MmmmmmcCall...part two

So, this is a really tardy post, but August is just a busy time! After five blissfully relaxing days with just my folks and the girls, my whole family sans Chris arrived for a little Hamm Family reunion. We were all together Saturday through Tuesday, and we had good weather on the beach and fun playing games and chatting at night. The cousins were such good buddies, and so self-entertaining, it was really great. Jordan (my third of four brothers, the family bachelor) left on Wednesday morning, so then we were down two (Chris and Jords). The family reunion began on Friday, so all the family came rolling into town. Well, not all of it. This year, two of my mom's brothers and their families didn't make it, but we still had a big group, we consumed the beach and enjoyed ourselves so much!

I had reserved a copy of Stephanie Meyer's book, Breaking Dawn down at McCall Drug, but they called on Friday evening to let me know that they didn't get the expected shipment and it was first come first serve. I got up on Saturday morning with only fifteen minutes to spare before they opened. I ran over there (very, very fresh from bed) and there were ten or so others in line with me (some family, even). We all walked in very cordially, and there was a stack of a dozen or so books there. We each grabbed at them and there was one left. Someone decided to buy two, and that was that for McCall supply until MONDAY! I was so glad to be holding the book in my hands, and getting out of the store before the rest of the reserved list people arrived to find they were sold out. Anyway, that was my Breaking Dawn experience.
Ruby is such a little poser, I love it. I swear, she's never seen a model in action, but she sure knows how to strike poses and change it up. I made she and Alice these skirts out of leftover fabric from Alice's quilt, and though I still didn't get a pic of them together with them on, you can see how cute it turned out on Ruby at least. The project is really easy and fun. I'd say it took me about six hours to make two.

The threesome. I can't believe they are getting so big. Ruby, Hailey and Sarah are buddies and cousins. They will all be six for about three months starting this week. They were all born within 9 months and they just enjoy each other so much. Hailey follows in her mom's hi-tech footsteps, and she showed her stuff to Ruby and Sarah.
What is it about little kids embracing sand so wholly? Here's Nathan, covered from head to toe (no, not to toe...he had to wear bulky shoes and socks the whole time because he fractured his foot!) in sand, happy as can be. Ruby would get out of the water with the goal of warming up, and she'd lay her dripping body right on the sand to soak in the warmth. CRAZY!

One family brought this trampoline to play on. The kids really enjoyed it. I was so happy to see Ruby swim out there, climb on and jump off...with out a life preserver (the idea was for he to wear one, but I noticed her once heading out alone, so I kept my eye on her and she did it all with so much grown up confidence.
My uncle Jim and aunt Peggy shared their new jet skies with the family. Here's Chris with Ruby in front and my cousin Kade on the back. What fun!
I have such fun cousins! It is fun to see such a big group of them all having fun together. Being young and silly and together. I guess they are all sisters, except for Sidney, in the pink towel. I have an uncle with ten kids...SEVEN GIRLS!
A reunion tradition (only maybe ten years old...the reunion has been around more like 35 years, but the breakfast started maybe ten years ago) to have breakfast on the beach. My dad whipped up a couple hundred pancakes and some eggs. My sister-in-law, Heidi makes the best syrup...I'll have to post the recipe. We use my aunt Nancy's pancake recipe, so this year, we called them "Nancakes". Tasty.I've been going to Ice Cream Alley as long as I can remember. It's become more popular...probably just because McCall is more well-known, and WAY busier than ever before. It is this little dive of a window facing an alley, and they serve ice cream there and have a little seating area. We had to hit it one night after a long day in the sun.
Sarah, Emma, Alice, Ruby and Hailey. Unfortunately, I didn't pack our matching jammies...those are hot jams for summer! Anyway, the girls had so much fun swinging and eating their tasties.
Opa and Hailey hanging out on the beach. Any person who has ever been really pregnant can appreciate this one...my brother Braden would dig a hole in the sand so his wife, Amanda (over 8 months pregnant here) could experience her long lost love for laying on her tummy.

Alice and Ruby and I shared "Grammy's Room" once the rest of the family arrived. There's a double decker crib built in, and Alice slept on the bottom, then I pulled a mattress down for Ruby. We were snug, but it worked great. My girls really adore their uncle Jordan. He's really sweet to play with them and be interested in them. I'm surprised they aren't fighting over him in this picture. I can't ever hold them both without them nudging each other and comparing how much of my body they have dominated, and working on further ownership.

I feel so blessed to have a "place". My place. McCall is that place for me, and I love taking my kids there and sharing my memories with them and giving them the chance to have the same opportunity. Not that the cabin is "mine", but the town--Ice Cream Alley, Aspen Market, My Father's Place, Davis Beach. It's the smell of heat on old ponderosas and the dust of the sand and the distance I swim from the end of the dock to the beach. It's just my place, and I hope it will be for my kids as well.

Blueberry season...

We went blueberry picking in town this week. My friend Kristin and her girls, Aidyn and Aine (prounounced Ahn-ya) were here visiting, and it's one of her pasttimes to go to this particular blueberry farm, so we joined her. I'm so glad we did! They man who owns the place pumps classical music through the garden, so while you pick, you get to listen to some great music at the same time. We picked 3 pounds (and possibly ate one...well between Ruby and Alice) and it only cost a little over $6!

Since then, we've made blueberry muffins, pancakes and I currently have a blueberry crumb cake in the oven. What fun!

Pics for family...

When I was in McCall, I took a few pics of my sister-in-law, Amanda, who is expecting her first baby this month (Braden's wife). I also took a few of my niece Sarah and nephew Nathan. Aren't they cuties? The pics of the kids weren't premeditated, but they still look darling. I thought this would be an easy way for them to get their hands on the pics, so the slideshow isn't as much for viewing (many of the same shot) as for them to save their pics to their computers.

Anatomy discussions...

Alice is very interested in the anatomy of male and female reproductive organs. It started not that long ago when she noticed a male body and asked "what's that?" Since then, she asks me all the time about other people who are around us. Needless to say, it is a brutally awkward to discuss someone's private areas...in front of them!

Here's a sample from our trip to McCall. Alice asks my brother Robb, "Do you have a peniz?"

Robb responds, "Go ask Uncle Jordan."

Alice moves on undetered, "Uncle Dordan, do you have a peniz?"

NOT OKAY LITTLE GIRL! The thing is, she knows what boys have and what girls have, and she can accurately determine the difference between boys and girls, so she doesn't need to ask, but she still does! She asked all the men on Chris' side of the family back in July, and it hasn't died down since then.

It's horrible to go into a public restroom with her right now, because she'll crouch down and start in with her questions and everyone else in the restroom can hear me trying to answer her discreetly.

It sheds new light on the reasons why some parents opt to make up other names for privates, to disguise the conversation better. However, do alternatives like "toady" and "dinkerdonker" (as my friend Sommer grew up calling them) really throw people off?

We opt for the real deal vocab, anyone gutsy enough to weigh in on this subject?

MmmmmmcCall...

I don't know how I got so lucky, but I got to be with just me and the girls and both of my parents for the first four days of our McCall stay (it would've been better if Chris were there too, but he was with us in Colorado in July and he NEVER takes even a week off in the summer months, so we all feel lucky to have had him for eight solid days in Colorado...thank goodness he's okay with us taking off without him, because I like to be away from home in the summertime!). We had more treats than usual...including s'mores by the campfire before bed. I don't know why Alice is doing that with her nightgown, but I have a hunch that she's asking some questions about anatomy (post soon to follow).

We sat at the beach and enjoyed watching the girls play in the sand and water. We even played in the sand and water occasionally. Even though I really would have liked a baby to be here before this summer, I have to say that since it is out of my control, I really rejoiced at the ease of hanging with my almost six year old swimmer and my life-jacket (sometimes) wearing, almost three year old. They are just REALLY easy when you get them somewhere entertaining and new.

It didn't hurt that as soon as we got in my folks' car, Alice said, "I want Oma to buckle me" and that was the request 100% of the times she needed anything the ENTIRE trip. Once, Alice was cold from having been in the water. She got out and it was temporarily overcast and windy, and she wanted a towel. I pointed to her towel and was craving the opportunity to wrap her up like a burrito and snuggle her warm, but she wouldn't allow it. There she was, blue lips and all, with Oma up at the cabin, saying "I want Oma to do it." So off she headed to the cabin! I tell you, this girl is full of determination to get what she wants. I love that! Alice got the diva treatment from Opa when he turned this little raft over and she lounged in the sun with her sunglasses on while Opa pushed her around on the water.Alice's determination reared it's head again when she wanted to help Opa carry the boat up to the cabin. We had the boat full of stuff, but had to empty it out in order for her to carry it. She cracked me up because once Opa suggested a "break", she started asking for breaks ever three or four steps. Thankfully, this was the only time she made this demand.

Some family of ours that live in McCall invited us to a July 24th celebration with the local church members. The building in McCall is under major construction, so there is this barn where they currently have church, and there was a big dutch oven cook-off, live bluegrass music and lots of mud for the kids to roll around in (literally, not mine, but there were some older boys that were 100% covered with mud). The girls (no, really just Ruby) liked petting the horses, and the horses were anxious for attention. One thing I love about Ruby is she likes to think of every one's feelings. She noticed a horse that was in another area who was watching us pet his friends and she had to go give him some attention too.

There's a rope swing at the cabin next door, which is owned by family. The girls had fun swinging on the swing a little bit.

That's a pretty thorough summary of part one of our trip. Wake up, shop a little, go to the beach, sit, sleep and swim, bathe the kids, make and eat dinner, put the exhausted kids to bed, sew and read, then sleep.

Donation opportunity...

I know many of you have followed little Mia, and been touched by her story. One of Mia's family's friends started a little blog to tell her story and solicit financial help for their family. The insurance company barely taps the tip of the expense of Mia's care and transplant, so the family will be in debt to her trial for years to come...unless we can all help! Any amount makes a difference!

Camping...

This is the fourth year in a row I've organized a camping trip with friends. The first year wasn't really maybe the first year...it was just the Reynolds and us, but that's where the idea originated.
I didn't camp as a child. My four brothers and my dad got their fill of camping through Boy Scouts, and we had cabin get-aways on both sides of the family, so that was usually as rustic as it got for me. I went on a month long backpacking trip on the Salmon River in college, and that was really my first (intense for a first-timer...our toilets were created by our own digging efforts) camping experience. I'll add that it rained non-stop that spring and it was hard to just sit in my tent all day when we were away from our covered kitchen at base camp. Try drying the laundry you just washed in the river inside your tent in 50 degree weather while it dumps rain outside. It was an adventure and I really did love it.

Anyway, the first year we went to Alder Lake...don't ever camp there. Tiny spots, and well, jut not a good place to camp.

The second year we went to Ohanapecosh on Mt. Rainier. It was a beautiful spot and we had a great time, but there were like ten families spread out and no central place to gather, so we realized we'd like a group spot in the future.

The third year we wanted a beach, so we went to Scenic Beach and had a really great group site to ourselves. We liked the spot, but the beach was very rocky and the kids scraped themselves up a bunch on the barnacles, so we had our sights on a sandy beach this year.

Now, you have to reserve these sites 9 months in advance if you want to book them. I know, because I called like thirty minutes after my 9 month window began and I missed out on the site I wanted most.

This year we went to Twanoh Beach and it was another fun location. We weren't in easy walking distance (like 4 mile hike round trip), so we had to drive to the beach, but it was a nice, private site with a good group eating shelter, and firepit.

We camped there for three nights, we slept well (brought along some effective white noise machines to drown out the noise of other campers) and enjoyed the company of good friends. The kids were well entertained by their friends and the weather was nice. Here are some highlights...

So, it was my turn to put the girls down, and they were goonight kissing Chris, and I heard him exclaim "Ruby, those are the dirtiest feet I've ever seen!" I was busy for a few minutes, and I just assumed (knowing him) that he would have immediately taken care of the feet...either that or he'd instruct me to do so when we got to the tent. I was SHOCKED when I discovered the filth for myself. I wiped one of them practically clean before I thought to take a picture. One thing for sure: camping is DIRTY!

John brought Jensen and Ellie up because Mimi wanted them to have a fun summer in spite of what their family is going through. Our friend, Julie made these eggs for Jense and he went at them all in one big piece!

The water was acutally really warm. I even got in!

Oh how the kids LOVED going for a ride in Chris' truck...the bed of the truck to boot!

Cozy and ready for bed!

**Spoiler**Breaking Dawn

So I JUST finished the book. Ummmmm, pretty anticlimactic. I think when you hear that a book is supposed to be the final volume in a series, you expect a final ending. The entire book passed with no battles. I was glad that Jacob had a happy ending, that Bella got her dad and a baby, and that it was all a happy ending, but I would have liked a little Volturi butt kicking. Seriously! All kinds of special powers and Bella's training, it all led NOWHERE. I would have liked to see some action and see how with the wolves and the vampires all together, they took out the lame ancient and corrupt leaders. As it is, you are left with the awareness that they still probably will come back for Bella because of her unique power, and because their power has been questioned. I think I would have been fine to end the whole series on Esme Island before the nudger started in on things. No, I like her too much. I think I just wanted to see the Volturi beat down.


Anyone?

Behind...

We've been up to so much, I'm so behind! I just got home from being back at the cabin in McCall, ID for just shy of two weeks. I logged a solid 60-70 hours at the beach and had such a great time with my siblings and my parents. The trip was on the heels (literally, only one day in between) of a fun annual camping trip with friends, so I'm really behind on my blog because I haven't blogged about either trip yet AND I am trying to read Breaking Dawn (halfway through) and I have a client waiting for her pictures, unpacking to do...all the while, the sun is out and playing is way too much a temptation...

Not your usual blog...

My cousin Molly is a talented writer, and she writes for a website, Mormon Times. The website highlights LDS people who do noteworthy things. She wrote a feature about this blog, "Seriously, So Blessed," and it good for some laughs if you have time to start from the beginning (she just started in June). The author takes on a fictional persona and outlandishly pokes fun at various social "Mormonism" quirks.

Here's an excerpt from her first post...a tag..."Who proposed? Duh! He did! And I was totally surprised. We had already decided to get married 3 months earlier and had told everyone we knew that we were basically engaged and I had picked out the ring myself that I designed when I was in 8th grade and I already had my dress. But I didn't see it coming AT ALL."

Anyway, I find the blog thoroughly entertaining. FYI...after you get a feel for what the Mormon Times is looking for, you should submit some tips to the staff!