Christmas 2011

We had a very different kind of Christmas this year, quiet and without our usual bustle. (Yes, we did have all the excitement of the big Steers party & popcorn cookoff, just beforehand.) I just wanted to share a few photos and thoughts from what was a truly peace-full Christmas Eve & Day. 

These photos are from the Christmas Eve Nativity Pageant at the Lane Ranch (We were kindly invited by Kirk's stepmom Marilyn's family). Notice Baby Jesus wailing in the basket. Grandpa Budd commented that Lawson did just great except for forgetting the "no crying he made" part of the role. Dillon was a shepherd and Koen was Joseph. Mary had a 12-inch height advantage over Joseph, so it was a good thing they were kneeling.

The boys all ready for bed (and Santa, of course) in their cozy Christmas jams.

 Yes, Lawson taste-tested every single gift. 

New bikes from mom & dad! 

Another year, another giant tree...

One of our favorite holiday traditions is to make the long trek up to Lassen National Forest to find and cut a Christmas tree. There are so many things I love about the tree-cutting trip: the fresh mountain air, spending time with my sister & her family, watching the kids traipse around in the woods, watching folks' jaws drop when I tell them my giant tree only cost $10. (Okay, so that last thing is my favorite part, but naturally I don't include the price of diesel in the cost estimate because that would ruin all of the fun!) 

We don't make it up every year, but when we do it's always an adventure, as you can tell from the photos below. We ended up with a beautiful fir (probably a white fir), which was definitely the largest we've ever had. Kirk estimated that it was 19 feet tall; whatever its true height we never managed to decorate the very top front of it, despite Kirk's and my most daring ladder maneuvers. Trimming the darn thing was a week-long effort, but worth all of the effort (and diesel)! 

 Koen & Rynn, hunting for the perfect tree.

 Dillon, sawing down the kids' tree.

Watching the tree come down...

 Yes, that is a F-350 with a long-bed. Yes, there are still 5+ feet of tree protruding from the back.

 Lawson chilling in daddy's truck. Really just an excuse to sneak some extra cuteness into this post. 

 Kirk says this shot needs the following caption: "Damn lights!"

What a good sport Kirk was about stringing lights on 19 feet of tree.

The big boys setting up the creche.  

 This is the best photo I could manage to get of this behemoth.  It was absolutely lovely. 

Another soccer season has come and gone...

This youth soccer season nearly didn't happen at all for the Steers family, as I was a bit distracted during the sign-up period.  I kept thinking that I would just get online and register, but things kept coming up: moving out of our house, staying with friends, leaving my job, giving birth, little things... We ended up missing open registration completely, but fortunately for us our new neighbors know just about everyone in town, and they just so happened to know the league's registrar. They were able to pull some strings to get our boys on an U-8 team together (a feat in itself as the team was already full and we needed Koen to "play up"), but there was a catch: the team needed an assistant coach. Kirk rose to the occasion, I agreed to help out as team mom, and we were in business.  

Their team was called "The Original Ninjas," and we all ended up finding some great friends amongst their teammates and their parents. As always, to watch the boys play was a combination of overwhelming pride, sheer entertainment and exquisite frustration. 

Considering that he was playing with and against boys 1 to 2 years older than him, Koen did a remarkable job of holding his own. There was lots of tumbling and some "injuries," as would be expected, but he was always positive and willing to play (a vast improvement over seasons past). Kirk was in constant fear of Ko being hit in the face with the ball; my main concern was that he remember to wear his "cheap" glasses to practice and games. 

Dillon continued to astonish us this season, getting faster, stronger and more aggressive. Somehow, it hasn't yet occurred to him to be angry when he loses, so he's still a pleasure to deal with on the field. (Of course, in any game at home he is a nightmare when he loses, so it's nice that he has maintained sportsmanship in soccer, at least.) He was one of his team's top scorers despite taking lots of spills, and in always theatrical style. He  also had the pleasure of playing on a team with some of his long-time friends from our old neighborhood. They were a bit short-handed for some games, so he "played up" on their U-9 team, "The Force," and had a wonderful time. Last weekend, he also had the honor of playing in the U-8 "All-Star" game.  It is always a nerve-wracking experience to watch one's child be coached by someone who doesn't know that child's areas of strength or weakness, so it was a challenging game for Kirk and me. Dillon loved it, however, and he ended up making the only goal for his team, leaving the final score tied.

As of this writing, we're not sure what the off-season holds for us. Dillon may go play occasionally on some friends' indoor soccer team, both boys are going to be playing basketball after the new year, and I keep hassling them to take a hip hop dance class. It's a challenge not to over-schedule ourselves, but they do seem to be like both of their parents and thrive on activity.  As long as they're happy, trying their hardest, and enjoying themselves, Kirk and I are happy to squire them from practice to practice, from game to game. I admit, though, I look forward to the day when a clear favorite activity emerges and we can devote our time and energy to just that endeavor. I know at least one of the Steers parents dearly hopes that the favorite ends up being soccer.

Fall 2011 School Pictures

So, I was just rummaging in my file drawer (OK, so really I was filing Dillon's "Student of the Month" certificate, but I was trying not to brag...) when I came across envelopes still full of the boys' school pictures.  Oops.  If you are a grandparent, auntie, uncle, or someone else who should have received one of those in the mail several months ago, my apologies.

One of the reasons that they were not mailed out in a timely manner (As if I need an excuse other than having a newborn and a house to unpack, right?) is that Dillon forgot to turn in his order form on the first picture day.  We had sent him to school scrubbed, ironed, combed, and smiling, expecting a lovely photo. Imagine my surprise when a week later I found still in his backpack his order form & check. Much to Kirk's dismay, two days before retakes Dill lost a front tooth, only his third lost tooth to date. I was actually thrilled, because I've always thought that nothing makes a kid look more like an authentic second grader than a big jack-o-lantern smile!

Dillon

Second Grade

Koen

First Grade

You just can't get good help anymore...

I'm writing this post from the garage, where I am supposed to be serving as chief assistant for Kirk's latest project: organizing our garage. I get to hand him tools and materials, but my most important job should be to cover the baby's ears when things get difficult. Lawson is learning lots of new words and is providing moral support from the back of my car:


It's going pretty well so far. Half of the garage looks like this:


Nice, right? Unfortunately, the other half still looks like this:


Theoretically, all of the mess will fit in the cabinets, and suddenly peace, order, and contentment will come to the Steers home. Well, at least the garage will be organized.

I just had to add this shot of Kirk behind the new cabinets re-plumbing the hot water heater:


What, you can't see him? Oh, that's because he's behind the cabinets here:


I appreciate that he smiled for this shot. I appreciate that he crawled behind the cabinets at all. There is so much to appreciate in what he has done here at the house. It seems so far off still, but I'm sure a day will come (probably in 2018 or so) when we can send the boys off to school and just sit down and relax. Until then, I'll just smile and nod and hand him tools, dreaming of the day when our home is complete.

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Halloween 2011

This was our first Halloween trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood (and our first time staying home for Halloween in 4 years), and I am happy to report it did not disappoint! We were joined by new friends (from soccer & school), which really made the night special for us.

Costumes were somewhat a last-minute affair this year, actually chosen from our dress-up bins which I replenish at the post-Halloween sales each year. After accessorizing  it with a coonskin cap for our first party outing, Koen decided his "explorer" costume wasn't interesting enough; he decided he wanted to be Johnny Appleseed, and demanded a pot for his head.  I made one out of posterboard and tin foil, and the result was truly impressive. Unfortunately, the handle isn't visible in any of these shots, but it was very cute! Dillon's Darth Vader getup was great fun for him; his only disappointment was that I couldn't figure out a way for him to sound like Vader too. 

An added bonus was having my mom, step-dad & grandmother here for Halloween. Papa Phil and Gram held down the fort at the house, while my mom came along for the fun. Our new neighbors are incredibly generous, and quantity of candy the boys collected is truly astonishing! Kirk & I have both been raiding their bags for several days now, and they haven't yet noticed. It was a wonderful evening, and by the end of the night my new friends and I were already plotting next year's outing.

Johnny Appleseed and Darth Vader

Boba Fett & Darth Vader

Little Dinosaur (the same costume baby Koen wore!)

Dillon as Darth Vader

Koen as Johnny Appleseed

Just for fun... Lawson & Great Gram

Dillon Turns 8!

As impossible as it is to believe, our Dillon is 8. This year brought him many monumental changes--a new home, a new school, a new sibling, new friends--yet throughout it all, he remained his hilarious, brilliant, mischievious, helpful self. We've been trying to impress upon him all of the responsibilities that come with getting older, but it sounds ridiculous when we stop and think about how much he already does so well, so maturely. He is an amazing student, at the top of his class in math and reading; he is one of the clear leaders of his soccer team, and it is the rare game when he doesn't make several goals. (Someone cruel also pointed out that he's now halfway to driving age, which reminded me to write to my state senator and representative about the importance of increasing the driving age to 18!)
Because his actual birthday fell during the October break from school, we ended up celebrating with Dillon twice: First, just as a family with mini-golf, go-carts, and Chinese food; second, with a huge Phineas & Ferb-themed party at our house for friends old and new.

Yes, Boo Berries are a perfectly acceptable birthday breakfast!

Making A Break for It

One of the trips the kids and I most look forward to is our yearly trek to the Oregon Coast. We usually head up mid-summer, and spend several weeks digging in the sand and basking in the sunshine. Okay, so we dig in the sand, waiting patiently for the sun to peek out from behind the clouds. Hey, it's Oregon after all. This year, however, Lawson's arrival (and the house remodel) took precedence, so we had to wait  until October break to make our trip northward.

Because of the logistics involved in cramming one station wagon with an infant, two big boys, and the luggage and gear needed to maintain said children for a week, I desperately needed the assistance of another adult. With a lot of trades and wrangling, Kirk was able to get two weeks off from work, so off we went. Our journey was surprisingly smooth both directions; there was very little crying from Lawson, and Kirk and I reminded the big boys frequently we endured that very same drive as children ourselves, without the benefit of DVD's and video games. (Jeez, we're turning into codgers.)

We spent 10 days up north, visiting family in Portland and Seaside, but spending most of our time in and around Rockaway Beach.  We took our usual trips to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, Funland Arcade in Seaside, and the Astoria Column; this year we also had the fun of watching my nephew Jordan play basketball, visiting with Kirk's brother Brett's family, visiting with my cousins & their spouses & kids, and doing a lot of (unsuccessful, yet enjoyable) fishing with my brother Kenn.

Once our vitamin D levels had dropped low enough due to lack of sunshine (Just kidding! It was just time to head home.), we headed south again, rounding out our 2-week trip with a quick visit to my dad and Kirk's mom, who each live in Arnold. It was wonderful to head home from a trip feeling as if we had truly fulfilled our goals: inaugurating little Lawson into the vagabond Steers way of life, visiting with extended family, spending time in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and showing our boys the big wide world.

Lawson meets Auntie Katie

Fishing on the banks of the Kilchis River

I feel a fish story coming on...

Hiking the "Bear Trail"

The shipwreck of the Peter Iredale, near Hammond, OR

Double rainbow at 12th Avenue Bridge, Seaside

Yet another giant hole at Rockaway Beach

Sunset at Rockaway Beach

On the banks of the Stanislaus River

See, I was on this trip!

The New Homestead

While the Brentwood house that we've been remodeling isn't quite complete (Most notably, I still have to share a bathroom with two small boys!), it is to the point that we'd like to share some photos with you.  This house is considerably smaller than the one in West Sacramento (thank goodness), but we think the common areas are much more usable. Someday when time allows, I'll detail some of Kirk's amazing work, but it suffices to say that he has given us a virtually brand-new home.

Front Room

Family Room

Breakfast Nook

Kitchen

Dining Room

Guest Room

(So come visit, will ya'?)