random thought...

.... from Dan.

A few days ago, I was telling a friend how much we'd enjoyed the movie UP when we saw it on opening day. In telling her about it, I shared that we all (me, the kids, friends who saw it with us) thought the boy character, Russell, was very much like Andy. Even Andy said "Mom, he's just like me!" It's really uncanny -- has me wondering if the folks from Disney have cameras in our home.

The next day, driving along with both boys in the car, Dan said to me, "Mom, you forgot one thing about Russell that's also like Andy."

"Really? What did I forget?"

"That's he's really, really nice." Said very matter-of-factly. Right there, in front of Andy. Dan thinks Andy is really, really nice AND wants to be sure we remember to say so. High praise from a little brother, if you ask me.

Party pictures

We had a fabulous time at the park on Tuesday for Andy's birthday. Lots of pizza (too much, we're still eating pizza), delicious cake, wonderful friends, beautiful weather. Just fantastic all around. I got some pictures, tho not as many as I wanted. I missed several great shots because I didn't have the camera nearby often enough.

Usually, I get a picture of the cake before we dig in. This time 'round, we were all so busy having fun I forgot until I got the cake home. Here's what was left. You can see Andy's name on the piece saved for him to have later.

Thanks Grandpa & Grandma for treating us to the yummy cake!

One of the favorite features of this park is the top and bottom spinners.

There was tractor wagon surfing that looked dangerous enough to require helmets.
Miles driving, Dan surfing, Forest pushing.

Susan had gone to check on how the wrestling was going.
You'd think the boys would, at some point, tire of wrestling, but you'd be wrong!

How many boys will a tree hold? Andy was negotiating for his place.

He got in -- along with 4 others.

I'm not sure you can see them all, but there were 5 boys in the tree,
and more asking for someone to move over and make more room

And the very tall rope climber, with Dan at the top.

boys and their toys

Bonnie, Austin & Miles arrived yesterday to spend a few days here in Albuquerque and join us at Andy's birthday party. We are very happy they made the trip, and everyone loved having them at the park yesterday.

Which meant boys, boys everywhere.

a long-running nerf war...

Dan at the top of the slide. He has such beautiful hair.

Andy, Bonnie & Cip

We talked about how wonderful it is that even tho we haven't seen them since last fall, having Bonnie, Austin & Miles is like they've never left, and we all saw each other just last week!

Dan, Scotty, Sky, Forest, Austin & Andy in a slower moment.

I started to type a 'quieter moment, but there aren't any truly quiet moments with 8 boys at the park on a beautiful day.

We had an amazing day afternoon and didn't leave the park until 6:30.

Andy's a teenager

It started just like any other day.....



So much fuss is made about the arbitrarily designated stages in our lives -- becoming a teenager; starting middle-school; starting high-school; turning 18 or 21. It's all part of the journey and the days tend to run together from where I sit.

Andy has told us that turning 13 will mean he's not a kid anymore, but a teenager. I don't know what that means to him yet, but I'm sure he'll still be the sweet, loving, funny Andy we've always known and loved.

We're having a party in the park, with pizza, cake & drinks and an abundance of amazing friends, many we've known since before Andy was 10.

Bonnie & her boys drove 4 hrs in from Arizona to be here for the celebration. They also spent time with the tribe yesterday, but that's another post.

Very big day here. I'm sure I'll post more as the day unfolds.

Adventures with dry ice

Scotty was over for a couple of hours yesterday, and he brought some dry ice with him.

The boys had so much fun with it. They cut a hole in the top of a ziplok container to allow an opening for the fog to escape, filled it with water and got out the tongs for the dry ice.


They used the vapor stream to lift a bottle cap, a candy wrapper and to fill an inverted glass. Scotty mused about the possibilities for using dry ice vapor to power his steam engine, and explained that he's sure it would work since steam power is just about reaching the right pressure, to drive the pistons. He didn't have a solution for keeping the dry ice in a cold storage, but I'm sure he'll be trying to figure something out.

I took some pix, then a couple of videos at Scotty's insistence.

Scotty showing how pushing on the lid made puffs of vapor rise.

Chugging along in an unattended moment.

I apologize for the sideways video. I didn't realize we'd not be able to rotate it until about halfway thru, when I turned the camera. It has something of a Blair Witch quality to it, I'm sorry to say.

Virgins No More...

... not Cliff's Virgins, at least.

This past Friday, the boys had their first day at Cliff's Amusement Park. It's a local amusement park. Not as elaborate as, say, Kings Dominion or Six Flags, but plenty of fun with some really great rides. Cliff's is an Albuquerque institution, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. One the defining characteristics of who grew up in Albuquerque is whether you still trip up occasionally and call it "Uncle Cliff's" which it was until sometime in the 80's. I guess the Uncle reference just wasn't PC enough for this generation.

Andy remembered visiting Six Flags in 2004. Dan didn't, so for him it was a completely new experience. Both boys have been to the State Fair, but Cliff's is so much better than the Fair midway. Even better, the rides weren't assembled in one night by carnies!

I hadn't been Cliff's since Jr High (32 yrs ago - yikes!) and it's changed a lot. I knew it had bigger, better rides because you can see them from the road, but I had no idea how much they manage to fit into the small land area the park occupies.

The boys had an amazing time. Dan rode the Cliff Hanger (a 100ft tower drop ride) at least 20 times, the Rattler wooden roller coaster twice, the Fireball (a loop train ride) 4 times, and so many more. Andy loved the Himalaya and Tilt-a-Whirl which he rode several times, and the log flume ride once. No Cliff Hanger or roller coasters for him, tho he did ride the Scrambler a few times -- which Dan also enjoyed. We'll have to get back to Cliff's sometime later this summer with Gary.

I didn't get a lot of good pictures -- too much speed on the rides -- but here's what I did get.

Waiting for the Himalaya to start, hamming it up

Andy's meditative pose

during the ride

Dan in a quiet moment

On the Cliff Hanger, climbing up

Look out below!

On a recent day at home, Gary helped the boys with the water balloon launcher. Launching from the driveway, straight up into the air, then Dan would run out to catch the balloon, or get it hit.

We all had a great time. I didn't launch any balloons, but loved watching the guys all afternoon. We're hoping for more time at home for Gary, with a new local job beginning, probably on the 22nd. Home every night and all weekend long -- we won't know what to do with him first! Likely more balloon launching, more baseball, more lazy mornings, more kisses, more good mornings in person.... I'm not sure there's an end to this list! And we are all very happy and eager for him to come home!

Best Monday Ever

We were on our way to our weekly unschooling tribe park day, which meant we had both boys' bikes on the rack on the back of our car. We stopped at Walgreens to pick up a water balloon launcher. We were driving along the strip mall's service road (thankfully with no traffic behind us) when the bike rack fell off the car! Crashed to the ground with both bikes still strapped in. I saw it in the mirror and stopped the car, telling the boys what had happened. I pulled over to the curb, and both boys jumped out. Andy untangled the bikes and handed his (bigger) bike to me, then brought Dan's bike to the sidewalk, and I grabbed the bike rack. One of the straps that secures the rack to the car had worn thru completely and broken. The rack is more than 20 years old, and in our dry climate, even heavy canvas fabric doesn't last forever. I'm just so very grateful the bike rack fell off while were on the service road, and not the main road we would turn onto at the corner (about 40' ahead) or the freeway, less than a mile away, that we use to get to the park!

Andy and I spent about 15 minutes trying to find someway to fit his 26" bike into our small car. Dropped the split back seat, emptied the trunk. The boys pulled and tugged together. No luck. There is just no way to get Andy's bike into the car. Dan's smaller bike will fit with half the backseat down and still get Dan into the backseat.

Andy offered he could ride his bike home -- about 3/4 of a mile -- while I drove and so we could leave his bike at home. Okay... I thought. It means crossing 6 lanes of divided road, but at least there's a traffic signal there. Andy was so excited to do this, while I have some street-crossing issues, and bike on the road issues, but I smiled and said, "sure we can do that."

Dan & I got in the car, and Andy started to ride the bike. Wheels wouldn't turn. The sprocket for the pedals is stuck. On the sidewalk, Andy flips the bike up on its seat and gets to work figuring out the problem. He says, "I can use my wrench to bend it back into shape." Smiling, because once again, the HUGE wrench he carries in his backpack (one of his must-have-never-know-when-you'll-need-it items) will come in handy! The boys sat down on each side of the bike, and using Andy's wrench to hold it in place, they straightened out the gear sprocket.

Andy & Dan working together to fix the bike

Dan getting back into the car, as Andy puts away the wrench

I was sitting there with tears in my eyes -- look at the way Andy is problem solving! He is so grown up! All I can think is how sweet it is to see my boys fixing that bike on the side of the road, together. I remember how many times I've waited in the car while Gary fixed the car on the side of the road, or my Dad did the same, and knowing both my grandfathers were mechanics (one on trains, the other on cars), watching my sweet Andy join these generations of men who fix things and save the day. I was just overcome at how very sweet and beautiful that moment was!

The bike was fixed --enough to ride anyway, it's still stuck in 2nd gear -- and we started out. Andy rode his bike home while I drove along, keeping him in sight all the time. Once he put the bike in the carport and jumped into the car, after running back inside to wash up, he was so jazzed! Full of ideas about how he can now run errands for me on his bike -- he can ride to the store with a list for me and shop! Andy, who doesn't want to be alone at home or in the store!

And thru all the bike rack situation, we smiled and worked together and Dan thought it was so cool to see Andy ride his bike home.

By far the best Monday of my entire life.

We've been busy

I was reading some of my favorite blogs, wondering why some of them hadn't been updated in a while only to remember it's been awhile since I posted anything here. We've been busy, and having some computer issues, and I've just not gotten around to it. So here goes...

As I said, we've been busy. Doing what, you may ask?

Most of all, goofing around and laughing together.

Swinging at the park....

climbing trees... at the park of course!

hanging out in trees....

Hanging out at the zoo with friends.....

and without friends......

Skating at the local (okay, cross-town) skate park.....

Dan's becoming a good skater, spending his time swapping bike for skateboard for scooter. He will spend 4 or more hours skating on a Sunday afternoon!

hiking at Tent Rocks with our tribe.....

Playing baseball in the park with Dad....

Dad even had a turn at bat.

Okay, that was fun, but I'm being called to come watch tv -- My Name Is Earl -- with the boys.

Bionicle Master Creator

Andy spends a good bit of time creating with his Bionicles many days. I always mean to snap more photos than I actually get.

Here are a few --

The Ultimate Boxer created using pieces from Kirox and a few others. The feet are from Gorast. Other parts he doesn't remember the origin.

This one began as an Axalara Andy received for Christmas.
Over time, it's grown to be quite elaborate -- and big!
It's certainly his prize creation.

A side view of the Bionicles and Legos currently on display
on Andy's dresser

As I head off to bed now, Andy is working on his latest Bionicle creation. No clear vision yet, but he does have a base from which to build. He's sifting thru the massive collection of parts kept on the floor for inspiration. No photo of the new one in the works, tho, since he's not sure where it's going just yet.

Go Cart racing

A few days ago, the boys and Gary went to a birthday party at a local family fun center. I missed most of the party, but Gary was thoughtful enough to get lots of pictures. The kids had a great time, especially the birthday boy's Dad, Pablo. Dan was too short and too young to ride alone, Pablo was wearing the wristband of a guest who'd missed the party, so Pablo drove and Dan rode along with him.



There were also bumper boats. The dashboard water-sprayers were turned off -- apparently, management felt it was too cold for wet kids -- but still the kids managed to have some water fun.

House of Cards

Dan heard the phrase "house of cards" somewhere on TV earlier today. He came into the bedroom where I was trying to get a few alone to read, and asked me to show him how to build a house of cards. At first, I tried to beg off because I really was tired. Being Dan, he persisted. We often joke that in the dictionary, Dan's picture is listed with the definition for determined.

I tried to build a card house using the cards in a horizontal placement. No go -- these cards are a bit bowed and oft-used. I managed to build one level of vertical cards in lean-to fashion, but I could not get the second story to work!

Twenty minutes -- and several re-starts -- later, Dan had built this --

I took this photo -- pretty amazing, huh?

Dan snapped this shot

Rainy cold day

Please let this be the last cold, blustery Saturday for a while. This is soccer season, spring portion, and so far every Saturday the soccer weather has been less than desirable. When it's warm and sunny on Friday, I can trust that by 8 game time Saturday, it will be 20 degrees cooler, with a strong wind. Or maybe rain. Today it's much colder, and we got rain. Mixed with sleet and pellet snow at times. And lots of wind. And standing water everywhere.

Yes, we need the rain. It's a desert and we've not had much rain since last fall. But all at once?! The ground can't absorb it all. I don't mind puddles and ponds when it's warm, say during the July monsoon. But in April, puddles and ponds just mean I'm cold and WET.

Thankfully, soccer was cancelled. Of course, order-placing for soccer trophies, not so much. I had made arrangements to collect checks and place our order after today's game. No game meant I need to arrange to meet parents -- who all were kind enough to find me at the laundromat -- and slog out into the (then) sleet/pellet snow to drop off the order. Along the way, I stopped for carrots and potatoes to put in what I hope will be the last Green Chile Stew of the season. Really the last stew until sometime in late October. Please?

So, while I'm in my house muttering for yet another day how tired I am of being cold, I'll post some pictures taken on the warmer, sunny days we've had that assure me consistently warm weather really is right around the corner. Isn't it?

Can't you just feel how lovely the weather was on Monday
for our Easter Egg Hunt with the tribe?

The boys had a great time in a wrestling/chasing game.

Proof you never really outgrow Legos -- Will creating spaceship for Dan.

Yeah, these pix are on my 365 blog, but I wanted them here too.

Beth, who had just finished a round of jumping rope. Just beautiful!