Colorado Vacation | Black Canyon of the Gunnison

When planning this road trip, I emailed our vacation timeline to my childhood best friend who lives in Albuquerque, realizing she'd be in driving distance of us with the hopes that she'd want to meet up. She replied back, "God must love our friendship more than we do" because they were already planning to be in Gunnison, Coloardo celebrating their babymoon on the same day that we'd be camping in the park. What a sweet and unexpected surprise to get to meet up! For a National Park that few have heard of, it was pretty great - enjoyed seeing the profile of the deepest, steepest, narrowest canyon.

Day 5 | Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
- Driving along the south rim checking out all the view points
- Finding the perfect picnic table in the shade
- Playing Coup down by the river
- Learning about the adventurous few that first navigated the dangerous Gunnison
- Trying to catch the canyon swifts in the frame of our binocs and camera lens

Having now explored two canyons together, including the Grand Canyon a few years back, we are looking forward to the next canyon trip to take together :) I vote Zion Canyon in Utah or Waimea Canyon in Hawaii!

Canyon friends,

- SJW

Day 1-3

Day 4

Day 6-8

Colorado Vacation | Mesa Verde

If Great Sand Dunes was recess then Mesa Verde was history class. We were in the park for less than 24 hours (choosing a lodge over campsite was a smart choice!) but learned so much about the Ancestral Puebloan people and their unique dwellings.

Day 4 | Mesa Verde National Park

- Taking the 700 Years Tour

- Learning about the culture of farming, architecture, and artwork

- Seeing the kivas and cliff dwellings

- Walking through Balcony House 

Our favorite fact is that the area is actually a "cuesta" not a mesa :) 

- SJW

Day 1-3

Day 5

Day 6-8

Colorado Vacation | Great Sand Dunes

My favorite recipe for a family vacation consists of the following ingredients:
- Road trip
- Camping
- Exploring someplace I haven't been before
- Visiting and reconnecting with friends
- National Parks

We've cooked up several trips like this including our 2013 trip along the Pacific Coast and our 2015 trip to Yellowstone. This year we flew to Colorado, borrowed our friend's camping gear and drove around the state, hitting up four different National Parks!

Day 1-3 | Great Sand Dunes National Park
- Taking in the amazing views
- Hiking up to High Dune
- Sand dunes photo shoot
- Sand-sledding
- Camping for the first time this year

Would highly recommend since basically it's just a huge playground - really great for kids. There's no marked trails, just a bunch of sand that nature dropped at the base of some mountains :)

- SJW

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6-8

Learning Tidbits for Good

I've always been a fan of educational programming with standout classics like Bill Nye the Science Guy, School House Rock, and Sesame Street. Wishbone and Science Court were my personal favorites - who doesn't want to learn about literary classics from a Jack Russel Terrier or see the outcome of a cartoon court case using science experiments to explain evidence?

Growing up, I loved school and was top of the class, but looking back, I was one of those memorizing ace-the-test kinds of students. There's many facts that I've forgotten or perhaps never truly learned over the years. It has me thinking through how I can continue fostering my own thirst for learning and instill critical thinking in my children. Not sure if I have many answers yet, but I think less social media and more reading and unique experiences is part of the solution :)

In the meantime, here are some fun little tidbits I've come across on the world wide web that I may or may not use in my mothering days ahead.

Crash Course - I was recently searching for a simple way to freshen up my world history knowledge and discovered this built out online resource. To get a taste, watch the episode covering the American Revolution.

Casper Babypants - This is a just for fun one! We were babysitting for friends and listened to the playlist they had going. Even after the child went to sleep, we were enjoying the quirky clever musical lyrics. These no doubt beat the prosaic old tune of "Wheels on the Bus".

Modern Children's Books - I've checked out and read almost all the books on this list. There's some real gems. I always enjoy new stories, but possibly more essential for me - the illustrations!

Coursera - I mentioned these free online courses at the beginning of this year. Unfortunately, I've only taken one class so far. I'm hoping to participate in the International Women's Health and Human Rights session this summer.

Won't You Be My Neighbor - a new documentary highlighting the kind brilliance of Fred Rogers and his show, Mister Roger's Neighborhood. This is on my summer "must" list!

"What we learn with pleasure we never forget." - Alfred Mercier

SJW

Life Wright Now | April 2018

Here's the highlights from April and the things I'm looking forward to for May!

Watching
One great perk about working for a theatre is getting free tickets to shows! Mr. Fleece and I have seen more plays in the last year than perhaps our entire time in Seattle. This past Friday we saw Familiar, the second to last show in Seattle Rep's current season. It was my favorite so far! It's funny and endearing and covers great themes including family, marriage, religion, honesty, cultural heritage, and ethnic backgrounds. Tickets are on sale now through May 27 - let me know if you're interested.

Eating
Mr. Fleece and I typically opt for coffee dates over dinner dates - they are less expensive, and we are usually more awake and ready to chat in the mornings. But there are still times where we'll drop $80 on a nice sit-down dinner at some trendy place. We recently tried Thackeray in Wallingford, right around the corner from Gas Works. Really great ambiance and delicious appetizers! I'd recommend the Brussels sprouts and onion dip with house-made chips. It'd also make a great spot for a rehearsal dinner - lots of mingling space and a variety of seating!

Cooking on the home front hasn't been phenomenal lately but I just checked out the Pioneer Women's latest cookbook and am hopeful I'll get some inspiration from that. 

Reading
I've done a better job of tackling my classics list, finishing both Persuasion (not as good as Pride & Prejudice) and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde (better than Frankenstein), and now trying to get into A Little Princess. I also finished Murder on the Orient Express and a modern fiction read, "The Hate U Give" which centers around a young black girl's experience and perspective.

Listening
"Bruce Wayne" by the Memorecks
"Found Tonight" by Ben Platt & Lin Manuel Miranda
"It's Quiet Uptown" sung by Kelly Clarkson

The Lovely Month of May
- First hiking trip of the season
- Visiting friends and exploring National Parks on our Colorado vacation!
- Celebrating Mr. Fleece's birthday
- Finding out baby Wright's gender :)

Four months pregnant(!),

- SJW

Forks, Knives, & Spoonerisms

As a child I intentionally mixed up my words and phrases. Unfortunately, that sensation has not gone away as I've aged. I regularly spout out spoonerisms - what results when you flip the beginning sounds of consecutive words. Here are some of my recent examples -

"Jocket Packet" (meaning Jacket Pocket)
"Doat Bockings" (meaning Boat Dockings)

Or the famous one from my childhood, "Wrash Wrog" (meaning wash rag)

I also regularly embark on the impromptu game with Mr. Fleece I like to call "the cousin of catchphrase" - there's a word I'm thinking of but I can’t actually recall what it is, so I'll give an overview of the meaning and then say a word that comes to mind that I know isn't correct, but might be close enough for Mr. Fleece to figure it out. It's always terrible when he knows what word I'm thinking of and then I'm left stuck, frustrated, and still at a loss.

My approach is always to just throw a word out there, knowing it's incorrect but with the hope that there's some level of "sounds like" or association that Mr. Fleece can make the connection to what I really mean. It's baffling how regularly this occurs and how frequently I mix up my words.

I think it's because I'm speaking too fast or just willy-nilly talking without thinking. Regardless, it always makes for a good laugh. Speaking of which, here's one of our family's favorite jokes to re-tell.

What's the most religious bird?
My answer as a child: A woodpecker!

The real answer is supposed to be a "cardinal".

Ridiculoso,

SJW

Under the Weather and Over the Moon

Illness has been reigning in our house recently - sinus issues, allergies, colds, the whole lot. It's thrown our routine out the window & we've been more than a little shlumpy lately. Forget exercising and the dishes, let's get take out and just try to survive. Applesauce, chicken noodle soup, saltines, cereal, bananas, and Oreos :) have made an appearance in our little home. And lots of nasal rinses - shout out to the neti pot!

In the midst of one or both of us being sick, I've managed to watch all two seasons of the hit TV show "This is Us." When heard it described "as a show about emotions" and one in which "you'll need Kleenex nearby", I was almost certain I'd be sold. Turns out, it was even better than I anticipated. I enjoyed the characters and the weaving nature of the story line, and yes, the familial bonds and heartwarming monologues. With any period piece, I'm always drawn to the fashions and have been re-inspired by these relaxed bohemian looks sported by Mandy Moore's character.

So while sickness will always be a sour reality, we try to keep our spirits up and still make each other laugh. It always surprises me how Mr. Fleece can be a walking zombie physically but still make me chuckle with his witty ways. 

Gargling salt water,

SJW