April 1, 2013
Mexicana time
We are on day four of our trip down to mexico. We spent friday through saturday in guzman, and now we are in a vista overlooking the ocean in monzanillo. We spent our time in guzman hanging out at dave, kathrine, and peggys house.They live in a pretty big house, especially by mexican standards, right across from an orphanage and very close to a bus stop. Needless to say, there is always a lot of activity out on the streets (they live on a corner, so its a bit surrounded by people coming and going. Great if you are into people watching, which I am).Their house is has a small yard with lots of tall happy healthy plants. Gramma peggy has been having a great time growing pretty much whatever she can get her hands on. Peggy looks fabulous. Since going to mexico she has lost weight without even really trying, made lots of friends, and she looks happier than I've ever seen her. It was nice to see that:)
Anyways, the whole house and yard has a tall pointy fence (ornate and pretty, but capable of skewering a climber-would-be) around it. It's actually great, because as much as mexico has seemed to help the health and mental disposition of all who moved there, it still poses some big dangers, such as being kidnapped for ransom. So, the fence is a good thing. Now, most people would look at the top of that fence and think climbing it would be a bad idea, as the pointiness is communicating that very idea. My daughter, however, decided to laugh at danger, climb the fence, and straddle the tall wood post the first day we were there. Guess she wanted to pose a fearless disposition to all mexico that first day, and indeed i saw plenty of spectators on both corner streets when I finally came out and saw what she was up to (peggy has casually told me kloe was outside climbing the fence, but it had been 2 in the morning when we had got there the night before, and pitch dark, so I missed the insinuated implication that kloe was out there toying with death). All the watchers were pretty quiet, all the better to not miss the crazy little white girl either falling to the sidewalk and breaking, or more likely falling toward the points and getting skewered. My first inclination was to run at her screaming GET OFF OF THERE, but instead I found myself talking calmly and quietly like you might do to a person ready to jump from a tall building. "Kloe dear, please (whispered:for the love if god) get down from that fence."- all said in soothing mr. Rogers tones. I wanted to help , but she insisted on scrambling over the points like a suicidal monkey, and after a few heart stopping moments, jumping to the ground. To keep from killing her myself at that point, I maintained my mr. Rogers persona, and gently told her to never ever do that again.
So, that was first thing after coffee on the first day. After that, we mostly hung out and met quite a few of their new friends from their congregation. That friday we met Lucy, herlindo and their 9 year old daughter casia. Kloe and casia hit it off immediately.Lucy said after they got home, casia pined for kloe and missed her until they met again the next day at meeting. It was such an anne of green gables situation. others we met (and I'm writing this for the sake of my memory) were armina and her three children tamara, samantha and oscar (her husband oscar sr. Was sick, but we are having dinner with them on weds so we'll meet then), and tonya and her husband danela. Jasa's parents were also there, and also the bargases.
We left there yesterday (sunday), and drove to monzanillo where we rented the vista I mentioned at first. There is a pool here, which the kids have been in almost constantly since we've been here. They did pause briefly to go knock a coconut out if a tree and then drop it from the top floor to see it shatter below, but then it was back to the pool. They are taking a nap right now- first time I've made them do that in a long time, but they've already about worn themselves out, and we still want to drive to the ocean to play there today.
My only complaint so far is that I am trying to get sick- some sort of chest cold and headache. I am not really surprised- while my mind loves travel and experiencing new things, my body has many times told me to KNOCK THAT CRAP OFF AND STAY HOME- that was my body typing in all caps. Rude! Anyways, I'm fighting it with the tools I have- ibuprofen and hydration.
I'm writing this with my phone in mexico... both have a way of making my blog publish weirdly. Let's see what this looks like...
March 28, 2013
December 25, 2012
Lost Trail Ski/Snowboarding Day
Early December 25th, we head out for Lost Trail to do a little skiing and snowboarding. It had been two years since the kids and I have been able to go, so I didn't know how great we were going to be.
Turn out, the kids were great- they picked right up from where they had left off. They spent a lot of the day on the bunny hill, getting reacquainted with the whole idea of sliding down a hill while standing with things attached to their feet.
We stayed with them until we knew they were going to be fine, and then we look a few runs with friends. It is cool that the kids are at an age now where Derrick and I can ski together, instead of taking turns while one of us stays with the kids. :)
Derrick took Derrin down his first big run, while Kloe and I warmed up in the lodge. When they got back, all four of us went on a big run together. The first little bit was hard for Kloe because it was so much steeper than the bunny hill. I remember how scary learning to turn from side to side can be. There was the moment where she realized there was no going back; a little bit of panic ensued. After she got up and decided going down the slope was the only way she was going to get off the mountain, she rocked it. She was all ready to head back up by the end, but unfortunately by then, it was time to go.
We hope we can get out there two or three more times this year. All of our skiing/snowboarding abilities would surely benefit.
Turn out, the kids were great- they picked right up from where they had left off. They spent a lot of the day on the bunny hill, getting reacquainted with the whole idea of sliding down a hill while standing with things attached to their feet.
We stayed with them until we knew they were going to be fine, and then we look a few runs with friends. It is cool that the kids are at an age now where Derrick and I can ski together, instead of taking turns while one of us stays with the kids. :)
Derrick took Derrin down his first big run, while Kloe and I warmed up in the lodge. When they got back, all four of us went on a big run together. The first little bit was hard for Kloe because it was so much steeper than the bunny hill. I remember how scary learning to turn from side to side can be. There was the moment where she realized there was no going back; a little bit of panic ensued. After she got up and decided going down the slope was the only way she was going to get off the mountain, she rocked it. She was all ready to head back up by the end, but unfortunately by then, it was time to go.
We hope we can get out there two or three more times this year. All of our skiing/snowboarding abilities would surely benefit.
 |
| Before skiing (nice pose for mom... uh huh) |
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| AFTER skiing... passed out cold. It was a good day. |
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| Almost there!! |
December 18, 2012
What I CAN Control
Sometimes this world offers us a situation that rocks our world because evil has shown it's face, and we struggle knowing we have very little power to keep it from showing it's face again.
The knowledge that some madmen shot and killed 20 precious little kids last Friday in Connecticut is devastating. Yesterday at work, I was browsing some news articles during a quiet moment, and clicked into an interview of one of the little girl's parents. How I thought I could handle that, I don't know, but the next thing I knew I was in the bathroom unable to stop crying. Reading about a parents worst nightmare come true will do that to a lot of people.
This situation immediately brought up the debate of gun control. I don't have strong opinions about the matter. But, my life has taught me a few lessons concerning guns that I implement into my own life.
Being raised in Montana has put me in close personal contact with a lot of hard core hunters. I was raised in a house that had lots of rifles, and other guns. My parents always had a giant handgun that Dad kept under his side of the bed. As a child, unbeknownst to my parents, I always knew about that gun. I used to go lay on the floor by their bed and take it out to examine. It wasn't like they hadn't talked to me about the dangers of guns; they had. I knew I was forbidden from even touching the hunting rifles that they kept downstairs. But I was very curious about the forbidden and hidden hand gun under the bed. I remember holding my finger on the trigger, but I never had the guts to actually pull it. It probably wasn't loaded, but it just demonstrates how easily something could happen when a gun is in the house.
When I was about six, I used to play with the grandchildren of a lady who owned the little cafe in Paradise; a litte boy and girl about my brother and my ages. I wasn't super close with them or anything, but if I was out wandering through Paradise looking for an adventure (at six I'm pretty sure I wasn't "allowed" to just wander either, but I did pretty often- consequences always waiting for me when I returned) and they were out, I would play with them. One day I overheard my parents talking about the grandchildren at the cafe. The little boy had been playing with a gun and accidentally shot and killed his sister.
As I grew up, there were other times I heard about kids playing with guns and having horrible consequences.
I went to hunters safety when I was around fourteen; sort of a rite of passage for all Montana kids. Even though I was never to be a hunter (I have never shot a gun at anything more than a beer bottle, not for any bad feelings about guns but because I don't like the taste of wild game, or any red meat for that matter), I at least learned to really respect guns. As far as having guns for hunting, I have nothing against it. Every year I do hear about hunting accidents where someone has been accidentally shot, but to me that adds up to there is some risk to almost any activity, and a hunter has made the conscious decision and decided the risk was worth it.
When I see people talking about their "rights" to bear arms, it usually has nothing to do with hunting. It is always toted as self-defense against the bad guys. The thing is, in all of my 36 years, I have rarely heard of a bad guy getting shot by the good guy in a moment of self-defense. I have, on the other hand, heard of lots of innocent people being accidentally shot by their own (or their parents) guns.
I have absolutely NO IDEA why anyone would need an assault rifle. The mother of the guy who shot all of the kids actually ENCOURAGED him to practice shooting her guns at a shooting range because she thought it was good for him to handle something that "required so much respect". It wasn't in SPITE of his mental instability that she did this, it was BECAUSE of his mental instability that she chose to do this. As some sort of mental and emotional therapy. Okay, where was the disconnect between her brain cells in this situation?
Personally, I hate guns. As an adult and a parent, I have never wanted them in my house. Derrick "inherited" a hand gun from his brother, but it stays locked up in a safe where my kids will never be tempted to touch it. It DOES have a purpose for us, however. We take it with us whenever we go on our long hikes in the mountains of Montana. But it is a weighed decision of what danger to us is greater, the bears or the gun. I'd rather never have that gun with us, but I'd also rather not be eaten by a bear. So, obviously there are times when guns are good for self-protection.
When my kids are old enough, I want both of them to take hunters safety. I don't know if either of them will ever choose to be hunters, but I feel the same way about hunters safety as I do about swimming lessons. I want them to have the knowledge it takes to keep themselves and others safe (as far as they can help it). I may not be able to control other people's opinion about how to manage gun safety, but I can control my attitude towards it, and also help my children know HOW to be safe around guns.
Do I think there should be government enforced gun control? This article talks about other countries who have used different gun control tactics with good results. Evil isn't so easy to control, but making tools of mass destruction harder to come by would be a good start. It isn't the permanent solution, but it would add a little more safety in the meantime.
It was hard sending the kids to school yesterday and today. It is a knee jerk reaction to never send them to public school again, and to start them in home school. I may actually decide to home school my kids someday, but if I do, it's not going to be a fear based decision.
When I go to the mall or the movies, I always try to find escape exits and I scan the crowd looking for weirdos. But I am not going to stop going to those public places.
My job makes me nervous these days as well. Yesterday, a guy came in and stood at my counter. He held his hands below the counter awkwardly, and I kept waiting for him to put them where I could see them. It scared me; I completely visualized a hidden gun. I work at a government funded office, and because of the nature of our programs and the help they offer, the people who walk through those doors are not always mentally or emotionally well. Also, people don't always get the financial help that they think they deserve in some of our other programs. We have all dealt with angry (and unbalanced) people there. We have a protocol to follow if anyone ever comes in to cause mayhem; hopefully it would help most people stay safe. However, I am at the front desk. But I am still going to go to work there.
Every day I have a choice. I can choose to live every day in fear and let my world get smaller and smaller or I can choose to LIVE in spite of the danger. I hope I always choose to really live, even knowing that this world comes with no guarantees of safety.
The knowledge that some madmen shot and killed 20 precious little kids last Friday in Connecticut is devastating. Yesterday at work, I was browsing some news articles during a quiet moment, and clicked into an interview of one of the little girl's parents. How I thought I could handle that, I don't know, but the next thing I knew I was in the bathroom unable to stop crying. Reading about a parents worst nightmare come true will do that to a lot of people.
This situation immediately brought up the debate of gun control. I don't have strong opinions about the matter. But, my life has taught me a few lessons concerning guns that I implement into my own life.
Being raised in Montana has put me in close personal contact with a lot of hard core hunters. I was raised in a house that had lots of rifles, and other guns. My parents always had a giant handgun that Dad kept under his side of the bed. As a child, unbeknownst to my parents, I always knew about that gun. I used to go lay on the floor by their bed and take it out to examine. It wasn't like they hadn't talked to me about the dangers of guns; they had. I knew I was forbidden from even touching the hunting rifles that they kept downstairs. But I was very curious about the forbidden and hidden hand gun under the bed. I remember holding my finger on the trigger, but I never had the guts to actually pull it. It probably wasn't loaded, but it just demonstrates how easily something could happen when a gun is in the house.
When I was about six, I used to play with the grandchildren of a lady who owned the little cafe in Paradise; a litte boy and girl about my brother and my ages. I wasn't super close with them or anything, but if I was out wandering through Paradise looking for an adventure (at six I'm pretty sure I wasn't "allowed" to just wander either, but I did pretty often- consequences always waiting for me when I returned) and they were out, I would play with them. One day I overheard my parents talking about the grandchildren at the cafe. The little boy had been playing with a gun and accidentally shot and killed his sister.
As I grew up, there were other times I heard about kids playing with guns and having horrible consequences.
I went to hunters safety when I was around fourteen; sort of a rite of passage for all Montana kids. Even though I was never to be a hunter (I have never shot a gun at anything more than a beer bottle, not for any bad feelings about guns but because I don't like the taste of wild game, or any red meat for that matter), I at least learned to really respect guns. As far as having guns for hunting, I have nothing against it. Every year I do hear about hunting accidents where someone has been accidentally shot, but to me that adds up to there is some risk to almost any activity, and a hunter has made the conscious decision and decided the risk was worth it.
When I see people talking about their "rights" to bear arms, it usually has nothing to do with hunting. It is always toted as self-defense against the bad guys. The thing is, in all of my 36 years, I have rarely heard of a bad guy getting shot by the good guy in a moment of self-defense. I have, on the other hand, heard of lots of innocent people being accidentally shot by their own (or their parents) guns.
I have absolutely NO IDEA why anyone would need an assault rifle. The mother of the guy who shot all of the kids actually ENCOURAGED him to practice shooting her guns at a shooting range because she thought it was good for him to handle something that "required so much respect". It wasn't in SPITE of his mental instability that she did this, it was BECAUSE of his mental instability that she chose to do this. As some sort of mental and emotional therapy. Okay, where was the disconnect between her brain cells in this situation?
Personally, I hate guns. As an adult and a parent, I have never wanted them in my house. Derrick "inherited" a hand gun from his brother, but it stays locked up in a safe where my kids will never be tempted to touch it. It DOES have a purpose for us, however. We take it with us whenever we go on our long hikes in the mountains of Montana. But it is a weighed decision of what danger to us is greater, the bears or the gun. I'd rather never have that gun with us, but I'd also rather not be eaten by a bear. So, obviously there are times when guns are good for self-protection.
When my kids are old enough, I want both of them to take hunters safety. I don't know if either of them will ever choose to be hunters, but I feel the same way about hunters safety as I do about swimming lessons. I want them to have the knowledge it takes to keep themselves and others safe (as far as they can help it). I may not be able to control other people's opinion about how to manage gun safety, but I can control my attitude towards it, and also help my children know HOW to be safe around guns.
Do I think there should be government enforced gun control? This article talks about other countries who have used different gun control tactics with good results. Evil isn't so easy to control, but making tools of mass destruction harder to come by would be a good start. It isn't the permanent solution, but it would add a little more safety in the meantime.
It was hard sending the kids to school yesterday and today. It is a knee jerk reaction to never send them to public school again, and to start them in home school. I may actually decide to home school my kids someday, but if I do, it's not going to be a fear based decision.
When I go to the mall or the movies, I always try to find escape exits and I scan the crowd looking for weirdos. But I am not going to stop going to those public places.
My job makes me nervous these days as well. Yesterday, a guy came in and stood at my counter. He held his hands below the counter awkwardly, and I kept waiting for him to put them where I could see them. It scared me; I completely visualized a hidden gun. I work at a government funded office, and because of the nature of our programs and the help they offer, the people who walk through those doors are not always mentally or emotionally well. Also, people don't always get the financial help that they think they deserve in some of our other programs. We have all dealt with angry (and unbalanced) people there. We have a protocol to follow if anyone ever comes in to cause mayhem; hopefully it would help most people stay safe. However, I am at the front desk. But I am still going to go to work there.
Every day I have a choice. I can choose to live every day in fear and let my world get smaller and smaller or I can choose to LIVE in spite of the danger. I hope I always choose to really live, even knowing that this world comes with no guarantees of safety.
December 1, 2012
Mario Party 2012
In an amazing feat of Sabrina's imagination, we had a Mario Bothers Party December 1st. As you can see from the pictures, her whole house was Mario Brother themed, including a huge box maze that went down her stairs and then wrapped around her living room. The kids spent literally HOURS going up and down the stairs and through the maze, which was awesome for the parents, who spent all of their kid free time in the kitchen eating party food.
Kloe dressed up as Baby Bowser (girl version), and Derrin was Koopa Troopa. I had no idea who these characters were, despite the fact that I actually played and WON the original Mario Brothers, all the way through level 8. No matter, a quick googling and I knew basically what needed to be done to make the costumes. Derrick and I were Mario and Luigi, which made for lots of fun/icky fun (for me) with the moustache kissing :)
November 25, 2012
Brandi Carlile, Sushi, and Seattle (aka, time with David and Tia)
We were able to get out of Dodge for the long weekend to see some of our favorite peeps: David and Tia! We headed out on Thanksgiving day, so the roads were eerily quiet.
David and Tara were pretty busy the first day, so Derrick, the kids and I messed around a bit in Seattle. We ate at one of our favorite Sushi places, and drove around looking at the city. That night we took the kids to the movie. We went to "Life of Pi" thinking it was going to be this great kid show (it is rated PG!!) and it turned out to be one of the scariest movies ever. I almost had to leave with Kloe, and both the people ahead of us and behind us gave us sympathetic/amused looks as soon as the movie was over. I should have just taken the girl during the movie- it was way too much for her.
We just enjoyed Saturday. It was nice getting to spend a quiet day together.
Sunday we went to see Brandi Carlile perform with the Seattle symphony at Benaroya hall. She is so good; we all had a great time.
David and Tara were pretty busy the first day, so Derrick, the kids and I messed around a bit in Seattle. We ate at one of our favorite Sushi places, and drove around looking at the city. That night we took the kids to the movie. We went to "Life of Pi" thinking it was going to be this great kid show (it is rated PG!!) and it turned out to be one of the scariest movies ever. I almost had to leave with Kloe, and both the people ahead of us and behind us gave us sympathetic/amused looks as soon as the movie was over. I should have just taken the girl during the movie- it was way too much for her.
We just enjoyed Saturday. It was nice getting to spend a quiet day together.
Sunday we went to see Brandi Carlile perform with the Seattle symphony at Benaroya hall. She is so good; we all had a great time.
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