Go-Gos

Go-Gos.  They've invaded our house!  They are the 2011 version of the 2008 Pokemon, the 2009 Bakugan, the 2010 Silly Bandz.  This summer's wacky kid trend.  Already the boys have spent their limited pocket money to possess as many as possible, and the neighborhood kids are getting sucked in too.  I blame Idaho and it's fancy-pants, new-fangled, trend-setting ways!  The boys were introduced to these crazy things by our friends the Richardsons on our drive out to Washington.  Fortunately they aren't pricey, $2 for a 3 pack.

The Go-Gos game is played kind of like marbles.  Easy.  It's nice to have a game that's simple to understand, because the Pokemon thing mostly had me scratching my head and going, "Wha?"

My favorite line from my boys' experience with kid trends is when they declare one of their things "rare."  "Oooh, that's a super-rare Bakugan."  Sure it is.  Says who?  The neighbor who wanted to trade you his supposed "rare" one for one of yours?  Today Zac told me he had a "rare Go-Go."  I wanted to say, "Uh really?  How can you possibly know that?  Let me remind you that YOU guys are the ones who brought these things out here to the neighborhood kids.  Are you now the one who is deciding which are rare or is someone else playing, once again, to your gullible side?  Do you not see the problem with that statement?"  But instead I nodded and said, "Wow.  Really?  Do you like it?"  Because I don't care if they are rare, I am only concerned that my boy is happy with the trade and didn't get swindled!

I think I posted about the Silly Bandz last year too, because this kind of thing just fascinates me.  It is like watching a live sociology experiment!  And I always think, "Dang!  Why didn't I think of that first?!"  Other than the fact that they are one more choking hazard that I have to worry about for Tommy, these are a fun, cheap trend.  The boys are entertained for hours playing the game, trading them, making up new rules and scenarios for how their Go-Gos might be used.  Without knowing it they are learning about problem solving, economics, salesmanship, and fair play.  Plus, today I got in a "you need to think of all you DO have and focus less on what you DON'T have" lesson when they were lamenting the fact that they were out of money and only had (horror of horrors!) 9 to 18 each (depending on the kid). 

Ben asked just the other day if he could sell his Silly Bandz on Craigslist.  "What price should I ask, Mom?"  I suggested one cent per band.  "That's not very much."  "Well, what would you pay for used Silly Bandz right now."  "Hmmm....Yeah, I guess you're right."  Afterall, I am sure, just like my boys, most kids have moved on from last year's trend.  And this one will only last so long too.  but in the meantime, let Go-Gos reign!

Nana

We got to keep her for three days after our arrival in Colorado Springs.  And we loved the extended stay!  We were all exhausted, ready to relax, although we still had stuff to do, like grocery shopping for a three-weeks empty fridge, and honestly, neither of us are really do-nothingers.  So when she asked, "What's the plan for the day?" every day, and I said, "No plan."  She just went with it.  And the "no-plan" led to many errands, trips to the Y, swimming with the kids, the new Winnie the Pooh movie, ice cream and Yo Yogurt, Red Box in the cool and cozy basement, a picnic at the park, late night chats, and even included some down time for us all.  I missed her the moment she stepped out of the car onto the sidewalk leading into "Departures."

To us she is: helper, teacher, best friend, nurturer, giver, squeeze-and-hugger, storybook reader, lame-joke-listener, encourager, tasty-food-creator, exercise buddy, late-nighter, long-driver, advice-giver, and so much more, because she is...Mom, Nana.  We love her.  Even Colorado loves her.  I know, because of the beautiful goodbye it gave her as I dropped her off at the airport.  Thank you, Mom!

Steamboat

On the way home, after 8 hours of driving one day (thank you Kim, for a place to rest our heads again!), which resulted in a jubilant wrestle-fest on the lawns of the Meridian Red Robin, and 12 hours the next, where Ben "Eagle Eye" Conlin discovered a tiny praying mantis in the grass of a rest stop to the fascination and joy of his brothers, we arrived in Steamboat Springs for a three night, two day stay before our final stop...home.  Aside from one rough night where no one seemed to think sleeping was a good idea, it was a bit of heaven in the Rockies.  

Summer in Steamboat is a place...
Of lazy winding rivers and butterflies on fingers.
Of wildflowers growing in a rainbow of colors painted across mountain meadows.
Of slow walks on boardwalks over marshland and perfect, warm summer winds.
Of listening to live music and hula hooping on the grass by the restaurant patio while waiting for dinner.
Of swimming for hours with the choice of three different pools for our water revelries.
Of natural hot springs cooled to comfortable by the chilly mountain river.
Of long nights sleeping with open windows.
Of blue skies and green grass-covered ski slopes, waiting for winter, glorying in brief sunny exposure.
Of easy-living and laughter.
A place that has a tight-fisted grip on my heart.

The Last Bit

And so we came to the final week of our stay in the NW.  It came much too quickly and there was still so much to do and so many people to see!  We left Everett for Bellevue, off to Adam's parents' house, with plans to see our friends the Shevitz and Browns one more time...because even though we had just spent a week together, I just couldn't imagine being so close and not seeing them.  As we were packing up the car, I found a darling little frog on Josh's booster seat that had been taken out of the car and left on the porch.  At first I thought it was one of the kid's toys, but no!  It was real!  Not surprisingly, Luke loved the frog and its sticky feet, and was sad to let it go into the woods before we left for Grandma and Grandpa's.  But loved watching it climb up the tree, away into the foliage.

We had a fun weekend with Adam's family, running the Warrior Dash was just one part of it.  We ate MORE delicious food, spent a couple of evenings chatting late, had a big family lunch together, attended church in Adam's childhood ward, watched stunning sunsets from the deck, and squeezed as much togetherness into the weekend as possible.  Friday night the big boys were still at Nana Camp, and Tommy is still in his Mama/Dada phase, so everyone had a good time lovin' on Luke, who reveled in the snuggles.  Saturday, while we did the Dash, my parents took their grandsons for some fun.  After canceling plans for a swim/BBQ due to rain, they took the boys up to the Everett Children's Museum.  What a fantastic place!  It has the reputation of being the best in the state.  The kids had a blast, even though Tommy obtained his first split chin from falling on the stairs.  With his propensity to believe he's one of the big boys, I am sure it's only the first of many scars for him.  Sadly, Sunday afternoon I had to take Adam to the airport so he could head back to The Springs for work.

After Adam left on Sunday, I took the boys over to my parents' house where we would stay until starting the drive back home on Thursday.  From that point on it was a family and friend fest!  Monday I met two of my close high school friends, Amy and Carrie, for breakfast on Mercer Island.  We talked about life, the ups the downs, settling into our old friendship like a cozy blanket.  Immediately following our breakfast, the boys, my mom and I drove up to Redmond to meet Jen and Beth and their kids for one more visit.  {sigh}  It was so fun, and so hard to say goodbye!  Monday night my parents invited the Conlins and my cousin Dave and Uncle Wayne and Tutu all over for a backyard barbecue.  Thankfully, we didn't have rain (it rained a lot while we were there!), and could enjoy the fairy haven that is my parents' backyard while we also enjoyed the good company.  What a gift I have in my family!  After the sad goodbyes of the afternoon, we faced a night of hard goodbyes.

 Tuesday my mom and I took the kids out for a day of fun.  We went to the Bellevue Childrens' Museum, there was a lot of childrens' museuming going on on this trip!  And then we went to see Mr. Popper's Penguins.  Following that I drove the boys up to see our old neighbors, the Parkers.  Because my boys hadn't been all together much of the week we were in Everett, with Nana Camp going on, we hadn't had the chance to get everyone together to go see them.  Ian and Evan, the two Parker boys, who are now 15 and 17, were like big brothers to my boys when we lived in our little Everett house before moving to The Springs.  They are still great kids!  I hope my boys are such fantastic teenagers.  Evan was off working as a camp counselor for the summer in Canada, but Ian and the boys struck up their old friendship and spent a couple of hours running around the woods behind the Parkers' home.  I keep kicking myself because I forgot to get a photo!  Tuesday night, I met up with the mommies of my old mommy group, started when we all had our first tiny little babies.  Now we all have 10-year-olds!  Crazy!  These women are just amazing and we stayed up late talking.  The pictures were taken after midnight, when we finally all thought we should call it a night so we could actually try to get some sleep.  It was late.  We were a little hysterical by that point.  Just looking at the pictures makes me start laughing all over again.  It was a long, full, fun day, and what a great night!

 Wednesday, our last day in the Seattle area, the boys spent a day with their Aunt Sara.  On our trip they had only spent one other day with her, so she was eager to have them visit again before we left.  My mom and I kept Tommy and left the boys for a day of fun, pool time, park time and Auntie Sara time!  We met my childhood friend, Kelly, for lunch at a great Chinese dim sum place.  It makes me so happy to see the beautiful life my friend has built for herself and her daughter.  She is a light to me!  Wednesday night, my dad and I met my sis-in-law Alea for my second and their first viewing of HP 7.2.  I loved it all over again, and was happy for one more shot of Alea time.  I miss her very much when we are far away!

It was an amazing vacation.  It was our necessary Washington "fix" for the year.  It went so fast, and was so wonderful.  Yet it was also long enough that we were feeling pretty done with living out of a suitcase and ready to be home again.  So Thursday morning the boys, my brave mom, and I started our LONG drive back to Colorado with mixed emotions: happy, full hearts (and my 7 pounds heavier body!  vacation eating, yipes!) yet very sad to leave, as always.