Summer Fun

So I haven't posted in a while...

What have I been doing, you ask?

Hmmmm....

...Let's see, the kids are out of school...

...I know we're busy doing stuff...

...I just can't remember what it is...

...Something about swimming...

...And eating lunches with Aunties and Grandpa...

...And playing Twister...

...And hide and go seek...

...And eating ice cream...

...And lots and lots of swimming...

...We need to invest in a pool...

What else is there to do during an Arizona summer?

This is a picture of what happens to my dearies when we spend hours in the pool. You can't tell but it's still light outside. Yes you heard me, Light Out Side. I believe it was 7:45pm. And they all crashed. What a wonderful sight. Kiddies so exhausted from summer fun that even the idea of staying awake long enough to get upstairs is dismissed as the couch beckons to them to lie in it's cushieness.

I almost don't even mind carrying them up the stairs to their beds. But then I remember that they are much too big for that, whew!, when did they get so stinking heavy? But don't worry, I hold their hands as I lead them to their bedrooms and safely tuck a blanket around their moppy haired heads, because summer is much too short to spend worrying about how their hair looks. In fact, I would almost say that my princess is about to sport dreadlocks. That's what happens when her hair spends most of the day in that funky stage between not really wet but not quite dry. You can't tell in this picture because she, like me, sleeps with a pillow over her head. But I digress...

So this summer has consisted of going from one pool to another, whether it's swim lessons or swim team or just hanging out at Grandma's. My dears are so incredibly tan it's as if we dipped them in chocolate. Even the babe is sporting some color, although we are so careful to slather up the SPF 500 on her brand new skin. Her cheeks are rosy, like her mom's. But it's Chance that has freckled up. I think it's an age thing, he didn't use to.

And so we live, day in and day out. I'm sure there are other things we've been doing, but nothing of real importance. Just reveling in the now.

I'll try to be better about posting, as if you haven't heard that before.

If I can only pull myself away from life...

What time is it? Like I know...

Schedule, schmedule.
This summer has turned us upside down with things to do that were not previously taken into account. Like, swim meets, which last 4 hours at least once a week in the blazing hot sun to watch your child spend all of 2 minutes in the pool.

And fun swim time, because we can't count the practicing that occurs first thing in the morning. That's more like work, although I would kill to get that kind of time and coaching in the pool. Do they have swim teams for grown ups? I would totally join.

And of course feeding baby time, which is like a revolving door nowadays. It seems like as soon as I'm done nursing, she is eating baby food. And then is back to nursing. And then baby food. all. day. long. I pray it's just a growth spurt.

There's also the trips to grandma's house that take up entire days. Those weren't scheduled in either, but are a necessity when grandma needs help with some drapes and I have nothing planned for dinner. It also gives me a good reason to stop in at the QT for a large soda pop filled with the softest, crunchiest ice I've seen. Besides Sonics' of course, Kristy.

And then there's all the driving time I've been doing getting from one place to the next. How do you schedule in driving time? Would that be categorized as rest time, because the kids all get to fall asleep, or chore time, because that's what it feels like to me.

Those five things basically sum up what I've been doing this entire week. That's it. I've accomplished hardly anything else. The dishes are getting done, although not in a timely manner. We try to pick up the downstairs before we leave for our many errands. And I make sure to shower, although sometimes it's not until very late in the day.

I couldn't even stick with a schedule for one week. I don't understand people who can. How do they do it? Am I really that disorganized? Or is my life to CHAOTIC!, (aka. Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's home movie) (thanks Megan for pointing that one out for me). Perhaps I am a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. Perhaps I'm just not ever going to be that organized and I just need to stop trying. Perhaps I should take a page from the book of Courtney and relish in the spontaneity of summer.

Looks like that's where I'm headed anyways, I might as well enjoy it.

Addendum

I need to add an addendum to my most recent post. This is not me bragging about my child or myself, just an introspection into how our psyches are similar. We are both competitive, to a fault actually. I shudder to think how this will affect her as she grows. What happens when she actually isn't good at something? Will she quit everything, throw in the towel? Will it shatter her self esteem?
I recall trying out for volleyball my freshman year of high school. I had just moved to a 5A school in the suburbs of Phoenix, coming from a small town in Ohio. I had been pretty good on my jr.high teams, and expected nothing short of making at least the freshman team, if not JV. I didn't make either. My new school was state champions that year. All the girls on the team had been in club ball for years. I was devastated, so much so that I gave up sports altogether. I decided, I knew, I wasn't good enough, without ever trying again.
That's what happened when I was suddenly faced with my own mediocrity, having always been nearing greatness. And I fear the same for my own children. I don't want them to think for a second that just because they have some disappointment, nothing is worth doing anymore. I need to somehow instill in them that it's okay to not be good at something, as long as they've tried their best and given their all. That lesson took me almost 20 years to learn.

Don't worry, she's not drowning

I have a competitive child. A child who wants to be great, no, the best at everything. A child who gets straight A's always. A child who hates to lose, always to the point of tears if she does (as if you didn't already know whom I was referring to). This is going to get her very far in life, as she will try and try and try until she can master a skill.
Take piano for example. She just started playing 2 months ago. She's had a total of 7 lessons. She practices many times during the day, without ever being asked. And she can now play almost her entire first book. Along with "I am a Child of God", right hand only. I don't force her to practice, she just wants to. She told me that once she's done learning the piano, she wants to learn other instruments. As if there is a certain stopping point she'll get to where she will play perfectly. And she's not kidding.
Softball, another example. She started off the season throwing like a girl, swinging like a girl, skipping to first base like a girl (I know she's a girl, but come on!). As she saw where she wanted to be as far as skills go, she stepped it up. And she consistently got good hits, threw hard, and started practicing underhanded fast-pitching, even though she won't be doing that for another year at least. She wants to be ahead of the game.
So swim team is starting next week. I took the two older kids down to try the team out, to see if it would be something they were interested in. My eldest took to it, tried his best, and wasn't half bad. My daughter looked like she was drowning the whole time. The freestyle stroke has never been something we've really practiced. She had to hold onto the wall many times to catch her breath because she wasn't breathing right. She belly flops when she dives in.
And yet, I can almost guarantee that in a few weeks, she'll be 10 times better at it. She wants desperately to do well, especially if her brother is. She can't wait for the meets. Sometimes I wonder where she gets this from.

Oh, right.

So I'll be running St.George this year. I'm hoping for a finish time of around 4:15, although I really want a 4:00. My last marathon was a 4:30 two years ago. Training started this week. I can't wait.

Schedule

So school is out for the kids and summer school just started for the professor. Which means I'm a single parent at home Monday through Thursday with all four, for the next 8 weeks. My dearest leaves at 6am and comes home at 11pm. Monday through Thursday. 8 weeks. Man, what am I going to do with them?

This is the first year I decided to implement a summer schedule. It basically goes like this:

5am-I get up
6am-I wake up kids for family time before Mike leaves
Kids eat breakfast and do chores
9am-Recess(That's what the kids want to call it, but it just means play time)
10am-Quiet time, reading time, nap time for the babe
11am-Lunch
12pm-Fun time(This is when we will go do fun stuff, like the science center, library, swim in people's pools, anything that involves staying cool)
3pm-TV time, friend time, and nap time(for me, that is)
5pm-dinner
6pm-Recess again
7pm-Baths
8pm-Quiet time, reading time
9pm-Bed

So I told my sister and her husband about this, and my sister says, to her dearest, "That sounds like something your mom would do," and I don't think she meant it as a compliment. I thought about that, and since she has no kids, yet, I shrugged it off. See when you don't have kids who wake up at the crack of dawn, turn on the tv, and don't move for 14 hours, you don't understand the need for some basic structure. Because if I were to, say, turn off the tv and tell them to do something else, I would get a backlash of, "There's nothing to do," "I'm so bored," "He's teasing me," and a million other phrases that grate on the sanity I'm clinging to. Hence, the schedule. Now, do we live or die by the schedule? Of course not. I can be flexible. What I think is funny is that my kids love knowing what's going to happen and when it's happening.

Yesterday my children came into my bedroom, on Memorial Day, around 6:15am.

"Mom, mom, are you up?"
Umm...no. Why?
"Come on Mom, get up, we're hungry and you said we can't eat until after family time."
"Geez guys, it's a holiday, the schedule doesn't start until tomorrow!"
"Thanks Mom."

See, they like a schedule.

Friday

Starting this Friday, we are officially going to be getting paid a regular paycheck for the entire summer. For the first time since the professor finished grad school. Let us break out the Hallelujah chorus.
There were those many summers of being in school and being broke, but those don't count because everyone is broke all year long when they're in school. Except for, of course, during financial aid distribution day, which happened twice a year. Those were good days.
Then after graduation and getting a real job teaching, we were on a nine month pay schedule. Which was great for nine months, and absolutely sucky for three. Whose idea was it to not pay people for three months out of the year? Like bills would just stop coming, we wouldn't have to eat those months? Perhaps it was assumed we would save a percentage of the paycheck in anticipation of the summer. Sure that looks good on paper, but realistic, not so much.
We switched over to the twelve month pay schedule after a while, which just meant a very large check, with a huge amount of taxes taken out, at the beginning of the summer. It was like a game to see if we could actually make it last to July. August? Yeah right.
Am I telling you this to make you feel sorry for teachers everywhere? Sort of. (If you know a teacher, send them a grocery store or gas gift card in August, they'll be forever grateful.) But mainly it's because I'm celebrating the end of an era.
Last year was the first that we could sign up for real year round pay. The same paycheck would be coming every two weeks, 26 times a year. Sweet.
Friday will be the first time this will really affect us.
Usually there would be no paycheck on Friday.
Not this Friday.
I love you Friday.

Silly boys

You all are in for a treat. Two posts, one day.

So I'm feeling very whateverish about this blogging thing. I go through phases of loving it and loathing it. It really is just coming up with interesting things to say that gets me all riled up. Anyways...

The boys are gone, it's just the three of us girls for the weekend. What to do, what to do...don't worry, the princess has made a list. Planned for today was crafts, dinner out, and wearing matching pajama bottoms. Check, check, and check. We got to sit and talk while we ate dinner and she told me about the boy who gave her his necklace to borrow. Hmmm...who is this Jacob and why a.) is he wearing a silver star necklace to school, and b.) did he give it to you to wear home and c.) would you consider said Jacob your boyfriend?
Oh they're just friends, she says. Don't worry mom, she's going to give it back tomorrow, she says. Right.
I'm just wondering if my tiny little princess, who suddenly appears no older than my tiny baby, would tell me if she did have a boyfriend. Would I tell my mom? Sorry mom, but probably not. So how do I handle this?
I decide that if I make it a big deal, it will be a big deal. And we don't want any big deals. So I shrug it off to silly boys, she laughs, we finish dinner. The end.
I am so screwed.

All About Me

Not super great at this posting thing. But I know you guys are wondering about me. So if I had to choose 10 quirky things about me, they would be:

1. I can crack my neck just by turning my head. It's a pretty impressive talent.

2. I love to run races just so I can feel the thrill of passing people. Especially if it's someone I know. Not super sportsman like of me, sure. But it's my competative nature.

3. I keep losing my two smallest right toenails. They keep falling off, especially after a long run. I'm not sure why. It's pretty crazy to have no toenails, especially when you wear flip flops all the time.

4. I take a nap almost every day. Sometimes twice a day. Let's face it, whenever I get the chance to close my eyes. Sometimes I set the microwave timer to wake me up so I won't forget to get the kids from school. Lazy? Yes I am.

5. I love to wake up and drink a Diet Dr. Pepper at 4:30am. It's how I start the day.

6. I have celiac disease which means no wheat, barley, or rye to eat. I am a gluten free girl. Or at least try to be.

7. I have not been, um, endowed, but I have no desire to change them. I hate pain and quite frankly would look very silly.

8. I have this thing about sleeping with the lights on. My husband hates it. He will usually get up after I've gone to sleep and turn off all the lights, which bugs me because if I have to get up in the middle of the night, I hate not being able to see anything. So now he leaves the kids' bathroom light on, which isn't very bright but better than nothing.

9. I love to read books but don't do it that often because if I start to read something, I cannot put it down until I'm done. I will literally sit and read for hours and hours.

10. I found my first grey hair when I was 19. It's been all downhill since.

I am quirky. A little.

Is it over yet?

So the semester is officially over in a few days, and my hubby(I hate that term) will be home for a few weeks to putter around the house until summer school starts up. I know what some of you may be thinking, wow, her husband, being in the school system, gets so many vacations and so much time off, how wonderful.
And it is.
Sometimes.
And sometimes he gives my friends a hard time about how often they call, and do I really spend that much time on the phone? And why am I taking a nap when it's only 9am (ignoring the fact that I've been up since 4:30am, run, showered, made breakfast, packed lunches, nursed and fed a baby, changed diapers, cleaned up breakfast, gotten the kids to school, and all the other things I do before he rolls out of bed) And what's there to eat, do we need to get groceries again? And how often do you go out to lunch with your friends? And where's my pen, who keeps taking my pen, How Am I Supposed To Do Bills Without My Pen?!
I am truly happy to spend so much quality time with the professor. I really, really am. We have a great marriage. But it is based on the fact that he goes to work and I take care of everything else, every thing except bills and laundry that is. I get things done in my own time on my own schedule. And sometimes, when he's around all day, watching my every move, I get a little antsy.
Summer school starts May 29th. Let's count down the days.

My Girls

They are too cute.

On a side note:

My daughter wrote me this card. It was a school assignment, they had to write a card to somebody and she picked me. It said:

Dear Mom,

I like it when you are nice to me. You are always so mean.

Your Daughter,

Emme

Nice, huh?

Nearsighted

The princess is blind. Or at least very nearsighted, according to the opthomologist. 20/175 in one eye, 20/150 in the other. At first I felt terrible that we didn't recognize this before, but the good doc told me that eyesight in a child can change very quickly. She might have just recently become blind. Inside I felt badly though, because I honestly thought she was telling the teacher she couldn't see the board just because she wanted to move away from the boys she was surrounded by.

As it turns out she was telling the truth.

We ordered some glasses for her. Flexon of some sort, in a purpley color. They come in in 7-10 business days. I'll post a picture as soon as I get them. She looks adorable in them.

And now she can see.

Can you imagine what life must be like, to go from fuzzy to clear?

kill.the.gluten

So I've had this celiac thing going on for the last 5 or so years. It was a huge deal at first. I went through all the stages of greiving for my lost Krispy Kremes. Denial, Anger, Denial some more. Since I never got really sick from eating gluten, it was hard for me to stay on the diet. Plus, gluten free food is pricey, and we were on a strict grocery budget. Besides, who wants to make a delicious dinner for the family, and then go eat a bowl of rice.

Yuck.

But I've learned over the years many tricks to eating well and eating gluten free. Exchanging this for that. Investing in rice flour. The value of a good box of gf brownies and how to hide them from everyone else. Drinking a lot of Diet Dr. Pepper.

So this site, which was the brainchild of my sis-in-law, Liz, has recipes and pictures of what we eat. Nothing too fancy, although I do have some killer recipes that are worth the work. We just thought it would be fun to share with you that you can eat a gluten free diet and not starve. Will some of the foods taste a little different? Sure. Will you still miss those Krispy Kreme? Of course. But they don't sell them in Arizona anymore anyways.

Enjoy.

kill.the.gluten

Confession

Did you know that even when there is only one other person in the urgent care waiting room, it still takes two hours before you get to leave?
Why was I in the urgent care, you ask?

Let me tell you a little story...
Monday night was baseball night, as is almost every night. Luckily it was an early game and we were home by 8pm. Just in time to throw some dinner together and put the kids to bed. Hmmm.....what to make.....I opted for something easy and fast, breakfast. No not cereal, but eggs, potatoes, and leftover ham from Easter, which I was hoping was still good.

I was standing at the stove frying up potatoes, scrambling eggs and slicing ham when I turn around.....just in time to see my baby wriggling her way out of her carseat, about to fall from the table onto the kitchen tile floor. Supermom surfaced and I leapt to grab her, not realizing that supermom cannot jump through chairs. I was halted in my tracks, and fell to the ground screaming for someone to grab the babe as she was about to hit the floor. Chance finally realized what was going on and reached her just in time. I helplessly lay on the floor, crying and writhing in pain.

In my rescue effort, my sternum had landed square on the back of one of my kitchen chairs.

My oldest, holding the baby, grabs the phone and wants to dial 911. My daughter is hysterical, worried for her sister and scared for me. I say in probably too loud a voice that we don't unbuckle the baby from her carseat because she can get out now, and to never do that again. No one takes the blame and I am in too much agony to interogate. I get up, go to the bathroom, almost puke, pull myself together and try to salvage dinner, which has pretty much burned.

A little while later, with my chest now throbbing, I was sitting on the couch, unable to do much else. My little Cannon asks me in a super serious voice, "Mom are you going to spank the bottom of whoever unbuckled Claire?"
"No son," I say.

"Okay it was me," he says apologetically.

I laugh a little on the inside, because laughing on the outside hurts.
"Don't do that again," I told him.
"I won't mom, I won't."

And don't worry, I didn't break my sternum, just a deep bruise. I should be back to normal in about 6 weeks. Hopefully.

Fastball to the head

Why is it that when you have a child and they are all tiny and new, all you can do is be amazed by the way they progress?

Look at the way she smiled at me!
Did you see him roll from his back to his tummy?
Woohoo! She's finally crawling!

As they get older you celebrate these little milestones with enthusiasm, pictures, and phone calls to relatives.

He learned how to ride his bike today!
She wrote her name all by herself!
He hit that golf ball square through that top window! Amazing!

If for some reason they are not moving along as you feel they should, or as the other kids are, you worry.

So when do you think she'll get a tooth? She is 8 months.
Is it normal for him to not talk at all?
Will she ever learn how to use the potty?

And it just gets worse as they get older.

Yes, I understand she needs speech therapy.
No, I can't understand what he just said either.
You mean another one needs speech too?!

And you look at their friends and judge how they compare with each other.

She's the best student in her class, and the youngest!
His social skills are not anywhere near the other kids in Sunbeams.
Will he ever catch a ball?

And pretty soon, you're sitting on a chair, out in the cold evening air, clenching your fists because he's up to bat, and he hasn't hit a ball yet, and you really can't even look. Then

BAM!

He gets hit on the helmet with a fastball and falls to the ground. And you jump up and throw your baby to the nearest adult and rush to the fence, ready to take him into your arms and wipe his tears with your shirt.

Only you watch him get up, shake it off, and take his base.

And you realize that he doesn't need his mom anymore to make it better.
And that he doesn't want the other kids to see him cry.
And that he suddenly seems more grown up than you can recall him ever being.

Worst.......Parents.........Ever.......

We are absolutely the worst scouting parents on the face of the earth.

We stayed up super late the night before his 9th birthday trying to finish his Beaver, or Wolf, or whatever animal you're supposed to get when you are 8. We've started many projects that haven't been finished, ie. the newspaper recycling, the chore chart. But this one takes the cake.

He recieved his pinewood derby box about 2 months ago. Right away he wanted to work on it. Sure, sure, not right now though.

That is what we told him every time. The derby got moved back, then it was conference. Last Wednesday I called his leader about where scouts was to be held.

Not this week, she said, because of the pinewood derby on Saturday.

Holy Crap!! It's on Saturday!

Mike! It's on Saturday! Oh no! Mike has to work late every night!

It was up to me. And Chance wanted a rocket car. Exactly how do you make a block of wood pointy and round with a miter saw??

Two mutilated car kits later and it was Friday night, and there was no rocket car.

Dang.

So I told Chance that we were going to have to use his car from last year (the car we cut and painted the night before). We'd paint it a new color, though, that's cool right? It's okay right? Don't tell anyone about this, okay?

So he raced his old car.

And won 2nd place.

Next year he wants to use the same car.

Just paint it a different color.

Thank goodness.

Big Brother

I was driving the other day and the little babe was positive she didn't want to be in the car. As we were miles from home, there was nothing to do but let her cry it out.

After about 10 minutes of this she stopped. Assuming she went to sleep, I asked Cannon, who sits next to her, if she was asleep. He said no.

Odd, I thought. It's unusual for her to just stop crying for no good reason.

I turned around to look and saw this. He was holding her hand and she was wide awake, looking up at him with her big brown eyes.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda

A brother I have told me that he will never have a game system in his home because he doesn't want his kids to be freakshows about it like mine are. I too recall saying those exact same words. Here's a list of things I said I'd never do but have caved on:

• Buying a game system-although it was grandma who bought it, we have updated the games and allowed the playing to happen
• Letting the kids watch too much tv-somedays, not everyday. Discovery Channel's educational so it's okay, right?
• Making them sit in a carseat past the required age of 5-I didn't realize how embarassing it was for little kids to have to sit in a booster
• Saying "Because I said so"-quickest way to end an argument is by exerting the mom-authority
• Letting the kids figure out their own problems with each other-I always thought I'd make a great mediator, making sure the fair punishment was dealt to the proper perpetrator. Yeah okay.
• Letting the babies cry it out-I fix what I can, and accept that sometimes babies, just like us, need a good cry
• Having a messy house-this is one I struggle with, because I really, Really, like a perfectly clean home. Oh for more time in the day, or a maid who worked for M 'n' M's.
• Cooking a healthy vegetable laden dinner every night-more often than I like to admit we eat cereal, which my kids love. Who knew?
• Buying cheap kids clothing-how I loved dressing my children in adorable expensive outfits, only to see them ruined a day later from the mud, or ketchup. For that, we shop at Target.
• Driving a minivan-oh for the coolness of an suv, never thought I'd be a minivan girl. If gas were cheaper or I lived closer to civilization...

I guess what I'm trying to say is that before children came into my life, I had visions of what it would entail, how I'd be the best mom who never lost her patience, who always had cookies in the oven, who was fun and happy, basically the coolest mom in the hood. 4 children and a dose of reality later, I've realized that the mom I've become was not the one I envisioned. Am I okay with that? Sometimes. I'm not giving up, though. Someday, we will have a clean house and a real dinner everyday. Maybe I'll start by hiding the gamesystem.

Brandon

Chance was so excited that he finally found this picture he drew of his Aunt Beka's friend, Brandon. It was dated November 28, 2004 when Chance was almost 7 years old. I think we meant to send it to Brandon on his mission but somehow lost it. So here you go. I think it looks just like Uncle Brandon, don't you?

Lucky

Yesterday was my day to take the kids to school, and my friend brought them home. As the kids walk in the door, Chance is mad, Emme's on the verge of tears, and my friend is standing in my doorway. Apparently, Chance and his friend were throwing rocks while they waited for their ride. And apparently they were trying to hit a sign. And apparently Chance hit a car windshield. Now Emme took it upon herself to tell the aide what Chance had done. And the aide told the principal. And I was to get a phone call. Okay, I say, great.
When I ask Chance about it, he's adamant that he didn't mean to hit the car, totally missing the point that throwing rocks at school is against the law, playground law that is. When I ask Emme why she told on him, tears well up and she says "because throwing rocks is wrong, and am I in trouble?" No of course not, throwing rocks is wrong, but come on, is tattling okay?
So today I get my phone call from the principal. Chance is suspended for today, the punishment all delinquent rock-throwers get. I'm not sure how effective getting to come home from school and read books all day is as a punishment, but okay.
When I ask him later about what him and the principal talked about, he explained to me that he told him what happened. At least he's honest, right? When I asked him what the principal said, he told me that the principal called him lucky, because he could've broken the windshield of the car. Chance said back to him in a cheerful voice, "Yeah I was lucky! Because I don't have any money right now and I couldn't have paid for it!" Always an optimist.
By the way, his consequence for getting suspended is picking up rocks in the backyard, so we didn't let him off scott free. How did Mom ever put up with Mike and all the terrible things he did that warrented phone calls from the principal?

The Lake

We went camping over Spring Break up to Canyon Lake. It was beautiful, not too hot, not too cold. The kids played in the lake, caught tiny fish, and enjoyed the company of friends who went with us. All in all it was a good time.
It reminded me of the first time I saw Canyon Lake, a lake I didn't even know existed until I was 19 years old. My then boyfriend wanted to take me up to Tortilla Flats for lunch. I hadn't heard of it, but thought it might be interesting to visit an old west town, seeing as I had lived in Arizona my whole life and had never seen one.
I rode on the back of his motorcycle driving down the 60, going so fast I feared for my life. He says he was doing the speed limit, but on the back of a bike with nothing to hang onto but him, it felt like 100.
We took the exit to Apache Junction, the furthest east I had ever been besides my Grandma's house. As we entered the Tonto National Forest, the road started to get steep and curvy. He said this was the best part of the ride, leaning from side to side on his bike going up and down the mountain's edge. At least he wasn't driving fast, I thought. I remember hiding my head in the back of his black leather jacket, not wanting to look at the oncoming traffic that veered so eerily close to us.
We came up to the top of a mountain and that's when I saw it. A lake in the middle of the desert! I asked him later about it, couldn't believe I didn't know about it. There were boaters, fishers, skiiers, tanners. All these people who had discovered this little enclave. I felt like I had been missing out on something fabulous my entire life.
We drove past it to the restaurant. We had lunch, and I remember he left a big tip. He loved this little place, and I figured out a lot about him that day. He liked the old west, motorcycle rides, impressing his lady, and me holding on to him.
He's brought me back to the lake a few times since. And I realized I had been missing out on something fabulous, but it wasn't the lake. It was him.