Expect the Unexpected

It's hard to believe that we're already a twelfth of the way through 2016.  Between getting back in the swing of work after the Christmas holiday, and filling our weekends with family, friends, fun, and rest, the month of love is nearly here.  January isn't necessarily a month which exudes expectations of adventure or festive celebrations, but this past month of January has proven to be full of unexpected endeavors.

Last weekend my friend Anne suggested that we have the boys make boats and float them down the river.  At first I was a little hesitant about the idea, but it proved to be an afternoon to remember.  I took some cedar shake shingles from our wood shed and the boys directed the moms in spray painting their boats.  Once dry, we shoved the boys into a pickup and headed for the south end of the Scott River.  As soon as the boys dropped their boats in the water and watched them begin to float furiously away, they ran very quickly, jumped in the truck, and screamed "Step on it, there's no cops in Callahan!"  Despite our diligent efforts and eagle eyes, we never spotted the boats again.  The boys rounded out the evening with an adult free bike ride and a game of nighttime baseball.  The three older friends managed to rig up field lights and concessions for the game.  This afternoon they went on a strenuous quail hunt with their dads and finished the day with a ride in an old Jeep.  I feel so blessed to share my life with my friend, doubly blessed that our husbands are great friends who enjoy their own fun, and triply blessed that our four boys can make an exciting and unexpected adventure out of any day.

Carter's class had the opportunity to go ice-skating.  This was a "first" in the history of field trips for our school and district and I didn't know what to expect.  True to the theme of the month, it was the best field trip I'd ever been on.  Counting eight years as a 4th grade teacher, and over ten in education, I've been on a few.  It was nearly sixty degrees and blue skies.  The worst injury was a slightly bloody lip and the adults were sorer than the kids.  Bradley and I both got to chaperone the trip and neither of us had ice skated in over 20 years.  I stayed in my comfort zone, but Bradley and Carter blew me away.  By the end of the day there were races across the rink.

Carter and Miles have both been skiing since they were three years old.  We are JUST now at the point that we can ski as a family.  No one has to wait, no one has to have the chairlift slowed down, and EVERYONE can put their boots and skis on independently.  Although I was anticipating an eternity of this, Carter has been begging us to try snowboarding.  After a day on the board at Shasta yesterday, I think we've lost him to the dark side.  That's right.  We're now a mixed winter-sports family.  Three skiiers and one knuckle dragger.  I was blown away with how well he did on his first day and how much better he got.  He didn't complain once and was able to keep up with the family by the last run of the day.

A highlight of our month was a visit from my Uncle PB and Aunt Bunny.  We hosted them for dinner and had delightful conversation.  Another unexpected moment from the month came when Uncle PB announced his PR marathon time.  Always such a blessing to spend time with family, especially those we don't get to see often.


We unexpectedly broke some records this month!  Mom maintained a 7:07 pace for a ten mile run which was VERY hilly.  Miles rode his bike for three miles, and Carter read so many chapter books (in first grade) that he got to be principal for the afternoon.


An extremely successful dad/business mogul/farmer/father of four/ who recently moved to our community recently told me that, "You know Joy, if you keep your expectations low enough, you're seldom disappointed."  The first time he told me this, I was a bit surprised because it seemed a bit defeatist coming from such a successful and respectable man.  However, looking back on January, he month of little to no expectations - I wasn't ever disappointed, in fact I was pleasantly surprised.

"Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal. And a Happy New Year."

Hopefully the title of this post hasn't turned you away, but has instead brought to mind a popular Christmas movie starring Mr. Culkin.  This quote in no way paints our holiday season, but it became an inside joke in our family after little innocent Miles decided to blast "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals" from on top of the sled run, before heading down.  This quote was only second this season in use to Uncle Louis's exaggerated, "The BLLLESSSSIINNNGGG."

True to tradition, our holiday season was full and busy.  An entire month of activities and preparation, both at school and at home.  An entire month of experiencing the Christmas spirit.  An entire month of being determined to do as much shopping as possible locally or via Amazon.  I spent one day in Medford over the Thanksgiving break and I vowed to not return until the new year.  I made it.  An entire month of living the mantra, "Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store, maybe Christmas instead, is a little bit more."

A little bit more indeed.  Experiences were more valuable than gold this holiday season.  After opening gifts on Christmas morning we asked Miles what his favorite present was.  He replied, "Spending time with my family."  Thinking he just might be feeling guilty for the overuse of inappropriate holiday movie quotes, I asked him a few days later and he still replied the same.

I don't think I've ever felt that Christmas came from a store, but this year I really felt how much "more" it was.  It started with an evening sledding party.  The natural hillside was blanketed in several feet of powder and outdoor lights illuminated a sparkling sled run full of happy children and thousands of new snowflakes still falling.  A night of family fun.  The spirit continued with the 47th annual Fort Jones Christmas Parade and our school float.  I hosted my staff Ugly Sweater Party and had fellowship with my team of educators.  Bradley and I attended another adult Ugly Sweater Party and I placed 2nd in the sharpshooter BB gun contest.  Turns out those shiny metal Christmas bulbs get a little blurry the more shots of Fireball you take.  I took first place for the women's division in the Ugly Sweater Run at our YMCA, and enjoyed early powder runs on the backside of our local mountain.

The boys chose toys to purchase at our local Hardware store and placed them in the Toys for Tots container.  Christmas cards were mailed near and far.  Miles was Frosty in the Christmas dance show and Carter performed in his school performance.  We went skiing and sledding multiple times, enjoying time with friends and family.  All of the holiday movies were watched, some more than once.  The kids rearranged the nativity sets multiple times, but that's about as religious as it got this year.  I managed to bake Christmas cookies and find Santa (in Fort Jones of all places) in the "11th hour", and the boys built a snowman or two.  It was a white Christmas Eve day spent delivering cards and gifts to neighbors.  The gift of two handsome boys in hand crocheted Santa hats saying "Merry Christmas" in the falling snow was appreciated by many.  Christmas Eve was spent at the Isbells and Christmas Day was spent at home.  My mom joined us for the afternoon and evening.  Moscow Mules, homemade Mac and Cheese, cookies, candies, and leftovers.

Cousins from southern California came to visit and many memories were made.  They went sledding on Salmon Mountain in four feet of snow, and sledding at the ranched in three inches of snow.  Shooting skeet was a hit and the bonfire kept everyone warm.  They all had a sleepover together and even managed to rest.  Board games, bowling, and plenty of laughter.  The gift of time with family.

On this first day of 2016, I sat back and skimmed our photos this year.  Our family committed to slowing down and focusing on each other in 2015.  Perhaps the biggest evidence of this was not doing the pumpkin patch and scaling our garden back.  In all honesty, we were still so busy, but we were able to balance our busy schedules and our downtime in a much easier manner.

Significant events of 2015 included:

• Miles turning four years old.
• Carter graduating Kindergarten and turning six.
• Joy and Bradley celebrating 10 years of marriage and took a trip to Cabo.
• Miles learned to ski and ride a bike with training wheels.
• Our dog of nearly 12 years passed away.
• Joy and Miles took a trip to New Mexico to visit the Howard Trio and their parents.
• Our family went to San Francisco for Miles' 4th birthday.
• Joy completed a 50k trail race.
• Our family took a trip to the coast with friends and Bradley caught a 29 pound salmon.
• We enhanced our backyard patio with a beautiful bar/seating area.
• Bradley built a nice shed off of our barn with amazing organizational capacity.
• We welcomed "Mary" a border collie/terrier mix into our family.
• Bradley finished a beautiful apartment in our barn.  We hope to welcome visitors in 2016!

Enjoy the New Year and cheers to 2016!

Cold temps and Nacho Cheese

For the first time ever in my educational career, Kindergarten - Principalship, I've had a week off at Thanksgiving.  Now that is something to really be thankful for!  Apart from going through every drawer and closet in the house, holding the fort down while Bradley had an eventful return from Colorado, going to Medford, organizing the largest Turkey Trot in history, decorating for Christmas, and deadheading flower beds, I've actually been able to enjoy this week with my children.  In the past, Thanksgiving break seems to be a bit of a blur.  Mostly likely because I cram all of the above activities into three short days instead of five.  Perhaps the most drastic change in the last few days has been the temperatures.  The week started off pretty warm, but after I managed to clear the lawns and clean the flower beds with the help of the kids, we've been in the teens and single digits consistently.  We were even blessed with a little snow.

Prior to Thanksgiving Break we took the boys and my mom down to Sacramento to watch the off-Broadway production of the musical Elf.  It was a magical experience and a great way to jump-start the holiday season.

Carter took third place in his age group in the 11th annual Turkey Trot.  This placing was his goal for the last two months because he wanted to earn the beanie.  I award a beanie to the top three finishers in each age category.  His age category is against Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd graders, and it is quite competitive.  Carter was pretty proud to come in third place to two second graders.  He ran the whole way on his own and the only mishap of the journey was losing the pom-pom on top of his San Francisco Giant's beanie.

In other competitive news, it was Carter's year to place the star on top of the tree, but the height was too much for him this year and Miles volunteered.  He was fearless and his daddy was strong.  Our annual Christmas tree hunting trip with the Hiltons was magical and cold. The boys sledded to their hearts content and the adults kept warm by hiking and taking in a few nips of Fireball.

Despite my love of organization and keeping ahead of the game, my most favorite part of my Thanksgiving break was perhaps the most unorganized.  Bradley and the boys decided to cook dinner.  The kitchen was a mess, and the homemade nacho cheese sauce was a bit spicy, but it was a perfect evening topped off with the movie version of Elf. 

As I look ahead into this holiday season I am excited by the pure joy in the boys' eyes, minds, and hearts.  Here's to keeping warm this holiday season, whether it be with Fireball, the love of family, or some spicy homemade nacho cheese.

Finding Gratitude

The theme of Halloween this year was "Unthemed".  In years past I've convinced the boys to coordinate their outfits with mine.  One of the perks of working in K-5 public education is that you are annually guaranteed the opportunity to wear a Halloween costume.  We've been crayons, pals from Toy Story, Peter Pan and friends, and superheroes twice.  No dice this year.  Elvis, a red Ninja Turtle, and Napoleon Dynamite.  Although our costumes weren't coordinated, and we weren't able to make our annual trick or treating trip with our friends, the final outing of the evening found us at the Heffernans', sipping beverages on the porch of an old "spooky farmhouse" and watching kids run around in the dark.  Unthemed and unplanned, but one of the best Halloweens in the books.  I am thankful for these experiences and relationships which provide last family memories.

This past month I zipped down to San Fran for the weekend and ran the Nike Women's Half Marathon.  I've been fitter and faster, but 125th out of 25,000 isn't too shabby.  My former cross-country coach and I traveled together.  We were able to spend much of the weekend with a former teammate as well.  It never ceases to amaze me how running keeps people tied together.  In fact, I also randomly met up with a runner who I had the privilege of coaching.  This is the third time that we have randomly met at the finish line, and this year when I heard her say my name, it was as if I expected to hear it.   I am grateful for these friendships.

Bradley spent much of the month cleaning up at my mom's house.  She'll close escrow this week and he was an invaluable help in the final clean-up and move.  At 70 years old, she's starting over again.  I thank God every day for the man that I married.  He always supports me, and believes in family.

Family photos were nearly painless last weekend.  In fact, I think the only pain caused by the whole event is the self-criticisms created by me after viewing photos.  Maybe by my 40th birthday I'll be able to let go of body image issues.  I'm rather tired of packing them along.  My lumps and bumps aside, we are very blessed to have a beautiful, HEALTHY, and loving family.  My most valued treasures in the world are featured in those photos, and they don't care about my lumps and bumps.  I am thankful for the unconditional love each of these three show to me.    

I've created a bit of a monster out of our new dog Mary.  Being half border collier and half terrier, she's a natural born runner.  I can't sneak out of the house in the morning to lift weights or run without a very eager dog at my heels.  It's been trial and error - we learned that a leash is needed in the mornings to avoid skunk spray.  Nothing says professionalism, like smelling like a skunk/marijuanua harvest in your principal's office in a morning full of meetings.  That was also the same morning that I backed into a trailer with my car and someone tracked dog poop into the house.  Mary joined me on a ten miler this morning and was still frisky enough to terrorize the chickens when we got back.  Even in the craziest of mornings, I am grateful for these experiences which make up life.

Here's to a month of continuing to find gratitude in all that we do.  Gratitude for the unthemed, unplanned, the lumps and the bumps, and everything in between.

Soccer, Football, Soccer - Repeat

The temperatures have still been in the 80s, but the leaves have turned, Bradley has been hunting every weekend, and fall sports are in full swing.  When we decided early this year to not do the pumpkin patch it was primarily due to being able to focus on our family and have more unrushed/unplanned/unrequired time.  This last week Bradley and I commented on how we can't imagine "doing the Patch" on top of everything else going on.

This last week we had baseball practice Monday, soccer game Tuesday, flag-football game Wednesday, soccer game Thursday (which mom had to coach), and by Friday evening we were all in bed by 8pm.  That's not including the day to day work regarding our demanding jobs, feeding this active family of four as efficiently on a week-night as possible, laundry - and everything else a family does expected and not.

This week Carter was also the "Student of the Week" at school.  His teacher encourages family participation, visits, and sharing.  From a principal's standpoint I love the energy she puts into this because it brings families into the school.  I had no idea how emotional it would be from a mom's perspective.  Carter asked his two great-grandmas to come.  They were joined by his two grandmas, his dad, brother, and me.  The conversations generated by student-led questions revealed interesting conversations across the generations.  At the end of the week, Bradley and Papa brought in a garbage truck, and a roll-off.  Thank you Mrs. Dean for encouraging forced family fun in the first grade room.

The rest of this month will be comprised of the same patterns found in the first half.  Soccer, football, soccer, repeat.  I only hope that the temperatures begin to decrease, Bradley gets a buck, and our weekends continue to be full of family centered time.

The Workingman's Holiday

2014 Dungeness Crab Extravaganza

Labor Day weekend was spent on the Oregon coast with friends.  Hours were spent catching, cleaning, and eating crab.  Early morning fishing outings netted a nice salmon, and the beach provided a beautiful playground for four boys to adventure for hours.

2015 - Same lineup!

Over the course of the weekend I thought a lot about celebrating this holiday of Labor.  A quick Google search validated my thoughts.  Labor day is indeed a day to celebrate "the workingman's holiday".  A day to give tribute to the contributions that men and women have given to the health, well-being, and prosperity of our country.  All of us on the trip were hard-working, child-rearing, tax-paying citizens and it was a grand three days off from our working woes.  Go us, we all deserved an extra day off.
I've worked a job since I was 12 years old.  My first summer job was running a small gift shop in the town of Montague, CA.  My parents "robbed a train", gave wagon rides, and I got to work at the Opera House.  I was in charge of my own cash register and daily inventory of trinkets purchased.  On nights when the train ran in the evenings, I actually got to work in the restaurant pouring lemonade or iced tea to patrons.  It was there that Mrs. Montague taught me the proper way to pour into a glass from a pitcher.  It takes the right angle to not slosh ice.  I don't remember what I earned, but I can guarantee that it wasn't much.  It wasn't about the money, it was about the sense of pride I felt with the responsibility given to me.

I think I worked there for at least a couple of summers.  Soon after that, I began babysitting very consistently and then moving wheel lines for a ranch that was right below our house.  I got up early every day during the summer and walked or rode my bike about a mile to the shop.  The grass was wet and cold and sometimes the motor of the four-wheeler or the movers wouldn't start.  I earned $2.00 a wheel line and could move about 17 in a little under two hours.  By the time I was done, I smelled like fuel, had dirt under my fingernails, and my clothes were ruined.  Only to do it all over again ten hours later.  As an employee, I was a bit of a trainwreck to have on the ranch.  My wheellines weren't always straight, I sometimes ran over things I shouldn't, and I had a habit of losing hammers or other metal pieces in the alfalfa fields.  Whichever boy running the swather on that cutting would begrudgingly find them for me.  Between moving water twice a day, I watched three kids for the ranch family.  A paycheck was earned every two weeks.  Again, I didn't do the job because I needed the money.  The work happened because it made me feel good, a feeling I can now associate with validation.

Even during college I worked.  I remember the conversation with my mom distinctly.  "But, you don't HAVE to work, are you sure you want to do this?".  In the midst of taking 17 - 20 units, being on a collegiate triathlon team, training, and living away from home, I also took on the job of being a nanny for a family.  Once home from college, I realized that having a job without feeling dirty and smelling like gasoline all of the time - might be a bonus.  It was a hard conversation to let the ranch know I wouldn't be working for them again.  Despite all of my mistakes, they really thought I did a nice job.  After a couple summers at Sears selling washing machines, it was time to further my education.  Even when going on in grad school I still worked several days a week as a substitute teacher.  Again, I didn't have to.  I was financially sound.  I wanted to.  I was intrinsically motivated.  Teaching for eight years, running a small family farm, and now I'm working harder than ever in my second year as a principal.

God Bless America, thank you for that one day off a year.  Thank you for acknowledging that my hard work and paychecks have helped benefit our country and the economy.

All I can hope is that my children can see the benefits of hard work from their parents.  I hope they can see that it's not always easy, that work is indeed difficult, but that the rewards come bountifully.  I love the idea that "if you do what you love, you won't have to work hard another day in your life", but I don't believe in ultimatums and I think that's a bunch of crap.  No matter what you do, or how much you love what you do, you will have hard days and work will strain you.  For it isn't without the hard times, that we can appreciate the beauty of life.

Nice shot Carter!

Getting ready for opening day of rifle season!

Carter gets out of school every day at 2:15.  Three days a week, Carter packs "shop clothes" in his backpack along with his snack and green folder, and his dad picks him up from school.  The two of them return to the shop and Carter spends the next two and a half hours or so folding shop towels, cleaning the bathroom, and/or working on trucks with his dad.  Each day he's responsible for filling out his time card in order to redeem his $2 and hour every two weeks.  Carter doesn't HAVE to work.  The kid has anything he needs and the opportunity to attend a wonderful after-school program each day.  He chooses to work alongside his dad and earn extra cash.  Extra cash he brings with him to football games, only to spend on his little brother or friends.  Extra cash he donates to tip-jars of musicians playing downtown Bandon over Labor Day weekend.  

Whatever you do in life, do it well, smile, and have fun - but don't expect it to be unicorns and rainbows every day of the week.  Even if you are netting 200 crab, and a 27 pound salmon with the best friends that money couldn't every buy.

Goodbye Summer Vacation

Technically speaking summer hasn't ended yet.  However, today is my very last day of summer vacation and next week is the boys' last.  The end of late nights and freedom from hectic schedules is always sad, but I worked off an on all summer and the band-aid was easier to rip off.  Looking back over our summer, I feel that it was a lengthy break that was equally full of excitement and relaxation.

Here's some of our stats:
1 outdoor movie night
2 batches of homemade ice cream
1 trip to the Berry Patch
1 week of Soccer Camp and hosting a British Coach
1 day at Lake Siskiyou
1 trip to the local county fair
2 visits to 2 different local museums
2 summer concerts
2 epic running adventures
1 new puppy
1 Summer Car Show
2 days on Trinity
1 Mountain lake
2 Waterslide Parks
1 Beach trip
1 Day at Disneyland and CA Adventure
1 celebrity spotting - Kardashians!
1 educational conference
8 days in Mexico
9 days of swim lessons
Many bike rides/runs - some even with berry picking
Numerous trips to the river
Lots of visits to pools
Evenings on our new patio with cocktails and the bouncy house - too many to count

We've got a crabbing trip to look forward to over Labor Day weekend and then a stress free Fall.  The pumpkins in our own garden will be enough to keep us sentimental, but I sure didn't miss the endless weeding this summer.

Cheers to the end of an awesome summer vacation and the beginning of another great school year!  May your number two pencils stay sharp and your summer memories stay vivid.