Desert Critters

This last time I was in Arizona I saw more wildlife in the desert that I ever have. Maybe it was because the rainy season was just ending and all the critters were fat and happy and moving about more than usual, or maybe I was just out and about at the right times of day, but it was interesting to me that an environment that seems so hostile for the other eleven months of the year could harbour such a variety.

One of the first local wild thing I saw was a nice fat tarantula. He was cruising across the parking lot one rainy evening.

It's hard to see how big he is in the blurry picture that I got with my cell phone, but I'd say that he was about as big as a tangerine. Not huge, but neat to see anyway.

The next morning I saw a family of javalina on the side of the road. A javalina is a kind of pig I guess - really hairy, with a long snout and funny little short legs. We also saw a doe and a fawn making their way across the desert. I thought it was kind of an odd time to see a fawn, but one of the local guys said that with the rainy season occurring in August and September and the temperatures staying warm all through December and January, it's as good a time as any for the animals to be having babies.

I also saw a couple of fat frogs. I'd never seen any frogs out there before, so it was kind of a shock to see these ones - they were huge! Maybe they were toads, I don't know, but anyway one of them seemed to like to sit right in front of the door of the hotel. When I tried to take his picture, he hissed at me.

I also saw a vulture sitting on top of a cactus one morning and a bobcat sitting in a clearing looking for supper one evening. I tried to get a picture of the bobcat, but he was too far away and blended into the grass too well.

And then there was this critter...

Oh wait, that was me after hiking to the top of Mt Wrightson on Saturday morning. One of my co-workers and I decided to tackle the 9400 foot peak - one of the most prominent features of the area - and of course it was more strenuous than either of us expected. Not technical, just long and steep. It took us six hours, round trip. My calves were so sore I could hardly walk on Sunday. I didn't see any wildlife that day other than a meadow full of bumble bees, but my companion was lagging behind me and said he saw a rattle snake in the trail. I must have walked right past him. Oh well, I guess some critters are better left unseen.

Anya

Anya hit eighteen months a few days ago and she's not looking back. Our little girl has grown up so much this summer, and every day brings new discoveries and new adventures. She discovered early on that she likes to put things in shopping carts. Now where did I put my grocery list?

Swimming with Daddy definitely ranks high on the list of Adventures To Do More Often.

And chasing Mouse, the cat, is an activity practiced as often and as vigerously as possible. We're still working on How To Pick Up A Cat 101. This is not the way.

Wow, that coffee is so strong it made my hair stand on end! Oh wait, that was Mommy that made my hair stand up like that.

Little pig tails are sooooo cute, don't you think?

Let's give the cat one more hug. Awww, nice kitty!

Okay Anya, time to put the cat down. Put him down gently. Gently! Thank you. No, not the tail! Anya!

Baby Phone Home?

The other day I overheard a mother talking about her 18 month old daughter. "She likes to play with a little calculator," she said matter-of-factly. "She holds it up to her ear like it's a cell phone."

I had to smile. It wasn't too long ago that I would have kept a toddler far away from my expensive, bulky calculator, and to hold it up to my ear as if the brick-like shape even remotely resembled a telephone handset would have been absurd. Never mind that the handset would have to be attached to the rest of the phone with the world's longest cord.

Now my entire phone is in the handset, the calculator inside is more powerful than my home computer, and the whole thing fits into a skinny, well..., brick-like shape.

And my phone is also a camera. And a music player. And a personal global locating, social networking, world wide information searching, tip calculating, star searching, game console with extra memory in case I lose mine.

And my calculator? Well, it's still just a calculator. But now I let my toddler chew on it.

Summer's End

This evening when I was giving the two smallest tornadoes a bath it was hard to tell what was dirt and what was bruises. The dirt; evidence of a hard day of play, the bruises; evidence of a very active summer.

The older boys started at their new schools this week and are looking forward to the new adventure. Kenrick is going to try the clarinet in the 5th grade band this year, and both are signed up for fall soccer. Paxton was sure that he would get to go to school this year, but alas! Two more years to go! Anya spent all day Friday wondering where her big brothers were. She's grown up a lot this summer, from just a little wobbly tyke to a hopping, jabber-mouth whirlwind with pig-tails in three short months.

As an end-of-summer treat, we met Aaron and Jenimae at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield last night and ate too much fried food, checked out the prize livestock, gawked at the parade of humanity, and rode on a few rides. Anthony immediately picked out the tallest, most upside down ride in the park - the Ring of Fire! - and since no one else wanted to try it, I got assigned to accompany him. I felt a bit upside down for the rest of the night. He didn't seem too affected, but the rest of the rides were little tamer fare. Paxton wanted to go on the roller coaster, so Kenrick went with him. They had a good time, although Paxton spent part of the ride with his face buried in his big brother's side. We went home tired and happy, a day well filled, a summer well spent.

Happiness Is...

... a cool popsicle on a hot summer day at Grandma's house.

Spreading Pandemonium

For this summer's road trip we decided that instead of everyone in the family going to the same place for vacation, we'd try something new and have everyone go someplace different.

I'm kidding. We all ended up someplace different because that's just how it happened to work out. Here's how.

First, we all drove to Boise, Idaho together. 29 hours in the van, straight through. You should try it at least once. The kids read and played games and slept.

Or, they hollered at each other or whined about being hungry or hot or tired or tormented in some way, at which point we'd stop to have something to eat and to run around a bit. Here we are, doing just that, somewhere in Wyoming.

First stop is my mom and dad's. We're all still together here, and got a chance to see Byron and Carissa and family. The cousins quickly get to know each other again. Grandma Linda's darling little back yard makes a fine place to enjoy a little dessert on a Sunday evening.

On Monday we picked up Sam's kids and went for a picnic and swim at Sandy Point and then a bike ride down on the river path back to Boise. The water was pretty cold, so the boys spent most of their time digging in the sand like dogs and burying themselves.

Mom and Mia give Anya a hand. Anya loves the water!

On Wednesday I got on a plane and flew to Arizona. I went for work, to continue some testing that we've got going there, but I did get a chance to hit a couple hiking trails around Tucson so I guess my vacation wasn't completely interrupted.

Meanwhile, Andrea headed to Baker City, Oregon with her mom and dad to camp for a couple of nights near their property there and to see her brother and his clan. The Oregon back country.

A picnic with Grandma.

Exhausted hikers.

And a cute little camp. Wish I could have been there!

Anya and Zayne get caught up on all the gossip on Stuart and Meggan's front porch.

Next, Kenrick and Anthony headed back to Idaho with Andrea's folks to get ready for their annual Birthday Adventure with Grandpa and Grandma, and Andrea pointed the van north and made for Kalispell, Montana to see her Grandpa and Grandma and to drop in on a few unsuspecting cousins.

A trip to Kalispell isn't complete without at least one ride in Uncle Dave's boat.

 The Three Musketeers, enjoying the bonfire and the brisk mountain air.

Side note: At this point in our trip Andrea is in Montana, I'm in Arizona, and Kenrick and Anthony are in Utah. Crazy, huh?

Andrea headed back to Boise in the middle of the week to pick me back up. Paxton and Anya get a chance to dip their toes in the icy Lochsa River.

I'm not sure who is helping who clean the window here, but I know Grandma enjoyed spending a little more time with the Littles.

 Now I'm back with A, P, and A and we're headed across the state to meet up with K and A. We stopped at Shoshone Falls on the way along the Snake River. Very impressive.

Finally, the crew is back together. Kenrick and Anthony and Tristan are all brimming with stories about their days with Grandpa and Grandma and their trip to Utah. I'll try to include a few of them in later posts.

We spent a few days at Steve and JoAnne's, but finally it's time to drag ourselves home. Another marathon drive and we've wrapped up another epic adventure. Between the six of us we managed to cover twelve states in three weeks, put over 4000 miles on the van and made countless memories. Hopefully we left a few smiles behind us.

What did you do this summer?

We did a little fishing with Grandpa in Lake Lowell.

All we caught was a few sticks, but it was fun anyway. Thanks Grandpa!

A Brief Visit

My sister and her husband moved from Boston to Seattle a few weeks ago and stopped briefly on their way through. I wasn't here to see them, unfortunately, but from the pictures it looks like everyone had a grand time.

Uncle Matt and Paxton work on a few chords. How great is it to have an uncle that will help a three year-old play the guitar?

 Auntie Sally always has time for a little chaos. How about a pool party!

 Looks like the Slip-n-Slide works just fine.

Push?

Babes of a feather...

It was time to go way too soon. Thanks for stopping by Sally and Matt, we love you! (Even the cat)

P.S. They made it all the way to Seattle, via Boise, safe and sound.

Monkey

The other evening Paxton stomped around the corner of the house to where I was working on the patio and sat down in a huff. He muttered to himself for a while, then I heard him say, "I don't like Anthony! He should be put in a cage, because he's a monkey!"

Happy Toes

This evening I went for a jog in my new Vibram Five Fingers. Toes are happy, but whooo!, my calves are feeling the burn!

Tadpole

Anya had a blast at the pool yesteday. She's always loved water, like a little tadpole. Maybe she's really a frog who's been turned into a princess...?

Habit Forming

The sign on the door says "Caution, Habit Forming."

The BBQ inside says "Whoooeeee!"

This little  funky-painted, home-smoked, don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it hole in the wall is definitely on my list of the best sauce I've ever wiped off my chin. We stumbled upon the BrushFire BBQ when I was in Tucson in May and I had a hankering for brisket and smoked sausage tonight so I hunted it down and got sauce on my chin again. Some habits are better than others.

Can Anyone Hear Me?

The other night at the dinner table there were two or three lively discussions going on at once and Anthony was having a hard time getting anyone's attention. Above the din I heard him exclaim,"Am I EVER going to get a chance to say something?"

Better get used to it, buddy.

Kitten Update

We took one little kitty cat home from the convention grounds shortly after we moved to Big Rock with the intention of getting her fixed so that we would only ever have one. But we never got around to it and so our little kitty had five little kittens about a month before we were to move to Decatur. Lovely.

The kids were thrilled, of course. Anya's one "ditty" became "ditty! ditty! ditty!" and she enjoyed watching them grow and play.

And they got lots of love...

 Anthony in particular enjoyed gathering all the cats together and just letting them climb all over him.

They were still too young to give away when it came time to pack up and move, so we cut a few holes in a cardboard box and took them down to Monticello with us. Momma kitty immediately escaped out of the box, but found a spot to sit looking out the back window and seemed content to ride there. Everyone made it safe and sound.

So we enjoyed having the kittens around as they grew and started to play as only kittens can.  But we really don't need six cats, so last week we had the kids pick the one they wanted to keep and then put up the "Free Kittens" sign at the end of the drive. Sure enough, someone stopped on Wednesday and picked out one of the grey ones, then two ladies stopped on Friday and took all three orange ones.

And we haven't seen Momma Kitty since Thursday night and suspect that the coyotes got her.

Which, sadly, leaves us with just one little grey kitty.

His name is Mouse.