Summer action

We are enjoying a week at Table Rock Lake in Branson, MO with my parents, my sisters and their families. I'll have lots of pictures and stories to share when we return home. Mostly it's just fun to be back in the green Midwest with all of my delightful family members.

Here are some scenes from our first El Paso summer:

Isaac got to swim as the pool filled this day. It's nice that he's small enough to be shaded by the sides of the pool as he chills.

He's a little more at ease on dry land. He sits up well these days and actually plays with toys now, which delights his siblings.

In other summer action, Jackson is on 2 wheels now. We removed his training wheels, and he learned pretty quickly - motivated by the fact that his cousin had mastered 2 wheels and he didn't want to be left behind on family vacation. Because most days recently have been above 100 degrees, we rig this sprinkler to keep cool.
Annika likes for it to "rain" on her car while she stays somewhat dry.

And Isaac is usually perched right here watching everyone do their thing.

Now that Jackson is independent on 2 wheels and Isaac is sitting up, I can load up Annika and Isaac in the bike trailer, and we can ride to the mailbox most evenings. I'm looking forward to lots of bike riding this Fall.

I took Annika on a special outing last week to get her hair cut at a real hair cut store. She sat very still and thought it was a fascinating experience.

Here is a video of the scene in our driveway most evenings these days.

Happy Independence Day!

A few weeks ago I made some plans with our friend/neighbors, Dustin and Tracy, to hang out on the 4th of July for some grilling and fireworks. I figured a large army post would have a great fireworks display and it was just a matter of finding out which field to go to. I was disappointed to find out that Ft. Bliss does not do a fireworks display or anything else festive for the 4th. Come on folks! How about a little patriotism here? I need to stop by MWR (morale, welfare and recreation) and see if they have a suggestion box. Everyone around here says that all the other posts have nice fireworks displays for the 4th. Ft. Bliss should get with the program!

Well, anyway, after talking to some folks who have lived here for a few years (not easy to find those people) we decided the best place to see the fireworks would be at Cohen Stadium where they do a display after the Triple A baseball game each year. So we enjoyed dinner at our friends' house and then loaded up our trucks to find a good spot off the highway to watch the stadium's fireworks. (The terrain around here lends itself to watching fireworks from a distance. No chance a tree will block your view.)

The kids' table at Dustin and Tracy's

Isaac keeping an eye on Mike the dog

We exited the highway as if we were going to the stadium and then just found a patch of desert and parked there. Trucks were lined up on either side of us by the time the fireworks started, but it didn't feel crowded. And it was nice to not worry about walking back to the car after the show.

The flag by the stadium parking lot added some ambiance.

Our friends brought some of those little fireworks that you throw on the ground and they pop and spark. Jackson and Jai could have thrown those all night.

And we brought glow sticks.

Getting a little tired of waiting...

And action!

Isaac bounced around like crazy during the fireworks. He found them very exciting.

Both Annika and Jackson offered very enthusiastic commentary throughout the show, which made it fun.

All the littles slept well that night!

Albuquerque

Here is the whole gang gathered in Albuquerque last weekend. It was great to hang out as a family for a few days there. I think it had been 18 months since we had all gotten together at the same time. We are so glad it worked out for everyone - Matt's parents, his brothers, Jason and John, and their wives, Erin and Hannah.
We stayed at a huge, beautiful home on a golf course outside of Albuquerque. The first morning we were all together the guys played golf - 27 holes. There is nothing any of them would rather do than be together and golf. They had a great time.
Since Matt had our camera at the golf course, I don't have pictures of the girls and kids at the aquarium and botanical gardens in Albuquerque, but we had a great time there. I hope to get some photos from Erin and Hannah eventually. Saturday evening was a highlight of the trip for me. Mark and Karyn watched the kids and just the brothers and wives got to hang out in Albuquerque for the evening. We had appetizers in Old Town and then dinner in Nob Hill - both cool areas in Albuquerque.

Sunday we stayed at the house. There was plenty of elbow room there and lots to do. There was a theater room, a game room. a putting green and huge patio areas where we all relaxed and chatted. It was a wonderful, relaxing day.

Isaac relaxes well.

Matt's cousin, David, came down from Boulder, CO for a quick visit Sunday.

We celebrated Matt's birthday there. He did a good job blowing out the invisible candles - all 31 of them!

Annika had lots of fun with her Aunts.

And Jackson got a special treat Sunday evening. After Annika went to bed, Jackson walked out with the gang to play the hole that was behind our house. It was fun to see him putt all weekend on the practice green we had at the house, and he also had a great time here on the real course.

Mark and Karyn watching from the balcony of our house.

Jason and Erin, John and Hannah had to leave Monday morning. but Mark and Karyn and our family had a little more time. So we drove closer to Albuquerque and stayed at a resort there Monday night. The kids (including Isaac) enjoyed the pool there and we also did some bowling.

AJ loved her shoes and the ball return machine.

What a fun trip! It is such a blessing to have family we enjoy. It sure would be nice if we all lived closer together and could do this more often, but we'll take what we can get.

Isaac's new tricks and more pool fun

We are in Albuquerque right now enjoying some time with Matt's side of the fam. I'll be sure to post some pictures of the trip when we get back, but here is a post I had started before we left last week, but never finished.


Here are some fun pictures of 5 month old Isaac showing off his new sitting skills. He is also loving his Johnny Jumper these days, so here is a (too-long) video of him in action.



And of course Jackson and Annika are still splashing around in the backyard a lot this summer. Here is one of Jackson's new tricks.

Learning to Read

Jackson and I have been doing a reading lesson each day this summer. He is really catching on quickly, so it's fun. Some days he has a bad attitude, and some days he's great, but even on not-so-good days, he gets it done. Today, he had fun with it and wanted to keep going after we finished our lesson. He sounded out lots of words and was very proud. We are using the book, "Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". I recommend it.

This kind of focus during all his reading lessons would be great.

Goofy

Yesterday, while Jackson and Annika were eating lunch, Jackson was bothering Annika. Annika looked at him and said, "Jackson! Stop antagonizing me!!" ??? I really don't think I have ever used that word when speaking to J or A. It must be a Matt phrase.

Her exclamation had little effect as Jackson was putting cheese down the back of her shirt 2 minutes later. Seriously, how do little boys even come up with these ideas? I think I'm glad I only had sisters.

Here is Isaac enjoying his favorite pastime these days:

Camping and Carlsbad Caverns

We had a fantastic weekend of camping and caving in Carlsbad, NM. Here are some pictures from our trip.

The drive to Carlsbad is even more desolate than the drive to White Sands. Whenever we hit the west Texas highways, I can't stop thinking - this is where I live??

Construction worker port-a-potties serve as a rest area.

Here we are setting up camp. Matt really does about 90% of the work (and there is a lot of work involved with camping) while I just keep tooty, fruity and cutie out of his way. We set up camp at Brantley Lake State Park. You can kind of see the lake in the background. It was a very nice campground with a bathroom/shower facility. Each site had a pavilion-covered picnic table and a shade tree (thanks to a sprinkler system). Shade is key as it was 102 degrees when we arrived.

Jackson delighted in finding lots of critters including a few lizards like this little guy, lots of big jackrabbits, some vultures enjoying some roadkill, a road runner, some finches, plenty of bugs and a funny little skunk. We saw the skunk as we were leaving the Pecos River, and our friends also had 2 skunks visit them in the middle of the night sniffing around their campsite for goodies.

It was hot. But it cooled off nicely in the late evening.

Jackson liked drinking out of our water pump "like Benny from the Boxcar Children".

Isaac knew what he wanted to do once Matt got the tent set up. He had a nice little nap and then slept soundly all night - better than he sleeps at home even.

J and A checking out their sleeping quarters

After dinner, we walked down to the lake. Jackson led the way.

This family came with us on our camping adventure. Sgt. Pass is a chaplain assistant in Matt's Brigade. He and his 2 daughters, Lakin and Katie, and his wife, Janette joined us and were a big help with the kids - especially Isaac. This was the path down to the lake, which was a bit of a disappointment - not a great part of the lake for wading. However, we had driven past the Pecos River on our way to the campground, so after walking back from the lake, we drove to the river and had a really nice time cooling off.

It is so rare, but refreshing to find a body of water in this dry part of the country.

Weasels 1 and 2 woke up with the first bit of sunlight well before 6am Saturday. (I've never been so annoyed so see a beautiful sunrise.) Isaac kept snoozing for a while and then had fun playing in big brother's sleeping bag.

Breakfast time. Matt whipped up some scrumptious pancakes, bacon and eggs. He is really good at the whole camping thing. I totally just come along for the ride.

After breakfast on Saturday we packed up camp and drove through the town of Carlsbad to Carlsbad Caverns. The Pass family came to the caves with us, and some more of our friends met us there. Chaplain Baum and his family are pretty new to Ft. Bliss. The Baums, Dave and Marie, have 2 girls Emma (11) and Anna (8) and our kids love to play together. The camping part of the weekend did not appeal to them, but they did want to get in on the caving action, so they drove out Sat morning and met us at the caverns. This place is magnificent. The pictures do not do it justice because the lighting is funky and the caves are so immense that they cannot be captured well in a picture. I suppose even marginal pictures are worth 1,000 words, so I'll let them speak for themselves.

At the end of the mile and a half walk through the "Big Room" part of the cave, the youngsters were pooped. We definitely plan to return to Carlsbad Caverns before the end of the summer to see the bat flight, which is especially spectacular in July and August. 400,000 bats exit the cave at sunset. The drive to the caverns is just over 2 hours - very manageable. I can't wait to go again.

As we toured the cave, I was thinking about the cave's creator - God. It is interesting to think of God making these magnificent caves - this insanely awesome, enormous (Lechuguilla Cave at Carlsbad is 120 miles long), intricate maze of gloriously beautiful rock formations and hiding it under the earth in complete darkness. The first human being did not discover the cave opening until 1901. For thousands of years, only God himself enjoyed this glorious part of His creation. As I ponder this, I am reminded that God did not create this beautiful world for us. He made it for himself. God is more concerned about his glory than our pleasure.

A few weeks ago Matt preached part of Psalm 104 in his chapel service. Psalm 104: 24-26 says "How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number - living things both large and small. There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there." Which you formed to what? To play! Why? Because He wanted to. And why not? He is God. Verse 31 - "May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works - he who looks at the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke."

I have the same plan that this Psalm writer had in vs. 33 - "I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live."

Summer fun and thoughts about homeschooling

It's funny how there are several unofficial beginnings of summer. Memorial day weekend seems to start off the season. Then, of course, the last day of school, which for Jackson was Thursday, is a big sign that summer is here. By the time summer actually arrives later this month, it feels as though it is well underway. Here is Jackson with his little certificate and faux graduation hat, sharing all of his last-day-of-school-party-goodies with Annika.

It was fun to be able to play with the kids Friday without having to worry about getting Jackson to school at 11:30 and pick him up at 2:30. We decided to go to a sprinkler park here on post, and the kids had so much fun that we stayed for 2 and a half hours.

At first, Isaac assumed his standard snoozing position, but then he woke up and we decided to cool him off a little. Jackson took this picture below.

Drying off and hanging out.

We ran into some friends there. This is Jaimen, one of Jackson's buddies from bible study.

It is so hot each afternoon, that the wading pool has been getting a lot of use this month. In this video it is still filling up, but J and A love to play in it even when it is still 1/2 empty.

Last week it rained one day! It started right in the middle of Jackson's t-ball game, which ended abruptly with everyone gathering up their children and running to their cars. J and A were so excited to get home, put on their raincoats and play!

There was also a nice rainbow to enjoy.

I think I'm really going to enjoy summertime here. It is hot, but the lack of humidity really does make it bearable. Also, after about 7pm, it is always comfortable outside. Jackson loved preschool this year, but it will be nice to not have to work around that schedule now. This summer we are going to do some "school" at home. I have some resources I am going to use to help Jackson learn how to read, and one of the reasons we are going to do this is to see if I could stand home schooling next year. We are considering home schooling for several reasons. Mainly, the El Paso schools stink. Jackson's school is not an army school, but even the school on post is nothing to rave about here. I was comfortable with Jackson being at school just a few hours each day, but I don't want him to be there from 8am-3:15pm next year. I hope the schools will be better at our next assignment, and then we will probably have him attend school again.

This time last year, I could not stand the thought of home schooling, but that has changed. I think I might actually enjoy it. Matt is supposed to deploy to Iraq in November, so that factors in to the decision somewhat. While sending Jackson to school would mean a bit of a break for me each day, I would rather not be tied to the school's schedule with traveling to see family. I would like to have the freedom to visit family for a month without worrying about missing school. We shall see. We're not totally sure what to do at this point, but this summer will be a good time to experiment with some home schooling.

I have lots of friends who home school here, including several neighbors, so there would be plenty of opportunities for socializing, which is important for both Jackson and me. Speaking of neighbors, I have some really great ones. This is a huge plus. Everyone really enjoys helping everyone else. Here are several examples of this from today alone. The AC in our van is not working these days - a major issue around these parts. We are taking it to the shop Mon. morning, so my neighbor, whose husband is deployed, is letting us use their car until ours is fixed. That same neighbor let me borrow 2 cups of flour this afternoon for my banana bread. Jackson played at her house for a while this morning, then I took her daughter to a neighborhood picnic. Then, this afternoon, Matt was exercising at the gym, and I was visiting with some other neighbors. The kids were there, too, and I said I needed to head home to take a shower before going out to dinner tonight, but wasn't sure what the kids would do to stay out of trouble while I showered. So my neighbors said, go shower! The kids are fine here. It's so great. There are tons of opportunities to be neighborly and everyone is so thoughtful about it. That has been great about living on post. Everyone is in the same boat, understands each others' needs, and does what they can to help.

Oh, I should mention that I had a fantastic time in St. Louis while Matt, J and A were in Cloudcroft. Great to see the beauty of late springtime there and also lots of friends an family. We are planning a trip to Carlsbad, NM for some camping and caving next weekend. Should be fun!

two nights in a cabin with the midgets

Had a great time in Cloudcroft, NM with Jackson and Annika. Left the house last Friday at 1100 in caravan with Weinheimers. Rained the entire drive and for a couple hours after we arrived at the cabin. The kids slept almost the whole way. When we got to the cabin, nobody cared that it was raining, the four small ones spent a while exploring and tearing into the nooks and crannies. The adults sat on the porch and pondered a rainy weekend.

When the rain let up in the afternoon, we drove over to the trout pond that we had spied online. It was a funny little operation. One of the employees was a middle aged ex-navy volunteer firefighter. I made friends right away by making a joke about how the navy is for wusses. (I've found that it is pretty much obligatory to make demeaning comments about the other services when you first encounter someone from another branch) Ex-Navy guy didn't really think my joke was funny, but let us fish anyway.

The pond was less than an acre, probably less than 1/2 an acre. Annika pretty much just wandered around the bank watching Jackson, Cade, and Jai do their worst. Jackson is a semi-accomplished caster, which means that about 20% of the time he's able to throw the bait and tackle maybe 10-15 yards. The rest of the time, he's steaming mad because his cast drops directly in front of him or just gets tangled up on the end if his pole. He hates that he needs me to help him when his pole gets all Lebowski'd up. He interprets all aid and instruction as wrath, no matter how gentle I am with correcting. I'm not sure Jackson had a good time, but he was pretty proud of the three fish he caught all by himself.

Made an effort to grill the fish when we got back to the cabin and they ended up tasting pretty good. I suck at cleaning them and the difficulty of removing the bones made us take a few bites and give up eating them as a meal. Fortunately our buddy Dustin had produced a delicious selection of red meat.

After fishing and dinner we took the next few hours to calm everyone down, watching a movie with the kids and getting everyone to sleep by 8 o'clock. Jackson demanded to sleep on the floor and I crashed with Annika. Annika is a terrible bedmate. She digs her piggy little toes into your back all night long.

The morning brought lucky charms cereal and cinnamon rolls. Then a walk into the town of Cloudcroft, about a mile or so. We hit every playground we saw, stopped for a cup of coffee, and got back to the cabin in time for a light lunch and naps.

I've got a beef with the townsfolk in cloudcroft. It is a tourist town. Without the money that people like me and our friends spend there, they'd lose 80% of their jobs and tax income. Locals have no reason to be grumpy toward me. Yet the service is generally 3rd rate and no one acts friendly except the other visitors.

After napping, we cruised back into town on foot for a local craft sale called "Mayfair." It was typical small-town art type stuff; velvet airbrushed paintings, hunting knives made out of deer antlers, amateur ceramics, rusty iron sculptures, chainsaw-carved bear statues, and some guy who could "make-anything-out-of-horseshoes-while-u-wait."

Best thing they had was funnel cakes; the presence or absence of which makes or breaks any public event.

Cooked the kids a frozen pizza for dinner while they whacked weeds and trees and each other with branches. Dustin made some superb steaks for the adults and we started up the fire-pit with wood we commandeered from someone who wasn't home. (Our cabin was supposed to be outfitted with firewood but wasn't. When questioned about this, the owner said she didn't think we needed it. Which is another reason I think these Cloudcroft people are backward. If you bill it as an amenity, it ought to be there.) Anyway, no one bothered to tell us there was a level 2 fire restriction in effect. After several passersby stopped and gawked at our fire, the fire marshall rolled up and asked us nicely to put the fire out. Not a big deal, as we had already roasted enough marshmallows to make the kids sick.

Annika hit the hay at 730, after an hour of asking to go to bed. Jackson and I watched the end of the Lakers-Nuggets game for the second time in three days which prompted him to ask when the Pistons would be playing. We're working on enjoying sports for sports sake, even when our team isn't competing.

People slept until 700am or so; more cinnamon rolls, more lucky charms. we loaded up the vehicle and said adios to our friends. We scouted some national park campgrounds nearby for future camping opportunities. We hiked for a while, tracking an elk which had left huge footprints and piles of droppings. We did come across one mama elk, but I doubt it was the one we hunted.

We headed for home and visited the Old Apple Barn on the way down the mountain. A grumpy old guy sold us some fudge for mom and some cherry and raspberry cider. A little further down the mountain we stopped to shoot a little and then hit McDonald's when we got to Alamogordo, which my friend Neal translated for me; "fat Alamo."

After eating, the kids slept all the way home again. I tracked the Tigers vs. Rockies on the blackberry and tried to stay on the road. When we got home, since mom wasn't here and I was really tired and the kids not, I put on a Flintstones marathon and racked out for 45 minutes.

Talked to my grandma and grandpa this evening. They are constant expresions of love and laughter. I need to do it more often, they are awesome people and love to hear how the family is doing.

Watched "I am Legend" and "Semi-pro" after the kids went to bed. Will Smith is a Jesus-type in "Legend" which compelled me to watch to the end despite being in the zombie genre.
Semi-pro is a waste of time; which I should have known.

Why is soccer so interesting to children? Went to the park down the road this (Monday) morning and all they wanted to do was kick the ball around and use the newly installed soccer goals. I told Jackson that playing soccer is OK only if the skills he develops can translate into a meaningful athletic effort later in life. A purpose-driven existence does not involve soccer.

All that stands between me and Carrie and Isaac coming home is lunch, naps, and the short drive to the airport. Just when I was getting into the single-parent groove...

Forgot to take the camera to the cabin, hence the thousands of words.

A couple days without mom

Carrie is on her way to the Lou, which leaves Jackson, Annika, and me here in West TX. Jackson had his third T-ball game tonight. He is showing more promise as a ballplayer. He was quite a bit more aggressive playing defense and actually made a play on a batted ball. This is a huge breakthrough.

Annika helped me coach first base. One kid ran through first base without stopping and nicely banana'd outside the foul line. Demonstrates my development as a baseball guru.

Went to the convenience store for ice cream after the game. Got J and A some novelty strawberry stuff but Annika had to give hers back because she couldn't behave in the store.

Kids went to bed without incident.

Watching the Lakers-Nuggets. I have no rooting interest except to root against L.A. Problem is, Shannon Brown is getting good minutes and he's a Michigan State guy.

Had dinner with my buddy Neal last night. It's refreshing to hear his testimony about life in Minneapolis. He's thriving spiritually and has real joy. He hunts and fishes a lot, works hard, and is very generous. Seems like 5 minutes ago we were cleaning floors overnight and skating through college.

Visited the behavioral health hospital here in El Paso today. I've been there many times, the mental cost of war is pretty staggering. Visions of hellish experiences continue to haunt guys long after the event. Only hope is spiritual restoration. I enjoy seeing these soldiers, but it's emotionally exhausting.

Planning to head out to Cloudcroft, NM with the midgets tomorrow. Looking forward to the cool mountain air and some time with our buddies the Weinheimers. They have kids same age as J and A. Perhaps some trout fishing at a stocked pond ($0.55/inch) and maybe some shooting.

Speaking of shooting, watched "No Country for Old Men" last night. Fairly gruesome but it was best picture for a reason. Coen brothers can really roll.

Got two new books in the mail. "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell and "The Doctrine of the Christian Life" by John Frame. The first is about rapid cognition and first impressions, the second is self explanatory.