...and we're off!

We're heading out for our very first-ever camping trip as a family. Josie is very excited (but has decided she doesn't want to sleep in a tent-???) and the big kids are anxiously waiting our departure.

The last thing on our to-do list before we leave is to check in on Baby JoeJulia's impending arrival. As long as it doesn't look like she'll be here today, we'll be off on our grand adventure. Wish us luck and lots of decent sleep!

jamison square

"This way to the water!!"

Thanks to a spontaneous invitation from Megan & family, we got to spend a chunk of time at Jamison Square today, one of our favorite summertime hang-outs. Josie and Avery (the younger one) were beyond cute with their pink swimsuits and matching toddler bellies. Avery (the older one) did a most excellent job entertaining the girls while the adults lounged. Cayden (the only one) did what Cayden does best: got completely head-to-toe drenched. I'd guess it was about 85 degrees out, so it was the perfect temperature in the shade.






And the best part of all, when it was time to go home nobody cried or complained or even whined (although Megan and I were a little bummed there was ice cream).

chores

Avery & Cayden have been helping more around the house the past couple weeks. It all started when they had a rotten day on the same day as their favorite guilty pleasure, Wipeout. I told them they could only watch the show if they worked their tails off helping Andrew and me with the evening to-do list.

The trend has continued on and off, and will most definitely pick up after the doctor asked them yesterday what kind of chores they do at home.

"Uh... um... I dunno," was all they could come up with.

So, yeah, chores it is. This evening there was a pile of laundry, a counter full of dirty dishes (and a dishwasher full of clean dishes), trash to be taken out, plants to be watered, etc. You know, just a normal day around here.

Avery immediately got dibs on the laundry (a girl after my own heart). I'm very particular about my laundry so I hovered stayed close in case she needed any reminders about how to do it. Very slowly, she put the clothes in the washer, almost one piece at a time. Even more slowly, she measured out the detergent and poured it in gingerly. Not wanting to overlook any small detail, she checked each setting on the washer: temperature, spin speed, etc. She took her time carefully clicking the dial around to "normal wash" and made it about half-way before I almost snatched her hand off the knob and yelled at her to hurry the freak up or I'd just do the laundry myself.

Then it was time to oversee Cayden's filling of the dishwasher. I'm equally particular about how the dishwasher gets loaded, so I knew this was bound to be a frustrating few minutes. If there's one thing Cayden is not, it's particular about dishes (I know, can you believe it?). He had no organizational plan when it came to deciding where to put the dishes. Plates turned the wrong way, bowls in the spot where plates go, silverware facing every-which-way, cups all scattered around the top shelf. He didn't get close to half-way done before I almost told him to leave the kitchen and never touch my dishwasher again, I'll just do the dishes myself.

So long story (on the verge of, almost) short, I can see now that some of these new responsibilities are going to be just as hard for me as for the kids. Rationally, I can see that teaching them to do a good job now will pay off greatly over time. Of course. It's not like I'm crazy or anything.

But for now, it'd be so much easier to do it myself.

no words

we are gonna be friends

Today while we were stalling before ballet spending some quality time at the park, it hit me once and for all how outgoing Josie is. Lately she's been going out of her way to talk to new kids at various get-togethers but I guess I just assumed it was a fluke because that is totally not something that either of our older kids would have done at age 3.

But today she watching all the other kids playing and I could see just how much she was craving some interaction with them. She went up to a pair of (I'd guess) 7-year-olds and got shot down instantaneously. They did not have a single iota of interest in playing with her, but that was okay. She wasn't disheartened.

A few minutes later she came up to me and told me she wanted to talk to "the girl in the short dress." When I asked where this girl was, she said "I don't know. Will you help me find one?" At that point I tried to explain that she needed to try and talk to lots of kids... not just girls in short dresses, but also girls in shorts or (gasp!) jeans, and maybe even a boy or two. She scoffed at that and told me she would never want to talk to a boy.

Baby steps.

After realizing that all the kids she was approaching were at least 2 years her senior, I decided to help steer her towards some younger playmates. We spotted a girl (in shorts) who looked about her age, so Josie trotted on over. To my amazement, the girl actually had a caterpillar (who's going to turn into a butterfly!!!) in a little box. The two of them hit it off immediately and chatted and giggled for about 15 minutes about who-knows-what.

The next time Josie checked in with me, I told her that perhaps she should ask the girl if she wanted to go climb on the playstructure. She ran back over quick as can be and returned momentarily with a huge grin on her face. "She does want to climb on the playstructure!"

"Okay, well you better go catch up with her then," I said.

"But Mama, I don't want to climb on the playstructure."

And just like that the impromptu playdate was done.

Baby steps.

summer playlist

[In case you're not familiar: Seven Nation Army
by The White Stripes]

back to reality

Today was our first day "back" from vacation. Sure, we've been back since Thursday night but today was the first day back at classes and the first day having Andrew back off to work. Normally, it's days like this when I wish I also had a work to scamper off to, just to get away from the kids. But today wasn't actually all that bad. Sure, there were moments, but all in all it was a good day.

I manged to get all three kids registered in (three separate) swim lessons all at the same time, which has never ever happened to me, even when I was just scheduling for two kids. Compared with two weeks ago when we were making two separate trips to the pool each day, this is an unbelievably nice change. Josie even participated in her class! Happily! And she let the teacher pour water on her head! Crazy! (When I can finally upload my photos, I'll add some cute ones of the kids at the pool today... feels weird posting without pics.)

Then something even more miraculous happened. We stopped into a local toy store and... wait for it...

nobody

asked

me

to

buy

them

anything.

Nothing.

Not one single thing. I told them we'd just stop in for a minute or two and when I said it was time to go, we left. With no complaints or whines or grimaces.

Yes, I'd say it was a good day.

just call me serena

Josie: "Mommy, my new name is Serena. You know how I spell Serena? G-O-F-I-D-O-B-A-O."

Me: "G-O-F-I-D-O-B-A-O?"

J: "Yeah, S-A-G-8-A-O-B-O."

the day the camera died (updated)

My camera is having some serious problems. It won't let me "playback" photos, either immediately after they've been taken or by pushing the playback button to review. Which makes it kind of hard to take good pictures. I took some today, just hoping all the settings were right and going for it.

Then I came home to upload them and see how they turned out and... no such luck. The upload function also isn't working. Which makes the machine useless to me. I could take pictures all day long (I really do love the sound the shutter makes, is that weird?) but I can't see them or put them on my computer. Hmm.

I've heard from numerous sources that these DSLRs shouldn't need any kind of tune-up before a shutter count of 75,000-100,000. I've only taken (an estimated) 40,000 pictures with this camera so I'm feeling kind of cheated. Hopefully some super camera guy or gal can fix it. Quickly. I've got a daily photo blog, after all. And cheaply. If it's going to cost a lot to fix a used camera, I might seriously have to consider looking into an upgrade.

Christie, do you think if we both upgrade at the same time, that would make our husbands more or less likely to kill us?

7/11 Update: So the camera's not dead, just feeling a bit uncooperative. I apparently fixed the playback problem by ejecting the memory card and then re-inserting it. Super high-tech of me, no? And the upload problem seems to be more of a cord problem than a camera problem. The fact that both problems surfaced on the same day? I'm thinking just an unfortunate coincidence. Long story short, no new camera for me yet.

six flags

full-circle moment

A few days ago, I got to bring the kids back to my old stomping grounds, and we stopped to take a few pictures on the steps of my old preschool. Believe me, the kids were bored out of their freaking minds so excited to spend the morning traveling down memory lane with me.

It's such a pretty building, and has been kept up really nicely, although I have no idea what it's used for nowadays. I only have two strong memories of the space... one was a blue fabric tunnel in the front room that we would all pretend was a boa constrictor. The other was the smell as I walked through with my mom and teacher after there had been a fire in the back of the building. I had never smelled that smell before, and to this day when I smell a building fire, I think of that school.

an unexpected perk

party supply store = 9 blocks from the hotel

mcmiller time

A big highlight of our California trip so far: We got to see the McMillers today! We met them at their fabulously-retro house in Orinda, then headed to an honest-to-goodness ranch house for a scrumptious breakfast. We were seated in a private back room... not sure if it was a courtesy to us or the other patrons!

We then meandered to a nearby park to enjoy that famous California sun. Josie and Erin hit it off right away, scampering off to sell ice cream at the little play hut. Avery got her hands on Robin as soon as she was up from her nap, and was in pure heaven.

Sure would be nice if they were closer, but for now we'll accept summer breakfast and park days. So good to see you guys!

best quote of our trip so far

Josie, out by the pool, soaking up the glorious California sun: "Mama, I can see myself in your sunglasses! And I look really cute."

crater lake

I have the hardest time blogging about something that feels like it happened so long ago, and something that I feel like I've already told everyone about. But, since this is a journal for our immediate family, and a way of letting extended family know what we've been up to, I simply must do a recap on Crater Lake.

* * * * *
The drive there was great. I got each of the kids a notebook and pen and put them to work, keeping track of various things along the way. Cayden gave up after about 10 minutes, but Avery took notes about every. single. little. thing.

Portland to Crater Lake: 257.2 miles

Gas: $46.05

Left Gas Station: 10:10am

Stopped for Lunch: 11:58am-12:58pm (crazy, but true)

Lunch: $36.40

Arrived at Crater Lake: 3:30pm

Speeding Tickets: 0! (just 1 warning; Avery will be happy to tell you allll about it if you ask)

License Plates: Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Virginia, Arizona, Maine, Wisconsin, Indiana, British Columbia, Tennessee, Alberta, Iowa, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Utah, Ohio, Arkansas, Nevada, Colorado, Quebec, Pennsylvania, Florida, Hawaii, Montana, Connecticut, Missouri*, North Carolina, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Alabama, Kansas, New Mexico, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Kentucky

When we arrived at the lake, we were all tired and ready to be somewhere. We pulled into the first lookout point and were immediately glad we'd made the trek. It was just gorgeous. All three kids were excited to see the water and the snow on the slopes of the lake.

Unfortunately, that was probably the highlight of the trip for the younger set. We stayed 2 days in the lodge, which was just too long for them. The weather on Day 2 was cold (SNOW!) and slightly miserable, so we had a lot of time just hanging out in the room. As ridiculous as it sounds, I'll admit that one of the drawbacks to the lodge was the lack of a TV (and internet access, of course). But, when you're 3, 8 and/or almost 10, TV is a big part of a vacation... especially one that's been slightly derailed by weather. And when you're 32 and stuck with 3 kids who go to bed between 7 and 8 each night, TV is a big part of a vacation... especially one that's been slightly derailed by weather!

Sleep totally sucked wasn't great during this leg of the trip. Josie clearly never felt comfortable in our room the whole stay, strangely even during the day. At bedtime, she would cry that she didn't feel well, that she wanted to go back to our "real house," that she was scared, that it was too dark, etc. None of this is like her, and after 2 nights of crappy sleep, I was afraid we had lost our excellent sleeper forever. (Thankfully, Josie has had no trouble sleeping in California so far, knock on wood. Phew!)

Not to sound like a completely negative Nelly, the Crater Lake portion of our trip really wasn't that bad. I would go again in a heartbeat, preferably without kids, and preferably later in the season. Cayden kind of summed it all up when I asked him what his favorite part of the trip so far was as we were leaving Crater Lake on the way to California. "Ummm... [long pause]... maybe getting ice cream at dinner that first night... ?" When I chuckled at his answer, he got defensive and said, "Why is that funny?! I just can't think of anything else that we did here!"



*All states after Missouri were seen after Day 1 of our trip.
If you just can't get enough, more about our trip to Crater Lake can be found here, here and even here.