The Unity of 2 and a Wedding

You won't be able to tell from the following pictures that our family attended Uncle Josh's wedding in Northern California last weekend. (Tom's brother) 

Above, you see proof of the scenic 101. Miles and miles of grapes, lettuce, celery, and other produce in trucks and fields passed us as we took turns guessing the mystery behind the endless green. 

I am photographically challenged. Don't judge. 

The only picture I took of our fabulous hotel room was this, as the boys (cousin, Dylan included) were waking for the first morning before we ate waffles. 

If I remember to bring the camera, I forget to use it. Or if I use it, I miss the really great moments because I'm living them. Sometimes, I justifiably leave the camera tucked in my purse because someone else has theirs. And I get camera envy. 

I promise there was a wedding with a bride in a white dress and lots of good looking men in tuxedos and one striking man in a taupe suit. I do regret not taking a photo of him and not complimenting him without encouragement. Sometimes, deniably, I'm unsuccessful in expressing my thoughts. 

While everyone else was dancing, Travis and Dylan were hanging out on the playground. 

Matthew was in the middle of the dance floor and everyone's attention for almost the entire reception. He woke the next morning with mild whiplash and foggy recollection of Michael Jackson references. Matthew, by the way, asked, Who's Michael Jackson? 

Part of me wonders why he doesn't know who Michael Jackson is. And the other part knows, obviously, I never told him. I could have, right before we bought him tickets to the Jonas Brother's Concert. I have no regrets. 

On the way home, we stopped at the Apple Farm in San Luis Obispo where the temperature dropped about 20 degrees. It was a nice break from the weekend heat inland. Tom let us stay longer than he wanted, so I could browse the gift shop. (If you know me, this is strange.)

The kids all settled for a consumable souvenir regardless of my dental horror stories.  

Makayla and I sat at a table playing a LARGE checker game when Matthew alarmingly said, Dad said to stay up here. Don't go down there where Dad is, ok?

Knowing I would never buy myself a souvenir and watching my every oh or ah, Tom surprised me perfect gifts. A coin purse and an angel figurine, Faith.

I couldn't make eye contact. The water was filling almost to overflow. 

He was connected enough to know I liked it and connected enough to buy it knowing I don't like knick knacks. 

It's perfect, so perfect. And I let the tears fall. 

Luckily, those were the only tears that fell during this trip. It was a great, safe, and fun getaway spent with friends and family, celebrating the unity of 2 people and a wedding.

Where Were All the Birds?

25 days into summer break, and I was looking for something to force the kids out of apathy and the ensuing television coma.

I drove them up the street to a park tucked in between apartment buildings and sheltered by a wilderness of trees for a picture scavenger hunt. 

You may wonder how I was able to convince my boys to wear hats instead of sunscreen. I'm not admitting to scare tactics, and for the record I felt it was in their best interest to know the dangers of Lyme Disease. 

And the tale of Makayla's dad burning a tick buried on his chest is true. 

Later, much later, I questioned myself when Matthew would insist on wearing a hat under any isolated tree. 

Strangely, we didn't find a bird or a lizard, which I put on the list specifically for gratification. I couldn't have guessed we'd run into a Blue Meadowlark Flash, but we did.   

This turtle didn't speak to us, but the hiding bullfrog did. We got our shoes muddy looking for it in the bullrushes. 

We left the park after Travis, Matthew, Makayla, friend Cierra, and cousin Riley fed the koi, turtles, and catfish. And after a bus load full of summer campers from the YMCA invaded the pond and started feeding the koi nachos. How could we compete?

Grateful I get to spend the last 58 days left of summer break with my kids...

4796 Miles in the Air

Makayla's summer in numbers:

Two summer homes to travel between.

The preferred 3 weeks at one, 3 at the other, repeat. As opposed to the alternative 6-week separation or even the undesirable zero weeks at one.

2nd annual girl book club; Four weeks of food, prizes and beguiled learning. The club is growing from 7 girls to probably 10 this week. 

And although doing hand stands hardly pretends to represent a book club activity, it is necessary. 

Last week, Makayla broke her bedroom mirror forsaking 7 lucky years. 

Then, Travis broke his bedroom mirror too, adding either 7 years to our family fortune or exponentially increasing the intensity of the bad luck. Either way, count 2 broken mirrors in one week. 

Next week, Makayla has three doctor appointments for her ears, nose, and teeth on 3 separate days. The pediatrician was offended to see her tonsils the size of ping pong balls. 

I was equally offended to hear a boy at school refers to her as the girl who always sounds like she has a cold.  

She'll board the plane six times by herself, take 3 long distance trips by car, go to her first girls' camp for three days, visit her Grammie 1072 miles away, and return just in time to start the 7th grade. 

Our Unexpected Non-Trip

Our bags were packed and everything ready by the front door for our 5am Thursday departure. 

I took our car into the shop a day before our trip. 

It's old and we had some work done before we left, which was necessary and unexpected. 

At dinner the night before, I heard an unexpected cough from Travis and realized after a night of coughing that staying with friends and family in Utah wouldn't work if his pneumonia had returned. 

Having already consumed some travel resources, knowing we didn't have the reserves for staying at a hotel AND any more unexpected car repairs, and being concerned with the H1N1 flu virus in Utah with Travis' unforeseen and questionable health, we decided to sell the Jonas Brother's Stadium of Fire Tickets and stay home. 

Luckily, I didn't burst into tears. I did become distracted supposing how to still get us to Utah. Sadly, I admit one scenario included a face mask.

Maybe part of my disappointment was knowing I added 7 days to seeing my daughter again or maybe hearing Matthew crying softly in his room weighed on my already heavy heart or both.

Our attempt to make something great out of an unpredictable situation ended us in a local hotel Thursday night and distracted any disappointment. 

I failed to put batteries in the camera or to take pictures of us watching movies, swimming at 10pm, or jumping on beds. 

The next day after breakfast together, we hiked to the cove and hunted crab. Tom was confident enough to pick up the crabs, and when he did we'd yell, FOOD!
I practiced self photography.
The coughing only lasted one night. Strange, and yet, probably not by accident. 

If you ask my children what I would most likely say to a pack of gum at the checkout, a new toy at target, jamba juice in the middle of the day, they would agree, no. Maybe even in irritation.

Except on vacation. Vacations are for yeses and sugar coated cereal.
Here we are on vacation at the park playing basketball...
...and tennis. 
Since our departure date, we've picnicked, rode bikes, hiked, camped, made paper airplanes, baked, played board games, read, chalked the sidewalk, swam, watched movies, played sports, and made forts.

We've made not arriving, worth it. 

 

(And yes, he is in his underwear.)

Perfect.