Questionnaire

There are a ton of different quizzes and whatnot running around on Facebook, and normally I ignore them.  But then I saw one designed for parents to ask their kids that some of my friends have done and thought I would take a peek inside of my kids' brains.  It was interesting and a little funny, so I recorded it here.  You may note that Ben sometimes has a difficult time differentiating between him and me.

1. What is something I always say to you?
  J - "Josh"
  M - do your homework
  B - do your homework

2.  What makes me happy?
  J - when we're nice to you
  M - when we're polite and don't complain about food
  B - hugs

3.  What makes me sad?
  J - when we don't listen to you
  M - when we complain about food
  B - being punched in the face

4.  How do I make you laugh?
  J - tell me a funny joke or say something wrong
  M - make funny faces with Isaac
  B - telling me a funny joke

5.  How old am I?
  J - 33
  M - 34
  B - 37

6.  How tall am I?
  J - 5'6"
  M - 5'6"
  B - 7 point 10

7.  What do I do when you're not around?
  J - watch Friends
  M - play with Isaac and feed Isaac and watch TV
  B - I don't know.  I am not around.

8.  What I am really good at?
  J - math and cooking
  M - taking care of Isaac
  B - making food

9.  What am I not very good at?
  J - understanding Pokemon
  M - sports
  B - playing Pokemon

10.  What do I do for a job?
  J - watch Isaac and housework
  M - you don't have a job...most of the time
  B - you don't have a job

11.  What is my favorite food?
  J - lasagna
  M - chocolate cream pie
  B - 6 layer chocolate cake

12.  What do you enjoy doing with me?
  J - watching Dr. Who
  M - going to museums
  B - when you ask me a question and I answer it and you write it down

Pinewood Derby

It's pinewood derby time again!  New ward, but the same fun.  Quite a bit bigger pack, but still the same fun.  This time Michael was competing with 24 cars instead of the 8 or so in Virginia, so we tried to prep him that it might be less likely that he would win.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.  Michael ran the car from last year.  Partly because it was such a great car.  Partly because we haven't finished unpacking.  Partly because we don't actually own any wood working tools.

And it's off and racing ahead of the other cars!

The cars were run multiple times.  In each race, the winner got 0 points, 2nd 1 point, 3rd 2 points, and 4th 3 points.  Once a car had accrued 7 points it was out of the running.

In the end it came down to two cars and they raced them multiple times until one of them made it 7 points.

Michael's was one of those cars.

And he WON!  I missed getting the shot of him when they announced 2nd place and he realized that he won, but it was pretty awesome.  And when they called his name he jumped up and down ecstatically.

So congrats again to Michael (and Jason)!

Nisqually Wildlife Refuge

No school + no work + no rain (!) = HIKING TIME!  

You can only imagine how much my family loves me.  Because who doesn't love hiking at 9am on a holiday when it is still cold enough for you to see your breath??  

Um, well, these people.

Just kidding (mostly).  It was a bit chilly, but everyone did have a good time.  We explored a new area of our new home this morning with Aunt Rachel.  She told us stories of a long boardwalk and lots of birds.  Also, she wanted to break in her new boots and practice hiking while carrying a heavy pack (apparently, in the military world, this is what is termed "fun").  So we loaded up in the car a little bit early this morning to beat the crowds.

No, really.  If it is not raining, people here flock to outdoor activities.  By the time that we left, people were parked along the street leading up to the refuge area.

It was a nice, flat walk that was very stroller accessible.  It was cold enough to bring Olaf with us.

My sexy husband.

Mt. Ranier!  Apparently, when Rachel was talking to Josh about this mountain, he thought she said "Mt. RAINIER".  You can see how he could easily make that mistake.

Hands On

While looking at a map of Olympia when we were first discussing moving out here, I saw something that caught my eye.  Sitting right on the edge of the water there was a spot marked "Hands On Children's Museum".  I knew we would have to visit that spot on the map.  Luckily, a partnership between the museum and the public libraries put a free 2-week family membership in our hands.  And a rainy Saturday provided a great opportunity to check it out.  

It turned out to be a hit.  There was a large area dedicated to the 4 and under crowd, so Isaac spent most of his time there.  The other boys meandered around checking out their options.  We stayed for three hours, which meant Isaac missing a nap, and the older boys would have been happy to stay longer.  We didn't, unfortunately, get to check out the outdoor area (did I mention it was rainy?), but hopefully we'll get a chance some other time during our 2-week membership.

The First Two Weeks

Okay, so we haven't been here for quite two weeks yet, but I have some pics on my phone that are just dying to be shared.  

First things first: one of our first priorities was getting these kids IN SCHOOL.  As in, before we had furniture or even pencils, we got these kids IN SCHOOL.  We had planned to start them on Monday, January 4th; however, adding two days to our trip meant we didn't get in until the night of Sunday, January 3rd.  And while I am willing to send the kids to school without appropriate supplies, I wasn't willing to send them without clean clothing.  So we planned for Tuesday.  Which is why Ben developed a fever and Josh caught the stomach bug on Monday.  

I am sure they didn't mean to get sick....  

Anyway, we still had Michael start on Tuesday all by himself.  Our backyard shares a fence with the field behind the elementary school, so it is a quick walk to school.  The staff is very friendly and were already ready for him to come.  The school is enormous (about 750 kids!).  They have three 20-minute recesses, and the kids are out there in rain or, well, rain.  I couldn't be happier.  Michael seemed to have a good first day.  On Wednesday, we started Ben (now fever free).  His teacher is very sweet and he seems happy in her class.

Josh was a bit more complicated.  Wednesday morning (now stomach bug free) we met with the school counselor to get his schedule worked out.  Josh was so excited to finally get to go to middle school.  He was disappointed that the school doesn't have lockers (except for gym), but he was excited to get to choose his electives.  To the surprise of the counselor, Josh was excited about taking gym (clearly Josh has no experience with middle school gym class).  His other elective (prepare yourself) is a STEM class based on Minecraft.  So, yes, Josh has died and gone to preteen heaven.  

All is going fairly well in Josh's world.  The only fly in the ointment is the school mascot.  Michael and Ben are the Eagles.  Josh is a Totem.    

Back at the house, Isaac seems not to be at all upset with the fact that his brothers all leave for hours at a time 5 days a week.  Of course, when they are home, Josh likes to push Isaac around on this toy car at what seems to me to be breakneck speeds.  The fact that Isaac is laughing maniacally the entire time just encourages Josh even more.  Dad and Diane got this for Isaac for Christmas and predicted that, because it is so loud and noisy, it would drive me crazy.  Turns out, that doesn't bother me nearly as much as the visions I have of him slamming his head against the wall if he falls off on one of his joyrides with Josh.

So we're not completely unpacked yet.  In my defense, we didn't actually get the truck until last Thursday and....Isaac.  He has gift for unpacking things I have just put away.

Another priority: library cards.  This week we made it to the public library card and got everyone who is old enough to read a card.  Also, a pic with the bears hanging out in front.  

You may have heard that the Seattle area is cloudy and rainy for much of the year.  That would be correct.  In fact, we were here for a week and half before I saw Mt. Ranier and all of its 14000 feet.  Yesterday morning we woke up to SUNSHINE.  The stroller has been much neglected, so I thought it would be a good idea to take Isaac out for a walk.  Interestingly enough, when the sun is out here it is actually colder than when it is cloudy.  It was a nice walk in the sun, but the pavement was covered in ice in places and Isaac was cold even in his pj's, coat and blanket.  Just a couple of kinks we have to work out, but it was a very pretty walk.

This week we also got the gates set up.  Jason's office has most of the bookshelves and a lot of cords, so we decided to save ourselves a lot of heartache (Isaac already tore the head off of Dumbledore in Michael's pop-up Harry Potter book) and get some gates to block the area off.  Isaac isn't quite sure about the latest addition to the house.  He definitely scoots over to them as quickly as possible if one is open, but he has only had one meltdown when Jason was on the other side and Isaac couldn't see me.  I suspect that as reality sets in, he will find them more and more offensive.  For now, we are just relieved that we can unpack all our books.

So far, so good.  We're checking out the kids museum this weekend and I hope to check out some parks soon.  Getting used to the rain will take some time, but it is so beautiful out here and we are happy to be here.

The Move

The Move.  So, I need to get this down before I forget the details, but thinking about it still makes me kind of twitchy.  And maybe a little nauseous.  It was a trip fraught with many trials and several miracles.  And while I am so grateful for the miracles, I am a bit ashamed to admit that my gratitude is somewhat theoretical as I am still a little shell-shocked from the experience. 

While he was still in Washington, Jason was offered a job with a start date of January 4th.  At which point, we had to kick it into gear to get the move done before that date and not completely destroy the boys' Christmas at the same time.  Since the thought of driving across the country (yes, literally across the entire country) with the boys by myself was fairly terrifying, we started researching other options.  This decision would prove to be rather crucial later.  After getting some recommendations from trusted friends, we went with ABF.  They dropped a trailer off at our place on December 22nd, we loaded it that night with some help from our wonderful ward family, and then they picked it up on the 23rd.  At which we parted ways with our belongings for a little time.

On the 23rd we drove up to Virginia to visit with friends and family for Christmas and Christmas Eve.  Our plan was to leave on the 26th.  We would take 6 days to drive across the country with a one day pit stop in Utah.

Ahhh, the best laid plans.

Day 1 - Dec 26 - VA/MD/WV/KY
  The first day was long.  We took long breaks as we all acclimatized to driving all day.  It rained most of the day.  The novelty of a long drive wore off quickly, especially as we drove through familiar terrain.  We tried to keep Isaac entertained by having Josh sit next to him and give him toys, but we learned early that Isaac needed parental attention.  So Josh got promoted to the front seat for most of the drive and Jason and I took turns placating our tiny dictator.

Day 2 - Dec 27 - KY/IN/IL/MO/KS
  The second day we discovered some bad news: Our heater didn't work.  We had it fixed in NC and thought all was well.  Of course, it was 75 degrees in North Carolina and Virginia, so it didn't really become a problem until it got cold and rainy.  Oh, and the defroster didn't work either.  So, regardless of the cold and rain, we still had to crack the front windows to keep the front windshield from fogging up.  Fun times.  Fun. Times.  Regardless, we were lucky to have gone when we did.  I-80 in St. Louis was flooded, but only partly closed on our side.  From what I heard on the weather channel (a channel we watched religiously on the trip), it got worse after we left.  In any case, God bless the public servants (police, I assume) who stood in the rain in flood waters on a major highway directing traffic.  Whatever they get paid, it is not enough.

Day 3 - Dec 28 - KS/CO
  The third day we discovered some more bad news: Winter storm Goliath was between us and Washington State.  Luckily, we were going to be skirting the edges of Goliath.  Unfortunately, the outer edges were still experiencing sleet storms and "feels like" temperatures of about 4 degrees.  After having to pull over a couple of times to scrape ice off of the windshield, we stopped at a gas station for "lunch" and chemicals to spray on the windshield.  We had seen a few cars slide off the road, which made us hesitant to keep going.  However, after talking to travelers coming from the direction we were headed, we discovered that if we just got a mile or two down the road, we'd be okay.  So we went, and we were.  Still freezing cold in the van, but ice stopped coming down from the sky.  Happily, this was the day we got to Colorado.  I don't know what it is about the mountain West, but whenever I am near the mountains, I feel a burden lifting that I didn't even realize I was carrying.  It was also the boys' first look at some real mountains.  To complete the experience, Colorado had just had a major snowstorm, so everything was covered in white.  So, to continue the theme of our trip, cold, but it was very pretty. We were fortunate enough to stay at the home of our friends, even though they weren't there.  It was such a relief to stay in an actual house rather than a hotel.  Sad not to see friends we haven't seen in 12 years, but so nice to send the boys to the basement to play with toys.

Day 4 - Dec 29 - CO/WY/UT
  So, Wyoming.  Want to know what is between Wyoming and the north pole?  Not a darned thing.  The topography was definitely far more interesting than Kansas, but still cold.  I bought some of those hand warmers you shake and insert in gloves to try to keep our feet warm.  We had limited success, but I was willing to take limited at this point.  In case you are wondering about poor Isaac, he really had the best deal.  Layered in two sets of pj's and covered in blankets, baby boy was nice and toasty.  At the end of the day, we finally reached Utah and some really spectacular mountains and a glorious, winding mountain canyon.  Probably would have been more enjoyable with better weather and some heat, but beautiful nonetheless.  The most beautiful sight, however, was Aunt Kathi and Uncle Craig's house.

Day 5 - Dec 30 - UT
  This was a great day for a number of reasons.  In no particular order: Craig and Kathi are very gracious hosts, Jason took the van to a mechanic, Tom and the boys really hit it off and bonded over the Lego Dimensions, laundry.  We had planned on doing some fun activities on this day, but the need to get the van fixed won out.  Also, I have neglected to mention Isaac had developed a raging cold in Virginia that had some croupy tendencies, so we didn't really want to take him out in temperatures sitting in the teens.  After a day of rest, Craig played tour guide and took Jason and the older boys down to temple square to see the lights.

Day 6 - Dec 31 - UT
  And this is where it gets really hairy.  Isaac threw up a little at breakfast, but we assumed it was a fluke.  Jason was also having some problems, but we figured he'd be fine once we got going.  We were wrong.  Very wrong.  About an hour and a half on our way, it became glaringly obvious that we were wrong.  So wrong, that we felt the best option was to get a hotel room in Brigham City and hope for the best.  But hope will only take you so far in the fight against the stomach bug.  It wasn't pretty.  Jason spent the day in one bed and Isaac and I spent the day on the other one with a lot of towels.  The older boys had to fend for themselves with cable TV and the vending machine at the end of the hall for meals.  Poor Jason and Isaac were so sick.  Luckily, hotels have lots of towels.  Sadly, this hotel didn't have a restaurant.  Isaac was so clingy that he would just scream and scream if I left him at all, so vending machine food and delivery pizza was on the menu for those who could eat.

Day 7 - Jan 1 - UT
  Happy New Year!  To celebrate, we spent another day in Brigham City.  Even though Jason was done throwing up and Isaac was mostly done, neither was in particularly good shape or ready to travel.  So another day of cable TV, vending machine food and pizza.

Day 8 - Jan 2 - UT/ID/OR
  Better late than never, we hit the road again.  The bug had hit me in the middle of the night, but it wasn't as bad as Jason and I thought we could go as long as I didn't eat.  And could stop to use the bathroom or the side of the road...whichever was convenient.  We only had one close encounter, but made it to a questionable trading post just in time.  By this time, our heater had been fixed...kind of.  We could get some heat, but had to turn it off frequently to keep the windows from fogging up.  It was a bit of a rough day for me.  Which I felt was saying something considering the days we'd had up to this point.  We spent the night in Oregon, which felt like a small triumph - we had made it to a state that touches the Pacific Ocean!

Day 9 - Jan 3 -  OR/WA
  Two days late, but we made it!  We spent much of the morning driving along the Columbia River.  Sadly, we didn't get to see most of it, but it supposed to be very picturesque.  The few peeks we got were pretty cool.  Although this was supposed to be a very short day, it dragged out due to snow in the mountains and in Portland.  Also, I-5 is a mess on the Sunday after a major holiday.  But we knew we were in the home stretch and our new home was at the end of it.  Also, Aunt Rachel and grilled chicken.  Because our bad luck extends to those around us (Aunt Kathi also caught the stomach bug), Rachel's pipes started leaking while she was out of town and by the time we got to her place the water was turned off and the kitchen ceiling had some bulging holes.  She was still kind enough to invite us to stay the night, but a family of 6 that is still battling a stomach bug requires flushing toilets.  And so it was that we arrived at our new home after 9 days of traveling.

Of course, the saga doesn't end there.  There were more fevers and more vomiting in the next few days.  But we survived and on Wednesday night, our belongings finally caught up to us.

We are still working to unpack, but we have beds and dishes and a TV that works.  Hopefully we will enjoy our new home.  So far, so good.  But even if we don't, I don't think we could convince any of us to get in the car for a long drive again.

Christmas

This is the first Christmas that I put up the decorations and then took them back down again before Christmas.  Look out Grinch, there's a new killjoy in town!  

But, really, what happened is that Jason got offered a job and the best time for us to pack up the van was right before Christmas.  So, back in the boxes it all went and I consoled the boys with thoughts of all the beautiful decorations at Oma and Opa's house.  And lovely they were.

The move is a story for another very long post, but as background for our Christmas, I'll just say that we loaded up the ABF trailer on December 22nd and then drove up to Virginia on the 23rd.  That drive is supposed to be about 5 hours, but in what was to be a case of extreme foreshadowing, it took over 7 rainy, foggy hours.  But we made it safe and sound and ready to enjoy the holidays.  I took appallingly few pictures given how long it will likely be until we are in VA again, but we spent most of Christmas Eve visiting dear friends in Warrenton and Culpeper.  Then back to Vienna for the big family gathering so the boys could wreak havoc with their cousins and consume lots of food.  Twelve kids make a lot of noise and eat a lot of food.

Finally, everyone else went home and the house quieted down so little (and not so little anymore) boys could go to sleep.  Once again, I got them matching pj's and once again they humored me by wearing them and showing their fakes smiles for the camera in the morning.  Except for Isaac.  He hasn't caught on to the tradition of faking it for Christmas morning pictures.

We had to compromise between the boys' desire to get up and open present as early as possible and Oma and Opa's desire for a reasonable amount of sleep.  Ultimately, I think the show got going around 8:30am.  And the highlight of the day; PRESENTS!

In the afternoon, we headed over to my aunt and uncle's house to visit my cousins and meet all their little ones.  We were lucky to spend lots of time with our Raleigh 2nd cousins, but their were Houston and Bountiful ones to ooh and ahh over.  Four little ones born within four months of each other makes for lots of wiggly kids when you try to take a group picture!

To end the day, we went over to Nana's house where we had a lovely meal and Nana outdid herself with a six layer chocolate cake.

It was a crazy, busy couple of days, but we were glad to see so many friends and family before our trek west.