Florida Trip & "Surprise Beach" cruise with Dad and Jo

The first surprise of this trip was that we were flying to Florida to visit dad and Jo. We had hidden "clues" around the house. First was a picture of dad and Jo's camper. Then the next clue was a picture of Florida. The last clue was a picture of an airplane. We had dad and Jo on Skype watching them running around looking for clues.

We told the boys we couldn't leave for our trip until daddy was done with work. Nate and I had hte car loaded and waited for them to walk off the bus and as soon as they did we busted the doors open and said "LETS GO NOW!" We drove to Portland and spent the night before our 5:00am flight.

The following day everything was going smooth. Too smooth. Boys got up without a problem, we had our bags ready, airport went smooth, boarding went smooth. We are up in the air about an hour right as the sun was coming up and I start to notice some commotion a few rows up from us. It was a younger woman yelling "Mom, mom?" at the older woman beside her. Pandamonium broke out. WE NEED A DOCTOR! The frantic flight attendants are going down the aisle asking for anyone with medical training to help. Now, I'm sitting there thinking "I'm on vacation. I'm on vacation" when low and behold Maysen jumps up and yells "MY MOM IS A NURSE!!" 203 eyes turn and look at me so I wander up to the commotion. This plane is worthless for equipment. They had a BP cuff but it was from 1938 and didn't hardly work. Long story short, this poor woman was having either a heart attack or a stroke and we needed to land the plane NOW. The copilot comes down the aisle and starts talking to me about an emergency landing. We agree to wait 5 more minutes to land in Salt Lake.

We make a hard landing and before we know it, paramedics are on board getting this woman off the plane. I go back to my seat and avoid people staring at me wanting to know details. We were treated like royalty the rest of the flight! Free food, free drinks. But I kept waiting for us to go back up in the air. We just SAT THERE. Second Long Story: We had landed at Salt Lake City - an airport that does not contract with American Airlines. Considering we landed so "heavy" (we weren't supposed to land until Dallas, so we still had a lot more fuel on board than we were supposed to) the plane needed a safety inspection before we could go back up. Problem: the inspection had to be done by an American Airlines inspector and since SLC didn't contract with AA they had none. After about 2hrs worth of faxing back and forth, they crowned one of their techs "AA certified" and we were up in the air. Of course that meant we missed our connection in Dallas and by the time all was said and done it was 1:00am and we were landing in Florida. (I did get a $500 voucher out of AA, though!)

We had fun our first few days in Florida. We went to the beach and hung out. The boys loved Golden Corral. (unlimited cotton candy!). Maysen did get a bit wigged out of all the critters. Our wonderful little chalet did have a few centipedes and other critters and he just couldn't handle that. Luckily the very next night we were "going to Surprise Beach" and spending a few nights there.

We loaded up around 8:00am and jetted off to Surprise Beach. Of course this was where our Disney Cruise awaited us but the boys had no idea. Unfortunately diarrhea struck me not once but TWICE and after an impromptu side trip to a cemetery, fire ants, visit to the boy scout camp (I'll write more about that later) we arrived at Surprise Beach.

The boys weren't all that impressed with the beach, which consisted of a few areas where the water met the mud but then we showed them why it was called Surprise Beach:

It took some convincing but finally they believed us. And away we went with Grandpa and Granmda!

Our room had bunk beds, which the boys loved!

Of course we met various cast members. Maysen was "almost" too cool for them, but not quite.

We went over Halloween again this year, the boys were pirates. This is them pounding on Grandma and Grandpa's door so we could go do trick or treats around the ship.

Our main waiter, Kalebo. He was such a wonderful soul.

Dad and Jo were sort of gypsies on their own adventure. That was fine with us. But we needed proof that we were on the same trip together, so above is proof that we did have them with us! Hehe.

Salt water pool in Costa Maya.

Don't worry folks, lid was on.

This was our dinner night at Animator's Palate. Our drawings were taken, downloaded, and collaborated into an actual animation up on the walls in the dining room. It was amazing!

This was Vaz, our assistant waiter. He was very helpful at helping the boys cut up their food and making Mickey Mouse faces out of ketchup.

We visited the Mayan Ruins at Cozumel. The boys stayed on the ship at Kids Club and so just the adults went.

This was the self-serve soft serve on the Disney Island of Castaway Cay. Griffin had learned how to run this machine since they have one on the ship. By now he was a pro :)

All together, minus grandma Jo :( This was our last night.

We did bring back some souveniers for the dogs. We think they like them.

If only I was missing some teeth.

Last summer I got on a kick of painting. I had painted accent walls in both my bedroom and my bathroom. I needed one more room to paint, or so I thought, so I proceeded to paint the kitchen back splash wall. I was almost done - finishing up in fact one weekday morning. I was fighting the boys to stay out of my hair while I got it finished. I was losing the battle quickly and then I thought of it:

Redbox. Movie. 2hrs of peace and quiet.

Unfortunately we don't have a Redbox in our small town, but we do 10mi away. I figured we'd grab drive through and a movie and head home and I'd for sure get this painting done. Since I woke up and just started painting, let me give you the visual:

I had "sleep" still all over - my face, my hair, hairy armpits and legs, no brushed teeth, hair astray. the boys were lucky to have Cheerios thrown at them while I painted, so yes, as we set out on this adventure they were still also covered in sleep and still in PJs at 11:30am. I was wearing paint covered tank top (that, admittedly was a bit too small, so who knows how much belly was showing), holey capris, no bra.

"Can we take the dogs? Pllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssseeeeeeeeeee?"

Hey, you pick your battles, right? Maybe they were sensing my weakness, but they asked at the right time and won. The dogs were going.

I reserved a movie ahead of time so the time I was out of the Tahoe and actually in public view was very limited. We got to Walgreens and of course EVERYONE had to get out. Everyone but the dogs. Panicking that I'd run into someone I knew, I was trying to speed the process up. Finally ... movie in hand, "GET IN THE CAR!" to the boys, and I stepped off the curb.

Greeting me at the window were the ever-so-happy-dogs. So happy, in fact, that Willy had jumped up onto the window console waiting for our return.

As I reached for the door handle, I heard the worst sound of my life.

*Click*

Yes indeed. Willy had inadvertently locked the Tahoe doors with one mistaken paw. With panic I looked around to the side. Surely the boys made it first before he locked it..

"MOM! UNLOCK THE DOOOOOR! ITS HOTTTT!"

You've got to be kidding me. The Tahoe at this point was still running. My cell phone was inside as well. On star! Maybe my On Star still works! But that meant we had to go ....... INSIDE WALGREENS. No shoes. No bra. Pajamas. Paint. Sleep everywhere. Stink. Goood Lord.

I was directed to the back where the photo center is and the woman behind the counter is dialing the numbers for me. So just as she's dialed OnStar for me, I'm having to interrupt her to type in the prompts. "Excuse me, can you dial 1?" .... "Now 2; woops, now I have to start over can you redial?" You get the picture.

Meanwhile the kids are going crazy. they've found the pit of gigantic 4ft bouncy balls and are bouncing them isle to isle. Bread is being knocked onto the ground and between my "push 1, please" I'm yelling "Put that down ... (damnit) .... Hi ... can you hold just a sec ... I SAID TO STOP THAT NOOWWW!" People are starting to glance around and notice me and my dirty-feet children.

My OnStar ran out 5 days before the incident. FIVE DAYS. And if that wasn't enough, because I said there were dogs in the car, they transferred me to the police department. Yes, that mean they're sending out Sexy Sgt Shaffer to help me with this crisis.

A wine bottle shatters, the blue ball bounces up into the air.

GET OVER HERE NOW! I'm surprised the arm didn't come completely detached from the child as I placed them on the ground at my feet.

On a hunch I ask Maysen to go back outside and see if willy has unlocked any of the doors. He runs full speed out the store like a thief with a stolen candy bar.

I'm hoping he comes back with a smile on his face. But alas he comes in, there is no smile.

"Nope. Still locked...........................(and just as I deep sigh and lose all hope I hear it) ...... but there's a window down now."

WHAT!?

Down goes the phone and I run out of the store with both homeless-looking boys behind me. Sure enough willy had rolled down the back window.

"Ouch!" yells Maysen as I lift him up and cram him into the 6" opening.

"Oh, you're getting in there ....squeeeeze!"

the lady beside our car is snickering. Lady you have no idea. Never again, folks. Never again.

Summer Un-Birthday 2013

Last year we started doing a Summer Un-Birthday party for both the boys. It was brilliant. Since both boys have winter birthdays, they were getting tired of having the same old chuck-e-cheese party, or inside water park party. This way we get both birthday parties out of the way for the whole year ... Boom! Last year we rented a bounce house, had 2 sleep overs, and water fights. This year, since we got a new pool, we had a pool party. We played messy games (whipped cream musical chairs and "hunt for the gummy bear with your face" cream pies"). We had two pinatas, which we initially we were going to seperate the boys into their groups of friends. Both boys had a great number of friends and cousins turn out for the party, which was great but it made for a wild time. So wild, we ditched the segregated groups and just let everyone play as one big group hitting 2 pinatas.

The boys got some science experiement gifts and guess what we did all day the following day? THIS! Maysen has been so into science lately. His mind is so intricuit. He wants to know how things work and why they work. He can sit with Nate and geek out to "How it's Made" on TV for hours. Griffin just wants to be doing what big brother is doing. It gets on Maysen's nerves a great deal but I do hear him (between the yells) giving him instruction on what to do.

Griffin is really coming into his own lately. He is still very much a cuddly mommy's boy but is becoming rowdy and wild. Maysen was at Grandma's house last week and Griffin ate up every minute of one-on-one he could get. He is a good listener and most of the time won't argue when asked to do something (too much). Maysen is my debater. He will negotiate until he's blue in the face to try and get out of something. It drives me nuts, but you gotta love his persistance.

We are 2nd month into summer now and that attitudes are nuts. Maysen always has a bit of an attitude these days. He's very negative. As told by Sherrill on their last vacation with her "Maysen what a beautiful blue sky!" .... "It's not all blue -- look! There are white clouds up there too!". He always has to run his mouth and it never stops. I'm trying not to kill him and remember that this probably is my genes taking over. I know what a strong, determined, strong-willed person I became and know there is some pay off when he becomes an adult but it's painful getting there!

The time is 10:03 and I know this because I wonder why the house is so quiet on a Sunday morning. The night before, the boys had chosen to sleep in "Grandma Lynnie's room" (aka: spare room) so I knew when the sun came up they'd be awake. Regardless, I get up, go to the toilet, as I hear feet approaching.

And there he stood. Griffin, the ghost. He was not dressed in the PJs he had so excitedly put on the night before (Mario Brothers). Instead he donned footie winter jammies. Before I had a chance to speak, the ghost spoke.

"I puked in Gramma Lynnie's bed cause I wasn't feeling very well. Also, I farted in my Mario jammies .... (starts to cry) but it was a poooooooop bommmmmb."

The next 18hrs was filled with puking, dry heaving, napping, more puke. Poor little pale-as-a-ghost Griffin. I'm happy to report he's much better and went back to school today.

Today we lost our precious Bailey this morning very unexpectedly. She fought with Addison's Disease for just over 7 years but was feisty and tried to keep up with our other babies every day. Nate and I brought Bailey into our lives in June 2002 when we had moved onto Fort Riley post housing. Kresta and Ryan, neighbors, had a Bassett and we thought they were such great dogs. It wasn't a week after we moved on post, we had ourselves a baby basset hound named Bailey.

When Nate deployed to Iraq during the war, she was my rock. She knew when something was wrong, she knew when I needed her and she was always there. Although she had seperation anxiety when we'd leave, she would absolutely destroy the house while we were gone, barking and howling to the point of being hoarse. I remember specifically one story when Nate was gone to war and she and I were on a super long walk. It was a 7-mile walk along the river and I'd forgotten her water bowl back at the car. I kept encouraging her to keep going and she was slowing. Because she enjoyed the no-traffic along the path, she wasn't kept on a leash but she bee-bopped along side me. That is, until I noticed she wasn't. I panicked. I cried. Here was the one person I had left since Nate had left in a scary way and she was gone. No where to be found. Do I call and have people come to me? Do I try and leave...but what if she comes back? I started running and all of a sudden I hear jingling. Bay's jingling. She had gotten hot and detoured down to the river, took a swim, drank, and was making her way back to Momma! I had never been so happy!

She has lived a relatively illness-free life until she was about 6yrs old. She was diagnosed with Addison's Disease. Everyone was so worried about her, but Maysen was a baby and so careful with her. She was gentle with him too, and we would often find her laying in his nursery in front of his (and later Griffins) cribs. Just laying, almost watching and making sure everything was OK.

She hated fireworks. We would have to drug her. Her first experience of fireworks was on the boat. We had went to Cedar Bluff lake with my dad and Jo and they thought it would be a great idea to take her out onto the water while we watched fireworks. No go. She ran around the whole boat .... pee'ing everywhere .... and I'm running around after her with a blanket trying to cover her face (like you would a frickin' horse!) trying to calm her down. Since then it was not happening. In fact, when she was about 8yr old she was in our backyard while we went to purchase some fireworks. When we came home our neighbor told us that someone behind our house started lighting off fireworks. Before she knew it, all she sees is Bailey BOOKING IT down the cul-de-sac with her ears in the "nun-hat" position. She was OUTTA there. So we go back and look -- she had tore down the whole gate to get out. She was not having that!

When she was a puppy she had terrible seperation anxiety. If we left we had to crate her and if we even tried to leave her out, she would destroy EVERYTHING. We're talking remotes, cell phones, purses, my glasses, my nursing books. We even waited till dark and then left the house so we could see what she did when we left. She went window to window HOWLING looking for us. When she got destructive we came in ... she had it bad. How did we break her? Well .... we moved her "basket (bed)" into the living room. Tunrs out she just needed a place she felt save whereever she was. So if we pulled her basket out into a main room while we were gone, she was fine. Eventually she learned to go climb in it in the bedroom while we were gone. Just like a kid!

We will miss her very much. Nothing could replace her. I still miss her hoofs on my floor. But I know she's up there chasing Birdie. Love you, my girl.

Baja Cruise & Disneyland

Sunday, October 28: Drive to Los Angeles

Our trip began at 4:00am. The boys slept in the spare room so access to them was easy. We had initially planned on leaving at 3:00 (this is what we had told Maysen) and at 3:22am he came in to inform us that we had overslept. I told him we were not leaving until 4:00am and he went back to sleep.

Nate took the first round of driving with coffee thermos in hand. Luckily the boys fell back asleep (rare for Maysen!) and we 3 all woke up around 7:00. Nate had already crossed the Siskou’s and we were well on our way to Redding, CA by the time I took over driving at 7:30.

I attempted to drive but just was too unsuccessful with waking up enough to drive. Lately, I don’t know why, I just can’t drive without getting sleepy if I’m driving before 12:00/noon. It seems like we stopped frequently this trip and would just cap off the gas tank when we’d stop. The boys never re-napped but both Nate and I would cat nap. I finally drove the rest of the way clear through the grapevine (yikes!) and hauling 80mph through the straight shot freeway. Driving through L.A. proved to be quite the experience, even at 7:00pm on a Sunday night. I am reminded with this drive why I do not desire to live in the city.

We pulled up to the Holiday Inn at 7:30pm. We were upgraded to an Executive Suite (which I think meant we got a bathrobe), and we could not peel the kids out fast enough. I think all of our rear ends were glued to the seats.

We unloaded the Tahoe, made our way up to the 9^th floor, checked out the balcony and could see the “heated” pool was empty. Everyone grabbed swimming suits and headed down. I’m not sure what qualifies a pool as “heated” but whatever it is, it does not mean “heat”. It was freezing; even still, both Mase and Nate jumped in. Griff was pulled in by Nate but didn't last long. He found the warm outdoor shower and stood in that the rest of the time. Mase had learned how to dive at the lake this summer but really did a good job diving into the deep end.

Griff had enough and he and I went back up to the room and ordered room service for dinner, took showers, and waited for Nate and Mase to come back. Once everyone got full and warm, it was lights out and ready for vacation!

Monday, October 29: Sail Away!

We had our breakfast on the hotel’s rooftop restaurant which provides 360 degrees of panoramic views. This was such a great opportunity to teach them about pollution as they kept wondering what the “brown fog” was. Not used to that in Oregon! We had to wait until noon until our shuttle left and keeping the boys settled until then was quite the feat having just driven 14hrs the day before. Luckily it passed quickly and before we knew it, “Chris” from the Philippians was dropping us off at our cruise terminal.

We had been upgraded to V.I.P. status when we booked the cruise so we were able to go through the VIP boarding and it was a … BREEZE! We were on the ship within 10min. We quickly decided to check our room out and was MORE than surprised at what we found. Now, I had learned this ship had no “veranda staterooms” which is what we normally get so we can have a balcony. When booking, we had decided to save the money and just get a normal stateroom. We were given an option to upgrade to a “Guest Suite” and I’m so glad we did. This suite was larger than the hotel room we had stayed in the night before, and hands-down bigger than any other cruise accommodations we’d ever had. The couch pulled out into a queen sized bed for the boys and “living room” had a lot of space. Our bathroom was huge (by ship standards) and had a jetted tub!

The “emergency evacuation” brief was the most bizarre thing ever. We had to meet in the Paris Lounge, then we were shuttled up 2 flights of stairs and out to the deck. Then it was over. The boys were tired and hot and our bags still hadn't arrived. So, the boys went on the water slides in their …. Underwear. Yep! Ghetto’d it out, folks. They didn't care, we didn't care … and fun was had by all!

We signed up for early dining, and to my dismay, it’s “assigned”. I only dislike it because, especially with kids, I just want to eat and go. With assigned group seating we have to pretend to be interested in strangers sitting at your table, and usually you can count on our children to misbehave. You could tell right away we were grouped in the “people with kids” table because we were 10min late to dinner and we were escorted through the dining room to the very back … no, the VERY back by the kitchen and revolving door. The 2 other couples at the table had young kids, too. #1 have 2yr old Hunter and #2 have 4yr old Sophia. The boys loved Sophia and kept her entertained. 

Mase kept talking to Sophia’s mom about fun facts about him and how this was his “3^rd”cruise and how he can’t see without his glasses. What!?

Dinner was good – beef brisket. We caught up to everyone else pretty quick but I just hated the wading through tables because we were late and how when you say “oh, excuse me” no one scoots in so you say “hell with it” and plow over them, knocking them in the head with your elbow because your gut is NOT making it through behind their chair gracefully.

We wandered around up on deck after dinner to look at a beautiful full-moon lit sky. Men in Black 3 was on, and believe it or not, Griff lasted longer than Mase at watching the movie. 

 

Tuesday, October 30, 2012: Catalina Island

Morning came too early. We were all sleeping so well; I think the boys slept in until 8:00. I was DEAD to the world, so Nate took the boys to breakfast. They brought me breakfast in bed (cinnamon roll and cereal). It was then time to get ready to tender off the boat and onto Catalina Island.

Weather was perfect today! About 75 with a bit of a breeze. Mase was having a bit of an attitude problem with demanding to go here and there so while he sat out Griff went and got in the sand. When Mase joined him, he went full speed ahead and got totally soaked from the waist down, and of course the fine sand was everywhere, which leads to immediate whining. We decided we were going to rent a golf cart to tour the island. This was a blast! The golf cart lady told me there were 2 places to take Mase to get cleaned up. The first shower house had salt water to use, which makes chafing worse. Off to the second place. We get there, and I leave with both boys while Nate drives around. The showers are closed for the morning. We decided to walk to the nearby restrooms and I would just do what I could to get the sand off. First, he’s wearing Griffin’s underwear (Nate unpacked). He strips in the bathroom and he decided he needed better rinsing and climbed up on to the sink. Got the rest of the clothes wet. Griffins climbing under stalls. This was not working. I sent Mase out to the golf cart in nothing but those tight underwear. I have to pull a tourist-move and go get a new outfit for Mase. Every store I walked into sold hoodies and dresses but no little boy shorts and t-shirts.

Finally we struck it rich and $30 later for a ho-hum Hanes t-shirt and shorts, we were made. While waiting for Nate to pick us up I ran into Couple #3 from the dinner table. Feeling the need to explain what was happening, I got “Well we thought we saw Maysen and we wondered why he was in the golf cart with underwear on”. Oh my.

The tour of Catalina was so pretty. It was quiet and we had fun driving the carts around. We had a quaint lunch and ice cream and tendered back.

Mandatory quiet time was then established for the next 30min. The boys were quiet and pooped, Nate and I had a quick nap and then we were off to the pool! The sun felt amazing. The boys went down the water slide repeatedly, screaming the whole way down with glee. Watching us pull away from Catalina with the sun in the distance was priceless.

We got dried/cleaned up and ready for dinner but first a quick stop at put-put golf which Griff had been dying to play. He chucks that ball like he’s playing with a baseball. Dinner time we decided to for-go the “elegant night” and we hit the buffet and did it on our own time. The evening show was a dance/singing act that the boys really liked! Griff did fall asleep at the end of it, but we had promised him Arcade time at the end of it, so he piped right up “Game time?” when the music ended.

We came back to the room and Nate hit up the casino. The boys and I watched Happy Feet 2 and ordered room service for dessert. Special mommy/boy time. Perfect day! Looking forward to tomorrow. 

October 31: Halloween & Ensenada!

I think this going 100mph is catching up with all of us. We were all able to sleep in until 9:45am. We woke up already in port at Ensenada! We have 13hrs here and we were planning on taking a cab to Estero Beach. We left the ship around 11:00 and right away boarded a shuttle that announced they would take us to the middle of town for $3 round trip. Once aboard, the kind sexy Spanish woman told of an excursion that would take us 20mi to the “real” Mexican markets, not the Americanized shopping that awaited us downtown. She was right. Once we got downtown we were surrounded by McDonalds, Subway, and Starbucks. The same excursion through Carnival would cost us $29, but they were offering it for $15/person. We were sold and we moved to another bus and we were off! I should make a side note that Mase made his first purchase of the Mexican experience. A man selling bracelets with names on them got $4 out of Mase for a purple bracelet with the name …. “Natalie”….for his girlfriend, of course.

Our tour guide was named “Alex” and he did a good job of getting everyone loosened up. “Kate” was a cute blonde that was with her rough and tough friend, Cindy. Alex paid her special attention and I wondered if Alex really had a family back home. He sort of appeared to be the family man looking type, if there is such a thing.

We arrived at our destination and was surprised to find they charge one peso to use the bathroom. You pay, and are given your wad of toilet paper. The woman in the bathroom was handing out towels for tips. The boys did have an eye-opener on the trip as we passed shacks and kids selling produce on the side of the road.

The little street was filled with vendors on both sides of the street. Alex walked us down the street past all the vendors to La Belforda, the blowhole. It was spouting nicely today, but the boys were soon disinterested and ready to spend their money! As soon as we hit the street again, we were harassed by the vendors. I understand they have to make their living, but it was annoying! We ate lunch at Hanna Banana’s, Mase got his picture with a yellow Boa Constrictor. We wanted to buy the boys some cowboy boots. We got them down from $450 to $150. It amazes me how ballooned the prices are. We found more than we needed and the boys were proud of their finds. Mase got a guitar, Griff a suction cup bow and arrow, and they both found accordions.

On our ride back to the ship, Alex made his moves on Kate, which she kept telling him “no”. It was interesting to watch.

Once back on board the boys tore into their new toys. Accordions galore! We fed the sea gulls parts of our Chex Mix and they were flying pretty close and we made quite the stir up! They were flying all over right by our room. The guy next door got quite the pictures! They were our "flying Willards!" 

Costumes were donned and the Ninja’s came out! We went to dinner and opted for pizza instead of formal dining. It was then time for trick-or-treating scavenger hunt and the boys had a lot of fun! On more than one occasion we were asked if the boys were twins. They’re looking more alike the older they get.

Then it was time for much needed quite time! The boys went to Camp Carnival while Nate and I enjoyed a movie to ourselves. I also started laundry – as tomorrow is an all-day day at sea and most people will be using the washer/dryer I’m sure. As I’m typing this, the boys came home and the whirlwind has returned. Tomorrow should be interesting … but looks like they have lots of activities planned. Then it’ll be on to Disney!!! 

 Disneyland for the rest of the trip!

We got back to Holiday Inn to pick our car up. I took the boys inside to potty and when we came outside Nate had the Tahoe waiting for us. However, the Tahoe looked like it had been dive-bombed by sap bombs. We had parked the car under a tree to prevent scorching it! But now it was covered front to back in sap. Luckily there was a full-service car wash nearby and that was a neat experience. You give them the keys and they take it from you and return it to you it completely clean. 

We checked into our Disney Hotel, the Grand Californian. What a place! It looks like a lodge and it is amazing! Our room had bunk beds and our balcony's view was the monorail.





Every afternoon we would walk off the park and into our Disney hotel for swimming. It was so nice being right in the park! In the afternoons when the heat would get to us, we would come back and swim in one of the 3 pools.

Lego Store

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We filled our days with Disneyland over the next 3 days. Nate enjoyed watching me freak out on Grizzly River Rapid Ride. 

I will leave you with this story of our departing of the Grand Californian. We were to leave at 3:00am. Nate called down to bellhop for service. Ring, ring, ring. No answer. Finally he walked out the door and looked down at the desk and yelled "hello?" they assured us someone would come and help. After 10min and no help, Nate strapped all of our luggage (mind you was 4 pieces) together by the latches and rolled out the door like a train. Not to mention he wasn't all that happy so it was more like a bull dragging luggage down the hallway to the elevator. Then valet didn't have our car waiting like they said. By the time we walked 2 sleeping boys down to the Tahoe and drove away it was nearly 4:00am. Back to zzzzzz I went. I have vague memories of gas station and slamming of doors. My eyes opened up at 7:30.

I looked around and the scenery was not familiar. We weren't on the interstate like I knew we'd supposed to be at. There were cows, and grass farmland. Then I looked over to Nate and I saw this man in blue sunglasses like something Betty White should be wearing. His face said, "Don't mess with me and if you say a word about my glasses I will punch you in the throat." Well, here:

At the gas station he had dropped and broke his sunglasses. This was the "best option" at the gas station so he went with it. I laughed for a great while. It ended the vacation on a great note ... even if it was at Nate's expense. Another great vacation and memories in the books!

The eye exam.

I remember once upon a time, I thought having a retainer was the coolest thing in the world. Of course now I feel blessed that I didn't need braces and even proudly say "No, these are my 'real' teeth" when asked about my smile. But you could not convince me of this when I was 10. So, instead my sister and I (who was also wickedly blessed with straight teeth) took metal paper clips, straightened them out as best we could, hooked the back and wore them around stating we had retainers. But what about the snazzy little case you put them in at night when you didn't wear them?

We had that angle covered too. We just put our metal friends in our ear plug case. That's right folks; where we 'lacked' in great teeth we made up for in crappy ears. Three sets of tubes in our ears made swimming a hot and sexy thing - bundles of wax protruding from our ear canals, many times with tangled up wads of hair mixed in. So, what we got out of the deal were nice clear cases - perfect for our beloved retainers.

I was sent back to this blast from the past when asking myself "Where did he get this!?" Lets rewind 14 days ago ....

This past summer I had noticed Maysen doing a weird squinting thing with his face. He never noticed it and I found myself starting to call him out when he did it. Driving by "Eyeland Optical", a small-town 1940s craftman-style house transformed into an optical shop, prompted me to think, "Maysen is starting 2nd grade, maybe I should have his eyes checked." An appointment was made for 3 weeks in the future and in the meantime, Maysen started hounding me about wanting glasses. Anticipating a long drive to pick up Griffin from grandma's in Myrtle Point, I caved in and let Maysen get a pair of blue reading glasses (with fancy old-lady fake diamonds on the side) from BiMart. They were the lowest magnification you could find, and he wore them with pride as he read during the long drive.

Then I started to notice he was wearing them around the house. Then he snuck them to school. In the trash those glasses went and in time for our eye appointment.

Dr Merritt was a bubbly, bright, tiny, curly-haired woman who was more than accommodating with Maysen's first-time curiosity. Initially I had explained to Dr Merritt about the weird squinting episodes and the recent fascination with having glasses; of course this came with concern of him fibbing on his exam, despite our talk of honesty beforehand.

"Maysen can you read the small line on the bottom of the chart?"

"No."

"Can you read the second to the last line?"

"No."

"What line can you read?"

"I can see the E. That is all." This, let me point out to all of you, is 20/200. Basically the bigger the second number, the worse your eyesight is. 20/200 is legally blind.

Skeptical with my arms folded I piped up "Maysen, remember you need to be very honest." She went on through the battery of "Is number 1 better, orrrrr number 2? Threee .... or ..... Four". This seemed to last forever. He was tested five different times in different eyes - front ways, backwards, sideways. She brought out the old school books and tested him for depth perception. She even built him a pair of glasses on a bulky, heavy, and awkward metal frame. She walked him around the office and to a picture window and had him look across the street. When she lifted the glasses, he squinted.

The outcome was this veteran of 25+yrs saying, "Your kiddo is 20/200 in one eye and 20/80 in the other. At this point I can't get him to perfect 20/20 even with glasses. We'll have to do exercises with his eyes and hopefully by next year we can."

*$(&$#&**(@ .... 'HUH?" I was still totally skeptical. I was reassured by her statements of "This isn't my first rodeo with kids who want glasses. I not only mapped his eyesight, but I was paying attention to what he was doing. There is no way he could have outsmarted this exam."

So, he picked out glasses like a kid in a candy store. The only disappointment was the realization that they were going to take "FOREVER" to come in ... 4 days.

Three days go by and every night we had the same talk. "They'll be in on Wednesday." And yet during these days, my mind was reeling. How was it he could read and be on track at school? How was it that he went up and down our stairs 4 times a day without falling? Gosh, he's able to tumble making Pre-Team in gymnastics and doing flips on the trampoline all with no depth perception? Something was not adding up.

"You know, Mase. The reason I took those reading glasses away from you is because if you wear glasses when you aren't supposed to, your eyes will go crossed and you could go blind."

"............................................................. really?"

"Yep."

"Does that go for all glasses?"

"If you aren't supposed to wear them, then yes. Is there something we need to talk about? I'm not going to be upset if you're honest with me."

Then it happened. It was as if I was watching the scene from The Goonies when Chunk is spilling his guts to the Fratellis with his hand in the blender. Maysen came into the kitchen blubbering away.

"....and .... and .... *sniffle* .... I juuuuuuuust wannnnnnted glassssssessssss......"

*blink* "What!?"

"I lied on my eye test! I could really see all the stuff!"

"The whole thing!?"

"You said you wouldn't get mad!"

And there it was. The confession. He had cheated on his eye exam to get glasses. Talk about wind getting ripped from your sail. I was upset, sick, deflated, disappointed, defeated. How could my little boy be so selfish and inconsiderate?

"There's no way. I'm 100% confident that he didn't cheat on that test, he couldn't have!" was Dr Merritt's response when I stopped by the office the next day to pick up Maysen's glasses. I think the wind left her sail, too. She'd spent just about an hour and a half trying to adequately assess his eyes, and she was sure it wasn't so. A piece of me hoped it wasn't so. That piece was saying, "Maybe you scared him with the whole cross eyed/blind thing that he wants nothing to do with glasses at all, despite needing them." Oye.

I took the glasses with me from the office and went to the school. As the class exited the room toward the library, Mase and I stayed back. I handed the glasses to him. He put them on and immediately took them off.

"Why'd you take them off?"

"Because I don't want my eyes to go crossed."

"Well, can you see? I need you to be very honest with me. Can you see what's written on the marker board?"

".....sort of. Not really. Actually, not at all."

That confirmed it. There was now no mistake, he didn't need glasses. What lesson is in order here? Humiliation to a degree is key here, but how far do you go? We've told everyone about this poor boy's eyesight: Family, friends, teachers, his new gymnastics coaches.

The following day, Maysen had to meet with Mrs. Medina. She, after all, had gone through the trouble of moving him to the front of the class and had given him hand-outs to follow along in class. He had to confess his lies to her and apologize making a solemn promise never to lie to her.

Then I met with Dr Merritt for my own contact lens fitting. I had to break it to her that Maysen had in fact cheated on his exam and he could not see at all out of his glasses. Her confidence withered away and the realization that she had been duped started to set in. Still a bit skeptical, she decided to re-test him the following week.

Over the weekend Maysen worked hard on an apology letter to Dr Merritt and even bought her a bag of almonds (her favorite) as a peace offering. Dr Merritt was very stoic, forgiving Mase for his lie. She told me she would refund everything - from the co-pay to the glasses because he had her fooled, she felt responsibility for not catching on. The last person on earth that is responsible for this is her! The re-test showed ... shocker ... that Maysen had 20/20 vision in both eyes.

However ....

There was evidence that his eyes were strained. She had asked him if his eyes every felt tired after school and when he said "Yes" he looked over the mondo eye tester with his own eyes wide as silver-dollars and proclaimed "THEY DO SOMETIMES, MOM!"

She then held up two little lenses and had him put them over his eyes. "Do you see better with these? Do your eyes feel better?"

"YES! Things are bigger but very clear ..... I SWEAR MOM! I'M NOT LYING".

As a kid, I suffered terrible headaches. I can remember coming home from 3rd grade and instead of going for that after school snack, I always went for aspirin. They sent me to an opthalmologist to see if there was any sort of tumor in my eye causing the headaches. It was then that they realized my eyes were severely strained causing the headaches (along with massively thick, long hair). As Maysen's reading, homework, etc get more intense, it's likely he could follow in the same direction as I did as a kid.

The end result was that he got a pair of glasses with a very slight prescription that will ease eye strain. They're perfect in the sense that his vision is perfect 20/20 whether he wears the glasses or not. But, if he wears them, his eyes will be more rested.

"You mean I can wear them all day and not go blind?"

The smile on his face was priceless; like a kid who was just told that cookies are now considered a breakfast food.

I have one happy kid who had to learn a hard and humiliating lesson. I hope it sticks and wards off any other wild ideas when he's 16 .... or I'm in trouble.

We’re just going to ignore the fact that I’ve been MIA for the last 8 months (or so…) and pick up where we left off, Mkay? Good.

Mr White Willy Jangles

As if one little teeny dog wasn’t enough, Nate decided to fall in love with Mr Bo Jangles and hound me for another little one. For his 35^th birthday in March we decided to get little Bo a brother. Meet White “Willy” Jangles.

He is now almost 6 months old, Bo is almost 9 months old and they are polar opposites. Bo is very smart and patient. When Bo walks it’s like he’s prancing like a pony, so delicate and small. He’s only about 3lbs total and very petite. He will wait to be picked up and when he takes bites from you he’s very gentle.

Willy is a clumsy oaf, bounding around every turn like a very miniature white lab. He’s very soft like cotton and his tummy always seems to be fat and warm. He likes to find sticks from just about anywhere, and he’s very much a Momma’s Boy. He’s rowdy and rough, but he’s sweet. We’re very happy with our two new boys.

We took them on the boat for the first time (will have to read 2012 First Boat Experience … soon to come). At first you could see they were like “What the Hell!?” and as if on que, Willy took a dump right under the captains chair. Luckily their terds are like tootsie rolls and they were pitched over the side like pieces of bread for the ducks. Ok, bad analogy but you get the jist …

Soon they were basking in the sun on the co-captains chair and sitting “Chinese-Eyed” in the sun. When they got a bit warm, signaled by their tongues hanging out and looks of panic, we threw them in the lake tied to a rope and it’s a sight to watch them swim! Nate looks like he’s Chihuahua-fishing with his line in the water tied to a dog, but after a minute we pull them in and they’re cooled off. They do, however, get a bit nervous when we’re going “bat outta hell” fast … they get a bit panicked when that kicks in, but overall they tolerate it well.

Bay is getting along with them very well. They gravitate toward her. You can tell her face is like “Oh for the love of God….” And they’re all, “YIIIPPPPEEEEEE!!”. She is, after all, almost 13, so who can blame her? I know that if I’m all jacked up in a nursing home at 85yrs old the thought of two 3yr olds looking to climb all over my like a jungle gym is enough to make me wanna hang myself in my closet with my wet Depend. 

Nate's Second Broken Elbow in a Decade

I know. Really? His first broken elbow is a nice story about how he saved poor baby Maysen's life by not falling on him when Bailey came and tripped Nate. He braced his arm for the full impact and broke his elbow. Nice story.

So whats his good story this time? Skating Party. He was giving me flack for not going out and skating around. The guy with the apple/nut falling from the tree -- remember him? Well, he taught me that the bigger you are, the harder you fall and at my dainty size, I was NOT going to fall gracelfully "when" (notice, not "if") I fell. It was a mere few minutes later that he came whipping off the rink and down like a ton of bricks. Immediately I knew we had a repeat. 

"No, really, I just need ice, I'm not going to the doctor." 

"Thank you for making me go to the doctor, these drugs are great!"

"I think it's looking pretty good, don't you?", this after 2 weeks of recovery. Yuck.

Luckily he's fine now and didn't lose much range of motion like he did before. 

Don't Worry Mom, They're Clean

You wonder "How does she know they're clean?" Because when I saw that their Ninja game and been paused because the latest Bakugan cartoon had come on the following occured:

Me: Mase? What is on your head?

              My Ninja cap.

Me: No. They're your under wear and that's gross. 

              No it's not. They're clean.

How do you know? 

*pulls the crotch part to his nose from where he'd pushed it off to the side and .... whiffs* 

              They're clean. 

Yeah. That's pretty much what I do every laundry day ... come over some time. Keep reading. More to come. 

New Addition to our Family...

I have to admit when I held Griffin in the hospital just hours after he was born, I remember thinking, "This cannot be the last time I hold a newborn. I'm not done with babies."

And then the fighting came. The reminder of sleepless nights. The potty training. The poop seemingly EVERYWHERE.

With time ... and lots of it .... most of that went away. I felt somewhat human again. And although my bathrooms always have a 'boy urine' smell to them, I realize that it will likely always remain that way unless I have my own child-free special room and bathroom built for me like Clair Huxtable did in The Cosby show.

Life has it's own routine now. We have the two boys who have a schedule which includes their own beds, alarm clocks, private quarters upstairs, and for the most part can feed themselves scraps for survival if need be.

Then there are the pets. We have 2 independent cats who somewhat come and go as they please. Bailey, the 11yr old Basset Hound stricken with Addison's Disease, finally is stable and runs on her own clock as well. Between the daily prednisone pills and $90/mo steroid injects ions, she sleeps mainly all day in her basket in the closet hidden away from the children. I spend most of the day envious of her.

So, with life so seemingly stable, why would I sabotage that? Would there really be anything out there that would be that worth to me? Definitely:

Mr. "Bo" Jangles

Pure Bred Chihuahua

8 weeks old

Will only get to ~5lbs full-grown

A year ago, you would have never been able to convince me that I'd own a Chihuahua, for 3 pre-conceived reasons, mainly; They're yappy, I don't want to buy dog clothes, and I will not carry a purse to accommodate carrying a dog inside. 

The more I told myself that I shouldn't prejudge, I started to soften. First of all, look at those ears! Then I learned that he was litter box trained. True, I didn't want a newborn baby, but I could have a different sort of baby that would want to snuggle all the time without all the other crap you put up with for 9mo of pregnancy. 

So. I got Mr "Bo" Jangles for my Christmas present last weekend. He's not yappy; in one week I haven't heard one peep from him. Ok, so I bought him a jacket to wear outside BUT - he doesn't like it so I don't pressure him. Therefore, I still consider this to be a clotheless dog. I don't have a doggy-compartment purse and still do not plan on buying one. I just carry him in his blankie ...

So far he's been a great fit for our family. Bailey has new life and spunk again, I get my baby fix, the boys are learning how to be soft and gentle, and I even see head-kisses coming from Nate as he tells Bo what a pretty baby boy he is. The cats don't get why we have a rat in the house, but they don't seem to mind.

Now all I have to do is convince Nate that the ball-swelling related to getting the Mr Vas D's snipped is no biggie. Peas to the groin, baby!