Crater Lake and Attack of Wildlife

So, we headed out on Friday morning for my mom’s house at 6:30 a.m. We woke up at 5:45 to pack up and tear down the tent. While deflating the mattress, Carrie felt something twinge in her knee while kneeling on the ground. She thought maybe her knee was acting up or something. As I was rolling up the tent I discovered an 8 inch dead mouse that was underneath our tent. When I showed Carrie, she squealed, “Gross! What’s even grosser is that I think I killed it with my knee.” So far, Lassiters 1, Wildlife 0.
We drove the excruciatingly long drive to my mom’s and arrived at 6:30 p.m. to 64 degree weather. It felt great feeling cold. While driving we’ve been listening to an audio book of Eragon. It was written by a 16 year old kid, and is, so far, fantastic.
On Sunday, we drove another 6 hours to a lodge called Crystal Wood Lodge. It is a “pet friendly” place so my mom can have her dog with her. It’s an old homestead that was converted into a lodge. It has old furniture, tons of books about dogs, a spa, overpriced mementos (bug spray for 8 bucks), 12 Alaskan Huskies who train for the Iditarod, bird watching binoculars, a fly fishing tie desk, board games including “Dog-opoly”, and canoes to rent so you can get further bit by mosquitos…you know, everything you need in a lodge! It is interestingly place on the cusp of the forest and the wetlands of southern Oregon. We saw an amazing thunderstorm the first night we were there. Of course, being near a couple lakes we got eaten alive by mosquitos. Lassiters 1, Wildlife 1.

Monday morning we headed out for Crater Lake. As I was getting into the van, a wasp bit me on the leg. Lassiters 1, Wildlife 2. For those who don’t know, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States. It’s the caldera of a volcano and is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. The water is bluer than blue. You can see the reflection of the surrounding area in the picture. Too bad Wes is squeezing out a fart in the picture! There was still some snow on the ground, so Wes got to make his first ever snowball.
We left this morning for my mom’s house, another 8 hour drive. Yeah! Upon reaching the 62 degree weather (eat your heart out Rancho people), I tallied our driving so far this vacation: 1826.4 miles driven, 31 hours, 43 minutes spent in the car, average speed of 52.9 miles per hour, 23.8 miles per gallon, and, as you can see from the photo of our license plate, over 10,000 insects killed! Lassiters 2, Wildlife 2. Keep posted, folks, the game ain’t over yet!

"Camping" With the Lassiters

We started our adventure at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning (yes, there is a 5:30 A.M.!). We threw both boys in the van and headed out at about 6:30, which was just in time for hellacious L.A. traffic (nice planning, I know). After several stops to “get our shakes out” we made it to the KOA in Sacramento at about 2:00 p.m. We had lots of fun getting the tent up in 100 degree heat, so the pool was perfect! That night we grilled some burgers, watched Scrubs on the computer (yeah, real camping), and got a good night sleep.
The next morning we headed into Old Sacramento. I think they call it “old” because of the dilapidated buildings, crappy parking structure, and year old cheese smell that permeated the air. Okay, so it wasn’t that bad, but still…
We went to the Railroad Museum. It was very cool. They had several old steam engine trains, fancy dining cars, and a collection of toy trains. I enjoyed reading about the construction of the transcontinental railroad while we were there. There was a sign marking the beginning of the western end of it in the museum.
After a quick bite to eat at Round Table, we went to another museum on the history of Sacramento and the Gold Rush. Here, the kids got to dress up in costumes from the Gold Rush era. Since I teach California history, this was especially entertaining for me. They had a really neat exhibit on the Sacramento Bee with an old style printing press. What was even cooler was that the guy running it was probably alive during the Gold Rush.
After a major temper tantrum (hey, I wanted one of those crushed penny thingies), we got back in the car and drove to “New Sacramento.” I wanted to drive by the Capitol building and give our beloved governor the 1 finger salute. The boys both fell asleep on the way over, so we drove by it and didn’t get out. The best part was getting caught in one of those circle loops like Chevy Chase in European Vacation. Only this time instead of, “Look, kids…Big Ben, Parliament,” it was, “Look kids…Capitol Building, Starbucks.”
We got back to the camp site just in time for the Frenchies to check in and headed straight for the swimming pool. (Why are there so many Europeans at KOA’s? I don’t understand it. It’s not a bad thing, but why go camping in Sacramento? Why not stay at the Hilton in Vegas or Anaheim or San Diego or anywhere other than Sacramento?)
At dinner time, when Wes was playing in the sprinklers to stay cool and we were dying of heat exhaustion, we checked the weather in Medford, OR which was our next stop. We saw that the temperature was going to be 104 degrees and 109 degrees for the 2 days we would be there. My mom’s house, on the Oregon coast, was another 4 ½ hours away and had a high of 71 degrees. We made the decision then and there to head up to her place…you can read about that adventure the next time you stop by this blog. Or you can check Carrie’s version.

Reinforcements Are Here!! (AIP part 3)

The cavalry arrived at 7:30 this morning. My brother-in-law, Bryan, and his wife, Kelly, came over so we could all go to Disneyland for the day. It was so much fun. We met up with cousins J.J. and Ben and Ben's son Kyle. While we went on some of the "big boy" rides, Kelly took my boys off to Pooh Bear and to feed the goats. She was great!

I have learned a lot so far flying solo. I feel bad for having such a negative outlook on the whole thing. Yes, I'm tired from being up in the middle of the night with Wyatt. Yes, my patience has been tested when Wes demands things ("how bout....we play in the dirt. How bout...we not eat dinner. How bout...no bath, Daddy!). Yes, I haven't been able to keep up with Angels games. Yes, I have to do everything 10 times slower (get the diaper bag, get Wyatt, get Wes' shoes on, get him off his chair, get out the door together, lock the door while holding Wyatt, turn car on to run a.c., buckle Wyatt in his seat, buckle Wes in his seat, go back inside to get wallet I forgot, get in car, find Music Machine c.d. so Wes doesn't have a melt down, drive to store to get pepperoni). But you know what? I have REALLY loved this! I feel closer to my boys than I ever have.

I understand more fully why mothers try to postpone weening their children from nursing as long as possible. My favorite part about this whole experience has been feeding Wyatt with a bottle. He has never taken one before, so it was new for both of us. But I just love holding him in my arms while he stares up at me lovingly. It is a great feeling to know that I am the only person who can help him in this...Carrie's gone, he can't feed himself, there's only me. I can see how studies have shown how nursing mothers bond more to their children.

Okay, enough of the touchy feely crap! Thank God I have been a negotiator for my school district the last couple of years. It has given me some skills to parent since Wes is the master negotiator. I have actually used the interest based process this weekend. "You want to go on Pooh Bear ride, I want to go on Splash Mountain...Why don't you go on Pooh Bear with Aunt Kelly and I'll go on Splash Mountain with Uncle Monkey." Or, "I am interested in getting you fed a healthy lunch, you are interested in juice and cookies, how many pieces of chicken is worth a cookie? (Thank God he has no number sense.)"

Of course, Wes said it best tonight when on the phone with Carrie. Carrie said, "I love you, buddy. Have a good sleepy." To which Wes responded not with "I love you, too," or "Night-night," but with "COME HOME!"

"Dad's weekend, huh?" (AIP part 2)

1 can of Spagetti Oh's
1 can of peaches
1 tub of ice cream
1 Boboli Pizza crust and sauce
1 six-pack of Heineken
1 toddler with dirt on his knees, arms, and face
1 baby with canned sweet potatoes around his mouth

I don't know how the checker knew I was parenting this weekend.

Okay, so I've gotten some slack about my previous post. FYI, it was 45 minutes (not 15) that it took my son to dress himself. Plus, you need to realize that Wyatt has never been away from Carrie for more than a couple of hours. In fact, he's never had anyone but her feed him. I'm the guinea pig with the bottle this weekend.

I've learned all about multi-tasking. Cook dinner for self, feed baby his bottle, nag Wes to finish his Spagetti Oh's, clean up mess in kitchen, take out trash, keep laundry going, keep watchful eye on Angels game (GO HALOS!), answer phone when it rings, eat my own dinner, entertain baby, and use the facilities.

This whole adventure would be a lot easier if Wyatt knew how to sleep on his own! Earlier today, he was asleep in my arms. I placed him in his crib and you would have thought I had castrated him with the scream he gave. He eventually fell asleep in my arms and slept for about an hour while I watched "The Brett Hart Story" on the Documentary Channel (did you know there was a "documentary channel?").

Right now, Wyatt has been crying for close to 20 minutes. Dude! Just go to sleep! I'm thinking ahead to MY night of sleep, which I feel will be short. (BTW, went upstairs right now and rocked him till he went to sleep.) The other thing I've noticed about kids and sleep is that they can fall asleep anywhere at anytime. Today, Wyatt fell asleep in his car seat at ToysRUs while Wes was throwing a tantrum about not touching toys. I can't fall asleep on an airplane after having been up for 28 hours.

I am attempting to watch "Syriana" and "Munich" this weekend while Carrie is away so I will end my blog for today so I can get started. Not sure what I'm doing tomorrow. Any suggestions? Something that a sleep deprivated father and his two boys can do.

Adventures in Parenting...(part 1)

You can't call it babysitting. They're my own kids. So, for the next four days I am "parenting" my two boys (Ages 3 and 8 months).
I've never thought it was easy for my wife to do it, and I am sure that I will soon discover exactly how "un-easy" it is. As I write this, Wyatt is upstairs crying in his bed. He fights sleep like no other kid. I am sure that someday he will be like any other teenage boy and sleep more than a three-toed sloth. Wes is watching "Go, Diego, Go" (which might be where I got the three-toed sloth idea).
I guess the biggest attribute a parent needs to have is patience. It took Wes 15 minutes to get his clothes on this morning! He gets distracted ("Daddy, can you help m...hey, look at that elephant!"). I often wonder if that is just being 3 or if he is unusually distracted. Well, I better go...Wyatt is still crying...he might need his pacifier (either that or some horse tranquilizer!)