2011 Pandemonium

2011 was definitely a year to remember for the Pandemonium Family. The pictures pretty much say it all, click below to see the story from start to finish.


Thanks again to all who lent us a hand this year in so many different ways; we wouldn't have made it without you. Have a great 2012!

First Snow

We woke this morning to a world transformed by a blanket of the winter's first snow.



It was warm and slushy and melting fast, but the kids got suited up and rolled around in it for a few hours anyway.

Thanksgiving 2011

Our Thanksgiving holiday was quite relaxing. We found ourselves in Idaho for the third time this year - read the previous post backwards - but we were glad to be there and got a chance to spend some time with both branches of the family tree.

We stayed with Sam and Shanna for a few nights and had a pre-Thanksgiving feast at Mom and Dad's on Sunday afternoon. Grandpa made sure Anya got the first stab at the bird.

The crew. Minus Sally and Matt, plus Todd and Jeannie. The feast was superb as usual. After his second helping of grub, Kenrick whispered to me, "Did your mom work as a chef?"

We headed up to Donnelly on Wednesday afternoon and found the vacation house that Steve and JoAnne had reserved, a fine little cabin nestled in the pine trees on the edge of Cascade Lake. Very nice.

View Larger Map

There wasn't a lot of snow, but Grandma and the kids enjoyed building snow castles and sledding down the little hill out back of the house.

We celebrated Steve's 60th birthday while we were there. Happy birthday Grandpa.

Grandma got lots of lap time. She thoroughly enjoyed having all ten grand kids in house and making noise. Her eleventh grand kid was in the house as well, but not yet making noise - Stuart's wife Meggan braved the trip at eight and a half months beautifully pregnant.

Anthony and Tristan spent a lot of time passing back and forth between imaginary worlds.

And Paxton enjoyed having his cousins around to play monster trucks with.

Stuart is still Stuart. Enough said.

JoAnne packed a fabulous menu for our three days at the cabin, and we took full advantage. We slept, ate, visited, played monopoly, watched some football, read, and generally relaxed. Thanks again Grandpa and Grandma for organizing a pleasant, memorable Thanksgiving.

Just in Case You Were Wondering...

... how to drive from Idaho to Illinois in one long run:
10:30 AM - Pile into the van in Donnelly, Idaho, wave goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma and Uncles and Aunts and Cousins and the vacation rental on the lake. (You wouldn't have to start there, exactly, that's just what worked for us)
10:32 AM - Turn around to get Kenrick's camera that he forgot at the house.
10:33 AM - On the road for good this time. Turn south onto Highway 55 over the hill to Cascade and down the canyon towards Boise. We'll stop briefly at Sam and Shanna's to say one last round of goodbyes.
11:45 AM - Breath a sigh of relief as you come over the top of Horseshoe Bend Hill because one of the potentially worst sections of road is behind you.
11:46 AM - "Dad, I have to go to the bathroom really bad!"
"Just hold on Paxton, there's a gas station at the bottom of the hill."
11:48 AM - "Dad, I'm really hungry, I want to go to Jimmy John's."
"There aren't any Jimmy John's in Boise Paxton, we'll get a sandwich somewhere on the way to Uncle Sam's house."
12:00 PM - Stop at the gas station for a potty break. Get a couple of sandwiches at Subway. Tune in to the Boise State Bronco's football game.
12:10 PM - Pass a Jimmy John's on the way to Sam's
12:45 PM - Quick stop at Sam and Shanna's completed, final hugs hugged, wave goodbye and point the van East. Turn up the game. Floor it.
3:15 PM - Stop in Burley for gas.
4:30 PM - Honk as you cross the state line into Utah on I84
5:00 PM - Time for supper. The in-flight menu for this evening is left over turkey with hamburger buns, oranges, bananas, and water.
5:30 PM - Starting to get dark, time for pajamas! Find a truck stop in Ogden for another potty break. Grab some coffee and some chocolate milk for the kids. Pull out the blankets and pillows and set up the laptop. Tonight's feature film is the much-anticipated "Cars 2".
6:15 PM - Remind everyone to blink. Merge onto I80.
6:45 PM - Wyoming. Road is clear. Second potential bad section of road is behind. Don't hold your breath because I80 across the whole state of Wyoming can be slick and miserable and you still have a long way to go.
7:30 PM - Potty break somewhere on the other side of Fort Bridger. Looks like the middle of nowhere. It is the middle of nowhere.
8:30 PM - Gas in Rocks Springs. The cheapest is at the Flying J just off Exit 104. Switch drivers - ten hours straight is enough for now.
10:30 PM - Watch out for Wyoming Trooper Chatfield just past Rawlins. He seems to think that going 3 mph over the speed limit in the middle of a deserted, wide open interstate freeway in the middle of the night is reason enough to pull you over and poke his nose suspiciously into your window.
11:00 PM - Bathroom break at the Elk Mountain Rest Area. Hold on to your hat, the wind always howls through here. No snow, roads are good, starting to breath easier.
2:00 AM - Sidney, Nebraska. Driver and van both running on fumes. Time to stop for gas and to switch seats. Break out the Rev3 and sunflower seeds, you're almost half way home!
3:30 AM - Cross into the Central Time Zone somewhere near the town of Paxton, Nebraska. Lose an hour; now its 4:30 AM. Have some more sunflower seeds and another swig of coffee.
7:40 AM - Night shift is over, stop for gas in York. Switch drivers again.
9:15 AM - Cross the Missouri River into Iowa. Don't get confused by the big city traffic - just stay on I80 as it winds around Omaha and jogs a bit north before settling east again across the the rolling corn fields of the Hawkeye State.
9:30 AM - Eat breakfast on the run. Usana bars and shakes make it quick and easy. We'll clean up the crumbs later.
10:30 AM - Potty break somewhere west of DesMoines. Brush your teeth, get the kids back into their clothes. Congratulations, you have been on the road for 24 hours. Six more to go. Switch drivers again.
1:00 PM - Lunch and gas in Williamsburg, Iowa. Might as well browse through a couple of the outlet shops and stretch your legs a bit while you are here. Last shift coming up, switch drivers and hit the road again.
2:30 PM - Cross the Mississippi River into Illinois. Three cheers for Illinois!
2:45 PM - Talk to mom and dad using Skype and the laptop web camera. The video stream is a bit jerky but we can see them and they can see us as we make our way across the prairie. Wave to Grandpa and Grandma everyone!
3:45 PM - It feels strange to be coming into Peoria but not be home yet. It still feels like home. The three-year old is certain that his bladder is going to explode, so we'd better stop for a potty break anyway.
5:45 PM - Finally. Exit the freeway for the last time in Mansfield, turn south towards Monticello.
6:00 PM -Home. "Hey, I recognize where we are now!"
Good job Paxton.
Good job everyone.
Total driving time, about 30.5 hours.
Time to shovel out the van.

But Mom!

But Mom, all the little girls are wearing their hair this way!

Painting Fall

Andrea got out the watercolors for Paxton the other day and set them up out on the back patio. His painting looks a little like his personality. Good job buddy!

 Anya, on the other hand, seems to see the world in shades of grey.

Foot-tility

Triple bummer on the college gridiron today: Iowa 21 - Michigan State 37, Illinois 14 - Michigan 31, and unbeaten, fifth-ranked Boise State 35 - TCU 36. Bah, Bah, and Aaargh!

Go Bears?

Moustache Bash

Last night we hosted our first ever Moustache Bash. A few brave souls made their way to the Pandemonium Pad. Moustaches required, happy optional.

Miss Gabby tries not to smile.

Queen Andrea set a tasty snack for the newly 'stached. Well done hon!

Our little Chaos Makers with their black fuzzies, buzzing with excitement to see all their buddies.

Doug and Karena with Trevon and Kiera

Aaron and Jenimae with Anya's little buddy Gwendolin. Lookin' good guys!

Quinn and Kendra brought their little crew; Joel, Alaina, Joelle, and Nora.

As usual, Dave and Laura refuse to dress up for anything.

Tony and Dana ham it up with Andrew and Gabby.

For the kids: a game of Pin the Moustache On The Bald Creepy Looking Dude.

Um, why does the addition of a bowler hat and a moustache make Aaron's eyes bug out?

Salsa Girl

Anya loves chips and salsa. Especially salsa. Last Sunday at lunch she loved her way through a whole bowl of it.

What do you do when you run out of chips to scoop with? Use your fingers, of course.

P & A Pics

I don't feel like I've kept up with kid pictures very well this summer. Paxton and Anya are growing like little weeds - it seems like every time I turn around Paxton has learned some new skill and Anya is trying to stick rocks up her nose.

Andrea snapped a couple of pictures the other day while they were outside enjoying some pleasant end-of-summer weather. Paxton worked and worked at getting the garbage cans brought back up to the house. Great job Paxton!

Anya took a walk with her two buddies, Mouse the cat and Lady the neighbor dog.

Yesterday we played in the leaves. This is the first fall that we've had a place with a substantial number of trees and I'm afraid that we're going to be buried in them. I may have to take a lesson from Cliff and rig up a leaf-sled to get them all to the compost pile. Or, maybe the wind will blow them all away...

Paxton and Anya enjoy flattening out a little pile that we made in the front yard.

Second Room: Done

The paint scheme in our new house is a bit odd. Andrea was able to get the kitchen painted before we moved in, but she didn't really have a chance to do much else inside the house this summer. Frustrated by the lack of progress, she pulled out her trusty paintbrush again a couple of weeks ago while I was in Tucson and swung it in the general direction of the master bathroom. I finished putting up the new towel racks yesterday and we officially checked Project #2 off the Endless List. Looks good, don't you think?

.

Anya thought the stud finder was great fun to play with. I don't think she found any.

Desert Critters

This last time I was in Arizona I saw more wildlife in the desert that I ever have. Maybe it was because the rainy season was just ending and all the critters were fat and happy and moving about more than usual, or maybe I was just out and about at the right times of day, but it was interesting to me that an environment that seems so hostile for the other eleven months of the year could harbour such a variety.

One of the first local wild thing I saw was a nice fat tarantula. He was cruising across the parking lot one rainy evening.

It's hard to see how big he is in the blurry picture that I got with my cell phone, but I'd say that he was about as big as a tangerine. Not huge, but neat to see anyway.

The next morning I saw a family of javalina on the side of the road. A javalina is a kind of pig I guess - really hairy, with a long snout and funny little short legs. We also saw a doe and a fawn making their way across the desert. I thought it was kind of an odd time to see a fawn, but one of the local guys said that with the rainy season occurring in August and September and the temperatures staying warm all through December and January, it's as good a time as any for the animals to be having babies.

I also saw a couple of fat frogs. I'd never seen any frogs out there before, so it was kind of a shock to see these ones - they were huge! Maybe they were toads, I don't know, but anyway one of them seemed to like to sit right in front of the door of the hotel. When I tried to take his picture, he hissed at me.

I also saw a vulture sitting on top of a cactus one morning and a bobcat sitting in a clearing looking for supper one evening. I tried to get a picture of the bobcat, but he was too far away and blended into the grass too well.

And then there was this critter...

Oh wait, that was me after hiking to the top of Mt Wrightson on Saturday morning. One of my co-workers and I decided to tackle the 9400 foot peak - one of the most prominent features of the area - and of course it was more strenuous than either of us expected. Not technical, just long and steep. It took us six hours, round trip. My calves were so sore I could hardly walk on Sunday. I didn't see any wildlife that day other than a meadow full of bumble bees, but my companion was lagging behind me and said he saw a rattle snake in the trail. I must have walked right past him. Oh well, I guess some critters are better left unseen.

Anya

Anya hit eighteen months a few days ago and she's not looking back. Our little girl has grown up so much this summer, and every day brings new discoveries and new adventures. She discovered early on that she likes to put things in shopping carts. Now where did I put my grocery list?

Swimming with Daddy definitely ranks high on the list of Adventures To Do More Often.

And chasing Mouse, the cat, is an activity practiced as often and as vigerously as possible. We're still working on How To Pick Up A Cat 101. This is not the way.

Wow, that coffee is so strong it made my hair stand on end! Oh wait, that was Mommy that made my hair stand up like that.

Little pig tails are sooooo cute, don't you think?

Let's give the cat one more hug. Awww, nice kitty!

Okay Anya, time to put the cat down. Put him down gently. Gently! Thank you. No, not the tail! Anya!

Baby Phone Home?

The other day I overheard a mother talking about her 18 month old daughter. "She likes to play with a little calculator," she said matter-of-factly. "She holds it up to her ear like it's a cell phone."

I had to smile. It wasn't too long ago that I would have kept a toddler far away from my expensive, bulky calculator, and to hold it up to my ear as if the brick-like shape even remotely resembled a telephone handset would have been absurd. Never mind that the handset would have to be attached to the rest of the phone with the world's longest cord.

Now my entire phone is in the handset, the calculator inside is more powerful than my home computer, and the whole thing fits into a skinny, well..., brick-like shape.

And my phone is also a camera. And a music player. And a personal global locating, social networking, world wide information searching, tip calculating, star searching, game console with extra memory in case I lose mine.

And my calculator? Well, it's still just a calculator. But now I let my toddler chew on it.

Summer's End

This evening when I was giving the two smallest tornadoes a bath it was hard to tell what was dirt and what was bruises. The dirt; evidence of a hard day of play, the bruises; evidence of a very active summer.

The older boys started at their new schools this week and are looking forward to the new adventure. Kenrick is going to try the clarinet in the 5th grade band this year, and both are signed up for fall soccer. Paxton was sure that he would get to go to school this year, but alas! Two more years to go! Anya spent all day Friday wondering where her big brothers were. She's grown up a lot this summer, from just a little wobbly tyke to a hopping, jabber-mouth whirlwind with pig-tails in three short months.

As an end-of-summer treat, we met Aaron and Jenimae at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield last night and ate too much fried food, checked out the prize livestock, gawked at the parade of humanity, and rode on a few rides. Anthony immediately picked out the tallest, most upside down ride in the park - the Ring of Fire! - and since no one else wanted to try it, I got assigned to accompany him. I felt a bit upside down for the rest of the night. He didn't seem too affected, but the rest of the rides were little tamer fare. Paxton wanted to go on the roller coaster, so Kenrick went with him. They had a good time, although Paxton spent part of the ride with his face buried in his big brother's side. We went home tired and happy, a day well filled, a summer well spent.

Happiness Is...

... a cool popsicle on a hot summer day at Grandma's house.

Spreading Pandemonium

For this summer's road trip we decided that instead of everyone in the family going to the same place for vacation, we'd try something new and have everyone go someplace different.

I'm kidding. We all ended up someplace different because that's just how it happened to work out. Here's how.

First, we all drove to Boise, Idaho together. 29 hours in the van, straight through. You should try it at least once. The kids read and played games and slept.

Or, they hollered at each other or whined about being hungry or hot or tired or tormented in some way, at which point we'd stop to have something to eat and to run around a bit. Here we are, doing just that, somewhere in Wyoming.

First stop is my mom and dad's. We're all still together here, and got a chance to see Byron and Carissa and family. The cousins quickly get to know each other again. Grandma Linda's darling little back yard makes a fine place to enjoy a little dessert on a Sunday evening.

On Monday we picked up Sam's kids and went for a picnic and swim at Sandy Point and then a bike ride down on the river path back to Boise. The water was pretty cold, so the boys spent most of their time digging in the sand like dogs and burying themselves.

Mom and Mia give Anya a hand. Anya loves the water!

On Wednesday I got on a plane and flew to Arizona. I went for work, to continue some testing that we've got going there, but I did get a chance to hit a couple hiking trails around Tucson so I guess my vacation wasn't completely interrupted.

Meanwhile, Andrea headed to Baker City, Oregon with her mom and dad to camp for a couple of nights near their property there and to see her brother and his clan. The Oregon back country.

A picnic with Grandma.

Exhausted hikers.

And a cute little camp. Wish I could have been there!

Anya and Zayne get caught up on all the gossip on Stuart and Meggan's front porch.

Next, Kenrick and Anthony headed back to Idaho with Andrea's folks to get ready for their annual Birthday Adventure with Grandpa and Grandma, and Andrea pointed the van north and made for Kalispell, Montana to see her Grandpa and Grandma and to drop in on a few unsuspecting cousins.

A trip to Kalispell isn't complete without at least one ride in Uncle Dave's boat.

 The Three Musketeers, enjoying the bonfire and the brisk mountain air.

Side note: At this point in our trip Andrea is in Montana, I'm in Arizona, and Kenrick and Anthony are in Utah. Crazy, huh?

Andrea headed back to Boise in the middle of the week to pick me back up. Paxton and Anya get a chance to dip their toes in the icy Lochsa River.

I'm not sure who is helping who clean the window here, but I know Grandma enjoyed spending a little more time with the Littles.

 Now I'm back with A, P, and A and we're headed across the state to meet up with K and A. We stopped at Shoshone Falls on the way along the Snake River. Very impressive.

Finally, the crew is back together. Kenrick and Anthony and Tristan are all brimming with stories about their days with Grandpa and Grandma and their trip to Utah. I'll try to include a few of them in later posts.

We spent a few days at Steve and JoAnne's, but finally it's time to drag ourselves home. Another marathon drive and we've wrapped up another epic adventure. Between the six of us we managed to cover twelve states in three weeks, put over 4000 miles on the van and made countless memories. Hopefully we left a few smiles behind us.