a boring sparrow

flying

2009-05-12T08:55:00.000-07:00

I am signing off on my blog for awhile.
I am reaching out for something new... the beauty and complexities of flight.
My hopes are great, I aim to have my private pilots license by my 35th birthday.
Thanks for reading, and in doing so listening.

the ending

2009-05-05T08:19:00.000-07:00

I have struggled with this post since we got home. There are so many things to say about our trip, that it has been difficult to sort thorough all the experiences and their meanings. It has been quite emotional in nature, and so, I have needed to give it a lot of "breathing room".
Finally, I am ready to share the following outline:
I thought and dreamed about returning for years. There was pain in leaving at age 17. 17 years later, the trip was becoming a reality.
I dove into the logistical elements in December and worked on those (technically) until we left in mid-February.
I tried not to create expectations about the trip, wanting to make it an open experience.
The adventure began, as did the emotion-filled first week. My hidden, private expectations sneaked out. Disappointment ensued.
The places were unrecognizably beautiful and ugly (sometimes at the same time).
The people were welcoming and warm (as long as the kids were behaving in an appropriate way, and rarely when they were not).
Staying in one of my childhood homes (that seemed unchanged) and visiting my school was both comforting and foreign.
I didn't go to any of the churches that I'd known as a kid. I was challenged enough without those experiences.
Anxiety filled my heart, along with all the elemental tasks of traveling and caring for Marshall, Stewart and Nigel.
Sadness covered me. Loss and grief put me to sleep at night.
Stress pushed me forward.
The mountains and sky seemed to call to me. Looking up was invigorating.
Excitement and happiness were put on (as is my habit) in order to cope. There were authentic moments of these too, but they were fleeting.
I became future-focused as I anticipated Mike's arrival and my subsequent "rescue" from the stress (it was short-lived relief).
Anxiety reappeared as I became busy with the logistics of caring for my family (and translating) as we traveled.
Loosing Stewart in the jungle was one of the scariest things I've ever experienced. (He was missing for 5 -10 minutes, maybe).
I loved watching the hummingbirds.
I loved watching the kids play with Mike in the water.
Although the beach was beautiful, I felt was very sad and tired and I couldn't wait to get back to the mountains.
I had my first (and only) panic-attack in a late-night, 7-hour bus ride. I couldn't find my breath.
Quito was mine, but now it is not. A fond memory, one belonging to my childhood.
My favorite place was Lago San Pablo, where there was room (mountains, water and sky).
I felt proud of getting around the way we did.
I had so many great conversations with new people.
I was annoyed by how the culture treated children. It seemed as though they were annoyances to be segregated or manipulated "performers". (I am equally annoyed by similar thinking in our culture).
I loved the colors of the indigenous clothing, sometimes earthy and sometimes vibrant.
On my last day, I scrambled to see two people that I loved, Rebeca Susana and Rosa. Those were happy moments.

Upon returning, I felt giddy to be in my home at last. I needed rest.
I am thankful that I was able to share this voyage with my children (who were amazing and LOVED it) and Mike.

Writing this and now reading over it is painful.
This is crazy. This is real. This is the end.

termas papallacta

2009-03-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

The thermal hot springs of Papallacta provided a wonderful recollection of childhood vacations. Papallacta is located to the east of Quito, less than 2 hours away. We spent Sunday night at the "Termas Papallacta" resort and despite it's cost it was worth it. They have piped the hot springs water (87 to 110 degrees) into waist deep pools that are immediately in front of the cabins. The pools in our courtyard area were very hot, hot and ice cold. The cool mountain air forces you into the wonderful pools in which you cannot remain because it gets too hot, so we moved around alot, enjoying the views from all angles.
As a kid, this resort was nonexistant, but the hotsprings public area was. This is what I remember, but has been kept up nicely, and improved now to have a nice restaurant, changing areas and whirlpool jets in some of the pools. I was glad that someone had the idea to develop the natural resource so that it could be visited comfortably by tourists and others. I was saddened to think of the local people, who used to bathe in the springs along the roadside. The natural springs that flowed there arent' there any longer (water piped to the resort) and neither are the people. It clearly would be cost prohibitive to many. What remains unclear is whether there is a place for the townspeople to enjoy.

risk and La Ronda

2009-03-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

Mike took the kids to Peguche waterfalls on Saturday morning, allowing me to peruse the Otavalo Indian market alone. I had taken the kids to Peguche, but had not allowed them to cross the rapids on the fallen tree bridge. I had too many fears about losing one of the kids in the river. I was glad they were able to experience it with their dad, who was not scared of the risks, but allowed them to take it on.
Later, we left Otavalo, and returned to Quito. After getting the kids to sleep we went to dinner at La Ronda, a touristy restaurant, styled after a well-known street. The food is typical Ecuadorian, accompanied by live music (panflute, guitars and drums). As a kid, I had been there many times when we had visitors in town. This time, I enjoyed Fanesca (a 10 grain and legume soup with a fish stock base. I had never had it, but had read an article about it and had been asking people where I could find it (only served one time a year, right before Easter, so I was lucky to have it).

minga at the lake

2009-03-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

We took Mike to Lago San Pablo on cloudy Thursday and Friday. Before the rains came in, we were able to take a boat ride around the edge of the lake. We were able to watch a minga (community work crew) on the northwest side of the lake come together to put in some water pipelines so they could have water coming to their homes. There were people of all ages digging up the ground. There were more than a hundred working together with their hands and some primitive equipment, without the government helping. In talking with some of the hotel staff, we learned that sometimes the province will lend the equipment to the people of the community, but that mostly, improvement is left to the people of rural communities.
Mike had cabin fever and went hiking in the rain. He witnessed some women with babies tied to their bags carrying buckets of water up the mountain to their homes. He had just been thinking how good the hike was going and felt humbled.
Despite the rains, we had an enjoyable time in our cabin with our fireplace lit, eating popcorn and watching Space Chimps.

Atacames finally

2009-03-19T10:10:00.000-07:00

We rode all day, but finally arrived in Atacames (a well-known beach in the northwestern part of the country). We were the only guests at "La Marimba", which was at the southernmost part of the beach.
The ceviche de camaron (my other favorite Ecuadorian food) was best at our hotel, but we found some other great seafood at "Paco Foco" in town.
We walked to town a couple of times and then enjoyed the open-air motorcycle taxi ride back, usually with loud music.
The beach was heavily littered, because of the heavy rains that overfilled the rivers and washed the trash out to sea. We observed men in the low surf every day, looking through the trash for money or usable items.
The hotels pool was the kid's delight.

Stewart gets lost in a cloud

2009-03-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Today Mike took Marshall and Stewart on several hikes while Nigel napped. On one such adventure, Stewart had to be returned for a bathroom stop. Nigel awoke and while I was readying him to go out, Stewart left.
He went missing. I was calling his name, but the jungle does weird thing to sounds, and he didn't hear me. I started up the mountain, thinking he had probably gone back to the path he had been on. Finally, I heard him scream twice. I called to him again, running and panting with Nigel clinging to me. There was no answer this time. I saw to the left of the path what looked like a well or a pit, and my mind leaped forward to the worst case scenario. In one minutes' time I imagined having to leave the forest without him. I was panicked.
Anita, from the hotel, raced along side me, and headed up the path. I couldn't breathe and had to stop. I kept thinking that I was failing. I knew he was out there, but I could'nt go any further. My body wouldn't let me. I yelled out again. This time I heard Anita shout that she had him. My mind raced, I still hadn't heard him. Was he ok?
She came in to view, and there was Stewart, crying but fine. He was terrified! I held him for the longest time.
Later, he told me that he had gone back to the path to catch up with Mike and Marshall. It was amazing that he had covered that distance in a matter of minutes.
We talked about it for along time afterwards.
The jungle is beautiful, but it is vast and like an interwoven maze and scary with little independents like my middle son, Stewart.

the usual and unusual finds in a jungle

2009-03-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

the unusual find: Dariel,10-year-old bird artist who likes to draw birds and does so wonderfully. Marshall bought a peice of his art.

birds and clouds from a treehouse

2009-03-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

We decided to take the road west towards the Esmeraldas/Atacames beach. By bus it was going to take 7 hours so we opted to leave Saturday and go 2 hours to the Cloud Forest Reserve of Bellavista. We got off at Nanagalito and hired a truck driver to take us up the mountain. It was 12 km to the top, but at places the dirt roads had been nearly washed out. The ride was a bumpy one, and we kept looking at eachother wondering where the top was. Finally, we reached what we called the "treehouse" hotel of Bellavista.
I never expecte d the views of the misty clouds to be so beautiful. The bird calls came from every direction. When we descended from our bambo "treehouse" there were flutterings and the low "dhrrrr"'s from the hummingbirds whizzing by.
The dinning building held a table of travelers having refined and adult conversations over wine. Then there was our entourage of tired boys, with Mike and I trying to get through it. After the kids fell off to sleep, we ended our busy day with a bottle of wine on the deck nestled in the trees.

Mike's arrival

2009-03-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

We let out cheers as we saw Mike for the first time in nearly 4 weeks. Everyone was trying to talk to him at once, as we all had important things to say to him.
The next morning, we made our way to the Plaza Central, the President's Palace, and the Basilica. Marshall and Stewart were most excited to play Batman Lego with him.
photo one: Mike enjoyed his first ceviche de camaron (shrimp cocktail of Ecuador)
photo three: getting his first view of colonial Quito
photo four: Mike being interviewed by some kids for their school project.

Yaku: Agua: Water

2009-03-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

Tonight Mike arrives!
During the day we decided to check out Quito's water museum. It is named Yaku (Quichua Indian name for water). Nigel had a great time getting wet, even though it was chilly.
The museum is in a neighborhood called El Placer ( The Pleasure). Here there was an excellent view of the city in the valley, with the Panecillo to the south and the Basilica to the north.
There were several large school groups there with kids herded into lines with anticipatory expressions. To my surprise, one catholic girls school had allowed the girls to dress in their matching swim suits and caps and run through the fountains. The kindergarden-aged girls were having a superb time, running, slipping and falling. The nuns did not seem to be having such a good time, yelling and barking orders from the side. The scene was unforgettable.
Our favorite spot in the museum was the bubble (burbuja) room. See video below:

fiber arts in Ambato

2009-03-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

After staying at Rumipampa de las Rosas for two nights we took a bus south to Ambato where we stayed at Quinto Loren Hosteleria.
My ambition was to meet with a wonderful artisan named Fabian Rosero. He works with plant fibers, creating braided rugs and weavings. It was impressive to see some samples and photographs of his labor.
The next day we visited Salasaca, where we were able to witness a weaver and Salasaca Indian women making thread.
photograph three: Nigel couldn't get enough toy llamas to care for.
note: inspiration for new art continues. Research looms and check ebay.

salcedo market

2009-03-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

My parents worked with a church in Salcedo for many years. I remember taking the two hour drive usually every other month.
On more than one occasion, we passed the Sunday market. I was awed by the quantity and vibrancy of the yarn I saw there. I asked to stop but we were never able for whatever reason.
Yesterday, the kids and I went. I bought $10 worth of yarn, which is a lot of yarn. I had such a hard time narrowing down my choices. I am not sure how I will use all this yarn but I have been working on several latch-hook designs and hope that I may be able to produce a small show based on this new work.
A childhood dream revisited!

picture 1: this is how I felt when I saw the hilo (yarn)
picture 2: an example of the latch-hook art I brought along to work on
picture 3: the kids thoroughly enjoyed the famous Helado de Salcedo (Salcedo Ice Cream). The locals loved stopping to look at the kids.

$6 bus adventure! (sick child included)

2009-03-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

I think we travel light, re-wearing dirty clothes, with few other options (this is why we are wearing the same clothes in our pictures), but when it comes to carrying all our gear, the pack probably weighs at least 80 lbs. Imagine me having to sit down in order to hoist the pack onto my back. It is way too heavy!
We caught a taxi, after an emergency trip to the supermarket to get some diapers (candy and B-A-N-A-N-A-S). Once we got to the bus terminal, backpack engaged, Stewart announced that he needed a toilet. We found one (for $ .15). The toilets didn't have seats, and he was upset about having to sit on the cold. We waited (Nigel and I more patient and understanding than my firstborn, who was dealing some emotional turmoil). We waited some more. Finally, Stewart felt relieved and we went on our way (me hoping that this issue had resolved itself).
We hurried to the back of the bus, got the entire row to ourselves, and settled in for the 2 hour ride to Salcedo. I thought to myself, "today is day of the woman here, and I feel empowered having met the challenges. " I felt proud, with my three strong children by my side. But then I went further, thinking, "It will be "smooth-sailing" from here, What other challenge can top these? "
Mistake to hope for the nice ride. After 20 minutes of boys quietly playing their leapsters, and me being able to nurse Nigel in peace. Shit! Literally...Stewart needed the bathroom again. His cries became increasingly desperate (coming from him, it really meant something. His stomach is made of steel). I convinced him that he needed a diaper. I was trying to keep Nigel asleep, and tend to Stewart's writhing body. He kept saying that he just needed to use the grass, not even a toilet. He wanted off the bus in a bad way.
Finally, about 20 minutes from our hotel, he releived himself and was totally fine after that.
Once we arrived, we cleaned up and I broke out the travelers diarrhea meds for my brave little boy.

to the top

2009-03-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

When we woke on Saturday, alas, we had a clear morning in Quito, perhaps our first. The kids played neopets for awhile and watched some cartoons as I packed up and Nigel napped.
Leaving our backpack at the hotel, we took off on our mountain excursion. The taxi took us to Teleferico, which is this new-to-me area that you can take a cable car to the top of the mountain. On top there are cafes and paths almost all the way over to Rucu Pichincha (the volcano that sits directly to the west of northern Quito).
The air was thin, at about 15,ooo ft above sea level, so the hike left me breathless at times (maybe because Iwas carrying Nigel too). Marshall and Stewart are real climbers, they just kept on. I would have let them go all the way to the rocky part, but Stewart was not listening to me, going his own way, which several times was frightening. I wondered if the altitude was affecting him, so I made the decision that we would try again another time.
We were tired when we got to the bottom, but the kids lite up when they saw a small ammusement park and ice cream. They had a couple rounds on the bumper cars and some Limon/Naranja Gemelo popsicles and we caught the bus back down to the neighborhood where we had stayed the night before (the touristy, bar and shop heavy- Avenida Amazonas). We picked up our pack and made our way to the Hostel, Jardin del Sol for a cheaper nights stay, again keeping us dis-connected.
The kids were purely unreasonable and exhausted by that point. We ate chips for dinner and went to bed early, I not daring to take them out again to find a clean restaurant.
picture 2: in the distance we kept seeing the hem of opalescent snow of mount Cotopaxi to the southeast of where we were.

a lake paradise without connectivity

2009-03-07T06:10:00.000-08:00

Lago San Pablo was breathtaking. In all actuality, it was the lake, the surrounding mountains and wonderful retreat at Las Cabanas del Lago that made it a paradise.
The only problem being that there was no internet connectivity. Sorry to leave everyone clueless as to our whereabouts.
It was quite an exciting day, traveling from our hotel in Ibarra to Cotacachi where our only work was to find 6 peices of leather to take home to our poor damaged couch. We trapsed around the town looking for a "fabrica de cuero". In a town full of leather goods, it was surprisingly difficult. We were first sent down by a bridge, nothing was there, including no taxi to take us back to town. We continuted, based on advice by a kind, barefoot indian woman, crouching underneath a banner, through an open lot, to the next street and down again by a river. The whole time, there was a lot of whinnning some of which was due to tiredness, but most of it was from my little brave Stewart who had to use the toilet and was terribly uncomfortable. We finally found a closed gate from behind came loud music. Finally, the leatherworker answered our "timbre", and showed us something that wouldn't work, but he could bring some peices down from his mountain home when we pass through again with Mike. He kindly agreed to load us all into the tiny front seat of his barely functioning truck. All the kids were on top of me for the tense ride up the hill in the vehicle. The man gave me his number and said I should call.
We paid $.25 for use of a public toilet which we had to return to for a second time, and continued walking with poor Stewart crying. We got the first cab we could and arranged for the driver to take us directly to our new hotel, skipping our lunch plans at "El Meson de Flores". What should have taken 15 minutes turned into 35, due to the directionless "minga" (community work group) who were trying to build the road. I couldn't believe our small taxi made it over and through a huge pile of gravel and around other bizarre no-road conditions. Perhaps more amazing was that Nigel and Stewart slept.
I have found that the getting there is usually painful in some way, while the arrival is always wonderful. This day was no different, but it provides a good story, anyway. We found our new paradise, complete with mini-golf, bunnies, zip-lines, a play park and a good restaurant with amazing view.
Side story: Shortly after arriving we noticed a fire on Volcan Imbaburra(a dead volcano), directly behind our cabin. The security guy told us that it had most likely been set by some wayward teens. The kids and I talked about it a lot, how damaging it was to the air, wildlife and flora. I said how stupid the kids had been to set the fire, if indeed that was the case (the kids liked saying "stupid" over and over). Once the kids were asleep, I went out to look at it. The entire top of the mountain had a ring of fire buring bright. The last picture shows how it looked withabout 30% burnt. The next day, both peaks were black.

Rancho La Carolina

2009-03-06T18:59:00.000-08:00

I went to check out yesterday morning and had a small dispute with the hotel owner about what day it was. I could not believe it was Thursday. Already!
We had such a relaxing time at Rancho Carolina. The owners have a young son who is Nigel's age- Issac, so the place was entirely kid friendly. There were pug puppies and other nice dogs, a frigid pool which we boated on, a play set and large yard, beautiful and cozy grounds, good music, and amazing chocolate with milk in the morning. The owners, German and Maria Isabelle, and German's mother(I hope I remembered names correctly) were so nice.
side story: Marshall was being pushed into the pool by Issac, who had a cold and couldn't go in. He succeeded in pushing Marshall in, but got dragged in too. I was on the other side of the pool, in the boat with Nigel and Stewart. I yelled for help, and dashed over to get Issac out. Marshall was holding 2 year old Issac up by his sweater. He saved him!
note to self: research best dogs breeds for our family.
note to others: wait for movie to load.

Hacienda Chorlavi in Ibarra

2009-03-01T17:11:00.000-08:00

Did I find the perfect place to stay with kids? It sure looked like it... till the kids fell asleep and I was spooked by where we were staying. This old hacienda is awesome in so many ways, but it is also big and we were away from any other guests. I actually got out my little pocket knife and had it by my bed.
We moved next door to the Rancho Carolina, today which is considerably cheaper and is more homey. Since there are few if any other travelers right now, staying at these places is lonely. Void of life, I would say, till our party shows up! I hope we can stay here for two nights though. It seems the hacienda is owned by a family with a young son.
Traveling with kids is so busy and exhausting and outward-focused. Once night falls you would think that I would feel relieved, but instead I feel only tired and heavy. I wonder when I'll get to feel free.
I think if I look at this trip as being about me, I will come back loaded with regrets. Right now, it's about me being able to rest with the memories that the kids are making (and hope that whatever I am witnessing in them will help me learn about my experience as mom and MK). If I can claim one thing a day as mine, I need to do that and be content with it. Otherwise, I am a bitch because I am so disappointed that things aren't going "my" way.

Photot two: Marshall rides a horse. I remember riding horses in an around Quito. My friends and I would go to the place where horses go to retire (or other) and we would rent a couple of horses to ride up to the hills on. I'm glad Marshall got to ride.
Photo seven: This is a cock-fighting ring that used to be a huge part of Ecuadorian rural culture (it is part of the hacienda). It is about to be outlawed. They still have places where you can go to see it although I have no interest. I didn't even mention that it was a possibilty to the boys. I would go if they were a bit older and they really wanted to.

the taxi movie

2009-02-28T23:00:00.000-08:00

We used the same taxi driver that we had in Otavalo to take us to Lake Cuicocha (a volcanic lake at the base of mount Cotachachi). Mari (the only woman taxi driver I have known) saw that the boys were a bit unsettled and so down came the in-roof video player. Wow! Then, on came the movie she had picked, WANTED (Angelina Jolie 2008). Do you know what happens in the first 4 minutes of WANTED?
I knew the violence was coming and was wondering how I was going to ask her to shut it off, but then the office "getting -busy" scene came on. I said, " close your eyes.", just like I remember it being done (only it was for dancing or underwear commercials for me). Marshall said, "why?" Stewart said, "What are they doing?" I was speachless. I was trying not to freak out. Stay calm, stay calm.
It was over then, good thing it only lasted 30 seconds.
Maybe she read the look on my face or the questions that had begun, but she soon changed it to Monsters, Inc. in Spanish. I was thankful. The rest of the trip was quiet.

cuye

2009-02-28T16:48:00.000-08:00

I've talked to the kids about the foods of Ecuador for a long time. One of the foods that peaked their interest was cuye (coo-i-e) or guinea pig, they've been interested in trying it.
Today was destined to be the day. We started out by going to the Otavalo animal market where the people come from all over to barter for pigs, sheep, cows, dogs, chickens, rabbits, cats and cuyes. We had to be there early, before the hotel opened their kitchen, so we took along some warm bread. The boys hardly ate it, just held on to it for comfort as they witnessed all sorts of animal shoving and selling. It was packed.
They really liked the rabbits (those are familiar and almost always look clean and not agressive). They also were facinated with the little cuyes. I was agasp at how the little creatures were picked up and shoved in potential buyer's faces, "Estas son muy grandes, no son pequenos. Tome lo! No son los pequenos. Y un buen precio, te doy las tres para tres dollares cada uno. Son grandes. Lo ve?" ("These are big,not the small ones. Take it! They aren't the small ones. At a good price too. I'll give you three at three dollars a peice. They're the big ones. You see?)
Well they sure looked small to us.
Tonight, for dinner at Hacienda Chorlavi in Ibarra, we tasted for ourselves. It was served with the head and claws and all, on a bed of rice and hominy with potato on the side. They tasted small to me. A good experience for a mediocre taste.

children and condors

2009-02-27T18:28:00.001-08:00

While we are staying at our last hotel in Otavalo, it seemed as though the owners had a general dislike of children. Hints like the fact that our room was the farthest from the central part of the building, the owner’s ‘first-impression’ request of me to make Stewart put a rug down (for fear of it getting dirty), and our e-mail correspondence recommending we stay elsewhere seemed to make me think that we were not freely welcome (the condition was- if your kids are good then you may stay but feel guilty and tense the whole time...)
I later had an interesting conversation with the owner, Margaret. As we talked, she gave me lots of advice about not riding buses, watching for pickpockets, etc. There were stories of how children had broken this or that, and destroyed this or that and how much money it had cost her to have destructive children at her hotel.
I understood.
I think I said something about the complexity of children’s naievete and genius. I said something about how culturally our children are not accepted freely, rather they are sequestered until they reach a certain level of maturity (or have been manipulated to achieve a desired behavior).
I don’t think she heard me,
I said something about exampling mutual respect for one another, and responsibility.
She agreed, and said something about parent’s responsibility to pay for damaged things.
I agreed.
This very thing has caused me much anxiety when we are in these unfamiliar places. (I freaked out when Stewart dropped a piece of pottery at a shop we had to gone in to get stamp. All those touchable things! I paid $2 to recover the goods lost but I was still bitchy about it.) I try to stay away from shops and museums. I aim at providing enabling experiences, where I don’t feel the pressure to control, A difficult feat when traveling.
I haven’t studied child psychology and I don’t claim a full understanding of children. I do know that they are amazingly complex. Their understandings are surprising. It seems that their brains are like shifting puzzles, full of continually developing nuances. They get a lot of things, and they do an excellent job of pretending to get things, when they think they are supposed to. They are easily manipulated (manipulating comes naturally to me with my kids, even though I don’t want it to).
They are equally controllable and not.
So, what do do? How do I introduce them to the world (without over-explaining and being tuned-out)?
I want to learn how to nurture the essence of who they are. How do I provide experiences which enrich their person-hood, and awaken their understanding of how others in society interact with each other and their world? And, how do I facilitate three unique individuals growth at one time?
All of this makes me feel overwhelmed.
I don’t know how to do this reasonably.
Sometimes, I see that those around us are enlightened by their presence. Around the next turn people seem annoyed (or annoy-able). I wonder how to maneuver through these situations.
I decided not to take the kids to the market in which Otavalo is famous for. They were either too tired or too hyper. I'm sad about that. We leave Otavalo today and to north to Ibarra.
Photos: At El Parque de Condor www.parquecondor.org.

otavalo and peguche

2009-02-26T16:57:00.000-08:00

Otavalo is not that far north from Quito. We took a taxi for $7.50 per person. The driver was like speed racer, at least that's what we talked about on the drive, to keep us from being sick. Marshall has always has car sickness feelings, made worse by our driver today. He moved up from the back of the taxi to get some air. I was worried that he would puke. He didn't, thankfully, due to the clean mountain air, smell of eucalyptus trees and tons of mental redirecting (towards speedracer).
After checking out the grounds of Ali Shungu hotel, where we are staying in Otavalo, we went to Peguche waterfalls. It was beautiful, especially the sounds and smells. The kids got really wet while wading through a part of the river. Marshall was saying that he was like Survivor Man and that Stewart was like Man vs. Wild. guy. Nigel just liked throwing rocks in.
Picture one: Nigel taking charge of our room key and grounds tour.
The whole day goes to show that a good story goes a long way.

jagged

2009-02-25T18:30:00.000-08:00

The things that seem obvious to me, like the jagged wall tops may be interesting and new to others, like it was to Marshall and Stewart today.
"Why is there a open bottle on the top of the wall?"
"To keep intruders out."
"What are intruders?"
"People who may want to go inside someone's house when they are not invited?"
"Why?"
"Intruders may want to go in so they can steal.
People like their home to be their own."
"Why?"
"Do you know how you like your things to be yours?"
"Yeah. They're like robbers."
"Sometimes."

Here, there are guards who carry big guns even at the grocery, gates on all the windows, tall fences and jagged-topped walls. People expect bad doers.
In the U.S. there are varying degrees of bad- doer assumptions, depending on where you go and who you talk to, but it's not obvious in the same way. And in places like Japan (based mostly from conversations with Japanese friends), robberies are totally unexpected happenings.
What I think is that we need new locks on our doors... maybe...or maybe some broken glass bottles strewn upon some cement here and there.

Oh yeah, I released the restrictions on my comment posting area. No more jagged glass!

Dorry and dirty laundry

2009-02-25T11:10:00.000-08:00

We spent the day recovering after Marshall and I had some kind of food poisoning the night before last. We all got long naps. Our outing was limited to the close-by park, which incidentally was being spray painted and we had to evacuate because of the fumes.
At the guest house, the older boys can roam freely. I found them playing their Leapsters in the outdoor laundry room. I think they like their privacy and being able to find their own special places.
When I told Mike about this in our Skype chat today he said that they were making their own Ecuador memories. He then reminded me of one of my memories, pretending to make tiles on the outdoor laundry, called la pila. I had such fun being methodical and serious about something and would spend hours doing this. I didn't have to explain it to anyone, it was my own private work, which I only shared by choice to my fellow workers (friends from down the street).
The boys love the dog. Dorry is her name. Nigel was terrified of her at first, but has come around, on his own terms (with Mama at his side). She reminds me of our cocker spaniels, Toby and Ruff, who we had here in Ecuador.

a bleak day

2009-02-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

I can't remember when I've thought I lost one of my children. Today I thought I lost Marshall at La Carolina park. It was so crowded because of the Carnival break and he just disappeared. He was found happily playing not 5 min later. I just held him and cried.
Now, both he and I are sick (BK maybe? It wasn't even street food.)
Thankful that Stewart & Nigel didn't eat.
I miss Mike and being in my own house.
I wasn't a patient Mama today, fell asleep with the kids I was so worn out.
I am feeling unsettled too, not yet knowing where we will be staying Thursday and beyond. I've got to figure that out.

Photo one: The kids on the rocks at La Carolina. I loved mastering these when I was a kid. Marshall said this was the best park ever, despite me crying on him.
Photo two: The Carnival fight was over by 8:15 am. They were covered with espumante Carioka (spray foam made for Carnival).

Marshall said he missed Brant today.

from Marshall and Stewart

2009-02-22T20:16:00.000-08:00

Marshall and Stewart were thrilled by the zip line experience at the Mitad del Mundo (Equator). Few of the play things in the park were safe enoughor clean enough for kids according to US standards, just like the Hot Shot Tot Lot in Fountain Square.

for dad and dave

2009-02-22T19:53:00.000-08:00

for Dad: the descendents of the hummingbirds you photographed on Sancho de la Carrera, and an accordion man that grandma Edna would have enjoyed

for Dave: Marshall and Stewart in front of your place of birth, Hospital Vozandes, and our stinky fighting flowers

rolling with it

2009-02-22T18:12:00.000-08:00

I find it so challenging to "roll with it". I get so caught up in my plans and what I want that any change or flexibility itself is something that throws me off. It's an area of weakness for me, something I've identified as a main reason that I become bitchy. So, I'm trying to losen-up, and give things up. It has to happen daily for me. A main reason that parenting has been so personally challenging for me is because now I must give up some of my "needs" to allow for my kids "needs" (and husband's too). This is hard!
So, why do I say this today? The story follows...
We started out this morning even though I wondered if the kids could handle it, but I pushed on. The kids, after all, were excited. We reached the corner and were waiting to flag down a taxi when Stewart decided to start peeling paint of the gate. I asked him not to, but he didn't acknowledge and then proceeded to eat the paint (or at least appear like he was eating the paint as I later found out). "We'll have to go later.", I said calmly and walked back to the guest house. Stewart threw a fit and began crying, a sure sign of the need for rest and not outing. We all took naps.
It was hardto give this up. I was trying TOO hard to make it work on my terms. Once I let it go (and after the kids rested) this realization occurred to me, Selfishness is always there. It's the same thing I'm always talking to Marshall about too, saying, "It's not all about you Marshall". I'm seeing that it can't always be my way and that in order to get along, I must see their needs and then roll with it. I factored into this trip a lot of "hanging-out" and down time, and am so happy when I see them playing their Leapsters whenever we're back at the room. This is their need right now, their way to rest and be familiar and good at something.
Later, we went to Colonial Quito, strolled about, took a little carriage ride around and went in an old gold-leafed church and watched the candles burn down. We ate a weak "seco de gallina" at a hole -in-the wall joint which Marshall called "fancy". A friendly kid approached Stewart and sprayed him with some foam stuff (smells like soap and cologne that kids spray along with water during this season of "Carnival"). Stewart cried but then came around when I bought him and Marshall some and they could defend themselves proudly. They plan a big fight with it tomorrow.
We taxied our way to "El Panecillo". It is a statue of the virgin of Quito and she sits on hill that looks over the city. The view is splendid. It seems like the city has doubled since I was here. It is sprawl, on every lot of hill or mountain they have built up. The city so vertical, sitting in a narrow valley that runs north to south, I suppose they had no other alternative.
Marshall seemed intriqued by the snake at the virgin's feet and how she has him chained. We were talkingabout its symbloism. He asked about the virgin and if she was higher than her son. I said that I didn't think so. He said, "but she is his mother." Then we got blue cotton candy and went on our way.

Friendly Birthday Nigel & other shots

2009-02-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

Picture one: Have you been making friends? yes! The kids light up people's faces. They see we look different too, and maybe they're smiling about that (with our sun hats, backpacks and attributes that are not accessory driven.)
Here Nigel and Stewart make friends at the ball pit. Nigel and Stewart tend to be timid, but not with other kids. Marshall is usually friendly and met a boy at the ball pit who he said was his best friend in Ecuador, his name was Juan.
Picture two: How do you get around? We get around... today by bus, yesterday by taxi, the day before by stroller. For me there is anxiety when it comes to getting somewhere, because there is so much organizing to do. Do we have water bottles filled? Are your things in your pack? How about a rain coat? Me? I've got to have diapers, sunscreen, snacks, water, money and lip gloss at the very least.
Today, our bus ride was crazy. There were no seats and as soon as we got on, the driver bolted out. I told the kids to hit the floor, "Just sit down now and hold on!" Some lovely ladies took our situation into account and decided to scrunch so we could have their seats. The ride was all emergency brake, let someone on, bolt away. Marshall and Stewart loved it! I was nervous and trying not to let it seep out. Nigel was tired and wanted to nurse. No room for that here so crying ensued. He fell asleep shortly after crying despite the careening bus situation.
The next step... bus with kids, travel pack and stroller.
Picture three: How we've been sleeping? fine, together works great for us! I sleep on either side of Nigel, depending.

Pululahua and El Mitad del Mundo

2009-02-21T14:15:00.000-08:00

Today we went to see one of the few inhabited volcanic craters in the world- at Puluhua. The fresh breeze that rose out of the crater was beautiful, as well as the view. There is a mud path that you can take down but it was partially washed out because of all the rain.

We visited the Equator too, which is an entire attraction, with several museums, shops and restaurants even though the real Equitorial line is a little ways away. You could guess that Ecuadodr is named after the Equator.

Besides eating their first Ecuadorian empanada, the highlight was playing in the amazing kids park.

miscellaneous shots

2009-02-20T08:35:00.000-08:00

Picture one: the kids and I sitting in front of the senior lockers at the Alliance Academy ( the K-12 school of my youth). I left half way through my junior year, did not graduate with my class.

Picture two: the kids walking down the path on the side of the dorm, where I lived when I was one, in 4th grade and in high school. I remember running up and down this lane with my dog, Toby and riding my bike up and down here and thinking it was scary because it was so steep and bumpy.

Picture three: the kids and I happened upon a board that I think used to be a part of a huge crate. It has my dads name stenciled on it. The crates are how we sent the things to Ecuador that we needed for each 4 year term. Packing the unpacking the crates was a big deal. It used to take months to get them out of customs after they had been shipped by boat . By the time we got them it seemed like Christmas. We finally had our toys and plates and photographs and other useful junk.

Picture four: It is sunny today, Nigel's birthday so we spent a good part of the morning chilling on the roof of the garage, watching the planes fly into the city. I never noticed that planes go only one direction here, always flying northward.

a long day

2009-02-19T06:54:00.000-08:00

We are here!
We had such fun traveling together, except for the Miami airport when they almost didn't give us boarding passes because we had to eat before we found the gate, when Stewart decided to ride the people mover in a very creative and dangerous way and had decided not to listen, and during the last flight when Nigel was deliriously tired and wante d to jump and climb everything. For the last flight, four hours was our max, taking into consideration that we had been on two other flights and in transit all day.
We were greeted by Kelly and Daryl and a bouquet of roses- a warm surprise on a chilly night.
Two beds were pushed together for our sleep situation, which was perfect because Stewart and Nigel were quite uncomfortable with being in a new place and being so exhausted. Nigel puked in the night and Stewart pooped! We got up way too early.
I wanted to go slow to see everything, not wanting to be disappointed by my memories, and wanting to see things fully and when I was ready. Quito is dreary today, which makes me feel sad. I cannot see any mountains, except Pichincha, which is hard to see because of the buildings above ours that block the view.
The dorm looks just as I remembered it. It's great to be here!

"Going to Ecuador... Why?"

2009-02-17T12:13:00.000-08:00

Our family is going to Ecuador because I need to think about my childhood memories, expose the kids to another aspect of our world, and share an adventure. I need Mike to see the places that were mine for the first 17 years of my life, and understand my "other" home.
For 17 years I have envisioned the mountains and longed to breathe my Ecuadorian experience again. I left with a weight of bitterness on my shoulders, which has diffused into a deep sadness.
"Why take the kids?", some have asked. We are grabbing the opportunity to share the wide world with them. As we remember the vividness of our childhood experiences we realize how rich this could be for them.
"It will be so difficult with kids!" YEAH, it will and I'm definitely nervous! On the other hand, it seems like we are coming out of a place of difficulty which has strengthened us, so we're going for it.
Don't you think the challenge of exploration and risk is enlightening?
We leave in the morning!

relinquishing control

2009-02-02T19:49:00.000-08:00

This strange thing is happening at my house. We are relinquishing control!
TV? Okay.
Candy? Okay.
Batman Lego video game? Yes.
Eat again? Okay.
M&M's? Okay.
Watch this, mom! Sure.
The dictatorship is being overthrown by the dictators themselves.
How can it feel equally strange, gentle and powerful?

I can see now that this change has been coming for years. Primarily, I have been shocked at the bitchiness that's in me, and exhausted by the battles being fought in our "house of love".
"How did this happen? This isn't me!", I said so many times with sadness and dismay.

The expedition began sometime back, winding along our attempts to parent wisely, and our failings.
Our emotional lives seemed to implode a few times leading us to new thinking about who we were. These dramas came out of hiding and into relevancy as we searched for new meaning as parents. Slowly, Mike and I learned that we wanted something different for ourselves and our kids. It was a slow shift, lined with other major changes and loads of personal issues.

Reading the thoughts of John Holt, Charlotte Mason, John Taylor Gatto, Alfie Khon, Rebeca Wild, and others have helped us see the new road before us. Natural family learning and discovery is the basis of our control relinquishment. At first, more questions than answers flooded our minds. We decided we would try it (let the children learn freely as they experience for themselves, including self-regulated learning). After all, what could be worse than the battles we were having and feeling like we were being mean all the time.

My experience so far has been terribly difficult and personal for me. I am realizing how control-oriented I am, mostly for reasons like; wanting to be seen as a good mom, or because that's how things were done when I was a child, or simply because life is easier for the leader in a controlled environment. It is strange how relinquishing these controls is nearly paralyzing for me. I don't know what to do or how to react in most situations. I'm realizing that maybe having all that control gave me a sense of accomplishment or meaning.

I was inspired by Sarah Parent of www.werhumansbeing.wordpress.com to "let go", welcome asking myself the question, "why not?" and to say "yes!" more. In one or more of her podcasts, she suggests that when you release control, the pendulum will swing in the opposite direction and eventually the children will begin self-regulating and figuring out for themselves what is best. We're curious to find out.

NOTA: We are on a path that is unique to us, thus we advocate only finding your own way in love.
NOTA NUMERO DOS: The photograph above encapsulates how I've felt for sometime. Mike is actually most the laid back and "nice" one in our family.

what I was in my previous life

2009-01-29T13:14:00.000-08:00

If I believed that people had previous lives, I would say I was a horse in mine. I just keep pulling my kids along. Today it happened to be in a box sheathed in our roof luggage carrier.
By chance we met up with some friends along the way and had a Smokehouse lunch with them.
Stewart and Nigel fell asleep in the box on their ride home.

battle boys

2009-01-27T09:41:00.000-08:00

Marshall and Stewart get along very well and are typically very loving, BUT, they love the drama of battle.
Here they are pretending they are in a movie as Knife Man and Knife Boy. In the second picture they are playing a paper Sumo Wrestling game (thanks to Yoriko and Shinsuke).

"next place"

2009-01-23T12:29:00.000-08:00

Where am I now? In my studio, with a pile of bills. I have seven art projects waiting in the wings and all I can think about is the trip I'm taking in three and a half weeks.
I woke myself up two mornings ago, frantic. I had been dreaming about all the important things that I was going to forget to take. I quietly set up my suitcase and whenever I've thought of something since, it goes in.
I couldn't go back to sleep.
What does this mean? Have I become obsessed?
"I don't know.", to the first quesion. To the second one? Obsessed... yes (since my first moment as a pregnant woman)!
My first answer isn't good enough though, so I start the descent...
The "Next Place" has always been at my core. It was trained into my subconscious. I would describe it as a fixation on the future's "new world". It became my ideal, my way to cope with reality.
My pattern drawn early, 18 months to be exact, when Ecuador first became my home. This continued, with each upcoming trip, a "new world" was ahead of me along with the denial of the not-so-perfect past.
I became a wanderlust.
The "Next Place" was how I made the drudgery go away.
After I got married, my real life was REAL for awhile, with the awareness that this habit was no longer possible. And I developed other ways to deal with things.
I believe that I'm "wiser" now. I can say for sure that I am mature, right?
So now that I'm underneath my story now, I get it!
What it means to me is that this "Next Place" obsession, or fixation at best, is how I deal with life.
I wonder if we are alike.

paying too much

2009-01-21T07:30:00.000-08:00

I researched it. I believed I needed a stroller for two that was the width of a single and had air-filled tires. So I spent a lot of money on Phil & Teds Vibe.
I took it to the grocery yesterday. Marshall pushed it while I loaded the cart.
Everyone was happy. Euphoria!

It is the answer to my problems, ALL of them, including the bus-riding, kid-carting, Ecuador-trapesing ones!

I plan to sell it in the fall, (if I can part with it).

too cold for Stewart and baby

2009-01-19T07:17:00.000-08:00

Last week, the weather demanded some bundling.
I wondered who could resist such fluffy snow? The question was answered quickly, with Stewart crying to be undone. Nigel was worried about how it felt underfoot and only moved to get closer towards me. The experience was a short one. I longed to stay out with my bravest, Marshall!

riding on IndyGo

2009-01-13T12:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went riding. As we were approaching our #55 stop early, we saw the bus zoom by. We went home.
An hour later, we went out again for the next bus, this time we went 5 minutes early, and waited for 25 minutes.
Marshall led us to our seats at the back of the bus. As we sat there, the boys looked so proud, holding tight to their lunch bags on their high seats. I could tell they were excited to try something new (last time we did it was when Stewart was a baby).
We traveled east to Washington Street, where we got off and walked the equivalent of three blocks to the YMCA.
We made sure to leave in time to catch the bus and got to the stop in time for the bus to arrive. The walk back to the bus stop was stressful because it was super windy, and the kids had become tired. Stewart was cold and crying. They ate their lunches in the cold as we waited for the bus. We waited 30 minutes. By this time Nigel was crying too. I told them we would get on whatever bus came along next. It was the #8 bus. We got on. I had to get them warmed-up. I told the bus driver that we had waited 30 minutes for bus #55. He said, "You mean that one..." as #55 whizzed by. He mumbled something about how the bus would loop around and we could catch it when it came around, so we got off. Our bus never came by. We did watch helplessly as it looped around on Shortridge, where there were no stops (I knew this because I had dragged the boys over there to check it out and try to stay warm. That was when Marshall started crying.).
So we missed that bus. Twice! Shit!
I was trying to stay positive, and I couldn't help but laugh. I felt like wailing. Defeated and desperate, we got on the next bus, #8, and took it downtown.
Around this time, a large woman sat next to Stewart. He acted shy. She started teasing him with a loud voice, saying, "I'll move. Don't be shy. Don't be scared. I''ll move if you give me your apple. Can I have your apple?" I told her twice, "He's ok, he's just a little shy." She kept on with the "taking his apple" bit. He started crying and then I had two kids on my lap.
We only waited 15 minutes for the outbound #55, amidst the warm cigarette smoke and while witnessing a throwing-up lady.
We're going to do it again, and again. Just not today, and next time with a stroller.

surprise!

2008-12-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Kaori!

a christmas carol

2008-12-08T07:39:00.000-08:00

Mike and I took Marshall and Stewart to the Christmas Carol at the Repertory Theater on Saturday. We had agreed to take them to the show once we finished the Charles Dickens classic, albeit a condensed version. The boys liked the book but where much more excited the performance. The trap doors, sights and sounds of the ghosts, and Jacob Marley in chains were entrancing!

"a long way from Fletcher Avenue"

2008-12-04T19:16:00.000-08:00

Today, my dad came over to help the boys and I start talking about our trip to Ecuador in February. He and I were lobbying memories back and forth across the table. A couple of times I saw a "twinkle" in his eye, a recollection beginning to unfold as he spoke. And then it was gone. It was like the memory couldn't be released, that the idea of it was enough.
As we were finishing, I asked him to tell the kids a story from his childhood in Ecuador (he was born in Colombia and was raised mostly in Ecuador). He hesitated and said, "It's a long way from here, a long way from Fletcher Avenue". Those words struck me as quick as truth and tediously as work. What did he mean? I wondered.
It's true... being there is very different from being here. Beyond the obvious, I realized maybe we understood each other... that our childhoods were as far away as if they were in a different galaxy.
I related to him when I saw him catch those joyous gleams and draw them back-in, to treasure them. And while the first half of my life shaped me, I'm disconnected from it in a indiscernible way. It seemed to me that it could be the same for him.
I'm ashamed to say that I haven't been "home" in 17 years. Inside my chest it feels like there is a fist crumpling-up my soul when I say that I have lived a double life. My "Fletcher Avenue" is a very long way from "home". And finally, I am returning. I am pulling my children into my history. I am surging the two together.

halloween

2008-11-02T19:10:00.000-08:00

We had Mummy Man, E.T. Superhero and their sidekick Bat Boy this Halloween. The steady sugar intake continued during the evening and all through the next day.
I've got to get the remaining candy out of the house. Who wants it?

hilly hundred

2008-10-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

Marshall and I biked the Hilly Hundred this weekend. It tore us down, but it was exhilarating! We opted to ride 45 miles the first day (out of 48) and the shorter route of 40 miles on day two. I am so proud that we finished it, especially considering that after we got off the bikes yesterday, I wondered if we could get back on this morning.
On Saturday, the Hills killed us! I think I pulled us (walking) up 10 hills, wearing bike shoes with metal clips. It was painful. After lunch we found a rhythm (and less traffic). We were almost there at 5pm when the support vehicle came by to announce that they were done, which meant we would be left alone on the road for the remaining 3 miles. Marshall was so cold, tired and hungry so we decided to get a ride. I almost cried because I knew how close we were. I wanted to be smart and not discourage him. When I saw the next hill, I realized I made the right decision.
We got a lazy start, sleeping-in this morning, despite the hard cafeteria floor. It was so cold, too. I was filled with doubt about the day that lie ahead and procrastinated a bit. It had warmed up by the time we started, so it turned out to be an ideal start time. Plus, we enjoyed not having to deal with much traffic.
We rocked it today (only walking Mt. Tabor hill and one other one)! Why the difference? No bike shoes and no heavy, handlebar pannier bag. Also we layered-up so we wouldn't get cold. It worked! We received steady infusions of encouragement, including one early-on that changed our camaraderie . It was a grandma, saying that she made her grand-daughter petal and that when she needed help on a hill, she shouted, "Turbo!". From that point on, our train became a space ship, and we called to each other about engine checks, repairs, alien shields, force fields, etc. Oh, how a good story helps!
We plan on it for next year! My wish is that by that point we will have a real tandem bicycle which will help significantly with our balance issues.

st. louis with Kaori

2008-10-16T18:34:00.000-07:00

We went to St. Louis for Kaori's fall break. An adventure west had to be made, since it had been lacking from Kaori's US experience.
We were disappointed by our experience at the Science Center, but gathered momentum when we biked Forest Park. We lunched at Union Station and then headed over to the place where we were to stay- the Huck Finn Youth Hostel. While the neighborhood of Soulard was facinating, and the accessibility to downtown was perfect, the hostel experience made us feel uneasy. The run down and dirty building, with numerous doors and passages was weird, but meeting our roomate was frightening. (She was simply a strange person, who rambled and laughed in the middle of the night.) We decided to stick with our plan and stay there anyway to save money and I don't regret it as it seasoned our adventure.
We ditched the car and went by bike to a few pubs and to get dessert (the only thing we could afford) at a fabulous restaurant called Tony's on Market Street. Afterwards, we biked to the Broadway Oyster Bar in Soulard and enjoyed the blues jam and dancing that we happened upon.
We slept, a little bit, and then biked to breakfast and the Budweiser Brewery tour. The rest our our day involved eating and sight seeing, the highlights being, The Best Steak House in the Grand Center and seeing the Chess and Scholastic Center of St. Louis in the Central West End.

marshall's child labor

2008-10-03T10:51:00.000-07:00

Marshall is not usually self-prompted. He has a lot of things that he likes, but usually only does them if they can be done with someone else. He also doesn't respond well to commands, so the power of suggestion is valuable. His beginning in art was mostly because he could spend time with me, observing what I was working on and then later, when left to make up his own mind about it, would start doodling.
Many times, I have witnessed transformations in his demeanor because of his practice of art. Telling stories is central to who he is, and through the labor of art, his stories are released. I would always ask him to describe his art to me, which he quickly got tired of. So, I backed off, letting him decide when he wanted to tell me the story. I realized that his practice of art was enough of a release for him, and that he didn't need to then relay the story verbally.
Lately, Marshall has begun to draw "design-heavy" things, things that don't have stories. With that, he began telling me that he wanted to build things, "like you do, mom". I have heard him express the "how-to's" of putting something together, or how this vehicle works, or how this other weapon fires a million times. (This makes him a great teacher.) The mechanics of things are what he has gotten interested in and the building of things is what he desires.
If you're wanting something to do tonight, come to the three-kid art show, "Child Labor" on the lower level of the Harrison Center for the Arts. The show goes from 6-9. There are many other things to see tonight too including new work by Tyler Munenick and The Indieana Art Exchange.

try 50 miles

2008-09-19T06:03:00.000-07:00

We finished our bike ride! We covered 50 miles in 2 days. I pulled close to 200 lbs, with a little help from Marshall. We had our own support driver (Mike), who found us a place to stay after the first day and delivered us to and from the road as we needed (after his work day)
Day 1- Richmond to Lewisville
Day 2: Knightstown to Greenfield
Here are some highlights:
Webb's Antique Mall "Station Stop" restaurant- Centerville
Hilltop Drive-Inn, slushies and cold water- Mt. Auburn
Raintree Inn's pool and hot tub -New Castle
"Hoosier Gym", Carthage/Knightstown/Shirley Train and Depot, Frosty Boy- Knightstown
Small towns, Indiana countryside and perfect weather
What we learned:
to plan the trip around the accommodations
that 25 -30 miles a day is more reasonable than 40
to keep Stewart off the half-wheeler on major roads (he throws the balance off considerably)
that we need a new trailer
that candy and ice cream have super powers (almost 100% guarantee to get us to the next rest stop)
how not to attach the pannier bags
What sucked:
Marshall puking at Riley park- Greenfield (he got too tired and hot)
not being able to find a place to stay along the route (the days of the old motor lodges are over)
getting a sunburn on one leg because I forgot to put sunscreen on

4 humans on 5 wheels

2008-09-16T21:53:00.000-07:00

Can Marshall, Stewart, Nigel and I bike 80 miles in 2 days? We're going to try.
The plan is to leave Richmond tomorrow morning at 9 and bicycle our "peace train" on Old National Road (US 40) to Knightstown. We'll do some sight seeing in Knightstown, and head home from there on Thursday.
We are supposed to have some great weather, and we're hoping for glory!

IMA picnic

2008-09-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

A friend and I were talking about the adventures were having and how they sound so lovely when I write about them.
Well, the truth is that most of them involve some kind of meltdown (from me or the kids).
And, most of them have a nice lesson that, when looked at in retrospect, can seem more lovely than it actually is.
But this morning was perfect! There were no meltdowns (or yelling, or fighting). The weather was ideal. The Indianapolis Museum of Art gardens were tranquil, the flora was entrancing, and the bees and butterflies were happily busy.
The only things disturbing for me were the dull peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and the "Sponge Bob" artificial fruit snacks. (I didn't eat.) On the other hand, these minor disturbances were what possibly made it great for the kids, along with the dead cicada bugs, huge pile of peat gravel and dirt on which they played "king of the mountain" for a great deal of time and the water sprinklers.

school in session

2008-09-04T18:11:00.002-07:00

This year we are "homeschooling" again. We don't really "home"school though, we do something a bit more unorthodox. The kids and I explore life together. Right now that looks like kicking of our year by doing a practice bike adventure. We biked from our house past New Palestine, to the Boring Family Farm, some 18 miles. We took all our gear with us and camped out by Uncle Phil and Aunt Jan's pond. Alan and Denise Stuckey met us for hot dogs, bringing the smore components and Alan's banjo along. How lovely it was to listen and sing with them! The kids received a hands-on lesson with Alan, feeling how heavy the instrument is and how the metal strings make the sound. The orange sun set and we nestled-up in our tiny tent, watching for the clouds to clear and the stars to be visible. The kids fell asleep listening to me reading aloud, from The Motorcycle Diaries.
Yesterday, we swam, rowed, fished and basically, just ran wild. The kids found tadpoles, dragonfly nymphs and numerous frogs and toads. In the afternoon, we packed up and headed out to the original family farm and house that Mike's grandparents built. We saw the tomato picking equipment in action, and 3 truck loads of tomatos. We visited with Uncle Phil who was busy repairing the brakes of one of the trucks and then picked some apples in the orchard. From there we biked over to Mike's childhood home and saw the horses they have there now and the creek that Mike used to play in as a kid.
We stopped over and over, in any shade we could find because the temperature was around 95 and the humidity was high. Our progress was slow and we were quickly running out of water so we called Mike who picked us up after a much smaller ride of 8 miles.
After our rescue, we drove on to visit with Grandpa and Ruth in Shelbyville.
The learning we experienced during the last two days was easy and fun, despite the heavy and slow trek. I learned that we need to wait for cooler weather, bring more water, and be ok with not accomplishing our goal of 40 miles in two days. Together, our lessons were loving life, adventure and eachother, seeing things from a new and slower perspective and making time for the wild and natural.

miharu at the lake

2008-09-02T05:53:00.000-07:00

We have a new Japanese student living with us. She accompanied us to lake Michigan on Labor day.
On our way home, I inquired about the meaning of her name. Miharu said that her name meant perfect weather, and then she looked up and said,"just like this".

river city brass

2008-09-02T05:45:00.000-07:00

We went to the closing night of Symphony on the Prairie on Sunday. The River City Brass band played and fireworks finished the night off.
The boys loved the music, dancing, wrestling and running around. We loved the music and the dancing.

the sunday practice

2008-08-08T07:57:00.000-07:00

I appreciate how Kaori goes with us to service on Sunday mornings, even when it's not the most interesting, and especially because I know she doesn't understand most what is being said. I think she does this because it's something we do as a family (and maybe because she thinks she'll pick up a little English).

knightstown

2008-08-08T07:41:00.000-07:00

We traveled east yesterday to explore an adventure route. We drove the Old National Road (US 40), "The Road that Built the Nation" from Indianapolis to Richmond. Our favorite stop was Knightstown, where we explored a local park, a creek and an old wooden bridge. We also went to Frosty Boy Ice Cream and thoroughly enjoyed tasty (but pretty generic) soft serve and root beer floats.
Knightstown is only 31 miles east of the Indianapolis. It is home to the "Hoosier Gym" (the gym where the movie, "Hoosiers" was filmed). It also looks to have several antique places off the main road and a working train depot. We plan to take a ride when we come through again. (From the signs, looks like the ride is only on Friday and Saturday, 11, 1 and 3 and Sunday, 1 & 3pm).

first art showing!

2008-08-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

I am shamelessly promoting the art of my firstborn son, Marshall Sparrow Boring.

A dozen or so simple drawings have spilled-out from the mind of a six-year-old onto paper and coffee bags. Intriguing figures, robotic and other-worldly tell dramatic, action-packed battle stories. Come think on them at the Harrison Center for the Arts 6-10 p.m., Friday, August 1!

Have I enticed you enough? Maybe a little economically-stimulating appeal would be good here... Marshall has BIG plans. He wants to purchase an electric guitar to "rock-out on" or a SWAT Team bullet-proof vest. So if you should fancy a piece of art, simple and true, you would be glad to know they are cheap* and that a purchase would further his innocent, childish consumer goals.

underwear heads

2008-07-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

Marshall and Stewart came back from our trip with fewer underwear than they started with. It's a mystery...
So, they got to pick new underwear today and came out with Transformer and Batman types. They were so excited to open the packages and sport their new ones around. The second and third pairs in the packages became masks and fighting implements.

Shy Ny

2008-07-22T07:04:00.000-07:00

Nigel's shy sometimes, but once he warms up, he's a friendly chap.
(And isn't he so darling? )
He finally warmed up to Auntie Kris and Uncle Sam this weekend.

shall we dance?

2008-07-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

I went dancing with my sisters-in-law and brother-in-law last Thursday.
I don't know any dance "steps" and, whenever I think about what I'm doing, the movements feel awkward.
When I just let myself go, things are so much fun.
I had a great time and I want to go again. any dancers out there?

St. Louis [July 14]

2008-07-21T19:24:00.000-07:00

Looks like a town I'd like to explore. The arch is beautiful as evening comes. We study it's shape and size.

cadillac ranch [July 13]

2008-07-20T19:39:00.000-07:00

Right outside of Amarillo, Texas is graffiti heaven... Cadillac Ranch. It is 10 half-buried Cadillacs that are layered with paint markings. We added our little masterpieces today, leaving some part of ourselves here and dreaming that our marks will never be covered but that everyone who passes there will see us there. Weird, but that's what it's about.
Except not for David Blaine, famous magician who stole the punch from our excursion with his camera-man army. I guess Marshall and Mike were kinda mesmerized by the guy, while I was more than annoyed.

my brother's wedding [july 12]

2008-07-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

We made it all the way to Phoenix for Matt and Missy's wedding. It was lovely.
Mike's mom made bow ties for the boys that were so incredible. The boys were too great, running around in little ties and Converse tennis shoes. Stewart looked a bit like Twiddle Dee with suspenders, playing karate with Uncle Steve while wielding my gerbera daisy bouquet.

red rock [july 8]

2008-07-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

From Flagstaff, we traveled south to Phoenix on highway 89A so that we could drive through Red Rocks State Park and Sed0na. It was worth the extra time and nagging roadside trails.

grand canyon [july 7]

2008-07-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

As I arrive at the edge for a moment of solice, the warm air rises to hit my face.
shhhhh...
We want to show them without loosing them. It's terrifying to see boys moving so quickly at this height.

And now, we sit, with our legs dangling over the edge. We're taking it in together.

keeping the peace and Mike's memories from family trip

2008-07-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

Stewart and Nigel have been irritating each other in the van. The boredom of a long days drive led to pinching wars. Our solution to the problem was purchasing a truck mud-flap which we used as a divider. It worked well for awhile, but they did eventually find a way around it. Here they are throwing toys over to eachother.

The other picture posted will only have meaning to Mike's family.

tucumcari tonight! [july 6]

2008-07-08T22:21:00.000-07:00

We didn't stay the night in Tucumcari, New Mexico. But we did make it a point to stop here and we were so glad we did.
It was an eiry experience. What a great place it must have been in its early years, for it to be so fantastic now, with everything in shambles, wrecked and empty. For miles before you could see billboards shouting, "Tucumcari, Tonight!"

Cafe 66, Albuquerque

2008-07-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed chili pepper cheeseburgers and fries at Cafe 66 last night. This was after a night late check-in and night swim.
We arrived at the hotel at 8pm, and the boys needed to use their muscles, so we swam in the pool and relaxed in the outdoor hot tub. It was 80 degrees with a cool breeze. Hunger set in, and after learning the the famous Cafe 66 was not open for breakfast, we decided to eat late (9:30).

wind farms everywhere

2008-07-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

Why can't more of the country use wind power?
All along US 40 in Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico there were these massive wind farms with one windmill after the next. There must have been hundreds. They were impressive.
We wondered how much each one powered? How expensive are they?
In Fountain Square, at the new Keep Indianapolis Beautiful they have three tiny(in comparison) wind turbines. We learned that each one cost around $10,000 and that they powered 2-3 outlets each.

holidome of old

2008-07-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

Has anyone ever been to a Holidome? It's a Holiday Inn with an inner courtyard play area that includes pool, arcade and usually a mini golf course.
Well, we went to a Holiday Inn that that had this type of courtyard (although it was lacking the dome part) . It was in Elk City, OK.
The kids loved it.
In fact, the hotels will probably be what the kids remember out of the entire vacation. Mike and I talked about our childhood experiences with Holidomes and "fun" hotels (hotels with pools). The hotel stays were always memorable than the destinations for us.
Mike and I are happy to witness their joy and thankful that we can do this together. And WE are having a blast at the destinations.

the deserted amazing

2008-07-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

Our first experience of the deserted amazing was Sayre, Oklahoma. We passed through after our nights stay in Elk City. We saw one failed establishment after the next. It seemed pretty close to a ghost town to us. We couldn't believe what we saw! Had the owners just walked away and left these beautiful treasures to crumble? Really? And, did they have a choice?
I have always been a fan of interesting signs, so I hit a jackpot on this trip. I hope you like them like we did.
Oh, afterward we went through one of the few remaining truss bridges that are drivable on Route 66.

oklahoma!

2008-07-05T10:09:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Claremore, Oklahoma is the home of Will Rogers, famous comedian?
Well, we passed through Claremore a few hours ago and we are approaching Oklahoma City, where we will stay the night.
We left immediately following the 4th of July fireworks, after enjoying Fountain Square's view of them with Dairy Queen benefits in hand. On the block's walk home, things seemed less like a war zone than in years past. We assume that firework sales are down for the year.
Now, we head west for a visit to the Grand Canyon and my brother's wedding in Phoenix.

eleven years together - june 14

2008-06-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

After eleven years together we look so happy don't we?
The truth is that we are mostly happy, although we disagree regularly, argue viciously, and rarely manage to talk to each other. The fact is that we are both prideful, stubborn and selfish.
AND, we love each other. Despite all of that, there is love . We trudge on, through the muck and there is still love.
It seems like that has become our definition of happiness. A place where you can still come out loving each other, even though you've been shitty to each other.
So, we wish ourselves happily ever after...

bagel walk

2008-06-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I love my chocolate chip bagel with peanut butter It' s a favorite comfort food of mine. I wanted to get an active outing in this morning with the kiddos.
And, I needed the comfort because Mike left for a four day trip and I'll be saying goodbye to Matt, Missy, Ethan and Andrea alone. So, it was a good start to this time alone.
It went from relaxing to challenging once we started to get rained on, but it was kinda fun too. An adventure for sure!

three!

2008-06-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

happy birthday, Stewart!

now, to hang the art

2008-06-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

After consecutive late nights and culminating in an all-nighter, the third floor space is finished. And, we are pleased! Most of the space is still lacking the "spring moss" colored trim.
Besides it being peaceful, the air is pleasant and not stuffy. We did several things like extra-thick drywall, extra-thick insulation, an attic fan and a portable AC unit to supplement the cool air we have pipped-in from the second floor.
Thanks Mike! Also, to Dave and Dad for putting in so much work at the end. Also, thanks to Kaori for learning how to paint so well, Nana Jan and Nana Karyl for grandchild watching and Amy for her bed-building abilities among other things! Now... to hang the art!

what we mean by finishing the attic

2008-05-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

We are finishing our attic so we can have guests with us. We're on a deadline to finish it in the coming week and a half. If is further along than in this picture, but this is similar to what we started with. The space will be great and quite large when completed.
Mike and I painted the trim tonight so it will be ready after we get the floors put in. We have a lot of work ahead of us in these next weeks!

a robot plate, please.

2008-05-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

I have been inspired by Marshall's drawings lately. He is a little creative genious!
So, I bought some thrift store dishes that seemed to be new restaurant dishes, and we found a kind of paint that is dishwasher/microwave safe and started drawing. We're coming out with some incredible robot and alien life designs.
Check out a breif article about an art show that my work was in. One of my peices is featured in the photograph. It's called "Shoefitti by the School" which was inspired by having children and thinking about school options for them. Oh, the creativity that children bring! http://nuvo.net/articles/save_the_buildings/

nigel loves onigiri

2008-05-21T19:53:00.001-07:00

Tonight we ate tilapia and rice ball (onigiri).
The way it has been described to me, onigiri is the equivalent of the American sandwich. They have many options at convenient stores, including barbeque beef, tuna, chicken, seaweed, plum and even omlette.
Some rice ball have the ingredient in the inside and can be wrapped with seaweed (nori) and some have seaweed in the rice with one or two other flavors.
Here, Nigel enjoys a salmon rice ball.

we missed the lilacs, I think

2008-05-20T06:08:00.000-07:00

We visited Holcolm Gardens to walk the lilac garden, but there were only a few still in bloom. I think we were a little late. I suppose we'll try again next year.

I am anxiously waiting for my peonies to bloom. They are my ultimate favorite and should bloom soon and remain until Mid June.

While I admired the flowers, the boys toured the best climbing trees in the garden. Here they are with their favorites, which Marshall said was the tree of knowledge of good and evil since it was in the middle of the garden.

kaori is home tonight

2008-05-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

Kaori has taken her place for the evening! Here she sits as we await an all new LOST episode. And I along side her, procrastinating, but pretending to work. We love that she hangs out with us and really puts herself into our lives. She makes herself available to conversation and is again falling into English quite nicely.

dressing up

2008-05-13T16:47:00.000-07:00

Mike and I dressed-up for our friend's wedding this last Saturday. I was pretty excited to wear a thrift store $3 dress that was beautiful. Because I felt I like I "saved" money on my dress, I bought Mike a new shirt and tie. I think dressing-up is so fun when you know your clothes cannot be instantly ruined by shmeary hands and snotty noses. Dressing-up to go out without kids was pretty great. AND, it meant we had someplace fun to be.

obama boys

2008-05-05T19:10:00.001-07:00

Mike took Marshall biking to the Barak Obama rally downtown tonight. They heard Stevie Wonder and they're listening to Obama now.

He gives off such great energy! It's easy to be convinced by him, not so much about policy but more about the excitement that he can bring to everyone.

The boys like cheering for him outside today (and it wasn't our idea)!

(re)coutour and endangerd historic landmarks art show

2008-05-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

I contributed two larger peices and five tiny peices to the endangered historic landmarks show. The top one pictured is called "Division at the School" and is made from division flash cards and a sewn rendering of the endangered school called the Lowell School. The bottom peice is called "Shoefitti at the School". It's focal points are discarded children's shoes that have game peices glued to them and then painted. The smaller shoes are made up of cities and the larger shoes are made up of warriors and army figurines.

I also contributed a hat to the (re)coutour show that is made up of sewn peices of cereal bags.

soccer saturdays

2008-05-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

Marshall's team is called the Meteors. They are super fun to watch. There is some ball playing and even more sillyness playing, as is to be expected of young soccer students. So we sit on the sideline, chasing Stewart and Nigel, talk with other parents, cheer a bit and laugh a lot.

Nigel speaks with his eyes!

2008-05-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

a conversation with nana

dance party

2008-04-24T05:28:00.001-07:00

Mike took a series of pictures of Marshall and Stewart dancing to the music on the Lawrence Welk show. There was "break dancing" involved and the usual male adjustments (clue: famous Michael Jackson dance move).

patio takoyaki

2008-04-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

The weather was great for the last several days. I would define it as Quito weather. A nice temperature ("choudo ee kion" in Japaneese) of about 70 degrees with a nice breeze ("sugoku ee kaze" in Japaneese).
I was going to make sushi for dinner but I didn't have all the right things. Luckily, Kaori came home with octopus (tako) and red ginger so we were able to bring out the takoyaki plate and have our first takoyaki(octopus pancake balls) of the spring. It was delicious and so much fun to make. The boys played while we were chatting and preparing the next round.
Who wants to have takoyaki with us?

preparing the soil

2008-04-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

Nigel got his fill of dirt at our first backyard picnic of the year. We expanded our vegetable garden and rock-picked. We even had surprise helpers in our neighbors Dakota, Lovely and Maya.

What shall we plant?

the orange room

2008-04-16T07:58:00.000-07:00

Before our student, Kaori, returned I repainted our guest/student room. It is a vibrant yellow with orange and grey accents. It is our boldest room yet.

We are so happy to have Kaori back with us. She is such a pleasure to have around and has agreed to teach us some Japaneese because she will be with us for quite awhile.

For now, "ittekimas".

seven wheel train

2008-04-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

I 'm posting some photos I took today on the way home from a nice, long bike ride up the White River Parkway (14 miles). It's Mike, with Marshall on the half-wheeler, Stewart & Nigel in the trailer and Marshall's bike tied on the trailer.
Marshall rode all the way past 16th Street and back to IUPUI , where we stopped at Mario's pizza. Then he was tired, so we strapped his bike to the trailer and headed home, with dinner. Stewart did great on the half-wheeler up until the switch, but was tired enough to fall asleep as soon as he was in the trailer.

easter

2008-03-24T05:04:00.000-07:00

Marshall, Stewart and Nigel wore floral bowties and ate everything sweet and several easter eggs too.
The contrast from our Seder Dinner and Good Friday's service to Easter's service was splendid. The sanctuary was a sight, filled with the most amazing display of discarded instruments and a visual journey through Holy Week across the stage. You'll know how amazing it was just by knowing that it was done by Kipp Normand. I wish I had a picture.
For the service and brunch at the church, we were joined by Uncle David and Mom and Dad Sparrow.
Later, Stewart rode the half-wheeler behind Mike all the way to Mom and Dad Boring's house. First time. He held on tight, did not petal and never complained. Marshall rode solo, steering himself into bumps without fear or regard for the disaster that those bumps could mean.

desperate for coffee = first bike in the snow

2008-03-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

I didn't plan well this week. We woke up to no caffeinated coffee in the house. Our options were for me to run out and bring some home OR go on a family bike ride to the coffee shop. We did the later.

It's called desperation & spring fever.

We didn't think it was that cold out when we made the decision, but by the time everyone was ready, and the trailer hooked-up, it had started to sprinkle. But the bikes were ready, and we were bundled. We added a few more layers and headed out, with Marshall on his own bicycle (instead of the tandem) for the first family bike outing.

We got to the coffee shop on the circle and warmed up with coffee and hot cocoa. It was 34 degees outside, but no one was complaining. By the time we were ready to go, it had started snowing. It didn't pose any problems, besides getting in our eyes a bit.

By the time we made it home, Nigel had fallen asleep. I let Stewart out of the trailer and Nigel and I returned some books to the library.

logical thinkers

2008-03-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

Marshall loves chess.

Stewart loves puzzles.

Nigel loves to eat.

I dream of adventure

2008-03-14T06:40:00.000-07:00

Every day is an adventure with my little boys.

We'll be starting to ride our bikes again, and I'm dreaming of long bike rides through the countryside. We'll camp along the way and go for miles. We'll be prepared for anything. Maybe we'll plan a bike ride across some foreign land.

Where should we go next?

how it went; the Bizarre Baby Bazaar

2008-03-14T06:21:00.000-07:00

The Bizarre Baby Bazaar event was pretty cool. The space was transformed and looked like a precious boutique. There was good energy and lots of positive comments directed to us and overheard (exept for the one lady who said, "Well, I don't even like kids"). It was fun to have an idea like this one, organize it, and see it through.

The items that we showed (and sold) were beautiful. Thanks to Jennie, Shannon, Rachel, Karyl and Bethany for all their hard work preparing the items. I'm thrilled to know such amazing artists!

There were a lot of things that I would do differently if I chose to do it again. I don't. The effort that the organization took (even though it wasn 't super organized), along with the difficulty of the week before the event was exhausting. Thanks to all who visited and supported us!

no pictures of my friends and I

2008-03-04T07:43:00.001-08:00

Amy took a picture of Tina and I last night at the hospital (Tina's been sick). I beleive it is the only picture ever taken of us. How can it be that I don't have any pictures of myself with my friends, those who I spend most time with? I can't even remember the last time someone shot a picture of Mike and I together either.

It seems like I am busy trying to capture my kid's lives in photographs, their milestones and moments, with no thought to photographing the other sweetnesses in my life.

Or maybe I have considered it, but have no desire to be caught on film looking like the mess that I feel like in my daily existence.

Or maybe it's that I don't often consider the regular things that I value deeply (besides my family).

So, friends, I treasure you. Let's document our lives together, and Tina, I want a copy of that picture.

snow flower and the secret fan

2008-02-29T11:18:00.000-08:00

I just finished a short novel by Amy See called Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. It is a story of two sworn sisters in China (early 19th century). They are matched to be emotional sisters and their committment to eachother is like that to a husband. At that time, this relationship was to be the most important and meaningful of their lives.

A weakness of our society is that, as a whole, we do not value commitment like this. Maybe too, that women find it difficult (practically) to value eachother. I've thought that it may be because we don't value ourselves, but after reading this book, I wonder if we value ourselves too much, thus the difficulty in committing to eachother.

Our communities are not tied to our history like in this book, either. They have traditions that enrich their history, things that remain constant. All these traditions would feel like enormous burdens to us (especially as a woman), but there is something intriguing about it.

While it isn't a true story, I think it was historically accurate. It was extremely sad to realize how women were treated in the time. There were so many rules they had to follow, and so many superstitions that they had to live by. They labored intensely and were on the lowest rung of society. It reminded me about how my circumstances in life are so pleasant.

bizarre baby bazaar

2008-02-26T05:58:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures of some things I've been working on for the Bizarre Baby Bazaar that we're organizing. I'm honored to having eight other "baby item" artists showing their things at the event.

Come by on March 7th and see what we've been working on. All items will be for sale.

cabin fever

2008-02-21T12:34:00.000-08:00

I'm realizing that I have "cabin fever" when I find the energy (at 8am) to bundle up three little boys and myself and spend an hour outside in the snow, hike through Holcomb Gardens when it's 30 degrees, and when I fantacise about going to the Maple Syrup Festival in western Parke County.

nigel gary eats cake

2008-02-19T06:07:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, Nigel will be a year old! It's hard to believe that a year ago today, we didn't even know him yet. He's so much a part of who our family is now. We love him so much!

How extraordinary that he shares a birthday with Pa Gary. When we were eating cake last night, I realized again how special it really is... that we'll be celebrating these two, each and every February 20. They were completely beautiful together!