Out of Africa Zoo

Last week while Chuck was out of town, Charity and I took the kids to Camp Verde (100 miles north of Phoenix) to the Out of Africa Zoo. We had a buy one get one of equal or lesser value free coupon. So, not even thinking they wouldn't give me the best deal for us, I needed two adults and one child. She gave me the child free. I told her I wanted the adult free and she said no. She was not sympathetic or nice. I was so mad! If I hadn't have driven so far and promised the kids a trip to the zoo, I would have left (I told her that too, but I don't think she cared). Looking back, what we should have done is me buy two adults (getting one free) and Charity buy the child. But I'm sure they would have given us a hard time about that too since obviously we were together. Anyway, we were not too impressed with this zoo. It was quite expensive to get in to begin with and it wasn't really conducive to walking around to view the animals. The animals were very hard to see. They always seemed to be in the very far corner of their cage. And there wasn't a lot to see and do. There were some neat shows with the animals and we got to go on a "safari" ride where we got to see the animals better and feed the giraffe and camel. So, that was fun. However, even though we were up north, it was still very hot, not much cooler than Phoenix. So, overall, it was not worth the time and money. But we did stop in north Phoenix on the way home to eat at Fajitas, which was very good. And we missed rush hour.

Cameron feeding the giraffe

a very tired Hannah

World's Human Powered Speed Challenge

I've been needing to do this post for a week! Chuck has been in Battle Mountain, Nevada for the past week for WHPSC. How the challenge works, the "motors" have 5 miles to get up to speed and their speed is measured over the last 200meters. They then have to be able to stop in .8 of a mile. An engineer at Honeywell (Raymond) designed a tricycle for the WHPSC, which he has competed in many years. But since he is not a cyclist, he wanted to use one for his "motor" to see how fast he could get his bike, the Orion, to go. So, enter in Chuck. This is something Chuck has wanted to do since he was a teenager. I can't say he jumped at the chance, making excuses like he wasn't sure he wanted to leave me for the week, there were faster "motors" than him, he might not fit in the bike (and it was close) etc,. but I could tell he really wanted to do it. After all, it is totally Chuck to want to be the motor for the fastest tricycle in the world. So, last Sunday he drove up to Battle Mountain (some 700 miles from Tempe). Here's a short sequence of events:

Monday morning -qualifying run, did not qualify because brakes did not work, but the speed was 53.6mph

Monday evening - could not race since they did not qualify

Tuesday morning - no problem qualifying, brakes worked, speed 55mph

Tuesday evening - SET A NEW WORLD RECORD: 66.08mph (old record 63mph)

Wednesday evening - could not run due to high winds

Thursday evening - let's not talk about it

Friday morning - ran twice, but nothing to talk about except for throwing up after the run
Friday evening - ran once, but again, nothing to talk about

Saturday evening - ran once, but just too windy to do anything

Meanwhile, I was here with the kids, day in and day out. But we managed to stay busy and I managed to stay sane. There are a lot of things I hate about Chuck being gone: being with the kids day in day out, not getting my morning run (I did take the kids one day, it wasn't too fun), having to clean the kitchen after dinner, not getting to my yoga class(es), etc. But there is one thing I love, sleeping in the middle of the bed! I don't know why, but I love to sleep in the middle of a big bed. Chuck will say I sleep in the middle of the bed even when he's here, but it's really not true. But I will give up the middle of the bed just to have him home! I'll post more pictures next week.

The Orion, fastest tricyle in the world

Cars Don't Walk

It is actually getting cooler here in the Valley of the Sun. And with the cooler weather comes are walks around the block. Today was our first one in several months. It is about 1/2 mile around our block, sometimes we can do it in 15 minutes, other times and hour and 15. Today was about 1/2 hour which is great considering it was Hannah's first actually walk and not stroller ride. As we walk around the block, we take note of what is going on in the neighborhood. And today there were some cars we had not seen before. So, I said to Cameron, "We might see different cars walking around the block". Of course, what I meant was, as we walk around the block, we might see different cars. But Cameron said, "What? Cars don't walk. You're joking me?" I, of course, had to laugh and thought how much that sounded like something his dad would say. But, with C being completely serious, it was very funny to where as if Chuck would say it, it would not be funny!

Kid Update

At Miss Hannah's 15 month check up, she was 30inches and 21lbs 10ounces. She did not want to be at the doctors at all! Probably because she was traumatized last time when the finger prick showed low iron. After which, they insisted doing a blood draw, which took 3 attempts. The results showed normal iron levels (as I knew they would) but high platelets, so they wanted to check again at 15 months but believe it or not...they didn't even mention it. And of course I didn't either because I'm sure it was just her normal platelet count and I don't feel the need to have my baby undergo uneccessary tests. Anyway...H is C's little apprentice. She is following directly in his footsteps by feeling the need to attach herself to me all the time. But she is a beautiful little "tick" as I like to call her. She is sleeping, napping and eating great.

C had his first field trip the other day. We went to the Hall of Flames. He is loving preschool! He wants to go everyday. He has slept all the way thru the night the last two nights which has been glorious. But I'm not getting used to it. He is still not playing well by himself but he is super cute. He went with us to H's dr. appointment and told the dr. that sometimes H bites him.

Emma is playing volleyball for Tempe Prep Academy. We have made it to a couple games and they are doing really well.

Lily is playing football at Tempe Prep. Unfortunately, we have only been able to make it to one game. They are usually far away and later in the evening which makes it hard for us because of the little kids. We hope to get to at least one or two more. Maybe I'll get some pictures at the next game.

Not enough energy, not enough time...

It's Sunday night, 8:20pm. My floors need swept and mopped, my diswasher emptied and kitchen cleaned, birthday cards need to be written and sent and my step aerobics routine planned for tomorrow. My kids have been in bed for almost an hour, Hannah will be up at 5am and who knows what time Cameron will get up, but likely once or maybe twice before 5am. Really, I need to be going to bed. Instead, I talked to my brother for a bit. But I was picking up the house at the same time, so I feel okay about that. So, with everything else that needs done, what I am chosing to do...blog of course. After all, it is one of the things on my list. But I will not blog all I want to tonight, so check back often the next couple of days and you will get updates on all the kids (including Lily and Emma) and find out what Chuck is up to this week.

As for this blog, the pictures are of C & H camping with their dad, Tim Woodward and his girls (Dana, Taylor, Madison, Kennedy) last weekend. They went to Woods Canyon Lake and had a fabulous time. Chuck said the kids were great! He didn't get many pictures though. I guess it's hard to handle two young ones and camera too. Also attached is a video where you can see Hannah walking if you haven't had the pleasure. However, the cutest thing is to see her watching videos of her self. She points and smiles and laughs. I'm sure I had an even more fabulous time then they did while they were away. I got to sleep all night for two nights, got a pedicure, went out to dinner, scrapbooked a lot, did yoga homework, etc etc. But I could have used more energy and more time...

Yes Breastfeeding, No Breastfeeding!

Hannah with her nursing pillow and her "fringe"

Today was Hannah's last day to nurse. I am a HUGE advocate for breastfeeding. I feel so strongly about breastfeeding, that once my kids are older, I would like to certify as a lactation consultant. I cringe when I see a baby (that wasn't adopted) being given formula. It upsets me to hear mother's say they didn't produce enough milk or their baby just wouldn't latch on because it's simply not true. And it makes me sad when mothers want so bad to nurse a baby and they have struggle after struggle. Breastfeeding is a learned behavior for both mom and baby and it takes work. Some mothers and babies have no problem figuring out the nursing thing. But a lot do. I was one of them, especially with Cameron. But unlike a lot of moms, I persevered. Unfortunately, we live in a society where we are made to believe that formula is just as good as breast milk. It's not. We also live in a society where there isn't a lot of education and support for women who want to breastfeed. More often than not, a new mother would not even be encouraged to try breastfeeding and a struggling mom would be encouraged to give it up. I know I was, even by those who love me and knew how important it was to me. Nursing Cameron was not a pleasant experience. Although, I did have some struggles with Hannah, nursing her was completely different than nursing C and although I can't say I loved it, I did enjoy it more than I enjoyed it with C. I've enjoyed nursing my babies more once it was only 2-3 times a day and they had gotten to the point they were too busy to cuddle. It was my chance just to hold them. But it was time for Hannah to be weaned. And although I am ready to be done nursing her, to my surprise, I'm a little bit sad about it. I have a lot of experience and knowledge about breastfeeding. So, if you ever have any questions, let me know!

Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Anniversary!

On the 3rd of September, Chuck and I celebrated our 6th year anniversary. We didn't do anything exciting, just went out to dinner without the kids, which is always nice. We decided not to exchange gifts, but I am going to go buy a microhood (something that has needed done since we bought the house) and let/make Chuck install it. I love being married to Chuck! He is such a great husband. However, he is not without his flaws. About once a year I have to point it out that the trash needs taken out or that he has left the toilet seat up. And of course, as you know, he did bring a lot of baggage into our relationship, which has been stressful throughout the six years (and continues to be). But, if I had to pinpoint the success of our marriage to one thing, it is this: Chewy having "run" away just before we got married. Chewy was Chuck's (actually Lily and Emma's) cat. I hate cats and care to never have one in my home. BUT I would not have said the cat could not move in with us and no, I did not "accidentally" leave the door open. But throughout some of the most stressful times of our life together, I have often thought, "it sure is a good thing that cat is no longer around because that would have been the last straw!" Of course, I'm kidding (partially). I attribute the success of our marriage to Chuck being the most amazing husband! Chuck, I love you!

Hannah is 15 months!

Hannah is quite fond of her shoes. She took a bath with them and held onto them while getting dressed.

She is also found of lollipops. She knows they are above the fridge, so she is reaching for them while fussing.

She has decided the doggy mask isn't so scary after all. In fact, she thinks she is pretty cute in it. She is only partial dressed because this picture was taken on Sunday after we took her dress off to eat and we were to lazy to put anything else on her.