"When We're Human Again. . ."

There is a song in Beauty and the Beast sung by Mrs. Potts, I believe, that goes "when we're human again. . . when we're human again. . . blah blah blah" I can't remember the words but I am with Mrs. Potts today on being human again. My Spencer rocks. The little man finally slept through the night for the first time in his infant life. I just want to cheer, cry, give him knuckles, high fives, and shout to the world. It may not happen again tonight, but I could just kiss his feet for last night. I'm sure I probably did just that this morning at some point. Please, please, please can we have a repeat performance?

Durango!

Michele & Matthew on San Juan Parkway
Lunch at The Bent Elbow saloon in Silverton, CO
Our train brakeman with Mr. "I'm Not Smiling For You"
Durango & Silverton line train stop in Silverton, CO

Durango, Colorado--doesn't the name sound just so cowboyish? We just returned from a trip (complete with mini-van rental) to this southwestern nugget and it lives up to its imagery. I think I experienced a Colorado Rocky Mountain high. Boy, those lush green mountains topped with pines, steep cliffs, and curious rock formations are hard to beat. Utah has pretty mountains but Colorado is the winner, at least in my book. I love to travel. It's a shame we don't do it more.

The kids were amazing little travelers. Spencer squawked a little but considering that he was strapped in a chair for hours with no ability to shift his little body weight--he deserves a gold star. Matthew too was excellent and was content to sit and look out the window and talk. Even though I took books for him, he only ever looked at one. One thing that I observed yet again on this trip is how Matthew commands attention of the young and old (as does Spence because he is so darn cute and as his mother I have bragging rights). I think Matthew is destined to be a politician. He certainly changes his mind enough. He is not bashful about talking to anyone and can rattle off details and stories to any 'ol stranger. I suppose it's a good asset to possess but as a mother it does scare me a little although I love to watch him interact with people who usually think he's much older than he is.

We stopped at Mesa Verde National Park and boy are those sights awesome. The park features several Indian ("ancestral Puebloans" I believe is now the correct term for that area) cliff dwelling sites and the construction is absolutely astounding. How they built several story structures into the side of a cliff I will never know and I'm glad that I live in a time when I won't have to find out. I can just relic in their accomplishments. It's interesting how our society likes to think that we are so advanced, and we are, but those folks were resourceful and advanced beyond comprehension with no modern conveniences. We took a tour of one dwelling called The Cliff Palace and had to descend down very steep steps and up and down ladders to get in and out. It was a kick.

The real reason for the trip was to enjoy the Durango & Silverton railroad with our little train buff. What a fun ride! It's a steam engine that runs 50 miles each way on a narrow gauge track, making it an all-day event. I learned that the narrow gauge track was used so that the train could make sharper turns through the mountains. There are a few points where the track is about 400 feet above the Animas River and and three feet from the edge of the cliff. It's a heartstopper but the most amazing view ever. The train stops in a little town called Silverton that is a quintessential cowboy/mining hamlet and still has gravel streets. We ate at a little saloon with a live cowboy piano player.

Moving into more modern times, we rode the alpine slide too at the mountain resort. I have never wanted to ride the one in Park City because it scares me but I am learning that with kids, there are times you find yourself doing things you never thought you'd do back when you still had options. So, I rode the alpine slide and had a blast. It's about 3000 feet of track on a little go-cart looking sled. I'd do it again. Too bad I waited so long. It's kind of like eating asparagus for me. I waited a long time to do it but wished I had tried it years earlier.

Anyway, we had a great time but we're glad to be home too. As I laid in bed last night I thought how nothing feels like your own bed and it made me grateful I have one. Spence was also grateful for his crib. He's not a fan of the port-a-crib and I don't blame him. It was a rough three nights. His crawling restriction in the hotel also ate at him (see previous germ post).

One thing that still gets me is how big these western states are. You can drive all day in the same state. Back east, we could be four states away in a day. I do miss the closeness and the variety of entertainment on the east coast but I'm learning to enjoy my new surroundings too.

Oh yeah, we had good food too and even saw a chuckwagon BBQ show with the Bar D wranglers. They serve 700 people a chuckwagon dinner in about 30 minutes. You line up and the folks are putting the slop on your plate about as fast as you can walk. I was thinking that if they would agree to come to my house and cook every night, it would revolutionize my life. Dinner in 30 seconds plus they do clean up!

There's no place like home although we sure loved Colorado.

A black thumb

My mother-in-law has the green thumb while mine is black. Every spring I think that I will turn a new leaf (no pun intended) and somehow miraculously grow a fruitful garden. By this time each year, my dreams are diminished to dust. Last year when I was pregnant with Spencer, I knew the gardening thing wasn't going to be a viable option. So I did the next best thing and split a co-op garden plot with my neighbor. It sounded great at first--I pay a fee, the farmer plants and cultivates the goods, brings them to me once a week and I enjoy. That too was more of a dream. The things he grew weren't at the top of my list and most weeks the produce went in the trash. Not very economical after all.

This year things were going to be different. There was no child to prevent me from bending over to care for the garden and things were looking good in my mind. We took Matthew to Home Depot months ago and we selected several fine varieties of veggies. A few weeks went by and the seeds and small tomato and herb plants sat mostly wilting in the early summer sun. They sat for another several weeks and finally the tomatoes and herbs made it into pots. Several more weeks/few months have passed and I'm sorry to report that once again we will bear no fruit for the season. They didn't get enough water and the tomatoes, which should be about ready to pluck for a decent farmer, don't even have fruit on them. There are a few yellow buds which I was hopeful would actually bloom into a tomato but they haven't. It's like they are just stuck. One plant did produce three small green balls, one of which Matthew plucked and brought to me as a "grape", I believe he said.

Moral of this story is, I am not cut out to feed myself. Heaven help us if we ever had to rely on my garden for our daily manna. Thank heavens we are the recipients of a few yummy fruits and veggies from our neighbors across the street. They are gardening gods. They have grown cotton and peanuts. What they do with it, I don't know. Maybe they eat peanuts while spinning shirts. At any rate, they make us look really bad. Our one area of redemption is our peach trees--they are delicious and we don't do a thing to them. It seems like the less we fiddle with things the better they turn out. So, once again we have no garden to speak of and I could have gone to the farmer's market to buy produce and actually saved money this year.

Creepy Crawlys

Libraries are as American as apple pie, right? They are houses of learning, beckoning to the masses to bask in the sunlight of enlightenment, around since the birth of our nation. Our tax dollars at work, and for a good cause. My problem is that I have a hard time stomaching them. Call me weird. It just drives my mind mad thinking about all the possible germ strains on the children's books, or any book for that matter. Matthew loves to go but I usually try to stall for as long as possible and even then, some of the books don't come out of the bag to be read when we get home unless he asks for them. Just put that on the list of things I've done that Matthew can address with his counselor years down the road.

I am trying to take a step back on the germ-o-phobic front and realize that books have been checked out for centuries with few fatalities but I also know where my kids hands have have been and can imagine that and worse touching all over those books and DVDs. I strive for a little peace of mind by breaking out the Clorox wipes (actually the Kirkland wipes) and wiping down each item. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised that the item doesn't appear too dirty on the wipe but then there is the opposite too. DVD covers tend to be the worst. If other kids are like mine, they carry those covers around talking incessantly about the DVD as if they are an appendage. I also really like board books because even though they probably have creepy-crawlys from the younger crowd, the good news is that EVERY page can be wiped down and then I feel more at peace.

I'm sorry if I've raised any issues for anyone that will now make you crazy. I also have mental acceptance problems with dust mites, but that's for another post.

Our Wacky Wonderful Week

The cousins are in town. It doesn't get any better than this. We have had a grand time running and playing ourselves silly. My brother, Brent, is here with his wife and three kids (G9, B6, B3) along my brother Barry's two oldest girls (G13, G11). Jordan went to BYU soccer camp while Katie stayed with my mom. I am seriously interested in adopting the two girls. Perhaps if a full-blown adoption isn't workable, I could get legal guardianship. They are wizards with my kids and I can actually use the bathroom alone with they are around, plus, they make me laugh. It's hard for me to believe that they are growing up. It seems like they were just born.

Some of our fun highlights of the week:

• Water Festival playing on the slip 'n slide and with the hose for hours
• A visit to Temple Square with dessert at the Lion House
• A hot day at This is the Place Heritage Park with rides on the train, ponies, and covered wagon, and ice cream from the Huntsman Hotel while trying to appreciate what the settlers went through
• a trip to the Brick Oven in Provo for the yummy pasta bar (they still have the 7' see-through pasta box tower filled with rigatoni that was there when I was in college 22 years ago. Matthew wanted to know why we couldn't eat that pasta)
• Matthew announcing that he wants to be a rock star when he grows up (every parent's dream)

With all the family hoopla, my Return to Me plans never quite were penned. That's ok. There's always next week. I did manage to take a bike ride though and haven't been too cranky so I think those things get improvement points. It's a process, right??