I just borrowed Trav's Mach 3 razor without permission upon realizing I had forgotten my own razor. He had already left for some meetings today, and I am a dark brunette girl that was planning on wearing a skirt today in the Redding heat. My fellow brunettes can attest that black leg stubble and skirts just don't mix!
Anyhoo! I was desperate, I took action, which required Trav's razor. I haven't had such a smooth shave in years!! Why don't they make women's razors in a similar fashion? It's amazing the technology! It's literally made my day.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Ladies' Roadtrip
My sister and I blew off our lives for a few days and headed to Calistoga for a little R&R. It was pretty close to perfect! Calistoga is at the northern end of Napa Valley and the drive up HWY 29 was beautiful. It's this way cute little town that's completely walkable, so we parked our car and didn't get back in until it was time to go home. Awesome! We read, ate good food, read, had great conversation, stayed in a European style hotel (shared bathrooms) above a pub and brewery, walked a lot, found a great park with big shade trees and soft grass for MORE reading, and we even indulged in a little mudbathing which Calistoga is famous for. We found this great spa that dates back to the 50's I believe and had this funky retro feel.
Has anyone sat in a mudbath? In a word, it's "interesting". We were so excited to try it out, but I have to say, the minute my first leg was "sucked" in up to my calf, I panicked and had to talk myself down to continue climbing into the tub. I felt claustrophobic, stressed, but I didn't want to appear the ninny to my cool sister, so I kept it all to myself. It's completely weird to be suspended in a tub of heavy mud that smells like manure (or fertilizer to be more polite). The attendants promised "ten minutes" and then they'd come back to get us. I think it was more like 45, or ok maybe 20, but it was way too long. I was sweating profusely and I kept thinking "how awkward would it be if I just leaped out of this tub right now?" I made it through however, drank lots of water, felt detoxified and ready for a good nap. At the end of it all Vicki admitted her reaction pretty much mirrored mine and we probably won't be dipping into the mud any time soon, or really, ever again. But we LOVED the mineral baths and all of the lounging. There should really be more time for lounging in our dailiness.
I love my sister, I've loved living in the same town together this last year, meeting for coffee, at the park with the kiddos, movie nights, but mostly all of the good conversation. She's one of the most diverse, thoughtful, and genuine people I know. I'm challenged by who she is and the questions she poses. I'm better for knowing her. It was a gift to have her all to myself for a few days.
I returned last night and stepped back into the whirlwind of our current reality. Another road trip is on the horizon for Monday. We shall return to Redding for our third trip there this year, something keeps drawing us back... But I have to say, whirlwind aside, I'm so excited to take another gander at Alyssa's big belly before Moses comes! It's always fun to find an excuse to go to Redding, God is SO good.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
What our mornings look like
Our summer mornings have taken on a definite shape for us. Jonah likes to kick it off with a fast, funky beat on his keyboard at full volume. He literally rolls out of bed onto the keyboard, and it's all I can do to have him hold off until Davey and Payton are actually awake and coherent before he starts playing.
Davey wakes up a bit more slowly and will lay in his crib getting a last snuggle in with white bankey while listening to Jonah play. He's amazingly calm while Jonah's disco beats are bumping throughout the room. I think it's a rough way to wake up myself.
Ahhh, and lastly Payton, my avid reader. This girl wakes up holding a book and starts reading. She doesn't even bother to come down out of her bunk, eat breakfast, get dressed, etc. She'd pee in a bedpan if I let her. She gets tons of books from the library every other day and stays in her bunk reading. I have several emotions over this. I'm so thrilled and proud that she loves to read b/c I love to read, I'm somewhat jealous that she gets to "check out" all day every day into her books when I would LOVE to do that myself, and then I'm also dealing with some fallout of her reading. She is SASSY when she's interrupted. A simple request from me like, "ok, let's get some sunblock on to go to the pool" results in a huge, heavy, sigh, dramatic roll of the eyes, and a comment like "Great! All I want to do is read my book!!" I've created a monster. Teachers any thoughts? Will this interest mello a bit?
Davey wakes up a bit more slowly and will lay in his crib getting a last snuggle in with white bankey while listening to Jonah play. He's amazingly calm while Jonah's disco beats are bumping throughout the room. I think it's a rough way to wake up myself.
Ahhh, and lastly Payton, my avid reader. This girl wakes up holding a book and starts reading. She doesn't even bother to come down out of her bunk, eat breakfast, get dressed, etc. She'd pee in a bedpan if I let her. She gets tons of books from the library every other day and stays in her bunk reading. I have several emotions over this. I'm so thrilled and proud that she loves to read b/c I love to read, I'm somewhat jealous that she gets to "check out" all day every day into her books when I would LOVE to do that myself, and then I'm also dealing with some fallout of her reading. She is SASSY when she's interrupted. A simple request from me like, "ok, let's get some sunblock on to go to the pool" results in a huge, heavy, sigh, dramatic roll of the eyes, and a comment like "Great! All I want to do is read my book!!" I've created a monster. Teachers any thoughts? Will this interest mello a bit?
Family Camping Trip
We headed to Tahoe last week for our summer camping trip! It was four nights of bike riding, swimming, being dirty, smores, hiking, being really dirty, and having a bear in our trailer! Having Nana Sharon and Papa Greg join us for a few days and hosting a bear were the obvious highlights for us.
For the full story on the bear, Payton was starting to head into our trailer when our neighbor said, "Don't go in there, there's a bear!" Indeed we look and see his outline in our trailer and him rummaging through our stuff. Trav documented the occasion with the video camera while I secured the kids in the car incase we got any "action". It turns out it was a baby and lucky for us there was no mama bear along with him. It was a very exciting few minutes, and the kids love having their big story to tell.
It was so great to have Trav's parents up there with us. Tahoe was their family stomping grounds in the summers when Trav was growing up, so it was cool to check out the places they used to visit with the next generation of Osborne campers.
Payton, Nana Sharon, and I went for a trailride together. Payton enjoyed it, but then declared it a bit boring towards the end. I was happy with boring since the opposite would entail her horse running off with her or bucking her off! Boring is just fine.
We took lots of bike rides. They had this amazing bike path that went forever and Davey took it like a champ! I think fellow campers got a kick out of seeing such a little guy handling a two wheeler on his own b/c he got cheers from people like, "All right buddy! or Your killing it!" Davey loved the fame.
We made a couple trips to the ice cream shop for the hugest "kids size" scoops of ice cream I've ever seen in my life. Payton said that perhaps they're called kids' size b/c "this is how much ice cream kids want to eat!" She very possibly could be right. Davey had a record 16 gumballs in his bubble gum ice cream. We were all impressed and admired his process of slurping out the gumballs from the ice cream and then slobbering them into a collection cup.
Jonah's dimple was in full effect every time he hit the water. We had so much fun watching him enjoy himself. He is such a joy for us, and I find myself journaling thank yous to God quite often for his sweet spirit and his development this past year. He went full throttle all day every day playing and he kept saying, "I just want to camp for 99 days!!" Too bad for him, Momma don't roll that way.
We spent some time in the lake every day. The water is so pristine and clear. The kids LOVED it. Our kids are so tan right now, I don't even know how to relate to them! They would alternate playing in the water and then beach themselves by diving into their towels and burrowing into the sand to warm up. Each day we left with their towels sopping wet from their repeated attempts at "warming up".
How cute are these two? Davey would've been in the picture but he was off throwing a temper tantrum over not being "first" in leading us on our hike. We had lots of tantrums over being first, it never gets old for him.
We made lots of great memories, and I'm already excited to start planning next year's trip!
For the full story on the bear, Payton was starting to head into our trailer when our neighbor said, "Don't go in there, there's a bear!" Indeed we look and see his outline in our trailer and him rummaging through our stuff. Trav documented the occasion with the video camera while I secured the kids in the car incase we got any "action". It turns out it was a baby and lucky for us there was no mama bear along with him. It was a very exciting few minutes, and the kids love having their big story to tell.
It was so great to have Trav's parents up there with us. Tahoe was their family stomping grounds in the summers when Trav was growing up, so it was cool to check out the places they used to visit with the next generation of Osborne campers.
Payton, Nana Sharon, and I went for a trailride together. Payton enjoyed it, but then declared it a bit boring towards the end. I was happy with boring since the opposite would entail her horse running off with her or bucking her off! Boring is just fine.
We took lots of bike rides. They had this amazing bike path that went forever and Davey took it like a champ! I think fellow campers got a kick out of seeing such a little guy handling a two wheeler on his own b/c he got cheers from people like, "All right buddy! or Your killing it!" Davey loved the fame.
We made a couple trips to the ice cream shop for the hugest "kids size" scoops of ice cream I've ever seen in my life. Payton said that perhaps they're called kids' size b/c "this is how much ice cream kids want to eat!" She very possibly could be right. Davey had a record 16 gumballs in his bubble gum ice cream. We were all impressed and admired his process of slurping out the gumballs from the ice cream and then slobbering them into a collection cup.
Jonah's dimple was in full effect every time he hit the water. We had so much fun watching him enjoy himself. He is such a joy for us, and I find myself journaling thank yous to God quite often for his sweet spirit and his development this past year. He went full throttle all day every day playing and he kept saying, "I just want to camp for 99 days!!" Too bad for him, Momma don't roll that way.
We spent some time in the lake every day. The water is so pristine and clear. The kids LOVED it. Our kids are so tan right now, I don't even know how to relate to them! They would alternate playing in the water and then beach themselves by diving into their towels and burrowing into the sand to warm up. Each day we left with their towels sopping wet from their repeated attempts at "warming up".
How cute are these two? Davey would've been in the picture but he was off throwing a temper tantrum over not being "first" in leading us on our hike. We had lots of tantrums over being first, it never gets old for him.
We made lots of great memories, and I'm already excited to start planning next year's trip!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Senior Swearing
Does anyone else find it funky when old people swear? When I come across people that look like my grandparents unleashing a string of obscenities it's very unsettling. I'm in a coffeehouse for crying out loud and I've got potty mouthed grandma sitting next to me!
Love Bites
Our sweet Jonah has become quite smitten with an "older woman", a friend of Payton's. She's a very sweet, creative, outgoing girl, and I can see why Jonah is drawn to her. But of course, when the two girls are together Jonah is viewed as the pesky, younger brother. He tries so desperately to play with them, be around them and when he's spurned, his affection jumps right to anger. He pelted the object of his affection in the head with a book and threw pinecones at her yesterday. It is so sad and sweet to watch poor Jonah. This is just the beginning of learning how to negotiate relationships and their complexities. He's doing the best he can with all of his five year old tools. We'll see how this story continues.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
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