Salsa-rific

My new addiction? Tomatillo Salsa! Our friend George gave a us a great recipe and the main ingredient grows right here in the yard! I have been eating it for breakfast lunch and dinner- by the bowlful!

So Skyler lumbers into a small town......

I swear Tonasket was built for just for Skyler. Every quirk make him smile, every pothole made him laugh. The first night he was here, he pulls out a shotgun with a barrel the size his fist and says he want to go shooting.

"We don't have elephants here," I informed him as he rolled his eyes.

"This is for those ugly crickets," he countered, "I don't want them on me while I am sleeping."

The next morning, he did his best Pavarotti impression as the biscuits came out of the oven. Actually, maybe it was supposed to be the sound of the heavens opening..or perhaps a moose mating call. I can't be sure but I think it meant he liked the biscuits. We also had some fabulous salsa from our new friends George and Marilyn. George makes a tomatillo salsa that is out of this world. I eat it like cold soup. We served it over scrambled eggs and I hoarded as much as I could.

Gina K re-told her tarantula story and it freaked me out just as much the second time. I'd share, but it's her story and she tells it better.

This was also the morning that Sky got to meet Joel. I spied Joel out this spring as the one and only older teen male in the congregation and something about talking with him made me think that Sky and he might hit it off. By the end of the week they were finishing each others sentences and freely decimating each others bathrooms. It makes a mom proud.

Wednesday night was a taco night and Tami made a mouth watering pico de gayo salsa that can also be eaten from a bowl. We had soooooo many leftovers because everyone had been munching all day and by the time the tacos got served were stuffed.

At about 8:30 that night we opened up the media room here at the Rainey Estate. Many of our guests had never seen the media room, and may have been surprised to learn that it doubles as the dining room, living room, schooling room and office. Is 'doubles' even the right word if it serves so many functions? I think there were about 16 of us in a living room made for 4 midgets, and the first rule was "Adults get the Sofa's". See Cheyenne's Post for the full breakdown of seat rules. Amazingly we made it through Made of Honor, and even had a couple laugh out loud parts. I think we will always remember the guy in the little shorts.

Thursday, Sky went to Joel's. When he came back I asked what he did and he said they "took a nap". I was wondering if that was code for something, but he said the had played video games, got tired, and napped. I don't personally have any friends that I am comfortable enough to consider napping with as part of the afternoons entertainment. In fact, It took a couple years for me to admit to my husband that I like to nap occasionally.

Having Sky around made me really appreciate how far the kids have come in learning to live and work in a small space. Sometimes every surface of the house had Skyler's "sheddings" on it. Sweatshirt on the sofa, shoes on the floor, bag splayed open and under the table, computer on the table, remnants of the last snack on the end table....I found myself saying "Skyler, you are shedding again!" more than once. In his defense, there was only a total of 9 cubic feet he could have claimed as his own. I don't think he wanted his own territory. He is a nomad. A rebel. An easy animal to track.

Friday night was Poker night for the 4 boys and Joel. He tried to claim he was a newbie, but he and Sky cleaned up and made Dakota to something heinous to buy his way back in. The video is on youtube, but you didn't hear it from me.

Saturday, Chanelle arrived and the meet and greet started again. Saturday night we had another campfire. Sky made his state famous (he called them world famous, but that's a bit of a stretch) smores. Even non-smore eaters like his smores, because he has a trick to make the marshmellow perfectly gooey, and the chocolate soft. That was a late and fun night.

Sunday, with the activities dying down, we were invited to Joels parents house for dinner and there we had some spectacular spaghetti. Jesse ate his weight in pasta, and apparently we need the recipe. We played fun game and the women got thoroughly trounced. There was no excuse. It was pathetic. However, I did come up with the name of the current baseball commissioner and most of the guys couldn't do that! My endless reading of everything comes in handy sometimes. I retain normally useless details and forget commitments.

Monday was the last day. Kinda sad because the cold weather is coming soon and I know I am not going to see a lot of the older boys if the have to go back and forth across the pass. I wouldn't want them to risk it anyway.

I tried to entice Levi to come over for the Autumn Leaf Run in Omak on October 1. He has ran a few races and he does really well, finishing in the top 20 (out of 2000) last time. I also figured I could call him on October 1, and tell him I won the 5k. That would give him a good belly laugh.

Chanelle wins the race!

My sister Chanelle was the first one of my sisters to make it over to the property. I will not disclose what I had to bribe her with, but I was sure happy to see her! She brought my little niece Kailiana and her mom-in-law, Kathy. It was great getting to know Kathy a little better, as we've never been able to talk much before.

Chanelle bought "coastie beer" (anything that comes in bottles from a microbrewery) but she made sure to bring some Busch, too. I am embarassed to say I enjoyed the Blue Moon a little more. I guess I still have some coastie to flush out (no pun intended).

Extreme Sky Makeover

So Tami graced Sky with a Kammeyer special, and boy did he appreciate it!

Skyler rolls into town

After arm wrestling his supervisor for time off, Skyler finally was able to get a week off to come see us. I really wanted him to have a whole week so that he would have time to get over the long drive, and not have to do it again two days later like poor Levi did. Sky's been here since Tuesday night, and the schedule has been FULL. He left straight after, with plans to meet us at the hall. I knew it would be close to 9 before he arrived, but every set of footsteps before that, I had to keep from whipping my head around to see if it was him.

Dakota showed no such restraint. The slightest shuffle of feet and his head swung wildly one direction, and then another. To make matters worse, we were sitting in the front of the hall, so everyone was able to witness Dakota's newfound A.D.D.

Meeting ended a few minutes early, and Dakota raced outide to call Sky. When he returned, his beaming face told me Sky was right behind him and I was right. I got teary eyed and nearly knocked over the elderly in my hurry to reach him. Of course, I had been yapping about is visit for a few weeks so nearly everyone already knew who he was. He shook hand after hand and even got a few hugs.

A Sad Day

Sunday afternoon Ruby, Worlds Best Hound Dog, was hit by a truck and killed instantly. We buried her out back. I intend to plant a small tree over her grave. I will miss her. I have never loved a pet as much as I loved her.

So Levi walks into a small town....

I could see the one-liners sparkling in his eyes as he took in mom and dads new place. From the bumpy gravel driveway to the off kilter garage, it was a whole different world than the one we'd left- and that was without stepping in the front door.

It was about 11:00 on Friday night when he arrived and after a quick hug he observed,

"Your whole town is closed." He drew out the world 'closed' as if to emphasize the total quiet he had encountered.

"Yeah," interrupted Dakota "it closed like 3 hours ago!" as if Levi was silly for even noticing it.

I was a bit suspicious that Uncle Dan had warned Levi to expect some major changes. They'd had several hours for Dan to tell tales of barn cats and hippies. Levi stepped gingerly into the living room and managed to take the whole room in with a glance. From his perspective the last time he'd seen the items in in our living room (Dining table, desk and computers, two sofas, the big screen and entertainment center) they had been spread out over a couple thousand square feet. It must have looked like an episode of "tiny house in the valley" to him. I saw his eyebrows launch upward involuntarily before he took control.

Chibi flung herself into Levi's arms before everyone was even able to greet him, and even Mack noticed the arrival. Ruby, who had not endeared herself to Levi during their brief introduction in Woodinville, received a dirty look and a warning kick.

He barely had time to settle into the guest suite (a.k.a. the sofa) when our next set of guests arrived, the Lewis family. The poor Lewis' clan had been traveling for 7 hours in a packed suburban with a blind (and mentally challenged, I was later told) German shepherd, and Red Australian Shepherd and weekend supplies for a family of 8.

Any hope I had of Levi having an epiphany and deciding to embrace our new lifestyle died about then. The 5 dogs and 8 cats (yes, we are making progress) proceeded to introduce themselves the ways dogs do at at 1:30 in the morning, while the weary travelers traipsed past Levi single file for a chance in the lone bathroom to shouts of "Light a match!"

The next morning, we had a large breakfast planned. We'd invited some of our new buddies as well as the out of towners here for the weekend. In addition to the aforementioned, Paula, Raine and Laraine had bunked at the Junction and were able able to taunt all the Rainey property guests with their fresh, clean smelling selves. We had already warned our clan (and the Lewis' did the same) that a shower was out of the question for 48 hours, as we already had 15 people and one bathroom. (Someday, I will get through a post without mentioning that we have only one bathroom, and that will mean I have truly adapted to life here-it just still astounds me that we have functioned pretty darn well so far.)

After the feast, I had a chance to visit with Levi. He was holding down one side of the sofa and trying to stay awake.

"Hey" I started, "you bored?"

"Yup" he said before the words were out of my mouth.

I told him I really appreciated him making the trip, that I wanted to show him the view from our service territory and that he only had to visit me twice a year to make me happy. A look crossed his face as if I had asked him to wrestle a gator. I could almost hear him thinking "I was going for bi-annual, not semi-annual". Negotiations have not yet commenced.

He did find one thing he really enjoyed doing here.

Sunday after meeting, we had a field day planned (more about that later) and Levi did manage a pretty decent time on the obstacle course, earning him a round of applause.

Monday morning, Levi knew he had one duty left to perform and he did it with his usual efficiency. We took him up the hill to Havillah and tried to spark some enthusiasm for the fabulous views. About then he let me know that he gets really, really car sick. The poor guy had been enduring the trip for my sake and I felt really bad. Unfortunately we were 13 miles into a 25 mile gravel road that didn't get any better. He took it like a trooper and arrived back at the property no worse for the wear.

All in all, Levi showed me what every mom wants to know- that your kids love you. He did something he really wanted to do because it made me happy. I am not just talking about the Monday drive. This was the first weekend Levi has had off in months and months. He spent it driving here, sleeping on the sofa and putting up with a lot of stuff that wasn't all that fun for him. He never offered an unsolicited complaint (although he could have been slightly slower to respond to questions like "Are you excited to get on the road?") and I enjoyed every minute visiting him.

Levi, if you read this, I love you and I am so proud of who you are. Thank you for coming to see us.