Ancient Puebloans Rock!

Holy crap, I’m tired. Our field trip to Mesa Verde with The Girl’s fifth grade class went well, exhausting but, well.

Thursday morning, Hugh and I arrived at the school at 7:15 to help load the drinks and snacks that one of the other moms had purchased for the trip. Hugh organized coolers and made an ice run while I attended the official meeting of the chaperones. We then loaded the coolers into one of the other parent’s trucks and started the three hour drive to Cortez.

Our first stop was the Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores. Each chaperone was responsible for three students and we spent several hours exploring the museum and filling out a homework packet for the kids’ Social Studies class. It wasn’t too terrible, you know, for schoolwork.

Later that evening, we continued on to Cortez and, while the kids got checked in at the hotel, Hugh and I drove to a local pizza parlor to pick up the thirty-five large pizzas that I had ordered earlier in the week. Do you have any idea what thirty-five large pizzas looks like? It looks like this

Do you have any idea how long it took one hundred fifth graders to inhale said pizzas? About ten minutes.

After dinner, while the kids were swimming in the hotel pool, Hugh and I helped Other Mother (the one who purchased the drinks and snacks prior to the trip. Or, maybe I should call her, The Only Other Parent Who Lifted a Finger to Help During the Entire Trip. Not that I’m being judgmental. Except, ok, I am.) reload the coolers with bottles of water and juice for the next day’s lunch. Then, we gathered up our assigned kids and herded them off to bed since we had a long day ahead of us.

Friday morning, we were up with the sun and, while the kids dined on the hotel’s continental breakfast, Hugh, Other Mother and I ran to the local grocery store to pick up the box lunches that we had previously ordered. Then, it was off to the National Park, where we spent a great day exploring the ruins before grabbing cheeseburgers from a fast food place and heading back home. According to my trusty pedometer, we logged five miles on Thursday and eight miles on Friday. No wonder we were exhausted.


But, as I said, it was a good time.

However, should you ever volunteer to chaperone such a trip, allow me to offer the following tips on Proper Chaperone Etiquette:

1. Offer to help.
2. Don’t be the first in line for meals. The kids get first dibs; it is the way of the world.
3. Don’t complain about the kids assigned to you. Especially in front of said kids.
4. The same rules apply to you as to the kids. Set a good example by following them.
5. For god’s sake, offer to help.

End of sermon.

So, the rest of the weekend was a blur of activity. Saturday morning we got up early to attend a Passport Fair at our local post office. Our applications, hideous pictures and all are on their way to whatever obscure governmental department handles passports and, with luck, in three months we should be legally documented to travel. You know somewhere.

The rest of the day and Sunday, we worked on the yard. The weather has finally gotten with the program and it was quite nice outside. I dug dead mum bushes out of my flower beds and weeded around my tulips while the kids and the dogs frolicked in the sun. It felt good.

By Sunday night, the week had caught up to me and it was all I could do to keep my eyes open through The Sopranos. Although, that would have proven difficult had I been fully awake since, the show is about boring these days. Seriously; whack Tony and put me out of my misery, HBO.

That is all.