Kindie - Garten

It is a right of passage.....for parents - sending their first born off to Kindergarten.  Everyone says, "I cannot believe how quickly this has happened, she/he was just a baby the other day."  I officially would like to join that group of parents who have muttered those words.

The night before our oldest child started Kindergarten, my wife and I just sat for 10 minutes or so, watching her sleep and reminiscing with a list of "remember when's."  Like remember the day when we brought her home from the hospital, and let Winston (our most lovable labradorf (as our youngest says)) sniff her. And remember when I could carry her in my arms like a football, when she would sit in her car seat on the dinner table as we wolfed down dinner, when we would hand her over the fence to our neighbor so she could explore our neighbor's garden, when she would stretch out in her mini-footie pajamas such that her little bottom would extend so far that you could balance a tray on it.....

She now walks, sometimes falls, talks, sometimes demands, and is eager to learn.  The monkey bars are becoming easier to do, she now swims and does not sink, the alphabet is so yesterday along with the Wiggles (amen!) But to my wife and I, she will always be our little girl with big blue eyes, blonde hair and a warm and caring heart for all in her family.  Let the roller coaster ride begin... and pray that my blog entry about her first day of high school doesn't come too soon!!

A 30 Year Idaho Tradition

Some thirty years ago, my parents, along with nine other couples, invested in a two-bedroom condo in a sleepy little village called Elkhorn, adjacent to Sun Valley, Idaho, and minutes from Baldy Mountain.  Every summer and winter, we would load up the Subaru and make the eleven hour drive for the best skiing in the winter, the best hiking, swimming and golfing in the summer, and the best memories a child could have.

For the past ten summers I've had the pleasure and joy of watching those memories form for my wife, and for the past five years, for my children.  I have always loved this place, but have found that introducing it to someone else is even better.  Whether it is the joy of splashing around in the outdoor pools, where a swim suit dries in a matter of minutes because of the zero humidity, diving into the incredible mexican food at Despo's, shopping the farmer's market, or strolling the lovely, historic grounds of the Sun Valley Lodge while eating blizzard-like concotions, this place is the ideal spot for me to recharge my batteries and regain any perspective on life that was lost over the course of the year.

Though Elkhorn has become more than a sleepy little village and Sun Valley has been developed into a first class resort, with a bit of ritz, the core of Sun Valley has not changed.  There is a love and respect for the outdoors, khaki shorts and a clean t-shirt passes as being dressed up, and bowling at a bowling alley where the lanes have not been touched since it opened in 1937, make this place so special for me, and now the rest of my family.