Balloon Fiesta 2013

As much as I sometimes dislike the "culture"/lack thereof here in Albuquerque, I just really really like living in this city.  One of the reasons is Balloon Fiesta!  I know that many locals are SO OVER it and can barely bring themselves to even acknowledge it.  I hear my friends who have lived here forever complain about the traffic it brings, the awful tourists, and how much they really don't care if they don't go again for 10 more years.  Maybe I will be at that point someday, but for now, I'm 4 years in, and I love it more every year.

I dragged the family to an early morning mass ascension.  It. Was. Perfect.  You're welcome.  Now that I have an "in" with one of the balloon pilots (Harriet's former kindergarten teacher, who has become a friend of sorts,) I got the insider info that "Sunday's mass ascension will probably be the best one.  You should aim for that one."  THANK and YOU!  My number of morning ascension attempts that have been thwarted by weather or made miserable by temperatures are getting to be too many to convince others to keep going with me.

Here are the highlights:

This was the ABQ aloft at the school.  As you can see - no balloon attached to the basket.  It was way too windy that morning.  But, Mrs. Johnson was determined to make it fun anyway and let all the kids have a turn climbing in the basket with her.  

Dawn Patrol = they send up about a dozen balloons just before dawn when it is still super dark.  Seeing the balloons glow in the sky is kind of awesome.  Sometimes the pilots fire their burners in sync and you can get a pic like this.  

Dawn is always a little cold in October...

But, if that ABQ sun comes out and the wind dies down, you are golden.

I'm not kidding.  The weather was perfect for balloon take off.  You know it's good when all the special shapes launch without a problem. 

There's Mrs. J's balloon all blown up!

This hummingbird was a cool new addition I hadn't seen before.  

Darth V.  So cool.

Well, anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed mass ascension and then went back for a glow that wasn't ruined by weather either.  David got hit by the car that week, so when the glow came around, he wasn't up for walking or driving.  Good thing I can drive and carry a chair!  No one got out of it.  We took Aunt Christine too, for her birthday, since she's a lucky duck and now that she lives in the 505, her birthday always falls during balloon fiesta.  How cool is it that your birthday balloons are 600 hot air balloons every morning and your birthday candles are fireworks every night for a whole week?!

They rope off the Darth Vader Balloon.  Otherwise, too many kids would trample themselves trying to get to it and the balloon crew wouldn't be able to keep the balloon safe.  Grace was so excited to get close to it.  This is the first year we've been able to track it down and get right up to it.

Angry Birds

Cinderella Carriage

The ascension was kind of teary-eyed for me.  When we had talked about putting Velvet down, we were originally aiming for Balloon Fiesta week because the kids would have more time home from school.  I told David I didn't want to do that because then every time I saw a hot air balloon I would think of Velvet.  He said "what's wrong with that?"  Well, even though she had died 2 weeks earlier, I still thought of Velvet as I saw the glowing balloons rise into the dark morning sky.  I probably will think of her every time I see a balloon.

Diary of a Cyclist's Wife... man + bike vs. car = no bueno

I know, I know, this particular topic has been hashed and re-hashed and told and re-told so many times by now, I'm not even sure I can accurately re-tell it now.  But, it's definitely one for the family book.  I am so far behind on the blog.  I want to try to catch up before we leave for Thanksgiving, along with finish sewing the Christmas tree skirt (WHY do I sew?!), clean my house top to bottom, clean carpets, finish the book for book club, and pack.   Truthfully, I'll be lucky if I have time to pack.  But, these are my lofty goals.

On October 8th, I got the phone call (not THE phone call, thankfully) that I have been expecting and dreading since David got into serious cycling.  He gets hurt often on the mountain bike too, so that's not always the safest bet either.  But, when your husband and father of your children rides his skinny little bike through Albuquerque traffic 40 miles per day during rush hour, it's only a matter of time before your world collides with that of an idiot.  To say that the 22 year old girl who hit him was an idiot, may not be fair.  But, I could call her worse than that too.  Let's just say, one of the things I am grateful for is that I never had to meet her, especially that day.

The kids and I were home.  We would have otherwise still been at guitar lessons, but they had been canceled that day.   In fact, we were so grateful for the peaceful afternoon.  They came home with brand new books from the school book orders and quietly enjoyed them over Oreo cookies and apples.  It was such a rare moment of peace during the week, I actually took a picture:

Of course, peace never lasts.  We were finishing up dinner.  They often want or need to eat before Dad rolls in, so our dinner prayer OFTEN includes "please bless Daddy that he will be safe on his bike and get home soon."  That day was no different.  I had been watching him commute home on my phone GPS.  I had checked right before the phone rang to see where he was.  I knew he was coming up the hill in the petroglyphs and figured he had about 10 minutes to be home.  So, when I saw his caller ID on the phone, I knew it wasn't good.  I hoped it was just a really bad flat tire that he couldn't fix, but dreaded the worst.

I answered the phone with "are you ok?!"  The fact that his voice answered the question was comforting.  At least he wasn't dead.  He was dazed and confused though.  He blearily told me that "uh, I was just hit by a car that took off, but no worries, I'll ride home and be home soon - after I talk to the police."  Sure, I'll just sit home and wait for a delirious man to ride his wrecked bike home. not!  The kids and I jumped in the car faster than we ever have.  He hadn't even told me exactly where he was, but since I had just seen him on the GPS, I knew he would be somewhere along road by the school and, of course, could easily spot him by the flashing police, ambulance, and fire truck lights.

It was very relieving to see that he was standing on the corner when we pulled up.  He wasn't lying on a stretcher or in the middle of the road.  He was really lucky.  We were really lucky.  He said he felt like the prayers of the kids protected him that day.  He had less road rash than he does on any usual ride that includes a tumble of some sort.  He had one tiny scrape on his elbow and a bruise on his hip.    His helmet was smashed flat on the back.  It's hard to see from the pic, but so grateful this wasn't his skull.  It is now hanging on his "helmet wall of shame."  It's the 3rd one he has with a dent big enough to kill a person.  WEAR YOUR HELMET!!!

This?  This is it?!  At least when you get hit by a car you want to have something to show your friends. This was almost embarrassing.  

After thinking about it for a while, he figures that the car hit him near the back quarter panel as it turned into him and he slid across the trunk and landed on his hip and back.  No road rash because he didn't slide on the road.  He had a backpack on, full of winter riding clothes, from the early morning ride to work.  His bike, although scraped up with a few bruises, wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.  The police begged him to go to the hospital in an ambulance to be checked out, but at that point, we didn't know if they had truly caught the woman, or if she was insured.  We didn't want to have to pay for an unnecessary ambulance ride, so I promised them that I would take him.

He plugged in his bike computer later and it showed that he had been going 20.4 mph when she hit him.  That means she was going at least 20, probably 25.  She was trying to beat him and turn right around a corner in front of him as he was going straight through an intersection.  Getting hit by a car going 20-25 should have left more damage than it did.  We're super grateful it didn't.

I did take him to the ER to get checked out.  He had a slight concussion (which I already knew because of how loopy he was.  He was saying crazy things and making no sense,)  but other than that -  nothing really major wrong with him.  The next day, he woke up feeling like he had been, well, hit by a car.  He could barely work and came home after doing essential (like they would lose many millions of dollars otherwise) stuff.  He couldn't turn his head for a few days, had some serious whiplash, and could barely walk around, but that was the worst of it.

We were really worried that the woman who hit him was uninsured.  She did hit and run and 1/3 of NM drivers are not insured.  The only reason we found her, was because a couple of good samaritans stopped to help.  The couple in the car behind her, saw her hit him and take off.  The wife hopped out to help David and the husband chased down the runaway car.  He called the police and reported her license plate as he followed her.  It turns out she did have insurance and the insurance ended up being extremely helpful, and generous (no doubt, to avoid a lawsuit) in settling the claim.  They paid for the ER visit, replaced the bike and helmet, and sent him home with a few extra bucks in his wallet.

We are so thankful for this couple who took time out of their busy day to stop and help us.  I know first-hand, what kind of trouble and drama you can get yourself into when trying to help someone in need (insert my story of calling the police to rescue my neighbor whose husband was trying to harm her.) I know that at minimum, they generously gave up the early part of their evening on the way home from work to track down the driver, make police reports and stay with David until everything was over.  It gave me hope that, for us at least, for every idiot out there, there is a good person to keep the balance.   True, this young driver couldn't have cared less about David and thoughtlessly ran into him and left him lying in the road, but there were two others who did care (and actually a 3rd too who stopped.)  Without them, we would have had to pay for the ER visit ourselves and pay to have David's bike fixed and/or replaced.

To sum up:  WATCH THE ROAD!  WEAR YOUR HELMET!  Share the road.  Stop to help others.  Pray for protection.  Be grateful.  Pay your insurance bills.

David finally decided on the bike that will be his new best friend for the next several years (sadly, he had to turn in his Specialized to the insurance company.)

P.S. He hasn't ridden to work since the hit.  He got a bus pass and has been riding it like a teenager without a license.  I'm sure he'll ride again to work some day, but darkness and colder weather are great excuses to take a break from the NM driving statistics.

Kid Update Fall 2013

Oh yeah, the reason for the blog... the kids.

The kids have had quite a back-to-school season.  Here are some highlights:

Grace (aka bat girl) has grown like 2.5 inches since last year and had lost like 2 pounds or something.  I can't remember the exact numbers from her check up, but she just gets taller and skinnier.  She strived all summer to eat enough to be allowed out of her booster seat in the car.  60 pounds was the goal (minimum to ride without a booster, yes, even if you are TEN YEARS OLD.)  She finally hit exactly 60 pounds in September.  We headed to the doctor last week for some allergies and she had lost some weight, but I told her I won't make her pull out the seat.  She dreaded having to ride in a car seat to 5th grade.  I mean come on, that is pretty degrading.  Thankfully, she won't have to.  She's just a super skinny kid with LEGS that never end.  She never has hope of fitting into the waists of her slim and cinched jeans, but we just had to buy a whole new set because the legs, were, again, 2 inches too short when the fall weather hit.

Oh, and that LONG BLOND hair... I made her let me blow it out and brush it straight for school pictures.  It never looks this nice, so we had to take a picture.  It's so gorgeous, I'm sure the other girls just cry their eyes out that she does nothing with it.

Grace, as a 5th grader, is truly trying to rule the school.  She just turned in her application to run for student council president.  I think her outgoing personality is so great.  I wish I had a tenth of it when I was her age.  Vote for Grace!

This fall, she participated in her second, ever, karate tournament, and really the first one since she has gotten really good.  She competed in forms and did her Leopard Form.  She placed 4th out of quite a good group of kids.  She was really hoping for 1, 2 or 3 as those had trophies for prizes, but she did get a medal.  I was super proud of her.  She has really come a long way in karate and is moving up the belts faster all the time.  She hopes to test for her blue sash soon, earn her first weapon (a wooden staff), and has finally gotten to the point that she loves it so much and is good enough that she realizes how important class and practice are.  It used to be that she would try to come up with excuses to not go to class - it is hard to do 90 minutes of intense workout after a long day at school.  Now, if I suggest it (because I really don't want to go that night,) she will not hear of missing.  We go no matter what.

She is also getting better and better at guitar.  We upped her to an hour lesson this fall after doing 30 minutes since she started 3 years ago.  The hour lesson is making a world of difference, as is having the two guitars.  She is much more diligent about practicing and doesn't whine as much about having to work hard at it.  She is starting to welcome more challenges.

Grace, as always, is a great student.  This year though, I feel like she has finally relegated herself to prove her intelligence through the quality of her work.  (This is something Mr. E was trying to teach her last year - to show her greatness and stretch herself, not just know she was great and leave it at that.)  She has always been wicked smart, but tends to be a more lazy student.  She knows she doesn't have to try hard to get anything, so she doesn't try hard much at all.  Her handwriting has been atrocious, her attention to detail and spelling has been lacking.  Her behavior in class is sometimes questionable, as she loves to talk out of turn and over people and act like she owns the place.  But, her first report card this fall was all 4's and E's.  (4 is the highest mark you can get for grades and E is for Excellent in citizenship.)  I don't think she's had all 4's and E's since maybe 1st grade, if ever.  She is still bored with classwork, but is doing a better job of proving herself and being diligent and careful about her work.
I love this kid.  She is just the coolest kid ever.

Harriet.  Wow, Harriet.  She has done a lot of growing and stretching this year.  She suffers from anxiety and a host of other "worries" and hesitations which make it hard for her to make good friends and also make it hard for the two of us to get along on a daily basis.  With the help of a therapist and some painful forced patience on my part, I think we are making progress.  Her well kept secret is that she is truly the sweetest child on the planet and will melt your heart in 1000 ways if you let her, and if she wants you to see it.  Her teacher has also been really understanding and has helped her to get over some of her hang-ups about life.  About a month into school, she finally came home one day and said "I love school!  I can't wait to go back tomorrow!"  That was music to my ears after a very rocky start to the year.  Still... it's an ongoing process that I am sure will have more ups and downs.  We are starting to have more ups than downs which makes me think we are doing the right things.

Physically, she is doing great and is growing just as she should.  She's an aggressive little cyclist and loves going out with her dad and can't wait for ski season.  Her Irish dance class just started up again which she also enjoys.  Her teeth are a bit of a worry.  Those missing top two have yet to show their colors.  We fear braces are in her near future.  I've been avoiding that call to the ortho to find out our true fate.  But, I will probably make it soon so that we can plan and don't have to choose between braces and college!

Harriet is an awesome little student.  She doesn't have the computer brain that Grace and David have (I am so jealous of both of them), but she is extremely intelligent.  She is very sensitive and picks up on things that no one else even thinks of, including Grace.  It can be a curse for her though.  She lets the tiniest out-of-place detail bug her to death when most kids just move on right past it without noticing.  She is an advanced reader and LOVES math.  She also loves art and library and practically skips to school on those days.  She tells everyone she meets that math is her favorite in school.  I think she likes how much sense it makes.  Math follows rules, which is important to her (rule following in general.)  Sometimes, the common core teachings veil the rules a little bit, so things aren't as clear cut (case-in-point... homework tonight!!!), but once she figures out how to blow past that, she sees everything.  2nd grade is not using 4's much this year on their grading scale, so her report card was straight 3's, which is doing as well as possible at this point in the year.  If I could get rid of anything at school it would be the grading system, which makes no sense to me or the kids.  It really doesn't measure anything accurately or with relevance to anything else.  2nd grade at our school, is also the heaviest on homework of any grade.  Harriet has tons of work every night and works very hard to get it all done while Grace organizes her pokemon cards.  It's so unfair.  But, maybe it's a good thing - it's a really transitional year and by the end of it, they need to be really proficient and smooth in everything or the rest of elementary is a big struggle.  Still, 7 year olds are really on the baby end of things to have so much on their plates.  It's a lot of pressure.

She also took up the guitar this fall with our beloved teacher, DJ.  She, like Grace, helped pay for her own guitar and could not wait for her first lesson.

She loves playing and loves her lessons.  She is a much more diligent music student when it comes to practicing than Grace has been.  (Although, she has lost interest in practicing piano since starting guitar... the novelty of it is more fun, I'm sure.)  She continues to play both instruments and really is getting better by the week at both.  She is really excited to get a real piano this month; her great grandma is sending a family antique to her as a gift.  She has been asking for a real piano all year.

 Harriet is also becoming quite the hostess.  She organized this tea party for Grace and Shadow and some stuffed animals.  Velvet was still here but couldn't make it upstairs for it.

Then, the next week, she formally invited her friend, Gilli, to come to a play-date tea party with her dolls after school one day.  She made very careful plans... everything from preparations to a party agenda to the prepared thank you note.  This girl is a detail-oriented planner!

That's probably it about the kids for this post.  There's really no good place to stop as there is always something going on.  But hopefully that's a good update for the grandmas and the aunts!

Labor Day and Sean's Baptism

It's been over a week since we said good-bye to Velvet, so I guess the blog will go back to regularly scheduled posting.  I don't think I have it in me to make any more Velvet posts right now.  Maybe later.  I still have some video I need to process and put up.

I've been waiting for Melissa Mitchell Barnhisel! (ahem) to make her post about Sean's baptism first, but who knows when she will catch up, so I guess I'll go first.  Hers will be way different from mine anyway since she's the mom of the baptism boy.

We were home from Salt Lake for about 2.5 weeks before we headed back up for Labor Day.  This time, we left the puppies with Grandma and Grandpa and went without them for a quick trip.  We headed up on Wednesday afternoon, slept in Farmington (holy nice Marriott in Farmington, NM! - too bad we only stayed there for 7 hours), and then drove the rest of the way on Thursday so that David could make the Utah football game.  He wasn't complaining about the trip too much when he realized he could go to that game with Jared.   He was pretty stoked to go to the stripe-out the stadium event.  Looks like the fans did a pretty good job of it.

Friday, I drove David and Brian up to the top of Guardsman's Pass and dropped them off with their bikes.  It was a gorgeous drive up Big Cottonwood canyon, but I still had the sinus infection from the previous trip and I thought for sure that my head/ears would explode before I got back to the bottom of the canyon.  Altitude air pressure changes are real!
They had a good ride and eventually made it back to Salt Lake.

The rest of us just spent some good cousin and Grandma time.  Oh, and miss Kate got a new kitten the week before.  How VERY lucky for us that we got to be there when the little thing was still tiny and ultra cute.  Harriet about had a heart-attack over the cuteness.  I barely escaped having to get her a kitten by the skin of my teeth.  I have to admit, there are very few things on the planet as cute and fun as a kitten, especially, an orange kitten named SUNFLOWERS (yes, the s on the end is important!)

Kate was such a good cousin and did a really good job of sharing her brand new kitty.  I couldn't believe how much time she gave up to Harriet so that Harriet could hold and play with her.  

Grace and Sean... always bonding...

Grandma Primmer and "baby" Sloan.  Yo, Jess, that baby is like a toddler!!

 The little girls really love their "mo-Deb"

 perfection on the cuteness scale

the girls tried to drown baby cousin in the hot tub, but he floated

Saturday was baptism day.  We got everyone dressed up and looking their best.

Since Melissa had done a lot for Grace's baptism, we returned the favor and the girls did a lot of the program in the chapel before the baptism.  Grace played the primary song "When I am Baptized" on her acoustic guitar for the musical number.  She learned it just for Sean and did such a great job playing it.  Harriet gave an amazing talk on baptism. The talk itself was just something I wrote for her to give, but the amazing part was how great she was at reading it and speaking in front of the entire chapel.  I could not believe how brave she was or how well she could read it without hesitating or stumbling over words.  There are few times I have been that proud of her.  This was also at a time when she was struggling with serious anxiety and self doubt.  No one could believe it that she just got up and read it flawlessly with a strong voice.

Sean was a total star.  He was also very worried about the whole thing - getting in the water, getting dunked, etc.  But, when it came time, he just got in the water and was ready to go under before it was even quite time for the dunking.  He was so awesome and it was cool to see him so happy and proud of himself.  David ended up being the lucky uncle who was chosen to do the baptism.  I know it wasn't ideal, but I know he was flattered to be asked and to be trusted by Sean.

For me, the really cool thing was to be with my whole family.  It is getting rarer for all of us to be together.  Having both my parents, all my living grandparents, all my sisters and all the cousins together at once is just so nice.  My family never fails when it comes to supporting each other, no matter the situation.  I wish my dad hadn't driven away so quickly before we had a chance to take a picture outside of the church.  But, we have a bad track record of getting full family photos to turn out anyway.

I love Melissa and her family to death, and I'm so glad she let us be such a big part of Sean's baptism.  It's hard to live so far away from them sometimes, but times like these almost make up for it.