I’ve been blessed to find myself with invites to row the Grand Canyon 3 years in a row. This year the invite came from Michael Picker and Nini Redway, and I was eager to accept. It was just Margot and I this year, but we
Video from my recent Grand Canyon trip with my 11 year daughter. Her second time down the canyon, and she has done other big river trips. But I was nervous because she was the only kid on the trip, other trips she has at least
This is House rock rapid, one of the first big rapids encountered. Those rafts are 18 foot rafts for scale. I was too far left and we very nearly got swept off the boat, but I caught the oar tower on the way out and
Margot has been drawing friendly monsters, and I’m really impressed. She drew this for Kim for mother’s Day.
Margot and her team played in a challenging tournament this weekend against higher ranked teams than they normally play. They did awesome. Lost every game, but played super well and held several games to much tighter games than expected.
Hazel had her first game with the school soccer team. She played super well, especially considering it’s been 4+ months since she played a game.
A good chunk of the island of Rarotonga is surrounded by a shallow lagoon, protected from waves by the reef. This makes for some great snorkeling, with much of it easily accessible from the beach. Just from the beach we saw tons of colorful reef
Aitutaki is a tiny island with a huge lagoon. There are a handful of small resorts, but the island is probably one of the least developed places we’ve been. For dinner, there are just a few places to eat (we did find one we loved),
We booked two full day private boat tours with T’s Tours Aitutaki. It was a bit of a splurge, but felt so worth it. We had an awesome time doing several extended snorkels, so time exploring the motus and islands. An absolute treat.
Although we spent much of our time on this trip in the water, we also enjoyed some great meals, an awesome fire show, fun markets, and just exploring.
I had hoped to do a couple days of diving on Rarotonga and on Aitutaki, but for various reasons we only ended up doing one. Was a super fun day, with Hazel and I doing two dives in the morning, and then Kim joining us
Hazel is home sick today. She texted me this: I’m stuck at homeSuper-duper sickNo places to roamI wish this was a trickI’m so boredThis house is so quietOutside birds soaredWhat rhymes with quietI’ll be better by tonightI wish we had more guacamoleBy friday I’ll be
We took the girls for the long promised and long overdue ear piercing, and then for some nice indian food after.
Girls had a day off for Cesar Chavez, so we headed to Big Bear for a day trip. Had the pleasure of having one of hazels good friends come with us. Conditions were pretty meh, but we had a great time regardless. With zero lift
Hazel had a poetry assignment for school. They had to create a book with a certain number of different styles of poems, including haikus, cinquain, diamante, ballads, ode, and elegy.
#9 and #10/52 new recipes for 2025 i make tacos pretty frequently, but these were significantly different recipes. Both were delicious. #9/52 Mango Jalapeno Carnitas #10/52 Orange marinade smoked tritip. the tri tip was not quite as tender as I would have liked, but still
We did Tuesday tacos, and Margot was playing with my phone while we waited. She said she was trying to look mysterious.
If anyone eats gluten free or cooks for someone that does, highly recommend two things: 1) Get yourself the pictured cookbook. The recipes aren’t simple, they involve a lot of mixing your own flour blends, but they have all been fantastic. 2) Get yourself a
So cute On Mon, Jul 13, 2015, 09:50 Kim <kimluujennings> wrote: Hazel was inspired by a Sid the Science kid cartoon and decided she wanted to "hunt for dirt and investigate what’s in dirt." Hazel’s backpack contained a notebook, pen, and magnifying glass. Margot was
Hazel’s big request for our trip this year was to revisit the Little Colorado, and her big wish was that we’d get the amazing blue colors. Lucky enough, there was no recent rain and we had a fun time swimming and exploring.
Lava Falls is one of the higher rated rapids on the Grand Canyon, and a clean line is normally celebrated. Hazel was nervous and rode with my friend Geno (who has an anti-flip device on his raft). But Kim and Margot braved it with me
A very fun couple days hanging out with and paddling the SF American with good friends. It was their first time paddle rafting!
We had some friends join us this year, which was super fun. Jr Guides Raft Camp is an incredible 3 day rafting experience for the kids. Although their is always an experienced instructor/guide in the raft, they truly put the kids in the drivers seat
In June 2024 I was able to help put together a trip for a 19 day journey down the Grand Canyon. It was my third time down, Hazel’s second, and the first for Kim and Margot. We had some excitement when I put the whole
Earlier in May I spent a week paddling the Salt River, in Arizona. Was a fun time, with good company, good food, great scenery and amazing skies, and a surprise bonus of the northern lights! I’ve not really paddled much the last few years, mostly