One Last Hurrah

With 2008 coming to an end, we decided to make one last outing, this time to the BioPark. Our first stop was the Aquarium, where Evan tried out one of his favorite words: fish. Imagine the comedy of this two-foot-tall ball of energy repeating “ish” over and over again for 20 minutes.
The littlest Tuner also got a kick out of trailing his brothers around; here they look at the koi:

We then went to the Botanic Gardens, which are still decked out for the River of Lights holiday events. So we missed the lighted display, but also missed the cold that descends into the area around the BioPark on winter nights (cold air settling and all).

Among the decorations is this:

And, finally, we went through the children’s garden, where the oldest three perched atop a giant ant:

It’s been a very fun and full year. Here’s to another one in 2009.

Cooking With a Preschooler

If you know Isaac, you know that he likes to be helpful. When we visited my parents in July he was up every morning helping Dad with the shed he was building. He's typically the first to jump on a chore, and he'll wander the house when he's bored, looking for tasks. One way that he has enjoyed being helpful is in the kitchen.

This has, in turn, led to an interest in cooking, so for Christmas he got a couple of cookbooks and some utensils. The plan was for him to help make a dinner this week from one of his new cookbooks. He chose "C3PO Pancakes" from his Star Wars Cookbook.

The concept is simple. You cook pancakes with a pineapple ring embedded in the middle. When done, the pancake will look like one of the famous droid's eyes. The recipe too is simple, written for the young cook, with careful directions like "using pot holders, put the baking sheet in the oven."

So, here we have the aspiring chef at work with his mother:
And here he practices the famed two-handed stir:

Here is Isaac with the finished product:
And finally, since we needed more protein with the meal, Summer cooked up bacon, which, paired with two pancakes, made for a meal that smiled back at you:

Congratulations to the cooking preschooler!

Winter Break

So, I'm on week 3 of my 4-week break, and it's time to recap and look ahead a bit. I spent the first week of the break taking over a lot of what Summer typically does (laundry, getting kids to and from school) so she could study for and take her final, with some shopping mixed in. Week 2 was spent vegging and holidaying, with some laziness and fun mixed in.

A highlight of last week (week 2) was last Monday. We invited some friends from the ward over for dinner, FHE, and gingerbread houses. Here are the various kids making their houses:


So now we reach this week, which is a crucial one in terms of the success of the entire break. I'm well-rested, and the kids go back to school next Monday, so I can get some work and dissertation done then. So this is the week to play. We began today by going to Explora, the city's childrens science museum. Here are some pictures of the kids in the mirrored room:

(Makes having four kids seem pretty manageable, no?)

Here's what we plan to do the rest of the week:

• Hike in the Sandias
• Go to the Rio Grande Nature Center
• Visit the BioPark
• Drive up to Sandia Crest

If we get around to half of this I'll consider it a successful week.

The 12 Gifts of Christmas

Here are some highlights from this Christmas season, in no particular order:

1. Evan wearing his new Orioles ball cap (and, at times, Isaac's new Orioles hat, both courtesy of Grandma & Grandpa Turner)
2. The fact that Summer, Ryan, and I all got (and appreciated) gifts of or related to scripture--Summer a new quadruple combination, Ryan a scripture case and scripture markers, and me a set of scriptures in Spanish--you're doing something right when the people you love also love sacred writ
3. Watching Allyson wear and love her iPod shuffle, which makes her feel just that much more mature
4. Going to Old Town on Christmas Eve to stroll among the luminarias--and the fact that we could be out past sundown at that time of year without risking frostbite
5. Seeing the kids thumb through the Encyclopedia of Cousins from Grandma & Grandpa Catherall and knowing that they love their family, both immediate and extended
6. Spending a lazy day with the kids, the highlight of which for me was making pomanders (oranges punctured with whole cloves) with Isaac, Ryan, and Allyson
7. Staying up late with Summer to finish watching the first Lord of the Rings movie--our goal is to watch all three, plus all three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, before I go back to work, at the rate of half a movie per night
8. Giving Isaac my junk drawer in the kitchen for his new cooking supplies--he got two cookbooks and an assortment of utensils, and this week he's making dinner once
9. Watching Ryan intently attack the Rubik's cube he got in his stocking--as Summer put it, if anyone on this house can solve that thing, it's him
10. Talking to my parents, Summer's parents, Nathan, Carolyn, and Michelle, and realizing how blessed we are to have caring, loving, funny, dear people in our lives
11. Knowing that we have all next week to go on outings--I'll post a list of my plans later, along with pictures from them (once we get new batteries for the camera...)
12. Looking forward to a new year, one in which any number of wonderful and memorable things will happen in our family

Planning Ahead--August 2009

Now that I am on break, it's time to start planning for next year's trips and events. A future entry will lay out some of our possible family trips for 2009, but this entry--of real interest only to the Turner side of the family--focuses on one specific event next year: Ryan's baptism.

As we discussed over Thanksgiving, we are looking at the second Saturday in August, which comes right at the end of my summer term (and, thus, the start of my August break). The kids start school the following week (8/13, I believe), and, since Isaac is starting kindergarten, we can't take a long trip. But, given that everybody will be in town, it would be nice to do something fun.

Here are some ideas. Please comment or email me to share your thoughts. I know, for example, that Carolyn has sworn off tents, but I suggest that camping may be a lot of fun for the money.

Mesa Verde National Park, near Durango. There are some beautiful Ancestral Pueblo ruins and lots of great hikes. The elevation means August is comfortable, and it's only about 4 hours from ABQ (in case Dad or the Forbes would be flying in and out of the Sunport). We could stay in the NPS lodging in the park (expensive, but convenient), camp in the park (we have an extra tent for anyone flying in), or in a cabin/lodge in the Durango area (see some that I found here). If we stay in Durango, we can also do fun stuff there, such as the Durango/Silverton Railroad.

The next option is the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, in west-central Colorado. Again, high elevation makes for comfortable weather, and there are lots of hiking trails and beautiful scenery. You lose the lodging options of Durango (just camping, really), and the location of the park facilities at the canyon's edge makes me a bit wary as a father.

One last option to consider is Great Sand Dunes National Park, in south-central Colorado. Home to the largest sand dunes in North America, the park also offers mountains hiking and a nearby buffalo ranch. The in-park camping is nice, and there are some nearby lodging options. The real drawback here is location; it's a good 4-5 hours from ABQ, and in the wrong direction (our UT visitors would have a longer trip back from GSDNP than the other options).

The Final Trip of 2008

So far this year, we have gone to Denver, Goblin Valley, the Catherall reunion, and the Evans reunion, so to round things out, we decided to visit Utah/Idaho/Wyoming family for Thanksgiving.

We left ABQ on Friday and drove as far as Moab, where we stayed the night. The advantage of driving halfway is the increased sanity levels resulting from two 5-hour days, as opposed to one 10-hour day. The disadvantages are the added cost and the fact that we end up with 6 people in one hotel room. All in all, it’s probably a wash.

On Saturday we drove in the rest of the way, stopping in Provo for lunch at the Brick Oven. After getting to Casa Catherall and decompressing, we went up to Herriman, where Summer’s nephew Seth and niece Emma were starring in a junior high musical. The show was fun, and the boys still occasionally break into one of the songs from the show. Sunday was laid-back, punctuated by another trip to Herriman for birthday cake and ice cream in honor of the birth of Summer’s sister-in-law Kathi.

On Monday Summer’s parents watched the kids while we went on our annual date. We went back to Provo for an old-fashioned BYU date. We went bowling and played air hockey and skee-ball in the games center and ate at the Cougareat. On the way home we stopped for ice cream and reveled in spending time in public without children.

On Tuesday, Summer and Allyson went to afternoon tea at Gardner Village with Summer’s mom, while the boys and I went to BYU again to visit, among other things, the Beane Museum. This was when Ryan announced his intention to go to BYU, and we had ice cream and licorice. That evening we met up with Michelle and Jon for the obligatory Cafe Rio trip, followed by the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point.

Wednesday was our travel day to Idaho, where we were going to have Thanksgiving dinner with my sister Cheryl and her family. This was my first trip to the Rexburg area, and it lived up to its reputation: cute little town, cold and windy. We went with Cheryl and Ben to BYUI, where we strolled the campus and met up with Jason for dinner.

While in Idaho, I got my first taste of the Wii. I have a love-hate relationship with video games—I’m not very good and I don’t play games often (I pride myself on never having owned a video game system), but once I get playing, I get pretty hooked. Over a span of roughly 36 hours, I played about 9 games of baseball, 4 of bowling, 3 of golf, and 2 of tennis, along with some of the training and fitness games. It was quite fun and I ended up pretty sore from the experience (boy do I need to work out more).

(Along those lines, here is what may be the funniest story from the trip. My 16-year-old brother, Nathan, is quite an accomplished Wii boxer. Undefeated. And I couldn’t touch him. But Isaac, who is four, knocked him down and came within a hair of beating him.)

Thursday was marked by much eating. Cheryl pulled off a full Thanksgiving feast, with a 25-pound bird (they’ll be eating Turkey until the Idaho snow melts, probably sometime in May), homemade stuffing, and sweet potatoes. It was fun to see Allyson and the boys help her in the kitchen. Playing catch outside with the men folk (Dad, Nathan, Jason, and my boys) was also a highlight.

After groggily waking and packing on Friday, we went back to Utah, stopping in SLC for the lighting of Temple Square with Michelle and Jon. We strolled around and caught some of the visitors center exhibits, which made for a nice end to the trip.

In closing, here are my top ten from the trip:

10) Watching Evan warm up to both sets of grandparents, something he hasn’t done much of in the past, as well as attaching himself to Michelle after about 2 seconds

9) Walking around two BYU campuses in one week and reflecting on the role these two schools have played in my life and the lives of my parents, siblings, and children

8) Talking college and career options with Nathan (the inivtation to live with us while you get your welding certificate at CNM before your mission is still open)

7) Summer’s parents teaching the Marriage & Family Relations Sunday School class—Summer and I taught it in a student ward when we had been married for about 2 years, so it was good to see it taught by a couple with more experience as spouses and parents

6) Watching Cheryl do mom stuff—she’s the first of my sisters to have a baby, and it’s fun to see her with Ben (who, by the way, is a riot)

5) Showing the boys some of the hidden spots on BYU campus—Ryan was impressed by the First Vision sculpture tucked away in the Joseph Smith Building, and Isaac was amazed that I knew where the vending machines were

4) Seeing Allyson make a dozen or so woven bracelets in her spare time—she’s got her mother’s knack for crafty and creative hobbies

3) Smiling as Isaac hopped up to read books with Dad, whom he admires greatly because he builds things like sheds and libraries, and as Allyson chatted up Mom, whom she admires because she went to BYU, married in the temple, raised 5 kids, and taught elementary school

2) Rounding a corner in the dinosaur museum and seeing why Evan had stopped dead in his tracks moments before—a 10-foot-high, 3D model of an ancient shark, leaping out of the wall and convincing the toddler that this was to be his grisly end

1) Sitting back and smiling as my kids took off to play with various cousins, some of whom they have befriended after mere minutes of playing together, and realizing that this sort of friendship and love is among the chief lessons we can learn from our children

"It's Like Where's Waldo, But in Black & White"

The next in the family photo feature:

New Feature: Family Pictures

As mentioned a while back, we had a friend from the ward take some family pictures, and as we have been looking through them, I decided to post a photo every few days along with a funny, clever, or ironic caption. Sounds like fun, huh?

So, here's the first installment:

"So, why does Daddy get so bent out of shape when I play with his glasses?"

If Women Can’t Find You Handsome…

They should at least find you handy. So goes a line from the Red Green Show, a hilarious Canadian comedy about masculinity and the pitfalls of being a man. Today’s story deals with the second half of this wise equation.

The closet in our hallway has these folding doors, and for some time the door on the right has leaned awkwardly, and over the past week or two this condition has deteriorated rapidly. Today the door completely came unhinged (as did I for a few moments). The runners on top came off the track and the whole thing was rendered useless.

So I took a stab at it. Yesterday I tried halfheartedly to do something about it, leading to these words of wisdom from yours truly: “There is nothing in this world so broken that I can’t make it worse.”

But after removing the door and disassembling the sliding piece on the track (which, apparently, isn’t supposed to slide, which is where the whole mess began), I was able to get that part of the system back in place. Summer and I then figured out how to get the door back on, and voila! Door fixed!

(I’m pullin’ for you. Remember, we’re all in this together.)

And...

(I'm a man...and I can change...if I have to...I guess.)

And...

(Keep your stick on the ice.)

Word of the Month

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: my wife is an immensely creative person. A year or two ago she decided to take 12" wooden letters from a craft store, decorate them (there's some technical crafty lingo for what she did--it involves a glue that smells like death and fancy paper) and display them atop the piano. She did "NOEL" for the xmas season, and it looked great.

She then decided to do a different word for each month of the year. (This may be a gift for family some year, so act surprised.) January is SNOW, February is LOVE, March is LUCK, April is RAIN, May is MOM, June is DAD, July is FREE, August is SUN, September is HOME, October is BOO, and November is:
I like how this emphasizes the heart of the upcoming holiday--not just being thankful, but giving thanks. As this is the topic for my talk next week, I have been thinking about how we give thanks, and I think it is quite simply through giving. When we share with others we demonstrate how much we acknowledge and appreciate the blessings we enjoy.

On the other hand, withholding blessings from others is ultimately an act of cowardice, as we demonstrate our fear that Providence might not support us if we give to others. The fast offering given when one's checkbook is tenuous, the act of service given by the sleep-deprived parent, the kind word from the lonely to someone who needs kindness--these things show faith that giving will not deplete, but rather replenish.

Balloon Museum

As you may know, Albuquerque is famous for a world-class Balloon Festival held every October. In conjunction, the city opened a museum about ballooning a few years back, and since the kids had school off on Tuesday, we decided to go there after I was done teaching.

The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum features exhibits o the history, science, and culture of ballooning, including this mock-up great for cute pictures of the kids:
There are also temporary exhibits and hands-on activities for the kids. the boys and I tried the large-screen flight simulator, and here Isaac tries an exhibit that lets you heat and release a model hot air balloon:

A current temporary exhibit explores the role of Native Americans in Albuquerque's ballooning history. Part of the exhibit is a large (4' diameter) pot done in a Southwestern Native American style (or combination of style) with balloon motifs and images. the pot is on the floor behind some velvet ropes that apparently are supposed to be sufficient to keep kids at bay. Evan, who loves anything ball-shaped, and who was ga-ga over the whole museum, was bitterly disappointed every time I grabbed him away from drooling on the art.

All Hallows Eve

In celebration of everyone's favorite pagan holiday, we took the kids to the ward trunk-or-treat activity at a local school's parking lot. It was easier than going around the neighborhood, and more fun at that.

Every year we go one of two ways with costumes. Busy and spendthrifty when we buy costumes (last year) or prudent and overextended when we (and by "we" I mean "Summer") make homemade costumes. This year was the latter.

First we have Allyson in her sock-hop poodle skirt outfit:
Ryan was a spider (black sweats with additional arms made from black tights and attached--temporarily--to his real arms). Once the thread from arm to arm broke, he looked more like a squashed spider:

Isaac's was the most creative costume, and the most challenging. He went as a bag of jelly beans--a clear trash bag filled with balloons:

(Note the "Jelly Belly" logo on--or below--his torso.)

Evan wore the costume Isaac had 3 years ago, an Oreo cookie, but he only wore it for 1.75 seconds, as he hates anything that goes over his head. Hats, for example, terrify the kid. The Oreo costume was black pants, a white shirt, and a sandwich-board-style cookie made of cardboard that slips over the child's head. As he moved faster than the speed of light in tearing the thing off, there is no picture.

Much fun was had by all. But, as with all ward activities, the loaves-and-fishes principle applies, and we returned home with more candy that we brought, even though we gave out all ours to other kids form the ward. In the past 24 hours alone I have eaten approximately 96 lbs. of candy.

The Fabric of Our Democracy

I was able to vote early yesterday, so in celebration of democracy, here's Evan with Summer's "I Voted" sticker. Or, perhaps proof of rampant voter fraud in the land of enchantment:


(By the way, babies don't like stickers on their foreheads.)

Man, My Kids Are Fast!

Over the past few weeks, my kids--like beggar children in underdeveloped countries clamoring for a handout--have taken jog-a-thon pledges from family members. Well, it's time to pony up. And to those of you who pledged per lap, well, like many of those beggar children, my kids scammed you something awful. (I can say that because we pledged per lap too, and it'll cost us at least one restaurant dinner.) Here's the final damage:

• Ryan ran 10 laps
• Allyson ran 9 laps

Each lap is 1/4 mile, meaning the boy ran 2.5 miles in 45 minutes, and Allyson came in at 2 1/4 miles. I can barely drive that far that fast...

(Apparently, Summer and Isaac ran a warm-up lap with Ryan, who jogged nicely for half a lap and then turned on the afterburners and left them in the dust.)

I'll email you with your personalized amount due, but this just goes to show, when kids are nearby, keep close tabs on your wallet (especially true if you take your kids to Toys R Us and spend any amount of time in the Lego area).

Evan Being Evan

This morning I was running around taking care of one thing or another when I noticed that Evan was in his room alone. This was odd because a) he prefers to spend time in the play room where there are more opportunities for him to make a mess, and b) he usually prefers to play with (or at least tag along after) the older kids. But there he was sitting on the floor playing quietly by himself. And, if I may say so, looking adorable.
Maybe he's coming down with something...

Pumpkins Etc.

On Friday Summer and I went with some folks from the ward and a half dozen or so Isaac- and Evan-aged kids to McCall's, a family farm in Moriarty, about 30 miles east of town. McCall's has turned into a huge fall tradition in the ABQ area, with a pumpkin patch, corn maze, petting farm, and haunted house thing. We've gone a few times, and each year it's a bigger deal.

We got there around 10:30 am and met up with the group. While we waited for the last members of the party, we strolled through the country store and I got the following shot of Evan with pumpkins:
The highlight of the trip was the hayride to the pumpkin patch. A tractor pulls 3-4 carts full of 60-75 people each for a 5-minute ride to a patch where you race everyone else to find one of the few remaining decent pumpkins. It's actually a lot of fun. I picked a small one for Evan, Isaac got a medium-sized pumpkin, and Summer picked a biggish one (I do not envy the people who pick several huge pumpkins and then have to tote them around; that's a bit too much like work for my taste). Anyhow, here are the boys with the loot:

(Notice the look on Evan's face; he was only happy when we let him hold the pumpkin, which he called a ball.)

After we made it back we ate lunch, and then Isaac and I wandered through the petting farm. Here are pictures of Isaac with chickens:

Sheep:
And goats:
And as a pig:
We had to leave to make it back to pick up Allyson and Ryan, so didn't get to do the pumpkin sling shot or the 40' tube slide or spend $500 in the country store (we could have done it, what with salt water taffy, apple butter, quilts, and rustic home decor--we need to take parents there some autumn). And on the way back to the city, Evan, of course, fell asleep:

Is It Still News If It's a Week Old?

General Conference weekend was a bit of a wash. We had fun with Summer's parents, but rainy weather and my sickness kept us from catching any of conference in person. But we did get the big news from the Saturday AM session later that day. A temple in Rome is so very exciting. My mission was north of Rome, so all I every saw of the Eternal City was the airport, but this is still an emotional announcement.

Earlier this week I downloaded the MP3 files from conference, and Thursday, on the way to work, I listened to President Monson announce the new temples (by the way, downtown Philly--wow!). I knew what we was going to say. But as he said it, I still felt this powerful spiritual feeling, a sense of gratitude for having served among a wonderful people who will now be blessed with a temple in their own land.

Historically, the strength of the Church in Italy has been up north, but Rome is centrally located and symbolically potent as a place for a temple. And, as we see in other places when a temple is built, there will be incredible growth after the dedication. I am excited to see when a stake is formed in Rome and that area flourishes.

Speaking of the dedication, Summer and I have decided to go. Assuming Italian bureaucracy is what it was a decade ago, the temple will take at least 5 years to build, so the kids will be old enough to go or (better yet) leave with someone else while we take a two-week trip to Italy. we've begun planning already...

Balloons Galore

It's been quite a week here. I went back to work and found myself neck-deep in catching up. Summer's parents visited. We ate out and went to a number of fun places around town. We missed all of General Conference. And I was sick.

But for the fun stuff. With the Catheralls in town for the Balloon Fiesta, we made our first ever trip to the event for Saturday's Mass Ascension. We got there well before dawn, walking in the gates just in time for the Dawn Patrol, a set of a dozen of so balloons that go up early to test the winds. Here are two balloons getting set to take off:

We spent a lot of time on the field, which is pretty surreal. Surrounded by huge balloons in various stages of inflation is pretty awe-inspiring. Here's one shot of the scene:
One of Allyson's Girl Scout leaders works for a company that sponsors a balloon, and the girls, seen below, got to help with the inflation:

Not to be outdone, silliness-wise, here are the boys:

And here is one of my favorite shots, the three older kids with a balloon behind them:

One of the most amazing features of the ballooning is the assortment of special-shaped balloons. A new one this year is this cathedral balloon:
And here are the kids' favorites, the boy and girl bee, who ascend side-by-side, as if holding hands:
But for me, the best part of the day was views like this, as we stood on the field among inflating balloons. I looked up to see three balloons converging, creating a small window of blue sky:

Sick Days

I've been thinking about things I'm grateful for ever since Carolyn posted on the topic recently. Here's one that's made my top ten list of late: sick leave.

In the past 5 years, I have accrued somewhere in excess of 200 hours of sick leave--enough to take off 2 full months, should I need it. I don't dip into my leave often; I may get ill once per term, and I take some hours here and there for doctor's visits and the like. But over the past few days, I've had cause to use some of my hours.

On Thursday I woke up a mess. I had been fighting a stuffy nose and achy head for a few days, and I was very tired, so I decided to call in sick, rest up, and be back at it Friday. My plans changed when the kids woke up and Evan had a fever. He later threw up, making my sick day all about him.

Yesterday Isaac had this same fever, and when he was still sick this morning, I took a second day off to let him rest. Evan again spent the day being sick (they're both napping right now), so I was able to hang out with the little guys while Summer took the older two to school and picked them up.

I am very fortunate to have a job that gives me sick leave, and I'm thankful for good health so I don't have to use it very often. And I'll be grateful once Isaac and Evan are well and back to their trouble-making ways.

Friday Fun & Thoughts on Downtown

The kids and I had a fun day yesterday. Evan was in Day 2 of his being-sick-and-getting-over-it, Isaac and I stayed home while Summer took the kids to school and went grocery shopping. After she got home, Isaac and I went to work, where I had a few meetings (he was very well-behaved).

(Side note: For several weeks, Isaac has been begging to go to work with me. I can take the kids on Fridays as long as my meetings are low-key, and it hadn't happened that way this term until yesterday, so he was pretty excited to go. About 5 minutes after we got to the office, he turned to me and said, "I miss Mom.")

After we picked the older kids up from school, the four of us made our way downtown for the Go Downtown Albuquerque Arts Festival, where we wandered among the artists' displays and listened to live music for an hour or so. It's fun to expose your kids to art and see what interests them, and they were happy to get ice cream, so everybody wins.

I'm coming to really like downtown ABQ. There's not much to it (yesterday's event closed off Gold Ave. for three blocks, and unless you like bars or nightclubs, there aren't a lot of businesses to patronize), but the funky urban atmosphere is nice. There are some cool shops and eateries popping up, and events like this one are a good sign. I hear that 10 years ago downtown was a mess, so we're seeing a nice revitalization effort. Earlier this summer we went to the Saturday morning downtown growers market, and our favorite cupcake place has a downtown location. Maybe in a few more years there will be enough to draw us downtown more often. And maybe when the kids all fly the nest we'll get a loft downtown...

I Could Send an Email, But...

This is the most audience-specific posting I've ever made:

To my sisters,
A while back, one of you initiated an email thread about our Xmas gift exchange pattern; I replied, and I think someone else did, but ultimately, nothing happened. So instead of an email, maybe a blog entry will work. If I recall correctly, last year was supposed to go like this:

• We had Carolyn
• Carolyn had Michelle
• Michelle had Cheryl
• Cheryl had us

But we swapped around and it went like this:

• We had Cheryl
• Carolyn had Michelle
• Michelle had Carolyn
• Cheryl had us

So, I propose that this year we go two down, like this:

• We have Michelle
• Carolyn has Cheryl
• Michelle has us
• Cheryl has Carolyn

(Here's where I get to sound like a big brother.) If there are no better ideas (cue Stew's snarky, sarcastic proposal), this will be the way of it. Okay? (That felt good. Maybe I'll go boss someone else around...)

Fun With Art

We had some pictures taken over the weekend. We chose the sculpture garden just outside the ABQ MOA as our location. It was so much fun. We all had a blast. Our friend (the photographer) posted a few of the photos on her blog. Those a just a few. I can't wait to see the rest!

Fall

I just looked at the recent postings on this blog and was amazed and the fact that I had only written once this month, and today's the 20th. Work has certainly taken up a lot of my time, and I'm back at work on my dissertation, so I find solace in being (perhaps?) productive. and if that cuts back on the blogging, so be it.

But today I find myself looking out the window and thinking about fall. It's still summer-like here in ABQ--highs in the (low) 80s, lots of sun, the swamp cooler's on. But there are signs of fall. Here are the main one's I'm noticing this year:

• As the days get shorter, the sun is rising farther to the south--it's close to Tijeras canyon from our vantage point, meaning that the sun actually crests pretty early simply because there's less mountain at that point. By December the sun will rise closer to the Manzanos and the days will be quite short.
• I don't have to water the plants as much. I water the strawberries every 2 or 3 days, and herbs once every 10 days or so. The days are less brutally hot and the nights get cooler, letting the plants recover nicely. There's also more shade during the day. Along these lines, for the first time we have a second bloom on the Desert Willow this year. Typically, the profusion of flowers on the tree goes from April to June, but by July it's all over for the year. Then last week we got a flood of new blossoms, with no end in sight.
• The cooler temps also mean that there are moments when it's a bit chilly, especially if I open the windows too early in the morning or run the swamp cooler too late in the evening.
• I actually wore a long-sleeve shirt to work earlier this week, and the kids have done likewise a few times on the last few weeks.
• The State Fair is almost over (and again we didn't make it out there), and the Balloon Fiesta is just a few weeks away.
• Summer has started asking what we should get the kids for Xmas. Any suggestions?

Corn Maze

On Saturday we packed up our crew and headed to the city's Los Poblanos Field Open Space, where the annual Maize Maze is underway. After catching the "shuttle" (a truck pulling a trailer loaded with hay bales), we paid our entrance fee and entered the labyrinth. Summer and I did a corn maze in Utah last fall, and we've also visited another one east of town before, but this was both closer to home and less difficult. Ideal for an afternoon with the kids.

The best part was simply letting the kids lead the way. Here's Isaac out in front of the pack:
And here Isaac and Allyson lead the way:
Ryan may have had the most fun, as a corn maze is perfect for a 7-year-old boy. Here he decides which path to take:
Evan rode most of the time in the sling, which Summer now configures to put the baby at her side or back, and for most of the trip he was fine. But toward the end, he desperately wanted to get down and walk. This, of course, was no good, as we had left his shoes in the car. So, instead, we let him make this face:
All in all, we had a very good time, notwithstanding Isaac's fall on the way back to the car (he bonked his head and scraped his knees). The day was warm, with just enough breeze, and deliciously sunny. Now I want to go back with just Summer for a moonlight maze some evening.

Roy Rants

Since Summer is out of the town for the weekend, I have decided to fill my time with something less useful than housework or working on my talk for September: I’m starting a new blog. This one is supposed to be short-lived, and may not be for the faint of heart. Here’s the impetus. Last night I got a call from Stew, and we chatted for 30 minutes or so, mostly about politics (the call originated as a “Are you watching Obama’s speech” call, with an overdue apology for voting Nader in 2000). It was fun. So I’ve decided to bring back the beast that is my political ideology, tempered by a few years and more children. Read more at http://royrants.blogspot.com/...if you dare.

If The Ball Is The Same Size, Why Is It Called Mini-Golf?

On Saturday we decided to take the kids miniature golfing. The was the first time any of them had played, and the first time Summer and I had picked up clubs in over 5 years. We forgot to pick up score cards, which was probably best, as some of us tend to be too competitive. So instead we simply had fun, as seen below.

First, Ryan having a hard time keeping his eye on the ball:
Here Summer lines up her tee shot, while Evan watches (he spent all 18 holes in his stroller, so he deserves a medal, or at least all the pretzel sticks he ate):
Here's an action shot of Allyson's putting:
And finally, Isaac, with a great amount of determination:
We've decided this would be an ideal sort of one-on-one activity with the kids, a good chance to spend time with a child away from the normal routine, so we may be hitting the links pretty often. If only we could find a place on our side of town--do any of our local readers know if somewhere other than Hinckle to play mini-golf?

The Wall

So, apparently there are some readers who doubt my claim that the retaining wall is coming along. To such scoffers I say, "yeah, I've had my doubts too." But here is some evidence to the contrary:
These are six of the nine blocks I placed in the foundation course today. I also started the second course, mainly to see if I had the first one relatively level (I did):
In fact, I've done so much I couldn't fit it all in one picture. But here's a good view of the bulk of the work:
So far the first course has 21 blocks, running about half the length of the yard. I laid seven blocks on the second course. My plan for now is to pick up 15-18 blocks every morning and lay 10 or so each day. By Friday I should have the first course done and be well along the second.

More El Morro

So, the retaining wall is underway. Summer had her doubts, so she agreed to a bribe to encourage me to actually get some work done. We decided on a dry-stack wall made of the interlocking blocks you can buy for about $2 each, running straight across the backyard. If I laid the first course by the end of the week, we would go camping. As the project unfolded, we changed the plan a few times, which slowed me down, but my 2-3 hours/day of manual labor were impressive, so with 12 blocks laid down (very near perfectly straight, I may add), we decided to make a trip.

However, the weather was not promising. A storm is to come through the state today, and, not wishing to get rained out, we opted for a mini-trip. We would leave after school, have a picnic dinner, and stay up late to stargaze with Ryan's still-unused telescope. Then we'd come home and sleep in our own beds. Like camping but with less gear.

Looking at the chance of rain, going west seemed our best bet, so we hit the road for El Morro, a place we visited last year. It looked to stay dry, and the distance to any sizable towns made it likely that we'd see some good stars. If only the clouds would break...

We got to El Morro around 4:30 and decided to hike to the top. It was odd doing a hike that we tackled last year when Summer was with child, and to make it fair, I promised that I would carry Evan this time. It turns out that he was a lot lighter and less squirmy last year.

We first hiked along the loop by the pool of water and the inscriptions. Here the kids pause by the water that made El Morro a frequented stop over the ages:
We then hiked up. The ascent is pretty decent, and the trail up is a bit slow going. Plus, as mentioned above, Evan would rather walk than be carried, so that was a struggle too. But the joy of hiking with children truly is the journey, as they look at the world around them:
We finally reached the top, where the view is amazing. Here Summer and the kids watch a horned lizard and take in the sights:
And on the hike down, after passing by the pueblo ruins atop the mesa, Ryan took a chance to see what there was to see:
In the Visitors Center afterwards, I saw a book about how children need wild places in their lives. The argument is that without exposure to wilderness, children's development is stunted and their relationship to the world around them is impoverished. After a hike like this, it's easy to agree. Our kids appreciate the natural world more after having been in it, and that is a great source of joy. At one point on the hike I said, "If any of you want to be a park ranger when you grow up, that's fine with me," and they all jumped on the idea. I'll have to visit them at work often, of course...

Now, the goal of this trip was to stargaze. After the hike, we got a campsite and ate dinner. But the clouds (and the mosquitoes) rolled in, so by about 8:00 we hit the road. The clouds kept us from seeing any stars, but we did get to see the moon rise over the mesa before we left: