Mesa Verde

    Guess where I got to go yesterday? That's right Mesa Verde National Park! I have been wanting to go here since we came to Durango. Finally some other home school moms were going because the park was putting on a "Free Day" and that was the push I needed to get out there. Mesa Verde is only an hour away and then you half to drive a half hour up there mountain but what a spectacular view. The Fall colors were exploding all over the mountain. I am such a dork but I really love when trees turn colors and that just doesn't happen too much where I'm from. So witnessing all the foliage had me grinning ear to ear. Anyway, I checked Mesa Verde out online before we went because I wanted to have a game plan. The other moms had told me that the park was so big we would probably split up. So first we went to the visitor center and I got my kids some souvenirs. I'm the kind of mom that gets her kids postcards and squished pennies, so that's what we did while I gathered brochures. Oh yes, I did break down and buy them a mini "adventure scope" because I told them that we're all in the "Danger Club" it's a long story but I wanted them to have an adventurous spirit and the Danger Club has been founded since about 1990. ANYWAY. So we had our scopes, our brochures and we drove another five miles to the museum. Well first we saw a picnic table so we stopped for lunch and my kids got to experience something called peace and quiet. You know when you're in a naturally beautiful place and there is that stillness, I don't even know if they noticed, but I thought "what a gift, I've given them." In the days of constant stimulation, I'm glad they got to experience stillness, even if they were fighting over whose sauce belonged to whose lunchable and who gets to hold the bag of cookies. I heard it , the stillness was there.
       So then we went to the museum and picked up an activity book to become a Junior Ranger for the park. That's right, I read the pamphlet and I'm the kinda mom that loves dorky stuff and my kids dig it. So this activity book sent us on a scavenger hunt and we went through the museum to fill it out. We then went on a hike to "Spruce Tree  House" this was the only ruins that the stroller could make it down to see. People looked at me like, "lady, you know you have to come back up the hill right?" It was worth it, absolutely! To see these cliff dwelling up close, WOW! The Puebloan Indians also made "kivas" which we're round rooms that they used for different things, they had solid roofs with a little square opening and the kids got to go inside , I think they just liked climbing the ladder, but they had a blast. I did not hear one time that my kids we're bored or there feet hurt. Thats' the kind of fun we had. So after, we huffed our way back up to the museum and since we had completed the activity sheet, the boys were sworn in by the Ranger as a JR Ranger, to serve and protect all National Parks. It was really cute and silly but boy were they proud of their badges.
     Lastly, we went on the "mesa top loop" which is a driving tour that takes you by ten different sites that you can park and see more cliff houses , kivas and pit houses. It was a lot of getting in and out of the car, but the boys adventure scopes came in handy and they got to see some amazing cliff dwellings.
      If you have the opportunity to go to Mesa Verde I highly recommend it. The kids had a blast. I know it was weird. I am so fortunate to have these little adventurer's by my side. I think 6 and 9 are perfect ages because they're not "too cool" yet. Little Waylon is such a trooper, that kid is going to be a traveler some day, the things he's seen before his first birthday. Amazing. Anyway, I wanted to get this out to you before today started because yes, today we have some pretty special, wacky things to do . I'll tell you about it soon. Enjoy your day and find a little stillness if you can.

Pictures cannot do these cliff dwellings justice, they are amazing!

Chimney Rock

  Okay, so I'm posting earlier than usual. I can't wait to tell you where we went this week. So I met some other moms that home school and they invited me to go with them to Chimney Rock! I hadn't heard of Chimney rock unitl recently and had been asking Ian to take me there. We drove past it last weekend and I was so excited to see that there was another adventure so close to us (it's only 30 mins away.)  So when the other moms invited me, I jumped at the opportunity. We worked our tails off on Monday to get ahead with our work and Tueday we set out for Chimney Rock. We took a self guided tour with our new friends and were able to see some of the remnants of what use to be a large Native American Settlement. They estimate that there was about 2,000  Native Americans living in the area at it's peak, which is a really large settlement. The trail was pathed which was great for the stroller and the views were breath taking, but I really wanted to get closer to the "Chimney" The boys we're just happy to be with other kids and they ran ahead, as the moms were huddled around each plaque, trying to figure out what we were looking at. Classic!
    It was decided that our group had too many little ones to go to the top but our guide had activites planned for us such as; grinding corn, pounding yucca into threads and spear throwing. Pounding yucca was a huge hit with the kids. So if you're looking to keep your kids busy, you can give them some yucca plant, wet it, hand them a rock and tell them to get their aggression out. Who knew? Wrex of course loved the spear throwing. Even I tried it. It's not called a spear, it has some strange name, that I completely forgot. There's a leather strap that you put the spear into and then throw it like you would a baseball. Good times.
   Anyway, it was time to go and the guide had offered if anyone wanted to go to the top. At first I thought, I'll just come back with Ian. As it turns out, they close for the season on September 30th. So it seemed like it was now or never and this is one of the main reasons I wanted to come on the road. To experience with the kids, things we normally would not be able to. So up we went! (The only downside, was I had to wear Waylon in the front pack, which did my back no favors) It was amazing! We we're lucky enough to have a private tour and she was so patient with the kids and stopped to show us ant hills and show us where past structures had been. When you climb up, you get to pass the "Great House" that is still standing. It's a massive structure made of rocks and adobe. It is amazing to see and walk on these rock walls that have been there so long. So we made it to the top and made a memory. I was so tickled to find out they made this site a National Monument yesterday. What a special opportunity the kids and I have to explore this part of the country. That same day, Ian brought home a cup full  of arrowhead pieces. We're headed somewhere else pretty special this week. In the words of a great Pixar movie "Adventure is out there!"
http://www.chimneyrockco.org/mainnew.htm

Resting on our way to the top!

Standing in what use to be the "Great House"

 

            Throwing spears and seeing how tall we are in comparison to the spears...hehe

Kristina the mortified!

 

Could leaning over daily to bathe this cutie possibly be causng my back to spasm? He's so worth it

 

 

    Hey Friends! We had quite an interesting week last week. I have quite a story for you...So for weeks my back has been pinching me. It felt like there was a rubber band between my shoulder blades being stretched and released. I was quick to blame it on Waylon, (he's getting so big) when I lean down to pick him up I really feel it in my upper back. Well on Tuesday I was practically in tears. Ian advised me to ice it and take Advil but NO I couldn't listen. I want to see an acupuncturist! I exclaimed to mostly myself. No one challenged me, but I knew wherever I went, the kids would go also. Ian had a lot of overtime that week, and I couldn't see asking him to take off so I could attempt to see an acupuncturist, which by the way I've never gone to, but I was desperate for relief. So I would have gone to an acupuncturist but the thought of the kids watching someone poke my back with needles and possible having Waylon cry in the backgroundconvinced me take the normal route and call a Dr. Maybe he could tell me if it was heat or ice I'm suppose to use and just how much Advil I could take. Well, when I spoke to the receptionist and explained how I'm from out of town and I have extreme back pain, I must have set off a red flag alert. Now I was hesitant to go to the Dr anyway. I knew there was nothing they could really do, but I have insurance and I thought that if I was flat on my back, it would be too late for me to cry for help. No one would be here to help me. So back to the receptionist, before she ended our call, we had already decided on a time, she asked me " You're not a drug collector are you? " I was thinking "what did she ask me? So I said "Uh..what? No , I don't think so." ( In retrospect, this was not a time for me to be a smart alec) She said "oh never mind, I'm just being silly." and I thought, weird sense of humor, but to each their own. So I arrive at the doctors office and the pain is worse and yes on my way over there it has started to pour buckets of rain. So I get all the kids in, I'm filling out the paper work, I get into the office and as I start to explain to the nurse what my issue is, I started welling up with tears. At this point, I can't imagine not getting relief and how I'm suppose to continue as a mom/ teacher/ housekeeper/ entertainer in all this pain by myself without extended family around me. So the doc comes in . Not a friendly gent at all.He turns to the kids and says "why aren't you in school?" they say in unison "we're home schooled"  He asks me how I injured it, I say I don't know. He asks me when it started hurting, I say gradually for the past few weeks. So I have no clear idea of how I injured myself and again this must be another red flag. He asks me very unsympathetically. " Is there a reason why you're crying?" and I say because I'm in a lot of pain. He asks me to touch my toes, put my neck side to side and I tell him when it hurts. He says he wants to see my back and lift up the back of my shirt and then he asks" Is there a reason why you're sweating?" OH MY GOSH! What a jerk! I said "probably because I'm upset, I can't imagine what I'm going to to if I can't fix this." So I told him I don't really want medication I just want to fix this, what can I do? I have a thing against chiropractors I was thinking about acupuncture. Then he says "what you are describing is a back spasm in your upper back from too much tension. There's no easy fix, I can give you some back stretches. I said "ok fine, that would be great, "(get me out of here!) He said he was going to give me some non-narcotic medicine to relax the muscles while I home school and something to take at night. Then he told me to go for a walk this weekend. ..Um thanks, I actually do exercise ... I really don't know why he even bothered. It was so incredibly awkward. So we left, naturally I fell apart at my embarrassment. They absolutely, thought I was there for drugs, I was mortified and in pain and embarrassed. I think the lesson here is if you're from out of town, don't let your first doctors visit be for back pain. Or maybe the lesson is there must be a lot of pill poppers n Colorado. I'm not really sure.
       Ian was shocked when I told him what happened... let me rephrase that..He was shocked that I fell apart in the doctors office....well of course I did!
    So that night, the boy we're extremely excited to try out Awanas! We found out there's a church right down the road that offers this and the kids were so excited about it. Which was a bit odd for them because they weren't interested in it back home. I think they really were anxious to play with other kids and get away from their ailing decrepit mother. We dropped them off and I took one of those anti narcotic "for the daytime"  pills the doctor had given me and guess what? It knocked me on my butt. I was spinning and telling Ian what a great man he was...Yes needless to say, I was in no shape to pick up the kids from Awanas at the local Baptist church.
    So what this lesson really taught me, is that I in fact am not superwoman. I would like to do everything perfectly with one hand tied behind my back but I can no longer be a wife, mother, teacher, entertainer for small children, blogger and bookkeeper. So I believe it's time to drop my bookkeeping responsibilities. It means going on a tight budget but I think the reduction of "tension" will be worth it. This brings me to my next point. You will notice I now have ads on my blog. I am embracing the $3 dollars (my estimation for the year) I will get from googles Ad affiliates. I will try to make them not too annoying , bear with me while I figure it out.
    My week was not all that bad. That day was especially mortifying but the boys and I did take some long walks and we ended up going to church on Sunday. I met another home school mom and we are actually going on a very exciting adventure today that I will tell you about next week. We ended our Sunday walking around Pagosa Springs as a family.Actually, we went on a bear hunt. We were looking for wildlife and Ian showed us where they were insatlling "bear guards" because the bears were using the poles as scratching posts. We didn't see any bears but we did see a big bear doo doo with fresh urine and that was as close as we needed to get. We did run into a road block, when someones cows got out. Houston was saying "YAH!" from the backseat.It worked too! Then we walked by the hot springs and felt the hot, stinky water. We drank chocolate floats and had ice cream. It was a nice relaxing day. Especially for Ian, who had worked a 14 hour day on Saturday. Thanks for listening. Next time you feel really embarrased, think of me! I'll keep yall posted.

Kepping it real

    
   HA! I'm getting a head start on my weekly update because I have a moment of peace. I only have a moment of peace because all the children are on time out for hitting, but I'll take it! All in all, it was an average family of five normal week.
    I gave the two older boys buzz cuts. I was looking at them one morning before school started and I realized that they are never going to brush their hair, so I offered them haircuts. After the fact, I wondered if I might regret this. I really don't know when the "cold" hits around here and they might need all the body warmth they can muster being California kids and all. Too Late! It grows fast and since they insist on wearing shorts everyday, I  don't feel bad... yet. School went pretty well, our only obstacle is this history/art class they have called Paragon. From what I hear, the kids in the actual school love it. For me and Wrex it means cramming in art projects on a Friday night before they're due.
    Little Waylon, whom I just realized is 7 1/2 months old is officially crawling! I saw it happen on Monday but chose to stay in denial until he almost crawled out of Houston's bunk. I dashed from the couch and caught him, he thought it was hilarious! By the end of the week, he was trying to climb up our two stairs. Right now, I have it blocked off with cardboard boxes. Ian will love that.    Now that he can crawl anywhere, with speed, he has taken to obsessing about any power cords. It must be the "power lineman" in his blood. I realize this is serious and no baby should ever play with cords. We have the kids laptops plugged in under the table and he is obsessively trying to get to the wires. It seems like we need a gate for the table, time to get some more cardboard boxes!
    The weekend has been pretty slow. I ran out of propane Thursday night in the middle of frying up tacos. I assumed Ian would get some more but he's worked all weekend.So  I've been using the grill outside and the burner on the grill but today I had enough and figured out how to fill the dang thing up. it was HEAVY! so I only did one tank. We're talking about buying a larger tank for when the winter comes. The heater apparently runs on propane, so it's not something you want to run out of.
        Actually we got quite bored this weekend so we did what any good family would do. We got some ice cream and watched dad work. We actually haven't gotten around to spying on him yet and we keep seeing awesome pictures of him hanging from poles. Unfortunately, today was more of a filling in holes kinda day. So we ate our ice cream while he worked and came back home. We did decorate the boys room today. We brought some of those decals from Target when we moved in, back in May, so today we put them up. We had Super Mario and Angry Birds. So the kids positioned the characters into fight scenes. Who knew Mario didn't like birds?
    Sorry this isn't action packed. I'm just keeping it real. Now I shall go make chili because it was suppose to be raining. Take care.
   I was hoping to see this...

...but today was more like this...ahh the life of an apprentice

    

Letting the Days go by...water flowing underground...Once in a Lifetime

      Phew!What a week! It seems like they're flying by now that school is in session. We're definitely getting into the swing of things. Last week our teachers threw some curve balls our way by assigning paper mache and clay masks. I know the art stuff is suppose to be fun but when I see those assignments, I kinda think "really?!" Oh yes, also we have four pieces of bread spread around the trailer, some in ziplocs, some not, that we are monitoring for mold each day. Like we didn't have enough stuff crammed on our countertops! In the name of science, we press on.
   So, more adventures in Bayfield...I went to "the Grocery Store" (yep that's it's official name) last week to get some eggs and someone had sharpied out all of the expiration dates on the side of the cartons. I picked up one carton after the other and they were all sharpied out. Weird! Then I noticed a sign posted next to the eggs, telling you how you should interpret the expiration date on the cartons (it said 45 days after the date was good according to the law) which would have been something if you could have seen the expiration date to begin with! Yeah, I didn't get them, it was too much of a gamble.
     Also, we were completely invaded by bikers this weekend. There was a big bike rally in Ignacio, I believe it was for breast cancer (not sure how) but they we're everywhere! The campground was full and everyone generally had a good time.
     We went back to the rec center this weekend. Houston cannot understand why we aren't there everyday. So we went and the boys did more rock climbing and high diving. I've decided to put them into diving lessons because they think they are diving but their belly flops are painful to watch. Parent keep looking at me like "you're going to let them do that again?" Houston and I checked out the Discovery Museum in Durango. It was pretty awesome, it was like a Childrens Museum but with a heavy Science influence. The first Sunday of the month is pay what you like day, SCORE!     
      Labor day the boys and I had a picnic on the Animas River. It was different then being back home, but relaxing . The biggest moment of the weekend was Waylon saying "dada." It made me so grateful to be with Ian to share that moment. Just another reminder of why we're on this crazy journey together.
      We did a lot of cooking this weekend. We made banana bread and Chocolate chip cookies stuffed with oreos. We barbecued ribs. I'm about to start this 8 week challenge to be more healthy, fruits, veggies and excercise. I think the knowledge of that being around the corner made me hungry this weekend. Anyways, so pretty much more of the same. Never a dull moment. Now we start it all over again, at least it's a short week right? Anywhoo, take care until next time.

Labor Day 2012

  
  In honor of Labor Day and this page being called Linewife I thought I'd post some pictures from some of my linewives whose husbands are out there restoring power from hurricane Isaac.  I think everyone is well aware that Hurricane Isaac has caused severe damage. I have the deepest sympathy for these people who have lost so much.  The storm knocked out power to over 700,000 people. Now I've heard on the news how slow the lineman reaction has been to this storm but from what I've learned by being in this community, that really just isn't so. I know we're new to this career but I just wanted to share a different point of view.  Many of these wives were concerned for their husbands being in place before the storm hit. They we're definitely going to be in danger but to have a quick response the Linemen needed to be in the devastated areas. I think pictures can sometimes say more than words. So here's what I've compiled for you on this Labor Day.

Before Isaac hit, reinforcements had arrived.

From another linewife ..."They arrived late last night and were told to leave all their stuff in their trucks, (personal & work stuff) take only what they needed for the night, and check into hotel an...

d get some rest and they could unload everything in the AM. Well, around 3am they got the call that
the area flooded and they lost everything. "

 

From Entergy's Facebook  page   "Our workers have reduced the number of Hurricane Isaac outages by more than 550,000, down from a systemwide peak of approximately 769,000.

Nineteen damaged transmission lines remain in the Entergy system: one in Entergy Mississippi, 15 in Entergy Louisiana and three in Entergy Gulf States Louisiana.

Our continuing efforts are being supported by donor crews from Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin."


Some Men are staying in hotels with no power, some are camping, I found a picture of these temporary housing arrangements.

     I do know that these men love to restore the power. Most men love to work storms, there is something to be said about using your talents when they are needed most. Of course they want to restore the power, it's what they've been made to do. Several times a year our country calls on these men to perform their jobs as quickly as possible. What you may not know about this occupation is that it is extremely hazardous. There have been casualties, just from Isaac alone. So this Labor Day, say a prayer for those heroes on hooks that are away from their families and busting their tales to restore power. I guarantee they are working as fast as they can. I know their wives are waiting for  them.