The Moon Song: October 2012

The fall color in Colorado is so beautiful, I have had to stop my car on the side of the road more than once just to snap a picture of the bright orange maple trees and yellow aspens...I am grateful every single day for these colors with the mountains behind them. I'm feeling super lucky and really spoiled this month.

Kipper and I both celebrated our birthdays this month, and we both ended up getting to go on a trip for our gifts!

For my birthday...my mom and I went to Sonoma, CA!

It's was a girls' get away! It was such a special trip because we never really get to spend time alone together anymore, and I was so grateful with three full days with my mom. She had never been to the wine country, so I got to show her around a little bit. We stayed in the most adorable cottage in Glen Ellen, CA on the GlenLyon winery, and it was such a unique experience. The owners, Suzi and Squire Fidell own and operate GlenLyon, and live on the estate where the grapes are grown. They are two of the most interesting people with the best stories, and we were so excited to have been a part of their exciting lives...if only for a weekend. (Read their story...Squire was Ronald McDonald for years, as well as the spokesperson for Toyota...and Suzi was a dancer all over the world!) Anyway, they also have a little cottage on the property, and that's where we got to stay. We felt like VIP...seriously! They gave us a tour, invited us in for a night cap after we accidentally locked ourselves out of the cottage (embarrassing!), and treated us like old friends.

We felt so lucky to have met them, and the cottage was the perfect spot for our "project."

Our project...
All my life my mom has talked of her best friend growing up - a horse named Bandido. When she lived in Spain (for high school), her parents bought her a horse to try to keep her happy (and to keep her from hitchhiking back to the states!). She said if they bought her a horse, she would stay put. When she met Bandido, it was clear that a higher power brought them together. He wasn't the ideal horse to purchase, since he was sick with a kidney infection and needed a lot of love and care, but mom wanted him and could tell right away that she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Bandido had been worked hard and not well-taken care of. Mom was heart sick about leaving her friends in California, and thought nothing would make her happy again. But she was wrong...Mom and Bandido were soul mates, and she soon realized she was exactly where she was meant to be.

Bandido needed daily care, and even extra attention with medication and it took him months to ride him. But, mom was lucky enough to find a mentor and specialist in horsemanship in a friend named Paco...and he taught her how to care for Bandido. She committed (and rejoiced!) in visiting Bandido daily...you couldn't have kept her away. She has always said that you could see it in his big brown eyes...he was so grateful for her help, and she could feel their connection. Once he was healthy, mom began riding him, and went on to win rodeo queen and be a part of wonderful local festivities with Bandido...including the Fiesta de la Vendimia Del Sherry in Jerz, Spain in 1972, which was a great honor since she was not from Spain. Typically only the locals were invited to participate in this "stomping of the grapes" fiesta, but mom and Bandido were included.

The stories I've heard over and over since as long as I can remember are about Bandido's hilarious personality. Apparently, he was a jokester, and loved being mischievious. He would break through fences to steal watermelons out of the neighbor's yard, grab the water hose with his lips and spray people just for fun, and shlosh the water in his trough just to splash his barn-mates. He mastered opening all sorts of gates, fences, barn doors and rope ties, and ultimately was no longer allowed to sleep on the Navy base after he let the fighting bulls lose one night...which resulted in people on the streets jumping in dumpsters to stay alive! He was a special horse, and more than anything...he reminded my mom that life was mostly good and fun and happy, and to me, he was a huge part of who she is today. I so wish I could have met him!

Anyway, mom and I were talking about Bandido recently, and I said..."Hey, we should write a children's book about Bandido! His stories are perfect, and so fun and the reason you two met was so intentional. There's a story there!" So...that's what we're doing. We spent the weekend in the wine country drinking, eating and writing...we began the process by writing down the complete story/facts of how mom and Bandido met and all of the funny stories he gifted her with. And, now I'll begin the creative process by trying to turn that fun whimsical horse's spirit into a book for children. I've never written a book, and have no idea what I"m doing, but we'll see where it goes...and I'll keep you posted!

Kipper's birthday
Kipper has been planning this "epic" trip to Canyonlands National Park all year, and I have to admit...I was skeptical to go camping in October in a place with no running water, miles away from civilization, off a trail you can only drive on if you have 4WD and rock sliders. But, I am SO glad he convinced us to go because it ended up being a trip of a lifetime! If you haven't been to Canyonlands NP, start planning your trip now...it should be on your bucket list for sure. It was some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. We were lucky enough to have Tim Nakari (and his sweet family) plan our daily schedules, hikes and trails...so we mostly just followed he and his family (and a few other new friends) and enjoyed the views. We started at the Canyonlands Visitor's Center and let the kids stamp their national park passports and pick up some maps. Then, we headed up for a short hike called "Cave Spring." It was so kid-friendly and had fun little sections with ladders and rocks to climb, and the only way you knew you were going the right way, was by following the stacked rocks...which the boys thought was "sooooo coooolll!"

We stopped at Newspaper Rock to see the amazing graphics from ancient times still on the rocks today!

Then, we headed up the 4x4 trail to find our campsites...which to our very pleasant surprise was one of the most amazing campsites we had ever seen. There are four sites, all of which have an area for your car, picnic tables, rock caves and canyons to pitch your tent. The kids literally sat there for a few moments when they saw the caves with their jaws dropped...they were in shock that we were there, and their parents were going to let them crawl around in caves for three days. It was like Christmas in October for them. The campsites were called "Devil's Kitchen," and #4 was probably the most open, unique space to camp. You could have fit four tents easily, with a huge camping kitchen area...these sites are huge.

We probably could have just hung out there there entire weekend but we did end up going for a couple more hikes. One was right out our front door...through one of the caves...and although we didn't know exactly where we were going, and the hike included a lot of crazy moves like crawling on all fours and jumping from one rock slab to another over huge rock cracks...it was the perfect combination of fun adventure with a tiny splash of life threatening. Perfect! It was almost getting dark, and we realized we didn't have any water or snacks, had eight kids and eight adults with us, and just as we were starting to panic...we found our way. It was so fun!

The second day, after breakfast, we headed out for a big hike. We had no idea how amazing the terrain ahead of us was...and we literally spent the day in aughh. I said the words, "this is amazing" about 200 times, and Owen and Bodhi felt like we were in Disneyland. I could have told them that is where we were...and they would have believed me, no question. This trail had huge rock formations to climb over using wooden ladders, rock ladders and sometimes just our own strength; there were huge caves to walk through, climb through and maneuver through; there were long skinny tunnels between huge mountainous rocks you had to squeeze through, and a wide flat trail up to the look-out point...which resulted in the most spectacular view I have ever seen. The panoramic feature on my new iphone 5 has never come in so handy.

Our trip was four days, and we didn't want to leave...but one thing did call our name. A shower! On our way out of town, we stopped in Moab for a $6 shower at a camp ground, and soap and water never felt so good! Canyonlands National Park is truly a unique adventure, and you must be prepared before you venture out there...but it has a piece of our hearts now and we hope to create many more memories there in the future!

We came home to the beginning of the holiday season in full bloom! Pumpkins everywhere - pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin parties. Love it. Here are our pumpkins from this year. After we carved them, the squirrels ate them the next day...so I'm glad I took a picture!

I am not one of those people who gets annoyed at the holiday festivities. I love that Target has their Christmas stuff out the day after Halloween, and I could listen to Christmas music from October through December every year. I begin making my Thanksgiving menu a month before the holiday, and I Christmas-shop all year long! Several people have made comments to me recently about how annoying it is that stores are already indulging in the Christmas spirit...and I never know how to respond to those comments because I can't get enough of it. There are so many difficult things about life...and lately in our community we have seen them first-hand, but holiday cheer is not one of them. I am grateful for it, and welcome it with open arms.

I think we found a church...

We have been church-shopping for about two years, and recently we found a place that feels like a pretty good fit for our family. We have been wanting to find a place to go weekly that reminds us about what is really important in life, and allows us to take a minute and be consciously grateful for all of our wonderful blessings. Cornerstone church in Boulder is a non-denominational Christian church, and feels like a great place for us to do that. The kids love the children's church, the music is great and the message is intelligent, open-minded and welcoming and they do a lot of community outreach and volunteer work, which I love and want our kids to be a part of...so it's been a good fit for us!

Owen

Owen is loving kindergarten, and is thriving with the consistent schedule. Lately he has been coming home and setting up a mock classroom in our living room, and playing school. When I was little, playing "school" was one of my favorite games, and I did it every single day. I remember using my Granny's carbon paper (this was high-tech back then) to make multiple worksheets for my "students," and playing for hours - teaching lessons, grading papers. Granny told me once that you could always tell if I had a nice teacher or a mean teacher that year, based on the teacher I pretended to be when I played school. Well, I can see that in Owen now. I can tell that his teacher is really patient, kind and never yells or gets upset because he has been that way to his "student" (Bodhi) when they play. I love listening to him from the other room because I learn so much about what he is learning at school.

Owen loves Ninjago (pretty much anything ninja), dinosaurs (or any lizard, snake, bat, etc) and learning about them, books, creating his own story books with words and illustrations, space, science projects and his favorite past time is cutting cardboard to build things. (dinosaurs, superhero costumes, forts, rockets, etc) He literally asks us for extra to-go boxes at restaurants so he can take them home and build something out of them. He's learning to read, sounding out words to write, and is starting to understand the basics of Math. It's amazing how much they are capable of at this age, they really are little sponges. He's been in a "rocket-building class" after school, and loves it. He finished his season of soccer and coach-pitch baseball last month, and just started basketball. He is also doing a weekly class in Jui-Jitsu. He loves that one because he thinks it's like "ninja-training."

Coach-pitch baseball 2012 - He got his first trophy!

He's a great big brother, and Bodhi adores him. He is a cuddle-bug and still loves to go to bed at 8pm sharp. But, he's a lark...he wakes up at 6:30 am every morning. He grabs himself a breakfast bar, and turns on Netflix until the rest of us get up...so it works out just fine!

Bodhi

Bodhi switched preschools because we didn't feel like his new school included enough creativity and social intention with their curriculum. It was a little more like daycare than preschool, so now he is attending the same wonderful preschool Owen went to prior to kindergarten. Although it is five more minutes down the road, it's the perfect fit for him, and we're so glad we could get him in there. He even has the same teachers Owen had, so they welcomed him and it is familiar territory for him. His transition has been seamless and he's already having so much fun there.

Bodhi is in one of the cutest stages he's ever been in. Or maybe all of his stages have been this cute, and I just keep thinking it gets cuter. I don't know, but he is feisty, funny, cuddly and smart! He still has that little raspy voice, and now he has a lisp...which is ADORABLE!

Bodhi loves Power Rangers, Batman (and all things Batman), pretending he is saving the "princess" (mom), riding his bike, walking around our house in his ski boots, building legos with Dad and wrestling with anyone who will participate. He still prefers waffles to any other food, and would eat dessert or candy for every meal if I would let him. He played soccer last month, and tried t-ball (because Owen was doing it), but at game four, he laid down on the grass face-down and said, "I hate t-ball, I want a snack!" So, we opted out for the rest of the season. It's either not his game, or he's too young to care yet. ;)

Soccer 2012 - The blonde bomber!

Owen and Bodhi share a room, and Bodhi loves going to bed now too. We must always sing the Moon Song before he falls asleep, and he would prefer that you tickle his back for a couple of minutes, and he likes to get regular kisses, butterfly kisses and Eskimo kisses, then more regular kisses first, but he's out like a light after that!

Recent funny stuff from Owen & Bodhi...

I was listening to Owen and Bodhi talk in the car while we were driving somewhere, and Bodhi looked over and saw the Denver city skyline on the horizon. He asked Owen, "what is that?" Owen said with full confidence, "Oh, that is New York City."

Bodhi is trying to use catch phrases, but to our delight...he usually scrambles the words a bit, and it's pretty cute. Here are a couple from this week...

"That is a lookin' funny tree over there!"

"Eeny meeny moe miney moe, catch a tiger, eat his toe."

We recently bought that cd "Kidz Bop," which includes recordings of the top 20 pop songs...but kids sing them, and they clean up the lyrics. Well, Owen loves it, and his favorite song is "Call Me Maybe," and the Star Ships song by Nicki Minaj...I catch him singing them all of the time. Cracks me up!

Bodhi's words for...

Popcorn - pop moan

Terrible - Tow-a-bull

Sword - Sode

Chocolate Almond Milk - Toclet O-mond Melk

Every morning he asks for a "waffle wif butta and su-up on it"

We'll be coming to Texas for about a week for Christmas, and we plan to make it a road-trip again. We can't wait to see everyone, and celebrate this fabulous time of year with you. See you soon!