Soccer Monkeys

Bryce makes a goal for Coach Judy.




He learns how to throw the ball from the sideline.




Monkey #4 poses for a picture before his big game.


A reluctant Bryce participated in his first soccer game tonight. We put him in the post soccer league for one reason: soccer involves lots and lots of running! Neither Barry nor I have ever played soccer. But it's the thing down here, and the registration fee was reasonable. Before the season started, he was so excited to pick out his blue soccer ball, cleats, and shin guards. He proudly told everyone he was going to play soccer in "Smeptember" and wanted to know why he couldn't wear his cleats in the house. The much anticipated first practice was 3 weeks ago. For some reason, Bryce, who loves to kick things, hasn't been very interested in the game. (Bryan, however, loves to run with the kids and chase the ball!) After 2 practices, Bryce told me to call Ms. Judy (his coach and a family friend) to tell her he'd "just sit on the bench" because he didn't want to play.

So we went to tonight's game fully expecting Bryce to spend all 4 6-minute quarters sitting on the sidelines. Then the unthinkable happened: a little girl fell and decided she didn't want to play. So Judy grabbed Bryce's hand and asked him to 'walk' with her on the field. Once he realized the kids were fighting over possession of a ball, he decided he could play. He did great and almost made a goal. Hopefully next week he'll remember how much fun he had!

Sailing, Sailing Over the Sky So Blue...

Cool Beans!! sailing through the air.
















Jeanne, Taylor w/Bryan, Olen, Scarlet Rose, Sydney, and Bryce in front of the rising purple bean.





One great thing about the Southwest is the variety of hobbies available. One of the PICU nurses we met while Bryan was sick 2 years ago is a balloonist. Jeanne "Bean" Gartner is originally from Pittsburgh (she threw a great Super Bowl party earlier this year--in true Steeler style). Before she worked at the hospital where Bryan spent 5 weeks of his life, she traveled the world on a cruise ship, working as the ship's nurse. Through family connections she ended up here, then chose to stay because she fell in love with ballooning. (Well, I'm sure falling in love with her boyfriend was a reason, too.)

A few weeks after Bryan was released from the hospital, Jeanne invited Barry, Sydney, my dad, and me to crew and receive a free flight. Of course we accepted! We rode in Cool Beans! the first. We enjoyed seeing the mountains and colors of the desert and Rio Grande valley from the air. Since then we've tried to attend relatively local balloon festivals and have developed a great appreciation of all the work that goes into ballooning.

After Cool Beans! died earlier this year, Jeanne and Barney (Jeanne's boyfriend) started the process of designing and purchasing another balloon. We were able to see the artist's rendition of the new balloon, but until tonight hadn't seen the actual thing. Work schedules, vacations, and monsoon season interrupted a few launch attempts. So I was thrilled when Jeanne called and asked us to come see Cool Beans!! the second's local debut. She was taking up a woman for her 90th birthday--a present from this brave woman's family. They wanted to be flying over the mountains as the sun set. What a present! We were at Rebecca's house swimming, so Rebecca and I dried off the kids and headed to the launch site. (Rebecca & the kids moved back last week--and their house has an in-ground pool!)

Watching a crew work together to assemble and inflate a balloon is incredible. The kids loved seeing the colored beans rise from the ground, and Jeanne enjoyed explaining how balloons work with wind currents, temperatures, and fuel burners. (Yea! Balloons and science--perfect spontaneous field trip opportunity!) Bryce told me he's ready for his first balloon flight. I think he needs to grow a few more inches, but we may have to work something out for his next birthday.

We are very thankful for the wonderful people God's placed in our lives. Jeanne's one of them. She took great care of Bryan in the PICU and has become a close family friend. If we hadn't met her, we couldn't truly appreciate the desert scenery that surrounds us. Thank you, Jeanne & Barney--and Cool Beans!!

Then Breaks the Mourning

Today is the first official day of the 2006 mourning period. For those of you not living in the desert, that means it's the first day of fall. Autumn is my favorite season: the chilly air that slaps you awake, the crunchy leaves that talk to you, the smell of harvest that promises seasonal goodies are coming soon. I have looked forward to this change of scenery since I was little.

Now I live in an area of the country that experiences only two seasons: hot summer and not-so-hot summer.

Here, the patchy grass that didn't grow until the monsoon season started last month is still yellowish green. The leaves on the ground are also dull green, too lazy to even attempt what autumn dictates. Granted the mercury registers 20 degrees cooler than a month and a half ago, and the sun is setting earlier in the evening. But we'll still wear shorts through Thanksgiving--when the dull-green leaves are still on the trees and the temps are in the 70s. The kids were excited about fall and rushed to the window this morning, only to look out and see nothing different. (We haven't discussed how seasons work yet.) For this to upset me is one thing; to have it depress my children is another.

Hence we are creating our own autumn. We keep our central air set at 69 so we can wrap up in blankets and drink hot cocoa or cider. Last Wednesday I took homemade pumpkin pie and apple cake to share with my Bible study. They all laughed when I announced I was making my own fall since it refused to come to me. And after the kids' sad day of searching for organic orange, red, and yellow foliage, they colored pictures of scarecrows and pumpkins. We also booked a trip to an out-of-state pumpkin patch/corn maze. And a few years ago, my mother-in-law sent us a package of fabric fall-colored leaves which Sydney & I used to decorate our bookshelves. Syd wanted it to really look like fall inside, so following her direction, we alternated both size and color. ("We have to make a pattern!" she insisted, since, of course, nature always follows a pattern.)

Then we made buckeye candy--not that the kids know what buckeyes are. But who cares? Chocolate and peanut butter...yummy fun! Bryan (2) kept dipping his peanut butter ball in the chocolate after licking off the previous layer. Fortunately I had the foresight to let him dip last. Bryce (4) and Sydney (7-1/2) did excellent jobs making their own. Brady (10 mos), however, was quite upset that he couldn't enjoy the day's edible project. Sorry, buddy. We'll share some at Christmas!

So if you're mourning the loss of summer, remember us transplanted Midwesterners. Six autumns without the benefits haven't diminished our pain.

A Map, Anyone?

My first day here over 5 years ago, I needed to buy groceries. Barry had been living on moldy bread and peanut butter. As yummy as that sounded, I declined his offer of a sandwich. So braving the 110-degree July heat, Mom & I set off to find the post grocery store, aka the commissary. But I didn't know only military ID holders could enter. Poor Mom sat in the car for an hour while I fumbled down the aisles and waited in the endless checkout line. Between the heat and the pressure of shopping in a foreign environment, I was frazzled. The nice bagger-man offered to take my groceries to my car. After he loaded them into my trunk, he informed me I was to pay him a tip. I had no cash and was dumbfounded by the 40-ish man's blatant demand for reciprocation. Mom handed him a dollar, and we drove away.

But I didn't realize that I needed a map to get back to our duplex. We drove around for an hour or so before I found a familiar road. Direction-challenged on Indiana's straight, N-S & E-W roads, streets that follow a curving mountain range finished the destruction of my inner compass. I managed to laugh with Barry about the day's events, but that one experience frustrated me enough to hang up my car keys. I didn't go anywhere by myself for 5 months--and then only because Kari flew down for a visit and offered to get lost with me.

Since then I've lived here by myself during deployment and FTXs (field training exercises). Thanks to new friends and trusty online map services, I've managed to find my way to most places in this border city. I've even given a few tours. No longer an ignoramus to the inner-workings of military shopping, I'm even grateful for the tips-only baggers at the commissary. They're truly lifesavers when I'm wrestling to keep 4 kids from putting every piece of check-out candy on the conveyer belt.

Ah, that wonderful thing known as change. I've managed to adjust without wanting to end my life. Of course now that I'm embracing military life in the desert, we'll probably get orders and have to start all over. :)