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All right, so maybe bounce house isn’t on your bucket list this summer. Still, whatever you were going to do to take advantage of the sunny skies and hot temps, you have less than 30 days to get your act together! In an effort to motivate, I asked everyone here: What are you still hoping to check off on your summer gotta-do list? 

CLAYTON: My mother gave me a gelato machine. I am grateful. With that, between rock climbing, running, and traveling, I have spent little time with my machine. On my summer bucket list: 5 flavors of gelato. Flavor recommendations, anyone?

SARAH: I have yet to roast a marshmallow this summer! S'mores are definitely at the top of my bucket list! Another to do: a picnic and kite flying at Larz Anderson park.

APRIL. One of my goals this summer is to eat an entire SMALL ice cream cone from Kimball's by myself. I don't know if it's possible because they're so big, but I'll give it a try.

DEB: We haven’t made it to Crane Beach at all this summer. I’m hoping to get there at least once before the weather gets cold. Technically, we have until Sept 21/22ish, when it's still really nice to spend a day there. 

MOLLY: One thing that is still left on my bucket list for the summer is going to the beach! I have yet to make it there and am definitely hoping to get one beach day in before the summer is over!

ERIN: The summer is going by so quickly and I realized I still haven’t gone back home to Maine and treat myself to a lobster!

JULIE: As a recent transplant, my summer has been filled with a lot of touristy hits. I’m hoping to go on a Duck Tour by summer’s end.

MARGARET: I need to haul myself and all my stuff to Nevada. What is summer without an impromptu cross country road trip?

ZOARD: There’s a public pool nearby that is worth every penny of its $0.75 entrance fee. I should use it more.

SABRINA: I don’t own a bike, and biking in the city terrifies me. But every summer I like to rent one for the day and ride the Minuteman Trail through leafy suburban Boston. My husband says I should just buy a bike and we can do it anytime. Maybe I should put that on my list too!

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Last summer, we took our girls on their first overnight backpacking trip, and it turned out to be one of our fondest memories of 2015. Seeing how well that “big” hike went, we decided that we’d do another one this summer. This time we wanted to introduce the girls to the Appalachian Mountain Club Huts in New Hampshire.

The huts are part of a 125-year-old network, mostly in the Presidential Range, providing services to hikers of all kinds—from day and overnight hikers to Appalachian Trail thru-hikers on their way to Katahdin (northern terminus of the "AT" in Baxter State Park, Maine). They are typically staffed by a bunch of outdoorsy college students (or recent grads) who spend the summer running up and down the trails hauling food and supplies, cooking for overnight guests, educating hikers on the surrounding natural environment, and putting together somewhat ridiculous (I mean that in the nicest sense of the word) skits to teach one and all to pack-out, fold your blanket properly, and be kind to our great earth.

We chose Greenleaf Hut on Mount Lafayette for several reasons. One, Pete and I have both hiked the extremely popular 9-ish mile loop several times, so there'd be no guess work there. Two, our friends and their 12-year-old twin daughters were planning on staying at Greenleaf the same night, so our girls would have company to distract them. Three, it's a really easy drive from Boston. Four, the views, should you have them, are almost as good as they get in the White Mountains.

From the Lafayette Campground parking lot, we started up Old Bridle Path which provides the shortest route to the Greenleaf Hut (2.9 miles). We made it to the hut in three hours flat, which in my opinion is pretty darned good for a 5- and 7-year-old. So either we hit the girls on a "good day" or they legitimately like this stuff (which, you know—yeehaw!).

We checked in (tip: I would book a good 2-3 months out since they fill up fairly quickly) and the girls could not have been more excited to choose their bunks. After meeting our bunk neighbor and getting a snack, we felt refreshed and headed out again to make it to the top of Mount Lafayette.

As we emerged from the trees, some ominous clouds appeared just to our south and the wind really started to whip. The girls were suddenly not so happy anymore (panic attacks ensuing), and I don't blame them … I had no interest in being above tree line in a thunderstorm.

We got lucky: the storm cloud blew in the opposite direction. We cajoled the girls to "dig deep," "take it one step at a time," etc. etc. etc., and before we knew it, we'd completed the additional 1.1 miles to arrive at the 5,200 foot summit of Mount Lafayette. I'm conveniently glossing over some epic whining on behalf of both of daughters on this leg of the trip, but once at the summit, all was forgotten and they (and we) were happy as could be.

The hard work paid off and they enjoyed their own little "Outward Bound" moments. Seeing the smile on Abigail's face as she exclaimed "Mom, I did it!" is one of those priceless moments as a parent. I was quite the proud mama!

At this point, we had to get back to the hut in time for dinner (6pm - sharp!). Fortunately, going downhill was a different story. The girls might as well have been skipping as they anticipated hot food, games, completing their "junior naturalist" packets (in order to earn the coveted patch at breakfast), and getting in their jammies and bunks.

The rest of the night was filled with playing cards and listening to stories from a couple of AT thru-hikers. And as predicted, the storms did arrive! It actually poured 2 inches that night. So to cap off another great overnight hike, we went to sleep to the sound of rain on the hut roof. Aaaahhhh ...

Side note: In the midst of the excitement (and nerves about the weather), I neglected to take a snapshot of the I Get Around card. Let's just say he wanted to stay safe in the backpack!

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Hi everybody, it’s Ryan again! How has my time at Smudge already come to an end? The summer blew by, and I don’t think I’ve been to the beach nearly enough. At least I managed to make it back to Maine to see my family a few times.

When I can’t make it home, my sisters are always good about sending me pictures of what my nieces and nephews are up to. I realize that this kind of instant contact and sharing is something that wasn’t possible when I was a kid. Fortunately, technology has advanced so much that I never feel like I’m out of the loop whether it comes to big events like birthdays or the more regular stuff like family outings and play dates.

For my last blog post, I wanted to design something that would celebrate a milestone and be something to share with your own family and friends. For those of you who have kids, the first day of school is a pretty big deal and makes a great photo op!

These First Day of School photo signs will make capturing the big day extra special. Each one has the same fun, school-themed pattern in the background, but a different color palette depending on grade (kindergarten through 5th grade).

All you need to do is print on regular 8.5” x 11” paper and fill in the blanks (or have your kids practice their handwriting if they already know how). Just leave enough time to snap the photo before the bus shows up!

Click to download free First Day of School printable!

I’d like to thank Abigail and Avery for doing such a wonderful job showcasing the signs! Hope everyone has a happy first day of school!

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Recently, we visited an old friend of Smudge Ink who invited my girls to his farm to meet and bottle-feed his recently acquired baby goats. They were adorable (the goats), and in addition to feeding them, my girls also got to meet two donkeys and a former competition horse named Copernicus (an elegant old fella!).

The visit to see the animals was sweet, fun and very much enjoyed by the girls, but my personal interest was in touring the structure John built to house all his impressive array of printing equipment.

See, a few years back John spent some time at Smudge Ink learning to run and subsequently running our Heidelberg Windmill while our print shop manager at the time (and current new-mom-extraordinaire), Sanya Hyland, was on sabbatical. It was a win-win: we needed the help and John was interested in a short term gig to learn how to run the press. To say that John is a letterpress printing "hobbyist" would slight his knowledge and interest in the craft. From the volume of equipment he houses in his beautiful outbuilding alone one would assume that this is his vocation ... but nope, he does it simply for the love of printing.

I've been eager to see the building ever since John told me about it. In my mind, I imagined the tidiest and most attractive print shop I'd ever seen, and the reality lived up to my expectations! The walls of the upper story are lined with presses, an antique paper cutter, type cases, a drill press, and a book press.

There is a desk towards the back covered with found imagery (each piece will eventually be printed), and a table as you enter the space that displays several years worth of projects. To name just a few, these pieces include family holiday cards, social stationery, napkins from a recent college graduation brunch and (most charmingly) a bound copy of a book that was written by John's son when he was about 10. 

You're partially taken back in time, partially just delighted that there are people out there preserving this art form. I especially loved exposing my girls to a place besides Smudge Ink that has taken something decidedly "old world" and made it relevant today.

That said, if you ask them about the visit, they'll sooner mention the baby goats ("Awwww! They were soooooo cute!") before they mention the print shop, but that's okay with me ... the goats were pretty awesome too.

Thanks John!

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So where was I? Ah, yes … off to Boulder-Longmont to visit my college friend, Chaz! I arrived to a home that just oozed Chaz: white painted walls, Danish modern furniture, menagerie of succulents, a tall and handsome curly-haired ginger (another Clayton!), and a backyard full of soaring wild flowers, hammocks, dogs, and friends.

(photo by Ryan Woodman)

To my surprise, there was a whole crew of Cal Poly alumni! I ran into some people I haven't seen in quite some time, and it was great to catch up over delicious neo-potluck food, all of us at a table sandwiched between the two lovely hosts. 

The next morning, I was treated to another yummy meal (Clayton's homemade bread beneath a healthy pile of arugula, salsa, and an egg over easy to be exact) and headed off to explore Boulder. Turns out I didn’t do much touring as I spent most of the day at the Trident bookstore perusing countless art and fashion books. Are free chai latte refills a thing? Because they really should be when you spend 5 hours in a coffee/book shop. Needless to say, I loved it there.

I made my way to a local art shop where I bought a Moleskine and then briefly explored the University of Colorado Boulder (beautiful campus). I also got a tasty green kale matcha smoothie from Wonder, a juice bar that just happened to be celebrating its first year anniversary (live music was involved, yay!).

Come dinner time, I met up with my friends at a place called The Kitchen Next Door, which is, yes, next door to The Kitchen. How's that for a ba-da-ba chssh visual? After a delicious meal made memorable by my first order of smashers—essentially french fries, smashed, and then re-fried— we continued to explore more of Boulder. Among many places, these two particularly stood out: Two Hands Paperie and Cedar and Hyde (I want so many things in that store).

(photo by Chaz Cole)

The next day, Chaz and I left for a hike in Chautauqua Park to climb the Royal Arch accompanied by her lovable, white, fluffy, mountain mix, big-galoot of a dog, Max! It was a lovely and well-routed hiking trail, and this time I did not get altitude poisoning!

The path included some nice streams, airy foliage, and giant (like on steroids) dandelions. At the top of the hike we could see a large portion of the city of Boulder. It was beautiful. It reminded me of a peak us Cal Poly students used to climb in San Luis Obispo called Bishop's Peak.

(photo by Chaz Cole)

Asides from going to the same college, both Chaz and I find ourselves in the world of letterpress and stationery! In fact, she has her very own print shop in Longmont called Brylo and debuted her beautiful line of greeting cards at this year’s Stationery Show. I tagged along with her to see the studio and meet her presses. I also meandered around the town, stopping by a cool music store, a record shop, and an awesomely hip Swiss modern general store called Yore. It occurred to me: Longmont is to Boulder as Somerville is to Boston.

Before I knew it, a flight needed catching. Not to mention, a rental car needed returning. So we ate, I said my goodbyes, and drove on my introspective way to Denver. After dropping off the rental car, I took the shuttle back to the airport and contemplatively ate a bag of potato chips thinking with each crunchy bite how much I would miss Colorado and the friends that were in it.

So thank you, friends who hosted me. Thank you, Aspen. Thank you, Telluride. Thank you, Boulder. And thank you, rental car lady!

Catch up on Part 1 and Part 2 of Clayton's travels in Colorado!

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