May is here...Let the games begin

This Week:

Allyson and I went to see a beautiful play at the Albuquerque Little Theatre and then went to our second favorite cupcake place in town.

Ryan read 23 chapters of the Book of Mormon on his own. As Roy puts it, we are overjoyed that he is reading the scriptures on his own initiative, but we feel a little bad that it wasn't anything we said or did that spurred this on.

Isaac made up new lyrics to a song I have sung to the kids for forever (Becky I am sure you will appreciate the link). The new lyrics are "You're my honeybunch, sugarpea, piece of macaroni-cheese." He has been making up other songs as well.

Evan started to say "da-da," no meaning attached yet, he is just enjoying making noises and copying our sounds. He has also started to copy us when we shake our heads no. So, why are the kids okay when he copies them, but it is a mortal sin if Isaac tries it?

Animals at the Zoo

On Tuesday, Ryan's class had a field trip to the Rio Grande Zoo (which our bishop once called "the best zoo in the world"), and since I'm on break, Summer and I joined in with the little boys. It was a gorgeous day for a zoo trip--warm, even at 9 am when we set out, not windy or too hot.

We arrived before the heavy-laden school buses and waited for the zoo to open. While we did so, Isaac stood for a photo by this sculpture of a Mexican Grey Wolf:
Minutes beofre we left home that morning the phone rang. Ryan was calling from the classroom, and what I gathered of the "conversation" was that he wanted to know if Destiny, a classmate of his, could join us at the zoo. Apparently I agreed to this, because our group consisted of 5 Turners and Destiny, who is a sweet girl and Ryan's best friend. Here are she, Ryan, and Isaac by the flamingo area:

The zoo is always fun (well, maybe not when the tigers escape, ala San Fran), but especially when the kids get excited. And early on we asked if they wanted to see the seals, which resulted in immense excitement. So once we got to the seals, their joy knew no bounds. We went all over the zoo, seeing the reptile house, the elephants, the koalas, some ridiculously loud monkeys, and the polar bears. Here are the kids at the home of the latter:

A Little Late...Identities Being Formed

Sorry this post about the kids last week is so late. Things have been a bit crazy around here (although there is nothing unusual about that.) Anyway here goes:

Allyson learned that she has a lot of confidence on stage, even if she is a little nervous before the show. She also is starting to learn that Daddy does some things "just because he is a man!" That was a direct quote from her explaining why Daddy takes such sharp corners when he drives.

Ryan learned that not only did he know his lines for the play, but he knew others' as well and corrected them when they were wrong or prompted them when needed. He also learned that love can be difficult at times (this comes from a sad, and teary-eyed on his end, conversation at the breakfast table with me, but confidentiality rules the day).

Isaac learned that both Mommy and Daddy were little like him once, and that we also got into trouble and made messes. He loves to ask questions now about when we were little. He even asked if some bad guys got into trouble for wearing their capes and jumping off the couch. It is nice to know that he thinks that is the most terrible thing one could do.

Evan learned that he can move his thumb independantly from the rest of his hand (which he was happy about) and he learned that Mommy will not let him bite when nursing (this he was not so happy about, and neither was I.)

A Night of Theatre

For the past few months, Allyson and Ryan have been in a theatre (note the pretentious "re" spelling) club after school. Their efforts came to fruition last Thursday when they performed.

Ryan's troupe put on "Hansel and Gretel in the Big Woods," in which the hapless children are captured by a wizard and finally saved by a ragtag group of elves (or dwarves; I couldn't tell). Ryan was Smelly the dwarf--fitting enough...Here are two pictures of the show:

There was a brief intermission before Allyson's show, during which time I got a picture of the two cutest audience members:

Allyson's show was "Jackie and the Chilestalk," a sequel to the more famous tale of Jack and his beanstalk. Here Jackie buys magic chiles that lead to a trip to the giant's cloud castle where all the wrongs of the first fairy tale are righted. Allyson played Jackie's mother. Here are two pictures from the show:

Here are the young thespians after the performance:

Denver Art Museum, or "DAM, That's Good Art"

A few weeks ago, Summer's mom emailed her to tell her about a trip she and Phill were planning to Denver to see a travelling exhibition on Impressionist art. Her devious plan to get us to tag along worked, as we took the bait and asked if they would mind us joining them. So Friday morning we hit the road.

After negotiating some rush hour traffic, we reached open road, but being in the fray made me a bit aggressive behind the wheel, and I was going about 90 when, just north of Santa Fe, I spotted a State Trooper going the other direction. She quickly crossed the median and pulled us over. It had been a good 8 years since I had been ticketed, so I suppose I was due. The funniest (or perhaps the only funny part) was when Isaac asked if I was going to jail...

Our first planned stop was an Evan feeding at a rest stop north of Las Vegas, NM. Here the kids ran around and burned off some energy. The rest area has no water, so the vegetation here is apt:
The rest of the trip was uneventful, and we arrived in Denver late in the afternoon. We went downtown for dinner with Phill and Pat, who were staying just blocks from the 16th Street Mall, a mile-long, pedestrian only promenade. The downtown area was bustling, indicative of the vibrant metropolis that Denver has become. It's also a very clean city with lots of parks and attractions, not to mention Major League baseball (albeit National League). Summer and I commented that it would be a great place to live, but it's certainly too big for our taste.

Saturday was museum day. After meeting up with the Catheralls for a brunch-like bite, we proceeded south to the Denver Art Museum. (As a side note, the museum has a lot of fun with the DAM initials, inviting visitors to buy a membership and become a "DAM good friend.") It was chilly Saturday, and while we were inside we even saw some light snow flurries.

Our walk took us past the Civic Park, which is itself across the street form the State Capital building. Here Isaac pauses for a photo:

The exhibit itself was great, showcasing how artists such as Renoir, Monet, and Cassatt were trained in the artistic traditions and began their careers copying the old masters and then went on to experiment with the themes and techniques of previous eras. After an hour or so in the exhibit, we decided, due to the aforementioned snow, to stay inside and eat lunch at the museum restaurant. To get there, were took the pedestrian bridge connecting the north and south buildings. Here the kids pose, seemingly floating above 13th street:

After lunch we split into two parties; Ryan wanted to see African and Oceanic art, so he and Isaac came with me. On our way to meet up with the rest of the group, we discovered a room where an overhead lighting system projected bubbles (about 2-foot wide circles) onto the floor. When you stepped on a "bubble" and got between the light source and the floor, it "popped," splitting into a dozen smaller circles that expanded outward and disappeared. The boys took to this and popped bubbles for about 15 minutes. Afterwards, they looked like this:

It's been a long time since I spent all day in a museum, and it was great fun. The DAM has great pieces of art and a number of interactive features that make it fun for the kids as well. But perhaps their favorite was this sculpture outside of a broom and dustpan:

Altogether, we had a wonderful time. Our initial plan was to hit the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, but we never got around to it, so I promised Ryan we would go back and do that and a Rockies game. Anyone who wishes to come along is invited...

And in closing, here are the kids with another outdoor sculpture:

I Had to Share This...

You know the semester is winding down when I started posting inane items more often. A few weeks ago, Summer had a dentist appointment and I went with her to watch the little boys. On the way we tuned into NPR and caught the tail end of the Writer's Almanac, one of my daily podcast fixes. The poem for the day was baseball-themed (Pat later emailed the link to Summer, who sent it on to me). At the risk of copyright infringement, here is the text of the poem:
Poem: "Assignment #1: Write a poem about Baseball and God" by Philip E. Burnham, Jr. from Housekeeping: Poems Out of the Ordinary. © Ibbetson Street Press, 2005.
"Assignment #1: Write a poem about Baseball and God"

And on the ninth day, God
In His infinite playfulness
Grass green grass, sky blue sky,
Separated the infield from the outfield,
Formed a skin of clay,
Assigned bases of safety
On cardinal points of the compass
Circling the mountain of deliverance,
Fashioned a wandering moon
From a horse, a string and a gum tree,
Tempered weapons of ash,
Made gloves from the golden skin of sacrificial bulls,
Set stars alight in the Milky Way,
Divided the descendants of Cain and Abel into contenders,
Declared time out, time in, stepped back,
And thundered over all of creation:
"Play ball!"

A theology centered around baseball sounds pretty good to me...

Another Week Another Tired Mom

Evan started actually clapping for the first time (he used to do a funny sideways clap with his hands). This was just in time for a baseball game on Monday. Now I get applauded when I change diapers, sing songs, or play games. It's about time I get rewarded!

Isaac has decided he wants to grow up to be a grandpa. He has described in detail the house he will have when he has grandchildren, it has lots of stairs. Apparently we have disappointed him in our one story home.

Ryan decided he wants to get married in the Mt Timp temple. Although he is willing to consider another temple if his future wife wants him to. Are we raising him to be a good husband, or what?

Allyson was the best helper this week. She helped both the boys make their beds, without being asked. She was also spectacular at church today when Roy was speaking in another ward, and I had four children by myself in our ward. She even picked the boys up from Primary and found me in the RS room, where, of course, I was chatting away.