Day 3 - Family Reunion

Friday was the day most of the family was all there at once (people came in and out of town all week). Blanche made a delicious quiche for breakfast, which we almost missed because we slept in that morning. Before lunch, we all gathered for family photos. Grouped by family units, we took turns posing while a dozen or so cameras flashed.

Afterwards, the kids played in the irrigation tub/pool (which was verrrrry cold) and hot tub (mmmmm, cozy warm!). There had to be at least 10 kids, ages 1 to 12, so it got a little rowdy at times. Katherine tried to keep the peace and led them in games like "Ring Around the Rosy."

Some of the senior members of our clan played card games and Sovann found a bike and also played some frisbee golf. I sat with my cousin Leonard for a long time and had a wonderful time reminiscing and chatting about odd things. What a great, relaxing time we all had, just being together and sharing the time and beautiful surroundings with each other.

Later in the afternoon, Patty baby-sat the kids so Sovann and I had a chance to go for a walk around the property again. We found a group enjoying the zipline and also met one of Al's sons who had done a lot of work around the place in preparation for this event. We peeked in the "Wildernest," a little building at the top of the ridge that has a small kitchen, sitting room and loft sleeping area. Nearby was an old chicken coop and functional outhouse.


We also explored the "Chateau," a four-level log cabin and the original dwelling on the property. The kitchen still boasted a wood cook-stove and there was a gorgeous stone fireplace in the living room. Up the ladder were multiple sleeping areas, including a loft/attic on the third story. As we were leaving, Al pointed out a robin's nest under one of the eves with at least three little babies in it. I was surprised that they made no sound, but just posed with their beaks open, waiting for a meal. (See pictures) It was fun bumping into other family also exploring the place - what an adventure!

Dinner time found everyone revving up for the Luau, complete with roasted Kalua Pig . Years ago, when Al's boys were bored one day, they started digging a big hole on the hillside near the house. Four feet deep, it ended up making the perfect pit to roast the pig for our luau. Al and (I think) Gerald and Jesse lined it with sand and cinder blocks for this occasion. Les and the guys built a fire the day before putting the pig in. The pig was pressure-washed, wrapped in foil and lowered into the pit of hot coals at midnight, about 18 hours before they pulled it out. Heart, Al and Patty's sweet and gentle dog got all greasy from walking under the grating that held the pig while they carved it.

Blanche passed out lei's and the girls put on grass skirts. Some kids got out hula hoops and Al's other son (the one we hadn't met before) made balloon animals and juggled knives for us. They had Hawaiian music playing and Katherine choreographed a hula routine that she and Kamryn performed while we ate. Grace (who had no nap and had gotten to bed after 10pm every night so far) ran around in a toucan outfit someone brought - she was more than a little testy and got into several scraps with the other kids - not a proud parenting moment! We all held hands and Les prayed for the meal - we had a circle of about 50 of us. The pig was so good! We had creamed potatoes and green beans, tropical fruit, green salad and bread with the sweet, tender pork.
After dinner as night fell, they lit the bon fire in the big field and we all toasted marshmallows and made s'mores. A few drops of rain fell in the middle of the day, but overall the weather was simply perfect.

Emoutional Attachments

We were cleaning out the back yard the other day - the weather was sunny and warm with a deliciously cool breeze. I had just drug out a screen tent that was wadded up along the fence to air it out and see what kind of shape it was in when a little brown mouse scurried out. It frantically ran up to the house and proceeded to hide amongst the collection of yard toys, tools and bikes parked under the eves. The kids were enthralled with seeing their mother scream and dart around trying to keep track of the furry little thing.

Katherine was brave and helpful and J.J. was wily and quick. We chased the rodent back and forth across the back of the house for about 10 minutes, all while I explained why we didn't want the mouse to get into the house. We finally got it to go through the lawn, which slowed it down enough so that I could whack it with the kids' baseball bat.

I think I was yelling "AAAAACCKKK" and Katherine was crying at that point. The poor little guy didn't have much chance and there it lay, still and silent...dead in our lawn. Grace came over and stomped on it (I think she was imitating my "I must protect us against this evil invader" instinct). Then she said, "Oh Mommy, why did you kill Kathleen?"

"Kathleen?!?" I thought. We hunted this animal, killed it, and now you're naming it? J.J. piped in, "Can we keep it?" I quickly replied, "Yes, we'll keep it in the garden, buried under my lilies."

And why Kathleen? Grace comes up with the weirdest names for her stuffed animals - she's got a puppy named Avillary, a buffalo named Moose whose brothers are all named Balooka, a giraffe named Giffidia . So why does the lifeless little fuzzy lump get named Kathleen? There must be some psychological significance, right? Who knows what goes through the mind of my 4 year old!

Day 1 and 2 - Family Reunion

We just got back from Newport, Washington where we gathered with distant relatives (most of whom we'd never met before). We arrived earlier in the day than we expected and were treated first to a tour of "Tamarack Ridge" by Al, Patty's husband. Patty is Les and Blanche Wall's daughter. Les is the son of Mertie who is my grandmother's sister. So that makes Patty and I (Julie) second cousins.

Tamarack Ridge is Al and Patty's 24 acre wilderness in mountains about an hour north of Spokane. There are three different log dwellings, all built from trees cut on that property. They also have three permanent, functional outhouses, an 18 foot teepee, and a treehouse with zipline (you sit in a tractor seat and zoom down). Al was the assistant manager of a State Park (Farragut, I think?) and he gave us a lesson in identifying trees such as the Grand Fir, Douglas Fir, Hemlock, Tamarack, Western Red Cedar and Cottonwood. He pointed out skunk cabbage and explained the rumbling sounds of the wild grouse we heard (sounded sort of like a chain saw starting up way in the distance to me). What a beautiful place, with squirrels chattering and black/yellow butterflies flitting about.

Later, we met Herschel and his daughter Ginger(third from the left in the picture), who said she remembered her mother (Jeneva, who passed away on May first of this year) saying how nice a guest my mom (Katie) was when she visited them in Clovis. "Kathleen was the nicest guest, always picking up after herself and she'd come in off the beach and shower and make herself beautiful in just half an hour. She'd be just stunning in no time at all."

It was 8pm before the 55 fish (crappie) Les and Herschel caught that morning were done (baked on the BBQ with peppers, tomatoes and seasoning blend). It was melt-in-your mouth good and even the baby scarfed it down. Anna (Gary Millett's wife from Italy) also made spaghetti and meatballs - yum! We slept in Les and Blanche's basement guest apartment and felt spoiled - it was all so nice!

Thursday, we all met back at Al and Patty's for breakfast of individual omlets, made by putting custom ingredients in ziplock bags (with our names on them) and placing them in boiling water to cook. How simple, and no clean-up! We also had biscuits and sausage and cantaloupe. After that we packed some sandwiches and caravanned over to Silverwood (an amusement park near Coeur D' Alene). Grace and J.J. rode the mild Garfield, airplane and elephant rides while Sovann and Katherine took the "Panic Plunge." We all went on the Paratrooper and the water/log flume ride. One of the kids' favorite rides was the bumper boats, and Sovann took the older kids on two big coasters while Julie and Grace hung out in the kiddie train area.

Everyone met back at the cars for lunch, then all headed over to the water park. Tons of fun with water slides and giant wave pools. Katherine stuck with her cousins and did all the daring stuff while Sovann took J.J. down tube slides and raft rides. Grace and I hung out Pollywog park, a water playground with a giant bucket at the top that fills and dumps every five minutes. Exhausted and happy, we walked back to the amusement park side and shared a gianormous waffle cone. For more pictures of our day at Silverwood, click here.

We were treated to grilled burgers and dogs for dinner at Tamarack Ridge, along with Anna's potato salad. Missy and Danny joined us and we sat around the camp fire until 11:30pm. Les and the guys stayed up until midnight to lower the pig into the pit of hot coals to roast it.

Looking for a good Plumber?

We had a plumber out yesterday - a real nice guy named Brett Torrey, "At Your Service Plumbing" (his number is 503-465-8776 in case you're looking for help). Grace kept referring to him as the "plumper" and J.J. was very interested in everything he did. He came the day after we called and did a great job - even spent time on the phone telling me what parts to get ahead of time. He worked quickly and efficiently (which I was thankful for since he charges $96/hr), and all told we spent over $500 for all the repairs and parts (ouch!). He replaced the upstiars tub drain (without having to cut through the ceiling below) and installed a new kitchen faucet (with soap dispenser - ooh la la!). He also replaced both bathroom sink drains, which took most of the time I think. We had no drain stoppers before, and found out the drains were an odd size - bigger than most. He replaced both, so now we have sink stoppers - yay! - and he even spent 1/2 hour of his own time (free of charge) making sure they didn't leak. I was worried that J.J. was bugging him (for the first hour, I was shoveling bark dust outside with Grace and told J.J. to finish his math work in the office. Turns out he was shaddowing the plumber and asking questions the whole time. But the guy said he didn't mind and was really impressed with J.J. He said, "He didn't ask any dumb questions and was real helpful. I didn't have to simplify any answers either, he really seemed to understand everything I told him." Now J.J. wants to be a plumber when he grows up, along with his ambitions of pastor, army chaplain, fireman and Christian tatoo artist. Hey, at $96/hr, I'd say go for it!

J.J.'s Showcase

Here is J.J.'s "Beginning Voice" class singing songs from The Sound of Music. He is on the right side of the stage the whole time.

This was the last performance of the night - "So Long, Farewell." J.J. is on the right again (look for him popping out on the "cucoo" part). His class also sang "Do, Re, Mi" but I didn't have the camera in video mode so I missed recording that one.

CYT Spring '08 Showcase

Here are the three dances Katherine's CYT class (Act Like You're Dancing) performed. All the kids chose different animals for each song. Sarah Hadley did the choreography.

This first clip is from "The Lion King" and Katherine is dancing as a monkey. She is mostly on the righthand side, with the short, dark pony-tail.

This is a song from the musical "Honk" which is the story of the ugly duckling. Most of the girls are acting/dancing as chickens. She starts center stage in the back row.

This last clip is "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid. Katherine, Abby and Malana were the octopi. Sorry for the wandering camera at the end - I was caught up watching Katherine (she blew me away - I never even knew she could dance like that)!