I have mentioned that my 4 yr old firecracker has become quite aware of the long drive to Cali, but did I mention how much he despises it?! He screams, even when you suggest driving to California. He dreads so much about the drive; the loooooooong roads, sitting up in his car seat when he wants to lay down to sleep, and being confined by straps when he wants to stretch out and run, are just a few of the reasons for his protesting.
Thursday, the 14th of May, 2009.
Wednesday
Smart relations!
My 4 yr old fc has become quite aware of the long drive to California and back. As we were looking at the lizard photo on the blog today, Jonah pointed out how long the lizard's tail was and related it to the length of time it took to drive back home! So smart!
The ups and downs of 4.30.09.
Thursday April-30-09 Jody's house.
Our last night at Jody's house held quite a range of emotion.
We pulled the dune buggy out of the kitchen and into the living room to discover the flat tire that was producing much more resistance than the carpet. Our excitement was robbed by the disappointment of our finding. Jody popped the tire off and ran down the road to fill it up for some temporary enjoyment. He returned victoriously, and brought back with him, the excitement that had so quickly been depleted from the hearts of us all. Having regained our enthusiasm, we proudly marched down the steps to our much anticipated adventure...to ride the dune buggy!
Our last night at Jody's house held quite a range of emotion.
We pulled the dune buggy out of the kitchen and into the living room to discover the flat tire that was producing much more resistance than the carpet. Our excitement was robbed by the disappointment of our finding. Jody popped the tire off and ran down the road to fill it up for some temporary enjoyment. He returned victoriously, and brought back with him, the excitement that had so quickly been depleted from the hearts of us all. Having regained our enthusiasm, we proudly marched down the steps to our much anticipated adventure...to ride the dune buggy!
God Made Dirt, so Dirt Won't Hurt!
Thusrday April-30-09 Jody's house.
Time sure flies when you're in the dirt! Running! Jumping! Playing! Such fun! The miles of what seemed at first to be God forsaken desert, proved to be a God-blessed playland for the boys! All of them! Already it's Thursday evening, and we've been having so much fun that we've forgotten to take the dune buggy out! We need to do that as soon as we are done with dinner!
Loads of Fun!
Tuesday April-28-09 Jody's house.
The fc's have been loving the fun out of Uncle Jody! From tickle-tag in the house to playing cars in the dirt, there isn't much Uncle Joe wouldn't do with them! Sammo even found pleasure out of reading the cookbook with him! I'm sure that by now he was looking forward to Tay being there even more than my fc's were!
Wednesday April- 29-09 Jody's house.
Two little firecrackers + one 6 yr old = loads and loads of fun!
Taylor joined us today, and the three of them never stopped running until total exhaustion wiped them out! Tay reluctantly got up at 6am the next morning to go to school, while my fc's fully recharged with well over 8 hours of sleep. Tay got home around 4pm, ready for sleep, and the boys greeted him enthusiasm, toys, and a plan for the evening. After lots of moans, for opposing reasons from both parties, they came to an agreement and were found sitting happily together in the glow of the television screen, video game controllers in hand. They all won! Tay got to rest and the fc's got to play!
Tuesday
Lizard Grub!
Monday April-27-09 Tucson, Az. Jody's house.
We awake to a house already warmed by the morning sun. It feels like noon. I search for my phone among the bedding, and check the time once I find it. 6:58am. What?!? Not even 7am, and already the heat has filled the bedroom! Jody will be home in an hour and a half. Steve begins breakfast, and I jump in the shower.
By 8:30am, we Idahoans are roasting and the natives are just beginning to crawl out of their slumber and stretch in the warmth of the sun. Jody stepped outside for a moment, and was calling Steve to the door in whispered excitement before he even had a chance to close it. We quickly made our way to the door, fc's at our heels, and were halted by Jody's 'shhhhing' and pointing arm. We followed his pointing arm to the rock yard where we spotted the source of his excitement.
A well camouflaged lizard had just caught his bright orange spider breakfast, and we had the privilege of watching him enjoy! Joe and Sam we sitting on the steps trying to see what the fuss was all about. The 5 feet that separated them from the feast may as well have been 50! The camouflage was amazing! Once they discovered him, their entertainment lasted at least 10 minutes! They were captivated! Seeing the lizard was awesome, but the opportunity to see him devour a spider was absolutely incredible!
They were sooo excited they could hardly keep their excitement from exploding into a loud roar! However, they managed to keep it in and it bubbled within them making their bodies bounce uncontrollably, shaking the freestanding steps!
We took lots of photos and discovered two things: I need to get a better camera, and Jody needs to get internet access so he can email the amazing photos, he took with his camera, to me!!!
What fun boy-stuff the dirt brings!!!
Dirt!
Monday April-27-09 Tucson, Az.
We arrived at about 1am and could see nothing but dirt for as far as our headlights would shine. Dirt roads. Dirt driveways. Dirt yards. Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!
Steve's excitement rose just as quickly as my need for a shower. He could taste the fun from within the confined space of the pickup cab, and I could feel the dirt enveloping my body as though metals shards to a magnetic host. With each rotation of the large truck tires, another layer of dirt settles on my skin and another fun adventure enters Steve's mind.
He's dreaming of dune buggies and dirt bikes. I'm anticipating rich steamy fragrant lather sliding down my body, taking the layers of dirt with it. He's greatly looking forward to introducing our little fc's to the wide open spaces of boy heaven! I'm greatly looking forward to reuniting them to a nice hot bath!
As I long for my loofah, we approach Jody's house. The dirt from the road led us up the driveway and kissed the foundation of the house. Half the front yard is dirt, and the other half is decorated with rocks and stepping stones, in hopes of forming some sort of boundary for the yard. As we get out of the truck, and make our way up the dirt driveway/yard, we notice that aside from a few brown patches of dried brush and the rock yards, there is no distinction between road, driveway, or yard. We are completely surrounded by dirt!
We go inside-Steve filled with the excitement and anticipation for the sun to rise and the fun to begin! I am filled with the excitement and anticipation of loosing 10 lbs of dirt when I jump into the steamy red-hot shower! Inside we find a dune buggy! Excitement pours from Steve, and I can taste a little hint of it on my tongue! I can't wait to see the boys' expressions when they are riding it with him!
We all go to bed excited for the dirt that awaits...even me!
Bakersfield Friends
Sunday April-26-09 Bakersfield Ca.
Last night in the hotel lobby Jonah and I met Somer and her two kiddos, Nickole and Jacob! God put them in the room next to us, and we planned to hang out after her children had their baths! We quickly became friends as the three kids jumped on the bed in the hotel room, and we chatted about life. It was our last night in Cali, as we were headed to Arizona after the show closed this evening. They were there because of some unfortunate things going on with their home, but what a blessing in disguise, for if they hadn't come to stay, we wouldn't have met them!
We went to church with them this morning, and then to McD's for some apples and fun! After several trips to the bathroom, and lots of laughter, we headed to the park, first stopping by the hotel for some park-appropriate attire. Somehow, a skirt wasn't designed with the intention to chase kiddos in the playground!
We had fun chatting between the frequent sprints to stop the two year olds from running into absolute misfortune. Sammo tested my sprinting ability(and my heart strength) when he went climbing the curved ladder made for a teenager's leg span, and put in place just to insure parental supervision of anyone under four foot. It was so unbelievable that it should have been caught on video! He started climbing, and I started sprinting. With each rung that was left behind as he climbed, I ran harder and faster. Buckets of sand were flung into the air as my feet dug into the ground, propelling me closer to my child. He reached the horizontal section of the ladder just as I slid into arm's reach...he lost his grip and his body slipped through the fifth and sixth rungs, and I caught him! A collective sigh of relief was heard throughout the park-all from parents in sprint position ready to intercept, had I missed! His top half fell fist, and the only thing left holding the rungs when I caught his belly in my arms, was his left ankle. He would have landed on his head and neck. Praise the Lord for that burst of Super Mom Power when our young are in danger! I can't run that fast to save my own life! Good thing I changed out of that skirt!
After the excitement had died down we were handed a ticket for free pizza and an entry form for a basketball drawing. The local Calvary church was doing a youth outreach, so we went to check it out(mostly to take advantage of the chance to sit for a moment of rest!) We met some really nice teens, and all four of the kiddos had their names put in the drawing. After some time to down some pizza and visit, Nickole was asked to draw the name of the winning child, from the tub of names. She drew Samson's name! What fun! Steve was wanting to get the boys a basketball, and now Sammo had won one! Thanks Nickole! You are excellent at drawing names!
We shared excitement and good lessons(as it was hard for Jonah and Nickole to accept that Sam had won), and then Somer and I had spotted the Lord's saving grace! We were tired of running, but knew our time together was nearing it's end, so we didn't want to leave yet. Just a hop, skip, and a jump away, was the fenced in tennis courts! Wonderful!!! The kids could run and bounce the new bball, and we could sit in the shade and chat some more! It was quite nice! They played and ran and bounced and played and sat and played and bounced some more until Steve called and it was time for us to pick him up and start our journey to Arizona!
Nickole and Jonah had to be torn apart. Jacob and Samson are two, so they didn't care much that we were leaving. Somer and I exchanged info and thanked each other for the new friendship. We drove off, Sammy passed out from the fun of the day, Jonah asking if Nickole could come to our hotel room to jump on the bed, and me thankful that the Lord loves me enough to connect me to a sister 800+ miles from home!
We picked up Daddy, played for a short time, packed our life back into the truck, and headed to Jody's house in Tucson Arizona, almost 600 miles away!
Last night in the hotel lobby Jonah and I met Somer and her two kiddos, Nickole and Jacob! God put them in the room next to us, and we planned to hang out after her children had their baths! We quickly became friends as the three kids jumped on the bed in the hotel room, and we chatted about life. It was our last night in Cali, as we were headed to Arizona after the show closed this evening. They were there because of some unfortunate things going on with their home, but what a blessing in disguise, for if they hadn't come to stay, we wouldn't have met them!
We went to church with them this morning, and then to McD's for some apples and fun! After several trips to the bathroom, and lots of laughter, we headed to the park, first stopping by the hotel for some park-appropriate attire. Somehow, a skirt wasn't designed with the intention to chase kiddos in the playground!
We had fun chatting between the frequent sprints to stop the two year olds from running into absolute misfortune. Sammo tested my sprinting ability(and my heart strength) when he went climbing the curved ladder made for a teenager's leg span, and put in place just to insure parental supervision of anyone under four foot. It was so unbelievable that it should have been caught on video! He started climbing, and I started sprinting. With each rung that was left behind as he climbed, I ran harder and faster. Buckets of sand were flung into the air as my feet dug into the ground, propelling me closer to my child. He reached the horizontal section of the ladder just as I slid into arm's reach...he lost his grip and his body slipped through the fifth and sixth rungs, and I caught him! A collective sigh of relief was heard throughout the park-all from parents in sprint position ready to intercept, had I missed! His top half fell fist, and the only thing left holding the rungs when I caught his belly in my arms, was his left ankle. He would have landed on his head and neck. Praise the Lord for that burst of Super Mom Power when our young are in danger! I can't run that fast to save my own life! Good thing I changed out of that skirt!
After the excitement had died down we were handed a ticket for free pizza and an entry form for a basketball drawing. The local Calvary church was doing a youth outreach, so we went to check it out(mostly to take advantage of the chance to sit for a moment of rest!) We met some really nice teens, and all four of the kiddos had their names put in the drawing. After some time to down some pizza and visit, Nickole was asked to draw the name of the winning child, from the tub of names. She drew Samson's name! What fun! Steve was wanting to get the boys a basketball, and now Sammo had won one! Thanks Nickole! You are excellent at drawing names!
We shared excitement and good lessons(as it was hard for Jonah and Nickole to accept that Sam had won), and then Somer and I had spotted the Lord's saving grace! We were tired of running, but knew our time together was nearing it's end, so we didn't want to leave yet. Just a hop, skip, and a jump away, was the fenced in tennis courts! Wonderful!!! The kids could run and bounce the new bball, and we could sit in the shade and chat some more! It was quite nice! They played and ran and bounced and played and sat and played and bounced some more until Steve called and it was time for us to pick him up and start our journey to Arizona!
Nickole and Jonah had to be torn apart. Jacob and Samson are two, so they didn't care much that we were leaving. Somer and I exchanged info and thanked each other for the new friendship. We drove off, Sammy passed out from the fun of the day, Jonah asking if Nickole could come to our hotel room to jump on the bed, and me thankful that the Lord loves me enough to connect me to a sister 800+ miles from home!
We picked up Daddy, played for a short time, packed our life back into the truck, and headed to Jody's house in Tucson Arizona, almost 600 miles away!
Caniforna!!!
Wednesday April-22-09 Neither here nor there.
As the sno-capped mountains fade in the rearview and California sits on the horizon, Jonah's excitement grows! "Yeah, Caniforna!", he screeches with enthusiasm from his carseat! I think he's even more excited than I, about going on this trip with Daddy!
We decided yesterday, to go with Daddy on this 14 day trip to California and Arizona! Preparing a family for a 14 day, 4 hotel, 1 family reunion trip takes more than a few hours, and that was all we had! We left our house in an upside down cluster of laundry and stuff, and quickly found caregivers for our dog and fish, all in the time it takes one to eat and shower! Yikes! I have quite a treasure of mess that patiently awaits my return. But until then, I shall share in my 4 yr old fc's explosive excitement for Caniforna!!!
As the sno-capped mountains fade in the rearview and California sits on the horizon, Jonah's excitement grows! "Yeah, Caniforna!", he screeches with enthusiasm from his carseat! I think he's even more excited than I, about going on this trip with Daddy!
We decided yesterday, to go with Daddy on this 14 day trip to California and Arizona! Preparing a family for a 14 day, 4 hotel, 1 family reunion trip takes more than a few hours, and that was all we had! We left our house in an upside down cluster of laundry and stuff, and quickly found caregivers for our dog and fish, all in the time it takes one to eat and shower! Yikes! I have quite a treasure of mess that patiently awaits my return. But until then, I shall share in my 4 yr old fc's explosive excitement for Caniforna!!!
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