Boo!

Halloween was tempered a bit this year by the fact that Evan spent Friday evening and night with a fever and occasional bouts of throwing up. So he and I missed the ward party and he spent much of the day napping. But the kids still had fun. Here's the crew before embarking on their day:Ryan wore the most traditional Halloween costume, a homemade mummy:
Isaac went old-school with the Charlie Brown look:
And Allyson was Nancy Drew (that's a magnifying glass, not a huge lollipop, as it appears to be):
Evan did go with us later on for a quick run through the neighborhood, and I'll post his costume as the picture of the week later on.

A Day at the Farm

This week marks UNM's fall break, an event that ordinarily would mean nothing, except for the fact that I am teaching there on Tuesdays and Thursdays, meaning that I had today off. As fate would have it, today was also Isaac's field trip to the Wagner farm in nearby Corrales, so I went along.

Corrales is a village north of Albuquerque on the west bank of the Rio Grande, nestled in between the bustling Westside and the rapidly-growing suburb of Rio Rancho. This old farming town holds vestiges of its agricultural roots, with horses and orchards, while at the same time being home to a plethora of B&Bs, small mansions, and art galleries. It's the nicest town in the area to have dirt roads just off the main route and a noticeable lack of sidewalks.

The farm we visted has been in operation for nearly a century, growing corn, pumpkins, and apples. A few years ago they, like many farms, diversified their business to include a corn maze, pumpkin gathering, and other touristy stuff. It's both a sad commentary on the state of family farming in America and a great opportunity for city folk like us to get a taste of the rural life.

Here's another fun tidbit from the outing: there were 17 kids from Isaac's class, accompanied by 15 adult chaperones. When you're dealing with 5-year-olds, that's the kind of ratio you want.

My group consisted of me, Isaac, and Josiah. When we arrived, we had to wait for a few minutes before getting to the corn maze, so the kids entertained themselves in the corn pit, a sandbox-sized pool of dried corn kernels.

The first stop was the corn maze, which is always a good time, but, since it doesn't lend itself to many good pictures, we'll skip ahead to the pumpkin patch, where everyone got to pick a gourd.

We then went on a hayride around the corn field. One of my favorite things about this area--including both Corrales and the North Valley of Albuquerque--is the view of the Sandias you get from the agrarian space in the valley.After lunch and an hour of playing, we made our way back to the school. We climbed on a hay stack, visited the orchard, and learned a bit about the various household products made from corn. All told, it was a pleasant day (temperatures in the upper 70s) in mid-October. Better than working for a living, I suppose...

Art, Hiking, and Autumn

Allyson had a friend over for a sleepover Thursday night (Friday was the kids' Fall Break), so we took a holiday Friday to play. After a lazy morning, we went out for lunch. Then we went to our main destination, the city's Open Space Visitors Center. This facility at the edge of the bosque is a great place to visit in the fall, when the leaves turn, the air is crisp (although our visit was quite warm), and, in a month or so, the migrating cranes arrive.

Our main goal this time, however, was not the building, but the hiking trails that run through the bosque. The city has installed some landscape art along the way, and we wanted to check it out.

We hiked a for a mile or so and saw about five such pieces. The first few are simple poles, adorned with natural materials local to the bosque--leaves, branches, and such. Another piece was a a reclaimed jetty jack (used for flood control, and, I guess, to make the bosque look like a war zone). There are a few more that we didn't catch, but it was fun to view art and hike, all at the same time.

After returning the visitors center we rested a bit and then went up to the roof. The view from there is great; you can see the mountains in the distance, the bosque gradually yellowing in the autumn, and the field across the way, where before long a few hundred cranes will spend the winter.

Here are some pictures from the outing:

The outside of the visitors center--itself a cool building:

On the hike, the first of the poles:And Isaac with a piece called "The Cube." A Cottonwood trunk surrounded by wire, it represents the urban space of the modern city built around the natural space of the river:A bosque Cottonwood with the Sandias in the background:The boys at the "Tree of Life" sculpture:The view from the roof:

Fall Pictures

Summer and the kids have been feeling under the weather on and off lately, so I took a day off today to let her rest and recuperate. This afternoon, Evan and I went outside to get the mail, and we paused to take some pictures of our fall colors. First, the one pumpkin plant that did any growing this year (though no producing) as it weaves through the trunks of the Desert Willow and past the pots:
Here's Evan with a pumpkin that Summer bought and place out in front of the Cottoneaster, itself bright with Autumn color:
Here's another view of the pumpkins:
And here's my favorite, from behind the pumpkins:

Pecos

To celebrate the last day off until Thanksgiving (the kids and I both have some days off before then, but Labor Day is the last joint holiday until we eat turkey), we decided to join some friends from the ward in a trip to the Pecos National Historical Park in northern New Mexico. It's place we've been meaning to visit for some time, and the group outing made it ideal.

We arrived around 9:00 and spent some time in the visitors center. The exhibits chronicle the history of the area, from the pueblo that flourished there to the contact with Spanish Conquistadors and later Anglo intrusion via the Santa Fe Trail. At the time of Coronado's expedition into what is now New Mexico, Pecos was the largest and most influential pueblo in the area, serving as a trading center for the Rio Grande pueblos and the Apaches and Kiowa of the plains to the east.

The start of the trail

Seven of the Twelve Children

Next, we began the hike through the ruins of both the pueblo (more on the excavated and reconstructed kivas later) and the mission church built by the Fransicans. Our party included four familes, with 8 adults and 12 kids (at dinner we did some math with the kids asnd figured that these 12 children included 10 boys and just 2 girls).

Three of the hikers
Mission Church Ruins
Detail of the Mission Ruins
Boys Among the Ruins

The company proceeded along the 1.25 mile path, entering two reconstructed kivas, pausing at an overlook of the Glorietta Mesa, and meandering through the mission ruins. Having a multi-family group made for a lot of mingling, as Allyson adopted the other girl in the group as her little sister for the day, Ryan and Isaac floated among their friends, and the adults got to chat as we hiked.

Evan and Summer in the Kiva
Ryan Ascending From the Kiva
Isaac Leaving the Kiva
Lookout Point

Isaac, Spencer, and Ryan

After returning to the visitors center and eating lunch, we decided to drive north past the village of Pecos (a quaint place that serves as the gateway to lots of great wilderness area adventures and rental cabins) and along the Pecos River to the Holy Ghost campground area.

At the End of the First Hike

There we set off on another hike, this one a trail that eventually makes its way toward Santa Fe Baldy (a nearly-13,000 foot peak) and a series of mountain lakes, which would make for a great backpacking trip someday (perhaps when the 10 boys we had in tow are old enough to carry their own gear).

The trail ranged from 2 feet to 6 inches in width, switchbacking a few times up the hill. The kids did a great job of scrambling over logs and uphill. After a mile or two, we came to an intersection with another, downhill-trending but even more narrow path. We followed this down to the creek and the road leading back to the parking area.

Along the way we passed by some beautiful campsites that require future visits. We also made our way to the creek, where the kids (and the more daring adults) slipped barefoot into the icy waters. It was then time to head back home, reflecting on a summer of fun, the impending autumn (the leaves up the Pecos canyon will be brilliant in a few weeks), and more such trips in the future.

What a Summer It's Been

With the older kids starting school this week, and Isaac beginning kindergarten Monday, we are ready to call summer over and reflect on all we've done. Here--in list form--is a review of this season:

1. Allyson's summer program at Albuquerque Academy began a week after school ended and ran through early July. Around this time, we switched the bedrooms around, moving the three older kids into the master bedroom and giving Evan his own room.
   
2. Isaac had a two-week swimming lesson program at the beginning of July. Allyson then had a four-day Girl Scout day camp.
3. Summer and the kids left the following week for Utah. Allyson stayed with her Grandma Turner for nearly two weeks, while Summer came home after nine days in Utah. While the rest of the family was gone, I painted the bathroom.
4. Summer and the boys came home at the end of July. A week later, Mom brought Allyson home after visiting five National Parks in four days.
5. That weekend, Dad, Nathan, Michelle, and Summer's parents all came to town for Ryan's baptism, easily the most important thing we did all summer.
6. The day after the baptism, Summer and I left the kids with her parents and flew to Denver for four days.
7. We came home on Thursday and left for Utah on Friday. After staying in Eagle Mountain for the night, we made our way to Bear Lake, where we played for three days.
8. On Tuesday we came home, driving 13 hours, to sleep in our own beds (for Summer and me, this was the first time in nine days that we had slept in our bed).

Couple's Getaway

We're back from our trip to Denver, and we had a wonderful time. Here's the rundown. We got in Sunday evening, and, after settling in at our hotel (The Curtis, located downtown, about two blocks from the 16th Street Mall--good place, but really only if you get the kind of deal we scored), we headed to get a bite. While we waited for our food, a torrential downpour had us wondering if we should have packed an umbrella, but by the time we were done, so was the rain, so we strolled home quite comfortably.

Monday we slept in and then began our walking tour of downtown. Our first stop was the bakery across the street (we stayed right across from the Performing Arts Center, but, alas, there was nothing worth watching while we were in town), followed by the ballpark. I had seen online $4 tickets for Tuesday's game, and our goal was to pick hose up and get the lay of the land. We strolled through Larimer Square, Writer Square, and LoDo on our way to the stadium, where we did indeed pick up the intended tickets.

We then headed back to the 16th Street Mall before making our way back to the hotel. So far we had logged about 3 miles on foot that day, and a nap was in order. Our next stop was the movie theater downtown, where we watched the new Harry Potter movie and ate too much popcorn for people our age. This was followed by some more strolling (really the theme for this vacation) and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

Tuesday was our busy day. After eating at the Paradise Cafe, we walked down to the Denver Art Museum. We spent about an hour and a half there before stopping by the city library (it's like a pilgrimage for us nerds) and eating lunch nearby (Mad Greens=good freshmade salads). We then went back to the museum for another hour or so before making our way back for another nap.

The big event of the day was the baseball game. We had our tickets, and, after getting through the gate, coupons for $1 hot dogs, so we spent grand total of $10 on seats and dogs. Our seats were in the upper deck in right field, a good view of the action (except for long flies to right, where we lost our line of sight), but a lot of sun early on. We strolled around the park for a bit before settling in.

The game itself was good--the visiting Pirates ran away in the 3rd, scoring 4 runs and shaking up the Colorado pitcher, who was making his first big-league start. We left after 7 innings to beat the crowd and make the walk back to the hotel.

We had no plans for Wednesday, which, of course, means that we did more than any other day. Sort of. After a slow start, we headed to the nearby grower's market. We go the downtown Albuquerque market often, and this was a huge disappointment by comparison, so we stopped by a place on 16th for breakfast before going to Elitch Gardens, the local amusement park near downtown.

This was fun. We went on the Ferris wheel and a short but intense roller coaster ride, and we were both doing well (neither of us can handle really hardcore rides). Then we did the tilt-a-whirl, and it knocked Summer out. So, after catching our breath and eating a bit of lunch, we went back to the hotel.

We then made our way to a pizza joint up the street, followed by a walk over to the Auraria campus, a facility shared by the University of Colorado-Denver, Metropolitan State College, and the Community College of Denver. Looping around, we crossed through the Performing Arts Center and back to the hotel. I napped, and we then left for the movie theater, where we saw Julie & Julia and ate dessert at a cafe on 16th.

Our last day began at 5:00, and we caught our shuttle to the airport at 5:25. It's always bittersweet when a vacation ends, sad to see it over, eager to go home, and this trip was no different. It was great to get away just the two of us, to walk and talk and do so many fun things, but we did miss the kids, their silly, fun, happy ways, their joy in new experiences and daily events. It will be fun to go on our next trip with them, and good to have another getaway like this in a few years.

Looking Good

Lots of new looks for the older kids of late.

First, we have Isaac, who just finished swimming lessons last week. He took to water like the proverbial duck:Next, Allyson, all made-up from her Girl Scout day camp:
And Ryan, in his new church duds:

Belated

It's old news by now, but Ryan's birthday passed with much celebration. In addition to his birthday outing, we also had an at-home party last Sunday. For the cake, Ryan chose a dinosaur dig cake that was featured ion one of the 15 or so magazines we get each month (seriously, our magazine pile is taller than Evan, and Summer just subscribed to another one because it came with a free tote bag--we have more tote bags than we do magazines!). Anyhow, the cake is great, made from scratch with sugar cookies bones under a layer of cookie crumbs: Here the birthday boy blows out the candles:
Fro presents, he got some nice church clothes (more on that in a future entry) to celebrate his forthcoming baptism. As a newly-minted eight-year-old, he also began cub Scouts, for which he was quite excited. His maternal grandparents sent him the uniform, which he wore within seconds of opening the gift:
And my parents send him a new glove, since the child size was getting too small:
It needs some breaking in, but that's a convenient excuse to play catch everyday, isn't it?

Happy birthday, Ryan, and thanks to aunts & uncles for cards and grandparents for gifts. See you all soon.

They Grow up so Fast

The two oldest kids, in particular. Yesterday was the end of Allyson's summer program at Albuquerque Academy. She had a great time, and it was fun (and a little bittersweet) to see her doing something so grown up--going off to a new place and making new friends. To celebrate, the students put on a brief show of their favorites from the culture through the arts class. Allyson's class did a drumming demonstration, as seen here:
Then we began the birthday festivities for Ryan. First today was a trip to the growers market downtown, where we bought some honey, jam, zucchini, eggplant, and bread. For some reason, this made Ryan make this face:
We then caught "Up" at the downtown cinemaplex, followed by lunch at our new downtown pizza joint. Here are some lunch-themed pictures:

(Clearly Ryan does not hold a monopoly on funny faces.)

More Family Photos

Here are some more photos from our May photo shoot. First, inside the theater lobby:And next some fun shots in the courtyard outside:

Birthday Fireworks

One of the great joys of having your children's birthdays in the summer is the chance to celebrate at a ballgame. So last night we went to the Isotopes game against Memphis. Because this was the last home game of the holiday weekend (they're at Nashville beginning today), and because of the fireworks after the game, it was set to be a big crowd. (It ended up, at 15,358, being the biggest crowd in team history.) But last week I scored five seats in the front row of the upper deck seats on the third base side (good seats, and guaranteed to be in the shade all game long).

We got there early enough to sit back and enjoy the view of the Sandias. This was also a good time to get some pictures of the kids before the crowd got out of hand. So, here we have Evan:
And then the rest of the crew:
It was a great game. The clouds that had threatened the game all day (we got rain nonstop all morning) kept it cool, but not a drop fell during the game. The home team took an early lead and never let go, behind some solid pitching and good defense. And while no foul balls or free t-shirts came our way, Summer and I were able to sit together while the older kids played with Evan, who himself stayed up the whole game through).

After the game, a performance artist set up a 7' canvas at second base and, to the sound of various patriotic songs, pained a Statue of Liberty scene in about 5 minutes. It sounds (and promised to be) immensely lame, but it was really pretty cool.

This was followed by the fireworks show. To which the kids reacted thusly:
By the way, it's so much fun to tell Isaac that he gets fireworks for his birthday. All told, it was a pretty wonderful day. Happy birthday, Isaac!

Ally's Blog!

Allyson has decided to set up her own blog! She writes many poems and stories and wants to share them with family and friends. She posted her first story today! Check it out:

Story Time With Allyson

Happy Birthday, Isaac

After our trip to the Balloon Museum yesterday, we had cake and presents. Here Isaac opens his gift from the Grandparents Turner. They gave him a wallet and a watch:
He has been wearing the watch non-stop since then, calling out the time every few minutes. And he looks good doing it:
We gave him some movies:
And Summer made--from scratch--a balloon-shaped cake:
Later that evening we went to a great Isotopes game. More on that later...