Monday, July 11, 2016
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Monday, July 4, 2016
7.4.16 - Mini Olympics!
Since I was a kid I’ve really enjoyed dressing up and seeing other people dress up for holidays, and now that I have Clara I can re-live that a little bit (even though she doesn’t yet know what’s going on). Jack and I had picked out a super cute 4th of July themed skirt for her over a month in advance, and the day had finally come for her to wear it! My own outfit was not so patriotic as I prioritized staying cool over color schemes, but I did have some blue in there. Jack wore a tshirt with Chuck Norris in front of an American flag, so he more than made up for both of us.
We headed to Dad’s (by quickly crossing the street, haha) and everyone figured out cars and packed the extensive supplies needed for the ranch. I helped by chopping boiled potatoes and eggs for a massive amount of potato salad. We also had basically a vat of fudgey brownies and racks of ribs and who knows what else. The point is: massive amounts of delicious food, in keeping with the theme of the trip.
Neil, Jack, Clara, and I rode in Ellen’s car, and on the way we stopped at a strip mall that had both a Walmart (for Neil to pick up something to try to get the DOOM computers working) and a Starbucks (for all of us to get some frappuccinos). The Starbucks also sold wine and beer, which I’ve never seen before. Ellen took a picture.
Not long after we got to the ranch other guests arrived—friends of Dad’s and Jill’s who had two daughters. The mom was dressed in a referee uniform which seemed…strange, until Dad announced it: a mini-Olympics for the day. The friend was to be our referee!
It was basically the Field Day event of the real Olympics.
We didn’t end up doing the ad-hoc cheer but managed to fit in everything else which, frankly, is amazing. It looks simple as a nice little list here but it requires prep and coordination between a bunch of kids and adults and, above all, energy. But the adrenaline from competition (and especially victory) kept us going all day.
Most of the events were separated such that the kids competed in one version and the adults in another. There were cash prizes for 1st and 2nd place for almost everything (and I think 3rd place for the kids’ competitions too). Dad also cleverly offered a dollar to each kid each time he or she was a good loser. Since the kids are young enough that the difference between the “good loser” dollar and the winning $20 isn’t even that big of a deal to them, this worked out incredibly well. Kids were shaking each other’s hands and giving each other hugs and saying “good job,” haha. The “good loser” dollars greatly decreased any chances of meltdowns.
I participated in some events and filmed others, and Jack participated in most of them. Jill’s sister Jennifer was kind enough to keep an eye on Clara during most of the time I did this. In fact she even set up a wheelbarrow lined with towels for Clara to take a nap in the shade of the barn while we kept competing.
I had so much fun both watching and competing in the competitions. The egg toss and balloon stomp were fun but my favorite is definitely hot potato (we used a motorcycle helmet instead of a potato). It’s just so intense and hilarious. Such a simple competition. It kind of reminds me of slap jack, which I also love. And I made it all the way to 2nd place! So that was awesome. Jack made it to 2nd place in the balloon stomp, making it the third time that he’s just missed out on first (it happened during both of the Olympics as well). Everyone, including Jack, got a kick out of that actually. He lost it to Everett this time. He also lost the RPS competition to Neil. So close!
After all the games we went back up to the main ranch house for food. Clara happily played with a yoyo. After some time some of the adults meandered into the field in front of the house to start the archery competition. I gave it a shot (get it??) but was terrible, haha. It was still fun. Then I spent a long time in the house watching Clara and hanging out with Julie and Zoey and Malcolm while Jack dirt biked with some of the others. At this point it had started to kind of sprinkle which was actually a welcome relief from the heat.
There was one moment in particular where I was standing on the upstairs porch deck holding Clara and watching everyone. Immediately below me were some of the kids had hoodies on (because of the sprinkling) and were playing with those little firecrackers that pop when you throw them on the ground (Wikpedia claims they are called “Bang Snaps”). And some parents were milling around having a beer or a rib or whatever and chatting. Beyond that, into the field, Ellen, Bryon, Everett, and others were continuing the archery competition. Beyond that, on the trails around the ranch, I could see Neil, Jack, and others dirt biking back and forth in the distance. The three layers of activity and the sweet summer rain and the happiness of having everyone enjoying themselves together was kind of touching. I tried to get it on camera but squirm butt (aka Clara) made that very difficult. Still a great moment though.
By now I was exhausted and apparently so was Jill. So we packed up some stuff and then Clara and I hitched a ride with her, Harrison, Sola, and Rocket back to the house. I was glad I did, too, because we got there and the house was clean and quiet and the kids went out to the hot tub and Jill went to (I think) take a bath, and I had the whole big cozy living room to myself (with Clara). She had spilled something on her July 4th top so I changed her into her “Awesome” sweatshirt, got her a bottle, and sat her back on the oversized couch to watch her Pentatonix video, which (thanks to Mike) we can play on the big screen through Roku.
And while Clara did that I started working through all the photos I took for the day. (I took so many videos it was overwhelming to think about starting to work through them yet, haha.) I had some great pics and I got to relax in relative quiet and take time choosing favorites and uploading. Later Jill watched Clara so I could also take a shower. It was a really good winding down part of the day.
Neil, Jack, Clara, and I rode in Ellen’s car, and on the way we stopped at a strip mall that had both a Walmart (for Neil to pick up something to try to get the DOOM computers working) and a Starbucks (for all of us to get some frappuccinos). The Starbucks also sold wine and beer, which I’ve never seen before. Ellen took a picture.
Not long after we got to the ranch other guests arrived—friends of Dad’s and Jill’s who had two daughters. The mom was dressed in a referee uniform which seemed…strange, until Dad announced it: a mini-Olympics for the day. The friend was to be our referee!
It was basically the Field Day event of the real Olympics.
We didn’t end up doing the ad-hoc cheer but managed to fit in everything else which, frankly, is amazing. It looks simple as a nice little list here but it requires prep and coordination between a bunch of kids and adults and, above all, energy. But the adrenaline from competition (and especially victory) kept us going all day.
Most of the events were separated such that the kids competed in one version and the adults in another. There were cash prizes for 1st and 2nd place for almost everything (and I think 3rd place for the kids’ competitions too). Dad also cleverly offered a dollar to each kid each time he or she was a good loser. Since the kids are young enough that the difference between the “good loser” dollar and the winning $20 isn’t even that big of a deal to them, this worked out incredibly well. Kids were shaking each other’s hands and giving each other hugs and saying “good job,” haha. The “good loser” dollars greatly decreased any chances of meltdowns.
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| Team Kid! |
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| Jack's moment of defeat in Balloon Stomp. |
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| Kid sack race--photo finish! |
Sunday, July 3, 2016
7.3.16 - Pizza party and karoake
Jack got to bed very late so I’m glad I went to bed early. I felt perfectly rested by the time Clara woke up so I got up with her and let him sleep. I dressed Clara in a very cute maybe even slightly gothic dress Merlene got for her. We had more chocolate muffin for breakfast and then headed to Dad’s.
Clara enjoyed playing with bath toys in the downstairs bathroom and later exploring the path alongside the house and examining many rocks. Dad started prepping his wood-burning oven for (an enormous number of) pizzas and Jill went to the store to buy any missing ingredients, including the very crucial pineapple chunks.
I’m trying to remember every summer visit to interview the kids (Harrison, Sola, Rocket, Zoey, and Malcolm) so that over the years we can see montages of how they’ve grown. I interviewed Sola first and then Rocket on the front porch swing. It’s enjoyable—I ask them what their favorite things are and how school is going and it’s a nice check in. Sola in particular is very sweet and articulate.
At some point Jack took Clara back across the street for her afternoon nap and he joined her. They were asleep for probably close to two hours, which again shows how great it is to have the Air BnB so close by—they had a quiet place to go that was easily accessible and they could sleep as long as they wanted and come back over whenever they were ready. No rides needed.
While they were gone I played Say Anything with Neil, Ellen, Everett, Bryon, Jill, Sola, and Henry. That game gets really hilarious. At one point my question was “What’s the best way to impress a woman?” and while most people tried to think of whatever impresses me, Everett—ever the literalist—wrote “shove her into a giant pile of silly putty.” Later someone had a question about the best first date and he used the same answer, and he and Neil kept making jokes about pushing her into the silly putty while shouting “Aren’t you IMPRESSED?” “I am IMPRESSING you right now!” etc. I laughed so hard I cried.
After we finished a game of Say Anything, Dad asked us to help prep the many ingredients for homemade pizzas. Collectively we chopped onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, and tomatoes and set out containers of sausage, chicken, pepperoni, mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, black olives, artichokes, pineapple, and who knows what else. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it. Oh, there was also a choice between red sauce or pesto.
Somewhere in between all that, Julie, Henry, Ellen, Clara, and I went for a walk around the neighborhood in the nice weather. Ellen didn't want to leave her drink so she brought her glass of wine with her. It's really pleasant walking around Dad and Jill's neighborhood--very wide streets and decently wide sidewalks and big houses with wrap around porches and well kept large yards. And very few pedestrians. It was nice and peaceful and good to get out of the house.
Then we got back and we all took turns rolling out the dough Dad had prepped and adding our own toppings. Apparently Dad decided to do an experiment where Ellen would bring him the pizzas and he would try to guess whose was whose based on the topping choices, but I don’t think I ever heard how many he got right.
I’d been eating seemingly nonstop all day already. For example, Jill had set out veggies and dip as well as meat and cheese and crackers plates while we were playing Say Anything. So by the time we were making pizzas I wasn’t even that hungry. Henry and I decided to split one pie, which was a good idea. Really we probably could have had three or more roamers and still had pizza leftover.
After dinner the adults all got ready to go to the local dive bar for karaoke. Miss Kristin stayed with the kiddies. At first I thought that seemed like a lot for you but then I realized the older kids are old enough to kind of watch themselves and actually Sola ends up helping with the littler ones.
So the rest of us went to the bar to try out the new karaoke DJ. Since this is the Joy Inventory I won’t spent a lot of time on why the DJ ended up sucking, but I will say I still really enjoyed singing, especially “Son of a Preacher Man,” and dancing, and listening to Jack sing CAKE, and watching Ellen do her Charlie Brown-esque hair flipping dancing. But actually I especially enjoyed making fun of the DJ with Neil and to a lesser extent with Jack, Dad, and Everett. Neil and I started counting the number of “strikes” against the DJ and eventually got past 10 and started just flashing ten fingers at a time each time he did something else that annoyed us, and it actually made me laugh pretty hard. I also collected a series of pics of how everyone felt about the DJ. Hard to pick a favorite.
Clara enjoyed playing with bath toys in the downstairs bathroom and later exploring the path alongside the house and examining many rocks. Dad started prepping his wood-burning oven for (an enormous number of) pizzas and Jill went to the store to buy any missing ingredients, including the very crucial pineapple chunks.
I’m trying to remember every summer visit to interview the kids (Harrison, Sola, Rocket, Zoey, and Malcolm) so that over the years we can see montages of how they’ve grown. I interviewed Sola first and then Rocket on the front porch swing. It’s enjoyable—I ask them what their favorite things are and how school is going and it’s a nice check in. Sola in particular is very sweet and articulate.
While they were gone I played Say Anything with Neil, Ellen, Everett, Bryon, Jill, Sola, and Henry. That game gets really hilarious. At one point my question was “What’s the best way to impress a woman?” and while most people tried to think of whatever impresses me, Everett—ever the literalist—wrote “shove her into a giant pile of silly putty.” Later someone had a question about the best first date and he used the same answer, and he and Neil kept making jokes about pushing her into the silly putty while shouting “Aren’t you IMPRESSED?” “I am IMPRESSING you right now!” etc. I laughed so hard I cried.
After we finished a game of Say Anything, Dad asked us to help prep the many ingredients for homemade pizzas. Collectively we chopped onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, and tomatoes and set out containers of sausage, chicken, pepperoni, mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, black olives, artichokes, pineapple, and who knows what else. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it. Oh, there was also a choice between red sauce or pesto.
Then we got back and we all took turns rolling out the dough Dad had prepped and adding our own toppings. Apparently Dad decided to do an experiment where Ellen would bring him the pizzas and he would try to guess whose was whose based on the topping choices, but I don’t think I ever heard how many he got right.
I’d been eating seemingly nonstop all day already. For example, Jill had set out veggies and dip as well as meat and cheese and crackers plates while we were playing Say Anything. So by the time we were making pizzas I wasn’t even that hungry. Henry and I decided to split one pie, which was a good idea. Really we probably could have had three or more roamers and still had pizza leftover.
After dinner the adults all got ready to go to the local dive bar for karaoke. Miss Kristin stayed with the kiddies. At first I thought that seemed like a lot for you but then I realized the older kids are old enough to kind of watch themselves and actually Sola ends up helping with the littler ones.
Saturday, July 2, 2016
7.2.16 - Ranch and Girls and Guys nights.
Overnight Clara got fussy and we ended up letting her sleep between us. Given I hadn’t really seen her in about a week, and given I don’t worry much about setting bad habits when we’re traveling, I actually enjoyed it. She flops around in her sleep and ends up cuddling against me and it’s very sweet.
Even though we were up by 7 or so (because of Clara) we dawdled. I had brought a chocolate chip Costco muffin with me the night before and Clara and I shared that while we slowly woke up. She was very excited about it—much sweeter than the normal breakfast she would get.
We didn’t get to Dad’s until around 8:30. I figured no one would be up before then anyway. It was wonderful to find that Dad had preset the coffee maker to brew early so it was ready to go when we got there, along with a bunch of empty coffee cups and spoons. What a thoughtful host.
Not long after the Wolks arrived and Jill got up. Soon Henry was there too. He had arrived late the night before. He showed up with donuts from one of the highest rated shops in town. So classic Henry—like we need more food! But it was very thoughtful and they were delicious. The kids were happy about them but no less than the adults.
While there was some down time, Julie and I sat together and worked on our respective laptops for a while. That hour or so ended up being all the paid work I did while I was there but hey, it was more than zero hours, which is what I had planned on. I worked on a website project for JAF which has actually been kind of fun. I like creative projects. Julie and I shared donuts and coffee between us and it reminded me of Lady and the Tramp.
We hung around the house as the other adults slowly got up. It was sweet to see how Zoey and Malcolm are with Clara. Zoey is very gentle and attentive. Malcolm just sometimes follows Clara around repeatedly saying “Cla-wa” to her, and Clara just looks at him cautiously, haha.
Once everyone was up we got ready and went up to the ranch. I rode in the truck with Dad driving and fellow passengers Denny, Clara, and Clark. Clara was so tired by then she fell asleep before we’d even pulled away from the curb and she slept all the way there. It was perfect. At some point I had Dad listen to “The Truth About Love” by Pink, and when it was over he asked me to replay it, which is just about the highest praise for a song Dad could give. #winning
I was pretty tired when we got there though. Clara woke up and I hung out with her and Neil while Neil tried to set up the DOOM computers and Jack dirt biked. When Jack got back he took her and I took a solid hour nap in the ranch upstairs living room, totally out. It felt great.
After we got back we got ready to go out for girls’ and guys’ nights. The guys (Dad, Neil, Everett, Jack, Denny, Bryon, and Henry) went to some bar, and the girls (Jill, me, Julie, Ellen, and Jennifer) went to Jose’s to sit on the patio and drink and eat cheesy Mexican food. And Ms. Kristen stayed home with the kids, which I have to remember isn’t as overwhelming as it sounds because the older ones don’t need a lot of supervision and Sola even helps with the younger ones.
So we sat and chatted about who knows what—mostly I remember Julie and Jennifer talking about nursing experiences. I had Sangria and a quesadilla and enjoyed not counting calories. It got a little rainy so we moved it inside and talked for about how differently women view C-sections and other medicine from each other. Julie left to go put her kids to bed but the rest of us stayed and drank and talked. At some point I told Jennifer about how close I use to be to Jack’s brother and how well I get along with my in-laws now and how strange but happy it all is.
Sometime around then all the guys showed up very suddenly and tried to take our drinks. Apparently they had planned to appear, drink all our alcohol, and leave. I joked with Everett that it was all a ruse to cover for the fact that they couldn’t stand one evening without us and wanted to see us, him especially. Their plan was foiled, however, because we had all finished all our drinks and weren’t going to stay much longer anyway. Jack gave me a kiss and almost as suddenly, they all left for a cigar bar.
Jill decided to go with them and the rest of us went back to Dad’s. Ellen went with me to take Clara back to the Air B’n’B for bed. She read Clara books and we all hung out for a while.
At one point I went to use the bathroom and couldn’t get the door back open. I’m so glad Ellen was there because she was able to stay with Clara while we tried to figure it out. I was going to climb out the bathroom window but it doesn’t actually open all the way and I couldn’t fit. Eventually I gave up and called Jack and just said “Hey—I have a problem.” I was touched by how he was immediately concerned (even though it wasn’t an emergency or anything). I told him what happened and he and Dad left the cigar bar to come get me out.
The door knob was completely loose and useless and at first Dad was going to tighten it. Then he realized it actually wasn’t even attached to a latch—the door wasn’t latched at all, it was just really stuck because it had too much paint. So he kicked it open and voila. Either way I was grateful to them for dropping everything and coming and helping me. I was also grateful I had my phone with me so I could just scroll FB while I waited for them. I was also (still) grateful Ellen was around to take care of Clara in the mean time, otherwise it would’ve been a much more serious problem.
Once I was out Ellen went back across the street and Clara and I went to bed. Jack came home much later, happy and smelling of cigars. He was kind enough to shower before coming to bed though. Sounds like they had an absolute blast drinking and playing foosball.
Not long after the Wolks arrived and Jill got up. Soon Henry was there too. He had arrived late the night before. He showed up with donuts from one of the highest rated shops in town. So classic Henry—like we need more food! But it was very thoughtful and they were delicious. The kids were happy about them but no less than the adults.
So we sat and chatted about who knows what—mostly I remember Julie and Jennifer talking about nursing experiences. I had Sangria and a quesadilla and enjoyed not counting calories. It got a little rainy so we moved it inside and talked for about how differently women view C-sections and other medicine from each other. Julie left to go put her kids to bed but the rest of us stayed and drank and talked. At some point I told Jennifer about how close I use to be to Jack’s brother and how well I get along with my in-laws now and how strange but happy it all is.
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| I forgot to take any pics during Girls Night but fortunately I got this hilarious video still. |
Jill decided to go with them and the rest of us went back to Dad’s. Ellen went with me to take Clara back to the Air B’n’B for bed. She read Clara books and we all hung out for a while.
At one point I went to use the bathroom and couldn’t get the door back open. I’m so glad Ellen was there because she was able to stay with Clara while we tried to figure it out. I was going to climb out the bathroom window but it doesn’t actually open all the way and I couldn’t fit. Eventually I gave up and called Jack and just said “Hey—I have a problem.” I was touched by how he was immediately concerned (even though it wasn’t an emergency or anything). I told him what happened and he and Dad left the cigar bar to come get me out.
The door knob was completely loose and useless and at first Dad was going to tighten it. Then he realized it actually wasn’t even attached to a latch—the door wasn’t latched at all, it was just really stuck because it had too much paint. So he kicked it open and voila. Either way I was grateful to them for dropping everything and coming and helping me. I was also grateful I had my phone with me so I could just scroll FB while I waited for them. I was also (still) grateful Ellen was around to take care of Clara in the mean time, otherwise it would’ve been a much more serious problem.
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| Ellen getting ready to read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to Clara. |
Friday, July 1, 2016
7.1.16 - Traveling to COS
I really enjoyed getting up and ready and to the airport all by myself. It was so simple and peaceful. I listened to Pink’s “The Truth About Love” on repeat all the way to the airport and then the whole time I was waiting to board. I had spinach sausage loaf I had frozen after my craft/alcohol potluck, so I really enjoyed that.
And I just sat on FB listening to my awesome music and eating my awesome food and collecting pictures to eventually add to my joy inventory. It was quite fun.
Also, I really like the Sacramento airport. It’s so clean and new and nice. Spacious. Even when a flight is waiting to board it doesn’t feel that crowded. The only negative is the loud news playing on the airport TVs, but since I wasn’t traveling with Clara I could just sit with my headphones in and ignore it, so that was fine too.
The flight was overbooked and entirely full. I decided if I saw anyone with a little child I’d sit next to them as a way of paying forward the times child-friendly passengers have sat next to Clara and me. Sure enough, I found a couple with a little girl about Clara’s age, so I sat with them. I told them I had a daughter I hadn’t seen in a week and was sort of going through withdrawal, and they were very friendly and I think it worked out for all of us. I took turns holding their daughter, Makayla, with them, and even cuddled her and read to her and gave her some random objects from my backpack to play with. It really was very pleasant and made me look forward that much more to seeing Clara soon.
That was another bright moment. I got off the plane and soon saw Everett, Jack, and Clara waiting in one of the empty top levels of Denver airport. Clara saw me as I walked up to them and she slowly got her look of super wide-mouthed excitement and tense excited arms, it was so so cute. I had to walk past her to get to the escalators to their level, and when I got up there she was still facing the glass looking for me. I came up behind her and said “Clara Lynn…” and she turned around and ran up to me smiling. It was awesome, only wish I’d gotten it on tape. At least Ev got a pic.
Dad, Julie, and Ellen arrived to pick us up. Clara and I drove back with Ellen. When we got to Dad’s house we saw an ostentatious old school car parked out front that looked kind of familiar. Turns out it was The Crummy, which Dad had apparently kept all these years and finally finished remodeling. I took a ride in it with him to go pick up Neil downtown, and it was so bizarre. I still remember it from childhood.
Sometime after we got the house an unloaded, Jack decided to take a nap, and most of the rest of us took a walk to the park. On the way we stopped at Safeway so Ellen could get a snack, I could get a Frappuccino, and Rocket could get a treat (cake pop).
Clara fell asleep in her stroller as we were crossing the large grassy area to the playground. The siblings all sat around a picnic table eating chips and chatting and Sola, Zoey, and Rocket went a short ways away to see a bunch of puppies that were being offered for adoption. Eventually we all joined them and took a bunch of cutesy photos.
That evening we came back and watched Zootopia with everyone. It was very well done, both thoughtful and laugh-out-loud funny.
Eventually Jack, Clara, and I crossed the street to our Air B’n’b. This is one of the major highlights of the trip: we stayed at a place literally across the street and one house down from Dad’s. It was so convenient. Much better than waiting for rides at the hotel. It was a very cute, quiet, peaceful place to stay. The owners had basically redone their basement to rent out, and it was a bedroom, kitchen/living room area, and bathroom.
It was nice having multiple rooms because we could put Clara to sleep in the pack and play in the kitchen/living room area and still be up in the bedroom without it keeping her from passing out. And the owners weren’t even in town the first half of our trip, so it was completely quiet. Really a nice place to wind down after the inevitable chaos of home base (Dad’s house).
7.1.16 - GoT memes (S6 spoilers)
Just finished Season 6 a few days ago and I can't stop looking at these.
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