Gobble Till You Wobble

Thanksgiving this year was many years in the making. My older sister has lived on the east coast for close to a decade and always said that when they moved back to the west coast she wanted to host Thanksgiving dinner….a big family Thanksgiving dinner with both sides of her family. I wonder if, at the time, she realized this would include 10 kids under ten and three tweens/teenagers? Add that to 9 Adults and you’ve got a grand total of 22 people sitting around your table trying to figure out which way to pass the mashed potatoes (clockwise or counterclockwise?)

But let’s rewind….

Before we even got to the table it was quite the week. As I mention in my previous post about Jack’s Birthday, we left earlier than planned to get ahead of the weather that was supposed to hit. Since we were already halfway there on the day we had originally planned to leave we were able to take our time and see a couple of things on the “you know some day we should stop in there” list that has accumulated after years of driving back and forth along I-84/14. Of course this was after dealing with the hour time change by getting up at 6am to swim in the hotel pool (yep, we’re living the kid life)

The first stop included the SAGE Center in Boardman. The kids and I went here this summer but Kevin hadn’t been and this is definitely something everyone should visit. The scavenger hunt for the kids comes with cool prizes and most of the displays are hands-on. Jack even showed me how to plow a field. Yes that tractor we are in has a big computer monitor as a windshield and the steering wheel really guides you up and down the field and shows how accurate your passes are.

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Our next stop was at the Bonneville Dam and Hatchery. While I’ve been to the Visitor’s Center on the Washington side many many times, this was the first time in decades that I’ve been to the Oregon Side. So long that it might as well have been my first visit. The Dam and turbines were cool. Emilie and I played (and won) a computer game on the Salmon life cycle (Hey I grew up in the PNW and now I live in the Southern Idaho - - Both ends of the cycle folks, I’ve picked up a thing or two ). However, the coolest part was over at the Bonneville Hatchery. While they have a variety of salmon and trout they also have a pond full of ginormous White Sturgeon. There were several 6ft+ critters, but the biggest one of all was pushing 12’. He must have know we fish enthusiast were there to. He swam right out of the pond depths and past the viewing window, of which he stretched from one end to the other. Kevin was having fantasies and literally kissed the window at one point. It was fantastic.

After the hatchery it was a stop at Spooky’s in the Dalles (HUGE portions and great food) for lunch then on to the fun in Clark Co.

So back to Thanksgiving. My side of the family included: Our family of 4, My sister and brother-in-law and their 3 boys. My little sister and her 3 boys, and my parents. Then their was my brother-in-laws family consisting of his folks and 5 nieces and nephews. It was a whole delightful horde of controlled chaos.

Ben, at 8 months was the youngest and therefore attracted a legion of adoring fans in the oldest kids and grandparents.

Emilie took it upon herself to shower her cousins’ two guinea pigs and cat with love and adoration…much to their chagrin. They are probably thrilled that the little girl has gone back home.

The weather was so nice that the majority of the kids spent the morning/afternoon outside playing so I don’t have too many photos. However they did come in to decorate some placemats and eat their bodyweights in pickles and olives.

My Brother in-law spoiled us by making two turkeys, one smoked, one deep fried. They were equally delicious and he deserves a hug round of applause. In fact there were so many helping hands in the kitchen. It wouldn’t have been possible to pull it all off without everyone (and wine….lots of wine ).

Thanksgiving dinner was definitely one for the memory books and I’m sure I will look back upon this year fondly in years to come.

Still Breathing!

I warned you about summer and my predictions were true. I haven’t updated in close to six weeks now. Sheesh!

We’ve been thoroughly enjoying our summer. The kids and I had a blast at Vacation Bible School. They are still singing all the songs they learned and counting down the days until next year.

Over the 4th of July my entire family came to visit. We even surprised my parents by flying in my older sister and her three kids in for the event (they were moving cross-country at the time and my folks thought she was coming a few days later) This is the first time in over 5 years that everyone had been together.

It was exciting catching up. We enjoyed the 4th of July parade in Buhl and a pie eating contest for both the kids and adults. Grandpa and Jack were our winners.

Unbeknownst to my poor younger sister, her kids had all been exposed to the Hand, Foot, and Mouth virus prior to making the trek to Idaho. They all broke in blisters on their feet and hands while here. That was ‘fun.’ By the time we all realized what they had everyone had been potentially exposed so the most we could do was become hand washing and house cleaning  tyrants. My poor dryer just about gave up the ghost trying to keep up with drying all the bedding. The kids were everywhere touch and walking on everything so everything had to been washed. I’m not much of a laundry enthusiast so it pretty much sucked. Thankfully, our efforts paid off and neither my nor my older sister’s kids caught it. Still it caused us to have to adjust some plans so we wouldn’t expose other just in case which was discouraging.

My older sister stuck around Idaho for a few days after the rest of the family left and the next week we loaded up all the kids into the van, kissed Kevin goodbye and drove to Washington to get her settled into their new home. We met her husband and father-in-law midway. They were driving and truck and trailer with all their worldly possessions including the cat and Guniea pig from Virginia to Washington.

We helped them move in and stuck around a few days visiting more with my folks. Lots and lots and lots of playing with the cousins with some blueberry picking thrown in. By that time the previous three weeks were starting to catch up with me so the kids and I headed back home with a new addition in tow…a Guniea Pig. Peppa, as she is called, was a belated birthday gift from my little sister to Emilie. So far she has not yet been loved to death, but more on that in another post.

We made it home to Idaho with no major hiccups. We even managed to stop in at the SAGE center in Boardman, OR. I recommend this to anyone driving I-84 through Oregon. It is totally worth the $5 admission fee. It’s all about agriculture and very hands-on. The kids loved it. We probably would have stayed longer, but the pig was in the car and we didn’t want to roast her.

I think, after two weeks home, were finally settling back into our routine. It takes me three days, at least, to recover from any trip and this one seems to have taken longer. The kids are busy swimming in the little easy-set pool in the back yard and playing games in the dirt. The garden is starting to really put out. I’ve already put up peas (which need picked again) and zucchini (relish & bread). Jack’s ‘pickle plants’ aka cucumbers, are producing. There are raspberries starting to come on. Even the beans, that took a hard hit from a now deceased ground hog (thank you dogs!), have made a come back and have blossoms. We may get green beans yet!

We’re hoping to get in a camping trip before the fair at the end of August and after that it is back to school. I’ve already started to slowly gather supplies as the sales pop up. It is amazing how fast the summer goes! There is really never a dull moment.

Meet Virginia

It’s not terribly often that I travel without a couple of kids and a hubby in tow but that’s what I’ve been doing for the last week and a half. St. Patrick’s Day I flew out of the bustling hub that is the Magic Valley Regional Airport (aka Joslin Field) where you can take one of four magical flights a day to your choice of destinations, as long as that choice is Salt Lake City. From there it was on to Regan International and a short car ride to Springfield, Virginia.

See my sister was expecting her third baby any day and I had volunteered to come watch her older two boys. The timing couldn’t have been better. I arrived Tuesday, got a run through of the routine Wednesday and the baby decided early Thursday morning that he should greet us. The one and only glitch was that they only have one vehicle, which they’d taken to the hospital. My brother in-law was supposed to bring it back in the morning and we’d do a little shuffling so I could get the boys to school. Of course the new baby decided to arrive at precisely that time and Dad couldn’t leave the hospital during the crucial moment obviously, so the big boys had a school holiday. That’s how it goes folks….you just gotta roll with it.

The new addition is Benjamin Kenneth (and yes, Uncle Kevin’s suggestions that we call him Ben-Ken or BK have been vetoed …Ben will be fine ). He arrived precisely at 7:01pm Eastern Standard Time on March 19th. He weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. Delivery was fast but smooth and both Mom and baby sailed through the process, especially baby. He literally ‘sailed’ out so fast that he was born with the amniotic sac still intact. This is called being born “in the Caul” and has about 1 in 80,000 odds. Historically, especially during the Middle Ages, was viewed as a good luck charm of sorts and many think it means the child is destined for greatness. Hmmmm, we’ll have to wait and see what sort of great things Ben will do. For now his great abilities are limited to big burps, and keeping the party going all night long.

Aunt Cassie enjoyed her baby cuddles immensely. I re-perfected my walk/bounce technique and everything. I also enjoyed playing with the big boys. We went on several walk/bike rides around the subdivision. They also schooled me in Mario Bros. and I learned that my Nintendo skills have definitely not improved over the years. Eventually I was asked to not play and watch instead because I’m “Bad at it like Mommy” (It’s like their Mom and I are related or something). It’s true I should probably stick to board games.

In all too short a time it was back to the airport, via Metro train this time, and back to Twin Falls and my own babies. My awesome Mother-in-law came to watch them while I was gone and they had a grand time entertaining Grandma. Also, spring sprang while I was gone and it looks like I get to start spending quality time behind the mower sooner rather than later……

Virginia – Week 4

We’re in the home stretch…at last! Tomorrow is our last day here. We leave Thursday morning at 8am (well earlier actually, or flight is at 8) to head back home via San Francisco (still not sure how San Fran is ‘on the way’ to Boise from D.C….but you know airlines).

A nanny has been hired and her first full day is on Thursday, but she’s coming for part of the day tomorrow so I can give her the rundown and show her the routine. Her name is Loga and out of everyone they interviewed she just stood out. Funny thing was Carrie & Rob had a miscommunication the day she came to interview and Carrie had gone to run an errand when Loga arrived. I was the only one home so we chatted for awhile. Talked kids, husbands, where are you from, and all that good ‘first meeting’ stuff you’d do with anyone.

In a matter of 30 minutes I learned that though she’s lived in D.C. for ten years she was born and raised in Cameroon. Her first language is French, and English she learned after coming to the states. She has a fantastic French accent! She has also been married for the last seven years and has an little boy about a year younger than Jack. Between her heritage and the fact that her husband is half Caucasian and half Native American I’m guessing that their little boy must be absolutely gorgeous (I told her that and she got a good laugh, said “Yes, he got all the best parts). She met her husband while working at a hair salon. He brought his mother in for an appointment and when he came back he gave her his number…the rest is history.

As for the childcare part she has lots of experience as a nanny and her previous employers all speak highly of her. She seems motivated, energetic, and organized. She makes a schedule each week of what she plans to do with the children. For example she plans to do some basic learning with Wes while Clay is at preschool. I was impressed. Hopefully, she works out as well as I imagine she will. I would trust her to watch my kids so…..let’s cross our fingers and pray.

Virginia – Week 1

Tomorrow marks the end of my first week here in Virginia. So far it hasn’t been that bad…

For those of you wondering I’m not really out here for a pleasure trip. My big sister started a new job this past Monday as a patent reviewer for petroleum engineering patents with the Patent and Trade Administration (hopefully I got that all right). This is here first time back to the workforce since her oldest was born and he turns 5 at the end of the year. She was officially offered the job last Wednesday and started Monday (The patent office has fast turn around.) Needless to say there was not much time to find childcare so that’s where I come in. I pretty much packed up the kids and myself and flew across the country to help….yes I can, and if remotely possible, will drop everything and come if I have a friend/family member in need.

So far I’m doing pretty much the same things I do at home, but in my sister’s house with twice as many kids. (My nephews Clayton (Clay) and Wesley are 4.5 and almost 2.) I’m doing the preschool pick-up/drop off for Clay, feeding kids, washing dishes, picking up the house, doing laundry, walking the dog, cooking dinner, and whatever else I can lend a hand to.  

Emilie is in love with my sister’s lab, and my former Guide Dog Puppy, Picata. (Picata’s in the teen years, which makes her an old lady in the dog world. She sleeps a lot but is fantastic with the kids.) Emilie solicits full on ‘french’ kisses from her then laughs. Jack calls her ‘Pup’ and just wants to feed her whatever he thinks she’s like…cereal, hotdogs, whatever. Picata is a bit of a food hound a fully appreciates him.

As I said at the beginning it hasn’t been too bad so far. The kids are getting along as well as can be expected for the under 5 set. They ride bikes, play in the backyard, and are really good at wearing each other out. The only real issues is that between it being ‘back-to-school’ season and the fact that they are ‘new’ to each other from opposite sides of the country; they have some nice germs to exchange. Carrie’s kids have been taking turn puking the last two days and mine have some impressive snot flowing from their noses. Everybody is a little, um, loose in the toilet department, and even the dog pitched in by barfing on the floor Monday afternoon (she politely waited until AFTER that long walk to park and we were back indoors….thanks dog.) I feel like I’ve spent waaaaaaay too much time cleaning up other people’s bodily fluids.

Hopefully, things will settle down in the next few days. I’m hoping to get out to see the sights this weekend. My sister and brother-in-law are less than an hour from Washington D.C. and I’ve never been to our nation’s capitol.

I’ve got some great pictures to share, but (and I’ve told my sister this) the computer here is so ‘ancient’ that is doesn’t have a built in card reader and the only USB plug-ins are in the back….old I tell ya. Needless to say, I haven’t figured out a way to get the pictures off my camera. But when I do I'll share.

Note From the Author

*GASP!!* I think it’s been over a week since I last posted. I gave up Facebook for Lent and it seem to be spilling over into my computer usage in general. Why get on the computer if you can’t go snoop on other people??? ;-P

Not to worry thought I’ve been keeping busy…there is life outside Facebook. Around here it’s called Jack & Emilie. Currently they are back in the “Big Bedroom” aka Mom and Dad’s room and I hear lots of squealing.

Just wanted to take a moment for a few Thank Yous and a Congratulations!.

Thank You #1 goes to Aunt Sally & Uncle Wally! Thank you for the magazines and CD’s. The kids have enjoyed looking at (or in Emilie’s case, eating) the pictures! They’ve literally read them two pieces in the last few weeks. The CD’s made a nice addition to our skimpy collection of children’s songs and they’ve actually been a double blessing. I transferred the music to my iPod, our standard listening format, then passed the CD to my sister for her two boys. She says it’s a big improvement over her single CD of Dinosaur Songs. In all 4 kidlets are benefitting from the music. Thanks again.

Thank You #2 goes to Kelli H.! Thanks for suggesting I try Meetup.com  when I said I couldn’t find a Mom’s group in my area. There was one on Meetup. I’ve been to 2 events now and it’s a great group of women. Thank you for directing me to this wonderful resource.

Congratulations go to my brother in-law Rob! Rob has accepted a job with the US Patent and Trademark office! His start date is mid-March. The Butcher’s are on the move to Virginia, and I think we need to start planning a trip to see Washington D.C. once they are settled.

Time Flies….

The ending to that adage is “when you’re having fun.” but it also flies when you are just plain busy. I glanced at the blog today and realized its been a good two weeks since I’ve posted anything. It’s been go, go, go around here and though I’ve composed several creative, and quite witty, posts in my mind none have made it to fruition. (Though the one about boning deer still might appear….especially if you really needle me and con my husband into serving up one or two fruity “adult beverages”…I even have pictures!).

What have we been doing anyways? Well, getting the house and yard winterized. Trying to get a jump start on holiday shopping. I’ve been drafting our Christmas letter (FYI: if you’ve moved in the last year and haven’t sent me a current address I’d appreciate an update). Regular old 9-5 work. Training for a 5k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. Taking care of sick kids (both have a nasty head cold and Em got her first ear infection). Trying to do a pre-Christmas purge of toys and other household ”clutter”…it never works, but I’ll keep trying.

Needless to say we’ve been busy. The holidays are fast approaching so its not bound to slow down soon. Plus in our family the ‘holidays’ (defined by me as ‘the period from October 31 until January 1’)  includes several family days. I missed posts for several of them so I will take this moment to list them now.

   Grandpa/Great-Grandpa Alvin S. turned a whopping 91 on November 3rd….he’s got us all whooped. I’m hoping to be as sharp and healthy as him when I reach that age!

 

 

 

 

On the 6th our  nephew Matty (Mandy & Colin) celebrated his 3rd Birthday…..

….ten days later on the 16th Matty’s little brother Noah celebrated his 1st birthday. (They have a ‘thing’ for November birthdays in that family it seems.)

Today (the 17th) we have TWO veeerrrrry special events.

1. My big sister Carrie graduates into an entire new age bracket….hello 30’s!

2. My parents celebrate their 32nd Wedding Anniversary! You are an inspiration and something to be aspire too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know that seems like a lot, but there are five more family birthdays alone before the year ends, plus all those other minor events like Thanksgiving, Christmas, National Parfait day (11/25), National Fritters Day (12/3), Annual Ninja day……

In the meantime I will attempt to keep up with the blog…but forgive me if I’m spotty during the holidays.

Misc-Mass Pictures

Just a few more photos from our trip to Massachusetts that I wanted to share:

This is what happens when two little monkey’s are jumping on the bed and one falls off and bumps his head.

A day or so later Jack ended up with a similar bump when Aunt Carrie grabbed Jack to stop him from running out the door into the street. She turned to go back in the house at the same time Clay opened the storm door and……BAM! Being my child he followed it up by trying to crawl up onto a low table, which he slipped off of and whacked his chin on the way down. That earned him a fat lip.

I like to call this one on the right ‘City Boy – Country Boy.’ I think it’s the overalls. The picture is from our day at Old Sturbridge Village, a place I recommend to anyone visiting that area.

 

 

 

 

Did I mention the leaves were at their peak while we were there? Below is a picture of the boys having lots of fun with Granny?

 

 

 

 

 

The infamous tricycle. There was only one and the boys struggled with sharing it. Occassionally you would catch them riding it together. Jack steering in front and Clayton driving from the back.

Can we get some privacy please. This is both boys on a model Privy at OSV….they’ve each got their own ‘hole.’