tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228541132024-03-07T01:07:53.453-08:00Mr. BeanThe glimpse into the life of a momma, wife, friend, sister, daughter, nurse, chef, maid, photographer, vet, and a few other things people may call me ...Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.comBlogger503125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-57593587799658503902017-10-12T11:46:00.001-07:002017-10-12T11:46:13.745-07:00All in 120 secondsThat's all it took. 120 seconds. Even at the age of 12 and 9 these boys can get into trouble in nothing flat. Let me paint the picture:<br />
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A few weeks ago, it had been a long Sunday with friends over, so when it was time to go grocery shopping, the thought of leaving the boys at home and only going with Nate sounded refreshing. Quiet adult time with the husband. We've left the boys home alone quite often. Maysen is generally in charge but usually the boys are playing XBox or watching videos. Pretty low-risk things. They know not to answer the door or allow friends in when we're gone.<br />
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The same warnings were given and off we went! We decided that we'd grab the mail, as I was expecting a few things in the mail. Considering most of our bills are online and long-gone are the days of letter-writing, I can honestly say that we get the mail about every 1-2 weeks or unless we're expecting something. Needless to say, our mail hauls are pretty big.<br />
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Our mail box to our little neighborhood is a few streets away (at the top of our loop). After seeing how large our bundle was, we decided to run it home instead of hauling it around with us. We headed for home; down the hill, around the corner. I wasn't prepared for what I saw.<br />
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You see, it had been a mere (approximately) 120 seconds from the time we left our angels and headed out. Running around the yard with no shoes was Griffin. He was crying and running from the garage to the front door. Maysen had locked him out of the house. Confused, we stopped the car and all we could understand from Griffin was "Locked out. Maysen. Jerk."<br />
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I entered the house and the confusion just got worse. There, on the floor, were ice cubes. Everywhere. I entered a little further. A second culprit had no entered the scene making it only more confusing. Sidewalk chalk. In places where there wasn't ice, there were hunks of side walk chalk (I had brought in for drawing on my welcoming board).<br />
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That's right. In 120 seconds, they entered the house and the story goes like this:<br />
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Griffin: "Maysen was walking up the stairs so I jumped on his back."<br />
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Maysen: "Yeah, and it P'd me off, so I ran to the ice maker and grabbed a handful of ice and threw it at him."<br /><br />
Griffin: "But I cound't get any ice to throw back so I just grabbed the sidewalk chalk and started throwing it until I ran out. Then I ran outside and MAYSEN locked me outside."<br />
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That's all it took folks. 120 seconds. And instead of my nice, quiet, grocery trip with Nate, both boys had to grab shoes and hike it to the store. Then I made them go searching for item by item at the store.<br />
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<u>UPDATE:</u> I've sat this post out for about a week waiting to finish it's beauty and let me clue you into a nice little added bonus to this fun loving family. Now, mind you, they didn't get away "cheap" from the last incident. I even threatened hiring a neighborhood girl (who is Griffin's age) to come and babysit them while we left. That was only a threat.<br />
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So, last night we decided to try it again. We had left Griffin home for about 1.5hrs while we were at a athletic parent meeting at the school and he did just great. After the meeting, we took Maysen home, dropped him off and ran to Cottage Grove.<br />
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We were gone an hour.<br />
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We arrived home and everything looks great - there is no blood. No missing teeth. No broken windows or broken down door. Even a cheerful "Hi mom!" when we entered. Then I go to set my purse down on the counter and I am puzzled because on top of our black counter top I could see a blue'ish sticky slimy substance.<br />
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"What is this blue goo on the counter right here?"<br />
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*Deer in headlights* all movement stops. Then they look at each other.<br />
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"Before you start coming up with some bullcrap, I just want the truth .... NOW."<br />
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"Ohhhhh, it's this ..." Maysen walks over to the freezer and pulls out my huge meant-for-back ice pack. You know the ones that are filled with blue gel? Yup. Well, this giant gel-filled ice pack had a split down one whole edge.<br />
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Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.<br />
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"What happened to that, Maysen?"<br />
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Story 1: His back hurt so he put the ice pack on the couch and it popped open.<br />
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Story 2: GRIFFIN decided it might be fun to throw the ice packs up in the air and see if they could hit the fan. Griffin was too scared to do it, so Maysen thought he'd be the brave one and try. Of course - the repeated heaving of the ice pack up into the air trying to strike the circulating ceiling fan was enough to break it wide open. They cleaned up the evidence ... but not good enough, leaving blue slime in a spot easily visible to the M.O.M.Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-41697702058319303652017-09-03T11:57:00.000-07:002017-10-12T11:58:28.006-07:00Backsplash project<br />
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As the boys grow up, its fun realizing the many things you have in common with them. Music, movies, sports. One of the things Maysen and I have in common is HGTV Home shows including House Hunters and Property Brothers. We compare how we would decorate this room, or which wall should be taken down to make the concept more open. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRl1BWHyk1627BZkLsrrmH3ctGs73b1oMMeKiD-dci6A9bsYgRhBZyRvHo4U6Ci5W1YBz6f358IVSJLDUxrDefPPAN5jmaGUyaEevpqMVlU8khEx6uKDTYD_gTJLqJQuNonDmZXw/s640/blogger-image--1975430127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRl1BWHyk1627BZkLsrrmH3ctGs73b1oMMeKiD-dci6A9bsYgRhBZyRvHo4U6Ci5W1YBz6f358IVSJLDUxrDefPPAN5jmaGUyaEevpqMVlU8khEx6uKDTYD_gTJLqJQuNonDmZXw/s640/blogger-image--1975430127.jpg" /></a></div>
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I also love his spontaneity. He's the first one to jump in the car and run with me somewhere if I get a hair-brained idea. <br />
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It was a Thursday when I got the idea that we should update the backsplash in our kitchen. It's something I've always wanted but kept putting off. I painted the backsplash years ago, which l<a href="http://maysen.blogspot.com/2013/07/if-only-i-was-missing-some-teeth.html" target="_blank">ead it it's own adventure altogether. </a><br />
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But still I wanted glass backsplash. So, I posed the question to Maysen about how hard he thought it would be. By that afternoon we were at Jerry's picking out glass backsplash. His resourcefulness amazed me. And he has great taste! We were trying to picture what the backsplash would look like and he got the idea to take it to the set-up kitchen areas and find one similar to ours to use as a reference. It worked great and the pattern/colors could not have been more perfect.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-5xUqAVdX4IeGi7aVNvcqjgY2VMivkg8QxaY7ZmnHPZJBtQ2ZoGvdeOAHjFLy78UtNcgklFmZYNUqBYcqMR1cVeMlCgKLnjB7MNbc1q5gtWKQhI3kOwd9NTEb6oWqZS4LtozLw/s640/blogger-image-1689811493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-5xUqAVdX4IeGi7aVNvcqjgY2VMivkg8QxaY7ZmnHPZJBtQ2ZoGvdeOAHjFLy78UtNcgklFmZYNUqBYcqMR1cVeMlCgKLnjB7MNbc1q5gtWKQhI3kOwd9NTEb6oWqZS4LtozLw/s640/blogger-image-1689811493.jpg" /></a></div>
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Friday afternoon is when we started the project. He worked hard to get the pieces cut just right. It was both of ours' first time using a hand-held glass tile cutter but before long he was eye-balling where to make the cuts and really going for it with confidence.<br />
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Not once did he complain or get frustrated. There were parts where we had to literally free lance mosiac parts and he did a great job. </div>
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Before<br />
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After.<br />
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Overall completely impressed by this kiddo. He took the bull by the horns, learned right along with me, and even at times lead the project. More growing and learning completed! (For us both!)Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-17981202177538375282017-06-04T22:24:00.001-07:002017-06-04T22:24:40.701-07:00Maysen's Honor Science VideoMs Reed gave the class a chance to partner up and pick a topic that the group could therefore expand on by either drawing posters, etc. Maysen and Garrett decided they'd go one step further and make a video. Their topic? Food waste = bad.<br />
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What could have been just a simple thing, an easy 1 hr project and done. Nope. Not these boys. They worked on this video for days ... editing, re-shooting scenes, the whole 9 yards. I'm so proud of both boys going above and beyond with creativity and wit.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YEVW3v3lSbg/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YEVW3v3lSbg?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-77897928350775173752017-05-30T19:25:00.000-07:002017-05-30T19:25:01.025-07:00Anger and AttitudeMaysen is truly challenging these days. I've always known there was an anger trait in the Shindley clan but I've always tied it to something. Dad always seemed angry - but he's had a hell of a road. Alcoholic father, major abuse, troubled childhood including abandonment, Vietnam draft and all that entails, marriage to mom - she got sick, and on and on. The guy hasn't had a very good streak of happiness.<br />
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Then there's me. I had a good childhood; mom and dad did what they could to always give us our wants. We had summer vacations, we had a stable household. But, mom was sick. She had MS and it was terrifying. She, herself, didn't accept the disease much so as kids we were screwed on getting any support and training on how to cope with any feelings that might arise. You know, feelings of fear, worry, confusion. Not to mention that any noise/stress made mom "worse" so eggs shells is what we walked on around our house (enter weight problem and isolation at the age of 10).<br />
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Anyway, I digress. Any anger issues I had/have I've tied to that kind of crap.<br />
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But Maysen!? He walks around here, at the age of 12 (going on 40) with the hugest chip on his shoulder. The world has wronged him!!! I can't think of one thing that he has to be angry or disgruntled about. When you ask him, he has no idea what you're talking about. It's just "him", like it always was a part of my dad. He doesn't get violent but the elongated sighs - the frustration in his voice - being mad all the time.<br />
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Then there's the constant noise/movement. He walks around talking in weird dialect. He can't just answer you normally - it'll have the volume of a wild hyena. There is no such thing as dead space when it comes to him - he will fill it with a grunt or "BRUH", which is tied to no conversation. Just something to fill the quiet.<br />
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I mentioned before how Mom used to always claim that MS was affected by noise/stress and I'm starting to think it was just something she thought. Because I don't have MS but I've got to tell you; these days I walk around like a cat on a hot tin roof. I hear the bus stop at the house and I have to mentally prepare for the whirlwind that is about to walk in the door.<br />
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"HIIIIII (octive lower) iiiiiiiiiiii. BRUH!" *immediately slamming the door shut, dropping jacket and backpack right where he entered* "LETS GO!!!!"<br />
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"Maysen, pick up your shoes and hang your stuff up."<br />
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"FRICK!!!!!" *slowly running his index finger down his cheek to imitate a tear falling while singing "Only Time" by Enya* "...Who can say where the road goes ...."<br />
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Another one - randomly "Tastes like chicken" (screeching on the word "chicken")<br />
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Then. To confuse me, he and I will go to Cottage Grove to run an errand and I can talk to him like he's a peer, almost. He's so mature. Gone are the voices, the grunts, the sounds of animals. Where is this kid most of the time and how do I summon him?<br />
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I've recently started giving him melatonin at night. I do this even at 9:00pm he is ramped up. I know he's tired - being amped up and tired only equal disaster. He'll sit in bed and stare at the ceiling, keeping Griffin awake.<br />
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I only want to document this frustrating time in Maysen's life because life isn't perfect. I capture his successes on here ... proud moments ... but realistically, there are challenges. I love this kid with all my heart. I live my life for these boys. So it kills me when he is ramped up and angry because that only makes me ramped up and angry. I don't want there to be a wedge between us. I try my hardest to understand him. At this point, though, I think he's trying his hardest to understand himself.Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-12762654543930452192017-03-27T11:52:00.000-07:002017-09-11T11:52:49.955-07:00Vegas 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_OsilZK_cja8MNMPdoa_JXwZSjldi-CaxI52sVc4H_316_sHbAG89AyQkWVG9SXJil_23q0UTmr4b-hXioJM9hrrYCeYoeQHx1vmzdq9HmTRk24ns6UrZbpdl3KDuucPFjYgbw/s640/blogger-image-1212642710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_OsilZK_cja8MNMPdoa_JXwZSjldi-CaxI52sVc4H_316_sHbAG89AyQkWVG9SXJil_23q0UTmr4b-hXioJM9hrrYCeYoeQHx1vmzdq9HmTRk24ns6UrZbpdl3KDuucPFjYgbw/s640/blogger-image-1212642710.jpg" /></a></div>
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I waited 30 years to go to Las Vegas for the first time. What's funny is we chose to go with Papa (retired pastor) and Sherrill for the <a href="http://maysen.blogspot.com/2014/06/las-vegas.html" target="_blank">first ever trip to Sin City.</a> We had such a fun trip and when we realized how easy it was to get there, we've sort of made it an annual "Get away from the kids and into the sun" trip every Spring. </div>
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Nathan didn't even take a day off of work for this trip. He just tapped into the Wi-Fi and worked the whole week from the condo.<br />
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I, on the other hand was here most of the time - by the pool. If I wasn't by the pool I was in the room watching Redbox movies. It was a glorious week. We Uber'd for the first time and it worked out great! We had groceries delivered to the hotel, which was nice that we didn't even have to leave to go get groceries.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdI7XaG6BF2Zv-_rMietVJCl2lha-TAHqbU7SQTHHI65BX9l85DF_LnXWSu8BilJy59I7vbnrcvZz0Hs1kVZ1Blrcse8Zp-KRy00SoZ7xAZOJ1-UNPbc6VvCd9QnNQ94pgHjmWQQ/s640/blogger-image-1742312923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdI7XaG6BF2Zv-_rMietVJCl2lha-TAHqbU7SQTHHI65BX9l85DF_LnXWSu8BilJy59I7vbnrcvZz0Hs1kVZ1Blrcse8Zp-KRy00SoZ7xAZOJ1-UNPbc6VvCd9QnNQ94pgHjmWQQ/s640/blogger-image-1742312923.jpg" /></a><br />
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On the last night we went and saw a ridiculously priced Cirque de Soleil show, but it was a real good time. Yes, I do believe we'll probably do this every year. Maybe one day we'll even make some money doing it!!<br />
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Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-6295173862651894852016-11-16T16:26:00.004-08:002016-11-16T16:26:39.052-08:00Sometimes it's all worth it<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm not going to lie. This is a hard kid. Maysen is now (as of a few days ago) 12 years old. He reminds me a lot of myself. Hard-headed, mouthy, stubborn, and wants to be about 5 years older than he actually is. Although we butt heads at least at some point during the day, I still get kisses whenever I want them.<br />
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He is my traveler and loves anything with adventure. Mostly airplanes and trains. When I recently got back from riding the Amtrack to visit my sister in Portland, he was so disgusted that I didn't chose to ride in a "sleeper car", even though the train ride was 2 hours.<br />
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He and his brother fight constantly. Griffin can be annoying to him sometimes, but most of the time it's Maysen who is bored that goes looking for a fight. Griffin will be in the computer room quietly playing a game when I see Maysen wander around the corner, it won't be 10 seconds before I hear, "MOOOOOOM! STOOOOOP!" coming from him. I know Maysen can get rough with him sometimes because of the *thump* and immediate innocent look of "Oh! Are you okay?" when the tears form.<br />
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However, I also know that, even at 12, Maysen cannot sleep upstairs (or anywhere for that matter) without his brother near. He has a deep-rooted fear from an innocent-enough attempt at watching a "good movie" (The Signs with Mel Gibson) with him about 5 years ago. We watched only the ending with the aliens and ever since then - Maysen absolutely cannot sleep alone, let alone upstairs without Griffin. Also, last week at his birthday "get together" Masyen invited 4 friends over for a sleep over. I figured for sure I'd have to babysit Griffin all night to keep him out of their hair. Griffin got Maysen an XBox remote for his birthday (just in time to save the day because as the 4th boy showed up, they only had 3 remotes) and for the rest of the night, Griffin was included in Maysen's party.<br />
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He can be the grumpiest of all the grumpies and even bring down everyone's mood if he's not having a good time or he is tired. He is a pessimist, but he comes by it honestly, because I am as well. Most of the time, if you explain how is actions are making you feel or making other's feel, he will turn it around (... most of the time).<br />
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I have to say, though, this kid has a wicked sense of humor. That's another thing he comes by honestly. As many times as we butt heads, we can laugh until we pee our pants. On a recent trip to TJ Maxx to look for Halloween decor (kid likes to decorate too!), he spotted these creepy dolls and we laughed so hard at their faces. You had to have been there ....<br />
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<br />Speaking of Halloween ... he thought he was "too cool" to dress up this year. He was going to hand out candy, but I knew secretly he wanted to still do some trick or treating. As a few of the kids came by he soon said "Mom ... what fast costume can you come up with?" And this was it! Notice the pocket filled to the brim with pencils. We crammed 398 pens and pencils in that hummer AND a ruler. It was awesome. Again, such a wicked sense of humor.<br />
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Determined probably is a synonym for stubborn but I'll take it! This year he did football again and although it was challenging he really pushed through and all with a smile on his face. He started out the season wanting to play running back and by the end of the season he was getting to try his hand at some of it. No matter how tired, how wet, how cold, how hot he was, I never heard him complain about practice. Never wanted to let his team down.<br />
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So, yes. There are many nights I have to go in my room for a "break". I can't handle ONE MORE fight with him. I want to wash his mouth out for saying "frick" one too many times, or slap his eyeballs out from his head because he rolled his eyes AGAIN. But then.....then something like this happens:<br />
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... and you realize you can handle ALL of that for just one of these.<br />
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Maysen. This son of mine who melted my heart all over again because he is THAT kind of good-hearted kid.<br />
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And now? Now I have to drag him down from upstairs to practice piano. One of us will leave the piano room bleeding ....Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-65132728856840131292016-09-17T00:00:00.001-07:002016-09-17T00:01:59.217-07:00Inspiration from the 11yr old"Mom, all you gotta do is have will power towards the things you're not supposed to do. You know, be strong and fight back. Then after that, if you keep going with it, you have strong, healthy habits."<br />
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-Maysen, 11<br />
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(He was referring to playing with the brackets/wires on his braces!)</div>
Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-37923599696434589662016-08-07T12:13:00.001-07:002016-08-07T12:14:25.861-07:00The fear is real. I can remember it like it was yesterday; there is a reason my horrible mother wasn't letting me watch Pet Cemetery and it was only to make my life miserable. After all, I was 12 years old and surely I could handle watching this rated R horrific tale of dead animals coming back to life as zombies. I mean, why not?<br />
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But, I found a loop-hole. And that was spending the night with my friend Nicki, because her mom was going to let her watch it. I as so smart!<br />
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After the soft, grey, nice, sweet kitty came back to life and went for the jugular of the former owner, I was out of there. I walked home in the dark and those 3 blocks felt like miles.<br />
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I sat in my own bed, heart racing, as I replayed the scenes in my head. All of a sudden I couldn't breathe! I now understand this as a panic attack, but at 12 I didn't know what was going on and for sure my poor parents didn't know as I ran into their room at 3:00am proclaiming I couldn't breathe. It bought me a trip to our local ER where I was admitted overnight to make sure this wasn't some asthma attack that had come and gone. Strangely, I had to go see a shrink shortly after because then I started worrying about being buried alive. I knew these were irrational fears, but they were there. And frightening.<br />
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Fast Forward 22 years. Maysen is a bit sensitive when it comes to movies. He watched the end to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signs_(film)" target="_blank">"Signs"</a> about 3 years ago. You know, the one with Mel Gibson? To this day, he doesn't like to be upstairs by himself. Sleeping upstairs without his little brother? No way. He gets creeped out very easily. So when I saw him sleeping with his head on the end of Griffin's mattress and his body on the hard hope chest nearby, I figured he'd gotten himself creeped out.<br />
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Later that day, I'm folding socks in the laundry room as Maysen walks in and sits down on the cold travertine tile near me. Say what?<br />
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"Whatcha listening to on your iPad?"<br />
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"Horror stories. This one is about ...."<br />
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Once I was clued into what he was listening to, it was stopped but the damage was done. That night he asked to sleep in my bed. As I laid with him asking him to tell me what he was afraid of, he broke down and explained he was terrified that someone was going to break into our house and watch him sleep.<br />
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He knows it's irrational. He knows he's safe. As he cries because he feels silly, but yet so scared, I'm immediately taken back to Pet Cemetery (which, to this day I can't watch ... even though I know it's the hokiest movie out there) and that night in the ER.<br />
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And although I know it's just as silly, I'll ride this terror storm with him, supporting him along the way. I know he'll be over it likely in a few days, but until then we have this in our room and I'm A-Ok with it:<br />
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Nate on the other hand, wants to stand above him and stare at him while he sleeps wearing a unicorn mask. "Do you think that'd make it better?" he asks. No. But that would be a sight! I'm sure if he could find a stuffed gray cat to attach to his jugular he'd take every opportunity to chase me around the house with it. And I'd run like the wind, even at 36 years old!Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-89728527874371154352016-08-05T00:22:00.000-07:002016-08-07T11:21:20.938-07:00Colorado 2016 - Part I<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Everyone has "that" special childhood memory of what summer vacations were to them. Mine has always been Colorado Springs. Every summer we would load up in the Winnebago with it's brown and orange stripes and 3-person front passenger seat and drive west heading for the mountains.<br />
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I've always told the boys about my summer vacations as a girl. I didn't get to go on a cruise ship or play in the turquoise ocean water. No. Instead we would catch fireflies, watch the lightning roll in over the mountains, or boy-watch wherever we went (most catches were attempted at "Fun Valley Rec Hall").<br />
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Nevertheless, they sat and listened to endless stories of "Colorado Times". Thats why when the opportunity arose to meet my Dad and Jo there and revisit some of the things I did as a kid, I pounced.<br />
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Thursday: Victor was an old Ghost Town we used to go to every summer. It's filled with old mines from the Gold Mining days and the town itself was a bit more bustling than I remember.<br />
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Kids were on the street corners mining for gold outside of the museum in an old gold cart, people were walking their dogs, and there was even a diner open attached to an old tavern. What I found funny is that the history of the diner/tavern was on the front of the menus.<br />
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It was outlined that prostitution was a big deal during the gold days and that this tavern (after burning down a few times) ran a ring out of the main floor up to a second "action" floor. The door that led up stairs sat right there, with an old crank-style door bell next to it. Oh the stories it held.<br />
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Historically, there is a giant line you had to wait in to enter the gates to Seven Falls. As we cringed heading that way, we noticed that this was now "Shuttles Only" and people were to park down in a lot, and shuttle up. I get the idea, but thought of another shuttle was not on my "I really want to do this" list. The van in front of us turned around to go to the parking lot and I saw my opportunity: right in front of us, a shuttle was entering through the automatic "shuttle only" gate. I joined him. The look on the gate attendant's face was priceless but she didn't say a word and we proceeded past her and all the poor people who had chosen to walk up instead of shuttle in.<br />
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Dad also was proud that he figured out that the piping system actually fed water back up to the top of the falls and that this likely wasn't a natural running waterfall (to the extent it was running). This was sort of a bummer, but I guess it wouldn't be much of an attraction if this was literally "Sometimes Running Seven Falls" or "Trickling, Look Close, Seven Falls".<br />
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It could also legitimately be named "Seven Heart Attacks Falls" because the series of 1,594 stairs that you could opt to climb look like a heart-attack waiting to happen. The boys (Nate included) figured that at the top of the falls, there HAD to be a rare Pokemon (Pokemon Go is a retarded web-based game ridiculously popular right now), so they climbed to the top but were let down when Griffin turned the phone off and when it turned back on, the rare Pokemon was gone. Bummer.Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-75001492573549826892016-08-04T00:23:00.000-07:002016-08-07T11:21:44.719-07:00Colorado 2016 - Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Friday: When I was like 6 years old, we rode the Cog Rail up to the top of Pikes Peak. I remember I was terrified (thinking for sure this hummer was going over the side for some unknown reason) and a nun sat across from me. I wondered if this meant we were protected from falling off the side of the mountain or an Omen ...<br />
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I mistakenly did not book tickets on the Cog rail beforehand and they were sold out the entire week we were there. We opted to drive up to the top. I need to add a disclosure that I had been suffering from mild altitude sickness since we arrived (hard to breathe in thin air), going from 500ft to 8,000ft was a bit shocking for my system, apparently. The boys were forced to get off the pacifiers (screens) while we drove up and look at the beauty around them. I'm not sure who that act was more painful on ... us or them?<br />
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When we reached the top (14,220 ft) and I exited the Tahoe, the world began to spin. Hating any attention on me (medically anyway) I pretended it would go away and began walking to the gift shop. It only got worse and having previously discussed the gift shop having an "oxygen room" I immediately asked Nate to go find it. He asked the attendant who followed him to find me, and as I began to ask why we were there (getting confused), it bought me a trip to the full-time EMT they have working there. I was escorted to a back room where he presented a rickety old 1960s wheelchair. As I proceeded to tell him there was no way my "fat-ass would fit in that" I was slowly melting Maysen off the chair nearby and basically sitting on his lap.<br />
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"Bryan", the hot EMT, put the pulse oximeter on my finger, which tells you how oxygenated your blood is. The goal is anything higher than 90%. Usually anything below 90% requires oxygen. As it registered my reading, I looked at it and said "Oh, 95%, that's not bad!" He told me to turn it around (as I was reading it upside down) and I saw the problem: 56%. Not to mention my pulse was running about 140 to compensate. That bought me an non-rebreather oxygen mask and many faces peering at me - you know how cats will look at bugs as they crawl in front of them with that face-half-cocked look? I had Maysen and Griffin looking at me that way. After about 10 minutes I was good as new and away we went down the mountain. </div>
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Fargo's Pizza was an iconic place in Jenn and I's minds. Lots of old clocks, women in 1800s dress, and your order number would eerily appear silently in the mirror. It was as good as I remember, but not as busy.</div>
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We all then went and watched Jason Bourne. Jo fell asleep through part of it, and I was right behind her. She and I both were struggling a bit with the altitude and I think after being up so high, we were both just pooped out. All of the boys liked it though.<br />
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Saturday: Cave of the Winds was something that you never forget. The smell of damp, clay, and dirt all mix in your nose as you get goosebumps from the chill in the cave. I've been so many times I could recite the welcome speech when your group meets. Dad and I had discussed going to look at some of the awesome antique stores in a nearby town called Florence, so Nate took the boys to Cave of the Winds.<br />
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Now, it's been 15 years since we were last there. This place is no longer just an attraction for people to sign up and get a tour of the cave. Oh, no. There were zip lines, food carts, balance contraptions, raptor rides, and the list likely goes on. </div>
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The boys were pleasantly surprised to not have to only have to walk through a cave but they also got to swing from things and eat things out of a truck. Score! </div>
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Also having said that, I think if none of that was there, the boys would have enjoyed it just the same. Look at this face. You would have gotten the eye roll face, not this one. I got a call on our way home from the Antique Market telling me about the part where they shut the lights off during the tour to show how dark it is. "And guess what? You can REALLY go blind if you don't see light for 6 weeks!!!" like he's somehow wanting to either prove that right or prove it wrong. That was quickly followed by "you would have hated it though - too closed in." They know me well! Haha.<br />
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I found a kitchen clock from 1868 that I really wanted, but they wouldn't budge on their price. Plus I was picturing how to get that hummer on the plane to bring home:<br />
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"Ladies and Gentleman the captain has turned on the Fasten Seat--"<br />
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"BOOOONNNNNGGGGG .... BOOOOONNNNNGGGG..." (while looking forward, eyes as big as saucers, avoiding eye contact) while I held it in my lap.<br />
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I'm 6. Sitting with my best friend Cherina, who lives across the street. Her dad is behind the bar at the American Legion serving us popcorn and soda out of those guns where you choose on the handle which soda you want to pour. (I always wanted to run one of those). The Legion was packed waiting for the melodrama to start. There was a buzz in the air; the HISSSSS, and BOOOOO signs were leaned up against the piano as the pianist played light-hearted music. This was my memory of "The Melodrama" from growing up and I hadn't been to one in 25 years. The last one I went to was when my father, so out of character for him, was asked to play the part of the town drunk (and did so swimmingly). So when I saw there was one playing in Manitou Springs, right where Dad and Jo were staying, I went for it.<br />
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The title was Mary's Peril, a tale of a beautiful wealthy daughter who inherited a fortune being manipulated by a man who was after her money. Of course the handsome Sheriff shows up and saves the day.<br />
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Dinner was served first and it was a family-style of dinner. We all had pot roast and they brought out huge bowls of mashed potatoes, green beans, and rice. It was absolutely delicious. After apple cobbler dessert, we went up to watch the melodrama. Maysen hadn't been getting too good of sleep so his attitude had been a problem that day. Everytime someone would BOOOOO or CLAP he'd jump, cover his ears, and act like he was being shot at. Stinker. We asked for a family photo before going into the play. As you can see in the picture, we were photo bombed by the Sherriff in the play waving from behind us all. The gentleman we asked to take our picture was actually the comedy-relief-sidekick to the Sherriff in the play. As I sat down to see how our picture turned out, I found this:<br />
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I guess he really wanted us to have a picture of him, too! It was hilarious to find and unexpected, as he never let on that he was doing this. It was a terrifically fun night. </div>
Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-48628527809456779252016-08-02T00:23:00.000-07:002016-08-07T11:30:58.420-07:00Colorado 2016 - Part 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sunday: Another reliving childhood moment was Garden of the Gods. I can appreciate it more now as an adult than I did as a child. I will say that I originally wanted to take the Segway tour of the Garden of the Gods but Dad and Jo were too big of sissies to try it. Something about a broken hip or falling off .... (haha). So, we drove. We stopped for photos and then Nate once again came up with a brilliant plan that involved ..... Pokemon.<br />
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He suggested that since we still had one more antique store we wanted to explore, that he could be left at the park with the boys walking on the nature trails looking for Pokemon. It was 95 degrees, but they had sunscreen, water, and we would just meet them at the VISITORS CENTER (capitalized not to be screaming at you, but making a point ... hint hint).<br />
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The boys begrudgingly went along with the idea because lets face it, they didn't want to look at old crap. They started off on their adventure while we went on ours. After arriving at the antique store (which, lets face it, it was a MALL ... this hummer was huge), my dad gets a message from Nate that sounded a bit desperate "How much longer will you be? We're out of water, the phones are almost dead, so we're heading to the VISITORS CENTER". Well. We had just gotten to our shopping place, so sorry honey, it might be a bit.<br />
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As they made their way to the visitors center they did come across some great finds; one being a Momma and Baby Deer and the second being really cool rock formations that you can't get to or see from the road - you have to hike in. I was glad they got to experience that.<br />
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We finally make it to the visitors center and .... no Nate/boys. No where. And guess what? The phones Nate had are dead. Straight to voicemail. We wait. Nothing. We decide to drive back through the park looking for them walking. Nothing. This search grows tired after 1.5 hours. After drive #3 through the park, we see a sign that says "Navigation Center" and we decide to follow that after Jo said "I wonder what's through there, lets just go see". Sure enough we pull in and there they are. No where near the Visitors Center. But they were alive, well, and the boys were as sour and grumpy as I expected!<br />
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This also meant that this was our last day with Dad and Jo. After this debacle of a morning we finished off our day with them at a restaurant with a waitress who tried to get my dad liquored up.<br />
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That's pretty much what he said, too. This is dad's wax creature that he built using the children's wax sticks that came with their kids' meal. Yay dad. </div>
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We said our goodbyes and headed to Woodland Park, CO. It's about 20 miles west of Colorado Springs. This is where Nathan and I got engaged back in 1999 on Millennium New Years Eve. This little property started out renting out 5 tiny cabins. Nathan and I were in Cabin 4 - our friends were in Cabin 3. Today, the property contains townhouse-style rooms and even some executive suites ... so it's grown. We decided we'd stay there our last night near Colorado Springs and let the boys relish in the nostalgia. Ha! They couldn't have cared less, were ornery, grouchy, but we did get them to play Life with us, a new family favorite. </div>
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Ok, so it's late into the vacation. We're on each other's nerves. Everyone's a little testy. Well, it slips out that Maysen told Nate on the walk around pretty much entire Colorado when they were lost, that "...this vacation is just for mom and what she wants. We haven't gotten to do anything fun." </div>
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Right? I'm giving you pause to get over the shock of that. Now. I will have you know, that guess what? We've gone to DisneyLand ... but it wasn't because I wanted to go. We've been to Disney World ... but not because I wanted to go .... the Disney cruises? Well. They were likely in-part because I wanted to go, but perhaps maybe not the "Disney" part. You get the drift. So we had a pretty heated discussion about vacations and being thankful and appreciative. But in the end I think Nate and I decided that they probably shouldn't go on anymore expensive vacations for awhile because they're just too immature to appreciate all that's involved in planning one. It all ended well, but it was pretty heated.</div>
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The next morning before we left, we walked down to the cabins. We had explained to the boys what took place, how it took place, and then we were at the physical cabins where "We" started. We knew the cabins were rented so we were quiet. Nate wanted to kiss me in the same spot we got engaged so we walked up the steps as Maysen went to get a picture. Just as he goes to kiss me - "BARK BARK BARK BARK GRRRRR.R......" This beast sounded like it was going to come through the door. So we were outta there, but you get the idea. </div>
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I like to think I'm a caring mother, a considerate mother. It hurt my heart that Maysen had said he hadn't been having fun. I always had so much fun as a kid coming to the places we'd just visited but maybe they truly didn't. So instead of rushing off to Denver right away, we stopped at The North Pole Amusement Park for the afternoon to let the boys have "some fun" after all the torture we'd put them through all week. I think we were redeemed. </div>
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Another pooped out day, as this amusement park was basically built on the side of a mountain. It's a mini San Fran with 60 degree grades up every turn and switchbacks down to other rides. But, THEY. HAD. FUN. Score! We could barely get them away from the guns. What is it with boys and GUNS!? I'm thinking "Should I be afraid?!" But there were other boys all over waiting for their turn at the gun rack. We walked away owning 2 new guns. One was pink. I won't spill it on which one wanted the pink one (until his senior year, maybe) ....</div>
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We drove to Denver after that ready for our flight home the next morning. We needed a long rest before bed and heading home. Our hotel was awesome and I'm glad I booked a 2 bedroom. The boys did their thing in their room and we got peace and quiet in ours. </div>
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As I sat in the kitchen and reminisced on our time in Colorado, I turned and looked out the picture window and saw this rolling in over the mountains:</div>
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My last and final Colorado storm was rolling in. What a great going-away present. Until we meet again, Colorado! </div>
Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-28618051754546704902016-06-05T16:00:00.001-07:002016-06-24T20:48:10.775-07:00Maysen's Summer Piano Recital<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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He had been practicing Imperial March from Star Wars but I could see he just wasn't feeling it. With the help of Dave, they selected one song from his regular workbook (Romanian Rhapsody) and another melody from one of Dave's book called "English Woods". In this song, he uses the pedal throughout the whole piece and also learned "the cross-over" where his right hand crosses over from Treble and starts playing Bass.</div>
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Maysen wastes no time in getting to the stage. Normally Dave will introduce the student, they stand up and then walk to the stage. Not Maysen! This is the second year he's done this, where I don't think he's paying attention to Dave, he's nervous/excited to get up there and get it done that he just goes for it. Hilarious.Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-11203147880171612012016-03-26T20:22:00.000-07:002016-06-10T21:04:19.415-07:00Easter & Nate's Birthday <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Life has a way of passing us all by. This young man turned 39 this year and even as I sit and type this, I have to add the years up to make sure I wrote his age right. I decided it would be nice to take him to the ocean/beach for his birthday for a nice quiet weekend. I planned it weeks before we left as a surprise. It backfired. </div>
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It backfired because as the time grew closer and my calendars renewed, I realized I had planned this getaway on Easter Weekend. Oh, thank you for coming early this year Mr Easter Bunny. I had a dilemma on my hands; do I surprise him and have him disappointed because he doesn't want to leave the boys this year? Do I cancel it? I talked to the boys about it and promised that we would be home Easter Sunday and we would do a hunt like normal. Krystal had agreed weeks before to come and stay the weekend with the boys - and now she was had the added bonus of playing Easter Bunny. Luckily she is super cool and was fine with it.<br />
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We colored eggs on Thursday night and after eggs were colored, we busted out Nate's birthday presents. One included mine - the following day he would only work until 12:00 noon and then we would head out. I had pre-arranged this with his boss Justin before as well. He was overall excited but there was a part of him that was hesitant to leave the boys on a holiday weekend. He got over it once the boys assured him they were cool with it.<br />
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One of the first places we stayed at when I visited Oregon was the Fire Side Motel in Yachats. We noticed a small village of cottages nearby that belonged to the owners of the FireSide, and eventually the resort of Overleaf Lodge. The houses were so quaint and reminded me of the mushroom village where the Smurfs lived. It only took us 11 years to stay here, but alas we did. </div>
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here is a private little hike railway from the village to the beach. The weather was absolutely perfect. We honestly could not have had better weather. We spent HOURS watching the spouts as the tide rolled in and out. We'd move from place to place, getting different vantage points on the spouts.<br />
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Best seat in the house. God's canvas laid right in front of us and most of Friday was spent here. Friday night we decided to head into town for dinner. Yachats is a very small town along the coast, so you don't have much to chose from. We also didn't want to visit the crowded restaurant that looked spendy. So we picked the restaurant a few blocks down that didn't have any cars there. That should have been red flag #1. We were approached by a waiter who was wearing black jeans that were too long and he was walking on the bottoms of them. He begins to show us the menu right at the door and point out the various entrees they did not have. He told us he'd give us a minute to look at the menu. So, there we stood, pretty much in the doorway, looking at the menu. He reapproaches us and says, "Sooooo, do you want to eat here?" </div>
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Red Flag #2. "Sure." He smiles like he's relieved and replies, "Excellent!" (Red Flag #3) We round the corner to the main dining area. It was a mix of Rainforest Cafe and Cracker Barrel. It straight up looked like the restaurant from the Goonies (ironic since we're just down from Astoria where that movie was filmed). It had 59 ferns hanging from the ceiling everywhere. The wood floor creaked as we walked past all the empty tables, the only thing breaking the silence was Kenny G belting the Sax from above.<br />
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Nate got the SeaFood Mac-n-Cheese and I got the Fish & Chips. Amazingly, it was delicious. We watched 2 more couples get the same treatment at the door and only 1 couple made it inside. They were British and they looked just as puzzled as we did and the wife whispered, "Maybe this is how they do it here?" There had been a pause in Kenny's playing, that's why I heard the whisper.<br />
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As we were wrapping up, an amazing thing happened. The 2 homeless hitch-hikers we had encountered just prior to entering the restaurant came in. They were greeted by Pants-Too-Long, the chef/owner came out and greeted them, and then they were seated. They were given hot soup and bread. They were very thankful and it was neat to see. The owner came out to talk to them and agreed to let them come back the following day if need be for another meal. I immediately felt bad for judging the place, but seriously, I was wondering if there was a basement with a figure screaming "Hey you GUYYYYYSSSSS" and wanting Baby Ruths.<br />
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Saturday was filled with more spout watching, napping, and reading books. We did also get in some basketball watching. It was very relaxing! We had a brook that ran behind our house so sitting outside on the deck was fantastic. A great friend of mine had recommended a small, quant restaurant for which I had to make reservations for. I had done so the week before. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Heidis-Italian-Dinners-168204979895435/" target="_blank">Heidi's </a>was so delicious. It was built inside a small home so literally the chef is in a kitchen and there are only about 10 tables. The only down side to such a small quaint eatery is that when there is some serious cooking going on, it gets hot as a mother in there. We had to sit by the window with it open so I didn't pass out. They have 3 entrees to chose from, 2 desserts, and local wines. The menu is so small because it's fresh and cooked right there that day.<br />
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Exiting <a href="http://www.overleafvillage.com/cottages/" target="_blank">Overleaf Village</a> was bittersweet. We were so excited to get back to our little egg finders but left a piece of our quiet hearts in the <a href="http://www.overleafvillage.com/yaquina/" target="_blank">Yaquina cottage.</a> We really did drive about 16mph leaving. Until next time! Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-51443325890240619612016-03-18T11:07:00.000-07:002016-06-10T20:12:40.657-07:00Coach Scovils & The Squatches<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I remember when Maysen first started playing basketball for the YMCA. I thought sitting in the stands basically was one of the most frustrating things to do. I wanted to yell and "coach" from the stands. Boy did I not have a clue. The following year Maysen played on KidsSports and we got a whole new lesson. One in empathy and wanting to coach some other lessons from the stands that you normally don't want to coach from there. </div>
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So, while Griffin played his first ever basketball season with the YMCA (the Bulldogs), Nate and I decided we would coach Maysen's YMCA team. The idea was that I would be the brains (organizing the team, etc) and Nate would be the braun with the kids. Day 1 we knew this was all going to be a whole new ballgame for us (Pun unintended).<br />
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Griffin did just fine for his first year. His favorite part of the whole season/games was getting to throw the ball in once it was out of bounds, and getting to run it back to half-court after the other team had made a point. He would dribble as slllllllow as he possibly could, relishing in that moment of "power" he had. The other team could not interfere and waited at half-court for him. During one game, he sat on one side of the half-court line just dribbling while the entire team had lined up on the other side waiting for him. He didn't mind. It was Griffin Time and he was taking it all in.<br />
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He loved Ryen, the YMCA ref and coordinator and would spent a lot of time wanting to play with him. Other times, while the game was going on he'd just be chatting it up with the man he was supposed to be guarding because it was a pal from school. During one game he got hit in the head with he basketball and Ryen blew the whistle and asked if he was ok. Reverberating throughout the whole gym, he says, "Do I look like I'm ok? I just got nailed in the head with a basketball!"<br />
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He would be reminded to "hustle" down the court and when I'd yell out "Griffin, hustle!" he would find me in the crowd and give me that "I am - shut it!" look. Or he'd run down the court and out of th blue just pump his fist in the air.<br />
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In the midst of that, there was the Gentle Griffin I love and adore. If he would trip someone or foul someone, he'd be the first one to say, "Oh! Are you ok?" One little boy fell and Griffin went over to help him up and ask if he was Ok. That is the stuff you can't teach. It's just in there.<br />
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Do I think we'll have the next Shaq on our hands? No, nor do I think he wants to be! But it was sure fun watching him just be Griffin and not give a rip out on the court and just be himself.<br />
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Now, for Nate and I, keeping 8 kids under control and focused was one of the main challenges. We had a few kids that were more interested in messing around than listening, which would make the rest of the team just fall apart. Nate started to run warm ups with the boys and immediately injured his knee. Ha! It was partially my fault by telling the boys to outrun Coach Nate.<br />
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Managing the different talents was hard as well. We had some kids that were 2 steps from being on the NBA, and another 2 that had never dribbled a basketball before. So that was a challenge trying to coach to the different levels. Another challenge was trying to find a balance of firmness. if you were "too nice" the kids would walk all over you. If you were too "firm" you were afraid of offending either the parents or the kids.<br />
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Parents! Wow. I learned that I was probably one of the most challenging parts of having my kid in sports. Having parents try to coach from the stands was so frustrating. We had some great parents but boy did I learn that if I've turned my kid over to another coach to just shut my mouth.<br />
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I mentioned trying not to offend child or parent; well we head to learn as coaches not to be offended as well. We lost a few kids along the way and trying not to take it personal is hard! But it is what it is, and we are so grateful that we got to experience the other side. I will certainly never take other coaches for granted again!<br />
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When we lost a few kids, we gained a few new ones. Making sure the kids had a great time, learned at least one thing new, learned how to respect one another, and work as a team was our main goal and I think we accomplished it.<br />
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I will say that one more thing I learned is that refs have a hard job. I also learned that there REALLY is a difference between a good ref and a bad ref. And it has nothing to do with their calls. It has to do with their personality and ability to maintain control over their court ... and themselves. I got to experience a BAD ref at one of our Eugene games. He, unfortunately, had no control over himself and really acted like a juvenile, despite being probably a decade older than myself.<br />
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He was making some pretty horrendous calls - calls that were overly inappropriate for the age group of our kids. When somewhat called out by myself, I learned that he thought pretty highly of himself - and his calls. I was told to sit in my corner and shut it or be expelled from the game, because - afterall, I was only the assistant coach. What surprised me the most is how upset it made the kids. They were very protective over me and didn't like that at all. Another surprise for me!<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">One of the proudest moments was watching the other boys welcome the "newbies" with open arms. Watching them encourage one another, help one another, and support one another was beautiful. I haven't seen that on any other team - in fact it was quite opposite for Maysen last year so showing him this and having him be a part of it was truly a blessing for us as parents. And man has Maysen come a long way! We watched him be a bit timid last year playing on a much more advanced team. He wasn't ready for all the aggression of his team mates or the other teams. However, that must have simmered within him because he came out elbows swinging this year! He pushed himself more than I've seen and was hard on himself probably more than he should have been. But I suppose that's what growing is all about. In anything you do. I can't wait to watch him next year! </span></div>
<br />Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-54863508507334936672016-03-08T16:20:00.001-08:002016-03-08T16:24:40.000-08:00Hay Bails and Cheat NotesEvery February, if you are good all month, you get to participate at the months-end Soap Box Derby race. Apparently Griffin felt he need to push the teachers all week with various things such as not following directions, arguing with instructions, eating his pencils. You know. All the good things parent's love to cringe about.<br />
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Griffin had been picked to push his class soap box derby race car until the morning of the race. All students were lining up in their classes for pictures with their respective derby car. This morning proved to be nothing out of the norm from the rest of the week. The teacher explained not once, not twice, but THREE times that children were to stop picking out the straw out of the hay bails because these bails were only borrowed and would be going back to the owner soon. The teacher lined up the class for a class picture. As she took the first picture with her digital camera she looked at the shot to see if everyone was lined up. Griffin was immediately removed from pushing his derby car. He cried and cried, not understanding why. So Ms Leonnig showed him her camera. This is why:<br />
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About a week later as Griffin and I were practicing his spelling words, I was noticing he was having a hard time differentiating "ou" words and "ow" words (like ground and crown). So I set up words that had 'ow' and we made a sentence: "Now, go through down town, through the crowd, to see the powerful cowboy wearing the crown" It seemed silly but all other words that he was given if they weren't in that sentence then they were "ou" words. I had told him, to heighten the motivation, told him if he made a 100% on the test I'd take him for ice cream. I didn't realize that boyyyy this made him nervous!! </div>
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The next morning I put a little love note in his lunch box. On the back of the note, I told him "remember..." and then included the sentence for him to recite before the test. </div>
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I got an IM message from a friend of mine who happened to be subbing for Ms Leonnig that day. </div>
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"Umm, we had a problem with Griffin this morning. He was caught cheating on his spelling test. He was using a cheat sheet that he said you gave to him. He said you really wanted him to get a 100% so you MUST have put that in there for him to cheat with. He then later admitted that B had talked him into using it to cheat. Never the less, he got a WHOA for it." </div>
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What!? Yes. I put that note in his lunch box for the MAIN purpose of slipping him a cheat sheet. I'm hard core momma at 2nd grade. Can you see it now? </div>
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Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-21495072063453399222016-01-25T10:20:00.001-08:002016-01-25T10:24:02.216-08:00Sweet Hearted GriffinGriffin came running into our room last night, "Mom! Mom! You have to come see this!"<br />
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Of course we were busy chatting about something so I was putting him off and telling him to hold on and on and on. Finally "Ok, what's up buddy?"<br />
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As if he was waiting for us to stop talking, I looked at him and tears were filling his eyes. His face immediately fell and all he could get out is "This is so sad ...."<br />
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I walked into the office and he had this video up:<br />
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Griffin was so worried about the young boy who said, "I came all the way from India to see you..." I tried to comfort him by telling him that he got his card signed after the convention but just not right then but it didn't matter. Griffin was upset because that little boy was so upset.<br />
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I tried my best to then distract him with laughter. Lots of hugs, tickles, stories. I thought it was over. As they climbed the stairs to bed, I got in the shower. I hear the door creeeeak open and there he stood. Tears back.<br />
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"Mom ... I'm having that feeling again?"<br />
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"What feeling?"<br />
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"I'm just so upsetttttt...."<br />
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You're damn right I came out of that shower at 100mph! Up the stairs we climbed together. I told him when he was feeling sad for that boy, remember how happy be was when he finally DID get his card signed. And then to think of happy things.<br />
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"Like our cuddles?"<br />
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I was the one walking down the stairs with tears in my eyes. Love that boy ....Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-75616802615450963042016-01-18T22:14:00.000-08:002016-03-26T16:07:40.619-07:00Growing up is bittersweet .. so make funny faces and videos<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFuTVGEjGOcRk1sfPmL2EC9wDhKSIRatomcEi1aHpdhVPnsWknY7ZusJBFRMqShGRITmWfvv68xqQEPcUh8eZG03DRBIj1gm696dO71SWk5ZNQx-sjtevexFj3yDU3aWp8NBXCOw/s1600/Photo+on+1-18-16+at+7.59+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFuTVGEjGOcRk1sfPmL2EC9wDhKSIRatomcEi1aHpdhVPnsWknY7ZusJBFRMqShGRITmWfvv68xqQEPcUh8eZG03DRBIj1gm696dO71SWk5ZNQx-sjtevexFj3yDU3aWp8NBXCOw/s400/Photo+on+1-18-16+at+7.59+PM.jpg" width="400"></a> When I started this blog 9 years ago (I can hardly believe I've been yapping on this thing for 9 years) I did it for two reasons. For one, I wanted to document the times in my life that seemed to be going by so fast. I knew in my heart that I would not remember the finest details to such treasured moments, even with the best of memory. I also knew that age would fade those memories and I wanted to be able to relive them. I regret that as life sped up, time also snuck away from me.<div><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQdrZ2muwYFUZ3Yj1dgOQfrTDCIYPi7YhHvIe7tBgoi45zZUiBtc884IqMwigpFsj9CoEfT3jPw06veNKTqjboVXcGdWw2L06roV27tn7qrVDvLmr1EA_ahUzIrbOEir8iHKpuYA/s640/blogger-image--1474855514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQdrZ2muwYFUZ3Yj1dgOQfrTDCIYPi7YhHvIe7tBgoi45zZUiBtc884IqMwigpFsj9CoEfT3jPw06veNKTqjboVXcGdWw2L06roV27tn7qrVDvLmr1EA_ahUzIrbOEir8iHKpuYA/s640/blogger-image--1474855514.jpg"></a></div><br>It's only natural as we get older that things change. I've got to tell you that that lately I've been having a hard lesson in reality lately. I have two things pulling against me. One, my boys are just getting older. Two, they're boys. The natural progression of both of these things is that as they age, they find other things to occupy their time and no longer does it require me. Five years ago I would have sighed with relief. Today? I weep with bittersweetness. I struggle to find things that connect me with them.<br>
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Maysen, although gentle at heart, he is always on the go. He is very interested in guns and games that contain such violence I cringe, so therefore that stuff is not allowed in the house. We fight about that daily. He reminds me so much of myself. I can remember hearing my mom say, "You want to grow up so fast!" Maysen is 11 going on 18 and really wishes he was 18. In fact, most of our time it seems we spend arguing about why I've said "No, you can't play Call of Duty." We argue so much I fight not resenting it.<br>
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Griffin is my quiet soul though he does play off his brother. It's like watching 2 dogs into a fight, it's easy for more to just join. He will argue about getting more apps downloaded on his iPad and fighting with how much computer time he gets. I still get my cuddles and requests for snuggles from him, though.<br>
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This weekend, we forced the boys to get off any and all "monitors" and it was a struggle. We laid in bed and talked about our favorite summer-time memories. That led to me getting out the old computer and we looked through this old blog. We laughed at things I wrote, pictures from the past, and stories until all 4 of our tummies hurt. It felt good. We felt like a family - not pieces of a puzzle all doing their own thing, which is our normal lately.<br>
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That is why I write this blog. So each of us, each piece of the Scovil puzzle, can come together and be whole again. We used to laugh. A lot! If you've read even one year of stories from this blog you will see that we've had great times together. But we're all aging. I'm thankful I have a place I can turn to and remember what it's all about.<br>
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Here was a great memory from this weekend. Such fun discovering this little gem of an app on my computer.<br>
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<img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiizw1v8-jxfoU6nDUY4yMFcr3GTM9-FBuOpyrzHv_UhIFfePSo8yj6DKDom1apVviLUOP3QMW-6kWwLQmGre9J-0B4cvnunm2ShfUaXnVHxxzlUlKVM7ZRRVwmyt0ox0wEI-t1Kg/s400/Photo+on+1-18-16+at+12.45+PM.jpg" width="400"></div>
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I love these boys with all my heart. I'm so proud of the rascals they're becoming. </div>
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<br></div>Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-42031156673280187122015-12-28T23:29:00.001-08:002016-01-03T16:19:42.089-08:00Loyalty<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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A boy and his dog, Charlie Murphy. Loyalty with a hue of red...</div>
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Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-77038177264694354382015-12-26T16:21:00.000-08:002016-03-26T16:38:59.200-07:00Limo Christmas Lights & Christmas 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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December is a big month; not only is it Christmas but we have 4 very important birthdays ... well, 5 including Jesus! We have Nate's mom's birthday on 12/3, George & Papa on 12/23, and Griffin on 12/27. This year we decided to combine Bobbi and George's birthday and go on a Limo ride around Eugene, something none of us have done.</div>
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It was George's first time in a limo so the boys thought they'd be the ones to tell him all about things. We had taken Papa and Sherrill on a limo ride in Las Vegas, so the boys have been in one and of course, were pros. </div>
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There are a lot of people in Eugene that have a) a LOT of money budgeted for lights and b) have waaaaay too much time on their hands. I will take it, though, because it allows us such great beauty to look at. It's one of my favorite things to do during the holidays. I can remember climbing into the car with hot chocolate and blankets as children and driving around looking at the lights of Dighton, Kansas.<br />
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We have a Scovil tradition with the "other" Scovils. Usually on 12/23, Danielle and Andy will have an "Open House" where people can come and enjoy pot luck time. After the Open House, Josh and Jessica come and spend the night at our house before going to Bobbi and George's for Christmas Eve. I don't remember when it started, but Josh started making breakfast for everyone the morning of Christmas Eve Day. The year, he made home-made donuts!!! Chocolate and Maple. They were A-MAZING! He really out did himself this year. He was awake at 6:00am working on these. We were very grateful and our belly's also were very thankful.</div>
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No, that's not an "dad" that snuck in the picture there. That's DeShawn!! He's grown into such a wonderful delight. His younger cousins enjoy him just as much. Following right behind DeShawn is Jonas ... who is "only" about 4 years younger! He'll be towering over all of us in a few years!</div>
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Griffin was so excited to get Pixels from Grandma and Poppy so he was in hug-mode. Always nice to get hugs from Griffin!!</div>
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This was our gift to the Bauers this year. I think it matches their house perfectly! Can't wait to wipe my feet on it ... haha! </div>
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We usually have Jenn with us on Christmas morning at our house, but she was in the Netherlands this year so it was nice and quiet on Christmas morning. </div>
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Santa left these hummers in the garage this year. Gear bikes!!! They'll be getting lots of use when the rain stops and the sun comes out!!!<br />
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We had a blessed Holiday Season. Looking forward to what 2016 will bring!<br />
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<br />Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-43503178344879786722015-12-26T11:20:00.000-08:002016-05-23T11:26:54.330-07:00Griffin's Wunderland 8th birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If there's one thing that Griffin loves more than his Momma (yeah right...) is video games. I had taken Griffin to Salem to the nickel arcade during our Momma & Me trip and he loved it so much he wanted to come back for his 8th birthday party.<br />
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The one thing that stinks about having your birthday right after Christmas isn't the loss of presents that some people think, but its the IMPOSSIBLE task of gathering friends over the Christmas Break. I need to learn how to pre-invite his friends because as a mom, I certainly would appreciate a mid-Christmas Break BREAK for the boys. So, note to self: do pre-invites next year before the actual break gets here.<br />
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We were able to borrow Andy and Danielle's 15-passenger van and hauled cousins and a few friends up to Salem, stopping of course in Albany for Burgerville! I didn't even have to come up with baking a cake or cupcakes - we treated everyone to Burgerville Shakes. It doesn't get much better than that!<br />
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<br />Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-14512083732167371012015-12-12T19:34:00.000-08:002016-01-24T16:33:49.763-08:00Linus & Lucy <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The fighting. Ohhhhh, the fighting. You'd think I was pulling toenails out with tweezers. I don't even get "Maysen it's time to pract-..." before I hear "Noooooooo!!!!!!!" like I've just told him that government put a ban on internet and therefore it was banished.<br />
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His relationship with his piano is love/hate. I haven't figured out the ratio yet. If I've heard it once, I've heard it 948 times "He'll never regret it ..... if he quits now he will wish he never quit ..... I used to play but quit and now I wished I hadn't." I know all of this. I tell him all of this. He does not believe me because I am, after all, an idiot in his eyes I'm sure.<br />
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However. Before we left on vacation in October, he was given the music to Charlie Brown's "Linus & Lucy". When we got back he started practicing it. He could play about one measure before losing his mind. Then one night, we sat, together and worked through it. Then he just "got it!" From that moment on I'd hear that song coming out of the spare room. Then as he got more into it, the faster he would try and go. For his birthday in November we took his friends to see The Charlie Brown Movie and when that song came on, he caught his breath, leaned forward and looked at me with a beaming smile.<br />
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Then my heart broke. I mistakenly booked our winter vacation to Eagle Crest on the same weekend of his recital. How could I tell him? He'd been so excited to go to Eagle Crest. He'd worked so hard on his songs. The look on his face when I told him my goof-up was so tragic. We were NOT missing this recital! Thankfully I was able to re-arrange a day and we came home early in time for his recital. He did amazing!!</div>
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I could not have been more proud of him. <a href="http://maysen.blogspot.com/2014/12/piano-recital.html" target="_blank">A big</a> <a href="http://maysen.blogspot.com/2014/12/piano-recital.html" target="_blank">improvement from his recital last year. </a></div>
Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-53890285906601353602015-11-29T16:11:00.000-08:002016-01-24T16:11:37.386-08:00Griswold ... I mean, Scovil Christmas Tree<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There's no denying that one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time is "Christmas Vacation". It's on ABC Family's Count Down to Christmas, for crying out loud!<br />
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This year, just like every other year, we went to our favorite Christmas tree lot (didn't recognize Dan because he's lost about 100lbs ... stress he claims. Hell, I've had a lot of stress and everyone knows Leslie hasn't lost 100lbs!).<br />
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We had Andy's truck this year because we traded our Tahoe right before Christmas for our new Avalon. Now, I'm not sure if that had something to do with our choice, because for whatever reason we seemed to have picked a very large tree this year.<br />
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We asked for a 10-foot, which it seemed we got. But when we got home, Nathan hauled that hummer in straight from the driveway into the house through the laundry room. He couldn't make the 90-degree turn so he got stuck. So what did he do? He wedged it even tighter into the pantry.<br />
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God Bless his soul. He tried so hard. He even went and got ratchet straps to strap the branches down. I finally got fed up watching him get mad, so I just went in, grabbed 'er by the trunk and horked her through. We may or may not have lost a few branches, but hey. She got up that this year and looked as beautiful as ever.<br />
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Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-89657674914647673122015-11-02T11:54:00.000-08:002017-10-12T11:59:38.517-07:00Disney World and Disney Cruise 2015!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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We had been taking chains off for weeks; 9 weeks in fact. The chain had been so long we had to wrap it back around the wall twice to keep it from hanging on the ground. And now we were down to 2 links. We took these two links (to be removed by each boy on the last night) to Portland with us before our flight out. </div>
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One of the main fun things we do at the hotel before our flight out is 1) pool and 2) room service/movie. It's tradition. The boys (since they had their own room attached to ours) chose to rent Paddington Bear while Nate and I watched San Andreas with The Rock.<br />
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We flew out the next morning. First flight was from Portland to LA. The two-hour flight was pleasant and non-eventful. We had only a 50min lay over in LA, so literally we landed, got off the plane and got in line to get back on another. That 5-hour LA flight took us directly to Orlando which was nice to just get there. Thankfully there were screens on the back of the headrests for this flight so the boys were entertained by Inside Out and other cartoons for most of the flight.<br />
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When we landed, we got our bags, grabbed a taxi, and went straight to our hotel. We stayed at the Wyndam Bonnet Creek Resort, which does have a time-share section. I had read the reviews before booking our 2 bedroom villa for the week. Some of them said to prepare for a 30min check in because you get the sales pitch. We got there, and what a beautiful resort it was! I had pre-ordered groceries and they were waiting at bell hop for us. She handed us the room keys and then I was waiting for the schpeel. She says "If you could go to the Welcome Desk (AKA: SALES DESK) they will have your vehicle pass. Lucky for us, we had no vehicle. We grabbed our room keys and walked out. Well, we did get stopped by a man in a suit directing us to the Welcome Desk but we told him we wouldn't need a vehicle pass and away we went. Quick. Easy.<br />
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Nate got on the horn right away to Papa Johns as we were all ravenous! The boys were going through ipad withdrawal.<br />
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I'm so thankful we decided on the 2 bedroom villa, which was about $700 cheaper than a standard suite room at a nearby Radisson. The boys had their own space, we could cook, we could do laundry. It felt like a little bit of borrowed home.<br />
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After a long day of travel we were all ready for the week ahead of fun! Both boys were dead in bed at 7:30pm. Nate and I enjoyed our pizza in quiet and gearing up for the day ahead when we heard "BOOM!" We both looked at each other and ran to the balcony only to realize we had a front row balcony view of the Firework display at Magic Kingdom. Perfect ending to a long day and anticipation for the fun ahead.<br />
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<u>Monday, October 19: Magic Kingdom</u><br />
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We decided to not rent a car while we were there and just take taxi's. Our resort actually arranged for this car to pick us up every day to take us to the Resort. It wasn't any more expensive than a cab, and then we'd just grab a cab at the exit to take home. Much easier than renting a car and fighting/paying with parking. And it only ended up being about $15 each way.<br />
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Such a beautiful time of year. They had the parks decorated so beautifully. Our first day was Magic Kingdom and we hit Tomorrow Land first. We were immediately hit with waves of people. We were shocked at how many people were there! Most of the lines (mind you, on a Monday) were already 120min long! We decided to ride the Race Car ride and upon looking at our Fast Passes realized that none of them were until later at night.<br />
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We ate lunch and then hit a few smaller rides. I really wanted to go on Small World (because it's always shut down in DL) and Peter Pans flight was next door. Both rides were 120min long waits. We decided on Small World. It was heating up and standing in line at 90 degrees was not fun. We finally convinced Nate to take a break and head to the hotel for some swimming before coming back to the park. We'd decided since the park was open until midnight that a break would be fine. The Small World was fun, then we split for the door. Of course they were having the parade right then and getting through was enough to make any person pull out daggers.<br />
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We had a nice cool off at the hotel, dinner, and went back to the park in time for shorter lines and cooler temps. Everyone felt rejuvenated. We were able to do our Fast Passes on the fun rides like Splash Mountain (Griffin would duck under my arm on the big splash!), Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean. We rode Thunder Mountain Railroad at night, which was fun.<br />
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The fireworks were magic, as always. Nathan and I both tear up because it is so beautiful with the music and lights. We rode more rides clear up until midnight. By then the monorail was closed so we had to take the monorail to one of the resort hotels. Then we had to wander around there until we could find the way out and hail a cab. It was about 1:00am before we actually got back to our hotel.<br />
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<u>Tuesday, October 20: Hollywood Studios</u><br />
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Today was Hollywood Studios! Since we slept in after our late night, we didn't get to the hotel until about noon. Honestly, we were all a bit disappointed in HS. The Indiana Jones show was closed and the boys were not into the shows at all. We did watch the Car Stunt show, which was cool. The boys rode Rock'n Rollercoaster using our Fast Passes while Nate and I relaxed. What's funny is the 2nd time they went, about half way through the line, Maysen chickened out. So Griffin went all by himself and loved it! That's my brave boy!<br />
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The Fantasmic Show started at 7:30. We got there about 45 minutes in advance to get decent seats. Griffin chatted with the boy next to him the whole time. Nate and I got to watch some couple behind us (and by couple I mean a man and an entirely too young for him girlfriend) making out the whole time. We got a chuckle out of what grumpy crusty couple we must seem and took our "loving" picture. Haha!<br />
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Images displayed up on the water spray. We left the show staring at the Tower of Terror. No one was brave enough to ride this ride, and that was OK! We got back to the hotel and ordered Chinese and hit the sack. We'd walked just a smidge over 15 miles in the last 2 days (according to iPhones) and were looking forward to a day off at the resort the following day!<br />
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<u>Wednesday, October 21: Resort Day</u><br />
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It was nice to take a day away from the parks and just stay around the Resort. I think we could have spent the entire week at the resort.<br />
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Local ducks hanging out by the lazy river.<br />
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Loved this eatery (ok, "bar") poolside. One night we swam late and then ordered food to take back to our room. We were walking right by the pool and I asked Maysen to hand me the food. When he handed it to me, I pushed him right into the pool clothes and all. It was great - he was so shocked but then cracked up laughing. Griffin as pointing and laughing, so I pushed him in too. Fun memory.<br />
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Life-sized checkers!<br />
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<u>Thursday, October 22: Epcot</u><br />
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Today was very hot and humid! There was a beer and wine festival going on so this place was CROWDED! The boys' main event on their mind was riding the Chevy Test Track ride and that was it. We had it FP'd for the end of the day. Nate wanted to see some things over in The World, so we were planning on a full day.<br />
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The first ride of the day was Mission Space. It think it's very considerate of Disney to warn it's riders that there could be claustrophobic situations and maybe some dizziness. But by the time we had gotten to the front of the line, we'd heard this warning 457 times and I was getting a bit paranoid and worked up. So we get in this thing and by then we'd been "given our assignments" on how to run this space ship. Mine was to be the controller so I had to push a certain button once we blasted off.<br />
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By the time the shoulder strap tightly clamped down and the simulation screen came about 3" from my face, I'm starting to rethink this whole gig. I start having a full-blown panic attack and I know the only way too get through this is to close my eyes and breathe. Focus. Since I was the "controller", as we're blasting out into space which meant that I was being hammered back into my seat, Griffin's yelling 'HIT THE BUTTON, HIT THE BUTTON!" and all I can mutter out while trying to breathe is "SHHHHHUUUUUUTTTTT UPPPPPPPP!"<br />
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It was silent for a few minutes while everyone else started to enjoy the ride. I finally opened my eyes once the G Spinning was over. Then I was okay! Just in time for the ride to be over! Haha. That was enough for me, but was fun. We started walking out of the ride and I look over at Nate and he's looking pretty green. We decide to go get lunch and he just couldn't eat. He was about to puke. He's not so good on fast motion so he wasn't feeling great. I gave him some phenergan at lunch and shortly after he was feeling much better.<br />
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Nate wanted to make it over to Japan to hear the girls drum. Unfortunately we didn't have much time to get over there, so we were hiking it pretty fast to get there. So fast that we were passing through really cool worlds I would have loved to have stayed in and looked - like England. But we had to get to Japan.<br />
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The drummers were fantastic! The energy that goes into such a performance was felt by everyone. it moved Nate to tears.<br />
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The boys were melting and juts like any pre-teen boys they were complaining the whole time about being hot and "can't we just go back to the hotel?" I'm going to be honest when I tell you I was on their side. I don't like heat - never have. I hate to be hot and sweaty. But there were some things that Nate wanted to see and we had a fast past for Chevy's Test Track ride at like 4:00pm. So, here we were.<br />
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Cooling off in the wishing well. I don't think there are bad Omens attached to that as long as they didn't steal the wishes.<br />
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Just a few countries away is Italy where we always love to go. It's such a neat place and there's always a performer - today it was Isaac.<br />
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This was super cool - it was a whole village with a model train that ran through it. But the village was humungous!<br />
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Ahhh, Test Track. Chevy is a smart company - to put a ride in Walt Disney. Here the kids walk in and with a partner you can design your car that you are going to race. You can design all components, engine, wheels, graphics, etc.<br />
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This was Maysen and I's car. We raced Griffin and Dad and they ended up winning. What happens is that you get in the car and your design car goes up against everyone else who is in the car with you. Based on the run (they did brake checking, 0-60mph check, race lap check, wet road check) they could decide who's car did the best. At the end of the ride when you get off, you walk through a Chevy showroom of all the newest Chevy models. Clever!</div>
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<u>Friday, October 23: Bye Orlando, Hello Lake Placid! </u></div>
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We checked out of our hotel around 10:00 and by the time we got in our rental car and off onto the road it was time for lunch so we stopped at my favorite place (but we don't have in Oregon) ... CRACKER BARREL!! I was a kid in a candy store - they boys thought they needed this giant Rice Krispies Treat!<br />
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We made it to dad's by early afternoon and it was nice getting to see all the renovations that they've been making on their house.<br />
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Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-79670863274723564242015-08-18T15:57:00.000-07:002016-01-24T15:58:38.667-08:00Summer 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Griffin playing "helicopter" with one of my socks in the pool. Enjoyed a lot of alone time with Griffin this summer in the pool. </div>
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Regretfully we haven't taken the boat out much it seems since we got our pool and heater. We love our boat and we've taken out a few times this summer. When we do, one our favorite activities is whipping the boys around on the tube. Griffin has come a long way. Finally, this year, he was brave enough to ride full speed and even liked being thrown off!<br />
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Summer seems to go by so fast these days...Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22854113.post-70068471170895109702015-08-01T13:12:00.004-07:002015-08-01T13:12:35.958-07:00Momma & Griffin's Trip 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<br />Every few years I like to take the boys to wherever they chose overnight. Just mom and said child. This time around was Griffin's turn because, well, I'd failed to do this with him yet. Maysen has been a few times and he's chosen to go to the beach - one year he chose to go to Portland. Griffin's choice was "....Chuck E Cheese." That meant we were going to Salem because since shutting down our local one, it's been a source of sadness for poor Griffin. So ... Salem it was!<br /></div>
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<br />We decided to go while Maysen was <a href="http://maysen.blogspot.com/2015/08/camp-harlow-2015-and-grandma-sherrills.html" target="_blank">still at camp</a> for a few more days. We left Thursday around lunch time. We stopped first and got milkshakes at Burgerville in Albany. Then onward to Salem. Griffin likes Chuck E Cheese for the video games, not so much the cardboard pizza (I know, right?!). So, when we arrived our first stop was the nickel arcade "Wunderland".<br /></div>
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<br />A young man from Idaho showed Griffin how to "cheat the game" by scoring three 9000 in a row. Griffin made out like a bandit with tickets. We stayed until we'd played every game at least twice. Onward to the hotel. My car said 107 degrees and we were hot just driving tot he hotel.<br /><br />
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<br />We chose to stay down by the river downtown Salem at "The Grande"<br /></div>
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<br />Of course we had to have the jacuzzi room.<br /><br />
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<br />Us being silly in the hot tub...<br /><br />
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<br />Cannonball!!!<br /></div>
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<br />We watched Paul Bart: Mall Cop and Book of Life. This young man relaxed in the jacuzzi for most of the first movie with the jets full blast!<br /><br />
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<br />.... a man in a black suit brought us dinner. You just put this outside your door and they come and take it away. Where do I get this service at home??<br /><br />
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<br />After all the jacuzzi time, it was popcorn time. What better popcorn bowl than the coffee pot thing? It's called, improvising.<br /><br />
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<br />We made an impromptu trip to the Capitol when we left our hotel. We were so close, why not?<br /><br />
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<br />Finally .... the reason for our trip ....<br /><br />
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<br />Another ticket bandit. The boy is so lucky!!<br /><br />
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<br />Griffin is such a social kid. Before I knew it he had made friends with "Andrew". They pal'd around for a few hours. Much cooler than playing with mom ... (and I was fine with that!)<br /><br />
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<br />I certainly made some good memories on this trip with Griffin. He is such a great kid and I am so lucky to have him as mine.Lesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02882061787703029757noreply@blogger.com0