A monkey. A squirrel. One happy family.

We're kind of over-scheduled right now. I'm learning a new job, and Ella has robotics club and school musical tryouts and her first final exams. Spencer is busy closing loans and checking Ella's Spanish homework, and sweet Annie has her music lessons but is otherwise kind of along for the ride. In the middle of all this stuff, I looked at the calendar and realized we had just a three-hour window on a Sunday morning to get a Christmas tree from Starr Pines Christmas Tree Farm in Boonville (where we ALWAYS get our tree) if we wanted to get a tree before mid-December. I needed a tree. I was going to have a tree, by God. We need a little Christmas, right this very minute! During that three-hour window on a Sunday morning, it rained. And then the rain turned to slushy snow and back to rain. And dear Spencer gritted his teeth, grabbed our favorite Christmas music CD for the car, and drove us all to Boonville. The silver lining was that there were no crowds to deal with, no line...

In this anxiety-ridden time in our country, I am trying to feel gratitude for my family, our home and health. I also need to remember not to take these things for granted and remember that when my neighbor is threatened, so am I. Do no harm, but take no shit.

The Columbia Grand Teton/Yellowstone Adventure is a summer trip developed for students in Columbia Public Schools. Ella, with generous help from family and friends, raised half the cost of the trip. She spent a week learning about mountain and glacial geology, wildlife tracking, forest fires, Yellowstone ecosystems, and outdoor skills.