Word on the Streets

adventure seekers wanted. . .

after three days of girl's weekend and some ridiculous food consumption, i wanted to spend some quality time with the boys today & move my body! so i took them out in search of an adventure. above lake mead there is an old railroad trail that has been well maintained and is open for walkers/bikers and horses. rod and i tried this trail once with the boys about two years ago and it was just too long for little legs. today i planned ahead with some hiking snacks, water and the all crucial sunglasses & light jackets. it made the trek fun. we were a grand party: two boys, a mother and the dog.

the trail has 5 tunnels on it and from one end to the other it is 3.7 miles. it is flat and wide and overlooks the lake the entire time. steep cliffs are on one side and the other drops off with a perfect view of the lake. 

the boys were happy and handled the very long walk to the 5th tunnel. round trip we walked about 5 miles total. when legs got tired on the way back we would just stop and take a break, eat a snack and tell stories to each other. jack and morgan are excellent story tellers! i heard every possible plot that had hot wheels as the main characters. distraction was the key. these two boys are great at going on adventures with mom and they made up things to do along the way. we now have a very large rock collection that has returned home with us. 

while we were walking jack was the first one to spot three bighorn sheep up on the cliffs above us. it was a great treat to see them again. on one of our previous adventures, i took the boys to the park out in boulder city where the sheep come down to graze on the grass. so jack knew what to look for and with his eagle eye spotted three beauties not too far above us. they followed us along the trail high up on the rocks for a time then disappeared.

i love days like today. no schedule. no school. no commitments. we can just go and spend 4 hours hiking a new trail, rock climbing, hunting for lizards, walking the dog and laughing with each other. it will all change next year with them going to school so i am milking it for all i can now. 

p.s. yes, we came home, took baths, ate pizza and had no trouble getting to bed! that is a good day had.

 

"come on people". . .

"come on people! keep up with me here!" cries our teacher [who, by the way, is totally in shape and a walking beef of muscle.] 

as my head begins to spin i wonder to myself, "now why am i here doing this willingly?"

 

spin class. anyone tried one? 

well the recreation center here just bought a bunch of new spin bikes and created a spin room (photo above) with instructors and class times for such a steal of a cost that it sounded like a really great thing to do with my husband. a little together time three nights a week. 

last night was our first night. now keep in mind this is the public rec center right? so it is not the crowd of usual meatheads and fitness geeks who are at the private gyms. nope. i thought i was gonna fit in just great here in this crowd of spinners. there are a number of people who look out of shape and middle-aged--ish just like me! 

i was great for about the first 15 minutes. no joke. 15 minutes and then the instructor said, "turn the resistance one full turn and keep the pace going strong."

it was then that i knew i was in trouble. it was a mix of pains--bum hurting from not wearing my nicely padded biking shorts and my head spinning faster than my bike wheels. i was so dizzy i thought i would fall off the bike.

i had to admit that i could not keep the pace to save myself from total embarrassment [falling off the bike nose first]. i stayed on the bike but barely kept the wheels turning. then i look to my left at all the other fellow spinners in the class who i thought surely would be unable to keep it up too. not so. legs were spinning so fast i couldn't watch because of the added spin effect it created in my head!

at the end of class, rod and i agreed that it was the most difficult thing we have either ever done. i would take a c-section over that any day, i think! at least the doctors are kind enough to give you anesthetic. but spin class----holy burning, can't breath, heart beating out of your chest pain!

after class as we hobbled to get the boys from the child tending playroom i had the thought, "good quality time just spent with my husband! we can die together and not just one but THREE times a week!" well, really only two times because he has church meetings on wednesday nights. so i get to go it alone tomorrow night. 

"come on people" --- wish me luck! please?

vacation at home day 3. . .

an afternoon and evening at the lake with friends. it is the first trip we have taken to the lake since moving here in 2002. first time on a boat with our kids. and it was just a joy. 

our friends had this awesome float tube that was so stable it never turned over. it was perfect for jack and morgan to get used to being pulled behind a boat. they rode with dad and then by themselves at a slower speed. good thing our friends are all about getting little kids used to the sport by starting them off easy. 

see how chill they were while being pulled. well i would be too at that speed!

sitting still while we anchor for some dinner

as soon as the boat stopped it was a race to see who could jump in first. morgan here below:

and flying jack:

their favorite part i think was just swimming in the lake. morgan said his favorite part was jumping off the front of the boat into the water. jack's favorite was watching daddy and carl wrestle while riding the tube at full speed.

rod and morgan below on the ride home:

on the ride home i could not help but think how happy we had all been today. i was relieved to know that there are days in our future of going to the lake with our kids and enjoying it. when the boys were littler i just had this thing about going to the lake--a flat out fear. maybe it was because we had two at at time and i just felt like i would never be able to watch them close enough. but now we are venturing into new territory. they swim well and enjoy it. (lifejackets make it easy too.) they are not crazy boys. they usually approach new things with caution. that makes their momma sigh with a relief. all things have a season. before this summer, it was not our season for the lake. from now on it seems there will be many seasons of summer fun like this.

i would say that for having planned to go to our family cabin this weekend and then not, we have had a great vacation instead right here around home.

let the games begin. . .

is anyone else as happy for the next few weeks as i am? i just love love love the month of august every 4 years! the summer olympics has to be one of my favorite things to watch. i love the coverage in the evenings--the stories behind the athletes--the highlights of the location--the ceremony of it all.

did anyone have their jaw on the floor tonight while watching the opening ceremonies? mine was. i just could not believe how many groups of 2008 performers they had with each set of 2008 in amazing costumes! some 15,000 participants! oh my.

my favs: 

the beginning with the drums was unbelievably awesome. 

the outfits that were neon green around the piano player which had lights on them at differing times and then formed a dove whose wings flapped! 

the printing blocks that moved like the wind and then drops of water in a pond. i wondered while watching it if they were being controlled by computer but then to have all the tops come off and see the people working below each one at the end of that segment was stunning.

the costumes of the women dancers who wore nothing short of a vegas showgirl headpiece.

the costumes of the monks or followers of Confucius with the vertical headpieces and the flowing robes. 

the creativity was so symbolic and mesmerizing to me. it spoke volumes to the talent of the Chinese to be so many in number and yet each individual being so precise. for the vast number of people that were performing the precision of their performance was insane. huge numbers of people and each one concentrating on the detail. be your best so the whole can be its best.

and it was.

i love the fever of the olympic spirit. hooray for china. well done and we have only seen the first night!

who is your favorite athlete? who are you cheering for?

me? darra torres for one and over the next few weeks i am certain to pick up others for my cheer roster. 

let the games begin!

the 3 hour tour & a mighty miracle. . .

this post is for any of you nay-sayers out there. i include myself in that group. the nay-sayer group says things like, "no. the world is not gonna get any kinder. no. the cost of living is not going to go down. [and for those in my own family] no. mom would never be able to hack that 4 wheeler ride. no. she wouldn't even try." 

let this post stand as evidence for our family history that we were proven wrong. mom actually braved the atv trail to dead lake all on her own atv. she join us all for a fantastic adventure up the mountain on the most difficult and long trail to dead lake and then on the easy and more direct route back to the cabin. mom even crossed the mud pit by herself and a few other equally scary spots for her. i was beyond proud. it was possibly the first physically challenging thing i have ever done with my mother where she has held her own and kept up. she was a trooper and i wished all of my brother's and my husband [who are normally with me on these trails] were there to witness it first-hand. i could hear my brother's voices cheering her on over the stream crossing through the mud up to the other side: "maaaawwwwwuuuuuummmmmm."

the other thing that was a miracle in and of itself is that my little 4 year old boys hung in there for 3 long hours of very bumpy riding as a passenger. granted the entire time they were afforded front row seating [which left my shoulders and my dads--who rode with them--very sore for the next few days]. still it was not an easy going trek and i was really proud of them for not complaining. they enjoyed the entire trip. thanks to the sudweeks for coming with us. it was like having two sets of very dear grandparents for the boys and me. loved it. 

the photo below was taken on the ride the night before. we were all there including rod. we went up to scope out the next day's trails. rod left that night so the big ride the next day would have me in rod's place and the sudweeks riding together. 

[left to right: mom, dorothy s., morgan, rod, jack, dad, walter s.]

jack coming up the trail with dad

my morgan coming with my dad across the mud pit.

and my mom doing it all on her own [scared spitless i might add]

i just love my dad's body language in the back. like saying: "what do you know? she did it. i told her she could do it!"

i love all the aspen tree groves on this trail. the rocks are bad but the trees are so worth it.

the long and steep trail takes you all the way to the site of the old sawmill from the 1800's. nothing stands there now but the clearing is in a grove of trees and over looks a wooded canyon. we had a deer come dashing out through the trees while we were here.

destination: dead lake. it isn't really dead. fish jump way up out of the water and bugs are teaming all around on the surface. the boys saw bright neon blue dragonflies and the most amazing refection of trees & bright blue mountain sky. this is a place i have come several times before they were born with my husband, dad and brothers. now i am able to go with my own boys. this was the first of many trips here with them.

my mom, my morgan, my dad, my jack [age 4.5]

this ride was the best way to end our two weeks at the cabin. the next day we recovered, cleaned and left for home. these three hours with my parents and my boys were the kind of stuff i hold close to my heart. 

top 20 cabin "to dos". . .

last summer we went to hawaii. this summer we changed all our plans to spend a full two weeks at the cabin. those two weeks were just as fun and full as two weeks in hawaii would be---just different activities. 

the following photo series includes our top 20 things we do at the cabin:

1) hike to cascade falls 

2) have cousins read us stories

3) have nan read us stories

4) mow the grass with dad (morgan and rod)

5) have picnics by our favorite little brook

6) roam in the wide open spaces

7) pick wildflowers (morgan)

(jack and lesli)

7) go to the spring waters

8) fish in the river (practice fishing is more like it)

(morgan)

(jack)

9) collect special rocks from the stream

10) go on tons of atv rides around the cabin and up in the mountains

NOTE: more to come on our 3 hour ride. see next post.

(grandad harris, morgan, rod and jack)

(jack, lesli, morgan, tessa the dog)

11) do painting projects with nan and grandad h (staining the benches for the back deck)

12) build wooden boats with dad 

13) build "safe harbors" in the river for wood boats to come in and park

14) check the bird's nests for babies

15) make bridges over the stream on which to practice our balancing acts

 

16) go out to "the island" in the river

17) rides trikes

18) do puzzles -- melissa and doug puzzles for the kiddos and 1000+ pieces puzzles for the adults

19) make yummy food 

(korean beef, curry stew, chicken cobb and rocket salad, asian salad, cookies & pumpkin cake)

20) read books--i got 2 completely finished {A Thousand Splendid Suns & Madonnas of Leningrad} and 1/2 way through another one {The Glass Castle}.

this two weeks was one of the best times i have ever had at the cabin. there was a peace there and so many fantastic experiences for my children to be close to their grandparents. 

oh remember when. . .

at the end of every year i get into a few projects to do. this year's end it was organize our family photos and get them how i want on my jazzy mac computer. so i was filing through old photos and came across these choice ones. i started laughing out loud by myself and very clearly remembered this day!

"uncle phil" and me--after the muddy pit

my dad, doug, steve, me, rod, phil and mike

synopsis:
at our cabin we have 4 wheelers and so do our family friends, the Zobs. in july of 2002 we were all at our cabins. (we had a family reunion at our cabin and the zobs where up at their cabin with some of their family too.)
a 4 wheeler trip was planned. i don't really know how i ended up being the only girl in the group. where were my brothers? my cousin steve, my husband, rod, and my dad and i ended up joining the notoriously rowdy zob men for a long ride up into the mountains.
the ride was great. it had rained a few days prior so there were pockets of mud here and there. then in one place we came there were huge pits of mud. the men all worked their way through them and even went back for second pass throughs. i remember trying to follow mike through one and i could not land my tires in the same place he did up the embankment. the next thing i knew my 4 wheeler did a wheelie and kicked me straight off the back into the deep, ice cold muddy water pit. my jeans were originally light denim blue--you can see above how you would never be able to guess that with all that mud. i was completely soaked in mud. it was everywhere! as soon as the men saw that i was in the mud---their first reaction was concern for my safety and then immediately there was a roar of laughter--myself included.
it was a long and cold ride back down the mountain for me. but it made for a great story and everyone back at the cabins wondered what those men had taken me through! hehe. i survived and loved every minute of it.

let's do it again! (then again, maybe not, i am a mother now. my children need me alive.)

just wanted to report:

someone in the family is using the treadmill! this is how we walk tessa for her daily exercise. she practically begs to get on. after about an hour she is panting and feeling like a champ.
such a good girl!

The Elephant in the Family Room

the past year i have walked on our treadmill only as much as we have used our fireplace here in vegas!-----2 times if i remember correctly (if that!). so we have moved the beast into the family room infront of the fireplace. now it is the elephant in the room i will always be having to face! hopefully i can do more than just thinking about it now!

it helps that i can watch the tv and my tivo-ed oprah now! thanks rod! you made my day!