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.

How To Entertain You Dragon….Uuuuuh Children

I’ve been keeping a low profile in the online world for the last week or so. We decided to go up Moses Lake and visit Kevin’s family for Thanksgiving and I generally abandon e-mail, internet, and phone (save for emergencies) during that timeframe. We left Friday after school was out and came back Friday after breakfast. We were going to stay until Saturday to help cut/wrap hogs but the weather across the Blues was calling for rain and temperatures below freezing so we bailed, and so did the California crew, in order to beat the storm.

With four kids and six adults in residence together for a week it is important to stay entertained. While the adults are content to sit around the table, chat, and eat (it’s no wonder we all gain weight whenever we go home) the kids get bored with that. So here are some suggestions….

1) Launch a Rocket. – Okay, we’ll be honest, this is good for entertaining the ‘big’ kids as well as the small. Chasing down the rocket post launch is almost as exciting too… especially when it lands in a tree.

2) Practice your magic Skills – Four was the max she could ‘float’ at one time.

3) Have a party….with cake – It doesn’t have to be any special occasion, but in this case it was Jack’s 6th Birthday. I made my very first ‘pull apart’ cake, a fire truck (I still can’t write in frosting by the way) and it turned out alright. Jack got downright spoiled by his Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. I think he now has a John Deere Shirt for every day of the week and a Farmall one if he ever gets tired of green.

4) Re-grout the patio -  Is that what they call it…grout? I know that’s the term for tile, but I’m not sure if it’s the same for pavers, but that’s not the point. Get those kids out there with some gravel and a miniature construction fleet and those pavers won’t be going anywhere in the near future.

5) Play board games – This seems obvious….the trick is to get the kids to play them by themselves though. With ages ranging from 3.5 to 7 it takes some work to find a game they can all play and they have to have patience for people who ‘count’ rather loosely or say things (while playing Guess Who) like, “Does your person have wiggly arms?” Sorry, Life, and Guess Who were favorites. Closely followed by War….mostly as an excuse to use the card shuffler.

6) Smash some cans – Not an obvious choice, but it entertained them for ages. One of the nephew’s also collects the pop-tops for school so they had the added pleasure of removing all the tops before smashing them.

7) Hunt Squirrels – Don’t want those little critters thinking they have free range of the walnut grove you know. It was really cute to see the kids lined up with binoculars scanning the trees. Uncle Erin had to have lots and LOTS of patience with this hunting party.. we’re talking saint-like levels. Still he managed to whittle down the herd by five over the course of the week (oddly enough those all occurred when the kids were otherwise occupied )

8) Blow some air up your skirt – Because it’s fun and you know it.

9) Get your Turkey On – We were there for Thanksgiving after all. While I somehow neglected to take pictures of the actual bird I did manage to capture these Turkeys…..

And there you have it folks….ways to entertain your dragons/kids during a week long vacation. Enjoy!

Is is November Yet?

I am so ready for this month to be over already. Just when I think I’ve found a way to manage everything that has been thrown our way this month we get another curve ball.

So far we’ve been furloughed for 3 weeks, I lost my wedding ring, and Kevin’s grandpa passed away. Now the transmission has gone out in the car, our “new” car, the one with barely 50,000 miles on it that has never even had any hint of problems. So here’s the story on that.

We left Thursday to make the drive back to Moses Lake for Grandpa’s funeral. We made a detour to the Zoo, did some Christmas shopping, and stopped at a hotel in Caldwell for the night so the kids could swim.

Total sidenote, Emilie is a complete goof in the water. She likes to float on her stomach, stick her head under the water and wiggle her booty. It is hysterical to watch!

Friday morning we headed up over the Blues, stopped to stretch our legs in Pendleton and switch drivers. We were making excellent time and figured we’d make Moses Lake by lunchtime. We were about 3/4 of the way over the bridge from Oregon to Washington on 395 when suddenly the car just stopped. No noises, no warning, nothing just was no longer in drive. Thankfully we were on the downhill slope of the bridge and were able to coast off the bridge and over to the shoulder. We called roadside assistance and they got to work on a tow truck.

It took the tow truck two hours to get to us from Kennewick (which is only 20 miles north of where we were stuck) because the driver could not figure out where we were at. It seems 395 northbound on the Washington side of the OR/WA border between the river and SR-14 is hard to find (If you can’t tell that statement is dripping with sarcasm and I was less than impressed with the tow truck driver.) Still the kids were absolute champs about the delay and Jack was more than happy to ride up in the tow truck. Kevin and Emilie got to ride in the car on the flatbed if you are wondering how they fit 5 people, two in carseats, on a 3-person bench seat.

They towed the car to the dealership in Pasco where the service department informed us they wouldn’t even be able to look at the car until Tuesday. By this point I was really fighting the urge to rip my hair out. There was not much else to do and by then Kevin’s sister and brother-in-law had made it down from Moses Lake with my in-laws mini van and schlepped us on to our final destination.

Aside from that hiccup the weekend went really well. The service was excellent, the weather couldn’t have been better, and the kids both cooperated (Jack actually curled up on the cemetery lawn with his head on my shoes and fell asleep). The rest of the weekend was enjoyed spending time with family. Jack never stopped running…jumping in the leaves, digging in the dirt, etc. His cousins Caleb & Elena introduced him to the game of ‘Sorry’, which is now his new favorite board game.

Emilie got to play with cousin Allison (at last a girl relative her age) She and Allie are two months apart and despite their college preference differences (WSU is obviously better than UW) they got along pretty well. Both girls can swing until your arms fall off and bounce hard enough down the hall that it sounds like a elephant stampede.

 

Thankfully, when it came time to head home Sunday Kevin’s parents (who are, I should point out, totally AWESOME!) loaned us their truck to get home. As much as we enjoy seeing our family, staying an extra week in Moses Lake after Kevin hasn’t worked in 3 weeks really wasn’t an option.

So, in a nutshell, we are back home safe and sound. Now we just have to figure out what to do about the car….

The dealership in Pasco said they could replace the transmission for a mere $6,400 bucks. Needless to say, we don’t have that kind of change to toss around and I’m not really inclined to replace a transmission that failed after 50,000 miles with another of the same type. I’m pretty unimpressed with Fords all around right now…. Our Toyota has 200,000 miles on it, is 16 years old, runs like a champ, AND has it’s original tranny still. I mean, given my experience I think I’ll go with the Toyota.

For now we are working on getting an opinion from a mechanic we trust a little more before making a final decision, but it’s looking like we’ll just stick it out with our two older vehicles until we’re in a better position to pick up a new car.

In the meantime I’m crossing my fingers, hoping, and praying to wake up to a calendar that says November 1st without anything else going sideways.