The Big Surprise
Mommy, we need you and Daddy to stay asleep for a little while longer. We are working on a project.
Those few words were just enough to strike fear into my heart. A project?? What kind of project could a 9-year-old and a 6-year-old be doing that does not include (a) a mess; (b) blood; (c) both??
It was a very complicated “project” and I was informed on the way to camp that it would be ready for us when we got home later that evening.
Mom and Dad, Please go through the gate to your room. there [sic] open. from Beernut! PS: Please stay there!
This was hanging on the front door when I got home from work.
Go to my room? Stay there until I received further instructions?? I’m liking this surprise already!
Ninety minutes later, PC arrived home and came around back. Within moments, Beernut, Poppyseed, and Peach appeared.
Follow us.
And so we did. Our hosts led us on a tour, showing us each station that had been prepared for the evening.
May we show you to your table?
Once seated, we were given a menu.
Menu. Snacks: salad or chips. Drinks: milk, water, beer (a lot), diet coke, apple juice. Todays special: cheddar cheese and pasta, Poppyseed’s salad dressing (crossed out with the words “it was aful [sic]” next to it!).
There was a separate kids’ menu and also a couple of options given verbally by our server, Poppyseed.
It was not the fanciest meal. In fact, the fare was rather disjointed. But it was made with such care and love.
The first after-dinner activity was Wii. PC and I got to play the game of our choice (WarioWare Smooth Moves) and battle for the title, Wii Master.
I lost.
But we had so much fun…
The final activity for the evening was held at the music center on the patio in the garden. Beernut had set up the CD player. Lenny Kravitz. Good choice, Beernut! Truth-be-told, the kids did the dancing while the happy parents did the watching.
It was a lovely evening. One filled with food, family, and fun. One that bore a great deal of similarity to the evenings on our cruise…
Thanks, kids. We loved every minute of it!
Mother Necessity? Really???
Maybe it’s because I don’t regularly lay tefillin that I don’t get it. (A story for another day…)
So someone tell me if losing one’s yarmulke is SUCH a hassle that it requires this special sweater.
I mean…come on.
(Thanks to In the Pink’s Hadassah Sabo for pointing me to this blog-worthy invention. She’s got a whole house full of tefillin-rolling boys so if she thinks this is unnecessary, I trust her on it!)
Home Sweet…
We’re back. It was a wonderful two weeks. And we were so happy to walk into our house. Within about 20 minutes (if that), it looked as though a tropical storm had fought its way through the entire house.
Amazing.
Would it surprise you to learn that our washing machine gave out after the first load of laundry???
A Well-Deserved Day-Off
While the campers were heavily embroiled in Yom Sport/Yom Yisrael (a strangely-wonderful amalgam of Colour War, Maccabiah, Field Day, and probably some other activities), the Geza team and Faculty had an entire day off!!
The most wonderful part (at least for me and our sitter) was the ability to sleep in until 9:00AM! It’s amazing what some solid sleep can do for one’s disposition. After a great deal of futzing about our room, we headed to Calistoga for some brunch. I had visions of thick, golden french toast whirling about my head. But when we stepped into a darling kids’ boutique (Mud Puddles) and the lovely young woman enthusiastically recommended a place next door, my breakfast plan suddenly changed. Although Poppyseed and Peach heartily enjoyed their French Toast, I just couldn’t bring myself to order that at a place called Miguel’s. Miguel’s claims to have the best breakfast in town and after devouring a perfectly prepared Huevos Rancheros, I’d be hard-pressed to disagree. They were delicious!
We then drove around Calistoga, enjoying the scenery, as we made our way to the Old Faithful Geyser of California. Though not as famous as Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, the California geyser is just as much the real deal, Its splashy eruptions are not as dramatic as the ones in Wyoming. However, they happen MUCH more frequently. Which can be a very good thing when travelling with impatient young ‘uns. And there were Tennessee Fainting Goats, Guard Llamas, and Four-Horned Sheep. You really haven’t lived until you have seen a four-horned sheep. It is one of the strangest-looking creatures.
We learned a LOT about hydrothermal activity and would highly recommend spending some time at this local, natural wonder.
From the sacred to the ….
Out of nowhere, Poppyseed exclaims
Um…we haven’t been to Target for like a week and um…we aren’t going to be there for like…another week…and the two things I miss most are Target and my daddy. So can we please go to Target today?
Hard to argue with logic like that!
Extra, extra — this week’s edition of Haveil Havalim
You won’t be disapointed! Take a look for yourself.
Happy reading! And I hope you had a Happy 4th of Jew-ly!!!
A Parent’s Job
I love my kids as much as any other parent. And I am, by nature, a cryer. But not when it comes to leaving my kids at school on the first day or at camp.
If my kid can make a smooth transition from home to school or home to camp, then I know I’ve done my job.
Have a GREAT time at camp, Beernut!!
Hola Lola!
Somewhere between San Luis Obispo to Napa, the kids remembered Lola. Lola is the protagonist of a catchy tune by the marvelous Zina Goldrich and Marcy Zinner. Nominated for two 2009 Drama Desk Awards, Dear Edwina, “Hola Lola” tells the story of a young girl from Lima, Peru who travels to her cousin, Harry’s, birthday party in Honolulu, Hawai’i and fears the language barrier will prevent the other children from including her in the celebration. The tune is upbeat, the lyrics are smart, and my kids demanded it be put on “repeat.”
For 37 miles.
Which took me back to the Summer of ’86. “The Glory of Love” was the #1 Single on the Billboard Charts, thanks to its inclusion in “The Karate Kid II.” Deep in the throes of teenage angst, I listened to a 90-minute tape of this song on my Sony Walkman during a family driving trip. The entire trip! This was before CDs and MP3s. So it required hours of listening to KIIS (102.7) and Lovesongs on the KOST (103.5) in order to fill an entire tape. (Which I was able to do **directly** from ther radio to the tape deck on my stereo which had been an 8th grade graduation gift from my parents!!!).
Yes, our annual trek to Northern California is underway. As we made our winding way along Porter Ranch Road, Poppyseed squealed “I remember that house! We’re almost there!!!”
URJ Camp Newman-Swing. The Frummies have arrived 🙂
Who’s in Charge Here??
I don’t care with whom you are sleeping. Or not sleeping.
I really don’t.
Unlike many others, I am not interested in the sexual behaviour of my elected leaders.
What I do expect is that my elected leaders will stay in contact with their staff, should they decide to run down to Argentina for a dalliance with a mistress, just in case (God-forbid) there is some emergency.
By the way? “Shrouding this larger trip” is codeword for lying. And lying to one’s staff in order to conceal an illicit tryst? Not OK. Nor is lying to one’s wife.
And seriously, in today’s age of global communication, did ya really think you weren’t going to get caught, Mr. Governor???
Start ‘Em Young
FrumeSarah: Poppyseed, it’s time for bed.
Poppyseed: Hang on…I’m getting a box of tissues.
Several moments pass…
FS: PS, for the love of Creation, what is taking you so long?
PS: I told you. I’m getting a box of tissues.
FS (entering the dining room): PS, what are you doing? You know that you’re not old enough to use the scissors without supervision.
PS: But Mommy, I have to cut out the Box Top first.
**********
If only I could get all of our school’s families to follow suit!
Haveil Havalim — around the Jewish Blogosphere
With President Obama’s speech in Cairo this past week, you can bet that Jewish bloggers have a lot to say on the topic.
Esser Agaroth had the duties this week so go check out what he’s put together.
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