Broken or Sprained?

We had a great day out on the boat today with friends. We were on the water from 9:00 until 4:00. We skied, we tubed, we swam, we had a picnic lunch on the beach, it was truly a great day. Jake went in the tube by himself for the first time and was going to try to get up on skis but the lake had just gotten too crazy with boats and I couldn't keep us close enough to shore without hitting something long enough to feel safe about trying to get him up. We promised him next time (he was really disappointed). Our friends kids also tried to get up on skis and their Dad tried his hand at wakeboading (he did better than I have so far, so that was good). All in all it was a great day.

The kids fell asleep instantly, by the time we had gotten the boat out of the water and had driven back to the highway they were all out and slept most of the way back home. Even now sitting here typing, I still feel waves so I am anticipating some deep sleeping in the Alan household tonight (and my God do we need it).

Oh, yeah, so the picture of my foot.....the only downside....I, being perpetually 12, ran down the dock and dove off of the end, but I planted a little bit hard and the last plank in the dock broke in half. I can't tell whether anything is broken or just bruised....luckily I have my yearly checkup tomorrow and when the Dr. asks me if there's anything else, this is gonna come up. I can walk on it just fine, so I'm thinking it's just bruised, plus they don't really do anything for broken toes anyway, so it is what it is to a certain extent.

As Jimmy Buffett would say, "I'm growing older but not up!".

My Kind of Happy Hour

After a rough end to boating season last year (see "boat fire, Sept. 2009") we had rough beginning to boating season 2010. Long story short: We took the boat out last Sunday, started it up and large amounts of white steam came out, a friendly boater told us it was probably a cracked engine block, so we took the boat home trying not to curse loudly the whole way and to the boat repair place again where they laughed and told us the white steam was normal- it was just the winterizing agent burning off. Being California born and raised we had never winterized a boat before so we felt a little foolish but better safe than sorry. Well, the drama was worth it last night.

We left here after work at 4:30 with a packed cooler and swimsuits for the kids. We picked up Tanner and Faith from Miss Wendy's house and were on the lake by 5:45. We had a picnic on the dock, everyone went tubing, Jake and Brian swam, the kids floated and tried to catch tadpoles, and we relaxed in the waning sunshine- a perfect 80 degrees. Happy Hour AT ITS BEST!

Out again on Sunday with friends from the neighborhood. Can't wait!

YMCA Family Camp

Yes, we ended the camp by joining hands and singing Kum Ba Yah. Yes, it was cheesy (as admitted by the director of the camp herself) but it was also really cool. And funny when I realized the older gentleman that I was holding hands with was singing "Zum by yah" by accident. How can you reach the age of 65 and NOT know this song???

The camp itself was a throwback to old times in a lot of ways, with new twists thrown in. They had the traditional arts-and-crafts but also had a zip line and rock climbing wall. They had rocketry but also had canoeing. The counselors were all young and fun and wonderfully kind to the kids. We participated in the silly campfire songs and watched the skits (some funny some not so much), ate the camp food (bland but plentiful), and joined the S'more making festivities on night #2.

The facility was beautiful- brand new

(actually it wasn't even close to being completed yet with a temporary dining hall, no baseball field, and lots of construction still going on). The cabins and yurts were really nice inside and we lusted after them after our first night in the tent where the temps must have been in the high 30's and we froze our butts off. We basically slept in ALL our clothes each night (layers, layers, layers) and borrowed blankets from our friends after the first night. That helped, but we still got muscle cramps from shivering so much (no, I am not kidding).

They offered activities like BMX biking, canoeing, swimming, kayaking, rock climbing, zip line, hiking, mountain biking, rocketry, basketball, and bouldering. At nights there were campfires and games. The kids loved it all- except Faith who was a bit whiny (OK, to be honest she was INCREDIBLY whiny and at one point after she had stated that she was thirsty about 1000 times in a row I snapped at her and she started to cry and said, "But Mommy, it is just so hard being me!!!!"). To be fair, there was a large amount of walking to be done to get between activities and I'm sure her little legs were exhausted and she was quite possibly dehydrated despite the many, many glasses of water and Gatorade she consumed.

One of the funniest memories is my zip line experience. I was the first one on it from family camp and I listened to all the directions but hadn't seen anyone actually do it yet. The one thing they kept saying is that at the end you have to GRAB THE ROPE. They said that they would be yelling, "GRAB THE ROPE! GRAB THE ROPE!" repeatedly to remind you but that was the most important thing to remember. Well, I got up there and started "zipping" and it was way faster than I had anticipated and I was screaming and yelling and guess I didn't hear them yelling at me to "GRAB THE ROPE!!!". The kids and Brian were watching (and videotaping) and of course, I did not GRAB THE ROPE. So.... the camp director had to get behind me and physically stop me

with her body. Luckily she is a larger woman and I didn't quite mow her down, but I came close, Brian and I were laughing like crazy and the kids were yelling things like, "Good try, Mom!" and, "Mom, you forgot to GRAB THE ROPE!". After I was done and out of the harness, Faith said to me in all sincerity, "Mom, when I get bigger I am going to do the zip line. But I am going to GRAB THE ROPE.".

We were there from Sunday afternoon through Wed. afternoon and it was almost embarrassingly inexpensive: It cost us a total of 250 dollars for food, activities, our tent site, etc... We definitely hope to make it part of our summer traditions and would love to rent a cabin next year with another family or grandma or grandpa, aunts, uncles, or whomever else wants to participate.

One of the best things about the experience was telling the kids stories at night about our childhoods. Jake had been really looking forward to hearing stories about us and for whatever

reason we saved these for the tent. They all wanted to hear about when we were exactly their ages- 3, 4, and 7. I wished I could remember more! It was hard to remember on demand and when we got home I was so grateful that we have this blog printed out for them because I know that one day their children will want to hear stories about THEIR childhoods and they can pull out these binders (which sometimes seem a little silly as we are on binder #5 now) and relive their memories so they can make them come alive for their kids while they are all freezing in a huge family tent someday!

One of the other memorable parts of the camp was the fact that Jake "fell in love" with one of the counselors. Her name was Bethany and he was smitten. Seriously. I have never seen him like this. He had a serious crush on her. He watched for her all the time and wanted to go do whatever activity she was in charge of during each activity period. Before we left I took a picture of them together. On the way home he just sobbed and told me that his "heart hurt" and he couldn't stop thinking about her. It was so sweet- and also so hard to watch. The feelings were obviously strong and real in a way that he had not yet experienced. He printed out the picture and put it by his bed last night. Today he spent the morning listening to songs on the iPod- he chose any song with the word "love" in it and ended up sighing heavily as he listened to Kenny Rogers' "I Can't Unlove You". He wrote her a letter this afternoon and mailed it, along with a copy of the picture. I am really hoping she writes him back. My little man is so tender hearted and I know this has just been a REALLY EARLY precursor to his real first love. (BTW, I checked with Jake before writing this to ask if it was OK- he's getting to an age where we feel like we need to respect his privacy on things like this).

Anyway, once again, we highly recommend the YMCA. Great people, great times, great values, great memories.

Next up in the category of "Summer Fun": taking the boat out on Sunday (if we can find the energy...)

Nudity and Buzz Cuts

NAKED, NAKED, ALL THE TIME NAKED!

Now that the weather has gotten hotter, Tanner, our little nudist, is content to stay in his birthday suit all day from the second he wakes up (naked, of course) to going to bed (naked of course). He eats all three meals naked if we're home, watches TV naked, colors naked, plays baseball naked. Spoilsports that we are, we do make him get dressed when we leave the house, but as soon as we are back home, he strips down the instant he walks in the door. It is going to kill me when his little booty goes from being a cute little boy booty to a teenage booty that I am no longer allowed to see, much less pinch on a daily basis! I am enjoying these days while I can!

Jake said on Monday that he wanted to cut his hair like Brian's. So Brian got out the razor and

went to work- a number 2 on the sides and 4 on top. Of course,

as soon as Jake had his cut, Tanner had to have his done, too. I was skeptical at first but love the way the cuts turned out. They look so darn cute! Faith, of course, asked that we shave her head, too, but despite our desire to let haircare decisions be in the hands of the kids, we just couldn't follow through on this request. She only asked once, then when we said we weren't sure that was a good idea, she said, "Yes, I will keep my girl hair". Whew.

Oh, also, I have apparently crossed the line into being an embarassment to my eldest child. I came downstairs the other day in a pair of shorts that were belted with a sash and a white t-shirt with flip flops. Jake took one look at me and said, 'Mom, you're not going to go out like that are you? You look weird". Seriously??? He was rather insistent and when I asked him to explan how I looked weird (because I just didn't see it with this particular outfit, not that I don't have other outfits that might rightly be referred to as "weird") he said, "You look like you're from the 1950's. And poor and stuff". Hmmmm. Well, at least he cleared that up.

June 2010

How is it that summer just began and it already feels like it is slipping through my fingers? The days of chlorine or hose baths (those count, right?), icee shack trips, pickup football on the green, summer festivals, and dinners of salad and cold BBQ chicken seem to fly by.

This week brought the first really hot weather here in Boise- high 80's each day and one day that got over 100. We broke out the slip-n-slide on Tuesday night and the kids entertained themselves for a long time out there- playing a game that Jake concoted which involved lots of large plastic drinking cups, the slip-n-slide, and gallons of water. There was an evening spent at the pool- Tanner showing off his new ability to swim underwater and float by himself, Jake safe in the deep end, and Faith happily floating in her hippo blow up toy and splashing in the fountain.

We went to the 1st Annual Boise Rec Fest on

Sunday which could've been a disaster (see post last fall about the 1st Annual Boise Curb Cup) but turned out really fun. There were all sorts of things for the kids to do from tennis to lacrosse to golf, baseball, basketball, etc... Plus there were booths showcasing all the cool stuff you can do in the area (I swear, only in Idaho would the Parks and Recreation Department highlight dirtbiking with a hands on display....). One of the best things we saw is called bungee surfing. You have a surf board that you attach a bungee cord to, float downstream until the bungee gets tight, then surf back. That's our next "date night"- a half day bungee surfing lesson in the Boise River rapids. Can't wait!!!

We found out on Sunday that our daycare provider's father passed away suddenly of a heart attack at age 52. Wendy was devastated- still is of course- and was the one in charge of making all arrangements on top of it. Daycare was closed all week so it's been a little hectic on our end- but my heart goes out to Wendy who is practically part of the family after the three years she has spent taking care of my kiddos. Of course, this was the one week Jake had no camp. After trying to work and take care of all three kids on Mon/Tues we ended up hiring Tanner's preschool aide, Miss Rachel, to babysit Wed-Fri from 12-4 so Brian and I could get a few hours this week of uninterrupted work time and preserve our sanity. The kids will actually end up having almost two weeks off daycare because we leave for our Y Family Camp on Sunday and won't return until Thursday.

The library reading program is in full swing and Jake is really in to it this year. Flat Stanley, Hardy Boys, and Geronimo Stilton seem to be the favorites.Tanner loves to read Henry and Mudge still, while Faith will pick up any book and "read" it to you by making up a story while looking at the pictures. The other day she picked one up, opened it to page 1, and said, "It was a dark stormy night..." and the story only got more interesting from there!

I am loving driving the mini with the top down again- especially in the evenings right before the sun sets (OK.... so I only got to do that once when I was out until 10 at a party for the retirement of a work friend). But, while we didn't experience any real problems with the mini in the winter, we had also forgotten the joys that it brings in the summer, so it was fun to enjoy the full benefits of the convertible again.

I LOVE SUMMER!