Destination Imagination 2010

Sierra and Caleb both participated in Destination Imagination this year, a creativity and problem solving program. The kids compete in building and acting Instant Challenges and spend months writing their own play. Along with making all their own costumes, props, and scenery, the play incorporates an engineering challenge. I've coached Caleb's team the past two years, and this year I traded assignments and coached Sierra's team. We had seven sweet, spunky girls, and I think everyone had a great time. I love coaching DI because for six months out of the year I have the perfect excuse for why my house isn't picked up since we're always in the middle of a building or art project, and I can actually feel like I'm being productive spending hours writing silly storylines, cruising around the neighborhood looking for cast away appliance boxes, and researching creative costume ideas. The best part of all is seeing kids who were jittery about performing develop their confidence. This year, we had one little girl who was so nervous she was worried she was going to throw up before the tournament, and afterwards she had such a good experience that she begged the team to perform the play one more time at our celebration party.

This year Sierra's team, The Sparkle Girls, performed a newscast called the "Unusual Ocean Pet Shop." Sierra played a cute seahorse who could change colors depending on her moods so that her owner would know how she was feeling.
Dress Rehearsal--front row: Camille (dolphin), Madisyn (penguin), Sierra (seahorse), Vibha (reporter), Anne Marie (Farmer Sparkle), Autumn (pet shop owner), Rhea (jellyfish), back row: Traci (assistant coach) and me

Waiting to perform at the tournament

We had a lot of fun building our backdrop with materials gathered from a last minute scavenger hunt through my kitchen. We used a colorful bean soup mix for the sand; bubble wrap for the ocean bubbles; tissue paper for the seaweed and coral; oil pastels for the castle; and built unusual fish out of felt, foil, craft sticks, pom-poms, clothespins, feathers, and old party decorations.

Caleb's team wrote a play about a war between candies and vegetables that happens in a Food Pyramid in Egypt. Caleb began the play as Brock O. Lee, one of two tourists who discover the Food Pyramid. The tourists sets off a rube goldberg reaction on the pyramid, get turned into food, and get sucked into the pyramid. Caleb had to have a broccoli costume that he could change into in 10 seconds, and while it didn't involve any great artistry, gluing real broccoli on gloves and a ski hat gave everyone a good laugh. I loved their two sided pyramid, which had an ingenious construction that allowed it to be collapsed to enter the narrow doorways of the school.

Caleb hammed his role as tourist up with a thick British accent. Here's a link to his team's play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvYrvb7Lg5w

Educational Pursuits

This semester I enrolled in Abnormal Psychology and Anatomy and Physiology, two of the prerequisites for the Masters in Occupational Therapy I'm applying to in the fall. I heard A&P was challenging, but I thought it couldn't be that hard to memorize the names of a few body parts. I already know the basics--ears, hands, feet, etc. After getting through the first seven weeks of the class, I have found the amount of material we cover is mind numbing, and as soon as I feel like I have a handle on something, we move onto something with a whole new set of challenges. It has been a struggle finding the time (and energy) to study with three kids, teaching Tuesdays and Thursdays, and being gone at night classes fourteen hours during the week. When the semester is over, I'll have learned some really fascinating things about the human body, and I will truly appreciate having the summer off... before enrolling in the next semester of anatomy. Those who know me will surely have noticed my lack of ability in the visual orientation/direction department. I'm confident when it comes to studying the anatomy book and memorizing all the terms and functions, but the lab practicals involve all kinds of surprises--body models we may not have seen, dissected organs, microscopic tissue samples, and structures that can look very different depending on the angle or cut. It's like studying a complicated road map and then being expected to get on a crowded freeway and know where to go from memory. And why do all the words have to be so long? Why do we have to say "keratinized simple squamous epithelium" when the word "skin" works just as well?

The vegetarian side of me is squeamish about dissection. Fortunately, my table mate enjoys doing all the cutting. I just ask him to let me know when he comes to a new layer or angle so I can take a photo. Thank goodness for my digital camera, which at least enables me to study without having the smell the subject. It makes me laugh when I remember the visual tests from my undergraduate Humanities major. How did I go from this... And this

To this
And THIS?!? (Mary's Little Lamb)

An Honest-to-Goodness Snowstorm

We had two full days of flaky, perfect snowfall last month. It was the perfect snow for building, and the temperature was warm enough to stay outside without getting too cold. After managing to find appropriate snow gear packed away from years ago, I sent the kids out to play. It was sure fun while it lasted!

Sierra and Madeline (on right) with our next door neighbors
Caleb's snowman

A Little Leak

We had a wild ride last month when we suddenly discovered water soaking the carpets in our master bedroom. After doing some investigating, we discovered the cause for the leak was our water heater in the attic. The leak would have been contained, but we had a leak in the pipe that went through our master bedroom closet. Besides having to replace the water heater, we paid $750 for a plumber to find a fix the leak and $1000 to have the walls and carpets dried. Our builder was kind enough to cover the repairs, and is sending in drywallers and painters next week to take care of cosmetics. We went a few days without hot water, boiling water on the stove for baths for the kids, while Ted and I braved very fast 50 degree showers. Certainly makes us appreciate the hot water during cold weather!

The Leaky Pipe

Christmas Secrets

We spent a week in Tucson, enjoying family and soaking up the blue skies and sunshine. Originally, my sister Jennifer and I were going to be the only siblings there for Christmas, and my brother Brent and his family were going to come later in the week. My sister Michelle and her husband Danny both just started working as attorneys in Dallas, so they didn't have enough time off to come. Just before we were leaving for Tucson, Michelle called me to say that she and Danny had decided to make a whirlwind drive to Tucson. Since no one was expecting her, she thought it would be fun to keep their plans a secret. The next morning, my brother Brent called me to say that his family had decided they wanted to spend Christmas day in Tucson after all, and he had told Michelle and me but wanted to surprise the rest of the family. So, our first day in Tucson I spent the day secretly trying to make sure we had enough food and beds ready for two sets of surprise arrivals, sneaking out to receive phone calls on travel progress, and hoping we could pull off the surprise. Poor Michelle and Danny hit a snowstorm in Texas that almost prevented them from traveling any further. They assured us they would have been okay spending Christmas Day alone in a motel because they had brought their new Beatles Rock Band Wii game. Brent's family arrived just as we were ready to start dinner. They caroled at the door, and everyone was totally shocked when they opened the door to see his family standing there. When Michelle and Danny arrived three hours later, they put some treats on the doorstep, rang the doorbell, and hid behind the front yard bushes. The look on my mom's face was pretty priceless--I almost thought she was going to faint, but she managed to stay on her feet, and it was definitely a Christmas to remember. Look what whirlpools do to bubble bath!

Enjoying a quiet walk with Nana before the crowds arrive

Brent and Ronelle arrive with their family

Mom looks like she's going to faint when Danny and Michelle show up three hours later

Christmas morning--the adults all look ready to go back to bed

Hiking at Sabino Canyon with the entire family

Enjoying Costco pizzas

My Grandparents Cannon visited for the afternoon. It was the first time we'd seen them in four and a half years, and I was so glad the kids got a chance to spend some time with them. Here they are with my dad's and mom's six grandchildren.

Four generations of family

Journey to Tucson

Merry Christmas, everyone! This is the closest I got to sending out a Christmas card this year, but we did love the pictures and cards that arrived from family and friends. Our family spent the holidays in Arizona, exploring the state's natural beauty before heading to my parents' home in Tucson.
Ted wanted to see Lubbock, TX along the way, since it was the biggest TX city he hadn't seen. Here we are at the Buddy Holly monument.

Petrified Forest National Park--I was surprised to learn that Arizona once was positioned in the same place Panama is today. That explains how there used to be a forest here.

Madeline exploring the petrified wood

Sierra took her oath to become a Junior Park Ranger very seriously and wore her badge each day of the vacation.

We stayed in beautiful red rock Sedona for a couple days. We loved the SW decor of the timeshare.

Ted and I hadn't taken a picture with just the two of us since we went to Maui five years ago, so we thought it was about time for another one. Maybe I should have tamed my crazy hat hair...

Hiking in Oak Creek Canyon--Madeline didn't want to wear her jacket, so I talked her into wearing Caleb's old Monsters Inc costume that we brought as a hand-me-down for her cousin Joey.

Ted talked me into connecting with my childhood by posing on the natural water slide that we used to visit when I was growing up. It was too cold to go in the water, but the canyon was much prettier without the summertime crowds.

Caleb, Sierra, and Monster Madeline at Slide Rock

Caleb enjoyed holding a snake and tarantula at a desert wildlife talk.

After a gorgeous first day of hiking in Sedona, our second day we were snowed in. We were disappointed to miss time outdoors, but the snow was lovely to look at.

Visiting Aunt/Dr. Jennifer in Phoenix at her clinic--we had to reassure the kids that they wouldn't be receiving shots.

Thanksgiving

We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home. Caleb and Madeline had rashes, so we were in quarantine. Hopefully next year we'll be able to enjoy guests. At least there was nothing wrong with our stomachs!