Welcome to the Philippines...

Today was one of the Multi-Cultural days at Lorien's school. Lorien's Kindergarten class hosted other students in their country/class room, the Philippines. I helped out and got to take some pictures.

As the other students came into the kindergarten room they were greeted by room 105's kids in "traditional" dress. The girls wore dresses with puffed sleeves and the boys wore stiff, white shirts with detailed embroidery. The kids from 105 gave a few fun facts (did you know the Philippines is made up of over 7,100 islands?).

All the kindergartners demonstrated a Philippine dance called the ting-klee (I really have no idea what the dance is called. I asked Lorien five or six times and I swear she pronounced it differently every single time. It could be called the hokey-pokey for all I know!)

Lorien was in charge of teaching the student travelers about the coral reefs. I love seeing how much she has learned and hearing her share with other kids.

Next week the kindergarten kids will get to be the travelers, seeing the sights in Egypt, Peru and Morocco to name a few!

I am such a lucky girl!

As part of our Memorial day weekend we got some new furniture! I've been shopping around for a new couch and chairs for our living room for a while. Our old couch was super comfortable but it had seen better days. So, now that I have enough places to sit and visit you should come on over!

I'll do it myself!

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Clare dressed herself this morning. She got her pants on...backwards and her sweatshirt on...backwards, with her head, arm and shoulder sticking out of the head hole. Great job sweetie!

Just the ten of us...

My Mom and Dad had ten kids. Having a boat-load of children has never really been common, at least not in all the years I've been telling people I am one of ten children. And for the most part I get a kick out of watching the different reactions to this fact. We are all spread around the country these days and so we miss seeing each other frequently. This picture was the last time we were together (December 2002) for my oldest brother's wedding. Lots has changed in all of our lives. Since this picture was taken children have been born, new families created, life plans changed and we've all gotten a little fatter (except Ebin). In July we are all headed back east for a reunion. I am so excited, I've tried three times to type exactly how I feel and I don't have words. This is going to be fun! I can't wait to see you all.

Pictured above from right to left and in order of birth: Chris, Jenn, Mike, Caleb, Camie, Cassie, Ebin, Charlie and Lesley. Not pictured, Oliver. The baby who is now 20, has down syndrome and does not like crowds...poor kid.

Dining out...

Lorien's class is learning about the Philippines and next week they will share what they have learned with the rest of the school in a school wide Multi-Cultural Event. As part of the learning experience the class went on a field trip to a Philippine Restaurant to sample the food. Unfortunately for Lorien, the field trip day was also the day we drove to Idaho. In an attempt to stop the flow of disappointed tears Will and I promised to take Lorien to a Philippine restaurant sometime this week. Today was the day!

I knew we were in over our head when the hostess asked if we had a reservation (Nope). This was followed up by many a disapproving face as we crossed the dining room with three small children stomping behind us. Placed on our table were six tall, thin, glass glasses and a ceramic vase of green chop-sticks. My kids climbed each other and the table to reach the chop-sticks, nearly sending six glasses crashing to the ground.

Once we doled out vocal reprimands (promising spankin's to the next kid to climbed on top of the table) things started looking up. The food was beautifully described on the menu. We ordered food from the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The kids were troopers and tried a little bit of everything. When we were done eating and asked: "So what was your favorite part?" Both Lorien and Wyatt thought for a couple of seconds and then shouted out: "The RICE!"

An Inconvenient truth...

If I am going to keep on making Mr. Al Gore proud I am going to have to pony up the .99 cents for a package of clothes pins. No matter how I try and drape my clean laundry today's wind is whipping those wet suckers right off the line. All the energy I might have saved by line drying laundry will be wasted because I have to re-wash the two loads of clothes that blew off the line. OK, I am only going to re-wash the clothes that landed on the cement part of our back yard...the grass is pretty clean, right?

Now please don't tell my husband that our family blog contains a reference to something so unRepublican as Al Gore.

Worms???

While I was trimming the rose bushes today, Clare came running around the corner shouting something completely incoherent. "What's that, Sweetie?" I ask. Still she babbles without any clear line I can pick up on. She is speaking in a pretty panicky tone so I know it must be important. "Will you show me?" is my best response. Clare takes off running into the front yard. As I follow her she continues to shout the same phrase over and over again. Standing under the big tree in our front yard, she points to the ground and I finally understand: "Thewes tew mannneee worms!" The ground is covered with what look like little brown caterpillars or worms. They are really some part of the big tree in our front yard, seed pods or something. Clare was totally freaked out, standing on tippy toes trying to avoid the "worms". I picked up a hand full and tried to show her that they were not worms but plant part. She would not have any part of it. I guess she wont be hanging out in the front yard until we get those cleaned up.

Seriously, Nevada again?

Undaunted by the fact that we had just driven 800 miles 6 weeks earlier to welcome Alan home from his mission. We loaded up our little, road-tested mini-van and drove through the oasis of Northern Nevada, again. This time our destination was the Gem State of Idaho for my brother-in-law's wedding. (The same fellow we welcomed home Easter weekend.) On the way we stopped off in Pocatello to visit my brother and his family (The Davises). It was so great to see them, even if it was just for the night. I wish I took more pictures...but then what would I have snapped: "This is me, talking to Caleb." "This is me, talking to Shellie." "This is me, talking to Caleb AND Shellie." ... You can see how they might have been some lame pictures. I should have taken pictures of Philip, Jack and Wyatt playing with an enormous matchbox car track. Uncle Caleb set the track up so it ran down the stairs and the boys spent a considerable amount of time crashing cars off the track. They built bridges out of books and stacked cars at the end of the track so the racing car had something noisy to slam into. That night in his prayers Wyatt said: "Please bless us to be safe and not crash on our drive...but bless the other cars to crash when we set them up on the track." I am happy to report: his prayers were answered. We did not crash but the matchbox cars did! I should have taken pictures of Lorien hanging out with Kayla (the really tall beautiful one) and her friends out in the front yard. Lorien sitting with her arms folded soaking in all the pre-teen chatter. I should have captured the feet into the air both Clare and Lorien would jump every time the Davises dog, Tate, came around the corner. I should have taken a picture of Lorien holding Aunt Shellie's hand for safety every time Lorien had to cross paths with the dog. I should have taken a picture of the delicious waffles and bacon Uncle Caleb and Aunt Shellie made for breakfast. Waffles spilling over with fresh strawberry syrup and mountains of whipped cream. I should have taken a picture of all of the kids running around playing hide and seek. Including Clare who would stand in the middle of the living room with the counter calling out "Give me a hint!" to all the hiders. I guess there would have been plenty of entertaining picts. had I bothered to pull my camera out. But then I would have spent all my time taking pictures instead of discussing the merits of sky-high student load bills with my brother and sister-in-law...a subject I am eerily familiar with. I did manage to snap a picture of all of the cousins, grouped by boys and girls. So here they are at least.

Kalya, Lorien and Clare. Trying their best to be a "more bars in more places" advertisement. Jack, Wyatt and Philip. Good thing I packed Wyatt's bright green shirt so he could match his cousins.

The sealing of Alan and Heather was next. Will, Dave and Ben whisked Alan away for a wild night in Idaho Falls on Friday. They ate dinner at Outback and then (brace yourself for some serious Mormon debauchery) they ran around Walmart, making Alan do embarrassing stuff. They topped the evening off by forcing the groom-to-be to eat a habanero pepper just before kicking him out of the car. Alan is very lucky to have such great brothers.

The stunning couple as the came out of the temple.

The ceremony was so lovely and we all enjoyed watching the smiles on the faces of the bride and groom. They were sealed in the Rexburg temple. There were plenty of moments I neglected to capture with my camera here too: The various groups standing outside the temple. All the cousins running in the sun and shade on temple grounds. The sweet luncheon put together by the family for after the sealing. The remainder of the evening spent at the hotel. Splashing, swimming and relaxing in the pool and hot tub. sigh... why do I even own a camera?

Sunday morning we packed up the car and hit the road again! Thankfully our prayers were answered again and we made it home safely. The front, underside of our bumper did mysteriously come unhitched from the van but it caused no serious harm.

The trip was short and crazy. We are so happy we went and got to see family and the sealing. Congratulations Alan and Heather. We love you!

Truth be told, I did get a few nice pictures to document random moments from the weekend...here they are!

Jumping on the Davis trampoline...because they don't get to do that anywhere else...

Clare coming out from the one hiding place she found during hide and seek.

My niece and nephews, who I made say "Aunt Cassie is the best Aunt Ever!" (twice) before I let be done with pictures.

Grandma Judy and Daddy trying to put Clare's shoes on...she just ended up going bare-foot.

Alan and Heather.

Another attempts at a family photo...

Lorien congratulating Uncle Alan.

A stop at the Snake River.

Daddy throwing rocks down into the canyon.

The "L" Mountain in Lovelock, NV. There is also a "W" Mountain in Winnemucka but that was another thing I didn't get a picture of. Lorien and Wyatt call them "The Lorien Mountain" and "The Wyatt Mountain".

Ba-dad-da-da HEAT WAVE!!!

The last couple of days have been pretty warm here in the Bay Area. We were suppose to break heat records today. We have A/C so I don't have much to complain about but I've tried to keep it off to save energy. Today was too much. The kids have been in and out for a while leaving doors open and all the cool air I had meticulously trapped inside is long gone. I also have to do a couple of loads of laundry so we have some clean clothes for a trip to Idaho this weekend. Not wanting to be totally glutenous with my energy use, I decided to try and construct a clothes line in the back yard. (Thanks Aunt Katie for the idea) After all I didn't think all that broiling heat from the sun should go to waste. I dusted off my Yankee ingenuity and my girl's camp knot set (OK there isn't a single legitimate knot in this line) and set to work. While I don't think my work will be lasting it should serve my purpose for a little while. I felt pretty satisfied hanging my wet laundry out to dry. I do have a couple of hints should you have the desire to decorate your back yard with rope and laundry.

1) Use good rope.
For one reason or another my husband is a big fan of the worst rope ever. It looks like it is made of itty-bitty hay fibers. This rope has slivers of rope stuff sticking out of it every where. When you run your hands along the rope you get a fist full of splinters. Since this is the rope we have...this is the rope I used...if you have better rope, use it.

2) Use clothe pins.
We don't have any of these handy-dandy laundry helpers. So all of our laundry is draped over our prickly line.

3) If you have no pins and no good rope, hang your laundry with the front draped over the crappy line.
As I mentioned before, our rope is full of splinters. These splinters come off easily and will certainly be infesting every piece of laundry hanging on the line. I was considerate enough to hang the clothes back side up so that when my family puts on their shirts and pants they will be able to see the offending burrs sticking to the clothes and their skin.

4) Resist the urge to wipe your sweaty face with the clean laundry.
By the time I was half way through the basket of wet clothes I was dripping in sweat. It was pretty tough to not grab the next shirt and start toweling off. After all, laundry fresh from the washer is pretty cool and inviting on a hot day.

5) Hang heavy stuff at the end of the line.
Nothing is more discouraging than tossing a heavy pair of hubby jeans over a line full of clothes only to have your awesome knots come unraveling sending all the clean laundry plummeting to the ground where dirt and sidewalk chalk wait to sully them.

Happy Clothes Hanging!

Happy Mother's Day...

I have a lot of Mother's in my life. My parents are divorced and re-married and Will's parents are also divorced and re-married...so that is four different sets of parents to keep track of, send pictures to and not call on their birthdays or major holidays. (Really, I am sorry about that!) I feel so fortunate to have married a man with absolutely wonderful parents. I love them all dearly and treasure each of them. I am always thankful to report that I have no "monster in-law" stories. These people are great and I love them very much.

I also love my Mother. She is a woman who defies description but I am gunna try! This lady had ten kidd-o's. Do you believe that? TEN! I think back on my childhood now and say to myself: "How in the heck did we all survive?" "How did she feed us, clothe us, teach us and love us all?" My childhood was a happy one. There are memories that make me shake my head in wonder but as a child I was perfectly oblivious to the awe inspiring trials and joy we faced. We played in the mud, hid in piles of old clothes and climbed the apple trees in our yard. We rode our bikes around the block, left sandy hand prints on every surface and learned how to wash mountains of dishes by hand. We learned how to cook and care for those around us. Equally important, we learned how to make due with what we had...even when that was very little. We were in by the time the street lights came on and out when the sun rolled up. We laughed, cried, cringed and grinned. And through every second of life we knew we had a Mother who loved us. Who wondered where we were at night and made sure there was something warm to eat in the oven for whenever we did get home.

I love you Mom. Thanks for truly being the greatest.

Another afternoon at the Beach...

Today we drove down to Santa Cruz to spend the day with my father-in-law, Clay and his wife, Lizz. They were married last October and we have enjoyed having more family living closer to us. We met at the beach and although the day was a little cool and windy we all had a great time. After sharing a pick-nick lunch it was time to get busy with the work of an afternoon at the beach. We knew we would need a place to keep all the kids we had brought along so Will and David spent a little time carving out a huge hole in the sand.

The kids literally fell right into our trap...and played in a big sand-hole for about thirty minutes. The adults too the uninterrupted time to discuss the upcoming wedding of Will's youngest brother, Alan. (Congratulations Alan and Heather!)

For some reason or another the children did eventually tire of their sand prison and were ready to play in the water.

After everyone was chilled to the bone from the ocean water we needed a way to warm up...we also needed to fill the giant sand hole back up. We stuffed as many kids as would fit into the hole and buried them with the left over sand...problem, solved!

The remainder of our time was spent shaking sand off tiny bodies, enjoying pleasant company and eating all the goodies we could salvage from the sand swept pick-nick. Thanks for a great afternoon Grandpa Clay and Grandma Lizz!

"Ken-eu-jump-wiv-us?"

Clare asks either me or Will to jump on the trampoline at least four times a day. I've never really understood their desire to have my company on the trampoline. When I am on the trampoline there is little to no fun going on...mostly because if I stand up and jump I run a serious risk of wetting my pants. So I just sit there and try to catch them as they run by. Last Saturday I went out to run some errands and when I came back I saw why it is such a thrill to have an adult jumping with the kids. Will was bouncing the kids sky-high and they were all having a blast! Daddy and I are totally different jumpers, just check out the pictures!

Copy Cat...

Clare sure is a family phrase magnet. She is talking more and more and really picking up on what we are all talking about. About two years ago, to cut down on arguments, we came up with even and odd days. Lorien gets the even numbered days and Wyatt gets odd days. When ever there is a choice to be made (who gets the fish towel after a bath, who gets to choose the first TV show or story book) whose ever day it is gets first choice. About a thousand times a day I hear: "What day is it?" Today when I was making Clare's oatmeal and it was time to add the brown sugar she said: "Whaaa dayes-it?"
I was taken a back for a second before realizing what she wanted to know. "Oh, ummm its a even day." I said.
"OK, its uh even day. I go first!"
I'm not sure what she gets first today but I know we are going to have to come up with another system for fairness...any ideas?

Sunday Nap...

Clare and Daddy zonked out on the couch for a Sunday afternoon nap...Pretty sweet.