New Mexico Memories

Anson and his best friend, Jack

Well, I think finally, after two years, I can look back at this blog of our family in Vermont without becoming really sad. There's still so much we miss about our life there. But, we are making friends here and finding our place in NM and learning to see the beauty here, too. I think turning to community service and trying to make this city and state a little better for all those who live here, including my own family, helps to bring a lot of meaningful moments.

I have been showing the kids the stories and pictures from the blog this week and we were just laughing and laughing at some of the funny things they did. And, of course, they love hearing about what they said and did when they were younger. I realized that they would also appreciate a record of our time here as well. So in that respect I've been remiss in not keeping up in the past two years.
It was just such a time of upheaval and resettling.

Now, it's NM's time to shine!

Adventures in Africa

I'm borrowing this idea from my dear friend, Dana, who is currently in Cameroon. While she's gone, her husband is blogging all her texts and emails for us. I thought that was such a cool idea and I wanted to do the same for Eric's trip to South Africa this week. Plus it was a good excuse to jump start the blog again.

So he's in Cape Town for a few days and then is heading to Johannesburg. I guess I have to be careful what details I include due to the secure nature of his work. But I can tell you that Maeve steadfastly insisted that this time she does not want a dress from Africa but a pair of shoes. When Eric claimed not to know her shoe size she was quick to solve that problem: "I'll just come with you and try them on!" A great solution except for the $4000 plane ticket. He is loving being right on the coast and went running this morning. Something strange was happening with the GPS tracker he usually uses for distance and he finally quit after what the GPS said was about 3 miles. But when he tracked it on an actual map it turned out that he ran 10 miles! Eric was so surprised because he hadn't been breathing hard at all, and then he realized that he's now at sea level instead of the high altitude of Albuquerque so his lung capacity was huge. I don't really understand how someone can accidentally run 10 miles. I would have quit long before then!

Other cool things are seeing a sea lion swimming along the shore while running on a beach path and visiting the market where there is a shop that sells beautifully carved ostrich egg lamps. Definitely things we don't have here!

Little Artist

So back in Vermont a group of us ladies got together once a month and called it Mom's Night Out. One Friday in May we went to a really cool place in WRJ called Tip Top Pottery. We had such a great time that we decided to go there again the next month and this time to bring our daughters (all of us had little girls close in age). Maeve just loved painting her unicorn. So, for a teacher's gift, I thought I'd bring Wells to the pottery place and have him make something for Mr. Haley.
He designed and painted this great little plate. I was surprised since Wells usually hates coloring and drawing and things of that sort.
Tip Top Pottery, it turns out, runs several week-long summer camps, so I asked Wells if he'd be interested in attending. The camp offered pottery every morning and then other art activities in the afternoon like batik, acrylic painting, sketching, tie-dying, etc. Wells was enthusiastic about the idea. And it turns out that he's quite a little artist! His painting teacher, Rebecca, who is awesome, noticed that he had some talent for painting and brought this to my attention one day when I went to pick him up. She said he was delightful and that art was his new favorite subject. He really does love painting so for his 10th (!) birthday this year I bought him some canvas, paintbrushes and paints. Here's a mini show of his artwork to date:

Hermit Crab


Hornet

Piano on Pond Surrounded by Frogs
(this was a gift for his piano teacher)


New Mexican Praying Mantis

The Kindness of Musicians

Wells's violin teacher is out of town. So, this Wednesday, I decided to take him to the New Mexico Orchestra Chamber Music concert, held at the violin shop. A small venue. So I called on Wed. afternoon to make sure there were still tickets available. "Oh yes, we will have tickets at the door," the woman assured me. "The box office opens at 6 and the concert starts at 7:30." That is all she said. So, I forced Wells into some decent clothes and we arrived at the concert a little after 7. Only to be told, by the same woman I spoke to on the phone, that the concert is sold out. I was a little upset and protested and recounted our earlier phone conversation. Where she tried to convince me that she told everyone to buy tickets in advance due to the size of the venue. She did not tell me that. During the conversation a few people started surrounding the table. I didn't realize it right away, but they were the musicians. They began trying to help. One woman suggested that the piece they're performing is very popular and I should leave my name and number and they will call me if they do it again. Another man offered to have us sit just outside the door to hear the music. I replied that, although a very kind offer, my son was taking violin lessons and I wanted him to see the musicians, their posture, how they hold their instruments, etc. He nodded. Then, a very nice man with an accent came over. He shook our hands. He said, "Please, leave your name and number. Come to our next concert for half price. And please, come backstage and talk with us afterwards." Then he said, "I am the conductor of the orchestra." I didn't know if I should feel honored or embarrassed. I think it was a little of both. He guided us over to the table, insisting to the nasty woman that she write my name down. Then, with another plea to enjoy our evening and many apologies, he went in to begin the concert. Late. Because of us. The frowny woman did take my name but NOT my phone number and I didn't want to press the issue. But Wells is so excited to meet the musicians at the December concert that he's been practicing a song to play for them. So, I guess it turned out to be a great concert after all!

Weather.com

This was a funny story from April or May that I wanted to remember. After Eric had his job interview with Sandia, his mind was totally on Albuquerque and moving to Albuquerque. I think, mentally, he'd already left. So, one day as I was getting the kids ready for school, he called to check on how I was doing. I asked him to give me the weather forecast for the day so I'd know what clothes to put on the kids. He said something like, "Oh, it's going to be a beautiful day in Vermont. Really sunny, high in the 70s." We were both surprised at that forecast since it was gray and cold and drizzly outside, which fact I mentioned. He said, "Well, it'll probably clear up soon." So I dressed all the kids in shorts, sandals and sweaters, thinking it was going to clear up and warm up any minute and sent them off to school.

An hour later it started to snow.

I don't know what those teachers must have thought of me sending them to school in shorts and sandals and no coats. They couldn't go outside for recess because they were freezing. Poor kids.

And where did that beautiful forecast exist, you wonder? That's right: Albuquerque.

NOT Vermont!

Spider Princess

I asked Wells to play nicely with Maeve for a little while so I could get some unpacking done. This usually works as long as he comes up with a game she's willing to play. And he's generally pretty flexible. Well, they came up with quite the collaboration this time: spider princess. It combines the best of both worlds - a remote control tarantula with tiny little princesses. The tarantula (named "Fluffy") even consented to pull Cinderella's carriage around the house. It was the most bizarre, hilarious thing I've seen in a long time.

They played spider princess for quite a long time. Thanks for not eating any princesses, Fluffy!

"I Am"

A poem by Wells, age 9

I am made of elements, I am complicated.

I wonder why my mom won't buy me a mindstorm.

I hear my seeds,

I see my favorite dream.

I want a mindstorm.

I am made of elements, I am complicated.

I pretend I'm a bird

I feel trees

I enjoy swimming

I worry of bullies

I cry of pain

I am made of elements, I am complicated.

I understand stories

I say, "by the way",

I dream of a mindstorm

I try to write this

I hope to finish soon

I am made of elements, I am complicated.

Nobody's Perfect!

Since I have months of posts to fill in, I thought I ease back into it with just a small, simple story.

Today was the second full day of school for the boys at a brand new school. There are a lot of new things at a new school. I don't think I fully appreciated what a big adjustment it would be. But they are doing great and I'm so proud of them.

After a long day of school and rules I promised the boys they could play the Wii for a little while. Originally I said half an hour but then I realized I wanted a little more time to myself (isn't that what TV is for?). They were already playing when I went in and said, "If I let you play for one hour will you turn it off when I come get you - with no complaining?" W says, "Maybe." I said, "Maybe?" He answered, "Well, I'm trying to say yes but I just can't. I mean, nobody's perfect."

I appreciated the honesty.

We agreed that I would tell him when time's up and give him a bonus 5 minutes if he needs it to finish in a good spot.

After all, Nobody's Perfect!

AMEN!

I recently read these words from the blog of Shannon Hale, author and BYU alumna. http://www.squeetus.com/stage/main.html


I'll just quote her feelings about housework because I Totally Agree:

"OK, really I should say, I plan on accepting that fact any day now. I wish my carpets were vacuumed weekly, that I had a meal plan and didn’t panic when 6 pm rolls around and the kitchen is stone cold. Our backyard is literally a back yard, and I still can’t manage to keep it weed free and full of happy plants. Really, you’d be shocked. And don’t look under my bed. But my priorities are: Max’s needs, husband time, writing, feeding self, sleep, bathing self, church volunteer responsibilities, paying bills…housework comes somewhere down here, maybe after Essential Grooming."

Thank you, Shannon.

COOOOOOODE

I had to post this funny story from M and A on Saturday. I was sick and spent the day lying in bed. W had bruised his back earlier in the morning by sledding into one of the three trees on our property so he was also quietly lying in bed which made for a very peaceful day. For some reason M and A were playing this secret agent game which went like this:

M: (knocks on A's closed bedroom door)
A: Cooooooode?
M: Pieman!
A: No, M, that's not the code. Do it again.
M: (knocks on door)
A: Cooooooode?
M: Pieman!
A: M! The code will never be Pieman!
M: Well, what is it then?
A: Sword! Knock again.
M: (knocks on door)
A: Coooooode?
M: Pie! .....man?
A: NOOOOOO, M! Sword! Sword! Coooooode!
M: (very satisfied). Swordman!
A: I give up. You do it. (knocks on door)
M: Coooooooode!
A: Sword!
M: Nope!
A: What is it then?
M opens door and whispers to A.
M: Code?
A: (disgustedly) Tinkerbell

A Cactus Lesson

Today I learned a very valuable lesson about cacti. Or cactuses. Whatever. I spent the morning with a very nice Realtor driving me around and showing me potential houses in case we do actually (slight shudder) move to Albuquerque. And I want you to know that I just spelled that correctly without using spellcheck. Anyway, of course many of the houses had cactus plants growing in the yard. I don't think I've ever seen a "wild" cactus before, so naturally, I had to touch one. Very, very bad idea. My two fingers were literally stuck to the cactus. I mean, I could not pull them off. At all. The Realtor asked, "Are you ok?" Have you ever had to say this sentence: "No, actually, I'm stuck to a cactus." She said, "What?" I said, "Seriously, I cannot take my hand off this cactus." At least, not without a great deal of pain and bleeding, I was thinking. She suggested I pull my hand really hard. Of course, once I did that I ripped a big chunk off the cactus, destroying years of growth. I can't think of a time recently when I've felt more idiotic. Luckily the Realtor had a pair of gloves in her car so she grabbed the piece of cactus and held tight while I literally ripped my hand off the barbs. It hurt. A. Lot. But I only bled a little!

And now the cactus was stuck to the Realtor's glove. She had to step on it with her shoe to get it off.


So, the lesson is, Don't Touch the Cacti (Cactuses). Ever!

Christmas Vacation: by Guest Blogger W

We went to Edmonton this December for Christmas. And since we flew with airmiles (thank you, family), I had to take the kids out of school a week and a half early. They were heartbroken. W's teacher gave him an assignment to keep a journal of his trip. Priceless:

Dec. 12: First we drove to the airport. Then we went through security. Then we went to look out the window. I saw many strange and beautiful things like airplanes, trucks and birds. It’s amazing that planes can fly.

Dec. 13: Things I noticed about Canada that are different than Vermont: it was freezing. I could see my breath indoors. It was -40 degrees Celsius. In Canada they use Celsius not Fahrenheit. With wind-chill it was -58 degrees. It was the coldest place on earth. At the airport I heard people speaking French. That’s because Canada has two official languages. French and English. I also noticed that people are nicer in Canada. They act like a waiter at a restaurant, asking what we want. I try to be really nice back.

Dec. 14: We went swimming today. It was really fun. It had a current you could go under and the water would push you along faster. I liked it when the bucket dumped on my head when I was under water. Since I’m 9 I can go everywhere all by myself. I went on the slides, too. I didn’t even have to pay attention to the red light green light thing because there was nobody else there. All the other kids were at school. Ha, ha, ha!

Dec. 15: I got to try on a snowboard. A snowboard looks like a gigantic piece of cardboard in the shape of a rectangle. There’s metal on the bottom to help it slide in the snow. You can also sit on the snowboard and ride it like a sled. You can go really fast. But they don’t let you do that on the ski hill. Awww, that’s too bad. The boots were a little big and they were cold at first. My aunt is taking me snowboarding when it warms up.

Dec. 16: last night I played on the wii a long time. But forget about that I have something BETTER to tell you. I went to a museum. We saw diamonds that my uncle Steve put there. I learned how First Nations, that’s like Native Canadians, caught fish. They sharpened sticks and stuck them in the mud so when the fish tried to jump over the sticks it killed them. I took a picture of plastic fish guts which were pretty realistic.

I got to see one of the biggest spiders in the world THE GOILIOTH BIRD Eating TARANTULA. It was cool. THE END.

Dec. 17 2009: I went SKATING! It was fun. I had black HOCKEY SKATES. The blade was so sharp I cut myself without knowing it. It’s easier to balance than you think it is. There are lines on the rink and you follow them.

Dec. 21: We had a family Christmas party and went dancing and played tag. I played my violin with my cousins. Santa came but it was really my grandpa.


Dec. 26: Do you know what a quad is? It’s like a 4 wheeler made for all seasons. We hooked sleds up to the quad and we went around in circles. Anson’s sled hit a giant clump of snow and his foot almost broke my NECK when he fell down onto my sled.

Dec. 28: we went to the biggest mall in WORLD. There were lollipops the SIZE OF MY HEAD. There was a giant robot dragon that breathed real FIRE. There was an electronic whoopee cushion. There were under water fish tanks. You had to take a submarine to see them.

Dc. 29: Do you know what a GT. Racer is? It’s a sled. A sled that has a steering wheel. It steers so good I went over about ten jumps. The hill was huge. It was dark out but the moon was bright enough.

Dec. 31: We went to the mall's waterpark . A. hated the slides. I hit my SHIN real bad on NESSIES REVENGE. OW ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ! I went on 3 out of the 4 scary slides. The slides were sky screamer, howler, nessie’s revenge and tropical thunder. My favorite slide was Blue Bullet.
THE END

Rock, Paper, Scissors...

So any of you who are nerds like us and watch Big Bang Theory will recognize this flowchart:


We had a very, very long drive last week (6 hours each way) and the boys were arguing about which movie to watch on the dvd player. W was, of course, trying to manipulate things so he would win when A suggested rock, paper, scissors. The only problem was, A won. This did not sit will with W's nine year old egocentric sensibilities. Eric laughed and said, "you need to play rock paper scissors lizard Spock." W has never seen that and has no idea who Spock is so he invented the following:

ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS, WORM, LEAF

I don't have time to diagram a cute little flowchart but here are the basic rules:

1. Worm wraps around Scissors
2. Rock crushes Worm
3. Leaf covers Rock
4. Worm eats Leaf
5. Scissors cut Leaf
6. Worm eats Paper
7. Paper beats Leaf since paper is made from trees

I don't think he knew why we were laughing so hard from the front seat. In the end, A watched his dvd and W played on the iPod. The secret to happy travellers: each needs their own entertainment center.

"A Carrot Tale" by Guest Blogger W

I am so pleased to welcome my very first guest blogger, my soon to be nine year old (at midnight!) W. His first blog is a response to a homework assignment: Pick a fruit or vegetable. Describe how it goes from the farm to the market.

Hello my name is carrot. I grew in the dirt on a farm. Then I was picked by a farmer. I was washed and scrubbed and put into a bag. Then I was shipped to the market by a big truck. Then I was bought and dipped in ranch dressing. OH NO!

We'll be back with any teacher's comments in the future. Thanks for your blog today, W! And Happy Birthday tomorrow!

Why I Nearly Failed High School Math...

So while shopping at Home Depot one day I came across this little booklet near the Behr paint: Disney Princess Dream Room. Of course, M's little eyeballs spotted it and immediately the campaign for a PINK room began. I delayed by telling her to wait until Grandma came, and then she would help me paint the PINK room. Grandma came, saw the picture, thought I was crazy, but agreed to help me anyway. It all sounded so simple:

Instructions:

1. Make a mark every 16 inches across the ceiling, walls and floor. No problem, right? Easy.
2. Now connect the marks to create a grid. This, as it turns out, was much, much, much harder than it sounds.

Problems even Einstein couldn't solve (I bet):

1. In order to make straight lines, you really need a straight edge. We did not have one. Our tape measure kept curling up so our lines were way off. (NOTE: a piece of edging, while straightish, is not a good substitute for a real straight edge)
   
2. It's really kind of hard to connect dots all the way across a wall, especially when some of those dots disappear into the corner. (and the piece of edging you're using is neither straight nor long enough)
   
3. Did you know that pencil does not wash off walls? I went through approximately 17 little tiny erasers trying to get the marks off so we could draw new, equally incorrect marks.
4. After a while we realized that for some unknown reason, connecting 16 inch marks created a 12 inch square. Not all of our squares were 12 inches. So we found a 12 inch square template and tried drawing squares on the wall. That worked for one row. Two hours later, we gave up.

Frustrated, I said to my mom, "You know, I bet this is really easy to do if you just have the right tool." Without missing a beat she says, "What we need is a plumb line, you know, with chalk." I grit my teeth. " I have one of those in the garage."

I even had extra chalk.

5 minutes later the lines were connected.

And guess what? Chalk comes off the wall really easily! No erasers required!
GRRR!

This is the (almost) finished product. Surprisingly easy, with the right tools.

And don't even get me started on the castle stencil...

P.S. My husband explained the math to me. For those of you who want to know it has something to do with "a squared + b squared = c squared divided by 2" or some such nonesense. Email him if you really want to know.

A Few Funny Comments

It's summertime and we've just been doing summery things. Mostly watching it rain (this year, anyway). So I haven't posted any stories lately since all the summer posts from last year are still applicable. But there have been a few funny comments I wanted to get into writing. In no particular order:

• A: "I was doing Yoda with mommy this morning." W: "Yoda's a person, not a thing." A: "Mommy, what was I doing with you? Yogurt?" Mom: "Yoga" A:"Ooooh, right, yoga, not Yoda!"
• W got a letter in the mail from his third grade teacher. It said that "the first day of school is right around the corner." So W refused to go around any corners for two days because he was hoping to avoid the first day of school.
  
• A: "I know why so many girls like me." Mom and Dad: "Really? Tell us, why do so many girls like you?" A: "Because I do my hair so handsome. Except some days I do it rock star style instead. All spiky."
• I have to add this story: A Bee Story Part 2 - Eric found a hornet's nest buried underground at the bottom of the stairs for the playground slide. He got away with only 1 sting; I got 3. He attacked the nest a few hours later dressed in: a wetsuit topped with rain pants, rain coat, knee high rubber boots, gloves and M's dress up veil over his face. Also armed with 2 cans of Raid and a bug bomb. He dug out the nest and killed the remainder of the hornets. Or so we thought. A few days later A comes screaming into the house with a hornet attached to his ear. The poor kid's ear swelled up twice its normal size. I asked him how it happened and it turns out that W and A were playing at the playground and saw it buzzing around. W gave A this classic advice, "Hold still and it won't see you and you won't get stung." Uh, we had to correct him that actually holding still is the EXACT OPPOSITE of what you want to do when you see something with a stinger flying at you. Run, run away fast!
  

New Pets

Due to our chipmunk vacancy and all the resulting trauma from our Animal ER, I gave in and allowed the kids a trip to the pet store to choose a pet. The caveat: hypo-allergenic, inexpensive and kid-friendly. We started out looking at garter snakes. They're pretty cute, actually, especially the little ones. But it turns out they only eat these little feeder fish (read: trip to the store every week to buy fish plus the burden of keeping said fish alive) and they're "very fast" (read: impossible to catch once your child drops it). So that was out. Next we thought we'd try some tree frogs. Their little sticky feet and bulgy eyes are cute and they eat live crickets. However, they're coated in a special slime and cannot be handled; apparently if the slime wears off it leaves them susceptible to infection. So we moved on to hermit crabs. W really, really wanted one. M didn't care. A really, really wanted a frog. But we had to all agree on the pet choice and A was outnumbered. So we came home with three hermit crabs, a heating lamp, sand, a few extra shells and some crab food (comes in a jar, awesome. They even had little tiny "Crab Cookies" as a treat!). These are the almost perfect pet. The kids can take them out and exercise them, give them short little baths, and let them crawl around on their hands. There's no poop to clean up, no sneezing, no smell and I think we could take them on vacation. So, introducing the newest members of our family: Sebastian, Gary (pictured) and Merilina Seraphina. What's really kind of hilarious is how much these hermit crab personalities mirror the kids. Sebastian is W's pet and he's by far the most outgoing. He loves to explore and is always crawling around and climbing on the wood in the cage. Gary is actually very shy and will only come out when he's on A's hand but then is very affectionate. And Merilina Seraphina came home in a bright purple shell and promptly changed into a bigger, better shell, so she reflects our little clothes horse, M. So funny!

Animal ER

Yep, we need an animal ER around here. It's been animal adventures the last few weeks. Unfortunately, not all the stories end happily. I'll start with the most dramatic, titled in W's journal as "Day of Death."

• One day we found a cute little chipmunk in our house. He had been attracted by the sunflower seeds we scatter on the deck for the chickadees and finches. A very friendly, young chipmunk, easily tamed. We had him eating out of our hands in no time. And he would nonchalantly stroll into the house and run around the kitchen for a while with the kids chasing him until he got tired and ran out the door. Well, we also had some "pet" salamanders and some "pet" algae living in a tub out on the deck. One night it rained and rained and rained and rained and the water level in the tub went up and up. The next morning A came screaming into my room, tears streaming down his face: "Our chipmunk is dead!" Tragically, he had drowned in the salamander tub. It was really very sad and we all cried for a while. Then we held a chipmunk funeral. Here's a picture of his grave:

• There is a family of robins who build a nest under our deck every year. Right now there are three nests, all on top of and beside each other since they feel the need to build a new one every spring, apparently. This year there were 5 baby robins in the nest and we watched them hatch and grow and eat chewed up worms. The day after the tragedy with the chipmunk W came screaming into my room, tears streaming down his face: "One of the baby robins fell out of the nest and is dead." Yep, it was true, although I think it was pushed out of the nest by the other 4 greedy little birds. W, still crying, observed that "it didn't even have a feather! Why do little things always have to die?" I had to agree: "Life is hard for little things." We buried it with the chipmunk.They now have a plan to pad the ground under the nest next year with foam to catch any other baby birds that happen to fall out.
• A few nights ago, Eric walked into the house with a baby killdeer (bird).

Thankfully it wasn't dead or injured, just stupid. 4 of these little babies were running across the road and he stopped to pick one up and bring to safety (via our house). I don't know much about these birds except that they lay their eggs right on the ground, usually in a rocky area and if you approach the nest the mother bird will flap around like she has a broken wing and lead you away from her eggs while the father bird flies around and screeches at you. They are very fast runners as you probably could have guessed by looking at this baby's long skinny legs. So let's hope this one survives!

• We've also had all manner of frogs, toads, grasshoppers, leeches, daddy long legs, etc. as "pets". M had a pretty pink grasshopper that she loved to death. And W is dead set on capturing a dragonfly and putting it on a leash made of dental floss. I do not know where he gets these ideas but I wish him luck!
  

Little, Little Bird

This little hummingbird in Eric's hand is not (thankfully) dead. It is just stunned. I went out to the garage to take care of some recycling and heard this strange buzzing noise. Looking up I noticed these two things flying around and at first I thought they were bats since it was dusk. But bats flap more and looking closer I discovered they were actually hummingbirds. Eric was mowing the lawn so I waved him down and warned him to be quiet and come see this. We watched the two birds for a while and suddenly this one just dropped onto the cement. Of course we thought it was dead but nope, it's little heart was beating super fast and it was still breathing. See how it's holding its beak in its little claw? So cute. We went and got all the kids out of bed to come see the little hummingbird and in a few minutes it woke up, looked around (I ran for the camera again but...too late) and flew away. We see it once in a while, sipping nectar from our iris flowers. Now how many kids can say they have a pet hummingbird?