60+ Days Recap

THIS WILL BE A LONG ONE!

Soda Springs - Visit 2. Second week long vacation.
There was roughly two weeks between our first (last post) week vacation in Soda Springs and our second vacation there. Not much to report in those two weeks between. The only thing worth noting and only because you'll see it in the photos, is the day before we left for SS, Amelia face planted at Momma Sue's. Apparently the full force of the fall was on the tip of her nose.

Thhwapp! There it is.

This trip we spent the week with Daddo and Bebbles. Camp was pretty full, most everyone was in for the annual "Family Weekend". Miles and Amelia had a great time (as usual) running around, playing in the river, pool, Kayaks, running around, throwing rocks and dirt, etc. We (especially Miles and Amelia) were delighted to have Bill Chickering and his two kids - Sasha and Alma there this year. Miles and Amelia took to Sasha and Alma like bears to honey, dew to grass or fish to chips. Sasha and Alma, though older, were so great to our kids and would come over frequently to play or just sit and chat with us.

We start our second SS trip down the road, Miles driving.

From the gate to the cabins, the deal is Miles' drives and Amelia passengers.

Playing (for hours) at "Miles' Beach"

One of the big kids.

Daddy's girls. Two beauties.

aaaah. Affection.

Somewhere, along the way, Amelia's nose healed.

One to a Canoe. "I teasin" - Miles new phrase of choice.

Miles geared up to go on the floating trampoline out in deep water.

Boys, dirt, trucks. Its in their DNA.

Mia going "comme les Français".

The last weekend up there was "Family Weekend", where two events take place. The big dinner on Saturday night, which is comprised of everyone bringing food and drinks to the log cabin porch and the Sunday morning breakfast, where basically everyone brings food and drinks (coffee, orange juice) to the Big House meadow.

For "Family Dinner" we dress to impress (the squirrels and humming birds) , eat, drink and visit. Kids run amok and parents let them.

"Ok...sit still and smile please. Mia, Mia...Miles...Mia, sit still please. Miles, Mia, look at Mommy. Smile. Mia, Mia...Miles, hey Miles. Smile. Miles, Mia, Mia, Mia...smile. Look!, look!, look...a bird! Look at Mommy, Mia, Mia, Mia, Mia, stop. Smile. Ok, that's close enough."

This is the best shot we could get.
Not bad given we only had 4hrs of daylight.

Ladies and Gentleman.

Somewhere in the weekend we celebrated three August 12th birthdays. Bebbie's, Anne-Marie's (Bebbie's galpal) and mine.


New Deck
Many know that our deck at our house was rapidly decaying. Miles and Amelia would walk out on it find a loose and popping up board and start 'bouncing' on it. It went from being an eye sore and something we'd like to fix to a hazzard and something we HAD to fix. Without going into the details, it was a chore. We hired a guy who was good at construction, but lacked care in finishing/presentation. So I spent much of a week overseeing from over his shoulder. Once finished we had a BBQ to break it in. Invited was all of Miles' and Amelia's friends from Momma Sue's. Miles was going to be leaving Momma Sue's in September, so we wanted to get as much friend time in as we could.

There aren't really any photos from the BBQ, thought a lot was going on. Which is why we didn't snap many pics.

It was a great day. Kids played in the bouncy house - inflating it, deflating it, inflating it...(infinite loop).

Cupcakes break.

We got a pooooool!
An inflatable pool from Target. No set of lungs on earth will blow this up. Needed to create our own solution, affixing a hairdryer to a funnel.

We fill it up to shin height and watch this kids manually empty it using their beach buckets.

This is good for about 10mins.

We're Leaving On a Jet Plane
We planned an East Coast trip for the first two weeks in September. Originally we were scheduled to fly in on Sunday, but elected to move it up two days to Friday for two reasons. First, Hurricane Irene was expected to hit NYC (we were flying into JFK) on that Sunday morning. This would likely have caused out non-stop flight from SF to be cancelled. Adding to the decision, Howard (Lina's father) was going in for back surgery in NY on Friday. So we were hoping to get there in time to lend a hand, show some loving support and guarantee Irene wouldn't rain on our parade, literally.

As the East Coast in August/early September can be humid and hot, we (I did) asked Miles if he'd like to have a hair cut "like Daddy's?" He said yes, Lina asked again and he said no. I asked "Would you like a haircut like Niko?" and with that he was sold. Short hair for EVERYONE. With clippers in hand, I shaved his head down to stubble. Just like Daddy Niko.

Like father like son.

To be totally honest, I WAS NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FLIGHT. Never a fan of other people's kids crying, I am sensitive about subjecting others to the same. I really dreaded the idea of Amelia loosing it mid-flight. We figured Miles would be ok as he can sit alone, watching TV and is old enough to either power through a day with no naps OR he can settle down and allow himself to fall asleep. Amelia not so much. With much relief, the flight was a breeze. Both kids we easy to manage and we were touching down before we knew it.

We landed and quickly learned that Howards surgey was a success, but that he would be in the hospital for a few days. Likely during the Hurricane.

Straight off the plane we went over to Pito and Melissa's for a visit and a home cooked meal. Miles and Amelia played with Owen and Mary and the adults circled around smoked marlin dip, pickled jalapeno peppers and crackers.

News reports had said Connecticut was going to get hit hard and to plan to be stuck wherever you are in CT for several days, possibly without power or access to roads. The next morning I packed up the kids and headed north to Brant Lake (where my parents have a summer home), thinking that we'd be far enough away that we'd have power etc. We didn't want the kids to have to go through days without power, fresh Milk and water. Lina stayed behind to keep her mother company and help with anything she might need now that Howard was laid up in NYC.

The Hurricane came, dropping a bunch of water in CT. But Brant Lake was hit worse and it turned out that the we'd be the ones without power for 4 days.

The parking lot of the club near Lina's parents.

Still passable, but only by luxury SUVs.

Up in Brant Lake, my father and I went out during a lull in the storm to look around. We had lost power several hours earlier. We wanted to survey the damage and if there was any down trees blocking the road. Turns out both ways out of camp were blocked by down trees. Our house was book-ended by trees.

We called into the city alerting them of our situation. The following morning they came in with some big machinery and removed the trees. So we were only stuck for about 18 hrs. Power would be out for 3 more days. Though with road access, we could leave for the day, eat out, buy fresh whatevers. Flushing toilets was the only concern as the house is on a well with an electric pump. Rain water it is, good thing there was plenty of it.

While we had access to the highways, Lina wouldn't be able to come up until we had power. She needed to work and for that needed internet. She'd join us Weds afternoon. So we played ant waited. Momma and Pappa were great. They took Miles and Amelia to a "Magical Forest" for a few hours, kept the house full of donuts, Pinot Grigio and laughter.

Games and puzzles on the porch was all the rage.

The weather cleared, Lina arrived so it was time to get out of the house and onto the boat.

Miles keeping a look-out using his Telescope.

Boating babes.

Windy.

As luck would have it, Miles' favorite train personality "Thomas" was in town; so we headed over for "A Day Out With Thomas".

They had toy trains...

and paper to color...

and Thomas.

Miles and Amelia got to meet their McAneny cousins for the first time. We went down for a Sunday brunch and were delighted to have so many family members show-up. There was an impromptu Wiffle Ball game (just like the old days), plenty of cousins running around and Aunts and Uncles circled on the patio catching up and sharing stories. Miles took special liking to Uncle Michael; calling him his "friend". Below you will see a video of Uncle Michael's influence on Miles.
Video Note: we believe some of Miles' statements to be inaccurate. See if you can spot which.

After about 10 days with Momma and Poppa it was time to scoot down to CT to see Daddo and Beebles, Pito, Melissa, Owen and Mary.

Miles wrapped by Lina to keep him from falling forward in his sleep.

Getting much needed sleep.

Back in Greenwhich we were met with three days of rain. So we it was "what can we do inside to keep the kids sane" time.

Melissa offered us her family membership to the children's museum in town. It was pretty impressive and great fun for the kids. They had a variety of interactive exhibits. One was a water exhibit where they had smocks for the kids to keep them dry. Water, plastic balls, brushes, cups, kids, fun.

Miles dry, smock wet.

Bathroom break, but no break in action.

Most days we were able to get into the pool, either at Lina's parents or at the club. On the sunny days it felt a bit more like vacation. Funny how a little sun can change a mood so dramatically.

On one of the sunny days, Uncle Pito brought rockets to Daddo and Bebbles house to shoot off before dinner. The kids loved watching the rockets shoot up, release the parachute then softly float back down to the yard. Uncle Pito was great letting Miles and Owen take turns pushing the "blast off" button.

Miles getting ready for the count down.

Spotting a fast moving spot in the sky.

There was a good amoung of sunf, fun and foolery. At one point we took Miles and Amelia outside to swim and play in the sun. When swimming lost its appeal with the kids, we pulled out some (water soluble) markers for coloring. Somewhere between "here" and "color on this", Miles' discovered his white chest and belly; favoring that surface over the paper we provided. When asked "what are you doing?" he replied "Uncle Michael showed me that too."

Miles self expression.

Before we knew it, it was time to head home.

We flew out around 4pm EST. This would let us get home late enough that the kids could transition to bed and get a reasonable nights sleep. We hoped the kids would nap on the ride to the airport. That didn't happen. We then hoped the kids would nap on the plane. That didn't happen. The flight I was fearful of on the way east was developing on the return flight. This was going to be a long day and apparently we wore it on our faces. On two separate occasions, two separate flight attendants offered us something to drink. And by "something" it was Bloody Mary mix and vodka. We accepted, knowing it was a long flight and a taxi would be taking us from the airport to home. All good.....ah crap! The open can of Bloody Mary mix just toppled over into my lap. Now sitting in 3/4 of a can of spicy tomato juice I loose any optimism I had about the rest of the flight. Luckily we carried on everything, so a quick and indecent inflight, in seat change I was back in dry clothes. "Mia please sleep. Mommy and Daddy need this."

We survived, Amelia fell asleep 2hrs. before landing, across our laps. Miles quietly watched his DVD player. Other than Dad's spill, there were no significant mishaps.

First Day of PreSchool
The day after returning from the east coast, Miles started his first day of school at Highland Montessori.

So excited!

Sadly, his excitement lasted about 10mins. Miles didn't like being dropped off. There were tears and plees to not leave. Heart breaking for Lina, who was the short straw to drop him off.

Lina called me mid-morning telling me Miles was upset and needed to be picked up. Apparently Miles was suffering from some constipation and could "go" there. This was confirmed shortly after reaching home. Without getting into the details, Miles had a VERY rough rest of the day as we worked through the constipation. In the end (pun totally intended) we got through it . He was a real "Pooper Tropper".

His second day was about the same from a drop-off POV. This time it was Daddy who got to bear witness to the tearful goodbye. But by day 4 he was fine.

Miles loves "school". He loves his new friends and is learning a lot. On this 3rd day he was counting to 10 in Spanish. He has brought home drawings of solar systems, triangles and some "abstracts".

Wudda Week!

Grab a comfy seat, tall drink and small snack folks....this is going to be a long one.

We spent the past 9 days up in Soda Springs. The road was finally given the "all clear" with the following guidance.
- "The road is muddy and is capable of swallowing up 3/4 tun pickup trucks. A few were."
- "If you get stuck, be prepared to walk in. there is no one available to help you get unstuck."
- "A few oil pans have suffered as a result of poor judgement and even poorer ground clearance."

Given the above guidance, we were a bit worried that our Lexus wouldn't make it into camp. We considered buying a new SUV (Tahoe or Sequoia) with more ground clearance and overall girth the day before heading up, JUST to increase our chances of getting in. That's how bad Lina wanted to get into Soda Springs. After a 36hr. scramble at various dealerships, we decide to save our pennies and rely on my extraordinary off-road driving skills to get us in. It was dicey in some spots, exhilarating in others and down right gnarly in a few. Needless to say (this post as evidence) we made it in - issue free, which is more than we can say for the AT&T truck which needed a backhoe to pull it out.

The river was at a massive scale...certainly the highest I've seen it; and according to Lina, the highest in her relatively recent memory. We failed to capture photos as we were rarely without kid in toe and preferred to stay away from the usual vantage points; some which typically are dry and accessible to walk on were now under water.

**We'll add some photos to this post, once others contribute them**

The weather couldn't have been better, warm mornings and cool nights.

The kids would wake up around 6:30am and play in their PJs until about 9am, which is when we'd gear up for our morning "Bear Hunt" (one of the kids favorite books - We're Going On a Bear Hunt). The "Bear Hunt" would lead us down through camp, over snow banks, across decks and past cabins until finally reaching a massive (by kid's measurement) puddle on the road at the base of the meadow. Let the rock throwing and foot splashing begin!

Adding to the fun, there were still a few rather large piles of snow scattered around camp. Miles and Amelia would climb, slide, kick, toss, poke and taste snow.

On our first morning in camp, we stumbled upon a little critter. We heard some squeaking and thought, at first, it was coming from a baby squirrel or chipmunk up in the Big House rafters or a nearby tree. We were surprised to see, laying on the Big House deck a small bat. Sean (caretaker), squeamishly, covered the bat with a paint can until it could be properly placed into some nearby and out of the way buck brush.

It was wonderful to watch Miles and Amelia tromp around together. All week long, best friends and Miles took such good care of his sister. He was quick to make sure Amelia got to do everything he did.

Miles and Amelia on the "buggy".

On Sunday( day two), our friends and Amelia's Godparents Sean and Christine Carmichael and kids came in for the 4th of July and stayed a few days past. It was a great visit and the kids as well as the parents had a great time playing together. Sean and Christine's kids (Loren and Nicky) are so wonderful to Miles and Amelia. They played and showered them with attention all day/every day. One very special moment and one which we think speaks volumes of how sweet their kids are was when Nicky helped calm Miles during a splinter extraction by Doctor Dad. Miles had been playing on the deck and somehow got a splinter. It was a pretty severe one. The splinter was long, think, crossed the whole width of his thumb. It was almost poking through the skin at the spot where it would exit. Miles was shaken. I got a headlamp, introduced myself to Miles as "Doctor Daddy", introduced Christine as my helpful assistant "Nurse Christine" and told Miles we were going to pull the splinter out. Nicky, who had followed Miles in from the deck, kept Miles calm. Nicky kept coaching Miles - "Miles look at me. Don't look at your finger. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, now breathe out. Take a deep breath and breathe out. Look at me. Take a deep breath....". Nicky kept pulling Miles attention away from what I was doing and in that he kept him calm and collected. It was a big help and we thanked Nicky several times.

Sean and I decided to clean out the pool so the kids could swim in it. Rather than fill it to the top, we only filled it high enough to cover 3/4 of the pool bottom (which is angled). This way the kids could wade in to the deep end or splash around in the shallow end.

When not in the pool, we'd escape from the heat by going down to the lake to wade, kayak and play with some Cedar kids.


We has two partly cloudy days, with only one of those raining for about 60mins; a welcome reprieve from the sun. After the rain, Miles and Amelia went out on the deck to jump in puddles which collected around the deck; the biggest in a trap used to cover furniture.

...playing with water in the pool, at the lake, on the deck, as a snow mound or mud puddle, you'd think that was enough...you would be wrong. Miles and Amelia found and feel in love with the water spigot in the meadow.

Is it a drinking fountain? Is it a sprinkler? Yes, Yes.

The End!