Dino Kid

My final post for the night... I have to hit the hay, as tomorrow I'm giving three presentations at a local middle school for "Career Day." That's right, ALL the kids want to know about the life of a chemical engineer! (And well, I teach them how to make Silly Putty, so it's a blast!)

I digress...

Thought I'd post some photos from this morning of Carter in his snazzy dino outfit (thanks Grandma C!). His newest trick is to flip the walker-toy upside down so he can reach the wheels and spin them round and round (all while pushing it across the floor):
And of course, taking ALL of the toys out of the basket:
Including the Legos:
And the books:
And a final shot - Carter's latest achievement - standing up in the middle of the room (i.e., he doesn't have to pull up on the furniture, my leg, the wall, etc.):
Any minute now, he'll be running....AHHHHH!

Hope everyone is having a great week!
~kerrie

Visit to Shidoni Foundry (Tesuque, NM)

This will by far be my most photo-laden post yet. Feel free to click on any of the pictures to see them a little better, as I knocked down the resolution to fit so many in...

This past Saturday, the Greenies took a trip up to the Shidoni Foundry in Tesuque, New Mexico. Tesuque (pronounced tah-sue-kay) is just north of Santa Fe, about 75 miles north of us in Albuquerque. The local section of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), of which I'm a very devoted member and officer, took a tour of the bronze foundry and sculpture garden.

Not being too knowledgeable on all things "art," I still had a great time checking out the [very, very expensive] sculptures and we SWE folks got a behind-the-scenes tour of the foundry.

So to start my photo marathon, here's a pic of the Greenies in front of the Snowman (and sorry, I didn't capture many of the sculpture names, so I'm filling in the blanks with my imagination):
Carter LOVED walking around on the grass and tried to get up close and personal with pretty much every piece. Here's the big Skull:
And a Turtle:
Ok, the Turtle was a little scary - time to run away:
Ah yes, a Frog - much better:
Cutest pic of the day. Sums up Carter's first sculpture garden experience to a tee:
Big scary Alligator:
There was even a Giraffe (and sadly, Carter was more enthralled with the sign than the sculpture):
Running away from the Lion:
Simply enjoying the nice weather and the big green lawn:
Ok, actually checking out the Lion (and the back-side...go figure...link takes you to an older lion post by Matt):
Even a Crawl-Through sculpture:
Some wacky green Cactus thing (yes, I majored in the arts, can't you tell?!):
After a short tour of the gardens, we started our tour of the foundry. Here's a series of shots from an actual bronze pour. Check out these nifty space suits (guessing it's a tad toasty working around all that heat...):
Actually pouring the molten bronze into the mold:
And the final shot - all bronze poured (click to see it's glowing red gloriousness). Haven't a clue what the shape/sculpture is, but hey, it's art!
After watching the pour, we went inside and saw some of the smaller pieces in the gallery. The Blowfish:
A character from Where the Wild Things Are:
There were a TON of smaller scupltures, including weird shapes, flying things, nude women, and some boring circles, too. So after checking out the price tags, I mean pieces, we started our personal SWE tour. Here's the starting phase in the process with a JFK sculpture made from clay (being worked on by the artist):
Carter was THRILLED to be behind the scenes, eh?
Just a shot of the melting points for different metals. Wow, them's hot!
A finished Horse piece waiting for the final patina:
And one of 50 Cowboys being made at the foundry (and that isn't painted - all of the color variations are done by the patina artist using chemistry). Price tag in the who-knows-how-many-$1000's range:
And finally, we walked back to the car, passing the Shooting Star:
In summation, wow, bronze sculptures are expensive! But what a fun way to spend an afternoon learning about molten bronze and art!
~kerrie

Making Strides

Just a simple post to say that the Greenies participated in the 2010 "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk" here in Albuquerque this past Sunday. I have participated in this 5-mile walk for the past 9 years and have been a top-10 fundraiser for New Mexico since I started. This year I turned in over $1500 in sponsorship!

Matt and Carter joined me (and actually this was Matt's 5th walk and Carter's 2nd) and the weather was absolutely gorgeous! Perfect day for a stroll (with our closest 20,000 friends)! The walk took us right along the Rio Grande and the scenery certainly made the 5-miles go by quickly.

Here's a photo of my team of co-workers and friends (minus Matt - he was taking the photo):
Let's hope they find a cure for cancer in my lifetime, eh? Until next year...
~kerrie

Carter's First Haircut!

After our trip to the foundry, we marched Carter on over to the salon for his VERY FIRST HAIRCUT! I'm not really sure he knew what was happening because A) he JUST woke up from a nap and B) it took all of about 3 minutes...

Regardless, his lovely locks were trimmed up and he looks like a clean-cut little boy! Few shots from the fun (ok, I was teary, but afterward I knew he was just fine...):
Little off the back:View from the side:
All done!
So there you have it. Our little boy is growing up so fast!
~kerrie

The Druid

So the other evening after work, I toss my hoodie over on the chair, you see. Carter grabs it and starts carrying it around like it's the best toy ever... Figured out how to get the hood on over his head and just thought it was the bee's knees, you see...

I decide to put the hoodie on him completely and zip 'er up. He thought it was HILARIOUS and Matt and I thought he looked like a little druid. Agree?
Bit of panache to accompany his new outfit:A view from the back:From afar:
Then he tried to eat his way out of it:
And once he was disrobed, the evil baby came out (just kidding...):
Yes, folks, that's our little actor.
~kerrie

The Snuggler

For my final post of the night, I'm going to tell a little story...about "The Snuggler."

Our little boy, Carter, seems to have an attraction for all things soft - blankets, stuffed animals, Kitty-Kitty... And well, lay said soft item on the floor and our boy will lay right on it, tuck his legs, and snuggle up like it's time for bed. It is perhaps one of THE cutest things he does and pretty much melts my heart EVERY time.

Here's a little photo sampling of him snuggling with his monkey quilt:
And with the sun coming in through the upper windows in the living room, maybe a nap WAS in order?
But wait...can't sleep yet - MUST. PLAY. WITH. TOYS! (And well, too much goo on his face -- which never seems to bother him - that'd drive me NUTS! -- so I snapped some photos of his ickyness before I wiped him up. Eww, huh?):
It's ok, I'm wiped him up and he went about his way. Played with some trucks, some Legos, some plastic cups...

And his newest set of toys - the squishy 'stack and play blocks' that I made out of some old fabric scraps I found. Made six blocks and I tied a little string to each (helps him grasp them while he walks):
He was pretty much THRILLED when he found them this morning before school:
The green block - pretty awesome, eh?
And it has this string on it:
"Which should go in my mouth? Awesome, thanks Mommy!"

After school he decided that the blocks made a nice pillow and did the 'ol snuggler trick again. Endearing and heart melting. That'sa my boy! And while I didn't get a photo of it, he even snuggled up with Kitty-Kitty on her hamburger-shaped bed the other day. Kitty didn't flinch at all (maybe she's getting used to Carter being around?) and Carter enjoyed a little snuggle-time with his soon-to-be favorite pet (once he realizes she's not just there for his entertainment/torture...).

Hope you're having a great week! It's raining here in Albuquerque...a bit too soon for monsoon season, but still welcomed 'round these parts!
~kerrie