Spokane and family time

Last week I got back from a week in Spokane where I had some great family time, with little Juniper being the center of attention. My son, Keith, flew out from Madison to meet his niece for the first time and she adored him. My ex even showed up, so the whole nuclear family was together for the first time since Julia's wedding two years ago.

My sun hat was a big hit with Juniper, who looks like a real life Sunbonnet Sue. She's so cute I can hardly stand it! It's really hard living so far away from her.

She loves, loves, loves books and knows every image in every one of her dozens of books. They had to cover their "new" vintage couch that we're sitting on with a sheet because the cats think it's a giant scratching post.

She loves dogs even more than books and talks about them enthusiastically and constantly. (They have three cats and three bunnies, but no dogs.) She met this gentle dog one day at the park. And did I say she loves parks and playgrounds? Here she is with dad Jade headed for the slides.

Their house, which they bought last year, looks like a cute cottage, and the front and back yard are full of activities.

My kids had the same turtle sand box when they were growing up. She plays in it nearly every day with the neighbor kids.

And the kid is organized, just like her mother. While Julia was clearing out the fridge, she let Juniper "help" and Juniper carefully put every item on a separate floor tile on her own with no prompting.

At the end of Keith's visit, he and Dave drove directly to the North Cascades for a backpacking trip that took them on the challenging hike up to the Desolation Peak fire lookout tower, which was popularized by Beat writer Jack Kerouac's "Dharma Bums" and "Desolation Angels."

They hiked in through rugged terrain about 16 miles over two days and then climbed over 4,000 feet to the tower. They were among the lucky ones to get a permit to camp near the peak, meaning they didn't have to hike down on the same day. Those days are past for me, but even Keith said it was tough.

Have a colorful day