Jarvis Family

Kitchen Helpers

2012-01-17T21:00:00.001-07:00

At the end of our visit to Utah, Grandma Janelle invited 4 girl cousins over to her house to make gingerbread houses. We are not talking a gingerbread house kit from the store. That is what I made with the boys back in Flagstaff while Karl was gone. We are talking everything-made-from-scratch gingerbread houses. On her own she had already baked the dough, cut out the different shapes, made the icing and the frosting, and glued 2 houses together. She did buy the candy at the store... When the kids came over she put on the frosting and they were decorating like crazy for hours.

Everybody was loving it! Well, I am not so sure about Janelle but I do think she enjoyed it. It is a tradition in Karl's family and he has very fond memories of making gingerbread houses, castles, and even cathedrals. So maybe 6 grandkids was a good number of little helpers since Grandma has 6 kids of her own. (Karl is the youngest.) That lady is such a great example of service, patience, kindness, and selflessness to me. Thank you, Grandma! I obviously have a long way to go when it comes to each of these attributes, but I did let the kids help in the kitchen the other day:

Yes. They are wearing their pajamas before dinner time. Anytime after 5pm they are welcome to put them on. After getting up at 5:30 a few more times lately, we have been very good about putting Max to bed around 7pm and Noah at 7:30. And - wouldntyaknowit - they have been consistently sleeping until 6:30 or 7am. Works for us!

They both really like to help in the kitchen, especially when it involves a knife of some sort. I am not a fan of little helpers in my (really little) kitchen. There is no counter space and by that time of day I am usually running low on patience. The other night though I got my act together and let them help me chop the ingredients to our spaghetti sauce. I was cutting onions next to Max and his eyes started watering. After a few minutes of trying to figure out what was wrong, he ran to get his and Noah's ski goggles. Problem solved!

When Noah came home from school today, he wanted to bake cupcakes. So we put Max in the bathtub - I can handle 1 helper much better than 2 - and went to work. I had to tweak the recipe a teeny-weeny bit:

Not enough butter? Add apple sauce.
No white flour? Use whole-wheat.
Not enough wheat flour? I am sure rye flour will work.
No orange peel? We have mandarines...
Out of almond extract? How about cinnamon.

Noah does not know any better and thought they were great. Max has had 3 this evening and Karl said he really likes them.

I have not dared to try them...

Karl's Adventures in Fiji - Part 3: Leleuvia Island

2012-01-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

Really I came to Fiji to get pampered in a swanky resort*. The Lowrys came through by taking me to a sweet spot: Leleuvia Island.

* Ha.

The resort on Leleuvia is the only piece of infrastructure on that island, because the island is too small for anything else. You can stroll around the whole island in 20 min. We got picked up by a boat to bring us to our island.

Once we got closer to Leleuvia, the water turned a beautiful turquoise color.

Leleuvia itself was great both above the water,

and below.

As we arrived and before we even settled in, they chopped open a green coconut for us so we can take a drink of coconut water, nature's gatorade and laxative in one. Be careful with that stuff.

The cabins were simple but worked well for us.

Hermit crabs were all over the beach. Fun little guys.

Ghost crabs were pretty common, too. You might have to do a little searching to find it here...

The real treasures for me were underwater, though. We had lots of fun snorkeling.

These cool purple starfish were all over.

We saw one of these crown of thorns starfish. I hear they pack a poisonous sting.

Sea cucumbers are super common. They get collected by the local kids and sent to Asia, where folks eat them. The kids seemed disgusted by the thought of eating them.

These corals made cool little plateaus with other corals on top.

Love the colors of everything.

I'm counting 6 kinds of coral all attached to each other here.

I thought this little sea slug dude looked pretty cool.

It was my first time seeing a sea snake. Way cool creature. Its head is under the coral, working on getting some lunch. After I took this shot, it backed out and zipped up to the surface for air. That was when I activated my whoa!-quick-reverse reflex.

Here's a panorama and a half of the awesome beach there.

After a very nice couple of days of chilling* on the beach, we headed back.

* Uh, not literally.

Good times. Thanks again, Lowrys! It was great!

Mushrooms a la Max

2012-01-08T13:26:00.001-07:00

This kid is quite the character.

He gave us a cookbook for Christmas

that his preschool class made.

Each kid came up with the recipe for their favorite food.

It is very entertaining!

There are 5 kinds of cookies, 3 recipes for pancakes,

and 2 different pizzas.

And then there is a recipe for sauteed mushrooms.

That one is by Max.

It says:

Mushrooms

Cut the mushrooms up.

Cook the mushrooms in a pan

for 4 minutes.

Then eat them!

I am so proud of my little guy!

We certainly eat our fair share of cookies and pizza

but he chose mushrooms!

I can't get over it!

He did not even like them for a long time.

I would have them for lunch a few days a week

but he never wanted any.

Then one day he decided to try them

and now I am lucky if I can snatch some away from him!

We definitely don't eat perfectly but we try!

I am all about eating healthy foods in front of the kids.

Eventually they get curious and want some as well.

We don't force them to clean their plates.

We encourage them to eat until they are full.

Max does not sit still for very long,

so it is more of a challenge

but Noah has a very good appetite.

The one thing we insist on

is that they have to give everything a try.

They can't just look at a dish and say they don't like it.

If they are not willing to eat at least one spoon full,

they are excused.

So far, so good.

Both of them (overall) are very good eaters.

Although I think they just naturally like to eat.

Just like Karl and I.

Part of the Jarvis Clan

2012-01-06T17:35:00.000-07:00

A few of the cousins after Thanksgiving dinner

The best part of visiting Utah is being with family. The weather during our last trip was a big disappointment and, if it had not been for our great family, I would've been ready to leave after just a couple of days. Since I never posted the few pictures I took during our Thanksgiving trip, I will post those as well. No worries, there are not very many. I am generally a bad picture-taker while in Utah. There is just too much fun stuff going on... Ok. Let's face it, I am just bad at taking pictures in general. Oh well.

The boys love 'helping' Grandpa in the yard, especially when it involves leaves and a cart. Anybody want a ride?

We do! We do!

Getting dumped...

Unfortunately, only 2 of Karl's siblings are living in Utah right now. Fortunately, both of them are in Provo and there are still plenty (12) of cousins to play with. The closest in age to Noah and Max are the triplets: Emmy, Zoe, and Callie:

We love spending time with cousin Spencer who can play great songs on his guitar and loves to come up with his own songs. The boys think it's great!

He also makes an excellent punching bag...

... and story teller. Thank you, Spencer, for spending time with us!

Back home in Flagstaff our Christmas tree looks like this:

We have had our lovely Norfolk Pine for years now and Karl and I think it's a great idea: cheap, small, environmentally friendly. The boys, however, wanted a 'real' Christmas tree this year. Luckily, when we came to Grandma and Grandpa's house, they had a beautiful large lovely-smelling fir tree in the music room ready to be decorated by the boys. They went straight to work:

One of my favorite traditions is singing Christmas (and other) songs by the tree with Grandpa on the guitar and/or Grandma on the piano.

Christmas was wonderful. The boys slept until 7:30, we opened a couple of presents, had breakfast, went to church, opened more presents, built and played, and had a very nice family dinner at Aunt Lena's house. We are very blessed!

Building the new Playmobil fire station:

Max got tired of building and decided to test out the new fire boat

I love my boys!

Karl's Adventures in Fiji - Part 2: Camping

2011-12-30T20:38:00.014-07:00

One of the great things about visiting family when you travel is being able to experience more of the real country than when you're trying to figure things out by yourself. I got a chance to go to an activity with a church group. It was similar to camping, but with a house instead of a tent. If that sounds too cushy, just know that the weather in Fiji is such that any attempt at sleeping in a tent would be a very wet experience.

John spent about 5 minutes in the rain, and this is his level of wetness. That is, very wet. As in, he may as well have jumped into the nearby river.

It doesn't matter what kind of gear you have in Fiji. You'll end up soaked if you're not in a house. So we went to a ranch owned by a church member, and we stayed in an old farm house on the property.

It was fun to meet the boys and leaders and get to know these great people. They were very friendly and fun to spend time with.

They made some awesome eggplant curry for dinner.

The next morning we had babakau, which are like scones.

We also had samosa, which are stuffed scones (on the left), which we stuffed with the eggplant curry. Super tasty!

Card games were popular.

We also had a great fire that night.

And story telling.

One of the coolest things about this trip was building a bilibili* (bamboo raft) with Brother Dakunimata. He showed us how to build bilibilis and told us about the old days when they would build huge rafts called "H.M.S. No-Come-Back" to bring enormous loads of bananas down the rivers to sell.

* English is fine, but Fijian is more fun.

We built a couple of little bilibilis under the direction of the pro. First we chopped some stalks to bring to the nearby river.

We hauled the bamboo down to the river.

Bush knives were the tools of choice, of course.

We lashed them together with some non-traditional twine.

Then we had some races with two guys on each raft. Not quite enough flotation to stay on top of the water, but staying dry wasn't the point anyway.

The boys thought that John's life vests were pretty fun to wear, so they kept them on, even out of the water. They wore their life vests learning how to do geocaching with the GPS pro.

Overall, it was a fun and interesting trip for me. An impressive thing about these boys was that when one of the major activities planned for the afternoon didn't work out, I didn't hear any complaints. Instead, they sought out other stuff to do and ended up with no less smiles than if the original plans had happened.

From my experience with American youth, I'd expect about half of a group like this to complain about a trip where everything works right, and I'd expect almost all the kids to complain when something goes wrong!* Not these guys. They had fun regardless of the situation. Toby and Sam are not your typical American youth either, and they joined in on the fun.

* Aside from the activity that didn't work out, which was beyond our control, the activities worked out really well, thanks to John's great planning.

I have a lot to learn from these guys.

Thanks for good times John, Toby, Sam, Gabi, Dani, Jatin, Apenisa, Simon, Isi, and others I know I'm forgetting!

Snow for Christmas

2011-12-25T14:35:00.001-07:00

Southfork '10

Unfortunately, we had to leave Flagstaff with its 2 feet of beautiful snow

in order to be with family for Christmas.

Of course, family is more important than snow

but we have all been a little heart broken not to have a

White Christmas.

On Christmas Eve morning the boys set out to find snow in the mountains.

3 Dads, 5 Boys, and Rubie went up to Aspen Grove

and actually found enough snow to do some sledding.

Aspen Grove '11

Seeing how it was very cold and the hill was in the shade,

they did not last super long but had a lot of fun nonetheless.

Finally, Max is old enough to really be able to enjoy the snow

for more than 20 minutes. Yay!

(Thank you for all the great hand-me-downs.

Good gear makes a big difference.)

Noah is usually heading for the jumps

trying to get as much air as possible.

Upon their return

we had a very nice (rather) calm and simple Christmas Eve:

playing

making gingerbread cookies with Grandma

cooking and baking

trampoline jumping

eating Portuguese chicken, rice, and veggies

singing Christmas songs

reading Christmas stories

enjoying apple crisp and ice cream

opening one present each

Then this little guy went to bed

and Noah helped me put the presents under the tree.

It was fun to see him so very excited.

We don't believe in Santa around here and I like it that way.

Santa does not bring presents in Germany and

I have never been a fan of fairy tales or make-believe.

Without Santa,

credit goes where credit is due

and there is no need to tell lies.

I don't dislike Santa. Not at all.

So please don't dislike me.

We, as a family, have just decided to focus on different traditions.

The kids are in heaven!

Noah just finished putting together his Playmobil Fire Station

and exclaimed:

"Christmas is the best day ever!"

Then he quickly added:

"Not just because of the presents.

Because it is Jesus' birthday!"

Although it is hard for him to think of anything but his new toys,

he, too, knows the true meaning of Christmas.

We are so grateful for the Birth of our Savior!

Merry Christmas to All!

Karl's Fiji Adventures - Part 1: Bula!

2011-12-22T08:20:00.001-07:00

There's no sense in going to New Zealand for a conference without checking out that part of the world at least a little. For most other people I talked to at ICCB 2011, that meant other parts of NZ. I would love to travel NZ, but Fiji had more going for it:

1) It is no less cool than NZ. Cool as in awesome. Definitely not cool as in temperature. I don't think I ever stopped sweating in Fiji.

2) Some of my favorite people in the world live there. Namely my sister, brother-in-law and 2 nephews.

3) It costs no extra money to fly there if you go with Air Pacific. I paid less than the conference discount with Air NZ. Although apparently part of the low rate at Air Pacific seems to due to a lower budget for sick bags.

With the approval of a very understanding wife*, I tacked on an extra week and a half after my conference to go to Fiji. So Bula Fiji!

*Once I have a real job, she can just come and not have to be so understanding. As long as I take dramamine.

The Lowrys were local pros and spent the week taking me around to the good spots. Thanks, guys! Even those not in this picture!

Fiji, as a south Pacific island, is a Land of Milk and Honey... Well, not so much milk - it's kind of expensive. Maybe fruit juice instead. Or just water. The place is like a steam room. And not so much honey as sugarcane. But you get the idea. How about "Land of Fruit and Mosquitoes."

Fruit is everywhere. The Lowrys had all kinds of fruit trees in their yard, including bananas, coconuts, kumquats, papayas, breadfruit, tangerines, and I'm sure a few others.

We also had the adventure of figuring out how to dig up cassava*. We mangled a few of them before the Lowrys' very nice neighbor came over and kindly spent a half an hour showing us proper technique. That was my first experience of many, in which Fijians were very kind and went out of their way to help us out.

*If you like tapioca or boba pearls, this is where it comes from.

It was also my first adventure with a bush knife, an indispensable tool to Fijians. It's basically a thin-gauge machete shaped a little bit like a stretched-out cleaver, with a long handle. No, I didn't cut any toes off. Don't rule out that possibility in the future, though.

We had picked the wrong cassava plants to dig up, and we ended up having to dig up several other plants, since their roots were intertwined. Due to some other miscalculations, we ended up not needing the cassava at all for what we had intended, so we ended up donating the whole pile of loot to various folks who could use it. Good times.

Fiji is also "Land of Super Cute Geckos." I think it's great to have these little guys cruising around the walls and ceiling, keeping the house relatively bug-free. Bugs are a part of life, and I think that's good. But you can get too much of a good thing, and geckos keep the bug numbers down. If you want your dwelling to be totally bug-free, move to the Arctic. But I digress. Cute gecko:

Fiji also happens to be home to some of the awesomest of natural pools, and the awesomest of rope swings I've ever seen: Colo-i-Suva.

It was so frightening to me to use this rope swing that I refused to do it on my first time there. The second time there I finally got the guts to do it, and it was truly amazing. I don't know if you can tell from these pics how high it is. Well, it's really high. Some of the Fijians climb up the tree itself and dive in. Wow. I'm not much of a swimmer, but I'm definitely not a diver.

Tons of fun and best hosts ever. Thanks so much John, Brenda, Toby, Sam, and Wilson!

B.A.D.D

2011-12-19T08:32:00.000-07:00

I like the sign on the back of my 'new' car:

Bicyclists Against Dumb Drivers

I could not agree more. Unfortunately, there are plenty of 'dumb drivers' on the roads these days. And they are usually driving large SUVs or trucks...

Moab 2008

Of course we did not get a new car. In case you have not heard, we've had some major car troubles in this family lately. Since September our beloved Subaru Outback has spent a good amount of time in the car shop. It started having issues minutes after Karl and I declared that we are so happy our car has been running well and not given us any trouble since we replaced the head gasket 2 years ago. We were hoping it would hold up for the rest of grad school. Well, it did not. Not at all.

We had the radiator and some other stuff replaced at the end of September - $450. Then the brakes were having issues right before driving up here in November. We did make it to Provo where Karl's father was very kind and took care of it, including the bill - another $250.

We should be set now, right? We take a deep breath and think that our kids might actually find some presents under the tree this year. But - not so much!

We barely make it to the edge of town on our way back home to Flagstaff, when the car is overheating (again) and smoke is coming out the hood (again). Excellent! We are rather devastated to find out that the head gasket is compromised (again) and needs to be replaced (again)! How can we possibly make it through grad school without taking out a loan if our car keeps swallowing up all our money and then some? Very discouraging!

And how am I supposed to drive back up to Utah for Christmas? Karl is flying into SLC on his way back and I don't think I would survive Christmas with the kids in Flagstaff.

The Spinti Family to the Rescue!

Once Again!

I can't adequately express how much it means to us that we are able to borrow the Spinti's Subaru for a couple of weeks. They happen to have just bought a new car and now have 3 cars in their family. Because they are very generous and completely selfless, they volunteered their car for our family trip! Talk about a miracle!

Looks pretty much like ours, does not it? Well, it drives much better and I felt very confident in undertaking this trip without Karl. Thank you very much, Jennifer and family! We owe you big time...

As soon as Karl gets back, we are going to have to decide whether to put more money into our Subaru or or whether to look for a 'new' used car. Neither option sounds good. Ugh! How I hate money! How I hate cars! Wish I did not have to deal with either... But - rest assured - between the presents from my family in Germany and Karl's parents, there will be something under the tree for the kids next Sunday!

I am a lucky girl!

2011-12-18T13:44:00.001-07:00

Happy Anniversary to My Best Friend!

It's been 6 * wonderful years!

I am very much looking forward to spending

the rest of our lives and eternity together!

I love you!

Karl has been able to tell us more about

his adventures in New Zealand (below)

and will actually be spending our anniversary in Fiji!

After his conference in NZ,

he just could not pass up the opportunity to

visit his sister and her family in Fiji.

Who could?

I am very excited for him!

The next best thing to me exploring the world

is cuddling my kids while Karl is exploring the world.

He has been gone for more than two weeks now and,

so far, the boys and I are doing well.

But because weekends are the hardest without Karl,

we actually piled into the car

as soon as school was out on Friday,

spent the night in Hurricane,

and arrived at Jen's house late Saturday morning.

Scott (was) volunteered to supervise the kiddos,

while Jen and I went for a run.

Good times!

Now we are at my fabulous in-laws

and loving it

but

I kinda wish we could've stayed home for a little longer.

We really miss the beautiful snow, blue skies, and clean air

that Flagstaff has been spoiling us with lately.

Come on, Utah, we know you can do better than

inversions, gray skies, and not even a tiny layer of snow!

*Aehm. Talking to my mother-in-law, I just realized that it has, indeed, been 7 years! Of course. Noah just turned 6. Duh! I do believe I have the wedding date right this year though! As you can tell, I am a real romantic...

Karl's NZ Adventures - Part 4: Tawaharanui

2011-12-17T09:40:00.001-07:00

After my conference in Auckland I took a field trip to Tawharanui Peninsula, a place with amazing views. The peninsula is in the process of being restored to original conditions before modern changes to New Zealand. Basically, when you introduce all manner of mammals to a historically mammal-free environment like NZ, the plant and bird life is totally altered. So they decided to make this little peninsula into a kind of living museum. They fenced it off from the mainland with incredibly tough and impenetrable fencing and have done a huge effort to kill off the rats, mice, possums, hedgehogs, ferrets, stoats, and other mammals that are pests there. As a result, the bird and plant life is pretty amazing. Here are photos of the landscape:

The landscape was fantastic. Here are some photos:

Looking up through a cave on the shore

Looking out through the same cave

The caves were on the other side of this bluff.

Pohutukawa trees were gnarled and awesome. Most were blooming bright red too.

Cool lookin' seaweed.

Not hard to get to some awesome views.

It was too windy to hold my camera still for my panorama shots to line up, but you get the idea.

Too bad it was pretty cold. Otherwise I would've definitely been swimming.

I always grimace in my self-portraits while I try to figure out exactly what angle to point the thing.

Even some rain-foresty-type places.

Seems like a Flagstaff scene in the pines, within about a mile of the last shot.

I only saw NZ countryside for one day, but the city is cool too. It was enough to tell what I already knew - this is a great place to be. Maybe there will be a next time, preferably with family!

(The editor agrees!)

Karl's NZ Adventures - Part 3: Auckland

2011-12-16T05:59:00.000-07:00

The reason I came to Auckland* was for the Society for Conservation Biology international meetings. If you're a conservation/natural resource management profesional, go to these. But otherwise I won't bore you with the details of that. On to the country itself.

* Sounds more like Oakland when most non-Americans say it. It gets confusing.

I guess New Zealanders are used to tourists cruising around lost, but instead of being annoyed they were patient and willing to explain whatever I needed explained.

Green and pleasant, very nice.

Cool art and architecture.

And the Kiwis seem to have a flair for the tacky. We Americans can relate, although this is a little extreme:

I didn't get around to bungee jumping from the sky city tower. I guess I'm more a lactic acid junkie than an adrenaline junkie. I ate some ice cream while watching someone else jump, and that was good enough for me.

All kinds of really nice plants, not much I recognized but very cool.

Here's a big thing - of course rugby is a huge deal, and kudos to the All Blacks for winning the world rugby championships, but look at this cereal box. Not a rugby player, or a cricket player, or basketball or football or soccer. It's a triathlete.

It's top kiwi triathlete Terenzo Bozzone. On a cereal box. Apparently in his off season, as he's got a bit more padding on his cheeks than usual. But still, pretty cool who they chose as an athlete for a cereal box.

In all, Auckland was a nice mix of Europe, the US, the Pacific, and its own thing. I'd live there for sure, as long as I could afford it.

Karl's Adventure - Part 2

2011-12-13T06:33:00.000-07:00

So here I was, in the Nadi Airport, Fiji. With puke on my pants. My stomach was extremely unhappy - still. I was beginning to think that I was actually sick, and not just motion sick. Either way I wasn't happy about getting back onto a plane. Nibbling ginger cookies and drinking lots wasn't a cure.

Issue #10: I still stank. Another trip back to the bathroom, with more scrubbing with lots of of handsoap from the bathroom. I was semi-clean and smelling musky from my fancy deodorant, so I felt sort of ready to head out on flight #4 in a row.

Issue #11: No sick bags were provided on the next flight. So I asked for one. It did end up getting used, but not by me and not in the way I expected. At the end of the flight, the flight attendant snatched it out of the seat pocket and walked up and down the aisle asking for change. Turns out that's a common practice on flights in this part of the world, kind of like a waiter getting a tip at a restaurant. I had no Fijian or New Zealand money to give, and I wasn't feeling generous anyway by that point.

Issue #12: Customs line in Auckland. Just as agonizingly slow as every other customs line I've been through.

Issue #13: When Karl has had a lot happen already, he lets his guard down multiple times.

I headed into town by bus and listened to commercials for campervans and bungee jumping while we stopped and started repeatedly. Stomach was still unhappy, and my environment wasn't helping. So when I saw the Sky City tower, I happily hopped out and started heading toward the hostel I'd booked. I got about half a block before I wondered to myself why my backpack was so light. It was because I only had 1 of 2 backpacks with me - the small one. I sprinted back to the bus in full panic. Probably half the people I pushed by on the busy sidewalk though I was going to mug them. But I had no intention of letting all my clean clothes head back to the airport on the bus. Fortunately, my guardian travel angel, who had until that point been in hibernation, had awoken and held up the bus until I caught up and could snag my bag back.

Issue #14: I was not ready to get onto another bus to get to the hostel. I was determined to walk there with all my stuff, despite the crazy maze of streets that Auckland is. Fortunately, Kiwis are incredibly nice people, and they all tried their best to get me to where I needed to go. Of course, since I'm direction-deaf* I turned a 1-mile walk into a 2-mile walk.

* Give me a map and I'll find it. Explain it verbally, and you might as well not be speaking my language. Especially if you've got a Kiwi accent.

Ahhh - home away from home. Ponsonby Backpackers, a nice little hostel. Most of all, a place with a clothes washer and a shower.

Karl and Sons Weekend

2011-12-11T06:45:00.001-07:00

Remember how I sent Karl off with the boys

before he left town?

It was snowy and cold up here that weekend,

so they went south.

To one of our favorite places:

Sedona.

There was:

lots of running

red sand castles

camp fires

old and very hard marshmallows in the fire

biking early in the morning

muffins and balaclavas

laughing older brothers

funny little brothers

epic adventures

Thank you, Karl!

(In case you are wondering how I entertained myself that weekend, you can read about it here.)

Save the day!

2011-12-09T20:47:00.000-07:00

It is a good thing I have 2 super heroes

who are always willing to save the day!

Never mind that it is usually they

who mess it up in the first place!

It sure would be easier to have Karl gone

if it was just me and myself

but

I would maybe feel a little lonely.

Good thing I have 2 little guys

who are quick to remind me every morning before 6 am

that I am, indeed, not by myself!

Thanks, guys!

What would I do without you?!?

Karl's Adventure - Part I

2011-12-06T08:56:00.001-07:00

Saturday morning. Such a calm morning, with a little extra sleep, playing with the boys inside and outside in the snow. Noah created a compass out of juice can lids, duct tape, and foam. Maybe I should have brought it on my trip, since soon after I had plenty of issues getting from place to place.

Issue #1: Snowstorm. Flagstaff was just living up to its standing as the city with the 5th highest annual snowfall in the US. So instead of driving on icy roads covered with powder, I walked to the train station downtown. No big deal.*

Issue #2: Shuttle service in the snow. Despite their claims that they would be able to get me to Phoenix, they had 5 vans stuck between Flag and Phoenix. Not a good sign. People have gotten stuck for hours on end on the freeways around Flagstaff lately. If I missed my flight from Phoenix to LA, I would likely miss my flight to New Zealand. And that is a bad thing. I took a deep breath, booked a flight from FLG to PHX, and took a taxi to the Flagstaff airport.**

Issue #3: Getting planes in and out of FLG airport. Our flight got delayed about an hour, but we did get off.

Issue #4: When I think life has dealt me enough curveballs, I put my guard down. I hopped off the plane in Phoenix and went straight to my gate. I sat there and worked on my presentation that I will be giving in New Zealand for a couple of hours. When boarding time came around, I started looking around my terminal. I had gone to the right gate number, but in the wrong terminal. So I ran like a madman across the terminal, then was unable to find out which terminal it was, and asked 4 people in stammering, out of breath questions where I needed to go and how. I got onto a shuttle bus and made it there in time. But, of course, I had forgotten to empty out my water, so I had to go through security again. I made it just in time. ***

Issue #5: Air Pacific put 22:30 on all the flight information they sent me and boarding passes, but they meant 21:30. Fortunately, I got to LA with enough time that this worked out.

Non-Issue: The Tongan lady next to me was super interesting. I spent half the flight talking to her about the voyage she is involved in. Basically, she is captain of a sailboat that represents her country that is going all the way around the Pacific with a group of other boats from other Pacific nations.

Issue #6: When Karl is dehydrated, he is prone to motion sickness. And when Karl is on long plane flights and rushing around all day, he doesn't drink enough water. So Karl got motion sickness. While descending into Fiji, I checked on the "sick bags". There weren't any, and I though I could possibly need one. 30 seconds later I was hurling into a random plastic bag. The nice Tongan lady gave me another bag to put that one into. ****

Issue #7: Random plastic bags can't be trusted to be water-tight. Or vomit-tight. It started dripping onto my pants and seat, and by the time I realized that was going on, I was a vomitty mess. By this time the flight attendant had finally noticed and got me a stack of sick bags. Thanks a bunch. A bit too late. "Oh, we didn't have a sick bag there? Oops." There weren't any sick bags in any of the seats, actually.

Issue #8: I had regurgitated airplane meals on my pants and nothing to change into. Lovely. My bag was already headed to the connecting flight, and I didn't know if I'd have time to go through customs, pick up my bag, and check back in. I spent a long time in the bathroom scrubbing my pants, and ended up looking like I had had a different sort of bodily fluid issue. It still smelled incredibly rank. So I went looking for deodorant to buy in the Nadi airport. All I could find was a strange smelling fancy deodorant from a perfume shop for $11 in Fijian dollars. I had no idea how much that was, but I bought it anyway. Then I looked a buying shorts, but $120 Fijian seemed like way more money than I wanted to spend, so I stayed in my puke pants. *****

Issue #9: I had another flight and 5+ hours until I could get to my bag and change. I bought 3 liters of water and some ginger cookies for my unhappy stomach. I downed 2.5L of the water but could only get down 3 cookies. Bleh. I was ready to just go visit the Lowrys (my sister and her family in Fiji) and not continue on to NZ, but that's not how it works.

I need to go to my next session of the conference, but look for another installment of my adventures soon.

Notes by the editor who does not want to look like a bad wife:

* Please realize that I did offer to drive him and his huge backpack (and then some) to the train station. But he declined and I was ok with that.

** Please note that I also offered to drive him to the airport. He declined again. Just saying...

*** I knew he should've taken me on this trip with him. Good thing he is one of the fastest runners around or he wouldn't have heard the end of this one!

**** Actually. Never mind. I am glad I did not go.

***** Now I am really glad I did not go. So much for the not-wanting-to-look-like-a-bad-wife part.

A little too late...

2011-12-03T16:10:00.001-07:00

My favorite time in Utah is fall! The colors of the leaves are so vibrant and beautiful, I love it! Unfortunately, we missed autumn yet again but arrived just in time to catch some warm and sunny days that invited us to go hiking in Rock Canyon. Although the leaves were mostly brown and on the ground, I was happy. I like being surrounded by Ponderosa Pines in Flagstaff, but I prefer this:

Max cracks me up in this picture:

More quality time with Eric and Rubie:

And Jenny:

Squaw Peak in our backyard:

Max and Tigi:

Hopefully all of these leaves will be covered

in beautiful snow

when we come for Christmas!

We were having so much fun that poor Karl

who had just gotten into town and been dropped off by friends

was waiting in front of Jen's empty house for us.

Sorry!

4 Little Friends

2011-11-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

Snuggle Time

Finally! The boys had another long-awaited reunion with their best friends! I am very happy to note though that they have made great friends here in Flagstaff as well. As a matter of fact, they did not want to leave. Noah was not about to miss out on his field trip to Lake Mary. Max was beyond excited for his little Preschool Program.

- When we're in Utah you guys can play with Eric and Rubie. A lot.

- Did you say Eric and Rubie??? Forget the field trip and program. We are ready to go now!

Unfortunately, they had to wait a whole day before actually seeing their little friends. Because first up was some quality girls time for the Mamas and their friends. They about died. They quickly came back to life when we spent pretty much the rest of our vacation at Eric and Rubie's house. With Karl and Scott both gone, we could not help ourselves and all had a sleep-over as well.

Rubie reading to Max

It's great to see how well these kids get along. It's like they have been best friends since birth or something.... Max and Noah spent about an hour each and every day on a trampoline in the neighborhood, so we invited the friends over for some playing, coloring, and jumping. I did not get any pictures of their cool tricks this time. Sad but true. I was just too busy jumping myself. I love it at least as much as they do!

The Boss knows how to keep these kids in line. Here he has them doing PT at the end of a long day of hard playing. I have to say my boys did pretty well for their first time!

I think they look pretty pooped, tired, and worn out. Just the way we like them at bedtime...

Thank you to the Wilsons for opening your house to us!

Wedding Weekend

2011-11-28T22:03:00.003-07:00

Blogging is on the back burner these days.

Sometimes life just gets (a little too) busy...

But I did manage to write a bit

about our trip to Utah.

You can find it here.

Cashmere Love

2011-11-22T23:26:00.004-07:00

I don't deal with change very well. I like consistency and routine. That's why I have been in a funk ever since getting to Utah last Wednesday night. My friend's wedding was wonderful and we love hanging out with friends. Pictures and stories to come. While I am recovering from a stomach bug (that we have now successfully passed on to Grandpa), I will leave your with some pictures of my favorite 3-year-old.

Playing cars together while Noah is at school. In his beloved cashmere sweater. It is a hand-me-down, of course. Max, our softie, fell in love with it instantly. He has been wearing it ever since: to sleep, to play, to camp, and everywhere else he is going. It is not going to last very long at this rate but he is so warm and cozy in it... I wish I had a cashmere sweater!

Thank you, Spinti Family, for passing all your treasures down to us!

Girlfriend?!?

2011-11-10T20:38:00.002-07:00

I wonder what/who he is thinking about...

I am afraid Noah has a girlfriend. Or something like that. In Kindergarten. Oh boy.

Whose kid is this?

On Tuesday at pick-up, Miss Chris said:

"Noah had a fantastic day today. He was rather quiet and well-behaved. Then, on our way in from the playground, he was holding hands with Madyson. I think he might be sick."

Laugh out loud. Quiet? Well-behaved? Yep. Must be sick. Last time his teacher said he had a 'fantastic day', he came down with croup. Sure enough. He had not eaten any lunch and fell asleep as soon as we got home. High fever.

After 14 hours of sleep and plenty of energy the next morning, I sent him back to school.

Clearly healthy this time, he was holding hands with Madyson after recess again! He freely admitted it when I asked him. "Yes, Mama. We are friends now." Great!

Today I caught her coming over to Noah after school and saying 'Bye' to him. I am pretty certain this is all her idea anyway. My son would never think of such a thing. Ever.

Karl and I just look at each other like: Whose kid is this?

Ok. All things considered, probably mine.

Turns out that he likes to chat in class with his friends. A little too much. Sound familiar? After a little reflection I realized that I am always talking while Coach Liz (Masters) and Coach Mike (TRF) give instructions. Then I (and whoever I was talking to) have no clue what's going on.

Definitely mine.

First Snow

2011-11-05T10:56:00.003-06:00

Last night, the boys had to come pick me up from the pool. I did not feel like biking home in the dark during a heavy thunderstorm. During the night, rain turned into snow and this is what we found this morning! We actually all slept in until 7 (a small miracle) but when the boys saw the white fluffiness outside there was no holding them back. Noah was screaming and dancing around the house with excitement. So we (Karl) got out the snow gear, boots, skis, sleds and they headed out the door.

Max only lasted about 20 minutes, then he was too cold. So he came in for some hot chocolate. When Noah and Karl came in, we feasted on some fresh waffles. Max was mostly feasting on apple sauce and still is... We had to finally turn on the heat today and now it is (almost) warm and cozy in here. Gotta love apartment living...

Karl just headed out on a little snowshoe run. He is training for the Mt. Taylor Quadrathlon in February and there is no holding him back either. He is looking for some like-minded crazies to join him. Anyone?

I am not sure how I feel about this. I do like winter and snow. But I prefer winter to only last 2 months: December and January. The rest of the year I would like clear roads and temperatures warm enough to play outside. Flagstaff's indoor entertainment only lasts us about 3 days. I guess it is time to head up to Utah for Courtney's wedding festivities and Thanksgiving feasting. 2 more weeks! Yippee!

My Super Heroes

2011-10-31T13:32:00.000-06:00

Batman and Spiderman

Two super heroes by my side.

I have never felt safer.

1 costume from the thrift store.

2 home-made capes.

2 home-made masks.

Glad the boys are low-key.

* home-made = made by Karl

Saturday we got to attend another Halloween Party!

The Mares family sure knows how to throw

a great family party.

Treasure hunt and haunted alley for the kids.

Dance party for the adults.

Everybody loved it.

Yes. Karl and I dressed up as well.

We went as a

Super Hero Family.

Nope. We did not take any pictures.

After a 3.5 k swim, a 65 mile bike ride,

a trip to the store, some cleaning-up,

making food and costumes for the party,

...

I was exhausted and (I admit) grumpy.

Nothing some dancing couldn't fix...

This is my favorite Halloween shot so far:

Happy Trick-or-Treating!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-28T22:14:00.006-06:00

"Happy Halloween"

We kicked off Halloween

with a party in the Taylor's backyard.

The kids ran wild and the adults visited.

There was a bonfire and a lot of good food.

Everybody had a great time!

Stay tuned for more pictures...

Max was cold after swimming yesterday

and warmed up in his lion costume.

Today, he wore a different one.

Here is Noah in the lion suit in 2007.

Tonight seemed like a good night

for another pumpkin dessert.

(I made pumpkin cobbler twice last week.)

This time I decided on pumpkin cookies.

They turned out great,

so I am going to share the recipe with you:

Pumpkin Cookies

1 1/2 c flour*

1/2 t soda

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

1/4 t salt

1/2 brown sugar

1 c pumpkin

2 T oil

1 egg

1 t vanilla

1/2 c chocolate chips**

1 c walnuts**

* I used all whole wheat flour. It's the only kind I have.

** Chocolate chips and walnuts are optional. I used both tonight just because I had it in the cupboard.

combine dry ingredients

combine wet ingredients

mix together

(fold in chips and nuts)

bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes

I actually doubled the recipe.

I like to bake some and then freeze some.

I put them on the baking sheet all ready

and then place the whole sheet in the freezer.

Want fresh warm cookies?

Just pop the baking sheet in the oven.

This also helps me not to eat a dozen cookies

by myself while the kids are in bed.

Tonight I limited myself to 6.

Or maybe 8.

I did not count.

Happy Halloween!

Fall Camping

2011-10-26T20:42:00.014-06:00

Somewhere near Beaver Creek

It did not quite go as planned. But what in life does? Unfortunately, I am about the least flexible person I know but I am trying...

We left late on Friday, got stuck in traffic forever, did not realize it was fall break down in the valley, and my worst fears came true: the campground was full. Craptastic! Take a deep breath and ... find some dispersed camping. Should not be too hard, right? Well, it was not. Except that I was pretty grumpy. While getting packed up and the food ready, I kept telling myself: "This is worth it. Once you get there, you can just sit back, watch the kids play, and relax." Not so much. We found a good spot but had to carry our stuff a little ways. Schlepping stuff back and forth, setting up camp, taking it down the next morning, moving to the campground, setting it up again, taking it down again = one not so happy camper. Thanks for putting up with me, Karl!

The first night was pretty nice, actually. We had random snacks for dinner in the dark at 6:30. Then we just hung out on the red rocks and watched the amazing star show in the sky. I saw 3 shooting stars, just a few minutes apart, and was (almost) reconciled with the world. I am pretty sure I was asleep at 8 pm.

Breakfast was eaten bright and early.

Digesting all that yummy oatmeal.

Then Noah (on his bike) and Karl (by foot)

went a few miles down the road

to secure us a spot in the campground.

I was longing for a toilet, a table, and a campfire.

Karl couldn't care less...

I was trying to get Max to do some exploring

but he wasn't interested in moving much.

After loading up the car (again),

my grumpiness returned.

Karl sent me on a run

and I obliged happily.

When I returned 2 hours later,

camp was set up and the boys were playing.

Really, what am I complaining about?

Then we were off to Buddha Beach.

Great little hike.

Perfect swimming hole.

I am in heaven.

Sand angels.

My barefoot hikers.

We even found a 'diving' board!

Although freezing, I could not resist!

While Karl went on a run,

I made some delicious dutch oven dinner

and the boys found sticks for jousting.

We capped off a great day with a fire and s'mores.

We even had our very own pet.

A skunk.

He showed up about every 2 minutes...

We started Sunday morning with

hot chocolate and marshmallows.

Why not?

Then

Max and I explored Beaver Creek.

Noah and Karl went mountain biking.

The End.

PS: We are not going inactive, we are just taking advantage of 1:30 pm church...

Wild and Shy

2011-10-23T12:09:00.000-06:00

Mr. Handsome

Noah. I love that kid. Can't believe he just turned 6. Crazy! I actually raised a kid to the age of 6. That is quite an accomplishment! Especially considering that he was an unplanned honeymoon baby. Both Karl and I had just signed up for an Ironman in Germany and a 50-miler in Arizona. Just two of the things we wanted to do before becoming parents.

Ready for...?

I was on the pill but I was late. No big deal. I was super tired all the time. Running? I think I'd rather take a nap. During another very sluggish run it struck me like lightening: I might be pregnant! That thought hadn't even crossed my mind before. I ran home, bought a few tests, took 3 of them. They were all positive! Shoot. Now what?

He is, indeed, German.

I pretty much had a minor (or major) nervous breakdown. I was about to graduate from college and had no idea what I was going to do with myself except dive into Ironman training and racing. Of course. What else would I care about? Well, that plan was now out the window.

The breakdown only lasted about 1.3 days. Then it was time to face reality and deal with it. So I did. And, of course, having Noah was the best thing that ever happened to us. Let's face it: 6 years later we might still be too busy adventuring around to even think about kids. Thank you, divine intervention!

First triathlon

Ok. Back to Noah. He is wild. As we all know. Just tonight he chose to run laps around the parking lot it in his pajamas. Twice. Because he could not sit still and listen to the bedtime story. Sure, sometimes it can be exhausting but I enjoy their energy and am so glad they are healthy!

Noah and Fay

He has been in Kindergarten for 9 weeks and already gotten into serious trouble twice! Yikes! The first time for breaking crayons and body-slamming a girl. (Noah claims she wanted him to.) Miss Chris explained to me that Noah is the social and academic leader of the class. Who knew??? Social leader? I had no idea. Academic leader? Really? He does not even know all his letters. In other words: He needs to shape up and be a better example so Miss Chris does not have 23 crayon-breaking and body-slamming Kindergartners.

Soccer Boy

On the other hand, is a pretty shy kid. I know. Hard to believe. He does not like crowds or unfamiliar situations and is very self-conscious. Once it was time to get ready for Karate last night, he had a meltdown. He could not tell us why he did not want to go but, of course, once he was there he had a great time! It's a good thing he has a (younger) brother to hide behind at times.

Not usually a Mama's boy

Tomorrow is our Primary Presentation. This will be his 3rd year in Primary and, once again, he is refusing to go to the microphone and say his part. He just breaks out in tears and wants to go home. Never mind that all the Sunbeams are very eager to get up there and present themselves. He knows there is no pressure from me and so we have come to the compromise that he will at least sit on the stand and sing the songs. He'd rather be sitting with us in the benches. I should just have Max sub for him. He would be thrilled! Last Sunday Max told me he wants to go up and bear his testimony.

No matter how wild or how shy, we love Noah for who he is. He is a great son, a wonderful older brother, and a good friend to many. But there is always room for improvement! On his and on our side...

Those Germans!

2011-10-19T06:55:00.000-06:00

Gina and Mandy are right.

This is my mom's mom.

My grandma!

All growing up she and my grandpa lived

just a few stairs above us.

You know -

a 5-story house:

Attic (my little kingdom)

Grandparents

My family

Italian family (renters)

Basement

Oh. Wait. Americans don't live like that.

At least not in the West.

It's really too bad.

I loved having my grandparents so close.

Didn't like what's for dinner?

Let's see what Oma is cooking.

Out of eggs?

No problem.

Not allowed to watch TV?

I think I'll visit Oma and Opa.

Busted the glass front door?

Let's hide under their kitchen table.

They took us swimming almost every Saturday.

We spent countless hours hiking with them.

We went on vacation with them and took ski lessons.

Great memories!

Unfortunately, we were not able to make it

to Oma's eightieth birthday celebration.

But I can tell that they had a ton of fun without us!

There was, as usual, a self-composed song about Oma.

aunts, cousins, sister, niece, mom

My family modeling off some of Oma's knitted treasures.

This is only a small part of all the clothes/accessories

we all received over the years.

looks like Lynn needs some cousins to play with

There was, of course, lots of laughter and smiles.

aunt and uncle

And dancing.

This would be my parents showing off their moves.

Not sure how it all went down

but I am certain the party started in the early afternoon

and went well past midnight.

I am speaking from experience.

My dad and his 2 nieces.

He cracks me up!

Looks like one proud uncle!

We are looking forward to visiting Germany

next summer and can't wait to see everyone!

Any guesses...

2011-10-17T22:18:00.002-06:00

... who this lovely, energetic 80-year-old lady is?

Passing on the Love

2011-10-12T19:50:00.002-06:00

Karl and I love to bike.

In my book

biking = freedom.

So, naturally, we want to share that love with our kids.

I think so far we have been pretty successful.

I want to share our story with you:

Before making any other baby-related purchase,

we found a great deal on a single Chariot

and could not pass it up.

It's the best way to take your kid with you,

whether it is running, biking, or skiing.

Just before Noah turned 3,

he started using his balance bike.

We bought a wooden Skuut but that kid

got so crazy on this bike that it broke in half.

We screwed and glued it back together but it was not the same.

A couple of months before Noah's 4th birthday,

Karl got this tiny bike (12 1/2 inch) for $5.

So he took Noah around the block on it and - voila-

Noah was pedaling away on his own.

He was ready for his first race...

Max came along and although Noah was pretty

proficient on his bike,

he could not quite keep up at all times.

So we bought a double Chariot.

Noah would ride his bike and when he got tired,

we threw the bike in the back and he jumped into the trailer.

Then Karl found a 16-inch bike in the dumpster,

but it was too big and so we traded his brother for this 14-inch.

We are thinking Noah was about 4 1/2.

I always wanted a bike seat.

I know they are not as safe as a trailer

but they just seem more fun!

I think this was $20 on Craigslist.

When I did not want Max to fall asleep,

I would put him in the seat.

I was still pulling the trailer most of the time

to carry all our stuff.

We got balance bike #2.

Max started riding it much earlier than Noah.

Right after his 2nd birthday.

He's very good on it and has quite the bike-handling skills.

Shortly after Noah's 5th birthday,

some friends gave us their 16-inch bike

and this time Noah was ready.

And he got even speedier.

Karl and I had talked about a trail-a-bike a lot

but were never quite sure about it.

But we finally found the right one for the right price

($40 on Craigslist)

and it has been great!

Max was skeptical at first because it's rather unstable.

But, like always, it just took some patience on our part

and now he loves it!

So do I!

I call him my 'rear-motor' and we just cruise along.

So fun!

For Noah's 6th birthday, we splurged.

(Thanks to grandparents.)

We bought him a brand-new 20-inch bike.

He was ready for a better and bigger bike and

nothing will hold him back now!

I just love to see their progress and how much joy it brings them!

I am not writing this post to brag about my kids or our gear.

It's just what we love to do!

But it's not just recreation.

It is also a way of living.

We commute by bike whenever possible.

Karl to NAU.

Noah to elementary school.

Max to preschool.

Sarah to the pool and gym.

All to everything else within biking distance.

And 'biking distance' keeps increasing.

Yay!

PS: So. If you have any bike-related questions, feel free to ask. I am no expert but I do have some experience and a very bike-savvy husband. Having a bike mechanic in the family definitely helps!

The Big 6 !!!

2011-10-07T23:34:00.004-06:00

This kid turns 6 on Sunday!

How did that happen so fast?

(Well, I am glad he is not 3 anymore.

One 3-year-old is plenty!)

We celebrated his Birthday today,

knowing that he would not appreciate

going to church for 3 hours on his special day.

Thanks to very generous grandparents on both sides,

he got a new bike!

The first kids' bike that we did not inherit or

pull out of the dumpster.

He is thrilled to have hand brakes and 6 gears!

He has been asking questions about

which gear to use when for weeks now.

So I am sure he will be a Pro at it in no-time!

The kids slept in until 7 am,

opened presents,

we had hash browns and eggs,

and were ready to go by 8 am.

So off they went early and in freezing temperatures.

Notice something wrong with this picture?

In his excitement,

Noah left his backpack at home.

We did not even notice until we were at school.

After school,

we brought his friend, Owen, home with us

and

the boys played while I was getting

a few last things ready for the Birthday Bash.

our home-made Pinata

I would say the Party was a success.

It certainly did not go according to 'plan', but

Noah loved it and the kids had fun!

That's what matters.

Noah and good friend, Cash

PS: Karl and I were slightly busy. Hence the complete lack of photos. Next year I am either hiring my sister (party planner) or Jamie (photographer). Ideally, both!

Conference Sunday

2011-10-02T21:00:00.008-06:00

Our Beloved Prophet

I love General Conference.

I always have.

(Except for my very first time

when I had no idea why

my host family was sitting in front of the TV all weekend

listening to old guys in suits.)

It is a weekend of inspiration, renewal, amazing talks,

family time, and good food.

We started our morning with

whole-wheat crepes, berries, and whipped cream.

Noah is now obsessed with whipped cream.

Maybe I shouldn't have waited 6 years to introduce him...

After 2 wonderful (and sunny) hours filled with

inspired words from church leaders,

crafts, and lego,

we headed into the woods for some fresh air.

Our plan to go up into the mountains was spoiled

by threatening thunder clouds,

so we cut our drive short and tried out a new hike.

The minute we got out of the car,

it started raining.

Max was less than thrilled (again),

so we bribed him with some fruit snacks...

As usual, he joined the fun

after a few minutes on Papa's back.

Pit stop:

The sun came out and warmed us up.

I love hiking with my boys.

Sure, I wouldn't mind a serious all-day hike

but it's great to just explore and see what they find.

During the afternoon session,

I baked some whole-wheat

Apple-Walnut Muffins.

Yumm!

Noah is quite the skilled lego builder.

It's not easy with Max around but,

come to think of it,

we did not have any major crises today.

Chilling on the Couch

The kids got really restless the last 20 minutes

and we could not wait to get them outside

and enjoy the beautiful afternoon.

Well, wouldn't you know it,

by the time we headed out the door,

it was ... raining!

Pretty hard.

I was extremely irritated!

I just felt like we deserved better than that

after spending 4 hours in front of the TV.

(Looks like I still have a lot to learn...)

It poured. We got soaked.

The kids were cold. They complained.

Good times!

The good new is that

Max is now riding the trail-a-bike!

Sweet!

Everyone is now pedaling and going (somewhat) fast!

Fun and freedom for all!

Looks like I will have to get a fender.

Water and mud all over Max and his bike.

The sun did come out, of course.

But we were still wet and cold,

and the boys were dreaming of hot chocolate

(with whipped cream).

So we went home earlier than I had hoped.

We did manage to drag them out of the house again

to play some frisbee and check out the exercise room.

Noah:

"I don't want to be outside all day!"

Me (simultaneously):

"I don't want to be stuck inside all day!"

It's all relative...

We finished the day off with some

soy Burgers and Veggies.

So grateful to be a member of the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

I love our prophet and his apostles.

Fieldtrip Time

2011-09-29T21:38:00.004-06:00

lunch by Buddha Beach

This week we have a total of 3 field trips.

School field trips.

(Not including family field trips.)

Monday,

Max and his preschool class took the public bus

to the local library for some playing

and reading fun.

He loved it.

Today,

Max and I got to join Noah and his Kindergarten class

for a super fun hike down in Sedona.

We marched for about 1 mile discussing wildlife and nature,

picnicked in the shade by the creek,

had a blast playing in the water and on rocks,

and then marched back to the cars.

It was fantastic!

What a treat for the kids.

Great memories and class bonding!

Have I mentioned that I love Noah's teacher???

Tomorrow,

Max will hopefully be joining his friends

on a little hike to the park close to his preschool.

As I was typing this, he just threw up in his bed!

Craptastic!

It is now all cleaned up and I hope

he/we will sleep well and be fit come morning.

Maybe just a little too much creek water in his belly...

Late Summer Afternoon

2011-09-27T09:53:00.000-06:00

The weather here in Flagstaff is absolutely perfect right now! Temps in the mid-70s and very little rain. (When it does rain, it usually stops after an hour or so, and then we are treated to beautiful rainbows!) Knowing that it is going to get cold very soon, we wanted to take advantage of the warmth and drive down the canyon to play in the creek. We packed up the bags, changed into our swimsuits, and jumped into the car full of anticipation of a fun family adventure.

Pulling out of our parking lot, it hit us! We totally forgot! We are not supposed to drive our Subaru more than 5 miles right now. Ugh! It's been having issues since our trip to Vegas and we are waiting for some parts (radiator+thermostat) to replace the old ones. (Just what we need. A $500 car bill!) Being grumpy and frustrated does not help a thing, so we quickly came up with Plan B:

Hike/bike some beautiful trails that I have been meaning to show to my family for a while. Then go to the Bear Paw Pool to cool off and relax. Max did not like that plan one bit! Surprise! He was not interested in any sort of hiking and wanted to go to the pool right away. He made sure we did not happen to forget his opinion by screaming and crying to no end. Knowing that 3-year-olds can change their mind rather quickly, we just kept calm and carried on. Sure enough: Eventually we found a great single-track trail going up a long, gradual hill and Max decided to have fun. We ran/biked up and down the hill more than a couple of times and were glad we had not given in to our little tyrant earlier.

Time for some water play!

It was a great afternoon

and we all enjoyed ourselves very much.

PS: We have all been sick with the cold since then (9 days and counting...) but I don't blame the pool. Who knows where we caught it.

Grand Canyon Adventures

2011-09-24T10:10:00.000-06:00

What a view!

Of course, we had to show Oma and Opa this natural wonder!

They were pretty excited:

What do you do at the Grand Canyon?

You look and you hike.

So we did lots of looking and even more hiking.

The boys were not happy with just walking along the rim.

They wanted to hike down. A bit.

So off we went:

We actually made it further down than expected

and all the way back up.

Nice job, guys!

Sometimes Noah and oftentimes Max

got a little

hot,

tired,

and grouchy.

So we gave them food.

Provided distractions.

And bribed with ice cream.

Sometimes it worked.

Sometimes it did not.

We did do a few things besides hiking.

The boys are able to find big mud puddles

even in the desert.

Lots of dirt for off-road biking.

Getting creative...

One evening we found a nice spot at the rim

and settled down to watch an amazing sunset.

We shared the view with about 200 other tourists.

Quote of the trip provided by Noah:

"There are too many Germans here."

Thank you, Oma and Opa, for a great trip!

We are ready!

2011-09-20T22:56:00.005-06:00

"Mama! We are ready for school!

You are not?

Fine. I guess we'll play animals

and read a book."

Since Max is our alarm clock that goes off anytime between 6 and 6:30 we usually have plenty of time to get ready for school.

Thanks, Max!

Afternoon activity:

Building and painting a house

for all their beloved stuffed animals.

With Papa, of course.

I am the designated pretend-player.

Karl and I are a good team.

(You've got to love the sky up here in Flagstaff. It is beautiful!)

Under Water Fun

2011-09-15T19:07:00.001-06:00

These two pictures are not quite under water

but I still think they are fun!

Notice that in each picture the other kid

is warming up in the sun on the towel.

Good thing the pool water was quite a bit warmer.

We love the public outdoor pool in Sedona.

Nothing fancy but

fun and clean and sunny!

While staying at a hotel in Vegas last weekend,

we got to enjoy their hot tub and pool.

Mostly hot tub because the pool was a little cold

and the hot tub just nice and warm.

We had a fantastic time!

Looks like my kids might have inherited

my genes for bad swimming form.

Sorry, guys!

But, hey, I am just happy that they love

playing in and under the water

as much as I do.

We will worry about a proper stroke later.

My sister and I basically lived in the water

all growing up whether swimming or just playing.

I want to pass that passion on.

See?

Karl is not quite as at home in the water.

But that is ok.

He just feels more comfortable

running through the woods

collecting bugs.

Typical.

Maybe I should mention though

that neither of my kids can actually swim.

They both think they can

but ... well, they can't.

Not more than a few feet at a time.

But Noah is getting there.

I love the following little video because

- Max is such a dare devil

- Noah is always eager to help Max

- Max is a pretty grateful kid

Back to Normal

2011-09-14T09:38:00.003-06:00

I am back. It's been a while.

After focusing on my race in Vegas so much

for the last several weeks,

life is back to (our) normal.

I was actually at home this morning

when the kids woke up and we snuggled in bed.

I don't feel like I have neglected them

but it is nice to take the pressure off and feel free!

Thank you, Karl, Noah, and Max

for hanging in there with me!

I love my family!

Next up:

Some fun under-water pictures with our new camera!

One in Kindergarten!

2011-09-05T07:36:00.000-06:00

The first day of Kindergarten was also the day our camera died. Not good timing. We managed to take these 2 pictures before its death. Noah looks different than usual. Not sure why. He did get a hair cut since because we were both tired of the morning-brush-issues. Believe it or not: I did brush his hair that particular morning (same with Max) but longer hair + bike helmet + sweat = a mess. Not that I care. Just explaining myself.

We can honestly say that Noah likes Kindergarten! Phew. I was not so much worried that he would not like it but that all-day would be an issue. All public Kindergartens here in Arizona are full-day. 8:40-3:10 seems pretty long for these little guys. Well. He has not complained yet! There are a whole bunch of crazy and wild boys in his class and I am pretty sure they are having a ton of fun together. Especially during recess. They go outside 3 or 4 times during the day.

His teacher, Miss Chris, is fantastic! She is young, energetic, funny, beautiful, and knows how much energy these kids have. I swim with her at NAU and she has two young boys of her own. Score! So grateful for her.

The last few weeks, while I have been in heavy training, Karl has brought both kids to school on MWF. By bike, of course. On the days where they are ready early, they all start out on their bikes together. The kids enjoy it very much. But, of course, we are prepared with the Chariot in case Max gets tired on the very hill route.

(Here, Noah is walking because his bike is locked up a little further down the road.)

Off to school! See ya later!

I am so glad they are both (well, all 3 actually) enjoying school and making lots of new friends. I definitely don't have as much time to myself as I thought I would. 2.5 hours is really just enough to squeeze in a workout. Showers are still a problem. But I am not complaining! Glad I still have one little guy around to keep me busy and entertained most of the day.

Noah has a day of cooking, the open-house, and even a field trip to Sedona coming up. Fun times! He has really been growing up a lot lately and changed quite a bit. He picks up some pretty funny (and some not-so-funny) stuff from his classmates and is acting more and more like a teenager! Help!

Here is to a fun year in Kindergarten! Love you, Noah!

Who knew...?

2011-09-01T22:18:00.002-06:00

... that Grandma and Grandpa went snorkeling

while visiting Aunt Brenda and family in Fiji?

This picture absolutely cracks me up!

I have had it on my desktop for a couple of days now

and I keep looking at it and laughing.

I love it!

I knew Karl's dad wears a long-sleeve

button-down white shirt for

church, gardening, hiking, and exercising.

But I would've never guessed he was going

to wear one for snorkeling as well!

I love my in-laws!

We can't wait to see them in less than a week!

Finally! I am in Preschool!

2011-08-30T14:59:00.002-06:00

Hey Guys!

Long time to talk! I was really busy over the summer. Who has time to sit at the computer when there is so much fun to be had outside? Not me!

I have been looking forward to going to Acorn Preschool for more than a year now! Last year I never got to stay. All we did was drop Noah off and pick him back up. Now it is finally my turn! I am super excited! And super cute as you can see in the picture above.

Since I am only going 3 mornings a week, I still have plenty of time to play with Mama and visit my friends at the YMCA. Good times!

Thank you Oma and Opa for being my preschool sponsors!

Ok. Gotta go. I've got places to go and things to explore and a brother to pick up from Kindergarten!

Later, Max

My Man

2011-08-26T09:17:00.006-06:00

Happy 33rd Birthday, Karl!

I am not sure how I got so lucky to be married to this amazing man

- but I am enjoying it to the fullest!

I am typing this as he is biking the kids to school

- in the rain

- on his birthday.

These are pictures of their adventure to the

lava tube caves this spring.

I am one lucky and happy girl!

Thank you, Karl!

Places We Like

2011-08-12T09:49:00.008-06:00

Oak Creek Canyon

- North Wilson Mountain Hike

Trout Farm

- We caught, grilled, and ate 3 yummy trouts

Mud

- The boys are definitely fans of the Monsoon

Dead Horse Ranch State Park

Puddles

- The bigger, the better

Thank you, Monsoon!

Tuzigoot National Monument

Grasshopper Point

- Swimming hole in Oak Creek Canyon

Snowbowl

- The local ski resort

San Francisco Peaks

- Our mountains

The Creperie on Heritage Square

- downtown Flagstaff

The RV

- Our home away from home these last few weeks.

It takes us wherever we want to go!

Our apartment complex

- we do like home too!

Thank you, Oma and Opa for taking us all these places!

Birthday Party Pictures

2011-08-07T09:40:00.003-06:00

Romping through the forest

and

shooting water rockets.

The water rocket is always a hit.

The obligatory cake and ice cream.

We also served whole-wheat/no-sugar banana bread.

Courtesy of Karl.

Time for the treasure hunt.

Blowing up balloons ...

... and letting them go.

Good times.

However, I am considering having Noah be on a play-date for Max's next birthday party.

This older brother has a hard time not being in charge.

RVing with Oma and Opa

2011-08-04T14:21:00.000-06:00

I love having my parents visiting us!

What a treat for all of us!

hiking in the hot Sedona sun

After a couple of days in Flagstaff exploring, shopping, and celebrating, we hit the road in their nice RV. First stop: Oak Creek Canyon. Beautiful. Plenty of hikes. Water play. Shady trees. Red Rocks. We're good.

Noah has been quite the hiker. Max - not so much. But we drag him along anyway because my family is avid hikers and he will learn to love it - eventually. After this hot and sweaty hike we cooled off in the Sedona pool and my dad taught Noah how to execute a proper dive - just like he taught me 25 years ago.

Noah and Max love the RV. They have been excited for more than a year to actually ride, sleep, and live in one. They both insisted on sleeping in the alcove above the driver's cabin and so far neither of them has fallen out. It is a great hang-out place for them during the mid-day monsoon and they come up with all sorts of fun ideas.

This kid can't wait to drive one some day...

Opa and Noah both share a passion for fire. It entertains them for hours.

Digging in the mud. What is new?

Today I am home alone while the kids and grandparents went on to Dead Horse Ranch State Park for another couple of days. Knowing the kids are well taken care off and having a blast, I can focus on swimbikerun and whatever else I can squeeze into the day! I am loving it...

Finally a Big Boy

2011-08-02T15:01:00.007-06:00

Max has been very excited to turn 3!

(He would have actually preferred to turn 5.)

He could not wait to be a big boy.

No naps.

Potty-trained.

Starting preschool.

I think he finally made it!

He is not little anymore.

(Except for the occasional (daily) tantrum.)

We already celebrated his birthday on Friday.

Presents.

Hash browns and eggs.

Skatepark.

Our little pool.

A little party with friends, water rockets, treasure hunt,

cake and ice cream.

Delicious dinner at the Wildflower Bread Company.

Hanging out in the RV

This week he is having a blast camping with

Oma and Opa in Oak Creek Canyon.

We love this big boy so much!

PS: I decided it would fit into my workout schedule better to celebrate his birthday on Friday rather than today. I do not think this makes me a bad mother. I just wanted to spend all day with my favorite little guy. Besides, what kid would not rather open presents 4 days earlier?

MightyMax and PokeyPet

2011-07-24T19:50:00.001-06:00

We did it!

Our Max is potty-trained!

Actually, I did not do a thing.

Nada. Nix. Rien.

When Noah was 2 1/2,

I read a bunch of books,

talked to my sisters-in-law,

and decided to not do anything.

None of the methods I had heard about sounded good.

Stay at home all day?

Never.

Give my child candy for using the potty?

No thanks.

Pull-ups?

I don't think so. Too expensive.

I like the

when-they-are-ready-they-will-just-do-it

approach much better.

Maybe I am just lazy...

I had been encouraging it for a few weeks

but Max just was not interested.

Fine by me.

Then, while visiting grandparents in Utah,

Max declared one day:

"I am not wearing a diaper today.

I am potty training."

Oh. Really?

At Grandma's house?

Great timing!

But, hey, fine by me!

He did have a a few accidents here and there

(mostly #2)

over the last month.

But the last 7 days have been accident-free!

Perfect.

Dear Preschool:

Max is ready!

(Of course, now that I write this post,

he is going to have 3 accidents tomorrow.

But that is also fine by me.)

Did you see the pictures of our Lizard Hike in the last post?

Well, we actually took this short-horned lizard home with us.

Our first pet!

We gave him a home, fed him many live bugs,

watched his every move*, provided warmth and moisture,

checked out books about him,

found out she is a girl,

and named her Pokey.

*for a while

After 10 days we decided she would be happier in the wild

and brought her back to where we found her.

My kind of pet!

PS: The boys just acquired three new pets* today! Stinkbugs! The big one: Stinkbomb. The little ones: Stinkbean and Stinkbean. And that is what happens when your husband is an entomologist.

*Bugs don't really count as pets.