Road Trip Trivia

So in the past four days, we drove 24 hours… including stops.  It was all well worth it and we needed a break from the reality of sitting in our cozy house waiting for the phone to ring… giving us the information that will change our lives forever.  No, not Ed McMahon calling…. our adoption referral call.  Yes, I’ve mentioned it in every blog for the past month because I’M OBSESSED! 

Back to the road trip.  No Crosby family trip would be complete without original sayings that get repeated for all eternity and instantly take us back to the trip where the saying was first quoted.  This trip’s quote is a passionate, “WOW!”  It was voiced by both my husband and I simultaneously after a pause that followed a Snapple Trivia Fact from the inside of a cap of juice.  Larisa read it from the back of the van, “Everyone ready for a Snapple Trivia Fact?”  Silence commenced preparing our hearts for a truth from a juice cap.  “A three-day-old Caribou can outrun its mother.”  A quiet space was followed by dual “WOW’s!” from both of the front seat passengers.  Think about it… at three days…. it can run faster than its mama!  Wow!

Then we played Name That Tune, which is normally undertaken with humming, but humming is too quiet to effectively play Name That Tune in a running vehicle.  So we sing… without words.  There were some clever songs sung with no words.  There were some stupid songs sung with no words.  There were also some unknown songs sung with no words.  After about three Michael Jackson songs sung with no words, Larisa leaned over the back seat of the van and rummaged through her suitcase until she presented the new MJ cd This Is It!  So Name That Tune was ended by two go-arounds with MJ singing his little heart out.  Larisa commented during the second run-through that it’s ironic that MJ was singing the song This Is It…. and it was.  He never got to perform for an audience.  I added the fact that he also sang the words, “I’m the light of the world” in that song.  Those words should be reserved for the true light of the world, Jesus.  Yes, ironic.  Wow!

ThE EaSy LiFe

Ahhhh, summer living.  The relaxed life.  No schedule.  Time on your hands.  No electronic games or movies (as per mom.)  What to do?  What to do?  A blanket fort, of course.  This shelter has been set up in our dining room since Monday.  The boys built it with their cousin, but Keeve is the sole soul sleeping in there, besides the dog.  Why sleep in your bed when you can sleep on the floor?  It’s not exactly “roughing it”.  Keeve brought Zaza’s lamp, his i-home, his gameboy, his hot wheels, his webkins (remember when they were just called stuffed animals?), his water bottle, his notepad and pen, and his light-up elf slippers, etc.  Luxury at his fingertips.

The other item in the photo that makes me laugh is the navy blue robe Keeve is sporting.  It was Rick’s “dorm shirt” from TWU “1&2 Lower” from 1985.  I remember him wearing it once or twice since then, but it is on the “extremely short” side of decent.  It is silky and has Chinese symbols on the collar and a big orange tiger on the back.  Keeve thinks it’s like Rocky’s boxing robe…. and ultimately cool.  Go figure!  I’ve tried to talk Rick out of keeping that robe for 24 years.   Finally, someone is wearing it and it’s not just taking up room in the closet. 

Maybe I should have kept my Michael Jackson white leather jacket???  Shoot!

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Sorry for the photo quality… but at least I captured the smiles and colorful t-shirts for my children to look at for all eternity.  (Yes, we’re bringing our scrapbooks to heaven, for goodness sake!  Why else would we put all that work into them???)  Keeve (pictured in the center of younger women) and Austin (below) played pivotal roles in last nights pageant.  Both boys were narrators and, as their proud homeschooling mother who taught them to read, must say they did an excellent job… even looking up at the crowd in between breaths.  They also danced with candy cane canes and shook their booties in rhythm, a true highlight of the evening…. at least for me.

Keeve told us later that he was going to read his part like Napoleon Dynamite, all breathy and slow with a “gosh” and “lucky” words thrown in.  “You will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger…. lucky!”  It would have been hilarious, but he is more my child than his father’s, obviously, as he followed propriety instead of breaking out of the mold for a laugh.

Thurston, the rich man who didn’t want carolers on his grass, was masterfully played by Austin.  He was animated and humorous, much to our surprise.  He’s usually icy-hockey-stone-faced-cool.  It was a delight to see the ice breaking up. (Yes, the boy needs a haircut!  Relax, he’s going with me today!)

Rick, my comic-relief husband, was cast to the part entitled Vanna White… yes, it made me nervous.  He was to carry a sign that read “Christmas Eve”…. that’s it.  It was a 20 second part.  But, as the children’s director told me, “It wouldn’t be a kid’s play without your husband.”  {sigh}  He decided to be Michael Jackson instead of Vanna… black suit, white socks…. he even bought a pin-striped dress hat at Tilly’s.  Unfortunately for him and all his practicing of Moon Walking and the Electric Slide to “Billie Jean”, (and fortunately for ME) his part got skipped.  My mother said, “See, the Lord knew he shouldn’t do Michael Jackson in church!” 

Wish you could’ve been here for this past week while he practiced.  We might even request a family show on Christmas Day.

?#1 from My Sister’s Jar – Fav Holiday

Tell about a favorite holiday tradition you had growing up.

Who doesn’t love Christmas? Well, you know, other than Orthodox Jewish people.  There are so many little gems wrapped up in my mind involving traditions, tastes, sights, smells, feelings and songs.

Spritz.  Mom would make those darling, dainty pressed-cookies each year that melted in your mouth as sugar-buttery goodness.  Yum!

Carolling.  Not that we participated much, but I loved the few successful times we did.  One was in Fort Vermilion, Alberta when Dad, Mom and Christy came up for a -40 degree Christmas.  We sang four part harmony to the Hepburns on a crystal clear, freezing night under the moonlight.  It was delightful.

Candlelight Church Services.  I’ve only been to 3 or 4, but there is something holy about candle light in Jesus’ house on his birthday.  Of course, not a single candle-lit service passed without me visualizing Michael Jackson’s hair bursting into flames on that Coke commercial.

Nanaimo Bars.  Many Canadian mothers made ’em.  Only mine cut the custard layer and hand-spread the chocolate on each one.  You know, those chocolated-then-cut bars always tasted a little cheap to me.

Christmas Lights.  Sparkling lights on houses and in yards are so beautiful ~ especially in snow. I think that is the lone happy memory I have about living in Northern Canada in the wintertime – OK, that’s two, counting the four part carolling aforementioned.  One year when we lived in Spruce Grove, we drove into Edmonton with all the Crosby’s in our party van.  We went to Candy Cane Lane and drove with the windows down and the sliding door open.  OK, freezing but fun.

Fire in the Fireplace.  Crackling.  Popping.  Hissing.  Spitting.  There’s something LIVE in a fire.  I also am secretly addicted to staying warm – so a toasty hearth draws me like a fly to fly paper.

The Empty Ornament Box.  It was 1992… or was it ’93? We were stuck in Fort Vermilion for Christmas so my family sent a box of gifts to us.  I don’t remember any other contents of that box – but a single small package addressed to Rick.  It was an empty box that was supposed to have a Hallmark ornament in it.  Mom never checked if it was actually in there when she bought it… and well… it wasn’t… mailed 2,000 miles to the frozen tundra…empty.  Still makes me smile.

Drift Wood Angel.  Dad’s cousin Jo painted an angel on a large piece of driftwood that hung near our entry all the days of my childhood.  When tole-painted angels on driftwood finally went out of style ~ I inherited it… in 2005.  I have proudly hung the slab in our entry ever since.  Long live driftwood angels!  Noel.