Aug. 8: Big ol’ milestone

My husband celebrated his 50th birthday a couple weeks ago. Fifty! Fiiiiiifteeeeeeee! I am married to a very old man.

I had planned on throwing a monster-huge party for him, but then came The Summer of The Broken Ankle; I feel absolutely useless in this cast. For a while I thought we’d still have a party, just a couple months late. Victor kept reminding me it was no big deal, but I say that’s just ridiculous—you can’t let a 50th birthday go by unpartied for! The subject came up again two weeks ago and we both kinda decided to just plan a last-minute thing and hope our nearest and dearest could make it.

And most of them did. Yay! We got together last Sunday in honor of the elderly guy who lives in my house.

---

Sonya and Victor

Dina, Vic, and Val = The Trio of Pure Spectacularness™

Theresa, Tina, Dina, and me

Blaine can almost do a pushup with Val sitting on him!
I love the crowd of kids around them, in complete awe of Blaine’s strength.
(That’s what he thinks, anyway.)

Two of my neighbor-friends, Cristina and Trudy. Ring pops!

Randy, Jim, and Jeremy.
I have no idea what they’re doing, but I see the tequila is still sealed...

Cassie’s got her hands in the air like she just don’t care.
Is Tina sleeping?

 
The kids lined up chairs all across the street and waited for a car
to come so they could blow horns at it.
Good thing our street’s not busy; they got tired of waiting and gave up.
<cough> Idiots! <cough>

My BFF April couldn’t join the festivities, but her mom did!
Pat and Darlene are friends from college. (I love that.)
I think they’re talking about how they can’t possibly have children 50 years old.

Theresa, Dina, Val
(I love these girls so much)

Some o’ the kids.

More kids.
Randy’s still barely taller than Blaine (who sooo looks like Dina in this pic, BTW).
Jack is a dork.
Mack is blurry.

 
Happy recent 20th anniversary to Randy and Dina!
She got a gorgeous rock, sure, but Cassie’s got the real ‘spensive bling.

 
I asked guests to write out an answer to this question, and
the slips of paper are saved in a jar that we’ll treasure forever.
Or at least until Victor goes senile and forgets his name.

The cupcake picks were colorful and sarcastic and fun.
We also had big jars of candy with pun-ny signs and DIY goodie bags:
“thirty sucks” (lollipops)
“forty blows” (gumballs)
“fifty rocks” (chocolate rock candy)
“kiss middle age goodbye” (Hershey’s Kisses)
“treasure your youth” (candy necklaces, ring pops, gold chocolate coins, etc.)
I hate puns, but I do love cute birthday party décor and excuses to have candy.

---

I was thrilled to have a great turnout of our family and friends in honor of Vic’s big birthday. The kids were a surprisingly lot of help in getting things ready, and so were several other cool peeps. Extra-special thanks to:

• Kristen and Matt, who helped with the last few prep duties and, most importantly, figured out how to use the automatic corkscrew. The people who were happy about that were REALLY happy about that.
• Sonya, Chris, Julianne, and Jacob, who made the trip from Issaquah. It wouldn’t have been the same to celebrate Vic without them.
• Darlene, who brought homemade goodies. She always makes such good stuff—it’s, like, almost too pretty to eat.
• Dawn, who said she’d bring delicious treats as long as I didn’t give her credit but guess what? I’m totally doing it anyway. Thanks, Dawn! I’m so appreciative of your bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers that I’m not posting the pic of you and the potato salad.
• Alec (our nephew), who gave up a chunk of his weekend to attend and represent his part of the family. It was nice to have him with us.
• Mother Mary. She couldn’t actually be at the party, but she happily shared purchases from across the state line.
• Cristina, who let us borrow important party supplies.
• All the people who brought refreshing bottled beverages. We have a few parties’ worth in leftovers—there’s an FYI that ought to get us on a guest list or two.
• Val, who took most of these photos.
• Nikki, Mack, Lauren, and Phoebe, who helped Katie and Jack decorate and do last-minute setup.
• Everyone who was super-sweet to Maya. This was her first big group, and we were pleased to see her do so well.

Party guests whose true identity I shall protect to the grave until someone asks me who it was:

• The person who lost track of her kid. Like, it was midnight and we were yelling up and down the street. Because I lost my kid too.
• The person who stood in front of the open freezer for five minutes looking for ice. She couldn’t quite focus on the tiny 20-pound bags at eye level until her son pointed them out to her. And then she looked at him lovingly and said, “Thank you. I love ice.”
• The person who forgot her shoes at our house. How does a person leave a party barefoot? Maybe after you’ve stared at 40 pounds of ice for five minutes…
• Friends and family who wanted to be at the party but couldn’t make it, as well as the friends and family who didn’t want to be at the party but came anyway.

 

Here’s what the kitchen floor looked like the next morning.
It was so, so disgusting.
I blame the kids, their soda, and whoever opened the tequila.

 

As I’ve cleaned up and put away party supplies this week, I’ve taken extra care not to destroy any of the age-specific stuff—we’ll need it again in four short years when it’s time to celebrate me turning the big 5-0. Yikes. Really, that is all I have to say about being so close to 50: YIKES.

But congrats to YOU on making it to 50, Victor! And thanks for giving us a reason to party.

Apr. 4: Our trip to Long Beach

Our 15th wedding anniversary was right before the very busy school carnival in February, so we had to delay our out-of-town celebrating. This past weekend we went to Long Beach, Washington. If you’re not familiar with Long Beach—I was surprised how many friends had never heard of it—it’s on the Washington coast, just across the border.

Long Beach is 28 miles long, and is supposedly the longest stretch of beach in the U.S. One big draw to Oregonians is that in Washington, you can drive on the beach. Yes, Oregon beaches are beautiful and pristine, but they don’t have tire tracks. Anyway…

Sunday we left home and drove up to Astoria. It was rainy and an un-fun drive. It snowed as we drove through the coast range—it snowed big, fluffy, happy flakes that stuck to the ground. In any other month but April, this might make me giddy. However, since I’ve seen enough early spring snow this year to last me a lifetime, the snow in the coast range made me curse big, fluffy angry words.

When we got to Astoria, we had no idea what to do. We had planned on walking around, exploring the newly restored areas of Astoria, but none of that seemed so appealing in the pouring-down rain. So here’s what we did:

1. Drove around. Boooooring.
2. Found the Goonies house. It was open to foot traffic only and we decided we didn’t love the movie enough to get out in the rain to peek into the house—which people actually live in, so, y’know, that’s stalker-y.
3. Found Astoria Elementary School, where several scenes from Kindergarten Cop were filmed. It looked pretty much like we expected, i.e., yawn.
4. Looked for the Astoria Column. I distinctly remembered from my field trip there in third grade that it wasn’t on a hill, but we saw signs and they were most certainly leading us up a hill. I think they might have moved the Astoria Column sometime in the past 35 years. It totally was not on a hill back then. Or maybe the city just sank all around it. That’s it.
   
   And since when is it the Astoria Column and not the Astor Column? Back in my day… Seriously, I can’t find anything anywhere about why or when the name was changed. Pretty sure someone’s messing with me. Or maybe I’ve called it the wrong thing all these years. That can’t be, can it?
   
   We found the dang thing, parked, and started the 164-step climb up. It’s a very narrow and steep metal spiral staircase, and it took several minutes to climb, what with the stopping for the catching of the breath. I kept asking Vic if he was sure he wanted to climb because he’s somewhat (read: very) afraid of heights. He kept insisting he was fine, but the second we got to the top and went out he said he needed to go back down. Weeeener.
   
   (I couldn’t climb those steps in third grade. I started up and turned back around over and over. I was scared to death. This time I wasn’t scared; I was mostly just “meh” about it. I mean, it’s not like I was gonna see Paris or London at the top. Sheesh. Yeah, I know I should turn in my “proud life-long Oregonian” card right now.) 
   
   It was cold at the top, and I had no interest in admiring the cloudy view from on high, so I followed Vic back to the ground. Here’s a picture he took before he hightailed it outta there:
   
   
5. I know the bridge in the photo doesn’t look all that impressive, but it kind of is. It’s the Astoria-Megler Bridge and the longest of its kind in the U.S.—four miles. Crossing it means a heck of a long time on one bridge, I can tell you that. Here’s a cool panoramic pic of the bridge (scroll down). My favorite view while crossing was actually the one in my lap—looking at the GPS and seeing blue all around us. I may or may not have made a blasphemous comment about us driving on water. 

So, it turns out that most of what we know about Astoria is based on movies that were filmed there. That is sad. I enjoy learning about our state history, but I must not have paid much attention on that field trip because I don’t remember what any of those landmarks are about. However, when Vic reminded me what Cape Disappointment was, I suggested that if the explorers named it today, it’d be Cape OMG Where the Eff is That River?  …which makes me think creating my own Oregon history is way better.

After we crossed the bridge we were in Washington state and a few minutes later we got to Long Beach.

Lodging

We stayed at the Adrift Hotel, which is a newly refurbished spot on the south end of the town of Long Beach. I read lots on tripadvisor beforehand, so Adrift’s philosophy (and décor) was not a surprise:

Owners, Brady and Tiffany Turner, acquired the former Edgewater Inn with a particular vision in mind. They wanted to create a hotel that was unique, modern, fun, and relaxed...an ocean front retreat for all types of travelers to fully enjoy. They had previously built the '"Inn at Discovery Coast", which is a boutique inn with twelve well appointed ocean front rooms right next to Adrift. The Inn at Discovery Coast caters to couples. With Adrift Hotel, they wanted to offer something for everyone; couples, groups, individuals, professionals and families alike. They wanted to provide clean, modern rooms with a minimalist and relaxed feel. They care about the earth and its resources and wanted to remodel and operate the hotel with the environment and sustainability in mind. Much of the decor and furnishings throughout the property are reclaimed and/or recycled. Through operations, the hotel uses green and recycled products as much as possible.

It’s hilarious to read reviews of the hotel from people who did NOT do any research before their arrival. I’m not so sure I would be thrilled about the minimalist feel if I wasn’t expecting it, but that’s why I research options before I make hotel reservations. Duh, idiot travelers. Anyway, we LOVED Adrift. Yes, it was very simple, but it was also clean and comfortable. We had a deluxe ocean view room, and Vic got friendly with the chaise near the window immediately. Across the room, I discovered that if I sat in the bed just so, I could see the ocean in the mirror by the window. I didn’t have to move my arse to see the ocean! I loved that!

Here was the view from our room when we first arrived:

Although the clouds never completely disappeared during our stay, we had quite a bit of blue sky and sunshine the second day. The third day was rainy and icky again, making it slightly easier to leave for home than it usually is when we’re at the coast.

We went through Astoria again and made a quick detour to Cannon Beach, just in time to see a teensy bit of sunshine. Vic and I stood next to each other and took pictures, one with an iPhone 3GS and one with an iPhone 4. Which do you think is which, and most importantly, which do you think is better???

The winner will be showered with praise. The loser will be taunted and booed until my throat is sore.

Entertainment/attractions

The beach is the big attraction in Long Beach, obviously. There’s a short boardwalk that begins and ends at parts of the town that are good for exploring—in other words, I recommend combining the boardwalk trek with shopping/sightseeing. You can make bonfires on the beach, and of course, it’s nice for walking, kite-flying, beachcombing, clam-digging, biking, etc.

• Driving on the beach. (Woo. Hoo.) Travel guides say that Long Beach is technically a state highway and regular rules of the road apply when driving on the beach. I think that’s kooky talk, but that’s because I’m an Oregonian. I also hate pumping my own gas and paying sales tax.
• Jake the Alligator Man. I’m not even going to post a link to this abomination. Google it yourself. He can be found at Marsh’s Free Museum, a gross souvenir-store/Goodwill/museum/you’ll-want-hand-sanitizer/taffy-store.
• The giant frying pan. I don’t get what’s so neato about a big frying pan or the oversized clam they display next to it. Laaaame.
• World Kite Museum & Hall of Fame. Wow, that’s so boring I fell asleep typing it out. I saw the kite museum (it’s on the same street as Adrift Hotel) and still can’t believe it exists. Let’s see, a more boring museum theme… World Toast Museum & Hall of Fame. World Toothbrush Museum & Hall of Fame. World Extension Cord Museum & Hall of Fame. World Cracker Museum & Hall of Fame.
• Surrey, moped, and bike rentals. We planned to rent mopeds our last day but it was too rainy. Bummer.

Eateries

Tuscany Café, in Ilwaco. This hidden little gem was an amazing find (thank you, tripadvisor!). Delicious Italian food, the best chocolate mousse I’ve ever had, and a gorgeous presentation of bananas flambé.

Lost Roo, in Long Beach. It’s pretty much a non-chain version of Outback. I had a grilled chicken sandwich with bacon, roasted chile, and avocado—big yum. Liked the choice of fries or tots. Also enjoyed the cranberry bistro salad—perfect proportions of all ingredients.

Castaways Seafood Grille, in Long Beach. My food was below so-so. Vic got fish and chips and said it was fine.

Pig ‘n Pancake, in Astoria. We always go here as kind of a joke—like, “Oh, we have to go to Pig ‘n Pancake! It’s an Oregon Coast tradition!” but then we eat there and we’re all YEAH, UM, THIS IS SAMBO’S. However, the food wasn’t terrible this time and, in fact, I had eggs Benedict that was actually pretty good.

We enjoyed our relaxing getaway, and we hope to take the kids to Long Beach the next time we want to do something coast-y beyond Lincoln City/Newport or Cannon Beach. They’ll like Long Beach; we’re eager to go back when the weather’s nicer. What stands out most from our weekend, though, is how glad we feel to mark 15 years of being married. We look forward to 15 more. (But that’s it. Thirty, tops.)

Mar. 28: A milestone reversed

Katie got her ears pierced last summer. She was eight years old. We went over all the beforehand stuff about how important it was going to be for her to clean her ears regularly, to only wear certain types of earrings, etc. I thought she was probably a little young, but with our help she’d do just fine.

And she did do just fine, for the first few weeks. Then came the first infection. She screamed bloody murder as I tried to clean it for her. Right after, she got better about cleaning around the holes, twisting the earrings, and then must have gotten lazy again. She was afraid to tell us if her ear lobe got tender and/or puffy, so by the time we’d see it for ourselves, it’d gotten quite infected. It got to where she didn’t like us to even look at her ear lobes for fear we’d decide they were infected and put her through the torture of cleaning them. 

As I told her every time, there was no reason to scream like that. I had occasional infections when my ears were first pierced, and I knew how much it hurt. But it didn’t hurt THAT much. The girl has always had an extremely low pain threshold. A tiny scratch gets her panicked and hyperventilating. A real wound makes her cry so hard, it’s almost impossible to get her calmed. I remember being a little like that at her age, but when I started getting headaches in high school, I learned to deal with pain more like a normal person.

I made Katie a necklace this evening, and when she pulled her hair up so I could clasp it, I noticed one of her earrings was falling out. When I looked closer I saw that her lobe was so swollen it had enveloped the stud. Although it was painful, the earring came out the back of her lobe easily, along with lots of other goo and blood. Katie immediately started freaking out. I sent her upstairs to get her ear cleaning solution, and decided with Vic that we’d had enough of the earrings. They were coming out.

There was no argument from Katie. She’s tired of it all too.

I’m so disappointed. I’m discouraged with Katie for not taking care of her ears better, but I know the blame for that is ultimately mine. I’m frustrated at the way she deals with discomfort and concerned that if it doesn’t eventually improve, she’ll be spending a lot of her lifetime in hysterics. And I’m also just plain bummed out that we gave up on this thing that made her so proud just a few months ago.

Jan. 16: Meh, what milestone?

Ah, the other shoe dropped. Er, um, the other tooth fell out. That snaggle-tooth look is not the most attractive, which is funny because I LOVE the missing-both-front-teeth look. During a pizza dinner this evening, Jack lost his other front tooth. These are the photos I just took of him, none of which really even look like him and one in which he’s trying not to yawn, to show off the gap in his mouth.









He was really excited and proud but within minutes was glued to Phineas & Ferb again. Now it’s all MOOO-OOOOM! WHY DO YOU PUT EVERYTHING ON YOUR BLOG?

Aug. 21: Many milestones

A few things have been happening around here that I have to share.

• Katie passed Level D in swimming last week. We're very proud of her hard work and all she's learned this summer. She started at Level B in July and got through three sessions like a star!
  
• Jack lost his first tooth on Sunday morning. It came out just as he was waking up and he tried so hard to be excited but he was still just soooo sleepy. It was very cute. He's showing off his gap to anyone who shows the slightest interest.
  
• My friend Alisa's birthday was Saturday. I knew it was coming, but I don't think I looked at my calendar the whole time we were at my mom's this past weekend. I'm sorry, Alisa! I hope it was a good birthday and you were showered with many lovely gifts because everyone likes to be showered with many lovely gifts.
  
• I'm mostly finished with a database project I started about four years ago. The milestone part of this is that I have invoiced it and am actually going to get paid for my work. Because it was a contract job and I charged a flat rate, my hourly wage decreased dramatically over the time I worked on it; I think I figured it ended up being about 4¢ an hour. I blame no one but myself for this, but it's still nice to see this project on its way to my archives (and bank account).
  
• Although school doesn't officially start until the week of Labor Day, Jack is going to a "Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten" class this week. This is a great preparatory class because the kids can get familiar with the school and procedures without the chaos of having six other grades in the building. Jack has been excited to go to the same school as Katie, and even though he loves it so far, I can tell he's still nervous. What makes Mommy nervous about that: last year a classmate of Katie's was so freaked out about starting school that he would sneak out of the classroom every morning after his mom dropped him off and hide in the bushes by the front door and cry. Poor little guy. Anyway, I'm hoping what Jack learns this week will keep that kind of crisis at bay.
  
• Everyone loves my seester. Well, at least some hiring folk in Collaradda do.
  
• Jacob broke his arm a few years ago. Alec broke his arm last week. It doesn't take a psychic to deduce that Jack is up next. As I'm not too fond of surprises, I would like some warning, please (are you there, goddess? it's me, jen).
  
• This isn't really a milestone specifically for our family, but it's somewhat huge that High School Musical 2 beat a bunch of records for basic cable TV viewing. I watched the movie yesterday and I have to say that it's really not bad. The music is fun and most of the choreography was good. The acting is what you would expect from young actors, but at least they're nice to look at. 'Specially that yummy little Zac Efron... hubba hubba...

—Jen