Fleetly Fleeing

This was maybe three years ago.  Now we don't have any babies, Araceli is ten feet taller, and we only see Golda every few weeks.  In three more years, our oldest two will be off on their own, soon to be followed by the next batch.

It goes way too fast.  Way too fast.  And if you want to see fast, just add an extra four kids to the mix.  We had Nikki and Clint's kids this week, and the time just rocketed by, full of games, classes, carpools and lessons; homework, dinner, breakfast and school.  One night, Tizzy asked me to lie down to sleep with her.  I hesitated because, you know, laundry for 12 people, dishes, mounds of backpacks piled up by the front door, full of things to be signed and probably rotting lunch leftovers.  I had Things To Do.

I said yes, though, because closing my eyes for a minute was an irresistible idea.  Tizzy was so incredibly delighted, I couldn't believe it.  She was happy just to have me there.  She giggled, then laughed loudly.  Then she closed her eyes and went to sleep.  She needed so little, and gave me so much in return, in that little giggle of delight.

Before I can fully appreciate her magnificent little 4-year-old giggle, Tizzy will be pulling a Mustang folder out of her school backpack and asking me to sign her reading log.  She'll be a pudgy pre-teen needing new ballet shoes every three weeks as her feet grow.  She'll be a tempestuous 14-year-old, storming out of the kitchen because nobody noticed that she curled her eyelashes.  She'll be a Davis Dart, car bouncing into the driveway whenever we're lucky enough to have her home from all the things she's passionate about.

Then she'll be gone.  She'll come back, but not often enough.  And instead of snuggling in with her at bedtime, I'll lie down in the very spot in our bed where her warm little figure once hogged the covers, sometimes forcing Scott and me to end up on couches.  I might cry because I miss her, but I'll dry my tears because that's what you do when you're all finished drying theirs.

I love this last picture.  Where did Tizzy go?  Celi and Free were probably fighting over her and she left.  Har har

Airbnb Adventure

Last summer, I got this insane idea to rent our house out on Airbnb.com.  We had stayed in airbnb's and loved the experience, and I just thought it would be a hoot to provide that experience to someone else.  It was.  We got the house all ready and put pictures on the airbnb website.  HERE'S THE LINK, unless I've put it on snooze when you read this.

You won't be surprised to find out that I absolutely loved the experience of being an airbnb host.  I just love the whole idea of hospitality.  I loved providing the experience for people to stay in a comfortable place.  I loved seeing their reaction to the house, meeting them, imagining how much fun they were having at our house, and reading their glowing reviews afterward.  We hosted maybe 9 or 10 families or groups, most Chinese.

The downsides were first, that I wasn't invited to tag along on the vacations.  I wanted the guests to ask me questions about tourism in the area, but most didn't.  I would have picked them up at the airport or taken them to see things, but they all had their own plans.  Then there was the question of where we would stay when our house was rented out.  Our initial idea was to go on vacation whenever we rented out the house, but that doesn't always work out in real life.  Often, we wanted to save our airbnb money to use for future travel.  And a lot of our stays were only one or two nights, so it was easier to just stay at my parents' house or camp out at the violin shop/ Scott's office.  Sometimes the kids loved those adventures, and sometimes they were tired of it.  Fortunately, Golda and Ruby were in Europe during most of the summer, because they didn't quite see the adventure in camping out at the violin shop like the younger kids did.

One thing that was both good and bad was the cleaning and preparation.  It took forever, even if we had just rented it out and everything was spotless, I'd still have to spend 4 hours washing and changing sheets for the next guests.  Every single inch of every wall, floor and stick of furniture had to be impeccable.  If there was one single hair on a bathroom floor, that could get you a bad review, and you don't want that.  I loved this cleaning process, but also, I had kids and things to do, so it was tricky to block out enough time for the cleaning.  But then, when the guests left, our house would be SO CLEAN.  The kids were down to a bare minimum of possessions, and I loved it.  I hate stuff, and I relished the house being as bare as it's ever been, from being completely deep cleaned every few days, from base boards to ceilings, including drawers, showers, floors, sheets, everything.  All the cupboards and drawers were clean and organized, and actually empty for the most part, unless they were stocked with clean towels and sheets.  Like I said, heavenly.  Except for the two closets that we locked, with our personal stuff inside.  Those got messy!

All of our guests, without exception, were friendly and wonderful.  This family was the only one that fulfilled my desire for more interaction.  It was 3 couples, 3 kids and a photographer, some Chinese, some Chinese-American.  They had a baby, and then they had two boys.  They invited our kids to go to dinner with them so that their kids could get the "American Experience."  My kids, skeptical of the whole airbnb thing anyway, probably would have died if I'd pawned them off of this boisterous family and their photog.  So I invited their kids to hang out with us, doing kid stuff.  We went to David and Marilyn's and gathered up some of their kids to go to the new Maverik gas station.  It doesn't get any more American than that!  The kids played in the DeBrys' yard, then we went to Cherry Hill for mini golf and Fiiz for drinks.  It was chaotic and great.  The Chinese kids spoke a little English, and the DeBrys are in Chinese immersion, so there was some verbal communication, but kids don't really need it.  So that was a fun airbnb experience.

Mennonite family we didn't get to meet.
They stayed while we were in California.  Loved them!

I love this one from a little boy who was travelling with a big group of his relatives. I took these pictures a long time ago, and I should have taken a pic of all the reviews.  They were all positive and fun, and it was a highlight for us to read what each group had written after they left.  The main reason we did the airbnb host thing was that other people had done it, and we challenged ourselves to do it, too.  We wanted to tap into the tourism industry that streams through our state, unnoticed by the inhabitants.  We wanted to feel the excitement of people traveling, without leaving home.  We wanted an international connection.  And I, personally, wanted to make some of these families' journeys more comfortable, affordable and fun.  I wanted to share our resources with them, and at the same time, make some travel money.  We did all of that, and we had an exciting experience.  That said, I don't foresee us opening our airbnb doors again in the near future.  We have friends coming this summer, and we don't want them to have to camp out at the violin shop!

Adventure Is Out There!

 Ruby explained it best:  "Our family gets so obsessive.  Araceli makes one good smoothie, and she's like, 'I should open a smoothie shop.'"  Scott had so much fun on last week's trip to Southern Utah that he messaged me the next day, "I'm planning fall break to Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon."  He didn't wait that long.  He went back down south the very next weekend.  It just makes sense that if you do something great, you should do it again as soon as possible.

Nikki and Clint watched our 3 little kids when we went to Hawaii, and this week it's our turn to reciprocate.  Everyone has been looking forward to a week of cousins, and Scott took the opportunity to plan a boys trip. Scott, our boys, Nikki's boys and Jake took off at 6 am Saturday morning bound for Arches, the closest national park to our house, and one of the most fun.  The other bonus about Arches is that Moab is right there, with a plethora of hotels to choose from.  Also, Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point are close by for some variety.  And Price is situated at the midway point for gas and snacks.  It's really an ideal 4-hour drive.

 They made it to the parking lot!  Whoo hoo!  Excitement was high.  Scott was on a natural high or something, from the adrenaline rush of taking six boys hiking for the weekend.  They had the best time, and he kinda wants to go back ASAP.  Why not?  Fresh air, laughter and junk food.  Yes to all of that!  Freestone called me along the way to inform me of the rules that had been put in place for the trip:  No Swearing, No Farting and No Smoking Cigarettes in the Car.

Oh man.  I don't even like the "F" word (fart.).  Those were definitely boy rules!

 And yes, Boys Rule!

 Picnic in the park.

 Scott must have had the Jay Leno filter on this one.

 The hike to Delicate Arch is risky, and should not be attempted with little kids.  And then they got a bit lost, so they ended up "spider crawling," whatever that is, up a sheer dropoff of sandstone.  Great.  Later, Ptolemy said his favorite part of the trip was "almost falling off a cliff."  Boys need danger. It's a fact.

 Seriously, though, this is the trail to Delicate Arch.  You could just fall off.

 Jake pretending to hold up Simba.

 The boys told me they got stuck in that crevasse and couldn't get out.

 At the hotel, they got in the hot tub to soothe their hiking muscles, and had Cup o Noodles for dinner.  Scott sure the boys would love the idea of Cup o Noodles for dinner, and they did.  He went to the store and got each of them their own pint of ice cream, too.  Does it even get any better than that?

 Back at it again the next day with free breakfast!

 Then Dead Horse Point State Park.  They did a five-mile hike which took four hours.  After that, the kids were wiped out and wanted to go home, rather than doing Canyonlands.  That worked out great, as it was 3 in the afternoon.  Scott was impressed by the boys' stamina, especially 5yo Kip and 6yo Ptolemy. That's a big hike for those little legs!

 "Seeing" what it would be like to be blind on the hike.

 Kiptyn is so funny!  Look at that look on his face as he tries to trick his parents into thinking he's falling off a cliff!

 Scott:  "I love these plants!"  He's so smitten by the desert!

 "I love this tree!"

 Yeah...they didn't get close to any edges!

 It was a boys trip. Of course the shirts had to come off at some point.

The rowdy troupe paid a surprise visit to Golda in Orem on their way home.  Scott was such a hero to take all the boys and give them this adventure.  He said it was tiring, but easy when you get right down to it.  Step One:  get in the car.  Step Two: go.  It's really that easy, especially with a group of boys as wired for adventure as these guys.  They were fun.  And I'm glad they're ours!