Our New Tradition

Turns out we didn't have much of a signal in New Mexico, so there went my New Year's Resolution to blog daily. Oh well. Not sure why that Resolution should stick when others don't.

We had a great trip, and it was totally worth pulling Alex out of school for one extra day. He hadn't missed any school all year, so I felt pretty comfortable that we were making the right decision. And he's now over his disappointment that he won't get a perfect attendance award for a 3rd time.

The drive to Ruidoso went great, and didn't seem long at all. West Texas is like the Texas you see in movies and postcards. Cotton fields, oil wells, and flat, wide open spaces. In other words, nothing.

 

We did find the Best. Playground. Ever. in San Angelo, and stopped there to let the kids play for about 15-20 minutes. Its called Kids Kingdom, and its incredible. The boys LOVED it.

 
The next 'big' stop was Roswell, New Mexico. We toured the International UFO Museum, which was about as exciting as you might think. And we visited the McDonalds which is shaped like a UFO, and has the coolest McDonalds playground ever.

The entire reason for this trip was snow. Team Danger has been feeling deprived, and so I came up with the idea of Ruidoso, a place we used to go to back in my early youth. But as we neared the end of the ten hour drive, and were clearly in the state of New Mexico, Alex was a tad concerned about the lack of snow on the ground. So was I, to be honest. And when we arrived in Ruidoso, it was dark, and it did not appear as if there was much snow. We had rented a "fake house" (as Ryan calls any vacation home/hotel room) in the middle of the Lincoln National Forest, and when we pulled into our driveway and you could actually see snow, well, I can't begin to describe the excited energy in the Mommyvan. I know, any  non-Texan reading this is going to laugh at our amount of snow, but hey, we take what we can get.
 

The next morning, the boys woke up before the sun (grr..time change). As the sun rose, and they could see the white on the big hill in front of our fake house, their excitement grew. They bundled up, and quickly went exploring.

The hill was a huge hit. The boys hung out there every free moment they had, and they especially loved seeing the "reindeer" (as Ryan calls any deer) up close and personal.

The ski resort in Ruidoso doesn't offer ski lessons to children under 7 - unless one springs for very expensive private lessons - so we forgoed skiing attempts and just concentrated on having snow fun. I had picked Ruidoso primarily for Winter Park - a tubing mountain that makes its own snow, and which has an extremely dangerous conveyor belt which carries you and your tub up the mountain. You can go on your own, on a two seater tube, or in a giant family sized tube.

 

 

 We mixed it up. We went alone,  the boys together, Carl and Ryan, Alex and I, Carl and Alex, Ryan and I, and even all four of together. We had a blast, and it wasn't long into the morning before Alex asked if we could make this trip a family tradition. Both Scouts and School focused heavily on "Traditions" in December, and since then, any time Alex loves doing something, he asks if we can make it a tradition. So apparently we have a new family tradition.

We did some hiking in the forest, and discovered even more snow. Since this was older snow - I think the last time it fell was over the Christmas holidays - it was iced over nicely and was perfect for sledding. So sledding became the other favorite past time of Team Danger. And it was dangerous - Carl and I were on constant catching duty, since there was a nice sized ravine over to the side I was afraid they might go into if they didn't stay on track.

At the end of our trip, Carl demonstrated nicely just how exactly one goes into the ravine. The video cuts out when I realized I might be taping my husband's early demise, but you get the idea.

We also took our time in this area of the world to visit the International Space Museum in Alamagordo, as well as White Sands National Monument.

We brought our sleds with us, and the boys simply adored sledding in the sand. They also enjoyed just jumping in the sand, and it made for some very cool landslide effects when they did.

At the end of our trip, we decided to spice things up by driving home a different route, one that would take us past Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Carlsbad is such an incredible cave, although we've probably spoiled the boys for any other cave from now on, for what could possibly compare? All National Parks were free for the holiday weekend (bonus) and we bought the boys the US Parks Passport, so they can get a stamp in each one they go to. I thought it was a nice way to encourage them to visit more parks and spend more time in nature, and sure enough, it made a big impression on Alex. It even made the list in one of his stories we had him write during the trip! I felt like such a good parent at this moment, it alleviated some of the guilt I felt for having him miss school for a day.

The rest of the drive home was long - unbearably long. According to google maps, the route past Carlsbad should have only added one hour to our drive, but Carl and I felt like it added quite a bit more. I'm not sure if its because we spent so long at the Caverns, but this was just interminable in length. The only other highlights of this drive were the signs that said "Next Service Station: 132 miles" and the 80 MPH speed along I-10. Although you can't go 80 at night, as I learned when I was pulled over. But my trusty little badge came in handy, and I'm pleased to report that it does work outside of Travis County. No ticket for me! When it was 8 pm and we were still nowhere near home, we told the kids it was time for bed. They turned off the DVD player, pulled their blankets up, and went to sleep. It was miraculous. We finally arrived back home about 11:30 pm, and carried them up to bed. They, at least, had good days back at school the next day. Carl and I, on the other hand, struggled at work. But it was all worth it, and a good time was had by all. I even got the approval of Carl who admitted this was a great trip - although the fact that I stayed within my budget for everything probably helped quite a bit. :)

It Never Fails

It is a truth universally acknowledged that when the Swanson family plans a trip, one or both of the kids gets sick.

This time, however, the kids are both nice and healthy. Instead, Carl and I are both sick. We've both got a nice supply of hydrocodeine cough syrup, Flonase and a Z-Pack, so hopefully we'll be feeling better by the crack of dawn when we are due to depart.

Brrrr...

I'm busy getting ready for our mini-break to New Mexico this weekend, so in order to keep my New Years Resolution to blog every day, here's a short one.

It's damn cold here in Central Texas!

Now I know how Edward feels

You know how in 'Twilight,' Edward craves the taste of the love of his life?

How he must fight his overwhelming desire to, ahem, eat her every second of every minute of the day?

And how *some* women reading the book *might* feel the same way about Edward?

Well, there is good news, to be found in the HEB Bakery's cake book.

That's right.

The Edward cake.

Ryan was looking through the book (as his birthday is around the corner) and believe it or not, he spotted Edward first. "Look, Mommy! Its a cake for you!"

And if this cake doesn't provide you with enough of a taste for all things Edward and Jacob, then you can always have a piece of the Eclipse chewing gum my friend Leslie gave me at work today.

I'm going to have to search for more packaging to see if there is any Edward gum out there!

A Trip to the Dentist

This afternoon I took the younger members of Team Danger to the dentist.

Alex always does great, but Ryan does, well, the opposite of great.

Six months ago, when we showed up, they led Ryan back to the "safe room." Its apparently soundproof, and they close the doors so that he doesn't, ahem, disturb the other children. Here he is all calm and relaxed, watching 'Toy Story 3,' while we wait for the cleaning to begin.

It only took about 30 seconds after the assistant asked him to 'open wide' so she could get rid of all the 'sugar bugs,' before he started to freak.

Then I brought out my big guns. A brand new unopened LEGO guy. I told Ryan he could hold the package, but that we wouldn't open it until he was done.

And sure enough, he held onto the LEGO guy the entire time we were there.

When it was all over, they also got to visit the treasure box, so they were both pretty thrilled that they had dentist treasures as well as Mommy treasures.

Then on the drive home, Ryan asks me if I like going to the dentist. I replied that of course I do, I love the dentist, but that my dentist isn't nearly as cool as theirs. No movies, no wiis, no xbox.

And then Ryan asked if I got toys from the dentist. I said no, since grown ups don't really play with toys the way kids do. And then, Ryan asks if I would like to go to the dentist that gives away Edward toys. Brilliant idea, I tell you.

Plus, what woman wouldn't want Edward Cullen as their dentist? After all, teeth are his specialty.

Nerf Party

We had two birthday parties to attend today.

The first was for one of Alex's classmates. It was held at Extreme Fun, and while he had fun jumping and running around, the highlight was spending more time with the boys in his class. I really need to get better at scheduling play dates for him. If only there were more free time...

The highlight, though, was attending our neighbor Noel's 10th birthday party. It was held at Pump-it-Up (coincidentally where we are having Ryan's party next month), and it had a Nerf theme. All the boys brought their own Nerf guns. They had a blast shooting at each other - well, until Ryan got shot in the eye. So he didn't join in for the group photo as he was still upset at this point.

Alex was very quiet and reserved when we first showed up. We thought it was because this was a party of ten year olds, but Carl quickly deduced it was because he was having size envy.

Nerf gun size envy.

These are the guns my kids have:

 

And this photo shows the size of the guns pretty much every other boy had:

 Still, the let go of their nerves pretty quickly, and were soon joining in with the fun.
 

 

And thanks to one of the other basketball moms, I received some decent shots of Alex playing yesterday.

Opening Day of Basketball

Both boys had their first basketball games of the season today.

Ryan and the Raptors were up first, and this was Ryan's very first basketball game. We weren't too sure how he would do, but he played great! He scored one basket, and it was the first basket of the entire game - and during the second quarter, no less.We even got a picture of it!

He was extremely pleased with himself, and he did great with the rebounds, too.

Next up was Alex and the Gators. We love his team. They are all 1st graders at Spicewood together, and we knew over half of the boys and parents before we even started.

Alex performed great. He got three baskets himself, and *if* we were allowed to keep score, the score would have been 11-4, with the Gators taking the win.

 

 I also learned that inside pictures, zoom lenses, and rapidly moving objects - like basketball players - do not work that well with our new camera. :( Most of the ones we took today did not come out that well, so this one of Alex practicing is the best we have.

Family Game Night

 
One of our Resolutions for the New Year was to turn what had been Friday Night Movie Night into Friday Night Game Night. We're trying to reduce their screen time, and since they already watch tv Saturday and Sunday mornings before we wake up, and we also have Saturday Night Movie Night, it was becoming quite a bit. Plus, some of my fondest memories from growing up is playing board games with the family.

So tonight we tried out Qwirkle, a new game Alex received for Christmas. It was a lot of fun, and while Ryan needed some help, he still really enjoyed it, and we all had a great time. And Alex got to practice math, as we would add up the points for each play. Fun and educational - you can't beat that!

So much for the New Years Budget

Wednesday morning, we discovered water dripping down our 1st story ceiling onto all our stereo and gaming equipment.

The plumber finally made his way to our house at 4:45 pm this afternoon, and it turns out there was a microscopic leak in the pipes of our master shower, and that these little leaks had finally accumulated enough to break through the ceiling and find its way down in what is arguably the most expensive corner of our house.

It leaked in three locations, in the center of the arch, and then down either side around the arch.

The PS3 player.
The wii.
The receiver.
The Blu-Ray player.
The DVD player.
My region free DVD player.
The DVR.
The older video camera.
The digital picture frame.
All of our movies and games for the DVDs, Blu-Rays, PS3 and wii.
And the cabinetry that all this equipment rests on and in.
And the carpet.

The TV hangs up on the wall, and while the wiring to the tv got wet, the tv itself did not.

(most of the damaged stuff had already been moved before I took these photos last night)

So now the fun begins, and we get to deal with insurance, plumbers and flooring folks.

We had to turn the water off yesterday, so we've been without water since then. Its back on now, or else we were heading to a hotel for the night. But the plumber has to come back and fix the big whole in our shower before we can use it. :(

The adjustor doesn't come until Tuesday. I'm kind of hoping the carpet gets totaled out, and I can finally achieve my goal of getting Pergo floors. So with any luck, there might be a silver lining in all of this. :)

Another Tooth Bites the Dust

When I picked Alex up from school today, he came running towards me with the biggest grin ever.

The biggest because his second front tooth had fallen out during the day. Apparently, once they are ready to come out, they can't stop.

He was sent to the nurse when his tooth came out, and she gave him a little tiny plastic treasure chest to store his tooth in, with the words "Tooth Keeper" written in teeny tiny print on it.

Now we are awaiting a visit for the tooth fairy. When the tooth fairy first came on December 22, she apparently dropped one of the gold dollar coins on the stairs, because Alex found one under his pillow and on the stairs the next day. He felt like the luckiest kids in the world to have scored TWO gold dollars, and he couldn't wait to see what would happen with this visit.

To be updated after the tooth fairy makes her midnight visit...

Potty Talk

Tonight I took the boys to eat at Luby's while Carl went to TKD.

Big Brother Alex escorted Ryan to the bathroom, and then comes back to the table. He then announces, "Whatever Ryan tells you when he comes back from the bathroom, it isn't true."

Now with a statement like that, all sorts of horrible thoughts are racing through my head. Alex won't budge, though, and tell me what it is he thinks Ryan will tell me, but I do at least get out of him that Ryan is safe and no one else was in the men's room. (Both boys currently throw fits at going in the women's room with me, and in an empty place like Luby's, where I can keep an eye on the bathroom door, I generally don't worry too much.)


So Ryan comes back, holding his hands in front of him, and says, rather loudly, "Alex made me pee on my hand!"

And the worst part?

His hands hadn't been washed.

Boys.

Last Day Off

Monday, January 3, the Round Rock schools were closed. I get a bit annoyed by these Tuesday starts RRISD seems so fond of - at the beginning of the school year, and at the end of the Winter Holiday Break. There aren't a lot of day camps open, for one thing, since AISD always starts on Monday. So one of us ends up having to take the day off from work. Whomever thinks of the school year calendar needs to wake up in the twenty-first century and smell the coffee in the morning, because most families have dual working parents these days, and Tuesday starts are NOT working parent friendly.


Rant over.

Carl has been off for the past two weeks, so he went back to work while I stayed home with the boys. We built LEGOs, ate and played at Chuck E Cheese, got Alex a back to school haircut, built more LEGOs, took down some more Christmas decorations (it takes forever!), did some of Alex's Magic Science kit he got for Christmas, and built some more LEGOs.
 

 
Alex finished his Harry Potter Hogwarts castle, and I'm not sure which one of the three of us was most excited by its completion. 

 

Oh who am I kidding. It was me. 

The Raptors

Sunday, January 2 was Ryan's first day of basketball. He met his team - the Raptors - and had his first practice. He's playing through the YMCA's league, since they will let kids start playing basketball at age 4. T&C, the league we usually use and of which Carl is the Soccer Commissioner, doesn't start basketball until the kids are in 1st grade. Alex had two years with the Y's basketball league, and it was a fun way to occupy the boys during soccer's off season. Now its Ryan's turn to play basketball with the Y. I get a bit annoyed that they have a 4-6 age league - its not fair to the 4s or the 6s in my opinion, but Ryan seemed to be holding his own with his team. He's not the worst player there, although he may be the youngest. I can't wait to see how he does in his first game on Saturday.

 

2011: A Year of Shamus

 We bought season passes to Sea World for 2011, so we headed down there on New Year's Day to start getting the most bang for our buck.

 

 

 

 

We had a great day, and its always fun to see Sea World all decked out for the holidays. This was our 4th year in a row going around Christmas, and despite the fact that the children's play area was closed, the boys barely missed it. They were too busy enjoying the lack of crowds and riding the Atlantis ride uninterrupted over and over and over again.