Of Late

First, one day last week the light before sunset was bright yellow.

Then it turned rosy pink

Ben and I jumped in the van and drove out to where there was a little more horizon.  The sky was solid heavy grey clouds except for this single band of totally clear sky.  So the colors were being projected and reflected, it was really pretty!

This was well after sunset, I guess the sun was still in a clear spot and the light was being bounced back from those low clouds.  It was a cool thing to see!

The next night, the sky was turquoise and the clouds were wisps of pink and yellow.  It seemed SO bright, more just before sunset than most of the day had been.

Monday, I explored a tiny park at Helena while Jake was off at class.

Tuesday, we met up with friends and walked around Sky Lake, then went for lunch.

After lunch, we hit the labyrinth because Sophia had an appointment and the kids wanted to hang out until the last possible moment.  :)

Everyone should just get one of these for Christmas.  

The kids JOGGED the labyrinth!  hahahahaha!

*IWILLACHIEVEINNERPEACEIWILLACHIEVEINNERPEACE*

A typical labyrinth is 1/3 mile.  You are SUPPOSED to walk in to the center with some inner baggage in mind, hang out there until you feel it's time, then walk back out and 'leave it behind'.

I ALWAYS leave the same thing.  hahaha.  Maybe I should try jogging back out next time, my slow pace obviously allows it to follow me right back out again!

Katy wanted to look at the mistletoe.

I told her we have GOBS of it, if she would like a tree parasite of her very own.

After reaching the middle, the kids sat for a few moments, then ran out to play hide and seek.

It's like they have no problems at all.  

Before we left, one more round on the balancer

We headed to Shakalaka but-public school is out!  No Homeschool discount, SO SAD.

It was getting on over in the day and we had Beck and needed to wait for Sarah and Sophia to be done, the kids wanted to be inside because it was getting chilly.

So, after some discussion, we opted to go to the Space and Rocket Center since we have passes.

We were there for just a short while, I can't wait to go back because there was plenty we didn't get to do.

We did go to the Magic of Science show, that was really interesting, even if it was geared toward upper elementary ages.  hehe

The big exhibit right now is Science Fiction, Science Future.

The kids quickly lost me, so I wandered around poking at things

A facial-reading robot head!!

There were stations to scan wristbands to do your job, health and lifestyle of the future.  I am going to be a robot servicer, possibly a robot vet for robot pets. hahahaha!

Ben and Emma had matching bands, they both were hypochondriacs who worked in teleportation.

THIS IS A BLACK HOLE

(representation)

Chandler and I flew first, we hit ONE target.  I guess the ARMY won't be headed to our door any time soon.

The boys did barely better, but it was fun to fly it!

I am SOOOO bad at this game, it requires a calm mind.  I lost within seconds on every round.

I heard a story on Radio Lab about a woman who had a stroke and her inner chatter disappeared-no noise in her brain.  For YEARS.  She spent 8 years relearning everything and with more language came more words and the brain talk returned.

I would take a pill to shut mine off, if that were an option.  Maybe it is with hard core drugs, I don't know.  But that sounded SO wonderful.  Just...hushed.

We rode G Force and Ben rode Space Shot

We finished up the day at the Davidson Center and they actually turned off the lights to make us leave.  Oops.

I picked the WRONG way to leave and got in traffic and nearly ran out of gas.  hahaha!

We got home, eventually.

Monday

On Monday, the alarm goes off at 3 a.m.
Matt gets Jake to work by 5, an hour away.
Jake packs his lunch, he only gets half an hour and the cafeteria is too pricy for his pay grade. He eats breakfast, but never breakfast food. It's usually pepperoni based.

I leave at 1 and get to the parking lot by 2 and wait. Jake's out by 2:30, earlier if his boss can let him. So I am there, just in case.

I drive him 2 hours south in the 90 minutes we actually have before his training starts. There's always traffic and the closer to Christmas, the worse that will get. Jake grabs a nap. I just worry about slow downs and keep the radio off so he can rest a little. We do the best we can.

I wait in the parking lot and he works another 3.5 hours with the police officer training. Practicing serving warrants, working on traffic stops, making arrests. They have 12 scenarios they work through plus extras like uniform inspection, running laps, taking notes. He's slotted for firearms training and a ride along. He's helping with the upcoming parades in town. His hair is 1/3 of an inch long now. Too short to grab. Regulation. Afterward, they go eat but Jake hasn't joined them for that yet. On Tuesday through Friday, the alarm goes off at 4 and we still have an hour and a half to drive home.

The switch from kid to young adult happened so fast. His car is too crappy to drive himself-chances are that it would overheat in the stop and go on the Interstate-but he's setting aside money to buy a better one. He has this streak of seriousness that's new. Not the posturing swagger he still puts on at times, but something deeper, something I don't think he realizes he does. Something humble, something that makes Matt's chest puff with pride and my chest ease a little. He just needed the chance to prove himself and he's doing that in spades.

He's running with Matt, he's making plans with friends and is gone most of the weekend to hang out. He's managing his time and money and while it's everything I hoped would happen, it's been surprising to see it unfold so easily. In that unfurling, I have been moved from the center of his Universe to a ride on Mondays until he can do better. Which is exactly what is supposed to happen, even if it is equally exciting and crappy. Kind of like labor in a way.

Duck River Trail, Bremen, AL

Went on Matt's Friday off, on over in the afternoon, to the new Duck River Rec Area.

When the trail is done and the reservoir is filled, it will be 21 miles long and can be used for hiking or biking.  There's only one trailhead now on CR 1651.  I imagine there will have to be more when it's all done.
Put the intersection of CR 1651 and CR 1678, that's just below the parking area.

There are currently 3.5 miles finished and you can make it into an 8 mile loop using the paved roads to get back to the parking area.
We only walked to the 2 mile marker as the sun was getting low.

It's easy walking with a near constant undulation, but no climbs up or down to speak of.  It may be harder on a bike than walking, I don't know.

The reservoir has not been filled, but you can see and hear the water below going over the rocks.

That 2 looks like a Z to me...

The trail is not wide, it's dirt and clay and passes over MANY rock-covered seeps and one (in the first 2 miles anyway) small ravine that would be hard going if it was full of water.

It's a really pretty trail and I am so glad to have somewhere new to explore!  This will be a real treasure when it's done.