Month: September 2021

hi my name is emmett i am writing hippo’s great invention.

i am making the worst wrinkly bagels

this is where i taught mom to jump

i am not having fun on my quarantine

i am not having fun with webbs. Ut oh. Mom’s taking over now. Up until now I was selecting the photos and sounding out the things I wanted to say. She seemed pretty pleased until now. Sheesh. She said something about being too negative.

Other things I did during the time my kindergarten class was in quarantine:

I got to stay up late and look at the Harvest Moon with my new telescope. Thanks, Nana.

I also made lots of sidewalk art…

and watched Bob Ross, then tried to make my own happy trees.

I also made biscotti – it needs to be 12 inches long, so I busted out the tape measure to check.

Can you stop taking my picture?

No, OK.

I also, after many failed attempts, got a sourdough starter going and made some delicious bread.

And learned to tie my shoes.

The Bigs figured we should go backpacking since we were supposed to stay away from people, so we hit the trails.

We stayed near S. Matthieu lake

and had views of North Sister (Faith) Mountain. We tried and tried to get good pictures of her.

Quarantine’s not that bad…

It was The Bigs’ 14th wedding anniversary. WE celebrated at the Midtown Yacht Club with

Mezze platters (baba ganoush with pistachios and feta , olives with almonds and orange, Moroccan carrots with mint, fried cauliflower with tahine, pita and falafel)

and halvah for dessert. The Bigs were not entirely sure what this was, but it sure was tasty.

Pork and Beans Man. You may think this is a funny-looking getup, but wait…

It gets even better:

Practicing my chords:

We’ve had fall-like weather lately, and that means rainbows:

We also did some weekend mountain biking at Phil’s:

Moroccan lentil salad with apricots and almonds:

This week I made pretzels. Before:

After:

I also had my first and second days of kindergarten.

It made me tired.

I also made a solar powered car,

went for a bike ride and a hike,

and bought and planted some new houseplants. These are MINE. The Bigs refuse to take responsibility for cacti and other hard to grow plants. I am not afraid.

I also ate grilled figs with pomegranate molasses

and pasta with broccoli, preserved lemons, and chickpeas.

This is going to be a long one folks. We traveled 3750 miles. Mom may have taken 3750 pictures.

We hit the road on August 4th. The first night we camped near the Oregon/Idaho border and the second night we stayed near the Idaho/Wyoming border. On the third day we drove through the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area on the border of Wyoming and Utah.

We were on our way to see

dinosaurs! We went to Dinosaur National Monument. There are real fossils still in the rock to see. This picture does not do its amazingness justice!

We camped on the Green River and did some hiking while at the Monument.

There were a lot of petroglyphs to see.

Then we headed to Grand Mesa, Colorado for some mountain biking and then on to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. We stayed at a campground that had restored narrow gauge trains.

Next up, the cabin!

Ryan, Nora, Aunt Michelle, and Uncle Chris met us there. I took everyone on a hike to the top of Pennsylvania Mountain the first day. Why not? Sea level to 13, 006 ft? No problem.

Almost there.

Here Ryan and I are at the summit!

Ryan and I built cool forts.

Nora and I made my birthday cake. Chocolate cake with blueberry frosting (my idea).

Uncle Chris made me work for my presents with a treasure hunt.

No problem, because I am six.

We also hiked to Limber Grove. Some of the trees there are around 1000 years old.

We also did some mountain biking in Frisco and Fairplay and a few more hikes around the cabin before we left.

We saw lots of beaver dams.

It wasn’t all fun and games. We did lots of work too, like sanding the deck.

But doesn’t it look great?

Next up, off to Vernal, Ut for some mountain biking.

We rode

AND

We were not done yet. Next stop? Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowa Mountains of Oregon for a backpacking trip.

Here we go.

The map said 7 miles. My watch said we’ve been going 8. What’s up?

First night’s campsite.

Up over Ivan Carper pass on the second day. Come on Bigs!

I am the Lorax and I speak for the trees.

The third day was an easy hike out along the Lostine River.

Now we are home and stuck inside due to smoky air. So we are in the kitchen. I made banana cream pie,

banana oat pancakes,

pecan honey granola,

and honey oat bread.

I also helped The Bigs make Farmer’s Market Fried Rice

and kimichi noodles.