happy leap day... year... day?!

whatever it is, happy february 29, 2008!

did you know i was born on a leap year... way back in 1972... i was. lucky for me, we get to celebrate me every february 14, not just every four years!

this leap year-day, we are out of school for parent-teacher conferences and the sun is lurking behind the clouds... it may come out and melt more of our snow!!

tomorrow, we're going to pocatello for a swim meet... so send us fast thoughts!!

this morning, jackson told me, "mom, i can't wait for the snow to melt just a little so i can play soccer because, you know, that's my first sport." his dad will be pleased to hear that. i also know that he' very excited for baseball to start right after soccer... this year, i've done the research and know that we're NOT playing on the league that has games at 9 in the morning! what kind of slacker mom doesn't check these things out? oh, yeah, that would be the same slacker mom who didn't make it to one of those said 9am games...

ryan's new ideology is that he's a man... or he is the man... whatever it is, this is what we hear it 40-eleven times a day. just for example:

over a supper of tacos--our favorite

ryan: where's the tabasco?

dave: (shaking the bottle tabasaco on his food) i've got it...

me: why ryan? do you need some?

ryan: yes.

dave: are you sure?

ryan: (cocking his eyebrow) yeah! i'm a man!

me: oh, yeah?

ryan: yeah (dripping with sarcasm, as he lets one drop of mr. mcilhenny's cautiously slip out)

we all wait as he wraps up his taco, and takes his first bite...

ryan: oh yeah--now, that's good!

annual visit

idaho falls reads... Fahrenheit 451

last year, we started this program like "one book, one community" and "the big read," and ours is funded by IFPL and called idaho falls reads... it's a month-long community book club--we even have banners on 17th street (that is a reference to idaho falls, and that i've been here too long!)--it's kind of a big deal for me and the library.

so, anyway, my point is this: for most of my events, i get to be interviewed on the local station during the lunch-time newscast... when the retired people watch the news. that probably explains why mostly retired people come to the library events! yesterday was my day, if you're interested in watching my nervous, italian hands flutter and me look for a camera to look at during the 120 second interview... check this out:

http://depository.shadowtv.net/media/267/2008/057/14/17127_267_20080226_142503_131.wmv

also, just a little footnote... the book was actually finished in 1953, and written almost entirely on dime-per-hour typewriters at ucla! i really enjoyed the afterword and coda, and i totally appreciate the short-story and sci-fi greatness of mr. bradbury...

word of warning...

Tequila is made of one specific type of the agave plant: the Agave Tequilana Weber, blue variety. There are many different varieties of the agave plant in Mexico. But tequila is made only from the BLUE AGAVE.

why do we care?

when we were at the desert museum i was enthralled with this huge agave plant...

... it looks like a big asparagus and that's kind of neat, right? well, this is NOT a blue agave, so no tequila was available when i tripped over a rock next to this agave and broke my fall in a teddybear cholla! do you know about these evil things?

see, don't they look soft and fuzzy? not the case...

i came away with several--give or take a hundred--barbed spines in my hand! i thought i was going to DIE from the pain, and then i had to ask myself some very serious questions:

• if it would really be necessary to pull those out?
• was there any tequila nearby?
• would the festering sores last long?
• did anyone see me trip over a rock and fall into this devilish cactus?
• was there any tequila nearby?
• where was the nearest place to get said tequila?

well, the spines all had to be plucked out, and the forty-11 wounds cleaned (hello? STINGING!!) and my poor arthritic, libriarian's hand swelled up! i know--poor me.

but to add insult to injury, ryan says to me, "you know, you should stay on the trail." he's so wise...

these pictures are from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum site

yea! we're home!

we had a great time and stayed so busy that the week flew by before we knew it! the weather was nice, and we spent a lot of time outside and in the pool. we're blessed that we go to see my parents (who just happen to live in sunny and warm Arizona) for my birthday (which happens to be in a very cold month)! it's just good to be a Hentzen!

the boys...

Ryan, Papa, Dad and Jackson

hiking the Madera Canyon

in the Santa Rita Mountains

Sonora Desert Museum...
http://www.desertmuseum.org/

more about the sensless act of violence with a teddy bear cholla to come...

cacti and desert vista

the hummingbird pavillion

the hummingbirds were all over jackson--they love red!

@ Papa's workbench

"what can we do with all of this stuff?" asked jackson

"we can create an invention..." ryan said as he began plotting...

jackson going old school...

and chasing away all of the old people with a deck soaking cannonball the pool was a balmy 86 degrees...

okay to be in the water, just a little hard to get out

@ Tumacacori Mission

south of Tubac, Arizona

http://www.nps.gov/tuma/

leaving Idaho...

yes, we're leaving Idaho, but only for a week!

we're getting ready for our annual trip to Arizona to see Nana and Papa! we've had soo much snow--not too much, but enough for us to need a dose of SUNSHINE! hopefully, we'll be able to get to SLC tomorrow and smooth travel from there...

The snow was wonderful at Christmas and last weekend when i wore my pajamas all day saturday and sunday and watched it snow. and of course, as the token female, i don't have to scoop the snow!

jacks is a champion scooper--he's got it piled in one spot so he can sled down the hill. he never complains about getting out there. now ryan is another story...


this is the latest picture of jacks, lord stanley and ryan on our last snow day! (i took it with my camera--sorry it's dark).

i'll post our sunny pictures from Arizona!

welcome to our blog...

i was inspired by a friend to try this to make sure everyone can see what we (especially jacks and ryan) are doing... just in case you are dying to know what's going on with us!