It’s the Monday after a big weekend. The laundry is going, school work is in progress, and the flowers in our backyard are beautiful.
What have we been up to?
ArtclassesDavisMonthanAirshowFamilyPortraitsSpeakinginchurchTeachingSunbeams(3-4yrolds)RestingWritingletterReadingRestingCryingand findingbeautyinthisdifficultplacetolive.
Today our studies took us into the Catalina foothills where the Biosphere 2 project still stands. In the late 80’s and early 90’s this was an experimental ecosystem. For two years, 8 “biospherians” lived in this sealed environment, testing whether it could be self-sustaining. This is a huge and impressive structure made of steel and glass and an intricate underground network which regulates temperature, humidity, winds, power, and rain. There are very distinct ecosystems within the biosphere: savannah, ocean, desert, and rainforest. At the onset, there were 3800 species of plants and animals living in the structure. It served as a farm, living quarters, and research center.
P.S. Biosphere 1 is the earth itself.
We celebrated Richard’s birthday today. Guess what? The gift we gave him was THE RIGHT MODEL!! I’m so relieved.
Boy, I am glad for leftovers and ibuprofen;
and a washer and dryer that did my work for me while I was away today and tonight.
I’m especially glad for hugs and kisses from little boys and a ballerina daughter who dances every move she makes.
I am grateful for the little idea to visit a friend today. It turns out she was sick. Sick people need visits, you know.
Watching the Olympics commercial-free is really a treat.
I’m grateful I found a present for Richard’s birthday and I’m also grateful for receipts and a nice return policy because I probably got the wrong thing.
It felt good to come home to a comfortable house with things going on in nearly every corner.
And now I’m off to spend some time with Richard.
Our Blue and Gold Banquet is almost ready for guests. Happy 100th Birthday, Boy Scouts of America.
Three of Daniel’s Webelos Craftsman projects on display: soldered copper man, wood-burned and stained box, wood stool.
Tacos? Burritos? Beans and Rice?
Mark tries to break the pinata.
Daniel’s killer swing breaks the pinata!
These flowers are beautiful and they are from my valentine. Timothy and I lovingly dissected one for science yesterday.
I spoke in church on Sunday about embracing family responsibilities. Now I’m bombarded with events that are challenging my will to focus on my family, but we’ll make it through this uncommonly stressful week. We’ll eat some fast food and go to bed late a few times. It’s science fair and Blue and Gold Banquet week!
I spent Sunday finishing Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell. Sigh. I read 800 pages to only see the heroine wave good-bye to her love as he went off to Africa. The screenplay captures all the good and adds a marriage that the book only implies. Summary: Just watch the BBC version and skip the novel.
My kids are taking this opportunity while I sneak a computer minute to watch a DVD in French and in slow motion. The laughter is without restraint here.
I’m judging a science fair tonight. Daniel is entering a project where he made 12 modifications to a pinewood derby car to see which modifications best improve the speed. We spent a lot of time over the weekend racing cars on the pinewood derby track and teaching him how to make graphs from a spreadsheet.
One of us is sick. Most of us are happy. The boys are making a dirt mountain in the backyard. Daniel’s cousin asked in dismay, “Why did your parents let you DO that?”
I don’t have an answer for that, but it seems like a very healthy thing for boys to do, don’t you think?
… but we had a swell time.
We never got a picture all together, but we enjoyed one day with everyone well enough to be there.
Daniel, our most adventurous boy, went on everything. Twice.
Paige had a good time, too, and was so helpful.
Timothy had a rough start on a terrifying ride, but overcame his fears and loved the rides as long as they didn’t plunge too suddenly into a dark abyss.
This was our first trip to Disneyland. Now, maybe it’s because I am adult, but these were some observations I just couldn’t reconcile in my mind:
A grandmother on the Dumbo ride; all by herself,
Mouse ears on grown-ups,
Reservations to eat with the Princesses are required 18 months in advance????
Darth Vader and Disney,
Leaving a stroller full of our belongings and not really worrying about theft,
LOVING the It’s a Small World Ride and WANTING to see Princess Aurora.
Being sentimental, I teared up as soon as I saw all the kids on a ride together, but in my haste to hide the tears, I brushed sunblock into my eye and then I really had something to cry about. It was a day of contradictions. I was amused at the childhood played out by adults, but succumbed to it myself in the end. And even though I didn’t see Princess Aurora, Paige bought me an Aurora pin on the second day I stayed home with Mark. The poor boy had an ear infection in each ear.
We’re home! We brought home antibiotics! We stayed up late talking and watching the Cranberry ladies movies (or whatever they are called). I finished a 760 page book! We all made it to Disneyland eventually. Thanks for visiting the blog. If you dear people lived closer I could tell you all kinds of juicy details over the fence and you’d hear me lapse into 19th century English, complete with accent, as one does when one watches and reads what I have lately.
We are sick with a cold that we have evaded for 8 months. A despicable, nefarious cold that waited to get us when we tried to venture to Disneyland.
The missionaries are out speaking and teaching. We’re here eating chips and sneezing. Here are some photos of our day.
4 lemons. I named them Paige, Daniel, Timothy, and Mark…not because my children are sour but because these lemons are beautiful.
We carry this friend around with us to ease our sore throats and coughs. Timothy played chess on my computer most of the day.
Here’s your reminder that Mormon missionaries are awesome.
Daniel collected berries in the backyard.
A treasure that I remember from the old days.
My sick little boy, smiling despite the trouble in his respiratory tract.
He stayed close to me most of the day; here he is snoozing on my shoulder again.
I keep finding things that remind me how my dad loves my mom. I won’t tell you the name of her listing on his cell phone, but it’s darling.
Hey, guys, you just won the Pinewood Derby. What are you going to do next?…
I believe we will take you to Disneyland.
And Richard, that was a smoking computer program you wrote for our racetrack timer.
Everybody was talking about it.
…in wood and psychedelic designs. No, Richard, I don’t need help with the camera. I want the photo to look like this.
We just need a coat of poly and the precious wheels with their polished surfaces and flawless axles. This car is poetry.
Speaking of poetry, Daniel wrote a Pinewood Derby Sonnet last spring. I share it with you now to bring you into our circle of anticipation:
The shining pinewood racing cars lined up,
In anxious silence racers waited there,
They were all thinking of the derby cup,
The happy talk and brownies they would share,
The wooden cars zoomed down the gleaming track,
The cars pulled close together then they tied,
The winning cars were hung up on the rack,
Results came in; with Joy the people cried,
With happy hearts the winners shook the hands
Of disappointed boys who lost the race,
With joy the people shouted in the stands,
There was a smile on everybody’s face,
In years to come our sportsmanship will keep;
In days to come, true happiness we’ll reap.
~Daniel Ross
