March Filler

March has been a month of all seasons. After the big snow we had, the sun came out and so did the bikes! Just love this helmet, and I hope she wears it for years to come!

After a few days of sun, the kids thought it was summer time and wanted to wash the car, which was covered in road salt/silt. Keep in mind, it was still only about 50 degrees, but when the sun is shining and the wind isn't blowing, it feels warm to us!

I just had to show this juxtaposition of perception vs. reality. The snow hadn't even melted yet, and the kids were running around in swimsuits!

The kids had lots of days off from school for conferences, holidays, spring break, and teacher in-service days. But, being at different schools, they rarely got the same days off. On one of Hadley's days off, I got a flashback to simpler times with a mom's group field trip to the Museum of Clean in Pocatello, which is a project of local celebrity, Don Aslett.

Who knew you could have a whole museum dedicated to cleaning? But it was actually pretty interesting. They had lots of historical items, like early vacuums, dishwashers, laundry tools, toilets, etc. showing the progress of technology. Certain exhibits touched on topics like recycling, green design, disease, and household organization. It was eye-opening just how many things could be connected in the name of cleanliness. But the best part was how kid-friendly it was. They had lots of interactive displays that took advantage of kids' love of doing. Our tour guide was fantastic and took nearly 2 hours to show us all the ins and outs of 3 floors of stuff where the kids got to pretend to be chimney sweeps, try out 50-year old floor buffers, and participate in a puppet show. We had to pry them out of there when it was time to leave! We'll definitely have to go back.

Speaking of conferences, the kids both got great marks at their student-led conferences. Owen's class did a case study on local landmarks, and his group did a replica of our town's water tower. They did a pretty good job using pipe cleaners, dowels, and a box of oats.

Meanwhile, Hadley's school took a field trip to the art museum, which was showing local school kids' art. Her school has a great location close to downtown, so they can walk to most field trip locations, though this one was a mile away! I can attest that chaperoning a group of kindergarteners and keeping them safe and together through an urban mile hike, is quite nerve-wracking! Once there, Hadley was in heaven, doing her beloved art.

We filled in our weekends with a season of indoor soccer for Owen. Unfortunately, this team left much to be desired, since we already had a small roster and half showed up sporadically or not all. Most games we had 4-5 players whereas the opposing team had 10 or more, so we often had to borrow players from the other team to even out play time. Owen still rocked it though, and his team won more often than not.

Lastly, I leave you with a little bit of silliness from the top of the linen closet. Surprise!

Grand Spring Break, pt 2

I had originally planned a second day at the Grand Canyon for Monday, but another 3+ hours (there and back, plus extra driving in the park) in the car didn't sound very appealing after our long car trip to get there. So, we altered plans for a low-key day in Flagstaff, starting with the hotel pool and hot tub.

The bowling alley down the street was celebrating their 60th anniversary with 60-cent games and free kids' bowling. Can't beat that!

Then we found a large city park in short walking distance to the hotel. It was a little snowy, but had a lot of variety in playgrounds, sport courts, and even a dog agility course that the kids tried out. It felt good to get some fresh air and sunshine.

We ended the night by stargazing at Lowell Observatory. I wish we'd gotten there a little earlier to see some of the things before nightfall, but Owen did enjoy a presentation on unmanned spacecraft before we stood in long, cold lines in the dark to view Betelgeuse and a nebula through massive telescopes. It was probably in the mid-30s and our gloves and hats were in the car; the kids acted like they'd never been so cold!

By the next day, we were ready for some heat in Phoenix, but I opted for the scenic route through Sedona. It was a beautiful drive through a piney canyon that opened up to the famous red rocks of Sedona. I found a free hike and parking lot (yes, most charge $!) and we stretched our legs for a bit in search of Snoopy Rock. The kids were excited to see cactus and go jacket-less.

See Snoopy directly over Owen? It's three smaller rocks resembling him sleeping on his doghouse. We tried to get a little closer, but ultimately decided we were ready for lunch back at the car.

The beautiful Chapel of the Holy Cross was closed unfortunately.

We rolled into our hotel in Phoenix in the early afternoon, and the pool was too inviting to turn down. It was perfect! Warmth finally!

The next day was set aside for Wildlife World, which is a combination zoo/aquarium/ safari park and right up the kids' alley. It is huge and they were so excited to see everything! There were lots of interactive feedings and shows, but I think their favorite was probably feeding these parrots apple slices out of their hands.

Other favorites were the baby animal nursery (2-week old baby mountain lions!), meerkats, otters and the ocelot (I couldn't get a good picture of them).

We also fed the giraffes, but unfortunately it wasn't set up for the kids' arms to reach far enough. So I got to be slobbered on. Yay!

These flamingos were next to our lunch patio where Owen downed some ribs.

And Thursday we spent at a friend's house in the pool, soaking up the warmth before our trip home the next day. The kids all play well together and these girls (Hadley and Ella) are such cute little friends.

The kids wanted to stay in Arizona another day, but it was time to get back to reality. And reality hit right at the Idaho border where it snowed on us. Sigh...

Grand Spring Break, pt 1

Whenever spring break rolls around, I'm really itching to get some warmer spring-like temperatures. Unfortunately, Mother Nature rarely obliges here, so we usually have to head south. This year the Mr. could not be away for long, so I bravely/stupidly/crazily decided to try a single parent vacation to Arizona with the kids. Mainly, I wanted to see the Grand Canyon before our parks pass expired this month, and we had some friends to visit in Phoenix. We left on Saturday and stopped after a full day of driving in Kanab, UT. I'm always amazed by the playground settings these kids get to play in.

And we already knew that our kids love hotels! Between TV in bed, sleeping in the same room, endless breakfasts, and a pool, I think we could just stay in a hotel in our town and they'd be fine. Note to self...

The next morning, we awoke to quite a surprise! 4-6" of wet, white stuff all over. The hotel employee said that was the first good snowfall they've had all season. Of course it was! Nothing like breaking out the snow brush on a heat-seeking vacation!

 It did provide a beautiful highlight on the red rocks though.

Our next stop was just an hour down the road at Page, Arizona. To get there, we had to go over the Glen Canyon Dam, which was worth a view, overlooking Lake Powell. So impressive! Hadley wanted to take the tour down inside; Owen did not. We compromised by watching the video of how they made the dam, which was pretty interesting.

After some PBJ in the car and a few more miles, we did a short hike to the Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River. It was incredibly stunning and hard to believe there is no railing or any safeguards, except signs saying as much. (They did appear to be constructing a safer viewing platform.) With Hadley's track record, I was pretty nervous for her and all of those rocks. One trip and whoops!! But we all survived. Phew!

All of the rocks and foot traffic made for some cool red dirt to play in, at least until the wind picked up.

And then it was on to the biggest stop at the Grand Canyon! We went in the east entrance on a Sunday afternoon, and it wasn't crowded at all. 

The easternmost overlook is at Desert View and has a unique watchtower with lots of windows and balconies. Of course, the kids had to check out every level and view.

I kept thinking the windows were pictures, but I had to keep reminding myself that I was really here! All of the views felt like I was standing in a painting. Truly amazing!

Here's the same view from the lowest overlook outside and from the highest overlook in the watchtower. You can see the first overlook in the second picture's right corner.

On the way back to the car, we went in the gift shop. Only my kids would want ice cream after being whipped around by the chilly wind outside and stepping through snow!

Here's a couple more viewpoints: Navajo and Moran. The clouds provided interesting changes in color, and I could see why people like to come at different times of day for variations in light and perspective. It's hard to put into words the vastness and stark beauty of this place. And we only went to a handful of viewpoints! Someday I hope to make it back there and stay a while to really soak it all in.

For a bit of a change and more education, we stopped at the Tusayan ruins (800 years old!) museum and trail on the way out. It helped the kids to imagine life so long ago and how everything surrounding Native Americans had a special purpose, sometimes even multiple ones. We couldn't stay very long because our hotel for the night was in Flagstaff, still an hour and a half away. So long for now, Grand Canyon!