The Weatherman

Nate has now had his first ER visit.

The Backstory

Starting Tuesday evening Zach was had a mild fever and congestion.  We kept Zach home on Wednesday and Thursday, and only Nate went to school.  Nate seemed to be holding up strong although he did have some congestion.

Tonight at around 8pm I heard Nate coughing and crying in our bed.  I walked in there and he was curled up crying.  I, of course, thought Zach kicked him.  That was not the case.  He was throwing up in our bed and he was pretty red.  I got a towel and thermometer.  Our crappy thermometer gave readings from 102 to 104…when I stick it in my ear it says 96…so I was pretty sure Nate’s temp was at least 104.  Yikes!

Steph and I quickly got our stuff together and drove over to Swedish.  We only had to wait about 5 minutes (good thing as a young woman was violently – and I do mean violently – vomitting in the bathroom around the corner.  Yes we could here it loud and clear).  Once in the room the nurses went to work on him – checking pulse, oxygen level, and temperature.  He came in at 104.0.  They gave him a ton of motrin and tylenol (way more than we would ever do).  1 hour later he was happy Nate with a temp of 100.7.

So what is it?  Just a virus.  There is some congestion but everything looks good.  The doctor did say that he’s in the early stages so we need to watch out for the other common things like ear infection or high fever lasting until Saturday.  The doctor told us they haven’t seen any flu cases in a few weeks and he didn’t appear to have croup (although still too early to tell).

Anyway, he’s back to his chatty self and watching a movie before he falls asleep.

Last weekend had some nice days so we took the boys to Seward Park (one of our favorites).  Aside from a bit of crankiness when we got there, things went well.

View of Mt Rainier from Seward Park.

Nate and Zach being good.

Nate posing on the trail.  There were lots of puddles for him to jump in.

One giant Zach smile.

The gratuitous heavy machinery at sunrise photo!

Ok…and the sunrise.

These last two photos were not take at Seward Park obviously – rather they were a day or two earlier at Seacrest Park (I stopped on my way to work to get these shots).

Lots of rain this week – well above normal for the month.  Big White Ski Area is getting a decent amount of snow (that is our destination for the end of February).  Forecast is for more rain this week than changing to a more showery/cooler regime as the warmer storms head into California.

Steph is getting her oil change today so I’ll be watching the boys for a few hours.  Then I’ll probably head out for a run.  Tonight I’m making a beef tenerloin roast – and yes, it will be cooked on the Big Green Egg (haven’t used it in a while).  Other than that, I’m busy with work.

Boys were good last night but really wound up…I’m guessing the chocolate milk did that.  They slept in late and have been good this morning (little arguing and whining, but still some).

First off, we need the gambling pro (aka Grandma) to remind us how to read the betting lines for the purpose of the playoffs.  Paul, Jan, Mike, and I all made fools of ourselves last night trying to figure it out.

Paul got the kids from daycare and took Zach to speech.  We are probably going to add a second session on Thursday afternoons.  It won’t start til after Dublin next week.  Paul said that Zach was very motivated at speech and good at doing the exercises. We got more homework that we need to be better about doing with him. Maybe we need to assign Auntie Jan 20 minutes a night of speech therapy with Zach or something?

Once I got home from work, Paul had started making the kids dinner and then left to go running.  Jan had finished making the dinner and was very impressed with her culinary skills.  (Pasta, carrots and celery, and pineapple).  Nate wanted plate after plate after plate of pasta.  Jan finally told him he had to eat a carrot before she would give him more.  Nate popped a carrot in his mouth.  Jan gave him more pasta.  Nate then spit out the half-chewed carrot and ate the pasta. (Lesson learned, make him swallow first).

Both boys were in good moods.  I guess adjusting back to the regular schedule is working out.  I called the spa Jan got me a gift cert for my B-day.  Jan and I planned to each do 90 minute massages on Saturday.  There is an hour between us, so we can get home and switch off watching the kids with Paul away.  As I am leaving the voice mail for the spa, Zach is on me saying “mommy, mommy, mommy!”  It was funny because I am sure the spa people laughed at the message I left and desperate need for massage.  Jan and I also plan to get Pat to babysit Saturday night so we can go to the movies.  I am checking with him when I pick up the kids.

Zach and Nate were begging for the new movie, Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs.  I have no idea how they knew it came out on DVD today (someone at school?) but they were BEGGING for it.  Paul eventually was able to order it on-line and download it to the TV upstairs.  I am sure this made them happy.

Paul made yummy steak for dinner.  (No veggies for Jan, though).  Jan and I were able to get in two episodes of Six Feet Under last night.  PEPS is at Matthew’s tonight.  Jan may come.

Nate bit me HARD on the upper thigh.  Skin was broken but no blood flowed.  It hurt like hell.

I am sure I am forgetting lots of stuff so Jan and Paul can supplement.

Kids were actually pretty good at daycare (after the rough drop-off by Paul yesterday).  Given they were adjusting back, Colette thought they did well.  It was pouring, so they didn’t get outside time. They did lots of puzzles and pre-school activities.  They were fine at pick up.  Until. . .

We were driving home and Nate wanted me to go straight instead of turning right.  This started a major Nate melt-down that lastest the whole way home and for about 20 additional minutes once home. That kid sure can throw a tantrum.  Not sure who he gets that skill from.  Eventually got him calmed down and fed them dinner.  They had quesadilla, pineapple, peas and carrots.  They both ate well.  Zach had some veggies, so he got yogurt and ice cream.  Nate did not.

Paul got home so I gave the boys a bath while he made dinner.  Jan helped me with that.  As I was getting them undressed, Zach was naked first.  Out of the blue, Zach turns to Nate and says, “Nate, say ‘dirty pants.’”  Nate obliged and said it in his partially demon voice.  Jan and I were cracking up and had no idea where that came from.

Paul made Jan happy by buying her light Cranberry juice.  This brought on the discussion that cranberry juice is good for your urine.  Thus, I came up with the Ad Campaign – “Ocean Spray Cranberry juice.  It is a catheter for your mouth.”  Ha.  I crack myself up.

Paul put the boys to bed.  Jan went to bed early. I watched Mike’s favorite show (Make it or Break it).

This morning, the boys were slow in waking up.  Nate kept saying that he wanted to sleep more.  Eventually, both got up and got dressed and got out the door without a huge screaming fit.  Paul is taking Zach to speech this afternoon.  Paul – we need to order the kids “Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs” now that it is out on DVD.

Happy New Year.

Last night was spent with our PEPS friends enjoying beer, wine, champagne, espresso, chili, meatballs, lasagne, fruit, and the kids (of course).  Fortunately for us, our NY gatherings happen around the corner from our house – nice, easy walk home.  Except for Nate who cried the whole way.

Yesterday I took the boys to breakfast at the Alki Cafe – Nate had eggs and bacon and Zach had bacon and french toast.  We followed that up with a trip to QFC for some fruit and champagne.  But the big event was another trip to the Museum of Flight (one of my favorite places to visit in Seattle).  The boys were good.  We got there right when it opened and Zach and Nate were the first kids to run through the gallery floor.  They also got to play in the kids zone by themselves.

PEPS boys hanging out on NY Eve.

Nate playing Buzz Lightyear on NY Eve.  To infinity and beyond!

Sunset at Lincoln Park.

Zach contemplating his next move at the park.

Nate flying a helicopter.  BTW, this is not a model – it’s actually an experimental helicopter that really did fly in the past.

The main gallery at the Museum of Flight.

Last week I purchased the photos from the marathon I did in June.  I was very happy to find out I could still purchase them as I didn’t have any good photos.  Here is one where I’m about to cross the finish line.

Well, a lot has gone on over the last few weeks.  For myself, work basically ended on Thursday the 17th at 3pm with a team dinner followed by a huge potluck on Friday.  I actually did work a fair bit on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from home.  Anyway, On Saturday morning (the 19th), I flew down to Eugene early in the morning and drove back to Seattle with Mike.

Why?  I needed 196 miles to bump up my status on Delta to Silver Medallion.  :-)

Lin arrived on Tuesday morning so at that point we had a full house with Jan, Mike, and Lin.  Wednesday evening was our first meal – NY Strip Roast done on the Big Green Egg, potatoes, and vegetables.  I had two friends from work over and he had an excellent dinner with lots of martinis and champagne.  Yep, I had a headache the next morning.

Thursday was meal number 2 which consisted of meatballs, honeybaked ham, pea salad, lasagne, and carrots.  Another great feast and we had plenty of left-overs.  Steph spent 40 minutes in line at the honey baked ham store waiting for our main course. So far so good.

Finally, Christmas Day.  The boys were very excited when they woke up to a bunch of gifts from Santa and family.  They loved opening the gifts more than what they got – at least that’s how it seemed.  We spent the better part of the day playing with toys and eating left overs.  Oh, and a few drinks were had here and there.

I’ve had the boys at home this week while Steph and Jan work.  Lin was here through Tuesday.  We took them to the aquarium on Monday – that really tired them out.  Today I took them to mom’s work where we got a tour of the offices, the police department, and the judge’s chambers.  They even got to see a real live criminal in holding cell.  Fortunately they didn’t do anything obnoxious like stick their tongue out.  For the remainder of the day it’s been up and down…some crying, some laughing, some playing.  Tomorrow I’m taking them to the museum of flight – oh boy.

Posing with Santa.  They were both good for Santa.

Local West Seattle home with tons of lights.

A happy Zach.

A happy Nate.

Got Mom dropped off at the airport to cries of “GWANDMA!”  Nate was fine on the way home and we stopped to get gas.  Paul had taken Zach to speech therapy.  I got the report from Paul as the kids were being loud so not 100% sure of the accuracy.  Paul said that Zach did well.  He was focused much more than the last time (two weeks ago when I took him.)  They went through several activities – book working on S sounds, asking questions via a pizza game, doing “firsts”, having him describe pictures on the view master, and one more thing I can’t remember.  Katie is concerned that he will not be caught up before Kindergarten.  Thus, there is some discussion about him going twice a week.  Finding time that works in our schedules (mine, Paul, and Katie’s) could be an issue.  At the same time, I feel the need to make the time for the well-being of Zach.  Maybe she has a time in the morning on Thursdays or Fridays.  Not sure how early she can do it – but that could possibly work.

Once home, Paul went running.  Jan walked to Rite Aid.  I played with the boys for only a bit before they wanted dinner.  Dinner was interesting.  We had quesadilla, carrots (for Zach) celery (for Nate) and string cheese.  Zach ate well except for his carrots.  He was still chewing when he held up his plate to say all done.  I said he had to eat another carrot to get yogurt.  So he just shoved it in his already full mouth.  This caused him to gag and he eventually threw up his dinner onto his plate.  Yuck.  Of course, once I got him settled down from crying and cleaned up, he wanted yogurt.  Nate got one too at that point since he was in the way as I was trying to soothe Zach.

Paul got home and he made us steak and potatoes for dinner.  YUM.  While he cooked, I took the ornaments off our completely dead tree.  Zach and Nate tried to help, but failed miserably.  As I put an ornament in the box, they would take it out and look at it.  They got in the way a lot. I yelled a lot.  Eventually, Jan came up to help by distracting them so I could finish up.  So the tree is down but we haven’t done the rest of the decorations in the house.

After dinner, I read and the boys settled fairly easily.  Nate went to bed around 8:15.  Zach went to bed a little after 9.  Both were still sound asleep in their beds when I left this morning.

Paul is thinking of bringing the kids to work for lunch today.  That would be fun.  Paul is hopeful that we can tour the police department and get the kids a ride in a squad car (with Paul, of course).  That may be arranged depending on who is around in the police dept.

Note from Paul: Christmas photos and post will be up soon.

Daycare reports that the boys were getting into it yesterday.  Lots of pushing of each other as well as other kids.  (Do they not know that Santa is watching?)  I am sure everyone is looking forward to a break there.

Nate was then a TOTAL TERROR once I picked him up.  He screamed and cried getting into his car seat.  He screamed and cried the whole ride home.  He screamed and cried getting out of the car seat. He screamed and cried going into the house.  He continued this behavior as he got a time out, would not take his jacket off, etc. etc. etc.  This lasted about 45 minutes.  I was ready to tear my hair out.  Of course, he calmed down once it was time to go to Dominic’s house for PEPs.  Zach was just quietly playing with his trains and ignoring Nate through all this. (So glad they were not ganging up on me.)

Paul got home and we were off to Christmas PEPs.  It started off normal with playing and pizza.  The kids were being good. Finally, once everyone was done eating, it was PRESENTS TIME.  We wanted to institute the taking turns rule, so I offered the youngest-to-oldest used in our household.  (Which then caused us have to figure out what time Zach and Matthew were born to figure out who was older.  Zach is by about 7 hours.)  I ordered the kids to sit down and they actually listened. One of the other parents called me the baby whisperer.  I said since I was controlling who was getting the presents, they had motivation to listen to me.

Baby Adam went first.  (Nate got him the present).  Heidi had to help him open.  As soon as she started to help him open, all the other kids surrounded him like a pack of wolves. Paper was flying everywhere.  They were ravenous to open a present. It was chaos.  I tried to settle them down for Ella’s turn next.  She is perfectly capable of opening her gift by herself, but the pack of wolves wanted to help.  At one point, she picked up her present and tried to run away but the wolves chased her down.  She did get to open most of it by herself.  We got things a little more controlled for the rest of the kids.  (Nate, then Andrew, then Matthew, then Zach, then Dom, and finally Jacob.)  Nate got a Handy Manny flashlight, which Zach used to go to sleep last night.  Zach got a couple Cars games.  One is like a fishing game where you fish the tired out as they open and close.  The other I have not looked at closely, but it is some sort of sand art thing involving Cars.  I will check it out when I get a moment.

We left PEPs a little after 8 and I put Paul in charge of the kids so I can wrap.  (Paul is going out after work tonight for his holiday party.  This will involve a cab ride home.  Thus, I needed some time last night to wrap.)  I wrapped from about 8:30 to 10:30.  I am still not done with everything.  It is going to take us years to open everything.  Zach was still up around 10 and I put him to bed then. Nate had already fallen asleep in our bed with Paul.  (I have no idea what time, but it should be early given how exhausted he must have been from tantruming forever.)  When I put Nate into his bed around 10:45, Zach woke up.  Thus, I doubt Zach got a super good night’s sleep.  Nate woke up this morning around 6:30, turned on his room light, and came looking for me downstairs.  Zach was not happy the light was on in his room so early.  I got Nate settled watching TV with Paul before I left for work.  (Only two more days of work!!!!!)

I picked up the kids from daycare yesterday.  The report was that the boys were wound up, talking back, and acting sassy.  I guess living with Auntie Jan is finally rubbing off on them.  Got home and let them watch Polar Express while I made dinner.  They had hot dogs, cheese, pasta, bananas, and oranges.  They chowed down and neither wanted yogurt or ice cream after.  (That was a shocker.)  After dinner, Zach and I read a book.  Nate and I did a puzzle.  We played some. Zach continues to love his new bed and pretends to sleep in it.

Jan looked at a house that she loved.  She can’t wait for Mike to see it this weekend.  It is close to us, so that makes me happy. Paul made yummy steak for dinner.  (And as grandma would say, he then ruined it by serving corn on the side. But I liked it.)  I did some more wrapping but still have stuff to wrap.  Grandma – I may need to clarify from you some gifts you sent as to whether they go to Jan or Mike.

Eventually, I went downstairs to enjoy the new TV sensation “The Sing Off.”  Jan was working hard on a transcript but found time to laugh at my nerdiness in liking this show.  Paul played with the kids some upstairs.  Nate was reluctant to go to bed and kept wandering downstairs.  Not sure if Paul tried to get him down or not.  I went up with Nate at 9:15 and put him to bed.  I laid down (lied down?) with him for about 2 minutes and he was good and went to sleep.  Zach went to bed at 10 with a book and a flashlight.  He fell asleep quickly.

Nate woke up coughing about 2:30.  I went to check on him and his body was up on his pillows and his head was down on the mattress.  Thus, he was facing downhill.  I got him situated with his head on his pillow and he was back asleep and good to go for the night. Of course, then I could fall back asleep for awhile.  Thus, I got up a little late this morning in order to spend more quality time with Jan in the bathroom.

Paul states that the boys were really good this morning.  I guess Nate was whiny and unhappy yesterday morning.  I think part of that is him still getting over a cold.  I guess he is better now because they were their happy selves.  They walked with Paul to get coffee in the morning.  Maybe this will cut down on the sass and back talking at daycare?

Finally, Congratulations to Boeing for the first flight of the brand new 787!

Boys were hyper last night.  I think being kept in so much with this cold weather has made them both stir crazy.  They were running from a pretend tiger and doing laps throughout the house.  I think the LOVE the new beds.  Especially Zach.  Anytime it is mentioned that Nate needs to go to bed, Zach calls out “Nate on the bottom, Zach on top!”  When I checked on them this morning before leaving for work, Zach was sound asleep with his little face in the space by the ladder. Nate was sideways next to his pillows.  Paul had to lay down with them last night to get them to go to sleep (and probably to prevent Nate from just wandering out of bed?)  But they were down and good by like 9:15 or so.   We borrowed Polar Express from the Alessi’s and Zach loves that movie.  He has watched it a ton.  He talks about needing his ticket for the train.

Yesterday was an odd day at work.  There were no cops around.  We joked that if you wanted to commit a crime in WA, then yesterday would be the day to do it.  I was able to watch some of the funeral on TV and heard a lot of it on the radio.  I know Jan watched once she got home (and cried, of course, because it is sad and she is a big softie.)

I took Zach to speech therapy yesterday.  Katie pointed out how when he slows down, the words and sounds come out better and easier.  But we he rushes, then he loses it.  Too bad Zach is a fast talker like me, so he needs to slow down.  We put coins and buttons in play-doh and he used pinchers to grab them out.  He is working on the phrase “Grabbing the money.  [or]  Grabbing the button.”  He tends to say gramming instead of grabBING.  So that is part of his homework.  He needs to put it in a phrase because that is when it gets jumbled.  When you just ask him to say the word, he tends to get it right.  The other homework is the phrase, “Mom, where is it (or you) hiding?”  You can hide or we can hide toys.  Need to get him to use the “where” question and also say “hiDING” correctly.

Once home, I read the Thomas book with Zach.  He almost has that one down as well as the Cars book.  He only needs help with one or two words on the Cars book.  There are still about 10-15 in the Thomas book he needs help with.  He is going to love when Santa brings him so many new books.  (I am also glad because I am SICK OF THOSE TWO BOOKS!  I almost pulled a new one out, but waited.)  Nate worked on puzzles.

Both ate dinner well.  We had quesadillas, lima beans (curtesey of Jan’s leftovers), and banana.  Both earned yogurt and Zach also had ice cream.  Paul gave them a bath last night and got them ready for bed.  I went to bed early.  Nate cuddled with me a little but willingly went in his crib around 9:15.  Zach said how he wants a new bed.  I told him that one was being delievered and should arrive soon.  He said that he wanted to go to the store to get one.

Guess that is all I have.  It is freezing here. It was 20 at our house when I left this morning and the car temp read down to 18 during part of my drive.

If I get a chance, I will attempt to put some of this report on the blog.  No one cares what I have to say, though.  All they want are pictures. 

What is this?  Steph’s writes a morning report on most mornings and sends it via email.  I’m going to start including it on the blog (maybe she’ll start posting it herself).  Unfortunately, this mornings is a boring report – so I’ll add to it.

From Steph:

Very odd commute this morning.  There were probably about 17 police cars from all around that passed me in the carpool lane on their way to the funeral for the Lakewood officers.  When I arrived at work, there is a big empty parking lot next to City Hall, it was full of police cars here starting the staging process to go down to Lakewood.

From Paul:

When I walked out of the bathroom after showering and brushing my teeth, Zach was already up and taking off his jammies.  Nate was completely naked in his crib.  No sign of the diaper!  Hopefully he put it in the diaper champ otherwise it could be hiding under the crib.  Both were good at getting dressed and putting on two jackets.

For those who don’t know, the mornings have been in the high teens (ie, 19 degrees) and the daytime high is at or below freezing.  So a bit chilly in these parts.

Don’t blame me…blame Steph.  She’s been writing these excellent daily updates via email – I keep telling her to post them and she won’t.  I don’t know why not.

I don’t think I can update on everything that has gone on.  Quickly, I’ll say that Halloween was fun (pictures to follow) with the PEPS kids, Jan moved up (not so fun…just kidding), and Thanksgiving occurred (lots of fun except Uncle Mike was sick).  Work has been very busy as this is our ‘all hands on deck’ time of year.  As for weather, it’s cold now – which is cool but no snow.

I’ll little tiger and zebra for Halloween.

All of the little monsters.

Ummm, chocolate.

I like chocolate too.

Getting into the Christmas spirit.

Yeah, OK, I’ll wear the hat too.

So first the J&M news…they are moving to Seattle.  Jan accepted a job offer in Seattle and they have decided to relocate.  She starts work on November 16th but Mike will be staying in Eugene working at his current job until their house sells.  Auntie Jan will be moving in…Zach and Nate are very excited.

Before I get into our Spokane weekend, here is a shot of the two completed pork shoulders I smoked last weekend.

They tasted as good as they looked.

Last Wednesday, Steph headed over to Spokane for some attorney conference.  I held down the fort with the boys until Friday morning.  I got them up at 5:30am and hit the road in the Pilot for Spokane.  The boys were great on the ride out.  We were making record time until mile 236 – that’s where I got my speeding ticket.  I probably shouldn’t have been doing 85.  It was cool while it lasted – no one (and I mean no one) passed me on I90 from downtown Seattle to milepost 236.  After that, everyone passed me.  Sigh.

We arrived in Spokane at around 10:30am and headed to Riverfront Park to check out the falls.  Very cool.  Zach and Nate loved watching the water fall down the rocks.

First part of Upper Falls on the Spokane River.

The other side of Upper Falls.

After the falls we strolled through the park where we picked up acorns.  Now this may not seem exciting, but the boys have only seen acorns in the movie Ice Age.  So when I introduced them to real acorns – well that was a big treat.  We never went anywhere without our acorns the whole weekend.  We took them to breakfast, lunch, and dinner…and to the movies.

We met up with mommy at noon and had lunch.  Following lunch we had afternoon naps and then we headed back to the park with mommy and then we did some shopping.  For dinner we ate at the hotel (We stayed at the Davenport – very nice place) restaurant.  We had awesome service, good drinks, and a good meal.  On Saturday we ate at Frank’s Diner – a converted railroad car so Zach loved that.  We then drove out to Idaho just so the boys could say they’ve been to Idaho.  We stopped at Cabela’s which had a bunch of stuffed wildlife.  The boys loved that – it was basically a still-life zoo for them.  Cabela’s also had an aquarium and a shooting gallery that the boys liked.  From there we drove to Cat Tails Zoological Park to check out the 40+ cats (ie, tigers, lynx, pumas) and two bears that were there.  It was a small place but fun none the less.

After lunch and naps we went to the movies and saw Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  The boys were very good during the movie which meant they were extra surly at dinner (again at the hotel).  We drove home early Sunday.

Playing at the park.

Nate still not certain about riding the carousel.

Another happy customer at Frank’s Diner.

Space helmets made at nursery school!

This last weekend Marla, Simon, Sophie, and Alex visited us in Seattle.  They arrived on Friday to a beautiful evening – unfortunately that was the end of the great weather.  We ended up getting close to 2 inches of rain over the weekend.  But that didn’t dampen the activities.  We went to a fun center with a 3 story kids habitrail.  All of the kids loved it.  It was obvious once we got home – they all took naps.

Later on Saturday we had all of PEPs over for a Labor Day weekend bar-b-que.  We had chicken, hot dogs, sliders, and sausages – plus a bunch of side dishes.  Yummy.

Sunday was a very wet day so we spent most of the day at home.  After Marla/Simon and family left on Monday, Zach wanted to go see the animals – the penguins, bears, and giraffes.  Off we went to the zoo.  We fortunately had very good weather while we were there.  The rest of the weekend was quiet until Monday night.

Zach and Nate were playing on our bed and Zacher fell off.  He seemed more agitated than normal so we checked him out every 30 minutes for signs of a head injury.  He kept falling asleep and only complained of a sore neck.  About 2 hours after the fall he woke up complaining of pain.  So I took him to the ER.  They saw nothing wrong and sent me home.  The next morning Zach could not get out of bed because of the pain.  He also started protecting his right arm and shoulder.  Steph made him another doctor appointment.  Within about a minute the doctor guessed that Zach had broke his collarbone – the x-rays confirmed it.  Age 4, 2 broken bones…he’s like a little stunt-man.

Here are some photos from the weekend.

Cute Kid!

Happy Alex in the swing.

Sophie playing ball.

Zach playing ball (pre-break).

A guest Blog by Steph

Immediately after returning from our big Summer Camp trip, we turned around and went camping again with our PEPs group.  (8 adults, 4 four-year-olds, 3 around two-year-olds, and one infant).  Guess what?  Still don’t love camping.  The trip did not get off to a great start.  We left the house at 6 and decided to go out to dinner to avoid a long line at the ferry.  I thought of it as The Last Supper.  Had yummy dinner at the Brew Pub (Elliott Bay) and hopped in the car ready for our two hour trip to the campsite.  Two hours?  Riiiiiight.
Got to the ferry line at 7:00pm.  This line is about a mile from our house.  Paul did not consult a schedule because “the ferry leaves every twenty minutes.”  We missed the ferry by two cars and thus began our wait for the next one at 7:15pm.  We waited, and waited, and waited.  Finally, a ferry arrived.  Hurray!  But wait.  It was only going to Vashon and not to Southworth where we needed to be.  So we waited and waited and waited some more.  Two hours later, we got on the ferry.
Thus, after 45 minutes on the ferry and another 45 minute drive, we arrived at the campsite at 10:20pm.  Upon arrival, we saw that the gates were closed and there was a line of cars outside.  Then we saw the sign that the park closes at 10pm to campers.  Paul and I would have gotten divorced right then if it weren’t for the fact that a park ranger was just opening the gates to let the cars in – so we didn’t have to wait.
So we checked in and arrived at our site around 10:40pm.  In the complete pitch dark.  Always fun to set up a campsite in the dark.  Fortunately, the PEPs group pitched in to help us out.  By the way, Zach and Nate were excellent during this entire long car trip.  They just watched their DVDs and hung out.
We got the tent up quick and got the kids settled.  They actually went to sleep, so Paul and I got to hang out with the adults for an hour.  Paul did make me a cocktail to help me get through the evening and erase the memories of the fact that it took us 3 hours to go 7 miles from our house.
Saturday, the boys got up around 7ish.  As it was finally light outside, I could actually see the campgrounds.  I was thrilled to find close bathrooms that have running water, hot air hand dryers, and flushable toilets (and these bathrooms were cleaned daily).  Breakfast was assigned to Kathy and Mark.  They made yummy blueberry pancakes and sausages.  After breakfast, all the families went over to this “playground” and open field to play.  It was chilly in the morning so we decided not to play in the water in the morning.  The playground were just various structures made to look like rocks.  Zach loved climbing to the highest levels and jumping off.  (Matthew is also fearless when it comes to jumping off high structures).  Eventually, we decided to play races with the kids.  We wore them out having them run back and forth to a tree. Jacob decided to take off his shirt as he was getting hot, so all the other kids followed suit.  Too cute.
Got back to camp for lunch.  Shellie and Devin were in charge of lunch and made hot dogs and PB&Js.  Perfect camping lunch.  I also decided that it was wine o’clock and others joined me in that endeavor.  After lunch, all the kids went down for a nap.  Eventually, all the adults did too.  (Except Paul, of course, who used the time to check out the campgrounds).  After naps, we all went down to the water.  Zach loves the water and had fun playing in it.  Nate is not into it that much (but has to follow Zach around).  We were having a great time playing until Zach threw sand in some other kids faces.  Thus, ended water play.
Went back to camp and it was our turn for dinner.  Paul had made yummy marinara sauce before we left, so all he had to do was boil water, make pasta, heat the sauce and some bread.  We also mixed some bag salads.  I watched the kids as he cooked.  Then he watched the kids as I did the dishes.  Dinner was yummy.  Others brought stuff to make smores for dessert.  Zach is more into watching the marshmallows get set on fire then eating the smores.  After dinner, we were all sitting around the campfire when Paul asked if anyone had tums.  A few people responded that they did.  Devin then said, “Paul, we are in our thirties and we are camping.  Of course, we have Tums.”  Quote of the trip.  (Also we often made references to the fact that Tom and Lynn have a cabin around there.  Funny at the time – but doesn’t translate well to the blog).
More drinking and enjoying the campfire, but then it was time for bed.  The kids had napped so well that they were hard to get down.  Nate finally went down but Zach would not go to sleep.  Eventually, I was done and went to bed.  Zach cuddled with me and we both fell asleep.  Which means that when Paul finally came to bed, he slept with Nate.  This presented a huge problem.  Paul eventually started snoring. . . loudly.  I was too far away from him to just hit him to make him stop.  It made me nuts.  I was forced to throw his underwear at him, wake him up, and yell at him to stop snoring.  (He actually sat up and asked if Nate was snoring.  He has no memory of this).  Zach was fidgeting a lot and it was cold, so I did not sleep well.
The next morning, Zach woke up and declared that we were going home.  When I said we had to pack up camp and have breakfast first, he replied that we were going home in five minutes.  Zach decided to wait in the car (so Nate followed, of course).  This actually worked out well since it allowed Paul and I to pack up camp and get everything ready while the kids were contained in the car and weren’t roaming around.  Also, Sasha and Heidi were in charge of breakfast, so we could pack while they cooked.  Sasha made yummy omelets and bacon.  It was really good.  Zach and Nate did not eat much and hurried back to the car because Zach was ready to go home.  (Maybe Zach does take after me more than Paul.)
Overall, this camping trip went pretty well.  While camping is still not my thing, the campgrounds were nice and the kids were being good.  Zach loved pushing his truck around the campsite.  Nate picked up pine cones and put them in his watering can bucket.  Those two activities alone provided hours of entertainment for them.  Having the kids being good made me less stressed and able to relax some.  (Also, only two nights instead of three made a HUGE difference).  The PEPs group is already planning for next year.  (Maybe they can pick their date and I can figure out a work conference or something for that then???)
Paul will hopefully add some pictures of the trip.  At least I am done with camping for the year.

Playing in Hood Canal

Most of the kids eating.

Eating again..Nice face Jake!

Our campsite.