Do we stink?

Rick is a little obsessed with smelling good. Not that that is a bad thing or anything. Every once in a while he will get concerned that we, our family and house, stink. So he will bring home candles and room deodorizers. I do like to burn candles and I love those bath and body plug ins but to be honest I have a hard enough time just getting the dirty dishes off the table let alone having time to worry about lighting candles and changing plug ins. A few years ago we went to visit David and Megan. Rick came home committed to a better smelling house. Their house made quite a impression on his nose, it made our house seem like a barn. Ever since then he has obsessed about it a little bit. So during our vacation Rick told everyone that we needed to pay close attention to how the house smelled right when we walked in. That way we would know how our house smelled to other people. He brought this up a couple times. So upon our arrival we opened the door and took a great big whiff. I about fell over it stunk so bad. Oh no I immediately thought, do we really smell this bad. Then I realized we couldn't possibly. (If we do would someone please let me know) A little investigation turned up some garbage that had not been taken out and a dishwasher that had been stopped mid cycle and not restarted. The water in the bottom was green and slimy and the smell would knock a skunks socks off. By the next morning the house was back to its normal-not so great but not so bad- smell.

A lake of Soda- is it too good to be true?

A lake of soda? Sounds like a fantasy straight from the likes of Charlie and the Chocolate factory. When I told Ryan about it he laughed and said, "your joking-the lake isn't really made of soda" "Sure it is" I said, "See it says right there Shasta lake, and Shasta is soda isn't it." He didn't know what to think- he kind of believed me but also knew it was too good to be true. Soda or not the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area is home of a pretty incredible lake. It is not beautiful - clear and bright blue but also pretty warm for a mountain lake. They created a perfect little swimming area and even warmed up the water there. They attached a big net like curtain to buoys and sunk them creating an area that is more shallow then the rest of the lake - somehow this makes the water warmer. Now they actually do this for the fish - it is some environmental ploy to protect some endangered fish or something but the wonderful bi product is a nice warm swimming hole. We stopped there took some pictures and looked around a bit we wanted to get our passport books stamped but we were about 20 minutes late, the visitors center just closed. So we went ahead and drove into Redding went swimming, had dinner and went to bed. Well some of us went to bed and some of us (like the 5 children) stayed up and watched tv - debatably the most exciting part of the vacation for some of our family.

The Trip home

On the way home from the Redwoods we stopped in Lassen Volcanic National Park. It reminded me of Yellowstone a little bit. There were many hikes, beautiful rivers and lakes and geo thermal areas to look at. They even had geysers although we didn't see any. We went to the visitors center - stamped our passport books and looked on the maps for a good hike. Taylor saw a picture of volcanic cone that really caught his eye. He came and found me and showed it to me and asked if we could go see it. It was one of the hikes that we though would be doable for us -about 3 miles. Well it was on the other side of the park, but on our way so we headed over there. About 20 miles after leaving the visitors center we realized we were running out of gas. The dilemma was there was a gas station at the visitors center and then one about 60 miles down the road. We didn't really want to run out but weren't' sure we could make it. We decided to press our luck, so we turned off the air conditioning (not so fun) and drove 55mph (also not to fun when we could have gone 70) and hoped for the best. We did make it with a gallon to spare.

The cinder cone hike was quite nice. We walked for about 1 mile on a flat path in a nicely wooded area. It was a nice hike except for the fact that Rachel wanted carried, Ryan had to poop, Taylor and Dallin had run ahead so I was a bit worried about them, and Anna refused to wear her tennis shoes, and it was quite hot. The shoe situation wasn't too great for the youngest three. Somehow Rachel and Ryan both hit a growth spurt recently because I couldn't get the tennis shoes I had brought for them on their feet. They fit fine a month ago. So Ryan spent the week in sandals and Rachel was either barefoot or wore Anna's extra flip flops. But despite all that I was enjoying the walk at least when I wasn't carrying Rachel.

Then we came around a corner and saw the cone. I think my mouth dropped open. It was a big black hill of sand and rock without a tree growing on it. There was one steep path straight up the side of the mountain. It looked long, it looked steep, and it was hot-you could almost see the heat waves coming off of it. We were really low on water too so I had been trying to conserve by not drinking any but I was really thirsty and feeling a tiny bit light headed at this point so I thought there was no way we were all making it up the mountain. Rick maybe, the older boys maybe, but definitely not Anna, Ryan, Rachel and preferably not me. But we trudged on.

I decided to get to the base of the mountain and see what we could do. I told the kids-just keep on keeping on. We tried singing songs, telling stories and reciting the ABC's to take our minds off the misery. By this time we were really thirsty. Rick and Ryan had fallen behind (they had to stop for Ryan to poop) I was worried about them making it since I had the backpack with all the water. I wasn't sure what to do. I knew that if we stopped to wait for them I wouldn't want to start again. Best to just keep going. So I sent a bottle of water down with a passing couple, pointed out Rick and ask them to give it to him.

We set a goal of how far to walk before stopping to rest. We looked for rocks that stood out or other landmarks to make it to before we'd pause for a break, I alternated carrying Rachel and making her walk. When the landmarks got to far apart for us we counted our steps. 15 steps then a break, 10 steps then sit down. We finally rounded a corner and leveled off. The top was beautiful. On the way up I asked a guy if it was worth it. He nodded, and said- it is nothing like I've ever seen before. If you can get up there- do it. He was right it was pretty amazing. The pictures don't really do it justice, which is often the case. Looking around you got a great view of many different landscapes.

On one side was a beautiful bright blue lake, that gave way to a geothermal area that looked liked painted sand, around the other side was volcanic rocks all bordered by green forests. We walked around taking it all in. Taylor and Dallin were up there, they had actually hiked down inside the cone. I decided looking down into it was good enough for me. When Rick and Ryan topped the hill they started coming over to us but Rick hesitated and started yelling at the kids to sit down. I couldn't really figure out why at first, then I realized he was nervous because it looked like the side dropped off on both sides. It wasn't like there were cliffs or anything. I didn't think there were safety issues at all - but then again I am not scared of heights and lets just say Rick prefers the ground. Anyway we took pictures and drank all the water we could salvage from the bags of ice we had in our backpack to keep our stuff cool and then made our way down

. By the time we got back to the car we were hot, hungry and very thirsty. We then again had to face about 40 more miles till we got in to town where we could get gas. It was a miserable ride without the air conditioning but we made it. It was already early evening by then and we weren't more than 1 hour or so into the days drive. In fact we had originally hoped to get home that night but had long ago abandoned that idea. We decided to push on hard and just see how far we could get. About 10:00 we were faced with a decision either stop in Winnamucca about 11:00 or drive to Elko 2 more hours down the road. We really wanted to get to Elko but neither or us wanted to drive 2 more blocks let alone 2 more hours - yet we pushed on, partly because hotels in Elko were cheaper then Winnamuccua (we were really lucky that mom and Kevin were so willing to book hotels and try priceline for us while we were driving).

We made it into our hotel a little before 1am. We crashed for the night. Kevin found a local ward that met at 9:00 for us to attend. It was quite the trial to get out of bed that morning. Especially because we had planned to be home by Sunday and had buried our church clothes at the very bottom of our car top carrier. Getting them out was a trick. I couldn't find all of our church shoes so most of us just went in our flip flops and sandals. Rachel went barefoot. We were also out of food by this point and unfortunately this was the only hotel we stayed in that did not have a continental breakfast. I found a couple of oatmeal packets and cooked some in the cups in the hotel room. We had 2 forks to share. Most of the kids actually turned their nose up and lukewarm thick oatmeal and went to church hungry but maybe they were too tired to care. We were really wrinkled just a bit smelly and very tired but we make it to church during the opening song. It was actually a very nice Sacrament meeting, we were impressed with there speakers and especially their youth. We skipped out on primary and headed for home.

We forged on only stopping for gas. I kind of thought we would have to stop for lunch but we did have some fruit snacks and peanut butter bars and a case of diet Pepsi we made work for us. We pulled in our driveway about 4 hours later, dirty, tired and hungry but glad to be home. It was an amazing trip I would do again in a heartbeat. I just wish it wasn't 15 hours away.

The Coast

There is nothing quite like the Oregon coast. Beautiful, powerful and peaceful all at once. Also like Ryan says, its really really cold. It's definitely no Caribbean but we did get our feet wet and most of the kids were wet to their arm pits before they knew it. Rachel liked to jump the waves and chase the surf. Anna was our great shell collector. She found lots of neat shells and several whole sand dollars. They all got to come home with us - yeah!!! Dallin went sand crab hunting and found several he was able to dig up. Taylor's big discovery was a star fish. He really wanted to keep it, he thought he would make a great friend for JR. We told him that if he brought it home it would die. He wanted to bring it home - we told him doing so would kill it. He decided he did want to bring it home but he wouldn't kill it, he would just let it die on its own. What great reasoning. So he stuck it in a bucket and carried up to the car, somewhere in the parking lot his conscious got the better of him and he carried it back down to the ocean and threw it back. I hope that starfish realizes how close he came to losing his life. Although we didn't bring the starfish home we did bring enough sand home to start our own beach.

Trees of Mystery

What does Paul Bunyon eat for breakfast? 2000 flapjacks, that is what he told Taylor anyway. Taylor also asked him how big his grandma was. Unfortuantely Paul never met his grandma so he didn't know how big she was. We had a lovely chat with Paul and his ox Blue - or course Blue didn't talk back, he is a ox after all. A GAINT Paul Bunyon and ox sat outside the gates of the Trees of Mystery a park outside of Eureka Ca. A little pricey but quite extrodianry - it was worth the price. We walked along paths winding through gaint redwoods and then took the sky cab up above the trees so that we were looking down on them. The kids loved the ride and the view was spectacular. We rode up, then down and then decided to hike up. The sign said we should check with an attendent before hiking up. So we did, he said go ahead and go if you want - but not many people hike up- it is more of a down kind of thing. We quickly learned why - it is steep, really steep. But Taylor and Dallin ran on up while Anna, Ryan and Rachel dragged Rick and I up. The kids can definately be little mountain goats when they want to. About half way up Ryan said, "Hey Dad why did you ever have to think of climbing up this- it was kind of a dumb idea? Frankly I agreed. We made it up to the top, caught our breathe and got in line to ride the sky cab down. Rick suggested walking down but he was quickly shot down.

The Redwoods are huge - or course I have always heard how big those trees get but seeing them is something else. We stopped at the drive thru tree and payed our six dollars so we could drive our car through a tree. When I first saw the pamphlet for it I kind of dismissed it for a tourist trap that would be really spendy and not to great. But it was less money, and more fun than I expected. We drove through a couple of times and then let the kids sit on roof rack and ride through the tree. While there we also checked out the outhouse carved out of a single tree. They just took a huge tree and hollowed out the middle then put in a bathroom complete with running water. It was pretty cool. Ryan walked in, saw that it was a toliet, and dropped his drawers. Not wanting to be left out of the fun Anna and Rachel also went in the tree. A lot of people have peed on a tree but not to many have peed in tree. What an exciting day.

Crabbing

A couple of highlights stand out in my mind when I think about crabbing. One was Kristin and Andrea throwing the net in, Andrea let go and Kristin did not. Kristin ended up cold and wet. Luckily she got pulled out before being swept under the dock or eaten by a seal. Another was crabbing off the dock at the Embarkadero and then cooking up our crabs and eating them. I wish I could say I thought it was delicious -I'd like to try them again, fresh from the sea, and see if they have improved over time.

And then there was the time I got tar all over my hands. I was kind of embarressed about it so I headed up to the bathrooms to wash it off. It didn't come off. I had remembered hearing that gasoline would take tar off. So I assumed the best thing to do was wash my hands with gasoline. Easy enough, our van was full of gasoline. So I undid the gas tank and put my finger in to get a little gas out. Little did I know that gas tanks come with a saftey valve thing so that things can go it but they can't come out. I was stuck. Stuck standing in the parking lot with my finger stuck in the gas tank all by myself. I pulled, I yanked, I twisted but nothing. I stood there and cried and prayed until finally someone else came up. We were with the Giffords and some other friends. Everyone got together and tried to pry my finger loose. They were worried it was getting swollen so they pushed ice all around it to try to keep the swelling down. Brother Gifford said I would need to just walk along side the van while they drove to the service station so they could get my finger out. I was sobbing at that point. Someone, probably David, offered to cut my finger off. Finally someone stuck a screw driver in the right spot and the valve realeased and my finger slid right out. That was a day I will never forget- and either did the Giffords apprently because it was mentioned the other night around the campfire.

Well all my crabbing tales got my kids hooked on going crabbing so we found some rings to rent and headed for the crabbing docks. I remembered right where it was - although Rick doubted me so we drove around for a while before he finally ask someone who told him the very spot I had pointed out. The laws on crabbing have changed over the last 18 years - a liscense is now required. Being the cheapskate that I am I didn't want to pay for two of them (kids are free) so Rick got one and I promised not to touch the nets. My job was to take pictures and keep Rachel out of the ocean. I gave Rick step by step instructions and he got the rings baited with frozen chicken and thrown into the ocean. I reminded everyone not to be like Aunt Kristin- and to make sure and let go of the net. Our first net caught a couple of crabs. The kids were ecstatic. I told them next step was to pick them up check to see if they were keepers and if not, throw them back. We actually threw them all back since we didn't really have a way to cook them. I showed them how to measure with a dollar bill and how to see if they were male or female.

Well Rick caustiously crouched down and put his fingers like I showed him but he just couldn't actually make himself touch the crab. It took several tries and a lot of coaxing before he would touch it. A lot more coaxing and taunting before he picked one up. Anna, Rachel and Ryan screamed and ran when the crabs started walking around the dock. Dallin was the brave one, he went over and picked several up. It took him a few tries too but he was the bravest by far. Taylor held a couple too. I really wanted to just pick one up and show them how it was done - and to prove they were a bunch of wimps but I was afraid of getting caught for crabbing without a liscense so at first I resisted. Eventually I did pick a couple up and throw them back. We caught quite a few, it was fun to pull up the nets and see the bounty. We did have a seal come around looking at our bait but he didn't get it. I couldn't help but notice the tar all over the dock - this time I didn't touch it. But all in all the it was a great experience -the kids, especailly dallin, really enjoyed it and asked to go back multiple times during the trip.

Going home

In 1992, sometime between Christmas and New Years we all laid out blankets and sleeping bags and slept on floor. It was late when we finally went to sleep. We had spent the day cleaning and packing, the moving van had left and there was nothing left. The house was empty. That evening Kristin and I went to a little party with the young women where we said goodbye to the best friends I ever had. I left the party a little early and went to say goodbye to my friend Nicole. I was hoping to get a last glimpse of her brother-although I knew he was at away at boot camp. I once thought I was in love with him. He wrote me once after that.

The next morning we woke up early, loaded up and headed out. That was the last time I saw Cottage Grove - almost 18 years ago. Until last week. I was excited and nervous about going back again. I couldn't help hoping nothing had changed but fearing it all had. About the time we left Eugene things started to not only look familiar but feel familiar too. I was absolutely giddy. We pulled into town and there it was, for the most part, just how I remembered it. I pointed out the Round Tu It, the McDonalds with the biggest truck stop in the world (a claim I don't think I ever believed), BiMart and Pinoccios Pizza. We had to stop for a picture at all of them. I'd forgotten about Pinoccios Pizza - but there it was just as tempting as always. Funny how something I had forgotten all about could bring back such strong memories. I immediately remembered pitchers of rootbeer in frosty glasses, pepperoni pizza with those little chili sprinkles, and if we were really lucky Popyee Pizza and a game of pac man. I told Rick I wanted to go there for dinner - which never worked out.

We then went out to Dorena lake and met the Giffords. It was amazing. They all looked great. Andrea was there with her husband and kids, Ryan and his family, and Scott and his family and Milton and Janice. Scott was a little boy when we left so had definately changed the most. But they were the same old Giffords with little Giffords running around. It was really nice, I immediatley felt comfortable and right at home with them. We boated a bit. It was my kids first time tubing and they were quick converts. They loved it - so did Rick- so much he promised them we would rent a boat the next time we went to the lake. After the lake we went to Giffords house for a BBQ. They lit a fire and we roasted marshmellows and sat on the porch chatting till almost midnight. There were so many things I had forgotten that came all back, experiences, stories, jokes and powerful feelings of belonging and nostalgia. I truely felt like I had come home. The Giffords were a big part of my growing up life.

The next morning we went to church in my old ward. It was the same as I remember it. The picture of Jesus praying in Gethsemane still hung in the chapel. Margit McRenyolds was at the organ with a very familiar look on her face. Elton Hail was helping with chairs, Susan Pinster taught Relief Society. Both the Potters bore their testimony. I took the kids around the church and showed them where we used to have primary, young womens and the haunted house at Halloween time (which is now the family history library). I told them about how we used to come play basketball or ride our new bikes on Christmas morning in the gym. I showed them the kitchen where Kristin and I once made cinnimon rolls for mothers day so Mom wouldn't see us baking them. I showed them the plaque with the Eagle Scouts names engraven on it and pointed out David Hoopes.

After church we toured the town. We saw my old houses, my old schools, the stores and parks I went to. We saw the feild that used to be my high school. The pool is still there and the old mechanics shed but other than that it is soccer feilds. The new high school is huge and really really nice. My kids were a bit suprised I went to elementry school in such a ghetto looking building. It wasn't so bad 18 years ago - but it has definately gone down hill. But it still brought back those memories. When we pulled up to the school I broke out into song - complete with the actions. "H-A-double R - I -S-O-N you see. It's the best in the west, Harrison Bobcats that's us!!!" I think that is when Rick knew I had gone off the deep end. I could picture myself walking through the doors, playing wall ball on the play ground and playing in the covered area during rainy day recess.

I showed the kids where we picked blackberries, where we sold candy bars to go to outdoor school, where my old paper route was. I showed them Bonanza and told them about how giant the 10 cent cones were. I told them about Full Meal Deals at Diary queen and the little coins they gave you for your sundae. I explained to them how you needed a card to get into BiMart and how you had to write your own prices on your groceries at Mark n Save. We went out to the swinging bridge and swung on it. We ran up and down and jumped on it - then I showed them the sign that same sign that has been there since I can remember. The one that says "please don't swing on Bridge" then we swung some more. We saw the BMX track next to the weigh station where we went fishing. I told them about the slugs we found and how we liked to salt them. I showed them the river and explained how we would float down it. We went to see the old hospital where Grandpa worked. It is an abandonded building now. I pointed out where the ER was, where Grandpa's office was- I told them about his secertary Janet (I think) and the soda machine that dropped down a cup and then filled it. I showed them the buildings across the street. The one where the dr office was, and I pointed in the window where the little play area was that kids could play in while they waited for their appointment. We saw the building the Grandpa helped build that housed a bunch of conference rooms (and probably other things) I told them about the time we all went over there for fhe and sat at a conference table and wrote our Family Mission Statement. Several people told me on different occasions how the hospital went downhill as soon as Dad left. They even mentioned how Bill Wilbur stole Dad's job then ran the hospital into the ground. They have a new hospital now but it is small more like an insta care that stabalizes and transfers. They don't even deliever babies anymore.

We finished out the day at Cottage Grove lake. As soon as I saw it I could picture Mom thowing us in the water off here knee, Dad sitting on the shore blowing up the rubber raft so we could play King of the boat out near the bouys. I remebered how fun it was for Kristin and I to rock back and forth on the old truck tires and try to tip each other off. I pictured the Borg's collecting cans and had to check the bathrooms to see if those hand dryers were still there were we would sit and warm up while eating blackberry pie and ice cream. I told the kids about how Krisitn, Andrea, Elizabeth and I would go out after dark and go skinny dipping.

Since it was Sunday we didn't intend to go swimming but a walk by the lake turned into dipping our toes in, to wading, and eventually most of the kids were in up to their waist. But it was great. We skipped rocks and took pictures while the kids listened to me tell my stories and relive my childhood. We drove over to the other side of the lake and stopped on the dam so I could show the kids where I used to jump off. We went to the park where the Hospital party always was and saw the place where we hung the pinata, dug for money in the straw and drank our fill of 7up from the fountain. Cottage Grove Lake holds so of my most cherished memories.

We went the fireworks in Creswell that night and then headed out the next morning for Loon Lake. Leaving was hard a little part of me will always be there in Cottage Grove. Loon Lake and the coast also held significant memories for me. It was as beautiful as I remember it - perhaps more so.

Tantrums

Rachel is real spit fire- always has been. She can argue and manipulate like no other. She is conniving, stubborn and willful and to be honest generally just a bit naughty. But she is a cute enough it is pretty easy to look past all that. She doesn't throw to many tantrums. She actually hardly ever does, but when she does-watch out. We were hit with two major tantrums during our Oregon vacation. Both of which were on the way home. Not surprisingly she was exhausted and tired of driving and all that came out when she didn't want to go to Jack in the Box for dinner. I believe the entire town of Redding knew that she did not want to go to Jack in the Box. She had never been there before so it's not like she'd had a previous bad experience or anything. She didn't even know what it was or have an alternative place she did want to go- but she didn't care all she knew is she did not want to go there. She made that loud and clear. Well after her opinion became apparent to the whole town Rick picked her up and wrestled her into her car seat, did up the buckle which didn't do any good since she just immediately undid them, and started driving her around town. She screamed and kicked and threw things and threatened and spit until her body couldn't take it anymore. When she was broken enough to calm down and she quite gasping for breath the way babies do after their all cried out she sat up and sweetly said, "I'm sorry Daddy- can we go in now" Initially Rick said no but after she sat quietly for a few minutes he gave her another chance. They came back in and she sat down and ate all her dinner as happy as a clam.

We got to Salt Lake and Anna needed to pee. We really didn't want to stop and decided a wet seat would be less desirable so we pulled into a truck stop. Everyone got out to go. Rachel didn't want to. She had to go but she wanted to go by the side of the road. Once again the whole town heard her peeing preference. I am not sure how we made it through that one. I was extremely tempted to sell her to the truck drivers - of course it would have taken a miracle to find someone who would take her. Eventually she did go but listening to the lady in the stall next to us laughing at us was pretty humiliating. I would have probably laughed to if I heard a little girl screaming, "I want to go pee by the side of the road" over and over again.

"Potty in the USA"

If you aren't familiar with Miley Cyrus song, "Party in the USA" just ask Rachel - she will sing it for you. She has got it all down-although "party" comes out with not so much or an "r" sound, which makes it really fitting for our family. We did in fact "potty" across the USA or at least Idaho, Oregon, California, Nevada and Utah. I am not sure what it is about our kids - they must have been born without a bladder, especially the youngest 2 or 3. Seriously Ryan has a hard time making it more than 1/2 an hour - we timed it. I tried limiting his liquids and but every half hour or so it was "Mom I have to go to the bathroom". I always asked "Can you wait" I am not sure why I bothered asking because I already knew the answer. "Ok, I will try" he'd say. Well maybe he did try but he was never very successful. A couple minutes later he would be holding himself bouncing up and down on the seat. When he was almost in tears I'd give in and move the bags sitting on top of my feet, stand on my seat and hurdle over the lunch cooler, snacks, backpacks and laptop sitting in between the two front seats to temporarily stand between Anna and Rachel then I would have to climb over the pillows, blankets, shoes and other junk on the floor in front of the girls to sit on the cooler so that I could hold the bottle while Ryan relieved himself. That was the easies part. Getting back into my seat was a feat of skill that would make any gymnast proud. Rick would be laughing at me and holding up his arm so that I wouldn't fall into him and run us off the road, Anna would be whining about how gross the pee was and how it was so unfair that I kept it in her cup holder. All was quiet for a few minutes then just like clockwork Rachel would need to go. Maybe it was the power of suggestion but Rachel always waited until about 15 minutes after someone else had to go to start her "potty dance". She wouldn't even try to wait, when she's gotta go she has gotta go. Well since we have yet to buy the "GoGirl" feminine urination device a bottle wouldn't do the trick for Rachel. So we would have to pull over. We got this routine down to a science. I got out and held Rachel in a sitting position while she watered the side of the road. I am sure we entertained a few travelers along the way. Anna could go a lot longer but always seemed to wait till we were in the middle of nowhere to have to go - and she would have to go bad. She is above going on the side of the road and since we lack the "GoGirl" she'd either have to tough it out or let me temporarily put a diaper on her. Luckily we never had an accident. But the "GoGirl" is definitely going to go on my Christmas wish list.