Visitors...

Dean's folks arrive today, in about four hours.

The house is not presentable.  And it smells like wet dog.

All I feel like doing is this...

Sigh...

A sink? Yes. A vacuum cleaner? No.

I was a lucky gal and got my Mother's Day gift a little early... on Easter actually.  We were all home sick with nasty head colds.  I got up early and made a wonderful Easter breakfast.  I used my late grandma Betty's tablecloth, and a beautiful set of china of hers that I inherited a few years back, when we moved her out of her home and into assisted living.  I was sad but grateful that I had some things to remember her by.  I dished up scrambled eggs, peach crisp, bacon and fresh bananas.  Four Easter baskets waited for the kids...

Jordan, Rylan and Owen got some pinwheels.  They blew on them and then erupted into long, drawn out coughing fits... it was actually pretty funny.  We were a sorry bunch.  Lots of coughing, sneezing and spewing all sorts of snot in all directions.  It was lovely.  And then we ate breakfast.  And Owen coughed so hard that he threw up his breakfast.  On the table, himself, his chair and the floor.  Perfect.

It was to be this little guy's first crack at egg hunting.  We were supposed to go down to Longmont to have Easter dinner with the family and do an egg hunt with the cousins.  Then, later in the day we were going to spend the afternoon and evening with homeschooling friends, having an egg hunt and potluck.  But.  It was not to be.  By Saturday evening I knew that it was to be a no-go.  We were not fit to be good company for anybody but ourselves...

So what to do?  Saturday evening we made a preemptive move and prepared for the next day where we now had nothing planned, besides eating copious amounts of chocolate.  We went to Home Depot!

This was the kitchen sink.  The sink itself is as it was when I purchased the house eight years ago.  Shallow bowls meant that it could not hold much - and splashing all over the counter was a common occurrence.  The faucet was installed (pre-Dean) by a handyman at my church, about six years ago.  Around the end of last year, the entire faucet assembly started rocking back and forth.  You would use either handle and the whole thing would move back and forth.  Dean got underneath the sink and looked at it from below.  The bolts were rusting through.  Evidently some sealant that should have been used during installation wasn't.  Dean fashioned a quick fix by installing a wooden brace that held the assembly down tight, but it was only a fix.  I was now in the mood to replace the entire thing...sink and all.  I wanted something nice, something bigger.  I hate the look of stainless steel sinks - they show every scratch and dent.  I picked out what I wanted.  I visited my new sink, on display at Home Depot, every few weeks.  I even took pictures with my phone, so I could look at it from time to time... sigh.  I wanted a new sink!!!

Look, ma!  No plumber's crack!

So I got my wish!!  Lots of helpers to get the project started.  First everything was disconnected and the non-working dishwasher was removed.  Pipes were sawn away, and lovely, greasy sludge in the pipes was admired and discussed.  I spared you the pictures.  Again, you're welcome.

Goodbye sink!

Nothing says yummy like washing dishes in the bathroom sink.

 
So while Dean slaved away, I wiped noses and hid eggs for each child to find.  Colin had one blue egg to find.  Owen had three green eggs.  Rylan had four purple eggs.  Jordan had ten orange and yellow eggs.  When they found all of their (empty) eggs, they turned them in and got their Easter gift.

Colin can now impersonate Sid the Science Kid

Owen got a 4-pack of Cars characters

Rylan got a Jasmine doll

You guessed it.... Legos.

We ended the day with the sink replacement job almost finished.  The new sink is a 3/4 sink so the hoses were not quite long enough to attach to the water supply.  And Home Depot is not open at 1:15 am.  So the sink was finished the next day.

We left this cast of characters in charge for the night...

Dean took the van to work the next day, and then stopped at Home Depot after work.  Then he finished the job in very short order.  I didn't take a picture of the new sink until Wednesday though.

Voila!

We spent Tuesday in Wray, visiting with family and attending my grandmother's funeral.  I brought back some of the flowers that were delivered from family and friends for the service.  The two flower bouquets in the center were just beautiful.  The Peace Lily on the left was the one we ordered for the service.  The Peace Lily on the right, in the ceramic pot, is from Dean's grandmother's funeral service that we attended in January.  I also have another Peace Lily that was from my grandpa Orin's funeral service in 1997.  I think the Peace Lily has taken on new meaning in our household.  (Universe?  No more Peace Lilies for a while, okay?)

So I am loving my kitchen sink!  My original request for a Mother's Day gift was a birdbath.  But then I changed my mind and figured that a new sink (and a new dishwasher!!) was the way to go.  Dean was able to install the dishwasher on Wednesday afternoon, after we picked it up from Sears.  I imagine that some moms would be insulted by something so utilitarian - but I LOVE it.  And I love that my husband was able to do all the work himself..what a gift!!  Love ya honey!  And I also have my dear grandmother to thank.  She made this wonderful gift possible.  It has given me loads of time back that I otherwise spent washing dishes by hand, and that means all the world to me and my family.

The Scenic Route..

After our hike yesterday, it was such a beautiful afternoon, that I decided to take the long way home.  We drove north out of Masonville and headed toward Stove Prairie.  I love, love, love this drive.  So do a lot of other people, apparently, because there was a lot of traffic, considering.  Lots of motorcyclists were out as well, because this stretch of road is just beautiful.  Horse pastures, meadows, tall pines, alpaca paddocks, ponds...etc.  We headed north towards Stove Prairie, and I noticed that there were a couple of other cars tagging along behind me.  I wasn't going slow or anything, I think they were just enjoying the drive as much as we were.  Anyway...

I was getting close to the turn-off at Stove Prairie... maybe a couple of miles to go.  I came around a sharp bend and saw before me a scene that made my heart just stop.  A motorcyclist was laying on the pavement in the oncoming lane, his motorcycle laying across his legs.  No one else was around.  I slowed down as I pulled up to him, and called out to him as I jumped out of the van, engine running.  He was staring at the sky.  I again felt my heart stop.  Then he blinked.  And let out a low moan.  Oh man....  I knelt down and looked in his eyes, and started asking questions...

"Are you okay?"
"Can you tell me your name?"
"Where does it hurt?"
"Can you wiggle your toes/fingers?"
"Are you able to breath okay?"
"Were you riding alone?"

It was eerily quiet for what seemed like a long time, but it could have only been less than a minute, because the other cars that were traveling behind me were pulling up to the scene as well.  Two guys pulled the bike off the injured rider.  His foot had been pinned under the gas tank, but the bike seemed like a pretty light bike.  He could even move his foot after it was freed.  I realized then that I had left the van running, so I went to move it to closer to the shoulder and shut it off.  In the meantime, one of the guys who came to help suggested the rider try and sit up.  Idiot... I yelled out as I ran back to keep the guy laying still, but it was too late.  He went as white as a sheet and his eyes rolled back.  I reached out and grabbed the lapel of his leather jacket to prevent him from hitting the pavement as he fainted.  Luckily, he came to within a few seconds. 

Then I felt the frustration of not knowing what to do for him.  He was obviously not paralyzed.  He had sensation and nothing appeared to be broken (but he was also in a state of shock - so he may not have been registering pain in a proper way).  No blood (oh thank god...), and he was able to breath without difficulty.  None of us could get a cell signal, and a guy that must have been a local went off to call for help from a nearby residence.  What else can you do except keep him still?  Another motorist arrived, and got a blanket from his car.  Of course!! (I should have thought of that).  So there we were.  Five onlookers, anxious for help to arrive, and the injured rider, still laying on the side of the road.  He was able to talk to us, tell us his name, where he lived and so on.  We all thanked him profusely for wearing his helmet.  ( I shudder to think what the accident scene would have looked like if he had not...)  Another guy teased him about the road rash he was going to have.  We all looked at the dirt embankment he must have hit, and made guesses at what must have happened...

Then the unmistakable call of a peacock rung out across the small ravine we were in.  A turkey called out in response from the other direction.  Then you could hear Jordan yell from the car, "What was THAT?!".  The peacock called out again.  Then the turkey.  Back and forth.  Back and forth.  Then the turkey flew across the road and passed through a clearing.  We all commented about the turkey.  And then I looked down and saw the injured rider, laying on the pavement.  He was just staring up at the sky... probably thinking to himself that we were all a bunch of weirdos, commenting about a turkey instead of helping him.

The emergency vehicles showed up about five minutes later and took over the scene.  It was such a relief that help was finally there.  It must have been a total of 20 minutes from the time I arrived to that point.  All I could think of the entire time was that my brother often goes on rides like this, and this could have just as easily been him - and I would hope that whoever came to his aid would be just as helpful (except for the encouraging him to sit up bit).

This guy did everything right.  He wore a helmet - which bore deep scratches on the back where he had skidded across the pavement.  He wore a leather jacket, gloves and protective pants - and I think they went a long way to keep his skin intact.  He wasn't traveling at an extremely high rate of speed, because the damage to the dirt embankment was minimal, and there was no impact damage on his bike - just scrapes along the side where he slid across the pavement.  We think that he just hit gravel along the edge of the road and went into a skid he couldn't pull out of.  The windshield had torn away, as well as the side mirror.  His helmet's visor was up when I found him.  I don't know how it got that way.  All I can say is that he was lucky, lucky, lucky.  I am guessing that his injuries include a concussion, a minor ankle injury, and a very, very sore rear-end.

Jordan, bless him, was busy leafing through his Boy Scout manual (which he had with him for the hike), looking for advice on how to treat the injured man.  I am just so, so thankful that it wasn't worse... or a fatality.  I hope he is home, recovering.

Homeschool Hike: Bobcat Ridge

First Fridays of the month are hiking outings for our homeschool group.  The hikes are scheduled to last from 11 -1 pm.  We of course were moving on Owen and Colin time, so we arrived at the parking lot at the Bobcat Ridge natural area at 11:55.  Only to notice a number of signs that looked like this:

So.  We had to turn around, head home (about a 20 minute drive), drop off poor Abby, and go back.  We were on the trail at 12:55.  Just in time to wave hello to all of our friends who were coming off of the trail... Oh well!  We had a very nice time anyway...

This was Colin's first hike.  Much to my shame... I don't recall even hiking with him when I carried him in the Bjorn - other than a walking path in AR, at Hot Springs NP., during our vacation last October.  We love this backpack though... It is a Deuter Kid Comfort II - and it is awesome!!  We bought it when Rylan was one, and I love wearing it. 

It was just about the perfect day for hiking.  Mid seventies and a bit breezy, which helps to keep you feeling comfortable when you start to get warm from the exercise.  The trail begins with this wide paved part, that goes up to the picnic structure that you can see in the distance.  When we arrived there, three women on horseback came by and rested for a bit.  They invited the kids to pet the horses - which they thought was pretty neat.  We had a quick lunch and then got on the dirt trail.

The trail was very nice - groomed and even... with the grass trimmed along the edges.  I love that because this is prime rattlesnake habitat, and we had a run-in with one two years ago... so I am always skittish on hikes now.  And the little guy pictured above is our wanderer - which only heightens my unease...  He could not stay out of the tall grass.  He's a curious, headstrong kid, so I can't blame him, but every single one of my gray hairs belong to him.

Jordan spotted these treasures along the edge of the trail as we went along.  First he found what appears to be the cranial portion of a skull that looks to be from a deer, and then he found the jaw bone.  Again, I think it is from a deer.  Jordan made the observation that the teeth were 'wide and flat', so that must mean it is an herbivore.  (YES!!!)  I let him keep the jaw bone, because that is just too cool - and he could look at the teeth under the microscope.  We later came across another hiker carrying a leg bone - so there must have been several in the area, and quite possibly all from the same carcass.

We stopped to listen to the sound of the wind blowing through the grass.  Just a constant, soft rustling sound.  Loved it.  At the top of the ridge, you can see evidence of the wildfire that came through here in 2000. 

We compared the sound of the wind in the grass to the sound of the wind moving through the needles of this massive Ponderosa Pine tree.  Jordan remarked that it sounded like a screaming banshee.  I sort of agree.  I have never liked the sound either - it just sounds lonely, and a little eerie.  Beautiful tree though!!



Sand Lily

 This little gem was named "lwf" (little white flower) until I got home and could look it up.  Found an awesome identification site for Colorado wildflowers, to help me out.



Black-billed Magpie



Vesper Sparrow

 I finally got to put to use my bird identification book.  I was certain I was hearing the call of a meadowlark when I was looking at what I later identified as the Vesper Sparrow.  They have a very pretty call.  It was difficult to get a good shot of them - they take off in a heartbeat.

We reached our turn-around point at what I think was a little over a half-mile from the trail head.  Owen would not have been able to go on much further, and still be able to walk all the way back.  I am sure this distance will improve over the summer.  The hiking trail is part of a much larger loop, and there is a cabin that is 1.2 miles from the trail head.  Jordan was there just a few short months ago, when he joined in on a hike with his prospective Boy Scout troop, so he was able to tell us about it.

I placed my sunglasses alongside this hoof print to give perspective to the actual size.  You should actually hike with a quarter in your pocket for just this purpose.  The track belongs to an elk.  It's been there for awhile, the definition was not as apparent by this point.  I spared you the picture of elk scat.  You're welcome.


Crustose Lichens

 Three different colors are present here.  The brown lichen looked like wet dirt up close - so I am not sure the brown could be classified as a crustose lichen.  In Rylan's opinion, it was "dis-GUST-ing'.

I am happy to report that the good spirits stayed with us for the entire outing.  What troopers!!

"She was kind, loving and truthful."

Clockwise: me, Colin, Grandma Betty, my mom.  Photo taken Thanksgiving, 2010

My grandma Betty's funeral is tomorrow.  She lived a long, full life, but the later years were not kind to her body.  Lots of pain and discomfort marked her final years... so her passing is a blessing.

But.

I miss her terribly.  She was one of my favorite people.

She was kind:

My grandma always made me feel special.  She always looked the other way whenever I sneaked a butterscotch pudding from the pantry.  She knew exactly which toys to have out, at-the-ready, whenever we came to stay.  She would get after my grandpa if he was got upset with me for not doing something properly (a common occurrence, bless him).  I can just hear her voice in my head, "Oh, papa, she's a good, helpful little girl."  She let me spend copious amounts of time playing with her jewelry and lapel pins.  She was a music teacher, and had an extensive pin collection.  I would organize them all sorts of ways...by holiday, color, order of preference, glitz factor, etc...  I can still picture the way her treasures and pictures were arranged atop her dresser, where she kept those pins.  Fast forward through the years to when I became and adult, and struggled with adult-sized problems.  She gave me comfort, advice and refuge when I needed it.

She was loving:

Whenever grandma took me around town on errands (a small town, pop. around 3,000) she would greet every acquaintance and introduce me (if they didn't know me already).  I always got a certain thrill when she did that.  It was the way she said it..."This is my granddaughter, Kirsten".  It felt exactly like a warm hug.  She knew how to make you feel good about yourself.  She was also firm, but in such a way that you didn't feel like she was.  I couldn't ever imagine misbehaving for grandma - you just didn't do it because you always felt content and that your needs were being met.

She was truthful:

Ten years ago, while I was going to school, I took an upper-level anthropology class about recording Life Histories.  Grandma readily agreed to be my subject.  That was one of the best things I ever did and I will forever treasure the experience.  Every two weeks I would make the drive out to see her as soon as I was finished with classes for the day.  I would make it in time to relax during her last piano lesson for the day, and then we would go get dinner.  Afterwards, we would come back to her cozy little house, set up the tape recorder, and talk for two or three hours.  We talked about politics, religion, family history, children, marriage, death, the Great Depression, WWII, teaching... everything under the sun.  She didn't gloss over her life - she gave me a very honest assessment of how she felt about each of those topics.  The next day I would drive back to school in time for my first class.  Then I would spend the next two weeks transcribing the tapes and weaving the conversation together into cohesive units that would later become chapters, and finally a book.



Here are some memories and pearls of wisdom from those conversations that I want to share...

"There is a master plan for our lives, I feel.  It's up to us to develop it, even if we make bad turns or bad decisions.  God sees us through and helps us find ways to correct it."

"I feel we are here to grow spiritually.  I feel that there are certain lessons we need to learn.  I believe that if we don't accomplish those things that we're supposed to do now, I feel we will be back to do it later.  I know a lot of Christian people don't believe in reincarnation, but I do.  I think we come back.  I think we have to come back until we reach the ultimate, whatever it is.  We have no idea what the ultimate is, because we cannot fathom that yet.  I feel that a lot of these things that happen to us are pre-ordained.  There is a reason for everything, yet it's our decisions that affect our lives.  I think some of our suffering we bring on ourselves.  By our willfulness, or our unconcern.  Suffering probably helps us to grow to reach those heights.  God has set up certain natural laws.  If we thwart those laws, then we can experience suffering and pain."

"As a child, I knew that I wanted to be involved in music, but I also wanted to be a schoolteacher.  I would play school all the time.  When I was by myself, I would entertain myself by playing school.  Dad had a ladder leaning against that front porch that he built, and the roof of the porch was almost flat.  Not quite flat, but flat enough.  So I moved all my stuff up there and played school up on top of the house.  I would do that for days and days.  I'm sure my parents worried about me being up there.  They were probably more worried about me making holes in the roof and causing a leak.  I don't know why I chose to play up there, I just did.  As a kid you do things without knowing why."

And my personal favorite:

"As a little girl I would imagine lots of things.  I had imaginary playmates, companions, even an imaginary husband.  His name was John.  I would talk about him with my imaginary companion, Doonan.  We were ladies, and we had our own homes, you see.  Doonan and I would discuss our husbands.  I had a lot of "ladies" that I would visit on our farm.  There was Mrs. Calfpan, Mrs. Chicken House, Mrs. Icehouse, and Mrs. Barn.  They were all of my 'playmates'.  I was around six or seven at this time.  I'd write up minutes because I was secretary of our 'club'.  I'd write up minutes about what Mrs. Chicken House said or what Mrs. Cow Shed said. (...) I did have a notebook that I had kept for a long time that contained the minutes of our 'meetings'."

So what did grandma want people to say about her after she was gone?

"She was kind, loving and truthful."

I miss you grandma. 

Love,
your Stennybug

Karate Kids

Last November, Jordan and Rylan began taking karate lessons.  We heard about a fantastic homeschool class that was offered by a karate studio in Loveland, so we tried it out.  Loved it!!   Northern Colorado Karate offers a class for homeschoolers on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, as well as another class on Saturday - so the kids go three times a week.  It is a lot of driving back and forth, but boy, is it worth it.   The class attendees span three different class levels: Tigers, Eagles and Youth.  That means that the class structure handles multiple ages: from roughly age 5 and up.  I think the oldest student right now is about 11 or 12, and the youngest is 4 (Rylan).  There are typically about 20 students in the class.  The class begins with everyone doing warmups and basic stretching together.  There are 4-5 instructors that then split the class up into the different levels, and if there are a lot of students in a particular level, they then split that class into subgroups based on belt heirarchy.  So the student:instructor ratio is roughly 4:1, which is really nice.  Here is a picture walk through what our experience has been so far....

Rylan began in the Dragons class.  Dragons is for 4-5 year-olds, and is considered "pre-karate".  They learn the basics of Universal Karate/Kenpo as well as work on self-control, courtesy, sharing and kindness.  You can see me in the background taking this picture - ha!  I was taking a picture of our reflection in the mirror to get a shot of Rylan's group as they sat on their bench getting ready for testing.  They all look so cute in their Dragon uniforms.



The first thing they do is stand at attention and shake the instructor's hand as he greets each student in turn.  The Master Instructor/Owner is Mr. Keith Schuett (shaking Rylan's hand).  He is just awesome with the kids!



Attention!



Every class session begins with warm-ups.  Can you guess what they are doing?  (ahem)  Jumping Jacks!



These pictures are from the first testing session that Rylan and Jordan took part in, in mid-January.  One of Rylan's fundamental skills was called the "ice cream punch".  Really, it is a portion of a move called "The Lion".



Crane stance



Rylan earned her yellow tip!  At the Dragon's level, each succession of rank means an additional color on the belt tip.  It is customary for the students moving up in rank to remove their old belt, put it around their neck, and the instructor ties on the new belt.



Rylan's group, after testing.



Then it was Jordan's turn.  Jordan is in the Youth class, and they progress through the junior ranks first.  Jordan is currently going through the basic course, that goes through the ranks to the purple belt.  Then he must decide whether or not he wants to join the Black Belt Club (he does).  Again, this pic was taking during January testing.  Jordan is testing for his advanced white (a belt that is half white/half yellow.  They begin by focusing on what they are about to do for testing.



After warm-ups and basic drills, Jordan is demonstrating a defensive move with a partner.



Jordan earns his advanced yellow!



Jordan's group.  The students with red gis (g-eez) are members of the black belt club.



Now on to the next round of testing, in mid-March (each round of testing is a 9-week cycle).  Rylan is still wearing her Dragons Uniform, but she is testing with the Tigers.  Tigers is the next age group up from Dragons.  The age group is 5-6, and Rylan is almost 5, so we made the switch.  She was mature enough to handle moving up and the instructors thought it was a good idea.

 First, stretching.  Rylan has improved so much in the past two months!



Colin sees his twin!!

A hug and a kiss from Daddy

Now back to the show... Colin watches his big sister as she prepares to do her Star Block Set

Rylan earns her advanced yellow belt!  This belt is a lot different from her Dragons advanced yellow.  The week after this testing round we got a new Tiger  gi for Rylan.  They had to order a size 000.  :)  Rylan is also thrilled to be in Tigers because she is no longer the only girl in her group- her friend Brick is standingto Rylan's right.

Group shot of the Tigers

Jordan's turn.  He is demonstrating the Deflecting Hammer

Deflecting Hammer

Yellow belt!

 

Group shot











The kids are really enjoying the experience.  Some days Rylan complains that it is hard, but I think she has a lot of fun - especially if other friends are there.  It is a lot of driving, but because this is really our only outside activity, I really don't mind.  Some factors to consider:

Pluses:
* It is reasonably priced: $60 per homeschool student, per month.  That is a GREAT deal!
* They provide the (first) uniform (gi). (When you progress to another class level, you need to buy the next uniform.  Which is a reasonable $30 or so)
* They run on-time, and don't mess around - I love that!
* They have high expectations for behavior from students.  Again - they DON'T mess around.  LOVE it!
* The instructors are all talented martial artists and really good at working with kids.  - Many have kids that attend the academy as well.
* They are up-front and transparent about what the program is all about, how much it will cost, what it entails, and what the expectations are  - which is great for a person like myself who has virtually no working knowledge of what the martial arts are all about.
* All sorts of students attend, including special needs.  Awesome!
* There is a nice stadium-style seating area for parents (just wish it was bigger)
* There is a play area for the little ones

Minuses:
* I have to wash white karate uniforms 3xweek.
* Class time on the weekdays is 1:00 - 1:45.  Sometimes it's okay, and other times it falls right during naptime for Colin, or that we are in the middle of an activity.  I wish it were a morning class time instead...
* Each new belt is $35.  Per kid.  Every 9 weeks (if they get approval to go ahead for testing).  That gets a little expensive.
* Saturday mornings are now dedicated to karate.  Sometimes I wish we could sleep in.  But then again, it's a good excuse for Dazbog coffee, which is just down the street from the studio.

What I love most is that this is an activity that the kids can do together.  They can grow with it, and will be constantly challenged for years to come.  Karate is also one of the few activities where they can make strides on multiple fronts: physically, emotionally, intellectually, and yes, even spiritually.  All we want for our kids is for them to be strong, confident and courteous kids.  I think this fits the bill perfectly!