Spring is Finally Here!

After winter threw one last snow storm at us last week, spring seems like it finally "sprung" around here.  Just in time too, since Easter dresses are all short sleeved and lightweight!  I always wonder what the people who live in North Dakota do when there's still a foot of snow and their Easter dresses are all sleeveless!  Here's Paige in her outfit -she still refuses to wear an actual dress, but I thought she still looked nice in her skirt and shirt!  (Jake apparently thought so too!)

Just before Easter, the boys at church had another Pinewood Derby with their dads.  This time Garrett not only won his age division, but the overall trophy as well!  That was one fast block of wood!

This Easter was a little different for us.  Garrett and Dave had the chance to go to Tucumcari with some friends and hunt for turkeys, so they missed Easter with us.  Paige liked having a "girl's weekend", and the boys had a blast!  Despite having a few turkeys come near, Garrett wasn't able to shoot one.  He had lots of fun, though, and I think he learned a lot about patience and what hunting is like. Maybe next time!

Spring Break

Since I blinked again and now it's March (nearly April!), I'll just skip to our Spring Break fun!  My mom and I decided to go visit my brother's family in Phoenix, where a balmy 80 degrees sounded much nicer than the 2 inches of snow on the ground in Albuquerque.  We were not disappointed!

There was playing at the park next to their house....

After the park, we went to Tina's parents' house and enjoyed a fire pit and the first S'mores of the season!  While the adults enjoyed the fire, the kids ran amok in the driveway, mostly chasing each other and screaming in mock terror.  They discovered a storehouse of Halloween masks that delighted them even more.  When the sugar rush wore off, they finally went to sleep!

The next day, Jeff finished setting up the newest Schuler attraction - a backyard zipline!  The kids spent hours streaking through the backyard.  And despite what America's Funniest Videos has taught us, no one even got hurt!  (Not even when Grammie tried it!) 

The next day we toured the Ostrich Festival, a Chandler attraction we always discuss but have never actually seen.  It was mostly a small state fair, I guess.  We never made it past the midway, because Tina had bought wristbands for the kids to ride unlimited rides.  My reluctant, safety-loving children were apparently under the influence of their more dare-devil cousins, because they both suprised me with their bravery!  They started off small, with the carousel and the Fun Slide....

 Then they worked themselves up to the Fun House and a roller coaster.  Paige stood as tall as possible to squeak through the 52" height requirement for the coaster, and loved every bit of it!  She wanted to go again, but the 30 minute line just wasn't worth the 30 second ride!  They both loved the swings, and Garrett even managed to get his hands in the air!  Wow!  Whose kids are those?

After we returned from Phoenix, we picked up the newest member of our household....

 Jake is a Golden Retriever/Great Pyrenees mix and is about 1 1/2 years old.  A fellow teacher inherited him when her daughter brought him home from college.  He had been abandoned at a shelter in Lubbock, and her daughter couldn't bear to leave him there.  So, we ended up bringing Sadie to meet him, and they got along great!

 The kids absolutely love him, and he is the biggest baby you'll ever meet! (Literally, he weighs at least 100 pounds!)  He wants to cuddle and get in your lap, or grovel at your feet.  So far he's been a fantastic dog, with my running shoes being the only real casualty of his still-a-puppy chewing habits.  Oh well, I needed a new pair anyway....

We are settling into a "new normal" with the added chaos of another dog who is still mostly a puppy.  I've been taking them on 2 walks a day, and we've bought stock in chew toys.  But, one look at his big puppy dog eyes, and we all know he's worth it!  Sadie even likes him, or at least tolerates his crazy antics, safe in the knowledge that she is still the queen of the house. If dogs could roll their eyes, I could see her doing just that when Jake chases his tail for the hundredth time or slams into a wall while chasing his ball.  But I've caught her licking his face and waiting for him to catch up, so I think she's smitten too! 

Overall, our spring break was a blessed success!  God has surrounded us with great family, good memories, and sweet animals to brighten our days.  Now we're just hoping He will bless us with beautiful spring weather too! 

Catching Up

So, another two months have flown by in the blink of an eye.  In lieu of detailed explanations of what has happened, I'll give you the shortened list:

-Two cars have been sold, two cars have been purchased.  Though this may sound crazy, this was a planned move to save some money on car payments.  (And since it ended with a nice, nearly new car for me, I'm pretty happy about it!) 

-Garrett took and passed a hunter safety course and earned his birthday present, a .22 rifle.  To say he was excited would be a major understatement.

-Sadie hit an all-time low, even for her.  She is famous for getting into anything edible while we are gone, which prompts lots of creative food hiding in our house.  Apparently she got tired of not having any good snacks and decided to rip into a half bag of flour.

She tried to blame it on the cat, of course.  But we don't own a cat, and the evidence was definitely against her....

-We visited Dave's parents for Thanksgiving, and Garrett got to shoot his new gun.  I'm not sure who was more excited, Garrett or his Grandpa!  They had a great time and he decided maybe he'd like to be in the Olympics.  Something to aim for anyway....

-Paige enjoyed her walk to the river by Grandma's house.  The river is beautiful any time of year!

-This weekend was Garrett's 9th birthday, so we had his birthday party at The Archery Shoppe.  They are an amazing business that is actually brave enough to give seven boys aged eight and nine weapons and then encourage them to fire!  The boys had full use of the range, and they had a blast!  After learning to aim at regular targets, they spiced it up a little and tried to take down a T-Rex covered in balloons.  As you can see, the T-Rex came out with quite a few holes, but one remaining balloon.

-We spent yesterday searching the Jemez mountains for the perfect Christmas tree.  It took us a few hours, but we finally found a winner!

-And after all the tromping through the snow, we were all ready for a nap!

After all that catching up, I'm ready for a nap too!  Merry Christmas!

Fair Time!

Well, if I thought July went fast, it was nothing compared to how quickly August and September have flown by!  We are settled into a new school year, and loving it.  Paige adores her Pre-First class, and Garrett is having fun in third grade (although not enjoying the homework so much!)  After a pretty steep learning curve, I feel confident in my new role as a math and social studies teacher only.  I'm enjoying the easier lesson planning, and getting to start fresh with a new class at lunchtime is really nice! 


In other news, both Garrett and Paige entered Legos into the State Fair Creative Arts competition.  Garrett has been planning this for a long time, but Paige decided at the last minute to submit something too.  As Murphy's Law would predict, Paige won 2nd place in her category, while Garrett got a participation ribbon.  Thankfully, Garrett seemed totally unconcerned about that and is happy for his little sister's success!  (And, he helped her plan it out, so some of the kudos really do go to him!)  Here are the Lego creators:

 As we wandered the State Fair, we were drawn into the face painting booth.  Paige has always dearly wanted to get her face painted, but she is afraid of the ladies who do it, because they dress like clowns.  This year she finally talked herself into doing it, though we did have to choose the woman with less makeup on!  And in her typical tomboy fashion, Paige chose to have a snake on her cheek:

Up to this point, our children did not know that a Midway even existed at our State Fair.  We have steered clear of the rides and games on purpose.  This year, however, we told them they could pick ONE ride to try.  They still haven't laid eyes on the Midway, however, because we came across this before we got there:

They got into these gigantic plastic bubbles and they could roll around in a big pool of water.  They had an absolute blast!  So we are safe from the lures of the Midway for another year.  How long can we hold out?

September's highlights also include me taking a trip to see my friend Carissa in Arkansas.  We had a great time shopping, going to her county fair, and just hanging out.  Dave also just returned from a week long hunting trip at Mt. Taylor.  Although he wasn't able to kill an elk, he had a wonderful time trying! He enjoyed spending some time with his dad and seeing the beauty of God's creation. I'm both disappointed for him and relieved that I don't have to figure out what to do with a ton of elk meat! :) 

Other than that, our lives have just been their normal, chaotic, joyful selves.  God has given us so much to be thankful for, and we are doing our best to serve Him daily.  Hopefully I can manage to post again before two more months fly by.  If not, I guess I'll just wish you a Happy Thanksgiving now!

July

So, July......hmm.....yeah, I'm not really sure what happened to July.  It was the middle of June and I posted all our Alaskan adventures.  And then I fell asleep, and went swimming a few times, watched some movies and had some friends over, and suddenly it's the end of July!  How does that happen?!? 

I really can't think of much to report about July.  I didn't even take a single picture to share this month!  We pretty much lazed around the house for the first week of the month, which was nice, but also drove me slowly insane.  Then we had VBS, which was a blast! (and also a 3 hour workout each day!).  Then there was some more laziness, and a bunch of playdates with our friends.  The playdates were vital, because my children are growing weary of each other's constant company.  They start off the morning so excited to see each other.  It's like "Hey!!  I haven't played with you in 10 hours!  You're fun and exciting!"  But within 10 minutes to an hour (depending on how well they slept), they dissolve into puddles of "Don't touch that!"  "That's mine!!"  etc.  The Brysons really needed to get out of the house, so we called in every friend we could think of to help!

I also had jury duty this month and was alternately excited about and dreading the whole experience.  I needn't have worried... I got called down once for the entire 3 week period!  I was actually a little disappointed that all I got to do was drive downtown for an hour and a half, and then spend the next 3 weeks dialing their recording twice a day. 

The only other highlights of the month include Paige and I both cutting our hair short, swimming lessons for the kids, and Garrett trying out a new sport.  I think Garrett has finally mastered the art of swimming enough that I no longer worry that he would drown if he falls into water.  He may never be Michael Phelps (for which I'm glad!), but he can at least swim to the side of the pool without assistance!  Paige managed to get her face in the water, which was a big accomplishment for her. 

I was able to buy a Living Social coupon to allow Garrett to try a month's worth of Taekwondo lessons.  We went to the first class last week, and he loved it!  I was so proud of him, because he is so hesitant to try anything new, especially if other people will be watching.  But he walked right into the room and gave it his all.  His instructor said he showed good promise, especially with his kicking abilities.  Right now Garrett's convinced that this is his sport.  We'll see how he feels after a few more weeks, but I'm glad he's trying something new!

So, that about sums up our month.  I have to return to work in 10 days, and I feel completely unprepared to start the school year!  But, that's normal about this time of the summer, so I guess I'll be OK.  I have planned an entire week of fun to try to forget that school is just around the corner.  Then I guess I'll have to get serious and start working....

Alaska Adventures

**Disclaimer - This is more for my own memory purposes than for a reading audience, so I fully understand if you choose not to read everything and just browse the pictures.  But for those who really love us a lot, feel free to read the highlights of our Alaskan adventure! **

Highlights:

Day T-Minus 1
-Garrett felt that an Alaskan cruise wasn't enough adventure, so he decided to fall off the wall into the rosebushes.  This earned him 2 staples in his head, a sizeable bandage on his elbow, and numerous cuts/scrapes/bruises over the remainder of his body.  Luckily, we still had one more day before we left.  After some ibuprofen, an Icee, and several movies on the couch, he was as good as new.

Day 1- Travel to Seattle, Washington
-First airplane flight for both kids (Garrett's been, but he was only a baby).  Both LOVED it, especially the take-off.  Turbulence was met with roller-coaster yells and laughs.
-Arrived in Seattle to find that the airline had lost both the kids' suitcases.  Swimming at the hotel was thus ruled out, so we took the train into Seattle to sightsee. Luckily, the suitcases arrived around midnight.
-Were blessed to have gorgeous weather, which enabled us to see Mt. Rainier perfectly, which apparently only happens about 90 days out of the year.
-Out of hundreds of people roaming Pike's Street Market, we managed to walk right into my brother and his family.  We saw the sights together, including riding up to the top of the Space Needle, with its fabulous views of Seattle:

Day 2 -Boarding the Cruise Ship-
-After going through customs and security, we boarded the cruise ship and had a few hours to wander around and see all it had to offer.  The buffet was first, of course, but other highlights included the golf net, the video arcade, and the basketball court:

 -At 4:00 p.m. we set sail on our Alaskan cruise!  The views were beautiful as we waved Bon Voyage!

Day 3 -At Sea
-The cousins explored the ship together, favoring the golfing nets and playing shuffleboard.  Paige's favorite was the "Kid's Cafe", which featured a kid-sized buffet so they could serve themselves, and then small tables and stools so they could sit at their own height.  24-hour ice cream machines definitely were a perk too!
-My motion sickness kicked in a little, so I spent most of the day laying down, sitting down, or wishing I was laying down or sitting down.  By nightfall I had gotten my "sea legs".
-The kids also spent time at the Kid's Crew, a place for the kids to hang out and play while Mom and Dad did other things.  Paige loved it, while Garrett wasn't so sure.

Day 4-Ketchikan, Alaska

-Dave and my brother Jeff went fly fishing together.  It wasn't quite salmon spawning time yet, so Dave had to settle for rainbow trout.  He said they were beautiful, but not as big as the ones he gets on the San Juan.  Still, who could fault the scenery?

-The kids and I shopped for souvenirs, and I had to convince them not to spend everything they had at the first shop.  Here they are by our ship in their new hats and sweatshirts:

 -And by the beautiful town of Ketchikan:

 -Then we caught a bus out to Totem Bight State Park, which had some really amazing totem poles.  You can see how much bigger this one is than Paige.  There was one that was probably twice as tall as this, but I couldn't fit it into one picture!

 -There was also a native house you could go into.  The kids liked the tiny door!

 -Then we went back to town to watch the Great Alaskan Lumberjack show.  They divided the lumberjacks into 2 teams. The kids loved cheering for our team and booing the other team.  Even though they lost, we were proud of our team:

Day 5- Juneau, Alaska
-We boarded Captain Larry's purple, souped-up whale watching boat and set out on an adventure.  Captain Larry promised he would deliver amazing sights, and he did!  There was the Orca family (mom and baby pictured here),

 -The sea lions hanging out on the buoys:

 -And finally, the humpback whale mom and baby that kept swimming closer to the boat.  What an exciting morning!

 -After the boat left the port, we sailed up to Endicott Glacier.  We were amazed at how close our ship was able to get to the glacier (although Garrett was a little concerned about the big pieces of ice our ship kept hitting!)  Here's a picture from farther away:

 -And the stunning fjords around the glacier:

 -And finally, a setting sun over the water to finish out an exciting day.

Day 6 -Skagway, Alaska
-The morning got off to a rocky start, with Garrett not feeling well and Paige's hat blowing off her head and into the water the minute she stepped off the gangway.  After some breakfast for Garrett and some major cuddling and reassuring for Paige, we stepped into our next adventure: a hike and river float tour.

-Our guide, Bob, led us to the Chilkoot Trail, which was used by gold miners to travel from Canada into Alaska.  We hiked 2 miles of the trail through beautiful, lush rainforest.  (And by the way, when the website says the hike has an elevation gain of 300 feet on uneven ground, don't laugh.  They actually mean 300 feet pretty much straight up over steps, roots, and climbing rocks.  Sorry Mom and Dad!)

 -Paige was fascinated with Bob, who looked like a gold miner transported through time:

 -After we tired ourselves out climbing up the side of the mountain, the trail leveled out into a beautiful berry patch along the river.  We didn't see any bears, for which I was mostly thankful, but also a little disappointed.

 -Then we donned our rubber boots and lifejackets for the river float portion.  Garrett was nervous at first, but soon settled in and loved his front of the raft seat!  Paige kept asking when the water was going to splash all over us and seemed a little disappointed that we never got wet.

 -Every day after our adventures, we came back to our room to find towel creations left by our room steward.  Here was our favorite:

Day 7 -Prince Rupert, Canada
-We sailed most of the day, and got off the ship around dinnertime in Canada.  The town itself was not very interesting, but quite pretty.  Garrett and Ryan got to see the Canadian Mounties:

 -After that, we just walked around for a little while.  We hit the local Safeway for Cokes and candy, then sat on a big hill overlooking the water and just let the kids run and play.  I think they liked that as much as any of our fancy adventures!

Day 8 -At Sea
-By now we were getting ready to be off the boat.  As beautiful as it was, we were tired of waiting in lines and having 4 people cozied up in about 150 square feet of cabin.  There were some distractions to our day, such as a magic show and a "Pirate Parade":

 -And, just to make sure we finished our cruise on a good note, God sent a beautiful sunset to remind us of his goodness.  (Of course, Dave had to stay up until 11:00 before the sun actually set!)

Another Highlight:
-The second night we went to the big theater for a magic show.  Dave was called out of the audience to participate, which he was embarrassed about.  To make it even worse, the magician said that Dave and the other 2 "volunteers" needed to put on costumes.  They came out and put on a spoof opera about a knight, a princess, and a viking conqueror.  Guess who the princess was??  Dave -in a purple velvety dress with giant, pointy, Madonna-like boobs.  Garrett laughed his head off, and Paige kept saying "Daddy has huge boobs!!"  Needless to say, Dave was extremely relieved that there was no video or photography allowed in the theater, or that picture would definitely have made it on the blog!  He also steered clear of the theater for the rest of the cruise, until the last night, when he only agreed to go if we sat far up and he could sit in the middle where he wouldn't be called on.

-All in all, it was the family vacation of a lifetime.  We got to spend time with our family, the cousins played so well together, and the weather was beautiful the whole time.  I'm thankful to my mom and dad for setting this all up for us.  It was a great reminder of the beauty of what God has created, and the fellowship between family and friends!