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).