Grand Canyon!

Yes, we did it!  

Grand Canyon in February. 

We visited over break and were able to stay for one night.  We awoke before sunrise the next morning just to watch the sun rise over the canyon.  Freezing ice pellets fell on us and about one hundred other diehards, as we quietly watched the sun cast its light upon the canyon.   Despite Anna's very super, very real fear of heights, we managed to view the canyon from multiple places and took in the enormity the canyon.  

We were so very, very happy to have seen the Canyon.   

  

Sedona Hike

While out in Arizona we stopped in Sedona just to hike up Cathedral Rock.  Anna and I hiked this 15 years ago when we went there together and we remembered it to be so beautiful we wanted to hike it again with the boys.  And as our memory told us, it was just as spectacular, just as gorgeous, just as amazing the second time.  

Creative Little Dude

                                       

It's been a fun time lately as our boys have been getting recognized for  some of their outstanding characteristics, from Anders' being a good collaborator to Kuba being a creative little dude.   Here are some photo's from this week when Kuba got recognized for his creativity.   We know this about him and celebrate it regularly at home....it was fun to see him celebrated out of the home too!

Kuba pointing to his bird print

Kuba and his art teacher, Ms. Leaphart

Kuba with his award certificate

What I've Learned After A Week With The Flu

March 2017 - the month we all got the flu - or as I like to call it - when the bubonic plague hit North St.

The flu took us down this past week..hard...flattened.  All four of us burning with fever, immobilized by exhaustion,  wracked with hacking coughs and fierce sore throats.   No exaggeration.  We spent days and days and days and days on the couch surrounded by tissues, empty water glasses, tea cups, soup bowls, and general disarray because not one of us was well enough to move.  And here's what I learned:

1.  Make friends.   They can help by bringing warm soup, fresh bread, or other necessary remedies.
     (Thank god we have some!)

2.  Just lie there.   Give it up.  Don't even try to do anything at all until it breaks and you are free again.

3.  When you are lying there so sure you are dying, unable to sleep, finding comfort in nothing, hang on to the
     tiny thought that you will get better.   This too shall pass.

4.  Know how lucky you are if there is no vomiting and in this case there was NO VOMITING

5.  Kids heal faster than grown ups.

6.  Kids can lay around doing nothing more easily than grown ups.

7.  You will examine your whole life while you are feverish and everything will feel and look bleak and
     depressing and you'll wonder what you ever did of worth in your life.....
     yet, once you feel better you'll remember you are a good person and there is a sun.

8.  You'll want to drink a lot of water.   It'll be easy to drink a lot of water.  And tea.  And juice.  And broth.

9.  Don't feel guilty for taking time off from work.  Take what you need.

10.  You're going to blow through a bottle of advil.  Keep it on hand for just this reason.

11.  Make sure you have some really cozy blankets handy.  Enough for everyone.

12.  You won't care if you wear the same clothes for days and days, or what your hair looks like.

13.  Brush your teeth though....even if you don't feel like it.   It makes your mouth happy, and you'll feel
       really proud of yourself for accomplishing something.

14.  You'd never guess how many solicitor calls you'll get on your home phone during the day and you'll
       hate the ring tone by the end of the week.   Unplug the evil phone.

15.  Getting sick - really sick - sucks.  Wish it on no one.

Belated Bouncing Birthday Boys

You  know  you  are  a  bit  busy  when  the   birthday  party  for  your  boys  is one month (or four months)  late.   Yet - still, it happened!   We  held  a  combo  belated  birthday  party today  at  Getair... a  fun  bouncing  trampoline  kind  of  birthday... and  as  I  sit  and  type  

I can think of only two words...

mission accomplished!

 

City Art Show

Kuba’s Art was selected to be in the City Art Show which show cased art from all of Burlington’s elementary schools.  What a clever little artist he is and what a sweet reduction print.  
 

Cactus Crazy

We visited Anna's dad this February vacation...flew to Phoenix, Arizona for a week.  We were mainly stationed in Mesa, Arizona where he lives, but traveled a lot.  We went down to the Sonora Desert Museum - which was amazing in beauty for a day.  We went up to the Grand Canyon for an overnight, which was cold and vast and amazing.  We hiked in Sedona on the way back and that we without a doubt the best part of the trip in so many ways...gorgeous sky, rock, and of course that climb!!  I fell in love with the cacti while I was there and took hundreds of photo's of them.   SOOO beautiful.  So varied.  So different than any of the vegetation out here on the east coast.    We ate lots of citrus that we picked off the trees in the yard...oranges, lemons, grapefruit, blood oranges.   All there ready to be picked, hanging on the branch looking so darn citrusy and happy and ready to be had.    The weather was not super hot, not super ideal, but it was much warmer than home and we didn't care one speck.  We were just happy to visit Bjorn in his territory.   More photo's and stories will come.   I wanted to write about Anders new plane, and show some great photo's of the hikes we took.