more of the BLUE VAN

So anyway, let’s talk about the blue van. Who remembers it? Of course we all remember the tear in the upper portion of the back seat which was repaired with duct tape. Of course we also remember how the years of hot summers beating down on that tape, would produce a nice, gray, stickiness on the backs of our heads, coats, ponytails..

Pop quiz! Supposing a vehicle has 8 seatbelts, how many Saxman passengers can it safely carry?

Well, if you guessed 8, you’d be wrong. The answer is 14. Haven’t you ever heard of “doubling-up?” That’s right, if, for some reason you can’t find the other half to your seatbelt, just sit patiently for a few seconds and one of your siblings will tattle to mom about your illegal van-riding methods.

I remember that more often then not, that van wouldn’t start. Mom would crank it over and over until signs of a diminishing battery life were obvious. Never mind the fact that each round trip from Dupont to Steilacoom only earned that van a $1 investment of gas. Leave it to Mom, always the auto mechanic, to jump right into her only known remedy. It seemed to be some sort of random pumping of the gas pedal before and after numerous cranks. Eventually, Mr. Frank Serfus would get sick of hearing this sad engine whine and cross the street only to perform the exact same gas pedal-pumping method that mom used! The only difference being, one or two cranks from Frank always guaranteed a sure start. Go figure.

Cali 2010

Okay, I know we're barely into 2010 but as most of you know we should all be making a trip down south to the sunshine just before summer.

You all know I'm a planner and I realize most of you haven't thought twice about it but figured a good place to start would be to get some feedback about potential "family" arrangements while we're down there.

Take some time and then give me some feedback for the following:

Are you interested in staying in a house (location would be La Jolla) with other family members.

Approximately how long (days/nights) do you think you'd be at the house?

If you stayed the max nights (3-5???) how much would you be willing to pay for that time.
General Example: 20 adults @ $150/each = $3000 4-5 bedroom house (cost in La Jolla) for 3-5 nights.

**Travis and I are planning to visit Disneyland for a few days prior to our arrival and would love to have anyone else join us. :)

Thanks for your feedback!

Gla

Family Vacation Idea

I think I ran the idea by most everyone of having a family vacation every other summer so that everyone could be there.

As expected, Dad had an "idea" which I, personally, think is a pretty good one...here goes!

Time of year: Feb - March

Place: Lake Havasu (bear with me)

Pros:
Usually we are willing and looking for a way to escape the dark, dull, dreary, rainy days and nights here in WA, while those in CA wouldn't have to travel far at all!
Cheaper to vacation during that time of year vs summer.
Ken Marsh...yep, I said it! You know he had to come into play eventually! We could take advantage of his toys such as a few waverunners, "party" boat (one of those flat ones that holds like 15 people), come and go from his pool, etc, etc.

**The thought is to attempt to locate a "monster" house on or very near the lake that could handle us. I know this might sound impossible, but you never know.

Here's where you all come in: I need to know how many people are interested in entertaining this idea and then dad and I would start the research should there be enough. Let me know your thoughts as well and other ideas you have.

Gla :)




okay, to add to this and maybe tweak your interests, check out this "example" of a retreat we could all get away to. http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p174552 For those of you that like the math done this would cost us $3500 for the week and breaks down to about $175/adult. Just an idea....

Christmas in DuPont

5 giant cans of popcorn

4 games of Scrabble

singing reindeer in the kitchen hallway.

Family Time

At the end of August we will have several siblings in town so I thought we should all get together at some point. My thought is to plan something for Saturday, August 29th. This date seems to be the day that allows everyone to participate. So, hanging out in Nupnop would be fine, but I thought it would be even more fun to get some ideas about what we could do for that day. So, post your ideas and we can all decide on something!!

At any rate plan to be with your delightfully wonderful siblings et al on that day!

guk :)