Prom Mom

Saturday was Prom night for the high school. I do not have a high schooler, but our very good friend Anna had organized a group of 12 people to go to the prom. She asked if they could have dinner here, and, of course, that was fine with me. It is fun to dust off my pewter finery for a fancy dinner every once in a while.

It was a fun evening. The girls came over to change into their dresses. I had made one dress about 3 inches shorter earlier in the day, and fixed the straps/sleeves on another. After they all got into their dresses, one girl noticed that her zipper would not stay up, so I had to sew a hook and eye onto the back of hers while she was wearing it. Also, another girl found that the neck strap of hers was way too long, so I sewed that up on her, too. Still another girl was feeling a little too much breeze down her back, so she needed a quick fix, also.

Then the boys showed up and the pictures began. The kids all had a good time posing in their fanciness for photos. And the girls had their fantasy of coming down the stairs in their prom dresses when the boys came, so that was good, too. Then they headed up to the school to have their "official" pics taken, and I quickly peeled the potoatoes and started setting the table. Dinner was fun, and then they sat around and played the piano and sang various songs for a while before heading off to the big dance.

It really doesn't seem that long ago that it was my big night for the prom. 19 years can go by oh, so fast! Of course, if I showed you my puffy sleeves and huge bow on the side of my dress, it would be quite obvious that it was nearly 20 years ago.

Anyway, I sent some pics of the group over to Walgreens to have for the girls at church Sunday, and when I went to pick them up, the lady told me they could not print them, because they were obviously copyrighted from a professional photographer. I had a good laugh, and signed a waiver that they were my images, and she printed them for me.

Another random Abram memory

When I was pregnant with Joel (he will be 9 next week), there was a time at church that Abram made me laugh hysterically. I was very proud of him for this, too. Abram was 4 and he knew that there was a baby in my tummy. He also, as I explained before, was an expert at human anatomy thanks to The Children's Book of the Body. So here's how the conversation went:

Lady at church: Abram! Is there a baby in your mom's stomach?

Abram: No.

Lady: Are you sure? Isn't your mom going to have a baby?

Abram: Yes. My mom is having a baby.

Lady: Well, the baby is in her stomach right now, right?

Abram: No. The baby is NOT in my mom's stomach. My mom did not eat a baby!

I will miss.....

Today Savanna reminded me of something that I am going to miss when she goes to school. We usually watch Mr. Rogers every day. Savanna loves it, and doesn't like to miss it. Each day when we watch Mr. Rogers, as he comes through his front door onto the set Savanna shouts, "CHOOSE THE PURPLE SWEATER, MR. ROGERS!" She hasn't figured out yet that he always picks the sweater that is at the front of the closet where he hangs up his coat. But she still holds out hope until the last moment that he will search through that closet until he finds that purple sweater. About one in 20 times he actually does pick his purple sweater. But when he doesn't, then I hear, "DARN IT! THAT'S AN UGLY BLUE/WHITE/YELLOW/GREEN SWEATER. WHY DOESN'T HE PICK THE PURPLE ONE?" I just say, "Maybe tomorrow." And then Savanna is OK to watch the rest of the episode without another thought about Mr. Rogers lack of wardrobe savvy.

This is where I long to be, La Isla Bonita

I didn't listen to a lot of Madonna growing up. I remember being in 7th grade and all the girls in my junior high were trying to be Madonna. There was one assignment in our english class where we had to list our 5 favorite songs. I remember there were 3 other girls at my table. Their song lists included: Like a Virgin, Papa Don't Preach, Material Girl, Holiday and Borderline. I remember my list was something like: Bridge Over Troubled Water, Annie's Song, Hard Habit to Break, Hold Me Now, and Footloose. I didn't get Madonna then. I sure don't get Madonna now.

However, when we were getting ready to go to Belize, I was reading Lonely Planent Belize. One of the bits information I learned is that Madonna was singing about Ambergris Caye in her 1987 hit "La Isla Bonita". I was in high school at the time this song came out, and I knew very few of the lyrics. Yet the tune in its minor key was still in my head. And then on every street corner in San Pedro there is a sign that says "La Isla Bonita." This forced the melody through my head so many times each day that I had to look up the lyrics to go along with the music that kept going through my head.

When I looked up the lyrics, I was stunned to see that Madonna and I acually had TWO things in common. First, we both gave birth on October 14, 1996--I only know this because I was in the hospital watching TV after Jacob was born, and that's what was on every channel. The second thing was that we were both in love with San Pedro, Belize.

The lyrics to La Isla Bonita perfectly describe how anyone feels once he or she has walked its sands, felt its salty breeze and played in its warm water.

"Last night I dreamt of San Pedro

Just like I'd never gone, I knew the song.

A young girl with eyes like the desert.

It all seems like yesterday, not far away.

Tropical the island breeze

All of nature wild and free

This is where I long to be

La isla bonita.

And when the samba played

The sun would set so high

Ring through my ears

and sting my eyes

Your spanish lullaby.

I fell in love with San Pedro.

Warm wind carried on the sea, he called to me

Te dijo te amo.

I prayed that the days would last

They went so fast.

I want to be where the sun warms the sky

When its time for siesta you can watch them go by

Beautiful faces, no cares in this world.

Where a girl loves a boy, and a boy loves a girl.

Last night I dreamt of San Pedro.

It all seems like yesterday, not far away."

My apologies for any of you who now have this song stuck in your head.

Cave Tubing

That is a very strange phrase, I know. But it was one of the highlights of our trip to Belize. We went with cave-tubing.com. Yhonny picked us up from our hotel in a bus, and took us east into the rainforest of Belize. The whole way there, he had us laughing so hard we were crying. I seriously haven't laughed that hard and that long in my whole life.

We first went on an ATV Jungle tour. Cave-tubing.com is set up with Honda 4-wheelers, and you go for a pleasure ride through the rainforest. As we were all lined up ready to go I looked at Mark and said, "You know I'm going to want one of these 4-wheelers when we are done." He smiled back and said, "You mean 9 of them!" Off we went. It was so much fun. The ground was muddy, and so were we all when we were finished.

Then it was off to the Caves Branch River. We walked with our innertubes over our shoulders, and headlamps in hand to get to the put-in. On the way we found this beautiful rock that I'm sure God created just for the purpose of jumping into the river. It seemed really high when you were up there. Really, it couldn't have been more than 15 feet, but it seemed like a lot more on the way down. We all took turns jumping into the clear, blue, warm water.

After about a 30 minute walk, we came to a spot that is truly one of the 5 most beautiful places on this earth. The blue water was coming out of one cave and heading into another, and along this steep, rocky canyon wall we climbed into our tubes and headed down the river and through 2 very long caves.

Really you would think that someone had actually created the scenes that we experienced for a movie or something. They were unworldly beautiful. At one point there was a big cavern where a little waterfall came in, and a little open area to let in some natural light. We all just stared with our mouths open wide. It was indescribable.

When we were finished, it was back to the bus, and a stop at Amigos restaurant along the way back to Belize City. Such great Belizian food--only $5 a person, too.

We had to hurry back to Belize City to catch the water taxi which took us to our final destination--La Isla Bonita.

Scuba

I got some of our pictures today from the scuba/snorkel trip in Belize. We went with Ecologic Divers, whom I highly recommend if you are ever in San Pedro. First we did a snorkel at Shark Ray Alley, where we were able to see the most colorful and varied marine life I could imagine. It was truly beautiful to see all the shapes and colors of coral at the reef, and see schools of brightly colored fish swimming in and around everything. I was a little freaked out by the sting rays, but the sharks didn't scare me. The grouper were 5-6 feet long, and really funny looking. It was a beautiful scuba experience.

And then Mark and I did the "Discovery Dive, " which meant that because we were not PADI certified, they gave us a quick course and then we had an instructor right with us while we dove.

Mark came out of the water saying that was one of the coolest things he has ever done, and he was ready to go get his PADI. However, I spent the entire dive feeling like my eyeballs were exploding, and watching my air meter wondering how long the torture of the dive would be. I was able to equalize the pressure in my ears alright, but for some reason the pressure of the water severely hurt my eyeballs. Yes, I am a freak. It would hurt more than anything, and then for a few minutes I would be OK. But as soon as we went either up or down again, I would have the same excruciating pain in my eyeballs.

There were two other girls with us on the "discovery dive" and they were weenies. They had to keep going up to the surface, and finally the instructor came down with one of them and literally held on to her arm to make her stay down, and he sent down another guy from the boat to stay with those of us who were a little more with-it. He was great, and showed us the hiding places of many different fish, lobster, and other crabby things.

When we finally surfaced, my eyes were hurting more than ever. I was grateful to have seen all that marine life, but I am resigned to be a snorkeler forever more.

A Tired Boy

When we were in Belize, Abram snapped these pictures of a very tired Zachary at the table.

Cookie Monster

One of Zack's first words was "Cookie." He loves cookies. If he sees me standing over by the mixer, he comes over and starts begging for cookie dough. He always assumes if I am using the mixer, then I must be making cookies. I made Monster Cookies last night, and he said they were much better than the tacos I made for dinner. I think Zack ate 3 Monster Cookies--and they are about 6 inches across!

The top picture is of Zack after his "dinner."

Ready for School

I turned in Savanna's school papers today. She will be going to the same charter school as the boys. She is so excited. I suppose I am, too. But I will miss her terribly when she is in school this fall. She still has to get her shots (and actually turn 5) but other than shopping for her uniform attire, she is ready to go. She can hardly wait until September. I'm hoping for a long summer, though.

This girl is so funny. She has the most contagious giggle. She was laughing at something I said in the car, and her laugh made me laugh, and then she said, "Mom, that was so huh-wew-ee-ous!" She laughed some more, and I laughed so hard I almost cried. She is a great entertainer, and MAN can she dance!

When she is in school I will really miss her big, big voice following me around the house. She makes sure I get all my chores done, and she helps me with whatever I am doing. She is a great friend to Zack, and he totally adores her. Most mornings when I hear Zack awake in his room he has pulled all of Savanna's bedding onto the floor and is desperately trying to climb up on her bed. Once she finally wakes up, he gives the biggest smile and says, "Nana HUG!" And then they hug and wrestle around on the floor for a minute. Zack gets really excited when he and Savanna are BOTH wearing their Incredibles jammies.

Who doesn't love a beautiful, fashion-forward girl with sparkling eyes, a cute scratchy voice, an imagination like no other? We love Savanna.

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree

Yeah. That's from an old poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. I remember reading it in AP English a million years ago. I never thought another second about it, until I was in Belize.

We stayed at the Xanadu Resort on Ambergris Caye. It truly was heaven on earth there. It wasn't fancy, but it was very nice, clean and inviting. It was small enough to feel safe, but large enough to have great ammenities and a fabulous staff. Their pool was incredible, and the private pier and palapa dock was the best place to go and soak up the Carribean sun and surf. It was so amazing to see at 6 AM every morning the groundskeepers get to work raking up all the debris that had fallen from the palm and fruit trees overnight, removing the washed up sea grass from high tide, and raking the sand into aesthetic perfection.

The resort is south of San Pedro. About a 20 minute walk to town, but shops, markets and restaurants all within a 5 minute walk. It really was a stunning and ideal place to stay. The first night we were there, all 12 of us went to eat at a restaurant just down the beach from Xanadu. As dusk fell, we were sitting under this beautiful pergola covered in tropical flowers, eating amazing food, listening to the ocean, feeling the warm breeze and watching the stars and moonlight reflected on the Carribean Sea. It was a moment I always want to remember. The waiter was in idiot, but everything else was perfect.

I'm waiting to get our pictures of scuba diving and cave tubing so I can post about those excellent adventures!

Lamanai

Mark and me soaking up the shade!The Jaguar Temple at Lamanai.

The High Temple at Lamanai.

Our first big adventure on the mainland was to the city of Lamanai. It is one of the best places in all of central america to see Mayan ruins. It was really a fun, and intellectual, excursion. Our guide told us that many mormon groups from Utah come through Lamanai on tours, and that many scholars believe that Lamanai was the city of Zarahemla in the Book of Mormon. Who knows about that, but it was really inspiring to see these ruins and imagine the civilization that was there 2000 years ago. One of the locals told us that Mayan history accounts say that a Great White God appeared at the High Temple at Lamanai.
From Belize City, we rode in a van for about an hour up north to Orange Walk Town. There we loaded into a river boat for a 32-mile ride up the New River to the ancient city of Lamanai. It was very amazing to pull into the New River Lagoon and see the tops of Mayan ruins sticking out above the jungle.

Along the river we saw many birds we had never seen. Snowy and Great Egrets were everywhere. It seemed that their favorite game was to flock up and try to stay just ahead of the boat at river level. We also saw jacanas, tropical king birds, a snail kite, a common black hawk. The most amazing one of all was the jabiru stork. It flew across the river only about 20 feet away from us. The jabiru is 5-6 feet tall and has a wingspan of 14-16 feet. Mark watched it with his binoculars as it landed in a very cool tree on the river bank and started feeding its baby jabiru. We also saw several crocodiles and iguanas along the river.

Lamanai has been very well excavated. Although there are about 6 major structures to see, the guide said there are about 750 more that have been found, and await excavation. They are there and covered up by the jungle.

Me climbing the High Temple.

The view from the top of the High Temple.What you have to do after to get to the top of the High Temple!A long way down.We climbed the High Temple. It was very, very steep. I couldn't help thinking as we were climbing the stairs that Zachary feels like that every time he goes up our stairs at home. Literally, you were climbing on hands and feet to get up. They Mayans did this to instill humility as the people climbed on hands and knees to reach the top of the temple. The center section of the temple is so steep that they have anchored a rope into it to assist people climbing to the top. Once on top, it was spooky to look down and think about how I was going to get back. From on top, there was an unmatched panoramic view of the jungle below. You could see nothing but jungle canopy all around, and the New River Lagoon running through the jungle. It was one of the most beautiful places I have seen--coming in a close 2nd to the Valley of the Ten Peaks in Alberta. Just stunning. We finally had to go down, and I looked like a freak climbing down, but I made it.

We got to watch a family of howler monkeys climbing, teasing and chasing each other around in the trees just over our heads. It reminded me of the circus of crazy kids I had left home.

Our guide was very knowledgable about archaeology, botany, ornithology, and Mayan history, language and hieroglyphs. He had 4 masters degrees in different areas. I was glad he had such a nerdy group--I can't imagine a lot of people being interested--or polite--as he expouded on minute details. We all thought it was very interesting, though. I can't wait to go back someday. We'll have to find a less scholarly guide if we have the kids with us, though.

You better Belize it!

We're back, and I am tan. Well, tan for me anyway.

Belize is an amazing place, and I highly recommend it to anyone. The mainland was very interesting and colorful, with many different adventures to go on. The island was incredible, and I loved going out at 5:00 AM to watch the sun rise over the Carribean. It was so warm.

Best of all we came home and found all our kids safe and sound.

We're planning a trip back with all the kids. Hopefully in 2 years. I can't wait to go back. I will post some more about our adventures later. For now, this is a picture of Mark and me on top of the High Temple in the ancient Mayan city of Lamanai.

Hacksaw Hero

Mark saved the day yesterday. When he came home and I told him about the adventurous morning I had in the laundry room, he got right to work. He took his cell phone downstairs so he could listen to the phone ring inside the wall. He then used his extraction expertise and opened up the wall and removed the insulation. The exposed pipe was no match for his hacksaw. He was able to locate the precise location of the phone using the ringer for a clue. He sliced through that pipe, and retrieved the phone. Hooray! Only some minor saw-marks on the top end of the phone, but as good as new. Then he filled the pipe with quilt batting so Zachary can't hide any more treasures in there. Hopefully we will finish the basement this coming winter and I'll have my 2 washers and 2 dryers hiding the pipe.

I am amazed through this at how tall Zack is. I can't believe he was tall enough to see up that high on the wall and notice there was a hole to put the phone in! He is totally off the chart for 18 months old, and the size of an average 2 1/2 to 3-year-old. Hooray for his X chromosome! He has the best chance of our boys at breaking the 5-10 barrier that has eluded Mark and his brothers. Actually, I think Noah will be the only one of the boys to not break that barrier. But Zack will definitely tower over all of us someday.