Hit the Rails

 We have this project hanging around the house because we can't bear to get rid of it.  It represents a lot of hard work by our son. When our kids were in elementary school they were in a year-round program that started school in mid-July, had three week breaks between quarters and got out a week later than everyone else.  It was nice when all the kids were in elementary school together.  We took our vacations in March and October and in those breaks we were also offered some mini-classes for kids to help fill up their time.  They also offered some of these same classes in the summer and one summer I signed all the kids up for a week long class and the one I had Nathan take was railroad building, and what they did, was build a piece of scenery using the supplies and techniques that model railroad builders use.

When we saw the finished product we were astounded.  The quality of the work is amazing.  I had no idea Nathan was so talented with his hands. I think this was done in the year between 4th and 5th grade when he was 10.

I love this thing so much, I took pictures of it and am just now getting in a place where I can go back and look at them whenever I want, since someday, it will HAVE to be thrown out.  It measures about 12" wide and 16" deep.  We even found a little trolley car thing to ride on the rails.

View from the top

Down in the Valley

 Close-Up

Rugged Terrain

Close-up Again

Over the Top

Water Fun

What is summer without a little bit of water fun?  Lorene, Lynette and chased after Zane for an afternoon at the water park.  He doesn't like following the rules.  This silly slide is a lot more fun when you slide down on your tummy or climb back up again. 

Zane is brave enough to go down the slide alone. Lynette is at the bottom to catch him. 

We had to get a new pool for this year and ended up getting a 20 footer.  We didn't realize how much bigger it was than our 15 footer of last year until we put it up.  It seems to be a heavier quality, so hopefully it will last  now, until the kids are gone. 

Zane is just a little fish.  He goes everywhere in that little life jacket of his.  Of course, it means he thinks he's safe in the water, so he really has to be watched in case he gets away from us.

Aaron is just crazy.  I got lucky and got him mid-jump.

Lynette was throwing him the ball to catch.  He missed.

My brother gets too carried away with fireworks and he gave what he couldn't use to Nathan.  I was NOT impressed.

Then Nathan and Lynette got the bright idea to make a slip-and-slide from tarps.  We have three 4x18' tarps staked out with tent stakes.

You may not think this is a very exciting photo, but to me it is.  Lynette and Nathan haven't cooperated on a project for years.

Zane was much more interested playing with the hose. 

It worked best if someone helped Zane slide. 

That's my boy!

and my girl!

and my other boy!

They really had a nice time, and they put everything away when they were done, too.  Every time.

Fireman Suit

I didn't buy very many new things when my children were little, but I splurged and bought this little raincoat set for Nathan.  I am assuming he was about 3 when I got it.  I've kept it, since I have a very hard time getting rid of things I've paid full price for.  And Nathan used it to play with for a VERY long time.  Zane is so much bigger than Nathan was that I got it out for him last time he was here.  He didn't want to stand for any pictures.  A coat meant outside time and he was OUT in a hurry.

Zane is not yet 2 1/2

And away we go.

I went looking for pictures of Nathan wearing this rain suit. But I don't have very many.  I found some I forgot I had, though.  These were taken when he was 5 1/2.

Original scrapbook page.

You Call This a Vacation?

I like to take pictures, I like to have pictures. There is something missing in my brain.  It seems to be the part that remembers events that I haven't taken pictures of.  It doesn't. 

So, what happens if I forget my camera.  Or what if I remember my camera but photos don't get taken?  What if whatever else happens is SO startling that there isn't time to take pictures.  I think I will remember that.  Especially, the events that actually DID happen.  There won't be any forgetting this vacation, no way, no how. 

Part 2 of the of the Unending, Very Long, Too Exciting, Unbelievable Week.

Monday we left for Salida, Colorado to ski/snowboard at Monarch Mountain for a couple of days.  We were planning to meet my brother's family and some of their friends. The trip went well considering, nine hours isn't much fun to sit in a vehicle and go up and down and around mountains, and get sickish in the stomach.  There was no yelling, complaining, and etc., ....after the first 100 miles or so, when my daughter decided she COULD live without her computer after all. 

I didn't ski this year.  I haven't exercised consistently for two years.  I figured it would be safer for me and more enjoyable for everyone else if I didn't.  I thought it would be fun to hang out at the lodge and crochet and read and have lunch ready for everyone else.  Which it was...sort of.  It was also boring.  And I didn't see anybody for a very long time, since the room for people who bring lunch in is separated from the places where you can buy food. 

The big-kid part of the party found me at lunch time, and  my older nephew's friend was acting strangely, so strangely in fact, that I sent them to find my brother.  He had hit his head.  So, that was the end of any more skiing on my brother's part as they took the boy down to ER with a concussion. 

Anytime there is an injury it spoils every one's fun.  But, we thought everyone else would be able to enjoy the second day.  However, in the evening the other mom of the party wasn't feeling well, so my sister in law took HER to the ER and they kept her overnight, with altitude sickness. 

The party heading out to the slopes the next day, was much diminished.  I stayed, the injured ones stayed, and the younger boys stayed. So, Jim and my brother took just the three cousins up the mountain, agreeing all to meet again for a photo session. 

But, it didn't happen.  My brother was watching when Nathan took a jump and it didn't go well.  He landed on his face, and when he came up, his arm was broken.  So, down to get first aid, and on to Salida to the ER, where my sister in law and I met them.  And then as everyone gathered and left and gathered again, we settled down to a very long wait in the ER.  We were fairly high on the list, with Nathan's injury. There were others that waited a lot longer.  But, still it is waiting.

Nathan found ways to entertain himself. 

Eventually, after we found that Nathan had broken the large bone in his arm just above the wrist, we waited some more before Nathan was sent up for a very short surgery.  They put three pins in and after going home and getting settled in again.  Lynette and Nathan asked for a steak dinner.

We had a long ride home, but Nathan did fine with the high powered painkiller he was taking. I was glad to be home.  It was Thursday again, and the week was over.

Thank goodness.

We stopped on the way home to look at the Royal Gorge Bridge.  It was neat, but for the amount of money we spent the the very short time we spent there, I'm not sure we did the right thing.

Back to School

School is starting again.  I like having my kids home in the summer; I like having them in school.  I like the "days off" of summer; I like the routine of school.  I don't like that we still are busy whatever the season and they are crabby at times, too.

So... here is my baby off to high school.  She looks pretty excited.  I should take a picture when she gets home today. 

I should be sorrier than I am that the youngest of my kids is getting so close to growing up, but I'm too busy enjoying this free time to blog since I've been too busy for a couple weeks.

Plus, I've been too busy to even pay attention to my emotions.  And it isn't hard to watch Lynette grow up since she's growing up into a very sweet, very nice, very enjoyable young (cough...choke... sniff... oh sorry) woman.

Here they go....

And this is the MOST exciting part, I don't have to DRIVE them anymore, yay, hooray...I'm jumping up and down here!!!

So, I'm celebrating by not even going into the office to work.

And this is the closest I get to a picture of my son on the first day of school.

Working Together

Taekwondo is an interesting sport. To TKD enthusiasts, it isn't considered a sport but a way of life. I'm not ready for me and mine to go that far, but like anything we do, one would hope that it betters ourselves instead of hindering. Our kids have discovered that school coaches don't really think martial arts are a sport at all. It isn't like football, that's for sure, which seems to be the only sport high schools can see most of the time.

We went Saturday to the regional championships in Hastings. This is a tournament our kids love to compete in. They didn't do as well as they usually do. We could use as an excuse that Lynette was a little busier than usual with track season starting up, and Nathan lost a lot of practice due to an ingrown toenail. But, it was a very big tournament with more competition than usual. It makes any medal or trophy won there a real accomplishment. They competed with as many as six or seven in each division.

We start our tournaments just like any other sporting event, with the national anthem. It never fails to make me proud to be a citizen of the United States.



Nathan and Lynette had good success with their board breaks this time. They both tried something new, showy, and a little more difficult. Board breaks go so fast it is hard to get a photo, and anyway, I didn't have enough battery to do any videos. I keep forgetting I could put a video on here to show them off.

Lynette did a double front kick break. A both feet off the ground, hit the boards at the same time break, and didn't break one, but she did the second time. Nathan's best break was a back kick, front punch done simultaneously, with no looking back. Very nicely done. Nathan got a 1st, Lynette a 3rd.

There also was competition for team form. These kids haven't competed with team form very often, but they did an excellent job on this one. All four did the same form in different quadrants of the ring, coming back together to finish up. Very good! They got a third out of the six or seven teams in their division.

Snowboarding 2010

These kids of mine LOVE to snowboard. Jim has taken them himself these last couple of years. Since Zane was born, I stay home and babysit him, while Lorene works.


They get more daring every year and I am glad I stay home so I don't need to watch. We've had good luck since we've been skiing about 10 years with only one accident. Lorene hyperextended her shoulder the last time we went all together, so neither one of us skied, but spent the rest of the day in the emergency room.


Jim took them already to Snowy Range in Wyoming, during Christmas break, and this time Rod and Tanner came along. Lynette and Nathan have fun all by themselves, snowboarding, but it is always fun with extras, and it was nice for Jim to have another adult along.

Tanner

Lynette

Nathan

Ready to go over the jump.

They really do have a nice time, and spent most of their time jumping to "get some air".