Life Lately

Halloween was not a big event for us - Charlie couldn't even be persuaded to dress up! But we did go to the church building's Trunk-or Treat and that evening I took Sam (wearing, by request, the same costume as last year) and Isaac the Knight around the block - so I dressed my belly up as a Jack-o-Lantern.

Mostly lots of just regular life lately: Isaac & Sam are in a music class Monday afternoons in Ontario; I have Young Women's activities each Wednesday night at the church; then there's our regular library visits, play dates, craft projects, a John Birch Society meeting or two; and there's been a wedding and the baptisms of two of Isaac's friends. (In our faith, children can choose to be baptized beginning at the age of eight.)

We've also done one cool field trip: to the World Center for Birds of Prey located just outside of Boise. We got a fabulous grandma-age volunteer who followed us around the whole time giving us extra information, worksheets, setting up a film for us to watch, etc. She even gave Isaac his own little tour of the Peregrine Falcons' sanctuary in back while I tended to the want-to-get-out-of-here-NOW boys (understandable as we'd been there for two hours)!

The big boys are as much into animals as ever and love the two boxes of Illustrated Wildlife Treasury (from the early '80s) that their Grandma Dame found and lent to us... But ten minutes of frustrated, unattended Charlie (and Sam) one evening led to this:

Followed the next day by more than three hours of me, Sam & Isaac reorganizing the cards. Ugh!

Charlie wants to watch "Poppins Poppins" every day, and is soooo dang cute hopping around the house shouting "Step-in-Time!" or singing "Let's Go Fly a Kite" which he sometimes changes to "Up to the Fire Truck" (sung while wearing one of our plastic firefighter hats). Trucks, especially construction and fire-fighting varieties, is his other current passion (well, buses too).

Isaac has lost another top front tooth, leaving him with the classic childhood two-front teeth gap as you can see. He decided he should learn all the words to that Christmas song about it, but he doesn't have the awful lisp that goes with the original version. A new interest of his is the card game Uno. We played it while we were in Mesa a time or two and now he wants to play every day. He beat me nine hands in a row one day!

I gave, or rather attempted to give, Sam & Charlie haircuts the other day. Neither would hold the least bit still and both got their ears buzzed for it. (By accident!) Sam's was just a little nick and his hair was pretty well done, no big deal. But poor Charlie... he kept swirling his head around and I was stubbornly, stupidly, determined to fix the truly constant mistakes that were happening that it all came to an early and crashing halt with an ear bleeding profusely and him wailing. He is currently sporting the worst haircut ever (back of the head/sides). Happily, he enjoys wearing hoods. I'm vainly dreading bringing him to church in the morning, though.

Mark is... awesome. Working hard at the pellet factory. Things are going better than ever there this fall. And he still has energy to wrestle with and/or teach the boys almost every night. The other day I came home from a meeting and he was showing them how to do the math related to selling truck loads of pellets - and how to do it in an Excel spreadsheet! (Or maybe he was just doing his bookkeeping?) We're looking forward to a full-day date for our 8th anniversary coming up this week.

As for me, I've been reading more again lately - one of my spurts. Nothing from any of my lists from the beginning of the year. I have picked a few of those titles up during my dry spell, but just wasn't in the mood. The past week-ish I've read a book on homeschooling, Ella Enchanted, and I'm half-way through a political memoir. They've all been fabulous. And I'm also about half way through re-reading the October General Conference talks in the Ensign. I've been blessed with a little extra time to read as the boys can a)read so well themselves and b)play together fabulously most of the time. Here's them earlier today, playing in Sam's "sleeping fort":

Charlie is a Mo Williams Fan

A couple of the books we brought with us on our trip were of the "Don't Let the Pigeon..." variety and Charlie requested them daily and repeatedly. And so, by the time we were hanging out in Mesa, he could "read" them to himself! Here he is with the last few pages of "Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late." (Sorry if the audio isn't good enough for you to follow the story. I began recording about the time the pigeon was yawning...)

Road Trip: Headed Home

Though we could easily have claimed a handful of excuses to stay longer in sunny, warm Arizona with loving, fun family... I missed my husband! (And I missed having the kids sleep in a separate bedroom, but that was second.) So Tuesday morning (Day 9 if you're counting) we once again hit the road. Destination: Las Vegas. Planned pit stop: Hoover Dam.

Well, we did stop here, just above the dam, in a free parking lot with a free bathroom, and a pretty decent view of the whole works. But I decided it was not worth it to pay $10 down the hill for official dam tourist parking and take the dam tour. Traffic moved at literally 5 mph over the dam, so I easily snapped this pic of the super-high bridge under construction there.

Then we were off and running to the Mandalay Bay: Shark Reef Aquarium!

I'd let the boys check out the website before we left Mesa and they were brimming with anticipation to see not only the various sharks, but also the Golden Crocodile, Asian water monitor, Green Sea Turtle, Amazonian fish, stingrays, and the Giant Pacific Octopus... Well, it is a very cool set-up, with very informative (and fun for kids to push the buttons) handsets, but just like at a zoo not all the sea creatures show themselves readily. We did see most everything, but photo-lighting was poor so this is what you get:

I drove down the strip before heading back on the freeway to my dear friend Michele's house in North LV so that the boys could see all the cool hotel structures. (You know, Luxor's Pyramid, the mini-Eiffel Tower in front of the Paris Hotel, the pirate ship at Treasure Island, etc.) At Michele's, we ate pizza and I let the kids get sucked into some Disney show on the big screen TV while I caught up with my old bestest friend. I managed to get the kids tucked in at a decent time, but stayed up a bit too late chatting and watching the episodes of Glee I'd missed while traveling.

The next morning (Day 10) we drove back to Uncle Len's house, with our major pit stop in St. George, Utah. What a beautiful desert city! We had our wonderful packed lunch at a table in the town square next to the historic tabernacle building and a fabulous faux-river fountain the boys played in after eating.

Then we went to see the St. George Temple and Visitor's Center.

Once again, they just loved exploring all the displays inside and seeing the scriptural paintings, etc. Isaac just might be able to recite you more stats about the history of St. George than the Grand Canyon. And of course they needed to go actually touch the temple...

At Len's that night, he made us dinner and even cake! [Let me pause to give some public thanks: Thank you Sharee! Thank you Michele! and Thank you Len! You were each so very welcoming and hospitable and sharing. I appreciate it so much & want you to know what a huge help you each were to me on my journey.]

We were up and out of there relatively quickly in the morning and on our way to see Daddy!! Ate lunch in Twin Falls but hardly stopped; I was motivated by the end in sight. We got home by 4:30 Thursday and had all the bags unpacked and laundry sorted before Mark made it in the door... The kids happily played outside in the fallen leaves or inside with all their left-behind toys until the great reunion. There is, in the end, no place like home.

Road Trip: Mesa Days

Friday we woke up with no agenda! A fabulous day of sitting around, watching the kids play. Charlie quickly became enamored with the playhouse in the backyard...

A little too much so perhaps. He fought anyone who denied his claim to the property - even running out naked (after his bath one day) to defend "his" house from an intruder (i.e. cousin and rightful owner). But despite his occasional protests, the house actually was shared some of the time, which was delightful to watch.

Paul has a thing for spray bottles and Sam got into it, too. Really it was so hot that what Sam liked best was taking the spray nozzle off the bottle and just dumping it over his head!
And, no picture to prove it but, Isaac & Claire got on famously. They invented games and schemed together, sometimes skipping around holding hands. Other times, Isaac read to himself or worked on self-directed projects with our trusty road atlas.

Saturday we were spoiled to be able to tour the only Reptile Rescue Sanctuary in Arizona - a private facility that occasionally allows small groups to tour (we tagged along with a scout troop).

It was educational and downright delightful to see and learn about all the wonderful creatures there - even a non-reptile wallaby! [Warning: the rest of this post is more than 50% animal pictures.]

Here the boys are looking into the pond of painted turtles. It was fun to watch them try to climb over each other and fall off, back into the water.

Then came the amazing encounter with the African Spurred Tortoises. We got to go in among them, feed them, even ride them! They are strong enough to hold a grown man's weight no problem but we pretty much left that experience up to the kids.

Charlie wanted to feed every morsel that he could to the tortoises, which resulted more than once in his fingers getting bit. He must not have minded too much.

Next we toured the large area of alligator (and a couple crocodile) enclosures. The alligators must be separated quite strictly by age, and then individually or they will fight and even eat each other. There was one particularly enormous alligator who had recently been rescued from the Grand Canyon. The story was traced to someone who had let it go there 15 years earlier, assuming it would become prey... The poor ranger who finally discovered him!

After that we toured the shelter which housed all the snakes, gila monsters, baby turtles, etc. Here is a supposedly really rare shot of their King Cobra in strike pose (hood out in warning), followed by me holding an endangered species of python. (He wasn't really that close to Isaac's mouth.)

The grand finale was Uncle Mark and Holly swimming with an alligator! This gator had been raised since hatching by the caretakers, but that alone does not make it safe. She was an especially docile gator and her mouth was tightly taped shut... But STILL, don't be mislead. This was a highly supervised activity.

I also got some awesome video but we were asked not to post it on the internet as things like that often are viewed out-of-context and the sanctuary takes seriously it's role to properly educate the public on things like: You can't have a pet alligator! and Don't swim with alligators!!

The next day was Sunday and spent doing Sunday kinds of things: church, eating, reading... We also visited the Mesa Temple and Visitor's Center, but after dark so no pics.
Monday was our last non-traveling day, and back-to-school for the cousins, so we decided to spend our morning at the highly (and deservedly) acclaimed Phoenix Zoo.

What follows is our "Best of" sightings...

And there was a petting zoo, too:

In the afternoon, we hopped in the pool to cool off.

Sam decided he liked exploring under water, and trading wars over cousin's goggles commenced. Looks like at least he will finally be ready to learn to swim next year. (Maybe we'll start lessons after the baby comes this winter.)

P.S. Yes, I know Sam needed a haircut! I've managed to get that done since we've been home.

Road Trip - Day 4

Thursday morning I found out that Sharee's family had experienced a somewhat traumatic night, so plans were adjusted. She graciously offered to keep Charlie behind with her and I took off one stroller & wily child lighter to take the shuttle to the westernmost viewpoint on the South Rim, Hermit's Rest.

Built in 1914 as a rest stop and now a National Historic Landmark. The enormous fireplace is now behind a gift shop/snack bar.

And the view outside:

But knowing time was short and the bus ride long, we hopped back on after just 15 minutes to head to Pima Point (about half way between Hermit's and Hopi aka Sunset point) which our bus driver said was often lauded as people's favorite view because you can see and hear the Colorado River rapids in two places.

We had the area completely to ourselves for a full 15 minutes (and then shared it with just two other people as we waited a few minutes more for the eastbound shuttle) so it was really our best time the whole two days to just sit and soak in the awesome surroundings and listen to the rushing river so far below. What a treat!

Ahhh... And then the bus came and we took it back to our car and had to race back through the Grand Canyon Village to pack up our room before check-out time. The race was delayed by a family of elk crossing the road a couple of vehicles ahead of us, then stopping to eat the grass right on the side of the road! They were beautiful animals and the boys were out-of-their-minds excited to see them so close... but I couldn't reach my camera so you'll just have to imagine them: 4 females and a young male. Sorry.

So we got loaded up and met back with Sharee & the gang so we could hit the highway southbound headed for their home in Mesa, via Sedona. Beautiful drive!! But ALL the rest stops in the most jaw-dropping areas were pay (like +/-$10) so we wound our way down to a free little parking lot next to a stream to stretch our legs. Holly climbed down by the water for this lovely group shot:

And these are what I snapped of the area above us:

Isaac and Sam were thrilled again when we reached obvious Sonoran Desert area (they announced to me) because of the surrounding landscape of Saguaro Cacti. They've really picked up a lot from their nature documentaries. I was thrilled when we arrived at my dear sister-in-law's home and I knew I had 4 solid days without driving 6-8 hours in front of me.

Road Trip: Grand Canyon Day 3

Wednesday we woke up, bundled up against the icy wind, got our breakfast, hopping a shuttle bus, and finally made it out to the rim.

We managed to spy a lonely big-horn sheep far below us.

The day began to warm up and after lunch we hit a woodsy trail to take us to another part of the rim, and the Ranger Station HQ so that we could get Jr. Ranger packets. Along said trail we talked about the native animals... and encountered a giant tarantula!

He even started to get mad at Holly for getting so close to him with her camera: he picked up a leg in front & one in back and waved them at her. (This was not walking - he was definitely doing some cool defensive/aggressive maneuver.)

After the Ranger Station rim area, we took another shuttle bus headed just west toward the Verkamp's Visitor Center and the Hopi House and by the fancy rim-located hotels. The kids were generally excited for the bus trips... but getting little ones in & out of strollers (and folding/lifting strollers into & out of the bus) made them a least favorite part for Sharee & I.

Anyway, we enjoyed a little break in Verkamp's, which was part Indian museum and part book store, and then checked out Hopi House. Cool from the outside:

But total retail joint on the inside.
Back outside was one of the few areas with guard rails and benches, so I decided to let Charlie out to stretch his legs a bit, keeping my eyes on him like a hawk... Which led to my eyes not being on Wanderlust Sam. Can you guess? Yes, he disappeared.

I left Isaac & bawling Charlie with Sharee and her kids and ran as best I could back up the way we'd came... Long story short, had to ask a ranger for help and we split up - she went farther west down the trail and I backtracked some more, praying all the way. When I felt it was right to return to Sharee, Sam had just been dropped off (piggyback) by the ranger. She'd found him on the rim trail near the Bright Angel Lodge about a half mile away, where he was admiring a herd of big-horned sheep. He was completely nonplussed, saying he had just wanted to keep seeing new things and figured we would be heading that way eventually!

Well, this was a major violation of the rules we'd set for the kids in the morning so it was decided that we needed to go back to our rooms for a while. (Really, the kids were getting worn out and LOVED relaxing and playing together in our adjoined rooms so it was more of a punishment for me & Sharee - and Holly & perhaps Isaac - to have to quit and not get to see the herd for ourselves. Ahhh, discipline!)

After dinner we got our coats back on and hopped the last possible far-west bus to "sunset point" aka Hopi Point for about 30 minutes of viewing time before the sun was all the way down.

Here's everybody waiting near the bus stop (a slightly different location than drop-off).

And then we trudged back "home" to put the kiddos to bed. Sharee & I went for a short walk to admire the zillions of stars visible there (14-yr old Holly stayed behind), and then talked in chairs just outside our doors about plans for the morrow, parenting philosophies, and all that good stuff.

Road Trip - Days 1 & 2

On Monday, October 12th, me & the boys loaded up and hit the road, headed for the Grand Canyon and beyond. Of course, being pregnant and the sole adult, I didn't plan on making it to the South Rim all in one day! The map shows our total route: over 2300 miles and well over the estimated 36 hours. The stars are places we stayed the night (G & F are also A & B), dots represent substantial rest stops. It was as I'd hoped, ambitious but doable, with just a few moments here and there of insanity in the back seat.

The first day we were excited to get out of Idaho and didn't plan a real break until Salt Lake City: Temple Square.

The boys loved all the displays inside the Visitor's Center, and running around the temple grounds.

A kindly temple "host" showed the big boys how to get impressions on paper of the carvings on the temple doors.

We only had a little bit left to travel that day, crashing at the oh-so hospitable home of Mark's Uncle Len in American Fork, Utah. Had to make a quick stop (10 minutes before closing) at his local Radio Shack for a new car-charger for the portable DVD player, the only near disaster of the day. (Having the original adapter break and the battery run out on the first day of our trip was pretty nerve-wracking until I found out how easily & cheaply the problem was remedied.)

Day two we got a good start and headed through some of the beautiful, unique countryside of southern Utah. Stopped in Kanab for lunch but didn't have a good stretch of the legs until we reached the dam at Glen Canyon.

Then on to some desolate highway until we reached the East Entrance of the Grand Canyon and walked out to the Desert View Watchtower.

Our first glimpse of the Grand Canyon itself:

It had been a long couple of days, the sun was setting, Sharee & her kids were waiting and we still had 20 miles of highway until we reached them at our motel check-in point, so I just couldn't bring myself to drag the boys up (and back down) the inside of the Watchtower. Nevertheless, the majesty of these first views re-energized us for our next couple of days here at the truly Grand Canyon.

Short Soccer Season

Isaac's fall soccer season started off crazy: two practices and three games in one week! Then life got in the way a bit. He missed every game scheduled on a Saturday for a variety of very good reasons, and he'll miss the very last game of the season because of our road trip (another very good reason).

But with all that, this was my favorite season - great team, some new skills, good weather. Grandma & Grandpa Dame came out to cheer him on for his last game, then treated all the boys to McDonald's for dinner.

Isaac played soccer with Mark and a mixed group of other adults and kids last night and had a fabulous time, so I guess we won't put the shin guards away just yet.