Carrots.

Frankly, I'm a little afraid to pull up any more.

June/July/August/September ("Summer") Recap

Ben - Ben had a particularly eventful summer. While still working full time he managed to:

Take a flight with his brother Nate (formally known to many as Nathan and to others and even more formally by his maiden name Nathan Kalana-Westbrook) piloted by the head nurse in the ENT clinic.

The two also took a rafting trip. Neither trip resulted in a payout of life insurance funds - which may or may not be a relief - I need to see what the going rate is these days.



We have an entire CD of pictures from the trip and in each one Ben's mouth is wide open. Cracks me up.

Here he is gallivanting on American Lake with his colleagues, on a weekday nonetheless.

And still another workday resulted in this fine catch. And a lot of sea-sickness I hear.

He also spent a month in Iowa for an work-related course, which was probably more fun than it sounds, at least it is if you like Wagyu beef. This trip also gave him the chance to visit Chicago.


Avery - Started first grade, is wearing skinny jeans* and is playing the violin (which is going much better than I had expected. my ears aren't bleeding...yet). She made a brief attempt at Tae-Kwon-Do but when she realized she wasn't going to get to do any real fighting the allure wore off. Plus discipline is not really her thing. What else... basically this is what Avery's summer looked like:

* Quite possibly the worst moment of motherhood to date when she asked "mom- can I get skinny jeans?" Actually, scratch that, it's a distant second to when she asked if I knew who Lady Gaga is. (When I played dumb she kind of let me know that while she knows who she is, that maybe she shouldn't tell me - to protect my impressionable old mind I'm sure. Uncle Nate was there to witness this interaction.)


Miles - Is still on a sheep riding high. Which is funny considering the rest of the summer he spent preferring to do yoga over sports like t-ball or soccer.

Cruz - All he cares about is where his next meal is coming from. And if it's going in your mouth then he wants it too. Nevermind that he has no teeth. (Actually he just sprouted two last week, started sitting up and does a mean inchworm)

Me - Well obviously while Ben was having all the fun this summer I was responsibly taking care of house and home. (Okay I managed to squeeze in a longish trip to CA and CO)

Britt - Because only Britt's events rival Ben's...I think it went something like this - Vegas, New York, Cabo, Yosemite, Colombia (the country of), Seattle then topped it off with a RV trip from CA to Oregon. And she also managed to work full time. But she couldn't win Wipeout.

It's mutton bustin' time.

Miles and I made our second annual trip to the fair this week. We had some important business to take care of.

There were goats to pet.

Corndogs to eat.

Horses to see. (We saw a horse named Miles)

(And a horse named Ben)

Giant pumpkins.

And mutton to bust.

Miles has been waiting a whole year to participate (yes, they allow two year olds to ride). Last year we got there too late for the sign up. But not this year.

The local news was there. If I had known, I would have done something with myself. (I was going to say with my hair, but pretty much an overhaul was in order.)

You can come over and watch the news segment on my DVR. Or you can just watch it HERE.

He made it about half way which was pretty darn good. He said that next year he wants to make it all the way.

Baaaa.

Cousins

Tonsils.

Ben just finally could take it no longer - the fact that our kids had an abundance of perfectly good nodular tissue at the back of their throats just irritated him to no end. He was determined that it come out.* I was afraid he might take matters into his own (capable, I'm sure) hands and try an at-home procedure, so I agreed to schedule the surgery. (I do not agree with this plan of action necessarily - the kids get their gigantic tonsils from me and I still have mine, plus I'm certain that there is an equally effective homeopathic treatment should a problem arise)

They were running a 2-for-1 tonsellectomy special at the hospital this month so we thought we'd go ahead and get the two older kids taken care of.

They didn't seem to be too concerned about their surgery, it probably helped that they had each other. Also, we had been discussing getting Avery's tonsils out for over a year now so she was prepared. The trip to the grocery store the day before didn't hurt either. We came home with every manner of frozon confection and then some. Bomb Pops, Klondike bars, Push-ups, Fudgecicles, slow-melt Ice-Age popsicles, 5 flavors of Dreyers Real Fruit bars (coconut are our current favorite), Fat Boys, gelato and just some plain ol' ice cream. Fortunately, we have two freezers.


Day of surgeryOn the way to the O.R.

Avery takes up prime real estate in the waiting room.

You won't be smiling for long...

Perioperative Bomb-Pop. This is after the screaming and the parental abuse (hitting his parents) subsided. Ben was not the surgeon for this procedure, he just got to play dad.

"I said, Don't touch me". A warning given to mom, dad and her nurses and anyone who dare try to comfort her. This one is punctuated by a kick.

The kids are lucky that their dad shared his popscicles with them at all.

Coming out of anethesia was devestating as a parent. It was so sad. They both tried to rip the IV out of their hands and both said that they didn't want their tonsils out after all. Miles requested that his be put back in. The next few days were bliss as they slept a lot and couldn't really speak, and when they did it was meekly. Avery was considerably nicer (not that she's not nice) and helpful with Cruz even when she was recovering. Ben said it's like castrating a dog - it takes the fight out of them. I thought for a while that maybe they had actually performed a lobotomy. But, while her voice is slightly different - not quite as husky, a bit more high pitched and raspy now - the old confident, bossy to her brother Avery is back after a few weeks. Miles may never forgive us, but he sure liked eating a dozen popsicles every day. Neither one of them wanted any medicine in the days following which was a surprise given that they always love to try and find an excuse to take Tylenol otherwise. What was not a surprise given that we were warned by a friend who had just recently experienced this - was the most horrific dragon breath the kids had. But I guess rotting, cauterized tissue smells pretty awful. With both kids in the back seat we would have to roll the windows down for fresh air for at least 10 days after.

I'm glad that it's all over, I hope that it provides some kind of benefit to them in their lifetime and I hope Cruz doesn't need his removed.

*Really the kids have problems sleeping - mouths open, snoring etc.

The end of August and nary a tomato.

From a distance my garden looks good but production of actual things to eat has been weak. Apparently you need sun to yeild fruit. All I can hope for is an extended growing season via a mild fall. But I'm not holding my breath.

I would really really like at least one full size ripe tomato, I do have seven large leafy plants after all (plus a cherry and a grape size). But it isn't all bad.

I grew four different types of green beans this year - three with climbing tendancies (Malibu, Tall Telephone and Yard Long) and one bush. The bush variety was Burgandy (purple really) which turned green when you cooked them which was fun.

Plenty of lettuce. Our climate is good for that. And a beet. Never been a fan of beets but I think that was just the pickled kind they served on salads at the San Gorgonio Inn. Now that I'm grown up I can handle a roasted or sliced fresh beet now and then. I grew the Chiogga type which has flesh kind of like a bullseye.

Rainbow Chard. A cousin of the beet. Flavor is okayish. Healthy for sure and a beautiful addition to the garden.

Sun Gold cherry tomatoes. All 5 of them.

One cucumber. Burpless. Whatever that means.

Tomatillos. Difficult to grow from seed. My seeds didn't grow but I bought a small plant that turned into a large plant with tons of fruit. I just hope that they can ripen.

The tomatillo plant is like four feet by four feet wide. It makes good shade for the lettuces.

Broccoli. It grew but I didn't realize it prefers cooler weather and planted it in the same sunny row as my Japanese eggplant which likes it hot. And hasn't fruited yet.

Strawberries. Seascape and another kind I can't remember the name of. They are prolific right now.

The most exciting thing in the garden this year - Artichokes! What a cool looking plant. I grew these from seed.

Baby oranges being pollinated by bees. I consider this just good practice for the bees since I'm pretty certain oranges won't grow here. (But I'm sure going to try again this year)

Blueberries. Darrow.

Things are about to get a whole lot messier around here.

WiPEOuT - What they didn't show you.

First of all, Brittany "scared little girl" Lyons is not 22 years old as listed (but that would make me only 24ish...), although she could definately pass for it.

What they didn't show this scared little gal doing was successfully negotiating the Smack Wall and garnering the fastest time in the first round of 24. Probably because they were too busy dubbing her screams in. She said you might have noticed that her mouth wasn't moving during some of those. Granted, some were very very real. Did you see the Motivator take her out* (hee hee)? My favorite part was when she was stuck on the things that bumped up and down.

On the second round where she eventually made her exit she said it took over an hour to film it and that at one point they had to stop and give them tips and slow it down so that people would start making it. On TV it looked like she barely attempted that portion but she assured me that she tried at least 6 times and that when you see her bending over standing on the platform, she isn't waiting for a good time to go. She's sucking wind because she just climbed up the ladder yet again.

All in all she knows that you don't go on that show to look good. I know I wouldn't have looked better. Avery on the other hand, has some tips for her aunt and is quite sure that she could navigate the obstacles with ease. So when they have Jr. Wipeout, watch out, I just might sign her up to take her down.



*On the wipeoutphotos.com there are some great frame by frame shots of her. Episode 311 photosA0727-759. They are in the 200-300 photo range.

WiPEOuT

Britt (my lovely, and temporarily insane sister) is on ABC's Wipeout tonight 8/7c.

See her photo here. (At least at time of publishing it was her. Although you may not recognize her covered in mud)

The episode title is Mustard, Ketchup and Wipeout Weenies. Descriptor: Contestants tackle obstacles including Organ Grinder, Dizzy Dummy and Smack Wall while dodging condiments and wipeout weenies. Sounds awful. (Awfully funny!)

She described this experience, which actually occurred in January, as the most painful, horrendous thing she has ever done. And she used to run the 800, so it must be bad.

I particularly like how her boyfriend described it in an email invitation for their viewing party. Subject - Wonder where those bruises came from?:
Nope. It wasn't overzealous jump dancing on tequila-laced mosaic tile. It was the Motivator. It was the four red orbs made of galvanized rubber. It was the 24 hydraulic charged punching gloves designed to readjust your mandible and your pelvis. It was the strange idea that it is worth risking multiple lacerations, torn knee ligaments, spinal separation, never-walk-againedness and a premature interview with the Angel Gabriel in order to command control of $26,654.46 after taxes. In a word, it was Wipeout. Brittany has generously donated her home as a viewing station for the momentous event (she would also like to donate her left kidney as well, since it doesn't really work that well anymore.)

Not familiar with the show? (I wasn't until last week)
Here's a little taste.

Now get back to work.

Little Si.

Roundtrip 4.4 miles. Elevation Gain 1200 ft.
Hikers: Britt, Lynn (plus one), Eric (plus one), Ruth, Avery
Riders: Cruz (first hike!)
Half Hiker, Rider when it counted: Miles

Before (above) and after (below) the big fall into the mud. Better than off a cliff.

At the top!

Then on for apres-hike doughnuts and kebabs at Lola.

Balance.

Since I can't figure out how to download my own pictures I have to steal these from my sister's Facebook page. Thanks Eric.

This is Ben's Cruz's latest trick. He can also amazingly grasp his toes on demand. He might also possibly be able to grab his mom's nose on suggestion or maybe that's just what he does when I put my face in his face by default.

I think I remember how to do this.

Been on vacation (although really, when is traveling with 3 kids by yourself a vacation?). Lost a computer and all of it's contents two days before getting external hard drive in the mail to back up all files in case of emergency. Hoping to recover pictures because I have some major backposting to do. Didn't feel like I missed much being offline for a while. But, I'm a little bit scared to check my email. And considering how long it is taking me to figure out how to upload current pictures I'm not sure how quickly I'll be up and running. But just a warning. I am going to start from today and work backward...and forward at the same time. If I can find a USB port. Now the baby is awake and I squandered my free time.

But the good news is...summer finally came.