Christmas is coming

Owen and Macey have finished their first semester of school and are now on winter break. Both kids had a Holiday program at school. You'd never know that Owen had a long, rough start to going to kindergarten by watching him during his performance. He was a regular comedian up there. Since he's short, Owen was in the front row where everyone could clearly see him. Throughout most of it, he made silly faces, goofed off with the boy next to him, did some sort of dance, and at one point even gave himself a wedgie. Macey even pointed it out. Todd and I stood in the audience and said a few times to one another, "What is he doing?" Unfortunately, we didn't get any good pictures of him during the concert - maybe we'll get lucky and find a video copy.

Macey's program was super cute. Her teacher picked out really great preschool holiday songs, most of which were new to me, and each child had a part. Macey was a stocking for one of the songs and had her own solo of speaking a line. Initially, she was very shy and I wasn't sure that she'd even participate, but she warmed up with each song and by the end was smiling and singing like a pro. She was so proud and did a great job.

Owen and Gus after the show

Goof balls

These three together are trouble

Macey's on the far right in the red

Macey and her good buddy Saoirse as stockings

The grand finale was a little dance from the Nutcracker

The Hunter

You probably all know by now, but Todd had an elk hunt adventure this year (yes, that's what I'm calling it!). AZ has a lottery system for elk tags, and even though Todd has put in for one almost every year the past 7 or 8 years, he doesn't always get drawn. The good news is that he got drawn this year and had his first successful hunt. Even better, he took a really good shot and dropped the elk right away (that made me feel better anyway.) We've been eating elk steaks very regularly and have a freezer full of meat. Thanks little elk.

Hopefully this doesn't offend anyone... Todd is very proud. I have to point out, he decided not to go with the classic photo of him holding his gun and the down animal. Instead, he's holding a bundle of sage, which he burned as an offering. Todd and I strongly disagree with the mainstream industrial farm practices in the USA, especially with livestock. Eventually, we hope to be self-sustainable with the majority of our food, keeping it local when possible. This is one of those small, yet big steps getting us closer to that. Thanks Todd.

Thanksgiving 2010

This year was the first Thanksgiving that Todd and I spent with family in 12 years. We were very happy that Todd's parents made the trip and hung out with us for a very cold week. Aside from the typical T-day festivities, we hung around town a little and took our first voyage on the Polar Express. Although driving to Williams on I-40 in a snowstorm was rather unnerving for me, I'm glad we went and the snow made the train trip pretty magical. The train is an old one from the 1920s, so it has a lot of wooden accents inside and cool old windows. Santa even showed up and everyone left with a big silver bell. Thanks to Jo and Ray for coming, we had a great time.

A cool picture Ray took of a train coming in

Santa's coming!!!

He was a good one - a real white beard and mustache and twinkly eyes

Unexpected Fun

Arizona celebrates Veterans' Day, so everybody had off. Todd planned a day with the kids in Sedona (I was supposed to work, but got lucky and got to play too) of finding "penny crushers", those souvenir machines that flatten pennies into little pictures. In the middle of our search in Uptown Sedona, we ran into our friend Geoffrey and his 3 boys (almost literally - one of his kids opened a door that nearly smacked Macey in the face) and spent the rest of the afternoon with them in the woods. It was some good, simple fun.

Fall in the Peaks

We spent the morning in The Peaks on one of our favorite trails to catch the beautiful aspen leaves while still in full color. It was cold, there was even snow on the ground in spots and we could see it up on the trees a little further up the mountain. We were literally hiking through the clouds, which made the colors super bright and a really nice change for hiking weather. Owen ran almost the whole way, and Macey tired out rather quickly but still had fun. I miss taking our dogs with us on these hikes like we used to all of the time, but it was still awesome!

6 years and counting

As I told Todd, "Some husbands take their wives out for dinner on their anniversary, others take them wood cutting." We had fun. Todd even let me change a tire.

The Barn-Dog

As our dogs do every few months, they're keeping us in check, making sure that we still have a vet. This time it's Barney. I took him in friday evening before Labor Day weekend because he had some sort of allergic reaction causing his face and ears to swell up, and we were sent home after some injections and with some pills. Last week the side of Barney's neck swelled up again, and I just assumed he'd gotten stung by another bee (he likes to catch them - with his mouth, of course...) or bit by a spider, so I gave him Benadryl and that seemed to help a little. But when the lump got huge, migrated under his chin and he stopped eating, it was time to go see the good people at Westside Veterinary Clinic. Yesterday as Barney and I waited to be seen, he had an itch at the site of the lump, scratched, and his nail punctured his lump (aka: absess), which drained all over the floor of the waiting area. Let me reword that: spewed all over the floor. It was very much like a bad horror film - a steady stream of bloodiness literally pouring out of Barney. The part they don't show you in the movies - the dog frantically trying to get away from it and licking the floor and himself clean - at least trying. It was a mess, and one of the grosser things I've seen, and certainly smelled. He's doing much better now, unhappily quarantined to the laundry room because he's still draining. Barney's been very patiently allowing me to hold hot compresses on his neck and is keeping his feet extremely clean. We're not sure what caused the absess, but I'm guessing it could have something to do with an old tree stump that something called home, which Barney was obsessed with a few days earlier while out in the woods. Every time I let him outside, he still tries to catch a bee.

Before the vet. The absess on the side was about the size of an extremely large grapefruit.

Back home and quite bloody

Barney in the restricted/no admittance unit. I put one of Todd's old t-shirts on Barney and I think it looks like a doggie straight jacket.

Time for School

Big year for us with school... Owen started all-day kindergarten and Macey is going to preschool solo and stays 2 of her 3 days all day as well. Both kids seem to have had a good week. Macey is a little lost without her brother and has been really shy, but I think she's warming up. One of her best friends returned and also stays all day, so Macey is happy about that. It has certainly been an adjustment for everybody, but so far, so good. On day two, Owen decided that he wanted to take the bus, which I had barely considered. Three of his buddies in the neighborhood were taking it too, so away he went and it's a hit! He thinks it's awesome and so do I! Macey and I enjoy walking Owen to the bus stop on the corner by our house each morning and afternoon, and it sure beats waiting in the school parking lot for pick-up. There's already been a kid on the bus who's bullying kids around a bit, including Owen, but nothing serious. The bully isn't that big or mean, but annoying and also is at our bus stop. I just happen to be that over-protective parent who wasn't afraid to speak up at the bus stop this morning, so hopefully we nipped that one in the bud. :)

Macey switched teachers and classrooms this year. She wasn't quite herself on Wednesday and her teacher' who is awesome, noticed right away and gave us a call. I think Macey clammed up because of the new environment and unfamiliar kids. When Todd picked her up that afternoon she was back to her normal self.

Owen ended up with the teacher who Todd and I were hoping for and so far I think that she is fantastic! Yesterday she emailed me to let me know that Owen was sad in the morning because he was missing me. Fortunately Owen's best buddy is in his class and was able to console him. Fridays are early release, so it's been nice having the afternoon with both kids. Mom's been a little sad this week too.

Macey the morning of her first day of school

Owen before his first day of kindergarten

Had to post this one!

Being silly

Day 2: Owen just got off the bus

Summer 2010

It's hard to believe it came and went, but summer is over, at least summer vacation. Owen and Macey started back at school this week and the days are getting shorter and shorter. Even the chickens have noticed. Our garden is thriving, and we're finally getting some tomatoes, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini to go with all of our greens.

So what did we do over the summer? Not a heck of a lot! Most of it was pretty mellow, just hanging around the house, playing with friends. We swam and picked blackberries in Oak Creek, got warned by a rattlesnake, and enjoyed driving (and running!) in the woods to see elk. Our big excitement was a 17 day road trip to Wisconsin, which was blast. My brother Mark and his wife Tiffany got married on July 10, so we spent the first half of the month driving to and from WI with some time in between to hang out with family. On the way we stopped in St. Louis to visit Todd's cousin and his family. It was all good fun and went by too fast. We all faired well on the road, but I don't think any of us have the desire to spend that much time in the car again anytime soon. I think on day 2 of our trip, somewhere in Oklahoma, Owen exclaimed that "This is the worst trip ever!"

Owen played soccer for the first time this year. He loved it! I'm not sure that he really gets the whole idea yet, but he had fun running down the field, making seriously tough faces, using the force to control the ball, and eating snacks after the game. Todd stepped in as assistant coach and was in charge of coaching the kids for some of the games. I think that he had fun too. We had an unusual amount of rain this year and it was not as predictable as the monsoon season typically is here, so that spoiled many games and practices. Overall, I think it was a good experience for Owen. Macey's ready to play too.

With Fall quickly approaching, we're already talking about Halloween costumes and are hoping that the frost stays away for a few more weeks so that our growing pumpkins can keep doing their thing.

Desert Solitude

In February I started working part-time. I reluctantly went back into speech therapy, which has been challenging in many ways. It's been a slow and very frustrating re-entrance into the work world, and at first I was not happy to be there. Now that I've gotten my feet wet again, I'm okay with it, and some days don't even mind my job. One of the duties of the majority of SLPs (speech-language pathologists) who work in Flagstaff is traveling to the Native American Indian reservations to provide services to children and their families in their homes. It's a very interesting and sometimes difficult thing to do, but I'm seeing more and more the people who truly appreciate what we do. I can't say that's the majority of folks, but the few who do make up for those who don't. I've realized that I'm really lucky to be invited into people's homes and connect with them and their children. I've been serving the Hopi reservation, and will be adding more clients on the Navajo as well. There are unique cultures that vary from mine here in Flagstaff, and it's only 100+ miles away. On the days that I spend 5 hours in the car by myself, I appreciate the silence and that I can't get any cell phone service. I have to admit, at first this separation from my kids was emotional, but now I look forward to it. One of the things that I look forward to the most is listening to my favorite radio shows. Speaking of Faith (http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/) is the most interesting talk show I've heard and I'm learning so much about spirituality, people, and life as I listen to the talk show and my thoughts. And what's really cool for me that connects all this, is that I get to drive through a really sacred part of the country and see some amazing scenery. Springtime is so beautiful because it's actually green (for the desert), the sky is amazingly blue, clouds are perfectly placed, it even smells good. And it's not too hot for the animals. I've spotted antelope, coyote, cattle, Navajo churro (sheep, which I've also avoided hitting!), horses, goats, and of course the many dogs that are characteristic to the reservations. On my past couple of trips I tried to capture some of the diverse sites that I see - from the car window while driving. These pictures don't nearly do the area justice, but I usually don't have the time to stop, or the camera to make it worth the effort. It is a super cool area and I feel really fortunate that I get to be part of the culture and landscape.

Flagstaff's San Francisco Peaks

The light-colored piles of dirt at the base of the mesa were new this trip. They're from all the blowing dust due to our wonderful spring winds.

Summer is officially here

Our summer began yesterday with "graduation" from Acorn Preschool for Owen and Macey. I was sad going there knowing that Owen is moving on to kindergarten in the fall. He was also sad and has been holding it in all week. Owen is such an emotional little guy that it really makes me sad to see him the moment he finally lets things out. He fell while running outside on the playground right before his program, and was so upset that Todd took him outside and to the other classroom for about 15 minutes, which caused him to miss the first part of the program. But he participated in the rest of it, singing away and received his diploma. Owen will really miss Acorn - his friends that he's made there, his teachers, and the place itself. It is a super cool preschool, what I consider the classic kind of preschool. Kids go there to have fun and be kids, like what I remember about preschool. No diaper changing or sing-songy voices. The kids are treated like little people and have so many opportunities to do the things that kids love to do. There's a garden outside, compost barrel, zip line and they pan for gold. It's a very cool place and I'm so glad we chose it for the kids. Owen is always teaching me about things he learns, and has impressed Todd and I with his good nature and compassion for others. It truly was a fantastic start for him in the educational world.

Macey loves going to preschool too and was right at home during her program. She sang her heart out in front of the classroom, very focused on each song and her teacher. It was nice for me to finally hear the song in full after hearing her practice them for the past few weeks, wondering what she was really saying. Macey will be happy to return to preschool in the fall. It's been really fun to see how far she's come socially and academically. The other day she brought home a paper with her name clearly written on the line and numbers traced below. I had no idea she could do that! A few weeks ago, I guarantee that she could not. And she counts to 40. This kid is always surprising me and making me wonder if I don't pay enough attention to her. Macey is very independent and just does things on her own, obviously without me realizing it.

Macey with her pals Mollie and Ophek

Ophek and Macey with their awesome teacher, Miss Michelle (check out Macey's new flip flops!)

Owen wearing his sombrero and sarape before he remembered his knee hurt and got upset (this is the part he missed). He kept returning winks at me.

Owen with Miss Jenni, one of his super sweet teachers

Owen with Miss Heather, the owner and brains behind Acorn Preschool

Kite Festival

Macey with her Owens

On Saturday was the annual "Soar into Spring" kite festival in Flagstaff. The kids had a blast playing little games, winning prizes, jumping in the bounce houses, and carting around their kites. Todd had to work on Saturday, but on Friday night made kites for Owen and Macey with some of the leftover Tyvek wrap we have. They looked great, except I couldn't find any kite string, so we didn't get to try flying them at the festival. The kids really didn't care, because there were plenty of other things to do. One of the highlights for them was getting a balloon sword (and the low point was them popping) and riding the little train with one of Macey's favorite classmates, also Owen. It was a nice, fun day - much better than last year's - the festival got closed down after about an hour because of wind. It's always a good time, and super social; we run into lots of people and come home exhausted.

Boring... normal...

I'm not sure that any of this is even worth mentioning in a blog post, but here goes: This week was really eventful for us here, but nothing that was too exciting. Macey and I planted sugar snap peas in the garden and transplanted the strawberries to hopefully a better location. Todd and I were both hit hard with nasty colds that are still hanging on, Owen had a field trip to a bakery, and then there was kindergarten registration - yikes! The act of registering was pretty painful for the kids - lots of paperwork for me to fill out - so lots of waiting around. It's sinking in for Owen, Todd, and me that he's really growing up. I'm a bit sad to think that he'll soon be at school 5 days a week, but I know that he's going to love it. We saw some of his buddies and other neighborhood kids at the school, so it'll be another way to keep growing in the community. There are 5 magnet schools in the district, and the one we really like focuses on arts and science with a Suzuki music program and lots of other cool things. Up until this year, most people pretty much had their pick of school, but the Flagstaff school system is having a really tough time due to the fabulous AZ budget cuts, so some schools may possibly be closing, and kids are supposed to go to school in their district zone. Todd and I were disappointed to learn that Owen probably won't be able to go to the school we were hoping for (and kind of feel like "those parents"), but we do like the school in our district, and really loved one of the kindergarten teachers. The one downfall that is bugging me a lot for some reason is there's a dress code, aka: uniform. The criteria isn't bad, it just seems odd to me to make little kids conform to a certain set of clothing everyday. I might just have to get on board at PTO meetings and see about changing that! This is certainly going to be a new stage of parenthood for me.

The snow has finally melted enough here that we were able to go to one of our favorite parks in town on friday after school, followed by some Baskin Robbins. Maybe blame the ice cream, or more likely preschool, but Owen finished out the week with the stomach flu friday night. It was reinforced to Macey that it stinks being the little sister who has to sleep on the bottom bunk, especially when your big brother loses it while climbing down the ladder trying to make it to the toilet. Todd and I did a lot of laundry this weekend and have grown really tolerant to the smell of bleach. Our septic tank probably isn't as tolerant. Barney even puked on the floor for me yesterday, and Flower, one of the chickens was looking pretty pitiful. We're all feeling a bit more normal this afternoon and I'm looking forward to a lazy evening.

Pump House Wash

Last Sunday was beautiful here in Flagstaff, so we took advantage of the nice weather and went to one of our favorite spots. The dogs and I used to frequent Pump House a lot when we lived in Kachina, and selfishly, I left them home because I was feeling lazy and didn't want to hold Ave's leash. After getting there I felt bad because they would have loved it; it's basically the Kachina dog park. In fact, this is the spot where Ave blew out her first knee. It's really fun to go there in the spring and late summer because the wash fills up and right now it's flowing like a river. Owen suggested we go back with the canoe. We went with the hopes of hearing and finding some tree frogs, but they're not out yet, so we'll be going back again soon so that we don't miss them.

Heading south

Yesterday the kids and I went down to Sedona for a little change of scenery and to warm our blood. We hiked one of the most popular trails, The Bell Trail, which I've always avoided because it's usually flooded with people. It is really beautiful, set in a prime location of the red rocks, and is a favorite for locals and tourists. The majority of people on their bikes were dressed to kill, and we occasionally caught a whiff of perfume as we passed others on the trail. Being a Saturday, it certainly wasn't an escape as hikes usually are (for me anyway!). In fact, at times it was about as enjoyable as hanging out in the Target parking lot - my anxiety level up, constantly checking my back for vehicles going too fast that could potentially take out my child. Owen and Macey got really good about getting off the trail every time I yelled "bike!" But I shouldn't complain, it was still nice, warm and sunny, and Owen and Macey were very happy to be on an adventure. The kids had fun fighting off the dark side with their light sabers, which was a new experience for most. We packed a lunch and found a picnic spot, which is always a highlight for Owen. He's just like the kid from the movie "Up" for the first while of the hike - "Ohhh, I'm so hungry....Are we there yet?...When can eat lunch?....This looks like a good picnic spot." Owen and Macey were constantly veering from the trail, and looking for the quickest and steepest route to the top. They are both pretty amazing climbers and can't get enough of it. I'm glad that we turned around when we did, because after about an hour and half of hiking, the kids were getting really tired. Macey took the reigns and led us out strong. Back at the car we were recharged with something cold to drink and then left rocking out to "Blitzkrieg Bop" with Owen yelling his version of the words out the window to people on their bikes.

Ramones inspired

Owen, Macey, and I were checking out the Molters blog earlier today, enjoying many of the performances by their cousins. The kids asked to send a video, so they got on stage and here they are performing to one of their favorites. Singing and dancing worked up an appetite, which they satisfied by having an afternoon snack of sardines with Daddy. They really are a bit unusual.

Another project

Last weekend we picked up a new dining room table that I found on Craigslist. It needs a little TLC, so we started by scrubbing, which wasn't so bad since yesterday was a beautiful day.
Todd found the fish glue... he's really getting into these Omega-3s...
...and it worked great for filling in some of the cracks. The day started off today as promising. Todd and I began to seal the table and chairs, and were really pleased with the new look, when it started to snow. We found out quickly that wet Shellac and water don't mix well to create a nice finish. So, as usual, our project has been prolonged, expanded, a pain in the you know what. We really don't need anymore snow.

Name that tune

A few weeks ago Macey performed some songs for me while in the tub. I'll apologize to her now way in advance - I don't think there are any shots that are too indecent.

The Adventures of...

The most recent epic novel series that we've begun in our house is The Adventures of Captain Underpants. It's been such a hit that we experience regular re-enactments which includes slinging underwear across the room at each other and using "wedgie power." This has also resulted in many attempts to tug at the back of one another's pants. Yes, we are a very sophisticated household.