Goals of 2014

Instead of making new year's resolutions for 2014 I decided I would set 3 goals...  The first was to complete a sprint triathlon.  Although I did not train nearly as much as I probably should of I am happy to reveal that I have managed to at least knock one goal off my 2014 list!  Perhaps even more exciting than the triathlon itself was the chance to travel back to Florida again for the long weekend.  Patrick and I went sans kiddos and reveled in those things that people without kids just take for granted....  we spent over an hour just looking out of the window on the plane, we ate dinner for almost 3 (!) hours, we watched whatever (bad) television we wanted, participated in an hour-long tour of the Dali museum, and just wandered around with no real agenda for an entire afternoon at the beach.  OK the last one we totally could/would do with children so perhaps it should be rephrased as we wandered around for an entire afternoon at the beach with NO snacks.  A big thanks are due to my brother-in-law who requested our presence at the triathlon for his 40th birthday!

Birthday Parties!

Genevieve, as has now become the tradition, has celebrated her birthday multiple times.  First was the actual birthday last weekend and this weekend it was the slumber party spectacular at our house.  (Well actually it was pretty low key, in fact I commented to Patrick that we got off pretty easy this year, given that last year we did a slumber party, trip to Disneyland and a gathering at my folk's house) 

Last weekend we spent her birthday recovering from our 11 hour drive home from Texas.  This "recovery" involved building the climbing dome that we gave her for her birthday and a my little pony scavenger hunt in order to get her present from me, a perfect example of how scarcity begets ingenuity.  I decided to put together the scavenger hunt because I didn't have any wrapping paper....  Finally, we ended the day with a birthday dinner (and presents!) at my folks house. 

Then this weekend she had three of her school friends over for a sleep over.  This year's sleep over was much easier than last years, the girls even got to all stay in the same room and sleep together.  They managed to make it into the pool twice (hooray for pool covers that make the pool 80 degrees already), watch Frozen (the seemingly favorite movie of all young girls) and do an egg hunt in the wash this morning.  We even saw one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen.

Evie, ever the shiny personality, proclaimed that it was the best weekend ever... and it is only Saturday! 

Spring Break Roadtrip!

Whew!  We just got back from a whirlwind, but incredible, 5 days on the road for Evie and Izzy's spring break.  The ultimate destination was Sanderson, Texas but, on the way there at least, we meandered our way.  We left on Tuesday after Patrick got out of a hearing and made the 5 hour trek to Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Flower in bloom on Gerard and Monique's Ranch

In order to make the traveling easier on the dogs last week we bought a hitch carrier and a bag for our stuff.  It seemed like such a good idea.... but as it turns out Subaru's, heat from exhaust pipes and long-distances = melted plastic carrier bags, ruined sleeping bags and general stinkiness.  The worst part about all of it was the sleeping bag that got permanently attached to my cargo bag is my dad's sacred bag that he has had since I was a kid.  He allowed us to borrow it but asked that we "not let anyone throw-up on it..." Well melted plastic and singed down isn't exactly barf but it is decidedly less recoverable.  As a result my Dad has now "aquired" a brand new special sleeping bag.

Aside from the sleeping bag tragedy our trip to Las Cruces was uneventful.  I remain very thankful for my two kids who will just sit in a car for hours on end with only coloring books and recorded stories to keep them entertained.  I did learn this trip though that after about 4 hours Isadora becomes very touchy and the littlest thing will send her over the proverbial edge.  On the way home, for example, (which was actually at hour 9) she got all in a tizzy because we told her we were stopping to go to the "little girls room" and then when we went to the bathroom she dissolved because "This is NOT a little girls room, this is a bathroom!" and proceeded to scream about the lack of little girls room the entire time we were at the gas station. 

Anyway on day two of our adventure our plan was to make it to a campground near Carlsbad Caverns.  On the way we decided to stop at White Sands, which was just as amazing as Patrick and I remembered it from over a decade ago.  Evie fell in love with the big dunes immediately and was running up them and rolling down them and generally having a fantastic time.  Isadora on the other hand at first refused to get out of the car, I think she was intimidated by the wind and rather large dune we stopped at.  So for our first stop she hung out in the car and watched us play.  Then we took a little walk on a trail and she enjoyed that, so when we asked her if she wanted to try the dunes again she said yes.  We went to a more Izzy sized dune and she had a blast.  So much so that she was about as mad as I have ever seen her when we told her it was time to go.... 

From White Sands we journeyed up and through the mountains and down back into the desert, where we stopped at probably the most awesome roadside stand and petting zoo I have ever seen.  They had a camel and a water buffalo... not to mention your typical goats, llamas and sheep.  Let's just say feeding a camel was certainly the highlight of my day. 

The whole trip it was really windy, and with all of our random stops it was getting late so we decided to try to find a hotel for the night instead of camping.  After calling 10 hotels that were either full or didn't take dogs we booked it to where we wanted to camp and managed to get the last available camp site.  It took Patrick, Evie and I working together to get the tent up in the wind but once it was up we really enjoyed the spot (they even had a playground and an abundance of kids) and had a great night camping.

The next morning we packed up early and headed to Carlsbad Caverns.  I have always wanted to go, and it did not disappoint!  Izzy and Patrick only made it through part of the 1 mile hike through the caverns, but, Evie and I explored the whole path and she worked on a junior ranger badge, answering questions and writing poems about caves.  We will definetly have to go back some time in the future when Izzy is older so we can do one of the more involved ranger-led tours!  From Carlsbad we made our way through the New Mexico/Texas oil fields down toward Abu and Oma's house.  We made it there by dusk and were treated to a fabulous home-made quiche. 

Making pasta.

On Friday we mostly hung around with Gerard and Monique, after a fabulous french toast breakfast made by Gerard.  We left really only to take a little trip out to their ranch land, where Evie found prizes for the fairy garden she was making at their house and I found lots of pretty cactus flowers to take pictures of.  In the afternoon Patrick and Evie make a fairy sled out of balsawood and Izzy almost took a nap (so close yet so far).  We gave Monique and Gerard a break and walked from their place to a little shop in town, which of course was when Izzy decided to fall asleep in Patrick's arms.... but little nap is better than no nap.  That night the girls got to watch Oma make pasta from scratch and we had amazing homemade fettuccine alfredo and venison sausages. 

Just a small sampling of Monique's garden.

The next day it was time to make the long journey home.  All told it took us 11 hours on the road to go from Sanderson, TX to Tucson, AZ in one day.  Probably the highlight of the drive home was listening to the first Laura Ingalls Wilder book.  Qe listened to most but not all because at round about hour three of the book, and hour 8 of the journey, Izzy declared "I DO NOT like this book!"  and proceded to repeat this over and over for a 1/2 hour until the CD ended... poor Izzy long car rides are tough when you are 2.5 years old.  All told it was a fantastic whirlwind road trip!

Genevieve is 7!

Oh my goodness!  Is it really possible that Genevieve turns 7 years old today?  I guess what they say is true... time flies when you are having fun!  Here are some facts from an interview with Genevieve on her first day as a 7 year old...

Favorites:
Color - Pink
Book - ("I love books") Nancy Drew and Fancy Nancy (the learn to read ones)
Music - Rusted Root, Nutcracker, Let it go (from Frozen) and the theme from Barbie in the Pink Shoes
Movie - Frozen and Matilda
TV Show - Magic School Bus and My Little Pony
Subject in School - French, English, Math, Science and PE (I guess she likes school....)
Game - Majong
Activity - watch a show or play majong
Food - "It used to be apples but now I have a wiggly tooth so popcorn and cookies.

What she wants to be when she grows up: Artist, Scientist or a Professional Majong player
Best Friends: Isabella, Ruby, Madison and Nanan
Best thing that happened while she was 6: "I met my friend Ruby."

Notable things - Started 1st grade.  Learned to read in French and English.  Won 3rd place at the Science Fair.  Built countless fairy gardens in our yard.  Learned to ride a bike and swim across the pool all on her own.  Carved her first pumpkin on her own.  Lost 2 teeth. Acquired chores (first it was kitty poop and now it is taking care of the chickens each morning). Decided that she can live on pasta and butter alone.

Backyard Camping!

 The weather is getting nicer so we decided to go for a little camping trip in our backyard!  We had a lovely picnic and then went for a "hike" around the neighborhood.  The hike turned out to be a fabulous idea because we met some neighbors who have a little girl that is Genevieve's age.  They came by for an impromptu beer at our campsite and then Evie played with the little girl for most of the next day.  Needless to say I think we are all excited for Evie to have a neighborhood friend!

Evie and I were the only intrepid campers that made it for the whole night.  The tent did make a pretty good place to play for both of the girls though....

Yay Genevieve!

Last night Genevieve had "the best night EVER" because she won an award at the Southern Arizona Regional Science Fair!  She won one of the "grand prizes", 3rd place in the kindergarten division (because she is still 6) in the Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences category. Her experiment was called "Eeew Mold!"  She was also extra excited because her best friend Isabella also won 3rd place in the social sciences category for her experiment on which cookie tastes better.

Of the 1,400 kids who compete at SARSEF only about 500 get an award of some sort and only 200 of those get the "grand prizes" so needless to say we are pretty proud of her! 

I am pretty sure that at the tender age of 6 she has already won a trophy cooler than any I ever won....  She also won $25 dollars (being a prize-winning scientist is seriously lucrative).  Her prize money is burning a serious hole in her pocket.  As of an hour ago she wants to use it to buy a new groovy girl, however, other options have included more toy horses and calico critters... Oh choices choices. 

Science!

The past few months there has been some exciting science going on in our house. It began with a multitude of experiments kit that Nicole (aka Mimi) bought Evie for Christmas.  We made polymers, used dyes and Evie has proved herself to be a mean pipetter.

 Izzy has also enjoyed helping when we let her (which is as often as I can!)

Then in February it came time to put together Evie's poster for the IST science fair.  She tried two different experiments to grow mold on oranges, apples and bananas.  I am afraid neither succeeded. This totally baffles me because otherwise we seem to have no problem growing mold on food in this house.  During the experiment we even accidentally bought apples that a week later were moldy!  Regardless, Evie had a lot of fun with the experiments and putting together her poster.  I started out having her type it herself but after it took 1/2 hour to do the one sentence of what her experiment was about "Will different molds grow on different fruits?"  I decided it was OK for her to dictate to me while I typed.  Perhaps the best part of this science experiement are the conclusions:

She did well enough at her school science fair so that this week she gets to go to the Southern Arizona Regional Science Fair.  It should be fun!! (and of course I'll let you know how it goes...)

Poor blog...

Poor blog has gone neglected for 2 months!  Well of course this is bound to happen when the computer you blog on is usurped (not to mention your free time) by a very exciting event in the Lacroix household!  In mid-January Patrick made the decision to start his own law practice and by February 1 he was out and doing it!  While very exciting for all of us, it does mean that my official duties as webmaster, graphic designer and accountant took up most of the time I would have otherwise used to keep this blog up to date.  I'll do a little recap here and then make a point to steal the computer away from him at least once a week or so!

 Last weekend I took the girls to the Botanical Gardens.  The main reason was to see the butterfly house.  Evie loved going into the greenhouse with the butterflies but Izzy got so scared that I think my left ear is still just a little bit harmed.  Poor thing screamed so loud and was so terrified I had to rush her right back out of there! Later on she said she wanted a butterfly toy and we (mostly Evie) convinced her to go back into the exhibit and try it in exchange for a toy.  Went back in she did, but I had to hold her the whole time and she clung to me as if I were taking her into a lion's cage not a butterfly exhibit....

 

During Rodeo Break at the end of February Evie got to spend two days at Zoo camp.  I think her little sister was a bit jealous, but at least Izzy got to go play at the park each day when we picked Evie up!

Mt. Graham with snow, outside of the barn where I held a workshop in Safford.

View to the Town of Jerome from Clarkdale, outside of the Town Hall where I held another (different) workshop.

I have also been traveling a lot the last two weeks for work.  3-days in Clarkdale last week and then 2-days in Safford this week (then Casa Grande, then Phoenix, then Sierra Vista)  On the two over nighters I brought along my camera because one should have fun while working, right?

Zingers: Cookies

Upon giving her some animal crackers as a snack Izzy informed me: "Cookies are not food, just give me something else please mama."  Now where on earth would a child of mine learn that cookies are not food?!  Clearly something has gone terribly wrong in her rearing.

Welcome 2014!

To celebrate the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014 we took a short 3 day (almost) stay-cation up to Phoenix.  We stayed downtown and took the lightrail around for the three days, which was both novel to us and fun! 

On Monday night we went down to the Phoenix Zoo for their Zoo lights, which I must say puts our little Zoo's holiday showing to shame.  Evie and I rode a fast "polar" slide and then she proclaimed "That was scary... let's do it again!" So she rode again with Patrick.  For the record Izzy really wanted to go too, but was too short (not to mention I am not convinced she would hold on to the side of the tube) so she was sidelined. 

Patrick and the girls also got to participate in my favorite Phoenix Zoo activity, camel rides.  I have very fond childhood memories of walking around in circles on a stinky dromedary and it would seem the girls (and Patrick) share my love of it :) 

On Tuesday we went back to the Zoo and spent the whole day there.  Somehow we managed to stay until closing at 4 pm with only minor complaints from our residential 2 year old. 

We took rides on the carousel, saw lions and tigers (and bears) and went to the petting zoo. 

Evie writing her New Year's resolution ("Learn better in school.")

The Zoo was also having a special New Year's Eve event where they brought in snow (yes for the snow deprived desert kids this is a real treat) and had a noon time toast to the New Year.  Evie quickly discovered that snow is cold and perhaps not the mythically fun thing to play with that she imagined.  Of course I didn't bring mittens for her... I don't think we even own them, so of course her hands got cold fast. 

The day was super fun and all kinds of exhausting (See exhibit A below... on the bus ride home)

After a little rest in the room Evie was ready to go out for a little New Year's celebration.  Izzy was still asleep and Patrick battling a cold, so Evie and I went out just the two of us.  We decided to walk a few blocks down the street to where there was an outdoor skating rink.  I figured we'd skate for a 1/2 or so and then head back to the room but Evie got very into it and we ended up skating for 2 hours.  This is definitely a record for me, I usually get too cold after an hour or so.  In this case though it was like 50 degrees outside so it was almost hot after a few dozen revolutions around the rink.  Evie fell down a lot but, to her credit, got up over and over and over again.  By the end of the 2 hours she was doing a pretty good job and could make it around all by herself, not falling and gliding a little here and there.

The rest of New Year's Eve was spent hanging out in our room.  Evie made it until 10 pm, which was about 15 minutes after we got back from skating, and Izzy fell asleep, for the second time, at around 11:45.  I am afraid we too fell asleep then.  Make this only the 10th (at least) year in a row I didn't make it to actually ring in the New Year.  Luckily we are 2 hours different from New York so I always get to see the ball drop.  :)

On Wednesday morning, after a delicious breakfast, we walked down to the Arizona Science Center for the morning.  Here again was more snow trucked in for the enjoyment of the desert child.  Knowing this time just how chilly it is both girls only frolicked momentarily.  At the museum Izzy tried to plumb a bathroom and enjoyed sliding down out of a stomach that farts as you come out. 

Izzy's potato racer... we had to modify it a bit before she could try to race it....

Both girls enjoyed playing with water and shooting balls into the air and making potato racers to enter into the potato races. 

Evie got very into moving around iron with magnets while Izzy sat beside her with a little xylophone playing and singing away, it was a beautiful sibling moment. 

I think perhaps though the highlight of the museum though was the display where you could "make" a river. Around 1 pm we packed it in and headed for home, only three days but it really did feel like a much longer vacation!