road trip 2010 :: gently down the stream

that's what i wanted b to remember as he took my two precious boys down the river.  nothing crazy, avoid danger at all cost but keep it fun.  the boys were all for danger and fun.  they were looking forward to riding cowboy style down the river and getting as wet as possible.

this was eventful for everyone.  bobby has been dreaming of taking his kids down the river since we  got married.  it would have been sooner if i hadn't opposed it.  i know it's a safe river.  i know bobby and his dad have been doing this for-ever.  i know everything would be fine but it still scared me.  but this year just seemed right.  the boys have been on the kern a few times and they loved it.  they are both good swimmers and i felt good about the whole thing.

it was so much work getting everyone ready.  packing gear for the trip.  we forgot the boys water shoes at home - oops!  so we had to do a last minute purchase at Fred Meyers.  and i felt a little sad that we were not going with them.  b and i had such a great trip when we did this 14 years ago!  and i wanted to see the boys' faces when they went through a rapid or saw a bald eagle.  ok who am i kidding, i wanted to be there to hold on to their life jackets so they wouldn't fall out.  but with sofia it was just not possible.

we took some pictures before they left.

jr, aj, b, bob, angela and mike

huck finn and tom sawyer?

and kissed everyone goodbye and off they went. 

bobby would have to recount their adventures on the river.  i do know that 

1. andrew fell out at the end of a rapid and got scared because he was caught in an eddy while the boat slowly drifted off.  bobby assures me that he was never in danger.  jordan swam out to get him and all was OK. 
2. andrew had an eye for nature.  he spotted the wild life and pointed them out to everyone.  
3. they saw osprey, eagles, otters, heron, vultures and deer.  
4. jordan jumped into a freezing pool of water and then quickly got out.
5. they played bananagrams at camp.

i also know that the family they were rafting with were impressed that the boys entertained themselves for hours playing on the beach while the adults set up camp each night. they were surprised that there was never any fighting or whining.  nice pat on the back for the parents.

i also know that there were some outhouses along the way.  totally minimal but it makes a difference.

i also know that the kids had to wash their dishes after every meal.   i am considering adopting the bucket technique just to keep this going at home.

i also know that jordan got some rowing lessons along the way.  and was actually pretty good.

i also know that bobby and the boys had a great bonding experience doing the manly things that boys do.  and that they were happy to not have to deal with girl drama for a few days. of course i mean sofia, not me.

life is but a dream.

meanwhile the girls were relaxing at the beach.  more on that next time.

in other news:  bobby and i got to take on the dugout club seats at the dodger game on tuesday.  i am so thankful that my friend kim thinks of us when she has extra tickets.  we love these seats.  and we love the free parking.  but we absolutely love the free food.  today's selection included chicken cordon blue, pasta primavera, with or without shrimp, salad bar and of course dodger dogs.  and the candy bar was beyond amazing.  talk about feeling like kids in a candy store.  maybe we went a little overboard?!

jelly bellies, toffee nuts, peanut m&m's and boston baked beans

we took full advantage of this perk and headed to our seat with full bellies.  of course at our seats there are people who take your order for another menu of items.  all we could manage to try were the pretzel bites, oh and a blue moon.

top it off with the fact that the dodger's broke their 6 game losing streak tonight made it perfect.  we also waited in the lobby to watch the players leave the locker room.  we saw kemp, padilla and lilly (the new pitcher) among others.  pretty cool experience.