Zoo Visit and San Lorenzo Canyon

Bekah had a short day at school last week and we wound up at the Zoo. Jacob and Bekah both had been dying to go and we were lucky to make it there on such a wonderfully, unseasonably warm Wednesday, where the first thing the kids wanted to see was "those stinky birds." Flamingos. Then it was the gorillas and monkeys, who were exceptionally fun to watch, it must have been play time, (Look! the missing member of our family!)We also actually saw the hippos...usually they are way too busy swimming...and we saw the polar bears get fed, where the glass is scratched and cloudy and the best views are from sitting up on the rock work, right next to the sign that says "Parents, do not allow your children to climb on the rock work." Whoops. Then it was the cats, elephants, and finally seals, where we knew it was time to go because of excessive grumpiness and laying down on the old gum-pocked sidewalk. I thought Beau would love all the animals, but I forgot that the fences aren't really set for his height, which really frustrated him. He loved the ducks, but enjoyed feeding himself their food rather than throw it.
Can I just insert in here that Rus is now labeling our home "The Petry Dish" because we can't all seem to be healthy at once. We've done the flu and strep throat, and we've had boogers, boogers, so many boogers, and I want someone to come fumigate my home, but with some sort of anti-germ vapor that instantly rids it of all its horrible contagious bugs. In trying to find the bright side of all this I'm reminded of what my sister said, that we'll just have it all out of the way before Thanksgiving comes so we can go visit them.
Anyways, another fun thing we did yesterday was ditch the ol' Petry Dish and head down to San Lorenzo Canyon, just north of Socorro. We took along our friends Scott and Lisa and their kids Austin and Allie and we all had a great time. Here are some pics from that...

Look we found fall!

Can you see Rus's head down there at the bottom? We got to hike through a hidden slot canyon.The entrance...it looks like a dead end, but there is actually a trail winding back through the canyon for at least a mile. It was really fun to go with friends and show them around one of the beautiful places that we love.

Bekah Fairy

So I saw the adorable tinkerbell costume idea/tutorial on Ashley's Make It and Love It blog and decided that Bekah should be a fairy for Halloween. Thankfully she went along with it, fabric was cheap, and the flu slowed our pace down a notch so I had time to make it...I call her my hobo fairy because of the wonderful homemade nature of it all.My favorite part was actually painting her face...I've realized I could set up a little booth painting faces for hours and I would be in hog heaven. Bring me your face. I'll turn it into a work of art. Sort of.
And here's a fun pic of Jacob...(that black dot on his face is one of Bekah's sticker earrings)This kid knows how to entertain himself. Give him a couple of cars and he will drive them and give them names and play house with them and kill them and they'll come back to life and have babies and...oh wait, that's actually his imaginary baby lions I'm talking about...So it shouldn't surprise anyone at all that he knows how to make his fingers into airplanes (two different types, really...this version is just more fun to share than the other one). Gotta love my Jakey.
And now I'm off to turn this blog into a book. On Blurb.com. It slurps your whole blog into a book, and then you can go through and edit the format, if you'd like. I have two years worth, which with my addiction amounts to almost 200 pages. I can't wait to have it done, hardbound and all...I think it will be an awesome family history, at least through my eyes, with my slant on things.
Gotta go...BEau is trying to take over the world, one keyboard at a time..AHHHH!

Jakeysaurus

Beau

Beau sat in the tub this morning staring at me with red rimmed eyes. He didn't splash or play with toys...he just sat cross legged with his arms close to his tummy and hands between his legs as if to retain as much body heat as possible. He didn't talk or make noise of any sort...but if I cooed at him and smiled he would give me an almost guilty smile back.
It melted me.
I hurried to get changed and teeth brushed, make up on (for the first time in days, thank you flu...I even shaved today, I must be feeling better)...then I asked Beau if he wanted out, if he was all done. That did it and his tired resolve broke and he started talking in a sad, abused little voice, Mama, Mama!
I got him out of the tub, wrapped him in a piggy towel and used a tissue to wipe his nose while I rocked him in my chair. He even obliged and blew his nose, smart little thing...I sang a little song to him in my dry but returning voice and when I looked back down he was asleep. It took all of one minute.
I froze.
He hasn't fallen asleep in my arms since he was a tiny thing...well he never was really tiny, but you know what I mean...and he is so big now he stretches from my chest to my thighs.
I have to take in every part of his sleeping face...long beautiful lashes, not really dark but not blonde...cute little bump of a nose, soft soft cheeks and full little lips. I have to rub my nose on his cheeks, give him an eskimo kiss and kiss his cheeks...they are just too inviting. His hair was still wet so I brushed it with my fingers until it stood on end and he looked like an angelic sleeping skater boy. So full of personality, even when asleep, even when tired and sick.
I love Beau.

Beautiful Moab

Rus had an itch to go to Moab.
That was last spring, and it was an itch he couldn't scratch.
So he planned it for October and sweet talked some buddies into going with him and going biking.
Then his friend Jeremy's wife (Taffy...who happens to be one of my best friends) wanted to go too. Not seeing much of your husband on a regular day-to-day basis makes you less willing to give him up on the weekends.
Then Taffy talked me into it, and that is how we wound up stuffed in Rus's jeep, pulling a popup trailer, and driving eight hours to spend two days in Moab. The driving part was...um...painful. Extremely. A memory to be forgotten.
But the actual Moab part was great...Great company, beautiful sights, mostly happy kids...
Now I have way, way too many pictures here to spend too much time-a-yacking, so here you go...(captions above each pic)
We hiked Slick Rock while the guys biked it.
Cody Goold showin' off his muscles atop the red rocks on Slick Rock bike trail.Gavin and Bekah running off like mountain goats and winding up way too high for comfort.
Taffy on top of a little natural red rock bridge.
Cody, McKenna (our other friend's daughter), Bekah, Gavin, Hailey, and Jacob
Beau showing his true feelings about Del Taco (I know this pic is out of order, but I think it's stinkin hilarious!)
All the kids inside their very own cave.
They were looking at this...Beautiful, right!?We finished Slick Rock, but the guys were still biking, so we stopped at a really fun little park with an awesome percussion area. I want one. In my own backyard.
And now for our adventures in Arches National Park...We all decided that the perfect description of Arches was surreal.
Taffy framing the window.
The beautiful view...I loved the snow capped mountains in the background.Proof that Rus really was there.
The next day while the guys biked, Taffy and I took the kids on another hike on the Negro Bill Trail, which had it's own little creek that flowed into the Colorado River.
McKenna and Bekah found leaves the size of their heads. We could not for the life us find the tree that had shed them, but there were dozens of them littering the ground.We found a fun place to sit, relax, and play, and the kids had a good time.Well, most of them...Gavin, so sad.
We had a great trip and I'd do it again in a heartbeat...with a portable DVD player, and one more day to play before having to come home...and doggie bags. Enough said.
Taffy thanks so much for your fun company!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1-2 cups mini chocolate chips

Blend butter and sugars well. Add egg and vanilla and pumpkin until combined (mixture will look curdled). In a separate bowl whisk dry ingredients. Add flour mixture and chocolate chips to butter mixture, mixing until just combined. Drop by large spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cookies will spring back when lightly touched. Wait just long enough so you can hold the cookie in your hand without burning yourself...then enjoy your own little bite of Fall heaven as the pumpkin and chocolate melt in your mouth. Yum, yum!! This is the essence of October!

Getting Ready for School Hysterics

This morning was super fun. We ate breakfast..."we" meaning Beau and Jacob and I. Bekah was too busy coloring to finish her yogurt. I coaxed her along for as long as I could, and then finally told her to go get dressed.

Who knew such a request could so easily be mistaken for the worst thing I'd ever asked of a child ever.
On her way up the stairs Bekah started crying.
"I'm hungry! I'm hunnnngry! I'm hungreeeeeeeee!"
When she got to her room she couldn't find her clothes. Obviously only my supermom eyes could see all of her school clothes in the same drawer that they are always in. I pulled out a shirt...
"Not thaaat one! I want the dark blue one!"
Despite my evil, devious tendencies to ruin her day with the wrong shirt, I relinquished the desired shirt and left to get Jacob and Beau dressed. I picked out Jacob's clothes, and he changed into them. Miraculous. He is only three (almost four), you know. I was kind enough to help Beau with his clothes. He is only one (15 months), you know.
Then Bekah started yelling/crying again.
"I need you to help me get dressed!"
I ignored this. I was taking care of Beau. She showed up in Jacob's room naked.
"I'm itchy!"
"Okay, go get the lotion. It's in my bathroom."
"NOOO! I don't want anyone to see me naked!"
The logic eluded me, but Jacob totally caught on...
"Bekah, I don't want to see your bum!"
This set her wailing again. I requested she get the lotion again. She refused again.
"I don't want to go by myself!"
After avoiding her itchy cries for several minutes I finally gave in and walked with her to my room. I could see the lotion from my chair at my desk. She was standing five feet from it. But I wasn't standing next to her, so she could not possibly travel another inch to retrieve the lotion herself.
I gave in. Apparently she's already stubborn, mission accomplished. No need to teach her that anymore.
I squirted lotion on her hands.
"I can't rub it in! IcantIcantIcant! I can't reach the back!"
(Are you tired yet of this conversation? I am. We'll skip to the end...)
After finally making Bekah's lunch, calling my friend and telling her we'd be driving because someone burst into further hysterics and the thought of walking and missing her chance to swing on the swings, myself, Beau, Jacob, and my itchy but fully clothed puffy eyed oldest, most mature daughter got in the van and drove to school. Two minutes away. Where I sat and held her, wiped away her tear tracks, said a prayer with her to be happy. It was an honest effort, but the clincher was when I suggested that Belle, her baby bear sneak into school with her inside her small backpack pocket.
"You can rub her nose if you're feeling sad, okay?"
"Okay."
She waved her little pointer finger at me as she walked away, our secret code that means "I love you."
I need to go soon to pick her up.
Man, I hope she had a better day!