Summer 2009

I just went back to school last week and several people have asked "how was your summer?" My response has been "this has been the best summer since I started teaching." It's the first time in the last thirteen years that I haven't had some other responsibility during the summer. No summer school. No coaching. No babies being born. No Master's program. No WASC. No major house projects. No kidding.

We had lots of plans this summer and really had a great time. Tracey and I are truly blessed to both be teachers and have the financial ability to stay home for the summer with our children. It's awesome.

The first trip this summer we went camping in Sequoia as a family. We camped with Grandma Judy (GJ), Uncle Scott, Aunt Amy, Emily, and Abby, as well the Shirotas and Wes. It was beautiful, relaxing, and lots of fun. It was great hanging out with friends and family. Hiking, cooking together, hanging out by the fire, riding bikes, and enjoying nature. Last summer we stayed in Yosemite, but couldn't get a campsite there this summer. We "settled" for Sequioa, which sounds ridiculous because it is such a beautiful place. I'm sure we will camp in Sequoia for many years to come. We were only able to see such a small portion of this National Park. We hiked Tokopah Falls, visited Crystal Cave, General Sherman and drove through a Sequoia (I can't remember the name). We also got dangerously close to running out of gas on the way down the mountain. Note to self: get gas before you enter a National Park.

A week later we camped in Carpinteria with the Medlins, Alexanders, Shorts, and Contis. We have known the Medlins for a long time. Tracey has worked with Cindy for nearly 16 years and has known Christy about the same amount of time. The other families are all involved in the Indian Princess program so Grace and Sarah had lots of friends to play with while we were there. The campsite is right by the beach. The days were filled with bike rides, dips in the ocean, seaweed gathering, hole digging and.....throwing up. Unfortunately, Tracey got sick on the third night of a five night trip. In the morning she was absolutely miserable so we quickly packed up and came home. It turns out that having the stomach flu in a campsite is actually worse than just having the stomach flu. A 50 meter walk before you puke in a dirty public bathroom is not a good time. Although we had fun while we were there it ended on a bad note. You could say that it left a bad taste in our mouths. Okay, in Tracey's mouth, because somehow no one else got sick.

In between camping trips we spent a lot of time in the newly redone pool. We had a couple of BBQs with friends and family. We went to Disneyland several times. Tracey and I also bought bikes for our 10-year anniversary. So we went bike riding as a family which the girls love to do.

I played poker throughout the summer. I hosted a poker tournament and 20 people showed up. I won, so it looked totally rigged, but the very next night I played at Pat's house and finished 2nd. He also had 20 people in his tourney and several of the players, played both nights. I also played at the card club a couple of times.

Tracey and I spent three nights in Las Vegas for our 10-year anniversary. The first night we saw a stand-up, Vinny Favorito, he was very funny. The second night I played in a poker tournament at Caesar's Palace. Tracey encouraged me to play, because she knew I wanted to, and it didn't start until 10 PM, so she slept through most of it. I finished 3rd overall out of 67 entries and was really comfortable at the final table. I won $470 which was great. Sometime around 2 AM, one of the guys that I was playing with asked where my wife was, and if she played poker. I had to laugh, because I realized that it was now the next day, and it was technically our anniversary day. So I said "She's in bed, and actually today is our 10-year anniversary." My end of the table overheard the conversation and really didn't believe me. I then explained that we had plans that evening.

The third night in Vegas, Tracey and I ate at a restaurant overlooking the dancing waters at the Bellagio. It was very cool to eat out on the balcony and really enjoy the ambiance. We then saw the Cirque de Soleil show "Love" it was incredible. We both really enjoyed the show and I think we will go back and watch "O" sometime in the future.

A week later we had a nice dinner with my mom's side of the family. She wanted to take Tracey and I out for our 10-year anniversary. It was really thoughtful of her and made me appreciate, even more, the life that I have with my wife. My mom, Grandma Cathy, Mark, Uncle Scott, Aunt Jackie, Uncle Mickey, Aunt Dawn-Ellen, and cousin Courtney were all there. We don't usually all get together like this, unless it's a holiday, so it was nice that they could all celebrate with us.

Last weekend I went to Havasu Springs for the annual guys trip to the river. Allen has a boat and sets up the trip for everybody. It's one of the few times that we all get together during the year. It seems like I usually see those guys individually and not as a group. This year everybody made it out: Allen, Wade, Dave, Mark, and Kirk. I've known Allen, Wade, and Dave since high school. It's been nearly 25 years that we have been friends and I'm sure that we will be friends until we're all old guys. Okay, older guys than we currently are. Forty is right around the corner. Once again we all had a good time. It's funny how there can be no set plans other than a boat, the water, and some beverages, and we always have a good time.

As the summer winds down and I head into another school year, I'm really happy with all the things that I got to do this summer with my family, with friends and on my own. I'm looking forward to the next school year and for many more wonderful summers to come.

Mia the Swimmer

On Saturday Mia said that she wanted to swim without floaties.  So we headed into the pool.  Just her and I without any distractions at first.  I've asked her on a couple of occasions if she wanted to practice swimming, and the answer has always been, "No, I just want to swim with my floaties."  Tracey tried to get her enrolled in swimming lessons, but the classes were full for the first round of sign-ups. The fact that she wanted to try on her own was really important in the first place.  Without the desire to learn it really is impossible to do so. The fear factor is just too overwhelming.

So there we were in the pool, with goggles and NO floaties.  The first thing Mia needed to learn was using her arms at the same time as her legs.  She was trying to keep her head above water the whole time. So then she started kicking and using her arms with her head in the water.  She was very good at holding her breath, but not so good at taking a breath when she needed one.  It turns out that's kind of a problem when your swimming.  In other words, she could only go as far as she could hold her breath, which was okay in the shallow end where she could stand, but this was going to be a problem with her new confidence level.  She thought she could swim better than she really could.  

We practiced taking breaths and she got better.  Yesterday she wanted to go in the pool as soon as we got home from church.  When we finally got in the pool we had some time alone again while Sarah read in the house and Grace and Tracey were shopping.  It was another great opportunity for some one-on-one Dad swim lessons.  By the time we were done she was jumping off the diving board and swimming across the entire pool.  I swam next to her but she was taking breaths all the way across the whole pool.  She still needs lots of practice, but Mia can swim better at three than the twins could after their official swim lessons.  I'm proud of my little swimmer.

The Best Day Ever.

After the last camp-out in April, the girls finally decided it was time to learn how to ride bikes.  We took the training wheels off a long time ago, but they never really tried to ride their bikes.  They had no real reason to want to learn.  They rode their scooters or Skitters and that was good enough.  When we camped in Temecula though, the "road" was terrible for their scooters and we rode miles.  Actually, I rode my long-board Skate board.  It's a fun ride.  

Anyway, Grace took a good digger and super-manned off her scooter at one point.  They were both exhausted at the end of the day.  When we drove home from the camp-out, I asked if they wanted to learn how to ride their bikes.  That way they could ride their bikes at the camp-out in June.  The next weekend Sarah wanted to practice riding.  I got really sick, so Tracey practiced with her out front.  Sarah was so excited to learn.  Monday I didn't feel much better, but on Tuesday I went outside to help her learn.  Tracey was funny because she was holding Sarah up the whole time and wouldn't let go.  As Tracey put it, "teaching them how to ride is more of a Dad thing."  This didn't make any sense to mean until I saw Tracey trying to teach Sarah how to ride. There was no way Tracey was going to let go of Sarah's back.  Which is just how Sarah wanted it.  So when I finally got out there to help, I realized that I needed to let go of Sarah.  The first thing she said to me was "Don't let go Dad." I replied "I have to" and she said "NO, DON'T LET GO!"  "Ok" I lied.  Once we started going and she had good balance, I let go.  Sometimes, you have to tell people what they need to hear even when it may not be the exact truth.  I didn't let go at the beginning.   Once Sarah started riding a few feet on her own, her confidence increased.  Then all of a sudden she was riding her bike.  The stopping part was a whole other obstacle.  

In the midst of all this practice, Grace was watching and then she started trying to ride.  Tracey had her hand firmly attached to Grace's back too.  The same routine worked with Grace and they both learned to ride on the same day.  They were both so excited.

The following Monday I had an early day and picked up the twins from GJ's house.  I had decided that it would be really fun to ride to Cherry of Top.  This is a frozen yogurt place that is more than a mile from our house.  The girls were bursting at the seams when I asked if they wanted to ride their bikes to Cherry on Top.  You would have thought I asked them if they wanted to buy them a puppy.  Keep in mind that they had only ridden their bikes three times up to this point.  I wish I had kept this in mind.  The whole time we were driving home they were saying "I can't believe that we are going to ride our bikes to Cherry on Top, this is the best day ever!"  While getting on their helmets "This is the best day ever!" I asked them before we left home "Are you sure you want to ride ALL the way to Cherry on Top?"  "YES" they screamed excitedly.  Riding through the neighborhood everything was good.  Crossing the crosswalk we were okay.  Then I made the fateful decision to go down Buena Vista.  This street doesn't have the widest sidewalk and it has small rolling hills.  This freaked the girls out.  Looking down the street, all Sarah could see was a looming downhill slope.  This is a little daunting when braking involves putting your feet down, instead of stepping back on the pedal.

This is when the tears started. "I can't go down the hill, I'm going to go too fast."  "I can't stop."  "Slowdown Dad." All of this, while cars are whizzing by.  Then I've got two girls that are starting to spread out along the ridiculously narrow sidewalk.  This just went from "The best day ever" to "The worst idea of the week."  The whole time I'm worried about rookie bike riders that can't steer in a straight line, and panic when they need to stop.  Both Grace and Sarah cried on two separate occasions.  Then thirty seconds later one of them would say "I can't believe we are riding our bikes to Cherry on Top."

We eventually made it.  It was the best frozen yogurt ever, and we came back home riding down Alta Vista.  Huge sidewalk.  Less hills.  Should have gone this way in the first place. When we finally got home they both said "It was the best day ever."

I scared the pee out of her.

I was laying on the couch in the front room, reading a book, when Mia started messing with me.  She ran down the hallway and then came back and "scared" me.  I acted surprised and jumped up.  Mia thought this was hilarious, so she did it a couple of times. The third time she ran down the hall, I hid against the wall and waited.  When she passed me I jumped out and said "Boo."  I really scared her good......then she peed on the ground.  She got that look on her face like "Uh, oh I'm gonna pee," there was nothing I could do. I scooped her up mid stream and plopped her on the fireplace.  Then we both laughed.  I've never scared the pee out of anyone until now.

Mia the little cleaner

Mia at three years old is already naturally neater than her older sisters.  She does lots of little things that demonstrate this all the time.  For example, the other night she was eating strawberries by her self in the kitchen and when she was done she threw away her napkin in the trash can and then went back and put her bowl in the sink.  She usually cleans up after herself or is the one kid who says "Okay, dad" when you tell her she needs to pick something up.  

Of course our house is usually a disaster because all the girls go from thing to thing.  As I sit on the computer there are paints, papers, brushes, etc. strewn all about the kitchen table, and there are blocks and construction paper in piles in the front room.  At least the breakfast stuff was put away. :)

Three Kinds of Clouds

The other night, out of the blue, Sarah asked "Dad, what are the three kinds of clouds?"  I quickly answered "Cirrus, cumulus, and ....."  I couldn't think of the third type of cloud.  Neither could she.  So she said "I know I'll look it up on Google."  When she says Google, she actually pronounces it "Google E."  It's really cute.  So sure enough she went to the computer and typed in "Three kinds of clouds."  We then found out the one we couldn't think of - stratus.  

I love her natural curiosity. Her intelligence and her ability to solve problems.  She didn't know the answer, but she knew how to find it.  She is also a leader in the classroom.  Granted its first grade, but she wants to learn and models good behavior in the classroom.  Apparently all the boys like her too.  

Mrs. Chadez, her first grade teacher, said that at lunch all the boys eat lunch with her.  Tracey has been told by other moms that their son talks about Sarah ALL the time.  It's going to be a long 12 years with the boys.

Grandma Anderson

Today in church I saw an older lady that reminded me of my Grandma Anderson.  It wasn't so much how she looked but it was her countenance.  Grandma always had that sense of peace, wisdom, and inner strength.  At least that's how I remember her.  

Some of my earliest memories include going to Friends church.  She was a Sunday school teacher.  I remember being in her class and doing different activities.  She used to have bible characters made of felt that stuck to a board.  I also remember going to VBS at Friends in the summer. 

She always had a garden when I was a kid.  Fresh green beans and corn remind me of my Grandma.  There are all kinds of food memories.  Black-eyed peas, rice with gravy, Grandpa using chop sticks, chocolate chip cookies, Amos and Matt licking the top of the ice-cream before putting it in the freezer, Hot Cocoa, maple walnut cake, cauliflower, fig jam, canned everything, fresh lemonade, rectangular boxed ice cream from Stater Brothers, hot dogs split down the middle and cooked in a skillet, fluffy omelets with Jack cheese.

I remember her picking me up from Park View elementary in her Blue VW Bus.  The smell of that VW bus was so distinctive.  A part of me would love to own a VW Bus.  That smell sticks with you, the pinging of the motor, the sliding of the side door, and the Jesus sticker on the back window.

I loved to listen to her tell stories about the family.  All the boys and the trouble that they would get into or the adventures they would have.  She would always go through the list of "the boys" names: Carey, Tim, Kevin, Matthew, Amos, until she got to the right one.  I only have three girls and I do the same thing now. 

Christmas day at her house was always great.  When I was a kid the big long socks had the best stocking gifts.  Usually lots of practical items plus some cool random gadgets.

The birthday songs were always fun.  The Andersons had a second birthday song that they sang "For it's a happy happy birthday to you."  This has spread to my mom's side of the family.  It always put a smile on my face to hear them sing this too.

Grandma was always a great listener and always knew what to say.  She would break into song when it fit the moment.  She was a rock.  The Anderson foundation.  My dad and uncles are and were so unique. The influence of my grandparents was evident in their lives.  Grandpa Anderson was always great with me, but I know that he was hard on my uncles when they were growing up.  Grandma was the yin to his yang.  

I will always miss my Grandma and will forever be grateful for her love in my life.