Spring Break "Escape" - to Newport!

With Marilyn's back doing better, we went over to Agate Beach for a couple of nights. The ocean was very rough the first day - 3 surfers were caught in a rip tide and one of them didn't make it and we were able to see the Coast Guard attempt a rescue. The next two days were beautiful, with visits to Cape Foulweather (named such by Captain Cook as he was there on a very foul day in 1778. The wind often exceeds 100 MPH.) and did see a good number of whale spouts, and then to the Yaquina Lighthouse.

Kaze, as Requested

Requesting...

the Kaze video...

The day of rest???

Heath staggering in the too big gear.
Evie - one handed! (imitating Jakie's stunt)
Cade on the bike



Saturday had beern slated a day of rest in our original plans. Instead Jordan and Mark took the trailer to El Mirage Friday night and we joined them for Saturday.





Heath made us all hysterical with his dirt bike lesson. He went crazy wheee-ing and giggling the WHOLE time. While the men chased around trying to keep him from running into things and people. Mark limited it at 2 mph so we all survived. Cade was a bit more cautious starting out - but had fun later without close supervision.





Windy and I tried and loved riding the quad. Grandpa took a nap!

Disneyland & beyond

We did it! We all made it to Disneyland - except Mark & Jordan - who had work & school. Everyone had fun. I guess I'm somewhat brain dead this am 'cause I can't think of anything clever or outstanding. I thought I'd do this before everyone else got up and things got busy.

I'll post pictures.

We did also have lots of fun Saturday (on our rest??? day) at El Mirage on the dirt bikes. It is a HUGE dry lake bed & surrounding area near Victorville for dirt biking. There is lots of room and some of us got our first taste of dirt biking. (or quad riding).

Sunday was California Adventure - Disney's way of extracting extra money by calling it a separate theme park - but it is a really nice place. Very well done - and has the California Screamin' roller coaster. It's a humdinger!! Wheeeee. We all wanted more. Heath had burn out at around 4pm and that was the end for him and Grandpa & ma took him home with us when we left at 6:30. He was pretty done in. The river radft ride was a blast also - esp since we were well covered for splashes.

Twas the night before...

'Twas the night before Disneyland and all through the house,
not a creature was stirring, except the night owls
Jakie danced, Mark studied, Kyle surfed, Heidi blogged
Snax purred, Jordan WOWed. All the others sawed logs.
Cade and Heath dreamed of Buzz and R2D2
When the sun comes up, they'll cry "cock-a-doodle-doo!"

Update Part 1: Thar She Blows

We went to the beach Thursday by special request of my friend Jen. We've had the fun of having Kyle and kids, and Jen too. Jen was here Sat thru this morning (Tues). She and Eric moved to Iowa when he accepted his first ordained call and have been there 3 years now. She wanted to see the ocean, so we went to the beach on Sun afternoon. It was a little cold and breezy, but still fine. We snuggled in sweatshirts and towels and the boys made sand castles (more like a sand village), and searched for sea shells. Cade was so overjoyed and free he just plowed into the cold ocean and frolicked in the waves, hands waving, feet flaying, face beaming, until he was completely soaked. We had thought it was too cold for them to want to swim so Kyle had dressed them in warm clothes- but once Cade just ran right in, it was too late. And then we figured we might as well let him enjoy a little while of his gleeful ocean play before pulling him out. So while I watched, Kyle and Mark snuck off and bought a sweatshirt and shorts so by the time he came out (after his first full frontal crash) and I had him toweled off, Kyle was ready with clean, warm clothes for him. Kyle then gave Heath his own (Kyle's) sweatshirt so Heath looked like a heather-gray Jawa.

The real treat was that we noticed that a fairly large power boat and a whale watching ship were sort of drifting along very slowly close to shore (just past the end of the pier. We snuck a couple glances of fins surfacing, and then it was much clearer- in between the boats and the shore (close enough we were a little concerned about beaching) four CA grey whales were just slowly moseying along the shore line, and started giving us the treat of several good surfacings and "blows". We laughed as Jen, after enjoying just watching, suddenly realized she should take a picture for Eric and got up and started running along the shore to catch up with them and take a pic. Her timing was never quite right, so she ended up just calling him to describe the scene. The kids got to see the whales surface and blow, just from standing right on the shore.

So cold and breezy or not, we all thanked Jen for the motivation to come to the beach at just that time (and Mark for picking the spot).

Well, I'm bummed

Looks like I'll be taking my first family vacation as the sole parent. Our spring break trip to northern CA with Nathan & Teresa has gone a little haywire and it's all the fault of the Ways & Means Committee. The co-chairs' budget was scheduled to be released several weeks ago and kept getting bumped back. It's now set to release next Thursday (we leave Sunday). The week following its release is a crunched, busy week for George and there's no way he can be gone. Even if they bump it back again he won't be able to leave because he can't be gone when it's released. I'm so bummed. I think I'm still going, though, because I have kids who are so excited they can hardly stand it and I don't want to disappoint the McCardle kids, either.

Also, looks like decision time on the car front. We're officially in repair or replace discussion as the we-thought-it-would-be-expensive repair has turned into doomsday repairs. *sigh* I'll let you know what we decide to do. Meanwhile I'm not left stranded because we can no doubt borrow George's dad's Suburban, which is in Joe & Helen's possession as a 3rd vehicle. I so did not want to deal with this right now.

Sorry to be a downer.

A Frango is...

Available here-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frango

and accurate too.

KJ

They're here!

FYI, Kyle and boys are safely here. The boys are running around acclimating to the new place and each other (A whole new set of toys! Must touch all of them!). OKay, they're hungry, so I'll go make dinner.

Jumping into the fray...

You know you live in Happy Jack:
1. When you know what the RIM is.
2. When no one could ever find you with Yahoo maps.
3. The mud on your car is a lovely red/orange.
4. You don't know whether to tell people to look for Long Valley or Clint's Well to find Happy Jack on a map.
5. Even though the next nearest gas station is 40 miles away you pay less for gas than those chumps in So Cal.
6. You know what the sky and stars look like at night without going to the Rueben H Fleet.
7. You can recite the nightly specials at the Long Valley cafe from memory.

Settled for the Night

We stopped at about 10P at a motel just off the 5 (Lodi exit). I figured it was best to get on the other side of Sac. so we don't have any chance of traffic in the morning. Travelling went well. At about 4P, however, we learned that Cade has "it" now. He has a fever, no appetite, and the (now) characteristic lethargy accompanied by the inability to carry on a coversation. He also has a modified version of Josh's cough.
He seemed a little better as we got into the motel, but only the morning will truly tell. The hotel is perfect for this adventure-cheap, hyper clean, and did I mention-cheap. They also have internet. I won't say the name for fear that Marilyn will have some sort of seizure.
We are all jammed into a double bed, but there is a long window seat that I may move into if Heath doesn't stop making the bottom kazoo notes so prevelent for the last hour.
I figure 5-6 leisurely hours tomorrow, and I wil not be in a hurry to get off in the AM- shall we say an ETA of about 4PM, Heidi?

You know you're in the Pac NW when - -

1. You cannot taste the air.
2. You can look at the the surrounding mountains and wonder when THEY are going to blow.
3. No "respectable" kid over the age of age 7 wears a coat/jacket to school when it rains.
4. You are EITHER a "Beaver" OR a "Duck" - there is NOTHING in between!
5. You can pronounce Puyallup, Squim, Snohomish, Snoqualamie.
6. You know which city is called "the armpit of Seattle"
7. You'd walk a mile in the rain for a GREAT dish of hot Black or Marionberry cobbler a la mode!
8. You recognize Tom Peterson - and GLORIA, too!
9. You CHOOSE to go to the "beach" when it storms and blows - the harder the better!
10. You know who "Moe" is AND what "she" is best known for.
11. ALmost EVERY restaurant on the coast claims that they have won an award for the BEST Clam Chowder in the NW
12. You belong to a gym (or you'll gain 15 lbs the first year you live there UNLESS you own and USE a treadmill).
13. You know who Clyde Drexler is and hope he WINS "Dancing with the Stars"!
14. You are very proud of The Oregon Zoo.
15. You can't think of a single "Mexican" restaurant that serves REAL Mexican food.
16. You winced in embarassment when you 1st learned that Tonya Harding is from Portland!
17. You google to learn where the nearest Starbucks will be in relation to your hotel destination.
18. You reject the 1st strawberries of the season - picked "green" in California, you know.
17. You know what a huckleberry is and salivate at the thought of Huckleberry pie, syrup, jam, dumplings - you name it!
18. You chain up or stay home when there is an inch of snow on the ground in the Portland area!

More San Diego

1. You know who Clyde and Seymour are.
2. You know who Dennis Connor is.
3. You haven't called the Hotel Del Coronado by its full name in your life.
4. You know what the very first animals are that you see when you enter the Zoo.
5. You know why you should always go to Balboa Park on Tuesdays.
6. The first time you went to an indoor mall, you were confused and didn't understand.
7. You never wore 3 layers in your life, until you moved away.
8. You went whale watching as a school field trip.
9. You know what, when and where the Turkey Trot is.
10. You know that all Mexican take-out ends in "-berto's"
11. As for "Mesa"s- they forgot La Mesa and Otay Mesa
12. You remember Steve Garvey's homerun, and you know which one I mean. Hey, who's up for Nati's?

My Denver additions

My outside obs...

You know you live in Denver if:

1. You have brown hair. Whatever color it used to be, it's now brown.
2. Girls have 2 hairstyles: a bob or a ponytail.
3. You don't even own hairspray
4. You wear sandals with ankle straps all the time, unless you're in hiking boots or running shoes
5. All your shorts have at least 6 pockets
6. You know what a nalgene is, and have yours with you at all times, and have a distinguishing mark on it so no one confuses it with their nalgene.
7. You also know what a carabiner is.
8. "Boulder" is a city, a noun, and a verb.
9. You know at least one homeschooler.
10. You know that being sunny has nothing to do with being warm.

You Know You Live in Denver if..

This is mostly for Kaze:
1. You know that you will get a migraine without sunglasses.
2. Your wardrobe is made up of the following colors: green, off green, olive green, brown, and tan with a splash of sage.
3. You don't know any fat people.
4. You have a favorite Rocky's commercial.
5. You have friends who absolutely love it here, and 90% of those friends are from Texas, Illinois, or Wisconsin. And none of them are from the west coast.
6. You give a knowing "I'm sorry" when someone says they grew up in Aurora.
7. You aren't allowed to say any spanish location names with anything other than the worst gringo pornuciation (Limon "lymen"--Sangre De Cristos"Sangra Duh Kristoes" and Fruita "Frootuh").
8. You know 5 people who own Subarus.
9. You know people are not referring to hermits when they refer to someone as "mountain people." That just means they live up the hill.
10. Even though it was 70 degrees today, you know it could snow tomorrow-seriously.
11. You remember the day the weather man was right.
12. You know what it means when a gay guy goes to Trinidad for the month.\
13. You know what 14er's are.
14. Have alot more energy when you visit someplace at sea level.
15. Require a water bottle on your bedside table, and use it at least three times in the middle of the night because you have been awaked by the feeling of your throat gluing itself to itself.

Heidi, Dressing Up Means "Nice" Shorts

1. You really aren't upset when the Padres lose. They always do, and you thought they really tried hard, and "hey-who's up for Nati's?"
2. You have a favorite mexican place, and have been in a major argument with someone about why your place is better. Furthermore, you have a favorite (robertos, sombrero, etc), and the others of the same chain "aren't quite the same."
Number 9-El Cajon Blvd, by the way. Followed up with the Sunset Cliffs location.
3. If your Gen X, one of your first dates was golfing at the Family Fun Center.
4. You can take 4 different freeways (efficiently) from anywhere to a destination less than 15 miles away. For example, Airport to the east side of Mission Trails: 5/8/163/52.
5. You are outraged when you move to a new town, and they only have four freeways serving the metro area.
6. You can name where you were when you first heard the news about at least 5 brush fires.
7. You have never washed your car, only to have it rain the next day.
8. You have only washed your car twice in the last year, and it still looks really good.
9. You will not go to National City-ever. You don't care how good of a deal they have on the cars down there.
10. You know it's called the Grapevine, you have even driven it a couple of times, but you don't why they call it that. You know a guy in LA-maybe you can ask him.
11. LA absolutely starts just after San Clemente and stretches up to the Bakersfield area. Fresno was pushing it Heidi!
Bonus Points* You know which 70's teen hearthrob is pictured in Nati's wearing a Nati's T-Shirt.

Even more...

1. Not only have you seen the "stars and constellations" revolving show in the theater, you've played with the sand pendulum and that wheel that revolved so it looked like it was going backwards.
2. You think that anything north of Camp Pendleton and south of Fresno, is LA.
3. If you moved to a city where the streets are mostly straight, in a grid pattern that made sense and generally continue in the same direction for a long time, it felt weird and took a while to get used to.
4. The first time Christmas wasn't warm and sunny, it didn't seem quite right.
5. You know the sun is supposed to set into the water
6. You have a favorite fire ring
7. You know why you shuffle in shallow water
8. It was weird and annoying that the department stores switched to fall and winter clothes in fall and winter and you thought "what am I supposed to do with these?"
9. One of your friends worked at Sea World
10. You hate Rosanne Barr and you know why

Some more...

So here are some of my additions:

You know you're a San Diegan if...

1. You read the first list and thought: Umm, they forgot IB, and for "legit" ghetto high schools, they forgot Hoover, Lincoln and Garfield
2. You know what Mexican food actually tastes like
3. You don't think of Mexico as an exotic tropical vacation destination
4. You know you don't buy real tortillas in a grocery store
5. You have a favorite cove
6. "Dressing up" means "not shorts". But it NEVER mean closed-toe shoes.
7. If you're a girl, sometime, somewhere, you've been asked out by a Navy guy
8. Speaking of the Navy, you can spot a new recruit from a mile away
9. You know the difference between Mission Valley and Fashion Valley, and you have a favorite, and it's Fashion Valley.
10. You remember when "downtown San Diego" did NOT mean what it means now
And finally...
11. It's the Murph. Always has been. Always will be.

New series...

Okay, I liked this that M&M sent. But I thought we could add to it. So here are the originals...

You know you’re a true San Diegan if…

~Your high school had a surf team~
~You can correctly pronounce Tierrasanta, La Jolla, Rancho Penasquitos, San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Jamacha, Jamul, Cuyamaca, and El Cajon~
~There are four distinct seasons: Summer, Not Quite Summer, Almost Summer, and Oh Hey Look Its Summer Again~
~Chula-juana is a real town.~
~Your house is worth more than some small countries~
~You know what MB, OB, and PB stand for~
~Every street name is either in Spanish or Spanish related, and you're surprised when other areas don't have this~
~You can determine the accuracy of someone's "I'm ghetto" claim by knowing their high school. For example, El Camino High School or Crawford High School~
~You see weather forecasts for four different climate zones in the same county, and aren't remotely surprised. The Micro Climate Weather~
~You've gone to Mt. Helix in July and known you still need a jacket~
~You've tailgated at Qualcomm Stadium, and for bonus points, also tailgated when it was Jack Murphy Stadium~
~You have a favorite- the WAP or the Zoo~
~You've been on a field trip to see an Imax movie at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center~
~You still call it the Del Mar Fair~
~You say "I'm going to the track" and people know what you mean~
~You understand what May-Gray and June-Gloom are~
~A famous skateboarder/surfer lives in your town~
~There's a North County, a South County, and an East County but no Central County~
~"Mossy Nissan! Mossy Nissan! Mossy Nissan Moves You!"~
~You know what it means when two guys are walking in Hillcrest~
~You know what it means when a girl in a short skirt is walking on El Cajon Blvd~
~You've gotten stuck in the Horton Plaza parking structure traffic after a Padres game~
~You know what "The Merge" is, and will plan your entire day around not being on it during rush hour~
~You've been to Belmont Park~
~You've taken the Coaster and laughed at people sitting in traffic on the 5~
~You know the difference between Clairemont Mesa, Kearny Mesa, and Mira Mesa ~ and maybe you remember Serra Mesa, too!
~You've gone to Sea World on a warm day and sat in the first few rows at the Shamu Show to get cooled off~
~You've been delayed at the Border Checkpoints on the 5 and the 15~
~There are more bands than people~
~Your house doesn't have air conditioning~
~You know it's San Diegan, not San Diegoan, or San Diegoite~
~Everyone has their favorite beach~
~No matter what the weather is, there is always someone walking around in a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops~
~You live on, near or are surrounded by hills~
~You have family and or friends that have moved to Arizona~
~You used to, and sometimes still do ride the carousel at Seaport Village~
~You know someone who doesn't own pants, and have a neighbor who doesn't seem to own a shirt~
~You know what Santa Ana's are, and that they have literally nothing to do with the city of Santa Ana~
~If the menu doesn't have California burritos on it, forget it, its not real Mexican food~

Heath's Video Clip, take 2

Heath Has It

Well, Heath had a little congestion in his lungs this morning, and a little tummy thing on the way to the airport as well.
When we got home he didn't want to eat, said he was cold, and his arms hurt, and he really just needed to sleep.
After a 3 hour nap he woke up and said his head hurt. Darcy took his temp and it's about 102. We are now taking turns on "Puke Alert."
I have no idea what we are going to do, but I doubt we are leaving tomorrow. Then again, Darcy said we could be here for ten days if we wait for the whole cycle to go through Heath, Cade, and me.
With the way things have been in the Naughton house this year, that could be just about the time the "next big thing" happens.
KJ

Blech

The wind had cleared much of the smoke by early evening, but by later the wind stopped and the smoke had gotten worse again. This morning, it's awful. If I weren't still teaching, I'd pack up the fam and head to SD for a few days. Eyes burning, low visibilty, the whole nine yards. Jakie rode to school with his hand over his mouth and nose. It looks like dense fog, but it's smoke. It's gross. The good news is that since the wind has stopped, they are containing the fire quickly. Since it was so close to homes and burning toward and into residential areas, there are lots of roads as natural fire breaks. If the wind had been blowing it away from the homes, it would probably still be raging out of control since that is the open brush wilderness area. As long as the Santa Anas don't pick up again today it should be down pretty quickly. But after it's out I wouldn't mind the wind coming back to blow the smoke away! We're all pretty engulfed. It's yucky.

PS I hope that the Petrie crew are flu-symptom free so far?

A picture is worth a thousand words!

Windy made it!

YIPPEEE!! Mike & I had a WONDERFUL time seeing Windy & Kyle along with their absolutely PRECIOUS, deLIGHTFUL lil guys at D&G's yesterday!! For SOME "lame" reason, however, Win was tired when we arrived. - Something to do with getting to D&G's at 1 am & Cade & Heath gleefully awakening her/them when they got up at 5:30am! ;-) Still we had a great time all together!

I did especially enjoy that we also were able to spend some time around C&H before their cousins got home from school as once the bus arrived, off they all ran in sheer delight, Cade with Josh; Heath with Sarah! Once inside as they dashed upstairs, Sarah asked Heath over her shoulder if he "wanted to play "house" - Heath's response - a puzzled "HUH?", but he went anyway ;-)! (Win shared that when she asked him about it later, he told her "next time he wanted to be Heath" - vs the dad!! :-) It would have been fun to be an observant "mouse" in their "corner"!

Sigh, we were to take Kelsy & Emma down with us today as N&T are WAAY overloaded this weekend, but it was ALL cxl'd because poor Joshua has outright flu. - He got off the school bus feverish etc yesterday & went rapidly downhill from there... Sigh, JUST when Darc thought it was behind them. (Yes, do PRAY ALL around!)

It is George's first real day off since Kyle, C&H arrived and I grin as my minds eye "sees" the now "FOUR musketeers" & their families padding around in their pj's enjoying their leisurely am together as George flips pancakes! - I could "hear" it in Windys' voice when we spoke earlier!

I am ALSO VERY glad that Win doesn't leave till Monday (SIX am - UGH!) as there is a chance Mike & I can, in some way see them ONE more time - maybe meet in Salem or? - We'll have to wait & see what tomorrow brings!

OH how I WISH they lived closer again - what a "win win" situation it would be for us ALL! - Mont & Ev would being flying up THIS direction etc etc! ! :-)

More later! Once MIke gets the pics transferred we'll post a few!
mc

Kyle...

So now that you have a decent internet connection, we expect to see some pics. And by "we" I mean "me."

:)

Yet another (sentimental) "masterpiece" LOST!

ARRRG I poured my heart out re the COMPLETE JOY of seeing Kyle, Cade & Heath at D&G's today & it went "kaput" when I hit saved draft! - AGAIN.

Is too late to even consider a repeat :-< BUT suffice it to say tomorrow will be BETTER YET 'cause WINDY ANN will also be there!!!! (Kyle picks her up at PDX at 12am tonight!)

The "only" glitch is that Darcy is sporting a painful, swollen, rainbow-bruised lil toe on her left foot - yep, sigh, it's broken, but I'll "let" her give any desired "detail" - I'll just add that it it had something to do with "Pink Flamingo-ing" (?!)

Mike & I go down tomorrow to spend the day & I can hardly wait! Then we'll see what can be arranged re Sat. after checking with K&W's plans. - N&T can't pull ANYTHING "out of their hats" this weekend, to visit, sigh, but have said we can "borrow" Kelsey & Emma for part of the time & Mike has volunteered serve as to "cheuffeur" (sp?) since I have to work, if all can be worked it out.
TTFN!
Signed,
One VERY tickled AuntieM

Happy and Sad.

We did, in fact, land, as Darcy put it. I was originally going to leave Grandpa's on Sunday, but pushed that back to today, and that was pushed back another six hours. I had a little more work I wanted to do, and wasn't ready to leave. More so, he wasn't ready for us to leave. I think he would be happy if Windy, the boys, and I all moved in for good. Of course we can't, but he wouldn't complain if we did. He told me that we made his whole year by visiting for so long, and I could tell he was very, very sad to see us go. It was, for me, by far the hardest time I have ever had saying goodbye to him. He loved playing with the boys, watching them be "filled with life and happiness" as he put it, and telling me stories of family, friends, and old times he and I had. I did a little work around the house-not as much as I wanted to, but did get some major projects done. The boys kept themselves amused the entire time, and even figured out a way to communicate with Grandpa when he couldn't hear (Heath most of the time). Cade would get a paper and pen, and write it down. Of course, he would run across many words he had never read before, so his notes were laden with comical misspellings, but we never let him know that-and Grandpa always knew what the boys wanted. Things like Heath "needs sum gloo to make a prodjekt." This was a tough one to see, as his teacher, because he should know those words. He is good at math (go figure) and a great reader, but can't spell worth a dime. Good reading and bad spelling don't usually go together, by my dad is a horrible speller, a voracious reader, and a Navy Nuke-so maybe it does make sense.
Heath's project, by the way, was an old envelope with five rubber bands and a piece of styrofoam glued on. Grandpa laughed for twenty minutes when he recieved Heath's answer to "what is that?" The following was said very quickly, and without a single breath:
"Well"
"Well"
"Well it's"
"Well it's"
Well it's my.
Well it's my-it's my-it's my-well, it's my-it's just my project. You can keep it on your fridgerator."
Those of you who know Heath well know the cadence, and the way he said it.

The weather did not allow me to do everything at Grandpa's I needed, so I will come back for a couple days in the spring sometime.
So, it was sad to leave. But it always great to see the Naughtons and all their kids. And the boys really wanted to see their cousins, and I couldn't keep them any longer.
Can you guess if I am Darcy's brother, or if Windy is her sister? And, how many brothers and sisters does Darcy have? The answer, when Darcy returns.

Petries have landed

Kyle has arrived. He and the boys pulled in just a bit ago and I don't think Heath ever woke up. Cade had a little energy to burn, but he's tucked into bed now, too. Kyle's out walking Sasha in hopes that will help burn some energy for the Sasha/Penny transition. So... more tomorrow!

Well Petries, what you see is what you get

So much for cleaning for Heath.

Between the various assortment of odd ailments that have been travelling through the house, topped off by my being down for several days and suddenly remembering that I'd probably better go grocery shopping before the arrival of the 3 Musketeers... well... what you see is what you get. I promise to love Heath no matter what he says about the state of things. I was going to wash the dirty fingerprints off the walls, scrub down all my white doors and trim, mop (gasp!), etc, in an effort to convince you I normally do those things. I won't pretend I was going to wash the windows, because I wasn't.

So bring it on, Petries!

Kyle, did you get my message that I have to be gone from 1:30 to about 3:30 or 4:00 tomorrow? Can you arrive earlier? If not you know how to get in.

"Mark to the Rescue" or "Jakie Gets a Thrill"

We were on the back field yesterday morning letting Tessa have a little romp when we saw the the tree-trimmers truck (looks like a small garbage truck) was mired in the outfield of the baseball field. The poor guys were trying everything: digging for harder ground, putting things under the wheels, etc. But they were just spinning deeper and deeper. So Mark suddenly gets an idea ("hey, I have a big 4x4 diesel!") and jogs around to them and asks them if they'd like him to try pulling them out with his truck. They say "Yes, please!" So he jogs back around and into the house. Jakie's been watching all of this curiously and after Mark disappears back into the house, he suddenly starts running while yelling at the top of his lungs "WAAAAAIIIIIIITTTT FOOOOOOR MEEEEEE!!!!"

He got to Daddy in time and strapped himself in and got the thrill of his little lifetime driving right out onto the field to the far corner of the baseball outfield and watching his Daddy tie up a truck (that looked an awful lot like a garbage truck) to "The Diesel" (what Jakie calls it) and rescuing them with a good strong engine-revving tow. And topped it all off with a "WE DID IT!!" high-5.

A Manic Friday

I am so jealous of everyone's trips to the seashore, and cannot wait to escape this cold, dry, treacherous place to come visit you all at the coast. Any plans for next weekend yet? As I said before, we are at your disposal, so plan what you like when you like, or plan nothing--it's up to you!
So the Petries, although separated, had quite a Friday. My phone wasn't receiving calls, so Kyle cou;dn't get through to me when he needed to, to report such interesting events as Heath's knocking over a 6 foot tall display of crazy glue, or Kyle's locking his keys in his car, and Heath's pooping his pants whle they waited for AAA.
I had a less scatological day, but still rather hectic. It was snowing AGAIN, but I (down to my last clean pair of undies) had to go do laundry at a friend's house, and, in between loads, to show up at the preview days for CCU, videotape a speech on the relationship between scholarship and worship for the chapel service that our dept. is leading on Tuesday, and compose a montage of sacred art for said service. After dinner with my dept. chair, I managed to get home 15 minutes before my guests arrived for "Jeeves and Wooster" night. If any of you have not seen the A&E Jeeves and Woosters, they really are a riot. The one thing I did not have time to do was grocery shop, so it was a relief that I had some popcorn at home and that someone gave me a box of chocolates that afternoon. So I was able to provide some hospitality, anyway. But the lack of grocery shopping really hit home this morning, when I breakfasted on three Ritz crackers with leftover salsa, 1/4 of a yogurt, and 3 Whitman's chocolates. I plan to go to the store today--just as soon as I watch one more "Jeeves and Wooster"...

We went to the beach again, BUT- -

- - we forgot to ck to see if the camera was in the camera case Mike had so carefully packed, so don't have any pics of either the BEAUTIFUL snowfall we experienced (safely!) on the drive over OR the fabulous "wintery" surf outside P&J's expansive beach front (condo exchange) window!
- - AND I also JUST wrote a lengthy "masterpiece" about it ALL which in rethinking, was mostly about how MUCH we ATE while there in Rockaway (etc) and it got LOST when I tried to publish it! - SOO you'll just have to use your imaginations and manage without it as I do not have either the time, energy OR "chutzpah" (sp?) to do it all over again! :-) mc