The kids had off today from school. David had worked enough overtime this week that he only needed to take a few hours off of work. So, he took the day off too. My job is so flexible that I was able to make sure everything was done yesterday, so I could take the day off too.
So, we decided to spend a lovely day together. But, before any fun, we had to take care of business. The kids' passports just expired and they have to appear in person to get a passport. Both parents also have to be there, which makes it hard to find time in a normal week to get that done. So, we headed to our downtown. It's always so pretty at the square where the courthouse is. I feel like we should come hang out here sometimes and get pizza and ice cream.
This is our courthouse. It's so old and quaint and at a saloon across the street, Wyatt Earp drank some beer, or so the folklore goes.
That took about 30 minutes and then we were off to hike around Goldwater lake. It's so gorgeous here. The second I stepped out of the van, the pine trees smelled glorious, the breeze was just so, and I can't wait to go camping. I couldn't believe that thought ran through my head, but I guess I enjoy camping more than I thought possible. The kids played at the playground for a bit and David and I sat on a swing and watched them. I could've sat here all day.
But, we headed off for a little hike. The kids are up for anything if it involves climbing rocks.
We take a picture on these stumps whenever we come.
And they were off climbing.
It was a gorgeous day.
Ben tried to climb this rock from every possible way and couldn't get up it. He was mad that he was outdone by a rock. So, David helped him up and while they were doing that, Noah climbed up the other side with no problem. Ben was like, what the heck???
So Ben had to get down and get back up by himself.
He defeated the rock and all was right in his world.
This picture is awful, but who cares?
I love the street we take to get to the lake. It has these super cute old Victorian homes. I'd love to live in one if they weren't a million dollars.
Then, we headed to Texas Roadhouse. Grampie had sent Ben some money for doing the Wright Flight program, so Ben treated us all to lunch and he still has half for his piggy bank.
Then, they got gumballs on the way out.
We tried to head to the pool, but it was closed for the holiday weekend. So, we waited a bit and decided to do a fire in the backyard. Emily and Noah wanted to put up a tent and sleep outside. I guess they are just as excited to go camping as I am. Ben didn't want to sleep out in the tent. When I asked why he said it wasn't really camping. He's not into the tent in the backyard thing.
We have this mountainy hill in the center of town. Last year, they built a hike trail all the way too the top. We've been meaning to hike it forever, but first it was too hot. Then, the grasshoppers were out, and I won't go near natural vegetation when the Hoppers are out. Then, it was a rainier season than normal and always wet. Well, finally last weekend, we did it.
We asked the kids if they wanted to go. They love hiking, but usually, it's not a straight up incline. But, they were all for it in the beginning.
Here's some interesting facts about the hill. It's an extinct volcano!
We didn't even know how long it was. Turns out it was 2.1 miles each way, so 4.2 miles with an elevation gain of 1,000 feet. Noah needed a lift at about 3/4 of a mile.
After a few switch backs, we were losing two of the kiddos. There's Ben on the right in the green shirt just cruising up the next switch back. The up didn't bother him one bit. He never got winded or needed a break. How is that possible? He's a self proclaimed "not an outdoors person", and he hiked that mountain like it was flat.
We are about half way up and this guy needed a break. There are probably a dozen switch backs and they have a picnic table to rest at each one, which is nice. We sat at almost all of them.
Emily was having a hard time, so David gave her a lift for a couple of the switch backs. My husband is in great shape!
They look happy, no? I told the kids that when we were trying to hike the Grand Canyon, Aunt Pam and I would be phone books in our backpacks and go up mountains just like this. To which Noah said, "what's a phone book?" Oh, my,,,,kid these days.
David's forearms were hurting from supporting Emily's weight, so he'd lean over and give his arms a rest. She doesn't seem to mind.
Almost to the top!
Getting closer...
And closer....
And we made it! I wish it was a cloudless day, but it was still a great view. If I knew it was so long of a hike, I would've brought a few snacks and more water and tissue, I need supplies for this type of hike. I'll be more prepared next time.
When we were almost to the top, I was singing the theme to Rocky. Of which my kids had no clue what I was talking about. So, we watched Rocky when we got home. One, I couldn't believe Rocky trained in Converse? Could he not afford a good pair of Nike? Who runs in Converse? And he goes to the pet store where Adrian works and Noah's like, "oh my gosh, a store with puppies!" Yep, sweetie, that's a pet store. They don't really have those anymore. And I didn't remember that Rocky didn't win at the end. What the heck? It was an enlightening movie that's for sure. Anyway, here's my cute kids....
And now to go back down, Ben is in the center of this pic, already flying past us
Emily and Noah preferred down.
And I took this picture of flowers for Pam because she always takes pictures of flowers.
And sweet Noah picked me some flowers. He's so cute!
Ben didn't like down. He said it hurt his knees.
I thought it would take an hour total, it was well over 2 hours. We asked the kids if they want to do it again this weekend, it was a resounding NO! :)
There are times I feel like I'm failing as a parent. I know everyone feels like that, but sometimes, I just wonder why on Earth I was given the responsibility to parent three children.
Like when we are in the middle of the Pacific ocean cruising to a tropical location and two of my kids are acting like absolute brats fighting with each other. Like when one kid had a fit because their one gift at Christmas wasn't as good as the three another sibling got. Like when I have mountains of laundry, dirty dishes in the sink, a full dishwasher, poop on the side of the toilet and not one kid will offer to lend me a hand. That would require putting down their electronic device and noticing what is going on around them, and let's face it, most kids are oblivious to that. Heck, most parents are!
Then, there are moments when I feel like I'm nailing it and everything will be okay.
Emily got all A's on her report card. They only do semester assemblies, so we don't go to one for her again until the end of the year. But, we are so proud of her. All of her academic classes are honors courses and she's really stepped up and has excelled.
Noah got mostly O's and a couple of S's. They don't start letter grades until 3rd grade, but he's come leaps and bounds in his reading this year. He started the year still reading little picture type books, and over Spring Break he read Diary of a Wimpy Kid! That's a huge jump in 6 months! They also don't do assemblies for Noah until 3rd grade.
Ben had his assembly yesterday. He was called up so many times, he should've just sat on the stage.
Here he is for Principal's List (all A's). There were only 7 kids in all of 5th grade to get all A's!
Here he is being called up for Perfect Attendance. He hasn't missed a day or been late all year. This makes 2 years in a row as he had perfect attendance in 4th grade too.
They acknowledged the kids from Honors that did the Wright Flight program.
And he also got Student of the Quarter:
And prior to the assembly his teacher came over to David and I and said how impressed she was with Ben's recent essay on Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken. She said his deep thinking and writing should be published! Last week when Ben wrote it, I asked David to look it over for punctuation. David read it and asked if I helped Ben write it, nope, not a word. The only thing I did was suggest he make paragraphs since he had it as one giant paragraph. But, the words were all Ben's. Honestly, I couldn't help him if I wanted, Ben's already surpassed me in his writing skills.
I'm going to copy it here, just so we have it always.
Here's the actual poem if you are not familiar with it:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
And here is Ben's essay:
The Road Less Traveled Theory
By Ben Galeana
In this poem, I don't think that the man is a traveler or that he's in the woods. Instead, I think that he is struggling to make a difficult decision. Something I noticed he says, in the very first line, is the two paths are diverged in a yellow wood. I “Googled” it and it said that yellow is a non-tolerable color if you are going through a lot of change. The narrator in this poem, alias Robert Frost, seemed rather depressed for the duration of this poem.
This could mean that he is going through a ton of change. However, it says nothing about the grass being yellow, so I will just assume that the grass is green. Green resembles ambition and greed. But remember, this isn't actually grass and the man is not in a forest. The colors are not there, but the colors' meanings are what his choices include.
His two choices, which represent the paths, are either: one, taking the long and hard way; or two, taking the easy way. The poem was written in 1920, just nine years away from World War I. The number nine resembles pain and long lasting, just like the first world war. The great depression also took place during World-War I!
The great depression was at a time when earning money was very, very difficult. So, if this poem takes place during the great depression, then I may have his choices figured out. The short and simple path is stealing money since the narrator is very poor. The long and hard path is him not giving up and still looking for more civilized ways to receive money. This would also explain why he says, “Oh, I kept the first for another day!” It means that he has been doing the long and hard path, but it just isn't working out for him.
And finally, the last stanza will be explained. I say that it represents what would happen if he took the simple choice or the hard choice. Him saying, “ I shall be telling this with a sigh,” means that he decided to take the easy choice and stole, got arrested, and went to jail. However, saying, “ I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference,” means that he took the hard path and his life turned out for the better. However, even if he took the hard path, it didn't exactly end with a happy ending. You see, the narrator of the story, Robert Frost, died while serving our country in World War I.
Okay, so this is the timeline: World War I happens and the great depression begins. A man doesn't have a job and struggles to earn money. He has two choices. The first, do not give up and keep looking for a job, and the second, become a crook and steal cash. If he took the easy way, stealing, he'd be caught and look at this moment with a sigh. However, if he took the hard way, he'd soon fight in the army to get some money. He died doing this, but is now known as a military hero and has made a lasting impression... and that's made all the difference.
As part of the honors program at Ben's school, they get to participate in the Wright Flight program in fifth grade. It's an intensive study in navigation and coordinates that the kids work on for 2 months. They have to pass a test before they can participate. Emily didn't take the test and get in honors until sixth grade, so she didn't get to participate, which is too bad as it was such a neat experience.
It takes place in Tucson, which is a little over 3 hours south of us. They have to be to the airport by 7 AM, so we decided to drive down Friday night. We stopped at Sweet Tomatoes in Phoenix since it's semi healthy with a salad bar and stuff. But, it also has an ice cream bar, which the kids loved.
We got a hotel right next to the airport. The kids love staying in hotels.
Ben cracks me up. Last night, he's laying like this on the sofa and he says to me, "paint me Jack". He's quoting Titanic. He's silly.
We had to wake the kids up at 6 AM and they were so tired. We all were. Luckily, the Tucson airport was a whole.2 miles away from our hotel. It was nice it was so close.
There were 15 kids. They got checked in and had to go to a safety briefing for a bit.
David went in and listened. I stayed in the other room with the Emily and Noah.
Here's the big group of Wright Flight kids.
There were 8 planes. Ben's was the second one in. The red one.
Ben went up with another classmate and Steve was their pilot.
Here's Steve. I felt pretty safe with trusting Ben with him. He's been in the Air Force.
Steve took everything very seriously and went over everything with the boys. Ben seemed a little out of it at first. I think he was tired and a little scared.
I sent Ben up with a camera. He was trying it out.
Ben's in the backseat for now. They flew to Nogales, which is on the border to Mexico and about 60 miles from Tucson. Ben was in the back for the first half. Then, they land in Nogales and switch places and then Ben got in the front.
The propeller started and there was no turning back!
Eeek! We were all a little freaked out. We knew he'd be fine. But... You just never know. I mean if JFK junior can crash a plane and he had the best training and plane money could buy... This is the stuff you think about when you send your kid up in a tiny plane with a man you've never meant.
Here he goes...on the runway.
There he is...that little dot in the middle of the red circle.
They were going to be gone an hourish, so we went back to the hotel, since it was so close. We got packed up, ate a little more for breakfast since we didn't have much at 6 AM, David and Emily took showers, and we headed back. I was glad to have my mind off things and not be sitting there worrying for an hour.
Then, we got back to the airport and some of the kids were already back. Ben was about the 6th of 8 to take off, so I was hoping he wasn't back already. We went in and there 4 planes back.
So we waited...here's a plane....no him.
Here's another one....nope not him....
Definitely, not him! We didn't realized that so many major airlines flew out of Tucson.
Is this him??? YES! Yippee!
And here they are after a perfect landing with Ben as copilot!
He had a great time! His favorite part was taking control of the plane. I thought they'd get like 20 seconds of holding the controls, but it was more like 20 minutes. He loved it!
Pilot Steve was super impressed with Ben and kept saying that Ben was a great navigator and knew so much of the lingo.
Ben was thrilled with the experience and I think he was thrilled to be back on the ground again.
Here were the pics Ben took with the camera he took up:
This was the oldest plane there. David said when he looked in, the armrest still had an ashtray in it! Ok, that made us a little nervous.
Here's a pic of Ben in the plane.
Ben took this last picture of his family before he went up. I looked at him in the window and gave him a thumbs up and I could tell he was nervous.
Here's his view....
And the landing....
We were going to do something in Tucson, but we just decided to head home. We were all beat. We've had so much rain lately, the desert is so pretty with tons of wildflowers.
This little guy was wiped out!
We are happy to be home. This was the third weekend in a row that we drove 400 miles. Two weekends ago, was 400 miles to Long Beach. Last weekend was 400 miles home. This weekend was 200 miles to Tucson and 200 miles home. We aren't going anywhere for awhile!
But, we are so grateful Ben got to have this experience. Ben can say in 10 days, he went zipling through the jungle in Mexico and flew a plane! How many 11 year olds can say that?
