Happy Halloween 2010!

Hope you had as much fun as we did!  Tennyson went as a "scary bat," Tait went as a teddy bear, and Suzy went as a deer in headlights.

After practicing his bat act for a week by running around with his eyes closed and screeching when he ran into the walls, Tennyson trick-or-treated like a pro and scored some serious sugar.

And here is our little dude in his pre-school costume parade.  Here he was a serious bat.

Halloween 2010 from Jeremy Stewart on Vimeo.

Three sentence book review: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey

An American Indian in a mental ward who pretends to be deaf and mute narrates this story of life in a 1960s mental hospital.  This is one of the most interesting and entertaining stories I've read; it sucks you into the mental ward and holds you there until the last page.  Unfortunately, it's just too crass to recommend (in my opinion).

Assateague Island Camping

We took a little camping trip over Labor Day weekend to Assateague Island, a barrier island in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Maryland.  It was super pretty and super fun.

Atlantic Sunrise

The early bird catches the best seashells.

Warming up in the morning sun after Tait's first night in a tent.

Assateague Island is teaming with wildlife.  This time we got to see dolphins, many types of crabs, cool birds, migrating Monarch butterflies, and those...

Famous Assateague Wild Ponies

And nothing strengthens those family ties quite like burying each other in the sand.

We buried mommy.

We buried daddy (and stuck a little cocktail umbrella in his head).

We buried Tenny.

And we even buried Tait (partially).

Some of us struggled to get out of the sand more than others.

Stuck from Jeremy Stewart on Vimeo.

Sure, daddy could have helped out, but then who would have held the camera?

We had a wonderful time, and made some great memories.  Speaking of which, here's a memory from our last outing at Assateague:

(Mostly we just like hearing Dr. Hale say "sand fetchers.")

Goodbye, Grandma

Helen Day Terry

July 2, 1915 - October 16, 2010

Four Generations

Meeting Tait

Turning 95

Helen Terry - 95 from Jeremy Stewart on Vimeo.

Back with Grandpa, and now we'll miss you both!  We love you Grandma!

Orderville Canyon, ZNP

One week after Pops and I hiked the Narrows, we joined Jason (Suz's bro), Ethan (his son), and friends of the Faldmo type to hike The Subway.  This adventure started off with a bang when we found out, upon meeting at 5:00 am to head to the trailhead, that we had a permit to hike Orderville Canyon, not The Subway.  Orderville Canyon is a slot canyon that runs perpendicular to the Narrows for 9 miles, then joins up with the Narrows for the last 3 miles.  I had long hoped to do this hike, but wasn't psyched to return for more Narrows punishment just seven days after the last round.  In the end, we had a great time and the trip was definitely worth it.  Orderville Canyon was spectacular at every turn.  The sunlight (and sometimes the lack thereof) created so many colors and highlights and shadows that I was in photography heaven.  If you have to choose between the Narrows and Orderville, I would probably go for Orderville -- all the beauty in 75% of the distance.  As always, here are a few shots of the trail.

Narrow Trail

Painted Trail

Fun Trail

This was my favorite part of the trail -- you walk under a boulder the size of a house that's wedged between the cliffs, and then rappel down the waterfall into a pool of water.  There are quite a few little adventures like this in the canyon, but this one was the most memorable.

Well-Marked Trail

Orderville Canyon and the Narrows are not easy hikes, but at least you're not going to get lost.  You will get wet.  And inspired.

Invasion

I'm William Tait...

...I'm four months old, and I approve this message.

Tait - 4 Months from Jeremy Stewart on Vimeo.

(It is becoming clear that we now have four talkers in the family.)