Mom & Dad Call Visit, Nate Turns 11, & Latte Joins The Family

Mom & Dad Call Visit. Late February was a busy, fun time. Mom & Dad Call flew out to visit three of their kids and families, and we were lucky enough to do a lot of fun stuff with them.  We went to our favorite haunts, Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands, Fort Baker, a Marine Wildlife Hospital, and then across the Golden Gate Bridge to see the Cable Cross Section, then down the Junipero Serra Fwy (I-280) to Dan's old Palo Alto stomping grounds (ZOOM), Stanford and Newark. Tom introduced us to El Gordo's taco truck on International Boulevard in Oakland.  Memorable to say the least.  Fun times.

Stanford Quad. It's hard to be driving so close to Stanford and not stop there and marvel at the amazing architecture and beauty of the campus.  We can't even fathom the cost of building that in the late 1800s.  We stopped there with Mom & Dad and let the kids run wild.  It really is stunning.

Aim High Kids, Aim High. Of course, it would be nice if the kids could somehow get a full ride scholarship at Stanford one day. Then again, it would be nice if they currently did their homework at night.

Nate's 11th Birthday Breakfast. Per tradition, Nate got the royal treatment in the form of a birthday pancakes breakfast---cream, belgian waffles, ice cream, strawberries.  It still fascinates me how each spouse brings traditions to a marriage. In this case, I never think of doing this--never even crosses my mind. But, for Julia to NOT do birthday pancackes would be akin to heresy.

Duty. Valor. Honor. I don't know that I've ever seen an 11 year old scout be more proud of his uniform than Nate was when he donned this puppy.

Full Class A...(almost--he is wearing a Webelos hat, which would soon be replaced).  This is Nate on his way to his "Crossing Over" ceremony at the Blue & Gold Banquet (which Julia was in charge of incidentally).

We make a big deal about crossing over into official Boy Scouts from Webelos Scouts. Nate felt like a million bucks. He is so happy to be with the older boys now.  And, for Dan it's nice to be doing things with 11 year old Scouts again--a role he was in for about 4 years.

Tradition. Heritage. Courage. John is making great progress, and just earned his Wolf (or Woof as we call it--an old inside joke), and some arrow points.  His Cubs group is seriously numerous and awesome.

We can't seem to get him out of shorts and sandals for anything except Church. Working on that.  John loves Scouts and of course is excited to have an inside scoop on what 11 year old Scouts are like through Nate.

The now INFAMOUS Scout Campout Diorama Cake. When we look at this thing...BOY is it like we are looking out of our tent at Half Dome in Yosemite, hearing Ribbon, Yosemite or Bridal Veil Falls in the ambiance.

Note the Tee-Pee feature (circa 1963), harvested from Mom's garage, now in production in this baby. The logs around the fire...all real Tootsie Rolls. The graham crackers ... all Honey Maid.  The terra firma ... all cream cheese frosting.

All the boys brought cakes, and needless to say, this was like the Pinewood Derby for moms.  Some cakes were totally made by a kid. Others where totally NOT and near professional grade--far too cute to be real.   But, there were no rules so none of these asute observations mattered anyway.

Nate "Crossing Over" From Webelos to 11 Year Old Boy Scouts. Nate was caught in a vortex of having to appear "cool" in front of his new group, "mature and studly" in front of his old group, and a "boy of promise" in front of the whole ward--and this is the result, an oft stoic Nate.  As he crossed over, reading each step, we, the peanut gallery read a sentence or two on what each point meant. A fitting welcome into 11 year old Scouts, enjoyed by all.

Monkey Bridge Over The Creek. For Nate's "wild and crazy friends" birthday party, Nate planned a "guys and girls hanging out" event. About 15 boys (and three girls) played flag football at the park, then walked over to our house to play on a newly constructed monkey bridge over the creek, swing on the swing, play tether ball, jump on the tramp, eat pizza and then settle in to watch Napoleon Dynamite and eat a bevy of treats. Good times.

Introducing Our New, Much Loved Dog, Latte Doxey.  We've officially "joined the club."  We freaking scored in getting an awesome dog from a family in San Mateo.  The owner was older and not very mobile, but had done 90% of all the good stuff needed in the dog's 1st year, she was physically, increasingly less of a match for Latte.

The details ... 1.5 year old purebred Cocker Spaniel, awesome with kids, is up to date on every shot possible, is neutered, microchipped, mostly trained, pretty obedient, sturdy, not wimpy, a lover not a fighter--definitely knows his name and place in the family. His name is Latte because he is obviously the color of Latte, and he has white around his nose...like a Latte marshmallow topping.

Liza Has Mastered the Cocker Gate. We sifted through a lot of "less desirable project dogs" to find the right breed for our family, the right temperament, the right amount of work for the kids, and all the other good stuff.

Latte will be outside whenever it is not raining or dark.  Mostly an outside dog.  He LOVES being in the backyard and wondering how he is going to get all the birds and squirrels that are running all around the trees in the creek.

Just in Cast You Think We're Kidding or Borrowed a Dog. . .we're not.  He really is ours, and he is a lot of fun.  Reminds Dan a lot of Prince, the Cocker his family had growing up.

He does have a really nice coat, and as you know Cockers can smell like a dog--so it's nice that he prefers to be outside and can be there!





Let's Just Say We're Excited...AND Laying Down the "Latte Law" Now. It has been really fun and interesting to see the kids take ownership and follow some training rules we've set.  Feels like we're training the kids on how to manage the canine.  Of course, it's an ideal time for Nate to crank out the Dog Care Merit Badge Requirements and earn that.  Stay tuned for future status updates...we're still in Latte's transition training, and only on day 2 of managing this beast of burden.