2013 Pow Wow

This past weekend, we headed to the University of Iowa's 20th Annual Pow Wow. We've been attending the University's pow wow since I started classes there in 2011, having learned in my Native American Literature class that the University holds one annually.

Here's a great explanation of what a pow wow is, as explained in this year's program (you can click on the photo to get a bigger view of the wording):

This year, Livie was really excited about attending the pow wow. Having been to the two previous years' events, she remembered all the colorful regalia, the drumming, the singing, and the food.

Plus, there's just a . . . a "vibe" about it, where you can even feel the drumming, in addition to just hearing it with your ears. It's a visceral effect, the vibrations literally resonating within your body (if you're standing in just the right spot).

I'm posting two brief clips of the Grand Entrance, in hopes that they will work (they're each just under 30 seconds).  You'll be able to see the Color Guard from the Meskwaki American Legion (from Tama, IA) with the flags in this first video clip:

 Towards the end of this second video clip, you'll be able to hear the "jingle" from the ladies who are wearing "jingle dresses":

Anyway, I'm not going to talk too much about it; instead, I'll just let the still photos do the talking.

By the way, just as a note: the lighting in the University of Iowa's Recreation Building isn't the best for either iPhones or my Canon PowerShot (something very much like this camera), and since I got the camera as a hand-me-down (my dad had gotten a new camera and handed off this little camera to me, sans instruction booklet). So instead of fiddling with my camera and trying to get the adjustments just right with the lighting and action (it would've been hit-or-miss), I just did my best with my point-and-shoot phone camera.

 Young pow wow dancers are waiting for their turn in the arena. (Instagram photo.)

Lunch! A fry bread (or "Indian"/"NDN") taco - ground beef with taco seasonings, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese on fry bread. Filling, but extremely tasty. (Instagram photo.)

Liv chose regular fry bread with a little bit of drizzled honey - very much like a Latin American sopaipilla. She couldn't wait to eat hers. They were freshly made and very hot, so she had to wait (very, VERY impatiently) for a couple minutes before digging in. (Regular iPhone photo.)

After eating our lunches, we decided to walk around the arena (inside the green "tennis/volleyball/basketball" area within the indoor track) to get closer, better views of the dancing and drumming. Also, there were vendors along the perimeter of the track, so we wanted to take a look at their wares. Obviously, there was a face painting booth. She chose a pink and black "half butterfly" pattern, which she LOVED wearing. (Regular iPhone photo.)

 This is an Instagram photo detailing some fantastic beading on a young woman's regalia. The beadwork is so detailed and intricate. I'll bet it took someone HOURS to make this - there were two (or three - I can't remember now) of these rectangular pieces as detailed in the photo above - the piece with the turquoise, cream/off-white, red, yellow, and uh, "sand"(?) colored beads.

 This is another Instagram photo of a woman's "jingle" dress. Those metallic objects are hollow cones. When the dress' wearer walks or dances, the cones clink against each other, making a jingling sound. It sounds fantastic listening to a group of women in jingle dresses dancing, especially with the drums and singing. 

This is a close-up Instagram shot of that same dress. I love the purple shiny material. This one was one of my favorite dresses. Another favorite (which I unfortunately didn't get a photo of) was a turquoise-colored jingle dress. 

 On the second day, Livie just HAD to get her face painted again. This time, as you can see, she chose a full-faced purple butterfly. (Regular iPhone photo.)

While we were still at the pow wow, I just so happened to notice I was receiving an in-coming phone call from my dad. The only reason I knew was because I was holding up my phone, ready to take a photo. This was during a dance, so the drummers were drumming and singing - with the poor acoustics causing echoing in the building, it was hard to hear, and nearly impossible to realize one's phone was ringing. 

I answered it, hoping we'd be able to hear each other. He said he was in the area and wanted to stop by to take us out to dinner. I'd mentioned we were at the pow wow and would be leaving in about 90 minutes (with a 45 minute drive home once we left). He said he was still a couple hours away, and what time did we think we'd get home? Well, it would be a while, even if he were still on the road a couple hours away - that would make planning a "what time should we meet?" tricky.

I told him we could meet in Coralville, IA, at a BBQ restaurant just off of I-80, knowing he'd be taking I-80 westbound to get home after his "Sunday drive." We were just minutes away from Coralville, and much farther away from home. 

That worked out, as he was east of us in Muscatine, IA, heading west. And he'd be in our area (Iowa City/Coralville) around the time we were planning to leave, anyway. Plus, all he'd have to do after dinner is to keep heading west and he'd be home within a couple hours. When the weather's nice, he'll occasionally take a "Sunday drive" and end up in eastern Iowa, southwestern Wisconsin, southern Minnesota, or the like - he LOVES driving the open road.

We ended up meeting him at a place called Bandana's BBQ in Coralville, IA around 5 PM. Livie chose the kids' rib basket (2 ribs, some garlic bread, corn, and BBQ beans). I chose the pulled pork sandwich and BBQ beans. My dad and Andrew both chose the BBQ sausage, beans, corn, okra and garlic bread. It hit the spot. We wrapped up with freshly made donut holes, which tasted exactly like funnel cake from the State Fair! 

As soon as we were finished, we said goodbye to my dad. Nonno (meaning "grandpa" in Italian) then headed to his car and we headed to ours. Livie immediately said, "I miss Nonno already." 

Fortunately, we'll be seeing them next month, probably. They live about 140 miles from us (about a 2.5 hour drive), and we usually make it out to their house about once a month. 

All in all it was a fantastic weekend.

If you're interested, here's our "Trip Report" from our first UI Pow Wow in 2011, as well as our "Trip Report" for the 2012 Pow Wow.

Away They Go!

While we were at my parents' (during the week Livie was at her theater camp), Nonno (my dad) really wanted to take Livie for a ride in his convertible. Well, after determining that I could, in fact, secure her booster seat into the convertible's passenger seat, I said she could go.

Nonno said he was only planning a "quick" drive . . . but knowing how he is, I knew they'd probably be out for a bit longer than a "quick" drive. They were out for about 45-50 minutes. When they got back, Livie said it was a lot of fun!

Anyway, here are a few photos of them as they head out on their adventure.

Livie's strapped in safely! Abuelita is ready to wave "Bye!"

Backing out of the garage! Livie's giving thumbs up.

Heading down the driveway!

Brava, Livie!!

Last week, Livie (and 59 other kids) participated in a week-long theater camp at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, in Des Moines, IA. (During this time, we stayed at my parents' place, because they live in the area.) The kids learned about acting, what goes on behind the scenes in a theater, and learned how to put on a musical (Cinderella), which they performed at the end of the week for family and friends.The camp was put on by the Missoula Children's Theater and the educational department at the Civic Center.

Here's the photo tour of Livie's first theater experience! (LOTS o f photos are coming up!)

On the first day of camp, she was excited for me to drop her off! The camp was Monday - Friday, beginning at 9AM and running through 4PM Monday - Thursday. Friday was the long day, with the dress rehearsal in the afternoon, and the  performance at 5:30 PM.

 Because the staff were strict about security, parents (or grandparents or other family/friends) had to wait until 4PM on the dot to be able to head back inside to pick up the kids. So no photos of the "inner workings" of theater camp. However, if you're curious, you can look at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines' blog about Cinderella Camp.

 Finally, it was Friday, the day of the performance. We were allowed into the theater to find our seats at 5PM. 

Here's the stage:

Here are Livie's maternal grandparents, Abuelita and Nonno, studying the program. Abuelita told Nonno, "She's a pumpkin; that's all you need to know."

(We had to wait until the end of the show to take pictures, because flash photography was not allowed.)

Here's the whole cast at the end of the show. (I had to crop it the best I could after another mom unexpectedly jumped in the way of my shot.)

Livie is the smiling pumpkin (the second pumpkin from the left). 

One of the camp instructors told them to make silly faces for this next photo. And they sure did!

Another silly face!!

Andrew and I were given a backstage pass to wait for Livie backstage after the "photo call." Here are directions to remind actors, stagehands, etc, which way is which.

 Another directional photo here (again, I had to crop significantly when a mom, oblivious of my aimed camera, got into the way).

Another backstage view, with stored lighting and other theater necessities in safe places. 

We're heading to a different area backstage to return her costume.

Liv's showing us where she and the other pumpkins sat while they waited for their turn on stage.

Backstage workings.

Liv's posing back stage.

And, of course, she got the t-shirt!

Brava, Livie! We are proud of you and your performance!!

Wrapping Up Birthday Week

On Saturday, we held the final celebration of "Livie's Birthday Week." This was the party (with cake, of course) with Livie's family, including her great-grandmother, Oma. Here's the photo tour of Livie's birthday celebration with her family:
 

Livie, Grandmamá, and Grandpapá are waiting for the party to start.

I make sure Livie always gets fresh flowers for her birthday. Daddy picked out such a festive, colorful bunch!

Pizza time!

 

Nonno wonders if someone needs help eating her pizza.

A pteranodon puzzle/skeleton - one of the many gifts she was excited about.

Another favorite gift - a sink/mirror/toothbrush kit for her American Girl.

She also got a green St. Patrick's Day colored Patrick Kane Blackhawks t-shirt.

Nonno sleeps.

Scarlett sleeps.

Time to sing "Happy Birthday"!

Yummy, yummy cake!

Abuelita and Nonno pose for a picture.

Later, Oma and Abuelita are entertained by a finger puppet show.

A Couple Random Photos

I've been meaning to share this photo, but just haven't had the chance yet . . . so here it is now. While we were at my parents, Livie tried her hand at scaring Nonno. Think it worked?

My tokens from The Dreaming Bear are so cute on my desk (okay, in this photo, they're on the window sill because the light was better). They're good little reminders helping me stay motivated throughout the semester. (By the way, my Spring 2012 semester starts January 17th, in case you're wondering.)

Anyway, since I have a few more days before I have to head down to Iowa City to buy my textbooks for the new semester, I can continue reading the books on my "to read" list. The ones I'm currently reading are Queen of America by Luis Alberto Urrea, and Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather. Anybody reading anything good?

Going "Home"

While we were visiting Abuelita and Nonno over Christmas break, Abuelita and I took Liv and Andrew on a special adventure. We were invited to take a tour of our old house, where my siblings and I spent some time growing up. Back in the '90s, when my parents moved (a few years after I'd graduated from college), they ended up actually selling the house to a colleague of my dad's. This colleague, his wife (Dr. and Mrs. R), and their two kids still live there . . . okay, he and his wife still live there. Their kids have moved on to start their own lives with their own families.

Here's a view from the front yard, circa early '80s, when we lived there. The house was actually built in the 1940s!

Anyway, I run into Mrs. R (and rarely, Dr. R) every so often. And each time, Mrs. R invites me to come over and see the house. But it's usually the day before I'm heading back to wherever it is that I'm living (typically, back when I was still active duty and a plane ride away), so the tour never happens. Well, this time, my mom talked to Mrs. R before our visit this time, and they arranged for us to go visit during Christmas break.

This house was always really drafty in the autumn and winter, and my dad never set the thermostat to something the rest of us were comfortable with, telling us to wear sweaters if we were so cold. (Sounds very father-like, right?!)

Well, when we got to the house, the first thing we noticed was that Mrs. R had installed a wood-burning oven in the "breakfast room" (where we ate all our meals) adjacent to the kitchen. It smelled wonderful, and it was comfortably warm! And there was another one in a sun room on the other side of the house, delightfully radiating comfortable heat.

As we walked around the house, I thoroughly enjoyed all the changes she'd made, but realized that in my mind, "legend" had made each room seem larger in my memory than it had apparently been in real life. The den, for example, seemed a bit smaller as I stood there the other day, then it had in my memories.

At one point, while looking around the den, I was suddenly awash with missing my Uncle Hector, since this was the room where he'd fallen off the treadmill mid-run, only to look at me and say, "Oops," sheepish grin plastering his face, before he got back on and continued his workout.

Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun looking around, reminiscing, marveling at the wonderfully cozy changes, and sharing family history with Andrew and Livie.

But the most fun for Livie was what Mrs. R had outside - a chicken coop, chickens (obviously), and miniature horses! And Mrs. R even let Livie pick a few eggs to take home (which she ate for breakfast the next day, while still at Abuelita's).

Here's the photo tour of the "companions" we never had:

She got to touch a chicken!

She actually picked the two she's holding from directly underneath the chickens. And they were still warm! This little fact freaked Abuelita out! Hahaha!

Here's one of the chickens. I love the coloring! We saw some of these at the 2011 Iowa State Fair, by the way.

Some are outside. The "flags" are to keep the hawks away. Apparently, some time before Mrs. R put these flags out, 4 chickens had become hawks' lunches.

Liv's meeting the  two resident miniature horses.

Abuelita is petting them! (Livie is eating a snack. Lucky for us, I'd had a granola bar in my bag, for just such a moment when Livie became famished.)

I'd always wanted to have a horse on that property, but my dad always said no. One time, he'd told me it was because the city wouldn't allow livestock on the property (but I guess that was just a way to say "no" without saying "no" for the millionth time). 

When we got home, Livie showed her eggs to Oma.

One was definitely brown, two were very pale "brown" and one was a kind of pale blue-gray.

She picked the two she wanted for breakfast (the two itty bitty ones).

She said they were really tasty!

Anyway, it was such a fun adventure. I really enjoyed recalling all those old memories, while seeing all the great new changes Mrs. R had made. And Livie and Andrew got to see a bit of history.