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...