Dinner with a Felon, and our Honeymoon

August 7th is a special day because it marks my wedding anniversary.  Today Paul and I have been married 14 years.  I've already blogged about our wedding, so I thought I'd talk about our honeymoon, which was so much fun.

Here's a postcard from where we stayed - Lajitas, TX.  It was an old timey western town surrounded by the mountains of Big Bend, Texas.  Our hotel was in the middle of the strip:

We had many fun excursions while there, even though it was August and 5 million degrees.

One evening driving back to our hotel we stopped at a pizza parlor - the only restaurant for many open miles.  When we walked in, there was one waitress/cook and a cowboy with his dog.  We sat at the counter and while we waited for our pizzas to cook talked with the waitress and the cowboy.

Turns out he'd just gotten out of jail.

Yup, we dined with a convicted felon on our honeymoon.

He asked if we had ever heard of Robert Earl Keen.  We hadn't, not being fans of country music.  Anyhow, this guy - the felon - had a country song written about him.  For his devious smuggling of marijuana across the border.

He told us we should visit Boquillas, a little village in Mexico, and how to get there.

Ever up for adventure, we followed his instructions and parked our cars by the river.

Soon enough, this guy waded across to pick us up in his rowboat.

We asked if he knew our felon friend.  Deep silence.  Then we told him he'd sent us, and he laughed and asked how he was.

True to the felon's instructions, we were able to rent burros for $2 each to ride up to the village.

At the village, we dined on authetic burritos, 3 for a dollar, and icy cold Cokes in bottles.

Of all the trips we've taken, it was one of our best excursions, rivaled only by the time we "accidentally" went to Sturgis and camped out in some guy's backyard.  More on that another time.

We also went to Terlingua, because I'd always wanted to see a ghost town.

The cemetary:

And what remained of the quicksilver mining town:

Note the date on this picture.  Little did we know that some 13 years later on that very day I'd give birth to twin boys!

Certainly one of the most endearing and unusual things about Lajitas was their mayor.

Here I am pictured with their mayor, Clay Henry Jr.

Now you might think I inserted the wrong picture here, but I didn't.  Clay Henry Jr. is a goat.  And he, like his father before him, had been elected mayor of the town.

He also liked to drink beer.  Lone Star in particular.  He was, after all, a die-hard Texan.

This goat could guzzle beer faster than any other college student I ever knew.

Finally, we took a horse ride.

Here are Paul and I, crossing back over the Rio Grande by horseback.

It was an awesome honeymoon.  I love that we went there in off-season, so we didn't encounter a bunch of tourists.  Today, Lajitas Texas has a big resort.  I'm glad we got to see it before it got 'big'.

Happy anniversary, Paul!  May we have many more adventures ahead of us.

It Was My Friend's Idea - Memory Lane Friday

Memory Lane Friday is an opportunity to preserve your memories for your family.  Each week is a different theme, but you can write about any memory you'd like and link up.  This week's topic is "It Was My Friend's Idea". 

Pretty much everytime I did something troublesome in high school, Callie* was involved.  She was fun and vibrant but had a nose for trouble.  Most of the time, we didn't get caught, so I won't share those stories.  Instead, I'll talk about the time we did get busted.

Now I do recall that a lot of the things we did were Callie's idea, but for this particular incident it honestly could have been mine - I don't quite remember.

Our high school had a anti-skipping policy.  If you weren't in class they let the office know.  So Callie and I devised a way around this.  Which involved writing ourselves notes, forging our mothers' signatures, and turning them in at the beginning of the day so that our names would be on the absentee or early departure roster.

I worked diligently to perfect my mom's signature.

On this particular day, we went skipped out in the morning, went to the mall and then McDonald's for lunch.

It was great.  It sure beat Functions/Trig.

There was just one glitch.  Callie had forged her mom's note so sloppily that they couldn't read it.  So her name didn't appear on the early dismissal notice.  And she got written up.

Somehow, the Assistant Principal noticed that it seemed suspicious that we both were leaving early the same day.

And hence, I got busted too.

Somehow, devious minds think alike, and when Callie and I were individually questioned we both left out the part about the mall.  We just said we left briefly for lunch at McDonalds.

In case you can't read the faded print, the description of incident says "checked out with forged note.  Went to McDonald's for lunch."

Comments read "11/18/92 -- the next cut will result in OSS"

Note that my mother's signature on this referral is authentic.

Actually, I was nervous about breaking the news, but she didn't care much.  She just said, "If you wanted to skip school, you should've told me.  I could've written you a real note".

Somehow, it just wouldn't be as fun if your parent was in on the deception.

*The name Callie is not real.  I have a policy not to blog about (other than just casual mention) or post pictures of my friends without their permission.  Since I didn't consult with Callie prior, I decided to simply change her name.

Want to participate in Memory Lane Friday?

Copy and paste the code below the button into your blog.

<a href="http://twobearsfarm.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll311/varunner7/button_edited-3-1.jpg" /></a>

Then come back and add your website to the link up (trying McKLinky this week).

Hope to see you next week!  The topic is:  Pictures That Tell A Story.  Basically, use pictures to tell a story for you.  And write too if you want! 

Exclusive Track Will No Longer Include Me. I'm a little BITTER.

On the nights of the All Comers track meets, I typically get the kids ready and head to the track an hour before the meet starts.  This way I can get in a speed workout before the meet.

So it was with dismay on Tuesday that I arrived to the track to find this:

Someone had put a thick layer of mulch across every single lane of the track.

So we goofed around and tried to find someone who knew about the mulch.

No one did.

Finally others in charge of the All Comers meet arrived, and they worked together to clear one lane.

But alas, by this time it was too late for my workout.

Pierce, was not disturbed at all by the delays.

He took the opportunity to dig in fresh dirt along the edges of the track, saying that he was a Baby Jaguar (thanks, Diego).

Now, even worse (MUCH WORSE) than the mulch situation is this:

That's right, a fence is going up around the track.

A big fence that will involve a turn stile. 

Supposedly, the fence is to keep out skaters and bikers (neither of which I have EVER seen on the track in all my workouts there over the past 7 years).

What does this mean for me, mother of 3, seeking to regain my fitness?

It means that I'll be excluded from the track.

My jogging stroller will not fit through a turn stile.

The track is technically for the high school.  But it is also supposed to serve the community.  Tax payers dollars and all that.

However, it will no longer serve me or other parents with jogging strollers.

I find this disappointing.

I had really gotten into a good groove with my track workouts.

Now, I either have to find a babysitter to go run on the track or I have to find another track.

Bummer.

On a brighter note, here is a picture of Pierce, with all 3 of his medals he earned this summer by participating in the All Comers meets:

Cloth Diapering Without Divorce

Cloth diapers have been around for a long time (ha ha).

I didn't use them with Pierce.

And about 2 days after I had the twins Paul suggested we try cloth diapers.

And I, in my sleep deprived, flabby, sit-on-the-couch-breastfeeding-all-day and COMPLETELY overwhelmed state said,

"If you ever bring up cloth diapers again we're getting divorced".

Luckily, he knew I was joking...about the divorced part at least.

So a few of months ago things got to a good place with the kids.  Suddenly, everyone was sleeping well and the twins were eating more solids and life just got simpler.

That's when it occured to me - I could try this cloth diaper thing.

An experiment of sorts.

If  nothing else, they would be useful for times of diaper rash.

And it wouldn't have to be all-or-nothing.

That's when I started asking around for recommendations and suggestions.  Thanks to my fellow blogger moms and my cousin-in-law for some awesome information over the past few months.

Armed with all this feedback, I decided the route that made sense for us was a one-size pocket diaper.

And I received so much feedback on brands.  It seems that there are many, many excellent brands (and I hope we get the chance to try several of them).

But the one that seemed tried and true, that I heard about over and over again were the Fuzzibunz.

So for their first birthday, the twins are getting a few Fuzzibunz.

They came in the mail yesterday.

I have to say, I had absolutely no idea how soft they would be.

Soft enough to sleep on - or um, in.

So last night the twins slept in cloth diapers for the first time.

I just knew they would wake up crying and soaked in the middle of the night.

Well guess what?

We didn't have a single leak.  Yes, the inserts were soaked but the diapers contained the moisture 100%.

And hello, they look cute too!

And so begins our journey into the cloth diaper world.

I can't promise to be 100%.

I think for us, it makes more sense to return to disposable diapers for travel and all-day outings.

But for home, my boys will have the softest bottoms I've ever experienced. 

I had no idea - no clue - how cushy a Fuzzibunz could be :-)

Not to mention - equally important - we get to significantly reduce our carbon footprint. 

What's not to like?  :-)

Me and the Sea

Some people need chocolate.  Others a glass of wine.  Still others, their favorite tv show.  All those things are great.  Me, though, I need the ocean.

Not every day.

Not even every month.

But at least yearly.

It all started when I was a teenager.  I was going through a rough time and one evening had an opportunity to walk on the beach solo for a couple of hours.

What happened during that walk changed my brain.

It rejuvenated things.  It filled me with clarity.  I knew the steps I needed to take - the things I needed to do - to fix some of the struggle in my life.

Since then, I've needed my yearly oceanic visit like some people need a yearly visit home.

Indeed, it is like coming home to me - even though I've never had the opportunity to live at the beach.

I don't need the sun.

I don't need the food.

I don't need the beach blankets.

What I need is just raw ocean - me and sand and water.

In fact, sometimes the ocean is infinitely better in mid-November.  Cold, angry, stormy.  I love the ocean no matter what its temperament.

It has been a year and two months since I've seen the ocean.

This is making me grumpy.

It seems like every single Facebook friend is currently posting pictures of their trips to the beach.

ARG!  Unfriend them all!

OK, not really.

Note to husband:  might be in best interest to plan mini camping trip to Eastern shore for early fall.  Cheaper and more pleasant than dealing with wife gone crazy. 

Breakfast with MTM, a Pharoah, and an Interview

My MTM posts have been seriously lacking creativity lately.  I have an excuse though.  I'm just saving up my creativity for the reintroduction of themes coming later this month.  Yeah, that's it!

Pierce had apple juice (a treat - we do very little juice), sausage, scrambled eggs, a toasty fish with cherry butter, and watermelon.

My little pharoah liked all but the eggs.

Special thanks to Cat Cat for Pierce's Egyptian gear - he was styling last week at VBS.

Want to participate in MTM?

Also, please go visit GOOD GIRL GONE REDNECK today.  Andrea was kind enough to let me interview her for my upcoming trip to NYC.  My own private issue of NYC for Dummies, from someone who knows her stuff!  Can't wait to read all about it :-)

July Fitness Recap

Things really came together this month and I had a pretty decent month of training.  Particularly considering how miserably hot it has been.  The recap:

• Two 5Ks.  They finally did post the results of the first 5K, but with a note saying the times were messed up because 14 people didn't get times.  I think my time is about 1 minute off, so I'm ignoring it.  I also ran a 5K in mid-July and ran 25:41 for that one.  I placed 2nd in my age group.  It was HUMID that morning.  I'm glad I ran it, but I can't help but think that, sadly, 2 years ago I ran 23:00 flat in this particular race.  I hope that one day I'll get that back!
• Total mileage this month = 111.  So I finally passed the 100 mile mark for the first time since having the twins.  Good stuff!
• Weightlifting x 6. 
• Yoga x 3
• Ab work x 8
• Track x 3 BUT I did have the two 5Ks which count as speedwork too.

Overall, I'm pleased with this month.  I do need to ramp up the speedwork more, but am struggling to do so with the heat being what it has.  Plus, if I wasn't so slow, what would I beat myself up over?  ;-)  As my mileage increases in the next few months in prep for the NYC marathon, it is likely that things like weightlifting will decrease.  This is kind of the norm for me, and realistically with 3 kids under the age of 4, I can only do so much ;-)