Home sweet new home

Katherine and Gabe's new home. The first change Gabe plans to make is to take the star down. 

Before the fires started, Katherine and Gabe had put in an offer on a house (duplex) in Ketchum. They were scheduled to close while we were away, so their banker, Maggie, another great friend and refugee we spent time with in Boise, arranged for the closing to take place in Denver. When we got back to Ketchum, Katherine  went by the house for the first time as an owner. Kath and Gabe want to do quite a bit of work on the house before they move in, so we took some pictures to document the "before" stage. One exciting feature of the house is that it has a great backyard where Hux will get to play. Gabe has been telling him all about the snowmen they will build together and the games they will play in that backyard.  I keep imagining all the flowers I will help them plant. Peonies to start!

This shows the back of the house and the backyard.

A view of the living room from the kitchen. This will be the first time Kath will have a fire place in Idaho.

A view of the kitchen from the living room. They plan to redo the kitchen as soon as possible.

A view of the master. They want to redo and expand  the closet and the bathroom.

A view of the master bath - this is the first project they want to do.

Colorado Rocky Mountain High

On Thursday we drove up to Idaho Springs, Colorado, and had lunch at a barbecue place and then we drove further up the mountain to see a glacier.

When we first started to climb the trail to the glacier, there was some steady rain, so Katherine and Gabe turned back to protect Hux, but in a few minutes, the clouds cleared, the sun came out, and we all made it to the top. 

Hux needed some nourishment before we hiked back, and Augie and Miles were perhaps more amazed by the miracle of mother's milk than they were by the glacier. 

Family and friends in Denver

On Tuesday we all took a walk together in Max and Katie's new neighborhood -  the boys - including Max and Gabe -  were all on skateboards or scooters. I am surprised none of the many skateboards, bikes or scooters can be seen in this picture. Toby the dog is missing too. 

The Schroders - Augie, Max, Miles, Katie, Gabe, Huxley, and Katherine.

Andrea's neighbors James and his mother Molly got to meet Hux too.

Ketchum Refugees

To escape the smoke and fire, Katherine, Huxley and I spent four nights in Boise, in the air conditioned comfort of a Marriott Hotel. There were other Ketchum refugees in Boise too. On the first night, we had dinner with Margot, Carter and Angus. I forgot to take pictures of that dinner, but it was lots of fun, especially meeting Angus. Margot ordered some french fries to start and Katherine was eating a few, and Angus commented, "Katherine, you're killing those fries." It was pretty funny and proof that not much gets by Angus. Hux did his normal reaction by sleeping through the whole event. 

The next night we met Liz, Josh, Robert and Anna for dinner and drinks.  This time Hux awoke and participated a bit in the socializing. There were other folks from Hailey there too, so it was quite a gathering. It was a fun way to alleviate some of the stress of being away from home due to the threat of a forest fire that eventually burned over 100,000 acres of forest.

After we spent four nights in Boise, Gabe, who had been working a bike event in Whistler, BC Canada, decided that we should all head to Denver for a few days. His brother Max and his family were scheduled to arrive in Ketchum on August 19, but instead we arrived in Denver to visit with them. Katherine, Gabe and Huxley stayed with Max and Katie, and I stayed with Gabe's Mom, Andrea.

A visit to Denver was a last minute decision, but it ended up being a wonderful time. Max and Katie and their two boys, Augie and Miles got to meet the newest member of the Schroder tribe, and Gabe, Katherine and I got a chance to visit Colorado.

Huxley did great on his first air plane rides. Other passengers complimented him since they hardly knew he was there.  

Katie, Augie and Miles met Huxley on their own front porch.

Katie, Max, Augie and Miles had presents for Huxley including a coon-skin cap and a children's book written by Aldous Huxley

Fire on the mountain

The threat of forest fire is always present in the hot and dry summers, but this year the fires came too close to Ketchum, and Katherine decided that we needed to get Huxley out of the smoke. The first night - Wednesday night - we spent in Twin Falls. There Katherine investigated cabinet possibilities from Home Depot. Later in the day, we thought it would be more fun to spend a few days in Stanley, so we returned to Ketchum and made plans to spend the weekend at a cabin in Stanley. Then we heard that the smoke was bad in Stanley too, so we were not sure what to do. Some friends had relocated to Boise and some said the smoke was heavy there and others said it was not that bad. So, we went back and forth about where Huxley would be safe from the smoke.

Finally, we decided that at least in Boise we would have an air conditioned room, so we loaded Katherine's car and drove to Boise. The pictures here were taken on the drive south on Thursday night.

A night at the symphony

One of the highlights of summer in Ketchum is when the symphony comes to town. People can bring a picnic supper and spread their blankets out on the grass. The night we attended was the pops program - an evening of songs from James Bond movies. 

Gabe and I got there first to stretch out in the area that Chatham and Charlotte had claimed earlier by placing two plaid blankets and a quilt. Gabe and I added another blanket to claim as much real estate as we could. 

                      Pretty soon, lots of friends showed up and everyone was happy to see Huxley.

Kat and Brad left their little baby Georgia Beatrice at home. But a few weeks ago, when Georgia and Hux met, Hux sucked Georgia's hand. We thought it was a good sign. 

Mel is visiting from Australia and met Hux for the first time.

Kathleen, Andy and Joshy soon joined the group. Hux attended Joshy's birthday party last week.

Hux was really styling in his striped sox.

The symphony is such a great time for friends to relax and share a feast. 

First swim

Hux had his first swim with both Katherine and Gabe as swim instructors. The pool at Greyhawk Condos, where I am staying, is a saline pool and heated, so the doctor told Kath it would be fine for Hux to take a dip. But I am not sure the little guy enjoyed it all that much. 

High Fashion

Kids' clothes today are so much fun. We had to get Hux to wear this outfit now since he has just about outgrown it already. The hat doesn't stay on very long without some assistance. But we thought Hux looked great in it.

This next picture is my latest favorite picture of him. I think we can start to see more of his personality in this shot.

Dreams and schemes

The happy Idaho family

Hux is starting to smile a lot now. He was six weeks old on Monday August 5.
This is a shot that Grandma Andrea took.

Hux is such a happy little guy. 

Another exciting development this summer is that Katherine and Gabe have put in an offer on a house (Duplex). It's looking like the sale will happen, so Katherine and Gabe are  making plans for improvements in the house. At breakfast one day, Katherine drew on a napkin a plan for some renovations. This reminded me so much of Stephen, who has drawn plans on napkins for me for years.

Here is the sketch of the kitchen on the left with a reconfiguration of the counters and an expanded laundry room to the lower left, and the living area with a dining table to the upper right, an existing fire place in the center of the right wall,  and a couch to the lower right.

 Another exciting feature of the new house is that it has a yard, and Gabe keeps telling Hux what fun they will have together with trucks and sandboxes and building snowmen in that back yard. 

Idahome

One of the gifts that Huxley received from Sarita and Ben is this tee shirt proclaiming proudly where he was born.  Most people, when I tell them where Katherine lives, ask me why she lives in Idaho, since she was born and grew up in Florida. But the people who ask me this question have never been to Idaho and think of it only as the potato state. I recently saw a tee shirt on someone that had "Idahome" on it. People who live here are proud of the state where they live, the state that has the most wilderness area of any of the lower 48 states.

 I love taking pictures of Huxley in quick succession because it becomes apparent that he is in constant motion.

Our trip to the top

On one day, Andrea and I rode the gondola and the chair lift up to the top of Baldy so we could see the view and the flowers and birds. I had told Andrea about seeing the Mountain Blue Birds, and we were hoping they would still be at the top of Baldy.

The bird is  blurry, but you can really see the blue

Andrea and I both tried to get pictures of the birds and flowers we saw at the top of Baldy.

Kindred Spirits

Andrea and I have long known that we share many of the same interests, so during her visit, we both enjoyed the various wildflowers and cultivated flowers in bloom and tried to capture some of that beauty with our photographs.

Hollyhocks in bloom near where we are staying

Sunflowers at the farmers' market

Since I have been here since June 12, I have been able to enjoy the blooming periods of various flowers. When I first got here, the poppies were in bloom. Now it's the hollyhocks and this week the sunflowers  have caught my eye.

 Hollyhocks