Two Heads are Better Than One!

It's been a month where Bradley and I both got to experience single parenting for a few days.  We've each had the kids on our own before overnight, but never with school age kids, who are playing "sports".  Come to find out, Bradley's not too great at remembering to feed the kids their lunch AND working the pumpkin patch at the same time.  I also failed when I got home in a rainstorm and realized I needed to place 60+ pumpkins for school kids AND our portable tent/canopy had been destroyed by said rainstorm.  Thank goodness my new principal colleague is pretty amazing, strong enough to dismantle portable canopies, and lives very close.

Backpacks, dinner, school folders, bathing, stories, bedtime, breakfast, packing snacks, making lunches, starting a fire, doing the chores - it's all a lot harder solo.  I know a lot of happily married people who survive just fine with a spouse who works away or odd hours, but I fail at this.  I need my husband.  I appreciate him.  However, when he's not here to do the early morning chores before we leave for school, I have a pretty awesome five year old.  Each morning Bradley was gone, Carter popped up right out of bed, slapped his headlamp on, and took off for the chickens, chicks, and the horse.  Rain, nor damp fog could deter this worker.  He even gave up his morning ritual of chocolate milk and iPad time on the couch.

Although we were both gone from each other, Bradley's trip was not for fun.  I however, got to participate in the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco.  Turns out, my new weight routine has paid off in the gym.  .  .  I beat out 26,850 other women.  Yep - 150th out of 27,000.  Chip timed and everything.  I could actually see Joan Benoit Samuelson and Shalene Flanagan from the start.  I take off this Friday to run the NYC marathon along with 50,000 other runners.  I'm not usually so self-indulgent/lucky.  The Nike was a fluke deal to get into, and NYC has been in the bag for two years.

We're closing the month out with the most successful pumpkin patch to date.  The boys have decorated their gingerbread haunted house, tried out the costumes, and carved their own pumpkins.  Funny how you own a pumpkin patch, but forget to pick your own kids' pumpkins until the last day.  Sorry guys.

This week will see the end of both soccer and the first quarter of the school year.  Time flies when you're having fun.  If your significant other is around to help that is.

Lifelong Learners

Being involved a bit in education, I've always been a big believer in making lifelong learners out of kids.  You want children to have an intrinsic desire to seek knowledge and answer those higher order thinking level questions.  The goal is to embed this concept and have it carry on throughout life.  As a parent, I've come to accept that my own sons may be lifelong learners, but without the correct information.  In fact, I've started believing we've failed at this already.

Case in point.  Mr. Merrihew is Carter's fantastic Kindergarten teacher.  He's silly, fun, smart, tall, and Carter loves him.  It's pretty nice working as a principal at the school your kid goes to because you get an inside view of it all.  This last week Mr. M. shared with me that he had a picture up of Johnny Appleseed and he asked the kids if he knew who he was.  Carter's hand shot up with great confidence.  When called on, Carter stated that it was a picture of Jesus.  "Well, not exactly Carter," continued Mr. Merrihew, "but he was a really nice man who planted trees all over".  Up goes the hand again with much conviction.  "It's God."  "No, Carter, it's Johnny Appleseed".  Apparently, Carter's been studying up on his biblical knowledge more than traditional folklore.

In addition to not helping our children become accurate lifelong learners, we also learned to take a slice of humble pie this month.  For several weeks our black laying hen was nowhere to be found.  We assumed the worst and explained to the kids that she had been eaten by predators.  This was not enough information for Miles.  He insisted for weeks that the black chicken was just under the porch.  Soon he had his brother on his bandwagon, and they both insisted that the hen in question had in fact been seen. We insisted in our parental ways and ignored the blossoming truth.  Sure enough, one Thursday evening out came the hen with five little baby chicks.  Turns out the rooster left his legacy before Bradley had shot the poor bas**** a month prior.  We're just praying the chicks aren't roosters.

Moving from the spiritual, to the natural, onto the sports realm.  Along with inaccurate lifelong learners, and denial skills, it also turns out we didn't teach our kids proper sportsmanship.  The first game of the season found Carter cartwheeling (mind you it looked more like a cat hopping out of water) across the field after he scored a goal, and Miles throwing a fit when he ran as hard as he could and no one would "give the ball" to him.  Great - ly - embarrassed!!

The week only got better when Carter decided to open his own vegetable stand at the pumpkin patch.  Not satisfied with simply helping his parents sell pumpkins, he wanted to make his own money.  The kid woke up early Saturday and Sunday to pick tomatoes and bell peppers.  He hired on his brother and friend Macey to help.  Open and Closed (in case he had to go to the restroom) signs were made.  I know what you're thinking.  This is great!  He's working hard and ambitious to make the money.  Yes, that's all true.  All was well and good until I heard his prices.  Depending on the customer he was able to bring in between $1 to $3 PER TOMATO!  Add in overinflated sense of monetary compensation to our list of inaccurate lifelong learning skills.

All joking aside, I'm so proud of my boys.  They're hard workers like their daddy.  They pay attention to details like their momma, and they're just a bit competitive.  Apart from working on correctly identifying the main characters in biblical history and folklore - I'd say they rate up there pretty high.  Lifelong learners take a lifetime to cultivate.

Work Hard Play Hard!

I barely got a post finished in August before a fun-filled Labor Day weekend was over.  The timing is quite perfect as August was a month which balanced fun and labor.  Prepping for school to start, enjoying riding new bikes, purchasing school supplies, fun at the fair, more prepping for school.  Enjoying Lake Siskiyou and the first week of school before finally enjoying a weekend at the Oregon Coast with friends.  It was truly a month in which the last few breaths of summer were savored and much work was put into preparing for a new school year.  Bradley was also hard at work on the fires hauling waste for over 30 days straight.  A new school year as a principal and also as parents of a Kindergartener.  School rules and purchasing backpacks.  Handbooks and new shoes that tie up.  Policies and new lunch boxes.  

As the month rolled out Carter really mastered his new bike.  In fact, he's my new pacer.  Many runs this month were spent with Carter hammering out the miles in front of me as I pushed Miles.  It's pretty gratifying to have your five year old ask you, "Can we just do one more mile Mom?".

This year's fair found Miles a bit too short for the big boy rides, and Carter more than willing to try anything - including the drop ride.  In between working it was fun to take the boys shopping for new clothes and school supplies.  Mornings were also spent on horseback at Ms. Lauren's for riding lessons.  We even managed an afternoon at Lake Siskiyou with friends.  Perhaps the highlight of the month was a repeat of the backyard movie night with Wyatt and Finn.  

The first week of school was very successful.  Carter loves Kindergarten and I love being the principal.  Everyone has adjusted well and as long as the smoke clears out soon I think we'll be even happier.  

This past weekend we were able to sneak away to Bandon for crabbing with friends.  It was the perfect ending to our month of labor and fun.  Turns out crabbing is a lot of fun and a lot of work.  From the rigging to the eating - it was a mixture of work and play.  

In my next 30 years!

When Carter was first born someone much wiser than myself told me that the days are long, but the years are short.  Well, maybe not exactly in that same verbage, I'm sure it was much more eloquent.  Either way, this last month has flown by and so much has changed.  Carter lost his first tooth, he can swim independently in deep water without being rescued, and has managed to buck the old training wheels on the bike.  Oh, and I almost forgot, he got up on water skis at Trinity Lake all by himself.   Please ignore my screaming when you watch the video.

Upon reflecting on our activities this last month, I think I know how July may have seemed to speed away from us.

1) Overnight 4th of July "camp-out" at the Thamer's and Hilton's.

2) Trinity Lake/Mud Pond two night camping extravaganza with friends.

3) Family Movie Date Night to Planes: Fire and Rescue. 
4) Weekend of resealing patios and restaining porch.
5) Numerous weeknight dinners with friends.
6) Countless swim afternoons at family pools.
7) Mom's two night stay in San Fran - A nice Italian Restaurant now features a "JoyNess" cocktail.

7) Mom's Dirty Thirty Mud Run and mini Mt. Shasta vacay.

8) Maybe, just maybe, a few naps.

Reflecting on turning 30, the days are often long, but I do feel that the years are short.  I feel like I'm an "old soul" and that age is just a number.  I sure hope that my next thirty years are as blessed as my first thirty.  In another thirty years, I hope that I will have raised two sons who go out to make their own mark in the world in a positive way.  I hope they will fall in love with their soul mate, their work, their life.  In another thirty years, I should be nearly celebrating 40 years of marriage with my husband.   Maybe a few grandkids?  We'll own our home.  Maybe retired?  Grey hair and wrinkles.  30 more marathons run.   I will have completed an Ironman Triathlon, and caught a few more stamps on the old Passport.  I will have worked each day in all that I do to make the world a little better.  The days are long, and the years are short, but the decades are opportunities.

Shirtless Wonder

Just yesterday I pondered where the month of June had gone.  Apparently she never visited my blog.  The school year closed a week later than usual, we went to South Lake Tahoe for cousins' week, I started in as a principal, and that's about all she wrote.

Sometimes when perusing Facebook or Pinterest I get stuck on cheesy quotes.

 - Smile and the world smiles back.  (Not on a beach in South Lake Tahoe when two dogs try to rip your quads off, and the owner starts yelling at you for yelling at his dogs.)

- Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.  ( Try that on the last day of your teaching career while a slideshow plays and a song about kids being heroes accompanies the images.)

On the way to clean out the coop.

- Every Damn Day - Just do it.  - Except in the case of trying to entice your boys to clean out the chicken coop - AGAIN.

Or my personal favorite:  - What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?  (Certainly not allowing my five-year old to be rescued by the life guard at the pool because he felt he couldn't fail at jumping in when I wasn't watching.   OORRRR  Teaching my three year old to take his own shirt off, because he's now a shirtless wonder in most circumstances.)

This blog is a little random and that's about the speed of my brain these days.  Every damn thing must be entered into my calendar with an alarm to remind me, or I'm screwed.  Because I know this, I'm constantly second-guessing my calendar accuracy and then have anxiety I will forget something.  Between hoeing the pumpkin BY HAND TWICE, working at a new job, being a mom, and trying to not feel overwhelmed, I feel scattered.  I'll hit my groove soon, but until I do there's gonna be a few washboard bumps along the way to finding that path.  Which leads me to another quote.  .  .

- Every journey begins with a single step.  (Yes, but sometimes that step is backwards and your journey gets delayed, or perhaps you step in bubblegum and you get stuck, or perhaps you step into a pile of sh** and you then have to wash your shoes or clean up the mess, or perhaps you step into .  .  .)

Although some things have to be put on the calendar, it is often the most unplanned events that turn out the best.  This last Sunday we hiked into East Boulder Lake after toying around with the idea for a few days.  Upon finally making our decision around 10am, we were off.  Carter hiked in and out the whole way by himself and Miles did about 1/4 of the journey.

The boys kept saying how "beautiful" everything was.  Of course Miles started out the shirtless trend at the lake and everyone got sunburned, but it might have been the milky white skin that attracted the two fish we caught.

Summer Vacation is in full swing and so far our list of experiences is high:
1) Trip to South Lake Tahoe for Cousins' Week
2) Swimming at Mema and Papa's pool and the city pool
3) Horse Riding lessons
4) Hiking into a mountain lake
5) Daddy's fishing trip to Astoria Oregon
6) Purchased a more family friendly vehicle
7) Helped mom move into her new office
8) Hoed and hoed and hoed the pumpkin patch
9) Backyard barbeques
10) Mom's annual cross country racing series





Where did June go you say?  I think she took a step on her journey onto a horse and into the mountains.  I think she's getting in a few training runs before July hits. .  .



  

$3 Purchases and Spring Recitals

Although I do everything in my power to avoid going to the most dreaded store in the world, sometimes it must happen, and it must happen with children.  This store which shall remain unnamed but rhymes with fart, is only conquerable with children if they have their own wad of cash.  Not one to be unprepared on a Sunday afternoon, I asked the boys how much they wanted to withdraw from their piggy banks.  They both answered simultaneously with three dollars.  This was to be the last joint decision for a long time.

Their thought processes and buying attitudes leading up to their purchases tell volumes about their personalities.  Miles had his item picked out within minutes.  Once his gaze fell upon the Marvel Superhero plastic flip-phone, it was a done deal.  An easy $3 impulse purchase.  No weighing the options, no thought process, just a final decision.  He didn't try to stretch his money or get a better deal, he went after what he wanted and was done.

Carter on the other hand.  .  .  I think we went through at least 25 different ways in which his three dollars could have been spent.  We deliberated on the quality of items versus the price.  We placed things in the cart and then retreated back to find yet a different item.  Everything from flashlights to something edible.  Finally, he was happy with a pack of coloring markers, a bottle of white glue, and a VERY cheap pair of blunt-edged scissors.  All for $3.  Making a final decision was a difficult task for this little man.  He covered every angle of his buying process.  Quality was measured, decisions were analyzed, and only through comparison was he able to come out ahead.

Was one buyer's method better than the other's?  No.  They were just different, and they spoke volumes about our boys' personalities.  Carter looks at the whole picture from every different scenario and worries, but Miles lives in the moment and goes for it.

This last month both boys were in the Spring Dance Concert.  Instead of taking a dance class, they take an acro class once a week.  This class performs at the dance recital.   About a week before the show Carter started getting really nervous about who might come to the show and what they might think of Carter up on the stage.  Would they think he was a grown up boy?

Would they laugh at him?  As this was his third show, his comments began to concern me.  However it all goes back to his thought process.  He covers every angle.  When we would ask the boys to practice Carter knew the routine down pat, but Miles would pretend not to know anything.  Sadly, as this video will clearly show - even the night of the show he just did what he wanted to do.  Sure, he was cute and it was funny, but it wasn't the plan.  He was living in the moment, and he had a blast.

As I embark on my new career as an elementary school principal, does anyone want to place any bets on which child might visit my office more often?  All kidding aside, I hope they're both in at least once a day for a hug and a huge smile.  Carter's visit planned to the minute and Miles' a random pop-in.

Miles turns three!

I must admit that I have teared up a bit at the thought that I no longer have a two-year old.  I told Miles that he had to stop growing up and he replied, "Okay mom, I promise.  I will grow down."  In light of tradition, here is his three year old interview:

What is your name?  Miles John Isbell
What is your favorite color?  Green and Brown
What do you want to be when you grow up?  A mean Batman
Who is your best friend?  Clara and Carter
What is your favorite food?  Mac and Cheese, carrots, grapes, and chicken legs.
What is your favorite thing to do?  Help my daddy.
Who is your favorite animal?  Maggie my dog.
What is one thing you don't like?  I don't like taking naps.
What can you do now that you are a big boy?  Help daddy, go pee when I stand up.
What was your favorite part of Disneyland?  The tractor ride.
Where do you like to go to eat?  My treehouse.


Miles's birthday has been a bit of a two-week long adventure.  It started with Lightning McQueen cupcakes with his friends at Eileen's.  No, I did not make these, but instead hired the very talented Scott Valley Sweets - Shelley Whipple.

That same day we picked up the boys in the early afternoon and jetted off to Sacramento where we caught a quick flight down to LA.  Around midnight we managed to secure our rental car and drive off to my Hotwire destination.  It wasn't close to the park, but you can't beat a Hilton for $65 a night.  Along the way we discovered a very intense detour on the 405.  I think we made it into bed at 2am and the boys were raring to hit California Adventure/Cars Land at 7am.

I'd like to tell you that the best part of Cars Land was watching my boys meet Mater, Lightning, the Fire Truck, or riding on the Radiator Springs Ride.  However, no.  The best part about California Adventure is that when the temperature spiked around noon, and we were all running on low blood sugar, we discovered a beer truck with plenty of nice beverages on tap.

The next day we hit Disneyland.  Sadly, there is NO booze to be found, at least not in the easily accessible ways in which one might find it at CA Adventure.  We are not just boozy parents pushing our kids around amusement parks, but I will tell you that we were very easy going parents admist thousands of aggressive tourists, at least the first day.  All drinking jokes aside, we had a blast.  It was magical, fun, stimulating, and Carter was able to go on nearly every ride.  The kids didn't complain once and everything was very magical.

Upon returning we were able to enjoy a full week of Spring Break.  I was able to be "mom" at home.  Carter got his Kindergarten shots, the boys played outside, I was able to organize, and just take a few breaths.  Miles was lucky enough to have four friends over on his actual birthday.  We ate birthday cake pancakes, jumped in his new bounce house that my mom bought him, and dyed Easter Eggs.


The birthday celebration continued on Easter when the family all celebrated both Miles's and Shelby's birthdays.  The weather was beautiful, food bountiful, and loving family around.

As Easter has come and gone and another new Spring is upon us, it brings about reflection.  We've lived in our home for five years now, dad has been gone two, but the cycle still continues.  I think Miles is right, we will focus less on growing up, but instead of on growing our roots even further down.