Workin' for the Weekend

We've decided that the money I bring home from substitute teaching will go towards Airstream adventures. Though these paychecks have always been extra income for our household, I did spend more of it last year because I needed to build a decent wardrobe. I'm not shopping much this year; I'm wearing all the same outfits. I'm fine with that because I'd honestly rather spend the money traveling with my family.

As a result of this money earmarking, I've been loading my calendar. No incentive is better than getting to go away for a few days or for a longer spring, summer, or fall trip.

The funds are stacking up, and I'm making plans. This summer we are headed to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. We are planning a trip to Zion and Bryce Canyon NPs in October 2016. I'm still figuring something out for spring break this year, but Summer 2017 is--hopefully!--the year we get to the Pacific Northwest to visit Washington's three national parks and everything else it has to offer. I'll need three weeks, I know.

In the meantime, I'll work like mad so we can adventure like mad.

Sedona Weekend

A birthday and red rocks and meteor/missiles, oh my!

We ventured out in the Airstream again this weekend. Though it was only our second time, we took company! Brian's mom joined us on a trip to Sedona. Since a lot of the campgrounds in the Sedona and Oak Creek areas are either tent only or closed for the season, we stayed about thirty minutes away in Cottonwood. Dead Horse Ranch State Park is much nicer than the name would imply with pretty mountain views, twinkling lights from the cliff-hugging town of Jerome, and comfortable facilities just a few campsites up from ours.

We fought a little rush-hour traffic getting out of the Valley since we weren't able to leave until four o'clock on Friday afternoon, but we were backed into our campsite by 7 p.m. A campfire and birthday cake celebration soon followed before we retired to our cozy beds inside. A few fellow campers braved the 40-something degree temperature in tents, but we appreciated our own digs.

On Saturday morning, we were excited to see what the campground looked like. Though not woodsy, the full sunlight felt good with the brisk and breezy air. There was not a cloud in the sky the entire time we were up there.

There was a dark moment when we thought we might not have a working coffee maker, but thank goodness Brian is an engineer extraordinaire who can fix anything. Anything, I say! Though he removed four or five pieces of the coffee maker's switch, he was able to get it perking with a pair of tweezers. We enjoyed our coffee two mornings, and then we had to lay that machine to rest in the dumpster on the way out today. It lived a good life; it accompanied Gigi and Grandpa on may trips in their motor homes, but survived only two with the Nakais. I'm sure that says something terrible about us.

Once fueled and caffeinated, we drove to Sedona for a late morning hike at Fay Canyon. So gorgeous! I read this was the perfect time of day for the best light, and whoever wrote that was absolutely correct. The colors were splendid.

We saw no wildlife other than lizards and birds.

Matthew is always on the lookout for the perfect walking stick. If he can't find perfection, he settles for anything.

At the end of the maintained trail, there's a rather steep climb with some rewarding views. We decided to give it a try. 

We were glad we did. That's Courthouse Butte and Bell Rock in the distance, beautifully framed by Fay Canyon.

Our kids are decent climbers.

When we reached the top, and also the end of the canyon, we heard a sound as peaceful as the scenery. It was a flutist on top of that rock structure. We were impressed. Zoom in if you can; he's even standing like Kokopelli.

the end of the canyon

There are several energy vortex points in and around Sedona. I'm not sure we felt them, but you can see trees twisted as though some energy did something to them. Matthew, clearly not a believer, pretended to be attacked by this one.

The hike was very pretty and very enjoyable. Everywhere you looked was beautiful.

After hiking, we found a nice spot in Oak Creek Canyon for a picnic lunch. It was chilly, but the sun felt nice.

We walked on the main drag of Sedona for just a little bit and visited some shops, but it was very busy and crowded, so we didn't stay long in that part of town. Instead we drove south a bit and made a stop at the Chapel of the Holy Cross.

After that, we were tired and headed back to camp. We got there in time to relax a bit, do some homework, visit with some camp neighbors, and take a short hike along the interpretive trail at the campground. We watched the sunset and then had our dinner of BBQ chicken and mac and cheese. (Yeah. If it works, I don't deviate much.)

After we cleaned up dinner, Brian got a fire going again. I was just zipping up my jacket when Sue called me outside to see the amazing sight outside. We didn't know at the time there was a missile test or meteor shower going on, so the haunting dome of light with the bluish streak was a bit unsettling. It was eerie and awesome at the same time, and, as usual, the photo does not do it justice. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for the drama, but I want to believe it's a meteor rather than a missile. Just let me please.

After breakfast on Sunday morning, we made a quick trip up to Jerome. We went into a few shops and enjoyed the view from way up there. We could even see snow on the tops of the San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff off in the distance.

We had another fabulous weekend outside. Just the way we like it.

Airstream Eve

It's the night before our second adventure in our Airstream. After school tomorrow, we're heading north to Sedona until Sunday. Brian's mom is going with us, and we're all looking forward to spending some time outdoors.

There's a lot to prepare, and I've worked most of this week. Yesterday, I was off but cleaned the house. I work harder on my days off. I think I've bought everything we need for our meals and snacks, gotten the kids' clothes packed, and gotten the linens all set. My part is ready. Except for prepping our dinner sandwiches for the car, making a birthday cake for Matthew (Tomorrow is his birthday!), and getting my clothes and Brian's clothes all packed. I can do it!

I sub all day tomorrow, however it's for PE at Matthew's school, so my first class isn't until 9:45. It's cake-baking and trailer packing time in the morning.

Brian took today off to install a new water pump in the Airstream, and he's getting all the gear ready tomorrow. As soon as the kids and I get home, we'll take showers and head out the door as close to four o'clock as we can. We hope to arrive at our campground by six. It will be dark. Wish us luck.

Once there, we plan to hike, stroll through town, check out a vortex or two, and explore whatever suits our fancy. Brian's mom has never been to Sedona, so we'll enjoy the views in the most laid back style.

That's how we roll.

Two Questions

Why is there some kind of country music award show on about once a month? And why does my husband like watching them?

I don't really need answers. I just wanted to send those questions out into the void. Goodnight, dear void.

Lots of Six Strings

Last week I subbed for an elementary general music teacher, and when I unlocked the door and walked in, I couldn't believe my eyes. 

I was not expecting that in a K-6 public school music room. Thirty guitars? That's impressive. Sure they have nylon strings, but that's a pretty ambitious teacher, don't you think? I want to go there.

Football Schmootball

Upon learning that I'm from Pittsburgh, people usually immediately ask if I'm a Steelers fan. My go-to response is that I probably would be if I cared or knew anything about football. But I don't, so I'm not, and I likely never will be.

It's not that I hate football; it's that, like a cat, I just don't care. I can remember sitting in the stands with the marching band at high school football games. The weather was always cold and damp, and our flag girl costumes were made of spandex. It was so uncomfortable and I didn't know what was going on in the games, so I'd watch the clock and think, "one second gone, one second gone, one second gone," over and over. Then the clock would stop and I'd let out a long and loud mental, "Why??????" I really wanted to be anywhere but there.

So because of that aversion, I haven't been accepting many PE jobs lately. 'Tis the season for football, and I am the last person a PE teacher wants teaching their students about football. Unless it's at Matthew's school, I never know what's in store for me, so I have been avoiding those assignments. However, my pal Julie is doing a long-term PE sub job and she needed a sub last Friday. So I subbed for the sub.

During her first three classes, she team teaches with another PE teacher. So the plan was to watch and learn from that teacher and apply those lessons for my remaining six classes. Knowing that, I didn't feel too much dread when I showed up that morning and saw a cart full of footballs.

It all worked out well. I even learned something. What? Well, the center holds the ball in a 4-point stance on the line of scrimmage, and no one can move or it's off sides. The quarterback stands a few feet behind the center and calls out, "1, 2, 3, hike." The center then tosses the ball through his legs to the QB. The QB throws the ball to the wide receiver. I'm a little fuzzy on what happens next, but in PE class we rotate those positions among a team of three people and repeat that play as many times as we can.

Look at me learn! And you just learned that I wasn't lying. I really did know nothing about football.

Thank Goodness It's November 1st

I'm not big on Halloween. I know it can be fun to dress up or create fabulous costumes for your kids, but it's also so much work. And is it just me or does that work take all the fun out of it? This year, I was pretty much done with Halloween before it even started.

Elizabeth said she wanted to be Snoopy. We saw no cute Snoopy costume that was reasonably priced, so she and I looked online to determine if we could make one. Well, you know, I don't really sew, so we got nowhere fast. After a while I said, "Would you mind picking something that is human?" I'm never excited to disappoint my kids or crush their dreams, but that's what that felt like. Darn you, Halloween, and your forced festivities.

As for Matthew, he couldn't decide what he wanted to be. He jumped all around only to settle on being an Army guy for the second year in a row. To make matters worse, his cub scout pack has an annual Halloween party in which everyone goes overboard. I mean that. As proof, his leader's wife was a double major in drama and costume design. Geez oh man! You haven't seen anything like it, and she and a few of the other seamstress mothers had been discussing their families' costume plans for months. Frankly, I was already embarrassed. Until....

It was Friday afternoon, and Matthew and I were waiting at Elizabeth's bus stop after school. I was looking through Facebook and found a photo of some kid in New Zealand dressed like the Jake from State Farm guy--red polo, telephone headset, name tag, and the mandatory khakis. I laughed, Matthew laughed, and we finally decided on his costume less than three hours before his party. Luckily, his costume doubles as his school uniform. 

Back to Elizabeth, she and her friend from school decided to go to the school dance last week as nerd twins. Thank goodness nerds are humans! She wore one of my old business shirts, and my tank top fit her like a vest. She donned thick glasses with a band-aid in the middle, pulled up some knee socks, and off she went with friends to her dance and then trick-or-treating. What another spot of luck.

How did it go? Well, Matthew didn't really enjoy the notoriety of his costume. People went crazy over him, and he isn't much of a talker. He complained, "I had to say 'khakis' like two hundred times!" That number might not be off because no one could resist asking him, "What are you wearing, Jake from State Farm?" However, he did win the Funniest Costume trophy at his cub scout party. I celebrated by silently screaming, "Suck it, overachieving moms!" Just kidding. And just kidding about just kidding.

Overall, I count this as another Halloween success. It's usually touch and go around here--even as late as three o'clock the day before--but somehow we always pull it off. Perhaps we should start planning next year's costumes tonight.