Orange October

There's no time of year I like better than Orange October.

The days are getting shorter. It's still dark when I have to wake the kids for school. It gets dark earlier and earlier and I find myself thinking it must be 9PM when in reality it hasn't even hit 730. School conferences are coming up and with those come the Book Fair.  Halloween decorations are appearing around the neighborhood. The trees are beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow and the leaves crunch under our feet in these weeks just before our breath starts to show in the morning air.

But the best part? The Giants. Long evenings spent watching baseball. This is our 3rd Giants World Series since the kids were born. We are all getting spoiled.

Update:  Approximately 53,000 hours of baseball viewing later, the GIANTS WON THEIR 3RD SERIES IN 5 YEARS!! So much fun. I loved every second of it.  Sheila and Wayne were here for part of it and Mom watched every game. Pablo is a rockstar.  Hunter Pence is a crazy person- watching him play is just a blast.  And Bumgarner? He rode a horse in the parade. So great.

Tanner Has His Tonsils Out

Tanner has always had big tonsils. On the few occasions over the last few years when we have had cause to look in his throat, we both remarked on how big his tonsils were compared to the other kids. We had mentioned it to his pediatrician during a routine visit and he had referred us to ear, nose and throat specialist, who agreed that they were very large but as there were no symptoms normally associated with tonsils (sore throat, constant colds etc.) they told us not to worry about it.

Come to find out that large tonsils have lot of other side effects that we WEREN'T aware of. Tanner has always snored at night, loudly - side effect of large tonsils. He had always breathed through his mouth, loudly - side effect of large tonsils. He never seemed to get enough sleep - side effect of large tonsils. He made a loud, raspy sound when he tried to run really fast - side effect of large tonsils. A few years after the original consult, we took him to see another specialist who, combined with the above newly discovered info, said, "Yep. Those need to go.". So Tanner had is tonsils out this morning. 

We got up early and headed down to the hospital for our 7:00 AM check in . Cori stayed over last night and got Jake and Faith up and out the door to school this morning. The surgery all went really well, planned out to a T by the hospital. All the Dr's and nurses were wonderful and took extra special care of Tanner, especially towards surgery time when he started to get really nervous. The actual surgery took about 20 minutes and we were in and out of the hospital in about 4 hours. The Dr. said that his adenoids were blocking about 75% of his airway, which accounts for all of the above symptoms. 

He's home now and resting comfortably on the couch with bad kids TV on and a table full of soda, gatorade, ice cream, jello and yogurt. He's home from school for the next week and out of commission for sports for the next two weeks. He is missing his last football game and the first week of basketball which starts next week as soon as football is over (I have a coaches meeting tonight). 

He seems no worse for the wear so far. Fingers crossed that he bounces back easily. 

Football and Gymanstics

The football season has been really fun, but quick,  we only have one week to go. The Saturday morning games have gotten really chilly and the evening practices have been getting almost too dark to see!

Jake is finishing up his junior year of tackle. In optimist once you start tackle you stay with the same team and coaches for 4 years. That's been really cool. We've gotten to know a lot of the families on the team and have carpooled with many of them for years. Brian has been assistant coach all three years. It makes for a crazy August and September since practice runs 4 days a week and there's a game on Saturday. Jake has always had really good instincts for the game and plays quarterback really well, but since he is so small, the coach is hesitant to play him. Up until this year he was always getting hurt. This year he has been playing hard and has not been injured (knock on wood) at all. He probably won't play in the senior year of optimist since he is small enough to play on the lightweight team for his middle school. Brian and I go back and forth though about whether or not to let him. All the current news about how dangerous football is makes us worry and we are unsure what the best thing to do is. 

Tanner's last game was Saturday. He gets his tonsils out tomorrow and will be out of all athletics for two weeks. He had to sacrifice either his last football game or his first baskeball game and he decided on football. He has really enjoyed the year on the field but says that he doesn't want to play tackle next year. I'm relieved. So is Brian. Tanner is a small guy- barely 50 pounds- and all skinny arms and legs. We weren't sure we were even going to let him play tackle next year but him making that decision himself is kind of nice.  He played mostly center this year and also some corner back. It was a fun season and his team was undefeated.

Faith started gymnastics last week. She LOVES it. She took a few classes when she was younger but was never really into it. This time she is really excelling at it. She loves the beam and bars especially. We found a different gym that we like much better and so far it seems to be doing wonders for her confidence. She still sings and dances around the house and reads like a maniac.

Starting next week we will have Tanner doing Yball, Jake doing AAU Basketball, and Faith in gymnastics so the driving arrangements will likely be a little crazy but between the two of us and a carpool for Jake we should manage.

Little Successes

It's just so damn hard. Parenting. The balancing act of letting go and holding on. The desire to protect at all costs versus the knowledge that you absolutely have to let them fail. Knowing when to cuddle and when to play "bad cop". And there's so many things to worry about: Is it OK that they eat dessert EVERY SINGLE DAY and think it is their god given right? Are they are getting enough sleep or is 830 too early of a bedtime for an 11 year old? How much is too much television? Are video games ok? What about violent video games? Should I check their homework each night or trust them to get it done and turned in? Are they learning self reliance or is making them make their own lunches just mean?  Are we too strict? Too lenient?  Should chores be tied to allowance or are they supposed to just do chores because they are a member of the family and that is what is expected? Should we help manage the money they earn or is it "all theirs"? And don't get me started on texting and internet usage....

I guess it all comes down to trusting ourselves to know our kids and knowing that we are making the best decisions we can with the information we have. And also knowing that we are going to screw up. A lot. Still... it feels good when you finally see evidence that some of the parenting you have been doing for years is really paying off.

Here's a few examples:

1. Two weeks ago at a Saturday Optimist game Faith asked if she could have a donut (which they sell at the little kiosk located approximately 25  yards from where I was sitting watching Jake's game). I told her that, yes, she could have a donut but she'd have to go buy it herself. I gave her the dollar and quarter and sent her on her way. She returned about 5 minutes later without the donut and said she was too scared to go by herself.  I told her that it was her choice but that if she wanted a donut she would need to go by herself. She would be visible to me the entire time and I would wave to her but she needed to do it alone. She cried. She cried a lot. She cried the entire football game. She sobbed. She claimed she was just too scared to do it. Was I too lazy to go with her? No. Was I too interested in Jake's game  to go with her? No. I told her that I knew she was brave enough and strong enough to do this on her own and that if I went with her I would telling her her the opposite.  I told her that if I went with her I would be telling her that I thought she wasn't strong enough or brave enough and that wasn't the case. I don't think she got it. But I stood my ground. She didn't get a donut that day. The next week at the football game she again asked for her $1.25. I gave it to her and she skipped down the sidewalk to the donut vendor without a glance back at me. She bought the donut and returned to me- happy and confident in herself.

2. Our kids have always had an opportunity to earn and spend their own money, either through allowance or chores or by saving gift money. They know that if they want a toy or something special and it's not their birthday or Christmas then most times they will need to use their own funds to get it.  We are big believers in making financial choices and learning the value of a dollar from a young age. That cheap plastic toy at Target that you JUST HAVE TO HAVE becomes much less desirable and much less important when you realize that your very own hard earned cash will have to be used if you want to bring it home. It is a powerful thing. Last week Jake took his phone- a  hand me down 3 year old flip phone that was falling apart at the seams- with him on a bike ride and it fell out of his pocket and broke. It was not fixable. He borrowed a friend's phone, called me and told me about it and said, " I know I have to buy my own replacement. I have enough money saved. Can you take me to WalMart tonight?". There was never any question in his mind- he didn't even ask- if this would be paid for by mom and dad. He shopped for the phone he wanted in his price range and ended up with a new phone that he is very happy with. He spent his own money and I am convinced he is taking better care of it since he felt the cost himself.

3. Last night there was Scary Movie Night at the Barn. This is an annual event in our neighborhood. It is a fun night with lots of movies, kids watch on hay bales with a bathtub full of candy, popcorn, and soda. The boys and I went, but Faith stayed home to watch Mary Poppins with Brian (she doesn't like anything that is even slightly scary). The next morning our neighborhood FB page had a post with a plea for helpers to clean up the area. Apparently it was a disaster area. I told the kids that we were goin to walk over there at 10AM to volunteer. Faith said, "Well, of course we are!". The kids got brooms and shovels and garbage bags and worked for 45 minutes.  They picked up half eaten candy bars and half empty sticky soda cans.  They worked hard and got two things out of it: First, they saw what happens when they litter (somebody else has to pick it up or the neighborhood gets gross). Second, they saw how little it takes to help out a community. I was so proud of their efforts. On the walk back home Tanner said, "Mom, since we helped out this morning can we get an extra treat at home?" and Jake responded, "Tanner, the "extra treat" is that you did something really nice for your neighbors. It's the good feeling you get inside yourself when you help other people". Well said, Jake.

So... apparently our relentless efforts to instill our children with some core values are paying off in little ways. It's just like in the pictures above: You don't notice all the little ways they are changing until you sit down and take the time to look at the comparison from one year to the next. Then it becomes so clear: All the little changes add up.  I'm so proud of the people they are becoming and, for today at least, actually feel proud of the way I am raising them.

2nd, 3rd, and 6th Grade

As much as I love summer, I always look forward to the first day of school. It's really hard working from home with all three kids home all day and this summer was arguably the hardest of all summers since I had to take two trips to Chicago and several trips to SLC and was really, really busy at work when I was in town. It made it a very stressful time, with Brian having to take on most of the kid duty and with me feeling guilty for not being around as much for the kids or for him.  But we survived. Not sure if we thrived. But we survived. It was definitely a challenge but I think we grew as a family some and as a couple for sure.

School supplies were purchased and ready early. We did BTS clothes shopping when Auntie Sue and Grandma Mary were in town, then Nana took them out to get them something, so the kids were set. In fact, they were more than set. The night before the first day they laid out their clothes- not just for day 1, but for all five days in week 1 of back to school. Crazy people. They even had underwear and socks picked out for each day.

It was a good first day, beautiful outside and not too hot. I LOVE FALL WEATHER! After the annual pictures on the porch we drove the kids to the back path. Tanner met up with the two other musketeers right away and took off without a glance goodbye. Jake left us at the car and found his buddies. Faith, however, clung to my hand and 10 minutes before the bell rang the silent tears began. I walked her to the front of her line and handed her over to her new teacher, kissed her and said goodbye. She waved tearily. That went on for the first three days. By Thursday and Friday I was able to kiss her goodbye and leave before she lined up, so that's progress. There's definitely a little bit of separation anxiety going on.

All the kids had a great first week. Tanner has Mrs. Olsen (Jake's third grade teacher) and Faith has Mrs. Bourland (Tanner's second grade teacher) so we already know the drill for those two classes. Jake got Mrs. Wagner and is with almost all of his buddies. It's a great group and I know Mrs. Wagner from when she worked in the computer lab years ago and I was doing TTM with her.  So everyone is comfortable and happy and ready for a great year.

This week we have 4 days of football practice for Jake, 2 days of football for Tanner, 3 back to school nights, and Faith's first farm class. Even with each kid only doing one after school activity the pace is kind of breakneck around here!

Peter Pan ala Hidden Springs

A few teenage girls in the neighborhood with acting backgrounds decided to do a fundraiser for the Hidden Springs Library (which is expanding and moving into the new Merc building this month). They ran play auditions in early June, then ran play practice 2-4 times a week throughout the summer. They built sets and bought thrift store materials with which to make costumes for all the cast. They made a program for the play, had makeup for the characters and basically just took care of everything. It was about the coolest thing I have ever seen teenagers do. I was so impressed.

Faith was the only one of the kids originally interested in the play, but Jake got involved as a way to help her get over her nervousness at the first few practices. He was roped into playing Captain Hook and got one of his buddies involved to play John. Brian and I dropped them at practices and offered to assist as needed but no help was ever asked for so we really didn't know quite what to expect when we went to watch the "final product" last weekend.

The barn was PACKED. They were hoping for 80 people and got closer to 120-150.  Every part of the play was well done, from ticket sales to intermission refreshment sales (donated baked good donated by neighbors and water donated by Albertsons). Set changes were done, lighting was provided and manned, makeup and costumes were done seamlessly.

Faith played a mermaid and also a pirate. She had two costumes and each time she was on stage she just looked so happy and excited to be there. If she was nervous you couldn't tell. She had all her lines memorized and spoke loudly, clearly, and with great expression. She also helped with the set changes. I was so very proud of her. She can't wait to do her next play.

Jake was funny and had the largest part in the play (except possibly for Peter's part, but I think Captain Hook may have had more lines than even Peter). He mostly kept his composure and even when funny things happened (like his sword falling apart) he rolled with it and had fun. While I am not sure he sees a future in acting, he was fantastic!

Having Nana and Grandma Mary and Auntie Sue in the audience was such a treat. It's something that I don't think any of us will forget anytime soon. 

The girls that produced and directed the play are already planning another one for next season. I know what Faith will be doing next summer!

Best Surprise Ever

We had a busy weekend planned last week. There was the football Jamboree at BSU most of the day on Saturday and then the kids had their performance of the Peter Pan play for the Hidden Springs Library on Sunday. Brian was up early (630) to get Jake to BSU on time. He got a text message from his mom asking if anyone was up for donuts. He texted her back and said that we were all still sleeping and didn't give it much more thought. A few minutes later he got another text saying, "Look on your front porch". He figured that in typical Grandma Mary fashion she had ordered us donuts and they were delivered to our house in time for beginning of football season. He jumped in the shower, took his time, and then opened the door expecting to see a fed ex package or something. Nope. He got more than he bargained for. Right there on our front porch in Boise Idaho stood Grandma Mary and Auntie Sue holding two dozen donuts.

I was still asleep. Brian came in the room and tapped my foot, waking me up, and whispered, "Honey...wake up! Mom and Auntie Sue are here!". Like I said, I was still asleep, so I murmured, "OK" thinking it was a dream, and then promptly rolled over and fell back asleep. A few minutes later, he came in again. Tugging on my foot a little more urgently, he said (a little more loudly this time), "HONEY, you need to get up. Auntie Sue and Mom are here. They brought donuts!". I threw a robe on and walked into the family room rubbing my eyes, still partially asleep and thinking I must have misheard. Sure enough there they were. On our couches. There were the donuts. Right on the kitchen counter.

They wanted to surprise the kids and come see them in the play. Well, they definitely pulled it off. Unbelievable. Neither Brian or I had any idea that they were coming.  I've rarely been this shocked or surprised in my life. 

Brian and Jake left for the first part of the Jamboree. We talked for about an hour while the kids continued sleeping upstairs. A little while later, Faith came down, rubbed her eyes, and in happy shock greeted two of her favorite people in the world. Next came Tanner. Same drill.  Turns out they had booked a room over the Merc for the weekend and came just so they could surprise the kids and see them in the play on Sunday.

Best. Surprise. Ever.

They tagged along for the Jamboree, getting to watch Tanner play in his first game of the season, and then came along for BTS clothes shopping on Sunday.  Saturday night we did movie night at our house, then the kids all slept over with Mary and Sue in their suite above the Merc.  The play was Sunday evening and it WAS A BLAST. Faith and Jake both rocked their parts with confidence and enthusiasm. We enjoyed every second of the play, and every second we got to spend with Auntie Sue and Grandma Mary.

Oregon Camping Trip

We last camped with the Thumas when Faith was about 2 years old. Given that it has taken us 5 years to get another trip scheduled, it would lead you to believe that we didn't have a good time on that trip. That would be false. We had a great time five years ago and when we finally got our schedules together enough to camp again this year we had an even better time.

The Thuma Family had the brunt of the drive. We tried to meet "in the middle" between Seattle and Boise, but the reality is that the location we chose was much easier for us to get to, only a 5 hour drive, compared to the 8+ hours of driving that Lisa, John, Quincy, and Jessa had to do. John found a campground near Wallowa Lake, which turned out to be a very popular camping area set around a large waterski/fishing lake and surrounded by little towns full of mini-golf, go cart racing, horse stables, and even a goldola ride. It was also right by a cool little town (Joseph)  that happened to have a great Mexican restaurant and a really yummy chocolate/coffee store. OK... so it was not real camping.

The Thumas brought not only their boat, but also one of the coolest camp inventions I have ever seen- a homemade camp sink constructed out of Home Depot orange buckets and lots of hardware. The kids could have happily played with the little foot pump for hours. We arrived around 5PM and set up camp while the kids explored the creek and woods nearby. Night one was hotdogs, brauts, baked beans and potato chips. Of course this was followed by s'mores. Since there was a burn ban, John also constructed a propane fire pit, so even though none of us smelled like burnt wood, we were able to enjoy a nice glow from the gas flame and roast marshmallows with the best of them.

Saturday was my birthday. We had a leisurely camp breakfast and then headed into town to explore. We ended up at a little Mexican restaurant at noon where we had two tables: one for adults and one for kids. Our waiter was, hands down, the best waiter we've ever had. He entertained the kids the entire time we were at the restaurant and kept all of us laughing with his jokes, slo-mo, dance moves, and more. After a quick stop to get coffee and chocolate we took the boat out on the lake. Nothing like skiing on my birthday! Jake also got up on skis and all the kids tubed (Actually, that's not true. Faith didn't want to even ride on the boat. We're still working on that anxiety thing!). After hanging out on the lake we headed back to camp where Lisa and John had dinner duty. My birthday dinner was DELICIOUS (of course) with Tri Tip, corn salad, watermelon salad, and homemade peanut sauce. Lisa had even made a cake for the celebration. We were in charge of dinner the next night and it was not nearly as tasty. I tried a new camping recipe for chicken enchilada nachos and while it was OK, it certainly wasn't something I would repeat! 


Sunday was another day spent on the lake watching the cousins splash around on floaties together and catching up with my sister and John. Lots of games of hide and seek ensued back at camp. We packed out early on Monday, since they had a long drive home and I had to get on an airplane for St. George Utah at 530 the next morning. We were all grateful for the time we got to spend together... and even though Brian started the trip saying that he was getting too old to camp and that this would be his last ever tent camp experience... by Monday he was already planning which gear to replace, what stuff we'd need to get rid of before our next camping trip, and how to make a camp sink of our own. Camping is a pain in the ass. He's right. But there's also nothing else quite like it.

And, as they seem to, seasons change.

So here we are, the last weekend before school starts and neither of us can believe Summer has gone so fast. Between work craziness and kid schedule craziness, the summer seems to have just started. We've been doing a less than stellar job keeping up with the blog lately so there are a couple of pretty long updates coming. 

SUMMER BASEBALL
I am going on my third year on the North Boise Little league Board of Directors. I managed Tanner's AA team in the spring season and that rolled right into our Summer Ball "Bombers" team. It was basically the same kids with a couple of changes that I managed in Spring. We had an almost exact duplicate of a season. Tanner and his buddies did great, had a blast, and mowed down the competition, losing only one game (and then only because we only had six kids show up - Summer vacations are killers). Tanner pitched a ton and was one of the best pitchers, if not THE best, in the league. He went on a tear in the finals, pitching three innings in both of our games, striking out 7 in one and 6 in the other. Our team was really good, turning a couple of double plays and one triple play over the course of the season. The weather couldn't have been better for us and we didn't have any 110 degree games this year. We lost in the finals 3-1 against a team we beat the other three times we played them. Just baseball stuff happened, we had runners on third three times and just couldn't get them home. It was a heartbreaker of a loss, but the kids handled it really well. My friend (and assistant coach) Sean and I got the second place coaches Gatorade bath from the kids and a trip to Sonic took care of all the baseball blues. This team is eligible for All Stars for the first time next season, so we likely won't be playing Summer Ball next year and we're talking about starting a club team with this group of boys so they can play some more high level baseball. Tanner and his buddy Gus are playing their last year of Flag football this year (neither of them want to play tackle) and are going to double up on baseball along with their buddy Evan next year. 

FOOTBALL
Before baseball season was even over, football season had started. Jake is playing his junior year of tackle football and Tanner is playing his last year of flag. I have been coaching Jakes team for the last three seasons and we just finished up hell week and the Opening Jamboree. They boys are off to a solid start and this is the first year it didn't feel like we started from ground zero. They played well and won their Opening Day scrimmage pretty handily. We have our first regular season game tomorrow out in Nampa and the practice schedule mellows out a little bit starting next week. Jake vacillates back and forth, almost constantly, about whether he will keep playing football or not and right now is kind of in the "not" camp, but we'll see how this season ends up. If he ends up in the ER again, his Mom and I are going to think about making that decision for him. It looks like Tanner is playing center again this season, which he loves. He likes playing football, but I think he knows it's not really his sport. He has fun and likes running around, but knows he wouldn't like getting knocked around by kids twice his size with pads and helmets on so doesn't really have the desire to continue playing. Football runs until mid-October and then immediately bleeds into...

BASKETBALL
Jake played Summer AAU this season, kind of. He missed a lot due to camp and other commitments. He played with the same team as he played with last fall. He has already tried out for fall AAU as well as a Flite Club Basketball team with some other boys form the neighborhood. We are waiting to see what the results of those tryouts are and should find out in the next week or two. Tanner will play YBasketball against this year with his same group of friends. I will coach for likely my last season as basketball starts to outstrip my knowledge of the game in the third grade season and someone who actually knows what they are doing is going to have to take over. Basketball season is our time off from baseball and will be even if we do get this baseball club team going. Tanner and Jake both love to play basketball and unlike football, they both possess some basketball skills. 

In Which Jake Tries to Earn a Little Extra Cash

The big thing with the sixth grade boys this summer has been starting mini businesses. Lawn mowing, weeding, pet sitting, etc…  Jake came to me a few weeks ago wanting to start a business like this and wanting to advertise around the neighborhood. He suggested lawn mowing. However, since he is not an expert yet (he just started doing ours a few months ago) and also since lugging a lawn mower across town does not sound like fun, I encouraged him to think of other ideas. When stumped I asked him to tell me what he likes to do. He said sports. I also asked him what he feels he is good at. He said entertaining little kids. Bam. He had a business idea. Within an hour or two he had typed up this flyer advertising JakeZ SportZ SkillZ for KidZ.  He paid me to run copies for him and he started delivering them to folks throughout the neighborhood. He put one up in the Merc and one up in the local library, then he asked me to post it on the neighborhood Facebook page.  He had his first client last week and it went really well. He got a rave review on FB stating that “it was the best $7.00 spent all summer”.  He is taking it very seriously and is learning so much about running a business. I love it. 

Chicago, Seattle, and Horsethief… oh my!

We returned from our Utah trip and a day later I left for Chicago for 8 days. We flew Mary out to help Brian with the kids and I think everyone had a really good time. There were many games of Old Maid and War and Phase 10, puzzle making, cupcake baking, trips to the pool, and other grandma related activities. I don’t think they really missed me despite the fact it was the longest I have ever been away from the family!  THANKS, MARY!! 

While I was gone Brian started his summer NBLL season with his team, The Bombers, and Jake continued his AAU Summer Ball. They each have 1-2 practices a week with 1-2 games per week, too.  Faith and Jake also decided to play parts in the community production of Peter Pan that a few teenage girls are directing this summer as a benefit for the Hidden Springs Library. Those practices started while I was in Chicago, too. Faith is a mermaid and Jake is Captain Hook. So far they are having a lot of fun with it. The production will be put on in the barn on August 17^th. 

By the time I got back Sheila and Wayne had arrived for the summer and we started things off right with a really fun night out to see Matt Nathanson. It was the third year in a row that we have seen him at the Knitting Factory.  

We also, finally, got Faith on her bike. After countless attempts (usually with tears) over the last year, we decided enough is enough. OK. So I bribed her. I took her out and told her if she could ride her bike on her own by the end of the day I’d take her out to buy her a new bike helmet of her choice and a Littlest Pet Shop guy for her collection. Apparently that did it. Brian and I took turns running behind her and beside her, on the grassy hills and on the streets around our house and the Merc. While she is certainly no expert (stopping continues to be an issue) she made a lot of progress and ended up riding around the block by herself (with one of us jogging next to her).

Both Brian and I took a day off in late June so we could go to Roaring Springs. They kids earned a free ticket there by doing a reading program thru the library this spring. We spent an afternoon there and Jake hung out with one of his friends that happened to go on the same day as we did. We barely saw him between the hours of 11-3. He rode most of the slides and, being the preteen that he is, hardly deigned to say hello to us. We rode several slides with Tanner and Faith stayed in the wave pool mostly. It was a chilly day (well.. it was 70 degrees but cold for a waterslide park) so we didn’t do too much overall. 

 We celebrated the 4^th of July with the annual parade, concert on the green, a BBQ at a friend’s house, and fireworks at the Hawks game with mom and Sheila and Wayne. It was a hot day but a perfect night for a baseball game.  They lost (I think they have lost every game we have ever seen) but the fireworks show was amazing. It was really long and way better than last year’s show. 

Evenings have been spent at the pool mostly, or in the backyard with the sprinklers on the trampoline. In the few weekends we have actually been home, Brian and I have finished the backyard. Only thing left to do now is build furniture for around the fire pit. We want to make some benches or seats out of pallets eventually.  We’ve got a pretty good yard for both adults and kids: the patio with table and chairs for entertaining or eating, fire pit area, the hammock area, a basketball hoop, and the trampoline.  I’m so glad to be almost done with it. Now if we could just manage to keep the plants and trees alive. Our thumbs are much more black than green unfortunately!

Brian had to travel to Seattle for work this past week and Tanner had his week at YMCA camp. Mom, Faith, Jake and I drove him up to Horsethief Resevoir on Monday morning. It was so hard to drop him off. He was so excited to go and only seemed a little nervous when we said goodbye. I, however, was near tears, and mom had to remind me not to cry. He just seemed so young to be leaving for 6 days! But I managed to depart without tears and we spent the rest of the day in McCall just bumming around, getting ice cream and coffee, shopping a little, and enjoying the day. We didn’t get back until 730 that night. With Brian and Tanner gone it was only the three of us for the next 3 days. My work was crazy busy but the evenings were really fun and we had a double sleepover one night, went to a movie together, and took several late evening trips to the pool. All the while I missed Tanner but also realized that sadly, one of the children will have to be sold. Or given away. Wow. Two kids is SO MUCH EASIER than three! We still haven’t decided which one we will have to say goodbye to. The threat is out there, though, so they all better be on their best behavior.

I got the news on Thursday that they needed me back in Chicago this week so I am typing this from 30,000 feet up. When we were there in June we launched TTM in 96 Chicago public schools and they need some last minute additional support so I’m on my way back to help out. I’ll be gone Sun through mid afternoon on Thursday.  It’s been a bit of scramble to get things set up that quickly- both for travel purposes and for the kids while I am gone. 

The hardest part about leaving on business again so soon though was that after missing Tanner all last week, I just got him back yesterday. It was just Brian and I driving up to Cascade this time. Jake and Faith had play practice so we left them at home. We listened to great music all the way and eagerly anticipated Tanner’s reaction to seeing us and to his first sleep away camp experience. We guessed, in true Tanner fashion, that he would run and hide when we arrived. Nope. He saw me and came running full speed into my arms and gave me the biggest, tightest, longest hug ever. And, yes, I ate it up. He took us on a tour of camp and tried to answer all our questions (although the answer to many was “I don’t know”). He looked exhausted and was filthy but he had a great time and is already looking forward to next year. He fell asleep in the car on the way home and was ready for bed by about 6PM last night. It’s going to take him a few days to fully recuperate, I think.  

The summer is going by far too quickly. By the time I return home it will officially be “mid-July” and before we know it the days of baseball and bball will be over and it will be time to return to the football field.  But, seriously, all the ads for “Back to School” are really, really premature. There’s still a lot of fun summer adventures to be had. 

Park City – Day 9 (and some of 10) - Fathers Day

Neither of us had ever been to Park City and had no idea what to expect other than a hotel, NOT a tent, NOT a lodge, NOT a camp, a HYATT. This part excited me to no end and I headed straight to the gym as soon as the car was unloaded to blow off some excess steam that driving 5 hours in the car with the kids always seems to cause. Marisa took the kids to the pool and even though we experienced a 40 degree temperature change in 24 hours (it as 55 in Park City), the kids jumped right in. Marisa sat in the hot tub while I finished up my workout.

After we all got back into the room, we went into Park City to explore. Having never been here, we were amazed how much of it reminded us of Squaw Valley, Truckee and Tahoe.  There is a lot to do for kids and adults alike and next time we come we will stay for more than the 18 hours we have this trip and do the alpine slide, hikes, zipline, challenge courses, fishing, biking, etc... We definitely plan to come back sometime in the next year. There were a ton of great vacation homes to look at, great restaurants and shopping. 

We could have walked around for hours, but it was dinnertime and as always on vacation, we’re doomed if we wait too long to eat, so we set out for food. Eating has been a major event on this trip. The kids want kid food, ALWAYS, and Marisa and I can only eat so much pub food.  So we have tried feeding them PB and Nutella and then eating where we want with limited success; we have tried taking them someplace quick (and cheap) and then eating what we want, and we have sometimes just given up. Tonight was a combination of the three. We took Jake and Faith to a Brazilian place (don’t ask me why), where Faith got a bagel with cream cheese and Jake got noodles with butter and parmesan. We got some beer and a shrimp appetizer to tide us over until our “good meal”, and Tanner decided he wasn’t hungry and would eat wherever we ate and watched some World Cup.

We wandered around and got shorter and shorter tempered as we tried to find something to eat that wasn’t going to cost a truck payment and finally ended up giving up.  That meant that we had to feed Tanner, so we stopped at a Burger King and got him a burger and the other kids got icees for desert. So that just left us. We stopped and got sushi and cheesecake from Whole Foods.  The whole process took about two plus hours. Not our best idea or parenting moment. We tried to prepare better for breakfast tomorrow morning. As we are beyond caring what they eat at this point we stopped at the 7-11 and picked up bananas, cheese sticks and pop tarts. We’re getting a good breakfast at the hotel, a workout and heading out on our last leg home tomorrow.  I am planning on a good night sleep tonight and the lights are going out as soon as I am done typing.

PS - After a good night's sleep, I got my Father's Day - workout as long as you want - present in and am posting this on our way out the door for our drive home. The only Father's Day present I asked for is that nobody touch anybody else in the car the whole way home. Wish us luck!

Utah Day 8 - Moab

The tent was pretty comfortable- even with the three cots jammed in with us. We foolishly set an alarm for 8AM, because we had to be in Moab for our Hummer Safari at 945 and wanted to get breakfast first. This was foolish because we had forgotten that at the end of the day, canvas castle or not, we were still camping and the sun comes up EARLY. Brian and I were awake by 615. Once the kids were up, dressed, and sunscreened we headed into town for breakfast at the Moab Diner. For Brian and Jake it was the best breakfast of the trip: bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, biscuits and gravy. I got to stop at Moab Roasting Company for an iced espresso, and we set off to the Moab Adventure Center with full, happy stomachs ready for an adventure.

The Hummer Safari was great. I’ve never been off roading before and it was so much fun. Our guide, Molly, was friendly and kind (Faith started the tour sobbing that she didn’t want to go too fast…) and full of good stories about the area and information about the ecology. We even saw dinosaur footprints! We drove straight up the sides of boulders all the way to the top of the famous Slick Rock bike trail. It was a really cool way to experience the scenery.

After the tour we headed straight to Milt’s for milkshakes and French fries.  I know I have been to Milts as a child but had no recollection of it. Even when I walked inside and looked through their old memorabilia none of it rang a bell.  Still, I was glad we went. The French fries were delicious and it was fun to see the place that my mom talks about with such fondness. Tanner was pretty tired at that point and not feeling great (he wouldn’t even drink his milkshake so we knew he wasn’t anywhere near normal!) so after lunch we went back to the tent for an afternoon nap.

Later that afternoon we headed into Arches National Park and walked a few easy trails. The kids loved climbing on the rocks and tried to climb as high as they could as we viewed The Windows area and the Turret Arch.  Next we drove to the viewing point of the Delicate Arch. I know I saw it as a child and I think I was equally disappointed when I saw it then that it was so far away!!  I guess you get so used to seeing pictures of it that when you see it in person, from way far off, it is way less majestic than all the postcards you’ve seen. We could have taken a hike into see it, but at that point it was 98 degrees and the hike was listed as “strenuous” so we didn’t even discuss it as an option. On the way back down we stopped to view Balanced Rock and had some “fun with perspective” with the iphone camera.

 

We headed back in to down town for some final souvenir shopping, dinner (where our waiter sounded EXACTLY like Lemony Snickett playing Count Olaf in Book 3 of the Series of Unfortunate Events. We had endless fun imagining that every phrase he uttered ended with "ORPHANS" in his scary voice!) and a shave ice for the kids then home to our canvas castle for our second night. We slept with the windows and door open (except for the screen) and listened to the high wind shake our tent and blow cool air into the rather warm campsite. It was a great night, but not a great night’s sleep for Brian and I.  The kids slept like rocks but the wind kept Brian and I awake – but it was really pleasant and I didn’t mind not sleeping. Brian was up with the sunrise and had started loading the car by the time the kids and I were stirring.

We woke up, had homemade granola and cinnamon rolls at the local coffee place and set out our way back to Boise -with a planned stop in Park City to break up the 10 hour drive.