Dichotomous Detroit

My mother grew up in Detroit, Michigan and I spent vacations there visiting my grandparents when I was little.  We'd drive up through Canada and take the tunnel that let out right into downtown.  My mother would promptly hit the locks on her door and wouldn't relax until we got to my grandparents house on Duchess Ave, east of Detroit.  My grandfather worked for Ford and later on for some electric company (I think...I wonder if it was the American Electric Iron Company on Woodward?  I'm not sure or if it was just some local place.  Someday I'll need to ask).

My memories are of emerging out of that tunnel into this huge city, bigger than I had ever seen.  Gawking at crowds of people on the streets, lights, White Castle...what's that mom??  The huge huge streets, some with medians down the middle and gorgeous houses.  My grandparents house was a modest brick house, the neighbors next door had an above ground pool with a slide, I'd never seen such a thing.  My brother and I would longingly stare over the fence and say things in a stage whisper like..."Boy, it sure is HOOOOT out here today!!"  or "Whew!  I feel like I'm melting, how will we ever cool down?"  until the neighbors eventually asked if we wanted to swim, just to shut us up.  We weren't allowed to actually ask them if we could come over...because that would be rude.  Kids!  If our loud whining didn't work my grandfather would get out these 3 metal wash tubs and fill them up with the hose, we'd go sit in them and then my grandmother would come out of the house with ice cream in these fantastic colored plastic dishes on stems, the ice cream would be covered in Magic Shell.  Now I'm sure that there is something very unhealthy about eating something that is liquidy chocolate something or other that hardens when it gets cold...but even today if I see it on the shelves I'll buy it and eat it with Breyer's Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream and I'm transported back to summers in Detroit.  I remember eating them on the screened in porch out front and in the backyard while watching my grandfather in his beautiful garden of lilies or watch him mow with one of those non powered mowers.

I remember almost giving the other next door neighbor a heart attack as I climbed across the top of the swing set.  I remember thinking how weird it was that there were all these alley's behind the houses where the garbage was collected.  I remember listening to a Red Wings hockey game on the radio while watching it with the sound off on the TV, because my grandfather preferred the announcers on the radio...I happen to agree.  He'd also bring us small powdered donuts at least once during our visit.  I also remember vaguely a trip to his work, I remember watching him fiddle with electronic stuff and him explaining that he had gotten shocked so much that he doesn't feel much in his fingertips anymore.

I remember eating at some Dutch? something or other restaurant...it was a buffet and I remember the color red and the fact it was always pretty dark and my grandfather would complain about it.  I remember my grandmother would save scraps off her plate in a napkin that she would put in her purse for the dog.  My grandfather drove everywhere, because my grandmother didn't know how to drive.  He'd take us to the mall that had the big metal hippos and rhino's you could crawl all over.  He'd take us to Belle Isle which had the coolest boat museum with a stethoscope...no telescope...no  oh gosh what are those things called in submarines???  And the creepiest aquarium I've ever been in, but I wanted to go back every time we visited because if I could just make it past the really scary creepy huge tank with the big Garr fish with the sharp teeth that seemed to slink out of the dark murky recesses, I could see my favorite fish the Lion fish in the small tank in the back, next to the equally cool sea horses and then I could go back past the amazing electric eel.  I was in heaven if we were there during a display of the eel's currenty power.  Every single memory I have of Detroit is happy and joyous, which is why it pains me so to see the amount of ruin that is in that city and loss of so many beautiful buildings and places.  Even the aquarium after over 100 years of continuous operation was also closed.

I have a class on being a reference librarian and reference resources for my graduate degree.  One of the projects is a bibliographic essay (an explanation of what that is should be saved for another time).  I chose to research the ruins of Detroit and examine the history behind some of these ruins.  My research has taken me to look at fascinating old maps of the area, books about ruins and social economics, journal articles on increasing green space and social issues and many many websites, pictures and films.  The more I research the more I realize that Detroit is a city of dichotomy, that it has two sides sometimes right next door to each other.  That is it a city that is decaying but on the brink of such great things.  That a neighborhood of decaying houses can be just down the street from a restored mansion. It is beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.  I am reminded of the photo essay I did on this very subject of dichotomy during my undergraduate degree, but in a very different city, San Francisco.  I have spent days and hours lost in the library and on the web happily immersed in this amazing city.

Hopefully these short movies are viewable. (I took the movies out and just have a link to the page they are on now...it was driving me nuts that I couldn't mute the initial movie.)  They are amazing!  Be aware there is a bunch of badly bleeped cursing and in the middle one a few off color references, but the places and hope that is exhibited in these stories is amazing!  I hope to go back to Detroit someday and continue where I left off and create more good memories in this beautiful hopeful decaying rebuilding city.  Watch Detroit Lives on:  https://www.palladiumboots.eu/

Enjoy!  PS If you want more links to pics and such they are everywhere, but I'm sure I can post some if you want.

wha--th--ell?

I sometimes wonder why people do the things that they do...or dogs for that matter.  Little tiny dachshund puppy walking behind it's owner, suddenly decides to flop on the sidewalk and roll around.  The owner drags him for a couple feet before she realizes that he's just flopped on the ground.  Why?  I mean I've seen dogs do that in grass...but the concrete sidewalk?  Did he have an itch?  Did it smell good??  Who knows the mind of a dog?

Or in terms of a person...why did the lady coming out of Tea & Sympathy have 10 pens stuck to the outside pockets of her purse?  Two in each color...was she afraid she was going to run out of ink?  Does she lose a lot of pens? Does she like to write with all of them at once? Does she label things a lot and are they color-coded?

Or the interesting high school girl on the train who had a collection of zip ties all over her clothes.  Attached to her bracelet, securing the stuffed monkey to the front pocket of her jeans, on the necklace with the hot pink binkie attached, around her belt loops, through the artfully hacked holes in her jeans.  They were all white.  Why? What's with the monkey?  Does the monkey come off? Does she attach it to other things? What's with the binkie?  Ok nevermind I don't want to know...I've seen/read Love in the Time of Cholera....not a picture I want in my head!

Do I have a quirk? Do people look and me and wonder...probably not...unless it's just to wonder what's a small town girl doing in a place like this?

Addition: This had to go in this blog spot, because this is definitely a wth moment!

I know I know you can barely see him...but he's there in white boots and white guitar and white cowboy hat....oh and lets not forget the white speedo, which the guitar is covering up.  So I had to travel all the way from Utah to find a naked cowboy...that seems a bit over the top, I would have thought it would be much easier to find one of those in the wild wild west, but apparently NYC is the place to go if you are in the market.  Especially if white is your thing.  So why?  why?  and why?  I dunno!  He had something written on the back of his...ahems...but I didn't stick around to read it, I'm sure he was protesting something incredibly intelligent and thought provoking like save the panda's....kinda like "no....no....really I read it for the articles.... /shifty eyes" sort of thing.

Can you read the leaves as well?

I found a tiny and delightful restaurant, Tea & Sympathy, it's between 12th and 13th on Greenwich Ave. It is right next to it's brother restaurant A Salt and Battery.  /snort  Out front sits an english cab and in between the two restaurants is the tea shop, manned by a very handsome cashier.  Tea and Sympathy is where you'd take your 7 year old daughter for a treat or your best girlfriend for a chat or your classmates to discuss rare books.  I think A Salt and Battery is there so the boys don't feel overwhelmed by tea and frills, plus it's not really a man sized restaurant, I don't think they'd fit too well.

The restaurant seats 23 at 9 tiny tables and it was packed!  There is no room to wait inside so you have to sit outside while you hope it doesn't rain or snow.  I can hardly believe that the english accented waitresses could even fit between the tables to wait on everyone.  I made it just in time before they stopped their breakfast menu.  I debated between bangers and mash and the scones with clotted cream (butter...people, nothing gross...sheesh!) and jam.  Finally settled on the scones, which were delicious.  Along with a pot of Chai tea, my favorite.

I am horrible at pouring tea, first off I had no idea all these little things would come streaming out of it into my cup...OHHHH that's what this strainer thingy is for!  Ok I'll suck it up this time and I remembered to use the strainer there after.  I certainly wouldn't make it as Kate Middleton...I dripped and spilled and just couldn't quite get that pot to just pour without making a mess.  Oh well, that's what I get for being raised American...I CAN pour coffee quite well.  Each time I finished a cup of that delicious tea, I looked at the bottom of my cup and saw these leaves floating around and thought...where's one of those tea leaf readers when you need 'em?  What does my future hold? Am I going to survive this school and single motherhood thing I've got going on?  It sure would be nice to know at least a little something...don't ya think?

PS tell your friends about Tea & Sympathy I'd highly recommend it!!

Addition 3/26:  I went there with my friend Erica today and it was just as good as the first time, with the added bonus of fantastic conversation!  Bangers and mash...yum yum!  Chocolate vanilla tea...to die for!  Next menu choice Welsh rarebit (which we found out has nothing to do with rabbits, but really seems as if it should) with a side of mac n cheese...I'm pretty sure that's what Erica will get that too.  I'm thinking a cute tea pot and a strainer and some sort of tea recipe book if there is such a thing is really something I need to get/do (plus there's that cute guy that works there...he's probably gay, drat!) ...as well as visit Shoegasm which is just down the street....just the name begs me...pleads with me to shop there!!

Why Being a Parent is Fun...or 5 things I have learned in honor of my 5 kids

1. Kids will eat anything (dirt, baby wipes, watch batteries, the tips of matches, pepto-bismol, anything out of a box, cat food, grass) but they will not eat anything that takes longer than 15 min to make, that has little green things in them (usually that's fresh basil or some other spice), or potatoes.  Also just a note of caution if you make an ice cream cake and even hide it in the freezer outside half of it will be eaten by the next day…I have yet to figure out how to prevent this.

2. Boys will not cry if they think they will get in trouble for it.  An example from my son Max who took a pocketknife and decided to cut the weeds in the backyard with it and promptly stabbed himself in the leg…he knew he wasn't supposed to be using it so he came in the house and cleaned himself off.  Bandaged himself and sat on the couch and read a book.  I found out cuz he was walking funny and I called him on it.  

         Boys will cry if they think it will get someone else in trouble. Same son who is crying hysterically cuz his older brother wrestled him to the ground and sat on him because he thought Max took something of his….go figure that one out…cuz I'm thinking being sat on didn't hurt half as bad as stabbing himself in the leg.

         Girls cry all the time. Because she is the baby of the family and is sure that the brothers will get in trouble for whatever it is that is distressing her.

3. Kids have extremely strange sleeping habits.  They won't go to sleep when they are supposed to…at night.  They do fall asleep on the 5 minute trip to the store and then are cranky when you have to wake them up.  And they can fall asleep anywhere and in any position.  (on the wood floor, folded in half, with half their body off the bed, curled up in a ball between the wall and the vacuum cleaner,  on the stairs, strapped into a car seat, on the toilet, etc…)

4. As early as age 3 boys come to two of the most profound realizations of their life.  Profound because I have heard men over 50 bragging about this ability as if it was acquired from extreme hard work and dedication instead of just being a blessing of anatomy.  Realization 1:  Boys can pee standing up.   Realization 2:  (this being the profound one)  I can now pee anywhere I want.  To which they promptly go experimenting with this by peeing in interesting places (the heating vents, on their sister) until they find the coolest place of all…OUTSIDE….  "Hey anyone here in this family know why I can't get any flowers to grow in this spot here right by the front door."    No one knows till I find all of them outside in the front yard peeing away into my flowers.  I have noticed that this continues to be the favorite place of all adult males.

5.     Boys hate to shop. Lets see how many clothes racks we can destroy in 5 minutes so Mom will end this dreaded excursion so we can go home and play Guitar Hero. This is not necessarily something I learned just an affirmation of long held belief, but Girls love to shop. My daughter Mira at age 2 hugging all the clothes we go by saying "I love you!  I love you!" and who has the girlfriend shopping speak down by age 3 "oh that is beautiful…you look pretty in that….no not that one it's not as nice….."

Facial Structure??

Tell me if this isn't the best pick up line ever....even though by the end of the conversation you'll know it really wasn't.

Its been a loooong day!  I've traveled into Manhattan twice, which if you've read previous posts you'll realize it's a 3 hour commute for me.  All I have eaten all day is a piece of pizza and a peppermint patty.  I'm tired and I have the beginning of a really huge headache.  Thursday I take a cab home because it is close to 10pm when I finally get off the ferry.  Sometimes I have to wait a while for a cab, but tonight thank goodness there's one that can take me right away.  I hop in the front seat since there is a couple in the back.  I hop in and tell the driver (who oddly enough is a young and quite good looking young man wearing a fedora....odd because of the good looking part...usually it's old very strange men or just very strange looking men...anywhooo) I tell the driver where to take me.  He looks at me and asks, "By any chance, are you a librarian?" 

I'm sure I looked like a deer caught in the headlights, I'm thinking what the....how the....where did that come from?  Considering I am a librarian I think this is the best pick up line ever, even though I know it's not.  This is some talent he has and I'm sure he puts it to good use.  :P  I say "Well, actually I am."  He laughs and I can almost see him do a fist pump except he's driving and he says "I knew it!"  Conversation goes as follows:

--Do you work at the 42nd branch?

--No, I used to be a librarian I'm going to school to become a real librarian.

(pause) ....ummm but working at that branch would be awesome!  (it's the schwartzman building downtown...gorgeous research branch of NYPL with the lions out front...here's a pic)

--It would be like ghostbusters!

--Haha...mmm yeah...(yes I freely admit I suck at flirting, this being single is a complicated thing I haven't had to deal with for a while)

--So why did you think I was a librarian? (I probably shouldn't have asked this)

--You seem quiet, timid almost (I'm thinking but didn't say...and you got that from me giving you the cross streets of my address??)

--Oh I thought maybe it was the glasses, haha

--Well and the clothes you are wearing (I have a long grey winter coat on...all he can see are my jeans and pink converse sneakers)...oh and your facial structure, (...my facial structure...what does that mean???)...definitely a librarian. (my brain is going over time...should I tell him I'm not quite sure that's a compliment, what do I say to that I have no idea what he means...I'm not timid...am I? maybe I am...hmmm how do I show I'm not timid...I'm going into full on critique mode instead of flirting back or at least trying to assess if he is insulting me or not...my facial structure??? It's my nose isn't it?)

Conversation flowed pretty well after that, I told him my theory on Kindles after he asked what I thought about them, he asked if I had any weird experiences being a librarian...sadly I had to tell him I worked out in a small town and can't remember any weird experiences...although I'm sure it would be different here.  We chatted about the fact he has a huge box of Twinkies in the car...I asked if they were there to keep him awake...yup he works until 5am he likes being up late.  He even offered me one...but I declined.  Unfortunately this is when I showed up at my door and had to get out.  Which is what I did...I actually wouldn't mind continuing the conversation if only to find out what the facial structure comment meant...is that like saying she has a nice personality??  I'm just super curious.  I wish I had at least gotten his name, so I don't have to think of him as the-good-looking-cab-driver-in-a-fedora.  But I don't think well on my feet, I guess I am a timid librarian...hopefully a little better than Mary in her non George world in It's a Wonderful Life.  I look forward to more conversational practice though I obviously need it.  

Low Riders

I am amazed that this style is still around!  Why does it continue to persist?  Do these boys really think it makes them look more attractive?  Their pants half way down their legs, their baggy underware showing...as they waddle around constantly pulling them up so they don't slip all the way down...cuz THAT would be embarrassing!!  I mean seriously if we already have a good view of your underware why does having your pants around your ankles seem less fashionable?  Why don't they just get rid of the pants all together...it's not like we aren't missing much and this way they can show off their gams.  Plus it gets rid of the problem of the pants actually falling down when they are being chased by someone.  I spend half the time hoping they are just gonna puddle around their ankles while traveling up the stairs so I can watch them struggle to get back up again...nonchalantly.  The other half the time just wanting to pants them as they walk by.  They must not have mirrors at home and they certainly don't have any idea idea how they look while they are walking.  It does not create that manly man swagger that should have...instead it looks like they have a full diaper and have to waddle cuz it's chafing the inside of their legs.

Oh well to each his own, I just hope that sometime in the near future they will think of something else to wear.  Even those skinny girl jeans that the emo boys wear are not as annoying as this fashion statement.  I'd like to meet who started it and ask him his motivation.  It has to be somewhat satisfying to see something you created take off in such as fashion as to secretly humiliate every boy that wears their pants around their thighs.

Kindle Nation

I have noticed that a lot of people on the Subways have Kindles or Nooks.  I have caught myself looking at them and thinking wow I wonder what intelligent book they are reading...Proust...Poe...Collins?  And then I have to laugh...who knows what they are reading, a steamy romance novel perhaps.  We'd never know!  When you used to have to tear off the covers of your pulp fiction and trashy novels while riding public transportation...those are days gone by.  Now we can all get Kindles and look like the intelligent readers we want to be.  Read on!!

I've always wanted an indoor swimming pool!!

Ever try going without a washer and dryer for almost two weeks?  Not so bad when you're single or maybe if there are just two of you...if you have that extra stash of emergency ugly underware somewhere.  But try doing that with 5 kids...yeah not so much fun.

Yesterday Charlie finally finished installing the outlet so I could plug in my dryer and fixed all the electrical, so I was able to exclaim for the first time in my life.  OH MY GOD!  I'm so grateful I can finally do laundry.  Yes I was actually excited to begin.  I put the washer and dryer just where I wanted them.  Placed some flowers in the window.  Set up the laundry baskets and loaded them full of every single article of clothing we all own.  Placed the ironing board just so...put the kitty litter box so it was out of the way and invisible and quite possibly almost unsmellable.  Put away my boots, the scale (like I ever use it...who wants to be purposely depressed) and basically set up everything nice and neat.  I even put a nice cushy rug down on the floor....over the floor drain (its so unsightly...what could possibly go wrong?)  And started my first load of laundry.  Excellent everything worked out perfectly!  Put that in the dryer and started my second load.  The dryer dinged just as the second load finished.  I opened the door and stepped in....SQUISH!!  WTH?

I looked at my soaked feet to find a pool...a swimming pool...a lake filling up my laundry room.  My first thought was...oh crap, I hope it doesn't leak all over the downstairs  Charlie will not be happy.  Quickly followed by...ugh I have to clean all this up and figure out what happened.  After much grumbling and walking around with a blanket under my feet and mopping my heart out, I figured out the drain hose wasn't properly tightened and remedied the situation post haste.  So what did I learn?  Well first my rug is now not covering the drain...oh lovely drain!  Second make sure everything is tightened before starting a washing machine for the first time.  Oh and I'm pretty sure I'm over the indoor swimming pool fantasy, I think I pass...it's a pain in the butt!!

What I've learned...

*I'm stronger than I think I am...I can do this!  It's like Josh said when told how crazy it was that we had moved everyone across the country to NYC..."Well, she had to do it."

*I thought I was only directionally challenged in game on WoW...but apparently it bleeds into real life.  Thank the Lord for GPS...but since I don't take it with me when getting off the subway the chances that I'll go the wrong way out of the subway entrance are pretty high.

*It only took me 10 min of standing in front of a metro card kiosk to figure out how to add money to my metro card...and I'm in graduate school....I'm not sure what I think about that.

*When Prof. Yockey heard I traveled from Utah in a car with 5 kids and a cat he said I should get course credit for that...should I hold him to that... maybe push for extra credit??

*When living in an old apartment you cannot plug two things into the same wall socket...eventhough there are two spaces and the other thing that is plugged in isn't on...I learned very quickly where the circuit breakers were.

*Also what is the difference between too hot and too cold in an old apartment in regards to the shower...apparently less than a millimeter.  Where is just right?  I feel like a deprived Goldilocks.

*When it snows in NYC it's not kidding around, but WOW is it beautiful the whole sky lights up in the reflection of the flakes...no need for night lights for the kids at night.  Also a Thank you God for 4 wheel drive I'm so glad my Jeep has it.

*What to do when the dryer you own has 4 prongs and the plug only has 3...shoving it in doesn't work and so far neither does trying to get the landlord to replace the outlet so the apartment is up to code...meanwhile I'm almost to my stash of emergency underware...please please Charlie fix the outlet, not the emergency underware...anything but that!

*In order to register the kids for school I need to have a signed rental agreement (check) and a utility bill....ummm I've been in the apartment for less than a week how in the name of all that is holy am I supposed to have a utility bill???  So can I still register my kids for school...who knows?

*Yay there is a Costco in Staten Island...but not a Wal-mart (but I'm ok with that) and everything here closes at 8 pm at night...weird.

*Why are all the windows nailed shut...on the list to ask Charlie when he finally gets around to the doing the walk though with me.

*I am constantly worried that my heating oil will run out, because I have no idea how long it is supposed to last and Charlie still has yet to give me a key so I can check it.  I am almost to a paranoid level.  Please God please may it be like the woman who had a little bit of flour and a little bit of oil and no money to buy more for food.

*Becoming a librarian requires A LOT of reading...who knew?  /snort

Isn't that what everyone would do?

So I'm a single/divorced mom of 5 kids, I've stayed at home with them for 13 of 15 years I've been a mom. I haven't been in school for 16 years and I don't have many skills that look good on a resume.  So I decided  that since I have the opportunity to do so, I should grab for what I really want.  I applied to Pratt Institute, which is primarily an Art and Design School (usually ranked in the top 10) and it has the oldest accredited Library and Information Science program (which is why I applied).  I mean com'on it's in Manhattan!!  You get to have classes taught by librarians in the NYPL and go to Florence and Prague and London.  They have a dual masters program that will give me a MLS and a History of Art Masters.  Plus the Brooklyn campus stands in for the Harvard campus in the TV show Fringe.  Neato!  How could I resist!  All I have to do is get an apartment in NYC, financial aid, and move across the country.  Given the fact that my application was accepted...wouldn't anyone else in my position do the same thing?

So I tried to sell my house...that was a no go and it got rented to some polygamous family from down the street...poor man with like 3 heckling and pregnant wives.  What was he thinking...what were they thinking...but I digress.  I packed up my 3500 square ft house into a trailer (many many many thanks to my best friend and her husband...I don't know what I would have done without them).  I mailed (thanks again to Branden) a bunch of stuff to my parents, who had agreed to let my 5 kids and myself take over their small house for a few months.  Packed my kids and a cat into a Jeep Commander and drove from Utah to Rochester, NY (with a small stop in Savannah, GA just because).  

I had no job (still no job and running on the hope that we'll make it with financial aid) and still no apartment in NYC but my hopes were high.  Living with my parents wasn't at all what I had hoped it would be, but if I had gone there with my eyes unclouded it probably turned out much like most people would expect when you combine two differently run households into a tiny house.  Thank goodness for the YMCA, Cynthia, my Aunt and Uncle, Trinity and Koininia Fellowship.  Three weeks before the term was supposed to start I finally got an apartment in Staten Island.  Packed up the 5 kids and the cat again into the Jeep Commander and too much stuff that the Jeep probably would have exploded if my very kind Aunt and Uncle hadn't let me drop some stuff off at their house.  Drove the 6 hours to the apartment and attempted to move in.  So here we are...I still don't have the kids registered for school and the schools are a bit scary.  I have to commute 1 1/2 hours to school and then back again (up hill both ways in blinding snowstorms all year round...hehe).  I have to fit all my stuff and 5 kids oh and don't forget a cat, into an apartment that is maybe 1200 square ft.  But it's New York City!!!  Think of all the stuff we can do.  I'm sure anyone else in my position would have done the same thing.  Right!??

Happy Thanksgiving

I am especially thankful this year, mostly because it is the first year in a long time that I have felt at peace with everything and everyone around me.  It has been hectic the past couple of days just like usual--trying to get ready for Thanksgiving.  Getting the kids to make their pies, keeping the kitchen clean for all the baking and cooking that needs to be done, getting all the stuff that we need for food and such (being short one egg for pies and realizing this right as I got back from the store should have totally messed up the evening but it just wasn't that big of a deal), all of this should have been an experiment in frustration, but for the first time I'm not cranky, I'm just really happy.  I'm grateful for my kids and good friends.  The general feeling in the house is overwhelmingly happy, what a great thing to have happen in the midst of such craziness as the holiday season. So a big THANK YOU to all my family and friends...near and far, it is because of you that life is good!!  My life wouldn't be the same without any of you and you give so much to me, asking so little in return.  Thank you for your unconditional love and support.  I love you all. xoxoxo

Introductions

My family...I'll try to post pictures soon.  

Me: I'm a 37 year old divorced mom of 5, 4 boys and 1 girl. Joshua-14, Maxfield-12, Harrison-9, Mira-6 and Caleb-3. Read my profile and that's me.  I wanted to have a place where I could write about my children and myself so I can remember the things that they do and to show how grateful I am to have them.

Joshua: He's a tall gangly teenager, a 9th grade freshman who loves all things chinese, math and science.  He likes school but can get overwhelmed with projects.  He likes to write fiction and skip lunch so he can read with me in the library.  He loves cars and video games and hasn't quite discovered girls, for which I'm grateful.  He's a fantastic artist but has been focusing on writing his book lately instead.  He is sweet and kind and helpful...a good boy scout.  :)

Maxfield: Hmm how to describe Max, he can be quiet and brooding, Josh can be melancholy too, but Max has the slumped shoulders and down trodden face DOWN!!  He's hardworking and gets good grades in school.  He's not much interested in sports although he does like Tai Chi (not exactly sure how you spell that).  He likes girls, but publically professes that he doesn't.  The girls all like him because he's engaging and listens well.  He is very empathetic.  He too is artistic, but he is far too interested in his DS and Wii and computer games to be interested in much else.  He like Josh is also very dedicated to being a good Mormon boy.  :)

Harrison: Birds follow him home, mice let him touch him, lizards and fish let him catch him and bees and praying mantis' let him pet them.  He is absolutely amazing when it comes to animals!  I think he should be a forest ranger or veteranarian.  He loves all animals, especially our cats.  He likes dogs but they are very time consuming to take care of.  He also loves being outside.  He loves to rollerblade, build snowmen and just in general hang out in the sunshine.  We'll take walks up the mountain in our backyard.  I hope we can figure out something to do when we move (hopefully to NYC)...probably have to hang out at the natural history museum.

Mira: The one and only girl and she knows it.  She is beautiful!  Albeit sightly snotty, which I'm trying to encourage her to change, so she becomes a lady instead of a stuck up brat.  She LOVES to talk.  If she's not talking she might as well be dead.  She is a girlie girl and love ballet and pink things, purple things, kittens, horses, barbie and clothes and shoes.  But she'll hang out with the boys whether they want her to or not. She always has to insinuate herself into the conversation.  She won't allow herself to be left out of anything.  She can be sweet, but right now I think she is struggling with having a weekend daddy.

Caleb: He super smart and super cute.  He loves Fish Wish, his blanket and snuggles at night and will start making sure that he'll get them when he goes bed far in advance of the actual bed time.  He'll kiss and hug you a million times before he goes anywhere and he just loves wrestling and tickling.  His biggest detractor....not potty trained.  I hate that, why can't they emerge from the womb already potty trained, that has got to be the worst job for any mother.

So here's my family I love them all and wouldn't know what to do with out them :)