Yesterday I had to go to the Grand Canyon for a school basketball game for Leavi. On the way out to the freeway I passed our school here in Parks. The forest service was doing a “Prescribed Burn” of about 30 piles of scrap from when they thinned the trees last summer.
And lots of SMOKE for miles!
After the game we started for the canyon which is less than a mile from the school where the game was….
We spotted these in someone’s yard. The more cars there were the closer they came to the street. The deer at the canyon are very tame and used to people. There is a whole community with housing, schools, medical and some shopping who live at the canyon year-round.
I have lived here almost 9 years and have been to the canyon many times for soccer and basketball games. (Our school plays with Seligman, Ash Fork, Williams and the Grand Canyon schools – not with Flagstaff schools – we are all outlaying small school districts) Also, I have been to the canyon with family on many occasions. But I have never seen the canyon with snow… it was so breathtaking! I took so many pics and have settled on these to share – there were just soooo many great views!
My first look….
So yesterday, for me was Fire and Ice.
Next week is SNOW week, again. Husband will be in Las Vegas at THE shot show and I will be here manning the fort! Shoveling snow, taking care of his mom and I may have the boys home most of the week, too!
My son, Luke, got his FIRST report card with no Ds or Fs!!!! I am so proud of him! But, then, I always knew he could do it. It has been that damn school! He did fine in K and 1st, other than the “keep your hands and feet to yourself” a few times. From second grade on, it has been a battle! The second grade teacher said she didn’t have time for Luke. He learned that year to listen to her words NOT the tone of her voice. The third grade class had her son- the scholl bully - in her class. Fourth grade was so very unorganized. Fifth grade had her TWO newly adopted kids in her class. I LOVE those two kids now but at the time, they had many issues. Sixth grade teacher was too good for our small school. Seventh grade, we had a GREAT and patient teacher who helped Luke understand that he COULD do the work! This year we have a teacher who has a child with special needs and “gets” Luke – FINALLY! The school wanted to label him depressed at one point! I told them if he is depressed, YOU DID IT TO HIM! We, his dad and I, have just kept plugging along encouraging him and telling him to do his best. Being the best is OK, I guess…. but DOING your best – it just can NOT be beat! He has aptitudes in things that don’t fit in the mainstream of school life. This is a school that has one class for each grade and each class has an average of 10 students.
It has been a while since I posted. My camera broke AGAIN and I just got a new one for my birthday! I like to post pics because I am not very wordy, as a rule, when I write…. only when I talk! LOL I like pics because I, also, think that pictures are worth a thousand words. My friends and family email and talk on the phone but pics say so much more.
So much going on for the holidays! We got a big storm about 10 days ago. The boys, GH and I spent several days shoveling and then some melted. I even got my van out a few times! Last night we got hit again with another foot and we are shoveling again. Belle had Leavi’s phone for dinner last week and his new one is at Verizon and if, God forbid, we have an emergency, we need to get out of here! So, today we are taking turns with 20 min shifts to clear the driveway.
For the first time ever, I got my packages all mailed 12 days before Christmas, all of the gifts are wrapped and under the tree, got my neighbor gifts handed out last Sunday and the ham is in the sink defrosting for the big day. I am usually sooo far behind that I am up til morning wrapping and baking.
My son, Luke, and I are both a year older since the last post. He is 14! Time flies some days and others….. seems like I just brought him home from the hospital!
Well…. I think I have been wordy enough for this post… here are the pics
This is a sharp contrast to the snow… they sit in my window sill over the kitchen sink – lots of humidity (not a bad pic for my new camera – Kodak Easy Share M341 with Smart Capture, no adjusting for close-ups!)
Boys and dog…. rarely parted. But last Thursday right after school, my boys went to Camp Navaho Army Base for Leadership Training and did not come home until Saturday afternoon. Belle went to Dr. Moore on Friday to be spayed and to have a microchip implanted. So she had time to recoup from surgery before they came home.
Remember this 6 pound cutie?
Now, I have this gorgeous 55 pound sweetheart
Now…….. on to The Force of My Future
The boys really really liked the camp… they didn’t want to come home. Most all of the people (boys, girls and adults!) did not want to go home.
The officers kept everyone so busy. They would have leadership, drug free, esteem building and many other classes between playing games and campfires. They got to “work” a fire engine, marched, played volleyball, dodgeball, dressed up the sgt as a woman, raised the flag and many more fun things. They, also, got to sleep in REAL barracks! This was way too cool for both of the boys, since they are big military fans… Luke of the Marines and Leavi likes the Army. The kids were given nicknames – Luke was the “Godfather” because he won the game of Mafia Wars and Leavi was “Indie” because he was indecisive! Perfect names for both of them! LOL
The officers had a slide show Saturday for the parents… the kids enjoyed seeing themselves, too … of all of the activities over the session. At the end, the kids were called up one by one and given a certificate of graduation. My two standing at attention and yelling YES SIR! My eyes watered up… I don’t see how much they are growing physically, emotionally or mentally since I am too close to them. But this is one of those moments when the reality of their growth slaps me in the heart! I am so over joyed to watch them learn and grow but it is very bittersweet for me to have to leave their youth behind – them and ME!
Pic that the camp took of them with their unit. (Those are the San Francisco Peaks behind them)
This morning I was greeted with these blue birds… GH has quit smoking so I was out on the porch at 6:30am to have a smoke alone. These guys have made a nest in the porch support beam.
Tomorrow morning, A Writer and A Rider and I leave in my car for Las Vegas! We will be gone until Sunday evening. Her awesome dad is treating us to an all expense paid vacation! I am so excited We will be staying at the Excalibur and going to see Cirque du Soleil, “Kà”, which combines acrobatic performances, martial arts and pyrotechnics. N and I will be going to the spa, too. And we will do as much “tourist” stuff as we can handle. “See” you when I get back with some pics of us having fun! I am not much of a gambler… just some machines, even though I do know how to play 21 and poker (I used to be a Texas Holdem Dealer for a short time). I do not have a “poker face” – I am like an open book and all but an idiot knows that I have a good hand or a bad hand! But wish us luck – at cards or finding the fun in Vegas.
I have been fairly busy the past few days. I had some old bikes restored and have been bike riding. I wish that I could say that it has been a blast! I remember as a kid riding from sun up to sun down. I am hoping that it improves my balance and strength for the horseback riding that I plan on doing soon. Also, I have reached a plateau in my weight loss and am hoping to burn a bunch of calories!
I got the skirting done around the duck house… I used some left over horse/deer fencing. I cut panels of it and put it on the ground around the duck house to try and keep the wild critters from digging under and up into the duck area. I put a bunch of rocks over the fencing material to blend it into the ground, to keep it from being torn up and away from the duck house and to keep from tripping on it…. but I bet that I still find a way to trip on it!
I got all of the Christmas decorations put away into the shed. I did get it all boxed up last New Year’s Day, but there has been so much snow, ice and, as that all melted, mud on the ground that it was hard to walk to the shed until that past couple of weeks.
There has been a smell in the boy’s bedroom the past week to 10 days. The boys and I have had our noses down in the carpet like bloodhounds and could not find the source…. I knew what the smell was – cat. I crawled on my stomach under the house…. all nice and dry. The other day I finally had the time to actually move the furniture away from the walls in the bedroom… aha! It was coming from the chair cubby under the desk! I got some great stuff for cat urine, soaked it down, steam cleaned it and it the smell is finally gone!
I have been concerned for a couple of my blogger buddies. They have had a very hard week. I have been sending them happy thoughts and hope that life starts to turn to good for them.
So, other than the damned wind is still blowing at 20mph through here, and that I miss the hell out of my husband, life is good and I am staying busy.
And lots of SMOKE for miles!
… of all of the activities over the session. At the end, the kids were called up one by one and given a certificate of graduation. My two standing at attention and yelling YES SIR! My eyes watered up… I don’t see how much they are growing physically, emotionally or mentally since I am too close to them. But this is one of those moments when the reality of their growth slaps me in the heart! I am so over joyed to watch them learn and grow but it is very bittersweet for me to have to leave their youth behind – them and ME!
Nicole
Talina
Talina
yarmi74
