The Plague House

So our house is disgusting. We have been sick, ALL OF US, since pretty much the buddy walk post a few weeks ago.

Faith got it first from her daycare we think. She threw up TWO WEEKS AGO tomorrow, and was home for school the next two days. I got it after her and was out of commission for five days. Tanner was next and bounced back after only missing a day of school. Jake got it and rallied, then really got it and missed two days of school. The whole time Marisa didn't feel right, but never got sick. She was well enough to be making snide comments, "Well I guess you're not in such great shape after all, are you?" and, "How about those great vitamins of yours now?". Then she went out of town for ONE night on business.

She was fine, walked in the door when she got back home, was throwing up less than five hours later, and was down and out all day today. I don't know what to do. At this point, there is not a bathroom that hasn't been thrown up in (or worse), I have washed every set of bed sheets at least once. There have three vomit etc. (ugh!) specific loads of laundry and the carpet between the kids bedroom and the hall bath looks like a trauma scene. I Cloroxed every surface in the house today; doorknobs, light switches, counters, faucets, computers etc. But don't know what else to do at this point (other then lighting the carpet on fire...).

It's not H1N1 (although that's the OH SO FUNNY neighborhood joke), as it's just stomach issues, no fever, no cough, congestion etc. So I don't know what in the hell we have. Plus it's not like I'm takling anyone to the doctors office to find out what it is, and catch H1N1 there, we're just self medicating with TV and Gatorade. Now come to find out that our daycare providers daughter has been home with H1N1 for the last week, and to answer your question..... yes OF COURSE our kids were there this week.

We promise to either have the house cleaned/santized and germ free by the time everyone comes for Christmas, or we'll move into a new house before you arrive (after the board of health condems this one).

Pumpkin Patch

The fact that the last two weeks have been hell on wheels, could not deter us from getting to the Pumkin Patch come hell or high water today. Marisa was home sick (more on all that in the next post). So I decided to venture out with the kids to the Pumpkin Patch myself to get them there first and foremost, but to give her a little peace and quiet in the house as well.

We got up and out early this morning, trying to get to the County Health Districts' H1N1 vaccination clinic (you can't get the vacine privately here, it has to go thru the County Health District) and get the little kids their shots as they fall into the higher risk category and are allowed to get them now. Jake got his at school last week, just before they ran out and Marisa and I will have to wait awhile as we are not high risk, but Tanner and Faith are both under 4 and fit into the high risk category. Anyway, we got there an hour and a half before they opened, paperwork in hand, and didn't even bother to get out of the car. They had stated there were 1,250 doses available at each of the two clinic sites and there were already more than 1,250 people in line. We're going to have to plan better for the next clinic, sounds like me getting up at 4 am or so and camping out....In order to bribe the kids to get dressed and out the door that early on a Saturday we had to go to the Mickey D's Playland for breakfast. After that, home, grocery store, house sanitization duty for a couple of hours and off to farm country.

The Pumpkin Patch is forever and gone from our house, it takes an hour + to get there. It was fun, but Pumpkin Patches to me always make carnivals/the fair look glorious by comparison. I always feel like at least the carnies put this stuff together and run it on a regular basis. Who knows what Cooters', who's driving the cow tractor ride, real job is when it's not Halloween. Anyway, we went. The kids went thru the petting zoo, the boys got to play in the jumpy houses and Faithy got to take her pony ride. We got our pumpkin, nachos, corns dogs and sodas and headed back home for dinner and a movie.

Speaking of movies, we (the kids and us) watched Bedtime Stories recently. If you haven't seen it...very cute movie for the kids. It is an Adam Sandler movie, so there is fart humor of course, but our kids, being kids, find it as funny as Adam does, so no harm no foul. Over the course of staying home sick, Jake and I watched Rudy together which he loved as much as I do (I cry every damn time!) and the Princess Bride, which he also enjoyed. He is now a Notre Dame football fan, so I can pass that tradition down which is good. Hopefully we're all on the mend now and things can move healtfully onward, at least until we get the Swine Flu in the next couple of weeks.....

The Buddy Walk

Being a parent is hard. I mean, deciding what a reasonable expectation is, figuring out consequences for bad behavior, how to best teach things like honesty and respect and kindness. Brian and I are constantly asking ourselves, "Are we doing OK or will our kids all end up in years of therapy?". But there are a few things that we are really sure we are doing right. And there are moments that shine through the day-to-day worry that make it clear that this is true.

A year or two ago we started a "Pay it Back" system with Jake where for every outside activity he joined (YBall, Tball, Chess Club, etc..) he had to "pay it back" by doing something good for the community. Over the last few years he has helped clean up the riverbank, raised money for a cause by selling his old toys/books, made cookies for the local fire station, picked up trash in our community, etc...

Most recently he chose to do The Buddy Walk which benefits the Down Syndrome Association. When we first moved here, Jake was 3 1/2 and was in a summer camp with a boy, Anthony, that has Downs. He became friends with him and with this boy's grandfather (Pop Pop). It also turns out that Anthony is in his first grade class this year and Pop-Pop volunteers in there weekly, so this friendship continues.

So we signed the family up to walk in the Buddy Walk. It is a one mile walk through downtown Boise, starting at the Capitol Buliding and ending at Julia Davis Park with activities and food for everyone. It promotes awareness of Down Syndrome and also raises money for research. We bundled everyone up and joined the walkers yesterday morning. Jake, and I walked it, with Brian pulling the little kids in the big red wagon. We didn't know if Anthony and his family would be there or not, but they ended up right in front of us and were surprised, I think, that Jake had chosen to do this to support Anthony. The boys walked together, playing and talking about Halloween costumes, then hung out for a little while at the jumpy house at the end of the walk.

So, between this "pay it forward" thing and the fact that they can all sing along to music by artists from Abba to Led Zeppelin- we are at least doing something right as parents.

Friday Night Lights

In our never-ending search for cheap family activities, we went to the Capitol High School Homecoming Football Game last night. Capitol High is most likely the high school that the kids will go to given it's proximity to our nieghborhood, and is a football powerhouse right now. They are in first place and it was easy to see why, as they won 40-6 over Centennial High.

The thing that makes this an even cooler thing to do on a Friday night is that they play their home games under the lights at Bronco Stadium as the school doesn't have a lighted football field. This means we can see a game on the BSU turf for $10.00 as opposed to $100.00+. For the students, it means that the BSU coaches watch most of their home games (Coach Pete was there last night) and more than the schools fair share of football players end up playing for the Broncos.

We saw a few people we knew from the nieghborhood in the stands and we know a couple of the players from home as well, so it was a lot of fun and something that we will probably do another couple of times before the end of the season.

Go Eagles!

1st Grade, Preschool, and Daycare... Oh my!

Things are hectic around our house these days. Here's our typical schedule on preschool days:

6:30 Boys come in our room to wake us up
6:30-6:45 Boys watch Sports Center while Brian and I brush teeth and get dressed
6:45 Cartoons go on, Brian and I check our work email and get started with our work day
7:15 Cartoon is over, breakfast time. I play short order cook for awhile
7:30 Everyone gets dressed, plays (if we're lucky) until 8:30 -although this usually involves at least one fit from someone and at least a few sibling arguments to referee
8:30 Bundle everyone up, put little kids in wagon, walk Jake to school (he rides his skateboard)
9:00 Drop Tanner at preschool (next door to our house) and drive Faith to daycare
9:30 Back to work for a few hours
11:30 Pick up Tanner from preschool, drive him to Miss Wendy's
12:00 Back to work again
3:00 Walk to school, pick Jake up
3:45 Homework time! We work and prep dinner while helping Jake with his homework.
4:30 Pick up Tanner and Faith from daycare
5.00 Dinner, baths, playtime, clean up, etc...
7:00 Bedtime
7:30 Brian and I plop down in front of the TV, exhausted, and still having work to catch up on for the next day so we can do it all over again!

It sounds like I am complaining, but these days are actually a lot of fun. The challenge comes when one of us has to be out of the house early for a training or something and all the chaos falls to the other one. (Lately it has been me that has to be gone early. My work is crazy busy right now.)

I was reminded this evening, as I drove in the driveway with the little ones at 4:45 and Brian was out front for the third day in a row tossing the football to Jake,- just waiting to greet us at the car- that we are so lucky to be doing this together-I mean the "everyday" stuff of being a family. I forget that not all dads are lfortunate enough to have a job that allows them to be on the front lawn at 4:45 to play catch. And not all kids are lucky enough to have dads that are around for that on a daily basis. It may not be glamorous, but for a dual income family especially, it's a pretty good life.

Fall has arrived in full force here. The trees are turning red, the extra comforters are on the bed, and mornings require a hat of some sort and a coat. The hot tub is turned back up to 103 and is getting used more frequently, the shorts and tanks are put away, and my shelves are once again filled with sweaters and jeans. I love seasons!

The kids are all doing great.

Jake- Loves first grade, is good about doing his homework on his own, is excited to start YBasketball again this month, loves to skateboard, is more independent and able to go to the library and Merc on his own, and is GOING TO BED WITHOUT THE DRAMA.

Tanner- Loves preschool (and we love watching him out our window as he plays!), is pretending to read, wants to learn to downhill ski this winter, is excited for his 4th birthday (his first real party!), has a mean spiral, and is just as loving and affectionate as always.

Faith- Still plays with her horsies- making them eat grass, putting them to bed, and waking them up each morning so she can carry them around in an old purse, likes to color and use stickers, sings songs that she makes up herself, is fiercely independent, and looking more and more like the little girl she is and less and less like her nickname "Baby Girl".

Now, it's time to turn into a couch potato. "Fast Forward" starts in 15 minutes....

The Honeymoon is Over

Tanner and Faith appear to have gone from "cute loving old married couple that bicker occassionally" to full blown "How many ways can I annoy you in a 60 second time span?" mode.

Sample of the dialogue on the way home from daycare today:

Tanner: Mom, Faith's poking me!!!
Mom: Faith, stop poking your brother, he doesn't like it.
Tanner: Faith if you keep doing that mom is going to send you to your room when we get home and pull your hair! (What????)
Faith: MOM!!!! (crying) Tanner said that if I keep doing this (demonstrates by poking Tanner on the arm) you're going to send me to my room and pull my hair!!!
Tanner: She started it! She's TOUCHING ME!!! STOP TOUCHING ME BABY!
Faith: I can touch you if I want to. HMMPH!
Tanner: OK, then I can touch you (puts his arm on Faith's arm) just to annoy her)
Faith: Tanner STOP TOUCHING ME!!! Mom, Tanner's touching me. (crying now)
etc.....etc.....etc...etc....

Thank goodness the ride home is short.

A Boy and His Board

So at this point he explains that he will be either a quarterback when he grows up....or a professional skateboarder. But at least he's willing to put in the work for either.

Jake has been riding his skateboard a lot lately. He started riding it to school, first with him just coasting along and then with me holding onto him, like I am in the photo, so he could practice his kick turns. He also likes to skate at the Merc on Friday nights when they block off the parking lot. I have to say he has gotten a lot better with just a couple of weeks of practice.

So Sunday, he decided he wanted to try out the skills at the skate park in Eagle. It's really close to the house so we all headed over. Two minutes in, he was down hard. He got up though...and then went down again, but got up again and again. He was crying, he was hurt, but he kept at it. We worked around the outside together he and I and he made some progress.

Skateboarding is s little bit of a leap of faith into the world of physics, and if you don't trust in the motion and leverage and try to play it safe, that's when you get hurt. He's still trying to understand why you have to lean INTO the turn, or lean OVER the board when you are heading downhill, when your natural tendency is to go the other way, to try to slow it down. He'll get it. The kid has got great hand-eye coordination and a well developed body sense. The trust and the confidence will take awhile to get.

I couldn't have been prouder than to see him keep getting back up yesterday. A few months ago (a few weeks ago even), he would have headed for the car after the first fall. I think 1st grade is agreeing with him. My little boy is becoming quite a little man.

More Weekends Like This

That's what I need. Although maybe if I had this great of weekends more frequently it wouldn't seem as great when I had them. You know? Or maybe they would. All I know is Saturday was about as close to perfect as it could get. There was the morning coffee out on the front steps watching the kids collect pill bugs and root on the bike/run racers that were going by our house for the YMCA Duathlon. There was the weekly trip to the grocery store (our date time) where the kids play in their FREE daycare while we shopped together. There was the fact that Jake had a four hour playdate with his best friend- at THEIR house. The fact that I read while Faith napped, worked out, and played blocks with Tanner. The fact that it felt like fall- but was still warm with clear blue skies. But the day was really topped off with the One Year Anniversary of the Merc Party next door. The whole neighborhood was out. Among other things there were jumpy houses, live music, good food, wine tasting, what seemed like hundreds of kids, and time to talk to friends. The boys all camped in the back yard with Brian while Faith and I had a girls' night sleepover in my bed. Sunday was a little less idyllic because the kids were tired, but the fact that all of them went to bed early (at 6:45!) without a single peep made it another perfect day.

Tonight- on the first official day of Fall- we took a walk around the neighborhood with me waxing poetic about the leaves crunching and changing color and the "chill" in the air and I turned to Tanner and said, "Isn't this a great? This is the first day of autumn!" and he looked and me and, missing the point, said, "So does that make tomorrow the next day of autumn?"

Happy Fall to Everyone!

Work and Family Balance and Other Things

Never an easy thing, but definitely made more difficult in the last few weeks.

Apangea life has gotten really busy, which is a good thing because it definitely makes my job more interesting and keeps me more focused, but it also makes the work/family balance trickier. After spending 3 nights in Eastern Idaho in late July, five days in PA in early August, I spent 4 days in Northern California this past week. The Account Manager for CA quit unexpectedly and since I was closest geographically they sent me to cover the accounts. I was hoping to see friends and family while there but was kept really busy traveling the freeways from San Jose to Sonoma to Santa Rosa, Oakland, SF, Cupertino, and more. It wasn't all work and no play, but pretty close. The trip definitely made me realize a few things:

0. Brian is a saint. "Super Dad" doesn't do it justice. Taking care of three kids, a full time job, PLUS laundry done and a clean house? Come on.... you're showing me up here, Honey!
1. GPS is my best friend. Seriously I think I would still be lost in the depths of downtown Oakland if I didn't have it with me.
2. Traffic sucks. I hate freeway driving.
3. I miss diversity. Idaho really is devoid of it.
4. I don't miss house prices. Driving down 580 I spotted a condo (on the freeway, mind you) that advertised in huge letters, "From the high 500''s!!". This is a GOOD thing? The high 500's here buys you a mansion. Literally.
5. Being away from the kids and Brian is hard, but definitely reminds me that "absence makes the heart grow fonder" is true.
6. The "no talking on cell phone while driving" thing is a good law. Much safer. Converted me to using an earpiece here in Idaho, too. (Dad, I know you'll be happy to hear that!)
7. I no longer consider myself a "Californian". When people asked me where I was from, the natural thing that came out of my mouth was "Boise, Idaho.". Landing back in Boise was heaven.

So.... some other noteworthy events:

My mom visited for a week in late August and while she was here adopted a Golden Retriever named Reba. She is a very sweet dog and the kids have fallen in love with her. We watched her for the last few weeks while Mom was in Utah and she slept with Jake each night (making bedtime easier, phew...). We took her and Milo on walks and played fetch. Although it added chaos to our household, it was fun to have her here. She is so gentle that even Faith could hold the leash when we walked her. Mom came today to pick her up and the kids miss her already, I am sure.

Kim and her family visited over Labor Day weekend. We had a lot of fun and the kids were great together. Unfortunately we had a bit of a boat mishap when we tried to take them to Lucky Peak to go skiing. Let's just say that any day that begins with the need for a fire extinguisher is a stressful one. No one was hurt, but it was a bummer, to say the least. Is this why they say that you shouldn't own a boat but instead just be friends with someone that owns a boat????

Tanner loves preschool. Even though we have to practically drag details put of him about what he does there, I have found him several times laying in bed after dark and telling Jake all about his friends and his activities there. He is such a crackup. Last night at 9PM (two hours after bedtime) he called me upstairs and when I walked in, he called me over quietly and very earnestly asked me, "Mom, do you have hair in your nose?". It's like he had been thinking hard about this issue and couldn't sleep until he knew the answer.

Jake is enjoying first grade, too. I love walking him to and from school, chatting with neighbors, helping him with homework, etc... This is something I wouldn't have been able to do had I been teaching this year, so I am very grateful. I even get to volunteer in his classroom on Tuesday mornings this year and he is really excited about that. He seems to have gotten over some of his bedtime stress- and just in the nick of time. His untimely demise was almost certain.

Faith is a doll. That little girl completes my life in a way I never anticipated. She continues to adore her brothers and she and Tanner can be quite the little mischief makers. Last night at 9 0'clock (again... two hours AFTER bedtime!) we heard the pitter patter of little feet above us. Upon investigation we found the two practically dancing with glee in the hallway together. Seems Tanner had gone in to "check " on Faith, found her awake (much to his delight) and enticed her out of bed to play. She calls Jake "My Jakey" and he treats her with so much tenderness it breaks my heart.

In short, all is well in the Alan Household. We celebrate our 8th anniversary next Tuesday. In honor of that event, I end this post with the following quote. I think it describes the relationship we have created perfectly:

"As a couple we don't lead and follow. We stumble forward together. It is not always clear, and only very rarely elegant. After (eight) years of marraige our journey does not often resemble a well-oiled dance but more the path made by a Seussian machine that rattles side to side and somehow inches forward. It's our particular dance. We're pretty good at it. We do it in sneakers."

Tanner Starts Preschool

He has been so excited for months. The preschool is right next door to our house and every time we walk by it on our way to the Merc or the library he looks in the windows and tells us again how that is "his school". He walked right in today and started playing. He told me at the end that he loved circle time, listening to stories, and singing songs. Oh yeah, and he was pretty psyched about the indoor sand table, too!

He is still such a sweetheart. A few weekends ago he and Jake were skateboarding out front and Faith was upset that she didn't have a skateboard. Both boys immediately asked me if we could get her one and I said I would try to find a small one at a garage sale. A few days later we were driving to the mall and out of the blue Tanner asked me, "Mom, you know that money in my pig at home? What is it for?" I told him it was a place to save money for something big that you really wanted to buy. He thought for a moment and said, " So, could I use it to buy Faithy her own skateboard?".

Again, it is hard to believe he is old enough for preschool... just another sign of the passing of time. Next year my little Faith will be there, too. Impossible.

First Grade First Day

We did our annual "Back to School Shopping Extravaganza" several weekends ago in which each of the kids got to pick out a brand new outfit and shoes from Target. Considering my kids are raised in 90% thrift store finds and hand-me-downs, this is always a big event. I had to bite my tongue on both Jake and Faith's picks- skull shoes for him and Dora shoes for her. But they were so excited to get to wear them this morning.

We walked Jake to school together. Jake rode his scooter and Brian and I pulled the other kids in the wagon. There was a lot of excitement and some nervousness- especially when the principal announced at the flag salute that parents were not supposed to walk inside with the kids, but rather to say goodbye outside. Luckily there were no tears.

I saw several friends that I haven't seen in the last few weeks who asked me when I would be starting MY first day- and I had to fill them in on my return to Apangea and the demise of my teaching position at Rolling Hills. Although I was really bummed when the change in plans occurred, I was so grateful today that I was able to go with the entire family and drop Jake off, pick him up, and get to have that quality time with the kids. That wouldn't have been possible had I been teaching.

Brian and I picked Jake up at 3:15 and took him to the Merc for a First Day of School treat. He told me that he loves his teacher and made a new friend named Gabe. Should be a good year!

Just Like Old Times

We took my mom up to Lucky Peak to go water skiing on Saturday. It was like a 2nd generation ski trip complete with Corona (I don't think they sell Lucky Beer anymore) and Jimmy Buffet. My mom was 36 years old when they bought their first boat and Kim and I were 5- big difference being that her other two kids were 14 and 16, not 2 and 3! That difference became obvious when a half hour after we arrived Tanner announced that he had to poop. We had to take him all the way back to the dock to the toilets there. It will be a tad bit easier when the kids are a little older but man is it fun right now, too.

The kids were so excited to go on the boat again. They are really comfortable on it now and pretend to "wake board" while holding onto our refrigerator handle. It's pretty funny to watch Tanner and Faith as they take turns skiing and holding the flag. The skier will fall down and yell "Skier down!" and the other one puts up a pretend flag.They all tried their hand at "real" wake boarding" this weekend where in they got into the bindings on the beach, held onto a ski rope, and Brian ran along the dock while I steadied the board in the water. Faith wasn't so thrilled with this experience after the first time she fell in headfirst. Jake loved it, though, and Tanner enjoyed it so long as dad went slow.

I got some crystal clear water to ski on and it felt just like the old days. Smooth as glass. The sore muscles two days later are well worth it. Brian came so close to getting up on the wake board and I am sure once he adjusts the bindings he will be jumping the wakes. We are going up next weekend with Kim, Bill, and the kids and can't wait.

On the ride back to the dock Faith was true to form and fell fast asleep on Grandma's chest. Different Grandma... same position.

All in all a GREAT day. I am so glad we got to share it with my mom.

The Richard E. Simonich Memorial Vegetable Garden

So, this was the first year we got a garden planted (so named for my Grandfather, who got one planted every year, in every spare square inch he had). It's been pretty cool, although there has been a learning curve. I'm planning to do it again next year, but need to remember to do some things differently so I'm writing them down here.

1. Don't start with seedlings - everything I started from seedlings died either before I got it in the groud or right after.

2. Plant Beefsteak and Roma tomatoes. I don't even remember what I did plant. We have gotten a few, and they have been good, but next year I'll plant some I know.

3. You need a harvest of more than a green bean or so a day to make beans worthwhile to plant. Next year, on beans, "go big or go home".

4. Don't plant corn, buy corn. We have two corn stalks that came up, if we're lucky we'll get an ear before the frost kills them.

5. Fix the sprinkler down the end so the peas don't shrivel up and die (see also applicable green bean advice on the pea crop).

6. Get some major tomato cages, the little one's suck and don't hold up to the wind. Also get some stakes for the heavy, tall plants.

7. Shoot any birds that you see anywhere near your plants.

It was a fun year and I think the kids will be more into it next season so we'll do it again. Even though it's not cost effective for what we got (or really could get, even if everything came in), I do think it's cool to do. If you add in the educational aspect, along with the environmental one (and the educational aspect of that) I don't think I wasted my time....

Bedtime Chaos

Bedtime has never been easy in our house. When Jake was 3 months old I remember him crying and crying in his crib. When he was 18 months I remember sitting against his door inside his room and having him throw a screaming fit while hitting Brian with a wet diaper. When he was 4 he slept on our floor for months.

Faith used to be our champion sleeper but lately she cries and calls out and wants us constantly from the time we put her to bed until morning- which comes way too early still.

Tanner is doing OK right now, but still has the occasional fit at bedtime- usually sparked by some conflict with Jake or just simply from being too tired.

Jake remains our biggest culprit. He's six and a half years old. When will this battle end? Lately it has been him calling down stairs (literally) 20-40 times a night just to "check if we are still here". He will call out ANYTHING to get a verbal response to ensure we haven't left him. Where did this insecurity come from????? (OK... anyone who knew me as a child you can just zip it!).

On Tuesday we came up with a plan. We took two pictures of ourselves- one of us sitting on our couch reading/watching TV and one of us sleeping (staged, of course). We wrote on the back of each one: "Yes, we are still here. Yes, we love you. Yes, we will see you in the morning" and laminated them. They hang next to him in bed as a reference and a way to possibly get him to STOP. Does this child need therapy???

We are at our wits end (hence the quote at the top of our blog this week).

Since he has been born I have read every book on sleeping habits of children that I can get my hands on and even resorted to reading Mrs. Piggle Wiggle "The Never Want to Go To Bedders Cure" the other day. Seriously... I am that desperate. Please send chocolate, large amounts of caffeine, and possibly some hard alcohol (I'm not sure if that last one would be for me or for Jake).

Guitar God

It's All a Blur....

Where did the time go???

I rushed back from my HS reunion on Sunday morning in time to take pictures- Phil had hired a professional photographer for the family reunion here. It was quite a crew and we are looking forward to seeing the group shots, as well as the shots of our individual family. With the photo shoot completed we hung out the rest of the day and evening with the cousins- most of them playing an impromptu game of soccer. Jake was funny because he plays so well for his age and also gets sportsmanship so when his big cousins started to play unfair he stood right up to them (all 46 inches and 42 pounds of him!) to argue his point. He almost got into a fist fight with one of them , but when they had both calmed down he walked up to him, shook his hand, and apologized. Sometimes he baffles us with how mature he can be in situations.

Everyone slept late this morning then we headed out on the lake where all three kids tried their hands at driving the boat with Brian. It is a fairly new boat (the rental) and drives really nicely. The kids all fed the ducks off the dock, threw ice off the dock for awhile, and played some more soccer until the heat became too much. Faith fell asleep on the way to lunch and although neither TJ or Jake slept, they are both exhausted and ready to go home, even though neither one would admit it!

We had such a fantastic trip- met lots of new friends/family, had some great adventures, and are so thankful to Phil for making it all happen. Time of departure: 3AM. We should be home tomorrow evening in time for dinner. Wish us luck!

Clear Lake Day Five

Today was the biggest day, group wise of the trip. All my Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Assorted Other Family showed up and we packed the place. In addition, there was a bass fishing tournament hosted by the tackle shop next to the hotel. They did the final weigh in on the lawn of the hotel, so all of the kids got to see the size of fish that you can catch if you know what you're doing (and have 50 or 60 thousand dollars invested in a state of the art bass boat with a fish finder etc.). The biggest bass was 9.5 lbs and was HUGE in comparison to all of the stuff that the kids have been catching this week, so they were in awe and really enjoyed watching that. After that....right back down to the docks to try to land the "big one".

Today Marisa was off to her 20 year high school reunion in Saratoga so she is gone overnight and will be back tomorrow for photos and the last couple of days here. The kids and I went out for a ride around the lake after breakfast in the ski boat and they took another "family style" nap. This time I pushed the two queen beds together and we all four slept in the gigantic result. The kids are so worn out and exhausted that I had to wake Tanner and Faith up at 4:00, for fear they would sleep right thru. The kids kept me busy all day. They met all the relatives, played, ate and generally just MOVED all day long.

Dinner was BBQ chicken and Tri-Tip which Uncle Bill cooked and it was just delicious (thanks Bill). We sat around the campfire and reminisced, talked, roasted marshmallows and just had a grand old time until the kids just fell apart, which was my cue to head off to bed. I have to sign off now, the kids are waiting for me to sleep in the big bed and Tanner is currently screaming that he needs a band-aid for a scrape on his ankle that is a week old.

Clear Lake - Day Four

Today was officially Fishing Day at the family reunion. All of the kids have been fishing like crazy on this trip. Jake, Tanner and all the cousins have been fishing all day, everyday since we got here. There have only been a couple of breaks to take rides on the boring old boats and jet skis, then right back down to the docks, gear in hand as soon as the boats were tied up.

Clear Lake is famous for it's fishing and the kids have been pulling out little bass, perch and pan fish from the docks with some regularity. This morning we decided (the Dad's and I) to take all the kids out on the pontoon boat for a morning fishing trip. The whole thing took an hour plus to get organized and underway, but when we left the dock we had 10 kids and four adults. The grown-ups really had no illusions of fishing ourselves and we spent the next hour or two re-bating hooks, untangling lines, fixing snags etc. We fished in three or four areas of the lake and caught nothing but lake grass and algae.

We came back in and the kids went back on the docks and back to catching the little guys. The Dad's (at least the ones who fish), decided to take an "Over 30" fishing trip after dinner to get our lines actually in the water and relax a little bit. Marisa and I cooked tacos for everyone and after that we set off on the pontoon boat. It was gorgeous out, flat water, sun setting, peace and quiet while fishing. We didn't catch a damn thing, but I'm not really sure that was the point.....

Clear Lake - Day Three

So this morning we went and picked up the patio/party/pontoon boat that Dad rented. The plan was to drive all of the boats, wave runners and the patio boat over to Konacti Harbor, anchor and spend the day over there.

Clear Lake is a large lake (for those who have never been) and it is a strange lake from a topography standpoint. It is very shallow for quite a ways out, hence the grasses, algae and such, but then drops off and gets very deep very quickly. I was driving the patio boat (my three weeks of boating experience making me the “expert” and thus the Big Boat driver) and the wave runners and the ski boats quickly out-distanced us. We were cruising along just fine at our top speed of NINE miles per hour when we hit the drop off and the s#*t hit the fan. The waves got really heavy and a couple proceeded to break over the bow, soaking everyone and everything. Kids started screaming. We slowed way down and made it thru the chop across the lake and thru the inlet, and around the point, where we anchored and spent most of the day, swimming, skiing, wave runnering and just having fun in the sun. Jake, Faith, and Tanner got on the SeaDoo this time and TJ loved it. Marisa got to drive it by herself several times and I didn’t think she was ever going to come back to the patio boat.

Towards late afternoon, the wind started picking up and the kids were ready to head back for some rest. Yeah, right. Lisa, Phil and our family decided to head back on the patio boat, thinking it safer than one of the ski boats in the gigantic surf that we knew we would encounter (see yesterday’s post). I knew that crossing would be a challenge, but had no idea just how much of a challenge. We likened it to The Perfect Storm. For almost two hours the boat was hit by wave after wave, soaking everyone and everything. All we could do was laugh, but we were all cold and tired and wet and worried about the kids (we had all three of ours and three of Lisa’s including her 10 month old baby). We covered the kids from head to toe with wet towels to keep the oncoming waves from direct hits to the face. The boat was ankle deep in water at points. We kept saying, “No one is going to believe this. There is no way we can explain this to anyone so that they really understand how miserable this is! But, as in all things, attitude is everything and we all laughed a lot, held the kids tight, sang some more Gilligan’s Island, and toughed it out. It was definitely a memory maker.

We made it back to our dock at 5:30 but Marisa and I are still feeling wobbly-legged at 10PM tonight -and no one has any desire to take the patio boat across the lake again any time soon! In fact the plan for tomorrow is for some shoreline fishing…..

Clear Lake - Day 2

Top Five

5. Waking up to this view out of our window and enjoying a hot cup of coffee while the kids played on the lawn out front, waiting for the rest of the 12 children under age 11 to wake up and start the day.

4. Taking a VERY BUMPY two hour boat ride over to Konocti Harbor and back with Brian and our kids, along with Lisa and her three oldest kids. White caps and tidal waves it seemed battered Uncle Rick's ancient but reliable boat. No one skied, needless to say, but everyone had a great time singing the theme song to Gilligan's Island through the darkening sky on the way home.

3. Allowing Jake to stay up extra late to run around playing with his older cousins in the twilight/darkness, having free reign on the property to do what he wanted with the "big kids".

2. Taking Faith and Tanner to the park and letting them play on the swings (pushed by a never ending array of older cousins, of course) while Brian kicked my butt in Ping Pong.

1. Having Brian arrive at our property with one of the rented SeaDoos and upon asking which kid wanted to go first, having Faith pipe up (the ONLY one!) that she wanted to go on the boat with Daddy. She is a brave one, my girl. My nerves were a bit on end as I watched her ride off with Brian holding her in front of him. She loved it, though, and only after about 15 minutes did she tell Brian she "wanted to go see her mommy".

0. Jake fishing off the dock with all his new "friends". They caught some very small perch and crappie (including this catch of Jake's) and the little ones had to be dissuaded from keeping their new "pets" overnight, finally releasing them back into the lake. Jake was very proud of his catch and showed his Dad, me, Tanner and Faith, his Uncle Rich and pretty much anyone else who was within earshot. I was pretty great to see him that fired up about it.