Long Overdue Update on the Bay Area Doxeys

After a nearly 3 month blog drought, we're trying to get with the program again. Starting from the latest and greatest, here's a photo overview of what has been going down with us since Halloween. We're printing up all of our blog posts in a blog book and it's turning out to be a fun thing to read through. So, if you're wondering, "Why blog?" That's why. Oh, and it's a fun way to stay in touch with the family.

Enjoy...

Recital. Last night we had an incredibly amazing recital from Julia's piano students. 17 students (including Nate, John, Ben and Ella) performed. Some are getting really good. Afterward, she gave each a special recognition certificate telling each of them what they had uniquely improved upon since the last recital. A huge sense of accomplishment for one and all.



Our Car 72 Hour Kit. What are the chances of any of these things happening:
1) We're on some distant western USA road with the family and out of cell coverage, when we hit a deer or cow in the road, or the car simply dies.
2) We're close to home but in the car someplace here in the Bay Area and an earthquake hits, snarling traffic and/or the roads for hours.
3) There is a "bridge incident" which makes us sit on the bridge for hours with hungry kids
4) Authorities tell us to evacuate our home due to fire, a chemical/gas spill nearby
It's all likely--and some of it has happened before. Enter my co-scoutmaster's Woodbadge project...teaching people what needs to be in a car 72 hour kit. With the kids, we put this (and more) together and it all fits very tightly packed beneath our back seat. If you want to see his list e-mail me and I'll send it to you.

On to Coloma. For one week, the entire Country Club Elementary 4th grade went to Coloma, site of the Gold Rush. Nate tells us while he was there he went on a ropes course, panned for gold, went on hikes, had dutch oven cornbread, "sleepovers" with school friends and more. Adult to kid ratio...1:5. Financed primarily by e-scrip. They assumed pioneer '49er names, sang Kumbayah and had a great time. This is all part of their State of California history/being independent/taking responsibility unit. A lot like Aspen Grove. I have three more chances to be a parent volunteer. I'll get there.


Restoration Hard Wear..like, on us. Ever since Julia and I were dating, it seems like we have been refinishing furniture for fun. Well, Craigslist and the Bay Area have made this pursuit a whole lot more fun with an abundance of antique cool furniture around. Here are some of our latest and greatest projects. The holidays were a hive of activity furniture wise.
We finally finished the hall tree you see here, after it sat in our garage for years. When we got it, it was in so many pieces I couldn't even see how it fit together. My brothers Dave & Rich helped me figure out how to recreate some decently ornate caned (yes, it's woven cane)shelf supports--they turned out great. Julia's brother Rob and his wife Su helped me cut the mirror. I went with two different types of stain to get an accurate 1920s looking match. When you come to our home you now have a place to hang your hat.

The Secretary Desk. I've been meaning to fix the leaded glass doors on this puppy for years. Now, there is a much better use for it--it's our master bedroom office. I think it's from the 40s. Handy little diddy. It only sticks out from the wall about 12"-17" (important in these parts) and doubles as a second TV. I guess the only problem is every neighborhood kid (and sometimes their dogs) could potentially wet their pants (and my pillow) as they watch a movie. It's totally worth it. That's a tradeoff I'll gladly make.

The Rocking Chair. I think this is from the late 30s or 40s too--it's quite small, perfect for the girls. This originally had a woven cane back and seat, but we're going the tapestry and padding route. Tricky angles.

New Years Extravaganza at the Doxeys. Foosball tournament, Ping Pong, candy bar game, hands up hands down game, and a dance to boot. Nate and John invited a bunch of their friends over and the clock struck 2010 at 9 p.m. Of course, Julia went all out and made them shrimp salsa, the feta pinenut pesto sundried tomato cheeseball, but they really liked the Cheetoes, a novelty for us. Nate has the foosball table in his room now, so it has taken on a whole new dimension of "cool."




Half Moon Bay in January. I guess most people don't think of going to the beach in January, but when Dan's Mom was here, we couldn't resist. Now remember, with this blog post I'm covering present to the past 3 months...so, right before Grammie left, we took her out to Half Moon Bay and had some fine Mexican fare, and walked/climbed along the beach. Kids loved it. We loved it. It was a fitting end to having Grammie here over Christmas.


Christmas Day Dinner @ John & Ann's. Incredible food. No broken bones this time. (Last time we were there with Ann's mom who is 85, our little John ran to her full speed to give her a big Dutch hug. John happens to be a 98 pound 7 year old, and she probably weighs 80 lbs with her hair wet. In John's exuberance, he mowed her over, unfortunately breaking her arm.) We had a nice little chat about how to act around the elderly.
Christmas Day. We were so lucky to have Grammie here, mano-a-mano for Christmas. We want to make it a tradition if possible. The kids LOVED having her here from the second they could get their paws on her. They kicked off her visit by making cookies.


Caroline was very excited to get her own, personalized mini bottle of ketchup.

Liza couldn't contain her excitement about receiving yet another novelty around here--a juice box.

Lots of toys, lots of smiles, all kids grateful. It was "peace on earth goodwill toward men" incarnate. Julia and I gave each other a new transmission and some other sundries we were in desperate need of around the house. Go figure--within a 3 week span, our tranny died, computer died, and a week later my cell phone died in a most interesting way. How you ask?

The short of it--while Mom was here, we went to the Academy of Science in Golden Gate Park. I'm in the kiddy area with Caroline and Liza. I pick up Caroline and she violently spews chunks 3-4 times. Mothers and kids immediately scatter. Academy personnel mildly panic. Germs everywhere. Janitorial crew on the way. I absorbed most of the projectiles between Caroline and myself. Cell phone in front shirt pocket--now dead. Left Liza there, found a bathroom--of course with no paper towels, only high efficiency superpowered blowers, motion censored water and motion sensored soap--all when Caroline and I both were going to take a bath in the sink. What to do? Both of us get half naked, scrub out vomit. Just keep that sensored water and sensored soap pumping. Not pretty. A half hour later Caroline and I waltz out of the bathroom and walk across the kiddie area shirtless. A B-line to the stroller so we could at least wear our coats. Janitorial crew just wrapping up. With phone now dead, and still stinking like vomit, I set off to find Julia and mom in the Academy someplace.



Christmas Eve. We spent Christmas Eve at Tom & Hil's. Phenominal food. Hil and Ann cranked out the Racolet. Mom really loved it. Hil's house was festooned to the 9s for the season.

Little John was Joseph. I was a pinch hitting shepherd.

Happy brothers.

One of the most unique and special treats was to have Grammie here to play her violin for all the songs of the nativity. The kids and adults loved it. She really was great, as always. Something I think is normally taken for granted. Having her play the violin added so much to the whole night. The kids were amazed how well she plays. She even played Nate's little 1/4 size violin and he really like that too.

Right before the Christmas Eve fete, we cruised up to the top of Mt. Diablo b/c it was a crystal clear day. and

Mt. Diablo is about 3800 ft. so you can see the whole Bay Area, including the Golden Gate Bridge and more. Of course, when we got to the lookout tower on the top, we realized why it was so clear...it was extremely windy and COLD. Coldest I've been in the Bay Area. The humidity along with the cold air just rattles your bones. But the sunset is amazing, and we love to be up there.

The warm bodies (Julia, Nate, Liza and Caroline) stayed in the car while we went up to the peak marker, which is fortunately in an enclosed old lookout tower.

Girls in curls ...prepping for the Christmas Eve dinner.

Marin Headlands & Old WWII Military Gun Turrets * Fortifications. Of course, the whole time Grammie was here we had INCREDIBLE weather, even for the Bay Area. So, we went up to the Marin Headlands overlooking Point Bonita and the lighthouse. This is one of our favorite haunts. There's really no way to describe it. It's one of our favorite places in the Bay Area.

Does a view get any better than this?


Sausalito. Right before we went up to Marin Headlands to catch the evening light, we cruised over to Sausalito to take Mom to the Salt Water Taffy shop, (which I swear they just import from the Salt Water Taffy Mecca of the world, Utah). They have barrels full of a really nice variety of flavors--all conveniently at kid level. Pricey but fun.

Wicked at the Orpheum. In a rare twist of fate and luck, we were trying to get lottery tickets to Wicked with Grammie. We didn't get drawn for the $25 tickets, but for not much more, we were able to get other ticket that were actually pretty good.

Nate, John, Grammie and my vommit smelling, no shirt (only a fleece) wearing self (man it's good to have a big bottle of hand sanitizer in the car!)got into Wicked that night. The kids are still talking about it. One of those unforgettable moments indeed.



Celebrating Grammie's Arrival. Julia made an absolutely amazing dinner to celebrate Mom arriving to visit. We broke out the Christmas Spode plates, which are not the exact plates I grew up with, but are identical in every other way...and bring back all the same memories of eating on those at Christmas in years past.

Gookies with Grammie.

A Christmas Caroline.



Master Bedroom Crown & Re-decorate. We love having people come visit b/c it motivates us to get things fixed and in order. Call this the precursor to the aforementioned projects...we crowned our master bedroom, painted it, mounted and framed a mondo huge mirror and antiqued a table and bookcase. We love this stuff. I know we're strage, but it is really fun to do.

Mom & Dad Call Visit. Mom & Dad Call came to visit before Christmas too. The kids went to the Academy of Science with them, out to eat and so much more. It was so fun having them here.

The famed Gingerbread house tradition continues.

Caroline in her element.

Skee Ball. The boys and I created an amazing Skee-Ball game. The boys love this game and now they'll challenge you to a game...if you dare.

It's actually quite fun, and keeps the garage clean.

Nate was feeling confident.

John had a tinge of "awe shucks" trepidation, but he was confident too.

Liza very confident. Caroline not confident at all.

Attempt #1 at a Family Christmas Shot.

Attempt #2 at a Family Christmas Shot

Attempt #3 at a Family Christmas Shot

Attempt #4 at a Family Christmas Shot

Attempt #5 at a Family Christmas Shot

Family party in Utah for Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years Week.





















































































Marine Science Field Trip. In November Nate and his class took their turn on the Marine Science Institute boat. They went out onto the SF Bay to conduct experiments and learn more about the ecology of the bay, which is actually not a bay, but an estuary. They learned all about the salinity of the water, the brackish water, organisms living on the bottom of the bay and so forth. Really cool thing to do.

The closest I think I came to doing something like this in 4th grade was scooping up some pond scum from BYU's Botany Pond and looking at it under a microscope. A little less magnificent than Nate's dealio, but educational nonetheless.