40 Great Moments from Tucson--February 2012

In mid-February, we traveled to Tucson. It was the first time Sean had been back since we moved away in 2003. I'd only been back one other time, a long weekend, 5 1/2 years ago, when I was pregnant with Thora. We were excited to get to see the places and people who shaped us during our decade in the Old Pueblo. For the whole album, click here.

We had a long day of travel to get to Tucson from Boston, thanks to our almost 3 hour layover in Dallas/Ft. Worth. So we rode the inter-airport monorail around a few times.

Here we are, cozied up in our room for the week. Our friends, Stefan and Angela (Stefan married us), and their great kids, Haley and Foxx, were kind and generous in their hospitality. Foxx gave up his room and bunked with his sister for our 5 days. In this shot, can I tell you how relieved we were at having made the journey?

Oh, did I mention that I accidentally charged and packed the portable dvd player that was BROKEN?!? The one that we realized was broken when we pulled it out and fired it up at the beginning of the 6-hour flights to England back in September? Yep. That same one that we, for some reason, decided to keep out on the shelf where we keep such things, I guess in the hope that we'd find some way to have it fixed. And the irony is that we have two (TWO!) completely functional portable dvd players in our living room? So of the 3 portable dvd players that are in our possession, in the chaos of packing up for the trip and getting the kids ready for bed on a night when Sean was on the labor floor (yes, I'm playing the "wife to an Ob/Gyn" card), I managed to pick the one that didn't work?!? So anyway, we'd just endured two long flights and a long lay over with the not the greatest of airplane toys (I'd been assuming that we'd have a working dvd player!). So, when I ask the rhetorical question of how relieved we felt to have this day of travel behind us, the answer is: Tremendous. (I know you don't need to answer rhetorical questions but I'm going to, in order to be even more persuasive.)

Okay, with that little moment of exasperation behind me, let's now move on to the beauty of the Sonoran Desert. We started our first full day in Tucson at the always-wonderful Sonoran Desert Museum.









The kids love to run. I chose to include this otherwise average picture because it captures Auric's endearing and hilarious determination to catch his sister. I hope he will always bring laughter to my heart.







Look closely and you can see the green hummingbird on the crook of the hanging-down arm of that saguaro cactus.









There's a coyote camouflaged in that picture.









Just an inch of glass separated those mountain lions and our frequently feral-seeming children.







We caught to awesome bird show. If you're at the Desert Museum during a showing, it's not to be missed. They had us gathered on a path. Meanwhile, trainers surreptitiously wandered around among the grounds, placing bird treats on branches. The next thing you knew, the great horned owl or raptor was swooping directly over your head (they wouldn't let us carry the kids on our shoulders) to a cactus on the other side of the path. It was very dramatic!



This was actually my attempt to capture a photo of a cardinal on a branch of that plant behind the barrel cacti, (you really have to squint to see the cardinal) but I actually like the mountains in the distance. So I kept it as is.








Look at them, both taking in the face of their beloved: swirl ice cream.







And a few minutes later, we have this: a video entitled, "This is What it Looks Like When My Kids Are Drunk on Ice Cream." Enjoy.

The Aviary is not to be missed. Here's another one of those cardinals. (I wasn't aware that cardinals called the desert home.)









The Hummingbird House was spectacular, with lots of moments of beautiful spectacle.











From the Aviary.









In a lot of ways, I'm good at capturing so much of our lives. In other ways, I'm dumbfounded at my flaws as the family documentarian (I don't know if that's a word). This is a great moment of the kids playing in the fountain in the courtyard of the Walz's home. But I'm appalled that this is the only photo from the beautiful Walz home. We had wonderful moments with them, over meals, in the down time between school and bedtime. However, I was so completely at ease and enjoying their great company that I forgot all about my camera.


It was Friday night in Tucson, and where else should we find ourselves but catching up with our great friends, Leta, Chris, and Brogan! Brogan and Thora have known each other since they were babies, but just at our yearly summer visits at Chris's parents' lake house in upstate New York. This past visit seemed to be much more cemented in their minds, since they reconnected as friends who already knew each other. Here, Brogan is giving Thora a bracelet, a treasure he found on a walk in the wash (a dry river bed) made of some bolts and washers threaded through a large ring.




Of course, Auric found a drum.














I know it looks like I'm crying, but there are a lot of tears of laughter when Leta and I get together. And a need for ear plugs for the uninitiated. Even for the initiated, really. It was a great reunion!








Of course, Thora found some dress up clothes.












Actually, they both did some pretty awesome dress up.











What can you say?










This one is too perfect!










Okay, now on to Saturday! We biked from the Walz home (why did I not get a picture of Stefan riding with Thora, Auric, and Foxx in the cargo bike--that's like 150 lbs. of kids!--and Sean and I on a tandem bike?!? A TANDEM BIKE?!!) to the rugby field where a Magpies Under-19 game was happening. A bunch of Sean's old rugby pals came out to see the game and catch up with Sean. It was great to see old friends at the field where Sean (and I) have so many memories.

Auric was in heaven because about every 10 minutes, a long freight train would roar passed, about 20 feet from the fence near the back of the grounds. And once, one faster freight train over took a slower one on the second set of tracks. That kind of blew Auric's mind.




Here's Thora and Stefan. He's teaching her the intricacies of the game.










Saturday afternoon found us back at Leta, Chris, and Brogan's, this time to celebrate Chris's birthday. The trampoline was the best!






And can you blame me for getting some footage of them bouncing, using my super slow-mo setting on my camera? Sit back, relax, and take in a couple minutes of this. (Seriously, in the few times that I've watched this as I've edited it together, I'm practically in a good-vibe-induced stupor.) I know, you're thinking, "She expects me to watch 2 and a half minutes of her kids jumping on a trampoline?" I defy you to watch it and have your day not be brightened (I happen to know for a fact that my kids brighten days) by Auric's hilarious attempts at control and stability or his more hilarious baggy shorts, (you're now realizing how pedestrian my sense of humor is), or Brogan's serious attempts at height and spins with airplane wings, or the pure joy that radiates from Thora's face. Enjoy!

Again! How did I not get a picture of the birthday boy?!? Happy Birthday, Chris, wherever you are!









Now on to Sunday. I started the day with a run from my past, 5 times around the mile loop on the UofA mall. The nostalgia was acute.






Then our great friends, Jason and Heidi, threw a bbq for the occasion of our visit. Their place was lousy with Magpies! It was awesome! But bittersweet, too, since we shared with our friends, most of whom we hadn't seen in almost 10 years, that we are off to New Zealand come September. But we managed to finagle some promises from some of them of visits to our new side of the planet! Fingers crossed!

In this photo, as we say, "Auric has assumed the position."




Some Rugby Wives. Shouldn't we have our own reality show? Heidi, Angela, me, and in front, Sandy.










Stef, Sean, and Timmy.













Jason, Sean, and Micole.












Heidi, Lisa, Adam, and Sarah.








Ian, Heidi, Sandy, Adam, and me.











A stunning sunset. Tucson did not disappoint.








Now on to Monday, our final full day in Tucson. We spent much of the day in Sabino Canyon. We rode the tram up to the top of the canyon. Thora and I walked up a dirt path for a ways and then some nice hiker offered to take our picture.

Why weren't Sean and Auric with us, you ask?






Because this happened on the way up. Yes. Auric was sacked out within 15 minutes of the the tram ride. (It's like a 20 minute tram ride to the top.) So Sean sat with him for a while, letting him rest up before we all hiked down the canyon.












Who knows?











Happy Family.











And we'll end with my favorite shot of the trip.

26 Great Moments from Trip to Chicago (Dec 2011/Jan 2012)

We squeezed in a quick trip to Chicago to see my family during Thora's winter break from school. (Sean was working long days and one 24-hour call shift 4 of the 5 days that we'd be gone, so it kind of made sense to go.) For a look at the whole album, click here.

Here we are having just arrived. NuNu got these very silly but cute hat/mittens/scarf items. The kids love them. Thora wears hers every day to school.







We have some traditions, and one of those is to meet my sister at The Silo, a pizza parlour down the road from BaBa and NuNu's place. NuNu loves to have fancy things for dress-up when Thora comes. She was given these flowers from her mom (I think) and you can see that they're just perfect for the occasion!





Another tradition is to have dinner at the Rainforest Cafe that's near Grandma Jane's place. Thora became very serious all of a sudden, about posing for photos and reviewing them on the camera to make sure that they were just right. This is one of many posed shots, initiated by her, during the trip.

Grandma Jane and Thora.

Aunt Natalie joined us for dinner too. Great fun had by all, including when Natalie and Thora accidentally walked into the kitchen. (Thora thought they'd done something very illicit!)







And of course, we spend about ten minutes riding these coin-operated vehicles.











Auric: "Okay, total mayhem on the count of three. You ready?"

Thora: "I was born ready."









At the Chicago Botanic Gardens, they had an incredible exhibit called Wonderland Express. This was the first part of the exhibit, a gingerbread house village made entirely out of candy. (We liked the log cabin--lower left of photo--made out of pretzel rods, complete with its own outhouse.)






The exhibit was a miniature city, all made out of plant life and organic material, in which sit replicas of Chicago landmarks. It was all so intricate and detailed, I was completely blown away. I tried to express to Thora that in my whole life I'd never seen anything like this. And if that wasn't mindblowing enough, freight trains and commuter trains continually circled the city of "Wonderland."








Here is a replica of the Obama family home, again all made out of plants and trees.









Auric was quite impressed. (On the left is a replica of the Field Museum.)









Periodically, fake snow would fall down over Wonderland. Really it was light, frothy bubbles that dissolved once it landed (on people, or the city). Here is my attempt to capture the magic of a brief snow storm over Wonderland, with the Chicago skyline in the background. The Navy Pier ferris wheel near the shore of the river really rotated.









Auric and NuNu











After some time in the exhibit and a short meal in the cafeteria, the kids needed to burn off some steam. They basically did sprints all around the grounds of the Botanic Gardens.









On New Year's Eve, we met Natalie downtown and redeemed ourselves with a successful trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo! (Our last attempt in September was a bust.) We had a great time!









Aunt Natalie and Thora











If there's a train to be ridden, Auric will ride that train.









This was a great find, in the Children's Zoo--a nice, warm, incredibly involved indoor climbing structure. Thora was still challenged by it, and thankfully feeling gracious enough to help her brother when he occasionally got stuck. But they made it through the whole obstacle course. It only took them a half hour!






I'd read that the Lincoln Park Zoo was putting on a light show and family-friendly celebration for New Year's Eve. But I'd figured that by the time we'd need to leave to head back up to the north suburbs, we would miss it. Happily, I was wrong. Since it was dark at 4:30, they had all the lights on when we emerged from the Children's Zoo. The bear figure in the photo at the left was actually by far the lamest of the lights. (It was the only one I seemed to capture.) There were dozens of these kinds of huge, glowing statues, along with lights in trees and lights over awnings, and one of the coolest effects: blinking and moving lights hung vertically from the branches of a towering tree that gave the effect of snow falling down over us. We were happy to enjoy the lights as we made our way to the carousel for one last ride before leaving the Zoo.




On New Year's Day, we spent the day with Grandma Jane and Grandpa Terry. The kids got to do Christmas all over again and we all enjoyed the time together.










Thora got a deluxe art supply set and set to work coloring in some "fancy ladies" that I was commissioned to draw.








That afternoon, we were happy to learn that Monkey Joe's, a jumping castle play center, was open for shortened holiday hours. And so we drove there for about an hour of jumping. The kids absolutely love this place. And it's great to see them playing together. Usually, for the first 30 minutes or so, they love experiencing all the slides together. Here, Thora waits for Auric to join her.



























On our last morning, Thora enjoyed a prolonged story on the couch with NuNu.










Here is a nice little moment between Grandfather and Grandson. I like to imagine BaBa imparting some real sage advice to Auric, like, "It's important to try to always wear pants when someone has their camera out."