Wordless Wednesday-- Remembering Summer Fun

S'more, Please!

Have you seen these enormous marshmallows? Until our recent trip, I had heard tell of them, but believed them to be an urban legend spread by sugar fiends.

Well, they are not fictional. And they make amazing, HUGE, and might I say, sticky, s'mores!


Just another magical moment from our trip to Utah. (The little girl getting sticky with Bronwen is her second-cousin(ish), Macy. You can read her mom's blog here.)

Margaret's Southern California Trip

Do you notice the recurring theme? Meg spent most of our So Cal trip on in the backpack. She didn't seem to mind.

If you want to read tidbits about The Wedding, you can go here, here, and here. I'm afraid I haven't had time to do it justice.

Superhuman Smeller

Recently it has come to my attention that Bronwen has the nose of a blood-hound. She complains about smells before I even notice them (like the over-scented air freshener in a public bathroom or the needs-an-air-freshener scent of her brothers' bedroom.) If I approach her while eating something or immediately after, she always notices and usually is dead-on in her assumption of what I've been eating: "I smell peanut M&Ms!" Busted.

I've been researching (again) Sensory Processing Disorder lately in regards to a couple of my kids. (I'll write a post all about it soon, as so many people have sensory issues these days and don't even recognize it. But that's for another day.)

Last weekend we took a family road trip to Southern California and while Jared was driving, I was filling out a checklist on my kids, determining which areas of sensory input are issues for them. Perhaps this made me more aware of it, but Bronwen's superhuman smeller was cracking us up the entire way to Dana Point.

We were driving along, talking to each other, while the kids were watching Pinocchio, headphones glued to their ears, not making a peep. All of a sudden, Bronwen starts screaming as if she's in agony. After about a minute, her shrieks were finally intelligible. She was saying, "somebody goed stinky in the car!" (No, her grammar isn't perfect yet:) We realized that we were passing a huge cattle farm and indeed, there was a strong smell. But she noticed it before most of us and reacted strongly.

Later, we had to rearrange bodies in the car so that I could sit by Margaret and calm her down when she was THROUGH with being in the carseat. This put one of her brothers directly next to Bronwen, and her complaint? "He's smelling me with his breath!" This wasn't just the typical case of "he's breathing my air" or "she's looking out my window," Bronwen didn't want him near her because she could smell his breath from the next seat over (no one else noticed it at all.)

As the ride wore on and on, she began exhibiting signs that she would benefit from a nap. We pulled out her blanket and encouraged her to go to sleep. Bronwen insisted (by crying and whining) that she couldn't sleep with her shoes on, so I helped her get them off. Instead of this rectifying the situation, she now had something new to cry about: her feet were stinky and how could she sleep with such smelly feet? Sigh. She finally overcame her hardship and drifted off, much to the relief of everyone else in the car.

I foresee her father using this to his advantage when Bronwen is old enough to date. His meet-the-date "interview" with her beaus will involve feeding them raw onions or better yet, he may tell them that she loves cologne! They won't last the evening!

This ultra-sensitive smelling power could be crippling in some situations (like in the fragrances section of the department store,) but I intend to find a way for it to be an advantage to her. Perhaps she has a future as a truffle-hunter. Maybe she can check airplanes for otherwise undetectable peanut fragments before those with heinous allergies board. Or check for poison by smelling all the food and drink of the president or royalty or paranoid celebrity before they eat it. I'm sure that pays well.

Do your kids have any super-human abilities?

South Lake Tahoe-- A Review

On Thursday evening, hubby and I dropped the kids off at some wonderful friends' and headed to Lake Tahoe for a couple of days. We only get away from our kids once or twice a year, so this was a big deal for us. We have been trying to squeeze in a getaway for months and were determined to escape before number 5 joins our brood in 23 days. This departure was not without its last minute drama and crises, but that is a story for another day. The point is, we did make a departure.

Being cheapskates when it comes to lodging, we had gone all over the internet looking for a great deal. I wanted a nice hotel room because the plan for this trip was to basically veg out and do whatever we felt like; if the plan is to sightsee non-stop, the room doesn't matter much, but if the plan is to sleep in, read, maybe catch a movie in our room, then I care more. Jared finally bid on a 3 1/2 star place on Priceline-- he bid $60 a night and proudly announced a few minutes later that he'd won! The place turned out to be this one, which was a great spot for us. They do nickel and dime you a bit when you get there--parking is $12 a night and internet is $6.95 for 24 hours-- but at least the parking is valet and convenient. The bathroom was large and luxurious and I spread out my toiletries all over the granite countertop with delight. The room also had a small kitchenette with a fridge, microwave, coffeepot with Starbucks coffee (if you're into that--we picked up some hot chocolate at the store), two-burner stove, sink, and cupboards stocked with dishes, silverware, and pans. We were impressed with a large TV with DVD/VCR player and a window that actually opened to let in the fresh (albeit unseasonably cold) lake air.

The said resort is actually a timeshare hotel and we were staying in the studio room. Although there was no obligation, the staff at check-in were very persuasive and my husband agreed that we would listen to their presentation while we were there. I quickly told him we weren't going but I eventually succumbed, lured by the promise of a $75 gift card, a voucher to come back, and the fact that we didn't have many plans anyway. We went on the last day and I'll say this: if I was going to buy a timeshare, I'd really consider theirs. The features and amenities were great, they offered wonderful flexibility, I was happy with where we had stayed, and the price was reasonable. What baffled them was that we were unwilling to pop at any price because we don't put vacations on credit. Yes, we plan vacations with our family and as a couple every year, but how nice that vacation is depends on how much money we have IN HAND and are willing to spend, even if the price is great on something that we can't really afford. I guess we are strange folks, but as we are expecting a fifth child, homeschooling, and eat sugar but not HFCS, you already knew that about us.

If you know me well, you know that any trip, party, or holiday is mostly about the food. Of course this was also about being with Jared, but I can be with him and have great food, so why not? I had done a little research before I went, but apparently not quite enough research, as we discovered when we finally went looking for our brunch restaurant Friday morning about 11:00. The place I had picked out was clear at the northern end of the lake, completely opposite us. Even though we had no plans, things could have gotten ugly between us quickly if we'd gone another hour without any nourishment, so we started looking at local spots. Did I mention that I hate just picking out a place based on what it looks like from the street? It's such a risk.

We ended up at Heidi's, a little chalet-style building about 1/2 a mile from our hotel. The concierge had suggested it and a friend of mine with the same name had mentioned that she'd been there before. She hadn't given a rave review as we'd had a quick conversation about it, but at least it had come up. Here's what Heidi's has going for it: Swiss/German pancake house ambience, generous portions, and a menu that looks very tempting when it's nearly noon and you haven't eaten yet. Here were some of their drawbacks: their booths were so narrow that this pregnant mommy had to ask if they had any tables and chairs (they have one such seating arrangement). I will say that at 8 1/2 months I don't carry very large--I just look 5-6 months pregnant from conception on, and then look 4-5 months pregnant for two years post partum:). For what you get, I felt the prices were a bit high (around $10-$13 per plate), and the food had no flavor. Jared had the Country Breakfast, I had the Strawberry French Toast, and we shared their cottage fries. Perhaps I am spoiled, as my husband can and does make a far superior breakfast for us most weekends. We went away disappointed, poorer by $30, but full. Sadly, we agreed that we would have had better food at the IHOP across the street, which didn't convince us to go there next time. We decided to pick up some breakfast stuff for Saturday at Safeway rather than waste our time and money on mediocrity.

We explored the area for a while, especially checking out the vacation home that we've rented for a family reunion in September. It looks like it's going to be perfect for our large family group, and its location on the Tahoe Keys means that we'll be close to a private beach, tennis courts, parks, a swimming pool, and the marina. As the weather was cold and drizzly, we didn't walk on any of the lake paths, but did enjoy the beautiful Tahoe scenery for a while before returning to our room to watch a movie and take a nap. Ah, the sheer laziness of it was blissful.

We had asked the concierge to make reservations for us at Riva Grill for dinner. The website looked promising and a friend had recommended them. But while I tried to nap off a headache Jared read about 53 reviews on the place that mostly complained about how mediocre the food was for the price or raved about their cocktails. He was skeptical, which made me grumpy at first, as I really wanted some good food that night and irrationally blamed him for ruining my chances of Riva being any good! I browsed around on the internet and found nothing but amazing reviews for this place: Evan's American Gourmet Cafe. We decided to call and see if we could get a reservation, since we wanted to eat on the early side anyway, and they got us a table. Everything was absolutely perfect. The restaurant is in a little home nestled in pine trees. There are perhaps 15 tables in the place. Every dish was divine, full of flavor, a gastronomical treat. Although we spent more than our hotel room had cost (remember, we did get a great deal) on dinner, we agreed that it was worth every penny.

We ordered the Hoisin and Orange Glazed Prawns as an appetizer, shared a Butter Lettuce with fruits, nuts, and cheese salad, and munched on their warm, fresh sourdough. Jared actually ordered the Alaskan Halibut entree (a shocker if you know him well) with a lobster potato cake and grapefruit wedges, once the waiter assured him that the halibut had been flown in fresh that morning. I had the Panko-encrusted Chicken with Marscapone Risotto, buttery green beans done to perfection, and an edamame panzanella salad. Every bite was heavenly.

We were full at this point, (I in fact, had half of my dinner left), but we had looked at the dessert menu online and I was determined that we would try some of them. I told Jared it was worth the pain later. The only problem was deciding. For such a small restaurant, their selection was outstanding and at least half of the items on the dessert menu were beyond tempting. We finally settled on a blackberry creme brulee tart and their candy bar torte, which consisted of dark chocolate, cashews, caramel, and coconut baked in a tart shell and served with vanilla ice cream. We moaned through the entire course (probably the entire meal) and agreed that we would happily make the 2 hour drive back just for dinner anytime.

We went and saw Star Trek that night, as Jared really wanted to see it and we weren't paying a sitter, which is always a bonus. As someone who's not a fan of the franchise, I can still say that it was an enjoyable movie, although somewhat violent (not for young kids). Plus, the theater was mostly empty, which meant no teenagers eating and texting loudly behind us. Nice.

The next morning we slept in again and enjoyed croissants with Nutella, fresh strawberries, and Brown Cow yogurt in our room, which was perfect. We went to the said timeshare presentation, which took an hour longer than they had promised (no surprise). We drove around a bit more, looking for a good spot for a family reuion photo and wishing that it wasn't raining. We drove over to Emerald Bay and checked out a bit of the forest over there, passing the Rennaissance Faire which appeared to be going strong inspite of the weather. (I'm all about the Rennaissance but I will admit that I don't understand grown-ups putting on costumes and walking around a fair like that.)

On the way out of town we had lunch at the Sno-Flake drive in, which claims that they've been voted best shakes for 4 years in a row. The burgers were okay, the curly fries good, the sweet potato fries needed more seasoning. The shakes? Jared had the Butterfinger, which I thought was quite good. My Boysenberry had very little flavor and I doubt there were any actual berries involved. Would I go back? Probably for a shake and fries if I was getting a chocolatey flavor. I definitely wouldn't order the Boysenberry and I'd skip the burger. The shakes were nearly $5 a peice, which is fine for vacation without the kids, but could get pricey if you were feeding the whole crew.

All in all, it was a good trip, with the highlights being alone time together and a great dinner at Evan's. Now that we've been up there, we are looking forward even more to our family reunion there later this year, although it won't involve much sleeping in or gourmet restaurant dining. We look forward to having better weather so that we can enjoy kayaking, boating, hiking and biking on our next visit--but for someone only weeks away from delivering a baby, this trip was just my speed.

Crazy for Stu & Malia

You know how I blog and blog and blah blah blah about what a stress case I am over Christmas? And how I try to come up with all these strategies for keeping my cool? Well this year, I was crazy enough to plan a trip out of town to take place only a few hours after Christmas Day was over. Those of you who are mothers, particularly with several children, will understand what a deep, personal, sacrifice this was for me. Taking any trip whatsoever requires ridiculous amounts of preparation and planning when you are moving 6 people. Add in the fact that the car had to be packed by the time we went to bed on Christmas night and it was a recipe for disaster.

Why would I be so foolish, you might ask? This decision laughs in the face of reason. But you see, my baby brother Stuart and his adorable wife Malia were visiting the mainland from Hawaii. And my little family of 6 hadn't seen them since they got married 2 1/2 years ago. Shameful, I tell you.

Thank goodness for blogging, or I would hardly know Malia. I don't think that meeting a bride on the week of her wedding is the best way to get to know someone whom you will call "sister." Don't get me wrong--I do not remember Malia being a Bridezilla in any way (not like I was, at least,) but she was still somewhat distracted and lovesick, which doesn't lend itself well to bonding with anyone but your soon-to-be-husband. Fortunately, Malia does keep a blog (a couple of them, actually,) and through that medium I have fallen in love with her and have no doubts why my brother did the same. Her photography is exquisite (you simply have to see her best of 2008 pictures. The word stunning comes to mind.) and always makes me wish that I could pull a Samantha Stevens and wiggle my nose right over to their island paradise.

Anyhow, by some miracle (but not without a Christmas Day breakdown on my part) we did leave town at 5:30 am on December 26th. We had a wonderful time hanging with many members of the Johnson family, singing songs to the guitar, playing card games, and attempting to visit Griffith Park Observatory along with half of the greater LA area (one of our vans made it to the top. The one with my family in it, however, did not). And the afternoon that we arrived there, Malia and I took my kids to the park, where she captured a few photos. Go here to see them. My favorites are the one of Ian and the one of Bronwen and Henry laughing together.

And guess what? The trip was completely worth it. Even if I did have to do a few loads of laundry on Christmas Day.

Monterey Peninsula, Day 1

We are back from our vacation and we had such a great time that I'm going to share our itinerary, one day at a time. If you are looking for a great family vacation in California, this is definitely one to consider. Jared & I actually honeymooned in Carmel-by-the-Sea and San Francisco, but this was our first time back to the Central Coast since then.
Day 1:
We got up and got out the door as quickly as we could. I was impressed that we were on the road before 9 am, considering we slept until 7:30 (it had been a late night getting ready)--Jared couldn't understand what took so long! I guess I just wanted to do unnecessary things like wash my hair and feed the baby before we left;)!
First Stop: Mystery Spot, Santa Cruz
Jared had heard about this tourist destination that appears to be a gravitational anomaly. In this picture, Kimball is holding the level we brought (OK, so we're total science nerds) so that the level is, er, level. Yet it appears that it is at an extreme angle. Another bizarre demonstration that they do there is to have two people of equal height stand on level ground, yet on one side the person looks significantly taller than the other. Our picture below shows Kimball and Henry, who are actually about six inches apart in height, and they are standing on level ground.
Here's a shot of Jared standing up straight (although I was afraid that he might drop the baby.)

OK, so we left the Mystery spot $25 poorer--they charge $5 to park and $5 for each visitor over 3. It was kinda cool, but worth the money????
Next Stop: Carmel Inn & Suites
We looked long and hard for a place we could stay with four kids. This charming little inn had a suite with a living room with a somewhat shabby day bed and a separate bedroom with a king size bed. Although it was a far cry from Embassy Suites, they did have a continental breakfast that was good enough to satisfy kids, a chilly pool, and the price was significantly better than the Monterey EB--by almost 50%. Plus, we got to stay in Carmel-by-the-Sea, which is MUCH more charming than anything else around. We checked in and Jared crashed for a power nap while I took the kids swimming (only Henry did anything more than get his toes wet, since the outside temperature was about 60 degrees and the pool wasn't more than 75.)
Next Stop: Point Lobos
After the power nap, we headed over to Point Lobos, just south of Carmel for a little hiking. (Entrance Fee $9) The views were breathtaking and the boys loved both the hike over rocks to the water's edge, the hike over the cliffs, and the hike through the woods. I kept snapping pictures. Here are a few highlights:
After the hikes, we dashed back to the hotel to change into something less grubby and then headed off to Lugano for dinner. It was a charming little Swiss bistro. They seated us in a back corner of the restaurant where we could enjoy the accordion music and not be too irritating to the other guests with our brood. The food was yummy--especially Jared's shnitzel and spaetzli. We made a deal with our boys that if they used their best restaurant manners and ate their dinners, we'd get dessert, so we shared a chocolate fondue at the end. How do you say yummy in German?

The Family Road Trip

This week, as we prepare for a family trip, I am reflecting on the Family Road Trip of my day. In one generation, this phenomenon has changed dramatically. Let's revisit the road trips of yore for a few minutes. OK, we'll be reflecting on the road trips of my family of origin, which may have looked completely different from your family road trips. But as I explained to my husband when we were newlyweds, my family is the epitome of normal, healthy, and mainstream--any deviance from our way must be condemned as false, dysfunctional, and truly bizarre!
Every summer in my childhood, we would load up the family car for a trip that would end in Idaho. Most of my friends' families would never have taken a trip that far in the car, but most of my friends had two siblings, tops. My parents never would have considered flying all eight of us to Idaho or anywhere else!
In my younger years, our vehicle was a Volkswagen Vanagon; years later, we traded that in for a Dodge Ram Van. These road trips took place in the days before seatbelt laws, dependable air conditioning, and DVD players. Often, we would leave while it was still dark in order to beat the heat of the desert and so as to avoid overheating the car as we climbed Cajon pass. We would spread out all over the back of the van (wherever there was a space not filled with luggage.) We would argue over who could stretch out on the floor and go to sleep. Generally, we traveled with a portacrib in the cargo area of the van with the luggage underneath and on the sides, so that the baby could travel in the crib! It seems so ridiculous now, but my mother was quite proud of that idea and we used it many times. We would listen to my parents' music mostly, which is why we know all the words to James Taylor, Carole King, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Paul Simon, and Steeley Dan. We also enjoyed the Police, show tunes (Les Miserables when I was a teenager), and our family favorite, Wierd Al Yankovic. We'd memorize scriptures together (my dad's idea), make up stories, and on our mega road trip one year (across the country and back), we even wrote a song and produced a music video. We never stopped at a fast food place for lunch--we were all about the cooler that Mom had packed that was wedged between the two front seats and doubled as a jump seat for a child who was causing trouble in the back. We'd play card games in the back seat and I generally read at least two novels while we were on the road.
Our trip would start in Southern California and go along I-15, through Baker (home of the world's largest thermometer, Las Vegas (which my dad liked to call Nineveh, and which we usually drove right past,) St. George, (where my dad had a former mission buddy. We would often crash on their floor or in sleeping bags in their backyard. Most years, they had about 2 hours notice that we were coming to town because my dad's one responsibility in getting ready for the trip was to call them.) Our next stop after St. George was Provo, Utah, home of my future alma mater (also my parents' alma mater.) Aunt Kim lived there and we would usually spend a few days at her house, going up to the BYU campus, eating at Heaps of Pizza (which everyone else called Brick Oven--since Heaps was the late 60's and early 70's name of the place), going to Temple Square in Salt Lake City, (that's me with Baby Tyler) and visiting various other Utah landmarks. After a few days, we would get back in the car and head to Idaho Falls, where my grandma, aunt & uncle, and cousins lived. We'd spend a night or two there, then pack up and go to Grandma's cabin on Palisades Reservoir. (My sister, Alli. Isn't she cute?) This is where I have the best summer vacation memories. I'll have to post about that tomorrow--it deserves it's own.
Once we left Idaho, we'd retrace our steps, although often we'd get a hotel room in Utah so that 1) we wouldn't wear out our welcome with relatives and 2) we could swim in the hotel pool. We'd arrive home so grateful to be there; we were tired, y, and with enough laundry to bury a few small children (I only know that now, Mom!)
We took other road trips, too, including to Sequoia National Forest, Washington, DC, upstate New York, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and many other destinations. Now that I look back on it, I am in awe of my parents. They were determined for us to see the country and made sure that we did, in spite of the inconvenience of traveling with six squabbling kids. And to think that I barely survived my 400ish mile drive home from Whittier this month because the DVD player was malfunctioning!

Are We There Yet?

This morning, my mom and I (what would I do without her?) loaded the kids up in the van, put one last load of laundry in the wash so that everything in the house could be clean, stopped for gas, picked up a prescription, and dropped off some leftovers out of our fridge at Christine's before finally getting on the road to L.A. Back in the days before I had four children, I regularly made the jaunt to L.A. to visit my mom without my husband. (His schedule is far too restrictive for me--it really cramps my style:) I had it down to a science: leave at 9 am, stop once at a rest stop for 15 minutes for potty breaks, etc, then get back on the road and get into Whittier by 3:00, beating the rush hour traffic that hits at 4:00. Most of the time I could pull it off just like that.
Well, now we've had a baby and everything's changed. Just getting out the door on time was unrealistic--at 9:00 I realized that I was going to need to wake up Bronwen and feed her before we left (the dear thing sleeps until 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning--12 hours straight without waking up once!) We had to make much more frequent stops (4 total) because Ian is only on his 5th day in underwear. And of course, Bronwen couldn't go all day without eating and only took cat naps instead of her usual four hour mid day nap. And twice we (meaning Mom) managed to make a wrong turn or miss our exit and it cost us some major time. Naturally, we hit the city of Angels at prime time, so it took much longer to get through the city than we were hoping it would. All in all, we arrived 8 hours and 12 minutes after we got on the freeway this morning. A much longer trip than we had planned.
Every time we got off the freeway, someone would ask if we were at Nana's yet. And everyone was so thrilled when we finally pulled up. Bronwen was so happy to be out of her car seat that she just rolled around on the floor cooing for at least half an hour after we got here. Ian was so happy to be here that he promptly messed his pants after being accident free all day! And Kimball and Henry raced past Allison in the kitchen to get out to Nana's backyard and start exploring. So, it was obviously worth the trip.
The bad news is, I'm going home on Saturday--without my mom as shotgun/backup driver. Which means there is potential for it to take even longer. Do you think that if I think positively the universe will send me a sidekick for the ride? Maybe there's an angel who needs to head north for the weekend! I'll need all the help I can get!

(These pictures were taken last summer on our visit to Nana's.)