Spring Update

I know, I know...it's been too long since I've posted on the blog, I'll try to be better. Here's a few highlights of the last few months.

*In a recent conversation with Caleb (8) about what he wanted to be when he grows up, he was naming off the different proffessional sports, trying to select just one. Abby, who usually says that she wants to be the lady at the library that scans the books, joined in the converstation by asking, "Dad, do rock-stars make money?" I laughed and said that indeed, rock-stars do make lots of money and then she anounced that she wanted to be a rock-star.

*We made a quick trip to Medford over Memorial weekend. The kids spent the whole time with Grandma, Grandpa, and cousins. While Monica and I ran a booth for her business at a scrapbook convention. Mon does a show like this 2-3 times a year, but this was the first time I had worked with her. I came away with a whole new perspective on Mon's business. I learned that Monica works very hard at these shows, not enouch play time for me. And I also learned that Monica is very popular amoung the scrapbookers of the Northwest. She's a celebrity! 1000 miles of driving in 5 days later and we were home.

Putting the sexy back into Scrapbooking

Wallace Men with a little Fyer

*I hate to become one of those parents who always boasts about how awesome their kids are...but my kids are awesome! Caleb has been doing very well in baseball this spring! You'll have to trust my biased opinion that he kicks butt. He's played 8-9 games so far and he's had a home run in every game. And yes, it's true that in his coach-pitch league, a ball hit into the outfield can usually turn into a home-run as long as the kid keeps running around the bases, but Caleb has had some great hits. Caleb, Abby and I usually play baseball, soccer, or football several days a week at Wallace Park (our huge front yard), so Caleb has had a lot of time with a bat and a glove. It's hard to tell if he's better than the other kids due to playing a lot more or if he has some natural talent, but one thing is for sure, he and I are both having a blast during little league.

*Our little princess Abby turned 6 in May. This spring she asked several times to learn how to ride a "two-wheeler" or a bike without training wheels. I must admit that though my kids have had many more opportunities than most kids (skiing, boating, motorcycles, etc.), niether kid has had the chance to spend much time on their bikes. Since we have a gravel driveway and live on top of a hill, riding around the house isn't ideal. Infact, we keep their bikes at Grandma and Grandpa Foster's house since they live in a traditional nieghborhood cul-de-sac. But Abby wasn't going to be denied her chance of being a "big girl" and after a few practice runs with me and her Grandpa Foster, she was flying around the neighboorhood with the other kids. We were given a older Barbie bike that she used despite it's wobley rear wheel. But to someone who's never riden a bike, she probably thought all bikes shook back and forth as they were ridden. After a couple months of doing the bike version of the Jitter-bug dance, she saw a newer, cleaner, less crooked(er) Disney Princess Bike. After a little haggeling with Abby doing her best puppy-face impression, she now has a bike at home that she rides nearly everyday. Which was quite comical at the beggining since we only have a small 30 feet by 30 feet concrete pad so she would just ride in circles all the time. She's since sprouted her wings and is now riding her bike up and down our long gravel driveway.

Princess Abby with Grandpa Wallace

Abby playing with her cousin Ella in Medford

Caleb's birthday. We're a fine looking family!

Easter Traditions

I think it's now official: We have Easter family traditions. For the last few years, the Spokane Foster family has met out our house for an egg hunt and great food. It's always nice getting everyone together and letting the kids play.

We had another nice Easter Sunday with the usual activities. The only difference this year were that Caleb no longer believed the story of a bunny sneaking into our house bringing gifts and hiding eggs. He kept asking questions about how a bunny could pull off such a feat, and after asking to have his Mom explain several times, I broke down and told him it's all a fun story for little kids (and to boost commercial sales of eggs and chocolate). He promised not to tell his little sister, Abby, but we'll see how long that lasts.

The kids all sporting their new T-shirts from Grandma and Grandpa Foster. Some kids are apparently more happy with their shirts than others.

The oldest and the youngest of the Foster grand kids, Caleb and Zoe.

Abby and Caleb Easter Morning.

What would Easter be without guns and balls?

Spring Break in the Snow

Spring Break in Spokane is a little different than what I was accustomed to while growing up in southern Oregon, mainly because it usually involves snow. And even this year, with record low amounts of snow, we still had snow over spring break. But by doing what's becoming a family tradition, we took full advantage and hit the slopes. We were even blessed with 8 inches of the fresh stuff on the last Saturday of the season, ironically making the last day of the year one of the best days of the year .
Caleb and Abby continue to get better and better at skiing. Particularly Caleb has grown into quite an aggressive skier. He's doesn't have the best form yet, but what he lacks in skill, he makes up for in courage. He loves to brag to anyone who will listen that he thinks the ski runs that are rated as 'black diamond' are "easy". It is true that he'll go down just about any slope on the mountain, but I'm not sure why he has to boast about it all the time? He must get that cockiness from his Mom.
Caleb did humble himself one time while tree skiing when he fell into a large hole under a tree where there was no snow. I was in front and by the time I realized he had crashed and taken off my snowboard, he was in tears wondering if anybody was going to find him. Poor kid was in a hole taller than him, and stuck at such an angle that he couldn't reach down to take off his skis. I had to lye on my stomach to reach down and pull him out. But after wiping away the big tears and a short hug, he was flying down the mountain again.
We also filled up some Spring Break days with other activities like going to a few movies and watching our local Arena Football team the Spokane Shock. The movie after a day of skiing wiped out poor Abby (see picture below), but not to worry, Caleb and I took care of her popcorn and drink. And the Shock games are always a blast. Of course they lost (mainly because I was rooting for them and attended the game), but we had a great time and we all got a free Taco Bell Chalupa since they scored 65+ points. Go Shock!!
It would be nice to have spring weather during spring break one year, but until then we'll continue to take advantage of our time together.

He requested this picture with the double black diamond name plate in the back ground.

This is a ski run that Monica doesn't even go down.

You didn't think I was going to spend the money and buy good seats did you?

Movie time. Thank goodness she wore her sun glasses to the movie???

Caleb and his homeless looking smile.

Losing Ways

The last month has treated me well...kinda. I've had the chance to go see some of my favorite teams play in person. Some buddies from work and I went down to the bay area to watch Gonzaga play against the University of Santa Clara and University of San Francisco. Though an avid sports fan all my life, I can count on one hand how many big-time games I've seen in person. And the games didn't let me down. The Zags didn't play well against either team, but the atmosphere was electric in both of them. I can see why fans can really get hooked on attending college basketball games. They did beat Santa Clara...barely, but they lost to the Dons of USF a few nights later.
It wasn't but a few weeks later that my Dad treated my brother in law, my brother, and me to a Utah Jazz game against the Sacramento Kings. Anybody who knows me, knows I'm a very big fan of the Jazz. Ever since boyhood, I've followed the Jazz closely along with the rest of my family. We met in Sac-town, ate some great barbecue and then headed to the stadium and our third row seats! I've gone to a few NBA games, but never sat this close to the game. We all wore Jazz shirts and stuck out like a sore thumb surrounded by King fans. We got noticed by a few players and even saluted by Carlos Boozer during warm ups. (my knees almost buckled, do you think he likes me??) The Jazz didn't play well, even though they came into the game on a win streak and were playing against one of the worst teams in the league. They lost by a few points but it was still a cool adventure. NBA games are very different from college games, it's much more entertainment than the pure basketball that college games provide. It was great to hang with the Wallace men (and Fryer I suppose) for an evening.
Then a few weeks later, I set out for Las Vegas to watch Gonzaga play in their conference tournament. Because they had the best record of the conference, they had a bye to the semi-finals. Which meant they only had to win two games. Gonzaga had a huge following and the arena was 90% zag fans and they were there to party! The crowd was screaming every play for the essential home team. They played well their first game, but struggled mightily during the conference finals and lost. Are you sensing a trend here? Me too. Maybe I should stick to cheering my teams from the comforts of my own living room....

Turkey Take Over

We live in a beautiful place. We love our house, but we especially love the location. We're surrounded by empty acreage which makes our relatively small five acres feel like hundreds. One of the great things that we've come to enjoy is the wild life. Aside from the gophers, who we've made enemies with, the rest of the animals are majestic to watch in there natural settings...until now.

The turkeys have been our on again/off again friends. Friends when they hang out outside the lawn, NOT friends when they stay on the lawn and....cough...cough...leave "fertilizer" all over the place. Because, please remember, though turkeys are birds, they don't leave behind cute little turkey...muffins, they leave behind dinosaur-sized muffins!

It's usually not that bad since the turkeys normally hang out in groups of 10-15. But this winter, the turkey (flocks? cackles? groups? posse's?) have combined for some reason to amass in numbers of 60-80!! I tried to count them a few times and I got up to 67 before they scattered.

I'm not sure of these turkeys' master plan. But I'm a little concerned about a hostile take-over with their sharp talons. If we are attacked by turkeys, don't tell me that I didn't warn you.

Tooth fairy

Caleb, 7, had been close to loosing one of his front teeth for a couple weeks. I had offered to pull the tooth out using various methods we researched on youtube, but Caleb was insistent that he wanted his tooth to come out at school where the kids receive a special box to take it home.

A few days ago, Caleb came home from school with his cheesy grin missing a key ingredient. He explained to us that he had pulled the tooth out himself in the bathroom and had also administered the first-aid needed while alone? A curious story in itself, but we didn't pry much. He was very excited though, enough to overcome the lack of 'special boxes' that the school had apparently run out. He was mostly focused on the arrival of the tooth fairly.

Monica has a cute little bag that the kids put their dead teeth in when placing them under the pillows before night, and that night was no exception. What did change that evening was Abby, 5, caught a case of the barfo-rama's that kept Mon and I up every hour or so through the night. (We're still training Abby to throw up in the toilet or a bowl...and though she's getting better, 'close' doesn't really count in the throw-up game).

As we all woke up and started our morning routine, Caleb came up to Mon and me in the kitchen and announced that the tooth fairy had forgotten him! Whoops! Mon and I immediatly shared some eye contact full of shame, we had completely forgotten about Caleb's tooth. Crisis-control took over and I started to fumble out some sort of story for Caleb as Monica ran upstairs to remedy the situation. Mon quickly placed some money under Caleb's pillow, but not before she found this letter on his bed:

For those who are 1st grader illiterate, it says:

Dear tooth fairy, why did you not come to me and get my tooth.

Write on the back of the paper. P.S. I hope you get my tooth.

Now let's all let out a collective sigh. Ahhhhhhhh.

Mon couldn't bear to write on the same paper (which was promptly held for future generations) and along with the money, wrote a note from the tooth fairy that stated that the tooth fairy was sorry she was late but she didn't want to bother your sister, Abby, while she was sick.

The crisis was averted. But I have to wonder how much longer we can pull this stuff off with our kids.

Christmas Trip

We enjoyed a quick trip to Medford, OR to see family and friends. Grandma and Grandpa Wallace always make Christmas exciting for both kids and adults. It was a great time had by all.


Several people asked that I not play any practical jokes about Santa bringing coal to Caleb. (click here for last year's pratical joke gone bad) Caleb had a curious Christmas in that prior to Christmas, he was questioning the whole Santa story, but has soon as he saw the Lego Police Station that he had requested, he was a believer again. I'm wondering how many Christmases we'll have with the real Santa? Since I'm sure that once Caleb catches on, Abby will know soon after.

After Medford, we came home to spend time with the Foster family. We enjoyed our annual trip to the Coeur d'Alene Resort for gallon-sized ice cream deserts and then celebrated a fake New Year's Eve on Dec 30th. It's always great to spend time with our family for the holidays.

Cousins enjoying their new Pj's from G&G Wallace

Grandpa Wallace reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve

What's Christmas without something from Hannah Montana?

Trains always play a big role during Grandpa Wallace's Christmas