A Most Excellent Adventure - Two

Star date: Friday, June 10th, 2011 (just kidding). There's so much to write from our adventure, I need to keep track somehow. Grandma Chris left for work early Friday morning. The girls slept in a bit, but once they were up, they were anxious to swim in Grandpa's pool. My Chris, however, had meetings on the north side of Phoenix and the plan was to drop the girls and I off at the Arizona Science Center. Thanks to our membership at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, we were able to get in for free.

Driving downtown from Ahwatukee did not take as long as Chris thought it would so we drove around a bit and looked for a place where Chris could drop us off, and we could then easily walk over to the museum since it didn't open until 10 am. The Shops at Arizona Center looked promising, but after Chris left and we began to explore, we realized that except for the restaurants, it was a lot of empty storefronts and a few shops. After walking around a bit we decided to just head on over to the museum. Just as we stepped off an escalator, I blew a flip flop. I had noticed on the flight on Thursday that part of the support between my toes had broken, but it looked as though there were still two more support pieces still holding. Not anymore.



Well now we needed a store, and my only option was New York and Co...but it didn't open until 10 am! Such luck. The girls were happy to spend the next 20 minutes playing in the water fountain.









The store opened 10 minutes late. We watched as the workers walked around the store putting signs here and there. Since we were outside watching through the front doors, we weren't too impressed. Ahh, my choices. Not what I would consider comfy. I finally made a selection, but I also knew that I wouldn't want to walk all day in those espadrille wedges.



Finally, we were on our way to the museum. My girls had been pretty patient. They also thought my bare foot situation to be slightly humorous. We walked all around the outside of the museum, up stairs, down stairs looking for the entrance. Finally success. We were just in time to see an IMAX, and after a little arm-twisting, I agreed to buy tickets for it. We watched The Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D

An extreme blend of surfing and ocean science, staring nine-time world surfing champion, Kelly Slater. Travel to one of the world's most picturesque locales as you're immersed under the Center's 5-story IMAX® screen. Then, get ready to experience the power and speed of surfing and the sensation of riding some of nature's most intense ocean waves in a visually stimulating experience for all ages.



After exiting the theater, we walked right into the "Get Geared Up! Gallery". It was full of an array of activities to test strength, agility, and motion. Amy and Misha both took a turn at lying on a bed of nails. (I don't believe they'd really recommend it.)







From this gallery, we headed over to "All About Me." I think my favorite exhibit was one where they loaded up a nose with all kinds of colored balls and when they pressed the button, the nose sneezed the balls all over them.



We opted to have lunch at the museum instead of walking to any of the nearby restaurants. The temperature was around 100* and not very comfortable, plus we shouldn't ignore the fact that my baby toes were already starting to blister from my new shoes. We were pretty happy to see Chris after his meetings. First stop? Arizona Mills mall to buy me some new flip flops.

We stopped at a Wal-mart as well to pick up some drinks and snacks. Three girls were not happy with all of these stops, however, as the stops were cutting in to their swimming time. Funny how 102* is too hot for walking around downtown, but perfect for hours of fun in the pool. We finally made it back to Grandpa's, and the girls wasted no time in peeling off their clothes and jumping in to swim suits. Amy quickly learned not to forget sunscreen for her face. Her cheeks got a little rosy.



But a little plug here for Target's Up and Up Sport Sunscreen. Consumer Reports rated it number one, and we never burned when it was applied.

The girls had fun playing with our water camera. Chris and I traded off watching the girls to get changed and both enjoyed the refreshing pool.













Christine (aka Grandma Chris) arrived home from work around 5:30 and offered to treat us at Sweet Tomatoes. There were options for everyone. Thanks Christine. Guess what the girls did after dinner? If you said, "Swam," you'd be right.

Grandpa Kline was supposed to be flying in from work (he's a pilot with Southwest Airlines), and got JA'd (meant he had to fly more) on a flight to Burbank. He wasn't able to get a return flight until 10 am Saturday morning as his first flight home was cancelled.

A Most Excellent Adventure - One

Earlier this year, when Chris and I explored options for our summer vacation, we began planning a trip to visit Chris' Dad in Phoenix, AZ. We knew we also wanted to include a return visit to Sedona and perhaps a day at Grand Canyon. We picked out dates and hotel stays, but stopped short of booking flights, rental cars, and hotels. After a little urging from me that we needed to make our arrangements, Chris finally said, "I don't feel right about going." Hmmmmm. I didn't question his impression and instead we began looking for another location. Once again, after picking Seattle and checking into some fun activities, we stopped short of actually booking our trip. On a sunny Saturday afternoon in March, when Chris called to wish his grandfather a happy birthday, he ended his call, and we both looked at each other and knew that we needed to plan a visit to see Grandpa Len.

Chris had met his grandfather a couple of times previously, but the girls and I had never met him. We both felt impressed that our summer vacation should include a trip to San Diego and Grandpa Len's home in Solana Beach. The interesting thing? We went back to our original plans to visit Arizona and simply added another leg and a few more days.

The days leading up to our trip, as usual, were filled with busyness and excitement. Kristen kept up a daily countdown once school let out. We were scheduled to leave on a Thursday evening, and by the Monday morning prior, I finally let the girls begin packing their suitcases. We've forgotten things enough times that I let them pick out what they want to take, and then I go back and streamline their efforts.

Knowing that most things were packed and ready to go, I took the opportunity to go shopping for a couple hours by myself on Thursday. I needed a bit of a break. Upon returning home, I almost started crying as I drove up to the house to see both Misha and Amy outside mowing the lawn so that Chris wouldn't have to when he got home.

Chris was out of town Monday through Wednesday and in Denver most of the day on Thursday, but when he finally walked in the door around 2 pm on Thursday afternoon, we were mostly ready to go. He helped the girls empty the lawn mower clippings, helped Misha drop her fish off at a friend's for fish-watching, finished packing, loaded the van, and we were on our way shortly after 3 pm.

Normally we park in the Pikes Peak parking lot. Much to our disappointment, it was closed, and we had to drive all the way out to the Mt. Elbert lot. It was about 10-15 minutes further. The real drag was knowing that we'd have to come all the way out to that lot to pick up the car on a return flight at midnight. Not a fun prospect. We gathered all of our luggage and hopped on the bus to the terminal. It's rather convenient to fly with Chris because he flies so much and gets to take the "special" jump-ahead-of-everyone lines. Our flight was fairly uneventful, though we determined that it would be easier to have Kristen sit next to Chris and I on subsequent flights.

We arrived at Sky Harbor airport two hours later (but only one with the time change). Chris took the shuttle to the car rental place fifteen minutes away while the girls and I collected all of the luggage. We waited outside the terminal in the 90* heat...and waited...and waited. He finally called to say he was coming and that he had scored a nicer vehicle for us than a Crown Vic (no offense)--a Chevy Traverse--which even had a DVD player. We happily climbed in to the air conditioned comfort and were off to visit with friends.

Every time we visit Phoenix, we love to spend time with and catch up with our friends the Wilcox's. Since our last visit in 2008, they had added two little boys to their family of three girls. So fun how we just seem to pick up where we left off. They had also moved to a new home and now had a swimming pool in their backyard. Amy wore her swimming suit under her clothes on the plane in anticipation of jumping right in. We slowed her down enough to have dinner and then all of the girls were in the pool. We wish that we could have spent more time with them during our stay (I'm sure they know they are always welcome to come visit us in Colorado!)

We left for Grandpa's around 10 pm local (11 pm our time); the girls weren't a bit tired. In fact, they would have liked to swim in Grandpa's pool as well. Grandma Chris had beds ready to go for the girls when we arrived, and wouldn't you know, they were asleep within minutes of hitting their pillows.

Amazing but true, I didn't take any pictures at all on day one. I made up for it with over 1000 pics over the next ten days.

Climbing Class

I signed my girls up for a climbing class at the Longmont Recreation Center. Amy and Misha were excited for it, Kristen wasn't saying much. I should have taken that as a sign that perhaps she was afraid of the wall.

We arrived at the Rec Center Saturday at the appointed time and waited. And waited. I asked the front desk people if the instructor was here and they stated that he usually arrived right at 10 am. Doesn't leave much set up time. 10 am came and went. Finally some guy showed up. We were standing next to the wall, and he pretty much ignored us as we watched him get set up. I'm thinking, "Do I really want to leave my daughters in his care for an hour and a half?" I wasn't too impressed. Finally as he finished setting up, he looked at us and said, "So do you want to climb today?" I replied, "Yes, my girls are here for a class." He responded, "Oh, I didn't know there was a class. My sister usually teaches those and she is home sick and I was taking care of her this morning and I'll just run to the front desk and find out." He didn't really run.

He returned to the wall, apologetic, and had me fill out waiver forms. The girls were set to go, though Kristen was still quiet. I left to run errands and returned in time to catch the last bit of class and to watch them climb. When I walked up, Amy and Kristen were sitting together and Misha was getting set to climb. Amy and Kristen walked over to me, and Amy quietly informed me that Kristen was near tears. I gave her a hug, yet encouraged her to take her final turn. She didn't want to, but she did it. As we were walking out of the building, Kristen informed me that she never wanted to take a climbing class again!

Happy Father's Day

For Father's Day, I bought Chris a new lawn mower. Now some of you might be thinking that is akin to buying a wife a new dishwasher for Mother's Day. Well, maybe just a little bit, but the beauty of a new lawn mower is that Chris' daughters are now able to mow the lawn without quite so much effort with the new mower since it is self-propelled vs. his old one which was mostly driver-propelled. He wanted to try it out before leaving on vacation. I watched from our bedroom window, and it seemed as though he was almost running to keep up with the mower. Once the girls realized he was using the new mower, the were anxious to try it out too. That is probably the last time that they will volunteer. I snapped some pretty fun pictures of Amy and Misha goofing around. It reminded me of little chicks following a hen (or rooster) around.

Little Composer

Kristen has been taking piano lessons for the past year. She continues to improve each week. Her favorite thing to do is to create her own songs. I thought it was pretty cute to watch her plunk a key, write the note down, and continue on.

BolderBoulder

So, I was impressed when Amy came home from school one day and announced that she wanted to run the BolderBoulder this year. Initially some friends were going to participate with her, but I told her that I would sign up as well if she did. We filled out our forms, paid our money and waited for our t-shirt and bib to arrive.

As Memorial Day--and race day--drew closer, we began to make our plans. We didn't know anyone else in our walk/jog wave, and other friends who were running, were in a much earlier wave. So, we decided to take a bus from the mall in Longmont to Boulder on the morning of the race. In the mass of crowds, we saw a few people we knew, we saw people in crazy costumes, we saw serious athletes, we saw moms and dads out with their kids--all kinds and all varieties.

Having put on the BolderBoulder for 33 years now, the planners seem to have thought of everything and how to make the race flow smoothly. There were long rows of port-a-potties. We stood in line before the race to make use of them, and as we turned the corner and spied the mass of toilets, Amy said, "My worst nightmare." She has never been a fan of port-a-potties and at an early age learned to hold in her urge to pee just to avoid using one.

We had time to spare before our race so we watched as earlier waves started--each with a bang. The excitement was fun to be a part of.



I learned a few things for "next time" when I participate again: wear a hat (can't believe I forgot my hat!); sign up for an earlier time; bring something to hold stuff like my phone, money, etc.; don't bring my own water, they have plenty.



I took a picture of Amy with my iPod as we were ready to start. It was strapped to my arm, so it is kind of a weird angle.

We were surrounded by people as we prepared to start, and then with the "pop" of a gun, we were off. We jogged for a little bit, and then settled into a pretty good pace. I kept Amy going the whole race, and she did great. We began to pass a lot of the people and continued strong and steady. I actually wished that I had a camera to document some of the crazy costumes, but I also realized I was their to be in a race and not sight see.

I was amazed to see the 1 km sign appear so quickly. We grew excited yet tired as we passed 2, 3, 4, 5 km and on until at 8 km when we called Chris to see where he was. He was just driving past IBM, there was no way he was going to make it into the stadium in time. We slowed down a little at the end in hopes that he might, but traffic and parking was crazy as you can imagine.

We were pretty excited to hear the roar of the crowd as we neared the stadium with people lining the streets to cheer us on. Pretty cool. And as we neared the stadium, we began to jog the last 1/4 mile. We smiled as we crossed the finish line (apparently they take pictures of you and my friend recommended we try to look happy instead of worn out), but we were pretty thrilled to be done. Amy gave me a big hug. So happy to participate in the BolderBoulder with her, certainly an experience we'll never forget.

We met up with my friends Claudia and Michelle all the while communicating with Christopher. He was coming with Kristen and Misha and three of Michelle's kids. We finally met up, found a seat and settled in to watch the Memorial Day celebration. I am not an American by birth, but I am always proud to be an adopted American.

The flyover came and went with hardly a blink. Seriously, they should have given us some heads up or something. Five sky divers then proceeded to land one by one in the stadium, each with a flag representing a branch of the armed forces with the final sky diver trailing the United States of America flag. Impressive.

Mowing the Lawn

Amy has inherited the job of mowing the lawn this summer. It is a bit of work for her, I think the hardest part being emptying the clippings. She complained about having to do it on Friday afternoon, but Chris was adamant that she get it done before we went to a bbq. He left to get his haircut. She called him while he was driving to complain. Misha and I left to go to the grocery store and then get her hair cut. She called us as we were driving to the store. Misha answered it, and Amy whined to her. Misha came up with the great idea of emptying the bag twice as often with half the clippings so it would be easier. Amy just wanted someone to tell her that she didn't have to do it. I communicated to Misha, who was still on the phone with her, that she needed to tell Amy that she wasn't the parent and she couldn't tell Amy that she didn't have to mow the lawn. The phone conversation continued until we were in the grocery store when Misha finally said, "I can keep talking to you and listen to your whining or hang up. Right now, I'm liking the second option." I laughed and stopped right in the middle of the produce section to write it down.

First Hike of the Season

Not sure what is going on with our weather this year. We had originally hoped to go hiking in Estes Park on Saturday, but due to the cooler weather and higher chance of rain/snow showers in the mountains, we opted for a trail in the mountains above Boulder.

We grabbed a quick lunch at Chick-fil-A and then headed to the mountains. For the first hike of the season, our children were incredibly enthusiastic...wait, I meant to say they were not very happy with us. They whined. Shocker. But we made them hike anyway. Kristen, our youngest, is actually the best hiker of our girls. We find that once we get going, they have fun, they find rocks to climb on, the scavenge for good walking sticks...they don't whine quite so much.

We parked along the winding Flagstaff Road and began to hike up the Flagstaff Mountain Trail. The road switchbacked up the side of the mountain, and we cautiously crossed it a number of times to rejoin our trail, being careful to avoid the speeding bicyclists, I think they were going faster than the vehicles.






My kids have digressed a little from saying "cheese", I think it was "boogers".

Misha's Last Day

Fourth grade has come to an end. It wasn't such a downer for Misha though because Misha's teacher is moving to be a fifth-grade teacher and taking her whole class with her. Mrs. Spong is another wonderful teacher whom Misha has loved. After Kristen's performance at 10:30, we came home for an hour until the school-wide picnic at 11:30. It was iffy as to whether or not the picnic would be outside. We have had some weird weather as school comes to a close. In fact, Kristen wore a long-sleeve shirt to school that morning.

Anyway, we drove back to the school for the picnic, and parked almost as far away as if we had just walked on over. I had blankets and picnic and stuff though that I thought would be easier than carrying from home. Misha found us and we sat down amongst hundreds of others to enjoy our lunch.





Most of the students were being signed out after lunch, but Misha wanted to stay, "I want to spend as much time with Mrs. Spong as I can." I told Mrs. Spong and she seemed touched. "Normally," she said, "I would tell the parents to take their kids with them, but Misha is welcome to stay."

Misha worked all afternoon to move desks, supplies, books, anything and everything that Mrs. Spong needed in her new classroom. When she got home, she looked beat, "Mom, now I know exactly how you feel." "How's that?" I queried. Misha replied, "I spent all afternoon working hard and sweating and all the other kids just goofed around while I worked."

A life lesson I hope she remembers well.

The Last Day of Kinder

Kinder, that's what Kristen's teacher, Mrs. Ryan, liked to call it, and somehow I think it sounds better too. So, yesterday was Kristen's last day (and when you really think about it, mine as well). There was a short performance scheduled with songs and poems the students had learned throughout the year. The kids were excited and animated in their performance. (I'll post pictures once I can download them from my camera).

Since Kristen is a tall girl, she was in the back row. I couldn't see all of the actions she was doing with the song, but she was certainly into it. As a closing to the performance, we watched a slide show of the Kinder year in review. Kristen's teacher sat on the gym floor with her students and cried through it.

We headed back to the class where, still with tears, Mrs. Ryan explained how much she loved teaching and how much she loved our children throughout the year. She really was an excellent teacher. In one of the conferences I attended she said that I needed to write a book on how to raise children so that she could have it when she started having her own children. Very thoughtful teacher.

Kristen was having a hard time holding it together. Her brown eyes were filled with sadness and she tried to smile with quivering lips. She said to me a number of times, "She was the best teacher a little girl could ever have," and "I give her half my heart."

The Things They Say....

So.....this is the first day of summer vacation. I knew there was a reason for the deluge of Kristen comments on my blog; she didn't have any competition while her sisters were in school all day long. Well, things have changed. Sadly, I don't write all of their comments down.

This was the most recent conversation with all three of my girls as they were supposed to be doing the dishes (yeah I make them finish up without me).

Misha to Kristen (yelling): "Put down the paintbrush!!!!!!!"
Amy to Misha (in a calm, somewhat eery, sounding-like-Mom voice): "You don't have to yell."
Misha to Amy (huffily): "I kinda do because apparently it doesn't go through her ears!"

It's only going to get better folks.

Field Day Part II

Finally, we had a morning without rain. It was actually sunny too, giving me a little color after standing outside for an hour and a half. Misha's field day was similar to Kristen's field day, in that the 5th grade class planned and executed the activities. It was not your traditional field day that I knew growing up, we certainly didn't have any events involving a plunger. Kind of makes me sad that some schools have gone so far from the traditional events. They might argue that competition isn't a good thing. YES IT IS! Trying your hardest to accomplish something is a worthwhile achievement.

So we had races involving said plunger and a ball, a tug of war, three-legged race, pizza box stack. The kids had fun.

Front Porch

Chris and I had the chance to sit on our front porch Saturday evening, to enjoy the delightful evening, and to chat while watching the clouds floating by. We don't do that often enough.

She's Getting It

I could have been a 'People of Wal-mart' exhibit last Saturday night. My original bike kind of pooped out, and Chris and I went with Kristen and Misha to Wal-Mart to purchase a new one. Now, I don't need anything fancy schmancy--thus Wal-Mart--just a bike to ride around with my girls. I will say that riding a bike in a store is a first for me (except for maybe when I was in the single digits), but I rode my bike up and down an aisle or two to get a feel for the bike.



After stopping for dinner on the way home, Chris and I then took the two younger girls on a bike ride (Amy was at a birthday party). Kristen was becoming more and more comfortable/brave with her bike all of the time. It was fun to see. So I was riding behind her trying to steer with my left hand, and take pictures with my right. I'm not a very good one-handed, left-handed driver, BUT she's getting it!

Surprising Misha

Every year Misha helps to celebrate a lot of the birthdays as they happen throughout the year for students in her class at school. Misha's birthday is in July so her birthday is always overlooked. You might argue that celebrating a birthday in the summer is way cooler than in a stuffy old classroom. She doesn't complain, mind you, because who wants to complain when you're getting cookies with delectable frosting at school?

With a couple days left in the school year, I sent an email to Misha's teacher asking if she would mind if I brought cookies to celebrate Misha's birthday before school let out. Mrs. Spong is cool; she was all for the idea. I kept it under wraps, because I always love a good surprise. So when I got the go ahead on a time, Kristen and I hurried on over to King Soopers to pick up cookies for Misha and her classmates--chocolate cookies with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. I brought a serving platter and napkins. Kristen and I made our way to the red wing at the school, caught Mrs. Spong's attention, and knocked on the door. The kids started turning around, "Misha, it's your Mom." We walked in to the room and before I could start singing "Happy Birthday", Mrs. Spong had Misha come sit up at the front of the class room with her to read the traditional birthday book, "On the Day You Were Born."



Then we sang "Happy Birthday". Misha passed out cookies; no one took a bite until Misha had served everyone and took the first bite herself.



Misha was thrilled. I don't often see her face so red; I think she was a little overcome with all of the attention. I say, "You deserve it sweet girl."

Field Day

It has been hit and miss trying to fit Field Day in with all of the rain we are having. Even though it wasn't particularly warm on Wednesday, Mr. Liddle jumped at the chance to have it. Kristen's was scheduled for the morning and Misha's for the afternoon. I went over to the school to watch for a short time before my Institute class.

Oh the anticipation waiting for her turn.



RUUUUUUUN!





A bad turn of events?



When Kristen and I went back over to the school at 1:30 for Misha's Field Day, the rain drops starting falling just as we pulled out of the garage. They continued as we ran an errand to the library, and by the time we pulled up to the school, the students were filing back inside and parents were leaving. We'll try again on Monday now.

Rain

Kristen has been begging to play in the rain lately. I told her she could if one of her sisters would go out with her. Amy was willing, Misha not so much. The two had fun splashing, running, and jumping in puddles. I stayed in the dry safety of the garage to snap some pictures.

Grounded

Just grounded Kristen for a week. A lot of tears and loud crying ensued. Then, amid the tears, "What does grounded even mean?"

Piano Practicing

To Kristen and Misha this morning, "Who's practicing?" as I listen to them pound a few keys. "I am," Misha replies. "Play real songs," I respond. "That IS my real song." she says. "Well.... all right then."

You're the Best, Mom

So I scored some Mom points tonight. Last week I received an email from Chick-fil-A inviting our family to come take a "Backstage Tour" of our local restaurant. Monday night was our least busy night of the week, so I scheduled our tour for 4:30 pm. We arrived at our appointed time and were met by Ryan who would take us on our tour. He supplied us with no-slip booties and a lanyard identifying us as tour participants.



We saw the ice machine, the lemon juicer (which, by the way, you must be 16 to run), the coolers, the fryers, and the breading area. Luis gave us a demonstration on how to bread the chicken for maximum tastiness. The girls were quite attentive and Amy even ventured to ask a few questions. We got to go up front and check out the drive-thru, area and for the finale, all three girls got to make their own ice cream cones. Perfect. We thanked Ryan for the tour, removed our lovely booties, and the girls happily ate their cones.



As we walked over to Michaels, Kristen happily stated, "You're the best, Mom....... even though you yell at me!"

K-R-I-S-T-E-N

Kristen just walked in to the office to type on the computer. "Mom, how do you spell annoying?" Without missing a beat, I started spelling, "K-r-i" pause so she can type the letters, "s", more pausing, "t-e-n". Her thought process is beginning to kick in as she keeps asking "What?" and I try not to laugh out loud.........."Hey, that spells Kristen." I chuckle, "I know."

The Face

After leaving Macy's and then Charming Charlie, Kristen began to ask (beg) to go to the play area at The Orchard to climb on the toys. I'm not excited to do it. "Please? Don't make me use the face."

(I had her recreate the face at home so that you could get the visual too.)

Macy's

Kristen loves to go to Macy's for their escalator. That's the only reason. So, we usually walk through Macy's to get to where we are going at The Orchard. She usually asks to ride the escalator before we even leave the house!

On Friday, as we were walking up to the store, I turned the tables on her and began, "Can we ride the escalator? Please? Please? Can we? Please can we ride the escalator? It would be so fun." She was looking at me out the side of her eye and obviously thinking, "Who are you and what did you do with my mom?" I kept up my non-stop questions until we walked through the front door and then she said, "Stop talking like me. You're creeping me out. Seriously, you're creeping me out."