Oregon Camping

Troy's brother Tom came into town over the Memorial Day weekend with his wife Kim and their 4 kids (Tim, Malorie, Gideon and Emily). Tom had decided to camp while he was here so on Saturday night we all piled in two cars and drove out to Mount Hood National Park.

We set up enough tents that the neighbors probably thought we were starting a colony. Tom and Kim had this great screen room that we set up in the middle of the camp where we could sit bug free and eat a dinner of fried chicken, chips and multiple varieties of licorice.

Then it started to rain.

We watched as the water pooled into a lovely spring lake around the base of our tent, shifted further and further toward the middle of the screen as the water came in the sides and listed all the things we were grateful for in between lightning and thunder strikes. Among the blessings were: 'at least we're in a forest,' 'it sure is pretty out here' and 'can we go home now.'

Troy and I...expert campers obviously...forgot any sort of tarp or sleeping pad and when we moved our tent out of Lake Hood we weren't very careful about placement. We used a bunch of black plastic garbage bags as a barrier between the wet ground and our sleeping bag. Good thinking until it became clear that not only were we on a slope but we were on a rocky slope so steep not even the mountain goats would consider sleeping there. We slipped and slid down the hill all night to wake up a few minutes later and try to inch-worm our way back up. I had a "shoulder rock" (you know, the rock that pierces your shoulder when you lay on your side) that I used as a guide to know if we were back to the right place. We had zipped our bags together (how romantic) so when the couples inch-worm competition is on at the summer olympics, we're headed to Beijing. Yes. We were THAT good...or at least we were by 6am when we gave up.

The kids had a GREAT time. Malorie let Scout sleep in her tent and Scout has been talking about it ever since. Tim and Malorie were both really good sports and kept a close eye on the kids while they roamed, and by roamed I mean slid down, the muddy hill that towered over our camp. We brought two full changes of clothes and had used them both up by 10 am with all the mud. It was cold, it was slimey but I think the kids would be there still if it weren't for Troy and I being such pansies.

We made great memories that will be with us for a long time. I can imagine us all gathering around in twenty years talking about the Great Rain Camp of aught 8.

This camp needs a top 20 bottom 10 list.

Top 20:

1. Stealing Ketchup Packets and sharing them with the neighbors
2. Licorice straws too short for the bottles
3. giggling girls
4. that wasn't my blue bra
5. Tim and Rand being offended by the bad word wall
6. Watching Rand freak out about the book in the rain
7. Chips at every meal
8. Playing Gloom in the dark
9. Laughing so hard that we almost had to go use those portapotties
10. Laughing more when we listed 'constipation' as one of our blessings
11. When Kim sent Malorie to give the orphan neighbor boy a cinnamon roll
12. When the parents of the orphan boy finally woke up and when they got out of their tiny pup tent a giant dog came out too.
13. Setting the kids' tent right-side-up again after the whole thing rolled onto the door during the night
14. Mint 3 Musketeers
15. The off-switch of Random's Prince Caspian sword
16. Savannah walking around in muddy socks and flip flops.
17. That happy look on the kids' faces while they were following their cousins up and down the mountain
18. Extra changes of clothes
19. Garbage bags
20. Tom's relentless spirit that actually got us to go camping

Bottom 10:

1. Mountain lions
2. Portapotties that haven't been emptied since 1908
3. rolling up wet tents
4. Fireworks at 2 am
5. whose blue bra was that?
6. Rain
7. hypothermia
8. getting the kids to go to sleep when all they want to do is giggle
9. broken glass on the ground
10. uneven campsites with a stream running through it

Random's Birthday Bash!

Random turned 10 on May 2nd but we just had his birthday party on Friday. He's a Legend of Zelda freak (video game first released in 1986 but frequently sequeled. Most recently reincarnated as The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the Nintendo DS in 2007) so we thought we'd center his party on that theme.

For the invitations I printed up these covers, made game inserts that restated all the information (time, place, rsvp etc) and put together an official party soundtrack (music from all the past Zelda games in orchestral form, techno remix and original midi glory). There was a big stir when Rand showed up at school with a big pile of Wii games and started handing them out. The case is modeled after the most recent Zelda game for the Wii...Twilight Princess.

Troy and I (also big Zelda fans) reviewed what we knew about Link (the hero) and modeled the party games after a Hero of Hyrule Training Session. We shot nerf arrows through targets (thanks to my Dad for holding them...and taking more than a few arrows to various body regions), threw boomerangs to see how far they could go (marking spots with pieces of the triforce with the boys names on them), used slingshots to take out the gold skulltulas (taped to balloons of different heights), fought deku babas with swords (blue & purple balloons of different heights with chompy mouths taped onto them...thanks to my mom for jumping in and blowing up more when they started popping) and broke pots (carried waterballoons over our heads and popped them on the ground).

We gave the kids rupees based on how well they did at the games and then they were able to buy prizes at the Hyrule Market (boxes of dollar store junk on the middle table). They were all excited to have their chance to buy but I realized I should have gotten more squirt guns and potty putty (you don't want to know).

We ate hoagies & chips, drank soda and ate cake (Hylian Shield shaped...that's the shield Link uses). We opened presents and then let the kids run around, replay whatever games they wanted to (bow & arrow was the biggest hit) and play with their prizes.

We hit a few snags along the way (100 degree weather, extra friends, razor sharp unmowed grass that kept popping the balloons, my inability to yell louder than 14 8-10 year olds) but with all the hard work from my mom & dad (thank heavens they were there!), Savannah & Scout (I owe them an ice cream cone!), Shannon & Wyatt's Moms (I can't remember their names but they were GREAT!), and the back breaking labor of Troy I think the kids all had a good time.

6 Quirks: Tag

Amanda's Top 6 Quirks (of which she is self-aware and willing to share--I acknowledge there are some that I don't know I do and others that are just too embarrassing to admit to):

Quirk 1: I fume with the fire of righteous rage when I'm at the check out of the grocery store and the checker doesn't scan the item closest to her or him but instead reaches over items as if to avoid making the conveyor belt move. I've tried my best to get them to stop doing it. I've arranged items by type (produce, frozen, boxes, etc), by size, by color, aroma, function, alphabetically, by place of origin, food group, dietary fiber, expiration date. It doesn't matter. They reach over things..often making bags too heavy and ridiculous to be part of any rational plan...just to keep the belt from moving! GRRRR! I hope you all notice this now too so we can stop the madness! WE'RE ONTO YOU CHECKERS!

Quirk 2: I never use lol. EVAR. I will rotfl, *giggle*, haha, hehe, and even, on rare occassion, lawl. I just can't bring myself to type lol without flashbacks to 1994.

Quirk 3: Folding Towels. I think everybody has their folding towels quirk. I fold mine the way I do because of the size of towel cupboard we had in the "mushroom apartment." Troy thinks it's weird but now I can't stop.

Quirk 4: I hate feet. Mine most of all. Keep those knobbly things away from me. I paint my toes and wear toe rings so that they look less like feet. It doesn't really work but at least then people are looking at the pretty colors instead of my toes.

Quirk 5: I LOVE peeling off those clear plastic protective sheets off of things...like the displays on new electronics. Troy saves them for me and will bring one out on a particularly bad day just to cheer me up.

Quirk 6: I'm very very very bad at phone talking. It's like I have a disorder. I ramble and get flustered and I certainly can't multi-task. I avoid it as much as possible. Troy has begun trying to talk to me while I'm on the phone because he likes to laugh when I just stop talking and stare at him with a deer-in-the-headlights look of someone whose processor has overloaded and had to reboot.

Troy's Top 6 Quirks:

Quirk 1: Troy doesn't respond to tags, forwarded email, bulk email or chain letters. So I (Amanda) get to fill this out for him! hehehehe WOOT!

Quirk 2: When he washes his hands he has to get his wrists wet or it doesn't count as a thorough washing.

(I'm running my ideas by him and he keeps saying "that's not a quirk" hahahaha...he's so quirky)

Quirk 3: He keeps his index and middle finger nails of his right hands a tiny bit longer than his other nails (a tiny tiny tiny bit...they're not at all long) so it will sound better when plays his guitar.

Quirk 4: No one should ever ever wear socks to bed. He imposes this rule on the entire family...we still haven't figured out what that's all about.

Quirk 5: He reads 3-4 books at a time. Talk about multi-tasking. I don't know how he keeps the stories straight.

Quirk 6: He reuses his sandwich bags (as long as they aren't icky). This is a habit from when he was growing up and reinforced by his eco-friendly nature.

If you read this, you're tagged. Don't think I won't know...and don't think for a second you aren't as quirky as we are. If you need help here it is...Quirk 1: You read the Gomm's blog.

Rounded Up!

Scout went to Kindergarten Round Up this morning. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

We walked in the door of the school. We had been there hundreds of times before but until now Scout had been the tag-along, the little sister, the "Aww look it's Scoutie." A line formed to the left. It was obvious by the short well dressed hyper-excited folks holding the hand of the nervous slightly disheveled tall folks that this was the line for us.

We checked in. Scout got a name tag with a purple dot. I got a red folder with information about buses and school supplies and learning processes. Down the hall a few feet and I went right while Scout went left. Holding the hand of Lindsey whom she met in line less than a minute ago and now best friend, she looked up at me, very quiet. "I'll see you soon." I smiled, she gripped Lindsey's hand a little tighter and followed Aaron--5th grader, elementary school expert and KindergartenWrangler to the purple room.

Moms and Dads stood in a line waiting to state the name, sign the form, promise to bring the shot records, fill out the allergy protocol and be Wrangled ourselves into the cafeteria for our orientation. In line there were smiles and looking away while we sighed, wiping away a tear for the baby we just sent down the hall with Aaron and Lindsey. "It gets easier" say the veteran moms. "I hope so," say the ones who just sent their oldest into the world with a hand-squeeze and an encouraging look. I'm not sure I believe that, but it's a comfort to think somehow we'll pull ourselves together by the time we fling number 3 down the hall with a wink and a nudge.... I don't know. I still blinked pretty quick and tried to think about anything other than Scoutie, alone, brave.

We heard the education coordinator cheer for the curriculum. Watched the video put together by the kindergarten team about social interactions, sorting, charting, reading, playing. Listened to the counselor explain speech therapy, behavior plans, character development, counseling, feel-free-to-come-by-anytime. Identified with the parent volunteer, nervous, telling us of the joys of PTA, Site Council, Raffles, Meetings, helping where we can...please please, we need you. The transportation coordinator, the ELL counselor, the Speech counselor, the coordinators, assistant psychiatrists, nurses, secretaries, 5th graders who had enjoyed their experience, all the people who would take my little Scout and help her find her way. Veterans who would catch my rookie mistakes, turn Scouts ththth's into Sss's, check her for lice, make sure she's immune to the Hepatitis ABCs, get to school and home again healthy and happy.

Then we were released. Full of information but eager to get down the hall to the purple room and our brave little adventurers. We were orderly, calm. No running in the halls, shoving, pushing, elbowing. Just orderly, walking, faster toward the end. "Is this the purple room..." and there she is. She's just finished tidying up her place. Petals glued onto an enormous sunflower. Her first kindergarten craft. Another first to add to the box of childhood artifacts ("See, you were happy, and you glued things onto paper. I was a good mother. Here's 50 bucks for your therapy co-pay.").

She's so happy to see me. But not because she was afraid. Not because she missed me. She wants to show me everything. Here's the flower I made, the book I read, the teacher, my new friend...I don't remember her name. Come here Mommy let's plant this seed. I'll show you how.

We left the building, stopping by to say hi to big brother and big sister...old hands on the elementary school scene. We carried home the giant flower, the red folder, the plastic cup with soggy dirt and a pea.

We're all rounded up...all set to begin. My Scoutie is cleared for take off.

Can we go again tomorrow? No, not tomorrow. Mommy's not ready.