The last first date

8 years ago tonight I went on my last first date. The funny thing is that I had sworn off dating just a month before in the wake of a messy break-up; I thought I needed time to become grounded once again. However, in most of life's monumental moments, fate has other plans for you and that which you are avoiding is just the thing you need to become grounded.
It was closing time at The Bombay Company when 2 young men came through the store. I still remember the top of his head over the back of the chair he was sitting in when I came from the back room, I also remember thinking "just leave already, it is time for me to go home". They didn't leave and sat in every chair, opened every drawer, and made smart comments the whole time they were there. It wasn't until I went up front to bring the sidewalk signs in and close the doors that they followed me, and I realized how cute he was. He made small talk, sarcastic and playful, but all I could concentrate on was his mischievous smile and blue eyes, and the feeling of ease I felt with this familiar stranger. So at ease that when he told me he was only 19 (I was 22 at the time) I was unfazed and silently wished he would ask for my phone number. "You probably wouldn't want to go out with a 19 year old" "ask me and you will find out" I remember thinking in response. My silent pleading paid off, and ask he did.

I left work that night with a feeling I'd never had before, a mix of exhileration, optimism and excitement. It was 3 days before he called me, I was in the car with my sister and still remember the street we were driving down when the phone rang. When I answered we chatted and he continued the "I'm 19" line and I continued to believe him. We made arrangements to go out Saturday when I got off of work. When I hung up I told my sister our plans but was still unsure of going out with a 19 year old, he was barely out of high school.

On Saturday I closed shop faster than ever, a plan that backfired when I got to the parking lot. I went outside and all the cars were empty. I got in my car and waited, when someone finally pulled into a space and didn't get out of their truck I assumed it was him (the young life sticker in the back window was a tell-tell sign of a 19 year old.) I walked up to the truck window and started to tap when the driver turned and looked at me... It wasn't him, I waved and scurried off. Just then a red truck turned into the parking lot and I knew it was him, I had planned on driving my own car instead of getting in some strangers vehicle but the minute he rolled down his window to talk to me I found myself opening the door and climbing in, it was like I had always known him.

He asked where I would like to go. I had no idea what this 19 year old and I were going to do so I politely shrugged my shoulders. He asked if I wanted to go to Bardenay and I asked him if he had a fake ID because they don't let minors in after 9:00. He pulled the truck over. I thought for sure I had offended him and he was going to let me out at this point, before our date had even begun. He told to me that he was actually 27... "Do you still want to go out with me?" Relief flooded me, I happily said yes and we drove on.
Dinner and drinks at one of the tall booths against the wall. I had the trout, he had the salmon. When I ordered a cocktail, he ordered a martini, however he didn't drink it. He'd gone to high school (9 years ago) with the waitress and been business partners with one of the guys at the bar. What we talked about, I couldn't tell you, but the littlest details are still vivid in my mind. The texture of his mustard colored sweater, my pink pants.

We left dinner and I didn't want to leave him. We drove around, just talking about past experiences and our hopes and dreams for the future. We sat in the truck until late just talking, like old friends. He eventually took me back to my car, we had already made plans to see each other the next day. I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, I remember the feeling of his whiskery skin on my lips.

Ice cream on Sunday turned into dinner on Monday and a movie on Tuesday and a house in 2004 and a wedding in 2005 and a baby in 2005, and 2008 and 2011.

Here's to last first dates and my best friend.

At the drive-thru....

Me: We would like 3 kiddie swirl cones please
Grayson: Oh Mama, you are having a kitty cone too?
Me: Yes
Grayson: (to himself in the back seat) Meow, meow meow...
Me: Grayson, it is a "kid's cone" not a KITTY cone....
Grayson: Ohhhhhh....

Doozy of a Day

8:29 in the evening is finally here, and let me just say, it couldn't have come fast enough today!

The day started around 7:30, I was still half asleep but aware that Grayson was up, moving around downstairs. When I heard the front door open I was all the way awake and halfway out the door before I realized I didn't have any pants on, I ran back and fetched a blanket to wrap around my waist (I don't think any of my neighbors were out, thankfully) and went looking for Grayson. I found him, fully dressed for school, back pack on, in the car looking for his new socks. I explained to him that there were 4 more hours until Kindergarten and would he please come back inside so Mama can quit embarrassing herself by wearing a blanket on the driveway. Little did I know that would be the first of a long string of foot-in-mouth-shake-your-head-what-was-I-thinking moments.

Once inside I noticed Grayson had a pickle jar in the side pocket of his backpack. Now this isn't just any pickle jar, this jar contained 4 wooly bugger caterpillars for show and tell. We brought them home from Polly last weekend and he has been so excited to take them to class. I reminded him to be careful with the jar and make sure his backpack was standing up so the bugs wouldn't get too jostled around.

11:30 finally came and I took Grayson to school. We got there like 2 minutes before he was supposed to go in, so instead of unloading all 3 kids to just turn around and put 2 of them back in carseats I parked and Grayson got out to visit his friends, the first thing he did when he saw them was take the jar out of his backpack. I waited in the car for the teacher to come out and get the class, when she came out there was the usual hubbub of 5 year olds flitting about to line up. Somewhere in the chaos Grayson tripped and dropped the pickle jar, it shattered, the mom's that were outside looked around like "who's kid is this?". I jumped out of the car and ran to help Grayson. The look on his face broke my heart, I told him it was okay and that I would make sure caterpillars got to his class for share. Thank goodness for the sweet Kindergarten Moms, they jumped into action, keeping the freed caterpillars from making their beeline to the grass, one grabbed a broom and one brought a container to put the bugs in. All I could do was think "who's idea was it to send her kid to school with a GLASS jar???" We got the mess picked up and one of the Mama's delivered the caterpillars in their new home (a plastic berry container) to the class.

At pick-up this afternoon I was still feeling a bit silly for this morning's events. I was waiting for Grayson in the pick-up area when one of the Mom's from his class walked up (coincidentally the one who helped the most during the fiasco at drop-off). I had spoken to her at drop off once before and we bonded over the fact all 3 of our kids are the same age and Grayson and her son are the only one the other can remember from class. I noticed she didn't have her little kids with her and tried to ask where they were. Instead of just saying that I ended up with my foot in my mouth and her probably wanting to cancel the playdate we spoke of having before it is even on the calendar.
Me: So is your husband home with your other kids?
Her: Looks at me funny
Me: Does he work from home?
Her: No, he works at an office, the kids are at daycare
Me: Oh, Do you have a job? (like I have NEVER heard of a mother of 3 being employed)
Her: Yes, I work 2 days a week at .....
Me: (not really sure what I said because I was too busy thinking about what an idiot I sounded like 2 seconds before)
Her: Oh look, here are the kids... Bye~!

I went to greet G who was carrying the berry container of bugs. When I saw his teacher she asked if there had been 3 caterpillars or 4. I told her I thought there were 4, she said there were only 3 now because one had escaped from one of the holes around the bottom of the container, she had put tape around the holes to keep the others in. She also told me that if she found the missing caterpillar, she would return it to us. I assured her that we didn't need it back and she could just set it free, but told her that if she wanted to keep these in class she was more than welcome to. She gave me a bit of a "are you crazy, lady?" look and politely nodded, I quickly added that if they were too much of a distraction we could just take them home... let me know! I just hope the poor girl isn't squeamish when it comes to bugs since there is a fuzzy catterpillar loose in her classroom.

So apparently Graysons second week of kindergarten is turning into my first week of Middle School where I cannot properly form sentences let alone make sense when dealing with my peers. When I related it to Dusty his theory was "that is what happens when you spend all your time at home with kids, you forget how to have an adult conversation." He pretty much summed it up.

Zeroth Grade

So this was going to be the final post about the Glamper, but I just looked through the picture file and I only have pictures of it at night, and they just don't do her justice. Apparently the 2 weeks she sat in front of the house, not to mention the weekend camping trip were not enough time to take a few decent photos. Never fear there is still a bit of work to be done on her and I hope to bring her home soon and take a few "after" pictures.

But for now, on to the good stuff! On Monday the inevitable happened, my little man started Kindergarten. Grayson has been in full on countdown mode for the past year. When he turned 5 last October, he thought that was the cue, then when we stopped going to pre-school in December he was sure the next day he would be a Kindergartner. Then when school was out for the summer for the "big kids" he knew it was going to be any day "Is it tomorrow, Mom?" was heard countless times over the past 3 months. At the first of August we started the official countdown. He informed me 3 weeks ago, (with no prompting from me) "Mom, 20 more days until I start zeroth grade". At that point I realized maybe he should just skip "zeroth grade" all together and go straight to first, but oh, the disappointment he would suffer... Kindergarten it is.

Last Thursday night I was getting ready for a grown-up's only weekend getaway with my family, I checked Facebook one final time to make sure I was fully caught up on everything before I left and read this post from my sweet Auntie Amy about my cousin:

Well the truck is loaded and I am moving Chelsey into BSU dorm in the morning......of course my smart ass daughter asks are you going to stand around and cry all morning......of course her quick mother responds " hell no I'm headed for the closest bar."..........and oh by the way leaving on vacation for a week...:)

At this point I realized that the next time I would see Grayson there would be zero days until zeroth grade, I got choked up at the very thought and advised Auntie Amy to have a drink for me at that bar. I was suddenly even more thankful that I was leaving for the weekend so I would be distracted enough that the boys in my house wouldn't have to commit me by Monday morning for sitting around in a pool of my own tears.

We got home late Sunday night, so late Grayson was already tucked into bed. I kissed his sweet cheeks and pulled the covers up knowing what tomorrow would bring. Sure enough, 7:30 and Grayson is in my room, fully dressed with backpack on, ready for school (he is an afternooner, and doesn't go until 11:40). We had breakfast and made sure his bag was packed, I told him I had put a banana in his bag for snack and he replied with a too grown up sounding "thanks mom" (I'm sure there was a shrugged shoulder involved). I teared up instantly and left the room. We killed the next three hours by Grayson asking me if it was time to leave yet or if he could go and get in the car.

a little pre-kindergarten snack

11:15.... finally!

11:15 finally rolled around, and we headed to school. Again, I teared up he caught me and asked what was wrong, I just choked out that I was so excited for him. When we got to the school some of the parents and kiddos were already there. We sat and waited, taking a few pictures and chatting with each other about this biggest of days. His teacher finally came out at 11:40 and asked that we say our goodbyes outside, she is obviously very wise (or someone warned her about me!). I gave Grayson one final squeeze and a kiss on the forehead, he took his place in line and with a big smile, a quick wave, and a "bye Mom" he became a kindergartner.

on his own...

the moment he has been waiting for

I held it together until I got to the car and even then I only cried for a minute. I knew Grayson was just where he wanted to be, and I am so proud of him and the boy he has become. I know he will do fantastically in school because he is curious, polite and eager to learn. And the smile on his face when I picked him up that afternoon said it all!

So big

Coming together

When the glamper came back from exterior paint the time crunch was on. That was Friday evening and we were to leave the following Thursday on the innagural camping trip. The main part was done but it was the 10,000 little details we had to finish.

Back at home, window trim installed... ready for the whirlwind!

First item of business was the wiring... That was ALL Dusty, (and a little Radlee too, of course).

Dusty and his little helper

Once the wiring was done Dusty was able to put all the new trim around the corners and seams. He fought and fought the corner molding, just when he thought he had it, the aluminum on the roof would buckle and he had to unscrew everything again. Finally he completely un-attached the piece of roof aluminum, shifted it all and things went smoothly (more or less) from there.

re-installing the roof vents after the new trim was on.

While he was busy on the roof I got started on what would be the "signature detail" of the glamper. 100's of polka dots! Originally we had planned to mask them off before the turquoise was painted, however a lack of material to cut and mask polka dots with changed that plan. In the end we ordered 400 2-1/2" vinyl polka dots from a sign company. (Not the sign company I called however... They wanted 4 times the price that Dusty was able to get them for.... and when the guy asked what we were doing with them, I told them we were using them as decals on a camp trailer he said "but 400 of them???" I told him it was to be polka dotted, and I could hear the confusion in his voice) We decaled the tongue and propane bottles the first night, random and obscure, and soon realized 400 polka dots were not nearly enough....


I did have enough to start the body of the trailer the next day though. I couldn't decide if I wanted them orderly and in nice, straight lines over the body or if I wanted the dots placed randomly. In the end we decided that a repeating pattern would be the easiest and most visually appealing. Laying the pattern for these dots was easier said than done, luckily I had all the tools I needed laying around the house. I used a 36" t-square, overhead projector marker and a tape measure. After experimenting several different ways I realized a grid system was by far the easiest, this way I had my top line and one side line for every dot and once measured I could stick the dots on in no time. Grayson was my trusty assistant for this project, handing me tools as I needed them and moving everything along with me. I ran out of dots about halfway through the second side so Dusty had to pick up more on Monday for me, in the end we used almost 700 dots.

Marks left over from placing the dots, they wiped right off with a baby wipe.

Once Dusty finished the trim he turned his attention back to the inside. We painted the original gold hinges and knobs for a temporary fix, as I bought the wrong hinges and couldn't find the "perfect" knobs. We re-installed all of the cabinet doors and put the original stove back in which was now free of 50 years of cooking grease (so gross!).

Shiny and clean... still chippy but it just adds character

He also installed the new floor. We knew we wanted dark hardwood floors but I knew I didn't want to spend $80 for flooring for the trailer, nor did we have the time to wait for it to come in as most stores don't stock the dark hardwood. The boys and I took a trip to the Re-Store (a thrift store for building materials) looking for several things on our camper list. While there I spotted the perfect flooring. While most of the flooring was just bits and pieces this was an entire box, it had been opened but looked to have plenty to do our little job, better yet, it was marked at $39 when I asked the manager about a better price he gave it to me for $35, I was so excited! I also scored the perfect stainless steel sink for the counter while I was there.

New floor (pre-cleaning, obviously!)

With these little projects checked off of our to-do list we were starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

When the Cat's away, the mouse shall... Paint?

Dusty took full advantage of the kids and my weekend away to get a little crazy... aka, paint his crazy wife's camp trailer. Monday he hauled it to his buddy's shop in Nampa to start the arduous process. I had prepped all of the windows before I left town which meant removing the window, wire brushing the frames, using steel wool on the glass and giving them an overall good scrubbing then masking off all of the glass.

Once to the shop he got to work sanding the multiple layers of paint that had been applied over the past 50+ years. The paint guy came and tested the paint and sure enough at least one of those layers was lead-paint which meant the sanding just got immensely easier (aka - no more sanding). The guys worked hard smoothing the soft aluminum as best they could, using bondo and pounding out any major dents along the way. The front bottom (around the tongue) and the back bottom proved to be too much to fix, years of hauling her on rocky roads had taken it's toll on the aluminum, and Dusty opted to put diamond plate in these spots when paint was complete.

The extent of the sanding

When I talked to Dusty that night he was so excited at how the primer had turned out. He said the body work looked so much better than he had anticipated and was very anxious to get the base coat of white paint on the next day.

Gray primer... looking better already!

However, the next day he was a bit discouraged. The glossy white paint was showing all the imperfections he thought the body work and sanding had fixed. I reassured him it was a 50 year old trailer and would never be flawless.

White paint

By the time I got home on Wednesday I was so anxious to see the progress... but I had to wait, she was still at the paint shop and hadn't been painted turquoise just yet, he promised me he would bring her home on Saturday as soon as the paint was finished and dry enough he could haul her home. When he came home on Friday his hands looked like those of a mermaid (okay, merman is probably more appropriate, hard working merman at that). At the first sight of his hands I asked "Oh you got her painted, How does she look?" He shrugged, grinned and said "see for yourself" I was so excited he was able to bring her home! And even more excited when I saw the results. One coat down...

Even the propane tanks got in on the fun

ready for the ride home

In the end Dusty was so much happier once he saw her in actual sunlight rather than the reflective, florescent light of the shop. The flaws were not as noticeable and it was the exact result we were hoping for!

Waking Up in Jackpot

Knowing that Dusty had our little "restoration project" well under control Pretty Mama, Auntie Sophie, Lucee, the boys and I took off for a mini-vacay in Jackpot. One may not think Jackpot is the place to take 4 kids ages 5 and under but have I got news for you... those 4 kids can swim the heck out of a pool and watch the Disney channel to their heart's content. The phrase "I'm so excited, I'm just going to die" even came out of Grayson's mouth on our way into town.

Putting the boys to bed the night before we left made me think about our annual trips to Disneyland when we were little. I thought if I stayed up all night I would be extra tired the next day and could sleep in the car, thus arriving faster. I think the not sleeping was just sheer excitement at the adventure that awaited, Grayson had this same level of anticipation the night before our trip.
Upon arrival, bathing suits were donned, (practically before we made it to our "home" as Radlee called it) and the pool was put to the test. It was so cold at first touch that day. The littles warmed right up to it though, especially thanks to Pretty Mama and Pappy and the life vests they gave the kiddos for the trip. Grayson couldn't wait to do cannonballs into the pool (to him this meant jumping from the step in the pool out into the water). Lucee and Radlee took a little longer to warm up but eventually earned their fins as well And Cooper, well lets just say he had the life, floating around in his boat, happy as a little clam.


Bedtime may have been even more exciting than pool time, as Pretty Mama had brought the blow up beds for the kiddos to sleep in. After storytime with Pretty Mom's Nook, it was one big slumber party.

The next day we spent ALL day at the pool and by the end of the day I had the sunburn to prove it. The kiddos got goggles that equated to a little bit of bravery, now putting their faces in the water and swimming more and more by themselves. At lunchtime, the kids had a picnic and I ran to the cafe to grab us big girls lunch, while I was waiting I decided to toss a few bucks in a penny slot to pass the time. I only had a $20 and told myself that I would only spend $5 of it (I am a total cheap-o when it comes to gambling). The first few spins I won a couple bucks and never really dropped below my $20, I increased the amount I was betting, spun the wheel and hit some wild card thing that paid out 8000 pennies, at first I thought it was $8, then I realized it was $80! I was so excited, I think it is the most I have ever won. I was even more excited when I had the sense to cash out then and there to save my winnings! ChaChing!!

By the end of the day, back at the pool, Radlee had lost all fear of the water and was jumping in from the side with Sophie, begging her to take him under water, Grayson was swimming the length of the pool by himself (with his floatie) and Lucee was jumping off the side to Pretty Mama, such little fish.
That evening after dinner, the babes continued their quest for water and took a bath, complete with swim goggles of course! The slumber party was much quieter that night, for we had 4 very tuckered out little ones on our hands!
The next morning led to one more dip in the pool and some quality Nook time for Lucee and Roo before it was time to pack our bags and head for home... Until next time!

14 trips to Home Depot and 5 gallons of paint later....

By Saturday night we had the Glamper thisclose to being ready for interior paint, sanding was complete, all of the cabinet doors had been removed and all of the "new construction" was completed on the inside. Just a little final clean up, caulking and masking on Sunday morning and she was good to go.
I had bought paint and primer (one gallon each) on Saturday, Dusty set up and fought with the paint sprayer for a time before he finally was able to get to work. It became apparent fast that the paint was being used much faster than we had anticipated and he sent me back for 2 more gallons, luckily Home Depot is less than 5 minutes from our house. I ran in and grabbed the paint, when I got in the car my phone rang... it was Dusty needing better primer the normal stuff we had bought was not sealing out the water damage, I ran back in and bought a gallon of Kilz primer. When I got home he shot the inside with the Kilz, but there was still bleed through. I googled Kilz and found out that stains may still show through but after the primer cures they shouldn't show through paint. We took a break to let the primer dry. An hour or so later he shot the interior with paint, there is still some slight bleed through but we decided most of it will be hidden by cushions. Here she is, all painted up and SO pretty! These pictures read sort of gray but actually she is bright white!

The work continues

Just because I haven't updated the progress of the Glamper doesn't mean we haven't been hard at work. It was hot outside last weekend... but it didn't stop us from spending every waking moment in the driveway. Thursday night Dusty built a new tongue and hitch for her, he added a platform that can haul coolers, bicycles or what he is hoping it will be used for ... motorcycles. Adding the new tongue also served the purpose of stiffening up the frame of the trailer so it isn't so rickety. He also got the front "skin" aka aluminum put back on.

Probably not the most "welding appropriate" attire, but like I said, it is hot

Front exterior put back together

Multi-use cargo rack and new tongue

On the inside, the sanding continued, lots and lots of sanding. Dusty built a "bonk" bed above the dinette area. Grayson coined the term "bonk" bed long ago and I drove the point home when I stood up from the dinette and "bonked" my head on it, luckily it folds up when not in use. He also installed sliding doors under the bed for storage, or a secret hiding spot.

"bonk bed"

Secret hiding spot, any bets on how long it takes me to find Radlee when he discovers this cave?

Dinette/bed - rebuilt

Baby's got back! (and doors and windows)

That's right! Tuesday night Dusty was able to get the entire back end re-assembled, it is amazing what a difference a wall makes!

almost ready...

phase 1 complete!

Wednesday night my sweet in-laws came over and we put the front almost entirely together (minus the insulation and outer skin)

Before last night's work began...

I LOVE how big this window is (almost 7 feet long!)
It was a good night!

Dusty also fixed the door (even though he forgot to put the screen in... after he sent me to the store specifically for screen). I love the door, the top is a window and the bottom opening is screen with a board that fits inside the frame to close it up. When Dusty tore the door apart he realized the existing screen appears to be brass, the edges that were between the wood are still shiny and goldish, it is amazing the difference in materials used 60 years ago and those used today.

Scraping the adhesive from between the door layers, and forgetting to install the new screen

ready to be put back together

On the inside... sanding has begun, have I mentioned how much I dislike sanding? Or how my hands turn bright red and break out at the first sign of dust? Luckily I have 2 little helpers.

Yes, I let my children use power tools.

Progress continues, we are hoping to have the inside painted by the end of the weekend and ready for exterior paint by Monday!

Getting to know her

On Sunday when we got home with our new home on wheels we jumped right in and started working. Dusty pulled the back panel off and started to rebuild. I ran around fetching babies and feeding kiddos. In the time he tore the back panel off, reinforced the floor frame at the back, rebuilt the side walls with lots of little tiny, precisely cut pieces of wood, installed what will be the bed in the back, and cut down 2x4's for reinforcing studs, I removed the screws around the sink and took down 2 light fixtures. I was attempting to remove the sink, unfortunately I couldn't get the drain un-screwed, I attempted to pull the ice box and the stove out but couldn't figure out how they were held in place. Basically, I just tried to stay out of Dusty's way and bring him drinks as necessary.

back view, pre-makeover

back side wall with new insides all clamped together (inside wood will be changed eventually)

During the hubbub, Radlee was playing around inside the trailer, there is no front on it leading to the tongue, he tripped and fell out of the trailer, landing face first on the tongue, cutting his ear on the way down. He almost had a full piercing, as it practically cut through his earlobe. There were major tears and discussion of an emergency room trip but after getting him cleaned up it was obvious that, while deep, stitches were unnecessary. We can now consider the glamper christened, and hope that this is the only injury she is held accountable for during her makeover.

My adorable Helpers, pre-injury

...and post injury, it is amazing what a Cars bandaid will do!

Once Roo was properly settled down and Grayson was doting on him nicely I got back to looking busy and planning for the interior. Here is what her insides look like now:

Looking from new bed to Kitchen

Kitchen view from door

Adorable scallop trim below upper cabinets

Kitchen light, it is actually a propane lantern!

looking from dinette to closet / what will be new bed

End of day one, rotten wood in back repaired/replaced and new bed installed!