My how they grow!

It's chicken time again.

Let's do a little throw back 2009.  Our first chicken year

Here are the darling children choosing chicks in 2014.

That's how we do

Without sounding long winded let's just say I haven't had many relaxed days at home lately.  I could probably count the # on 1 hand for the last 6 months.  That doesn't mean I haven't had good days, just not relaxed days at home.  In an attempt to fit everything into my weekend off, I did something my momma would do.  I drove 6 hours 1 way for a baby shower, turned around and came home!

We didn't even have to wake up that early to make it all happen!  We left a little after 7am, fueled up the car, fueled up Momma--Grande Cafe Americano, no room--, and stopped by Whole Foods Market Mason for breakfast.  Paul, our friendly sushi maker, rolled up 3 quinoa brown rice veggie rolls for our breakfast.  2 fine customer service team members assisted us in our purchases, wished us safe travels and off we went.

Then is went a little like this: I had a road trip dance party listening to my favorite motivating tunes on spotify.  Have I mentioned how much I like spotify?  Music at my fingertips.  Seriously? What's better?

Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Gin Wigmore, Queen, Karmin, B-52s, Lady GaGa, and most definitely the Black Eyed Peas! I easily burned off the calories from the baby shower food.

Ezra was sound asleep for hours.  He is growing and there were legs everywhere!  Legs scrunched up, legs on the headrest, legs kicking me in the back...you get the picture.

Terje is a little more sutble in his music.  I'm waving my arms, singing out loud, and generally making an ass of myself while he is cool, calm, and collected looking fly in the backseat.

It's hard for my kids because they will never be as awesome as their Mom. Oh, how I make myself laugh.

What trip to Michigan is complete without a stop at Whole Foods Cranbrook? None. That's right. It's mandatory.  I am also required to spend at least $35 on lunch for 3 people.  I am at a whole foods almost everyday of my life but I get in that darn store and I forget that the hot bar is heavy and I pay for it by the pound!  And I always insist on buying fresh juice and kombucha beer.  Oh wait, now my bill is closer to $60.
 And today I saw the CUTEST onsie, so of course I had to buy it for baby Emmet/Easton Charles Sherman.  It screamed stylish but not pretentious baby.  Just like Amanda. So let's fast forward to the best baby shower moments!

Amanda crying over the sweetest gifts, including a sweater hand knit by Grandma.  The love and appreciation filled the room. I had tears.  I know, no shocker, I'm a crier but really it was touching.  So touching I won't post the picture because Momma to be was overcome, read Oprah's ugly cry.  Come on, we've all been there and it was super sweet.

At some point we were all in the basement painting nursery decorations and a storm was brewing.  Wind, hail, POWER OUTAGE! Shingles and limbs in the road and traffic lights out means it was time to head home.  One would think we'd stay put and settle in but no.

And just like this blog my trip rambled on and on. Until it was over.    

Traveling

10:25 eastern standard time
I'm sitting in seat 23c on delta flight 902 somewhere over Central America wondering when, where, and how I'll take my next adventure. I'm not even home yet but I know I'll go everywhere else. I always do.

I'm sad leaving Costa Rica today. It was a fun and knowledge filled trip. I realized my Spanish is lousy at best. And even though mother nature can be harsh and turbulent she is also beautiful and calming.

The family next to me is flying to Disney world! They've never flown before, never visited the states, and never paid $7 for a tiny shot of whiskey on a plane. I'm so excited for them to experience a place I love.

I want my next trip to be international. I want to take the boys. I want them to experience the world. With that being said, I'd be happy to travel state side. Our country is beautiful and diverse. As far as out of the country, E would like to visit England or the Caribbean to snorkel. James-Thailand or Spain.  T- won't admit to wanting to go anywhere. Me-well everywhere. I mean I don't know. I'd love to visit Thailand, England, Spain, the Caribbean but I think I'd like to go to Sweden and Norway. Heck, I'd be happy to go back to Maine :) oh I do want to visit some Canadian national parks like Banff.

Life and travel involve planning. Guess I need a plan. And patience. Good thing I've been practicing/learning patience. Anyhow. That's another day. Today I relive trips through photos while flying home to the states.  And feed off the excitement of the family next to me as they look out the window in amazement. I'm always in awe looking down on the Earth. P.S. I'm over Belize, another place I'd like to visit!

Reality

I'm sitting in a bookstore, drinking espresso, starring out the window, contemplating my world. My world is so different now compared to 3 yrs ago. My boys are teens/preteens. I've got a full time job, career even. My husband is working jobs that don't require a tie. I have little free time, yet I still carve it out. My house is a wreck, like I said, I'm carving out free time. I'm back to running. I'm less afraid of the workout gym. Still have climbing gym apprehensions. Homeschooling is something I so value, but man, planning can be overwhelming. Good thing life is a giant lesson with a million unit studies to build off.  Fitting everything into 24 hrs is impossible. 1 day at a time. Forgive me if my kids don't know every math fact we've long forgotten. They are busy learning Japanese, computer coding, how to navigate this media filled technology based world, and of course geography. One must know about the land, people, cultures, and wonders of this world. I'm sure other parents feel the same about math as I do social studies. Maybe I should have been a social studies teacher. I want them to have knowledge but I want more than anything for them to know how to look up; appreciate the stars, the sky, the trees, the possibilities. I want them to be critical thinkers, self motivated, and intrinsically rewarded. Of course monetary compensation is how our world works, so they need to be able to translate their love and passion into a career. Which brings me back to the espresso, bookstore, and that overwhelming need to plan lessons.

Yes, we learn at home

Dropping off our notification letters today. This year is filled with possibilities. My focus will be on world geography and social studies. Ezra is focusing on coding and Terje on learning Japanese. The biggest challenge will be be managing the house, my job, and school. Good thing learning is always happening.

Kale!

Simply put, I love kale.  Easy to grow, easy to cook, easy to enjoy.

I could go on and on about the benefits of kale, but if you have half a healthy mind you already know kale is great for you.  So onto the recipes.

Of course, there are kale chips, sauteed kale with short grain brown rice, and adzuki beans, raw kale, and kale in soup.  But I want to share my favorite kale recipe.  It is simple, fast, and yummy!

Marinated Kale Salad
1 bunch Kale, washed, stems removed, sliced thin
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup oil
2 tbsp maple syrup (I love grade B)
1 small red onion, sliced thin
2 carrots, grated
1/4 c toasted walnuts, chopped
1 sweet apple, chopped

Whisk lemon juice, oil, salt, and syrup together.  Toss with everything else!
Enjoy!

Sometimes I substitute sunflower seeds and cranberries and if I'm livin' it up pecans and pears.

I'd love to hear your favorite kale recipes!

GO KALE!

The Box, revisited

Box Canyon, New Mexico

March 28,  2012

Another stop on our 2002 trip that had to be revisited was Box Canyon.  Box Canyon has good bouldering, fun cacti, and lots of rock formations to explore. Here is a token photo of me bouldering followed by a gorgeous lichen photo. 

I lichen you.  Ha! Want to remember the relationship between algae, fungus, and lichen? To bad here we go.  "Freddy Fungus took a lichen to Alice Algae and now their marriage is on the rocks.

James and E are contemplating the best route up a rock. I love this photo.  It shows how grown up E is, how he has the ability to problem solve, and how James and he share this passion for climbing.

The meeting of the minds worked.  James is at the top.

If you look closely in the photo above, you can see T's yellow shirt. The rock face is huge and beautiful.

Fabulous Feet

just for my sister liz....feet

Southern Michigan

When adult children with families try to plan a get together it can be frustrating. Everyone has busy schedules. So when we called both SILs and it worked out that we could all get together on the same weekend followed by meeting up with one of my sister and her family, we were amazed!
We spent a few days near Grand Rapids, Michigan with James' younger sister, Amanda. We trailered our motorcycle up just to go on a ride with them. We spent the time riding, eating yummy healthy food, and listening to James complain about the cat. Darn those cat allergies.





Friday we headed to Big Rapids (neither of these towns have grand or big rapids), for a dance recital. James' nieces performed ballet, tap, and modern dances. Each dance was set to a famous artist. My favorites included a lovely ballet based on The Rehersal by Degas, and 3 modern dances based on Poe, JK Rowlings, and Steinbeck. I maybe biased but the girls were 2 of the most graceful dancers on the stage that night.
All the cousins played happily for hours. Pool, video games, matchbox cars, pool, Legos, and back to video games. The adults sat in the yard soaking up the gorgeous day!
James was able to take all the kids and his non riding sister on motorcycle rides. Afterward, he gave his professional opinion that the oldest niece, L, has the motorcycle bug. Maybe someday James, Amanda, and L Will go out riding:)

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Let's jump states...

By now everyone knows I am WAY behind on blogging. According to the blog we are still in the southwest but actually we have been home and gone again.
I will blog the western half of our trip. But in the meantime I will stay current with our summer.


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Moments of Missing Home

We traveled almost 16,000 miles in Love Dove over the course of 5 months.  She makes a lovely home. I spend post after post showing the fabulous places our home takes us.  However, all our moments aren't perfect or even fabulous.  We still occasionally have bickering brothers in the back seat, rotten fruit in the fruit hammock, and loud disagreements over how or where to park. Here are a few of those moments.

T, age 10,  missed home since day 1. He is a home body.  If it were up to him we would have never left home. At least every other day I heard the question "When are we going home?" to which I replied when we get there.  I know he wanted a solid answer but I didn't have one.  A different mom would have given him some closure, a different mom wouldn't have taken him out of school to go on the adventure. But he doesn't have a different mom.  He has me. And I say I don't know when we will be back to the house but you are home.  A home with people who love you and a world that is awaiting you.  James bought him a compass, good call Pappa! When he was sad he figured out which direction we needed to drive to get home.  His home sickness also taught him how to use the map more effectively.  See good things can come out of uncomfortable situations. And when he was sledding down the White Sands and surfing in Malibu, he wasn't asking about home.

 E, age 11, started missing home about a month and a half before we arrived home.  E knew we would be home before fall, so he was along for the ride.  He was definitely anxious to have a more reliable internet connection and computer access.  As much as he and I LOVE nature we also LOVE our technology.  Our most annoying conversations involved him asking to use electronic devices and wifi and me telling him no.  You can see why we were both annoyed.

I didn't really miss home.  I had moments of missing my friends.  I do have awesome friends but they don't all live near my house, so even when I am at the house, I miss my friends.  I had moments of missing fresh berries, eggs, and lettuce from the garden.  But, I love being on the road. I loved seeing all the new places, plants, and animals.  I loved the conversations James and I had about rock formations.  I love being on the road.


James had many days when he missed the Red and climbing with his friends.  Equally he had just as much fun hanging out with his crazy family that he loves dearly and contemplating never leaving Yosemite Valley.  James' worries centered around the car running well and landing a job when we get back.  He has a strong sense of needing to provide above and beyond the call of duty. 

In the top photo James is comforting T in one of the hard moments.  Our good moments outweighed the sad so know we are human and had frustrating moments but then open another post and read some good stuff!  

Free Flowing

March 28, 2012 

Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

In 2002 our family visited southwest New Mexico.  One of our favorite stops was La Paloma Hot Springs in Truth & Consequences.  It is a small resort with 5 hot springs soaking rooms. La Paloma is a mix of vintage, new age, and peaceful zen decor.  Which translates into a very calm relaxing atmosphere.  Even I can sit around and be still when I visit.  

The soaking rooms vary in temperature not because the water is pumped in and adjusted but because the tubs are directly over the spring! There is a magical feeling when soaking in a concrete square placed directly over a spring.  The hot water freely flowing around the body makes me feel weightless. E says it is like being weightless and yet being filled with everything.

In the soaking tubs the mud earth is covered with rocks.  In the foot baths there are no rocks.  That means we mushed the mud between our toes.  So good!

Did you know Truth or Consequences acquired that name in the 1950's as part of a television publicity stunt? Look it up:)















The boys needed haircuts so we headed to the local barber, Joe.  Joe is the perfect small town barber.  He was full of wonderful stories, he made us all smile, and he made us feel welcome.  Oh and he gave each boy the haircut they wanted.  Thanks Joe!

A morning in the bus

Wake up, stumble over the recycle bag; why can't I just throw this stuff out? Oh that's right, I care about the Earth. I find the 1ft by 1ft floor space that exists when the bed is made and I reach over the dining rm table to grab a Kleenex from the very front seat floor.  I spin around and fall back to the bed, lift a bag of recycle to the counter, giving me 1ftx2ft floor space. That's just enough to open the clothes cabinet (formerly a fridge). Today my clothes cooperate, they don't fall out when the door opens!

Half asleep I pick out clean clothes.  Honestly, this doesn't happen daily. But my skirt from yesterday wasn't warm enough for the morning temps. The next step and this happens daily, is to stuff my sleeping bag and fold the sheet. A sheet under my bag feels less wanderer and more this is my home. James stuffs his sleeping bag , too. He has been awake for a while so he's dressed and nicely trying to get me into gear. Next comes a familiar routine: I flip the bed back into a rear seat and open all the curtains. He moves the misc stuff, a clothes bag, yoga mat, and daypacks, from the front seats into the back. The kids are "upstairs" sleeping so I take this chance to wash my face and hands with cold water. That requires moving the recycle bag to the floor and opening the sink cabinet. Clean face and hands! Time for contacts and a final breath of calm before getting the boys up. 


Today we've decided to let them sleep in their bags buckled up. I still have to wake them enough to safely move them down. We have about 2 ft to make this happen. Every time I attempt to move my sleeping children I realize HOW much they've grown!  


My breakfast time; cereal with bananas and rice milk. I have to move the recycle bag AGAIN!  It's blocking the kitchen cabinet. I sit in my tiny home and quickly eat my breakfast.  Wipe out the bowls, cereal is easy to wipe out without actually washing. And that is awesome because then I don't have to wash dishes. 


Now topper down, James and I work together because the heavy gear in the topper makes lowering it tricky. Once you start lowering,  it wants to drop hard and fast, potentially hurting us and pinching /ripping the pop top canvas so we use a nalgene bottle to prop it open just a little bit. The purple bottle happens to be the pee bottle. Hope that nalgene really is durable otherwise it will be a nasty smelly mess. Next comes the solar panel, we lower it, clip it in place and we are off.

Sledding in a Missile Range

March 27, 2012 White Sands National Mounment

As I looked across the horizon I saw white sand for miles. In the far distance mountains edged the sands. I love Sleeping Bear Dunes so it is no surprise that White Sands was awesome.  I have never tried sledding as Sleeping Bear. I am not sure if the sand is slick enough.  White Sands is definitely slick enough.



We bought sleds and wax at the gift shop.  After 2 days of hiking we were looking forward to just plain fun without too much work.











James has driven most of the trip.  I guess he likes to drive, as he doesn't ask me very often.  That's okay, I like to navigate.  But here James wanted to take pictures of Love Dove floating over the sand, so I happily drove.







As the boys slid down the sand, James and I sat at the top soaking up the sun.  When what to our wondering eyes and ears should appear but a man playing the guitar! Seriously? How awesome. I'm laying on white sands made from minerals that dissolved out of nearby mountains, soaking up sun, it's not crowded, and now I have music to boot!  Check him out! Syd-music (Sarah W and Will definitely check it out!)  He and his wife were on vacation. We chatted, sledded, and chatted some more.  We met several nice people that day.  I'll leave you with this:  The sun wears you out fast.  Drink lots of water. Buy a sled and wax. Go for it! and Have fun!

Carlsbad Caverns

March 26, 2012

After the Guadalupe Peak hike we were exhausted, however, this was our chance to see the caverns. We did our normal routine; visitor center, Jr ranger book, watch park movie, check out the gift shop, and experience the park.

We hiked the natural cavern entrance rather than taking the elevator.  If you ever go, take the time to use the natural entrance.  The feeling of entering a large whole in the earth and descending deeper and deeper and deeper is surreal. I can only imagine the excitement and fear felt by the 1920's National Geographic team that used this wire and wood ladder for cavern exploration. It is preserved because the cave environment encourages preservation and slows down decay.  It is essential not to litter in the cave.  

The Cavern trails are paved, well marked, signed, and designed to keep you from damaging the rock and yourself.  But initial tours we very different.  Tours that now take 3-4 hours used to take all day! Visitors had to follow Jim White, the initial cavern explorer. He found the cave as a 16yr old cowhand and by the time he led tours he knew it like the back of his hand. Visitors hoped he didn't die in the cave on their tour because no one would know how to get out.  Nowadays handrails and lights mark the big features but back then a small handheld lantern was all a visitor had.  Even though visitors walked through and over the rock formations to move around the cave, they may have missed huge cavern features simply due to their light not shining far enough.

James took some amazing photos.  We saw draperies, stalagmites, stalactites, cave popcorn, and many other formations.  It is awe inspiring and a testament to the advantages of preserving natural wonders. 

Top of Texas

   

March 25, 2012

No camping at Carlsbad Caverns? Where are we going to stay? Oh look this park I've never heard of has camping and it is close by!
That's how our trip to Guadalupe Mtns started.
 There tent sites are desert gorgeous. But we only have a 2 person tent with us. Long and short version of the tent story; 4 person tent finally at end of life, sent it home. Bought new tent, a 2 person. Thought is kids and grownups have separate tents. Problem: other 2 person tent is at home. So RV site it is, basically an angled parking spot next to more RVs.  But it worked.

At the Visitor Center we learned about the Butterfield Stage Coach, it never missed a beat. Guadalupe Mtns was a high elevation resting point.  Drivers could get food, horses, and water.  Water was a rare commodity on the route and Guadalupe was a reliable water source. We imagined ourselves as ranchers/farmers at Frijole Ranch. A ranch with a spring in the front yard. The spring was diverted to the orchard, garden, and a bath house. Ingenious little ranch. The Visitor Center had amazing displays on native animals in the different habitat zones found in their park.  Guadalupe is special because it has so many different habitats: high mtn, ponderosas, desert, and water to name a few.

Our big adventure at Guadalupe Ntl Park was hiking the Top of Texas trail, Guadalupe Peak, which is the highest peak in Texas.  We are not highpointers. Do you know what a high pointer is? Someone who seeks out the highest peaks in each state and then goes there.  Our adventure loving selves makes one think we should be highpointers but we are either searching out water or rocks not highpoints.  Anyway, we thought let's try it, give it a go, reach for the top, Top of Texas that is. So here is our account of the Top of Texas.


Guadalupe Peak is 8.4 miles roundtrip with a 3,000 ft elevation rise.  Backpacks loaded, check. Positive attitudes, 2 out of 4 people, check. Hesitation, the other 2 out of 4 people, check. And we are off. A fabulous description of the trail is found HERE! We wonder down the desert trail and almost instantly we encounter switchbacks. Then more switchbacks. As we round the mountain the habitat changes. Desert gives way to trees and deep green plants.  There is water and snow on the trail. As we go higher we encounter less plants and more gravel and rocks.  The views are stunning and with each view comes a peak.  This trail is 4 miles of "oh I see the summit" followed by reaching it and discovering that's not it.  The actual summit is hidden until the very end.  The boys were highly frustrated by this.  As we reached the 3rd false summit, I was so excited to be there. I thought this is the top of Texas, we made it! Then I turned a corner and saw another huge mtn in front of me; that was the top of Texas.  The boys were exhausted, we all were.  They sat on the rock (seen in picture with Anna and boys) and ate lunch.  Then proceeded to mutiny. They refused to go anywhere but down.  I wanted down too. I was so over this hike.  It was exhausting. But who hikes 3.6 miles of a 4.2 mile hike up to give up? Not us. So onward we pushed. Literally pushed. Pushed ourselves. Pushed the kids. Pushed our feet.  Our tired feet.




We had may moments of joy before and after the breakdown.  So many amazing vistas.








And eventually we made it to the summit. Yahoo!! We shouted from the mountain top! We signed the log book, rested our feet, met new people, and had a snack.  The log book had entries of Bible verses for strength and triumph. It had words of encouragement and referrals to the curses used to get up the mountain.  It was encouraging to see we weren't the only ones struggling.  At the top we met a co-ed scout troop from Cuidad Juarez, Mexico. We also took lots of photos with the summit marker.  The paper we are holding says the elevation, 8,751 ft. It was a long and hard hike. It took us 8.5hrs. By the time we reached the parking lot we could barely walk.  My toenails were sore from pushing into my shoes; 3,000ft up means 3,000ft down! We survived, enjoyed the view, stopped a kid mutiny, and decided we are not actively seeking highpoints!

Diamond Mining

We have been blessed to visit several Arkansas State Parks.  The boys were so excited to go to Crater of Diamonds.  It was slightly out of our way but everyone should dig for diamonds, at least once in their life, right? 

We arrived after a rain.  Rain pulls diamonds to the surface.  Well actually it washes away lighter weight sediment.  The diamonds thus rise to the top. We attended a short presentation on how to mine for diamonds. After all, this isn't Minecraft.  We are using real tools. Speaking of which, the park rents every tool you could need for the hunt.  We opted for tweezers, a pocket knife, and small shovels.   Our 1st steps on the field were filled with anticipation and hope.  

Our 2nd steps were filled with muck and mud. Both boys were quickly muddy up to their knees.  E sank into a mud hole and T followed.  I anticipated dirt but this was crazy. I, lover of dirt, was turned off.  The boys may as well rolled around in it.  They were covered.  I hunched over for a while but, as you can imagine, its not a long term option.  I finally gave in, knelt and crawled through the field.  James squatted for a while and then found a shady spot under a lone tree.

Within 2hrs we were all done. What, that's it? Really? 2 weeks of anticipation and build up for 2 hrs of mining.  I mean really 2 hrs. Start to finish.  Yahoo! I don't have to sit around and wait for the kids to get bored. I don't have to coerce them to leave!

There were lots of people, hundreds in fact, mining.  On a cool windy muddy day people sat around sifting mud, digging trenches, and being very patient.  E was the most determined. He had hopes of taking us all to a Dude Ranch and purchasing a laptop.  T tried but the kid really just likes to play in the mud.  James had the spot under the tree and watched. And me, well I have decided there are some things in life I don't understand and diamond mining is one of them.  I don't have the patience or focus for it.  I'm glad I tried it and now I never have to try it again!

In classic Mobley fashion the boys finished up a multi park ranger program called Arkansas State Park Jr Explorer.  They received hats, bandanas, badges, and certificates.  The Ranger was so happy to see someone complete the program that she had us pose for the photo.  I'm glad she did.  It is a little boy scoutish but makes me chuckle.   And now out of Arkansas we go!

I got in Hot Water...

 March 20, 2012 For some unknown reason I have been fascinated by the idea of going to Hot Springs National Park. Okay, I know why.  I love water. I love springs. So we went. Our 2 days were rain filled and cold.  We didn't hike any of the trails but we did learn a little something and enjoyed a bath.

 The city is built around and literally over the springs, which means the park is in downtown.  The public faucets for collecting hot springs water for personal use are scattered throughout the downtown.  This faucet provides hot water. It was so nice to have hot water radiating from the Sigg bottles on that cold rainy day.

This picture is goofy and I like it.  For those of you who have known us for a while, can you tell we are aging? lol.

The Visitor center is located in the restored Fordyce Bathhouse.  The traditional bathing methods include hot/cold packs, "medical" treatment, and walks in the woods after bathing.  There are several bathhouses in town and the park service is or has renovated some of them.  After renovation they house gift shops, art galleries, and baths.  The architecture on each building on Bathhouse row is slightly different. A fun JR Ranger activity involved identifying each building using clues from the design style.

Both boys earned a Jr Ranger vest.  They have worked so hard in so many parks.  Way to go!

March 2012