TGIF. And shark cat.

All credit for finding this gem goes to Lu.

I don't know why a cat in a shark costume riding a Roomba makes me so happy, but it does.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Sweet Sixteen

Remember this?

Lu, age 9

Me too. Feels like yesterday.  That was Lu's first birthday on this blog. Today, my sweet girl is sixteen. 

Happy birthday, baby!

Great Big All American Girl Roadtrip: Photos

We made it home safe and sound about a week ago! It was an adventure, I'll grant you that.

We started in Sante Fe, and stayed in the cutest little hotel a block or two from the plaza, which was perfect because we could walk everywhere. We ate the first night at the Blue Corn Cafe, which I can highly recommend. Yummy food, great atmosphere and lovely people.

This was one of those times I wished I was more like my friend Debbie, because there was a group of French tourists eating a few tables away and they could not translate the menu (and no French speakers in the house!) When one of men received his dish of "macaroni & cheese", his expression was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. Not what he was expecting!

Our first morning we walked to the Loretto Chapel.

It was beautiful, but like most things in life, smaller and more commercialized than I expected. (It's no longer a church, but a privately owned tourist attraction.)

After that we made our way to Petroglyph National Monument down in Albuquerque and then northwest to Chaco Canyon.

I have never been on a rougher road than the road to Chaco. I thought my teeth were going to shake out of my skull. It's 21 miles off the highway and something like 13 of that is dirt road. Apparently they don't use road graders out in the back country though, and it's basically one long cattleguard of dirt and stone. Ouch. I had a headache by the time we got there!

But the pueblo dwellings were beautiful. I wish I had enjoyed this part more, especially in light of the next day on our trip.

We drove across the rest of NM and into Arizona to Kayenta, the closest town to Monument Valley.  We hiked down to view the Navajo National Monument:

And then drove out to Monument Valley for a sunset Jeep tour in the back country. Honestly? It's impossible to take a bad picture of Monument Valley. It is GORGEOUS.

That last photo was taken about 5 minutes before I fell off a rock and partially dislocated my kneecap. You know the most fun you can have on vacation? Hint: It's not in the emergency room. 

So, four x-rays, two crutches, and one sleepless night later, we drove back through monument valley on our way to Colorado, cutting our trip short since I was not in prime driving condition any longer. 

The money shot:

We drove through "Mexican Hat":

And landed in Mesa Verde National Park.  I'm pretty miserable at this point (and thinking the doctor was probably right when he told me to stay in the hotel for 36 hours before I attempted to drive), but the view was pretty on the way up. 

You know what no one ever told me about Mesa Verde? It's at the top of a mountaintop mesa. Twenty-one miles of hairpin turns and sheer dropoffs. At 20 mph. 

I couldn't do it. We only made it 9 miles before we were both carsick and I could barely stand to lift my foot to hit the break (not a good Rx for that drive).  So...Mesa Verde. Sorry we missed you!

We drove on to Durango to spend our last night, and Colorado (what little we saw of it) was lovely:

It took over 15 hours to drive home the next day, but I've never been so glad to see my bed in my life. 

I'm glad to be home! 

ps. I'm off crutches now and the kneecap is improving. Which is good news...I leave for Belize in 2 weeks!

Great Big All American Girl Road Trip

Southwest Edition.

Lu and I are about to embark on a road trip. We're heading west, but other than that we have no set itinerary.

This is 50% making me crazy and 50% very liberating. For obvious reasons, I'm not giving exact details before they happen, but I can tell you that these things are on our "must see" list:

Loretto Chapel - source
Sante Fe, NM

Chaco Canyon - source

Monument Valley - source

Arches National Park - source

Rocky Mountain National Park - source

Our wish list is pretty long, so probably debatable whether we can squeeze all that in, but you know us! We Dream Big! :)

See you on the flip side!

I dreamed a dream.

Anne Hathaway's I Dreamed A Dream scene alone

is worth the price of the ticket. 

Go.

Merry Christmas!

From our house, 

to yours,

we wish you a 

Merry Christmas!

That one moment

when you bug everyone with pictures to prove how handsome your kid is.

And not to be left out, the baby of the family, Lu:

I know you're all extremely happy I flapped my digital bragbook all over you.  You're welcome.

And I leave you with the one where I ended up rolling on the ground, trying not to wet myself.

Elvis Lives.

paradox.

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts 

there can be no more hurt, only more love. 

~Mother Teresa

Lu.

The most beautiful girl I know.

I don't know
How I survived
In this cold and empty world
For all this time
I only know
That I'm alive
Because you love me

When I recall
What I've been through
There's some things
That I wish I didn't do
And now I do
The things I do
Because you love me 

~JoDee Messina/Because You Love Me

joy.

We are shaped by our thoughts; 

we become what we think. 

When the mind is pure, 

joy follows like a shadow 

that never leaves.

~Buddha

Birthday Girl

She has the biggest imagination

 the biggest heart 

the biggest smile.

 (and sometimes the biggest attitude.

but we love her anyway.)

She thinks I'm the goofiest mother ever.

I think she's the best girl I've ever met.

She's 15.

Happy birthday, baby.

 

Summer Day Trippin'

Yesterday Lu and I trekked up into Missouri to visit the George Washington Carver National Monument. Now she has one more Passport cancellation stamp in her book.  We've been trying to hit those within driving distance for the past couple of summers.  Last year we did Hot Springs National Park and Pea Ridge National Battlefield. 

This site is home to the birthplace of George Washington Carver.  It's tucked back in Missouri farmland and is one of the prettiest parks we've visited.  It may not have the grandeur of Yellowstone, the Tetons or the Grand Canyon, but for a day trip, it was well worth the visit.

There's a small museum inside the visitor center that details George's childhood and life, and a little one-room schoolhouse replica.  There's also a working science lab! 

The interactive educational exhibits were pretty awesome, maybe the best I've seen in any visitor center, including the "big" ones.  There is a 3/4-1 mile hike outside that takes you past his birth site and around the original homestead.

It's a gorgeous nature walk, and the park ranger gives a 1-hour interpretive walk too.  (We took to the trail on our own though, with the brochure).

A stream runs through the property that is gorgeous, and reminds me of the streams running through the woods here where I grew up.  Actually the entire trail reminded me a lot of my childhood, tramping through the woods and splashing through creeks, sometimes with friends, sometimes with a dog trailing me, sometimes alone.  This is where I grew up and may be the best example of what this part of the country looks like for you foreigners (or as my son calls you, city folk). ;)

the water is beautifully crystal clear

The end of the trail takes you through a field of wildflowers and passes by a small cemetary where Moses and Sarah Carver are buried.  George is buried at Tuskegee, AL.

There's a really pretty picnic area too, where we ate lunch before we hiked. 

Most excellent day trip.  If you're in the area, I recommend visiting!

And in a completely fun "small world" moment, the park ranger on duty when we got to the park graduated from the same college (NSU) as me within the same time frame!  As an education major!  It was a fun coincidence.

I mentioned that I've been saying for the past few years that when I "stop teaching" I'd like to work or volunteer at a NP,  and she told me about the Teacher to Ranger to Teacher program.  I've got to say, it sounds very, very cool.  It will be a few years before I don't have kiddos at home in the summer (sob! my babies!), but I am definitely keeping the program in mind for the future!  Fun!