The Wizard of Oz

As a last minute plan for travel entertainment, I went to the library to see if I could find any books on CD for our family to listen to during the drive to Missouri.  There wasn't much selection, so the only thing I picked up was "The Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum. The kids had not seen the movie, but at least I had a guess at the story and thought they may enjoy it.

I had no idea it would be a tie that ran through our entire trip.  As we began listening to the bleak description of the Kansas prairie- I thought, oh yeah that's where we are heading!  And then as the 'cyclone' was described, I realized we would be driving right through Joplin MO where the terrible tornado just hit in May.

And again I was surprised as each of the kids- especially Peter- was so drawn into the story.  They kept asking for more (even when video games were an option).  Natalie was very concerned that I would stop the story if anyone fell asleep so no one would miss a minute.  We spread the 4 hour book over a couple of our driving days and everyone cheered to hear that Dorothy made it home.

On our drive home from MO, we decided to take a back road (54) through KS rather than take interstate 44 through OK & TX.  It was a beautiful drive through lots of (very) small towns and included a stop at a national historic site at Fort Scott, KS.  We looked ahead on a map and decided that a town called Liberal, KS would be a good place to stay overnight.

As we got closer to the town, we saw road signs saying that Liberal was Dorothy's home!  There is a visitor center (that was closed when we arrived) but it had all sorts of memorabilia from the movie as well as a reproduction of Dorothy's house.

What a fun surprise!  We took pictures, walked the yellow brick road, and the kids even got to be munchkins.

 
 

Then as we began to look for a hotel on Eric's phone, we found a Holiday Inn Express that had a Wizard of Oz Kid's Suite.  Eric went in, got a good deal on the room, and we surprised the kids!

There were two rooms- a king size bed for us, and a separate room with bunk beds for the kids.  All the rooms had huge murals of scenes from the movie.  The kids just ran from spot to spot to check it all out.

 
After getting settled in with snacks, we rented the movie 'The Wizard of Oz' and all watched it together in the big bed. The music was new to the kids, but soon everyone was singing 'Ding Dong the witch is dead..."

None of this was part of our plans. In addition to health, safety, beauty, and sweet times with family, we got to enjoy this extra special providential memory. The Lord is kind AND generous!

Ozark Family Reunion

No, we don't have any family in Missouri.  Yes, we really did drive 24+ hours to get there.  Yes, we did leave southern CA for the Midwest to vacation by choice.  And yes, it was all worth it!!

Last winter my siblings (Chris, Val and Michael) talked about how to best honor my parents' 40th wedding anniversary this summer.  We know they love us, their grandkids and camping in their pop-up tent trailer- so we made an attempt to put it all together.  

Since we are all spread around the country (CA, NM, PA, CT), we looked for somwhere central that everyone might be willing to travel to. As you can see on the map, the Ozarks in Missouri fit the bill.  My brother Chris in NM owns a boat for fishing so we let him choose a lake and campsites (with electric and showers for sure!).  And sure enough, we were able to find a week where almost all of us could make it  (missed you sis-in-law Wendy!).  

Albuquerque was the first stop (12 hours later) where we spent a few days with my brother and family before driving the other 16 hours to arrive at Pomme de Terre Lake in Missouri.  The kids were awesome travelers!! It's so much easier now that they are bigger.  A favorite was listening to the audio book 'The Wizard of Oz", but I'll save that for a later post.  

 

Our campsites were all in a row with a beautiful view of the lake. After we arrived, we found out this really was a great choice (a bit risky since we had no personal knowledge of the lake or campground!). Neighboring return campers said this was one of the best places in MO.  

This rocky beach was only 20 yards from our sites, so everyone spent lots of time around the water.  It was especially good for skipping rocks (Henry and Gramps) and floating (Peter and Zach). The beginning of the trip was fairly hot- so the water felt great and the kids stayed in for a full eight hours!  And just a bit of sunburn- ouch!

My brother Chris brought his fishing boat and all the gear.  He spent early mornings fishing for muskies, but took the kids out for their own fishing and boating trips each afternoon.

I think all the kids caught something- and Carson was very excited to get his own fishing rod as a birthday gift. Fish became a staple on the nightly menu.  Thanks for cleaning them Eric!
 The kids each said that time with cousins was one of the best parts of the vacation.

 Henry and Sydney were water rats that climbed trees,

Natalie and Sienna had tea parties and hung out in the hammock, 

Peter and Zach played trucks and were generally silly 4 year olds.  Carson spent lots of time fishing and reading, while little Jackie showed us her walking skills and talent for finding pretty things on the ground.  The kids created some kind of club with missions and training and rankings.  I can't say I understood the organization, but I probably wasn't supposed to.  

And the rest of us did a little hiking, a little reading, lots of eating, a bunch of celebrating, and repeated cooking over campfires. We enjoyed amazing lightening and thunderstorms almost every night- but never any rain during the day.  There was only one tornado watch- but gratefully that only lasted about an hour then we were all able to sleep (fairly) peacefully.  The breezes were perfect, never felt too humid- and no mosquitoes!!  Wow!  Pretty amazing- especially considering what it could have been like!  

So happy anniversary Mom and Dad!  And I'm so grateful for wonderful parents and brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews- You're awesome!! Thanks for making the trek and making some memories!!

2010 Recap from the Six Turbos

Sorry for the long delay in posts, but before I start with fresh resolve for the coming year, I'd love to record a bit of 2010 first. It was a wonderful year, full of adventure and joy in the midst of regular old life. Many days ran together, but themes did emerge...

Beach Days! We all love the beach, whether it is boogie boarding, playing in the sand, exploring the tidepools, making new friends, or even just sleeping in the sun. We camped at El Capitan beach near Santa Barbara for a week in June and loved it! I expect it may become an annual tradition. Carson is always in the water. He even tried a surf camp this summer- not quite successful yet but he did learn the basics. Henry is the engineer of sand castles while Natalie and Peter love to dig and collect sea life. We spent many Mondays (Eric's day off) as well as summer Fridays (with our homeschool group) at Corona Del Mar in Newport.

Rainy Days. Yes, it does rain in California and our roof leaked, but the kids love rain and run outside as soon as it starts for fear it will be over too fast. They play in streams on our culdesac and ride bikes in the rain. While camping in Flagstaff, AZ (Lake Mary) this summer with my brothers family, we had lots of rain and the kids were quite creative with their mudpies and mud houses. No, it's not snow; but it does get us excited around here.

School Days. There have been plenty of school days this past year. Carson (4th), Henry (2nd), Natalie (1st) and Peter (preschool) have each been excellent students in our homeschool here known as "Eagle Eye Academy". We studied the Roman Empire last spring and are finishing up the Middle Ages now. There have been lots of fun projects and field trips- the Getty Villa (a full scale reproduction of a Roman villa in Malibu) was a highlight. And of course the Middle Ages have been a blast learning about castles and knights and vikings. We've read lots of good books this year including Alice in Wonderland, Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Tales of King Arthur and the Secret Garden. We are also part of a home school co-op (Irvine Christian Academy) where the kids got to be part of their first drama production.

Saturday Sports. Carson and Henry were just the right ages to be able to play on the same baseball team this spring (Irvine Pony machine pitch). It was the first season for both of them and they did an awesome job as they improved. Natalie also had her first chance at a sport this year and played on a girls under 6 soccer team. Turns out she's a pretty intense competitor!

Sunday Church. We love Sovereign Grace Church of Orange County! It's exciting to have Sunday morning services at the OC Plaza since Easter and to keep building friendships with people here, including some brand new families. Eric is doing an awesome job preaching and leading. The kids and I love helping him out any way we can. We get to host guest receptions and home groups at the house and the kids are growing in their love and care for all the people around them. We get to send Dad off to meetings like the Preaching Practicum, T4G, and Leadership Conferences. And everyone loved going to the Sovereign Grace Together conference in San Diego (especially since we got to hang out with some old friends!)

Date Nights. I love date nights! And so do the kids. Eric and I get to go out alone together almost every week. We have some great babysitters. Since August, our friend Kipsy has been living with us while finding a new job. She is a dear sister who loves our kids and is quick to help around the house and send us out. Eric and I like to walk to the local coffee shop or go to the beach. We went away for a weekend in Beverly Hills in the spring and to a concert this fall. We are still in the stage of exploring Orange County and LA any chance we get.

Family Visitors. We love having extended family come to visit! It's always a sweet bonding time with cousins, siblings, and grandparents, And it's an excuse to do more fun things like the beach, whale watching trips, Sawdust festival, OC Great Park, bike rides, etc. I flew back to PA with Natalie and Peter to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday and got to be with all my siblings in one place. Eric's parents and sister Heather came to join us for Christmas and we celebrated in high style.

Vacation Days. It was a great year for vacations. We try to get away as a family regularly even for a short time. We spent some time at a friend's home in Fallbrook, camping at El Capitan with a side trip to Six Flags, camping with my brother and family near Flagstaff AZ (with his boat!), then some time in the mountains dog sitting and four wheeling in the desert. What memories!

All the other days. too many to describe: sick days (gratefully few), holidays(with new friends and old), losing teeth days (many!), lazy days, grumpy days, lego days, birthdays, cleaning days, even a few video game days in there. I'm grateful for this past year, grateful for this particular season of life that the Lord has us in. He is always good, but He is choosing to show His goodness to us through a season of blessing and prosperity right now and I give Him all the glory for it!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Tuesday morning we left from the Detrich's house in SD for Philadelphia. We chose to fly on Southwest Airlines partly because 2 checked bags per ticket are included in the price. Since we'll be gone for more than 6 weeks, we packed lots of things we just may need (like the boys scooters- but i forgot helmets-oops!). All 12 bags plus carry ons and 7 people (thanks for the ride Mark!) were able to fit in the Honda minivan.


It's so much easier to fly now that all the kids are potty trained and can carry their own stuff. This was our first trip without a stroller. We flew to Phoenix then on to Philly with an extra stop in San Antonio. Since the weather was bad in Philly so we had to stay on the plane an extra hour, but at least the plane wasn't crowded so we could spread out.

Peter hadn't flown since he was about 6 months old so this was all new to him. He was very excited and very chatty- talked to the pilot in line before getting on the plane. The take off was a bit too much for him- he peed in his pants in the midst of it.

We made it to my parents house in Whitehall by 2am and got the kids right in bed. Peter was especially excited to see the cats- but we convinced him to hop in bed first. A great beginning to our vacation!!