Homecoming

Ben had homecoming last week, so I made another corsage.  I'm getting half-decent at this flower thing.  And I'm learning good things, too.  Like how to wrap green florist tape so it actually sticks.  And how to make a wire stem for a rose.  This time I learned that although the bunches of flowers you can get at the supermarket are cheaper than the little roses you can get at the florist, don't get the supermarket variety to make corsages.  They are too long from base to tip, and the corsage ends up kind of bulky.  Now I know.  But it sure turned out pretty.  In a big sort of way.

I'm flattered that they asked me to take pictures for them - their official pictures!  When I was in high school, we paid 15 to 20 smackeroos (a lot of my spare change back then!) for a single pose, all packaged up in a fancy black folder.  We waited in a ridiculously long line for half the dance, tried to come up with a decent pose, smiled our best, and hoped it turned out decently.

My corsage here had a gardenia - the most wonderful flower I've ever had.  I was so happy that my friend lent me that pretty dress to wear.  I never owned a formal until - oh about two years ago.  Too bad I haven't worn it yet!  Must find adult fancy dance to go to.

We waited a few weeks, and then lined up to pick our pictures off the long cafeteria tables where all the portraits were laid out.

Fast forward twenty-five years...  the kids pulled into our driveway and the picture-taking is not so simple.  We got pictures of each couple, of the group, of the girls, of the boys, of the missionaries who wandered by, and pictures of their shoes.  I really enjoyed myself, and it looked like the kids did, too.

I'm no photographer, but these shots turned out at least as good as the professional ones from way back then.  Thanks, new camera.

And you're welcome, kids.  I guess they didn't mind the non-professional tradeoff for the free price.  Thanks for inviting me to be part of your special evening.  I loved watching these awesome teens.  I think cameras aren't the only thing that is better this generation than last.

Happy Birthday, Angel

Angel is 5.  It's hard to believe that my little sweetie is so big.  She missed the school deadline by this much, so I get to keep her at home for another year.

We celebrated her birthday before we left on her trip.  And during.  And after.  She got a new bedroom, with a longer bed since she way does not fit on her toddler bed any more.  She loves it and puts herself to bed every night.

I think her most favorite thing to play with might have been the crickets.  She was constantly picking them up in the restrooms and "helping them" get outside where they could "get back with their families."  What a cutie.  Happy birthday, my dear.

Monday Missives

And this, THIS is the reason we spent all that time on the road.  It sure wasn't because we wanted to sit in the van and eat hot dogs together.

This is the awkward hug when you both turn your faces the same way.  But I was too happy to see him to care.  Late on the fourth day after we left home (after the family reunion), we finally pulled into the campground on the military base.  It was very, very late at night, and the gate guards looked scary to me.  But we got in, found our campsite, set up the tent trailer, and sacked out.  First thing the next morning, we rolled out of bed and ate a hearty breakfast.

OK, I fess up.  It was cold cereal, one of the fastest breakfasts in the West.  We found Alec's building and waited for the "Family Day" program to start.

Not sure what dance David is doing there, but it's cute.  The drill sergeants gave us a brief explanation of all the things they had been teaching in basic training, and then the soldiers lined up and marched in.

Of all the spots on the bleachers, we had picked out the exact right place to sit.  When they marched in and turned to face us, Alec was right smack in front of us.  I couldn't help it.  I waved frantically like a little girl.  Still a little bit embarrassed about that.

They did some drills, to show us how regimented they are now.  They were sharp.  Except when they, from the drill sergeant's orders, drew in a deep breath, held it, and let it out slowly while whispering, "I really wanna kill somebody."  That was chilling, and I am still pondering the morality of training the human-ness out of a soldier so they would be able to fire at the enemy.  But then they gave them leave to go, and we got Alec for the rest of the day.  Booyah!

The Family Day program was one morning, and graduation was the next morning.  But through both days, we got to keep Alec until his 8 pm formation check-in.  It was lovely to have my family all together again.

We wanted to go to a lake and rent waverunners for the afternoon, but I guess they don't believe in that there.  We could find no rentals of anything.  Not waverunners, not Jet-skis, not boats or kayaks or even a measly canoe.  It was a major bummer.

I wanted to have some fun family things to do, but Alec just wanted to hang out with us.  With us?  Really?  Delighted.  So we hung out and played games in the tent trailer while I tried to get over a gut-cramping case of heat exhaustion.  It was hot there.  Hot.  And we were in a tent trailer with no air conditioning.

We spent time at the mall, shopping together (where Angel got lost and we got the page to come find her), eating out, and going to a movie.  Alec took us on tours of the base.  We celebrated Angel's birthday.  And my boy graduated from basic training.

He shipped out the next morning at 1 am.  He's off to his next set of training.  As I was looking at these pictures, Angel came and leaned on my arm.  "I love Alec," she volunteered.  "Do you miss him, Mom?"  Yeah, I guess I do.

But at the same time, I'm so proud of my strong, handsome boy.  May the Lord continue to bless you, Buddy.

Where in the World?

Man, we went all over the place.

In almost 2500 miles, we crossed 10 state lines.  We probably spent 50 hours on the road.  But we made it to Paris.

And Garden City and Green River (in two different states).  Gould and Moriarty.  Opal, Diamondville, Groom, and Mead.  Kirtland, Monticello, Jamestown, and Memphis.  Trinidad!

Cheyenne, Las Vegas, Denver, Albuquerque, Amarillo, and Salt Lake.  We drove the Oregon Trail, Route 66, and the Lincoln Highway.

We saw Rocky Ridge, Mesa Verde, Arches, Castle Rock, Pike's Peak, Signal Mountain, and the Rocky Mountains.  Shamrock, Price, Cache, and Helper.  Victory.  Three Air Force bases, several Army outposts, and a half dozen Indian reservations.  And we visited Sinclair (the town and the gas station).

I love looking at the names of places and wondering how they got them.  History - the real what-happened-to-people-here history, not the names-and-dates-of-rulers-and-wars history fascinates me.  I loved looking at the ghost towns, the deserted homes in the middle of the prairie, the old pioneer trail tracks.  I like to think of who would have wanted to live there.  What were they like?  How did they live?  The empty villages depress Trent.  He thinks I'm crazy that I'd like to camp in one.

Mostly, I loved seeing a different part of the earth.  Mountains, mesas, plains, and flatlands so flat I felt we'd fall off in a few more miles.  Loved it all.

We wrote down a list of "Family Choice Awards" as we went along.

Best Rest Stops: Texas.  Hands down.  I could spend a day just there.
Most Unique Snack: Garden City, ID - pickle sicles
Best Free Stuff: our British neighbors in the Fort Collins, CO campground who had spent weeks touring America in an RV and were giving away all the stuff they bought before they flew home.  Toaster!  Chairs!
Biggest Bug Party: crickets at the Texas rest stop at night.  There were everywhere!
Biggest Bug Party runner-up: flies in our van.  Always.
Best Windmills: Wyoming

Best Roadside Snack: fresh frybread made by a Navajo lady at a garage sale.  Yes, she taught Trent how.  Score!
Worst Breakdown: tent trailer latches failing on the freeway in WY, making our pop-up pop up.  So glad I married a handy-man who can fix just about anything!

Worst Breakdown runner-up: tent trailer door slowly swinging itself open in the middle of the night and freaking Mom out.
Most Heart-Happy Sight: (besides our home at the end, and besides seeing Alec!) watching Trent sing-sign songs in American Sign Language. Makes my heart melt every time.

Least Favorite Food: the dozens and dozens of hot dogs we had left over from the family reunion - and ATE.  All of them.
Best Establishment Names: "Suds UR Duds", a coin-op laundry; "It'll Do Motel", and the "Cotton Pickin' Festival" in Hollis, OK.
Most Interesting Comment: "These past two days of driving have been WAY more interesting than those first three hours were!"

Driving, Driving, Driving

How do you keep eight kids entertained and happy during a long road trip?  I'm still not sure, but we did it somehow.  I did pack a busy bag for the preschoolers, and that helped.  I kept it between the two front seats, so it was easily accessible to retrieve a new toy or to stow an old one.  For them, I think variety was the key.  I had notebooks and pens and stickers, Matchbox cars, new wooden airplanes from the dollar store, favorite little toys from home, a package of sunglasses... you get the idea.

I did not bring any small toys that required batteries or made noise.  That helped the sanity of the other campers.  Unfortunately, they came with their own noise.  We had a few meltdowns, but much less then I was worried for.  In fact, the most noise we heard from the twins was, "A-B-C-D-E-F-G..."  They sang the alphabet song.  Incessantly.  But here are the rules of the game:  one twin has to sing the song - the entire song - correctly.  If there is a mistake, or even a serious hesitation, he must go back and start again.  After successfully finishes, the other twin takes a turn.  Everyone else must clap and cheer at the end of each song.  After one round, the first twin has the option (usually taken) to begin another round.  And the the second twin has to have his turn as well.  After four complete songs, Mother can declare enough.  After a short while, they would start up again.  We all got pretty tired of the alphabet song.  But at least they can sing it better now than when we started!  (sigh)

Good snacks are important on a long trip.  I have learned that we all get grumpy if we eat too much junk.  So we had grapes, apples, and bananas, as well as crackers and pretzels.  And water.  Lots of water.  The dry scenery we drove through made us all very, very thirsty.   I was afraid that we would have potty issues, but apart from a few stops in the middle of nowhere to water the sagebrush, they all did great.

The older boys all had their homework, and they worked on it very well.  We kept them out of school for a week, but they managed to not get too far behind.  Oh yeah, and there was a lot of this running around:

And this:

At first I was really unhappy with the amount of screen time they were all getting between two ipods and two cell phones.  This was a family trip, after all!  I didn't want them hiding in their own universes.  But then they agreed to do this:

And they all played the same game, together, through the whole trip.  They had a great time working together (and occasionally against each other), and we heard lots of laughter from them.  They had a great time together, and I guess that's much of what a family trip is all about, anyway.  Yes, we had no-electronics times.  And yes, we had homework time.  And I'm happy that they enjoyed themselves and got along so well.

We did watch some movies as we drove.  Two of them.  In the last few hours before we (finally) got home.  But that's was it.

And we napped.  And we made them get out at the rest stops to stretch.  And it was fun.  Really!

Got Photos

I found some pictures on Trent's phone.  I had to nab them and stick them up here before I lose them again!

We tent folded the cards in front of each dish for the hot dog bar, then had to go back and tape them all on to the table because it was a bit windy.  Whatever works!

Bad picture of some good people.  Some of the best folks I know!  I wish the lights showed up better - there were strings of party lights all above this charming balcony.  It made for such a fun place to eat!

And a few pictures of Alec in his... dormitory?  Barracks?  Sleeping quarters?  Whatever the right term is for "the place where my boy sleeps."  I think he called it a "bay."  After the first meeting for the families, where they showed and explained some of what basic training had been all about, we got to see his... digs.

The irony:  Trent takes a bad picture of me holding the camera that takes nice pictures.  Alec's bed was this one on the bottom bunk.  The boy knows how to make his bed now, I see.

You can't see it very well, but in Alec's locker is a picture of our family!  Made my mother-heart happy.

Vacation Planning

I love planning.  I could think and dream and research and plan all day.  Unfortunately, it doesn't do me any good unless I get up and actually do something.  (sigh)

Alec is graduating from Army basic training, and evidently, it's a big deal.  So we decided that we would go.  All of us.  We'd drive for, maybe forever, in our big white van towing our tent trailer.  And we'd eat fun travel food and play fun family games and never get upset with each other and have no potty accidents and see the country and make great family memories.  What a great plan.

I like the planning, but the actual prep work is so not my favorite.  NOT.  AT.  ALL.  It makes me grumpy on a good day, and nearly unbearable by the end of a bad one.  It's a fault of mine, I know.  So I worked really hard - prayed lots, took lots of deep breaths - to not get stressed out about this one.  Challenging, because besides just getting kids on a trip (doing laundry, finding luggage, making sure that everyone is packed), I always want to leave our house presentable (cleaning!  Yes!).  And our critters need to be cared for while we're gone (finish building the chicken feeder, hiring a neighbor girl, making an egg-collection door into the nesting box).  Add in the family reunion (lunch for 50, a presentation in the family genealogy program), and the details of camping (coolers, food, bedding, cooking utensils), and you get a perfect storm of stress for the mom-person.  Oh yeah, and the man had to work overtime the week before we left, so he couldn't help.  Yikes.

So I made lists.  That way, I could 1) not forget anything, 2) feel some sense of accomplishment as I crossed items off the list, and 3) I could give lists to the older boys and they could help.  They were a great help, and we made it on our way without any meltdowns.  No big ones, anyway.  :-)

It actually looks like this on our trip.  Blue skies, puffy clouds, unending ribbons of road.  Maybe one day I'll figure out how to get pictures off my camera.

We started the trip by going on a family reunion.  Two nights and two days of hanging out with some of the neatest people on the planet.  I loved it.  The only drawback was that the kids didn't get to play on the lake.  They rented waverunners, and my boys were so excited... but it didn't work out.  Major bummer.  We'll have to rent some when we have some time with Alec.  That will be fun.

As we finally got off and driving, we had plenty of time to think.  I thought of my lists and felt satisfied that I got most of the biggest things done.  I think.