Breaking in the Kelty

One of the activities Justin and I enjoy doing together is hiking. Shortly after moving to the LC Valley in the summer of 2006, we embarked on our first backpacking trip: the Milton Creek Trail. I see no need to revisit the painful details of this hike, and by painful I mean the loss of at least 5 of my toenails; instead, I will simply point out that the photos below were taken in the first 2-3 miles of the trip, before the trail dropped all the way down into the farthest reaches of the valley. Notice how we are still all smiles at this point?

Smiles were a little hard to come by the next day when we had to climb all the way back up the mountain in 80+ degree heat. But, we made it out alive, no thanks to the millions of tiny little bugs that ate at us the whole drive home too... oh, right, I said I wouldn't revisit these details. Sorry. Seriously though, in spite of getting in a little over our heads on this hike, we came out of it with a new hobby we both enjoyed, and battling through the adventure together made me feel like we were even stronger of a team.

The following summer we tackled our second trek: Oregon Butte. This time I had the proper hiking boots (oh how I love my Merrells) and we were just all-around more prepared. We even enjoyed some bacon for breakfast. Thats what I call camping!

Unfortunately, we haven't backpacked since. The summer of 2008 quickly gave way to our IVF journey, and in the summer of 2009 Kendry was just a newborn.

With the warm weather arriving, Justin and I are both getting excited to do some camping and hiking. Naturally, we intend to take Kendry with us, which is why we recently purchased a Kelty carrier for him. Yesterday I took him for his first ride.

Hear me out before you laugh at the thought of me trekking around my neighborhood like a lost hiker with a 23lb kid on my back. I am, after all, still training for my Big Climb this weekend and figured walking some hills with the extra weight on my back would be a great workout. Sure enough, it was.

I did feel a little like a pack horse, with the shifting sounds emitted by the Kelty reminding me of a saddle squeaking lightly with each step of the horse. And Kendry grabbing my pony tail like reins didn't help. I suppose its unfair to expect a 10 mth old not to grab the pony tail bouncing up and down mere inches in front of his face.

It hit 70 degrees here today, so Kendry's first real hike isn't too far off. Possible hiking sites: Clearwater National Forest or Palouse Falls.

Big Climb

Its not too late to sponsor me or our team (Step it Up) for the Big Climb in Seattle on March 21st. We'll be climbing 69 flights of stairs to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. So dig out your pocketbooks and donate! I have attached the Big Climb website link to the right for your convenience ---->

Or you can go directly to our team's website:

http://www.llswa.org/site/TR/Events/BigClimb?team_id=26350&pg=team&fr_id=1110

Amanda and I did this climb two years ago. See the tallest building I am pointing to? That is where we'll be climbing - inside the building, of course.We don't look too worse for the wear here, do we? Only 9 more days until its climbing time...

The Adventures of the Red Bag

Not needing to pack much for our overnight trip to Montana this last weekend, I happily dug out my adorable, bright red, faux snakeskin Bath & Body Works duffle bag. Is this bag totally cute or what?Allow me to give you a little background on this bag. The week before our wedding in 2005, I was shopping with my mother, grandmother and sisters in the Wenatchee mall when we wandered into Bath & Body Works and saw these wonderful red duffle bags. My grandmother, wanting to mark the occasion with a gift to us girls, bought each of us one of these bags. So you see why this bag is so precious to me.

As I am prone to overpacking for every little excursion I travel on, I don't often get to use my red duffle because it simply isn't large enough. But every time the occasion (and my belongings) fits, I am practically giddy as I retrieve the bag from the closet and admire it lovingly. Every time I see the bag I think of my grandmother, my mother and my sisters, and I feel loved. To me, this bag epitomizes the Binder women.

The men who have been so fortunate to marry the Binder women, however, all seem to hate the red bags. My wonderful husband, who will occasionally hold my purse for me when needed, refuses to carry this bag. A few years ago, I had the splendid opportunity to dig out the bag for a short overnight trip Justin and I were taking. Trying to be economical, I attempted to pack both of our belongings into the bag. Justin walked into the room as I was doing this, stopped dead in his tracks and said "You're taking that thing?" When I told him I was indeed, he promptly walked to the closet and pulled out his own bag. Nevermind that we both could have easily traveled with just the one bag. No, sir.

When I shared Justin's adverse reaction to the bag with my sisters I found it humerous to discover that they had each had similar reactions from their spouses. But my husband's aversion to the bag has left me undeterred. Truth be told, I think it has emboldened me to find more occasions to use it. When it came time to pack my hospital bag when Kendry was born, which piece of luggage do you think I selected? You got it! In Justin's defense, that was one time he willingly carried the bag for me. He doesn't hate it enough to make his contracting, overdue wife lug it in from the car.

As I packed for our mother/daughter trip this last weekend I had a fun idea to start documenting the travels of my precious red bag. As of today, the bag is nearly four and a half years old and has been on many little trips with me, but very few that I can specifically document for you. Therefore, we will start with what I can recall.

1. Trip destination: Gritman Medical Center, Moscow, Idaho

Purpose of trip: the birth of our precious first born, Kendry Dru

Date: May 2009

2. Trip destination: Kalispell, Montana

Purpose of trip: mother/daughter trek to pick up my parents' new standard poodle puppy, Ramses

Date: March 6-7, 2010

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Meet Me in Montana

As I type this my mother is on her flight back to Fairbanks. Miss you bunches already, Mom!

Now, cue the Dan Seals and Marie Osmond tune. Montana is B-E-A-utiful! But I'm getting ahead of myself, so let me start at the beginning. Saturday morning arrived with blue sky and incredible sunshine - a perfect day for a drive. We sent Kendry and Justin off to spend the day with Justin's family. Here is my little man ready for a day with Daddy, riding up front in the old Chevy pickup.

Mom and I meant to be on the road by 8am. Actual time of departure: 9am. Not too shabby!And barely 30 minutes later we were already stopping for our first photo op. There is a Gimlin Road near Pullman, WA, which said landmark I am told is a reference to this Gimlin bloodline. Justin and I have driven past this sign many times and have commented on how we should take a picture someday. When I told my mom about the sign she insisted that this be the trip, and it was. Two hours later, mom and I vanished into the black hole that is the Spokane Valley Mall, only to claw our way out three hours later. Oh right, we were supposed be be driving to Montana, not shopping. Whoops! Fortunately, Montana allows you to legally drive 75 on a two lane highway, at dusk, with a winding river on one side and a falling rock hazard on the other, so we made up for a little lost time. Okay, I didn't really drive that fast; I had my mother in the passenger seat, after all. But seriously, who is in charge of these outrageous Montana speed limits?

Our Spokane shopping delay, therefore, made us miss a bit of Montana scenery on Saturday because by the time we neared Kalispell it was pretty dark. We found our hotel fairly easily and hurried off to enjoy the hot tub. Aaahhhh.... and goodnight.

9am Mountain Time: Good morning, Kalispell! (This greeting only after a morning dip in the hot tub, of course.)

From our hotel looking toward Glacier National Park:

Now on to the main purpose of our trip: picking up my parents' new standard poodle puppy. We drove 45 minutes toward Glacier National Park, where we were pleasantly surprised to encounter more and more, and more, snow. What would I do without my wonderful SUV?

Shortly thereafter we were introduced to Ramses:

From there, we headed right back the way we had come, only this time we got to thoroughly appreciate the beauty that is Montana, particularly Flathead Lake.

Can anyone doubt there is a God when observing this breathtaking scenery?

And now, the moment you have been waiting for, my emotional breakdown from being away from Kendry. Okay, not really. While I did feel my heart lurch when I heard a baby's hurt cry in the mall on Saturday, I was able to pretty much relax for the majority of our trip. That being said, when we still had three hours left of driving on Sunday I was getting pretty antsy to get home to my little boy. So, we don't have photos to show for the remainder of the drive. However, here are a few highlights to cap off my road trip summary.

Lessons learned:

1. A Toyota Echo can, in fact, be fitted with a hitch and haul a trailer behind it.

2. In true Alaskan fashion, my mother can ride for five and a half hours with her heated seat on the entire time.

Wildlife spotted:

1. Two beautiful swans basking in the sun on Lake Coeur d'Alene.

2. A handful of deer grazing in a meadow in Lolo National Forest.

3. At least six roadkill skunks, which made for a very fresh-smelling drive.

4. The most adorable standard poodle puppy.
Kendry really enjoyed Ramses too.

Finally, like any good mom, I had to bring home a gift for my kiddo. His very own little sunglasses.

I brought home Krispy Kremes for my other "kiddo".

Leavin' my baby

This day had to come eventually. Tomorrow morning my mother and I will embark on our road trip to Montana to pick up her new puppy, and my boys will be left to fend for themselves until we return on Sunday afternoon. Thats right, folks, my very first overnight away from Kendry.

In envisioning this "first" over the last 10 months I have never experienced any anxiety. Its just one night after all, and Kendry sleeps 10-11 hours a night anyway. So technically, Kendry will be sleeping for about 1/3 the time I am gone. No big deal. Even as I type this, my emotions are leaning more toward my excitement for this girls' weekend with my mom than they are my fear about being away from Kendry.

I'm pretty certain both my mother and my hubby expect me to get a little bit emotional over this experience. Perhaps by this time tomorrow night I will be doing just that. Or, I will be relaxing in the hotel hot tub with my mom, relishing the idea of sleeping in later than 6:30am the following morning. Who knows?

This is a pretty precious face to tear yourself away from, even just for one night.

But he will be in great hands.