Memorial Day Weekend in Boise

"Go often to the house of thy friend, for weeds choke the unused path."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Tale of Two Dinners and a Camping Trip

A few weeks ago, the CEO of Vertigo Software, a company with an office here in Portland, mentioned on Twitter that the company was hiring, and asked people to send him an email if they were interested. Shaun has followed the company for a long time. He was interested, and he emailed. He got a reply that night. Then he got an email from their HR department. That night. Containing a request for an interview the following Monday. Over the next week or two, he made it through an informal screening interview and a technical phone interview.

The final hurdle was an in-person coding challenge. Two weeks ago today, Shaun went in to the Vertigo Portland office. He was given the specs for a project and two and a half hours to have at it. When the time was up, they had lunch at the Produce Row Cafe. Then he presented his work and answered questions. Then he was interviewed some more.

Shaun was so fried by the pressure of not wanting to blow his chance of working at the company that he very most wanted to work at that he didn't even call me when he was done. He just came on home.

And went camping!

Beacon Rock with the Morgan family is always fun. How enchanting is this spot? Here, David is serving up foil packets of carrots and potatoes and onions and garlic and sausage that were cooked on the campfire. Which is exactly what you should eat when you're camping, especially when you've had a soul-draining day of job interviews.

It wasn't, perhaps, the most relaxing weekend. Shaun was expecting to hear if he got the job on Friday or Monday. When we didn't hear Friday, it meant a weekend of wondering. Also, on Saturday night a drunk old man got stuck in his tent at the campsite next to us. At the campsite next to the Morgans, a very very very very very untalented jackass got out his guitar at 11:00 and sang to all of his buddies at the top of his lungs for several hours. I didn't let Shaun go ask them to quiet down (my overactive imagination saw it all ending with terrible, bloody violence) and we were out of cell range, so we couldn't call the ranger. It was rather satisfying to tell on them the next morning when the ranger came by, though.

One of those milestones that you don't know you were waiting for until it arrives: the boys deciding on their own to play Uno together in the tent.

Gotta make your own fun when you're camping.

Walking up to "Little Beacon Rock."

How cute is Mila? Her folks do an amazing job of managing her diabetes and keeping her healthy.

Carved into the picnic bench at our campsite.

Lisa Marie, Ezra, and Mila getting serious with the s'mores.

So Monday came and we waited. And waited. 3:30 rolled around...I needed to go to the store to get something for dinner. But would it be a celebration or a consolation meal? Surely we would hear any minute. I couldn't bring myself to go shopping. And Shaun came home with no word and we had no food in the house.

So Shaun pulled everything out of the freezer. Everything. Eight fish sticks. Five taquitos. A handful of wedge potatoes. Two mozzarella sticks. Twelve mini quiches. There was also one leftover piece of pizza in the fridge that Willem claimed before we even started cooking. Shaun made a careful timeline of when to put all the food in and when to flip it and when to take it out. So this was dinner. Not one of my proudest homemaking (or lack thereof) moments.

Well, I certainly wasn't going to let that happen again. The next afternoon I decided to take a chance and bought some salmon steaks at Whole Foods. And missed the call. And noticed when I got back in the car. And called Shaun back. And found out that we would be having celebratory pan-roasted salmon for dinner.

Shaun starts the new job on July 11. Cheers to him!

Logs III

Here's a student (believe it or not) bucking team. There were Jack and Jill teams (the state champions were there) and Jill and Jill teams as well. The students held their own against the professionals--I'm guessing it's because they have more practice. We learned that the key to success is in the push. If you find yourself pulling the saw, it's all over.

Ax throwing. Nobody lost a limb that I am aware of.

Only the high schoolers did the log rolling. It was NOT a warm day, but several kids jumped in willingly. Willem kept asking me how much it cost to get in there. I couldn't figure out how or if they were scoring the event--I think it was mostly an excuse to goof around.

Cable splicing is a very photogenic event.

It also requires a great deal of strength. Shaun and I watched two girls struggle until they were finally told to stop. They'd made good progress but eventually couldn't get the spike into the cable in the right spot. They were red and close to tears (of frustration), but they didn't cry and they didn't give up.

I loved watching the girls throw themselves into the competition. I'm thinking that future girlfriends for our boys should all come from the forestry club.

Yep.

Logs II

This kid was hanging out on this spar pole before the competition began. He talked on the phone for quite some time. The caption for this photo comes courtesy of Shaun's dad:

"Can you hear me now?"

Those are high school boys. Their poor mothers.

The pole climbers had to do a bunch of fancy rigging once they made it to the top. More than once a cable slipped and they had to climb back down. Lots of audible groaning from the crowd during this part.

As part of the main event relay, the competitors had to jump over several logs while carrying and dragging all that heavy stuff. And they made it look easy.

The last step in the relay is to squash a Coke can. With a tree.

Logs I

If you've ever made the drive from Portland to the coast on Highway 26, chances are you've noticed Camp 18. The grounds include an outdoor logging museum, a restaurant housed in a massive log building, and a newish logger's memorial. Going to Camp 18 is a favorite tradition in Shaun's family, as it's only about a 20 minute drive from the tree farm.

In the past few years, Camp 18 has started holding an annual service (for loggers whose names had been added to the memorial that year) and logging competition.

Well, this past year Shaun's mom wrote a lovely write-up of Shaun's Grandpa Chick's life and found a nice picture to go with it, and it is now hanging in the memorial. (Look for R. N. "Chick" Jensen.) And when Shaun's folks invited us to the big event, we were excited to go.

In my fervent prayers for no rain, I had neglected to consider the need for sunscreen. It was one of those overcast days that gives you a stealth sunburn. We mystified all of our friends at church the next day with our ruddy glow, as it had apparently rained all day in Camas. I felt like a terrible mom allowing Willem to get his first real sunburn, but I guess one every five years isn't too bad.

The competitors were made up of professional logging crews and high school forestry club students. I didn't know there was such a thing as forestry clubs. It's like 4-H, but with logging instead of farming. Apart from the climbing, I think I might have enjoyed something like that when I was in high school. It sure would have beat marching band.

A word on the crowd: The event was well-attended, but it wasn't really a spectator deal. Almost everyone there was obviously in the industry in some way. Everyone knew each other, and, if they didn't, they felt like they should. It was really fun to sneak into that community and get a first-hand look.

When we first arrived and I saw everyone in their logging gear, I was bummed that I hadn't thought of dressing the boys in their hickory shirts. But after hanging around the families of the real loggers for a while, I was glad I hadn't. Nobody likes a poser. Which doesn't mean that we won't happily have the boys wear the shirts in other less "professional" settings. After all, Grandpa rightfully wears one (as did Great Grandpa Chick), and we are very proud of the family's logging heritage.

Here things are getting underway; we're singing the national anthem as they run the flag up the spar tree.

After a short talk from a pastor who managed to find a logging passage in the Bible (!), the names of the loggers who'd been added to the memorial that year were read. The man doing the announcing choked up several times when he reached the names of friends, particularly those who'd died in accidents. His emotional extemporaneous remarks had me wishing I'd brought a tissue. At the end of the list, the signal whistle was sounded.

"One long and one short," said the man. He struggled over the end of the next sentence. "That's the signal for quittin' time."

Sniff.

A big aim of the day was to raise money to keep the memorial building open and running. So all of the professional crews were "auctioned" off, with the highest bidder winning a percentage of the prize purse if "his" team won the competition. Most of the teams sold for $400-$800, which I thought was impressive. We had to keep swatting Willem's hand down, as he got pretty enthused over the proceedings.

Auction in progress.

You may recognize some of these guys if you've watched the show "Ax Men."

Ax Men on the block.

Here's the field of competitors getting their instructions. The high school kids did all the same things the pros did. One thing Shaun noticed is that there were no barriers anywhere. Folks were trusted to keep a safe distance and not to crowd the competitors or mess with the equipment. We appreciated the opportunity to see everything up close.

Let the games begin!

Mother's Days

I got a full week of Mother's Days, thanks to programs at the boys' schools.

Willem's preschool had a tea. Nothing went majorly wrong, but the event had an uncomfortable, "off" feel to it. It probably wasn't necessary for one of the teachers to announce that a staff member who had needed to study for an exam had stayed up until 1 am making the cupcakes. That just made me feel even worse when none of the other moms at the table ate their cupcakes. Come on, ladies. You can't all be gluten intolerant.

Next, one of the school administrators came up and prayed for us in the kind of tremulous speaking voice that (fairly or not) makes me question the person's emotional/mental/spiritual stability.

Then: "I have a gift for all of you, and I'm so excited. I'm not sure how it's going to go, but I've been practicing a lot," she quavered. And with that confidence-inspiring introduction, she cued the music and launched into the William Tell Overture "Mom Song." Awkward.

There was no where to go but up from there, right? Video interviews with each child were next -- that could only be awesome.

"Why is your mom special?"

"My mom is special because she's beautiful." Aww went the room.

There were more in that vein. The girls usually said sweet, thoughtful things. The boys, like Willem, said more self-centered but still positive things like "She loves me."

But two of the boys said nothing in their interviews. Nothing at all.

"What's special about your mom?"

(Silence.)

"What do you love about your mom?"

(Squirming in the chair, looking away from the camera.)

A few more futile tries, and it was a wrap.

Shaun didn't think this sounded like a big deal when I relayed the story to him, and, in the big scheme of things it probably wasn't. As a mom, though, I found it heartbreaking. Later I learned that the school had been running late on the project and had done the taping that very morning, so they probably didn't have time to try again. But I say better to ditch the whole idea than make a mom sit in a room full of other women and watch her child come up empty on those questions.

So that was Willem's thing. Nels's "Moms, Muffins, and Manicures" morning was, despite the name, less weird. The biggest challenge was fitting five full-grown moms and all of the celebratory accouterments at each cluster of five first-grade sized desks and chairs. The kids sang for us before we dined on giant muffins and fruit punch. I thought "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" was an odd song choice, but Nels performed, as always, with gusto. We were given handmade cards, tissue-paper flower pictures, and wrist corsages fashioned of tulle, artificial flowers, and pipe cleaners. It was charming.

And, yes, most of us acquiesced to having our fingernails painted by our children. A mom next to me hemmed and hawed for a while before picking a barely visible color for her nails. "I have to go back to work after this," she told her son. I knew Nels would be into it, but I was surprised to find that the boys were just as eager to paint nails as the girls were. Perhaps more so, because of the novelty.

On Mother's Day For Real, I was getting over being sick, so we didn't really make plans ahead of time. Shaun orchestrated the making of cards and got me some treats and the book Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose by Flannery O'Connor, which I hadn't asked for but really wanted. So nice.

After church we agonized for quite a while about where we might go to eat that was worth going to but wouldn't cost us an arm and a leg. We settled on Montage, which was a good call. Our friend Amanda takes her students there every time they come to town, but we hadn't been yet. Foolish us. I think I was put off by their "playful" cocktail menu when I checked them out online. (A brunch cocktail with Tangerine Emergen-C in it? Aack!) But the service was good, the place had a ton of personality, and it was totally affordable.

The most expensive item on the brunch menu was a flatiron steak and eggs at $9. The boys' breakfasts were a little crazy with paprika, but I loved my BLT, and Shaun's biscuit sandwich was rich but plate-licking good. We'll be back. Hopefully before my next week of Mother's Days.

A Birthday

Shaun took a half a day off on his birthday so he could stay home with Willem while I went to a Mother's Day event at Nels's school. We finished up early, so Shaun ended up taking both boys out to lunch at the Puffin Cafe. It's a fun place, but they have the slowest service in the world. Every time we go we vow never to return, and then, somehow, Willem talks us into it.

These pictures are going to give you the wrong idea about our spring weather this year. It's been gloomy, but this day was glorious.

No, he's never seen a Jim Carrey movie.

Back at the ranch, Shaun's folks joined us for a birthday dinner. There was eating of chips and hanging out on the deck.

Willem scored a pirate ring at the restaurant. He wore it for the rest of the week.

Chatting with Grandpa.

We're overdue for a cat picture on this blog. She's 11 years old and as pretty as ever.

Dinner!

Shaun's mom brought beans and homemade rolls. I made Sweet and Smoky Oven Spareribs and Corn, Avocado, and Tomato Salad.

For dessert we had ice cream sundaes. I tried this hot fudge recipe, which was a hit. It's really easy to make, which is an important quality in a recipe for me. When I cook for company, I am very scatterbrained and easily distracted, so the simpler it is, the less likely I am to mess it up. Some of the reviewers thought it was too sweet, so I used 70% Lindt chocolate. I thought it turned out just right.

May 4 wasn't just Shaun's birthday--it was also my brother-in-law Cliff's birthday! Same day, same year. My sister and I are three years apart, and our husbands were born right smack dab in the middle. (She's younger than hers, I'm older than mine.) They are both excellent men. May 4 is a happy day.