Road Trips

Ahh, the family road trip: the open road, the fresh air, the peaceful...

When are we going to be to Utah...

What? Camryn, we've been driving for like an hour,
and we're going to be driving for like 4 more...

Lotsa tees, lotsa tees...

Yes, Christian, look at all the pretty trees...

We're going to hit downtown Chicago traffic...

Hey, do you guys want to watch a movie???

Watcha Nemo, watcha Nemo, watcha Nemo!

Why don't we try one of the new ones I bought...

We're gonna hit Chicago at rush hour...

I'm bored with driving, when are we going to be to Utah?

Umm, Camryn are you not getting
that we're stuck in this car for like...

Mom, tees, lotsa tees, lotsa tees, lotsa tees, lotsa tees

Yes, Christian, LOTS OF TREES, WOW, GREAT, NEAT....

Find a happy place, find a happy place...

Well, we've made it out of Michigan, just 6 more states to go...

Find a happy place, FIND A HAPPY PLACE...

Oh boy kids, look, it's Chicago and look at all the pretty cars...

Find a happy place, find a happy place...

Why are you crying Heather?

Daddy, what's wrong with mommy?

I'm just so happy, I can't wait to drive back home!

Like I said, "Ahh, the family road trip!" Who's idea was this anyway? Grandpa's?? Joel's?? Ok, I admit, it was mine. It was my plan all along, "C'mon kids, lets pile in the burb for days on end so that mommy can just focus on serving all of you. Oh, and I'll get an extra gold star for being nauseated the whole time!" Sounds great eh? Well we made it through the 6 states and are now enjoying the fruit of our labor: family time. Sweet!



What?? We have to drive back???!!!!! NOoooooo!



Driving Day Uno: Poor Joel couldn't sleep (he was on call the night before) - he just wanted to get on the road. Poor Heather didn't sleep much either - ahhh, the joy of pregnancy. Anyway, so we picked up JD from his last day of school and were off towards Chicago. We had this brilliant plan to bypass Chicago's rush hour traffic, but our plan was foiled when the toll booth worker informed us we missed our freeway. Crap! So we got stuck right smack in the middle of downtown Chicago traffic. But hey, the nice thing was we got a fabulous view of the Sear's tower - for like an hour.



Driving Day Dos: Well, after a night in Rochester's FINEST hotel establishments, we had higher hopes for day two. We just didn't think it could get much worse than the day before - ummm, wrong. We began the day learning a valuable lesson about GPS Systems: You can't trust those things. We took all of these back roads to Madison, instead of the freeway. Nice. Once we joyfully connected to the freeway, we discovered something very very very sad. So apparantly the flooding in the Madison area caused enough of a problem to shut I-90 down. So the whole world got diverted onto this little 2 lane highway for 3 lovely hours of bumper to bumper traffic. Nice. We finally made it to a cute hotel (with a water park!) in Sioux Falls by day's end.




Driving Day Tres: We basically drove across South Dakota on day three. I noticed that South Dakotans like to advertise via road signs. Actually, they're obsessed about it! You're laughing if you've driven through it. We kept seeing signs for this Corn Palace joint in the middle of nowhere. By the 100th sign Joel and I were convinced that we couldn't leave South Dakota without seeing the "Corn Palace." So it's like this big building with lots of murals made out of, you guessed it - corn. It was hilarious! We decided after that little side trip to ignore the enticing advertisements (especially freak'n "Wall Drug" with their sign every 5 miles!

The whole reason we decided to travel the northern route to Utah was to see Mt. Rushmore. We got there and loved it. I hadn't been there in years and it was fun to show Joel and the kids a part of Americana that I think is pretty cool. It was also gratifying to take Joel to see some of the Founding Fathers up close - on Father's Day no less.






Driving Day Cuatro: Since it was pouring rain in Rapid City, we took the kids indoor mini-golfing and panning for gold. JD thought that was pretty cool. We drove to the Crazy Horse monument just to turn around and leave (after a picture of course) - they wanted $27 just to go inside - Wow! We kind of kept driving and driving that day until we crashed in Rock Springs. Camryn kept asking when we were going to be at Crazy Horse. Funny girl. Joel and I decided we didn't like Wyoming after Joel got a ticket for speeding. A highlight for us was making a quick stop at Martin's Cove where JD got to pull his bro and sis around in a handcart.

Driving Day Cinqo: Yes, we drove for nearly five days! What was supposed to take 28 hours, took 32 instead. Dahang! Joel and I kept swearing up and down that this would be the last road trip we ever take. Crap, we have to go back?!

It's so great to be here with family, so I guess it was worth it.
My kids are in heaven playing with all of their cousins.
Anyway, that is the first chapter in our cross country trip.
I'll keep posting as life continues in this desert called Utah.

Spotlight of the Month: My Papa!

Fathers are so influential in the lives of their children. I used to be annoyed at the fact that Father's Day immediately proceeded Mother's Day - as if it were an afterthought or something. After all, fathers need mega attention too! I actually discovered the history of Father's day (read it here) and my annoyance changed to gratitude for the daughter that started the whole movement.

I have such a soft spot in my heart for great dads! I think they're so dang awesome! It's true that anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be called dad. So to honor my own dad on this upcoming holiday, I've decided to list a few of my favorite memories (random - as always) of this interesting character. Enjoy Dad!

What a Generous Guy!

I remember back in high school being so desperate to move away to college (I'm very independent, what can I say). I knew the only way I was going to do that was through a full ride scholarship. The only way I was going to earn that full ride from the university of my choice was by getting a great score on my ACT exam. I took a few practice tests and my math score wasn't up to scholarship material. I discovered Sylvan Learning Center had an ACT prep course with an emphasis on ACT math. It cost a ton of money. I asked my dad to pay for it and he said no. I cried and cried in his office after he left - my whole life was over for heaven's sake! He must have heard my breakdown because he totally caved. I rocked the ACT and earned the scholarship. The ironic part was that I ended up becoming a math teacher. Go figure.

My dad has a history of giving. Like I said, he's a generous guy. There have been so many instances in my married life (especially during medical school) where he has sent us a check or offered to pay for this or that - just to help us out. And it usually came (comes) at the perfect time.

If you keep up with my blog, you probably read about the time I caused a huge accident in Arizona. He drove the long 11 hour drive just so he could haul our piece of junk college car on a dollie all the way to Utah the next day. The hilarious thing about that story is that 2 years later, he hauled that same piece of junk college car across the entire country when we moved away to Pennsylvania. He did that so that I could avoid the dreadful move with 2 small kids. The car wasn't even worth the cost of gas to drive it out!

Which leads me to the next generous thing: he has helped his kids move a bazillion times! Well, almost. There's some truth to that actually - I mean he has 7 kids and we've all moved our fair share so it adds up. When we moved away to Arizona for med school, he drove our little Uhaul so that Joel and I could drive with our little baby, JD. It was the longest trip ever! We had to stop every 4 hours so that I could nurse JD. He would just read - his favorite thing to do while waiting. He was going to help Joel move across the country to Pennsylvania, but his mom (my grandma) passed away so he felt bad about not being able to help Joel. That was why he hauled our crappy car across the entire country to PA.

What a Fun Memory Maker!

By memory maker, I mean initiating and financing awesome vacations of course! One of my favorite things in the whole world is traveling. I feel so lucky to have visited so many intersting and unique places around the world, thanks to my pa. My dad traveled a lot with his occupation; therefore, he racked up a ton of frequent flyer miles. So even though he sacrificed and was gone with work, it all worked out when he cashed 'em in come summertime! He'd get antsy come wintertime and start planning our next big summer vacation. It was always so exciting to hear the year's new destination: England, New Zealand, Raratonga, Tahiti, Mexico, Florida etc.

Once the kids were gone, he switched gears and decided to try his luck at motorhoming. Joel and I went on some way fun (with hilarious memories to boot) trips with my mom and dad in their motorhomes (yep, he went through 2 of them!). Two trips take the cake: the trip through Canada (and getting stuck in the middle of busy Vancouver - with a ginormous rig!), and our cross-country tour of all the church sites (I'm amazed we're all alive after that one!). Good times!

One year he braved 4 hormonal teenaged girls in the open waters of Lake Powell. It was my birthday and he let me celebrate it in Lake Powell. It was so cool. We camped on the lake in our boat, but went ashore for my birthday dinner in the local hotel. I remember getting what I thought was a way cool tank top/shorts outfit from the gift shop. I think I still have that tank top - that was almost 20 years ago! I also remember (this is for you Teresa) my good friends convincing me to can-nap all of my dad's rat nasty Vienna Sausage containers and hide them so he wouldn't put them in our food. I wonder if he ever found those when he cleaned up??

Here are some random photos of the recent trips we've gone on with my mom and dad. I love looking at old pictures - it reminds me how lucky I am to have great memories with my dad. Unfortunately, most of our vacation pictures were taken before the age of digital photography, but here are just a few random shots.

What an Incredible Grandpa!

If ever there was a man that was born to be a grandpa, it's my dad. He's an awesome grandpa! He loves his grandkids - especially the little ones. My kids get so excited to see their grandpa - he can be so cute with them. He sings them funny little songs and teases them all the time. They love to ride in his truck when we travel and sit on his lap for story time. He reads them books, but it's always interesting to hear the strange stories he makes up too! He'd better stick around for years to come because my kids definitely need their grandpa! That means after you're done reading this dad, you have to walk on your treadmill for at least 30 minutes! And no more soda!

My dad has helped shape my character...

My dad instilled in me a respect for education at an early age. I remember watching him read book after book in our living room. He was always lecturing us to get a college degree - especially as a woman. He didn't have much patience for dingbat women. I remember he helped me install my washer and dryer that I sold to this single mom many years ago. Something happened and the water line sprung a leak. She was laughing and had no idea where her main water shut off valve was. I got a lecture afterwards from a very annoyed father about how a woman should know those kinds of things. I felt dumb because I didn't know where mine was. I figured it out when I got home. Only from a dad - it's just not acceptable to be stupid!


Along the same lines, he made me pass his "test" before I could get my driver's license. I had to demonstrate to him that I knew how to change a tire and other basic things about car maintenance. I feel pretty secure in knowing how to take care of myself and my family if anything were to happen to Joel. My dad played a big part in shaping that part of me.

One of the most important things my dad has instilled in me is the importance of family. Family is number one in his life. Family comes first. Period.

Man, I'm writing a freak'n novel here - I didn't know I had so much to say! Anyway, I certainly can't leave out one more important thing that my dad tried to instill in all of his kids: patriotism. He served his country for many years and I totally respect that. I remember thinking it was really cool to do the whole flag ceremony thing during family reunions. I gained a great deal of respect for the sacrifice of our soldiers during war. He was the one calling troops away to war and I could see that it was difficult for him to watch families getting separated. Joel and I love talking politics with him too - he has a wealth of knowledge to draw upon.

So for all the reasons above and many more, I'm grateful for my dad.
I've always known that he loves me and is proud of me.
That's pretty great.

Happy Father's Day! I love you!

A Funny Anniversary Present...

So Joel and I recently celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. That's pretty awesome. We're getting so old! We celebrated with a nice dinner and movie (my favorite date!). Joel's parents came up from Cleveland to spend the weekend with us and watch the kids while we went out to dinner. So we put the kids to bed that night and we were just visiting with Joel's parents when I announced that I had an anniversary present to give Joel. I made him close his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he saw.........

...yep, it's positive

Yes, that is an announcement - numero quatro baby! Oy vey, so very many kids!


He was in shock. You see, we had decided that we were done with three kids. We had agreed that if I wasn't pregnant with this last try that we were finito. I guess my grandma up in heaven didn't like that plan (she was always wanting everyone to have a bunch of kids!). Anyway, Joel finally pulled his head out of shock after I told him, "You have until morning to decide how you're going to act. You can either be a blank (I did say "blank"), or you can be awesome and enjoy this last experience (yes, this will be our last one)! He chose the latter and has been great.

I'm such a freak because I'm telling the whole world and I'm only like one month along! So funny. I figure this is my fourth and I'd rather have people think I'm pregnant than fat! I waited 12 weeks to tell everyone I was pregnant with JD. Those days are over - I have no patience!

Here were the kids' reactions:

Christian: He was snuggling with us on our bed the next morning. We told him that mommy has a baby growing in her tummy. He laughed and started hitting me. Over and over - with a smile of course. I love him!

JD: He came into the room next and I told him that I had a surprise to tell him. I think he was a little disappointed when he said, "That was the surprise?" I'm sure he was hoping for some big old present or something. He followed that by saying, "Well, I hope it's a girl so that Camryn doesn't get sad." So cute!

Camryn: Now Camryn was the one that wanted me to have a baby the most. In fact, the day before I found out I was pregnant, I was babysitting a little baby girl and Camryn was in heaven. She asked when I was going to have a baby and I said, "I'm sorry sweetie, but I don't think mommy is going to have another baby." She was sad - I felt bad. So I was quite excited to share the news with her when she woke up. I said, "Camryn, mommy has a secret." She had me whisper it in her ear. She got a big smile and kept asking me to tell her a secret for the rest of the day. Adorable.

Anyway, so there you have it. That is my announcement. Hopefully all will go well. I'm such a freak when I'm pregnant. I imagine the worst scenarios ever! I have been cramping a little, but I guess that's normal. I worry too much. Joel and his dad gave me a blessing that night. I'm sure all will be well.

I can't imagine I'll be able to top that anniversary present again!

Here's to 12 incredible years - and many more to come!

Luvu!

A Julia Child Wannabe...

Julia Childs totally rocks. I want to be her, except for the French food part and the weird voice. Bag the last part, I thought her voice was mesmerizing. She's actually my favorite chef next to only one: the Swedish muppet dude that says weird things like "Oi, Oi, Oi." I had a thing for Tyler Florence when he was doing the whole Food 911 thing (just ask Joel), but that soon passed. Before the days of food tv, I would spend many saturday mornings in my parent's room watching PBS cooking shows. My woman Julia kinda stunk when she started cooking (I love her already), but kept at it and, well you know the rest.

So why all this chef talk? Because I want to be a master chef! I love cooking. Well, actually, I get REALLY excited to learn a new technique or recipe, but then I get overwhelmed and bag cooking all together! I've been taking these cooking classes this year and it makes me giddy. If you've read my past entries, you know that I'm an official Bi Bim Bopper (Korean)! Well, since then, I've learned how to cook some Chinese, Indian and Thai dishes too. YUM-O. I'm obsessed with learning how to cook these ethnic cuisines because I have this feeling that if we end up moving to the middle of nowhere, we'll have to satisfy our craving for Som Tum or Chicken Tika Masala at restaurants like Azerbijuanita or Chez Dim Sum. You know the type: the name makes you curiously optimistic and then you're presented with a dish that makes you wish you had chosen the frozen chicken nuggets instead. Anyway, what I was trying to say was I need to learn how to cook this stuff, or we won't be eating it at all in the near future.

So this is what happens...

I sign up for a class and get all excited. I go to the class and get all excited. I buy lots of crazy ingredients and get all excited. I start experimenting and get all excited. I make the dish for the first time, taste it and get all ....ummm... unexcited. I usually think, "...hmmm, that doesn't look the way I remember it" (like with my latest attempts at Pad Thai and homemade tortillas). That is my sad cycle of cooking. Actually, that is not the full cycle. I usually persevere through the first attempt and succeed with something edible by the 3rd or so - that's the full cycle.

Here is what is on my "I MUST LEARN THIS NOW" culinary list:


Indian Butter Chicken (very similar to chicken tikka masala, but creamier) with Peas Pulau Rice ending with a sweet and creamy Carrot Pudding - it was fabulous at my class! I'm going to attempt it this week. I'm about to bring great shame to my Indian friends.






A decent Pad Thai. Honestly, Pad Thai isn't my favorite Thai dish of all time, but I do enjoy it. Besides, if I can't make a decent Pad Thai, how can I trust myself to make Tom Yum Goong or Tom Kha soup? You're agreeing with me, aren't you?




Knowing that my new wok (that the nice Chinese owner of the stinky Asian market recommended) is seasoned to perfection. He explained what to do a few times, but it was like he was speaking a foreign language or something.

Recipes I've mastered (to my, not Julia's, satisfaction anyway):

The best buttermilk pancake on the face of the earth.

The best pork and chicken fried rice on earth.

Ummm, I can't think of any others right now. That is scary. Maybe I'll throw some buttermilk pancake chunks into my next fried rice. Don't 2 goods make a right? Or better yet, maybe I'll throw some capers (that was for you Sarah) over the whole mixture and call it a masterpiece.

Which brings me back to the venerable Ms. Child. She pretty much sucked at first, but rocked in the end. Me, I know I pretty much suck and will not rock in the end. However, I will keep burning things, making gooey Pad Thais, baking dense chocolate cakes and surviving my tiny kitchen until one day........I can fool dinner guests into thinking I can actually cook with the best of them.

BTW, ummm, I should state that all of the pictures above that are making you salivate were sadly not prepared by me.

Someday.