Newport camping

We decided to sneak in one last summer camping trip while the weather was still warm. We spent two eventful days in Newport Beach and have now officially had enough sun and swimming to hold us for a few months. We had a great time being together, swam at the campground's pool for most of each day, cooked out on our little camp stove, fought the kids to sleep - especially Claire who turned out to be coming down with a cold - and Mark and I took turns sleeping in. One of us would rest and the other would take the kids to the playground by the beach.
The most exciting event of the trip was Audrey losing her first tooth. It had been loose for a week or so, but I did not realize how loose because every time she showed me I wanted to throw up, so I just pretended to look and be very impressed. There is something gross about watching a tooth detach itself from somebody's jaw, but it wasn't just that. I was secretly afraid it really hurt, because it looked so gruesome, and I knew I had to hide my concern and nausea from Audrey.
So we weren't on tooth watch because we hadn't actually seen the tooth hanging by a thread. We were eating our dinner, chowing down on chili and corn muffins, Audrey said her muffin was not acceptable. Then Audrey starts telling us some story and Mark and I notice, in the same instant, that her tooth is gone. We both jumped and looked at each other and then asked Audrey where had her tooth gone. She did not even know it had happened. I was absolutely positive she had swallowed it. It certainly wasn't sticking out of her corn muffin. We asked if she had felt it or seen it fall. She had no idea. Then she says, "Ohhhh, maybe it was that gross thing that was in my muffin." Yes, maybe - what did you do with it? "I threw it on the ground."
So now I am thinking that tooth is lost forever because the sand under us is almost the same color and consistency of a little baby tooth. But Mark actually found it and we all celebrated Audrey's first lost tooth (and my relief that she hadn't swallowed it and we wouldn't have to explain how the tooth fairy was going to come for it in her stomach). We rewarded her with ice cream and the tooth fairy came to our tent and left $2 under her sleeping bag. Very exciting stuff. She used the money to by taffy, a good way to lose more teeth and get more money, I'm sure that's her tactic.
It was so great for it to happen when we were all sitting around the camp table together. Later, I felt pretty sentimental about that little tooth that's been with us for about 5 years and gave me so much trouble on its arrival. I lost at least a week of sleep for the sake of that tooth and probably have two crows feet and 20 gray hairs on my head directly related to the stress of Audrey's teething.
It is fun watching Audrey grow up a little right in front of our eyes. Too bad we did not get our family portrait done before the toothlessness set in.
I know I'm going long, but this whole losing a tooth thing has been pretty funny all along. Audrey first noticed her tooth was loose while eating pizza with my mother. She was all ready to be upset and afraid of the process when I explained to her that the tooth fairy actually leaves MONEY for lost teeth. After that she was gung-ho and every day asked us to pull the tooth out for her.
She wanted to hear all our stories about losing teeth, and ironically, Mark told her the story of how he lost a tooth and it fell into his soup. And on the day of her soccer game she said "What will I do if my tooth falls out during the game?" And I could tell her I knew just what to do because that had actually happened to me. My tooth fell out during a soccer game and, knowing it was against the rules for me to leave the field during play, I walked over to the referee and tugged on his sleeve. I told him I had lost my tooth and didn't know what to do with it. He had a good laugh, and so did the parents on the sideline when he explained, and told me he would keep it in his pocket for me until the game was over, which he did. I played the rest of the game and collected my tooth at the end.
Well, we are proud of Audrey and watching the rest of those teeth very closely. We all had a fun trip. Here are a few pictures: Audrey and her new smile; Claire so hungry she needs to eat with two spoons, and me and Audrey after swimming.

First soccer game

The other team won thanks to the little speedy Gonzalez who scored about 20 times. Still it was a great day (Sept. 19) and we loved watching Audrey - especially the moments when she chased after the ball and realized she was having fun and smiled so big. Mark was in Utah watching BYU play, but my mom came with me and she was almost in tears from the happy memories of watching her kids play. I remember playing too - and I yelled for Audrey just like my mom used to yell for me - I even sounded like her. Audrey liked it, except for all the sweating, and then when it occurred to her that her team had lost she was pretty grumpy but forgot all about it until Mark came home and asked "How was soccer?" "Upsetting," she said very dramatically. We have quite a few more games ahead of us - let's hope we win some.

First day of school

Audrey's first day of school (Sept. 9) was momentous and chaotic. Our family is not used to "early" morning deadlines and it was a real push to get us all dressed, fed and out the door, but we did it and enjoyed it and managed a few photos for good measure. We all wanted lots of hugs and kisses and Claire wanted a backpack just like Audrey's - Audrey very sweetly helped her put it on. Audrey was quiet and a little uncertain, but she handled it all well. It was all a rush listening to the teacher's introduction and waving goodbye and being excused and not feeling like I could leave the school grounds while my baby was still there. Naturally, I cried a good bit, and so did Claire. We did not stand around the fence sobbing, but went to our car and only looked back a few times. Claire and I muddled around for a couple of hours - I had no idea what to do with us - and then we went back for Audrey, who was OK, but still pretty quiet. She seemed to think kindergarten was fine but wasn't sure about the friend situation. She was so quiet I felt her forehead and then took her temperature and found it was 103 (you can see it in her eyes in the last photo, poor kid). I suffered a hidden panic attack as I usually do when a temperature is evident and loaded her up with juice and Tylenol.

So Audrey had a good first day of school, but missed the second. She returned for the third day, a Monday, and it has been going well since. She enjoys her homework, has made a couple of little friends, thinks her teacher is fine, and is still figuring out the mysteries of lunch room protocol. I'm not sure she realizes that this is a permanent part of her life or how many years she will be in school, and has complained that school takes too much time and she doesn't enough have time to color, but she's doing just fine so far. It's got to be more fun than hanging out with me all day - and Audrey likes to be busy. We are really proud of her and Claire and I miss her during the day. I stopped crying after the 4th day's goodbye and it's still hard to watch her walk away when I drop her off, but I know she's ready to handle it.

Summertime

I know it's already almost October, but here are a few photos of our summer. We spent as much time as possible at the beach and at any pool we could beg, sneak, or pay our way into. We also had a blowout "back to school" party for friends and neighbors that was great fun. I am always sad for summer to end, especially this year as Audrey is now in school, but we made the most of it, and the heat was starting to kill us anyway those last few weeks. Now we are ready for the fun that comes with fall.

Back to school party.



Beach baby.



Crazy big sand crabs.



Just lounging around.



One of us did not want her picture taken.



Swamp thing.

Big smiles

I thought these pictures were particularly adorable. (Taken in August)

Mommy's wedding dress

Every summer I let the girls put on my wedding dress and we take pictures. I usually do a better job, but this year the heat put me in slow motion. Audrey is starting to enjoy the novelty of a giant princess dress, but Claire is not so sure. I think it's pretty fun.

Doheny camping

We camped at Doheny beach for a week in early August. This is a long entry, but I'm trying to converge my "journal" and my blog so I don't have to do everything twice. Read, skip, skim or just look at the pictures - it's all good.

Sunday
After church we loaded the car and got on the road. It took us two days to get ready for the trip and only an hour to arrive at our destination – a strange, anticlimactic feeling after hours of packing and the last-minute purchase of a rooftop cargo bag – but actually pretty great considering that’s how long our kids can stand to be in the car without heavy incentives. We arrived at Doheny State Beach a few minutes after my parents and began to set up camp – met the neighborhood bunnies right away. Our first accident occurred when Claire stood up on a beach chair and tipped it over landing with full weight on her tiny middle finger, which became completely infected, and which we hope to see heal quickly now that we are home and have higher hygiene standards.



Tents, camp stoves, lanterns, chairs, firewood, etc. and two hours later we were at the beach where our second, and pretty much final accident occurred when Claire was totally submerged by a wave that landed larger than it looked – also mommy and daddy each thought the other was holding Claire’s hand. (There were a few other minor scrapes, aches and pains, falls, face-plants and Audrey’s 2 unintentional seconds underwater, but otherwise we are home unscathed – yahoo).



We enjoyed the water and the sand and the perfect weather and then walked the 40 yards back to our campsite for a dinner of chili beans and cornbread. The kids filled up on cornbread, and generally ate huge amounts of whatever was ready first at all our meals, and picked the red beans out of the chili, and after dinner we all moved on to s’mores – good stuff. It was a late night getting everyone situated and we became intensely aware of the train tracks nearby. By the last night we hardly heard it, but that doesn’t mean it got any quieter.

Monday
This morning had us up by 7:30 and we cooked a huge breakfast of eggs, bacon, fried potatoes and onions.



A little clean up and change of clothes had us headed for the beach again. We played and ate our peanut butter and honey sandwiches for lunch. Returned to camp, showered, and Mark and Claire had a nap in our tent/oven - Claire completely zonked hugging her stuffed monkey tight to her chest. My mom, dad, Audrey and I made a trip to the grocery store for ice, chips and dip, more milk and the air conditioning. Also ice cream. Before dinner we drove over to the marina to watch the boats, birds (saw a Blue Heron), paddle boarders with dogs at the helm, tiny crabs, a solitary seal, tons of pelicans, and took a self guided tour of a historic sailboat named the Curlew that was supposedly used for training in one of the world wars and once abandoned off the shore of Bermuda during a hurricane. Walking around the marina with all its expensive boats, boutiques, and restaurants reminded us what spoiled people we really are and made us remember fondly what it is like to order from a waiter and have a meal appear in front of us with absolutely no effort. It was a good feeling. So we went back to our campsite for more chili, this time mixed with pasta, as well as some fruit, cherry tomatoes from my garden, and later, a bowl of Top Ramen and cups of herb tea with milk for the girls.



Tuesday
Repeat Monday morning breakfast and beach outing and lunch. The girls collected several new and priceless sand toys lost maybe the day before by some other child. They snacked constantly and did everything they could to get sand on themselves wherever it is most difficult to get off – scalp, bum crack, etc. I swam out to the buoy – Audrey was very impressed and wanted to hear every detail about how I wasn’t sure I could do it but I decided I could and I did.



Just about everybody napped today – we figured out that the bug netting was also keeping out the breeze, so we slept with all the various doors and windows of our tents totally open and all the other campers could see us drooling and snuffling. We decided to skip cooking dinner tonight and made for the marina. I had in mind a luxurious surf and turf dinner, but fish and chips were good. Claire would only eat my salad and Audrey would only eat the French fries so on the way home we had to stop by Del Taco where they misunderstood our order three times and I exerted all my hard-earned patience to correct the mistake politely.
My parents had to return to their real lives and we were sad to see them go. They were a great source of help for me and Mark and tireless entertainment for the girls. My mom handled all the potty breaks and helped me with the logistics of showering my two girls and getting all the sand out of their various parts, not to mention she is just great company.



My dad brought along his video camera to film the trip for posterity, and we look forward to watching movies of ourselves trudging around with sandy, sooty, smiling faces and our girls laughing, singing and playing like they always do in between crying over things that drive us crazy.




After 50 goodbyes we distracted the girls from their sorrow with a walk around the campground where we found a cute little “on your honor” book exchange (we stole 5 books, sorry, they made their way into our dishonorable luggage during the frenzy of our departure) and met an interesting character who shared some of his life story with us and made us wonder if he was insane or just in dire straits. When he was gone I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry, but I will say a prayer for him. Mark sent me to the beach with a book and got the kids ready for bed. I returned for story time and enjoyed the feeling of closeness that a tent surrounded by darkness seems to create. It is sweet to be together that way.


Wednesday
We had some cold cereal for breakfast and made the most of one lonely piece of bacon and 6 eggs – delicious. Another overcast morning sent us on an excursion to Laguna Beach where we rode the free trolley – very thrilling – and had some great Thai food. Once again, the contrast between our fun, but dirty, camp life and the glamour of commercialism caused us to analyze ourselves and conclude that the beauty of camping is that it has a definite time span and gives us the double enjoyment of an adventure away from our greedy daily lives and a true appreciation for our greedy daily lives. We loved depriving ourselves of comforts we take for granted and we love returning home to those same comforts. We have got it really good either way. Claire fell asleep on the way back to camp and then wouldn’t sleep anymore once we arrived so we all went out in search of a kayak rental. I talked Mark into renting a jet ski for 30 minutes and we took turns going out with the kids. I took Audrey and she was a good sport, but obviously afraid, so I went as slow as I could stand and only revved it up to 32 mph for a few seconds. I might have gone 50 but it was still so much fun. I have great memories of jet skiing with my family at Lake Havasu and going with friends to different lakes in Utah – I love to be out on the water like that just speeding away – wonderful. Mark took Claire out and she looked so tiny. He said she cried when the water hit her face and the fastest he could go was not so fast. When they returned Claire said: “I cried. I had fun.” Then Mark and Audrey went out on a kayak while Claire and I had an ice cream cone. Back at the campsite we put on our final campfire dinner with hot dogs, baked beans, chips, canned peaches and more s’mores. Audrey wanted a toasted marshmallow that was not brown anywhere – we tried but it was not possible.



The girls played with the kids at the campsite next door and we watched as that already noisy group added more members. They put up a huge tent and still, in conversation, told Mark that ours was the Taj Mahal of tents. It’s true our tent is gigantic. We could probably fit 6 twin air mattresses inside. The instructions say two people can put it up but it’s much easier with three. Either way, I have to get inside and hold up the roof while Mark pops in the side poles because I am not strong enough to do the sides. My parents have the same tent – my dad found them at a camping store – and we had quite the little compound. So much for leaving our greedy daily lives behind. As usual Mark and I did not see eye to eye on our assorted luggage – I would always bring more and he would always bring less – but we are having constructive conversations about the items we can do without and the items we cannot do without next time we camp.



Thursday
Our last day we were up around 7. We ate oatmeal and then made a final trip to Doheny Beach, but once there decided to decamp and head to Laguna for clearer waters and fewer rocks. We found a little heaven there. Down a narrow street there was free parking and a staircase to the beach. The water was so clear we could see the rocks and seaweed below. Mark and I took turns going out with the boogie board – I found myself atop the biggest wave we saw that day and probably the biggest wave I have ever ridden. I was just grateful I noticed it sneak up behind me (the teen beach bum shouting from the sand was my first clue) and that I got over it before it got over me. We fed the girls rice and beans from the Wahoo’s ¼ mile up the street and they played with their sand toys and got rides on the boogie board just along the edge of the tide. I could have stayed there all day – I would still be there now if it were in any way possible. We are definitely going back. It’s always the last hour of any vacation that’s the most painful, in my book, because everyone is tired and everything is a mess and there’s never enough energy to get home without a fuss. Claire pooped and swim diapers are useless. We had to shower both kids at the top of the stairs where the water was very cold and they both cried – Claire actually screamed. And I forgot to take a pair of underwear out of the duffel, now packed under the tent, beach chairs, 10 wet towels and several grocery bags, for Audrey, so she had to ride home commando. They were both hungry again so ate huge amounts of pretzels. Claire fell asleep and I talked Mark’s ear off so he wouldn’t. Audrey ate more pretzels. We all settled down. Now we are home and unpacked and have returned to all our electronic equipment with ease.



It was a really good time. It was great to be away from the usual – fun to do everything different for a few days. Above all we hoped for a memorable time with our kids – something that will keep them close to us even when they are grown and maybe far away. It’s hard for me to write about a trip like this without being overly chronological and little sarcastic, but whether it sounds like it or not my heart is full of the fun we had, the time we spent together and how lucky we are to have a family.



The day after we got home we were walking out the front door to run errands and Claire said “I want go kayaking!” Three seconds later Audrey said “Hey, look, I scratched my head and sand fell off.” I think the trip made an impression.

The elf and the troll

Audrey made these crowns for herself and Claire and when I tried to take a picture Claire did not want to cooperate. This is what we got. Audrey looking like a sprite and Claire looking like a mean little dwarf. So funny!

Audrey can swim!

The pink blur under the water is Audrey - she can swim!

San Clemente camping, temporary blindness and a bum knee

Months ago we planned a family camping trip in San Clemente. When the date rolled around we found ourselves packed and ready to go, but plagued by such injuries that Mark and I together barely counted as a single functioning adult. In mid June I hurt my knee badly enough to need an XRay, MRI and visit to the orthopedist who said I'd need surgery to repair a torn medial meniscus. I gimped around as well as I could.
Then early in the morning the day before our trip Mark began experiencing horrific pain on his left eyeball. After a trip to the the emergency room we found he had a serious corneal abrasion that required steroid and antibiotic drops, lots of pain medicine, lots of rest, and an eye patch for 4 days. It was in this gimpy, half blind state we made our way to San Clemente State Beach for the long-awaited getaway.
We might have been better off staying home, but my difficulty tolerating disappointment and Mark's determination to muddle through got us there and we did the best we could. We got our tent up so Mark could rest and I took the kids to the beach - it was beautiful. I felt bad for him stuck at the campground and bad for myself hauling two kids, an umbrella, beach bag, beach chair, and sand toys down the switchbacks all by myself. The girls had a great time. Sleeping together in the tent was a fun adventure and our kids did actually sleep so that was a relief. We ate out all our meals - at restaurants, not outdoors - the cooler sat untouched. And we returned home early for Mark to see the ophthalmologist again. It was a crazy trip but I am glad we did it.
Fortunately, Mark's eye is completely healed. It was a scary experience for both of us. I was very worried about him and it was extremely difficult to see him in so much pain and keep my cool. Once the pain passed, I think Mark was mainly bored and frustrated by his limited vision. We are lucky it turned out all right.
My knee is also doing better. I just started physical therapy and am going to put off surgery as long as possible. We are having a great summer and have another camping trip in less than two weeks. I really hope the four of us can enjoy it together with good health and all the important parts of our bodies working correctly.