Shake It Off

Jake loves football and has wanted to play football as long as he has been able to catch a ball. For a long time we weren't sure he was going to be able to due to his kidney thing, but we got the okay from the pediatrician, and he's in his second season of flag football.

We had to have a pretty tricky talk with him this week about the difference between being "hurt" and being "injured". He gets knocked around pretty good playing football as he is the QB and runs the ball quite a bit and is constantly getting "hurt". This generally dissolves into tears, the coaching staff having to come out and calm him down, him coming off and someone else having to go in and play his position and us kind of shifting uncomfortably on the sidelines because we know that he's fine.

It's happened in each game and a couple of practices so far. In his game yesterday, it went so far that they brought the cart out and, based on his dramatic reaction to the fall, diagnosed him with a mild concussion. 1/2 an hour later he was up running around, no headache, and feeling fine. He even admitted he was overreacting. Now, due to league rules, we have to take him and get him cleared by his doctor with a written release before he can play or practice again.

We're not quiet sure if it's just he's not tough enough to play football, or that he likes the drama, but it's gotten to be embarrassing. I was out with Faith at her game yesterday when Marisa told me he was hurt. We raced across town to the field in time to pick him up (worried out of my mind the entire way) and he ended up being fine.

Not wanting to come across as "that Dad", Marisa and I both sat down and talked to him about it

yesterday. I thought he got it I really did. Then he scraped his knee on the stairs and was screaming like his leg had been cut off. I looked at his knee and couldn't even find the scratch, so back to square one.

One of the coaches on his team is a dad that played for the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins in the NFL (he played for BSU in college which is why he lives here), anyway, he blew out his knee to such a degree that he was never able to get back. I'm thinking about asking him to talk to Jake about the difference between "hurt" and injured". I don't want Jake to not tell us if he gets hurt, and he has been injured while playing football (he got his face smashed last year and was bleeding) and we explained that is a legitimate injury and worth some tears. Stuff that he has forgotten about 10 minutes later, not so much.

It's a tough line to find and a tougher conversation to have. Hopefully it will resolve itself before tackle season starts next year or I don't know what we're going to do.

Faith Starts Soccer

After many weeks of anticipation Faith started soccer last Saturday. She must have asked me 100 times in the last 30 days, "Mom, is today the day I start soccer???". She has been so excited and has said things like, "Will you and Daddy watch me play like you watch Jake and Tanner when they play baseball?". As soon as she mentioned her interest in playing we took her out to get her gear: pink cleats, pink soccer shorts, purple ball, shin guards. I figured I'd take advantage of this break from her wanting to be a "cheerlead" and run with it!

She loved her first day on the field! It was great because her coach turns out to be the same guy that coached Jake's summer football team- the one that was a counselor up at Family Camp- so she was familiar with him and unafraid. She ran a lap, did warm ups, did lots of drills, and loved all of it. As soon as it was over she ran over and asked me when she gets to go back. In fact, this morning (Day 2 of soccer) the very first words out of her mouth were, "Mom, don't forget my water bottle. I'm playing soccer today!".

We have to divide and conquer today: I am taking Jake to football while Brian gets to watch his daughter play soccer. They get to have a little "father/daughter bonding" time with a stop to get donuts first- which Faith is almost as excited about as she is about soccer.

Family Y-Camp 2011

After having so much fun last year we decided to head up to Cascade again this year for some more Family Camp. We even convinced my sister and family to fly in from CA to join us! After freezing our butts off last year in the tent we went with the fully heated cabin this year. The heat wasn't the only benefit- it also had a full bathroom with two showers, two sinks, and two toilets. Luxury camping! The kids loved sleeping on the top bunks and made themselves right at home- checking out games and books from the camp supply and entertaining themselves in between "activity periods".

Also learning from last year's mistake, we brought a double jogging stroller along to help with the "tired factor" that Faith suffered from. She, Aidan, and Tanner took turns riding "Chariot Style" while the other two rode inside from activity to activity. All the kids rock climbed, Kim and I did the zip line (Which, by the way, no longer required you to "GRAB THE ROPE!" like last year so I did not do a repeat of knocking down the head of camp!). The kids fished and swam and jumped off the trampoline one day, rode in the canoes, tried BMX racing, and did rocketry again. They made friendship bracelets one day and chased/caught butterflies and bullfrogs before and after mealtimes. Everyone had a great time I think, and except for meals (I have to say the food was really quite bad) it was a neat experience again.

Being the last camp of the season, the counselors were not really as "ON" as they were last July when we went, and we definitely missed the energy, but we had some great activity leaders. One was Jake's football coach from July who was a really nice guy and a great role model. I am pretty sure Jake wants to do residence camp next summer with a couple of his buddies (a one week sleep away camp without parents). The YMCA values are something we really believe in and getting the kids involved at a young age and possibly on the road to being a Junior Counselor or a coach one day would be great!

Brian and the boys headed down the hill into the small town of Cascade on Saturday night to join all other campers within a 40 mile radius to watch the opening game Boise State vs. Georgia. I took Faith and Abby and drove the 9 miles down the hill to join them for a few minutes at the end of the second quarter and was so surprised to see this little town overtaken by hundreds of campers and locals in full blue and orange crowding the few restaurants/bars in town. Boise State won, starting our football season off right! I am sure Kim and Bill thought we were all a little crazy to leave camp for a football game but Boise State is a big deal here and it's hard not to get into the action!

It was a great weekend, but as always with our kids it was a yin-yang situation. Great family memories and a fun time had by all, but it accompanied the "miles to go before I sleep" exhaustion and subsequent fit throwing that seems to be the other bookend to our family. It started to hit Faith even before we left camp (the picture above was taken while packing to go home). Jake and Tanner felt it much later in the day. As usual it took several days before everyone was back to their normal selves.

First Days

Tanner started Kindergarten today. Given his recent attachment to me I was worried he might cry. He has been really excited to start, and we have been talking it up a lot, but we both worried he may sob when it was time to actually start. He did great! It was so much fun to watch him. He picked out his clothes several weeks ago (the shirt he has on was chosen because "it is very soft and it feels good on his skin"). He wanted to "dress fancy" so notice how he chose to dress up his athletic shorts with the polo style shirt. Too funny. He had picked out a Boise State backpack and we worked to fill it with all of his supplies. It is almost as big as he is! After the standard pictures on the porch we all walked to school together.

On the playground we met up with his best buddy, Evan. They hung out a little but mostly Tanner kept to my side. We lined up when the bell rang and did the Pledge of Allegiance and The Harbor Pledge. The Harbor Pledge is said each morning before school by the entire student body, the principal, and the teachers. It goes like this:

I promise to behave in such a way that I will be proud of myself
And others will be proud of me too.
I came to school to learn and I WILL learn.
I WILL have a great day!
(Foot stamps and arm motion on the "will")

I have to admit I think it's a great way to start each day. It was fun to see Tanner recite it this morning, having already learned most of it from watching Jake. Parents were allowed into the Kindergarten classroom for the first 15 minutes. The teacher greeted the kids and read them "The Kissing Hand" then asked us all to do this kissing hand gesture to our kiddos and say goodbye. We did, and even though Tanner gave me several extra hugs before letting me go, there were no tears- in fact I think I may have been closer to tears than he was! Brian and I were so, so proud of him and are so excited to begin his school years with him. After school we met him on the playground and he ran up to both of us and jumped into our arms for big hugs.

Jake started third grade. He walked with us to school, went in to meet the teacher with us and drop off his things, then ran off with his buddies almost immediately. We didn't see him again until after school. Both Brian and I commented on how far he has come in the last few months. There was no anxiety, no nerves, no repetitive behaviors such as we have seen in the past. At the end of the day he walked out to greet us and said, 'That was the best first day of school EVER!"

Being the first day of school we continued the Merc tradition and took them both there for treats. They were running a "First Day of School Ice Cream Sundae Bar" which they loved. We talked about their day, heard about their experiences, and took turns reading the notes home from the two teachers. We headed home and they worked together on Jake's "homework"- decorating his portfolio binder. Of course he decorated it with pictures cut out from Sports Illustrated for Kids and images from the web. We set the timer and the boys did their required 15 minutes of nightly reading.

Faith, meanwhile, starts her first day next Monday. But because today was her pre-K Orientation we decided to count it as her first day in terms of pictures, new clothes, etc... Notice the 80's clothes and hair? I'm not sure when she became a Valley Girl. The expression on her face seals the deal, though. With all the cute clothes out there for little girls, it was REALLY HARD to let her pick the one she wanted and not the one I wanted!! I think she was excited to be back in her classroom. She played with the playdoh and science center experiments and the "tomato heads" (also known as Mr. Potato Heads) then went to Miss Wendy's for the rest of the afternoon.

Even though this time of year always makes me nostalgic for my teaching days, this year I just kept thinking how lucky I am to have the job that I have. I was able to walk them all to school, spend time there getting them settled, pick them up, and help with homework. And between the two of us we will be able to be there almost every day for these things. For two full-time working parents I think this is an anomaly and one that I am most grateful for.

Marine World

When I was little, we went to Marine World every year with my Grandma and Grandpa for awhile. I have really good memories of those trips. Of course, this was in the olden days when Marine World was just about the animals, they didn't have rides other then the train and the tram that ran across the park. Then I got older and we stopped going.

Marine World moved to Vallejo and brought in all kinds of rides when they became a Six Flags park. We had gone with Jake and Auntie Sue right before we moved to Boise, but he was so little we didn't do a whole lot other than see the animals. So when we saw that we had some days to fill prior to the delta trip on this vacation, this trip was on the short list.

We went with Auntie Sue and Grandma Mary and had a great time! All of the kids had a blast, Marisa and I had a great time watching them and I had a really good time reliving some old memories.

Jake could remember some of our prior trip to Marine World and was really looking forward to it. As mom is no good for rides, I told him before we went that I would go on any rides he wanted to, but, he needed to be sure before we stood in line, because once we got thru the line we weren't getting back out. As soon as we walked in the park, he said he wanted to go on Roar, the giant old style wooden roller coaster. Now I double checked that he wanted to (I hate wooden coasters as they give me a headache because it's such a rough ride), he said he wanted to go, so we stood in line. He was a champ all the way into the car. When we got to the top of the first big rise, I looked over and he looked terrified. I looked back and started screaming as we headed down into the drop. Pretty soon I heard Jake screaming along and getting into it. We finished up and he was so excited that he did it. He didn't want to go on any of the other big coasters, but was proud of himself for going for it (I was proud of him too).

Tanner got left at home on our last trip as he was only 6 months old when we went, but he was looking forward to going. He was the perfect age for Marine World as he was young enough to lovethe animals, but old enough to appreciate the rides as well. He was too short to go on the big rides, but loved the littler rides. We did all go on the big flume water ride. He had a great time and we all got soaked. We also got to sit in the splash zone for the killer whale show and got drenched there as well. He had a great, but very damp day. Of course he ended up buying two killer whales and two dolphin stuffed animal so he had a whale family with his souvenir allowance.

We knew in advance that Faith would love Marine World. Recently we had asked her what she thought she might to be when she grew up. She thought about it for a few moments and then answered that she thought she would like to grow up to be a baby giraffe. To try to keep her dreams alive as long as possible we took her to feed the giraffes. She had a great time. She also loved the whales, dolphins, penguins and all the other animals. She also got stuffed animals for her souvenir allotment, we now have a big and baby camel that have joined her enormous herd up in her room.

Add it the henna tatoos, the cotton candy, the bumper cars and the cartoon characters roaming the park and it made for a perfect day with the kids and Auntie Sue and Grandma Mary. We had a blast and are trying to figure out how/when to try the Disneyland experience.

40th Birthday

I couldn't have asked for a better 40th birthday week. Yep, I got a full week to celebrate, not just one day! We flew into Reno on August 3rd and started the "party" with 2 days at Auntie Sue's house with Grandma Mary. Of course there were presents and cake and games and 40th b'day napkins and place settings to set the mood. Those two really know how to make a girl feel special! The kids were so excited to spend time with two of their favorite people and they, of course, loved being spoiled with all the attention and time and love that Mary and Auntie Sue lavish on them. Auntie Sue had originally wanted to send us all to a Giants game for a birthday present but due to the timing we were unable to take her up on this great idea. Instead we suggested a family trip to Marine World for the day- which was a yearly tradition with Brian and his grandparents growing up. It ended up being a blast! I'm not sure who had more fun: the kids or Brian and I watching the kids!

Next we headed to the Delta where we spent Saturday and Sunday with the whole family and various friends from high school and college. Yoshi won the award for "traveled the furthest to be there", coming all the way from London to join in the festivities. Lisa and John and the girls came in second, driving down from Seattle towing Ol' Bessie (our old ski boat) the whole way! Joe and Suzie continued their bid for "most prepared and best meal" by cooking for a huge crowd on Saturday night. We had leftover salmon and arugula for days!! Anna and Geof came Saturday evening, also, and allowed us to use their boat for the entire week, even though they were only able to join us for the one evening. A huge thank you to them for that! On Sunday Sheila and Wayne arrived and Shannon and her two girls. Even our old "house boating friends" Kristie and Paul were able to make it for a few hours! It was so much fun to see everyone and to watch all of the kids play together in the water, on the dock, and on the water slide. I actually had time to just relax and talk to the grown ups, as the kids were fully entertained by all the other families around.

We split dinners up and everyone cooked one night. We ate well!! White chili with all the fixings, buttermilk chicken, tri tip, pork tenderloin, last night.... we had a little bit of everything! We ate outside on the deck every night and enjoyed the food, drinks, beautiful sunsets, and conversation. Unfortunately I got strep throat on Sunday and went to bed early each night, trying to recuperate, but all in all I feel like I didn't miss out on too much, despite not being 100%. We celebrated our birthday on Tuesday with presents after dinner. Brian and the kids made me a beautiful and funny book of 40 coupons to be used throughout my birthday year including things like: a new pair of sunglasses (even though I really don't need one!), a day of garage sales on my own, a latte from Starbucks without Brian making fun of my ridiculous $4 coffee habit, etc...

The kids all tried waterskiing, with varying degrees of success. Jake gave it a good go, but only "got up" for a second before tiring out. Tanner tried from the beach and gave it three good tries before calling "Uncle". The kids loved the SeaDoo- and the adults, too. I even got Mom to give it a try and she was fearless! Brian and Faith got it up to 52 miles an hour but I was content cruising along at 22. I was so glad we decided to rent it for the week.

Wednesday-Friday was basically just our family and the best part was watching all of the cousins play together. They entertained themselves 98% of the time, making up games, playing in the water, playing hide and go seek, etc... Faith was fearless in the water. She put that life jacket on and just jumped right in, over and over and over. The kids also loved the paddle boat that was there and they would all climb on and take it across the "bay" together to the "Witch House" (an abandoned house on the other side of the cul-de-sac). It was so much fun to watch them and I was so impressed with how the older kids helped with the younger kids and how everyone got along. There was virtually no fighting.

It wasn't perfect: Family vacations are always a challenge-so many different personalities and so much emotional baggage and the unfinished business of growing up that each person brings to the table. But despite the ups and downs (that each of the adults experienced to some degree) it was a really successful and fun trip for me. It was actually exactly what I wanted it to be when I started planning it almost two years ago. I wanted to relive some of my favorite childhood/young adult moments ("The Delta Days") and I did. Those old Delta days were never perfect either. Even though they live strongly in my heart I don't think I sugarcoat the memories too much. It was FAMILY then- and all of the chaos and craziness and love and challenges that that word entails- and it was FAMILY now.

At the end of the ten days everyone was

exhausted! Seriously, the kids looked like they were coming home from war or something. The picture below shows how they passed the time as Brian and I were checking in with Southwest on our way home from Reno. The Giants Pillow Pets, courtesy of their Auntie Sue and Grandma Mary, came in very handy!

I couldn't have asked for a better way to enter my 40's. A huge "Thank you" to everyone that helped make this milestone so special. I am a very lucky woman to have all of you in my life.

Summer Fun - Marisa's Version

The summer continues to fly by. Somehow it is August 3rd already and we haven't yet been camping and we've only taken out our boat twice! Summer weather didn't really start until late June and I had to be out of town for work for three days at the end of June and 7 days in July which has seemed to shorten the summer substantially. We have been having lots of fun, though. Lately we have been spending weekend mornings at the pool with friends. No one is there at 11AM so we get the good spot in the shade with an umbrella and set up camp for a few hours. The kids are finally at an age where we don't have to monitor them every second so both Brian and I can read our books, enjoy our soda or iced coffee, and chat with our friends. Tanner is a little fish- I could definitely see him swimming on a team when he is a little older. Faith is unafraid but doesn't seem nearly as "buoyant" as Tanner and though she wants to be self sufficient she sinks when I let go of her. Jake can play for hours with his friends, using the basketball hoop, doing front flips off the side, and playing football in the shallow end. When it gets too hot Brian and I hop in for awhile and Faith jumps in to us and Tanner does cannonballs off Brian's shoulders.

We leave for our big trip tonight. We are flying to Reno where Nana will pick us up (with bells on, I am sure!) and we will stay the night in Truckee and leave for the Bay Area Thursday morning. We will spend two nights at Auntie Sue's house. Grandma Mary will also be there so we will celebrate all of the August b'days (me, Auntie Sue, and Mary) by heading to Marine World for the day on Friday. Faith can't wait to see the whales and dolphins. On Saturday afternoon we will pack up and head to Discovery Bay for a week of waterskiing, swimming, hanging out with friends, and celebrating our big 4-0. On Sunday we expect to have over 40 people there- friends from high school and college and lots of family.

The kids are all doing great! We have gotten Jake to a healthy spot with his anxiety and our household is about a million times calmer and happier. He is getting so old and has basically had the run of the neighborhood this summer with his friends. He has done lots of camps to keep busy: football, lacrosse, speed camp, and more. He and I have had quite a bit of "quality time" lately and I find that I enjoy him so much more nowadays. Drama no longer lurks around every corner. His favorite thing is still sports, but he had a babysitter this summer that was very creative. He did a lot of cooking and crafts and fort building - which was really good for him. He made me jewelry and made up new recipes and did creative things instead of just sports.

Tanner is so funny. He is my little blond boy- almost white hair these days after spending so much time outside and at the pool. He is excited about Kindergarten, is learning to read, loves to color and draw, and is still so snuggly. If I could keep him this age forever I just might agree to it. He keeps me laughing with his funny expressions and mischievous grin. Lately he has taken to a little drama himself- he feels so put upon sometimes by his siblings and will say things like, "WHY does no one EVER believe me?" as he throws himself onto the ground. He loves to play Clue with the family (he is on Brian's team usually) and loves to play "Guess Who?" with Faith.

Faith, too, is doing well. She finished her gymnastics

classes and now wants to play soccer. She seems to be over her cheerleading thing for now (whew!). She got her first "real" haircut a few weeks ago. We took her to a fancy "girly" place where they actually gave her a style (much shorter and so much easier to brush and keep tangles out!) and painted her fingernails. She still loves to color and paint and will happily do that for long stretches. She wants to be a swimmer but, like I mentioned above, is having trouble making it happen. She will definitely need a life jacket the entire time we are at the Delta next week! She still refers to "yesterday" as "last day" and calls "dessert" "zert". She loves to play with all of her guys and has a different favorite each day it seems. She takes her puppies on walks and plays so much more make believe than her brothers ever did.

We had a block party last night and we all, even Brian, had a great time meeting some new people and watching the kids play. We have new neighbors two doors down that have four kids: a 7 year old, a 5 year old, and twin boys. Our block is now full of kids that meet outside and ride scooters and bikes, draw with chalk, go bug hunting, etc... I love it. This is exactly the way I wanted our kids to grow up.

When we return from the Delta we will have Brian's Dad and Joan in town for a few days, hopefully we can take the boat out for "Happy Hour" one night. Optimist Football begins August 15th, and the school year starts the 24th. Labor Day weekend we are heading back up toFamily Y-Camp in Cascade. So... things are hopping. Life, definitely, is Good.

Summer Fun

It's hard to believe that the summer is going by so fast already. It started so late here that it feels like it just got warm a week ago, but it's already the middle of July. As excited as we all are for the Delta trip to be coming up, we're a little dismayed that the 1st half of the summer has blown by so fast.

We have been packing as much a possible (to an exhausting degree, actually) into each week to take advantage of the weather. So here's a short rundown of how we have been spending the 1st half of our summer:

The Merc Campout - The Merc held it's first annual campout on the green a few weekends ago. Everyone pitched tents on the grass across from our house and spent the night. One of Jake's friends won a prize in the auction and was able to sleep in a ten on the Merc roof with a friend. So Jake spent the night in a tent on the roof, and Marisa and I slept with the little kids down on the ground. It was a lot of fun, even if it wasn't a lot of sleep. There were movies and a band, with smores and a pancake breakfast the next morning. Add to this the fact that we could just walk home and use our own bathroom and it was a really fun way to spend a night.

YMCA Flag Football - Last year when Jake did the YMCA flag football camp, the counselors asked me why he wasn't playing in the league since he was so good for his age. I didn't know there even was a league, so this year Jake is playing. It's a pretty wide age range of kids and Jake is by far the smallest kid on the team, but the coach has him playing quarterback again and he's having a great year. It's a short season, only six weeks with five games, but they got actual football jerseys, which Jake loves, and the games are really well run. Jake has a wide receiver on the team who is really good (tall and fast) and they've hooked up on a couple of touchdowns so far. Both of them are really into it and have brought plays to their coach together that they have been able to run in games.

The Crebars Visit Boise - Lisa, Clark and all the kids came thru Boise the week before last and

stayed for a couple of days. It was great to see them all again and was the 1st time Clark has been out since we moved. They stayed with us and it was a lot of fun to have kids everywhere in the house. The boys all slept in the big room and Faith and Kylie got to have a sleepover together each night (which Faith thought was the greatest thing ever). We went to the pool, out to dinner one night and just hung out. It was a great visit and we're looking forward to seeing them again next summer for another Daufel family trip to Lake Shasta.

The Pool - We have been living at the pool this year (we're heading out there again in a few minutes). It's gotten a lot better for Marisa and I the more water safe the kids have gotten. Jake is fine on his own and always runs into a friend or seven there to play with. There's a basketball hoop up this year and we bring a football so he's always off on his own. The little kids stay in the shallow end, but as long as they are there, they're fine on their own as well. They are both so good in the water that we don't have to watch them like hawks the entire time. We can read, listen to music or just visit with friends.

Marisa heads out to Pittsburgh for work this entire next week so I'm single dadding it for a week. The next week she's gone for two nights in Eastern Idaho, so I'm on my own again. After she gets back we leave for CA pretty quickly, which I have a sneaking suspicion I'll desparately need by then.

In the words of one of my favorite modern philosophers, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller

(That link always makes my day....) Enjoy your summer, I know we're enjoying ours.

Fourth Of July 2011

We were lucky enough to have guests in town, staying at Mom's house, for the last few weeks. Yet another California recruit to Boise! Sheila and Wayne decided to "live" in Boise for a few weeks to see if they might want to retire here in a few years (or sooner!). At first convinced they wanted to live in the North End, after spending some time in Hidden Springs walking the trails, eating at the Merc, and enjoying the scenery, I think they may now be leaning toward becoming our neighbors! It was so much fun having them down the street from us. The kids all loved "Funky Wayne" (named, much to Wayne's embarrassment, by Tanner when he was just starting to talk) and Auntie Sheila. I am pretty sure Sheila and Wayne haven't had that many hugs per day for a long time! We had lots of fun, including watching a Giants game at our houseone night, having a babysitter and going out with the adults to a great dinner and Allison Krauss concert, spending a day at Lucky Peak on the boat, and attending a Hawks baseball game and fireworks.

The kids did the neighborhood parade in the morning of the 4th. Tanner and Faith got to ride in the fire truck and throw candy out to all the parade watchers. This was thanks to the family of one of Tanner's best friends who works for the fire department. Jake rode his bike on his own and collected bags of the above mentioned candy. We only hung out for a little while at the concert/bouncy house/BBQ extravaganza because we had to do naps in order to be ready for the Hawks game. It was a busy 4th of July weekend but the Hawks game-ending in a walk-off home run in the 10th followed by an absolutely amazing and almonst-too-close-for-comfort fireworks display that went on forever- was worth it!

There was no time to be sad at Sheila and Wayne's departure, however, as four hours after they left for CA Brian's sister and her husband and five kids arrived to spend a few days with us. This is a huge treat for all of us, as the last time we saw them all was two years ago at Clear Lake. It is a short visit- just Tuesday-Thursday- and we have no plans, just a lot of hanging out together and enjoying each others company. I am sure there will be plenty of pool time tomorrow and then they are taking us all to dinner at Donnie Mac's Trailer Park Cuisine tomorrow night. They all get along so well together and seeing them together makes me wish once more that the Crebar's lived closer to us so the cousins could grow up together.

We love having visitors and even though our summer is a little chaotic and crazy I am enjoying every second of it and hoping it doesn't slip away too fast!

After All This Time....

...I should know better. A little background:

Marisa is out of town this week in Las Vegas and I have all three kids (plus a friend) for most of the day and evenings. This week we have had football practice one night and swim lessons two nights, so I am a little bit frazzled, and not the most patient father to begin with.

Next. Eggo toaster waffles are regular items on our daily menu. We buy the big boxes almost every week and it's a rare day that goes by when someone doesn't have waffles with syrup for a meal or a waffle and peanut butter sandwich. So anyway, that's all background for this mornings exchange with Faith.

She said she wanted a peanut butter/waffle sandwich...fine. She won't eat a whole one and a 1/2 one isn't enough (she's hungry 10 minutes later). Tanner was having waffles with syrup, so genius Dad figures, okay I'll make her 3/4 of a sandwich, throw the extra pieces in with Tanners waffle and thus solve the problem. Now, it's not like I cured cancer or anything, but I was feeling a bit proud of my creativity. Not wanting any issues I thought that I should explain that I expected her to eat the whole thing. Here's the dialog, verbatim:

Dad: "Faith, I made you a three quarters sandwich, I want you to eat the entire thing"

Faith immediately starts crying.

Dad: "Faith, what? Why are you crying?"

Faith (sobbing): " But Daddy I said I wanted a PEANUT BUTTER sandwich"

Jesus.

Fathers Day 2011

Happy Fathers Day all! This has been a rough year so far from a Fatherhood perspective. I have been trying to think what to write all day, and I think I have the perfect analogy. 2011 for me so far has been just like Derek Jeter's 2011 season... let me explain.

I'm getting older. I don't have as much range as I used to. I sometimes struggle making the routine plays. I'm still the captain of the team, but it's more ceremonial than anything anymore, as I don't really carry the weight of the title. I re-built my whole swing in the offseason, but struggled out of the gate, so I scrapped all the changes and went back to my old swing. I'm trying for my 3,000th hit, but am on the DL for one of the few times in my career. I'm not hitting for extra bases anymore, instead, slapping singles here and there and getting on base due to errors. I have another couple of years left on my contract, but everyone is just waiting for me to retire. The analogy kind of falls apart when you get to the point of dating Minka Kelly, but what can you do?

It spite of my Jeterish 1st half of the year, I had a

great Fathers Day. I got a bunch of very nice gifts, including several very nice pictures and bookmarks from the kids. NFL Sunday Ticket from my lovely wife (now I've just gotta hope for a football season). We had breakfast out and I got to eat a chocolate donut that was as long as my forearm. We went to Dick's Sporting Goods and I got some new shoes. Marisa and the kids went out to the YMCA, so I got some time alone to watch a James Bond movie (Casino Royale - awesome!). Then out for great burgers and fries for dinner followed by ice cream from the candyshop. Then we took Jackson down to the dog park, off-leash for the first time ever and threw the tennis balls (a few to him, but mostly pop-up's to the boys).

Days like this help put it all in perspective. After all, Jeter is still the starting shortstop for the Yankees. He'll make the All-Star team again this year. He'll get his 3,000th hit. He is a sure fire, first ballot, Hall-Of-Famer. Then there's the millions and millions of dollars and the fact that he IS dating Minka Kelly after all. So, things could be worse, I could be A-Rod......

Third Times a Charm

We took the boat out for the first time of the season yesterday.... and there was no fire, no white smoke, it started the first time, and we got it in and out of the water without any drama!! I think I had a smile ear-to-ear the entire time we were out, even though it was FREEZING cold and we were bundled up in sweatshirts and wished we had winter hats on! Every winter Brian and I start to wonder if the boat was worth it- only being able to use it 3 months out of every year- and then we take it out for the first time and we remember why we bought it. We are hoping to go out for a few "Happy Hour" trips in the next few weeks, and also an overnight on Lucky Peak in July. We had so much fun, despite the frosty conditions, and we can't wait to spend the summer weekends on the lake!

Jackson Comes Home

We finally got Jackson back on Thursday evening. He is a changed dog! We are both so impressed with the training he received and how easily we were able to transfer the training into our home with all of our distractions. The kids can once again swing outside, play baseball, and dance to their hearts content without worry of the dog getting in their way. When people come to our door we no longer have to play blocking defense to avoid him getting through out legs and out into the street. He is such a good boy now!!

Our house is so much more peaceful. At night, when we are lying on the couch reading or watching TV and Jackson wants to play ball we are no longer held hostage by his incessant ball rolling, barking, pawing, jumping on the couch, etc... We simply play until we are tired of it, then "place" him in his bed. We push a button on his electronic collar and say the command and he follows it!! It is a miracle! In fact, he spent Saturday morning with us outside while we had the community garage sale going on. He didn't bark, didn't try to visit with any of our customers or try to run away down the street. It was almost eerie!

The company is called Sit Means Sit and we would recommend it to anyone that wants a well trained dog without the many hours/hassle it is to do it themselves. The "boot camp" came with a lifetime "guarantee" and as many continuation lessons that we need. It's not cheap, but since we plan to have Jackson for the long haul it was worth every dime (even if it does mean that our next tropical vacation is an extra year off now!)

Now that Baseball Season is Over.....

....it's time to dive into football season.

Jake spent the last two weekends in some pretty high profile football camps. Weekend before last he went to the Gridiron Dreams football camp at Bishop Kelly High School. This camp is put on by a group of former Boise State Players, many of whom play in the NFL now. Jake had to sleep in his own room for 7 nights to earn this one and got it done just under the wire in order to attend. It was a one day camp and pretty expensive as well, but we were pretty desperate to have our bedroom back also.

This last weekend, he did the Boise State Broncos Football camp. He did this one last year and really enjoyed it. It's a really good camp that features motivation talks from the head coach at the end of each day on respect, fair play, paying attention, doing things the right way etc. It's a huge camp (400 kids) and they get to play on the blue turf and in the practice dome which is huge.

Both camps are good and Jake benefits from the

exposure, not so much from the football drills, but from the lessons on how important the fundamentals are, how having the right focus and attitude is crucial to success and good sportsmanship that both of the camps stressed. He did good in all of the football work also. He loves football, loves playing it, talking about it, and watching it. He had a great time talking to the players, getting autographs and taking photos.

Optimist Football starts here at the beginning of August and Jake is already raring to go.

Raising a Girl

Recently Faith has been in to cheerleading. Whenever we have sports on TV (which is often in our household) she takes out her "cheerleads" (pompoms) and does her little dance routine. Yesterday when Tanner had a friend over and they were playing football in the back yard she got out her "cheerleads" and went outside to cheer for them. Cute, yes, but also kind of disturbing to me.

She is just starting to develop real interests and has expressed a desire in taking different classes: soccer, dance, tball, gymnastics, etc... It changes everyday! At this point she doesn't realize that there actually are cheerleading opportunities for four year old girls here (a slight shudder just went through my whole body as I typed that) and this is because I refuse to tell her about them or give her the opportunity to join these "teams". Brian feels I am being unfair to her, that I should present her with all the options and let her choose which she wants to do- but I think that what she doesn't know won't hurt her.

I have a huge problem with little girls cheerleading. I don't want my daughter to grow up cheering for boys in skimpy little outfits. I want her to be the one others are cheering for!! Is this wrong??? When she is older and has tried lots of interests, if she still really wants to cheerlead, well... then it will be a conversation she and I will have together. But for now? I am keeping her as far away from organized cheerleading as I realistically can.

Tanner's Tball Season Wrap Up

Tanner's Tball party the other night finished off his first season of baseball (well any organized sport actually). He had a great time and it was a great season all the way around, without any of the drama of Jake's season.

This is the 3rd year that I have coached T-Ball and this team was entirely different from the first two years. Normally one of the first things that you have to do is diffuse the "mob" mentality of everyone running to the ball no matter where it is hit. I got pretty creative about it in the past and came up with a game we played called "freeze baseball". I would hit the ball and blow a whistle and all the kids would freeze in place. Then we would talk about who should get the ball, why and what they should do with it when they had it. Then I would blow the whistle again and we would finish the play. I was pretty proud of my creativity given my lack of coaching experience and was all ready to do that again this year. The first time we tried it, I hit the ball and no one moved to get it. Everyone held their positions like they should have (including the kid who was supposed to get the ball). So it was an entirely different ball game this season from day one.

The kids were great, most of them paid attention, as much as you would expect at this level

anyway. Even Tanner ended up picking daisies

every once in a while. We played the league directors team the last game of the season and she made a point of stopping me in the parking lot after the game and saying how great and attentive that our boys were and that we were the best team she played all season which made me feel good.

They made a couple of rule changes this year that made the season a lot more fun also. After the first couple weeks, we were allowed to throw three pitches to the kids to hit. If they didn't hit them then they hit off the tee. This made the game a lot more fun for the kids on the team that were able to hit, like Tanner. By the end of the season, he was regularly belting them into the outfield. Otherwise it is still an "everybody hits, everybody scores, no stats, no score" league which is a blast.

Also, since there are no standings, the "everyone gets a trophy" thing is easier since every team finishes in 1st place. Tanner got his 1st trophy and is so proud of it sitting on the headboard of his bed. The parent group for this team was great as well. Coaching T-Ball is such a group thing as you have several parents in the field both on offense and defense, a parent pitching and a couple of parents manning the bench (as well as the all important snack parents for each game), and I always had plenty of help and everyone was really appreciative.

All in all it was a great 1st season and Tanner grew a lot skill wise over the course of the year. Here is his highlight video (Hey he's gonna need to got to college too!).

Congrats on a great season slugger. Can't wait for next year!

Jake's Minor League Season

Jake just finshed up his first season of kid pitch (AA here). It was such a season of transitions in so many ways, it hard to kind of sum it up into a nice wrap up post, but I'm going to give it a shot. Jake loves baseball so much and has always enjoyed playing it. He has always picked it up naturally, and although we play/workout a lot with Tanner just goofing around, I don't really teach him a lot. My own experience is limited and I am more concerned about him finding his own way and just helping here and there as he asks. The way I figure it if you watch any given baseball team of 25 guys there are 25 different ways to hit and 25 different ways to throw. So if he's comfortable and his coaches don't need to change anything, I don't need to either.

Jake went into this season a little aprehensive about kid pitch. He didn't really think he wanted to pitch and was concerned about getting hit by a pitch. He quickly got over his fear of being hit, after he got hit in the first game and realized it hurts but only for a minute or two. Some of the kids on his team never got over it and were stepping outside the box all year before they swung.

He also quickly realized he liked pitching. He started the season wanting to play catcher, but when his coach realized he was one of the few kids on the team who could field, throw and catch on a regular basis, he moved him to other positions. His coach explained to him that eventhough he wanted to catch, he could do more to help the team if he played some of the more critical positions. Jake moved and had a great attitude about it. He played shortstop and 2nd base at the start of the season and then moved to pitcher and 1st mid way thru the year. He did great at all of them, making a bunch of infield plays and pitching really well.

He hurt his arm midway thru the season and had to miss four weeks. I was really proud of the way he hung in there. He dressed and went to every game. He coached 1st base, managed the bench and kept the lineup for his coach. He cheered for his team and was really upbeat about it for the most part. I was even more proud by how much of a team player he was when he came back.

His team was playing the Padres (they eventually went to the championship game) for playoff seeding one of the

last games of the season. He got cleared to play by the Doctor right before the game and showed up and played first base and pitched. He realized in his first at bat, that he couldn't swing the bat without his shoulder hurting, but stood in there and did his best for the entire game. Before the next game he asked me to teach him to bunt, which I did and he laid one down in the first round of the playoffs, beating it out for a single (and because this is kid pitch, a double on the subsequent throwing error).

His team lost to the same Padres team in the semi final game. Jake pitched two shutout innings and made two outs in the field, but they just weren't hitting and ended up losing. We're going to watch the championship game on Tuesday with some of the boys from the team.

The kids were great. The parents not so much. I assistant coached all year with a friend of mine as the head coach since I was coaching TBall as well. It was the first year for most of the boys where scores and standing were kept, and the league was very clear that this was competitive baseball and that the objective was to win games. We were very clear about that with the parent group, but still played everyone everywhere all season long. Whoever wanted to pitch, pitched and everyone played where they wanted to. We finished the season at 7-4. Before the year end tournament, which was a single game elmination, we sent out an email say that we were going to play the best players where they could do the most good and would rotate everyone else in the other positions. That got us through the 1st innning before a couple of the dads starting yelling at us from the stands about playing time. I ended up talking to both of them during and after the game several times and got it straightend out, but man, I get where the Little League Dad stereotype comes from.

We also had a WWIII level

confrontation about "everyone gets a trophy" which I thought we killed for awhile, but rose back up the day before the last game and once again, "everyone got a trophy" for 4th place. Jeez.

Next year Jake will try out for AAA and hopefully will play up if he is chosen and a lot of those issues will hopefully go away. The kids that move up, want to play, want to win and concentrate on the game (unlike at this level for a lot of them). The kids that don't won't play AAA, so hopefully it was just a perfect storm kind of year. I don't know that I'm willing to coach the same group of kids (and parents) again.

Click here for Jake's 2011 season highlight video. I made it just for fun (and submission to the Notre Dame Athletic Department eventually)...whatever....I'm a proud Dad. Sue me.

Big Man on Campus

Tanner has all of the sudden grown up before our eyes. It of course was a slow process, but it kind of took Marisa and I by surprise lately. He has really grown into himself over the course of his pre-k year. We were concerned last year as he was very quiet and shy, hiding when friends came over, not speaking up in groups and not really playing with other boys in pre-school. That all changed this year.

He is now very confident, shares in class and has really blossomed in school. He still has a shy streak that comes out every once in a while, but has a group of best buddies at school and a best friend (Evan) that he plays with all of the time. He had a great baseball season (I'll share more about that later) and got along really well with all his friends on the team.

To top all that change off, he graduated from pre-school the other night and is now a full fleged kindergartener. We can't believe that he will be going to school with Jake in the fall. He is so excited for this transition though. He will be in all day kindergarten, with Jake's same kindergarten teacher, Ms. Schubert. They made a field trip to the big school last week and Tanner got to go to PE with Mr. Perotto and meet Ms. Schubert, he wore his kindergarten shirt and is very proud of himself.

Just to top it off, he went into his "too

big" bin this morning and got out some jeans and shoes that Jake just grew out of and insisted on wearing them to his pizza party today for his last day of pre-school.

Next year it's just Faith at the little red school house next door, then she's off too. While that does mean that we will be getting almost an entire mortgage payment back each month in childcare expenses, it does make me a little misty watching the days go by so fast.

Jackson Goes to Boot Camp

We''ve been realizing over the last few weeks that in dealing with Jake's issues our "fourth child" has gotten a little out of control. Jackson is a puppy but I think we were in denial that Jackson is actually not a good puppy. He jumps on people. He barks. He nips at kids in the house. He runs into the street. He bugs you incessantly with the ball. He thinks he is a lap dog and doesn't take "no" for an answer. He chews the kids toys. He even ate a pizza off our kitchen counter. No, Jackson is not a "good puppy".

Now that things have calmed down some in the Alan household we decided that something must be done. Enter the "Sit Means Sit" people. They came for an hour last night to meet Jackson and give us some options for training. They ended up taking our boy away in the "paddy wagon". We decided to bite the bullet and pay for the training camp. 10 days of training at the owner's house, then four follow up lessons in our home with lifetime follow up as needed. It's an investment for sure (mom actually gasped at the price) but we figure if we are going to have a dog for the long haul (possibly until Jake leaves home) we want it to be one that is well behaved and one that adds fun and love to our household not more chaos. So, Jackson is at bootcamp. We will be getting videos of his progress every day or two from the owner and trainers.

The house feels empty today but we hope that when Jackson returns we will be able to have guests over without fear of embarrassment. We hope the kids will once again be able to play outside on the swings and with their balls in peace. We hope that we will be able to have Jackson out front with us to enjoy the summer weather. So, good luck to our puppy. Sorry for the tough love, Buddy, but it's for your own good!

PS. As the person who formats and posts this to the blog, I have ad hoc final editorial say, and would like to rebutt. Jackson is a good puppy, it just that he's just a puppy and a puppy with no training to boot. I spent a lot of money to get Milo trained as well for the same reasons (I didn't have time) and it still ranks as some of the best money I have ever spent. Unlike Marisa I have bonded with Jax and miss him and will be happy when he comes home.

Mothers' Day

It has been way too long since I have posted- and it is certainly not because life has been too dull to write about! Spring is sort of here: It was 84 on Friday and snowed on Monday. Very odd weather but I have been able to have the top down on the car several times and finally put away my winter clothes and swapped them out for my shorts and tank tops.

Auntie Sue and Grandma Mary came to visit a few weeks ago so they could watch the boys play baseball/tball. It was a great visit and my only complaint is that it was TOO SHORT. The kids and I picked them up on Saturday afternoon and the rest of the day was consumed with Old Maid and Crazy 8's. Sunday was Mother's Day and it was such a treat to not only have my mom here, but also my MIL and Aunt-in-Law. I was spoiled rotten by the kids- they were so excited by allthe cards and gifts they had made for me, as well as the gifts they picked out (several good books and a new pair of summer jammies ). We had doughnuts for breakfast and had a lazy day at home- which for me included an afternoon nap and reading time. The big event of the day was our dinner at Sakura- a place very similar to Benihana. We took all three "moms" there and all the kids. We shared a big table and the kids were fascinated by the chef. He was great. He juggled knives and caught eggs and salt and pepper shakers in his hat. He cut up an onion and made it into a volcano. He cut up shrimp and tossed it in the air to us each one by one so we could try to catch it. It was a really fun night. Then it was time for some Mother's Day Dessert (My new favorite: Dairy Queen ice cream cake).

The kids had ball games both Monday and Tuesday night so we headed down to those. Unfortunately Jake couldn't play in his game due to his injured shoulder, but we went and supported the team anyway. Tanner loved playing for his audience. He beamed each time he got the ball or got a hit. He really loves the game and it is so fun to see his eyes light up when he plays. It was actually a great game with lots of action. Brian was also really glad that his mom and aunt could see him in the coaching role that he loves so much.

We had lots of good talks while they were here and Jake was on best behavior. Actually, speaking of Jake, he has been doing so much better in the last two weeks overall. Things got worse (way worse) unfortunately before they got better but now we are definitely on the track to peace in our home and sleep at night. Anxiety stinks and I feel badly that he has it on both sides of the family and that it will probably be something he deals with on some level for his whole life. But luckily there are medications to help with anxiety and since he has started taking the right dose he is like another kid (well, he's still my same sweet boy, but without the crazy fears and out-of-control fits!). It was not a decision we made lightly and we are of course combining the meds with therapy but I think judging from the progress we have seen that it was the right decision. A huge thank you to those that offered me advice, a listening ear, and comforting emails during the last few months. It has not been easy.

Tanner has his last two games of Tball and preschool graduation next week. Jake has his school carnival, baseball playoffs, and his last day of school coming up. Brian and I have a night away (thanks, Mom!), several business trips coming up, as well as lots of fun boating, camping, and vacations planned.