Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Guess Who is 60 Today!!!

This is the birthday boy...Can you guess who it is?

It is none other than my Pop, Lou Sansevero. I can't put into words how much I love my Pop. I have always been a "Daddy's Girl". I just spent the last weekend at my parent's home and thought about my Pop's upcoming birthday. I just can't quite get my head around the thought of him being 60. When I look at him, he is still in his 30's and the hero of mythical proportions. Sure there is a little more gray at the temples and his beard and mustache is more white than black, but what I remember is kissing my dad on the cheek before going to bed as a little girl or how he looked the day he walked me down the aisle to become Steve's wife. And I know that even now, in the eyes of my children, he still maintains the status of hero.

So enough of the mush...

HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY POP!!!

Feel free to leave a birthday message to Pop in the comments section...I will be sure he gets a peek...

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Meeting Ana

Today was the day that the children have been anticipating for nearly a year...They met their baby cousin Ana. My brother Chip, his wife Mabel and her sister Jackie flew in last night to have their baby blessed in my Mom and Dad's ward. Belle has been talking about getting to learn how to change diapers. Katie and Becky wanted to get the chance to hold the little bundle. The time finally came for us to met Ana (or AJ which is what Zack calls her). I still can't believe that my brother has a baby. And what a BEAUTIFUL little girl she is. Expect to see more pictures of my cute niece in my next entry.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

1st Day of School

The 2007-08 school year has begun. Last night Steve gave the kids their "back to school blessings", which were quite nice to hear. I know the children appreciate that moment of listening to their blessing and they all enjoy sitting their and listening to each other's blessing. When each one was done they would get up and give each other a hug. It was quite sweet.

Zack has begun his last year in elementary school. He is starting his 2nd year in the ALPS program and will have some of the same kids in his class this year. He has more confidence in himself this year than he did last year.

Belle is also beginning her 2nd year in ALPS. I can't believe she is already a 4th grader. She has the cutest teacher this year. She is pregnant (36 weeks) and expecting twins. Talk about a "Super Woman". So I guess she will be gone for a while at the beginning of the school year.

Besides coming to a new school this year, Katie and Becky are having their 1st experience of being in separate classes. I think Katie was a little nervous, but we have spent time talking about the positives of having different teachers. She lined up in front of a sign that said Mrs. Miyasaki and waited patiently to be led to her new classroom.
I There was no need to walk far to get Becky into her line because it was just 2 lines over. That was where we found the sign for Mrs. Burgon. Becky had gotten to meet her teacher last week at the Open House they had for the ALPS student, so she was not quite as nervous as the others about meeting their teachers.
Zack was the last one I dropped off in a line. I turned around and as I walked away I realized this would be the last time I would walk Zack to his class and take my silly scrapbook photos of him. Ughh...I can't believe they are growing so fast. I thought about that 1st day Zack went to Kindergarten and climbed up onto that school bus and I didn't know how he would get through the day without me by his side. And he has for 7 years...

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Camping at Escalante

This was our 2nd year camping with the Duve's and the Nigh's. We had initially planned to make the trip the day after school got out, but due to scheduling conflicts we postponed it 2 weeks. We had also decided to goto a camp ground down near Escalante. We left Friday morning and by the afternoon arrived at camp. We awaited the arrival of the Duves and the Nighs. It rained and even hailed a little. Luckily we had set up the canopy over the picnic tables. Steve and the kids went swimming and I read up at our camping site and began to get worried because the 2 other families still were not there. They finally arrived around 6:00pm. It turned out the directions that I had handed out lead them to the wrong place. Ooooooops!!!




Saturday we got up and the group worked together to make "MOUNTAIN MAN" breakfast. Once the kitchen was cleaned up we headed to Calf Creek. There was a 6 mile hike (roundtrip) that Steve had found that would lead to an incredible waterfall. I stayed back at the trailhead while the other made their way to the falls. While they were on their trek, I found a little stream where I could sit with my legs in the water while I read my book. Five hours later they all returned tired, thirsty, hot, BUT very glad they had seen the beautiful waterfall.


Sunday morning Steve, Zack and I hiked a little hill to see some great petrified wood. The view of our camp sites and the little lake was breathtaking. I was impressed to the petrified wood, but disappointed that the was so little. I had expected so much more. We then made up some breakfast and quickly broke down our camp to head home.


On our way home we made a stop at a hiking trail. It led to a small waterfall. It may not have been as impressive as the Calf Creek Fall, but I was exited to see it and enjoyed walking through the stream. I even made my way behind the fall and dipped my head into it. Steve, who is a little braver than myself walked completely through the fall. It was a fun and refreshing way to end our trip.


Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Went to the Movies..

Steve and I did not have any plans for this evening other than planning our menus for an upcoming camping trip. Then our friend Ryan called and said he had been given some tickets to see an early showing of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and would Steve and I have any interest in coming along. When I ran the idea by Steve he was very much interested in seeing the movie. We changed our clothes and got a babysitter in 15 minutes and then left with Ryan and Dayna. I am not as big a fan as Steve and Zack when it comes to the Harry Potter series, but I truly enjoyed this one. I don't know if it was seeing so many people walking around in "Potteresque" costumes, knowing I was seeing it before the people that were sitting in lawn chairs outside of the building or if the storyline truly was good. Whatever it was, I was inspired to track down the 1st book in the series as soon as I got home.
...I have been sucked in...Wish me luck!!!



Monday, July 09, 2007

VACATION DAY 4: Lowry Ruins & Moab

Awww...the end of the vacation. We loaded into our faithful van and drove out of Cortez. As we made our way to one final ruin, Belle read her latest Magic Tree House book out loud to the twins and Zack. She seriously read, nonstop, for 1 1/2 hours. What an awesome kid. Occasionally she would ask, "Should I read the next chapter."
And the other kids would respond, "Yes...Don't stop...read more."
We eventually came to a sign that would lead us to Hovenweep National Monument. We traveled down this road that looked more like farm lands than a place to find Indian Ruins. The roads changed from smooth and paved to dirt and washed out. We decided to not drive the 20 miles that would take us Hovenweep, but rather drive the 6 miles to a place named Lowry Ruins. When we arrived, we were surprised to see a large structure. This was quite an impressive ruin. Many rooms in this structure along with a couple of kivas. The coolest thing was you could get so close to it. There were a few areas that you were not permitted to walk through, but there were more places that you were allowed to poke around in.

Throughout the trip, the girls had been talking about wanting to find artifacts. So...while I was in Cortez I had bought a couple of arrowheads. So as we walked around the Lowry ruin, Steve and I dropped them on the ground and as the kids poked around on the ground they all found an arrowhead. I know it is a little cheesy, but it was a fun way o get them a little souvenir and a fun way to give it to them. Before we left the site I signed the guestbook and was surprised to find that the day before 10 people had signed in. This ruin is kind of out of the way and I HIGHLY recommend you stop in and visit it if you find yourself in that part of Colorado.


We pulled into Moab about 1:00 pm. Steve dropped me off in town to visit a used bookstore I like there while he and the kids did one last hike. This was going to be purely a fun hike. The hike would take them to little pond where they could swim and jump off of small cliffs. What a refreshing way to get out of the 106 degree temps. After 2 hours my family found me in town and we completed our drive to my parent's home. It was a mixed bag of emotions as we got out of the van at mom and dad's. It had been such an incredible trip and we had sucha great time with our children and yet we couldn't wait to sleep in our own bed.













Friday, July 06, 2007

VACATION DAY 3: Mesa Verde

After a good night sleep and a yummy breakfast at the hotel, we drove back up the winding road to the ruins. Before reaching the first site we encountered a mama turkey and about a dozen of her babies crossing the road. It was quite a funny thing to see. Our first stop was at SPRUCE TREE HOUSE. This is one of the self guided tours, so you have a little more freedom and time to poke around. We started so early that the temperature was still relatively cool and not many people we in the site yet. There were many Rangers walking in the areas that were off limits. I was so jealous...I think it would have been so neat to go back into those areas and poke around more. The is a Kiva in at Spruce Tree House that has a cover on it and visitors are allowed to climb down into it. The first thing you notice when you first get down there is how duty and dark it is. This was one of my favorite experiences even though I felt a little claustrophobic in the enclosed space. There was also an area where the Anasazi's would grind there corn. That was also quite interesting. After spending about 45 minutes there we left and walked back up the hill and headed down the road to our next site.



We next drove the MESA TOP LOOP. This area has more Pithouses and dwelling that the Anasazi lived in prior to inhabiting the cliff dwellings. It was interesting to see some of these site. They were so much more primitive compared to the craftsmanship that was exhibited in the cliff dwellings. There was even a site where you could see the progression in craftsmanship. As visitors you were not allowed down into the site, which was a little frustrating to the children, but Steve and I still found it all quite interesting. As we continued the drive we could see other cliff dwellings that were unreachable. Soon you realized just how many of these cliff dwellings were peppered through out the gorge.


The Steve and the children's final adventure was the guided tour of BALCONY HOUSE. I decided to stay back to read my book when I heard of the 40 foot ladder that would have to be climbed and the small tunnel to be climbed through. From what Steve and the kids said about the hike it was quite fun and interesting. It was quite thrilling especially since it was right on the side of a cliff.


When Steve and the kids returned we found some picnic tables to sit at and eat our lunch. As we sat there and planned out what to do next, Steve and I both agreed that we had seen and experienced so much and to keep from getting completely overloaded, that it might be best to end our trip even though there was another loop that we still had not investigated. We left the park and returned to our hotel to swim, eat supper and pack up so that we could make the drive back to home the next day...but the adventure was not completely done yet...

Thursday, July 05, 2007

VACATION DAY 2: Mesa Verde

We left our hotel in Cortez on Sunday morning and drove to Mesa Verde, which was only 9 miles away. The road that leads up to the ruins is only about 20 miles, but it took nearly 40 minutes due to the windy roads. We checked into the Visitors Center and it was there that we learned we could see some HOPI DANCERS performing at the Amphitheater. It was interesting to watch. The children that performed seemed a little less than excited to be doing it. They did a dance to signify that gratefulness of a good harvest. Once they were done performing the children were allowed to come dance along with the Hopi children.


After having lunch, we went to take the tour of the CLIFF PALACE. My 1st view was just BREATHTAKING. We walked down the path to the site, which is where the Park Ranger gave of an overview of the Anasazi (ancestral puebloan) People and what their lives were like living there on the side of a cliff. We were not permitted to wander much at this ruin unfortunately. The ranger did give us some explanation of the Kiva and the purposes of the different holes and crevices. Once our tour was complete we climbed back up a ladder and exited the cliff dwelling.



We visited the MUSEUM where there were dioramas of the history of the Anasazi. There were also TONS of artifacts. Examples of the baskets and pottery. There was a set of crutches that had been made, animals made of twigs, ropes made from hair or yucca, It was incredible to see how creative they were with the resources they had around them.
On our way out of the park we stopped at an area named FAR VIEW SITES. We finally had the chance to wander a little more freely around the ruins. We saw some awesome kivas, lots of different rooms and even an area where they would grind their foods. Steve and the kids walked to an area named Mummy lake which use to be full of water, but has since dried up. The hardest part of being in this area with the children was having to keep telling them, "NO". They would want to climb down into the Kivas and go into areas that were chained off. They are so curious and so couldn't understand why they would not be allowed in to discover more treasures.


We left Mesa Verde and headed back to our hotel where the kids swam and worked off some more of their extra energy. They needed to get a good night sleep so they could tackle another day at Mesa Verde.