Blah, blah, blog!

Paris-London-Oxford, 2011

 

What an amazing adventure!  This was the perfect combination of adventure, education, refinement and challenge.  The BEST part was experiencing it with my daughter and our friends which whom we have grown  grown up since she has been in school.  These are the best families and we love them dearly.  I wish EVERYONE could have been on this trip! 

Here are just a few highlights.  It is impossible to capture everything we did, or all of the crazy, fun, amazing memories by photo.  I am so incredibly grateful for this opportunity.  I am absolutely committed to going back.  It surprised me how much I LOVED Oxford, England!!  I think I could live there.  Do you think it is too late for me to go back to school?  Ha, ha...

 

The Amazing Race

I've always wanted to be a contestant on this show...

When we first learned about the possibility of a 7th grade science field study in Costa Rica, P was smitten.  Our new charter began holding parent meetings and planted the seeds of student travel, including science study in Costa Rica in the spring for 7th graders, and an Oxford Univerity and Paris, France visit for our 8th graders.  P was in, hook, line, and sinker.

I thought Costa Rica sounded great, but being the selfish parent that I am, figured that I've kind of been-there-done-that, having lived in Ecuador for two years and all.  Paris is my commitment.  So I sort of led her away from the Costa Rica science adventure of a lifetime, where she would have an opportunity to rescue and relocate sea turtle eggs at night, go white water rafting, ziplining, visit a cloud forest, go spelunking, see bats, and all kinds of eco-tourism coolness.  Hang on, I promised.  Paris and Oxford will be so much better!

This year has been so crazy in so many wonderful and challenging ways.  I went back to work full-time, which meant I helped build an educational opportuntity for my kids and bring income in for my family at at time when we really needed it.  At the same time, it took our family dynamics changes in a major way.  I am no longer planning "craft and library days" and we can no longer count on dinner being planned by mommy's master color-coded Franklin planner.  Instead, I am attending board meetings and working to open our second charter campus this coming fall.

My boss insisted I take this trip with my 13 year old.  No, really, she insisted.  She said I will never get this time with her again and said we needed to bond and get away and by the way, I needed to be her eyes and ears in Costa Rica and take the photos and video to create some amazing P.R. and marketing for the school and pump up the trip for next year.  Creating connections...that's what I do.

Despite my protests that we did not have a passport for my precious 13 year old daughter, my boss looked me square in the eye and said, "Carrie, we do our best work under pressure".  Game on.  I found my way through the maze of notaries, documents, regional passport agency appointments, all while negotiating the delicate mine field of avoiding absences during P's state standardized testing week.  Seven days before departure, P and I drove to San Diego at 5 a.m. and had her passport by 2:00 p.m.

We then had a mad rush of buying gear, packing, celebrating D's 8th birthday, T's 42nd birthday, our staff appreciation luncheon and a huge 7th grade project on the Reformation.

As soon as we settled in the plastic seats at LAX, I began to relax...ready for adventure...the following is a brief slideshow I put together for our school website to share our 7 days in Costa Rica.  This goes does down as my favorite vacation ever.  Even with twenty-two 13 year olds.

Join our 7th grade adventurers as they hike & explore rain forests in search of monkeys, sloths, iguana & more! They snorkel, explore caves, work at a remote turtle station doing overnight beach patrols in conservation efforts, cruise jungle canals, go whitewater rafting, sleep at the base of an active volcano, work at an organic farm, & zip line over the tree tops of the rain forest. Pura Vida!

 

Tales from the campfire

They say camping makes families bond.

I have a theory on that.

I think it does, but only upon looking back on the photos and reflecting upon the memories.

I say, when you are barreling down the highway, trying to quell the insessant arguing, and complaints, and and "he pushed me" and wondering why the hell you thought financing yet another fixed payment was a good idea to force you into this kind of fresh hell every chance, only to find the state beaches have hiked up their fees so high, you might as well justify the extra $30 a night for the private campgrounds (not to mention anything near the beach books out 7 months in advance) and then, and only then you realize you could have just stayed in a decent hotel and bypassed the storage fees and simple interest over the next 15 years.  But who can put a price on family memories?

Take our recent spring break trip to Newport Dunes...

Don't we look like we are making priceless family memories??

This is a pretty typical expression I see on my new teenager's face lately:

We love our new travel trailer.  We just need to get more effecient at using it.  We need to learn the ropes at booking the right campgrounds, packing better and maximizing our time away.  We are newbies....we are learning.  Somehow I imagine camping in Oregon or Washington would be a totally different game that fighting the crowds to grab a little beach in southern California...

North Shore: Family Style

My Aunt Sue and Uncle Choppy live on the North Shore of O'ahu and have done so since 1966.  Why, oh why haven't I made it more of a priority to get over here more often?

They live right here on Hukilau Beach.  The only place to eat in town is the charming little Hukilau Cafe, where banana pancakes and local ono food like fried rice and spam is served for breakfast....hey when in Rome, right?

This place is PARADISE...maybe we truly needed to wait until the kids were old enough to hold their own with the ocean and the sand.  Maybe we needed to really NEED a vacation like we did this year, but we are having a WONDERFUL time and my aunt and uncle are making it really special for us.
This is a view from their backyard, not bad huh?
 

The only one I'm really concerned about is Delaney.  She's taken to island life a little too well. 
 

My Aunt and Uncle's home is the PERFECT place for these kids to vacation, because we never hear "I'm bored".  They want to spend every moment possible in that water.  So nice.


 

My Uncle Choppy used to spend hours with me in the water when I was little.  Now he is doing the same with my kids.  It is such a treat to see that.  My kids are loving it and having the time of their lives.
 

Will I ever lure her back home?

We explored and found some ancient Hawaiian burial grounds and did some light hiking.  The views were magnificent over Waimea Bay.

We also went to see the Dole Pineapple Plantation.  We rode the Pineapple Express, which was actually pretty fun.  We listened to Hawaiian music while riding the train through the fields and learning about the history and vision of James Dole.  Quite impressive to imagine taking this kind of bare land and creating his pineapple empire.  We also toured the gardens and of course had the famous frozen pineapple whips.  Yum.

While driving on the two lane roads along the North Shore, we saw several of these shrimp trucks.  We also saw a lot of the shrimp ponds and trying to understand the local ag economy here.  You know I am all about eating local, so we set out to find dinner and ended up at Giovanni's Aloha Shrimp Wagon.  According to the local story, the original owner of this shrimp truck sold it in 1997 for $120K.  She decided she wanted it back for that price in 2001.  The new owner thought it was worth a lot more and said she could buy it back for $700K.  The original owner sent two gunmen in who held the new owner down with a pen in hand, forcing him to sign the contract to sell back the business for $120K.  Owner #1 was later convicted of extortion, robbery, and kidnapping. Giovanni's Aloha Shrimp Wagon happily sells their famous garlic shrimp for $22 a pound.  I cooked them myself.

Monday my Aunt & Uncle offered to take the kids all day so Todd and I could go enjoy a day alone doing what we wanted to do.  I jumped at that offer!  I had really hoped to score a visit to Doris Duke's Shangra La Estate on Diamond Head to see her vast collection of Islamic art.  However, the tours are very limited and we were unable to get tickets until later in the week.  Oh well, it gives us something to look forward to for our next visit!

Plan B was to tour "The Grand Ladies of Waikiki".  These two hotels were the first to be built in Waikiki and have a rich history.  We started with the Moana Surf Rider Hotel.

The Moana Surf Rider Hotel opened in 1901 and had the first elevator on the island.  The rooms went for $1.50 upon opening.  The european architecture and wide verandas are stunning.  I loved it here. The Banyan tree in this courtyard was planted in 1904 and provides an elegant canopy for the beachside courtyard.

I loved the wide verandas lined with huge rocking chairs.  If it wasn't for the hundreds of tourists crawling all over the place, you could easily sit back and enjoy the ocean breezes and imagine you were in a more gentile time.  Looking out into the ocean, we caught a glimpse of outrigger canoes skimming by.  Upstairs, we studied the museum cases of hotel memorabilia and learned a little more about the history of this romantic landmark.

Next door, we walked the grounds of the "Pink Palace of the Pacific", the Royal Hawaiian.  Built by the Matson Steamship Company to accommodate the cruise ship passengers, it was opened in 1927.  The Royal Hawaiian was considered a "playground" for the rich and famous even through the dark days of the depression. After the events of December 7, 1941, the Royal Hawaiian was closed and the military used it for R&R WWII Servicemen.  In 1947 it was renovated and reopened.

 

We did get to see a glimpse of the "historic wing" with the carved doors imported from Indonesesia, but apparently this hotel underwent a $60 million dollar renovation last year. Apparently the conversion to the "Starwood Luxury Label" brings with it a major focus on commercialization and it has all but lost the old world charm.  It is beautiful, but very, very focused on how exclusive it is, rather than how historic it is. I guess no one really cares about history...and that is why we wanted to see it in the first place.

The concierge mentioned that though the Mai Tai originated in Indonesia, it was officially named right here at this very bar, at this very hotel, on this very beach.  Not one to let a history lesson like that be lost, I had to stop in for a commemorative cocktail...

We ended our day by rounding Diamond Head and finding the Kahala Resort.  Now THIS is JUST my speed: quiet, hidden, and oh so chill.  It was once a Manadarin resort and even after renovation, the Mandarin touches are still seen and so well done.  We specifically went to enjoy high tea on the veranda while overlooking the dolphins in the lagoons below.  It was a beautiful way to end our day.

Today we are on to the Polynesian Cultural Center to learn all about the various island cultures.  The kids should dig it.  Aloha!

Deep Woods Off!

I discovered three very important things about myself this weekend while camping in the mountains east of San Diego near Julian:

1. I am not, despite my enthusiastic efforts, an isn't it great to be filthy, sticky, sweaty, "Hey, is that a trail head I see?"- outdoorsy-type. I'm just not.
2. Charming, over-hyped, tourist trap towns with rustic painted signs and kitschy country crap for sale (You know, the ones with ONE general market that will sell you a case of water for $12 when you can get them all day long for $4.50 back in 2008 civilization?). Yeah, well these little one horse towns hold my attention for, oh, about five minutes.
3. I will endure just about anything in the world, with a smile on my face, if it makes my kids happy.  This weekend made them very happy.

We just HAD to choose the hottest days of the year to set up camp in our "rustic cabin" without AC this weekend.  The kids LOVED everything about camping.  They loved the campfire, the s'mores, waking up and drinking camp stove coffee-milk with us, playing games, and creating narratives as we watched a family of raccoons come down from a tree behind our campsite.

I have to say I am extremely proud of my ten year old daughter for toughing it out with the bug situation.  Most little girls hate bugs. I can't stand them myself (though they LOVE me).  My daughter has a true phobia and we can't reason with her fear of insects.  Mosquitoes the size of silver dollars covered the stalls and walls of the campground bathrooms.  I just knew she would very likely hold it for the four days for fear of bug bites on her butt. I have to admit I thought about it myself.

By the second night, we were all so dirty and salty from sweat, we decided to head down to the "free hot showers" that were reviewed as "clean" by the campsite guides I had consulted. Armed with travel sized bottles of shampoo and body wash, my two girls and I marched toward the showers, believing we would emerge feeling refreshed and SO much better. HA! Upon opening a stall door, we found forty or so of those ugly prehistoric looking bloodsuckers swarming the shower.  I put on my best Rosie The Riveter act and said, "Come on girls, we can do this!"

I simultaneously talked them down, showered myself, declaring us "Mosquito Ninjas" while kicking, stomping, and swatting a dozen or more skeeters with my plastic shower shoes, all while buck nekkid and cracking jokes so my girls wouldn't lose it.

The boys, of course, happily went three days without showering and never felt conflicted about going potty.  J thought it was the best thing ever to go pee in the woods.

So there. We did it. Actually took a family "vacation".

It may take another ten years, but I think next time I'll hold out for a hotel room.

Perfection

Something changes as you enter the desert. The air feels different. Cleaner. The light is brighter. The people look healthier. Everything is decidedly laid back. Elegant, pulled-together, yet relaxed.  Aahhhhh....it was so good to be back in the desert.

T and took the girls to the villa this weekend.  Traffic was bad heading out Friday afternoon, but who can blame the lucky few from LA, Orange and San Bernadino counties for escaping for a few blissful days?

P's orthopedic surgeon instructed us to "throw her in the pool" for rehab on those tendons and muscles. She then said, "and when she climbs out...throw her back in." So we headed for 85 degree water to match the 85 degree air. It was perfect.

When we pulled into town Friday afternoon, I promptly made an appointment for a massage. I couldn't get in with a therapist until 9 PM, which actually worked well. We took the girls to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner (had the the BEST warm grilled veggies over baby greens salad and I totally copied the dressing recipe from the cookbook).  Two glasses of pinot grigio later I was ready for the massage table.  My neck and back were so grateful for the attention. I crawled back to the villa and slept.

Saturday morning we found the street faire on the college campus and had fun finding unique trinkets. I found a tool that will help me create flowers out of radishes and carrot-stuffed cucumber stars. I can't believe how excited I am to use it. The day was spent mostly by the pool, with short trips out for a late breakfast and early dinner. I hauled two huge photo boxes and three albums with me this weekend intent on organizing my photo storage binders (because I'm ALL about SJ's Photo Freedom system!) but all of that fresh air, pool water and no cooking wore me out and I took a long nap while the girls watched Jumanji. 

We hit the pool again in the late afternoon, then hit the early bird hour at Sherman's Deli. If you are ever in the neighborhood, the Oasis Salad is great.  T and I both agreed that the deli is more impressive if you are a meat eater. I had to wonder though, as I watched the senior citizen crowd chow down on deli sausages, and lamb chops, and manage huge piles of pastrami on rye, how it all works...you know...in relation to nutrition and longevity.  Here I am stressing out about the date pieces in my Oasis salad because my husband informed me that dates rank higher on the glycemic index than pure glucose. I pushed the date pieces to the side.

Sunday morning I left T with the girls and enjoyed a gorgeous 4 mile power walk down Country Club drive. It was so beautiful...clean winding paths lined with blooming bougainvillaea, juniper and sagebrush. I've always loved desert landscape. Especially the really well manicured kind with rake marks through the pebble sand. We then found a Robeks Juice Bar and had smoothies with enhancing boosts promising everything from "essential support for growing kids" to ginkgo biloba and extra fiber. Then we promptly undid our juice splurge with gourmet bagels (fresh spinach and asagio with nova lox--yum!). I dropped T and P off at Barnes and Noble and Baby D and I hit the Scrapbook Co #2. I found some essentials from Making Memories 5th Avenue line and three journaling pens.

Then we threw the girls back in the water again.

Perfect weather, massage, no cooking, fruits and veggies in abundance on every menu, scrapbook shopping and clean clear desert air....I think we all need this more often!

Thank you Gloria and Terry for sharing your beautiful second home with our family (I just found out today you are silent readers;)

Travel plans postponed

Not cancelled, just postponed.
I decided yesterday that 2007 just isn't our year for Paris.  As much as my heart was set, as much as I have anticipated and dreamed of our spring trip, as much as I loved having, "We're going to Paris in April" roll off my tongue, it just isn't the right time.

The truth is, my kids are just too little (and too mighty) to leave for that length of time.  They are busy and demanding and constantly at each other.  The need A LOT of attention.  A lot of food preparation, dishes, laundry and schleping.  My nerves are frayed most days.  I cannot imagine putting that on anyone else.  As gracious and wonderful and accomodating as my mom is to offer to keep them for nine days, it is just too much damn work to ask of anyone.

My mom and I made a deal that she would only accept my cancellation of this trip if we promised that we would go in the future. Isn't she awesome?  Thank you Mom.  I love you and I SO appreciate it...all of it.

Paris isn't going anywhere.  My kids will get older and a little easier.  And someday, we will have Paris...

Oh to just be a girl.....

My weekend by the numbers:

• Hours on the ground in the Metro DC area: 44
• Layouts completed: 11 pages (four double-spread 12x12 layouts...the only kind that count, according to Korie)
• Total hours of 44 spent sleeping: six
• Venti sugar-free, percent milk lattes consumed: four.  Had to do a triple shot after the 2 hours of sleep we got Saturday "night".
• New scrapbooking goodies I purchased at the Get Croppin Crop: many
• Number of pounds my suitcase was overweight upon departure: 16

What a weekend!  I've been looking forward to the fabulous and much anticipated Get Croppin's Scrapbowl '07 for several months.  I have to say, this was THE BEST time I have had in a long time.  It was filled with all of my favorite things: scrapbooking, shopping for supplies (lots of ribbon and paper), hot lattes, great conversation and laughing until it hurts.

Korie has a fantastic group of friends who share her passion for scrapbooking and paper crafting.  My airplane picked up Karen in Phoenix and we flew into Dulles for the weekend. It was so wonderful to meet so many of her friends.  They were sweet and genuine and made me feel so welcome. I got to meet Carol, Kitty, Jenny, Jeanette, Amy, Cenia, Laurie, Suni (again) and of course the supergirls, Marirosa and Ashlie, who are the brains and brawn of Get Croppin.


350 women from all over the world (and I thought I would win the mileage award for distance, ha!) brought in enough supplies to fill an expo center.  And what we didn't bring, we bought. I have a running list of must-have rubber stamps, tees, and equipment that I'll be seeking out. Korie gave me that great "Artsy" tee and a fabulous Little Black Book of Paris for my birthday/Christmas gifts.  I love that girl.

I took two fantastic classes during the weekend: a travel journal taught by Margie and a little book featuring my home, taught by Ali.  I loved both classes.  I loved the inspiration and concepts taught by the instructors.  But what stuck with me most was what Margie said during her introduction to the class.  She talked about her background as a designer and Creative Director for Making Memories and said that she comes to teach the "weekend gig" so she can just be a girl.  To connect with other girls and laugh and create and shop and play.  Oh yeah.

The gals from Get Croppin gave us this great clock as a gift.  I love it.  Around the numbers, from hour to hour, it says things like "create art, live life, memories, design, family and celebrate" I promptly hung it in my studio, right above my project table and I will gaze at it and remember the this fantastic weekend, the inspiration and the fun of it all. 

Little departures from every day life are renewing. I've quickly shifted back into my roles as short order cook, housekeeper, peace keeper and general trouble shooter.  So, when do I get to go back to be just a girl again??

Get out there.

Have you seen those commercials for Royal Carribbean Cruises?  You know, the one with Iggy Pop's Lust for Life?  I think it ends with Get out There!  Well we did this weekend.  No, not on a cruise ship, but flying down the river on speedboats with our neighbors.  Good times, good times.

Five families from our neighborhood went to the river this weekend.  Wendy's mom has a gorgeous home on the river.  Four families have boats and we were happy to be invited.  Too much sun, lots of water and thirteen kids among us....we had a blast.  Here are a few photos from the weekend:

Wendy and Eric just got a new Cobra performance boat.  It is gorgeous.  And big, loud and really fast.  She never lets him drive.


Wendy insisted we leave the guys to watch the kids on the beach and we took her boat out for a couple of hours.  She knows all of the stops along the river.

The boys are in kindergarten together.  They have fun.

Three of the guys.  That is Wendy's hat.

My handsome hubby...

The kids loved tubing.  J went with T and P went alone.  The older kids skied and wake boarded.

Miss D having the time of her life.

This photo is hard to see, but there are about 7 kids on a canoe.  Lynn's river home has little canals all round.  The kids could fish off the dock in her backyard or paddle the canoe around.

The kids stopped to jump in and cool off often.  It was 110 degrees this weekend.

Decorating the Daddys on the beach with shaving cream for Father's Day.  The kids loved this.


I did a good job keeping the kids covered in sunscreen and hats so they are just fine today.  My forehead and chest are a little crispy and my bottom lip is burned so much it looks like I've been punched.  We had a fantastic time and I'm hoping this little gateway trip will pave the way for more family outings.  Our kids were really good and everyone got along so well.  Today I'm all about laundry, washing the car inside and out and P's award ceremony.  Back to it!  Hope your Father's Day weekend was wonderful too!