Epic Cruise

Our last vacation was a whirlwind 10 day, 2,000 mile road trip exploring 5 Utah National Parks. It was so much fun- but also really tiring, so we decided to go with the opposite end of the spectrum for this family vacation and try out one of the laziest vacations known to man: A cruise.  Since Brian and I weren’t going to do an “adults only” trip this year, this seemed like a great compromise. The ship had a kids club and lots of activities for the kids, plus we could get separate rooms- one for the kids to destroy and one for us!  None of us really knew what to expect, and Faith was more than a little wary of spending full days in the middle of an ocean on a “big boat” (as she put it) but we hoped for the best and it turned out to be one of our best family vacations ever.

We left on Saturday afternoon and flew to Ft. Lauderdale where we spent the night at a Holiday Inn before our shuttle picked us up and brought us to port the next morning. Getting on the cruise was fast and easy and at 4PM we set sail.  Our cruise was two days at sea, a day in Ocho Rios, a day in Grand Cayman, a day in Cozumel, and then one more day at sea. It was pretty close to perfect.  Instead of a narrative about the week I think I’ll just go with a stream of consciousness on my favorite memories:

-Being in the hot tub on the top deck as the ship departed from Ft. Lauderdale. Faith was with us and not scared a bit. With her anxiety we were worried there would be lots of tears but she proved us wrong the entire trip!

- Moving into our cabins and having our own adult cabin with the kids next door. The decks were great and I loved looking around the corner at the kids deck and seeing Tanner and Faith in their deck chairs, reading their books

-Day 1 sitting in our deck chairs on level 2 of the pool deck, Faith found a friend to play with (she later forgot her name and she was referred to as "Friend X" for the duration of the trip ) and the boys used the water slides over and over while Brian and I read our books, drank pina coladas, and listened to the Jimmy Buffet impersonator. Heaven.

-Waking up (in our OWN cabin) each day and being able to get dressed, go workout, get coffee, etc… while kids slept next door.  They had an onboard app where the kids could text us so they just texted us when they woke up and then they would meet us at breakfast or  on the pool deck, etc… SO GREAT.

-Kids favorite part: Nutella toast for waffles for breakfast and nutella crepes for dessert each night. Oh yeah... and dry frosted flakes for breakfast each day. We let nutrition slide for the week (not that we are normally so good at it at home) and they survived mostly on the above foods plus french fries and chicken strips. 

-Cirque de Soleil Dinner Show- I wasn’t prepared for it to be so professional and so much like the “real” cirque shows in las vegas. The kids were mesmerized. We had dinner and drinks during the show and afterwards the kids couldn’t stop talking about all the cool stuff they saw.

- We both loved being without WiFi all week. It was so great to not have the option to use the internet or phone or email.  Surprisingly we both loved being completely disconnected.

- Our first stop in Ocho Rios we got off  the ship and wanted to get Faith’s hair braided. We found ourselves across the street from the dock behind an old green shack with a Jamaican woman braiding Faith’s hair. This was not what we had intended but luckily all was OK in the end. I’m sure we overpaid for the braids and the “braids” they insisted putting in Tanner and Jake’s hair were taken out almost immediately, but it made for an interesting morning in port!

-Hanging out at Margaritaville in Ocho Rios where they had a big water park in the ocean for the kids. And for the adults. Brian, Jake, and Tanner bounced on the trampoline together, Faith and I swam out to the toys and played, too. She was fearless.  The kids built sand castles and Brian and I luxuriated in the warmth.

-The kids were kind of surprised by the bartering in Jamaica. Jake caught on quickly that the vendor’s “opening price” was about triple what they were willing to take for an item. This was definitely not my favorite part of the stop, but Jake enjoyed it. 

-Faith really liked the  Kids Club on the ship and went there most evenings for an hour or two while the boys had the run of the ship (mostly the sports court) and Brian and I had nice dinners in the fancier restaurants.

-Blue Man Group was AWESOME! I’d forgotten how much fun the show is. Brian and I saw them in Las Vegas on our honeymoon and watching them again with the kids was a blast.

-Grand Cayman was beautiful and again we spent the day at a local beach. Faith and Brian spent hours jumping through the waves together. This from the girl that last time refused to go anywhere near the ocean! More sandcastles, more fruity drinks, more reading…. More heaven.

-Cozumel was awesome. I researched places to go before we left for the trip and so we got a cab to Paradise Beach. It was a great choice for Brian’s birthday. It had  a huge water park in the ocean and gigantic pool, beach chairs and waiters to serve you. The funniest part? There was this inflatable thing where Jake sat on the bottom and Brian climbed to the top and then jumped down and it forced Jake up into the air. It was so great! Jake “rode” this about 5 times in a row and caught some major air. Also I did the huge mountain climbing thing in the middle, got to the top (after some difficulty!) and then  had to jump from the top into the ocean. The kids and Brian were all cheering me on while sitting on a raft nearby.

- I took the kids to a comedy hypnotist show one day and while the kids really enjoyed it- I was amazed by it and now really want to be hypnotized!!

-The last day on the ship was colder and windy so there was no more waterslide fun to be had and Faith came down with a fever… but we made the best of it and played some SkipBo in the bar, some shuffleboard on the protected deck, and read in our rooms. No one was ready to go home.

-We got back to Ft. Lauderdale at around noon on Sunday. Customs was fast and easy and we spent the evening watching the Super Bowl in our hotel room with McDonalds for dinner (the only place nearby and we had no car!).

This vacation was just so great. The kids loved it, we loved it, we loved the family time and we loved the “kid free” time. I loved letting the boys be independent and also watching Faith come into her own. We are already trying to figure out how we can afford another cruise in the next year or two.

Christmas Cookie

What a great holiday! Christmas Eve was long and relaxing and even included a little dusting of snow.  The kids and I went next door to the Selvig’s house for their annual Xmas Eve cocktail party and visited with friends for an hour or so before coming home to start our own holiday festivities. We made individual pizzas and opened Xmas Eve Jammies (My Little Pony for Faith, Star Wars for Tanner, sweats and tshirt for Jake) and then opened the annual Xmas Eve Family Game(s). The first one was a bust- it was a country song singing game for the PlayStation which turned out not to work on our system, and even the second game- Tetris Jenga- only held our attention for a half hour or so. Luckily we had SkipBo to keep us busy! We watched Shrek the Halls again (Auntie Sue had never seen it) and then ended the night with How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The kids had a sleepover in Tanner’s room, Mary and Sue returned to their “home away from home” at the Merc, and Brian and I got ready for the next morning.

The kids were awake by 630 watching TV in the bonus room,  so Brian went down to the Merc to pick up Sue and Mary while I made a big pot of coffee. When they returned Brian got the kids together at the top of the stairs, made them close their eyes, and led the procession into our living room. The biggest hit of the day (from Santa) was our new friend, Cookie. Faith thought it was just an empty cage at first, as the guinea pig was of course terrified of the commotion, but once she saw that it was a REAL, LIVE animal, she couldn’t wipe the grin from  her face. She met him and instantly named him. They bonded while the boys checked out their gifts from Santa- a huge Star Wars lego set for Tanner and a EZRider for Jake. We took our time on stockings and by the end of the socks were surrounded by candy, small toys, coffee mugs, cozy socks, and SB cards.  No one was ready for breakfast yet so we had Faith flip the quarter at the tree to determine the first present to open.  We stuck mostly with the Simonich method of Christmas morning, starting with that first random present and then letting the person that opened the present pick the next one (no peeking at who it is for!). 

Halfway through presents we stopped to make a big breakfast- bacon, pancakes, sausage, and cheesy eggs.Brian also took the time during our present opening hiatus to take the quarter used for choosing the first present, drilling a hole in it, and turning it into an ornament for the tree for many years to come. Mary, Sue and I downed more coffee while the boys sipped on their Monster energy drink (a once in a lifetime gift from Santa!). Oh, yeah... and Tanner finished off a giant sized box of Mike and Ikes without us realizing it. Oh, we were in for a huge crash later!

When Jake opened his gift from us- two tix to a Giants game in July for Brian and him- Tanner’s face fell, thinking he wouldn’t get to go since it was only 2 tix. So we bent the “order of presents” rules (see “Simonich method” above) and let Tanner open his present from us next: two tix to a Yankees game in Seattle in June for Brian and him. That kid is a huge Yankees fan and he was pretty excited. Faith wanted Lego Friends, Beados, and Glitzy Globes and she was not disappointed. Of course, for her, Cookie was the best present ever!

Brian and Faith spent some time bonding with Cookie, setting up her cage and supplies- in Faith’s room- and Faith read from the “How to Care for a Guinea Pig” book. At one point as I was doing dishes and everyone was sitting around the living room doing their own thing, Faith piped up, “Mom, what does A-N-U-S spell??”. That got a pretty good laugh and another giggle was provided when a few minutes later she turned to Auntie Sue and said, “What’s “inbreeding” mean?”.  Yep, this guinea pig is an education for my little girl!

We got a really fun game called “The Logo Game” from the Crebars and we spent some time playing that, but most of our day was spent listening to Apple Radio on the Tom T. Hall station and playing round after round of SkipBo with Grandma Mary and Auntie Sue. The kids would come play a round, then go upstairs and play with their toys or Cookie, then come back and join us for awhile. I think all in all we spent 5 solid hours in this manner. It was kind of idyllic. No fancy dinner for u (I hope Auntie Sue and Mary will forgive us this breach of Simonich tradition but there was nary a turkey or ham to be seen and no mashed potatoes or stuffing).  Brian’s request was hot pastrami sandwiches, so we took a break from cards to make a fast and easy dinner for the 7 of us.

It was really a great holiday. We were so blessed to get to include Auntie Sue in this special season and I think she really enjoyed being a part of our craziness and also seeing the Simonich tradition live on in her nephew’s house.  Grandma Mary taught the kids to knit and played countless games of cards with the kids. There was shopping and coffee and baking and chez mix and games and chaos and a whole lot of love. Merry Christmas 2015!

'Twas the Month Before Christmas

I’m really not sure how December is already almost over, Christmas is 3 days away, and the last blog I wrote was right after Thanksgiving. There was a whirlwind of holiday activity and kids sporting events mixed with work craziness that made the last 22 days go by way too fast.

We decorated the tree (purchased at the Merc again), ate the traditional pigs in a blanket dinner, and watched the annual showing of Shrek the Halls with Nana earlier in the month.  Most of our shopping was done early. I’ve enjoyed WAY too many Starbucks specialty holiday drinks in their seasonal red cup, but I feel like I haven’t heard enough Christmas music yet. I think I need to put on the new Elvis  Christmas album in the next day or two before it gets packe
d up for another year alongside last year’s album, Beach Boys Christmas.

Worst Parenting Moment during the Holidays:  That would have to be the night we were driving home through our neighborhood, looking at all the decorations, and Faith said, in all innocence and honesty, “Mom, why is Jesus around so much during Christmas?”.  I hesitate to even write that story here as I know it indicates a huge failing on my part to educate my children about  the true meaning of Christmas… but when we started this blog we did so with a goal to be honest and not just write the good stuff. So… there have been a few “lessons” about the history of Christmas since then!!

Mary and Auntie Sue arrived on December 17^th, just in time for the kids holiday music program at school. They were really excited about the event and Faith especially has been singing the songs for months. I admit I lost my mind a little bit when I received an email from the music teacher urging me to send the kids to school that day in “holiday colored western wear” for the theme. Really??? At this time of year I feel lucky if my kids leave the house with underwear on. So the idea of holiday themed cowboy shirts almost threw me over the edge. The concert was a lot of fun, though. 

This is the first Christmas the kids have spent with Auntie Sue since Faith was about 18 months old so they were really excited to have both their grandma and favorite aunt here to celebrate. Mary and Sue also got to join us for a very long but very fun 12 hour day of basketball playoffs on Saturday. It was a single elimination tournament and no one, including Jake, thought they had a chance of making it past the first round (an 830AM game) but they pulled it out and went onto play another nail biter at 130, another at 330, and played for the championship at 630 that night. They lost by one but played great and had so much fun. Jake played his heart out.   

Sunday night we got an early Christmas present- a night out at a downtown Boise hotel while the kids’ favorite babysitters of all time (Grandma Mary and Auntie Sue) watched them. There was gingerbread house decorating to be done and holiday movies to watch and the kids couldn’t wait for us to leave and probably never wanted us to return! More and more treats keep appearing out of suitcases- color crayons and coloring books, See's candy, holiday cookie decorating trays, games, etc… You never know what might appear next and the kids are eating it up. They have been playing cards nonstop (SkipBo and Phase 10) and learned to knit while we were away last night. Those two ladies have more energy and patience in their little fingers than this mama has in her whole body!

The shopping is done, the house is decorated, the cookies are baking, the cards have been sent. Tomorrow we will make the Chex Mix (Christmas just isn’t Christmas until the Chex Mix has been made!). We are all ready for Santa to come. The kids are already asking what time they will be allowed to come downstairs in the morning (Is 8:00 too late??) and are already making plans for who will be sleeping where for their annual Christmas Eve sleepover.

Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving was a whirlwind of family, friends, food, shopping, kids, movies, and sleepovers- with only a dash of sickness thrown in for good measure.  Sheila and Wayne arrived with Shelby and her boyfriend Kody on Saturday night, then Sam and his girlfriend Sarah arrived Sunday night.  Jake came down with a quick case of strep throat on Tuesday afternoon and due to the quick trip to the dr as soon as the symptoms began, was on the road to recovery by the time Kim and Bill and Abby and Aidan got in on Wednesday evening.  After a quick dinner of frozen lasagna (nothing but the best for our guests!), the cousins played together until bedtime when the Evans headed to mom’s house to sleep.

We divided up the cooking duties on Thursday with Sheila taking the bulk of the heavy lifting- turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy (because if they hadn’t been in town the truth is that we would have ordered in pizza!).  Kim and I made a decadent and delicious brussel sprout recipe, rolls, icky salad, and a green salad with bleu cheese, walnuts, and pomegranate seeds. Mom made the pies and brought the ham. Yes, we had both ham AND turkey as there was a clear division on who wanted what so we decided to just do small versions of each. In the end we had 16 people at dinner. The kids spent the day running around the neighborhood and house playing hide-and-go-seek and playing video games. Mom had us all go around the table before dinner and say out loud what we were grateful for- and somehow we all spontaneously held hands in the circle and it was actually kind of fun.  There was football on TV of course and a neighborhood game at the green near our house that both boys played in.  Dinner was delicious and after a walk around the neighborhood we all enjoyed pie and ice cream. The kids watched a movie and had a sleepover in Tanner’s room.

On Friday Brian got up early to do some Black Friday shopping- sparked due to a great sale on something we are getting for Faith this year. He came back with a few Christmas presents for the kids and also the weight bench he had wanted. He spent some of the day putting that together while Kim and I headed downtown for lunch and some shopping of our own. Then later that afternoon we piled into two cars and headed out to Big Al’s- an arcade/bowling alley/bar/restaurant. Brian had been given a $100 gift card to the place months ago so we gave each of the five kids $10 in tokens and we headed to the bar for a beer and snacks while they played for over an hour. We tried to see the lights and Santa at the outdoor shopping center  nearby but the place was mobbed and we couldn’t even get close to Santa’s Village so we headed elsewhere for a quick dinner before heading home where the kids watched another movie and Kim, Bill, Brian and I watched Music and Lyrics. I still am a sucker for Hugh Grant.

Saturday afternoon brought us all to the Egyptian Theater downtown where we kicked off the season right with a lively, sing along showing of Elf. It was cold outside (no pun intended) and Faith bundled in Brian’s Under Armor sweatshirt as we walked a few blocks to dinner at Proto’s pizza.  That night the kids built a huge fort and everyone slept in it. I had my doubts but they all slept well- until almost 845AM.  We had to bring the Evans family to the airport later that morning and our long weekend concluded with regular Sunday chores for all.

But our feeling of gratefulness continues. This evening, taking Faith to gymnastics, I was reminded again how lucky we are. It was snowing for a lot of the day and by 5PM had turned to freezing rain. We drove under the overpass on the way downtown and the kids spotted an unusually large group of homeless huddled underneath, trying to stay warm and dry. Independent of me they decided that instead of stopping to get dinner on our way home, as is our usual custom after 5PM-6PM gymnastics class on Monday, we should make sandwiches at home and put the money that we would have spent on our dinner toward food to deliver to the homeless people we passed.  Jake decided to add on $5 of his own money and Faith wanted to donate an additional $2 of her own money. So, after gym, we went to Albertsons and picked up some loaves of bread, lunch meat, sliced cheese, peanut butter, a bunch of bananas, and a box of Andes mints and brought the bags of food to those much less fortunate than ourselves. The mints were a complete after thought- they were sitting at the register and when one of the kids said we should bring them dessert, I kind of scoffed as I added them to the basket. But as the people passed the bags around we heard one gentleman say to his friend excitedly, “Look! There’s mints!”  It was all the kids idea and I was so proud of them. We came home and made hot oatmeal and PB waffles for dinner with the kids feeling so happy that they made a difference in someone elses life tonight.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Tanner's Birthday

Like most of the country, we had a freak, early snowstorm a few weeks ago that prompted school closures, traffic accidents and early on set shoveling. It made travel around town difficult as the highway department wasn't prepared for it and wasn't able to get the streets plowed, sanded etc. in time to keep them from becoming a skating rink.

The reason I bring this up is that Tanner was having a bunch of boys over for his 9th birthday and we were supposed to go to Dart Zone with a couple of carloads of kids who weren't ours. Dartzone is way over in Meridian and Tanner's birthday party was late on a Friday night. Once the snow started to fall, we realized that likely wasn't going to be a safe plan and started working on a parents plan B. We tried to address it with Tanner that we were a little concerned it might be too dangerous to take a bunch of other peoples kids that far in dark/icy/snowy/cold weather conditions. At first he wasn't hearing any of it.

Dartzone was going to cost us $150.00 or so, so I came up with the idea of using that money for a "new" video game system for the Friday night party instead. Marisa was able to find a used Playstation 3 on Craigslist with a couple of games for the $150.00 we were going to spend on the party, and that swayed Tanner to be a little flexible on the party. The WII the kids have is 7 years old at this point, only works every once in a while correctly and most of the games are scratched and out of date. So the Dart Zone party became a video game sleepover for five friends.

We had recently reorganized the bonus room, so the set up was perfect and I got the Playstation all set up and tested while the kids we at school. The boys came over at 600 and spent from 600-1030 upstairs watching movies, playing nerd gun wars and playing video games. We opened presents and had cake then it was right back up stairs for more 9 year old boy nirvana.

We called lights out at 1030. All the boys set up camp in the bonus room. I sacked out and was gone to the world. Come to find out in the morning that Marisa had to go upstairs at 130 because they were up running around the halls in the middle of the night. All of the boys had basketball games the next morning that they had to be up for; but they were bound and determined to pull an All Nighter anyway.

Morning came early and chocolate chip pancakes were made and consumed by all. I left to take Jake to his first game of the day and then met up with a very tired 3rd grade boys basketball team to face our arch rivals (in all sports), the Shadow Hills Elementary team. They played really, really bad in the 1st half, scoring 2 points total. They were able to rally after a stern halftime speech and turned it around for the win. We went to Jake's second game of the day and then collapsed in a heap back at home.

Happy Birthday Tanner! I hope you had fun at your "Plan B Party".

Parental Pride

I know that we have devoted a pretty good chunk of this blog to the frustrating side of parenting and specifically the ways that our children can drive us nuts. But mixed in here and there, we have memorialized some instances where we were just amazed and really blown away by something that our kids have done, this is one of those times. 

As Jake is a sixth grader in the K-6 elementary school here, this is his last year before he leaves the neighborhood to go into middle school. He and his ever morphing group of friends are truly enjoying their time as "big men/women on campus". One of the perks afforded to the sixth graders this year was the option to apply and interview for a "PE Apprenticeship" position (basically PE teachers aide). This was a very coveted position as Mr. Perotto is the most popular teacher in school and even at this age, they can see the value of having to be somewhere OTHER than class for part of the day, so for the six available slots, 28 kids interviewed.

Jake took this VERY seriously, working really hard on his application. He practiced for his interview with Marisa a couple of times prior and wore his Sunday best when it was his interview slot. He has said in the past that if he can't play pro sports he would like to be a coach, which we both try to encourage as he has a nature and personality that would lend itself to that calling. He has coached the girls basketball team (with Mr. Perotto), launched his "Sportz Skillz for Kidz" business over the Summer and is generally just great with little kids, so we were happy he was taking this so seriously. 

Well all his hard worked paid off and he was selected for one of the positions. He couldn't have been more proud of himself for succeeding, and we were proud of the effort and determination he showed. He loves coaching, loves PE and this should help make his 6th grade year a great one for him. 

Way to go Jake!

Vacuuming 101

It comes down to this:  Slow down when you vacuum and watch where you are going.

Three weeks ago yesterday, when Tanner was on Day 3 of recovery from tonsil surgery, I had a ridiculous accident. I was vacuuming my living room, going way too fast apparently, and ran smack into our fireplace mantle. I knew it was bad right away and immediately was sick to my stomach, dizzy, and disoriented. Luckily Brian was there and got me into bed. We called my friend, Pam, who is an athletic trainer and is well versed on concussions, and got some advice.  After resting for about 7 hours I was convinced by another friend to go visit the ER. I was supposed to go to the Dierks Bentley concert that night but clearly that was off the table, so instead of a fun night out with friends, I spent the evening at two different ERs.

After telling my ridiculously embarrassing story to the intake person, the nurse, and the doctor they determined I needed a CT scan and I was sent to the St. Luke's downtown. My mom brought me there and after a 2 hour wait, I finally got a room. I joked to my mom that if they were so concerned about my brain bleeding then wasn't there a chance that I could just die right there while waiting to see if I had a bleeding brain??? Crazy. So, after a few hours I told my story to their intake person, nurse, and doctor and finally got the scan. It all turned out fine: No brain bleed. The Doc gave me instructions for recovery including full brain rest (which is next to impossible) until the headache was gone. I figured a day or two. Yes, I know the doc said it could be weeks, but really, I was quite sure I'd be fine by Monday.  Nope. I ended up working part time for the better part of 2 weeks and even after 3 weeks still have a headache by noon each day and am living on Advil.

My mom has been so helpful and has been taking Faith to gymnastics and making dinner, and taking the kids out of the house to allow me some quiet time in bed each day. Brian has had to take over most of the house and kid stuff, allowing me to get my job done each day and knowing that after that I am pretty much done. There's been lots of take out pizza for dinner and not a lot of "playing with mom" time for the kids. They have had to be really patient.

This experience has taught me a lot:

1. I am very lucky to be a healthy person most of the time and need to be grateful for that gift.
2. Concussions are very serious business.
3. Housework is dangerous

** No actual heads were harmed during this reenactment of the actual event. Although Brian's head came very close to being harmed when he suggested I reenact it for the camera :)

Halloween 2014

The concussion severely curtailed Halloween prep this year. We didn't get the decorations out of the closet or pick out pumpkins or visit a pumpkin patch or carve pumpkins, make pumpkin seeds, etc.... Luckily I was on top of the costume situation early so the kids were prepared, but there was really no additional prep.  Luckily the kids didn't even complain that we hadn't done these things.  That is, until yesterday. We were at the store getting candy for the trick or treaters and they saw the pumpkins and it suddenly dawned on them. It was the last day and we hadn't carved one yet. Generally we only carve one pumpkin and the kids each design  one part of the total: eyes, nose, and mouth.  But this year I just wasn't up for it so I sadly told them no. As luck would have it, a few hours after returning home from the store, the kids were outside bouncing on the trampoline when our neighbor called over the fence inviting them to help carve THEIR pumpkins. Apparently they had too many and needed help. I was so grateful.  The kids sat around the neighbor's outdoor table with their friends and each got to carve their own. I assisted vaguely and helped with clean up. I also took control of the pumpkin seeds so they could be dried and then sautéed. We'll bring them over to the neighbors house as a thank you later today.

Also, the kids decided they would decorate the house themselves, so I got he big orange plastic bin out of the closet and they went to town. They did it up right, even creating a mini-graveyard out of old concrete stones that they found in the garage. I was pretty impressed. 

So, anyway... back to Halloween.  Since I was already planning to make tacos for dinner, and had more than enough to feed a small army, we invited the neighbors over for dinner. We ate early, with our kids, the neighbors, and a few of Jake's friends. Then we piled the kids in the back of the truck and headed to the Merc to meet up with some other families. 

Jake was Michael Jackson, Tanner was a "scary old person", and Faith was a 50's girl. They rocked their costumes this year, if I do say so myself. Jake met up with about 15 other 6th graders and was on his own with plans for ending up at a friend's house for a sleepover. We kept track of him via text and after trick or treating for a few hours he ended up back at a girl's house with a bunch of friends, trading candy and listening to music.  Ahhhh... the beginning of the tween years. Tanner's friends were accompanied by lots of parents, all of us with some sort of beverage in hand. Faith and Abby, her best friend, came along too but only lasted about an hour before deciding they were done and heading back to Abby's house for a sleepover. The boys stayed out until just before 9PM, then ended up at our house watching The Sandlot. 

It was the best I have felt since I hit my head and I was able to stay up until after 10 (woo hoo!) with only a minimal headache. The kids all had a great time and now we have enough candy to last us for a year if we were normal people. For us it will probably only last a few weeks since we are all low on the willpower and high on the sugar addiction. 

Orange October

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

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

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

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

Tanner Has His Tonsils Out

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

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

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

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

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

Football and Gymanstics

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

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

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

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

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

Little Successes

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

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

Here's a few examples:

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

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

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

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

2nd, 3rd, and 6th Grade

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

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

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

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

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

Peter Pan ala Hidden Springs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best Surprise Ever

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

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

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

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

Best. Surprise. Ever.

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

Oregon Camping Trip

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

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

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

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


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

And, as they seem to, seasons change.

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

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

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

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