Fall Break Fun

What?!? It's almost Christmas and I haven't written about our Fall Break trip? Shame on me...

We had grand plans this year to go to Moab for Fall Break to spend a few nights camping and days hiking around Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. We had gone there a few summers ago, but it was in July and too darned hot to really enjoy. Plus the twins were just little and we couldn't do much more than 1/2 mile at a time.

Anyway, that was the plan. It was mapped out. We were good to go. Until about two days before departure. We started to wonder why we were driving 8 hours to camp somewhere we've already been when there are so many National Parks and Monuments in Arizona that we've never been to! Yes, it's true. We had NEVER taken our kids to the GRAND CANYON. What kind of Arizonans are we (disclaimer: I am NOT and never will be an Arizonan).

So we mapped out our new route to include all those points of interest we always just pass by without a second thought on our way out of the state: Montezuma Castle, Tuzigoot, Wupatki and Sunset Crater. And of course, the Grand Canyon. And the kids each earned FOUR Junior Ranger badges on this trip! Not bad for three days.

Day one: Montezuma & Tuzigoot and Camping at Mormon Lake

The kids inside a room at Tuzigoot



We loved the bark on the Sycamore trees.



Tessie in front of Montezuma Castle. How'd ya like to carry the groceries up to that apartment??



I didn't get any photos of our super cool campsite setup OR of Fisher's large black bag full of puked-upon clothing and bedding. It was AWESOME. After spending a day visiting the ruins we found a spot to camp and got all set up. After a dinner of PBJ, hot cocoa and s'mores the kiddos were ready to tuck it in for the evening. It was bout 5:30 p.m. The sun was still up. But it was chilly. Anyway, we coaxed them into staying out of the tents by telling stories by the fire (Jarad trumped us all with a 40-minute story full of pirates, treasure and intrigue) and playing some Uno. At some point Fisher mentioned his stomach didn't feel well. I didn't think much of it. My bad. At about midnight I heard him start to cough and I knew what was next. I'll spare you the details, but I will say that I couldn't get our tent unzipped fast enough. And thank Heaven I had thought to buy a few extra jugs of water for the trip. After a long, cold night of little sleep for all of us, Fisher was the first one up, ready for day two of our adventure. We tossed the "black bag" into the car-top carrier and were on our way. With a barf bowl at the ready.

Day Two: The Grand Canyon

Everyone was taking family pictures for their Christmas cards. This one didn't make the cut -- we have a way cooler one :)





As part of the kids' Junior Ranger requirements we went to a Ranger Talk, an educational program about condors. Along with about 50 other people, we sat for 45 minutes listening to a volunteer ranger tell us all about these endangered birds, and how there are a few in the Canyon but that they hadn't seen any for a few weeks. During the talk Jarad nudges me and hands me the binoculars. He had found two birds that fit the physical description and flying/soaring patterns the ranger was talking about. Sure enough, Jarad had spotted the condors that had eluded the ranger folk! Before long they made their way over to where we were sitting and the whole crowd went wild. The ranger was a bit put out that everyone was more excited about seeing the real thing than watching him use a condor puppet to describe how mommy condors teach baby condors to eat. It was really very cool to watch them. But alas, no photos of the birds.

Our only previous experience at the Grand Canyon had been, er, um, unpleasant. So we were not at all excited about taking the kids there. We felt obligated to let them get their Junior Ranger badge. But I'm so glad we did! It was so much better than we expected and we had a great day there. We'll plan to stay longer next time!

We got back to Flagstaff after dark and, not wanting a repeat of the camping experience of the night before, we got a hotel room. Showers and cable TV are always welcome after a couple of days away from home :)

Day 3: Sunset Crater and Wupatki

We've been making family trips from Arizona to Utah for 12 years now. I see the signs to Sunset Crater every time and it was NOTHING like what I expected! First, they have one of the best visitors centers we've come by on our travels. The kids LOVED it. They would have been totally happy if we'd just stopped there. Highly recommend it! But the walk back to the crater also was very educational and interesting. Of course no photos of that.



Wupatki was another Indian ruin. Their Junior Ranger program was better than the others and the kids had fun exploring the different villages. These pictures aren't of Wupatki but of another ruin along the road before reaching the visitors center. By the time we were at Wupatki the kids were done with my camera and with each other. I had to sneak the last one during their swearing in for their Wupatki Junior Ranger badges.

On the bright side...

Dear Tessie:

Thank you for waiting until 5 a.m. TODAY to start barfing, allowing me to get a good six hours of sleep after putting on the big Relief Society Christmas activity before having to tend to you.

If you had been sick yesterday your mommy would have lost it.

Get better soon!

Love,
Mom

P.S. I think Fisher is faking it.

P.P.S. Fisher is most definitely NOT faking it. And he is all Curtis when it comes to barfing. All you Curtises out there know what I mean.

Re pro duc tion

Emma fancies herself pretty grown up these days. I suppose I do too. She's fun to talk to and share inside jokes, quote movies, etc. But last night I caught a glimpse of the little girl still in her and I'll admit, I kind of want her back.

We were working on a school project about snow leopards. This report had a section on the reproductive habits of her selected animal. She had written notes about mating, gestation, etc. So as she's translating her notes into a written paragraph I asked her what gestation is: how long a baby is in the mommy's tummy. OK simple enough. Then I asked her what mating is. OK another admission here... I haven't had the official "birds and bees" discussion with Emma. I've felt the subject out here and there but it's never been something that has turned into anything more. Until now. So I ask what mating is and her face turns the color of all those Christmas decorations just itching to be put up later this week.

And she starts this giggle. Her face reverted from her tween sassyface to this innocent little girl face I haven't seen in a while. She couldn't stop giggling. Through the giggles she said things like "it's when mommies and daddies get married and kiss and stuff" and "I don't know any more than that and I don't WANT to!!"

Knowing we needed to put the final touches on her report (it was already 30 minutes past bedtime and Fisher was wandering in for the umpteenth time to find out when she was going to bed) I got her to stop giggling and told her we'd talk about it another time. Giggle. "We don't need to Mom."

The truth of it is, I want to bring up "mating" over and over again just to see that little girl come out again. So sweet and cute. Those freckles and dimples just kill me, and they are so much cuter when there is innocence behind them.

A Spoon Full of Sugar

When I was downloading the video for Fisher's Lolli Lice I came upon this one and realized I never posted it. I laugh out loud every time I watch Tess in her own little world. And there's some crack-the-whip action toward the end. Funny stuff. To a mom.

This was last spring sometime...

Introducing the Lolli Lice

At school last month Fisher participated in an Invention Convention. The kids were asked to identify a problem, then invent something to fix the problem. They had several weeks to work on this project which culminated in a day of presentations and learning about innovation and patents.

True to form, Fisher stressed himself out to no end about this project. We spent a week just brainstorming and talking about it a little each day. His frustrations came from too many great ideas and not being able to choose just one.

Here's what won out:

Problem: The kid sitting next to me has lice
Solution: Something that will keep the lice from jumping on to me
Invention: The Lolli Lice



It's simple -- a head band with removable lollipops inserted into the top. When you know you (or your seatmate) have lice, you simply unwrap a couple of Dum Dums, insert them into the Lolli Lice and voila the lice will not jump onto your friend, but rather will be lured by the sticky sweetness of the lollipop and will be stuck there until death.

Here's a video of his presentation. It's nearly four minutes long but worth the watch for the special jingle he sings at the end!

Payback

The twins are sitting side by side on the couch thumbing through the toy catalogs that came in last Sunday's newspaper. Here's what I'm hearing over and over again:

Mommy I'll pay you back if you get me that (insert name of toy).

It's so dang cute. They are so excited. And it's giving me some good ideas for both birthday and Christmas gifts!

Rite of Passage: School Pictures

I know they aren't glamour shots or anything, but I always purchase the smallest package available of my kids' school pictures. They just make me smile, and I love lining them up side by side to see the changes in the kids.

You'll probably notice that I told them I wanted to see their teeth in their photos this year? Last year Emma was tight-lipped in her picture and it just didn't seem like her. This year, well, we went to the other extreme. And once again Fisher picked his own outfit. He always insists on dressing up for his close-up. Tie and all.

So without further ado (drumroll please...) here are the 2010 school photos of Emma (4th Grade) and Fisher (2nd Grade).