29 December 2009 - Day Trip to Leadville, Colorado

Breakfast followed by a trip to the laundromat doesn't seem like a great adventure, but try participating in those events with 14 other people and the dynamics change.
The laundromat was actually a fun outing and it was very warm inside the building. There was a play area for the children and a small TV with several children's videos available. That kept the eight children quiet, but the volume of the TV had to be constantly turned down. Well, I guess that is understandable considering that the seven adults playing "Catch Phrase" and were not very quiet. Fortunately, there was only one other person in the place and she preferred to wait outside in her car for some strange reason.
With our clothes clean and dry, we headed out on our day's Great Adventure. We have given this name to the day's activities so we can be flexible in our plans and not stir up a cauldron of disappointment. This day's plan included Leadville, Colorado. Unfortunately, mobilization of the group sometimes takes a little longer than expected, so we arrived rather late in the day. But the drive was beautiful and the roads clear, so we did not have any problems.
I recalled a Mining Museum DH and I had visited several years ago, so we headed in that general direction. Sure enough, it was still there (well, you never know). I wondered aloud if we could get a group rate as everyone headed for the gift shop to explore while I checked on tickets. The very nice lady at the ticket counter told me the museum would be closing in 15 minutes.There was a collective groan of disappoint from the members of our group. The lady looked at us and then suggested we could visit free for the next 15 minutes, but they would have to close promptly. With a flurry of activity that only our group of 15 can produce, we headed out to see all we could in 15 minutes. I led the group to an attraction that I felt certain they would all enjoy, a real mine environment created to give a realistic look at early mining procedures. This is particurlarly informative since we had family members mining in this part of Colorado in the early 1900's. The children went through that area several times before moving on. There was something of interest to everyone and we fanned out to explore more specific areas. There was particular interest in the neon glowing rocks in one of the rooms. I think they may have allotted us a little more than 15 minutes, but we certainly couldn't see it all.
It was icy cold in Leadville, the highest incorporated city in the continental US, but we decided to walk around town anyway. Well, "walk" might be a misnomer. The children were happy to be out and while we tried to maneuver the icy sidewalks and avoided going into the shops with our crew, the children kept running around. clambering up and down the stairs, and burning off energy. We stopped for a few minutes to eat cookies by the car (we never travel with out a few snacks) then re-boarded for the trip home.
Although there is a lot of snow on the ground, we are still waiting for it to snow while we are here..

Our Christmas Celebration

                                                                                                               Photo by ABW

We settled in to The House of Joy and Love (THOJAL) on our 26 December arrival. Amazing how much joyful noise 8 children can make. The last part of our journey was through a curvy mountain pass. Dark comes early here, which left us in the precarious position I had hoped to avoid. However, the roads were clear and we sailed in with no problem. Getting to the house itself was a challenge (we could see the yellow house, but the entrance was so snowy and icy that we had a hard time finding it). DS had dinner waiting. We visited a while, then all turned in for the night.

Sunday, 27 December
This is our Christmas Day Celebration. DS, W, and I, spent a couple of hours at the local grocery, City Market, in Buena Vista, Colorado. It was hard to manuever when people kept stopping us to exclaim over 1 year old W. Fortunately, there was a designated store employee standing near the front of the store to direct lost people like us to the proper aisle for our necessary purchases. Everyone we met was super nice in this little town. Hmmmmm....do you think they could tell we are from Texas?
Loaded to the gills, we headed back to THOJAL ready to prepare the long awaited feast.
The conversational level finally lagged as we tucked in to a partially traditional meal - turkey, dressing, giblet gravy, steamed brussel sprouts, fresh green beans, and pea-corn salad. I know, it was heavy on the green side, but we had the things we liked!
Dinner was followed by the sharing of presents. This involves the family tradition of handing the presents out and opening them one by one, a process that prolongs the procedure significantly. Our innkeeper kindly provided a small fiber-optic Christmas tree to enhance the celebration. As the children played with new toys, the adults started putting together a very complicated picture puzzle. When we finish it, we will leave it behind with a challenge for the next group to put it together in less than our recorded time. We have never heard whether anyone has taken the challenge.
The evening ended with several family members soaking in the hot tub. All declined the, sometimes traditional, roll in the snow.

Pipe Cleaners and Creativity

Also from their Great- grandmother's "stash of stuff" - pipe cleaners. Well, they were used to clean pipes at one time, but crafters discovered they could be used for a whole lot more. I don't know what my mother had planned to do with them, but the three hearts, make that four when their creative dad arrived, managed to turn them into a series of things.

Every designer needs a jazzy pair of glasses.... "The better to see you, my dear"....

Dad, alias "Gunner," dreaming up something new.....

A new outfit needs to be completely accessorized....

Junior, wearing an Em's Original Design neckpiece, has a pipe cleaner man with a line and a fish....

Happy Birthday, Mother!

Eighty-seven and growing,
Though it doesn't seem that long.
Wasn't childhood yesterday?
All my memories are so strong.

Eighty-seven and growing,
How I treasure each new year
And enjoy the days that come my way
While keeping memories dear.

Eighty-seven and growing,
Now I celebrate the years
The time I've shared along the way
Life's mingled joys and tears.
............ JTS 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOTHER

R&R for Military Couples

The troops are coming! The troops are coming!

Children, parents, siblings - all want to welcome their loved ones home. It is very important for husbands and wives to re-establish contact at this critical point in their reunions. Fortunately, there are some kind people who want to help you do just that.

Check out the list of B&B's, Guest Cottages, Inns, and Hotels from Fayetteville and other communities within Central Texas that have joined together to support returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their spouses by donating 1 or 2 night stays at their establishments. Each proprietor is thankful for veterans' service to our country and feels honored to recognize the sacrifices of their time, talents, and in many cases, health. Several have loved ones serving as well.
Project Information and Criteria:

• Eligible if on active duty deployed since 2006 to present -or- 1 month from new deployment.
• Availability is limited at each establishment, so if one choice doesn't work, do try others on the list.
• No multiple bookings - only one stay per couple.
• Identification - deployment order or something to verify service.
• No children - please do not ask to bring children. This offer is for a couple's getaway.
• Breakfast - Some establishments furnish breakfast and others do not.
  

The towns represented are about 1 hour from Houston & Austin and 2 hours from San Antonio.

Take advantage of this opportunity early in your reunion and get to know each other again. Both of you will have changed.

Please, after you return from the getaway to the normal world, send a note of thanks.

From the Memory Box - "Dancing with Dad"

I remember "Girl Scout sock hops with Dad in the school gym. We got to dance on his feet. The same thing Ki did later at DS' wedding."

Girl Scouts were a very big part of our lives! DH was traveling quite a bit during some of these formative years, so he made every effort to be available when opportunities for one-on-one activities surfaced. DH was not, by his own admission, a very good dancer. He felt his greatest expertise was in doing the "Freddie." "Do the Freddie," a hit song by Freddie and the Dreamers, spurred a momentary dance craze. In case you don't remember, The "Freddie" consisted of jumping in the air, stretching arms out at shoulder level while alternately lifting right and left legs to the side as high as possible.

Freddie and the Dreamers toured until 1968 and broke up not too long after that. In that period, when "rock" emerged and became something "serious," Freddie and the Dreamers were retroactively dismissed as innocuous popsters, never taking into account that the happy-go-lucky group never took itself so seriously. The band's accomplishments can't be denied - they couldn't resist taking offbeat material and making into hit music.

They did not play the "Freddie" at the GS sock hop; it was long gone before then. The girls stood on DH's feet and they "danced" much more sedately. I guess they should have played "Memories are Made of This."

Oh, Give Me a Home, Where the Dinosaurs Roam.....

One of the joys of keeping the children is taking them to places I would not ordinarily choose to visit. One of Abs' great interests is dinosaurs. She knows whether they are "herbivorous," "carnivorous," or "omnivorous." She knows how big they are, what their skin was like, how fast they move.....you name it, Abs can recite it. So, it was only natural that we should visit this exhibit at Zilker Park in Austin. Set in a rather natural habitat, with identifying information, and life size models, we perused the creatures and were thankful they were only models. An bonus was the myriad of "prehistoric" plants. Of course, not all these dinosaurs lived in this area, but the park does have an area counting real tracks from prehistoric visitors.
Abs lingered at each exhibit a little longer than the rest of us. At one point, the three of us sat on a bench and waited for her to join us, within eye distance, but dallying back up on the trail. I called to her several minutes later and she eventually came. A woman and her small daughter waved and called out to her as they passed by us on the trail.
"Who are they?" I queried.
"Oh, they had some questions on one of the exhibits, so I helped them out," she said matter-of-factly.
This summer I am taking Abs to an instructive week in Utah where dinosaurs really roamed. It should be an interesting and enlightening experience.

Travels with Ch - Day 3 continued

We spent the afternoon, with the three children, in the Botanical Gardens. St. Louis residents and their guests are allowed to visit the gardens regular exhibits at no cost.






There were interesting sculptures, mosaics this time, throughout the grounds. Some were designated for children to climb and explore. What a difference from the regular idea of look, but don't touch.

Travels with Ch - Day 3

It is nice to have a place to stay in St. Louis. Will be looking forward to the new B&B next door.

L opened his BD presents today since I will not be here on his BD. He was so excited over a few dinosaurs and some cardboard that folds into building blocks.











I doubt we will always get off that easily, but it is wonderful how easily they are delighted when young.




































Even Baby K got in on the fun.

A Flurry of Activity

November is Birthday Month. In my extended family there are 16 birthdays, two of them are my children's, and one is a grandchild's. December is only slightly better. Add Thanksgiving, Christmas, and anniversaries into the mix and we have a very active two months.

We celebrated DD#3's birthday at my home since she was in town for a visit. All seven grandchildren and 5 adults made for a chaotic celebration around the table. DD#3 was a good sport about it, even when her birthday cake was decorated in "fall colors," aka the orange left from Halloween, on a chocolate cake. I made small cakes for each of the grandchildren to decorate themselves.

We make it a point to get all the cousins together as much as possible when they are in town at the same time. Family bonding is difficult in this day and age when families no longer live down the street from each other, or even in the same town. My four children were born on 3 different continents. The grandchildren were born in 4 different states and one foreign country. Times have changed from the days our ancestors lived and died in the same town, sometimes even the same house. There are distinct advantages to both ways of life.

Most of us will be together for Christmas again this year. We plan to make memories to hold on to in the future.

Family Time

It was a good day for family. We met with my niece and her 13 year-old daughter, then on to view niece's DH's classroom. There were many observations to make during this time.

Niece has grown into a lovely young woman and very competemt teacher. She is excited about her job which challenges her and empowers growth. She was prepared to teach 6th graders, but was quite surprised when the principal asked her to teach digital photography in addition to her other subjects. She is rising to the occasion.

Uncle Dan's wife, M.E., maintains the center of the whirlwind around her. She is a writer, well-disciplined and focused. We have lengthy discussions on the subject of writing and its nuances. Her latest book is Science Fast Facts

Uncle Dan and M.E.'s GD, C8, has matured into a lively young teenager while retaining a touch of happy childhood. She bounces around like Tigger, hugging & chatting, cajoling and promising, while discussing her studies, chess club, and sports. I wish we could bottle her energy and enthusiasm.

In the midst of this group of women, Uncle Dan maintains his vigil and offers his counsel. While M.E. and I were shopping in different parts of the department store today, Uncle Dan drifted back and forth keeping us both in sight until he had finally herded us into a small line. He remained at the rear, moving us toward the check-out register, much as a shepherd maneuvers his sheep.

We met with one more family member, much to my delight, niece's DH. Rick is a personable addition to the family with a penchant for looking at things from different viewpoints and challenging others to do the same. He is teaching Language Arts to 7th graders this year and his classroom is embued with the same vitality as his personality and his outlook on life. It is not just "poetry", it is looking at the words from another point of view, examining why you have this point of view, questioning what can be derived from the exercise, and putting it all into context in another exercise. THEN, put all the information into perspective in your life! How I wish I had had such a teacher in my life.

We all have family members with lessons to share. It is up to us to explore people's attitudes, accept the good from them, support and them on their journey, and live life to the best of our abilities.