrrYs/s1600/IMG_9381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUsbE2jF6gAonTrwsGdzErvoL8LakgNQf22qaPb2ZvvZPgaa2JR9monqkDJQiG80snUZE3y8Dw4vphr24ErsjUSk5Jv99WpEoB-6CgqpyImT6PY85QThRBCWWm1BwZSdrA9PM8QXXrrYs/s400/IMG_9381.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Paige strikes a pose before launch!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4yMjSsYX6FbFhO8zsYXWq5LHgLGwgdfCawfQoffF3Cp6AYyyy0oQLBP3-reK1TAgyi9d9odzLo3LhOIyknSCfphPOwk6Xb-kLxXyNpfTS_06kgiq-avbEd9S1Es62ctvaXAj6OC5AGU/s1600/IMG_9389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4yMjSsYX6FbFhO8zsYXWq5LHgLGwgdfCawfQoffF3Cp6AYyyy0oQLBP3-reK1TAgyi9d9odzLo3LhOIyknSCfphPOwk6Xb-kLxXyNpfTS_06kgiq-avbEd9S1Es62ctvaXAj6OC5AGU/s400/IMG_9389.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jess, Paige, Rebecca, Dawit, Spence, me, Caroline. It was a cold day! Only one of us swam. It's hard to tell which one from all the smiles. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>After the paddle, we squeezed in one more adventure before kickoff with a short hike to Hardscrabble Falls. Note the varied hiking footwear: fuzzy Crocs, cowboy boots, and you can't see them but Merrill suede clogs. One of those feet (the same ones who swam RR) fell into a large puddle.<br />
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We made it back to the house 2 minutes after kickoff. That would be a travesty among those who care.Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-7308441658960061852012-01-11T08:00:00.002-06:002012-01-11T08:04:44.334-06:00True gritI don't know many 3-year-olds who can hike 6.2 miles totally on their own two feet. I certainly don't know many mamas who would ask her 3-year-old to do such a thing. (How cruel, right?) But there IS one daddy who would. And he did. And that 3-year-old kicked some trail booty. So did his 5-year-old sister.<br />
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It's one of my favorite hikes. Twin Arches trail in Big South Fork. Beautiful and dramatic. And the pictures just don't do it justice.<br />
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So first an easy 0.7 miles to the loop's start, down, down, down a long flight of stairs. Then a 4.8-mile loop, the last mile of which switchbacks up, up, up the mountain. Then 0.7 back up the steps to the car. Total trip time: 6 long hours.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Down down down</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leading the squeeze </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand angels</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little rest</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hope it's not a poison ivy vine!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwSYQtktUhodEf3buSeJ_uv3_qAQZVWf4RxmOFWedQtimohLoE2yDRalC94F0N5T9f3WF0aaHbLyocPtQyzm962l9OLlmgoAE3WMYk8EH7faapK727ol9AwaagyyK2gjqwsBPlLocw3k/s1600/IMG_0287.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwSYQtktUhodEf3buSeJ_uv3_qAQZVWf4RxmOFWedQtimohLoE2yDRalC94F0N5T9f3WF0aaHbLyocPtQyzm962l9OLlmgoAE3WMYk8EH7faapK727ol9AwaagyyK2gjqwsBPlLocw3k/s400/IMG_0287.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where's Waldo?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiEx4hn4JFzSy-LMBA7Q3joEqj9Hc_cLW1F02eNSXnUGqwe96fn1zXfye84j-X1QJBJXB4HyaeDUgsogOcdqvYrVJFuAnoM4s8z8bVC3Z2_PcywPYajYzfdVuqmRGZMJdMqZNLqsBM7Sg/s1600/IMG_4340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiEx4hn4JFzSy-LMBA7Q3joEqj9Hc_cLW1F02eNSXnUGqwe96fn1zXfye84j-X1QJBJXB4HyaeDUgsogOcdqvYrVJFuAnoM4s8z8bVC3Z2_PcywPYajYzfdVuqmRGZMJdMqZNLqsBM7Sg/s400/IMG_4340.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RH4sEo0pAFIXpUtANWb6c7ONtbOrbwYYIU6_17Sag_ZPoxmCvs-HfOnKWqzrXdoDtXyZ9CV7cLri-P7aS1W63_FiRl8cvrcf-iuhV8Qv52gb2vqdA1Vb6Qf2tcvyvcOwhrZKRnkWUrg/s1600/IMG_0286.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RH4sEo0pAFIXpUtANWb6c7ONtbOrbwYYIU6_17Sag_ZPoxmCvs-HfOnKWqzrXdoDtXyZ9CV7cLri-P7aS1W63_FiRl8cvrcf-iuhV8Qv52gb2vqdA1Vb6Qf2tcvyvcOwhrZKRnkWUrg/s400/IMG_0286.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuvjG_EMir1r8yrXZz9VWLbLIBPtp5Nt_ZxuDGr4S5nealY8a8Tz3L9DgV2AjWYctsEi3FdYO2eafzFzwS401nUVGrmMSfSsPnU-Z1c3BzHh2xFKTDy-6GYaVoyWEDacaK7W9z4H6Dqk/s1600/IMG_0289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuvjG_EMir1r8yrXZz9VWLbLIBPtp5Nt_ZxuDGr4S5nealY8a8Tz3L9DgV2AjWYctsEi3FdYO2eafzFzwS401nUVGrmMSfSsPnU-Z1c3BzHh2xFKTDy-6GYaVoyWEDacaK7W9z4H6Dqk/s400/IMG_0289.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_-xmnvhGUOiG_9i2JTCldQOIkTPWaGgIw7OU5K3-b2X8B-M7XCFxzQdNeTRYohnh5g0rWGvkAqg6bfLIjCMwheQ6ve2hD1ncOUuxqAKnDABKYojjJ74sSu0Xogl-cuyzvZJrFvQFOm8/s1600/IMG_0290.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_-xmnvhGUOiG_9i2JTCldQOIkTPWaGgIw7OU5K3-b2X8B-M7XCFxzQdNeTRYohnh5g0rWGvkAqg6bfLIjCMwheQ6ve2hD1ncOUuxqAKnDABKYojjJ74sSu0Xogl-cuyzvZJrFvQFOm8/s400/IMG_0290.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extracting Daddy's cap from the sand</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-jFeLAdcstN-wpc1rKmpujf_YrlYlK3_PcATOmJrJi4AddAhLoWnrMDnPLPyj-MGpRlYRbCkslcUcqLq-OriqZrOkGzdb3GFgWfBhuDYBA3_NQHi090NpegeL0apO4z6QYSJFwHeACw/s1600/IMG_0291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-jFeLAdcstN-wpc1rKmpujf_YrlYlK3_PcATOmJrJi4AddAhLoWnrMDnPLPyj-MGpRlYRbCkslcUcqLq-OriqZrOkGzdb3GFgWfBhuDYBA3_NQHi090NpegeL0apO4z6QYSJFwHeACw/s400/IMG_0291.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Here, Daddy."</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ496xYJnAdHFtoep07K-EwWx5nmc6M_j51DTlDG-qM7Qri7pnsYaQXUU7xpJmFPclNwfZXjdgKNIRXS7BcLDY6MxJdG1he9bkrM8SH8yO4EEDOxDo97qTjhdm5VmDOoQWRbEVJIAu9uk/s1600/IMG_0304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ496xYJnAdHFtoep07K-EwWx5nmc6M_j51DTlDG-qM7Qri7pnsYaQXUU7xpJmFPclNwfZXjdgKNIRXS7BcLDY6MxJdG1he9bkrM8SH8yO4EEDOxDo97qTjhdm5VmDOoQWRbEVJIAu9uk/s400/IMG_0304.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leading the way</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjluuJQYU-dXFld3q_HENecZoMEJzGJzqtdbzr3DxKFCAKYsrYqSgZyyQAZRL4LAXe62s6mEZTYzkkf482Il-hjviUXJSeWMpXrhFbYyAb4hyphenhyphenq9RAzpdhsdSlGESIQyLyf_g8n6wV2hAmw/s1600/IMG_0301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjluuJQYU-dXFld3q_HENecZoMEJzGJzqtdbzr3DxKFCAKYsrYqSgZyyQAZRL4LAXe62s6mEZTYzkkf482Il-hjviUXJSeWMpXrhFbYyAb4hyphenhyphenq9RAzpdhsdSlGESIQyLyf_g8n6wV2hAmw/s400/IMG_0301.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking with purpose</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpjRiJNjAPlWFuBGNtXILoXwGV5PPvGYOC_hDIwkBcPVo3edtbT8uoYduBJevU5PLL9MTAhyphenhyphenqE6l5EP7BSz_r9MfIvPOgHmArvKSszscALxlKBkDWJ4t4bWf3HNtnE07Dqj7Gt4nvtQAc/s1600/IMG_0305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpjRiJNjAPlWFuBGNtXILoXwGV5PPvGYOC_hDIwkBcPVo3edtbT8uoYduBJevU5PLL9MTAhyphenhyphenqE6l5EP7BSz_r9MfIvPOgHmArvKSszscALxlKBkDWJ4t4bWf3HNtnE07Dqj7Gt4nvtQAc/s400/IMG_0305.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wiped out but the end is in sight </td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivSy0eKLnhhO_bLHpqGhEzcP1-fj0fgv54sVjiXnXxJC1wHYZmMhA880WqdaeWg09bD7eePEJHq5SsrGVg6o_SJsFKvU5df-GzNzd2sEmk86i3z77eURQJDfN04N_P5hE7nxfKUb_KMeU/s1600/IMG_0306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivSy0eKLnhhO_bLHpqGhEzcP1-fj0fgv54sVjiXnXxJC1wHYZmMhA880WqdaeWg09bD7eePEJHq5SsrGVg6o_SJsFKvU5df-GzNzd2sEmk86i3z77eURQJDfN04N_P5hE7nxfKUb_KMeU/s400/IMG_0306.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"This is hard work," he says. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAZQNPC_YQTwvqlkPfzkAvdLG2vbY7LValUy4U5DOdTUfE8tr5T09dDYPGgkRaRhToL4BHf-AL7irBvwbLf5hZsmlEuJtcD62UrPZn9iZv3Mwtyl_nabYghcdWOocBm_0FDx7KkLBXjw/s1600/IMG_4362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAZQNPC_YQTwvqlkPfzkAvdLG2vbY7LValUy4U5DOdTUfE8tr5T09dDYPGgkRaRhToL4BHf-AL7irBvwbLf5hZsmlEuJtcD62UrPZn9iZv3Mwtyl_nabYghcdWOocBm_0FDx7KkLBXjw/s400/IMG_4362.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The last pull to the top</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Yay, we made it! We're almost ready for the Ironman.<br />
<span id="goog_881013698"></span><span id="goog_881013699"></span>Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-39280329829558170722011-12-29T19:01:00.000-06:002011-12-29T19:01:22.404-06:00Holiday reflectionsOn the Friday before Christmas, the Inman kids and cousins gathered for an old-fashioned chili supper with all the fixins.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSo6VUojGKJMBnDGOtJ1pqB_GYb-fO6TWgZzAPxH-t4mz1bUSZ7lvGYcHyC0qxLnczQLd7h7j5RJxk4N03eYUP86y-jQkPumlw68felzSYMIclymkg3ynvr068xyZglBTvSccNRhOdqM/s1600/IMG_0143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSo6VUojGKJMBnDGOtJ1pqB_GYb-fO6TWgZzAPxH-t4mz1bUSZ7lvGYcHyC0qxLnczQLd7h7j5RJxk4N03eYUP86y-jQkPumlw68felzSYMIclymkg3ynvr068xyZglBTvSccNRhOdqM/s320/IMG_0143.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Norma's beautiful Christmas spread</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofFzDM5eEx1Veeg4W64y_aYhMZKXq_IFA94u6MgLW35hyphenhyphenMIWAYS0uE46o1LnpDiEdGOzBYRKJRLP7Aqusu4vsk7yiYlI88zYIHaGAaSMZh6A0NQ9P89vEODUbDBaDYdURuo1cmC0OrT8/s1600/IMG_0147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofFzDM5eEx1Veeg4W64y_aYhMZKXq_IFA94u6MgLW35hyphenhyphenMIWAYS0uE46o1LnpDiEdGOzBYRKJRLP7Aqusu4vsk7yiYlI88zYIHaGAaSMZh6A0NQ9P89vEODUbDBaDYdURuo1cmC0OrT8/s400/IMG_0147.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Norma's lovely real tree. My cheap self has used a fake tree ever since Spence and I decided that cutting down a cedar tree on our land was a pain, painful to decorate and a fire hazard. Next year I'm going real, cut by someone else.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvgIzKa3mLTHqNcSVdoL1asdg0CoxfPSVBISuiuYQwiesNmdDoDyRafwId-ERkMTTAFowAjRv4DcICyHBu3PLBQ1NmHzBkP9n1dNDYXpfDjSPa8EwZn4PUD4a8W3eO6vf5YI_CVVncjOk/s1600/IMG_0149.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvgIzKa3mLTHqNcSVdoL1asdg0CoxfPSVBISuiuYQwiesNmdDoDyRafwId-ERkMTTAFowAjRv4DcICyHBu3PLBQ1NmHzBkP9n1dNDYXpfDjSPa8EwZn4PUD4a8W3eO6vf5YI_CVVncjOk/s400/IMG_0149.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dawit, Sarah, Caroline, Savannah and Susanna in eager anticipation of opening the presents behind them</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4fvlbznPKm7N08NjPi_vzmgzOZ6asDQHlIWDqwp5z1ESUX46UifvvDOSzCqm33JJBvJPwVWsMtIJcDS5Zei2ThI8b5kx2BsvYP8VVUB6ioZhFjZ0lFIZd_3kIcBDGym7lXvTXRJZltkE/s1600/IMG_0162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4fvlbznPKm7N08NjPi_vzmgzOZ6asDQHlIWDqwp5z1ESUX46UifvvDOSzCqm33JJBvJPwVWsMtIJcDS5Zei2ThI8b5kx2BsvYP8VVUB6ioZhFjZ0lFIZd_3kIcBDGym7lXvTXRJZltkE/s400/IMG_0162.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uncle Spence and an unsure Susannah</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2quCxa_GHpmaqoKr39ihP-g1iyJWu82KqZomH5yKEXiK7iHpQyffZicdUUmgClVGynWWRrwgWNv1-KiJ9S7_TBbeBuVT0Bd31dxGi4fgVO4bHceJLNYeLmkrudaxqeKhWkQDIQwyUpwQ/s1600/IMG_0171.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2quCxa_GHpmaqoKr39ihP-g1iyJWu82KqZomH5yKEXiK7iHpQyffZicdUUmgClVGynWWRrwgWNv1-KiJ9S7_TBbeBuVT0Bd31dxGi4fgVO4bHceJLNYeLmkrudaxqeKhWkQDIQwyUpwQ/s400/IMG_0171.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vegetarian chili dinner (Connie's non-vegetarian variety was amazing too)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj747hkW2eHlUvnNh6teTRX8EnqdyLI1Jl6-yXdJTfw3bv3V5zJwrnqM2QZTteXieixu9pk2tASpjAsIYcBPMetUp3-aAvegHo-eLjQHkq4hd46u2UP83_N3OnRD_RzUPC0zpnqwMkTxXo/s1600/IMG_0177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj747hkW2eHlUvnNh6teTRX8EnqdyLI1Jl6-yXdJTfw3bv3V5zJwrnqM2QZTteXieixu9pk2tASpjAsIYcBPMetUp3-aAvegHo-eLjQHkq4hd46u2UP83_N3OnRD_RzUPC0zpnqwMkTxXo/s400/IMG_0177.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eager to rip in</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApN9vcLmsSlXiDD5P7DtRaVgyaKlPDNIa0j5wqZUCmyrle2XGY4XPLRXQQCX-nOVU2dqAwrfw0MSX4i6PHJeE7eTmtMABenYBpgs6D2fjShZw_4IGL83HG9k_fKKTQLkNLE6PgcTKoZg/s1600/IMG_0181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApN9vcLmsSlXiDD5P7DtRaVgyaKlPDNIa0j5wqZUCmyrle2XGY4XPLRXQQCX-nOVU2dqAwrfw0MSX4i6PHJeE7eTmtMABenYBpgs6D2fjShZw_4IGL83HG9k_fKKTQLkNLE6PgcTKoZg/s400/IMG_0181.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovebirds</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTjHr4yOHKwPM1o8JYF-qenLdK3eArqFNS4bDtfNuYakWsqGQ7CfS9_OTqkmbVB9vJ0OWUhpIthaIgj8GGrtsur48be9oaRquV69xAPOvGWWI5b-KoW8ufJUq8tro034_pszewQVBQ_MI/s1600/IMG_0184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTjHr4yOHKwPM1o8JYF-qenLdK3eArqFNS4bDtfNuYakWsqGQ7CfS9_OTqkmbVB9vJ0OWUhpIthaIgj8GGrtsur48be9oaRquV69xAPOvGWWI5b-KoW8ufJUq8tro034_pszewQVBQ_MI/s400/IMG_0184.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah and Caroline couldn't contain their excitement</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Wish I had pics of the chaos that subsequently ensued...<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div>Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-3606728713442123162011-12-28T17:39:00.000-06:002011-12-28T17:39:12.747-06:00Wordless Wednesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BX4glvEmH9Rg8eC8HbbdvCWFSGxH316KnAhzMVDi1qF8bxFFBaBh_C2xEoPAN87dyPqWozgvx3dEyNQ6TH5ozpAct-ZywrVeKmZqr3LXlBKwEPr-ryw7Wu52ihwyxkP7YjGyNLWYZus/s1600/IMG_4215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BX4glvEmH9Rg8eC8HbbdvCWFSGxH316KnAhzMVDi1qF8bxFFBaBh_C2xEoPAN87dyPqWozgvx3dEyNQ6TH5ozpAct-ZywrVeKmZqr3LXlBKwEPr-ryw7Wu52ihwyxkP7YjGyNLWYZus/s320/IMG_4215.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-49651075838088267662011-12-26T07:49:00.000-06:002011-12-26T07:49:24.214-06:00Christmas in full swing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAd3yF9fYsD6dgxEYyK9i2UNYZwEmPAzKJuMp0v7pYfQ6H2QJcNfPAxu1r7nsF3QFXi4Dh7XGfMOhLtI0JTl__0uKEqPo1kRknOVMnCt6y5CTKuA-fPac-vtEEmO2skMfm1buOerT6VEI/s400/IMG_4192.JPG" width="400" /></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtgyWoZWdAhaTdOTRDqZ3gK8ubdm_bo6NAcr2HUsHvKmhT-qKfne6I2Y_iqT7KkADSGiAEVXzpQB7BU0nOjsq2VxgX8hhxfwKiI6A9oTGL_36XoQspKAeCFgYHfVTT54BOPCHfiQRpmY/s1600/IMG_4198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtgyWoZWdAhaTdOTRDqZ3gK8ubdm_bo6NAcr2HUsHvKmhT-qKfne6I2Y_iqT7KkADSGiAEVXzpQB7BU0nOjsq2VxgX8hhxfwKiI6A9oTGL_36XoQspKAeCFgYHfVTT54BOPCHfiQRpmY/s400/IMG_4198.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_RPmMTWj5zXA6ZcB6TXntMz66VAt3Q8mNfuW8qBdRWspMzcbFuh4hzCfODG5_jGaEdKRtQQLHI70iMWeBVtY9vl7YTrhWF7uhFogSngNECyKzSl8YnX-FTce0U0T3bjCAVwEjoFpu4kU/s1600/IMG_4206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_RPmMTWj5zXA6ZcB6TXntMz66VAt3Q8mNfuW8qBdRWspMzcbFuh4hzCfODG5_jGaEdKRtQQLHI70iMWeBVtY9vl7YTrhWF7uhFogSngNECyKzSl8YnX-FTce0U0T3bjCAVwEjoFpu4kU/s400/IMG_4206.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2xj9S6muGjWfjRI70lQOH78WQvsrM6t172EOniJI7ajbc_pXMkJ59qke1-Izl8kfE0gyAOMrb2WIQ78suKkrHrHWIUB9B9-1HqduTON9LnILViqWbtAjvyUzo-Mdvfl25bSJN2zcbu8/s1600/IMG_4207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2xj9S6muGjWfjRI70lQOH78WQvsrM6t172EOniJI7ajbc_pXMkJ59qke1-Izl8kfE0gyAOMrb2WIQ78suKkrHrHWIUB9B9-1HqduTON9LnILViqWbtAjvyUzo-Mdvfl25bSJN2zcbu8/s400/IMG_4207.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Words are not necessary to describe the joy this toy of yore brought the kids. Their shrieks and giggles echoing through the valley said it all.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gBz3oGExNAoENQGt21pNCScVsilUINi2n4-ACEwji__LArGSqnoIHCGnaWzQKdsXj0dNmu02WXoCuOxVafIFpLCZylOiIqwEzZiJo5GQgwzXOFuSD2pfYmXzm0ro3vjTJ_inqe-odqw/s1600/IMG_4211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gBz3oGExNAoENQGt21pNCScVsilUINi2n4-ACEwji__LArGSqnoIHCGnaWzQKdsXj0dNmu02WXoCuOxVafIFpLCZylOiIqwEzZiJo5GQgwzXOFuSD2pfYmXzm0ro3vjTJ_inqe-odqw/s400/IMG_4211.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Skarloey wasn't as impressed.<br />
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***Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-59656627736548314112011-11-15T07:40:00.000-06:002011-11-15T07:40:02.234-06:00"Look at Owie!"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's what Caroline used to shout when Dawit was engaging in mischief of some sort. Except she drawled it out in this singsong voice, like "Lookit Owwwwwie!" Now we look at Owie and wonder where our baby has gone. This beautiful big boy came into our lives two years, 5 months and 7 days ago. Now we can't imagine life without him. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Today, he turns 3:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVI8psV_cYUyKhEEncZNTWLWP8Q0xS6Er5VzUpEukJ2n2ViPGNEuyb4MypHOUR6q7tHHx1QFHeX2A8WzyzyXGr9SfUBaWx1JL_FGKMt0K8_g7rMhXlBZb48LSh4ccs5cddJQXERjgAw0/s1600/IMG_0035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVI8psV_cYUyKhEEncZNTWLWP8Q0xS6Er5VzUpEukJ2n2ViPGNEuyb4MypHOUR6q7tHHx1QFHeX2A8WzyzyXGr9SfUBaWx1JL_FGKMt0K8_g7rMhXlBZb48LSh4ccs5cddJQXERjgAw0/s400/IMG_0035.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">2:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6QwAYERjVb2y6YQSLFSTDtV7lMSYr4jE4QNN7Ty8iPjDzVEbqq92bCJCxS7a0n9g3eUUgEEzFpf7aKN-6bFMoLDRQdKKbudewormwcNWOgqHW8sD15wLOR3Hj_c78pmtH_dAQ9WlWZ0/s1600/D2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6QwAYERjVb2y6YQSLFSTDtV7lMSYr4jE4QNN7Ty8iPjDzVEbqq92bCJCxS7a0n9g3eUUgEEzFpf7aKN-6bFMoLDRQdKKbudewormwcNWOgqHW8sD15wLOR3Hj_c78pmtH_dAQ9WlWZ0/s400/D2.JPG" width="330" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">1:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhNXXVok8DRQdXKwVyutDAc7YRjNcIeN2xD2Yzt3Qu-oZCOzAzsqVthXkb8uCU_-0fcsqH7Ht_Jy4BCtX5hNR2RI0GIvCURCN4swj9SDddIhdViCc98A6XynW4jqlShKbCQYH9wfrCUl8/s1600/Upload3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhNXXVok8DRQdXKwVyutDAc7YRjNcIeN2xD2Yzt3Qu-oZCOzAzsqVthXkb8uCU_-0fcsqH7Ht_Jy4BCtX5hNR2RI0GIvCURCN4swj9SDddIhdViCc98A6XynW4jqlShKbCQYH9wfrCUl8/s400/Upload3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We love you, Dawit! Happy birthday!</div>Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-47522490880931489802011-10-30T16:00:00.002-05:002011-10-30T17:04:14.262-05:00Poop dreamDawit is potty trained. Well, he's day-time potty trained. Which, as far as I'm concerned, is potty trained because I'm no longer changing poopy diapers.<br />
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How did we do it, you ask?<br />
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Here's how it went: We asked. He said no. We chased. He ran away. We smelled the evidence. He lied and said "No poop." We sat him on the potty. He produced nothing. We put his diaper back on. He pooped. We took his diaper off and vowed to watch for signs. We forgot and he pooped on the sidewalk. We sat him on the potty before bath. Nothing. He pooped in the tub. We tested him to see how long he'd sit in a poopy diaper. Then we called Guinness. Then we had a Guinness. Then we gave up.<br />
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THAT was a mere couple of weeks ago. Today, we are all four of us celebrating the gloriousness that is a potty. We're visiting it many times a day. We're high fiving over it. And congratulating each other. And waving good-bye to the poop as we flush.<br />
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Because we found the secret to potty training a boy: Don't give a crap.<br />
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Seriously. Put your mind in a place where you don't care if it ever happens. And I don't mean secretly care but pretend that you don't. Toddlers can detect that desire like you can detect a poopy diaper from 50 yards. If he suspects you care, it'll never happen.<br />
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You've got to completely give up the poop dream: Quit asking. Quit bribing. Quit buying M&Ms that only you are eating. Start researching size 7 diapers. Reinforce your changing table so it can handle 55 pounds. Draft that letter to his future kindergarten teacher warning that your son will be the first to enter school in diapers. Put away the cute Thomas and Friends undies. Put it all out of your mind.<br />
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Only when you extinguish all expectations will it happen.<br />
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It's really quite liberating because all you have to do is ... quit wanting it.<br />
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Please undertand that all of the above is just a bunch of bull. I no more have the secret than the 40 other people who've written books on the subject. This is simply what worked for us. But mainly because we're lazy. And because, in most circumstances, we don't mind our toddler sitting for three hours in his own feces if he doesn't mind -- as long as he doesn't want to snuggle.<br />
<br />
I will say that recently we added a rule that everyone in the family -- toddler included -- sits before bed and upon waking each day. We didn't ask, and we didn't use words like pee or poop. We just called it sitting, and there were no expectations.<br />
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That's all it took. Something clicked. Now he asks 5 or 6 times a day. Even though he's about a year behind Caroline, he's way easier because there are no head games. He doesn't yell out from bed that he has to poop just to delay bedtime. If he has to go, he goes.<br />
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One less thing. Yay.Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-2960537365902401622011-10-27T15:04:00.000-05:002011-10-27T15:04:10.957-05:00Summing it up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq3O5NNIyWEc10Hhyphenhyphen_28dNJSyJdpNHC27oJ_4KYkcSBizUq-jNPmuBh5Zb4yUOEbIrCO3oH2hb4LLQ-SuqPRcz0-D3LDgmQM6whAjLELPT56z2lCiTTnT15kW9AKI-X1fe-nMT5fdoHt4/s1600/IMG_3987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq3O5NNIyWEc10Hhyphenhyphen_28dNJSyJdpNHC27oJ_4KYkcSBizUq-jNPmuBh5Zb4yUOEbIrCO3oH2hb4LLQ-SuqPRcz0-D3LDgmQM6whAjLELPT56z2lCiTTnT15kW9AKI-X1fe-nMT5fdoHt4/s400/IMG_3987.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO2vRsX9Lh_H9dl0kk2VsuINM9WPe8jtctEKfTK27Y8uXVNQgg0PJIs4gfYOrBzXDyKWfNvyoYSAZHo60ZZNS_cwpxgjXPAs9sx-dhTXH6jUa5ijG-u-yYMycFGkTnHj-_INZ41O_unZY/s1600/IMG_3989.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO2vRsX9Lh_H9dl0kk2VsuINM9WPe8jtctEKfTK27Y8uXVNQgg0PJIs4gfYOrBzXDyKWfNvyoYSAZHo60ZZNS_cwpxgjXPAs9sx-dhTXH6jUa5ijG-u-yYMycFGkTnHj-_INZ41O_unZY/s400/IMG_3989.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCi4E1K7DzsrgUxrxO2abPbMdaZoTelbO_zJ93Ij1vy8zDHqafQ6OiSRd_zgeyv0k7xCuMBeU8e5TZbGXmQMuJHxeqB7DktjV7Lj3vQTdlmc9-ajafYc0_BnwuVF1B4-iT4N6ud2YdyTo/s1600/IMG_3991.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCi4E1K7DzsrgUxrxO2abPbMdaZoTelbO_zJ93Ij1vy8zDHqafQ6OiSRd_zgeyv0k7xCuMBeU8e5TZbGXmQMuJHxeqB7DktjV7Lj3vQTdlmc9-ajafYc0_BnwuVF1B4-iT4N6ud2YdyTo/s400/IMG_3991.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
If you wanted to capture the essence of my kids, wrap it all up in a neat little package, these three pics would almost do the trick.<br />
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<ul><li>Caroline has a spiral notebook and pen in her hand. She's happiest when she's adorning every available surface with hearts, happy faces and names of all the people she loves.</li>
<li>Dawit's pushing something with wheels.</li>
<li>Caroline's wearing pj's. Granted the sunset makes it look like bedtime is approaching, but she would wear them 24/7 if we (read: I) allowed it. If you draw the line at going out to restaurants in our sleepwear, Spence and I are on opposite sides of that line.</li>
<li>Dawit's cheesing it up for the camera, while Caroline is pretty much blowing it off. </li>
<li>Caroline's jagged little bangs give a little glimpse into her fiercely independent nature.</li>
<li>Dawit is the poster child for Thomas the Tank Engine. See shoes.</li>
<li>They're both a blur of activity.</li>
</ul><div>So different, yet so uniquely awesome. </div>Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-41667845656800248412011-10-23T14:20:00.002-05:002011-10-23T14:23:03.910-05:00Fall break at the lake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The earlier fishing pics of Dawit were a teaser to the week-long camping trip the kids and Spence took over fall break. I'm fairly certain there is no other dad on earth who would organize an adventure of this magnitude. If you know one, you're cordially invited next year.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNzCtU2GPIuxIjfc2bsDjuImcSVpYqUWEP7Pk_DbdQmVCsyAz_LBwdoriDZdBlE_goTH156kWmrqxwz7BYiwPpEExe3QkATtbFnjTL-rizHT_TRxxYNsM3sHJ89CJ83b03WXngJJeCkOE/s1600/IMG_3934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNzCtU2GPIuxIjfc2bsDjuImcSVpYqUWEP7Pk_DbdQmVCsyAz_LBwdoriDZdBlE_goTH156kWmrqxwz7BYiwPpEExe3QkATtbFnjTL-rizHT_TRxxYNsM3sHJ89CJ83b03WXngJJeCkOE/s400/IMG_3934.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Boat loaded, the three campers embark on a 20-minute paddle to what will be their home for the next 8 days: Big Goat Island on Dale Hollow Lake.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFPGsFHFQNsztRjSFlxconuvDZa7eSv0Hl7fHhLo9EU9fAbT3tFpuuv0l_K5P_QYqGM54eNi7NaZUtskVN0Ml9dT0oGcfInEavlTMX2d3ZEN24mVIlRmo1r1_7UzNS0EVawgxzvVbxpY/s1600/IMG_3946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFPGsFHFQNsztRjSFlxconuvDZa7eSv0Hl7fHhLo9EU9fAbT3tFpuuv0l_K5P_QYqGM54eNi7NaZUtskVN0Ml9dT0oGcfInEavlTMX2d3ZEN24mVIlRmo1r1_7UzNS0EVawgxzvVbxpY/s400/IMG_3946.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Caroline lives in her pjs no matter where she hangs her hat. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-ECTjmr5HgBjyP19bsRdyApOtPZEeNJLnNzOx80opyUw-LdYyEQQY2B7WZXtydLLZ4u8xkql_G2fjyYDE70AbSYtaDZu_pRg6HAF8L_bIzomsDk-fBsRb1j7EHOOtsvijzC7xe_01RE/s1600/IMG_3959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-ECTjmr5HgBjyP19bsRdyApOtPZEeNJLnNzOx80opyUw-LdYyEQQY2B7WZXtydLLZ4u8xkql_G2fjyYDE70AbSYtaDZu_pRg6HAF8L_bIzomsDk-fBsRb1j7EHOOtsvijzC7xe_01RE/s400/IMG_3959.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Just chillin'.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92qmtrscpCFMvVpLtUgsmM0qUXnP5U_5VJ_9bzrpj2GHHiAGvr7wcrHcDCf3NKSjoNNKe9B-UgfhNvfGO6CFp0VkYyPezfQ7DsgHVWmUMbhQZGYM9gW9JKzQL1qYCm-UJOOdRVhbzsGY/s1600/IMG_3962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92qmtrscpCFMvVpLtUgsmM0qUXnP5U_5VJ_9bzrpj2GHHiAGvr7wcrHcDCf3NKSjoNNKe9B-UgfhNvfGO6CFp0VkYyPezfQ7DsgHVWmUMbhQZGYM9gW9JKzQL1qYCm-UJOOdRVhbzsGY/s400/IMG_3962.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">C took her carousel of markers and a lifetime supply of paper so she could continue her art while roughing it. She ran out of paper about four days in. On my weekend visit, I endlessly mated pens and lids.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEyjrCT_nxvReVOfY4PAroOQldRZaTHFd6L9hZ4-KjujOS42fzIUPyjkTJt4UOHBkQtTai6QSnYg4OAsUZC0JXGWVLzQONfhp5fRerkn1LKxzOXofrdmikl2fIQ1inX4uK4OHPU3zu1s/s1600/IMG_3964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEyjrCT_nxvReVOfY4PAroOQldRZaTHFd6L9hZ4-KjujOS42fzIUPyjkTJt4UOHBkQtTai6QSnYg4OAsUZC0JXGWVLzQONfhp5fRerkn1LKxzOXofrdmikl2fIQ1inX4uK4OHPU3zu1s/s400/IMG_3964.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Dawit enjoying the fire and a cup of applesauce.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKhTsFG8LPxycjKW1I6cJyPdCVQZsSbptlMQKUevMH3KBFJ36zTny-lOY_MdDJP06y-UCDCInc2-zd7DvFltbaW5HdIHVEZ8MX9w7O85I5eQFHRD0shinPbWlb0q08ovxvLn2FyJ7Z4BQ/s1600/IMG_3969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKhTsFG8LPxycjKW1I6cJyPdCVQZsSbptlMQKUevMH3KBFJ36zTny-lOY_MdDJP06y-UCDCInc2-zd7DvFltbaW5HdIHVEZ8MX9w7O85I5eQFHRD0shinPbWlb0q08ovxvLn2FyJ7Z4BQ/s400/IMG_3969.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Exploring divers' rock. I had continuous heart attacks keeping everyone from leaping/falling off.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAiwfCWXuy9lgEDwpT7Wo-lEQmTxZPqL_R2skV-Gi0KI9yLJTdQtQlhB5y3O5b6Cbp-kxOHq4F2reckTjmQnaL6j15YYSdc0bKJnbgKBiUU_6cAlAT37YR_T_wGDVW-U9U1a0d0dzyGA/s1600/IMG_3973.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAiwfCWXuy9lgEDwpT7Wo-lEQmTxZPqL_R2skV-Gi0KI9yLJTdQtQlhB5y3O5b6Cbp-kxOHq4F2reckTjmQnaL6j15YYSdc0bKJnbgKBiUU_6cAlAT37YR_T_wGDVW-U9U1a0d0dzyGA/s400/IMG_3973.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Dawit washing clothes in a bear barrel.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDcit_LISV3Gz78mEmNG_p2MdTs4X-AQzm-DGz3AF5L7v40OUI9wHIEihS4GTpPrEHU5h4bhMBoaUopl-4XqU-1nW7Yv3uyCP1MIh0sNOsQnt9leoKurkwVvy3FvvbhO0L7A66k70hyphenhyphenjU/s1600/IMG_3976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDcit_LISV3Gz78mEmNG_p2MdTs4X-AQzm-DGz3AF5L7v40OUI9wHIEihS4GTpPrEHU5h4bhMBoaUopl-4XqU-1nW7Yv3uyCP1MIh0sNOsQnt9leoKurkwVvy3FvvbhO0L7A66k70hyphenhyphenjU/s400/IMG_3976.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Note the pink crocs on the wrong feet. Dad seriously lowers his manly standards when camping.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_as7l2u2N0eUlDApGNFI41poR1_0YUTToOAiR11oUXqeNEj-hNoFX1Qk30UFFuALJLkwLrvnQcbQehOpD70GGHfTlOunCgqjqVnW6wwRQW2Yce4AvwsS3Y95L3HHVfOfIscFrf0dZOjI/s1600/IMG_3978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_as7l2u2N0eUlDApGNFI41poR1_0YUTToOAiR11oUXqeNEj-hNoFX1Qk30UFFuALJLkwLrvnQcbQehOpD70GGHfTlOunCgqjqVnW6wwRQW2Yce4AvwsS3Y95L3HHVfOfIscFrf0dZOjI/s400/IMG_3978.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So "sweepy."</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJMUEKIVAnOBI0OckgILEgT3jo2aR6KqbciOaYw_3LSTEegIhhQ45z7VS7fFrqN8jQuST0u2NAT1tJGOzzR0Ak9IltgRn5iVmg61X_jQoRPCmLCuJ-OTR22jEWZlQhm-gQZKQBT0YPbRM/s1600/IMG_3984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJMUEKIVAnOBI0OckgILEgT3jo2aR6KqbciOaYw_3LSTEegIhhQ45z7VS7fFrqN8jQuST0u2NAT1tJGOzzR0Ak9IltgRn5iVmg61X_jQoRPCmLCuJ-OTR22jEWZlQhm-gQZKQBT0YPbRM/s400/IMG_3984.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Never without her pad and pen.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5Dzp_3-06YicfYxZJCqIytFf4B3vXqP-v6DWYXc90y_AJ2C_UwkTspnuThZ8acY2fkhvopQCKiwuugVL3KAC5ycxL_TmRhErrBnBid1D-IstVduqvjGe-nDqbV4JSC-Mk0fu0GRD5Sg/s1600/IMG_4000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5Dzp_3-06YicfYxZJCqIytFf4B3vXqP-v6DWYXc90y_AJ2C_UwkTspnuThZ8acY2fkhvopQCKiwuugVL3KAC5ycxL_TmRhErrBnBid1D-IstVduqvjGe-nDqbV4JSC-Mk0fu0GRD5Sg/s400/IMG_4000.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The gang picked up Mama Norma for a visit to Big Goat.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbwSi7OYJRd0PCsDtTfrXSffP3WC76zX0xkOWjrFrkOkR9iX1ls1IwTNpOA9-WIso3Tke5b2eQ6PpZzDnh103A9K4ef0UNWBvB8vlOVz9VHlImlAwIu4Q3OWNVUMtXPL6SrvAI2w8QrI/s1600/IMG_4003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbwSi7OYJRd0PCsDtTfrXSffP3WC76zX0xkOWjrFrkOkR9iX1ls1IwTNpOA9-WIso3Tke5b2eQ6PpZzDnh103A9K4ef0UNWBvB8vlOVz9VHlImlAwIu4Q3OWNVUMtXPL6SrvAI2w8QrI/s400/IMG_4003.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Packing to come home. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>On the way home, they stopped at McD's for a "healthy" dinner (way healthier than the camping fare of cheetos and squeeze cheese). When they finished, both kids declared they were ready to head back to camp.<br />
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Despite the fact they arrived home with not one single dry article, including the clothes they were all wearing, and all three had colds and a wicked cough, they all declared it the best fall break ever. Big Goat rules!Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-43443966831475560752011-10-18T20:50:00.001-05:002011-10-18T20:51:14.260-05:00Leaf walkSunday I took the kids on a leaf walk. As we collected, we admired the unique qualities of each leaf and marveled at how many different trees we have within 20 minutes of home. We compared some of them to things that would help us remember which tree they came from. (Which one looks like an alien? a cat head?) We talked about how leaves change color each fall and why they fall from their branches. We brainstormed art projects Caroline could try with leaves. It turned out to be a nifty little impromptu science lesson. Sort of. Dawit really just wanted to throw rocks.<br />
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Anyone care to identify these? Anyone? Anyone?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUJAPxcMJjpzeaEUYwmEnVvmP3P76NVGYTHVKbdDlv4x38RhzCw-rO1ayCI7O_TZvGI6n4C-dYq63KXffT-BSfUMzd9J6X6r0aB1F5fCFSCsouMFlsMi3f8k_gF8zem5F_g8E2CENNZQ/s1600/IMG_4004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUJAPxcMJjpzeaEUYwmEnVvmP3P76NVGYTHVKbdDlv4x38RhzCw-rO1ayCI7O_TZvGI6n4C-dYq63KXffT-BSfUMzd9J6X6r0aB1F5fCFSCsouMFlsMi3f8k_gF8zem5F_g8E2CENNZQ/s400/IMG_4004.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
These are the easy ones. Next trip, we're going to take our Field Guide to Southern Trees (or whatever it's called) and branch out, so to speak, to some harder-to-identify ones.<br />
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PS. That little round fella is a geode we found.Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-49723592477303070662011-10-16T13:13:00.000-05:002011-10-16T13:13:08.918-05:00Fishin' at sunrise<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGhMDVe3gcN3_-RLxV60F8JjvuFWCxtzYy6teP_LUOgvqL8HeROKuoSPcliCGi0ehp6t6XGqzq0aYfvCnoFZniEqxxiEXHttO1VwfMTVTAm3uG_-Pr3pebwqP_iEIXaYxM4YZe33zZU0/s1600/IMG_3936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGhMDVe3gcN3_-RLxV60F8JjvuFWCxtzYy6teP_LUOgvqL8HeROKuoSPcliCGi0ehp6t6XGqzq0aYfvCnoFZniEqxxiEXHttO1VwfMTVTAm3uG_-Pr3pebwqP_iEIXaYxM4YZe33zZU0/s400/IMG_3936.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitA-Bo1qXQEhnHK_8agDmcDadduTyrlOR5YpjgkTFGPpQ1YAG7TAHD_rIHEVDQU9k4lrP0n1FjSFJZZPuzHGzuEY1LYhmnmmBbW8P2nqk64_WrpclOvNtrhLiO4bqdsyOE5qh9qEHUnaY/s1600/IMG_3937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitA-Bo1qXQEhnHK_8agDmcDadduTyrlOR5YpjgkTFGPpQ1YAG7TAHD_rIHEVDQU9k4lrP0n1FjSFJZZPuzHGzuEY1LYhmnmmBbW8P2nqk64_WrpclOvNtrhLiO4bqdsyOE5qh9qEHUnaY/s400/IMG_3937.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwl7sCl8_PvIbTde2fTyz5DpQj3YwLlcFQMVevUVlHc_Y0YY51wZW_NcPxCmncQh690mAbL_sFyW-qB6X99VvslTC3BYODx-ypMGIM2TXx_Zp7_TDU58EAXef694oXUK0e9_AowKYvqpM/s1600/IMG_3938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwl7sCl8_PvIbTde2fTyz5DpQj3YwLlcFQMVevUVlHc_Y0YY51wZW_NcPxCmncQh690mAbL_sFyW-qB6X99VvslTC3BYODx-ypMGIM2TXx_Zp7_TDU58EAXef694oXUK0e9_AowKYvqpM/s400/IMG_3938.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-7737783883620352852011-10-06T19:50:00.001-05:002011-10-06T19:52:20.953-05:00I miss you in NashvilleDawit came with me to Nashville this week to visit his Nana. He always tells me, "I miss you in Nashville." It breaks my heart in two. So we decided this would be a good week for him to join me there.<br />
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Yesterday I took him to Gojo, the best Ethiopian restaurant in the city. We <a href="http://spenceandlori.blogspot.com/2009/11/dawit-turns-one-part-4.html">celebrated Dawit's first birthday there</a>. Ahmed, the owner, loves Dawit and always speaks to him in Amharic, which causes guilt to course through my veins for not working harder to learn the language and share it with Dawit. (Getting the tapes are on my to-do list.) So Ahmed says something to Dawit and Dawit says "yes." I looked at Ahmed, and he said, "I asked if he would like to come with me." So he asked again in English and Dawit took his hand and headed to the kitchen -- a place I've never been but would love to see in action.<br />
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A few minutes later, Dawit comes strolling back to the dining room talking on a cell phone. I hear him say things like, "Hop on Thomas" and "Thomas and Percy and Edward." Thomas the Tank Engine, of course, because that's his favorite -- and pretty much only -- subject. He eventually says "Bye" and hands me the phone. It was Ahmed's wife who wasn't working that day and was very sorry to miss D. I translate all of Dawit's jabbering for her and promise to bring him back soon.<br />
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As we're leaving, Ahmed invites Dawit to come spend the day with his family some weekend. He has children for Dawit to play with. Other than Ahmed's wife, I've only met his niece so I'm excited to meet more of his family and hang out. We chat about him being unable to go back to Ethiopia because of the restaurant. If he does go, he'd have to leave Shemsia behind or vice versa. It makes me sad. It makes me want to offer to run the restaurant so they can go together. I know they miss their country. And their families. And their own traditions. And their language. I hope they can make it happen. They're such wonderful people.<br />
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The restaurant was crowded at lunch. I love to see it crowded. And to watch the people try to figure out the eating protocol. But this day, people seemed to already know, which means they're likely regulars. And that's cool.<br />
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When we got back home after 3 days in Nashville, Dawit says to me, "I miss you in Nashville."Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-91501615271491968842011-09-14T18:12:00.000-05:002011-09-14T18:12:38.757-05:00WW: Second harvest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPDiS0lBcGWkfZ2BErMYfJWRoqDSsw3B_Tn0YcuYBQd_cpaqkpIZ8XXquXy5951zQcFttfhsooS_6NShZS-BedTQEcV1Ue7T4SXxvfENCqTZoG1HNNjsDd-ubcFpzIRoJqfHzHU04BBD8/s1600/IMG_3832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPDiS0lBcGWkfZ2BErMYfJWRoqDSsw3B_Tn0YcuYBQd_cpaqkpIZ8XXquXy5951zQcFttfhsooS_6NShZS-BedTQEcV1Ue7T4SXxvfENCqTZoG1HNNjsDd-ubcFpzIRoJqfHzHU04BBD8/s400/IMG_3832.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-24001450763458142932011-09-12T08:11:00.000-05:002011-09-12T08:11:00.540-05:00Today, she is...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtpzufM_5Zl4li6ogeNIIjRleTDDCR7HkhrCRQ-1zZ8pnulmW43zIBdY2oqTgLP3UvgWPt4tZQyH8raubaCSfQCAWveNBwZsGMTSPcYr5ZxRVTyybsPSW8TcIIOkwZi_eh-840CcBwhTk/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fkh91Rq4gIUDsvdqCVFfW1nb6V39cEFug8U_65PaST_IQ-GkHPgpYatVlYP_Uw1NnI0Ai-ETw-NCGYfnNi8Y4pCe1tdJ0CRU7_qM2fTMMFfzkau1SFQZwWW4OZ8Ns0oEqKuP9pfU-20/s1600/a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fkh91Rq4gIUDsvdqCVFfW1nb6V39cEFug8U_65PaST_IQ-GkHPgpYatVlYP_Uw1NnI0Ai-ETw-NCGYfnNi8Y4pCe1tdJ0CRU7_qM2fTMMFfzkau1SFQZwWW4OZ8Ns0oEqKuP9pfU-20/s400/a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We've come a long way since...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">ONE!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtpzufM_5Zl4li6ogeNIIjRleTDDCR7HkhrCRQ-1zZ8pnulmW43zIBdY2oqTgLP3UvgWPt4tZQyH8raubaCSfQCAWveNBwZsGMTSPcYr5ZxRVTyybsPSW8TcIIOkwZi_eh-840CcBwhTk/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtpzufM_5Zl4li6ogeNIIjRleTDDCR7HkhrCRQ-1zZ8pnulmW43zIBdY2oqTgLP3UvgWPt4tZQyH8raubaCSfQCAWveNBwZsGMTSPcYr5ZxRVTyybsPSW8TcIIOkwZi_eh-840CcBwhTk/s320/1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">TWO!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkwxGPsEKWLmNOJyhTvb6LKYWLHDVccsyhKQuAEb5jbkBaSGyJOWM62tLNKPUj3oAXktHgXvsxD191Iz0_i13ijfo-Yy7xjtTF4AB0PrwCr7hR4Dm-Mevv5J-i3ur6YMys82mJdmLhE94/s1600/2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkwxGPsEKWLmNOJyhTvb6LKYWLHDVccsyhKQuAEb5jbkBaSGyJOWM62tLNKPUj3oAXktHgXvsxD191Iz0_i13ijfo-Yy7xjtTF4AB0PrwCr7hR4Dm-Mevv5J-i3ur6YMys82mJdmLhE94/s400/2.JPG" width="308" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">THREE!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgzkxPCgv_qVSu52bf_801Z3b9MQBCa4lOCZmeIqU51YCd-uZ-2aLZDJ0ILkCMJtfhZwjLBSiub_TD13AZU-U4G6K7hSN7XPvhEGttYEzIr7zvrpUxUEmKg7hvIr1a8rNgsTlWFIGia0k/s1600/3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgzkxPCgv_qVSu52bf_801Z3b9MQBCa4lOCZmeIqU51YCd-uZ-2aLZDJ0ILkCMJtfhZwjLBSiub_TD13AZU-U4G6K7hSN7XPvhEGttYEzIr7zvrpUxUEmKg7hvIr1a8rNgsTlWFIGia0k/s400/3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">and FOUR!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRAibMvWh8inG-YGs-mKEJtjPPeULjGLjdmkM2pYpK7FeC5DdFSFEuyHPD2oamzQgcbfbsFLoUh8GSHgM9UzjFQdS21r3Yrn5btzOpjSGBXbp8czCxwT9LC7ceo7KexTsQ5_AkkzZEuyA/s1600/4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRAibMvWh8inG-YGs-mKEJtjPPeULjGLjdmkM2pYpK7FeC5DdFSFEuyHPD2oamzQgcbfbsFLoUh8GSHgM9UzjFQdS21r3Yrn5btzOpjSGBXbp8czCxwT9LC7ceo7KexTsQ5_AkkzZEuyA/s400/4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
We love you, Sweet Caroline! Happy 5.Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-82905904037585533802011-09-09T12:01:00.002-05:002018-09-23T18:38:07.204-05:00Her little brother<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-43168025583126017562011-07-27T10:22:00.000-05:002011-07-27T10:22:54.291-05:00Upsy daisy<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAxjCVZYmDUm9ZghE3ALVVbuVGeBvLSapfXK5Z4niJsifxwms1NYmxWjo_6MZZRTA88CXF_XauyMjvdtTYSZOw-Pda4cAIPeHiqtTtzGNCzGnivnOzUxqlgRa49HjDDosd2I1qxvOpeY/s1600/Dawit2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAxjCVZYmDUm9ZghE3ALVVbuVGeBvLSapfXK5Z4niJsifxwms1NYmxWjo_6MZZRTA88CXF_XauyMjvdtTYSZOw-Pda4cAIPeHiqtTtzGNCzGnivnOzUxqlgRa49HjDDosd2I1qxvOpeY/s400/Dawit2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzC91zf5NzQL9nh_0nZbGJQlfcKVQn1pddU6TrKj-SD9W040EssAsOZiW9tk6mIoHZt7S_naC_SaMdrG-PGDtiBaSc5ibG2OmZ4kbeUj3LVMuB5eK4cR3VgPgaDdQM7oicebf5Qsgopls/s1600/Caroline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzC91zf5NzQL9nh_0nZbGJQlfcKVQn1pddU6TrKj-SD9W040EssAsOZiW9tk6mIoHZt7S_naC_SaMdrG-PGDtiBaSc5ibG2OmZ4kbeUj3LVMuB5eK4cR3VgPgaDdQM7oicebf5Qsgopls/s400/Caroline.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-78114657714830519852011-07-21T18:30:00.004-05:002011-07-22T14:24:33.934-05:00Sharing the loveEver since I married Spence and moved to Roaring River Valley, we both talk nonstop about how to share its wondrousness with our friends. Even after 7 years there, I still love driving the tar-and-chip road upriver toward our farm under a long canopy of trees. I still walk to the barn on misty evenings to call in the horses and marvel at the peaceful, nestled feeling of being surrounded on all sides by steep soaring mountains. (I know they're probably hills by definition, but still, they're big). Sometimes I daydream that I'll quit my job, we'll go off the grid, blow up the TV and just hibernate for the rest of our lives in our little green haven on the river. It just feels like a safe place to hide away from an increasingly chaotic world. I also sometimes look up at the ridge towering over our house and expect to see a fierce line of warriors emerge on horses. (That's probably watching Dances With Wolves too many times.)<br />
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I feel okay about bragging on the beauty of our homestead because I really had nothing to do with it -- I simply married a pretty great guy who had the guts to build a home far, far from a grocery store. As such, we don't get many visitors. That is, unless we lure them out under the pretense of seeing something "purdy."<br />
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And boy, have we got it -- the surrounding rivers and streams and hollers and mountain tops (hill tops!) are simply as stunning as Middle Tennessee gets. But these are not the places you see by stepping out of your car and strolling a few steps. As blogamiga <a href="http://www.ahnten.com/if-you-are-ever-invited/">Julia put it</a>, Inman Adventures are not for the faint of heart. To witness the good stuff you gotta work a little. Or a lot.<br />
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After one such "sharing the love" adventure, one of my friends jokingly created the Inman Adventures Difficulty Scale, which is based on a special LOG-arithm (how many life-threatening log strainers in a river will you have to portage?). This particular excursion was a 9 on the scale.<br />
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Last weekend was a 3-4 on the IADS. We invited two amazing blogamigas and their families to come out and see the spectacularity that is Roaring River Gorge. This is the river that runs beside our house, but about 10 miles upstream where the rock walls soar hundreds of feet above your head. The kids we toted ranged in age from 2 to almost 11 (or maybe exactly 11). We waded about a 1/2 mile, anywhere from ankle to hip deep, to a great swimming hole, where the two oldest and most exuberant boys gave me repeated heart attacks as they slid down chutes and leapt into swift water. Spence, who thankfully is a mountain goat, had to hoof it after them, giving them a multitude of safety tips, while those of us with toddlers hanging off our arms picked our way over boulders, poison ivy and very slick river rock.<br />
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<a href="http://eastiopians.wordpress.com/2011/07/17/trip-to-the-roaring-river/">Theresa's pictures</a> tell the story best. She was our official photographer and I'm coveting her camera...and talent. We had only one loss: 3-year-old O's very nice sandal went floating downstream. (The river giveth and the river taketh away.)<br />
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While the river adventure was fun, the real love occurred back at the house over beer, sangria and Ethiopian fare. Julia graciously made misr wat (lentils) and I tried my hand at a vegetarian version of doro wat (chicken stew) with tofu. The kids explored every cranny of the house (eek!) playing hide and seek, a couple of lucky ones got to meet and greet the horses and even scoop some poop. And one daring soul dangled from the monkey bars, patiently and silently waiting for an adult to gently help her down (O, you know who you are!). Later, the girls (and one boy who will remain nameless) had a princess dress-up party. Although I'm dying to share it, I am saving that picture for future leverage.<br />
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While the six kids ravaged the indoors, we grown-ups got a rare few minutes of peace to sit on the front porch swings and talk about parenthood. It was like therapy for Spence, who as a SAHD doesn't get as many opportunities to learn from and trade ideas with other parents. We discussed education, discipline, sibling rivalry, gender differences, the diversity limits of living in a very rural area, and whether or not it's cool for your 2-year-old son to dress up like a princess (it is!). After everyone left, Spence couldn't stop talking about how comforting and validating it was to learn that the challenges he experiences every day are normal and not some byproduct of terrible parenting.<br />
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I am so dang lucky to know these amazing gals AND their families. They're so beautiful and hilarious and fun and wise. And I'm not worthy!<br />
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Here are a few pics to supplement Theresa's awesome ones. In case you didn't look the first time<a href="http://eastiopians.wordpress.com/2011/07/17/trip-to-the-roaring-river/">, go now</a>, you'll be glad you did.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very exuberant boys about to embark on a river adventure</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very wet and slightly less exuberant boys</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three blogamigas on the rocks (caption courtesy of Theresa)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9slJFlywYy9s8dm4ClEwcfV_A1Qk3RH3aPLUrykwIUfx-K8OJjs-_Tc1do7WrFqqmdartO8-nd5_Wqg-Kawjzhlzrnm-X5tHCFj636OkgaurRu86cx40ogZ_Od3bhsdTeKvSvgtwjkeU/s1600/IMG_2873.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9slJFlywYy9s8dm4ClEwcfV_A1Qk3RH3aPLUrykwIUfx-K8OJjs-_Tc1do7WrFqqmdartO8-nd5_Wqg-Kawjzhlzrnm-X5tHCFj636OkgaurRu86cx40ogZ_Od3bhsdTeKvSvgtwjkeU/s640/IMG_2873.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buds</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIah6RZSCQg4ptVspokYuZ8MUl7ywHmr3o7vDOIRkU1Cp-t6yC68Rdqjsq0R5gr2aCOUMLhxBZQTEflR8D_zYRq6cMTAzEd_1b3_DJvnz99wdpF1Prz6N7CWtnnP_xyVCuwOt0NSaxLWM/s1600/IMG_2878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIah6RZSCQg4ptVspokYuZ8MUl7ywHmr3o7vDOIRkU1Cp-t6yC68Rdqjsq0R5gr2aCOUMLhxBZQTEflR8D_zYRq6cMTAzEd_1b3_DJvnz99wdpF1Prz6N7CWtnnP_xyVCuwOt0NSaxLWM/s640/IMG_2878.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The long walk home</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZLr0QFndAU-sf3PwDrjWJ78NDsLUJKVP-3jZH9WDjAgtjPAC_vFcQt7Wn3s0wVgDi2-wJ3XZTHtEb9Eh35kLuc0dDyrd4y1ep0MMwg2CZ82J38M6oRFMjhGB7fSffkJ1isbzDREGeTU/s1600/IMG_2882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZLr0QFndAU-sf3PwDrjWJ78NDsLUJKVP-3jZH9WDjAgtjPAC_vFcQt7Wn3s0wVgDi2-wJ3XZTHtEb9Eh35kLuc0dDyrd4y1ep0MMwg2CZ82J38M6oRFMjhGB7fSffkJ1isbzDREGeTU/s640/IMG_2882.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wading and swimming</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgccB4EnrRkyd6QDtcPESC7x1Y6XEeXkJSwLtuHhoTWjOKcB6kDe1_d2mv5Dj_AquKZa1GU-M5TO7jCr_RTAtUu2SRcNStFy4RbPAib2jOv3TqFDJ820kwu-Ct7-vSmpnkpTUleMeLbpmI/s1600/IMG_2877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgccB4EnrRkyd6QDtcPESC7x1Y6XEeXkJSwLtuHhoTWjOKcB6kDe1_d2mv5Dj_AquKZa1GU-M5TO7jCr_RTAtUu2SRcNStFy4RbPAib2jOv3TqFDJ820kwu-Ct7-vSmpnkpTUleMeLbpmI/s640/IMG_2877.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosemary shows off her driftwood creation</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvuMY3DullISzNk5AAnbth8vmb8Nq8GLLEWJj_hvkwFUqhnGeIh41tgeufCkF4xnH9n3wgf_u-HfHZsxRbMCJsOA_XW0_g_kUkv_PNcfEvKuOc44tTldKzBVskPSLLoYjBB61o-yuFPsQ/s1600/IMG_2884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvuMY3DullISzNk5AAnbth8vmb8Nq8GLLEWJj_hvkwFUqhnGeIh41tgeufCkF4xnH9n3wgf_u-HfHZsxRbMCJsOA_XW0_g_kUkv_PNcfEvKuOc44tTldKzBVskPSLLoYjBB61o-yuFPsQ/s640/IMG_2884.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">D and O loving the mud</td></tr>
</tbody></table>What a beautiful day.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgccB4EnrRkyd6QDtcPESC7x1Y6XEeXkJSwLtuHhoTWjOKcB6kDe1_d2mv5Dj_AquKZa1GU-M5TO7jCr_RTAtUu2SRcNStFy4RbPAib2jOv3TqFDJ820kwu-Ct7-vSmpnkpTUleMeLbpmI/s1600/IMG_2877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-24705555008745438842011-07-06T13:55:00.002-05:002011-07-06T13:55:22.809-05:00WW - planning some squirrel stew<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0TlcokXGg8RU6E3ZroqQ5fdNNffFoUcl9lJT61yqG7hQsMphnOTjya9bb0P3j9kxZedTKxObT5lkq1Qt9jGv3DL8iTIkjloS4-dk1e3o62bm19S4kaAe4ld7uORaaGTRPhdr30kGTZs/s1600/IMG_2728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0TlcokXGg8RU6E3ZroqQ5fdNNffFoUcl9lJT61yqG7hQsMphnOTjya9bb0P3j9kxZedTKxObT5lkq1Qt9jGv3DL8iTIkjloS4-dk1e3o62bm19S4kaAe4ld7uORaaGTRPhdr30kGTZs/s320/IMG_2728.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630481772269912863.post-35112028750886604902011-06-29T07:24:00.000-05:002011-06-29T07:24:10.297-05:00Wordless Wednesday - fishin' with Daddy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ge_ACa_THU-_fzHilRAX3jH_KcbAI7yH29mVTWrcCvP9Dv8P2PUTXhYW88-wXTLBTqHH_EiXJv5_XhI2xk4yFPe-puHu3xX4f-hNSgISgObNXggy5wsbRPlQbBb5EC4DT599iI_0Nas/s1600/IMG_2059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ge_ACa_THU-_fzHilRAX3jH_KcbAI7yH29mVTWrcCvP9Dv8P2PUTXhYW88-wXTLBTqHH_EiXJv5_XhI2xk4yFPe-puHu3xX4f-hNSgISgObNXggy5wsbRPlQbBb5EC4DT599iI_0Nas/s400/IMG_2059.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRo-B_nNvEWL9i2Y5-ULPFLF5btnrhL1XToQtzlS_OQVDvjgwdawHi5Gyh59zbsS4bF7rcXljPuuHRfOAhh88iO4IJkeavkrnu3thzXX1QIs5CgR_cPL8TlXdW597P4lmvQOrkFyBr8A/s1600/IMG_2065.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRo-B_nNvEWL9i2Y5-ULPFLF5btnrhL1XToQtzlS_OQVDvjgwdawHi5Gyh59zbsS4bF7rcXljPuuHRfOAhh88iO4IJkeavkrnu3thzXX1QIs5CgR_cPL8TlXdW597P4lmvQOrkFyBr8A/s400/IMG_2065.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7AsIiNU6CDl_irkSzeVC4hyphenhyphenR9iMzoqtqW17QXB7C8Z9sv2ZmyzPbL0bx5MOlkzRYljNWET1XMWx3vcBLA8ZjPFS5-WXM8QyA0LL_R9PbyGVHHdgaEDG0QuClizWDcxx0_9iaiDfCOJg/s1600/IMG_2068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7AsIiNU6CDl_irkSzeVC4hyphenhyphenR9iMzoqtqW17QXB7C8Z9sv2ZmyzPbL0bx5MOlkzRYljNWET1XMWx3vcBLA8ZjPFS5-WXM8QyA0LL_R9PbyGVHHdgaEDG0QuClizWDcxx0_9iaiDfCOJg/s400/IMG_2068.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Lori Inmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02328420229217450817noreply@blogger.com