Spring Break Trip to Cancun

It looks like it's shaping up to be another extremely wet and cold spring here in Oregon. Last year's spring was a tough one; and this one may be just as dreary. Despite the weather, there is much to be grateful for in this busy, joyful life! 

Baseball season has started, and at this age it's a whole new level of play. The boys have practice twice a week for 2.5 hours! They were very excited to find out that their names are on the back of their jerseys this year. 

We also had a cold, rainy Easter. 

But that didn't stop Evelyn and her two friends from doing their annual neighborhood Easter egg hunt! 1000 paper eggs had 50 kids scrambling all over the local school's park. She was certainly not shy with the microphone as she arranged kids by age and explained the rules. 

The grey skies make me even more grateful for the Spring break trip we were able to take this year at the end of March. It's always a lot of work to prepare for leaving for a trip-knowing I wont have access to a washing machines! 17 pairs of boys underwear-one for each day and one extra-seems daunting to me because three pairs are still being used daily right up to our departure! That's a lot of little boy undies to keep track of! No matter how meticulously I pack, I always manage to run out of clothes for the boys on our family trips. This one was no different, as I had the boys carefully rationing shirts right down to the final hour. Unplanned spills and sweat sessions always have me regretting that I did't pack more liberally. 

Evelyn takes care of herself, although as we analyzed her summer clothing options, we realized that she has now outgrown much of her shorts and swimsuits from last year! This had us scrambling around the day before searching for the right fit, which really came down to "small" in the women's section.

Our flight left ridiculously  early on a Monday. With a quick lay over in California and then an almost 6 hour non stop to Cancun, plus a two hour time change, we landed late in the evening in balmy Mexico. The kids were thrilled to see the turquoise blue waters of the Caribbean ocean as we landed. Truly this part of the world is magical. 

We waited at the airport until my parents arrive from Chicago. A joyful reunion ensued, and we quickly entered our shuttle which would drive us the 1.5 hours to the all inclusive resort. Pulling up, even in the dark, the resort was stunning. 

Some uplighting techniques highlighted the Mayan ruins which stood at the end of the long runway from the entrance to the beach.

 

 It was quite a magnificent sight. Wild monkeys played in the tree tops; iguanas stared at us from craggy pathways. The first morning James and I were amused by the strange sounding birds outside our window. 

    

One of the things I loved the most about the "all inclusive experience" was the choice each person had regarding what they ate, when they ate and how much they ate. The feeding of everyone is always daunting when we take family vacations. James and Levi had a big chocolate donut every morning and ice cream after every meal. Most of their meals were carbs. 

 

Evelyn enjoyed the options the most out of everyone. She indulged heavily on non-alcoholic Pina coladas and the pasta bar. I loved all the seafood!

Another great part of this resort were the adventure parks. Each park had fantastic activities, such as zip lining. I had never been zip lining before, but I have to admit, climbing to the first launch pad was intimidating as we were higher than the tree tops! 

We had to strongly convince our boys to take the leap of faith. Often times an adult (or Evie) had to be strapped in tandem to one of them because of weight issues. Even so, one time as Caleb and Evelyn came wizzing down the line, they paused suddenly, unable to create the momentum they needed to make it to the end. Luckily, the strong, youthful attendant  was able to hang upside down, monkey-like and shimmy his way over to rescue them.

On the other hand, my Dad and John zipped on in with extra gusto. 

James was convinced he was going to die. But after we all survived the day, it made him a little braver and confident. 

Another exciting activity was swimming in underground caves. This adventure was one that I dreaded with each each step I took to the starting line. I knew the water was going to be frigid, and sure enough, it was so cold it took my breath away. It was dark, except for some incredible "up lighting" in the cave to create an exciting effect as it highlighted all the stalagmites and stalactites. The three boys were terrified, and even though we all had life preservers on, the three of them clung for dear life to John. Levi also shrieked now and then that a fish swam up his shorts. When we finally swam to the finish line and exited via an intense waterfall, we all were all relieved. That journey was the most challenging one for me personally. 

Throughout our days at the adventure parks, we experienced things that were once in a lifetime kind of things: Zipling through waterfalls; "flying" head first, like a bird; climbing a ropes course that looked a lot more intimidating from above than from below ( and we only did level 1...out of 4!) 

We also partook in a white water rafting simulation and enjoyed an exciting jet boat ride. One of the final activities was a monster truck course. Evie pleaded to be partners with me because admittedly, we had not teamed up the entire vacation. On this particular activity, I felt extremely nervous and unqualified right from the start. I had to drive over ridges and rocky cliffs that looked impassable.

 I am a mini van driving soccer mom in suburbia, driving to school car pool line and the occasional McDonald's drive through. This type of driving was not in my repertoire. I should have swallowed my pride and surrendered from the beginning like my instincts told me to; but, I pressed on, slowly climbing the hills and trekking through the paths....until I came to a rocky hill that took my breath away. It was so intimidating; and as I slowly made my bumpy descent, my right wheel hit a boulder and in an instant, my entire car tipped over and fell to the side. Evie and I hung from our seat belts and I screamed for the attendant to untrap us. I had never been in a car accident before; I had a small taste of how out of control and scary a situation like that can be. 

Immediately we had people by our side, unstrapping us and leading us to an emergency vehicle. They had to shut down that section of the course, and my family didn't know until afterwards that it was ME who was in the accident. We left the rolled over monster truck on its side. Suddenly, John and James pulled up the hill behind us; they just stared in shock at the commotion surrounding us. 

Luckily, we weren't physically hurt, but just badly scared. 

I bet Evie regretted being partners with me after all. 😟

Alls well that ends well, and that final night at the resort was magical. We enjoyed our final dinner together and enjoyed sitting outside in the perfect temperature. 

I truly feel blessed that we were able to take such a magical vacation and include my parents in it as well.

 

It already feels like a distant memory, yet when I close my eyes, I can still feel the warm breeze and hear those exotic birds through my window. 

Springing Ahead

 My friend asked me recently when is it inappropriate to continue to use the "spring ahead" time change as an excuse for your children's bad behavior? Although it has taken us all a few days to adjust to being an hour ahead, I have to say that this year I really appreciated the time change more than ever. I felt like I was operating in darkness constantly. Various sports practices across town in the late afternoon/evening hours had me feeling like I was living a majority of life without the sun. 

Evelyn is now a member of the Westside Metros soccer team. After months of asking-dare I say begging-us to let her play, we finally allowed her to try out; and lo and behold, she made the team. 

Practices are no joke: they are outside, in the dark, rain or shine. Evelyn doesn't seem to mind and she doesn't dare complain. I was always against playing club, but because she wanted a more competitive soccer environment, we decided to allow her to try this team of the Spring season. 

And just as the boys finished out their basketball season, baseball try outs began almost the same day. The boys made the AAA team, which is the more advanced level of play. We are excited to see what they will do this year on the field. 

February flew by. We had a long anticipated trip to Illinois over Presidents Day weekend which resulted in great family memories.... and four children passing around a terrible virus. 

Grandpa knows how to build snow forts!

James is almost too big for GG's lap

Long awaited Christmas gift giving! 

Roller skating was a hit on a cold, winter day

A snowy zoo day with second cousin Mara

At the beginning of March, the kids had their Hoop-a-thon fundraiser at school, which is really a fun event, culminating in a big assembly with raffle prizes. This year Caleb put all his tickets into the electric scooter basket. He talked about winning this prize for weeks. 

 

As always, he put his whole heart and soul into shooting hoops again this year. There is always a little competition between the three boys. Although he truly tries the hardest, he never quite gets as many hoops as Levi and James. 

However, this year as I pulled up to carpool line, what do I see there standing next to him: 

                                                                    the electric scooter. 

                                                                     He indeed won it. 

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We are realizing that if we want to make any plans in at all in life, we need to circle in red the date on the calendar  months in advance. If we don't, a million other things will try to weasel their way into that slot. And so, at Christmas, Evelyn had it in her mind that she wanted to surprise the boys and plan a trip for them to the coast for a weekend of metal detecting and gold panning (two on their most favorite past times) With our help, we secured a little cottage and circled the second weekend in March in bright red, missing soccer games and various social invites. The kids were all very much looking forward to this weekend away.

John was out of town that entire week before, so we picked him up at the airport with our van packed for the weekend; we then drove the two hours to Long Beach, Washington to begin our treasure hunting adventure. We arrived late to a cold and damp little cottage. Lucy was very excited to come along on this trip. 

The first morning, Caleb and I jumped into the van in search of breakfast, landing on a little local McDonalds. Egg McMuffins would do!

 After a satisfying breakfast, we followed the little path from our cabin to the beach front.

 It was totally empty except for us. 

We let Lucy off her leash, and my oh my, I have never seen a happier dog. She was free! 

Running in circles, digging holes, eating sand; she was truly living her best life as a beach dog. As John and I watched her zoom around the sand, we heard in the distance an incessant beeping sound. The kids crowded around a particular spot near the water, digging digging digging with their little shovels.

 They were eagerly trying to uncover what was causing the metal detector to react so excitedly. 

Their shovels hit something. 

John stepped in and helped in the effort, as the sand was heavy and digging was exhausting. 

Finally, it was uncovered: a metal stove grate buried deep in the sand for who knows how long! Bizarre but truly rare, and I was just happy we found something on this treasure seeking weekend. 

We spent the day lazy in the cottage and when the sun poked out, we ventured to the beach again and found a little river where the kids built sand castles and panned for gold. I was chilled to the bone. At one point I laid back in the sand with my coat over my head, trying the allow for the sun to warm me. As I lay there soaking up the sun, Lucy started dry heaving and threw up her entire breakfast, which John promptly buried in the sand. Sand is not kind to her digestive track.

After a few hours of me huddling in the sandscape and the kids playing happily, we convinced them it was time to clean up and find some dinner. 

This trip really confirmed that I am NOT an Oregon coast person. Although pretty, the sand, wind and chill...and more sand... is not my idea of an exhilerating time. The dog was a mess and I'm glad it wasn't my house I was going home to yet. 

We traveled back home Sunday, and I was glad that we had lost a whole hour. 

Everyone was a bit off for a few days with the time change.

 On Sunday, a neighbor invited the boys to their house to practice some baseball batting at 4:30. The boys gathered up the their things and traipsed across the neighborhood at 4:15. 

45 minutes later  the father of the boy texted us, asking if our boys were coming to batting practice. Confused, John and I told him they left 45 minutes ago, less than a 1/2  mile walk. 

And so, a bit concerned, I got into my car to go look for them. 

And sure enough, as I turned down a street I saw them mosing casually down the road. "Where have you been?" I asked Levi, who looked surprised to see me. 

"We were at the park playing baseball. Now it's finally time to go to batting practice." He pointed at his watch. 4:15. 

Well it WAS 4:15, an hour ago. Levi forgot to change his watch, and so he was running an hour behind schedule!

We were able to laugh about the mistake, grateful that that was the reason they never showed up to practice!

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And finally, we end the Spring term with the long await, highly anticipated West Hills tradition of the Patriotic Program. In 3rd and 4th grade, the students partake in a term-long project where they research a patriot, write a speech and then perform  this speech in character (along with patriotic songs) in a culminating evening show. 

This year with had Ulysses S. Grant (Levi) Daniel James "Chappie (James) and Billy Sunday (Caleb). 

The boys worked so hard, and they did an amazing job. 

I am so grateful to watch my kids salute the troops and honor God and country. It's a fading tradition these days, and it brought a tear to my eye. I was one proud, happy mama. 

Billy Sunday ready for a great show!

Ulysses and Daniel 

God bless America!

My boys had xylophone solos!

Daniel James "Chappie" 

Billy Sunday giving his speech to attentive parents 

Nine year old Triplets

 I watched them, from the doorway after I turned out the light for the night. The three of them in the same bunk, holding their little flashlights over their Calvin and Hobbs comic books, reading intently. Caleb saw me in the doorway, spying on them, and he gave me a sideways smile as he continued to read.

 "We decided Mom that we are going to sleep in the same bed tonight because it's an occasion." 

Okay Caleb, yes, it's an occasion. 

It was the last night of them being eight years old. 

We've been encouraging them to sleep separately these past months because frankly the three of them were quite crowded in one twin bunk. However, despite the lack of space, they prefer to be together.

 John and I finally put our foot down about the situation when apparently James grew a really long toe nail and used it as a claw in the night to create more room for himself, causing great disputes to erupt in the dark. 

My heart actually ached as I stared at them, soaking in that moment, the three of them together, eight years old. How I longed to hold on to that moment forever, and I felt desperate because I knew it was slipping away. Moments can't be held on to, only savored and then released to become a memory. 

Nine years old seems suddenly so old to me. 

Half way to 18. 

Half way through childhood. 

Those memories of their babyhood and toddler years seem like a while ago now; but still they don't feel so long ago... not as long ago as I feel like they should feel. 

The memories are still there, like I could walk back into them. 

And how could this be? All those long days that seemed so overwhelming and never-ending are now just a a few brief lines in our family story. 

So how do I hang on to these moments that seem to be slipping through my hand like sand? 

As I mentioned in a previous blog, John and I have transitioned from gift-giving to experiencing giving, and my hope is that this defines these next years. 

Evelyn has embraced this mentality as well, and she wanted to plan a fun experience for her brothers as a gift to them. Evelyn has never been one to spend her money on herself; she is and has always found the most joy in delighting those she loves with gifts. With the spirit of providing experiences, she came to John and I with an idea of surprising her brothers with an adventure weekend to the coast for her gift. She said she wanted to give all her money to rent a beach house so her brothers could spend the weekend metal detecting and treasure hunting, something they love to do at the coast.

We helped her find the right little beach cottage for a weekend in March; she soon realized that although  this gift could be totally her heart, she would need some financial help from Mom and Dad. ;) 

Evelyn decided that the delivery of the this gift also had to be a production.

 On her own she created a treasure hunt around the house, culminating at an X in the backyard where she buried a treasure box in the earth containing a metal spoon (So the boys' metal detector would beep) Also inside the treasure box was a scroll containing all the details of the whimsical adventure she has planned for them. 

I'm not sure what the boys were more excited about: unearthing a box in the backyard before the sun came up or their fun future adventure at the beach!                                                 

I also baked them a cake and we ate it for breakfast, because why not?! :) 

Birthdays are for celebrating, so my mentality has always been drop everything, clear the schedule and eat cake and celebrate! 

The last nine years have been a season of growing up, and I'm not talking about only the boys. 

My own growing pains have been excruciating at moments. My thirties were marked by the drudgery of caring for so many little humans, the loss and then redefining of my role and identity, and recognizing what truly is most important in my life.   The things I once thought to be most important I now realize are only like the sand running through my fingers, like those moments that I try to feverishly grasp on to and pin to my heart. 

The hard things in life are actually the best things. 

  

These years, with my family, raising my children: this is the treasure. 

John always says that God answers prayers how we would if we could see the whole story and if we knew 

ourselves completely. 

I'm so grateful that I wasn't in charge of answering my own prayers.