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 In Case Anyone Missed It!

SEMPER FI!


(We as all swoopin with him in spirit!)

Monday, August 23rd

First Day of School

2010-2011

Gabe -- Kindergarten

Theresa -- 7th grade

Anna -- 2nd grade

"I'm going to miss you, Theresa"

(Cathy, above right, opted to homeschool for 4th grade, and William is doing preschool at home.)

Coming soon: Conventional Schooling vs. Homeschooling vs. Boarding Away

Does The Couch Look Like A Trampoline To You?

Stupid question.

(Cathy is only allowed to do this when nobody else is around -- and nobody in this house under the age of twelve is allowed to look at this blog post today.  I would have a three-ring circus of tumbling monkeys all over my furniture otherwise, as you might imagine... )

(Oh, and I guess you can chalk up the leniency to the weakness of a former gymnast who would have given her eye teeth to flip off the family hassock herself when she was a child...  If I had better health insurance, I might be tempted to try it even now.)

Theresa and I got to go on our girls' day out on Wednesday.  We got in some school shopping and some thrifting -- a favorite hobby of mine. This Mama's gotten so many play-days off lately going out with each of the kids that one might think she was taking advantage of having ten children to goof off or something...  It's just one of the perks.  One I recommend all Big Family Moms take advanatage of!

So, anyway, it was Theresa's turn for a day out, and she had a short list for shopping, but we also popped into a walk-in salon and had our hair styled, the two of us.  Theresa's hair is very thick and wavy and hard for an eleven-year-old to take care of, so we wanted to thin it out a bit and add some shape.  We love how it turned out:

My hair had reached perennial-pony-tail stage and I just needed a change, so I had it layered and shortened.  This is my new grandma-to-be do:

Without the weight to hold 'em down, the curls have escaped and are having a party.  I'm not sure how I like it, but my husband gave it the thumbs up so I guess it's ok.  (He's taken to remarking when a curl fluff goes completely off the reservation -- which is lovely, actually, because I never thought  before that he noticed that I had hair...)

But, I digress...  After our shopping and salon time, Theresa and I had planned to go on a hike, but, of course some afternoon thunder showers rolled in, so we made the drive to town to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice, instead.  You might remember I took Dominic to see it on his day out a couple weeks ago,  and when Michelle's turn came she had to see it, so, of course when Theresa's day came, she had to see it, too... So, I've seen this movie three times now within two and a half weeks.   

The sorcer, the apprentice and I are getting sick of the sight of each other. 

And I stll have four kids to go.

 But it is a rare, relatively clean movie: only one definitely distinguishable Lord's name in vain and only one character in the end with objectionable attire (and we didn't have to see much of her).  The story line is an action-packed old-fashioned tale of good versus evil where the good are obviously good and work hard and honorably to eventually defeat the obviously evil bad guys.  And they did an admirable job of working in the iconic scene from Fantasia.  Truly, I don't really mind trotting the children out one by one to see this movie.  But, heavens above!  Hand me my hair clippers! Maybe Nicolas Cage's long messy locks were just being in character, but I have to tell you, if I were a sorceress, I'd wave my wand -- or magic ring -- and whisk a comb and clippers through his hair. Forget the brooms and mops!
On that subject (and no,  there couldn't  possibly be a more trivial subject matter, I agree...), I present to you:  

 Nicolas (no "h")
Through The Years
(Or Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow; Back Again)

(1)

Young Nick. There's the forehead, big sideburns, goatee
(So young and green here he's not even in focus yet)

(2)

Nick with lotsa hair!
(Speculative scowl)

(3)

Practically hairless, all forehead
(Meditative, suave -- scowl ready to use in his shirt pocket)

(4)

Nick a little older:  lots of forehead, no sideburns, long fringe in back
(Thoughtful scowl)

(5)

Nick sporting cool shades under big forehead, no sideburns,  short fluff
(Bewildered scowl)

(6)

NIck with more fluff, but still not touching collar,
sprouting distinguished grey facial hair
(Either chipper or snide scowl here, I can't decide)

The newest Nick look from Sorcerer's Apprentice
(The old man version of shot #2, getting ready to scowl)

So, what do you think?

 I like hair #2, but it wouldn't be bad with a version of facial hair #6/7...

And, not that it matters, but...  I guess I like Nick, especially in movies I can go see with my children, like Sorcerer. He has nice eyes and bold screen presence.  And he's dependable.  He's one of those actors you can always depend upon to play himself, always the same (somewhat flat) inflection accompanying some variation of the Nicolas scowl -- but with different wardrobe and ever-changing hair.  He's no Dan, but for a movie actor, he's passable.

Outing At Land's End

More August Adventures

The view from our great room windows looks out onto the Grand Mesa north of us.  It's about a forty-five minute drive from here, through vast fields of corn and through the tiny town of Delta (where I need to go take you on a walking tour with my camera because Delta is known as the mural town -- and it's the sweetest little spot just about anywhere...).  Anyway, the Grand Mesa fills the northern landscape of this valley; it's  the largest mesa in the world and  is covered with lakes and deer-filled forests of pine and aspen.  It's a sportsman's paradise and a hiker's dream. 

Michelle and I spent most of our day together last Wednesday shopping.  (Well, of course!)  She's taking her sophomore year, boarding at Catholic school in Omaha -- where her three older brothers have also gone -- and a girl can't go off to school for a year and without starting off with some serious shopping.  But we had to get a little hike in, too.  So, after a little coffee at Mocha Joe's, we made our way north to Grand Mesa, getting only a little side-tracked by a thrift store and antique mall in Cedaredge (a cute little town half way up the mesa)...  Before we got going the rest of the way up the hill to the top of Grand Mesa.  And then we wound our way over to the northwestern side of the flat top mountain to an area known as Land's End. 

Here's what it looks like at Land's End: 

Here's sweet Shelly, hiking and shopping buddy par excellence.

And here I am.

We ended the day with more shopping in "town" (Grand Junction), dinner at Red Robin, and a movie over by the mall.  (We saw The Sorceror's Apprentice again because Shell hadn't seen it.)  It was a perfect day.  I'm going to miss my big little girl. 

These outings with my big kids always bring home to me the amazing and wonderful fact of their individual personhood.  You know what I mean?  As a homeschool mother, I know pretty much what all the influences have been in my children's lives up until they sidle (or burst!) out into the world when we send them forward into their high school education with the priests and Sisters.  No questioning the fact that most of the influences of their lives have been mine -- and resources of my choosing.  But their agile young brains and their God given talents and personalities combine in different ways, such that each of the children turns out to be completely unique and sometimes delightfully surprising.  The facts they combine for novel thoughts and goofy jokes, a different shade in an outlook,  a novel form of expression, a twinkle in an eye, a bow of the head...  They are all so different.  It's one of the greatest pleasures of my life being re-introduced to my children as they grow bit by bit into adulthood.  What a trip.

August Adventures

Part III

So, to recap:  

From a week and a half ago, Wednesday --

1st: I got to spend the day with Dominic, jeeping up a jeep trail with  Dan's little town car;

Then :Thursday through Friday afternoon -- I got to spend with Dan in Ouray and Silverton;

Then: Friday afternoon -- I drove to Denver, arriving at my Mom's house around 10 or 11 pm...

Which is where I left off.  I'd gone over to Denver with a two-fold purpose of visiting with Kevvy before he moved to Minnesota this past Friday and to lend support and sympathy to Jon who had four wisdom teeth pulled last Friday, the day I arrived.

Here's what we did:  Saturday morning, after I'd gone to the grocery story to get yogurt and protein drinks for Jon, I met up with Kevvy and headed for the Rampart Range, an area south of Salida, Colorado.  If you've been around a while, and have a good memory, you might recall that I took Michelle and the Littles here last year to Devil's Head WatchTower.  It's such a cool hike,  that I wanted to share it with Kevvy before he left.  (Have to fill his mind with the wonders of Colorado, so he won't stay too long in Minnesota, ya know...)  So, here's the beginning of the trail up to the fire tower:

It's so beautifully wooded and cool here and a fairly easy hike, though
it does get steep as it goes around the mountain and the air gets pretty thin.
I admit it.  I was puffing like a steam engine and had to sit down a lot.
Man, am I outta shape!  More on how I'm going to fix that problem in
a post sometime soon I hope.  If I don't wimp out. 

Here's the "shades" man, about half way up to the tower. 
Check out that scenery behind him! 

And here we go, up the ladder to the tower. Hang On! 

(If you have vertigo, you'd better stay at the bottom of the rocks!)

See the folks down there at the bottom of the rock outcropping below the watch tower?
They look like ants~!

After we climbed down from Devil's Head  (and I should mention that it took us maybe only 1/3 the time to climb down as it did to climb up....), we headed over to the "Troll Cave" hike nearby...

...where Kevvy peformed an amazing feat of strength  (not).

These woods are full of amazing boulders and rock formations.  It's fascinating to try to figure out where these rocks came from exactly and how they came to be arranged as they are.  (We didn't have a clue how.) It's hard to capture with the camera, but in this area pictured below, is arranged a circle of boulders as tall as I am.  We call these...

"Bilbo's Troll Boulders"

And this is the biggest of the troll caves.

And this fellow, we call the "Muppet Easter Island Guy."  Can you see him?

There are whole mountainsides made of boulder.  This one faces a beautiful view
of a craggier outcropping across the valley -- a little east of where we had just
climbed up to Devil's Head Watchtower.

Now:  Arachanaphobics, close your eyes and pass over this next picture...

Isn't this cool?  It's a naturally made bit of driftwood -- probably a knothole --
 with a Daddy Long Leg hanging out in the middle. 

So, anyway....  By the time we'd climbed up and down the fire tower and had hiked clear out to troll caves and back, we were pretty pooped.  And Kevvy understood why I told him to bring a clean t-shirt to change into.  We were pretty dirty and sweaty.  But, we stopped and cleaned up, then went to our favorite Denver area pizza and brewpub, BJ's, where it was a pleasure to share a pitcher of porter with an of-age son.  (One of the real perks of being old enough to have grown up children, I tell ya!)  Then we did a little shopping to get Kevvy a fresh set of church clothes to take with him to Minnesota.  It was a great day!  Kevvy is a wonderful companion and we talked through all the stuff we needed to talk through before he left.  You know:  silly things, heart strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff...  And I am content that I send him far away, ready to consciously do God's Will -- and have fun in the process.  He's a good kid, that Kevin.

So, then, after I dropped Kev (son number 2, by the way), I went back to my Mom and Dad's to check on son number 3, Jon.... who was very happy to have not climbed any mountains with us.  He was hanging in there -- Looked a little like a cuter version of Jay Lenno with his swollen jaw...  He was very tickled with the little gift his brother, Kevvy, sent over to him.  Check it out. (What are the odds he'd have found this at a thrift store and the name was even spelled right?)

Bless his poor little mouth.  Jon is  feeling much better now.
But he says, comparing the pain, he'd rather relive the
time he fell playing roller hockey and wound up with a
compound fracture of the wrist in which he twisted his hand
all a-skelter and wound up with a protruding bone...

Oh...  oops. I should  have warned the squeamish, there, shouldn't I?  Sorry...
But, he is glad to have that all over with  and doesn't recommend going in
for this procedure  unless it's absolutely necessary.

So. I spent the night at my parents' Saturday and got to visit a little with them, then went to Mass in Denver on Sunday.  Had the pleasure of meeting up with good old friends, then packed the car and headed back over the mountains, back home to the Western Slope.

Deep Breath.

It's been a week since I returned -- and I think I've just about recovered.  I spent a long day of shopping with Michelle last Wednesday, though, and we took a short hike up on top of Grand Mesa.  I'll post some of those pictures later -- not to beat a dead horse about how beautiful this part of the country is, but I do thank God for it -- and I gotta share some of our photos, as they really are amazing!  Hopefully later this week.  And I have some scheduled hikes coming with the rest of the Littles as we move into early fall.  So, stay tuned...  (or be warned...  &;0)

TTFN! 

(Hopefully my computer will cooperate and I'll get a chance to catch up with all my blogging friends out there, too, by the way.  My internet has been very spotty lately and I've found out one of the reasons is that using my Blogger Reader drains my Hewsnet allotted time.  (erck.)  So, I have to re-work how I transport myself around the internet.  My apologies for being so scarce!  I hope to see everyone soon, though!)

The Feast of Our Lady's Glorious Assumption!

"Through You, Paradise has entered our world!"

~ St. Anthony of Padua
 
Queen Assumed into Heaven,
 
Pray for us!

August Adventures

Part II

The Account During Which I Tire Myself Out Attempting to Record How I Tired My Tired Old Self Out Trying to Cram As Much As Humanly Possible Into A Five Day Period... 

Remember I got to spend the day with Dominic last Wednesday? Well, after a day of spoiling my boy, I got to turn around Thursday and get spoiled. Dan and I made an escape and headed south to well-loved old haunts.  We got to spend Thursday and the first part of Friday together and it was lovely.  No hair-raising tales to share like my trip with Dominic...  But, well, no, come to think of it, there were some thrills -- just not necessarily our own, and not necessarily hair-raising.

The shot below shows the Silverton/Durango steam locomotive.  It travels every day in the non-snow season over the American Alps (aka: the San Juan Mountains) on a meticulously maintained hundred-year-old narrow guage railway.  The staff and engineers are highly trained, efficient and cheerful and there is hardly ever a mishap on this tourist route.  Very seldom. Almost never. 

Until the day we were in Silverton, of course.  Slurried loose perhaps by the recent monsoon moisture in the southwestern mountains here, a landslide crashed down on the tracks about half way along the journey and the locomotive full of day-trip tourists was stalled for a couple of hours while the tracks were repaired.  A scene right out of the old west, huh?  I would have been tickled to death to have been on that train just for the bragging rights!  Apparently, though, according to one of the shopkeepers we were talking to, some of the passengers were irate and carried on about the inconvenience.  Puh-lease!  Like the railroad folks planned the landslide? Ya just want to smack some people, don't ya?

But, anyway.  It's always a pleasure driving up the beautiful, but harrowing Million Dollar Highway, a fun time going window shopping in Silverton, and a treat trying out each of the many quaint and quirky little restaurants up there at over 9,000 feet above sea level.  We had a sort of brush with a celebrity at the place we had lunch.  Kinda.  Seems the barbecue joint from which emenated the most glorious aromas in town was a TV star.  It's a franchise of the "Pitts" restaurant featured on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives, a Food TV series -- and with good reason.  The BBQ was heavenly! Really, really scrumptious.  (And this girl from the south knows from BBQ.) This stuff was good enough to make you forget the Pepto Bismol colored walls.  And there was a collection of pigs decorating the place, so I got to annoy the other patrons by walking around and taking pictures for Cathy, our resident pig collecting daughter.

There he is with a mouth full of pulled beef...
My husband, Dan... you know.  Not to be
confused with  or considered a part of
the pig collection I was photographing. 

Here's a shot of one of the dusty streets of Silverton.  I believe most of the buildings in this town are at least a hundred years old.  These streets have been used in the filming of countless western films and the town is on the National Registry of Historic Places. If it weren't for the bazillion tourists and the modern cars, it really would feel like a slice of the old west.

(You can see we had a close encounter with Big Foot.
He wanted to know where he could get a pair of sandals
like Dan's.)

After a good stroll around Silverton, during which time I only bought one t-shirt... (though I'm still slobbering after a tie-dyed black skirt I saw up there...) we headed back down to Ouray, where, of course, it was raining. (It's always raining in Ouray on Summer afternoons.  It's tradition.)  But, that didn't stop us from checking in at our favorite German Beer Garden, The Billy Goat.  We sat under the canopy on the patio and only got a little bit wet.

On the outside.

(There he is again, that mustachioed man.  I don't know
 how he keeps getting into this post.  Looks like he's drinking
an IPA here. Name of which I have forgotten.)

Check it out.  The sun on the cliffs -- in the late afternoon!

(What on earth to do with this umbrella we're carrying??)

The sun on the streetlight.

(We were very happy to see the sun.)

Here's the sun picking out what we thought was a terribly funny name for a brewing company. 

 They weren't open, though, doggone it.  Them and their Grumpy Pants.

(There's Dan again.  He's just everywhere.)

Can you read the gist of this "Why We're Basically Never Open" sign?

Gotta love the altitude attitude.  So Colorado mountains. If you're so uptight that this wishy-washiness bothers you, you probably shouldn't be here, anyway.  Someday we'll get to go in and sample the Grumpy Pants product. 

Maybe.  If they're ever really open.

 (I'd love to have a six pack of their label just to pull out in a grump emergency...)

So, to end the Dan and Lisa (Three-Months-Late-Anniversary) Excursion, we ran an errand over at the Church Friday morning, then had lunch at a Chinese restaurant.   Then we went home, hugged and kissed all the children, and oohed and ahed at how clean the house was and what good children they had been for Dominic and Michelle.  Then Dan checked his e-mail and I packed my bags and drove the six hour commute over the mountains to Denver...  More on that later.  If you got this far into my memoirs... 

 ((y-a-w-n)) 

 I know.  I know.  Once I get through recounting my five-day-marathon, maybe It'll get more interesting around here.  I've been thinking a lot about a lot of things -- really!  Like: how I'm going to answer the devotional meme that Cathy tagged me for.........the calendar of the saints as it relates to art history and crafting........the relative expense of juice boxes........ what haircut I would recommend for Nicholas Cage should I bump into him on the street.......... creative solutions for name-calling preschoolers......... and how I should change my hair and wardrobe when I become a granny this December...  Really cool and exciting stuff like that.

Surely you'll stay tuned?

(No?) 

(Aw, cummon..)