Never Grow Up!

The baby of the family turned five years old this week.  Miles John Isbell has brought so much fun and adventure into our family.  Carter is very serious and by the book.  Miles is always thinking outside the lines and shows much compassion towards others.  

Every year I ask the kids if they want a party or a "trip".  Last year we went to San Francisco for Miles's birthday.  This year, he wanted a Peter Pan birthday.  That one came out of nowhere.  I thought for sure it was a first.  After a quick glance through Pinterest.  .  .  Nope.  Totally, a typical party.  Not one to completely stick to the norm, I partnered with another mom whose son's birthday falls on the same weekend and we committed to throwing a joint birthday party.  I predict that it will be the new fad.  Two birthdays on one afternoon.  Two moms working together.  One party on two budgets.  Between texting and Pinterest we hit a homerun.  The kids were all invited to "Neverland".  My mother in law made Peter Pan hats, I amazoned some Pixie wings, and a party was born.  

Every kid from Eileen's, grandparents, and some other family friends all joined together for an afternoon in Neverland.  Kids made pixie dust, visited Smee's Tattoo Parlor, walked the Plank, bounced around in Lost Boys' Camp, hit the pinata at Skull Rock, and enjoyed some hot dogs.  The two birthday boys had the afternoon of their lives, and the party was wrapped up at 1pm sharp because we had to jet to the 2nd performance of Carter's Talent Show.  

On Miles's actual birthday he requested a corndog for dinner from Dotty's.  We randomly met up with a few families at dinner and had a great evening.  His birthday interview reflects his birthday requests:

What is your name?  Miles John Isbell

What is your favorite color?  Green and Blue

What do you want to be when you grow up?  A policeman, a miner, and a fireman, I mean and a knight.

Who is your best friend? Savi.  My brother and Mary (dog) too.

What is your favorite food?  Basghetti and Mac and Cheese (exactly the same as last year.  .  . ) without salad.  

What is your favorite thing to do?  Sleep when I'm tired.  Play baseball and play my iPad.

Who is your favorite animal?  A lion.

What is one thing you don't like?  Salad or lettuce.  

What can you do now that you are five years old?  Hoping he can ride in his booster seat.  I'm excited to go to Kindergarten and Carter told me that Mr. Merrihew is very funny.

What was your favorite part of your birthday? My pinata.

Where do you like to go to eat?  Dotty's and eat a corndog there.

Last but not least, I'd like to leave you with a video from Carter's talent show production.  He got a guitar from Christmas and first started playing in January.  Thanks to his Papa, dad, buddies Wyatt and Finn, and some tips from Youtube sensation Marty Schwartz, he rocked it!

Snow and Sun

There's something about the start of a spring that finds you switching from ski boots to bikinis.  Or, in the case of Carter snowboard boots to board shorts, and in the case of Miles.  .  . ski boots to a "speedo".  The month of March found us on Mountain Ashland every Friday with our school.  The bonus is that you get to ride with your buddies.  The downside is that mom doesn't get to have a beer with lunch.  My mom joined us for each day up there and we had a blast.

I remember the first time that I felt really "independent".  I drove a pickup truck on my 16th birthday all by myself.  New, open, alone.  I LOVED it!  I think Carter got a similar taste on the mountain.  He and his first grade buddies independently loaded and unloaded the lifts.  By the last day, he took run after run and basically just checked in with me.  The only reason Miles couldn't follow suit is because he's a wee bit short to ride independently.

From the snow to the sand we went.  Luckily, the Easter bunny brought the boys some spiffy new shades, sunblock, and rashguards. Easter was spent with the Isbells and my mom came down.  The boys even got up early and went to sunrise service with me.

The day after Easter we jetted off to Cabo San Lucas for six days in the waves.  The kids learned a lot of important Espanol.  Gracias, Por Favor, Cervesa, Mas Cervesa, Si, and Taco.  That one came quick. We spent time together as a family in the waves, on the beach, in the pool, and at every meal.  It was so blissful to just .  .  .  BE.  Uncle Robert and Russell, along with their worker Luis joined us for a few meals, long drives, a nice afternoon in Todos Santos, and a beautiful cacti filled sunset.

Upon arriving in the US, as much as we wanted to embrace the spirit of our Mexican vacation, it seems we jumped right into the business of life.  T-ball, Farm League, school, and work.  The mountain snow is melting and the rivers are rising.  At least, both boys have shades, rashguards, and maybe a speedo or two.

7th Birthday Week

Tonight as we were sitting around the dinner table talking about our day we were blessed with another one of Miles' unique commentaries.  He spends the day with his Mema every Tuesday.  Today he accompanied Mema and her mother, Grandma Cora on a trip to Medford.  Grandma Cora had a doctor's appointment.  That's about all of the information I got about the day before they left.  We were all pretty curious to hear about his day.  He proceeded to tell us that first "Mema had to get all ready.  Then, we drove to the doctor's.  After that we had lunch.  I had a taco, jello, chocolate pudding, and chocolate ice cream with sprinkles."  I was stumped.  I know we live in a small town with no options, but I couldn't fathom where he had gotten all of those options in one setting.  Pretty soon his index finger went up, his eyes followed, and he started digging in his pocket.  "Ah - ha!", he exclaimed.  "THIS is where we went!" - out popped a mint from Sizzler's.  I can only imagine the day he had with his grandma and his great grandma.  It was illustrated further by his bag of items he had purchased.  A dog toy for Mary, some animal cookies, a vintage toy, and an egg decorating kit.  This is a small glimpse into this young man's very fun interpretation of all that life has to offer.  Recently he stated to me, "Mom, I have a REALLY important question to ask you.  .  .  Can I sleep with my socks on?"

I'm finally getting around to talking about Carter's actual birthday.  We decided to not have a party this year, but instead have a day of bowling and a movie in Medford.  Well, you know what I tend to feel about plans.  .  .  Carter ended up with the actual influenza on his 7th birthday.  He showed little or no enthusiasm towards opening presents and was in and out of consciousness.  His dad was soon to follow.  His birthday cake stayed intact for several days and I was actually in denial that he was growing up and bought him the number six candle.

As his perfect attendance record continue to self-detonate, his fever spiked over the course of a few days.  I had ordered cake pops to be delivered to school in SF Giant's colors and they remained frozen in our after school freezer.  We finally got around to singing to him one night during a five minute stretch without body aches.  The end of the week found Bradley needing to travel south to pick up dumpsters and we threw Carter in the truck with him.  He was an excellent copilot and they had quite the adventure.  Carter was a cheap traveler as he was still eating nothing.  Saturday came and our family of four headed to Medford.  The night before Carter had detailed out a schedule for us to follow.  We started at Sports Authority where he bought a new baseball glove with a gift card.  We then went to the Rogue Ski Shop where he used another gift card to purchase a snowboard set up.  From there we had lunch at Red Robin and watched a 3-D movie.  It was pretty expensive for a family of four to eat popcorn and watch a movie in the third dimension, but the good news is that Miles popped the lenses out of those glasses and has been wearing them ever since.  We got our money out of those bad boys.  It was then off to the Family Fun Center for some batting practice, over-priced games, and go-carts.  We met up with Bradley's parents and my mom for some Shoji's food.  The boys enjoyed the food being cooked in front of them.

Carter ate his eight day old frozen cake pops with his friends on Monday and used his snowboard on Friday on the school ski/board trip.  It may have been the longest birthday in the books, but we're on the uphill swing of things.  Heck, our appetite is so good, we may even make a trip to Sizzler's soon.

Burning Love and Lucky Number 7

There's something very promising about an extra day in February every four years.  It's expected and guaranteed.  I have two good friends, identical twins to be exact, who will officially turn eight years old tomorrow.  I've always thought that there was something extra "lucky" about how they happened to be born on Leap Day.  While I run I enjoy listening to Podcasts, and I recently listened to an entire piece from the Freakonomics channel detailing the history and potential trouble caused by Leap Day.  Anywho, the twins aren't the only ones celebrating a birthday soon.  Carter will turn the lucky number seven on Tuesday.  I've come to realize that I can't turn the clock back.  No matter how much I beg him, he won't stop growing up.  As is tradition, I sat down with him this morning and interviewed him.

Name:  Carter Isbell

What is your favorite thing to do?  Play baseball and football and build Legos.

Who is your best friend?  Miles, Aidan Stewart, and Wyatt and Finn

Favorite Superhero? Batman

Favorite Color?  Red

Favorite Toy?  Legos

Favorite Food?  Mac and Cheese, Pizza, Tacos, Mom's French Dip Sandwich, and Dad's pork ribs

Favorite Drink?  7-UP

Perfect Day?  Going up the ranch and shooting and relaxing on the couch with my family.

What do you want to be when you grow up?  I want to work at Scott Valley Disposal with my dad.

What will you miss about being six?  I will miss being younger.

What are you looking forward to about being seven? I look forward to being able to ride a bigger dirt bike.

What are you really good at?  I am good at sports.  I am good at throwing in football.  I am good at fielding in baseball.  I am really good at turning in skiing.  I can ride my bike with my mom when she runs for six miles.

What are your chores?  I help take out the trash, and sometimes feed my horse.  I feed and water my dog Mary.

What makes a good person? A good person sets a good example and is kind to others.

Favorite thing to watch?  Unnecessary Roughness and Mission Impossible

What is your favorite thing about school?  I like reading and math.

Something you can work on?  I could do a better job with chores and be nicer to my brother.

Anything you'd like to add about yourself?  Well, I treat everybody nicely.  

 I've recapped birth - sixth birthday and feel that each picture captures part of his personality.  Carter is an "old soul"with a kind heart.  He's determined, smart, creative, inquisitive, helpful, and loving.  We feel so lucky to be his parents (even though lately, he seems to think he's the parent).  Carter is a natural big-brother and loves to work with his dad.  This last weekend he got upset with me when I told him he wasn't allowed to use the power saw to construct a jump for his mini-bike.  "Mom, if I can split kin-il-ing, I can surely use a power saw!"

Thank you for making our lives and the world a better place Carter!  We love you to the moon and back a bazillion times.

This last month you could say that our "hearts were on fire".  We celebrated on Valentine's weekend with not one but two bonfires.  The fire department may or may not have responded to one call.  The boys spent copious amounts of time with their buddies Wyatt and Finn.  I was lucky enough to get live and cut Valentine's flowers.  There's nothing hearing a knock on the door and opening it to find your two boys holding primrose in open arms and exclaiming "Happy Valentine's Day Mom".  They even planted their bounty too.  Carter surprised us all on Valentine's Day morning with homemade Valentines complete with scotch-taped chocolates.  I'd say our family is pretty lucky in love.

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.