Climb in the Station Wagon Kids, We're Going to the Canyon!

Ever since watching the episode of The Brady Bunch where they drive to the Grand Canyon in their 70's station wagon and Bobby and Cindy get lost and spend the night with the Indian tribe and get Indian names, I have wanted to go to the Grand Canyon. That was when I was eight years old. Well, thirty-two years later, we finally took the family to see it. With such a momentous occasion, it seems I must document the trip for posterity and the grandparents serving a mission in England. They have requested some pictures and an update on our Grand Canyon trip, and although I wasn't thrilled with the pics of the actual canyon, I aim to please, so here are a few(not!) pics and a brief synopsis of the trip...

We drove up to Williams, AZ (an hour and a half from the canyon) and stayed overnight there at the hotel that is part of the Grand Canyon Railways package -- so we could ride the train into the canyon. The hotel was pretty quaint and had an old west feel to it. The kids had fun exploring the gift shops (a major theme) and the railroad tracks. The next morning we were up early and had our bags packed and down in the lobby by 8 a.m. (that's pretty darn early for all of us to be up and ready!) We got to watch a "Wild West Show" and then we got on the train to the canyon.

They attempted to be entertaining on the train -- we had some old guy from Tennessee who told lame jokes and pointed out ant hills on the side of the tracks. Nevertheless, the little guys LOVED the ride. They looked out the big windows, used the bathroom many more times than needed, talked to the other people and had a great time. The big kids soon discovered it was pretty much a glorified car ride and fell asleep.

We got to the canyon around noon-ish and boarded a bus to do a little tour of the south rim (two spots with overlooks). Somehow Eli made friends with this old cowboy named Morris from Missouri. He was on the bus with us and Eli started holding his hand and calling him his "best buddy". They were both pretty pleased with the arrangement.

The tour of the rim was beautiful but stressful. Those railings are far from adequate to keep 2 and 4 year-olds from diving into the canyon. We had to keep a hand on them at all times, which isn't the easiest to do. It turns out Jonah and Gid were pretty nervous about the heights, while Zach and I have no healthy fears of things like that.

After the bus tour, they dropped us back at the main touristy place on the south rim. They've built a rock wall and a long walking path that connects most of the gift shops, restaurants and hotels. We discovered that all of it is owned by the same company -- so all the food was overpriced, tasted the same and was nasty! It was hard to get away from that tourist feel. I definitely want to go back sometime when we can hike in and spend time in a more natural setting. Here's a picture of one of the cool buildings, that turned out to be a gift shop! (like all the other cool buildings)

At 4 p.m. we checked into a hotel there at the canyon and discovered the amazing setting outside our back door (see this post for those pictures.) After spending time taking pictures of Hannah and the boys, Ren and I walked back to the rim to try to catch the sunset and take some shots there. A few of them kind of turned out, but we had missed most of it.

We also got up the next morning and tried to catch the sunrise, but it never quite materialized either. By the time the sun clears all those peaks, it's no longer sunrise. Still, here's a few taken then.

The next day we had all day until 3 p.m. to spend at the canyon. We weren't sure what we would do, since we pretty much saw most of what we could see the day before. There was a trail where you could hike down in, so we took the kids down it for 10 minutes or so then hiked back up.

Jonah was anxious about it, so we left him at the top and headed down without him. Zach and I were very tempted to climb out on a very inviting outcropping of rock, but were deterred by this sign (and Ren's glare when I suggested we ignore it):

After the hike, we explored the art gallery at this old photography studio built in the 1920's by two brothers whose names I should remember, but I don't.

We did our best to be artsy fartsy and discuss, line, texture, perspective, style and the different media used by the artists. The kids actually kind of got into it and picked out their favorite paintings. Oh yeah, there was also a gift shop there (surprise, surprise). Jonah was pretty thrilled that he had the most money to spend and he bought lots of cheap junk that he will treasure for at least a week or so! He did manage to procure six different smashed pennies for his smashed penny collection -- they are now proudly displayed in a wallet designed for that purpose. (I should have a picture of him showing it here, but I don't). So here's a picture of Ren and Gid looking out the telescope-y thing instead.

After wandering the rim again, eating more nasty food, exploring more gift shops and taking more pictures, we boarded the train at 3 p.m. and headed back to Williams. On the way home, some "outlaws" rode up on horses and boarded the train. They "robbed" us (a shameless ploy to get tips) but wouldn't accept the coins the kids had. Pretty lame -- they only wanted dollars!

We got to Williams at 5:30 p.m. and then had to eat dinner and drive home. Kind of a long day for Ren (the only driver who won't fall asleep at the wheel at night.)

All in all, I'm glad we made the trip. The canyon is indescribably huge and impressive and makes me want to ride a mule down in and get to know it better.

What Kind of Skin Do You Have?

Our last two children require vastly different parenting than our first five. It's somewhat ironic that in our "older" parenting years, Gid and Eli are the craziest and most physical of our seven children. They absolutely require lots of rough and tumble action from their caregivers -- something that is very difficult for me. Even when I'm not tired (ha ha!) I have always had very sensitive skin. Ren will lightly pat me and be surprised when I say, "Ow!" So, I have to leave the wrestling to Ren or Hannah, who is an amazing wrestler it turns out.

A few weeks ago, Ren started the "punching" game with the boys. He would pretend to punch them and they thoroughly enjoyed punching him, of course, and everyone had a great time. Until...Eli punched me. He was somewhat offended when I looked at him in dismay and crankily said, "Ouch!"

"Dad let's me punch him, Mom." he told me matter-of-factly.

"Well Eli, it hurts my skin when you punch me."

"Oh," he said in a crestfallen tone, clearly indicating that I was NOT as fun as Dad, at least when it came to the punching game.

Fast forward a few days and Eli asks me out of the blue (or so I thought), "Mom, what kind of skin do you have?" Huh?

I responded, "What kinds of skin are there?"

"Well, Dad and I have punching skin, what kind of skin do you have?"

Aaah. As understanding dawns on me I tell him, "I have sensitive skin."

"Hmmm. Sensitive skin," he says as he turns the idea over in his mind. "Why do you have sensitive skin mom?" Now that is the question, isn't it.

I don't know why I have the wrong kind of skin, but it is an interesting realization to make in our family. It helps me understand Zach a little better anyway. After wrestling with Gid for a while, he came to me a few days after this conversation and said, "Mom, I just can't handle Gid, he is too physical!"

"Aha!" I said, "You don't have punching skin!"

"What?!" he asked, clearly looking at me like I was losing it.

I explained it all to him, pointing out that Gid and Eli and Dad and even Hannah have punching skin, but we have sensitive skin that doesn't like to be touched. Amazing how many other things that explains! It turns out he and I are the only ones who don't have punching skin. And while that's unfortunate for him, it's nice to have someone who understands me. Even more important, it's a good thing to have plenty of other people around to wrestle with those crazy littles, because those of us who are more sensitive just can't handle it for very long.

So I ask the question: What kind of skin do you have?

Baby No More!

A month ago, we were at Target and Gideon wanted me to buy him a transformer. I told him that he would get one for his birthday...in a month. So what do you think I've heard several times a week for the last month? "Is it my birfday mom?" "Mom, is it my birfday yet?" "Mooooom! I want my transformer, is it my birfday now?" You can imagine that when we told Gid on Thursday night that his birthday was "tomorrow" he was more than a little excited! He told Ren, "You surprise me!" Ren said, "Now?" And Gid said, a little exasperated, "No! Tomorrow, on my birfday!"

So, Friday morning, we heard him stirring and we snuck around the corner to "surprise" him...when we saw that he had hobbled down the hall to the bathroom, with his jammies around his ankles and a pull-up oozing with diarrhea hanging off his bum. Poor Gid. He must have gone in the night and it was crusted all over his legs and bum. He HATES showering, so it was sad that the first thing he got to do on his birthday was stand in the shower, sobbing, while Ren cleaned him up.

When he was dressed, we had Gid's "surprise" take two: we gathered a few of the kids together, snuck up on him and yelled, "Surprise! It's your birthday!" He loved it! We let him open a few presents in the morning from Jonah and Curtis (a panda puppet and a small transformer) and he was very happy to finally get to experience the joy of his birthday! Then when the Big kids came home from school we had a family party with cake and presents and a treasure hunt for his new train table. He was thrilled to sit in front of his cake and go through the birthday rituals of listening to us sing and blowing out the candles. He kept saying, "It's my birfday!" and his eyes would shine as he looked at me. With all the times that I forget to follow through on things that I promise, having his birthday actually come, after I promised him it would for a month, seemed to give him confidence that Mom wasn't just making things up!

The treasure hunt, designed by Jonah, Cody and Curtis and complete with map (created by Jonah) led him through three levels where he had to fight "bosses" with his light saber. (Kind of Dora the Explorer meets SuperMario) First he had to go past the spider web on the front porch, where he had to fight Curty the Black Widow.

After vanquishing Curtis, it was on to the bouncy trampoline where he met Jonah the Jedi. He hopped on and beat Jonah as well, then followed the map around the corner and through Bucket Valley (the boys had thoughtfully taken out a pile of 20 or so sand buckets and spread them across the back walk).

There he met Codo Baggins and his sword, which was easily bested by Gid's lightning fast light saber. Finally, he headed down to the creepy basement, where he confronted all three level bosses and downing them all, he got to unveil his train table. He loved it!

Now it hits me that after 17 years, I no longer have a baby. I'm really pretty happy about that. I love this crazy, three year-old and his zest for life. He's loud, physical, comical, sweet and adored by eight people older than he is who are happy that he brings out the little kid in us all. Happy Birthday Gideon!

Not Quite Senior Pictures...

Well, she's not quite a senior, but I had the BEST photo shoot with my daughter Hannah last week. We were vacationing at the Grand Canyon and our hotel room backed on the forest right where the train tracks came through. It was just begging to be photographed and luckily I had a willing subject! What is it about train tracks and late afternoon sun that just come together to make a magical moment? Add to that a funny, beautiful, teenage girl full of personality and you get the reason why I love to take pictures. Maybe if I keep practicing I might really be able to do her senior pictures when the time comes. For now I'll just share these...

Of course, we had to have a few crazy ones, just to keep the world balanced. Hannah can't be serious for long without exploding! (Or maybe that's me who can't...)

We also had a few visitors who saw us playing on the train tracks and just had to join us...

First Gideon...

Then Curtis and Eli...

And finally the crazy man who had to walk the rails! :D

I know it's silly, but this little spot in the world captured my imagination in a way that the Grand Canyon just couldn't. Wonder of the world or not, it just couldn't compete with capturing these moments with my adorable family.

Lip Action

It's been a bad year for Byers lips. If you remember, back in the spring I had surgery on my lip and looked like Frankenstein for a while. Well, I have trained my children so well, that they are working hard to follow my example. The highest achievers in the lip category have gone to heroic measures to emulate my Frankenstein look, so I thought I'd share their accomplishments.

A couple of weeks ago, after suffering two previous bike crashes out on the mountain trails with his Dad, Zach crashed on his bike during a harrowing ride...to school. (Sorry Zach, it's just so ironic that your worst crash was on the sidewalk.) He called me at 6:30 a.m. to tell me that he'd crashed and broken his tooth. Poor Zach! Here's what he looked like when I found him...

Skinned and swollen lip, bleeding chin and lovely broken tooth.

And here's a creepy one of him (below) He's all ready for Halloween!

Not to be outdone by his brother, Eli was riding his bike two days ago, slipped on a patch of sand and smashed his lip too. It was hard to get the right angle on him, his is really sticking out like a Who from Who-ville.

I am sure that Cody would feel slighted if I didn't resurrect the pictures of him when he had surgery to remove an extra tooth in the front of his mouth. He had the best swollen lip of anybody! Unfortunately, he is disqualified from the best lip contest because his fat lip entry was from several years ago and we don't want to compete with him!

Well readers, you can decide who wins the contest. Vote and let your voice be heard. As for the Byers family, listen up! I think we've had enough Lip Action for one year -- so I'd like to announce that this contest is closed.