May 4, 2009

Lexie Writing

Kids will be kids!

As we were walking through the park to see the Lebrea tar pits, we saw some birds. David pointed to them and said, "Look, birds!" I nodded my head and said,"They're pigeons." David very innocently said with enthusiasm, "They look a lot like birds!"

David has also picked up a Wall-E voice from watching the movie with the cousins at Aunt Jennifer's house. He plugs his nose and talks. He's learned that Jacob gets a real kick out of it, so while we're driving, or if J starts to get upset, I start to hear Wall-E. Most of the time it works too.

Natalyn and Dallin came in so excited about a green bug they found outside. I asked them if I could see it, but it was gone. Natalyn said she would, "do an actment of it" for me. She thought for a bit and then said, "I don't have enough legs so I'll only use two." (She did use her arms as legs and did a very good impression of a bug with an extra long leg.) After her impression she got out all of our bug books and started looking at pictures trying to identify the correct insect.

Jacob is scooting around on his bum. It's the cutest thing to watch! He gets furious on his stomach or back and so is very careful not to fall. He will get to his hands and knees and rock back and forth also, but his mode of transportation is the bum scoot.

Tyrell received his wolf badge at pack meeting. He worked very hard to earn it and never complained about doing his requirements. He also received a gold arrow point. He got to pin the mother's pin on me, but I didn't feel like I had to push him to earn it at all.

 

On the Road Again!

Goodbye Quartzsite! Was that too enthusiastic? Let's just say our two week stop there was the longest two weeks I've spent anywhere! I'm not complaining. I helped make the choice to stay; and we had a wonderful time and met wonderful people. We also had experiences we couldn't have had anywhere else. It's just time to leave. When the kids get the idea to take the thermometer outside for experiments, and we can cook our family home evening s'mores without the fire, it's time to move on. (The marshmallows didn't quite melt.)

We did stay long enough to notice some interesting phenomena I don't think everyone gets to participate in during a lifetime. The first was the migration of people. At one point the church building was so crowded we were in the overflow room with kids sitting on the floor. By time we left there was a handful of people left to tell goodbye. The second was the butterfly migration. For two days we saw hundreds and hundreds of butterflies passing by. They were the color of Monarchs, but much smaller. It was a little like watching leaves fall from trees in a windstorm in autumn. They just kept going and going. The third, and least pleasant, was the bees. For about five days we had a swarm of bees around our camp that would get in through the air conditioner. At one point we counted over one hundred for the day when we came home from pack meeting and the air conditioner had been left off. They were very friendly bees and for the most part just flew to the door to be let out again. There were the few strays that went to the window instead and needed coaxing to find the door. My biggest fear was that a child (or adult) would step on one of the hurt bees that got injured on the fan on its way through the air conditioning system. Fortunately nobody was even accidentally stung. We were told that the swarms were just passing through, and sure enough, on Sunday they were gone just about as fast as they came. We do like the local desert honey we buy at the fruit stand in town.

We had a few toasty days before leaving Quartzsite (Really its probably only 100 degrees, but hot all the same!)

Ty gets his wolf badge

We had a great camp site in Quartzsite!

Happy Birthday - to me

I had a great birthday. We celebrated with Snicker cake on Saturday and ice-cream on Sunday. Tyrell and Dan saw to it that I didn't have to do any dishes on Sunday. Saturday I sort of, "took the day off" and read a book. My mom and sisters have been awesome to keep me in good supply of reading materials. The kids didn't seem to mind extra long computer turns. A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do, right? At least occasionally.

Enjoying some birthday cake.

First Stop

We were happy to even be on the road come Monday. Our goal wasn't to get very far - just to get. We got as far as the BLM land in front of Joshua Tree. It was almost physically painful for Dan to stop for the night without stopping to rock climb for a couple of days, but even though we have over a month before our job starts in Oregon, it's a pretty packed month. We had an easy drive the next day (for me, Dan did the driving - especially in L.A. traffic). The Labrea Tar Pits and Page Museum were our first stop. WOW! The museum is really quite small, but packed with a ton of information. The displays were one of a kind also. I have to say I enjoyed it as much, maybe even a little more, than some of the really big museums. I liked the way they presented the preserved bones with descriptions and details about how they know if it was male or female, young or old, injured or sick, crippled, etc. This may not be news to any of our readers, but it was news to our family: there is no such thing as a Saber Tooth Tiger. The correct name is the Saber Tooth Cat. They are not related to tigers apparently.

The kids had a lot of fun playing on a rock in camp.

Camping south of Joshua Tree.

 

The tar pits were free (if you don't count parking). I didn't realize they were still active and trapping squirrels, insects, and dogs. We could see them bubbling up (not because they are hot, but because of the methane gas and some other sulfuric gas that they release). They did have fences around them (for which I was very glad). Again, just WOW!

At the tar pits!

Leaves blowing over the pits likely contributed to animals getting stuck.

Pit 91 is an active excavation site. The bones in the bottom are 30-40,000 years old.

Natalyn examines a replica of a mammoth's footprint.

Dallin in front of an impressive array of Dire Wolf skulls.

Korea Town

For anyone who doesn't know, Dan served his mission in Seoul, Korea. I went with him in 2005 for a mission reunion. Dan has been craving some good Korean food. We couldn't even find Kim-Chee in either Rexburg or Quartzsite. He was thrilled to learn that Korea town in LA was just blocks away from the tar pits. He got practice with the language ordering some of his favorite foods for us. The restaurant was awesome! The kids weren't afraid to try anything. They dove in with their chop-sticks and didn't stop. For those not familiar with Korean food, it can be very different from American food - even from Chinese food. That didn't slow down my five. That's right. Jacob wasn't about to have just milk when he saw how much his brothers and sisters were enjoying it all. I'm not sure everything he ate, or any of us ate, but we all enjoyed it. I caught a glance at the waitress and the hostess, and they seemed surprised and pleased that the food had such a good response. Both Dallin and Tyrell claimed it was the best meal they ever had. I don't know if it was that comment, or just good service, but we did get served an extra dish that we originally requested, but wasn't on the menu, and a wonderful drink for desert that we didn't order.

The kids also loved seeing live squid for sale at the Korean market, and it was hard to pull Dan away from the Kim-Chee display. He just kept talking about wishing we had more room in the fridge. Has anyone seen my fridge? He had to settle for the pint size and not the 10 gallon size. We came away with enough snacks and food to last us two more days.

This Land was Made for You and Me...

For anyone wondering if it's really worth the trip to see a tree - it is! The largest tree in the world is General Sherman, a sequoia redwood in Sequoia National Park. The other sequoias are totally worth it also! The scenery is breathtaking and the roads are lunch-taking (ask Dallin about the switchbacks). Maybe it was shock from being in the desert too long, but I always feel a piece of me come back when I'm in the pine trees. The air was so crisp and clean with that musty pine scent that tickles your nose and makes you breathe deeper. The flowers and trees were in full bloom. The river was full and running at top speed over rocks and over waterfalls. The kids were happy there was enough snow to slide on and roll in, even if it was filthy by now. (They felt kind of cheated this winter at not having any snow).

In Sequoia National Park.

Jacob

A wonderful campsite!

Tyrell (picture by Dallin)

The tall grass was a big change from the desert.

A mercy stop for a boy getting queasy on switch backs.

Snow!

Magnificent trees!

In front of the largest tree in the world!

Even with some help we only made it half way around one of the large sequoias.

I found myself wanting to talk to the trees in the forest, they seemed to hold some kind of wisdom.

The views were magnificent!

The kids are sworn in for their tenth junior ranger badge.

Surf's Up!

Hello Ocean!

We're currently living it up at Jamalaya beach near Vandenburg Airforce Base. We missed the shuttle so we were not about to miss the rocket launch set for May 5. We've had a ball burying each other in the sand and chasing waves. The kids were a little worried that I didn't get wet. They thought maybe I didn't have fun because I didn't swim. I assured them that I loved every minute watching them soak and splash themselves. We all have our favorite way to enjoy the beach. My favorite way to enjoy the ocean is from the beach. That doesn't mean I enjoy it any less. My joy comes from hearing the surf break, hearing the kids giggle, seeing them run from the water to the blanket and back again, and seeing the sheer power of the ocean. I like building castles and cities in the sand with the kids too. I do have very strict rules with the children that the water can't go above their knees and they have to stay next to Dan when the waves are as big as the waves we enjoyed today. David is in ocean heaven chasing seagulls, of which none are lacking here. Jacob likes to watch the waves and clap as the older kids run in and out of the water. Tyrell, Natalyn, and Dallin vacillated between sand castles and splashing. Dan would have loved to get out the body board, but there was a surf warning, so we heeded their advice. He spent his time staying close to the kids in the water, and burying kids in the sand.

Another great campsite!

Jacob loved the ocean!

Natalyn and Ty run from the surf.

Ty having a ball!

Dallin and Natalyn

David neck deep

Dallin buried in the sand

Jacob didn't share everyone else's enthusiasm for getting buried.

Running from the surf

Building a sand castle

 

 

Dan writing

Bees, Bobcats and Sand castles

I spend a good part of my mental energy trying to understand life. It seems that I put a lot more effort into the thinking, than I ever get in progress of understanding from the thinking, but understanding life seems important, and like most good things, getting something is better than getting nothing, even if all it does is leave you with a taste for more. Every now and then I do get little surprise peeks at what feel like deeper things. As I get these little glimpses I feel like a small cup dipping into a large hidden lake, I would like more, but being a small cup, can only hold what I can, which also unfortunately for you means I am also probably going to do a terrible job explaining my little thoughts, but I will hopefully be able to share some of it.

First bees, as Lexie mentioned earlier we experienced a lot of bees in Quartzsite. The blooming palo verde trees sounded like someone was running a chain saw because the buzzing of the bees was so loud. When on a walk with Ty and Dallin I had the thought to go inside one to look for a hive, thinking it would be really cool to find some wild honey. I failed to find any honey, but from inside the tree got the most dramatic view I have ever had of watching bees work as they flew from blossom to blossom. The bees level of activity and apparent urgency was quite captivating. Bees play a very important role in our ecosystem. In many places they are dying off at alarming rates. It was very satisfying to see these very interesting animals up close performing their part of a larger system.

As warned, my explanation doesn't do the experience justice, but we'll move on anyway, under explained bobcat up next... Last December I got it into my head that I would really like to see a wild bobcat. Bobcats are less rare than some other animals, but relatively elusive. In all my life I had never seen one in the wild. At times it would almost bother me that I thought about looking for one, because it seemed like a silly use of energy, especially when the majority of my time is spent with small children that are mostly the opposite of quiet. As it turned out, on our way back from the Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park as we came around a turn there was a bobcat on the side of the road going up a hill - and then there wasn't. Dallin and I were the only ones in the car to see the animal. I was delighted to finally see a wild bobcat and found myself wondering about the experience. I wondered how much wanting to see the bobcat had to do with seeing the bobcat. Sort of the way a sports fan will watch a basketball game and when there is a free throw or other critical play, the fan will make a very strong mental image of their desired outcome, as if they have some sort of capability to affect the trajectory of a ball with their mind. It seems like there is some kind of power and understanding available to humans that they do not have a very good sense of, or control over, but to which we have some vague connections.

Finally, for today, sand castles... I know the imagery is very heavily used in writing, but I am going to add to the weight of the coverage anyway with my own thoughts. When a sand castle is built on the sand below the high tide line, the outcome of the castle is to get washed away by the tide. As we were playing yesterday on the beach we had a lot of fun building a castle. There was also another group that built a castle a little closer to the ocean. Their castle was the first victim of the tide. It was fun to watch them play, because they resisted the rising tide by digging a channel around the castle and making a small rock wall in the front. I will admit I felt a little smug as I watched their lower castle fall. The emotion was funny, because it was only time that separated the tide from my own castle. If you leave your thinking at the beach you will miss my point. If you expand your thinking to think of things like the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, or life and death you'll be on the right track, if you find yourself confused about the meaning of it, we may well be in the same rail car. In the mean time, I think I'll go find some sea shells to decorate my castle.

I think I'll go find some sea shells to decorate my castle.