The 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 ...
We had waited for a long time to tell the boys we were taking them on a Disney Cruise. The time finally came and it was really exciting. It took Maysen awhile for it to really sink in, but once it did it he was bouncing off the walls. I started to write the following post in a journal form, but realizing it would literally be about 200 pages long, decided I'd shorten it up and mainly include photos. At the end of the post will be a link to view all of the photos from the trip. Enjoy (I know we did!)
Having packed the night before, once we told the boys about our secret trip, we only had to load up the Tahoe and do the final packing. Amazingly the boys went to sleep up in the play room and at 4:00am we were on the road. Maysen stayed awake the entire 14hr drive to LA where our ship was docked. Amazingly, the trip went really well. Thank goodness for in-car DVD players! We also had endless supply of snacks, crayons, and coloring books.
We rolled to a stop at the DoubleTree by Hilton in San Pedro, CA around 7:00pm. We toured the hotel while we waited for our entirely-too-expensive room-service (but who cares, we're on vacation and too tired to get back into the dreaded Tahoe and go anywhere else) and we were all in bed by 9:00pm ready for the big day ahead.
We'd enjoyed our morning with breakfast buffet and a stroll along the marina looking a million dollar sail boats and yachts. Finally the time had come and the hotel shuttle took us directly to the ship around noon. It was a whirlwind! Our bags were unloaded and we were hustled into the terminal where our check-in process literally only took about 20min. There were Disney characters there to greet the guests and already the spirit of Disney filled the air.
Family names were announced as each family entered the ship. The boys had seen pictures of the Disney Wonder but seeing in "real life" was something surreal to them. They looked like orphan Annie at Daddy Warbucks' house the first time.
The staterooms were not going to be ready until 2:00pm so with a few hours to kill we walked around the ship, hit up Beach Blanket Buffet restaurant, and got ready to swim! That's one of the great tips I had gotten online was to wear swimming suits on board so that while you wait for your room, you can swim!
This was one of the 3 pools on board and the most kid-friendly, the Mickey Pool. It's only 2.5ft deep at the deepest part so we were able to really let the kids run free without worry of incidences. It was also the perfect temperature and even the hot tubs on deck were kid-friendly - not too hot. All of the kids loved the freedom.
Just around the corner from the Mickey Pool is a 24hr self-serve ice cream station. Nate and I agreed early on that this would be the boys' vacation as well and that meant that the kids got to eat whatever, whenever, and stayed up however long they wanted. It was a blast! I think this was Griffin's 3rd ice cream cone (most of them melted before the "cone" part).
Oceaneer's Lab/Club = Parental Heaven. Club was open from 9:00am - midnight daily. Child to Counselor ratio was about 1 counselor per 4 kids. Each child registered with Oceaneer's Club/Lab wore a bracelet attached to arm/ankle. They were scanned upon check in and parents carried a "wave phone" (ship-issued cell phone) around with them so that they could be notified at any second if the children wanted to leave, had an issue, whatever.
The lab part of the Oceaneer's Club contained kid-friendly computers, video games (monitored), science projects, bean bags for making forts, craft station, and much more I can't think of.
Craft Station. Nate and I utilized Oceaneer's Club daily for at least an hour or two so that he and I could have our adult time. At our dinner service, the boys were always served first usually within about 15 minutes and then taken to Oceaneer's Club so that Nate and I could eat dinner kid-free if we chose. There were a few nights the kids stayed with us through the whole dinner service, but mostly they wanted to be at Club.
The "club" part of the Oceaneer's Club consisted of barrel slides, dress-up closet, stage for dancing/acting/plays, more computers, games, etc etc etc.
The first full day/night was at Sea and also, of course, HALLOWEEN! Having had 2 very stimulated full days, the boys were a bit strung out by the afternoon and the thought of wearing these moustaches were about too much for them. Maysen bawled his eyes out before leaving the room and the tears had wet the moustache and smeared black all over. WE WILL HAVE FUN PEOPLE!!!
We shortened the trick or treating line (hallways of hundreds of people didn't thrill me) and once they'd had a full bag of candy we hit the quiet deck outside and relaxed in the 85F breeze while they stuffed candy down themselves.
The Halloween Deck party was a great hit though! We had a ton of fun watching everyone in their costumes dance away, play games, and party away enjoying Halloween at Sea!
Emma was our Assistant Server. She made sure that we had full drinks, the kids had ketchup shaped in the form of Mickey Mouse and other creatures. She entertained us throughout dinner service with making paper animals (she made frogs and even a Transformer!). On the last night she did a magic show for the boys that included making marshmellows disappear. Griffin had that figured out - he just kept snagging them out of her bowl!
Leo was our Head Server and he was amazing as well. He would get on the kids level and he was so gentle, sweet, and thoughtful. He would cut the boys' food for them when it arrived and would send extra dessert to our stateroom for the boys to eat later.
This is an example of the dinner we got every single night. We had 5-course meals and this example was beef tenderloin, Williams potato (that's the pear shaped thing, it's potato!), and steamed veggies. We always got an appetizer, soup, salad, entree, and dessert. The food was amazing. There was a separate kid-friendly menu that was just as yummy! Even the broccoli was Mickey-shaped!
On the last evening of the cruise, the dining crew sang Maysen "Happy Birthday". The chef had made him a birthday cake and he was thrilled. He felt really special. (This was at no charge to us!)
On Day 3 of our cruise we stayed in Puerto Vallerta, Mexico. We had pre-booked an excursion on a pirate ship. (Above). It was a 2hr ride out to a private beach where we boogie-boarded, swam, the pirates led the kids on a real "in the sand" buried treasure, we kayaked, and just relaxed. During our ride out to the beach, we had a pod of dolphins that swam with the boat. You could look down and see them right there, about a foot under the water. It was so refreshing seeing them in their natural habitat!
The island was a private ecological beach, so there wasn't much domestication which was refreshing. There were no manufactured homes, only man-built huts. Reminded me very much of the movie Nim's Island.
The 2hr trip to the beach and back was a bit long. It was hot, and the canvas that they strapped to the top to keep everyone out of the sun made a breeze impossible. They filled the ride with a sword fight, dance competitions, and fun stuff for the kids (tattoos and scars) but it was a bit long in the heat. Griffin even incidentally grabbed the first "fruit smoothie" he could find (they were passing them around the ship) and sucked it down! That is, until I noticed it was a white one and none of the other kids had a white one. Yep. It was a pina colada! He had sucked down about half of it, not realizing that it was actually the man's who was sitting beside me. Oops! Needless to say we understood as he quietly passed out about 20min later on the bench and remained asleep the rest of the trip. It was OK, he needed the nap ....
That night we left Puerto Vallarta, the cute pirates, and pina coladas behind. The next morning we were in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for 2 days. We chose not to do much in Cabo but remained on the ship and took in shows and events the ship was offering. The pools were amazingly quiet so we took advantage!
Watching the parasailers was breathtaking from our balcony. We sat watching them and the sunset.
Cabo Night #1 was Pirate-Themed. The boys (minus Griff) went impromptu and dressed up. Nate had the best time. The boys got pirate guns and enjoyed walking around the ship shooting folks. They were great sports.
Because it was pirate night, they had a pirate party out on Deck 9. It was filled with dancing, music, a buffet of pirate foods, and finally Mickey Mouse zip-lined across the deck from above. It was amazing! After he landed, there was a magical fireworks show. Disney is the only cruise line allowed to have fireworks on board and we were right where they were lighting them off. Griffin just laid with his head on my shoulder as we listened to Disney music softly in the background watching these wonderful fireworks against the warm, dark sky.
Triton, one of 3 of the restaurants we ate in for all 3 meals. Every night we ate in a different pre-assigned restaurant. However, Emma & Leo went with us to every restaurant so we had them every night. There was Triton, Parrot Cay, and Animator's Palate. Animator's Palate was a neat restaurant that started out black and white, and as the dinner service continued the pictures on the walls that were once black and white were now filling in with color; the paint brushes (beams) changed colors, and by the end of the service, the whole restaurant was alive with color.
Elevators looking out over main lobby, Deck 3.
Main lobby, Deck 3. Mickey and Minnie were out greeting guests.
Giant port hole seats. It was fun to sit and watch the ocean as we cruised at around 20 knots, usually. We were waiting for our show to start at 6:15pm. We had amazing entertainment shows each night. We had comedian/ventriloquist who was really funny. They were able to pull off Toy Story: The Musical which brilliant how they were able to assemble all 3 plots together into a musical. Disney Dreams was a play that was performed on the last night. It was set up where Peter Pan visits a little girl who wants to fly. Throughout the night they visit her dreams (Lion King, Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) with songs and dancing, and Peter Pan who really flew on stage and into the audience. The kids loved it.
Of course all the excitement and entertainment led to exhausted and irritable children. We had to have the "Be Grateful, not Spoiled" speech a few times but in the end the boys did great. About every other day we had to have a "down" day which still seemed to be filled with fun. In the afternoon we'd take in a movie at the Buena Vista Theatre on board where they played up to date movies such as Cars 2 in 3D, Reel Steel, and Nate and I even snuck off to see The Help (which I bawled my eyes out).
I just think this picture is incredibly cute. Goofy napkin hat courtesy of Emma.
We attempted a few of these and this one turned out relatively good. Everyone we asked to take our picture was extremely intimidated by our camera. It's like "You just point and shoot".
Our character breakfast morning came after our long day on the pirate ship. It started at 9:45am and Griffin was so tired he barely moved when we tried to wake him. Feeling sorry for him (who are we kidding, I wanted more sleep) Griffin and I stayed in bed, cuddled, and snored together while Nate and Mase went down to Character Breakfast. Nate admitted he ordered the Mickey waffles with Mase and Leo was nice enough to bring Nate a kiddy plate. He even cut his waffle for him. Leo was a character!
Of course there was a multitude of character meet and greets. Griffin thought Minnie was so pretty in her princess dress ... he even kissed her nose.
Stitch was a huge hit the last 2 days of the cruise. Why? I don't know. The boys haven't seen Lilo and Stitch the movie, ever! However, the boys insisted on getting Stitch stuffed animals and seeing him was a huge highlight.
We were lucky to also have an amazing Room Attendant, Dom. He would come and fix our room up twice a day; morning and night. We're talking I'd be horrified that anyone saw our room the way it was, but he'd come in and make it look new again. At night he would come and turn the beds down, make the boys' bunk beds up, and leave us little treats. He would make us a different towel creature every night and the boys couldn't wait to get back to the room to see what he had left. I took their t-shrits down to guest services and they had all the characters sign them. What a fabulous souvenir.
We are all still feeling a bit like this! What a fun time we had. We were checking out of customs and Mase kept looking back at the ship. He was quiet and without being prompted said, "Thank you so much for this vacation. It was a blast!" That made the trip all worth it.
We officially left LA at 10:00am and arrived back in Oregon at our home 14hrs later around 1:00am. Just as we were crossing the Oregon border I felt my throat start to get sore. Sure enough we all ended up with colds within the next day or two. Welcome to Oregon!
We had the trip of a lifetime. I'm sure the boys will remember this for years to come. I can't wait to do it again. The spirit of Disney filled the ship and everyone in it. It is a very different experience than what you get at the Disney Parks in CA and FL, yet just as amazing.
The night we told the boys of this surprise, they slept on the couch up in the playroom. We woke them up at 4:00am and everything was left as-is upstairs. When we returned, the boys stumbled back upstairs in a haze and laid in the mess left the week before. Moments later, Maysen stood at the top stair.
"Mom? Dad? Could you come up here and tuck is in?"
"No. It's so late buddy, just go to sleep."
"But I want you to tuck us in to complete the trip circle. Then it will be like our trip was all a big dream."
That's what it felt like. A dream. I want to go to sleep and go back!
If you didn't get enough pics (Ha!) then you can view the whole set here.
When I had children, life became more exciting. Not just because they're wild animals and now a glass of wine every night is almost a necessity versus a treat. Christmas mornings became magical again. Picking out pumpkins became a tradition again. There is a lull in life between when you're a child and when you have your own children where things go flat. It isn't usually until you have children where you start to see things (again) in a magical way.
That is why I absolutely cannot wait until October 28th. That is the night we are going to surprise the boys with a 7-night dream vacation to Mexico aboard the Disney Wonder. We leave the next morning for Los Angeles, California. We have been telling Maysen that would consider planning a "Mickey Cruise" when he was 8. That was last year. I saw something online about Disney and what they do for Halloween and I thought "Lets do it this year!" and just today I got our reservation paid off and confirmed our vacation! What a memorable Halloween this is surely to be!
Sure, I'm excited to go. But I'm more excited to experience this through the eyes of the boys. Nathan and I surely will get Disney'd out, so luckily you can sign them up for endless activities with the crew directors and alone time by the pool here we come, pager in hand if we need to go pick up the boys. Even at dinner they serve the kids first and then off they are escorted to arts and crafts for the remainder of dinner, if we so chose.
We are pondering ideas on how to tell the boys. If you can think of any, send them my way! I'm thinking of carving a pumpkin with a Mickey head on it and leaving it lit on the porch and ring the doorbell. Maybe have a box with a helium Mickey balloon inside they get to open with the cruise tickets tied at the bottom so when it does open, the balloon flutters out and up dangling the tickets. Can you tell I've put some thought into it?
Seems like just yesterday I took this picture. So many people commented on how Griffin wanted to be just like his big brother ... and he's still the same even today. Check out this picture this morning of the boys on their first day of school. We saved those shoes Maysen wore so that Griffin could wear them when he started school. He loves wearing his Bubba's shoes, and we're so lucky Maysen outgrew them within a month so they were brand new almost!
Here are some more pics of their first day! Maysen has Mrs Mercer this year and Griffin is starting his first preschool year with Miss Nicole. Where does the time go?
And although school is now here, we thoroughly enjoyed a summer filled with this:
Goodbye summer. Goodbye campfires and marshmellows. Goodbye humidity. Goodbye late nights. Hello curfews. Hello crisp evenings with the smell of fireplace in the air. Hello leaves swirling in the autumn breeze. Change is good sometimes.
Oh honey! You bet I’d love to watch football ALL day with you while I wait on you hand and foot. Oh! And lets rent a movie. The kind with lots of blood, guns, bombs, and naked women.
Ahh, the things we do for our spouses in the early years of marriage. It isn’t until about the 2ndyear that all that crap goes out the window and the dialogue goes a little like this:
If I have to listen to one more minute of football I’m going to poke my eyes out with forks. I wouldn’t want to poke yours out because you wouldn’t get to stare at the boobs of that chick with the half-missing tank top holding the M16 covered in sweat and mud.
You get the picture. My husband likes camping. The nuts and berries/water out of a stream, dig a hole to poop, kind of camping. Now, pooping in the toilet can be challenging enough, that I knew early on that I would never partake in the kind of camping that includes digging a hole and mastering the concept of dangle and drop. My idea of camping included an RV with hot running water, toilets, carpet, and lights.
We compromised with a tent, air mattress, and the fact I can bring my down comforter. I know what you’re thinking, but shush; it’s the closest thing to a Hilton Inn, so I’ll take it.
Our first attempt at camping with our small kids didn’t go so great. We both decided for our own sanities we’d wait until they were a bit older. This past spring when we bought our boat, we decided it would be the perfect opportunity to start camping again .. or attempt it at least. After all, we were really enjoying our boat – mainly because I can get out aggression on my husband and kids in a non-violent but oh-so-fulfilling manner by putting them on a giant piece of rubber and driving the boat so fast I put the fear of God in them by swinging them side to side. Not to mention I get great satisfaction out of watching them fly off, screaming like little girls the whole way down to a fiery splash. It’s the simple things in life, really.
See, due to a little disorder I like to call Obviously Clean Disorder (not, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder like the over-educated doctors call it), camping for me can get a bit complicated. For example, I shower twice a day. Every day. I like my kids clean, warm, and lotion’d up before bedtime. I enjoy clean, cozy, and crisp linens. I don’t like to be too hot .. or too cold. I can sit in front of a campfire like everyone else, but if the shower and etcetera’s don’t follow soon after, I will appear one-half devil to anyone within a 5 mile radius.
So, when some very good friends of ours invited us to camp one night with them at a lake only 10mi away (lets be real: a short drive back home in case of small panic attacks), we were up for the challenge. The previous weekend we let the boys have a camp-out in the backyard to let the tent air out. This was the pimpest bachelor pad for boys under 7 ever made! At times that tent was swinging from side to side with wild-animal noises coming from inside and guess who didn’t care: me. I waited for blood splatter or bone cracks. It never came, so the swinging kept on.
Fast forward to last weekend. We showed up at the Glenn’s campsite ready to go. I had pumped myself up in my head with random sayings like “Leslie, you got this. This will be fun! All the luxuries of home, the kids are going to have a blast. THIS IS AWESOME!”
I was ready for mother nature to BRING IT! Our enthusiasm was met by silence. There was no one at camp. We weren't sure where to start setting up, where to park. The kids jumped out of vehicles like they'd been freed from a prison sentence. Mase went one way, Griff went another, and Bay-the-Bassett went in her own direction. Octopus-arms mom that I am jumped into action and scooped them all up and hog tied them with socks to the picnic bench.
We just picked a spot that looked semi-level and got the tent ready. After one roll out of the tent, I heard the words I don't like to hear.
"Ohhhhhh God. What is all that?!"
I turned around to find that somehow, chocolate milk had been left in the bachelor pad. It had been rolled up in the tent and stored in the dead heat for 7 days. Nate convinced me to go ahead and put the tent up and we'd let it air-out and we'd clean up what we could. I hesitantly waited outside the tent with bucket of soapy water in hand, not sure what to expect when I opened the flap of Chocolate Curdled Milk Tent. All I can say is I threw up in my mouth just a little bit. Yep. Sure did.
Nate, bless his heart, did scrub the best he could to get as much of it out as possible.
Just breathe through your mouith, not your nose. Clever concept, you might think, except instead of smelling it now I could taste it. And we won't go there. Who will be the lucky duck to get to lay on that quarter of the tent? Well, Bailey rolls in dead things for fun. She should appreciate this wall of deliciousness. I also assumed that my Snore-Eliminator Mondo box fan that I brought from home would help to dry it out some, too. Nate snores so bad that I either need major drugs or a really loud jet engine fan to drown him out just so I can sleep. As Nate got out the extension cord to get the magic fan plugged in, we heard it:
"Uhhhhh, these sites aren't electriccc, soooooooooo..."
What!? No electric? No Snore-Eliminator Fan? No Sleepy-Sleep for Leslie?
Deep breathing and counting to 2938, I got over the no-electricity concept and moved on. Maybe a good boat ride would help, surely. Docked in reeds 59 feet high (oh yeah, we just slam our hummer of a boat into the weeds like a make shift anchor) we made our way to the boat. No flip flops could hold up to the demands of thick mud, rocks, and weeds. Battered, bruised, and almost defeated, we made it to our boat. I twisted my knee, Mase was terrified of the "mysteries"that lived in the weeds, and Griffin cut his foot. I felt like the soldiers in 'Nam wading waste-deep in water up to my waste. The only thing missing was my rifle held above my head - oh, and the cigarette pack in my t-shirt sleeve.
At sundown, the smaller kids were playing random games in a flat field near the site. As if a clown were chasing them, they all came a'running, screaming, and grabbing various body parts. Turns out, there was a nice little yellow-jacket nest in the ground had been disturbed and any child around was a victim. Most of the victims were dainty pre-teen girls who sounded as though they were birthing babies rather than surviving a bee sting.
When dinner was over, the men decided they needed a guy's knee boarding trip so they headed out. I decided it was a good time to drag my boys down to the showers with me (will refer you back up to paragraph 3 about my illness). We show up and at first I wasn't sure there were showers, because the doors were the same size as regular toilet stalls. Yep folks, we're talking our shower was 3'x4'. Let's count the occupancy to this hummer: 2 rowdy boys under the age of 7 and one large woman with big parts.
By now the boys have learned that this place echoes. Of course that means we have to test the limits of this metal box of headache. Eventually bellowing through the tin shack was:
OK! BOTH OF YOU STOP THIS NOW .... stttooop thssssss nooooowwww"
The new game after the echo competition was to see who could climb from under the stall opening to the stall next door the quickest. Maysen soon discovered if his body was covered in soap, he could slide faster than a seal covered in baby oil and be next door in 5 seconds. Now, I'm hot as hell from wrestling these boys around. The water was one of those that you had to push every 10 seconds so just as I'd get one soaped up the water would turn off.
I'VE GOT SOOOOOOOOOAP IN MY EYYYYYYYYYEEEEESSS .... HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLPPPPP!!!!
Then Griffin had to pee so he just lets her rip ... all over my leg. I finally had it, and I swear that public shower house sounded like I was performing an exorcism up in that joint.
BOTH OF YOU TWO GET IN HERE NOW AND STAND IN ONE STOP OR SO HELP ME GOD I WILL BEAT YOU WIT--.
I decided I'd better calm down. We finished the shower, double socks and all (double so that the dirt germs didn't get through the first layer ... I told you. I have an issue), and I was so worn out by the time I got back to camp I wasn't sure if I had just ran a marathon, or really in fact, just did showers. I was looking forward to hitting the bed.
Ahh, sleep. If it would have only been that simple. We hit the sack around midnight. Nate had coincidentally tweaked his back bending over to get something out of a bag (yeah, I know, right?). As we laid down on our air mattress the first thing we notice is about 25% of our air has oozed out. Yipee. Remember, no fan, so it was dead quiet, something none of us is used to. Nate could barely roll over or he'd be really hurting. When I'd go to roll over my knee would scream at me I'd about hit the roof (which consisted of nothing but a screen because Nate forgot the tarp for the top ... I was for sure a bird would fly over and poop all over my face. I kept waiting for it.)
Within minutes, I heard the dreadful sound. Not a bear. Not a bird pooping on my face. It was much worse. It was Nate's dreadful snoring. It's like a foghorn in the middle of the night, in a tunnel, right in my ear. Remember the fizzling air from the leak in the mattress? This has provided a trench, a gully, for him to fall right up against the side of me.
2:47am
4:07am: You've got to get the hell out of here so I can get some sleep.
By now, karma had paid my husband back for me and acid reflux was knocking on his esophageal door. He decided he'd better just go sit up in the chairs by the fire. Poor man looked homeless, curled up in a chair by the community fire in a dirty sweat shirt.
6:32am: CAWWWWWW CAAAAWWWWW CAAAWWWW!
Apparently at 6:32am the crows of the campground have a caw-fight. They were so loud. I decided I'd better check on the homeless man at the fire. Afterall, aside from the CAWWW's, it had been unusually quiet and when Nate's around sleeping, everyone knows about it. In fact, he would likely have scared the crows off. I peeked my head outside our tent.
There was the firering. There were the chairs. No Nate.
Crap, has he been abducted?
Then I saw it. Our Tahoe had magically appeared behind the Glenn's trailer. What's weird, is that we had left it 3 miles down the road at the boat launch the day before. How did it get here? Inside, I found the homeless man behind the wheel passed out, drool dribbles and all. I could hear the small vibrations of his snoring as I stood at the door.
*knock knock* How'd the Tahoe get here?
I went and got it.
Yeah, but. How? It's 3 miles down the road.
I walked.
... Yeah, bu-
I walked. Through the woods. In the dark. It was scary. I followed the trail and it took me to some random person's campsite. I waited to be mauled by a dog. Shot by a camper. Assaulted by a group of camping feminists. I didn't care. I needed shelter and a heated seat. So I walked. Now shut the door so I can go back to sleep or I'm tearing down the tent with everyone inside.
I've never seen anyone disassemble a tent/campsite so fast in my life.
When we finally got on the road, all was well in the Scovil vehicle. Nate dozing behind the wheel, bugs crawling out of my hair, and screams of joy and excitement radiating from the backseat.
MOM!!! WHEN CAN WE DO THIS AGAIN?! CAN WE DO THIS AGAIN TOMORROW!? PLEEEEEAAAASSSEEEE??
Mom? What are you doing? I LIKE RED TOO! Can you paint mine? I want my toes to look like yours!
Sure. But your dad is going to kill me. And so will you in 10 years.
I don’t look forward to the day that my boys will break my heart; but I know it’s coming. No longer will they ask for me to lay in bed with them to talk about “funny stories”. No longer will they run to me for safety from one another, as they will learn to fight their own battles. No longer will I have to blow on their oatmeal so that it won’t burn their tongues.
And it will break my heart. But I also look forward to this day as well.
Maysen has started to have more interest in daddy and “daddy’s things”, which I knew (and warned Nate about) would happen. It warms my heart to watch Nate start to instill the male slant on things in their life, as I know one day they will reflect back to it when, perhaps, one day they have their own children. They’re boys and I know this is very important.
But I will still miss the days where they wanted toes like mommy. I will miss the days where Mase would fall asleep in bed with either a blanket or Leo the Lion on his head because it made him “have hair like mommy’s”. I know that these photos are great for blackmail when they’re 18, but that’s not why I have them. It’s to remind me of the days where, if even for a moment, they were my little ones who wanted to be like their mommy.
So, no longer will they aspire to have toes just like mom because “they like red”. But. That’s OK with me. Sort of.
Mrs. Larson was Maysen's kindergarten teacher and one of the best you could have ever asked for! We hope Griffin is able to get into her class to continue the Scovil tradition!
Maysen and his friend Natalie. She is adorable! I think they'll be lifelong friends!
As mentioned before, I mostly grew up on boats in the summer time. So, when we bought our magic watercraft on wheels, I thought this would be a piece of cake. Gone was the logic thought of,
Leslie, your husband has never really been on a boat. How do you expect to know what the hell he's doing? You're going to drown out there!! Think of your children!!! Oh, the humanity!!
Nope. All gone. Instead I relied on my husband's 10min brief orientation from the previous owner to hold solid and get us through this. Mainly because as the years have ticked by he's proven to me that he is MacGyver and can fix just about anything. Minus the hot 80's mullet.
Our infamous boat-launching day, we decided to "go it alone". Meaning, we'd been warned to not do this your first time alone.
Ha! We laugh in the face of the non-believers!
Or so we thought. We arrived at the boat dock, and like a panicked school girl, I kept frantically looking back and forth like some hyped up retriever looking for his ball.
What do we do now? Do you want me to get out? Oh, God, Nate what if people are waiting for us? What if you screw up backing the trailer up and then the guy behind us is pissed and then we get gossiped about by the Official Boating Club people?
The what?
Ok, I get it. My husband set the boat down in the water with amazing ease. Overjoyed that MacGyver had soothed my first fear, the boys and I hopped out and got on the dock. Neither boy had a life jacket on and now THEY were the ones who were the hyped-up-retrievers-looking-for-their-ball. I'm standing on the dock holding the 2 white ropes as the boat came off the trailer. I pulled the boat over to the dock and was excited for my own achievement. Then Nate disappeared over the loading dock and he went to park the Tahoe.
As time ticks by my hands are turning purple from holding the ropes so tight. I mean it wasn't a yacht in a windstorm for crying out load, I was just to hold the unloaded boat at the dock.
This is our first time, I kept saying with my big Jackie O sunglasses on, and I think the strangers noticed my hyper-panicky voice. I don't think anyone really cared. This was mixed in with:
Maysen get back off the side, your brother is going to watch -- Griffin you step back too ... Mase I said to just sto--- GRIFFIN! YOU BOTH GET BACK BEFORE I SWEAR TO GOD I'M GOING TO--This is our first time ...*smile*
Minutes tick by like hours as I'm waiting for my saviour to make his way over the hill and into my view. I can now audibly hear the "sighs" of the boats behind us frustrated that I, Jackie O who is yelling at her kids non stop because she's afraid they'll slip off and drown, is indeed taking up the WHOLE DOCK.
Finally here comes Nate. And what do I see? NO, and I mean ZERO boys' life jackets or backpack (which contained emergency snacks, sunscreen, socks ... always need dry socks). It takes him what seems like forever to reach the dock, and like a dog who fetched a bone was smiling wildly at me.
Ready to go?!
Nope. You left all the crap up in the car.
Sh--
Yep. Please hurry as I'm about to panic over these kids and the irritated two guys from Grumpy Old Men behind me. Which, as of program note, in fact had to go back out into the lake, circle around, and come back because I was in the way. Score.
Now here he comes with arms full of gear. As I strap the kids so tight they can barely breath in their life jackets, we load the boat. People flood out of the woodwork, seemingly, as soon as we hop aboard.
*Grrrrrrrrrrr---* *Grrrrrrrrrrr----*
What? You can't tell that's a dead battery noise? Well. It was. And while we tried for the next hour trying to get jumped by everyone sailing by on the water, no luck. We decided to abandon ship, and back we came into town for a nice $80 mid-Sunday afternoon snack of battery! If I had only grabbed my cellphone. I see now what people used to do before cellphones were here. Savages!
Back we go, all 20 miles back to the lake. The people have scattered, and to our relief no one had stolen our non-starting boat. Phew! Nate got the battery in, changed, and she fired right up! I was glad because I had already talked myself into believing that this boat HAD to be a pile of junk, and that we'd gotten ripped off, and the previous owner had, in fact, stolen our first born!
We enjoyed our day out on the lake, which really was only about an hour. But that was enough, as the breeze was chilly now and the sun was fading. Feeling we'd tackled the hardest part of the journey, I told Nate to go get the trailer and I'd load the boat. Nate missed the launch pad twice, should have been an omen.
I loaded the boat with ease and perfection. All except for when, thanks to the homeless guy on the dock who screamed "YOU LEFT YOUR BUOYS OUT!!", I was about to pop those babies in two. Take #2 went smoothly as well. Nate got out to crank the boat up and as we were driving up the boat ramp with smiles of triumph, Mr Homeless came running after us pointing.
"OWIEGN KDGIJD KJIIAASHIKJWE KDLJIAGHIE!!!!!"
I smiled and waved, "THANK YOU!"
**CRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR--**
What? You didn't know that was the sound of your motor that wasn't lifted out of the water dragging on the launch pad? Oh. Well. It was. And now we are sitting high-center in the middle of the launch pad. Over much debate with whether or not I raised the motor out of the water (which I did what I was told and did) and with the help of 4 or 5 other boaters who came to help out, we remained high-centered on the launch pad and, again, in every one's way.
Dying of mortification, I just want to spread my wings and fly back into the middle of the lake away from everything, but instead I'm asked what no fat dwarf wants to be asked.
Can you get out of the boat?
Uh. Leslie here with 2ft legs and we're sitting approximately 8 feet off the ground. Right.
You've gotta be kidding me right? Where are those damn wings?
Somehow we all pile off the boat and I make the kids get into the running Tahoe while we (the guys) figure out what to do. It takes the kids exactly 4.9 seconds to remove their life jackets, seat belts, and are currently hanging from the vehicle complaining and whining like you'd just told them Santa ate the Easter Bunny.
With God's graces, they were able to push the motor up a bit and move the boat back into the lake. Now what? We still can't load it and take it out of the lake. The mystery was behind this magic black button called "Trim". Apparently we were pushing it all the way up but the motor was not coming out of the water. We were placing all bets that our faithful friend, Tim, would be home. It was Tim who had told us to not go boating alone the first time and wait for them to be available. We'll never ignore Tim again!
I left with the wild animals who had no shoes, had not eaten, and were gnawing holes in the new Tahoe seats. I look back to see solemn Nate in the boat like a developmentally challenged person with no helmet. Boat sitting quietly at the dock and we all know is going no where. I fly down the highway as the tears start to flow. What am I going to do if Tim's not home?
I pass a highway patrolman who slams on his breaks. No, I'm not speeding, don't do this to me! I rounded the hill and slid behind some semis in hopes I'd lose him, although I didn't know why I was being followed to begin with. The lights of HOME were shining at me as I took the exit and sped to The Glenn's house.
Thank you JESUS he was home! Tiffany answered the door.
Oh my God, what's wrong? Who died?!
Did I really look that bad? I blubbered out my sob story as Hero Tim changed out of his church clothes at warp speed and before I knew it, stood there, wrenches in hand. We walked to the trailer and I think I found the culprit of why the highway patrolman slammed on his breaks.
There behind the trailer was 12' of the line used to crank the boat in with. It's a 3" wide ribbon/rope and Nate had not locked it. So I'm flying passed people on the freeway at warp speed, crying, kids going nuts, all with 39 million feet of this flag waving behind me.
Tim agreed to drop me and the kids off at home, now dark, and go rescue Nate. Within 30 minutes I got a call from Nate.
Figured out the problem. Apparently there's a separate black button that raises the engine out of the water.
Thanks Tim for saving us. And we will not be attempting this again without you.
As a parent, it is easy to get wrapped up in everyday life. I will admit that often there are times where my kids test my frustration-level more than my love-level. I know that I am not perfect and no matter how hard I do try and bite my tongue, I know my quick wick sometimes gets the best of me; I am sure I say some things that I wish I didn't. It is something that I am trying to get better at, honestly.
My sister directed me toward this poetry reader that she found online; Her newly profound interest in poetry came out of nowhere, like many of her new ideas and interests. This poem struck me more than some of the other random poems and site readings she sends me via YouTube. Perhaps its because I'm a mom. Maybe its because of her openness and honesty. Maybe its because it is so true, hidden behind some locked file cabinet in our minds, we know all of this, but yet it doesn't seem significant enough at the time.
At the time. At "this" time is what is most important. This is the time that will count for that time down the road.
In her poem, Rachel McKibbens mentions #1 "the crumpled photo of myself in the garbage".
One sunny afternoon, Maysen was going through my drawer where I keep old photos of classmates and dusty yearbooks. Annoyed he was dragging everything out of the drawers, I barked at him to put all the stuff back and shut the drawer.
Who is this, mom?
That's me. (Really do I look that different?)
How old were you? Why is your hair yellow?
I explained that the picture was when I graduated high school, right before college. As for the yellow hair, I tried to rationalize why I had over-highlighted to cover my dark roots and then my hair got too brittle and only becau--- I stopped there because the deer-in-headlights look was too much.
Nevermind. My hair was just yellow in high school.
He sat mesmerized and as his brother approached, he beamed.
Griffy did you know this was Momma when she was graduating High School? She was 18. She even has yellow hair!
He later asked for some tape. Annoyed at having to remove 29 feet of destroyed tape from his attempts to cut a 1" piece off, I gave him the tape. I didn't think to ask what it was for.
That night, tired and eyes watering from yawning so much, I was talked into going upstairs to lay with him. Griffin had fallen fast asleep and was audibly snoring.
Listen to that beast!
We both giggled, knowing it probably wasn't the best thing to condone him calling his brother a "Beast". All in all, we sat and whispered to one another. Maysen loves hearing about stories of when I was young. As he yawned, I kissed his forehead. Something caught my eye.
Taped on his headboard was my senior picture.
Why did you tape my picture up here?
Because, mom. You're so pretty!
He now has 2 pictures on his headboard. My senior picture from 12yrs ago, and one photo my sister took of Maysen and I when he was about 3 months old. I am holding him up in the bathtub, while he stares at Jenn with his huge blue eyes. He thinks he looks like "a baby monkey and I'm sooo cute, mom!".
I never want to see my picture crumpled up in the garbage. I think it would be the one thing in this world that could break my heart. I hope I always make him happy enough, proud enough, to display my picture.
