Jingle Bells & Rock-n-Roll

Here's a couple of short videos (not the best quality, sorry) of James practicing his guitar, in his messy room. A week ago he got a new book full of Christmas music and he absoltely loves it. He has a song he's practicing for his recital, but he likes to try all the other songs in the book too.

Ah...The Big Island

One year ago this week we went to the Big Island of Hawaii to visit our cousins. How we miss the place! I told James we should plan to go back this spring and he told me absolutely not, we had to wait until the fall. When I asked him why he very seriously told me because Rambutan season is in the fall (he LOVES those things). So, *sigh* I guess we'll be waiting another year before we go and visit again. Here's a few of our favorite photos from last year. =)

Keoki, Malu, James and Jacob at one of the craters in Volcanoes National Park
(check out that steam!)

What a sense of humor =)

Me and James

Doing the "Tourist Thing" just north of Kona

Malu, James and Keoki hangin' with the Honu at Punalu'u Black Sand Beach

Punalu'u Black Sand Beach

Keoki, Malu and James Decorating Halloween Cookies

Hangin' around at 'Akaka Falls

Will the real Harry Potter please stand up?

Volcano Skate Park

Back on the Ice! (FINALLY)

James had a follow up appointment with the doctor on Monday to take another xray of his foot. The doctor says still no fracutre, appears to be healing well and gave James the go ahead to stop using the boot on his foot and even try some ice skating. Yea! James has been going crazy attending games and practices and having to watch and learn from the bench instead of actively participating.

Tonight he went up to open skate to give skating a try for the first time in 4 weeks. So far, so good! (Which is a relief because now he gets to play in the game against the Grizzlies B team on Saturday instead of just sitting and watching.)

Here's some fun photos of him and a few of the Rink Rats.

Chad, James and Mark

Arches and Moab (day 3) and the Way Back Home

Saturday was our last day in Arches. Kai missed a couple of the sites the day before because he wasn't feeling too well, so we went back to the Windows Section and the Double Arch for him.

James and Kai up high in the windows section (they look so small!)

My friend Terrie told me highway 31 through the mountains was absolutely beautiful this time of year, so we decided to take the slightly longer trip home that way. We took 70 through the San Rafael Swell (gorgeous!) to highway 10, then followed Highway 10 up to Huntington. Highway 10. What can I say? I feel so sorry for the people in Emery, Ferron and Castledale. Highway 10 must be the most un-beautiful (is there such a word?) stretch of road in the entire state. How is it this part of the state can be surrounded by so much wonderful sites and not be wonderful itself? Giant mystery I'm thinking.

Thankfully, Highway 10 to where it meets Highway 31 is fairly short. Once we arrived in Huntinington we stopped for a few moments at the cemetery to look at the Crandal Canyon Mine Monument there. It had a beautiful inscription and the detail to the faces of each miner and rescuer were amazing. There is a bigger monument up the Crandal Canyon itself, but daylight was running short (and Isa and I didn't really know which canyon it was), so we didn't make a second stop.

Our last stop on our UEA vacation adventure was at the top of the mountain. In April ,James and his grandma went to the Dinosaur museum in Price while I attended a work meeting and he learned a well preserved Mammoth was found in Utah in 1988. Where in Utah? Right off of Highway 31! We took the quick walk down the short trail to read about this amazing discovery. Isa and I figured this must have been quite the media event when it happened and wondered why we didn't remember it.

5 Days? That's all? Wow.

Arches and Moab (day 2)

On Friday we started the day hiking to the Delicate Arch. Boni and Abbi tried to go up to the arch the day before, but they couldn't find a parking spot, it was that busy. It seems everyone in Utah who didn't go to Disneyland for the UEA weekend came to Arches.

Abbi, James and Kai on their way up the trail to the Delicate Arch

After we secured early morning parking spaces, we headed up the trail. The kids did a real good job on the hike. James is still wearing his boot from his injured foot, and he had several people make comments to him about what commitment he has to make the hike, if a kid in a boot can make this hike, so can they, and so on. Once up at the Delicate Arch Boni saw some of her neighbors and James saw a girl from his school, and Boni just happened to know the girl's mom. (See? Everyone DID go to Arches). Here's a photo me and James under the arch (really, it is us, even though you can't make us out in the photo...)

After the hike Boni and Abbi went down to Monticello to visit some friends and made a couple of stops in Canyonlands. We drove up to Devil's Garden, had some lunch, and took in some more of the sites in Arches.

The view James and I had while lying on our backs and looking up at the double arch.

Later that afternoon we walked around Main Street in Moab for awhile and then went back to the campsite to make dinner. Boni and Abbi joined us later, pitched their tent and then we all had Jiffy Pop! (I didn't even know you could still buy Jiffy Pop.)

NOTE TO CAMPERS: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER take an infant/toddler with you camping if you are going to be stuffed sardine-style into a campground. ESPECIALLY if that infant/toddler is sick. And, if said infant/toddler is sick, NEVER let them cry for 10+ minutes at 2:00 in the morning before doing something about it!!! (Whew. I feel better now.)

Arches and Moab (day 1)

On the first day of UEA we woke up ridiculously early for a vacation day and drove down to Arches National Park with our good friends Isa and Kainoa (you were right Marcie!). I had been to the park previously, but this was a new adventure for James, Kai and Isa. Here are a few photos from the first day in the park:

James and Kai taking a stroll down Park Avenue

James being goofy at Balanced Rock

Me and James at Sand Dune Arch

Kai and James being very silly at the Sand Dune Arch

Later that afternoon we pitched our tents in the sardine-packed campground. Moab was very busy this weekend with some events, including a half-marathon.

After dinner we met up with our friends Boni and Abbi at their hotel for some swimming.

Hooray for UEA!

We didn't get time (make time?) for a vacation this summer, so thank goodness for the UEA weekend to provide us with a few extra days to make a fun weekend trip with some friends.

Where are we going? Who are we going with? You'll just have to stay tuned to find out. I'll provide a full report when we return. ;o)

Sparta and the Snowballs

This morning we had our first snow of the season. At least 3 inches at our house, and it was very, very wet snow. I tried to get a few fun photos of Sparta's reaction to the snow, but she was running so fast it was quite difficult. Here's the best shot I got.

After she was done running I realized I couldn't put off giving her a haircut any longer. All throughout her fur were tiny balls of snow. (Imagine the mess when they melted!) So, I dried her off the best I could and proceeded to spend the next two hours cutting, vaccuming, cutting, vaccuming, and cutting and vaccuming her fur. And, to keep her attention (she didn't enjoy the haircut too much, it almost hurt my feelings...) I hand fed her some dog food from time to time.

All in all she doesn't look too funny, and I'm not exactly looking forward to repeating the process sooner than I would care to think about. (And for those of you asking why I just don't take her to a groomer, I'll say back, "have you seen my schedule? If I can't even find time to get to the bank, when in the world would I fit in a dog grooming appointment???!)

And...here's one more photo of the snow in my backyard. When do I get to get out my snowboard?

Big Rock Candy Mountain

Literally. A Big Rock Candy Mountain.

James had a fun assignment for school to make a volcano, bring it to school with some vinegar and baking soda, then the entire 5th grade would make their volcanoes erupt outside where it's safe to make a big mess. His teacher told them to "be creative," so, creative James was.

His volcano was a multi-day project involving cheap candy purchases from Wal*Mart, Royal Icing, cardboard, and a clear-sealing type spray paint.

Other kids made their volcanoes out of cardbord, clay, plaster, and even Rice Krispie treats. Today at 11:00 am the kids took turns pouring in the vinegar and baking soda to make the lava flow. James pre-colored his lava this morning to a dark orange and he said it was pretty impressive. I wish we had an "after" or even a "during" photo to show you, but James forgot to charge his camera and take it to school with him today (oops).

Kansas City (day 3)

This morning I met someone from Topeka! For those of you who don't watch Fosters (absolutely the BEST cartoon EVER), this won't mean anything to you. But, for those of you who do, you'll know why that's kinda funny. When I told James he wanted to know if I asked the "is it hot" and "are you a toe picker" questions, but, I refrained.

The keynote speaker this morning was fantastic, all information on profiles of suicide bombers and some additional insider information on the London bus bombings. After that, the presentations all went down hill and I was very glad to be leaving (the meeting that is). The drive to the airport was quick, and I was a little bit sad I didn't plan to spend more time there exploring.

Crossing the Missouri River

The Kansas City "International" Airport was interesting. I don't know where their international flights come in and out of, but the terminal I was at had nothing but small plane-lets coming and going. I guess that makes sense seeing Kansas City is in the middle of the country, therefore the flights to just about anywhere in the country don't take too long. The best thing about the airport is the wireless Internet is FREE (I hate how Salt Lake and Atlanta and others charge a fee), so I kept pretty entertained while waiting to board the plane. However, after getting on the plane I missed that free Internet! Plane-lets don't have in-flight movies, they don't have tv's in the back of headrests, and they're not too good on keeping a supply of Sky Malls around. Thank goodness for ipods! (And the pretty incredible clouds outside my window.)

Kansas City (day 2)

It's amazing how my body does not do well with a simple one hour time change. Last night I thought I set my alarm to wake me up in time, but either I didn't hear it, or I didn't set it right, so I woke up a little bit later than I intended and barely made it to the first meeting on time. (But I DID make it ON time).

In summary, the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is a large organization where we manage volunteers, beg for volunteers, beg some more, train those volunteers, and then beg for more volunteers. So, today I learned from others how to do all that begging more efficiently. The best part about these types of meetings/trainings are the great people you to meet. Today I met many people from Missouri, Kansas, Bozeman, Montana and Omaha, Nebraska. The most fascinating presentation today was about the Madrid Fault (pronounced Mad-Rid) in the Arkansas/Missouri/Kentucky/Tennessee area). Maybe I was only fascinated because I live in the shadow of ticking time bomb called the Wasatch Fault, but I like to think it was interesting to all.

Lunch today consisted of more BBQ food (Kansas City is serious about their BBQ), I think I am going to gain a total of 10 pounds before I go home tomorrow. Sugar here, sugar there. They even soaked their corn on the cob in a sugary/buttery/honey stuff. (I think they should try some Utah sweet corn - no sugar needed!)

After all that BBQ I needed to take a long walk. So, walk I did. My destination was the Legends, a large open air shopping center similar to the Gateway in SLC, just a couple miles down the road. After walking the length of the mall twice, I finally settled on getting a bite to eat (sandwich and homemade chicken noodle soup!) at a cute little family owned bakery called MeMa's Bakery. They had plenty of pastries, cakes, cupcakes, and cookies (including ruby red slippers like Dorothy's in the Wizard of Oz) and was charmingly decorated. I also (finally) found Heather a Kansas shot glass at a small gift shop. Mission accomplished!

On the way back to my hotel room I stopped in to check out the Nebraska Furniture Mart. Imagine an RC Willey store the size and feel of Ikea - big double decker show rooms with high end merchandise. The interesting thing about the Nebraska Furniture Mart is it's owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, just like RC Willey is.

Finally, I really, really, really had high hopes for Sarah Palin tonight. Seriously, I wanted to think she would do a good job, make me a proud female American. But, if I hear the word "maverik" again or the phrase, "the details of the details of the detail," I think I just may scream. Go Biden.

Kansas City (day 1)

Work sent me to Kansas City this week for a regional Medical Reserve Corps meeting. I must admit, I was not excited to come here. We spent a few weeks around the office telling each other they should be the one to go and represent us at the meeting. But, in the end, it was me who drew the short straw, so here I am.

Aside from the usual boring flight over the flat part of Kansas (and the strange shuttle driver who stepped on the gas, eased up, stepped on the gas, eased up, over and over again...), I'm really liking the Kansas City area. Lots of trees and much greener than I anticipated. Pretty, pretty, pretty. Now, if they only had a mountain or two...

And...my hotel, the Great Wolf Lodge, is pretty darn cool. Very kid/family oriented (too bad I didn't bring James), complete with arcade and indoor water park. Time will tell on how top quality the work meetings will be.

Lastly, I got to catch up with an old Lagoon friend over dinner tonight. Through facebook (love facebook!) I learned that Tori moved to Kansas City recently, so we made plans to get together while I was here. Dinner was some BBQ pulled pork (pretty tasty) and we talked and laughed and talked some more. I think I'm pretty glad I drew the short straw. =)