LV-AZ trip, part 2

The second destination on our trip was the Grand Canyon. From Hoover Dam, we drove southeast on U.S. 93 to Kingman, then east on I-40 to Williams, where we headed north on U.S. 64 toward Grand Canyon National Park.

We stayed for two nights at the Holiday Inn Express in Tusayan, just a few miles from the park's south entrance (on the canyon's south rim). When we checked in, the front desk clerk immediately offered us a free upgrade from our economy room with two queen beds to one with a king bed and "kid suite" with bunk beds. The kids were thrilled by the adventure of bunk beds and Jim and I, well, we were thrilled to have a room to ourselves, too. I cannot say enough good things about the hotel staff--but more on that later.

I was the only one who had been to the Grand Canyon before, but it took my breath away again. And again.

Several months before the trip, I had looked at the park's website and determined that the best way for the kids to appreciate the canyon (and be learning while we were there) would be to walk along the Trail of Time.

When they're a bit older, perhaps a hike down into the canyon, or even a mule trip would be fun--but with Joe mostly in a stroller and Audrey being at best a reticent hiker, the Trail of Time was just our speed. We spent the morning of our only full day at the canyon on the trail, which took us about an hour and a half round-trip, not counting the time we spent at the Yavapai Geology Museum before we turned around and headed back.

The trail's a well-constructed geological timeline of the canyon (one long step = 1 million years) with samples of rock from each of the main layers from the Elves Chasm Gneiss on the canyon floor (1,840 million years old) all the way to the top layer, called the Kaibab Formation (a mere 270 million years old).

Jimmy and Audrey each had their own favorite rocks.

The kids also enjoyed getting occasional glimpses of local fauna.

Best of all, the entire length (1.6 miles) of the trail is paved, which made it easy on the feet of even our littlest hiker.

After lunch and some souvenir shopping, we drove east along the south rim via Desert View Drive, trying to find a good view of the Colorado River for Jimmy.

We stopped at several turnouts along the road, but Desert View and the watchtower proved to be the  perfect vantage for Jimmy to get his elusive view of the Colorado meandering along the floor of the canyon.

We had no idea this idyllic drive in the lovely light of late afternoon would be the last time everyone would feel good enough to enjoy the scenery. Within a half hour, Audrey lost her lunch in the back seat of our minivan.

Thanks to some good Samaritans in the parking lot of the Grand Canyon General Store, we got bleach wipes and a chamois to clean up the first few waves of puke. One of the store employees suggested Audrey might have altitude sickness, which he said many visitors experienced because the altitude at the south rim was over 7,000 feet above sea level. He gave us a roll of paper towels, which we layered on Audrey's seat for the drive back to the hotel. I improvised a barf bucket from one of the kid's plastic trick-or-treat pumpkins.

By the time we got back to the hotel, Audrey had used the pumpkin several times, so Jim herded the boys upstairs to our room and I kept her with me so she could get some fresh air while I cleaned out the minivan. Fortunately, our parking spot was right in front of the open door to the hotel laundry services room, and one of the laundry ladies noticed our plight and came out to see if I needed help. With her limited English and my limited Spanish, I managed to explain what happened and ask for some cleaning supplies. She gave me everything she had access to, including a big handful of washcloths, some shampoo, disinfectant, a box of Kleenex and a roll of trash bags. She also let me come and go to the utility sink to rinse out the washcloths and then put them in a big rolling laundry bin.

Thanks to that lovely laundry lady, I got the seat and carpet well scrubbed. Then I carried Audrey back up to our room, gave her a bath and put her to bed. Later, the front desk staff connected me with the housekeeping manager, who loaned me a nice big bottle of Febreeze so I could attack the minivan and beat back the sick smell for our six-hour drive to Tucson the next day.

So, if you're ever at the Grand Canyon and need a place to stay that will take good care of you (when you're barfing or otherwise), Holiday Inn Express has got you covered.

Christmas is coming...

...in less than a month! I started my Christmas sewing on Saturday, turning some gold-colored brocade from my fabric stash into a tree skirt. In former lifetimes it has been both pillow shams and a valance above our shower. A little Velco, a little gold braid (and a whole lot of calculating and then recalculating the diameter of the circle based on the amount of gold braid I had to go around the circumferance) and voilà! Things old are new again.

Next up: stockings for me and Jim. I made our original stockings back in 1996 and they're just so... 90s. You know, earth-tone red and green plaids with pine trees and hearts. I wanted something a little more expressive of our personalities, so over the last few months I bought some Simpsons Christmas fabric for Jim and sock monkey Christmas fabric for me.

Today I started planning our yearly advent calendar line-up, inspired by this post at Playful Learning. Our annual favorites will be back, including:

• putting up the tree on December 1st
• reading about the history and significance of Christmas symbols such as the wreath, the candle and the star
• making Christmas cookies
• hanging our stockings
• visiting the local animal shelter with donations for needy critters

This year I'll be adding some new activities:

• making Christmas cards for teachers
• reading about the history of the winter solstice
• decorating ice cream cone Christmas trees (instead of the usual gingerbread houses)
• creating ornaments for grandparents

and the one I'm really excited about (because Audrey suddenly has a wild hair that she wants to eat tamales after we learned about them for Día de los Muertos) ...

•  learning about how Las Posadas is celebrated in Mexico and making tamales

So many things to look forward to!

Thanksgiving mulligan

I would have thought being sick once already this month had earned me a by, but no. A week ago Jimmy came down with a cold, and I followed suit within a few days. I was so sick I stayed home from Thanksgiving dinner at Jim's folks', since I didn't want to share the love with a sister-in-law who is due with twins the first week in December.

Thank goodness for Jim wanting to get a turkey of our own to cook so we could have leftovers (since his mom was making the bird this year). Now that I'm on the mend, we're having a little do-over feast of our own. I just took the pie out of the oven, and Jim's getting ready to drain the brine off the turkey and put it in.

My nose is still a bit stuffy, but I can smell the nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon... aaaahhh.

LV-AZ trip, part 1

At the beginning of the year we found ourselves with an unexpected surplus of funds, which I talked Jim into earmarking for a trip to visit my dad and step-mom, who moved to Tucson around the same time we moved to Ellensburg. We see them several times a year, but the visits are usually short--often when they are passing through on the way to or from Seattle. Three years ago Dad was diagnosed with kidney cancer and is now in remission, and I didn't want to wait any longer for a nice, relaxed visit at their place so the kids could build some fun memories.

In the ensuing months, we looked at different options and finally decided to fly into Las Vegas, where Jim's brother John lives with his family, and rent a car there for the drive to Arizona, with some sight-seeing along the way. We tried to strike a balance between fun time with family and educational experiences for Jimmy and Audrey, so they'd still be learning even while we took two weeks off from our regular school schedule.

After trying (and failing) to find good airfares for the beginning of September, we moved the trip to the end of October, which proved to be a perfect time to travel--great weather, moderate temperatures, and no crowds at any of the more touristy places we went.

We flew from Pasco to Las Vegas on the Monday before Halloween. Jimmy was immediately mesmerized by all the lights, and especially by the Stratosphere. "Las Vegas is beautiful," he enthused. I'm glad he's young enough for it to be magical; it isn't for me anymore.

Tuesday afternoon we wandered around the more G-rated portion of the Strip, visiting the M&M and Coca-Cola factory stores and the fountain show at Bellagio, which was the highlight of the day.

On the afternoon of Halloween, we went to the Springs Preserve (which I highly recommend) with the kids' Aunt Chantalle and cousins Mariska and Jack. Unfortunately, because the preserve was hosting a Halloween party that evening, they closed at 3 p.m. We only got to spend about an hour and a half there, just long enough to look around the Origen Museum.

The kids particularly enjoyed a simulated flash-flood exhibit, but we're definitely going to have to go back on our next trip so they can see the outside collections of wildlife and local habitats.

That evening, the kids dressed up and went trick-or-treating with their cousins.

Bright and early Thursday morning, we hit the road. Mid-morning we stopped at Hoover Dam to look around and let the kids stretch their legs. The last time I drove over the dam was in the late 90s, when it was still on the main route of U.S. 93 to Arizona.

While the visitor center offers tours, we decided that the kids' limited attention spans and our need to get back on the road would make it more prudent to look around on our own--which we did, and it was a good call.

Jimmy was fascinated by the history of the dam and completely engrossed by all the informative plaques posted at various points.

However, by the time we got halfway across (where we could have one foot in Nevada and one in Arizona), Audrey was done and ready to head back to the car for a snack.

The new bridge was really spectacular from below, but sadly, we couldn't see beyond the high barriers on each side as we drove over it and into Arizona toward the Grand Canyon.

One

More birthday goodness from the draft vault (now that he just turned 14 months two days ago). Better late than never, right?

Five

Look what I found when I went back through a folder of drafts I had never posted! It's two and a half months late, but feast your eyes on the fabulous cake Jim decorated for Audrey. How-to here.

Dark secret

I took Jimmy, Audrey and Joe to Grayland for the weekend to escape the smoke. I got back late last night and after we finished tucking the kids into bed, Jim confessed to me that while we were gone he's been...

... watching Downton Abbey.

And liking it.

Toothache in a jar

Back in a routine

In the two-and-a-half weeks since I last posted, we:

• started the school year (Jimmy in 4th grade, Audrey in Kindergarten)
• hosted our cousin Aidan for five days
• celebrated Audrey's birthday
• wore cowboy boots to the county fair
• kicked off soccer season
• went on a field trip to Thorp Mill
• stayed overnight with friends near Seattle
• returned to regular cub scout meetings

In between all these goings-on, I've been trying to find a new normal--staying on top of housework by having the kids help, carving out time to exercise and take care of myself, baby-proofing everything now that Joseph is walking (and yes, my kitchen is still gated off while I contemplate the daunting prospect of deep cleaning and locking down everything below three feet high)--all while figuring out the trick of homeschooling two kids at once.

Surprisingly, I've been feeling mostly successful at all of this. We've had the requisite amount of griping about piano practice and math worksheets, but overall, school has been fun and Jimmy's self-direction has allowed me to spend the time with Audrey that she needs. I've made a lot of progress on taming my short temper. My house has been cleaner more consistently than I can ever remember it being before. In the afternoons, I've even had a few hours between helping the kids with their chores and putting Joe down for naps to cross off a few extra projects on my to-do list like cleaning out closets and getting rid of baby gear we no longer need. Just yesterday I made up a triple batch of laundry soap and a batch of dishwasher detergent, too.

Today is bread day.

For a while now I've been wanting to stop purchasing store-bought bread, but I haven't been happy enough with how my own bread turned out, so I've been experimenting and tweaking my recipe and methodology. I got my original recipe for three whole wheat loaves from my mother-in-law, but found that my bread always seemed to turn out too dense and low. Through a lot of trial and error I've discovered a few things:

1. My kitchen is drafty, which means it is usually too cold for the yeast to grow, especially during winter and spring. I can mitigate this by turning on the oven and leaving it slightly open while the yeast is proofing to warm up the room.
2. Using exclusively whole-wheat flour (along with any additions like oats or flax) makes for very dense, heavy bread, which means that it won't rise as high and will be more crumbly. So now I use all-purpose flour for half of the flour content, and sometimes add in a bit of ground flax or oats--but a little goes a long way.
3. Recently I figured out that refined sugar, even in small quantities, aggravates my arthritis, so I've switched to using honey, which makes me hurt less and the bread more moist.
4. Our family eats about four loaves of bread a week, so if I wanted to bake only once a week, I would have to readjust my recipe.
5. My friend Carol, who used to have a bread business, told me that adding some baking powder helps get a bit more rise during baking, so I started doing that, too.
6. My kids love my bread. Both Jimmy and Audrey have said, "Mom, your bread is waaaaay better than bread from the store." The fact that Joe eats more of it than he throws on the floor is his own ringing endorsement.


Chicklegirl's Wheat Bread

5-1/3 cups warm water
1/3 cup honey
5 tablespoons active dry yeast (I buy the bags of Red Star brand at Costco, which cost only slightly more than a few packets purchased at the grocery store)
5 cups all-purpose flour
6-7 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flax seeds or rolled oats (optional, exchange for 1/4 cup of the flour)
1/3 cup olive oil
5 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vinegar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Mix yeast, water and honey together in bowl of stand mixer. Proof for 15 minutes, until bubbly. Add other ingredients and mix together with two or three turns of the bread hook. Let rest for 10 minutes. Knead with bread hook for 10 minutes. Turn dough out of stand mixer bowl into larger metal bowl, then cover with a tea towel or cloth to rise until double (about 30 minutes, depending on if your kitchen is drafty--the warmer, the better and faster the dough will rise). Turn dough out onto lightly floured counter top and divide into four equal parts. Form parts into loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Let loaves rise until they round up above (but not overflow) the rims of the pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes. Makes 4 loaves.


Tonight, I'm trying a new recipe for peach jam made with honey.

Good news and... more good news

First up: Joe started walking on Saturday. While it's the end of an era (my last baby will only be a baby for about five more minutes), it's a significant milestone in a series that mark his growing physical and intellectual development, which is a wonder as it unfolds. I'm reminded yet again that if I'm doing my job as a mother, I become a little more obsolete with every passing day. And that's a good thing.

Then, last night I opened my email to a lovely surprise: Segullah accepted my poem "Lacuna" for print in their last-ever print issue this fall.