Goodbye Godmom

My godmother Judy Glauvitz loved me from the moment I arrived on earth and now she has left us. She and Marv were always part of my big life moments -- my baptism, my confirmation, my graduation, my wedding, my children's lives. I will forever remember her warm heart, compassionate smile, and genuine acceptance of me like another daughter.

I miss you. Love survives.

Birthday Week

It was my birthday on Thursday and I got the full treatment from Eric. Wednesday, I had a surprise dinner with friends -- good food, good conversation, and good laughs. Besides organizing the surprise, Eric even watched three extra kids that evening so one of my friends could come along. Now that is LOVE! :)

Thursday, I showed my students my favorite movie, "Lars and the Real Girl" and got to have a fun date with Eric at the local sushi restaurant and movie theater -- "Angels and Demons."

Then, Friday I got the whole day to myself to shop in Santa Fe. Swimsuit shopping is so much easier without kids! :) I returned to happy children with special garden gifts and a gift certificate to the golf course. I have to say this birthday has been so special and it is all thanks to Eric! :)

Big Time Tooth Loss

Maddie came home from her last soccer practice, took off her shoes, and then gave me a big toothless grin. She lost her wiggly front tooth on her friend's head during practice! She was very excited but, as it was told to me by my other moms who were there, "She was in tears and there was drama for a few minutes then she realized how cool it was!" She looks so goofy now and her baby teeth look so small. Her other front tooth is hanging in there, but soon she is going to have serious trouble eating an apple!

Soccer Seasons

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, the kids and I headed over the local parks for soccer practice. Eric had a differential equations (huh?!) class at the local branch of UNM this semester so he missed the soccer fun for 6 weeks. I am not sure either will be soccer stars but it was lots of fun to see them running around with their friends.

Maddie's end of the season medals

Elise's team

Gus loved stealing the cones during games and kicking the extra balls around.

Doesn't Elise look good? Just wait until you watch the next video...this is really what she looked like the whole 6 weeks...picking her nose, rolling in the grass, and being a goofball.

Kite Festival

We had another fun time at the kite festival. The local bank sponsors the event. Free kites to decorate, free t-shirts to wear, free happy times to enjoy!

50 Miles!

Eric had a great day! He woke up at 4am, ate breakfast, put on his running shoes and headlamp, and ran 50 miles!! Crazy man!

He just completed his first ultramarathon at the Jemez Mountain Trail Run - 50 miles with 12,000 feet in elevation change in 11 hours and 53 minutes. We are so proud of him. He has been in bed ever since we got home at 6pm.

This was taken at the aide station at the local ski hill lodge - Mile 36. He looked great. I didn't know if we'd see him, but the kids and I piled in the van and went up there. As the kids walked up the steps to the deck, Eric arrived! One of the aide workers/friend said, "KISMET! You were destined to met up!"

We got to give him high fives and wish him well for the last 14 miles!Gus loved clapping for the runners.

Just steps from the end of 12 hours of running...

Check out Elise cheering on the sidelines as her dad finished! And she has no idea how far 50 miles is!

We all are so proud of him!

Elise, the Egg, and the Grasshopper

After Gus and I picked Elise up from pre-school the other day, we decided to head to the bagel shop for lunch. We ate our chocolate chip bagels at the duck pond and enjoyed the weather; then Elise found a little egg in the grass under a tree. We concluded that it had fallen out of its nest and she decided its mother was probably a robin in our backyard. "Don't you think we better take it home?" After having a "mom moment" wondering about potential issues with this, I said, "Yes."

Just then, the local trolley came by and we made a quick decision to hop on for a ride around town. The wind was in our hair as we waved and smiled at people along the downtown loop. Gus cheered and Elise chatted until... "SPLAT!" The trolley had stopped quickly and the little egg was crushed when Elise grabbed the back of the seat. Instantly there were tears and "Where is the bird? Mommy, it is just goo!" I cleaned the sticky mess off her hands and explained that the bird hadn't started to grow. She calmed down and a smile returned as the trolley made its way back.

We exited the trolley at the local science museum and the driver gave a "ding-ding." Life was back on track again. Elise immediately decided we needed to visit the biggest little fountain in town while Gus said, "Bye Trolley" about twelve times. Elise was splashing her hands in the 5-foot fountain when she saw a grasshopper in the water. "Oh No! OH NO!!" She scooped him quickly like a professional animal rescuer and rested him on the edge. "Mom, is he okay? Oh, he is moving! He just needs to dry." After a few minutes examining him, I said, "Time to go." just as Mr. Grasshopper jumped back into the fountain. "AHHHH! MOMMY!!" And there was yet another rescue! This time he jumped off the edge and onto the ground as Gus walked by. In a blink of an eye, Elise saved the little insect from his second drowning and Gus' curiosity overtook him -- he grabbed Mr. Grasshopper...SQUISH! You should have heard the screams this time. "NOOOOOO!!!" But it was too late...Gus got to him. Elise's attempt to save nature was lost again. She sobbed as we walked across the street to the hardware store with her beloved grasshopper cupped in her hands. There she asked the manager for a box for her grasshopper and she told him about her mean brother. We climbed in the van with much sadness.

When we returned home, Gus took his nap and Elise picked flowers for her lost bug. It rested in peace as we talked about death and whether grasshoppers can be angels. She told me we needed to keep him in his box until Maddie got home from school and then "he will be done being dead."

She let him go in the yard today as she said, "Now he can watch over me as I play." Eric and I have been talking about the meaning of life and life after death. Do grasshoppers and almost baby birds become angels and watch over us? Maybe our kids know more about this stuff then we do... Or maybe we just need to teach Gus how to look with his eye, not touch with his hands.

Mother's Day

I had a super Mother's Day enjoying my kiddos and thinking about my mom. It is always a special day and Eric made it wonderful...chocolate chip pancakes in bed, lots of homemade gifts, and time together at Bandelier with friends, at the local greenhouse, and at the golf course.

Eric and the girls made this upside-down tomato pot from a pickle bucket. Definitely the best gift around!!


I used my mom's clubs on the putting green with the kids. They LOVED it!

Puye Ruins Field Trip

Eric was the parent helper on Maddie's field trip to the Puye Cliffs Ruins. It was a cool day since we have been wanting to see the ruins since we moved here, but they have been closed since the Cerro Grande Fire in 2000. They reopen tomorrow. Maddie says the best part about the field trip was that they had the best tour guide. "They used these types of plants if they got sick and to soak in the bath." Eric says the highlight (not!) of the trip was the little boy who threw up on the bus just as they returned to Los Alamos. He was the closest parent and had to use the "fluid clean-up kit." :)

Maddie's first blogging...She writes:
(We had a crazy group)

Eric was in charge of Maddie, Terri, Christopher, Jacob (class clown).

Shelby "Shows"

Our girls are not graceful performers but they love our ballerina babysitter, Shelby. She has inspired plenty of shows around here lately.

Shelby was just in the high school musical, "Bye Bye Birdie."

Shelby comes over twice a week to dance and play with Elise for an hour. After a few months of this, Maddie realized Shelby was fun so she signed up for Shelby's Ballet I class this spring. Maddie just had a "practice recital" before the big one at the end of May.

She is the tall one on the end.

Maddie loved all the flowers and high fives, but check out Elise... There is no way around the big sister/little sister stuff. We will be signing up Elise next year, but we haven't told her that Shelby will be off at college...

We had a fun night with the Eidenbenz family and the kids put on a show. This was "Elise and Yaris' Show" with backup singers, Maddie, Tayra, and Lyas. :)

Elise dances to "I Will Survive" today.

Garden of Ovaska

We are spending lots of our afternoons and weekends lately in the dirt with warm sunshine on our backs. It is time to plant around here and, this year, I am not pregnant or nursing a baby so I have a little more time. The kids are really into it -- we had to get few more garden tools to prevent fights.

My favorite season is spring. Everything comes alive, and with a little work, things start looking pretty good.


The lilacs are in full bloom and both the girls have brought bouquets wrapped in wet paper towels and tin foil to their teachers. In Minnesota, they bloom on my birthday; in Los Alamos, they bloom on Mother's Day. Our neighborhood smells so great right now with all the old lilac bushes.

I treated myself to a strawberry pot to remember my mom and Grandma Jan. Steve, how is your doing?

These are my special Lilies of the Valley. When I was pregnant with Maddie (7 years ago!), my mom brought them wrapped in wet paper towels from her house in Minnesota across the country in her little red convertible (along with a wooden rocking chair!). She planted them in a planter in my front yard and I forgot about them...I was a new mom and I didn't care about anything but that baby! :) Every year I seem to forget about them but they come up. My mom always told me they were "my flower" since they bloomed in May.

She is with me everywhere...

Real Life

Eric and I were talking about how the blog mostly shows our good times. Let's be real. In between all the good times are, you know, screaming kids, messy rooms, smelly diapers, dirty dogs, and tired parents. I'll take more pictures that are more representative of our real life like this one -- four loads of laundry on the couch, my school bag full of papers to grade, puzzles all over the floor, and 12-year-old Bucky who is starting to have tummy trouble. :)


Gus is getting into all sorts of trouble now. I just found him in the girls' closet...he took down all the clothes and was swinging from the rod.