Mother's Day Breakfast

I have been under the weather lately...some may even say sick (although I maintain that I do not get sick). I decided to take today off to rest and recuperate since I did not have to go back to jury duty (I was released!).

So I get up, put on some shorts, tank top, flip flops, brush my teeth, I don't recall actually running a brush through my hair, but I did pile it on top of my head, throw on my glasses and walk out the door with the kids in tow. I even brought gifts for the teachers (because it is teacher's week). My intention was to drop off the kids and then go back to the house and get some much needed rest.

As I arrive at Caiden's school I see A LOT of mothers, and they are all wearing nice summer dresses and have their hair done, and look very spring-y and elegant. I think nothing of it because frankly I don't drop Caiden off this late, and I think to myself:

Self: "Hmm, maybe all of the moms who stay home dress up to drop off their kids...very Stepford like."

I continue to waltz into the school, and then I see the tables...these mini size tables fit for a child all decorated with flowers and table clothes and pot holders and little cups of juice and strawberries and bagels, etc... "Oh Crap!" I think to myself. It is the Mother's Day breakfast I forgot.

Frantically I think how I can make a quick escape without having Caiden feel bad that I am not there, but before I can do ANYTHING, his teacher comes up and starts snapping pictures. Then she asks me to pose for a picture. Greeaatttt!!!! I mumble that I look like crap, but begrudgingly take the picture anyway. Then she announces that these wonderful pictures she has just taken are going to go in the gifts that our children generously made for us. How sweet...hmmm I wonder if I can change the picture out once I get it. :P

I'm standing there holding Kiya, trying to contain my cough (since they also have flyers strewn around the school advising that if you have "flu like symptoms" to stay at home because of the Swine Flu scare), when Mrs. Burris walks up and asks to hold Kiya. Sure I say...as Kiya was calm and well behaved FOR THE MOMENT. The minute that Mrs. Burris's hands touches Kiya she does her best flop like a fish and scream bloody murder impression. Lovely!

Mrs. Burris tries to hush her and then decides it might be best to give up and hands her back to me and goes to collect the other mothers as we are about to start our breakfast. Caiden sits down at this abnormally small table while I attempt to remain as invisible as possible while simultaneously attempting to morph my body into one that can actually sit at this bench table while holding a squirming infant. I do my best Stepford impression, minus the classy appearance, when my daughter decides to do HER best impression of the exorcist...screaming, wiggling and grabbing my food and throwing it with all her might on the ground. To be honest I am surprised that her head did not start spinning. This is NOT the typical behavior of my beautiful daughter.

Now comes the part of the meal where the teachers reads what our children think of us. In addition to the very sweet things that Caiden said about me "he thinks I am as pretty as a flower" " He thinks I have a beautiful smile and likes to make me laugh". I think the part that got the most attention, since frankly it was the first thing that was said besides..."my mama's name is Melissa... was..."I think my Mama is special because she always says stop to daddy and tells him I did it on accident". *insert a staring face here*....so much for my plan to stay invisible...now ALL eyes are on my and my screaming daughter. I just shrugged my shoulders and smiled and was like "Well, what are ya gonna do".

It was nice to know that Caiden thinks that I am smart because I can find his lost toys in his room, and that he appreciates when I make his sandwiches into dinosaur shapes. I found it hysterical that he thinks that I am best at "hearing" and that I am as "strong as my daddy". The cutest part during this whole adventure is that Caiden was BEAMING...he was so proud. He didn't see the Raggedy Ann Mama with no makeup, glasses, shorts and a tank top, flip flops with crazy uncombed hair piled carelessly atop her head standing in front of him with a screaming baby sister who was DEAD SET ON no one eating as she flung the food on the floor. The whole time he said..."Mama...I wrote this about you....Mama I think you are soo pretty...I do...I do" with this HUGE smile plastered on top of his face.

Sigh...I love my kids...THIS is what being a parent is all about. :) Happy Mother's Day! And Thank you Caiden. You make my heart melt :)

Backpacking with Daddy and Grandpa Lance

I'm sitting here at jury duty, and I figured what better thing to do with some extra spare time than catch up on some blogging. Life and computer issues have kept me from updating, but now that I have some forced free time (in the form of waiting for my name to be called in the jury "quiet room"), I figured I would update some of the goings on since the last update.

About a month ago, David, accompanied by Lance took Caiden on his first overnight backpacking adventure. He did VERY well, and immensely enjoyed himself.

Caiden hiking...what a little man. I LOVE this picture.

Caiden was SO proud to be on this backpacking trip. We even got him a new backpack (in the form of a Camelbak.

Grandpa Lance and Caiden stop for a picture break. Notice how Caiden knows the importance of hydrating on such an adventure...he showcases such knowledge by drinking through the picture. :)

Closer up picture of Caiden and Grandpa Lance

They hiked and camped and discovered lots of interesting creatures that call the outdoors home.

Milipede
Salamander

Frog

Ticks were rampant, and Dave had to pick them off Caiden, but mostly himself. It turns out Dave is a Tick Magnet (not a chick magnet, a tick magnet...get it? I crack me up :P)

Water snake in the water

Same water snake sans water

Caiden still talks about it, and loved hiking and camping with "the guys". They hiked to a perfect spot where they made camp, and were able to take in some of the sights.

Off in the distance you can see Caiden and Lance
Here they are relaxing :)

Some of the views that they were able to see

I really like this picture...with the trees and the water. I think it's really pretty

All in all they had a grand adventure, and Caiden is very much looking forward to going on another backpacking adventure soon. :)

The Makeup Hike To Sandia

After the long hike that we took on Valentine's Day, Dave and I felt that it best that we do a make-up hike for Caiden as he seemed apprehensive about going hiking again. What am I saying...he outright said. I don't want to go hiking -it was too far.

The location of our makeup hike

We made a deal with Caiden. That we would go at his pace, and stop whenever he wanted, and it we did. We literally walked 2 seconds in, and he said he wanted a break. Both Dave and I knew he was testing us, so we did. We sat until he said he was ready to go again, and then a few minutes later he wanted another break. He did this a few times before he realized we were serious...we just want him to enjoy hiking, and guess what. He still does!

Our first rest stop...we stayed here for a few minutes
And we are back on the trail...
Dave and Caiden took off in search of bugs

While Kiya and I played in the sand

When we got to the hike, we met a family who brought a grasshopper with them. Of course I didn't realize this until they were yelling at me, as the grasshopper flew right over and landed on my arse. I was about to sit down on Dave's truck when the family was like..."wait.....".

The lucky grasshopper

It was a nice slow paced hike, and it brought Caiden back to the basics. The thrill of hiking while walking through the beauty of the nature that surrounds us.

the view...there were two guys in a canoe that were fishing (not pictured)

Career Day At Caiden's School

A few weeks ago, Caiden's school asked some parents to come in and present to the class about their careers. I thought that was interesting considering this is preschool, but thought it was nice for the kids to know what their parents DID all day while they were at school.

Well, my job is definitely not as exciting as Dave's, so imagine my surprise when they asked Dave to present. They were so eager for him to present that they told him whatever day he chose, they would block the whole day off for him, so he would be the ONLY presenter. They even asked if he would be willing to do the presentation for the other classes too, which of course Dave agreed to do.
This is Caiden's class that Dave was speaking to

Dave brought in a bunch of fire gear, including an SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus), a pick headed axe, turnout gear, radios, flashlights, his boots and of course some gifts for the kids (coloring books, stickers, pencils, etc...). They combined classes together for the presentation, so he only had to do it twice, but performed for 4 classes. He talked about stop, drop and roll, what to do in a fire, smoke detectors, calling 911 and other important tips and information for kids to know.
Dave in full gear
Dave showing the kids the flashlight

Dave explaining the SCBA and how it works and why they use it.

Dave in full gear
Dave showing the kids how the mask works

Dave is a pretty charismatic instructor, and really got the kids involved, and the teachers too. In one of the classes, he had to put on the gear himself because the teacher who had volunteered became claustrophobic in the fire gear once she put on the SCBA and mask. He had to take it off quickly. The teachers and kids really enjoyed it, and were very thankful that Dave agreed to present. Overall I think it was very successful, and who knows...maybe the information the kids got that day will open the door to conversations with their parents about emergency preparedness! :)
Teacher turned firefighter participant. :)

Dirty Test Tubes...

I thought that title might get your attention, but despite what you may be thinking...it's not what you're thinking. :P

You see...Dave had this great idea. I know right? But it DOES happen occasionally. :P We have been doing a lot of hiking, and he thought it would be cool to mark this moment in time, and preserve some of the dirt from all of the various trails that we have hiked with Caiden. This way, long after we are gone, Caiden can look at all of the hikes he went on when he was a young lad. :)

Dave told me about the idea to take a bit of trail from our hikes and put them in test tubes with labels of the month and date. He talked about making a wooden case, or buying a wooden case to contain these vials of dirt. The idea has evolved a little bit further in that we are going to include a photo book alongside the display so that you can see the ages and time pass as we hike with Caiden. We may also get the display engraved with some meaningful words (feel free to provide your ideas of what we should engrave).

This is the finished wooden block that Lance, Dave, and Caiden made

Here Dave and Caiden are making the labels for the hikes we have already completed

Anyway, I thought this was a really good idea. We went online immediately and bought the test tubes and wooden corks. Dave, Lance and Caiden then made the wooden display case that the test tubes will go in. So far we only have 6, but hey we just started. This has inspired us to find hikes in different places, with different textures. This way we will stop going to same old hikes, and venture out into the world in search of new adventures!!!

Hikes we have already completed...at least since this idea.

Caiden is really excited about this project, and is already talking about showing them off to his friends. In fact, at Caiden's birthday party today they became quite the topic of conversation, and we already have a play date to go hiking with another family. :) See...who thought that dirty test tubes would be bringing people together :)

A Surprise Egg Hunt?

Well I know it's not quite Easter yet, but a few weeks ago I got a call from Caiden asking me to come home early from work. I decided that I could do that, and arranged to leave earlier than I had originally planned. When I arrived home, I was greeted by Caiden and a big sand bucket.

Dave handed me a note that said something like
"Well I wanted to ride my jeep today but it was raining, so instead we decided to do something nice for you". (this was transcribed by Dave from what Caiden was telling him).

It was cute. He had hidden Easter Eggs all over the house and there were secret prizes in there. Even Dave didn't know everything that was in there. I had 30 minutes and I had to find as many eggs as I could, and the prizes had to be used that night.

I was looking in the drawers in the coffee table, Caiden and Kiya store toys there

I found ALL of the eggs, but only with help from Caiden who didn't quite get the concept that he wasn't supposed to tell me where they were. He LOVED that part, but Dave was getting increasingly frustrated by it. He kept trying to get Caiden to keep it a secret. Caiden was getting increasingly upset as he wanted to help, and hey...I welcomed the help. :P
Looking under the couch...had I know I would be doing this type of investigating, I would have chosen a better outfit :P

Inside the eggs were:
*Pictures that Caiden drew of us
*Money from his own piggy bank, and he gave me "big money" (quarters - his favorite) Now that is love!
* notes with things that I would get like a big hug from Caiden or a smile from Kiya (at her leisure of course)
*Of course Dave added a few notes of his own in there as well.

And at the end we all went out to dinner. They treated me to sushi while they ate Chinese food. It was very sweet and very unexpected. Who would've thunk that I would be coming home to a surprise Easter egg hunt...in February? Not me, but I am sure glad I did :)

Hiking To Tenaja Falls - A Valentine Hike

On Valentines Day, Dave and I decided what better thing to do but go hiking. We figured the trails would be pretty clear as people may have other plans. I'm not really sure why I keep waiting so long after the actual events to post these pics to the blog, as the exact memories of the events tend to fade a bit by the time I want to write the post. One thing that stands out crystal clear in my mind with regards to hiking to Tenaja Falls is how very proud and impressed I was with Caiden. This was a nearly 9 mile trek and he hiked all but maybe the last 1 mile himself (at this point Dave had to carry him on and off for the last mile).

When you look up in books and on websites what kind of trails and the lengths of hikes one should take a child of his age on, it states no more than 1 mile, and here my little man is hiking nearly 9 miles. I will fully admit this was NOT our intention (we miscalculated), he did amazingly well. Thankfully he had new magic hiking shoes (as we had stopped at REI right before the hike to buy me some backpacking shoes, and Caiden some new hiking shoes).

A few a short way through our hike

I just thought these were pretty

We then set out for Tenaja Falls. Now it is quite important when exercising or really when approaching anything in life to set a goal. Caiden had set a goal at the beginning of the day that he was going to hike 10 miles. He even conserved his energy all day until we made it to the hike, because he was dead set on hiking ten miles. While again, we had NO intention of going that far, we were proud that he was setting a goal and trying to reach it. He nearly did too, had the light and our legs not given out.

The kids before the hike. All smiles... you can tell we are hiking. Kiya has a bug on her face. :P
Look at this happy boy with his goal of 10 miles!!

We parked in a bit of a remote location, and I don't even know if where we parked was ACTUALLY a parking spot. It was off the beaten path, and only large enough for Dave's truck - nestled in some trees. We figured we were at a good spot though because there was a post that contained a paper and pencil in which hikers were supposed to check in (how many people where in your party, when you arrived and when you were leaving the hike). That should have tipped me off that we had a slight miscalculation if we were having to SIGN IN to a hike. We hadn't done that for a day hike before.

Dave signing us into the hike
And we are off...with Caiden in the lead

There were some elevation changes, and some hopping of streams and water crossing which was fun. I say that because I was able to stay standing on all 6 crossings - Dave did not fare as well - of course he was carrying Kiya and Caiden. He kind of got the short end of the stick there, but I am blessed with an unnatural sense of grace - yea right...I am SOO klutzy, so I say we were even. :) Dave had a few unfortunate accidents when crossing the water when Caiden would shift his weight so he could see better, but other than that we were unscathed!

Some of the water crossing were challenging.

Hiking up some rocky terrain

Parts of the trail were really pretty and tranquil
So we thought we would take a picture :)

Just another view of the water crossings

We actually crossed a couple of trails in order to hike up to Tenaja Falls. And when we were about a little less than a mile we saw the main area where MOST people parked. We did not know that it existed, but it was just as well...that would be been WAY too short of a hike for us. When we made it to the Falls we took a quick break and had a quick snack. Even though we were a bit tired, we really could not afford to take a substantial break as we were going to run out of light and did not have flashlights with us.

Me sitting on a rock by the Falls. There was a cute couple laying on a blanket by the falls with Champagne, or we would have taken a better pic of the falls.

Caiden chilling. He was doing so well. :)
Kiya wanted a quick snack :)

The way back seemed a lot harder as we were all very tired. Caiden did VERY well and kept himself hydrated, and walking. He didn't complain until the VERY end when we had a little less than a mile left. He kept walking, but slowed a bit. The first sign that he was done was when he drifted behind Dave. He likes to lead the trail and we try and go at his pace. He then started holding Dave's hand. I found him a hiking stick on the trial, but that didn't last very long. I ended up carrying it. Dave ended up being a real trooper and holding him. I was really worried about that though as he already had Kiya in a pack on his back, and now he was carrying Caiden and he was really tired as well. I couldn't carry Kiya because my back is not stable enough to carry a full pack yet. I have to say the last mile was hard. I was done, Caiden was done, Dave was done, and it seemed like every time we thought it was "just around the corner" the corner came and there were miles of trail left. Plus I had to go to the bathroom, and didn't have the luxuries that Caiden and Dave had of christening the trail multiple times.

Dave with Kiya and Caiden

What a trooper Caiden was...this was a long hike for him!!

We FINALLY made it back to the truck, which was SUCH a welcome sight. Then we just had to try and get back to the main road and a gas station before we ran out of gas, which thank God we made it to a gas station. Hiking to a gas station with the kids would NOT have been fun. Dave - always playing games :P