Mish Mosh Monday #4: The Great Mosquito Contest

Camping is a great love of mine. I haven’t camped out enough, but there were a couple of years that I went with my kids.

The kids and I always had fun. We played card games, swam in the river, told stories at night in the tent, and ate food you would only eat while camping.

R: Our overloaded car for camping, Middle: Noel Heart cooking, L: Noel Heart & I riding in our boat

When school was out and summer school was over, the kids and I would pack up in the summer and go camping. The first year, we met my Sisty Ugler and her daughter at Chetco River campground, just over the border in Oregon. 

Playing in the sand & water at Chetco River, We weren't much good at pole tents!

The campground was ideal. It had a beautiful, clear river flowing right next to it, there was beach to play on and plenty of space to ride bikes.

Another reason the campground was idyllic was the lack of other campers. The big attraction in camp-grounds in the area was down in Brookings on the coast.
 The Chetco River campground was just used as overflow when the coast campground filled up. Consequently, the river campground was only full on Fridays and Saturdays.

Salamanders! TGS playing Solitaire

The second year, the kids and I went alone. We 
brought our two man boat and would sail, two at a time, on the river. The water was so clear you could see all the way to the bottom, 8-10 feet down, and see salamanders walking on the sandy river bottom. There were wonderful places to swim too.

Nancy Drew in a tree, TGS & Nancy Drew building a fire, Noel Heart

We were getting our fair share of mosquito bites too. Every night, I would be awakened two or three times by someone needing me to put Campho Phenique on their itchy bites.
 For fun, I announced a contest. During the week we 
were there, we would see who could get the most mosquito bites.

The rules were: As soon as the mosquitoes came out in the evening, everyone had to put on long-sleeved shirts and pants, then put mosquito repellent on all exposed skin. At the end of the week, the one with the most bites would be declared winner.
 The week we spent camping was the best vacation I've ever been on. I had worked my first year as instructional aide at Montgomery High. Being on vacation with the kids restored my spirits and I found the perspective I needed to continue on.
The end of the week came too soon, but we were anxious to count bites and find our Great Mosquito Contest Winner. 
The turnout was funny: 
1st place: Nancy Drew had over 70 bites
2nd place: TGS had 30. 
3rd place: I had 20 bites. 
4th place: Noel Heart had less than 15
No one even came close to Miss Drew!

We knew then that Nancy Drew must have some
mighty sweet blood to make mosquitoes risk that yucky tasting repellent!

TGS wading in river, Noel Heart & Nancy Drew eating berries they picked, TGS ready for the river

We still talk about that week and laugh about The Great Mosquito Bite Contest and how Nancy Drew won. She always won…even when winning wasn’t good!

Christmas Carol Countdown: 10 Days to Go!

The school kids are hyper all the time now. They're bouncing off the walls and can't wait for vacation. Whenever one of my students says to me, "I can't wait for Christmas!" I have to chuckle inwardly. You think the kids are anxious...the teachers are chomping at the bit!

School is like a massive sugar high these days! Lots of high spirits and squirrely-ness and exuberant behavior. If we can only survive eight more days!

One of the activities in our family's advent countdown was the Balloon Stomp. It would definitely fit the activity level I see at school. It easy peasy too! Every player gets a balloon and blows it up. I think there was a rule of not putting so much air in it that it pops when you look at it! Get some yarn and cut a 18-inch length. Tie one end loosely around your ankle and tie the other to your balloon. Each person can decide the length of yarn between ankle and balloon, the only rule being that the balloon has to touch the ground. Experience has taught that the closer the balloon is to your ankle, the easier it is to defend.

The goal of the Stomp is to break everyone's balloon by stepping on it with your foot. At the same time, you must protect your own balloon. The winner is the last person who has an unpopped balloon. 

One person yells "Go!" and the madness begins. It's wild, it's crazy, it's a madhouse. Boy, is it fun! My kids have fond memories of this game and that's the idea. Memories and traditions. Glue that holds us together.

Amazingly enough, I just heard this song two years ago. The great Louis Armstrong originally did it. I actually heard it done by Garth Brooks, but when I went to find it on iTunes the only version I could find was Louis Armstrong. And what a version!

Searching for it on YouTube, I found this incredible video someone put together. It has fantastic editing. There are clips of Armstrong himself singing the song interspersed with period cartoons. It's a treat! Sit back and enjoy: "Zat You Santa Claus"

Christmas Carol Countdown: 11 Days to Go!

Disclaimer: I originally wrote a Christmas Carol Countdown in 2010 when I first started this blog. I had no followers, my family were the only ones who read it. I didn't know anything about blogging or linky parties, etc. So I wrote a Countdown. This year, I decided to do "The Best of..." and re-post those blogs. I wasn't good at doing it every day, so I will also write original posts. The original set of blogs can be found in the subject list in the right hand column. Just click "Christmas."

I promised to tell you about traditions our young family had at Christmas time. My mom made each of my children an advent calendar. The one she made for my second daughter had a Christmas tree with lots of little pockets below for the countdown. It was 1980 and the girls were one- and three-years-old. That was when the most delightful Christmas tradition idea sprouted in my head.

I used the advent calendar with the pockets and in each pocket I put a slip of paper with a Christmasey thing to do. Some were traditional: go get the tree, decorate the tree, and the others ranged from the boisterous to giving service. Before December, I would map out when the Christmas shows would be on TV. Watching "How The Grinch Stole Christmas," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and "Frosty the Snowman" were a must. A slip of paper would go in the proper day when we would watch them on TV. I might remind you right here that this was pre-video player and videos. It was just in its infancy and hardly anyone had them. We watched what we wanted to watch on TV when it was on TV at the exact time.

Next I would put in the slips for Setting Up The Manger, Reading the Christmas Story from the Bible, and also the traditional: Write Letters To Santa.

Two of the most anticipated days were for Slurping Jello and the Balloon Game. To prepare for Slurping Jello, make a regular, fruit-free jello, but add a little more water. About a quarter cup. Jello should still set up, but be a little soft. When ready, give everyone a paper plate with an equal amount of Jello on it and a straw. It helps if the straws are wider, if possible. Sitting at the table, wait for the signal: Ready, Set, Go! Everyone slurps Jello through the straw! It might be quite an easy task, I never found out. Invariably, the sound of slurped jello busted everyone out in laughter. We soldiered on until the first person slurped up all their jello and was declared Winner!

The kids LOVED it, we all had fun and it was a short little activity too. Not every one of our things took loads of time.

A couple of hints I have for Advent Activity Countdown is:
1. The slips are secret. No one knows until the pull the slip and read it aloud.
2. I would usually end up moving slips around to fit our days. Sometimes I would need a quick activity and so I would swap a longer one with a shorter one.

Tomorrow, more activities from the Advent Countdown Calendar!

I've written it before, Christmases that have children involved, around, underfoot and anticipating Santa are the richest of all.

This leads me to today's Countdown Carol. It's a song my mom often sang around Christmas and this version was done by Andrea Bocelli and children on his Christmas Special one year. Andrea is one of my treasures. I own everything he has ever recorded. One magic year, my husband gave me tickets to see him in concert! Probably about 5 years ago, the tickets were $200 a piece. It was tremendous...and all the other superlatives you can think of! Here's my pick for today. Enjoy!

Christmas Carol Countdown: 10 Days to Go!

Can it be? Two more days to vacation? Ten days to Christmas? I told my hubby tonight that we have some gift wrapping to do. I've got to get the east coast packages out of here!

It's fun wrapping with my husband...his way of wrapping is definitely his own unique style and the kids love getting packages wrapped by him. During the early years of our marriage, he wrapped everything in newspaper. Now that we no longer get a newspaper delivered, he's ventured into foil! Imported straight from the kitchen, no less. I've also seen packages with a ripped-off corner of wrapping paper taped on the outside of the box. The more presents he wraps the more minimalist he gets!

He's also a pro at guessing what he's being given. I gave up after a couple of years of trying to just put a wrapped present under the tree. I became creative. I put the wrong names on all the packages so he wouldn't know which one was his. That was dreadful, because then I forgot who the packages really went to. Then I went to disguising the present; you know, wrapping it in different sized boxes, putting marbles and nails inside, putting in a huge brick, etc.

I think the best year was three years ago. I went to Big Lots and bought one of those humongous Christmas stockings. They must have stolen it from Big Foot. My big idea was to put all his wrapped presents inside so he couldn't see them. It ended up not being big enough, but that didn't stop me. I cut a slit down the back of the stocking and sewed in a "gusset," an extra piece of material so that the stocking was wider. I got all the presents inside, including a last-minute impulse buy: a Wii. We had played it for the first time at someone's house over Thanksgiving and had lots of fun.

He's so devious. On Christmas Eve, when we open presents, about the third gift he handed me was a package from him. I ripped off the foil and saw the box: it was a Wii. I about fainted. So I started blurbering the whole thing about how I had gotten him a Wii also. That was when he told me to open the box. Surprise! There wasn't a Wii inside, it was another gift for me. He proceed to tell me, with a wolfish grin, how he figured I would get a Wii. Someone at work had gotten a Wii the week before and he asked to borrow the box to play a joke on me. That man! His ability to guess presents is the bane of my life!

My youngest daughter was born the day after Christmas. I've always managed to get birthday gifts for her, but most often forget to buy birthday gift wrap. I discovered that most Christmas wrap is white on the opposite side. Poor kid, she gets her presents wrapped in white paper. Once she pulls it off, it is revealed: plain ol' Christmas wrap!

Tonight's carol is one by Alan Jackson. My son gave me his Christmas album quite a few years ago. This song was an instant favorite. I was driving down to Southern California during December and had just gotten the CD. As soon as I heard Track Five I wanted to memorize the song. For mile upon mile, as I rolled down I-5, I played and replayed that song trying to memorize it.

That brings up the question, how come I still know every word to Johnny Mathis songs my mom played on the record player when I was a little kid, but can't learn the words to songs now? At least I can play the song over and over and over and over!

God Bless.

This is Alan Jackson and "Let It Be Christmas."

Christmas Carol Countdown: 15 Days to Go!

I was totally worn out yesterday. I actually went to bed at 8:30. Hence, no post. I had a nice deep sleep, but still felt tired all day. I came home and took a nap. I was ready for bed at 8:00 tonight. Just want to tell my stories before I head to bed.

Here's another item from our early family's Advent Activity Calendar. It starts with a young me. Wow were our Christmases spectacular! I always got lots and lots of presents. Even then I remember feeling a huge sense of letdown when the last present was opened. It wasn't a greedy feeling, but I felt that there should be more. Time passes and I'm a young mom. Christmas is more commercialized than when I was a child and it rates a two on the over-doing it scale compared to present day with its over-the-top money, money, money, and buy, buy, buy and more, more, more attitude.

We didn't have much money back then. My husband was just out of college working his first big job. I was a stay-at-home mom. We did a lot of scrimping and doing without. When Christmas rolled around, I worried that my children would feel they weren't getting enough presents. Actually, they weren't. I wanted them to understand the joy of giving and the spirit of Christmas.

In the first year of my marriage, I had read the entire set of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. I had never read them when I was younger and I adored these books. I loved the ways they made do and did without.

One particular story and phrase has stuck with me from these books,it is in Little House on the Prairie. Pa is getting ready to go to town. He has borrowed some nails from Mr. Edwards and needs to buy some to pay him back. It took four to five days to get to town and back and he hasn't been in about a year. Finally Pa decides he'd better "go and get it over with." He equivocates that he could stay back. Ma reminds him that they don't like borrowing and that he has also borrowed tobacco. Ma is almost out of cornmeal. Finally Pa says, "We could get along all right, if I didn't. There's no need to running to town all the time, for every little thing."

I remind myself of that when I start to think of buying something that I think I "need." How much can I get along without? What is necessary? Have you noticed that now in advertisements that "deserve" has replaced the word "need." Now you really "deserve" to buy a new car, or "deserve" the latest vacation. We are a long ways away from what our depression-era parents and grandparents learned and what the quote teaches: there really is very little we actually have to have to get along.

Now I'm rambling...back to the Advent Activity. In my effort to instill good values in my children, one night in the days before Christmas the slip would read, "Little House on the Prairie." In this same volume is a story titled, "Mr. Edwards Meets Santa Claus." On the prairie it is Christmas Eve. Laura and Mary are worried because there is no snow for Santa Claus to travel with his reindeer. The creek near their home is swollen and roaring. Mr. Edwards had been invited for Christmas dinner but now won't be able to make it because the creek is too high. It is a very disappointed Mary and Laura who go to bed and to sleep. Sometime during the night, Mr. Edwards makes it to their home. He has brought presents from Santa. Laura gets a tin cup of her very own; until then Mary and Laura have shared a cup. They have each gotten a long stick of candy and a very pretty heart-shaped cake with white sugar on top and made from pure white flour. In the very bottom of their stocking is a shiny penny. They marvel at their gifts and stare and stare. Laura writes: "They had never even though of such a thing as having a penny. Think of having a whole penny for your very own. Thing of having a cup and a cake and a stick of candy and a penny. There never had been such a Christmas."

My children loved this story and eagerly looked forward to it each year. Last year my middle daughter called from Massachusetts on Christmas Eve. She wanted to read the Little House on the Prairie Christmas story to her new seven-year-old step-daughter. I scanned the story and sent it across the United States that night so a tradition could be handed down to another generation.

Tonight's carol is from Brad Paisley. You'll hear in the introduction that he wrote it when he was 13 years old. It's called, "Born on Christmas Day."



An extra treat for you since I slept through yesterday's post!



God Bless.

Christmas Carol Countdown: 17 Days to Go!

The school kids are hyper all the time now. They're bouncing off the walls and can't wait for vacation. Whenever one of my students says to me, "I can't wait for Christmas!" I have to chuckle inwardly. You think the kids are anxious...the teachers are chomping at the bit!

School is like a massive sugar high these days! Lots of high spirits and squirrely-ness and exuberant behavior. If we can only survive eight more days!

One of the activities in our family's advent countdown was the Balloon Stomp. It would definitely fit the activity level I see at school. It easy peasy too! Every player gets a balloon and blows it up. I think there was a rule of not putting so much air in it that it pops when you look at it! Get some yarn and cut a 18-inch length. Tie one end loosely around your ankle and tie the other to your balloon. Each person can decide the length of yarn between ankle and balloon, the only rule being that the balloon has to touch the ground. Experience has taught that the closer the balloon is to your ankle, the easier it is to defend.

The goal of the Stomp is to break everyone's balloon by stepping on it with your foot. At the same time, you must protect your own balloon. The winner is the last person who has an unpopped balloon.

One person yells "Go!" and the madness begins. It's wild, it's crazy, it's a madhouse. Boy, is it fun! My kids have fond memories of this game and that's the idea. Memories and traditions. Glue that holds us together.

Amazingly enough, I just heard this song two years ago. The great Louis Armstrong originally did it. I actually heard it done by Garth Brooks, but when I went to find it on iTunes the only version I could find was Louis Armstrong. And what a version!

Searching for it on YouTube, I found this incredible video someone put together. It has fantastic editing. There are clips of Armstrong himself singing the song interspersed with period cartoons. It's a treat! Sit back and enjoy: "Zat You Santa Claus"

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

My mom would always start singing that popular song, "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas" around the beginning of December. It has stuck with me through all these years, and although I don't know most of the words, I always have to hum it when I start seeing Christmas lights on houses.

The weather here in California is cooperating for the beginning of December and the Christmas season. It's been cold, very cold, in fact. We've been getting frost! And now it's rainy. I just hope it's like this on Christmas Day.

I love the Christmas season. The joy, the giving, but mostly children. I had so much fun when my children were little. In the coming days, I'm going to share things that we did when my kids were little.

I really miss my children, and now grandchildren around now. My son and my daughter both live on the East Coast...I only get out there once a year. My newest grandbaby is also on the East Coast. Luckily one family member stayed close, my daughter and my grandson, who is ten.

The advent calendar and the Twelve Days of Christmas have always been heartily celebrated in our family. More details in the days to come! My countdown to Christmas for this blog is going to be sharing some of my favorite carols sung by the artist I think did it best! Music has such a wonderful way of bringing the Spirit of Christmas, the Spirit of Christ, into our lives. We feel the warmth of the spirit and it makes us vow to do more, help more, give more.

Advent Calendar Made by My Mom
for TGS

My first choice for Christmas Carol Countdown is by the Norwegian singer, Sissel. She has a truly incredible voice; it makes you think of angels! A few years back, she was the guest artist on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. It was the first time I had heard her and I was entranced. The selection today is Angels from the Realms of Glory. And don't be too surprised if Sissel shows up later this month in the carol list.