Clara Margaret (aka Meg, Meggy, Megsy, or simply Princess Margaret, as the sovereign herself occasionally requests) surprised me one morning with the fact that she could read. After some lengthy errands we were hunting for a suitable place to eat lunch.Clara: “Why don’t we go to ‘Open’ for lunch?” (Pronounced ah-pen.)
“Open?” I said. “Where’s that?”
“Oh, they’re all over the place. There’s one there, and there…” pointing to stores as we passed. As I looked I realized they were all over the place: the car wash was open, the video store was open, the bank was open, etc. We finally decided on an Open that was associated with food.
I admire this little girl. She is a true tomboy, sweetly defined once as “she can rough and tumble with the best of them but wears a sundress like it's second nature.” One of my favorite stories is actually sort of creepy. I was napping one day, along with the rest of the family. I was in a half-sleep stupor when through the daze I heard clip, then a little raspy feminine voice murmur, “Oh, Mommy. You look soooo pretty…” Clip. I practically jumped from my bed to find a wide-eyed Princess Margaret sitting on my pillow with some large scissors and a small pile of long dark hair in her lap. Thankfully my hair was pretty layered then and Michael swore he couldn’t see any holes, that he wasn’t just preserving the life of his only daughter.
Meg is the only child I’ve ever had a clear and obvious spiritual prompting on behalf of. I’ve had impressions with the others, to ask a question or to say something, or give someone a hug instead of time-out, etc., but with this one it was obvious. I was stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce for dinner one warm evening in Texas when I had a picture in my mind of Clara falling off the top of our shed roof (15-20 ft. high, concrete below). Interesting, I thought, since she’s in there watching football with Michael and the boys. Thought I’d check anyhow. Of course, she wasn’t watching football, so I ran outside to find little naked, diapered 2 yr. old Meg scaling the fence with one precarious foot on the roof of the shed. Close call. All sets of this girl’s guardian angels are in full swing all the time I’m fairly sure.
Once I called Clara "Muffin" (Michael’s nickname for her). “Um, Mom, could you please not call me that?”“Why not? Your daddy does.”
“Yes,” she explained patiently, “but he doesn’t make me think he wants to eat me.” I guess one must have a certain degree of instinctual self-preservation when they live in a little pink cream puff body, with honey hair, strawberry lips and blueberry ice eyes. I had to laugh. (And Michael’s still the only one allowed to call her Muffin.)
It suffices to say, I love this daughter of mine. She causes me fits sometimes, and it was clear from minute three after her birth she was going to be our hardest child (this premonition has proven true). But she creates equal parts joy in our family. I hope I can help her decide to be a strong, intelligent, virtuous woman someday. Someday, but today we’ll play with her pet frogs. Below, at swimming lessons just after her 2nd birthday in TX. Watching her was sort of like watching ducklings jump out of their treetop nest. Have you seen that? Well, there's a taste of Clara Margaret!
Not so long ago, in a galaxy not so far away, a mother decided it was time to take a break from the nonsense of daily grind, and escape into nature. She loaded up her children (dad sadly couldn't come), called school and said they weren't coming, and headed for the far side of Mt. Hood to a little known haven called Wamic. She didn't know exactly what they would find, but was certain it wouldn't have anything to do with Primary or homework. And she anticipated the wholesome musk of horses, the cool skin of little frogs, good company of family, and nighttime skies filled with stars. They were off!
Each day was so much fun the kids crashed before their heads hit the pillows. Isaac even fell asleep on Will's hand this time.
Grandma Mikkelsen took the kids on a death-defying truck ride. They all got to pile in back.
Elizabeth and her baby Scarlett visited for a day. What fun! There's my brother Matt who snuck in the picture behind us. He's always a fun friend for my boys. This really isn't a great picture of any one of us, so I'm wondering why I included it...
Meet Norman. Big Norman.
Miriam, John (good family friend and owner of the ranch) and I went for a long ride in the wilds of Wamic. It was glorious to be on a horse again, even if his name was Norman. Above Miriam and I are parked momentarily beside a stream. Early the next day we took the kids on a long exploration of the stream and a waterfall several acres up. Miriam has those pictures though, so I'll post them when I get them. Oodles of kids, frogs, stick wars, and a snake or two. One of the boys even found a long forgotten hand scythe. Clara took that as proof that pirates had once inhabited that bend in the creek.
During our ride we came to the Cliffs of Insanity. Where's Andre the Giant when I need him? Where's anybody--my sister was no good to me...
...she was roadkill. Can you see the river and trees below? It was a breathtaking view.
Clara, meeting her brand new cousin Esme for the first time. Wish I had a better picture because it was a sweet meeting.
Isaac completely in his element. He's our star creature catcher and found something alive for nearly everybody to keep. We came back with our share of pets, almost all caught by Isaac.
L to R: Ava, Elena, Grace, Clara. That combo equals trouble!
James planting a nice slimey one! After kisses he always says, "Day doo!"
Dinner over (and in) the campfire. The kids came back completely covered in dust and soot, and since we didn't have water at night they pretty much got to sleep in it. I think that fact alone made this adventure all the better.
One of my favorite parts of our little escape was riding with Jacob. After not too much trial and error he got pretty handy with Reno and we had a wonderful time.
Riding lessons for Will. 
After Jake's and my ride Clara got up behind him, and Isaac took my horse. That was a rewarding moment watching my three oldest ride off on their own little adventure. It took me back to my childhood when we kids would take off on a horse and not come back until we were hungry. A child's paradise. Makes me wonder what I'm doing wasting precious time living in a neighborhood (even though I do love my house and neighborhood). Some day we'll be able to save up enough to buy a piece of land and let our kids grow up with the smell of horses and farm life.
Gracie and Baby Grey cuddle up during a truck ride back to the cabin.
Baby James, the gimpy lion. He was going to be a horse/donkey (depending on who you ask), but his leg wouldn't fit, so we had to make a last minute adjustment. 
Mr. Tumnus the fawn dressed as Superman and saving the world one damsel in distress at a time. He took his job VERY seriously.
Our sweet Raggedy Ann. Below is Clara closely inspecting her make-up, thus far.
Isaac as Harry Potter. He was casting spells on people all night long, complete with British accent.
And...the original Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 are on it. Don't you worry about a thing! (At a costume party earlier in the week.) 
Spooky front porch. You had to duck through the cobwebs to trick-or-treat at this house. The kids were delighted every time they heard someone squeal about getting stuck in the webs. Fun night. Too much candy, but fun night.
After 4+ hours in urgent care (with 5 children, during lunch & nap time--my supply of stories was completely depleted by the end) the diagnosis was spiral fracture of the tibia. You can see the break best on the front view to the left, but these copies are a little too small. Sorry, if you were interested. 
