Ordinary Time

Yesterday we spent some time at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. It's a beautiful garden and we loved seeing the Chihuly glass exhibit. (I also know that there must be people in this large city who drive 15 passenger vans, but perhaps they don't visit the museum? J. ended up moving the van 2 times before the parking people were satisfied that it was blocking anything. Come on, it's not that big.) Here are a few pictures from the visit. HG3 D., M., and TM The little girls got a little tired of walking and I turned to discover the B. was carrying them both. (L. is on the left.) All of this desert fauna and all the tourists (they really do stick out... and no, I don't consider myself a tourist when I'm here being a third generation Arizonian. I just live somewhere else) made me think that perhaps those of you who have never had the chance to visit the Southwest might be interested in the plants that grow and are common here.  I went up...

Don't look at the title and panic... things are going fine. Fine is a relative word, though, and fine for us is always hovering just on the edge of not really good at all. It's our normal and we're used to it. We are always taking proactive steps to do what we can to keep the needle pointing to fine instead of moving into something worse. This is particularly true when we are on vacation. It is easy to let down your guard when on vacation. That's what vacation is all about, isn't it? Relaxing and not having to deal with the normal stresses of life. I think that is why vacations can become so much more stressful than they should... because we have unrealistic expectations of them. The trouble is, it is the rare person who can completely jettison who they are on command. If you are a worrier, then you will worry on vacation; if you are a glass half empty type, then you will still see the disappointing side of things; if you are prone to anxiety and disregulation, yo...

I am now the parent of an official adult. I'm not quite sure how that happened. One moment she is a little girl who liked to make crafts and the next moment she is a grown woman who makes money creating large things from cardboard. Once again M. is getting to spend her birthday in Arizona. This has happened more than once since her birthday has a tendency to fall during spring break. It's probably why she decided to make her appearance 10 days late, so as to guarantee lovely birthdays spent in the sun. There's M. in the center with the short hair. They are petting stingrays as the zoo.  We have a lovely day planned for our girl. First, she gets to sleep in. She and B. are not staying in my parents house withe the 10,000 children who rise at the crack of dawn, but next door where they each have a room to themselves and nary a child or dog in sight. Next, a childhood friend of mine has arranged for M. to tour Gammage Auditorium with Gammage's tech director. Since...

I know, I know, it's easy to say you appreciate cold weather when you are not currently in it, but I contend that living in the frigid land known as Chicago makes it possible to appreciate the beautiful weather here in a way that we wouldn't otherwise. Not to rub it in to friends at home, but the weather here is truly gorgeous... sunny, blue skies, warm in the daytime with temperatures around 80 degrees, green grass, blooming flowers, and cool nights. The doors stay open all day long and there is very little difference between inside and outside temperatures. If you are from a colder climate, think for a moment how many people you would see outside on such a day as I describe. Would it surprise you if I told you that we see very few people just being outside? Ever since I've moved away it is the thing that surprises me the most when I come back. (I'm not talking about summer here. That's as brutally hot as Chicago is cold in the winter... in fact I think it's ...

We have made it to warm and sunny Arizona. It was a long day... a very long day. We were in the van and pulling away at 6:45 am and pulled in front of my parent's house at 10:30 pm. That was with as few bathroom/gas stops as possible and a half an hour for lunch. I'm not quite sure how J. managed to do all that driving. On the plus side, everyone was extremely good. We had been travelling for enough time that everyone had made the transition, plus we started a really good recorded book. Now, I always check out far more books than we will actually be able to hear because there is usually at least one dud amongst them. The first one we listened to at the beginning of the trip was fine, though nothing spectacular. On the second day we started one that seemed to have great potential, but none of us could stand to listen to the way it was read. We stopped it after the first couple of chapters and I think I'll check it out of the library to do as a read aloud. Plus, I just love...

We are finishing up our stay here in Denver visiting cousins. Since we don't see them often enough, some time is always wasted in the reaquaintance game. You play this game by staring silently at your cousins as if you had never seen them before in your life. The staring continues until your parents get fed up with it and threaten dire consequences if your do not go away and start interacting with one another. Once the game was done, much playing and fun happened. There was jumping on the trampoline and playing games and jumping on the trampoline and eating and jumping on the trampoline and playing in the park and jumping on the trampoline and just laughing together and jumping on the trampoline. I think they spent at least 6 hours jumping today. The little girls were nearly dead on their feet and fell asleep before their bedtime song ended. It has been a good visit. Here are some pictures from our trip down to a local park. So you see the pants I bought TM? They would be ...

My brother and sister-in-law are great sports. Not only did I call them a couple of months ago and ask if they would mind putting up 13 people, I also asked if they could throw A. a little birthday party. They were thrilled to do both. (Have I mentioned that I have the best family?) A. even got to choose her birthday dinner. She's pretty easy to please because she started out by saying anything was fine as long as it wasn't okra, but then moved on to fried rice. My sister-in-law not only made her what she wanted, but also made three pies for dessert. Here's A. opening presents with brothers, sisters, and cousins gathered around to watch. She received many cake decorating supplies... and a phone. (She's just a little excited about the phone.) Happy birthday to my darling daughter. You are smart and funny and determined and talented and I love you to pieces. I am so proud of everything you do. How you got to be 16 already, though, is still a my...