California Postcard "1 - Sunday in Huntington

There are twelve of us- my mom, my sister with her two boys and my brother with his wife and two girls. Six of them have never been on an airplane, two have not been on one since the late 70's or early 80's. And it all went pretty well. My Uncle Earl died a few years back and left my mother a small bit of money. She set aside a chunk of it to take us all to Disneyland. His money will play for five days of our vacation. Thank you, Uncle Earl.

The airplane ride was great and our first day in California has been wonderful. After renting two vans to get us to Anaheim, we took the local bus to the beach. The bus drivers were the best ambassadors the city could have asked for. They were helpful in getting us where we needed to go, they have us information to help us have a smooth trip, they called ahead to our transfers buses to help make sure we would catch them on time (which we did) and they were excited for us to be vacationing there. I hope the bus drivers in Denver are such nice people, too.

We arrived at Huntington beach just after lunchtime. It was picture perfect. I was so pleased that the cousin's first time to the beach was a great one. There was soft sand, shells to find, and warm water to play in. We taught some of them to body surf. Others took turn getting buried in the sand. Other were sure they saw a shark fin. And Ethan, cast and all, got to play in the water thanks to plastic trash bags and duct tape. He must have looked fun, but he had a ton of fun. We put the plastic bag over his hand and arm. We then ensconced it in duct tape to keep the water out. It was not perfect, but close enough. They all had such fun! We were sorry when it came time to leave, but we had a 1.5 hour bus ride back to the hotel, it began to ran and we had gone to the airport at 5 a.m., so we had to go.

Next stop, Disneyland!

You Go, Girl!

Okay, today was a triumphant lesson in needing to trust and not over manage our kids. Ellie did an amazing job at the race today. It took place at Mount Evans, a very long, steep mountain in Colorado. She did the 11.1 mile hill climb in 1:55:10. It would have taken me most of the day. Thus, she has earned fifth place in the Junior Woman's 10-12 Colorado Hill Climb Championship. Will ya' look at those legs? I worried that she would find it too much and quite. I could not have been more wrong. I am so proud of her determination and power. Ethan was bummed that he could not race since he has a cast, but instead he helped my husband, Larr, take great photos. What a trooper he was. I had to drop him off at the finish line at around 7:30 since the adult races were starting. His photos were amazing, as always.

At Thursday's practice we had a surprise birthday party for the head coach. I made him a gear bag and he was happy to receive it. I also made a banner with my Cricut. That's all the crafting I have been able to manage.

Now, I just need to wrap my head around packing for a two week trip to southern California. Tomorrow at this time we should be on a beach! We are going sans the computer, so I will be signing off for now.

ICF, Slackers, Casts and Metals, and a bit of Harry Potter

It is amazing to me how we seem to be more busy during the summer than during the school year and the last two weeks were no exception. On Monday Larr and Ethan came home from the International Climbing Festival (ICF) that took place in Lander, Wyoming, just about 6 hours drive away from here. They had an amazing and fun time. Most of our group is in the group shot. I think Suzanna must have been the one to snap the photo. Larr did some awesome climbs in Sinks Canyon. I am pretty sure he made it to the top. In addition to the climbing they watched movies about climbs and climbers. They took part in silly contests like handless speed pie eating, hula hoops, etc. One of the favorites was doing a slack line. It is intended to learn better balance. It is like tight-rope walking, but on webbing similar to what you find on a tote bag. On Saturday night Ethan was going strong, but then he felt while doing the slackline. His fingers grazed another taller line. This caused him to hyperextend his fingers. When he landed the heel of his hand hit first. This caused the impact to travel through his body instead of being absorbed by the fingers. At the hospital they told him that since he was young he ended up with a bone bend instead of a shattered wrist. Did you know that young kids can bend or twist bones? The xrays showed two greenline fractures on the bones and the bigger bone is sort of crumpled. It now looks like a chunky crochet hook. The doc says he will be fine, but he'll have a cast for at least six weeks. What a bummer - we are off to California on Sunday. That makes some rides at Disneyland out of the question for Ethan. Now we are fixing to get creative so he can still go to the beach.

While the boys were gone Ellie and I had our own fun. We painted our nails so they now sport polka dots. On Saturday she did the Mike Horgan Hill Climb in Nederland and placed second place. I was proud of her. It was a tough race!

Speaking of tough races, we have the daddy of them all tomorrow. She will be doing 11.1 miles up Mount Evans. The adults do 28 miles. It is the highest paved road in America. She is geared up for it. I am exicted and nervous. Some parents did not allow their kids to tackle this one. Ellie and I talked aobut it and I left it up to her. I respect that she knows her limits better than I do. I am working the race so I have thr luxury of being able to greet her when she gets to the junior finish line.

We are also anxiuosly awaiting Harry Potter and the Death Hallows. One friend reread all of them , is going to the grand ball and party at the book store to get the book. In the morning she and her kids will have a special breakfast that includes cinnamon rolls, gourmet coffee and special HP candy while they take turns reading chapters aloud to each other. I think it sounds like such fun! I wish I was doing that, too. I will simply get my copy after the race on Saturday. Then I will have to tempter myself so that I can read some and get packed for our trip to California!

Arg Matie - It's Pirates at the Ren Faire!

We wait, with eager and bated breathe, for the return of the Renaissance Faire each year. We begin to plan our costumes as we drive home, exhausted, hot, smudged with dirt and exuberant. And this year was no different, except for our persona es. This year we went, or rather, they went as pirates. With the popularity of "Pirates of the Caribbean, World's End" you might imagine that we were in great company. Each year our costumes seem to get more elaborate. Mine stays the same. I kind of dream about the year where I have a new costume. However, when it comes time to make them I never feel like spending the money on so much fabric. My peasant costume took something like over ten yards of fabric to create. The pirate costumes were fun to put together. We made pants, shirts, sashes and headbands. We borrowed swords and knives. We put on tons-o-makeup. Ethan looked kind of cute, in a Goth sort of way, with all that make-up. His reaction to the make-up leads me to believe that he will not be begging to borrow mine any time soon. Ellie was into the whole thing. Neither of them seemed to notice that we broke a heat record that day. Ellie spent her time with her friends seeking out the nine fairies. Each year the fairies create some special little thing to give to those who ask. My current favorite is the tiny pewter acorn she got. She also loves the dragon tooth that came from a geode that was a gift from the White Fairy. The fairies in turn report to Mother Nature, who was sadly missing this year. Ethan hung out with a gang of guys, as you can see above, who made up a pirate crew. They were so convincing that people stopped them and had their pictures taken with the kids. It thrilled Ethan that people thought he worked there. Their pirate crew cavorted with the real crew and created elaborate, silly hand gestures to use when they spied the Gentleman Robber. It was a hand movement like drinking a mug and making a hooting sound. It made me giggle when they did it. The crew was also interviewed. A local television station was there filming. They followed around one of the actual Renys (the term used for those who work at the Ren Faire) that was dressed like Jack Sparrow. They came over and interviewed them, following them around for a while. I hung back. Thanks to the luxury of a cell phone, I could be mostly on my merry way. We would meet up at the jousts to see how all was going. It was a jolly good time!

Wimpmeister and the Speeding Bullets

If you live in (or are visiting) Grand Junction and you want some serious water play, you go to Moab, Utah to Butch Cassidy's King World Water Park. We set out without looking at a map, as we've been there a few times before, but we took a wrong turn (north instead of south, that would be) and ended up touring HWY 191 to Price, Utah on our way. Once we finally made it there we had a blast. The main attraction for my kidlets was the three water slide build into the side of the hill. You grab a foam mat, climb the hill and whiz down. I've been too afraid to go in the past and I had the convenient excuse that I had to stay with Ellie. This year I was on my own because they were going down as fast as Their feet would carry them up the hill.

The funny thing about this fear is that I used to love this kind of thing. When I was in high school I was in the marching band. One year we did a three week amusement park tour, playing our music and riding the rides in the amusement parks between Denver and Disneyland. Once we got there we were part of a "battle of the bands" and ended up making a few tracks for a record. It was a memorable trip and one big memory was of going o EVERY ROLLER COASTER, even the ones that went upside down, which was a totally new concept at the time. I continued like that until I had the kids. It is like I have a test tube in my head that controls how I feel. Most of the time I feel fine, but if I go on too many swervy road in the mountains or on a wild ride, I feel like I am going to puke. It is unpleasant, as you might imagine. But, in remembering what fun I had in the past, I test this from time to time, hoping it will change back to what it was like before.
So, I tried it. After all, little Ben was going, so I should too. I did the first one and was okay. I finished with my heart thumping like a sparrow's. I was like a speeding bullet. Ethan was going so fast in the one he did that he "caught air" on one of the curves - but he loved that! I decided that the slide I went on must be the fastest one. Then I tried the one that begins at the mouth of what looks like a cave or shaft entrance.You sit down and see that there is a steep hill right off, but I went anyway. Yeah, it was fast too, but this time I unintentionally laid back and that made the ending part better. My heart still thumping hard and fast, I had to try the last one. Otherwise, how would I know which one I liked best? And wouldn't you know, the middle one was fast, too. This time I got serious amounts of water up my nose, so I was done. I am proud that, as a wimpmeister, I did try it, but once on each one is enough.

Today the kids and I traveled to Grand Junction to have an extended weekend with the Fosters. Natalie had lots of fun things planned, as usual. Our first creative activity was a root beer tasting,done in a wine tasting style. It was such fun. We tested five brands: A & W; Boyland's Natural; Virgil's Natural; Mug; and Stewart's. Each person had five disposable cups with a letter on it and a rating sheet. We looked at color, aroma, root beer taste, sweetness and overall favorite. Natalie and I poured small amounts in each cup before we called the kids in. It was really kind of amazing how different the root beers were and how the overall ratings came out. I loved Virgil's Natural Root beer (from Vitamin Cottage) because of the complex, deep flavor and aroma. I was amazed to find that it has nutmeg and wintergreen in it. Most everyone else loved the A&W Root beer. We decided that maybe people are accustomed to that one the most and have come to associate it with what we call root beer. My response to it may have had to do with the fact that my first job was at A&W, so I know way too much about it. The "romance" for me around that is gone. The rating was such fun. After we finished our sheets we went through and revealed what each brand was. Natalie got this idea from the blog, "One More Moore," who seems to have lots of fun ideas and recipes going on.

A Bit of Daring, A Bit of Daft and a Bit of Crafting

A Bit of Daring -

Our first campout of the season was up at Cold Springs camp ground, near Nederland, the town famous for their Dead Guy Festival. It seems that a man who believed in the science of bring people back to life, if well preserved in ice, lived there. He died and put his grandson in charge of his remains. There the Dead Guy stays, nicely cold in his storage shed in the backyard, thanks to plenty of dry ice. We had a great time.The kids are big enough that we have had to move to having two tents, instead of one, in the name of civil peace. All afternoon it was back and forth between how the sleeping arrangements would go. In the end it was broken down by gender. The next day we went exploring and found some great spots for repelling (starting at the top of a cliff and climbing down) and rock climbing. Here I have a few pic. s to show how brave they were. My bravery was in the form of sitting atop a windy, ant infested cliff and doing cross stitch with linen fabric and silk threads. I know what you are thinking - "Oh, she's so daring!" Later in the day we went to check out the site for the next race - a hill climb, 3000 foot elevation gain over 9.5 miles - not a race for the faint of heart or weak of leg!

A Bit of Daft!

Remember the bags that I posted earlier? The ones that I made that match out team uniforms? Well, in my zeal to create them, I forgot to prewash the fabric and that has come back to bite me in the butt. The lovely white section turned pink one afternoon when Ellie's waterbottle spilled on the bag and was left to soak in. I went to get something and found the nasty pinky streaks working their way up the side of the bag. I was so bummed. I felt mad, sad and a bit stupid. I know better than this! I had been in the midst of making two more as presents for friends. THey had to be trashed. I tore the seams out fo Ellie's bag and redid it. Now, it is better. While I am still feeling stupid, I am at least releived that I figure it out before I gave others away. This will keep me from having to ask for them back. I have since washed all of the fabric 3 times, one time with amonia, to set the color. The first gift bag will be given on the 4th to Paul, a good friend, an advisor and a coach.

A Bit of Craft -

Between all of the biking we have been doing, I did manage to make a gift for my nephew, Orlando. It is a fabric bag, of sorts, that houses a few large post-it note pads in different colors and a set of Pipsqueak markers that are put out by Crayola. They are short versions of 26 colors. The idea is that he can take them with him when we all go on vacation together in a few weeks. I will also be crafting a more girly version for my neice. The names go on the inside for safety reasons.