There is no Offseason

This past weekend was the last weekend of the YMCA Boys Basketball season for this year. This made for a VERY busy Saturday. It was one of the few times this season that the boys basketball schedules didn't directly conflict, so I was able to watch some of Jake's game before Tanner and I had to leave to get across town to his game.

He did great and has made a lot of progress this year. This is the last year he will likely play in the YMCA league as he is eligilbel to play AAU next year if he would like and he is ready to play at the next level. His team has three other really good players and the coach (also his football coach) does a good job rotating the boys in throughout the game. He does put all of the good kids together on the floor in the 4th quarter, which has led to some great come-from-behind finishes this season. This last game in fact they won by one point, with no time left on a free throw, so it was very exciting. Jake really likes basketball and I'm interested to see what he chooses to do with it going forward as he is sort of at a cross-roads with it now. For AAU, believe it or not, the teams are organized by which high school you are planning to attend, so now we have to figure that out.....

I had an absolute blast coaching Tanner's team this year. There was only one kid that I didn't coach last or coached in another sport, so all of the kids were really comfortable which makes those first few games and practioces much easier. Tanner was also really happy that most of his good buddies were on his team. We worked a lot on setting goals (my goal for the season was to be able to tell Shane and Ryan, the twins, apart without looking at their shoes - I did it, which was awesome. I went an entire baseball season getting them confused before now.), and all of the boys improved a lot over the season. This was one of the best 1st grade teams that I have ever coached. There is no score at this level, but if there were, we would have won EVERY game, by A LOT. Even the other coaches were amazed at how well these boys played together. I ran out of things to teach them that applied at this level, so for the last two practices, we worked on a give-and-go set play that is pretty advanced for this age (it's mainly bunch ball on the court), and the boys ran it twice for layups in our last game.

All of the parents seemed very appreciative of the team and coaching as well, making sure that I would email them next season for sign-ups so we could attempt to have the same team.  After the game, we had the end of the season pizza and trophy party and had a really good time. 

The very next day we were out at the  North Boise Little League equipment shed cleanout. Since I joined the board of the local little league, I have been spending a lot more time on baseball. As we get start to get ready for 2013 sign-ups, it was time to clean out, organize and order more equipment from our huge shed. I volunteered to help out and decided to bring the boys with me so they could pitch-in and help their league, plus learn a little something about volunteering and how much work goes in behind the scenes so that they can play the soprts the love.

It was cold. There was A TON of equipment to go through. We had a lot of help and it still took us almost five hours of work in the cold outside to get it cleaned out and organized. I still have to go back and help with the ordering. The boys did so great and I was so proud of them. Jake had some buddies show up that he had played with in the past, but Tanner just jumped right in working with different grown-ups, sorting equipment etc., while I re-stocked the shed with the re-organized gear bags. For five hours, they hauled heavy equipment bags, hand checked freezing cold aluminum bats and followed directions on whatever they were asked. I was so proud of how hard they worked wihtout complaining that I took them out for Applebees afterwards to celebrate (and get warm). We watched the Sunday night football game in the bar and got wings, dinner and dessert. We had a really great time out. 

We love our sports here in the Alan household, but sometimes it feels like it never ends.

Christmas Prep

We got a late start to the holidays this year.  Thansgiving was so early, and then last weekend I was in Portland for a "sisters weekend" so we just finally got around to decorating last night. As per usual, we stopped at several tree stands before going back to the one closest to our house where we picked out a short, fat tree that everyone was worried wouldn't be big enough or pretty enough.  But I was sold on it. Brian even went so far as to suggest that we may need to go buy a second tree since the one I picked out, upon further look once it was in the stand, appeared to be ugly. Howver, in a spoiler for the blog post ahead, IT IS BEAUTIFUL, if not a little quirky, and the Chrismtas Spirit is now in full swing at the Alan household. 

We had a snacky dinner- tradition- while decorating. The kids loved the spread of salami and cheese, pigs in a blanket, and pizza rolls (not a vegetable in sight). I was more partial to the dessert that my mom brought- another spread with choices between cheesecake, carrot cake, and chocolate cake. Yum. Tis the season.  Brian assumed his usual position on the couch where he handed out the ornaments to the kids one by one, I assumed my role as the "teller of the story" behind each ornament and the person that relocates the ornaments that the kids hung (all in a similar height level clump), and my mom watched from her chair, adding to the stories when she could- contributing those that were attributed to Papa, great grandmas, and the like.  


It is our first Christmas in our new home and really does look beautiful. We have garlands on the staircase, stockings hung on the mantel, the tree in the back window, a poinsettia on the table, and lights out front. We tried to put our blow up Santa and penguin up in the kids rooms but it turned out that they were too loud so we had to move them (to Goodwill).  

We followed the decorating with our annual viewing of Shrek the Halls and we all laughed out loud at all of our favorite parts- trying hard not to quote and requote the characters (Yes, Jake, I'm talking about you!).  Shrek  stated, "That wasn't Christmas, that was CHAOS!" and Donkey reminded him that  in his family "Christmas ain't Christmas 'til somebody cries.". There are so many lines in that show that are laugh out loud funny. It's a great reminder that Christmas doesn't have to be perfect- which came as a great reminder since my Christmas cards arrived the day before with a glaring typo on them and they're being sent anyway! Martha Stewart I am not. 

So, we are all in the spririt and trying to enjoy each and every day of this magicial season.   

It's On Like Donkey Kong

It has been like the 80's all over again around here lately. Marisa wrote about our Gilligan's Island Film Festival (which is still ongoing). We just watched BIG with the kids the other night, which they liked until it got too grow-up.

Out latest time warp occurred, as a lot of the reasons why we do the things we do....um...do, because of a Groupon. Marisa found out about a new place in Eagle called Grinkers that just opened. It is a restaurant/arcade with only 1980's-era video games. All the games have been restored and still only cost a quarter. We hit up some friends of ours in the neighborhood who were game to go (no pun intended) and hit it up for dinner last night.

It is exactly like the arcades of our youth. Dark, crowded and filled with kids. There were a lot of families as well with kids. It was funny to see other 40 somethings walking around reminiscing and checking out all the games. Even the change machines were from the 80's. We got the kids some quarters (and got some for ourselves), and spent an hour or so playing; Pole Position, Frogger, Tron, Centipede and Dig Dug. Tanner and Faith loved Alpine Ski and Jake was a big punch out fan.

They served sandwiches and, appropriately enough, Funyons. The food was pretty good, the service was totally confused, but they were trying. There were a TON of teenagers in there, so it's going to be a hangout for sure (you can't beat quarter games). It was fun to remember what it used to be like back in the day and to hear the kids walking around saying, "I only have two quarters left".

Tanner - Star of the Week

It was Tanner's turn to be "Star of the Week" in his 1st grade class. Technically  if was his second turn, we totally forgot the first time. After being sternly admonished by his teacher, we put this time on our calendar to make sure we didn't miss again (it would suck to be the only parents left back in 1st grade). 

He completed a poster all about himself with pictures of his family, BOTH Jackson and Milo, a headline from the SF Giant's World Series win, a cutout of a pizza box and some captions that were supposed to describe him. We were allowed to come into the classroom and  watch and participate in the presentation. We listened to Tanner explain his poster and everything on it. Then we were supposed to tell stories about Tanner. If you have read this blog for awhile, you know that there are several to choose from. Tanner was hesitant at first, not wanting us to tell any stories that might embarrass him, but he relented eventually. I told some stories about coaching Tanner and how good an athlete he is. Marisa told the cinnamon roll story. 

After stories, the kids got to ask questions. Since Tanner explained a lot about himself, the questions were a little forced. "What's your THIRD favorite food?" "Why is the background of that picture white?" and so on. Once the questions were mercifully over, Tanner got to climb up on the table while his class all sang Happy Birthday.

We didn't completely knock it out of the park as parents though.....several of the kids came up to us and asked up what treats we brought to eat (multiple times!). Of course we had no idea we were supposed to bring treats and ended up disappointing an entire class of 1st graders. There's just no way we're going to pass 1st grade.......

Post-Thanksgiving High Explosive Fun (or "How my Mind Works")

Related to Tanner's Birthday party.....

Tanner and all the boys at his party were having a difficult time on what to get with their arcade tickets at the "plastic piece of crap trading post" in the arcade at the bowling alley. As the patience required to deal with this process is not my strong suit, I left Marisa to deal with the kids who weren't ours (and who apparently I scare) and tried to help Tanner pick his POC out. He got 200 extra tickets for being the birthday boy, so he could get something a little bigger than his friends. Trying to be helpful and expedite the process, I steered him towards a set of those wind-up, rip-cord plastic helicopter toys, figuring it would make for some fun for that weekend. That was what he ended up choosing (completemented by some fun-dip).

Fast forward to Saturday. The POC in question broke the second it was out of the package. With Marisa gone to the gym, I braced myself for the torrent of tears and crying that I was sure were going to follow, but Tanner held it together. He was sad and dissapointed, but understood that it was a cheap plastic toy and there wasn't much we could do about it. I was so proud of him for not losing it, that I started to try to figure out a replacement activity that would be as fun as wind-up, rip-cord plastic helicopters. My brain (without the benefit of spousal mitigation) immediately went to.....of course, model rockets!

One trip to the specialty hobby store, $100.00, and some stern wifely looks later, our post Thanksgiving Day plans were set!

We shot them off this morning with some friends from the neighborhood and man, it was AWESOME! The rockets got up about 1200 ft. The parachutes deployed and the kids chased them around the field as they came back down.

Marisa had a good time and thought it was great fun also. At least until I explained that I bought the smallest engines possible for our first try and that we wouldn't be using those ones again. I wonder if I can get some of the ones from China that you need a permit for on the internet ......

Tanner Turns 7

Even though I have repeatedly told Tanner he is "not allowed to turn 7" he went ahead and did it anyway. We had his birthday party last Saturday. He invited 4 boys over and we drove two cars across town to the new bowling alley called Pinz.  We were greeted by our party organizer who stayed with us through the two hour event, keeping everyone organized, getting food and drinks, etc... It was great! The kids loved bowling and since the lanes had huge TV screens above them, they were also able to watch the BSU game during the party. After an hour of bowling we headed to the pizza room for dinner, present opening, and make your own sundae bar. Tanner tried a little bit of every topping on his masterpiece.  Each boy was given a bunch of tokens (now on a convenience little credit card thingy) to use in the arcade. After game playing we headed to the dreaded "Store" where we helped each boy use the "tickets" he earned (also now on an electronic card) to buy candy and trinkets. We headed home, dropped each boy off, and finished off the night with a few episodes of Gilligan's Island.

His favorite gift was the game Fibbers, which we played the next day. If you haven't seen this game I highly recommend it for Family Game Night. It's a lot of fun and even younger kids can easily play. You have to wear these silly glasses and each time you are caught lying you add a colored plastic nose to the frames. 

Tanner's real birthday was on Wednesday the 21st. I took the kids to see Wreck it Ralph at the REAL theatre. We usually only go to the dollar theater by our house so a trip to the big Regal Cinema downtown is a treat. Nana gave Tanner money for treats and instructed me to let them buy whatever they wanted so Tanner and Jake shared an industrial size Icee, a box of cookie dough bites, and popcorn. Faith opted for the Dreyers Dibs. And we all shared a vat of Diet Coke. 

That night Brian took Tanner out to his annual birthday dinner. This year he chose Applebees where he had chicken wings, sliders, and two Mountain Dews. They had a great time and headed home to do presents and cake with Nana, Sheila, Wayne, Shelby, and Sam.  He was very excited about the pop up soccer goals and soccer ball. He'll have some shopping to do with his Target gift card from Grandma Mary.  He was dying for a digital watch, but the only one we could find was Batman and he decided he'd rather have a plain one so we'll take him out to exchange it after this Black Friday madness is over.  

Tanner is such a light in our life. He makes us laugh, cuddles with the best of them, is a great reader, is a loving brother to Faith and Jake,  loves all sports, is easy going, and kind hearted.  One of the games we played at the bowling alley was a "Who Knows Tanner the Best?" game and when asked what three things he would take to a desert island he answered, "My family, my dog Jackson, and a tent". LOL. That's my boy. 

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving is more of a weekend than a day when you have little kids. Faith started off with her Thanksgiving Feast in her Kindergarten class. Faith has Mrs. Schubert just like both her brothers did, so this was our third "Mrs. Schuberts Thanksgiving Feast". She has pilgrim collars and bonnets for all of the girls and collars and pilgrim hats for all of the boys. They get dressed up and show off a little for the parents (how the classroom runs, reading, what they do on a day to day basis etc.) and then line up for their "feast". They have turkey, vegetables, pie etc.. Faith had Ritz crackers and cheese (which was totally predictable).  She loved the getting dressed up part, the pomp of the party, the lining up for food, the fact that mom and dad were both in her classroom with her, but not enough to heaven forbid try anything different to eat.

We have developed into a Non-Traditionalist household when it comes to Thanksgiving. We haven't gone so far as to have Chinese Duck or anything, but last year we did just have pie and appetizers for dinner. 

This year, Shelia and Wayne were in town with their kids and Cori was going to be here also, so we knew this year would have to be a little more down the traditional vein for us. There was a full blown Thanksgiving Dinner being prepared for the first time in several years. We got up in the morning and put the Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV so the kids could see it. Remember when you watched the parade because it was on ALL the channels and there was nothing else to see (unless God forbid your parents put PBS on)? This year the parade lasted about 10 minutes in our house before the TV was changed over to SpongeBob Squarepants.

Thanksgiving in our house means Football. Both televised and live action. The boys and I watched the first game (THERE ARE THREE GAMES NOW!!!!!!), before getting set up for our 2nd annual neighborhood "Alan Family Thanksgiving Orphans Flag Football Game". We had a good turnout again this year, with a bunch of kids playing. Faith again took up her position of scorekeeping, having no desire right now to do anything remotely athletic. A good part of the efforts on the parents is keeping the littler kids involved while keeping the older kids (and sometimes the grown-ups) for taking it too seriously. Everyone scores a touchdown and we try to keep the injuries to a minimum (I think Marisa got a concussion though) while talking, laughing and just sharing time with friends and family. Wayne and Sam joined in this year, along with some new neighbors and a good time was had by all. 

After the game, we came home and cleaned up and headed down to Sheila and Waynes new house to have Thanksgiving Dinner. It was a GREAT meal. Marisa made a great Sweet Potato gratin. Shelia/Wayne/Sam and Shelby made a TON of food, and Cori made THREE pies! We all ate WAY too much (a Thanksgiving tradition) and have leftovers for a small continent. I had pecan pie for breakfast this morning and am already eyeing my turkey sandwich for lunch. It was great to spend Thanksgiving with all of our friends and family. I realized again, like every year, how thankful I am for the kids, Marisa and the life we have together. I missed the rest of my family, but we were home here in Idaho and it was a great holiday. 

Just Sit Right Back and You'll Hear a Tale...

We had a family trip to the library last night and while the kids were choosing books, Brian and I found some classic TV on DVD to rent. 

Yep... we introudced our kids to the campy fun of Giligan's Island last night. It was, for the most part, against their will. But within 10 seconds of the first episode starting they were all laughing hysterically and repeating silly lines. Now, after watching 2 episodes last night, they are clamoring for more tonight. THEY LOVED IT.  They were all a little perplexed at first that there was no color so I had to explain "the olden days" when TV was all in black and white. 

It was really fun for Brian and I, too, reliving the countless hours we spent as kids watching Gilligan, The Skipper, Professor, The Millionaire and His Wife, and of course "The Movie Star", and Maryanne.  Brian remembers drinking red Kool aid and eating rice crispy treats during the show and I vividly recall coming home after school, making a snack and settling in the Den with Kim to catch some reruns. 

We haven't been introduced to the head hunters on the island yet, and are hoping that aspect of the show won't scare them (cross your fingers...). 

It is so dated, so silly and way more over the top slapstick than I had remembered... but we loved it. I think we may all be singing the theme song for the next few weeks.  

Evidence

Family Vacation

We decided, due to weather concerns,  at the last minute to cancel the RV trip and simply fly to Portland, rent a car, and drive along the Oregon Coast for five days. In the next post you will see Brian's version of what our trip has been like so far (only parts of it are true, by the way, and he is having a great time -for the record). 

We spent the first night at Cannon Beach in a hotel room right on the beach.  We kind of splurged on this one and it was well worth it. The kids received sand buckets and shovels upon check in, along with sunglasses (a little optimistic, perhaps, since it is November). They headed right out to the beach to run in the waves and build sandcastles. The beach, for them, is so novel. For Faith and Tanner this is only the second time they have spent any time at the ocean (Hawaii two years ago being the first). At the risk of giving credence to Brian's assessment of my tendency to romanticize things... it really was kind of magical. We were right in front of Haystack Rock, the fog was rolling in but it was warm, the kids were laughing and playing, we were holding hands and enjoying the view of the ocean and our children. I, of course, had a hot cup of coffee in hand. Yeah... it was pretty cool. 

We had fish and chips for dinner, went to the local candy store- one of what would end up being countless places one could procure salt water taffy for dessert, and headed back to our room to watch The Shaggy Dog on DVD before bed. The next morning we all bundled up and walked down the beach to Cannon Beach downtown where we found (more credence to Brian's post...) a bakery and coffee shop.  After a little more time on the beach we packed up and headed to our next destination, a VRBO rental in Newport- about 3 hours further south. 

The drive was beautiful and enhanced greatly by our GPS app which we purchased to be read in Mr. Burns voice from The Simpsons. Seriously- we laughed so hard as Mr. Burns directed us from Cannon Beach to Newport, calling us "Driving Monkeys" and threatening to "come out of here and give us such a thrashing!" when we made  a wrong turn. Maybe you had to be there, but it is the funniest thing ever. We passed through lots of little towns, each seeming to have it's own candy shop, ice cream shop, and tacky souvenir shop. I didn't make Brian stop at each one, although he did kindly pull off at each view point that I wanted. My favorite was Cape Foulweather. I had to stop at that one due to the name. We listened to great music- Brian was in charge of creating playlists for our trip and he did a great job.  No, it wasn't perfect or idyllic- it was family vacation driving with 3 children with all of its chaos and whining and "Don't touch me! He touched me!" drama but it was a good day. 

We arrived at our house rental and were excited to see that despite the shabby outside the interior was beautiful and had big windows looking right out at the ocean. At 95.00 a night we hadn't expected such a beautiful, right on the beach location. The house is in Nye Beach (a neighborhood in Newport) within easy walking distance to restaurants, shops, and (of course) coffee and bakeries.  We walked the long stretch of beach and the kids played on the rocks and built more sand structures despite the weather which had turned a little foul. It wasn't cold, but it was rainy, drizzly, and very foggy. Faith was a little afraid of the waves and decided  to stay close to the rocks, away from the water while her brothers raced the waves for quite a while enjoying the game. This fear of the water would end up following her throughout the rest of our trip, unfortunately.

We visited the Newport Aquarium on Day 3. It was beautiful and the kids loved seeing the otters being fed. I loved the jellyfish and octopus. It was really cool because Jake is reading The Island of the Blue Dolphins right now and at the aquarium he got to see all of the sealife that is talked about in that book- the cormorants, the otters, the "devil fish" (octopus) that Karana hunts, etc... Being the teacher that I am at heart, I loved relating everything we were seeing to the book he was enjoying. 

Next we visited the historic waterfront district where they do all of the fishing, canning, etc... The boys especially loved watching the fishing boats and the crabbing gear in action. There were barking sea lions on the rocks nearby and we spent quite a bit of time looking at the boats and reading their names, etc... This inspired Brian to download a few episodes of The Deadliest Catch which the kids watched during rest time while I took a nap and read my book. At the risk of sounding like I am, once again, romanticizing the trip, it really was a beautiful day. 

Yesterday we intended to go whale watching but the weather didn't allow it. Turns out that whale watching really heats up mid-December and is kind of dormant at this time of year. Strike 1 for Mom's vacation planning skills... So instead we drove back north and visited Depoe Bay to watch the waves crash on the rocks and feel the salt water spray on our faces (from a safe distance- which Faith was very diligent about). We also stopped at the Whale Watching museum, and then shopped for souvenirs. The kids choice of trinkets was pretty predictable: Faith got an stuffed otter,  Tanner got a penguin, and Jake got a Nike tshirt. The boys really wanted pocket knives but I said no- envisioning the two of them sword fighting and the myriad of injuries sure to follow. They then accused me of being "over protective". Oh, well. 

Today we are headed down the coast further south to explore the sand dunes and maybe go to the sea lion caves. The sun is actually trying to peak out and I see some blue skies so maybe we'll get lucky and be able to do the sand dune buggy tour.

8 HOURS LATER....

OK, so even though the day did not turn out as planned we had a great time. Turns out the sand buggy tour place is closed on Mondays and the Sea Lion Caves had no sea lions currently in residence. For those keeping track those would be strikes 2 and 3 against my vacation planning skills. However,  several things made up for the strikes and we ended our vacation with another fun day. We stopped at Devils Churn (not planned) and the kids got to wander on the tide pools in the sunshine (our first real sun of the trip). Faith, once again, was too afraid to go that close to the actual ocean so she and I stayed up top and enjoyed the view. I fear I am raising an unadventurous soul- is that possible? I have traveled all over the world (before the cell phone, texting, and email was invented) so her lack of spirit for these things is clearly not my doing. I am hoping it is only a phase. In any case, the boys had a great time exploring the tide pools with Brian. We also had a great lunch (we finally got our crab melt sandwiches) at a nice place in Florence. Florence, by the way, also had its share of ice cream stores, coffee shops, bakeries, and tacky souvenirs- I did not go into all of them (as Brian will try to claim) and limited myself to only visiting one coffee place. For the record, the kids got ice cream before being dragged through the cute "old town". 


We head back to Portland tomorrow for an afternoon flight back to Boise and back to our land-locked life. I will miss the sound of the waves and the foggy walks down to my newest favorite cafe a few blocks from our house. I will miss watching the kids playing on the beach. I will miss the sound of Mr. Burns directing us through Oregon...but we are all ready to be home, I think. Back to real life. Back in time for the election. I'll be holding my breath until Wednesday morning. 

Gender Vacations

Family vacations are a very funny experience in our household. Travel is Marisa's thing...always has been. She books all our vacations from beginning to end with no help and very little input from me. Which is perfect. She loves the little details, I can't stand them. She loves searching out the bargains, I would just click on the first available option (I'm very much a "Buy It Now" kind of guy). It works this way for the trips we take together as a family, as well as the trips we take alone without the kids. 

There are some....um, what can we say? Maybe...."pitfalls" to this approach? That's probably accurate. By not getting involved, I'm pretty much guaranteed trips that involve; coffee shops, quaint little "downtowns", walks (which aren't walks as much as shopping), art galleries (which I really don't get. We have no "art"), high end clothing stores, discussions about sweaters and how"cute" they are, scones, pastries, loaves of bread, cheese, produce, arts and crafts etc. No so much a trip as a Meg Ryan movie. 

I accept it, it's the cost I pay for not being involved. To be perfectly honest, it makes me smile to see her just itching to go as soon as we see a row of shops and a sidewalk somewhere. I just love the grand romantic scenes that I imagine are flying thru her head as she is walking with the coffee from the hippy coffee shop and her pastry/crusty bread/fruit/cheese etc. She is just waiting for the birds to start singing to her in English and a big eyed doe to wander out onto the sidewalk and lick her hand, while violin music swells in the background. 

The other issue with vacation planning is that she does it months in advance (for the bargains), so she has months to play the, "you know what we should do when we get to X?" game. She reads books and does tons of internet research for months. This invariably leads to some overblown and thus unattainable expectations being built up. Her romantic notions sometimes can't hold up to the children being along. She has to reconcile her dreams of candlelight dinners at the local sustainable cuisine bistro, with Jake and Tanner wanting Dos Locos Tacos from Taco Bell for dinner. Her dreams of strolling along the cobblestone are often times dashed by Faith's whining that it's "TOO FAR" and "MY LEGS HURT". 

There is really no middle ground between us either. She thinks the kids will enhance and be enriched by her rom-com dream trip, and I know it's going to be crappy food, endless shopping for stuffed animals and a Buddhist monk-level exercise in patience that I can just never manage (no matter how hard I try - and I really do try). The trips (at least with the kids) always end up somewhere in the middle and I end up needing a vacation from our vacation.

This trip has kind of been an evolution of this dichotomy. Jake is old enough that we can leave him in charge of the little kids for short periods so we can go walk (again SHOP) and get some alone time. This trip we also have fed the kids separately (at Taco Bell) and then we went to the downtown fish market/restaurant and had fresh seafood while they sat there and played video games. 

I was joking with her this morning about it, as we walked to the cappuccino/mocha/latte store/bakery. That I always end up following along while she lives out her rom-com fantasy, holding her purse while she shops, and giving my opinions on art that we will never in a million years purchase. I wondered aloud what her response would be if I wanted to go to the "fly fishing/electronics convention" followed by a college football game? Just like the tootsie roll owl discovers; the world may never know.

Halloween 2012

It was our first time trick or treating in our "new" neighborhood and we debated driving over to our old house thinking that there may not be as many kids out in our area. But we ended up staying where we were and it was a lot of fun.

Jake went to a pre-trick or treating pizza party and then got to go out on the town on his own with his buddies. It was hard to let him go alone but it was definitely time. He had a blast as he got to run from house to house without waiting for his little brother and sister.

The rest of us headed out down the block to meet Tanner's best friend and his family. There were a bunch of little "parties" set up along the way with neighbors doing front yard fire pits with hot chocolate for the kids and wine/Bailey's for the adults. One house had chili to share; another had pizza. It definitely takes trick or treating to a new level!

Jake was dressed as a rock star. His hair was hilarious. He had been growing it out for the last few months so that Brian could shave it into a mowhawk for the big night. We shaved it, gelled it, hairsprayed it, then sprayed it purple. He wore a fake earring, I put eyeliner on him, and he had great rockstar clothes that I had found in a thrift store. It was a little frightening how old the get up made him look.

Tanner had wanted to be a glow in the dark skeleton, and he had the costume, but on Halloween morning he all of a sudden started crying and saying his costume was too uncomfortable to wear and he was absolutely devastated. So, he dug through our old costume box and picked out the costume he wore two years ago, The Thing. He was very happy to wear this instead. He, too, ran from house to house and we had to reign him in a bit to keep him with the friends we were with!

Faith was a unicorn. She tired of trick or treating after about half an hour and decided that half a pumpkin full of candy was just fine, so while Tanner went up to each house to trick or treat she stood on the sidewalk with me. Strange girl! I kept telling her she'd better go ask for candy because she knows her mama's penchant for chocolate and her daddy's addiction to Skittles. But she was done.

If we look at fourth grade being the probable cut off point for trick or treating with mom and dad, that leaves the sad fact that we may only have 3 of these family Halloween's left. Really, really weird how fast time flies.

October Magic

I love Fall.

I love the crispy leaves and the colder weather and taking my jeans off the high shelves of the closet and putting my shorts and sundresses away. I love that the kids are fully into school- no more crying at drop off for Faith, homework routine is set,  etc...  I love that the nights and mornings are chilly but the afternoons are clear and blue skies. I love that this year we are gearing up for a family RV trip to the Oregon Coast the day after Halloween  (another adventure).  I love the kids costume choices this year (no more football players!)-Jake is a rock star, Faith is a unicorn, and Tanner is a glow-in-the-dark skeleton.  I love the fall events in the neighborhood: Scary Movie Night was two weeks ago and last night was the neighborhood kids Halloween Party. There was a scarecrow contest, a jack-o-lantern contest, and a contest for scariest/most original house decorations. I love that we didn't enter any of these contests but got to enjoy everyone else's efforts. (Yeah... Fall brings out my laziness.). I love making apple crisps for desert and eating soup for dinner again. I love taking the crock pot out of its summer hiding place and putting it to good use.  I love going to Capital High football games and cheering on the local high school team. I love that the kids are old enough to stay home alone while Brian and I walk Jackson down to the Merc for breakfast each Sunday while enjoying good conversation, fall colors,  and the sound of crunching leaves.

And, last but not least, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that the Giants are in the playoffs and we haven't missed a single inning.

Yes, I'm a dork. but...Life is good.

End of the Season

Jake's football season ended prematurely with a broken collar bone. We had a game this morning and he had to watch from the bench in his jersey with the other injured kids. 

His team is woeful this year and the season ending is kind of merciful at this point. We have a good group of kids but they don't want to block or tackle all that much, so we have struggled to be effective moving the ball. We lost to another 1 win team this morning with kids smaller than ours. We're kind of at a loss as a coaching staff what to do. 

This is our team, less new kids and attrition, for the the next four years, so we're hoping that they mature into football players before next season starts. Most of them don't like the contact, tackling and blocking from the side and trying anything not to have to hit or get hit. Needless to say, this makes it difficult to be successful at tackle football. We have one more week of practice and a final game next weekend with a team party.

YBall coaches meetings are this week and we start practice the week after that, so no break between football and basketball. It will be nice to get Tanner back into doing something and he loves playing basketball, so I am looking forward to getting him back out onto the court. Hopefully Jake will be healed up enough to not miss the start of basketball season.

End of Summer, Start of Fall 2012

I can't believe so much time has passed since I have written- almost a month of school has already gone by. Summer is officially over and Fall is here. The last month was, as seems to be the norm for us, BUSY. 

Labor Day Weekend brought a wonderful visit from Lisa, John, and the four girls (two of them being dogs). The cousins had a great time together and seeing that Quincy is 12 now, we were even able to leave them home alone while the four adults went out to dinner downtown one night. That was heaven! No babysitting cost!! The kids loved the independence and surprised us all by taking the three dogs out to the dog park and for a walk while we were gone. We played at the pool one day and on Sunday we took a long bike ride along the river, stopping at Ann Morrison Park to play in the fountain and Joe's Crab Shack for lunch.  I think everyone had a good time. It was really a fun visit and with the kids all older now we were able to do lots of talking with the adults while the kids all played and played. 

Lisa and family left on Monday afternoon and Grandma Mary arrived on Tuesday evening. We switched our bonus room into "guest room" mode and enjoyed having Mary visit for several weeks. She was able to see one of Jake's football games, joined Faith and I on our weekly Sunday trips to Fred Meyer and Starbucks, and (of course) kept us all well fed! Between the pies, brownies, Sees candy, and 2 foot Twizzlers, Brian and I both have a little working out to do this next month! She played countless card games with the kids and kept herself busy during the days by investigating places to live nearby. For a week or so we were hopeful that she might decide to make Boise (or even Hidden Springs) her home but in the end she decided to stay in CA. But we are so grateful that she is back on the West Coast and able to come visit more frequently. 

School is going well for all of the kids.

-Faith cried everyday at K drop off for the first 10 days or so but since then she has been happy as a clam- if not a little bit nervous as she stands in line and waves to us repeatedly until she disappears through the front doors. She is taking to the math and reading like a fish to water. She shocked the heck out of me today on our way to the grocery store as she sounded out words off signs like a pro. Being the third child I am sure she did not get anywhere near the parental attention to pre-reading skills that Jake or Tanner did (and Tanner got it way less than Jake). No rhyming games for this one (Bad mommy) but she seems no worse for the wear. She loves her teachers and is making new friends.  Her love of animals continues, however her love of horses seems to have stopped.  She's never met a dog she doesn't like. She holds her own with her brothers but is quick to tears if she feels wronged by them. We can definitely see signs that her teenage years will be rough. She will get mad and stomp up to her room, saying things like, "FINE! No one likes me. I guess I will just NEVER play with Tanner or Jake ever again! HUMPH!" and we will hear a door slam and half an hour later we will find her listening to her iPod in her room.

-Tanner loves first grade and we continue to be amused by the long emails and texts sent home by his teacher.  He is very confident at school, has lots of friends, is well behaved, and is reading like crazy. His favorites these days are Junie B. Jones and Geronimo Stilton. He is obsessed with cursive writing and even though he doesn't have to learn it officially for two more years (and by that time I certainly hope that it is no longer required and instead that time devoted to keyboarding) but he wants to learn it now and is constantly asking us to write things in cursive so he can copy them. This is hard for both Brian and I since neither of us really knows this long lost art form. He is excited for basketball season to start next month and will be on a team with all his buddies. He is skin and bones and we were cracking up the other night as we read a blog from his 2nd year where we were convinced he was going to be a line backer because he was so stocky and big. Still my sweetheart, he loves to cuddle up and cover me with kisses. I continue to eat it up. 

-Jake loves his teacher and both Brian and I find him to be very easy going and funny. I think it will be another good year. He balked at the required 25 minutes of reading each night, and doesn't particularly enjoy the required written summary of what he's read, but he's doing great. He is still one that will get away with the minimum (academically at least). He is capable of more than he does but I am not one to push academics so it is what it is.  We have pushed him to try out new books lately and that is going well. He still won't do anything remotely "fantasy" or anything that is the least bit scary so lots of our favorites are out but at least he is expanding past Mike Lupica.  He joined the school choir and is very excited for this experience. It starts Tuesday and requires that he be at practice Tues/Thurs mornings from 8-830. We were anxious to let him try it since it is so out of the realm of his normal sports related interests. 

Brian and I have been spoiled lately with nights out. We had a great dinner out with Lisa and John when they were here, then went out for an early anniversary dinner with Sheila and Wayne while they were here. We spent the night in downtown Boise after dinner while Mary stayed with the kids and enjoyed a leisurely Sunday morning downtown before heading home. Then this weekend, our actual anniversary, we went to the Train/Mat Kearny concert at Taco Bell Arena. What an amazing show!! We both loved it and had a great night out.  The kids were very envious as they love Train- both the old stuff and the new album. Seeing as I had a girls night out two weeks ago and went to see Jake Owen at Idaho Botanical Gardens with a friend the week before that, I can't complain that I haven't been getting time to myself! Jimmy Buffett is coming to Boise (first time ever!) next month so that will be another night out. I think I am getting spoiled!

We are planning a fall vacation from November 1-6th. Brian had to take some days in 2012 so we planned it to coincide with the fall conference days for the kids so they will only have to miss 2 days of school. We had originally planned to do an RV trip to the Utah National Parks but upon further investigation realized that most of the RV parks close in October there. We looked up average temps for that time period and decided we didn't really want to wake up to 14 degree mornings. So... we are considering RV trip to Oregon Coast (also chilly but highs in 50s during day and 40s at night). We would do the sand dune buggy tour, the coastal aquarium, a whale watch boat trip, and explore the towns of Newport and Yachats, etc...  In any case, no matter where we end up, we are looking forward to it. 

Giants are the National League Division Champions so we are looking forward to a magical October :)

Saturday Morning Football

Jake was a little torn when it came to Optimist Football this year. We asked him a couple of times before football sign-ups if he was sure he wanted to play again this year for his first year of tackle. With all the concussion issue and health concerns, we have been secretly hoping that his interest in football would wane, but he was pretty insistent that he wanted to play this year.

Then he played several months of highly competitive baseball. His All-Stars Manager wanted him to play fall baseball to get some more work in another season, but he had committed to play football. Once the season and practices began, he said he wanted to quit so he could go play baseball, but we sat down and talked to him about it. We have always had a "no quit" policy once you start something and we explained that to him with regards to football. We told him that if he didn't want to play again next year, he didn't have to, but he had committed to this team for this year and we didn't feel right about him quitting. We also didn't want him to look back and regret quitting just because he didn't like all the hot summer practices. 

He has made a 180 degree turn since then. Now he loves it again and is already talking about next season. They finally won their first game of the season this morning. They had a very early kickoff at 8:30 in very crisp, fall like weather. The last few games they have really gotten man handled, but they held their own this weekend. Jake played the entire game at wide receiver and corner back. He had gotten some reps at QB during the week and will likely get some more this week en route to a starting slot in the next couple of weeks. 

He did really well today and held his own. He has no chice but to try to play bigger than he is and he did it today, taking on blockers that were much bigger than him and making plays in the secondary. He was really happy with his play today, and unless anything changes over the next few weeks, he will likely want to play again next year.

With that process still playing itself out, we just got notification that the three kids are all signed up and ready for basketball, starting in just a few weeks.

First Day of School 2012

They're gone!

We dropped all the kids off at the SAME SCHOOL at the SAME TIME for the first time this year. They were ready to go and we were ready to be able to work at home again after a long (fun, but looooong) summer.

The kids were all fired up over the weekend for school to start. They all laid out their first day of school outfits last night and were up early, raring to go this morning.

This is old hat for Jake by now and he acted like it, dropping off his supplies and gear in his room before school, saying "c-ya" and heading off to line up with his class before the bell rang.

Tanner was used to the process, but was still a little clingy on the playground this morning. We have already gotten about 9 emails from his teacher, with very specific directions on everything; from how to line up to which kind of ruler is the best (the kind with the metal spline - in case you were wondering), so we're a little concerned about that. Tanner does really well with specific directions (not from us, mind you, but from other people), so my guess is that he will thrive in her class, but we'll wait and see. 

Faith was very excited to start kindergarten. She held her own in the line as we were able to line up with them for today only. She did the Pledge of the Allegiance, said the Harbor Pledge and then we followed her into the classroom for our first day routine. She sat down at her desk, listened to her teacher, said "here" during roll call, etc. so we thought we were in the clear. Then the kids went up to the rug and Ms. Schubert read "The Kissing Hand", like she does every first day of school. On the first page, where Chester is sad to be going to school, Faith lost it. Marisa had to go up and join the class on the rug for the rest of the book. I'm convinced that if Chester hadn't been sad, or if we had skipped the book, we would have been golden. But we did have tears on the first day.

The school always has a get-together for the kindergarten parents (I'm not sure we've ever gone before). They wanted us to write a letter to Faiths teacher or to "the world" that would get mailed to us at the end of the year...a little too touchy feely for us, so I waited outside while Marisa filled ours out. It was an exercise based on Abraham Lincoln's letter to his son's teacher. They gave us a copy, which I included here because it was awesome and everything that I wish I could have said to my kids on their first day of school.

Abraham Lincoln's letter to his son's teacher

He will have to learn, I know, 
that all men are not just,
all men are not true.
But teach him also that 
for every scoundrel there is a hero;
that for every selfish Politician, 
there is a dedicated leader...
Teach him for every enemy there is a 
friend,

Steer him away from envy,
if you can,
teach him the secret of
quiet laughter.

Let him learn early that 
the bullies are the easiest to lick... Teach him, if you can,
the wonder of books... 
But also give him quiet time 
to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,
bees in the sun, 
and the flowers on a green hillside.

In the school teach him 
it is far honourable to fail 
than to cheat... 
Teach him to have faith 
in his own ideas, 
even if everyone tells him 
they are wrong... 
Teach him to be gentle 
with gentle people, 
and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son 
the strength not to follow the crowd 
when everyone is getting on the band wagon... 
Teach him to listen to all men... 
but teach him also to filter 
all he hears on a screen of truth, 
and take only the good 
that comes through.

Teach him if you can, 
how to laugh when he is sad...
Teach him there is no shame in tears, 
Teach him to scoff at cynics 
and to beware of too much sweetness... 
Teach him to sell his brawn 
and brain to the highest bidders 
but never to put a price-tag 
on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears 
to a howling mob 
and to stand and fight 
if he thinks he's right. 
Treat him gently, 
but do not cuddle him, 
because only the test 
of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage 
to be impatient... 
let him have the patience to be brave. 
Teach him always 
to have sublime faith in himself, 
because then he will have 
sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order,
but see what you can do... 
He is such a fine fellow, 
my son!

We are picking the kids up at 1:15 (early release) for our 1st day of school Merc treats to hear about their days. I'm sure Faith was fine the minute we walked out the door and will be thrilled by her 1st day. I can't wait to hear about it. 

Lake Shasta 2012

After the exhaustion of last month we really needed a relaxing vacation so this family reunion came at the right time. We left Boise on Friday afternoon and drove 4 hours to Burns, OR to spend the night in Bates Motel. I should have realized luxury would not be the word of the day when I paid 67.00 for a two room suite but it’s not like Burns OR is a  raging metropolis. My hotel options were limited. 

Anyway, we got up the next morning and headed, skirting fire after fire, to Sugarloaf Cabin Resort on Lake Shasta to rendezvous with about 25 other family members ranging in age from 3 to 70. Brian’s dad arranged the trip and rented each family their own cabin on the lake. He also rented two jet skis, a speed boat, and a huge patio/party boat complete with BBQ facilities, deck chairs, and a water slide. He provided all the food and flew in family from London, CA, OR, ID, and WA.  It was pretty amazing. 

The kids had a blast playing with all of their cousins. Between the pool, the basketball court, the game room with air hockey and pool table, and all of the water toys there was no shortage of things to do. They all got along so well- I don’t think I overheard a single squabble. The ages ranged from 3 (Callan) to 15 (Jack) and everything in between. It was so much fun watching them play together. 

We spent the days waterskiing, swimming, and using the jet skis.  Jake got up on two skis for real and Tanner tried hard, providing great comic relief as he “belly boarded” (his skis fell of but he kept hanging onto the ski rope and was dragged a hundred feet). Faith was content to ride on the various water craft and watch. Tanner was a wild man on the jet ski, driving by himself (with Brian behind him) and going upwards of 50 mph. 

The evenings were spent in the pool, park, and game room. The kids had full independence at the resort and just had to tell us where they were going. Otherwise they wandered at will. There was no TV and no video games, just lots of hanging out. I  did a lot of reading and loved the evenings spent on the Party Boat with the sun setting , the BBQ going, and the kids splashing and swimming and going down the water slide.  Brian caught up with his cousins and his sister and Dad- and also got the chance to practice his fly fishing skills. On two of the evenings the resort put up a portable movie screen and showed movies right on the lake complete with popcorn and s’mores. In their spare time the cousins worked together to create a music video to give to Grandpa Phil as a thank you for the trip. It was so cute. 

The kids made memories to last a lifetime and can’t wait to see all of their cousins again. 

July 14-Aug 17 in a Nutshell

It has been awhile since I have posted... but with good reason(s). I  returned from a week long business trip to Pittsburgh on July 14th and life just got crazy from there. I was really sick for a couple of days, was diagnosed with walking pneumonia, and then my dad came for a visit. I never got a chance to post about that visit because four days after his departure we got the news that my eldest sister had passed away unexpectedly on July 31st.  The next week was a blur of family phone calls and taking a crash course on dealing with the practicalities of death. Kim and her family came into town, as planned,  on August 4th and somehow we managed to fit in a whirlwind visit of activities- floating the Boise River, a day at Roaring Springs Water Park, and a day on our boat- while continuing to make sense of Kerri’s death. Emotionally and physically we were all pretty beat up. Optimist football started right after my sister left and we had two weeks of 100 plus smoke-filled heat with 1.5 hour football practices five days a week. My incessant cough continued and was classified as Whooping Cough. We did our back to school shopping, dropped off supplies at school, and got ready for Brian’s family reunion at Lake Shasta. We left for that trip on August 17th.  Whew. It’s been a wild ride. 

End of the Summer of Baseball

It's been hot here lately, like Africa hot. North of 100 degrees on most days. Jake just finished up baseball in this heat, playing for his fourth team of the summer as they finished up Summer Ball, after All-Stars, after travel ball. His last game was on Thursday the 2nd (his team didn't make the finals), which was good because football started on Monday.

The first three practices are mandated by the league to be in shorts/helmets, but no pads. Those days were hot enough, but the last couple of nights the boys have been in full pads and it has been smoking. During water breaks, they are pouring as much water on themselves as they are drinking. It's a lot of agility work, getting them used to moving in pads and helmets (this is their first year with full gear). The last two nights were the first full contact practices. It is a big change to get them used to hitting and doing it correctly. Some of the kids have been dragging almost as soon as we start.

Jake has been doing really well. He complains about his helmet hurting his head (they all do), but he seems to like to contact so far. He has impressed his new coaches with his throwing ability and his attitude. He also knows a ton about football that most of the boys don't. He really loves football, and so far, shows no sign of letting up. 

Next week is another full week in the heat. Then we are out of town for a full week of practice. We also miss the jamboree and the 1st game this year. We'll see how next week goes, but if the same holds true, we'll be busy on Saturdays this fall.