Mesa Verde National Park

When we found out that Mark would have one week off this summer, we decided to take a road trip to Utah and then back through Oklahoma to visit our families. For Mark, the month of July was filled with driving us across the United States, then flying back home for his ambulatory medicine rotation, only to fly back where he left us to drive us somewhere else. We split our time exactly in half, spending two weeks in Provo with Mark's family and two weeks in Oklahoma and Missouri with my family.

I have a lot of catching up to do, so here goes:
We packed up and left our house on Saturday, June 28th to drive to Utah. We arrived in Utah on Monday evening, June 30th. It was a LONG drive, but we enjoyed our uninterrupted time together. We stayed in Amarillo, Texas on our first night, then Cortez, Colorado on our second night so that we could spend Monday morning visiting Mesa Verde National Park. The kids were excited to see the houses the Native Americans built into the cliffs.

After driving into the park, we stopped at the visitor's center to get an idea of what we wanted to do. The park rangers were very helpful and suggested we take our kids to the Spruce Tree House cliff dwellings, since it is a very simple hike and didn't involve climbing ladders. The kids made their own rock art magnets there as well (that is what they are holding up in this picture). They drew pictographs on the rocks and were very proud of them.

This is the Spruce Tree House. The kids enjoyed the walk down to the cliff dwellings, but weren't thrilled about the incline on the way back out. They were also wary about the dust that settled all over their feet and legs while we explored there.

They were so cute for this picture! It was a perfect resting spot on our way down, although the hike wasn't long, short legs need a quick rest every now and again. Once they stood up, we realized they were absolutely covered in dirt from the rock. Oh, well.

We were being attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes at this point.

There was a ladder leading down into a kiva, or ceremonial chamber, that we all wanted to explore. The best part for the kids was climbing up and down the ladder. They all did great on the ladder, which made us think we could have handled the Cliff Palace after all.

There are 130 rooms and 8 kivas at Spruce Tree House. We explored as many as they would allow us to view. We loved climbing around trying to imagine living there.

Carston even went to work learning how they would grind corn for meals. The park ranger was kind enough to explain the entire process to him. Carston absent-mindedly stood up in the middle of the presentation and stepped on top of the grinding stone to wander off. Mark and I were a little embarrassed.

We tried to redeem ourselves by involving Grant and Jackson who gave it a try as well.

We found a short staircase leading up to a look-out point next to the dwellings, so we climbed up to take a final look before leaving the cliff dwellings to walk back up to the museum and our car.

Peyton has an adventurous spirit. She was the only one to brave these crooked and uneven steps down from the Spruce Tree House without any assistance at all. She refused our help while climbing or walking the trail as well. She made us nervous getting dangerously close to the edge to glance down off of the cliff as we made our way back up the trail.

We really had to urge some of the kids to keep moving as we walked back out of the canyon. You can see that Grant is fighting Mark every step of the way. The poor kid kept begging to be carried. It is sure hard to understand why your little brother, Benjamin, gets a ride and you don't. Carston was the funniest. As the trail climbed, he would huff and puff theatrically. If we were near anyone else coming down the trail, he would warn them of the impending doom awaiting them when they had to climb back up the trail they were so easily descending.
Before loading back into the car, we enjoyed going through their museum. I loved seeing all of the kids interested and asking questions about the museum artifacts and about the lifestyle of the people who once lived in the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde.

Budding Artists

This has been the second week of summer camp for Peyton, Jackson and Carston. The focus this week is on fine art. The kids are enjoying both learning about different artists and creating artwork of their own. Today I was invited to their art show, Mark even took a break from studying to view it with me.

They all created their own mosaics in clay. This is an original Carston Calder.
I love the colors and patterns!

Carston's Picasso.

This watercolor was done in the spirit of "Starry, Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh. Carston is starting to really enjoy watercolor.

Jackson's finger painting (seen better bellow).

I love his vibrant use of color and the excitement with which he spread the paint. I'm not sure which artist he learned about on this particular day, but isn't art so much fun?

Here is Jackson's mosaic. He was very proud of it and I think it turned out nice. Seeing all of these projects makes me want to do more at home.

Peyton's picture reminds me of Mondrian.
You can't see the lines throughout her picture very well since they are in pencil,
but she kept her finger painting within certain lines, creating boxes using the primary colors.

Peyton's mosaic was a little more sparse than some of the others. She is a minimalist.

The art show in "The John Calvin Museum of Art" was a success. We get to bring the artwork home tomorrow. It is too bad that I don't have a museum wall of my own!

Firsts

At dinner time the other night all of the kids wanted Mom and Dad to come outside to play with (and sweat with) them. So, we decided the best thing would be to cook dinner outside. (We got so warm outside that by the time the food was ready to be eaten, we came back inside.) Mark grilled some burgers on our barbecue, not knowing if our little brood would finally try them. Up until that night, they had never even agreed to taste test them. Like most kids, they aren't extremely adventurous with what they'll eat. Maybe it was because they were really hungry and tired, but they immediately agreed to give them a try, with the stipulation that they be given large amounts of ketchup on both buns and no lettuce or tomato. Shouldn't ketchup count as a vegetable? (Don't answer that.)

Grant gave his first hamburger a Grant-style "thumbs" up!

Jackson told us, in wonderment, that he actually liked his and could hardly believe that this was his very first hamburger.

Carston has had a few hamburgers now, but still hasn't branched out from his usual ketchup only request. He seems to enjoy hamburgers just fine, but still prefers chicken nuggets if given the chance to choose his "poison".

Knowing Peyton, it isn't hard to guess that she would have none of this new food tasting. She refused to try a hamburger and hardly ate a thing for dinner.

Summer Camp

Carston, Jackson and Peyton started summer camp at John Calvin Playschool on Monday. The focus of this week's summer camp is children's literature. The kids go for three hours each morning and are really enjoying it. Carston's class has been focusing on the author Leo Lionni. Jackson's and Peyton's class have been reading Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle. Each day, they read a story and complete a craft or activity based on the story.

Carston really loved the book Swimmy and wants me to get it and a few other Lionni books at the library. He made this picture of Swimmy, who is the lone survivor of a school of fish that were swallowed by a tuna, and his new friends who are camouflaging themselves as a large fish to survive. He did a good job on the picture.

Peyton and Jackson each colored their own hat fashioned after the hat from the Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. They loved their hats! Jackson's was almost immediately ripped apart once he arrived home, but Peyton's has now officially survived for more than one day and she has been wearing it around the house.

Jackson and Peyton also painted rubber ducks after reading Ten Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle. All of the kids were so excited about these rubber ducks when they got home that they insisted on having a bath with them as soon as we finished lunch. Every rubber duck in the house took a swim yesterday. There was extensive clean up after bath time was over (most of our rubber ducks squirt water).

Today the kids all went to a dramatization of "Dorothy's Trek to Oz". Carston loved it and I told him that I would read the book to him. I read it with my third graders at Carden and we had a lot of fun with it. I am so grateful the kids are learning to love books! Tomorrow they will have a storyteller and a puppet show.

The kids are also attending camp next week. The focus next week will be art. I'm really excited about it. I have tried at different times to familiarize them with famous artwork, so it will be nice for them to learn about a few artists at camp. This is a perfect break in our summer lull and as much as I would like to accomplish these same things at home, it just doesn't happen. We will be driving to Utah to see family as soon as camp is over next week. We're excited for a vacation, although driving will be difficult!

Happy Father's Day!

Mark spent most of his day at the hospital for Father's Day. He didn't even get breakfast in bed out of the deal (I was way too slow). But, he deserves to be honored for being a wonderful father who always puts his family first. Happy Father's Day to you, sweetheart! Thank you for being such a fun and kind father. I love watching and learning from you as you interact with our kids.

Not only do you know how to father all of your active boys, but you know how to treat your sweet girl. She is a definite Daddy's Girl! We all love you!

Happy Father's Day, Dad! You are a wonderful example of steady obedience and willingness to give and sacrifice. Thank you for always encouraging us to do our best! We love you!

Happy Father's Day, Jim! We all learn so much by watching you interact with others. Your quiet kindness and encouragement to always push forward despite setbacks inspires us!
We love you!

Happy Father's Day to all of the other fathers in our lives
(brothers, brothers-in-law and friends)!

Volcaneus

Carston has been excited to make his own volcano for the past few days. He originally got the idea from the movie Nim's Island and a kit he saw at the toy store. Something sparked his memory and yesterday he insisted that we study volcanoes and make our own model. He and Mark read about volcanoes last night and watched videos of them erupting. Mark printed off an explanation from about.com detailing how to make your own volcano and then to cause it to "erupt".

Carston wanted to wait until Dad got home before we started the "experiment" today, which was fine by me. They mixed together the dough to make the volcano and I finished mixing it and formed it into a volcano around a small bottle on a baking sheet.

We mixed some green food coloring into the dough, but Carston felt that the coloring wasn't quite right. So, I painted it greener with finger paints and then a dark gray with some food coloring (I still have black fingers from the dye).

This was much better! They were now ready for Mark to pour the baking soda and vinegar in to create an eruption. He used red food coloring so it would look more like the lava Carston was imagining.

Here is our volcano after it erupted. The boys were all excited and gave me a thumbs up (Grant's "thumbs up" is a finger up). We explained the reaction between the vinegar and baking soda to Carston and he asked for us to do it again. So, our volcano erupted twice. I asked Carston if we should name the volcano "Mount St. Carston" but he decided to name it "Volcaneus" and wants me to paint a face on it in the morning, since it is now an old family friend. The volcano is "sleeping" with Carston and Jackson in their room tonight. They begged to have it placed on the train table. There volcaneus sits now, dormant. I guess it was worth it to use all of our flour and salt!

Good Morning, Merry Sunshine! How did you wake so SOON?

The sun shines through our bathroom window not long after five a.m. every morning, bathing our bed in light. I wake up at this time everyday, wishing that I were still asleep. I try to remember to shut the door before I go to bed at night because the streaming light can be quite distracting when you are trying to keep your sleepy eyes closed in the morning. Somehow our kids all sense that the sun is rising (even though it doesn't shine directly into their rooms) and wake up before six everyday. It is usually only ten minutes before six o'clock, but it seems almost obscene that my day with them starts so early. I thought maybe it was their 7:30 bedtime that soaked all of the sleep out of them by the early hours of the morning, but the time they go to bed doesn't make any difference. They wake up around 6 a.m. regardless of the their bedtime the night before. I can handle it better when I look at the clock and it is six than I can when it is still five. Somehow I always feel surprised that they are already awake, even though this happens each day. It is funny that I can't seem to grasp reality.
They are quite pleasant in the morning.

This picture was taken at 5:54 a.m. All four boys were up, as usual, and most were smiling but were still wiping sleep from their eyes. Carston has always been an early riser. We'll see what happens when he becomes a teenager! Carston gets excited to get the day going with whatever make-believe he decides everyone will play that day. We have lots of tiger or dinosaur days and lately, we've had many pirate days complete with building ships.

This picture is why I pulled out the camera so early that morning. Jackson was still tired and had laid down in the hallway. I told him he should just climb back into bed for a minute until he felt more awake. After I helped him into his bed, Grant insisted on laying by his brother. Jackson even let him climb under the blanket. They laid there together for at least five minutes, which is a miracle for Grant. He usually can't hold still for more than a few seconds (he even tosses and turns when he is asleep, falling out of bed almost every night)!

Benjamin was in on the action as well. He was off pulling all of the books off of the bookcase in the family room. He keeps busy! He is still taking two naps most days and I assume this has worked for me because Grant wakes him up so early each morning (the joys of having them sleep together).
Peyton usually gets up around seven a.m. The noise gets her up earlier some days. She is usually awake, I think she just enjoys her alone time sucking her thumb. My favorite thing about her is that she always waltzes out of her bedroom once she is up, finds me and says: "Good morning, Mommy!". Somehow the boys usually forget this formality, settling on starting the morning by yelling for me to get something for them or to take them to the bathroom.

I honestly don't remember what it is like to sleep in, but it isn't all bad to be up and going early in the morning. We usually have prayer with Dad before he leaves (if they got up much later they wouldn't even see him in the morning) and then play together until 7 a.m. I try to have breakfast ready at 7, since Grant can hardly wait to fill his empty tummy once he is up. It takes me a long time to feed and dress everyone. By the time I comb their hair, get the dishes done and the beds made, it is already almost nine o'clock and time to go to the gym or to pack up for a planned outing.

I wonder if the days will ever come when I'll sleep in or if I will forever feel guilty if I am not up by 6:30.

Family Pictures 2008

We had some family pictures taken on the 17th of May in City Park. Sadly, this was a first for us. I was proud of myself for finally setting it up. It was high time!
The weather was perfect, even a cool breeze was blowing through the enormous moss-covered trees. We had so much rain during the few days leading up to picture day, that I was worried we would have to cancel. Luckily, the sun came up bright and beautiful that morning and we caught the best part of the day (it rained later). Thank goodness for tender mercies!
The only problem in the park was the plenitude of mud. It quickly coated the bottom of all of our shoes and also smeared its way onto our clothing by the end of the photo session. It was well worth it, though.
Thanks so much Becky!

It all started with just the two of us. I am a lucky girl! It just gets better and better as I get to know him like I know myself. After all, he is part of me. Mark has been gone since early this morning and I don't expect to see him until I've already gone to bed tonight. I miss him when he is gone. I depend on him for so much. I try to be independent, but he is my backbone, my rock! I couldn't do it without him, my partner in every way.

This is our legacy! Yes, they are all mine. Yes, we have a set of twins, no triplets. AND, yes, I do indeed have my hands full, but aren't they cute?!

Is it too much to expect to have everyone look at the camera at the same time? The answer to that question is decidedly: YES! Well, we tried.

Even though this is posed, we actually look like this crossing the street or the parking lot at the YMCA. People stop what they are doing to watch us. It makes me feel like we are on display. Apparently, we are an oddity. I shouldn't say "we", really people think that I am the oddity for having so many kids so close together. I don't mind being odd.

We are trying so hard to smile, almost done with the pictures now.

My boys!

The girls, slightly outnumbered, but we wouldn't change it for the world.

I love this picture! The sparkle in his eye is so HIM, so BENJAMIN!

These two are a handful but what would I do without them?! They're already best friends.
They are so adorable, it is hard to get mad at them. Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he made toddlers the most beautiful little people around.

Isn't she sweet!?
She is smiling AND looking at the camera! That is a big deal. Way to go, Peyton!

Jackson's sly smile. You never know what this handsome guy has up his sleeve.

It seems appropriate to end on this one, since it was taken at the very beginning of our photo shoot. This is one of the first pictures yet, somehow, we didn't get the hang of it.
We weren't lucky enough to have a picture taken in which all of us are looking, let alone smiling.
I am just glad to have pictures of all of us together. They are priceless to me!
I have so many reasons to be grateful and so much to appreciate about my six best friends!
I love you, forever.