Unlike Wisconsin, spring in Albuquerque actually arrives when it is supposed to. We started seeing daffodils in March, and at the beginning of April, most of the trees were budding. It's the end of the month now, and the entire bosque is green and lush. With perpetually sunny skies, I have never been so tan in April in my life, thanks in part to triathlon training, but also to our great homeschool activities. The first Wednesday in April we went hiking in an open space off of Route 66. We hiked to the top of a hill, then stopped at a stream to have lunch and play.
Levi, Elenor, Luke, Josh, June, Gabby, Audrey, and Zach
Niels, Anna, Stella, and Bea on the trail
I think the hike was about 2 miles round trip
Anders loved playing King of the Hill
Zach, Niels, and Anders
A nice view of ABQ from the top
Anna and Bea building a dam in the stream
Elenor, Bea, and Anna at the dam
Erik and Anders playing in leaves
Niels encouraging Anders along the trail back to the car
We were really excited for the next week...taking the Rail Runner to Santa Fe for the day!
We went to the art museum...
...followed by lunch. Anders, Kasandra, Michelle, Niels and Bea
Stella, Anna, Abby, Ava, and Hattie
There was a maze outside the church that they were enthralled with
Hattie and me in front of the church
We also went to see the miraculous staircase, a marvel of craftsmenship. I wish the banisters hadn't been installed!
(without banisters)
Outside the church with the staircase
Waiting for the train home
Anders, Zach, Gabby, and June playing games on the train
Abby, Ava, Stella and Hattie
Week number 3 took us to an open space near the Rio Grande. We did poetry recitations, followed by playing in the forest and the river
I forgot to snatch a video of Niels reciting "Tug of War" by Shel Silverstein
The kids posing in front of their tepee
And finally, yesterday we went to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History for the DaVinci exhibit. They had a large display about the Mona Lisa, how they have discovered that it is actually a layering of 4 paintings using special infrared photography. They also built many of the inventions he imagined so that we could see what they would look like and how they would work.
I think the tank was the biggest hit...
...or maybe the machine gun!
And of course, we finished the afternoon at the park for lunch. We are sure going to miss our homeschooling friends!
Last night I picked Paul up from the airport after a 3-day Y-90 seminar in San Diego. We went to a new (delicious) Indian restaurant, and I asked how the seminar went - if he felt it helpful, how he would be able to apply it to his work, etc. He started to explain to me what Y-90 actually is, how it works, and how he uses it to help people with liver cancer and other ailments. As he excitedly explained it to me, and showed me a new app that helps him properly determine dosage for his patients, I was suddenly reminded of how smart my husband is. He has spent the last 10 years of his life attaining a very specific skill set of knowledge. He actually understands the science behind radiation treatments, MRI technology, the inner workings of the human body, and can look at white/gray/black images and tell you what is the matter with somebody.
I was reminded of when I met him at BYU, back in 2004. I remember one of the first times talking with him, I told him I was a humanities major with an English emphasis. He opened a discussion on classic literature, and I quickly realized that the astrophysics major, math minor, pre-med guy in front of me was more well-read than I was! It was intimidating at first, but I soon fell in love with him and admired his great brain.
That admiration came rushing back to me last night as he sat across the table, attempting to explain a very complicated topic to his not-so-scientifically-minded-wife. I realized that through this decade-long medical journey we have been taking, he really has become expert at something. I sometimes forget, in the busy-ness that is my life of homeschooling, housework, and kids, that he almost lives another life at the hospital. For Hippa reasons, I never am able to see him at work, so it is sometimes even hard for me to imagine how he actually spends 60 hours every week. I sat there in awe of this extraordinary man who has worked so hard to learn something he loves.
Now, I don't write all this to brag about him, although I do think he's pretty great. I write to remind myself, and anyone else who might be reading, to stop for a minute. Take a look around at the people closest to you. At the people who you see day in and out, who you are with so much that you aren't able to see the changes happening in them. At those who you may take for granted. At someone you might not even take into consideration. At yourself. Take a second look at them and see something extraordinary in them. What makes them stand out to you? What makes them special? I know you’ll find something. I know it will be there. It is in all of us.
