September
29, 2013
Dear Children,
We
had a fabulous Labor Day vacation at the Running Y Resort in Klamath Falls. We had many more children than
we thought would be able to come. Even at the last minute, we had additional
family members. We barely fit in our places but it was so nice to have so many
there. It is the first time that we have been on the Klamath Falls property. They have three
bedroom chalets with a hot tub on the deck, which make a gathering very fun.
Grandma Maldonado came and rented a regular unit for part of the time so some
of the family stayed with her.
Besides
playing tons of games in the evenings in the chalet and the grandchildren
loving the hot tub, we traveled to beautiful Crater Lake
twice. It is awesome in the real use of the word. The first day trip on Friday,
when we had half of our numbers, we hiked down to the dock while Nate and
others tried to fish off the rocks. Nate and
Laura were cooking that night so
he hoped to add some fresh fish to his grilling menu. It was incredible to be
down by the water for a couple of hours. None of us planned to take the boat
ride which was a good thing since they were canceled. Being at the water's edge
of Crater Lake is breathtaking.
We
rotated the breakfast and dinner meal preparations. The first evening I put a
roast and vegetables in my Bean Pot kind of late since Dad and I were off
having some fun and then shopping for groceries in town. Dinner came out after
Adrianne and Blake arrived on Thursday night. Nate started off the large family
meals by grilling chicken, shrimp and vegetables galore! The next morning
Adrianne and Blake served a French toast breakfast; Heidi and Katie served a
Cafe Rio style dinner Saturday. On that day, five family members (Shawn,
Gregory, Morty, Nate and Laura Berk) drove to the Oregon Duck game in Eugene and joined us
later in the evening.
On
Saturday we had a fun day in Klamath
Falls taking the trolley that talked about the town's
history and then enjoying a fun Farmers Market there. Running Y has a very nice
pool so everyone enjoyed that in the afternoon after a little bit of bike
riding. We brought extra bikes for the children but the terrain there was
pretty hilly. An earlier ride our first day found Dad and I walking our bikes
up some very steep hills. I know, I have told many of you, “It is easier to
ride a bike up a hill than push it!” But, this one hill had my front tire
feeling like it was lifting and I am determined not to fall backwards on a bike
ever again! 
Our family’s Duck fans came home late Saturday evening; the car plastered with the Midges, the gnat-like insects that have long enough wings that the front of the grill looked like fur! They were traveling back in the dark past the breeding grounds of these insects (the lake) and the insects fly towards any light! Even though the car and front grill was washed after that drive, earlier this week, Grandma’s radiator hose blew off most likely due to the pressure built up from the insect body parts coating the sides of the radiator!
Some
of us found a sacrament meeting in town on Sunday morning. It was a great ward;
so many people came up to us afterward to introduce themselves and welcome us.
The family members that stayed back at the place started a linguisa breakfast
for everyone. That is a great Maldonado family tradition to BBQ linguisa
sausage and rolls. We headed to Crater Lake
again to enjoy Ranger activities for the children, a trolley ride around the
rim for some of the adults and a hike to a beautiful waterfall. There is so
much to do in Crater Lake we could have spent
at least another day. We ended with a great meal at the historic Crater Lake
Lodge and riding home VERY late at night. During the weekend Scott was able to
call and get through even though we all had spotty cell coverage and have the
opportunity to talk to almost everyone there! He also sent letters addressed to
everyone in the family with his perspective as a teenager of how he remembered
our family was when it was first formed so he could be part of our family
gathering.
Morty
took Katie to the Klamath Falls
airport very early Monday morning so she could get back to work. Aaron was in charge
of sourdough pancakes on that morning which everyone always loves. Grandma's
car had to leave that day with the Las Vegas
family members since they had a flight early Tuesday morning in Portland. We played as
many games as possible before they had to leave and the grandchildren loved
playing in the hot tub once again. In the afternoon we swam in the pool forever
so those children were in the water all day! Shawn and Aubrey made chicken
teriyaki that night and surprise; we played more games!
Blake
and Adrianne left Tuesday morning but Heidi decided to stay back an extra day
since she didn't feel prepared to leave early enough on Tuesday. The
grandchildren wanted to go back to the pool and Dad and I took our bike ride
late that morning. While Dad took an extra loop on his bike, I started pushing
laundry through for the Wednesday travelers and doing some pre-packing of the
kitchen to make our Wednesday departure easier. Heidi and Shawn's family went
to a lake that was close by to see what it was like while Dad and I stayed back
to get a chicken BBQ dinner going so the children could get to sleep earlier
for Wednesday travels. They returned as soon as William got stung by a bee on
his hand.
Heidi's
family left in the morning and Shawn's family stayed until check out. After
which, we met them at the tennis courts and played some games, swam and then
finally said goodbye. Klamath Falls is about
halfway between Portland
and the Bay Area so we arrived at our homes about the same time. Dad and I
tried to catch up on work the rest of the week. I had tried to meet an
incentive with SendOutCards that happened to end while we were in Klamath Falls. I finally
gave up on the last day of the incentive month on Saturday when internet and
cell coverage were so poor and I wanted to be part of all the family
activities. I learned afterward that I missed earning an extra $500.00 by only
two customers so I was just sick about that! But, I have set more goals for the
months ahead even so.
We
weren't home long before we were leaving for Clovis to be with Aunt Carla and Uncle Scott.
It was the weekend of the Quail Lake Triathlon but Carla had to cancel it but
we went anyway. Being at their place is like a resort to us as I have mentioned
before. It was tons of fun to be there although the day before we thought we
would stay home. Grandma Maldonado was at her annual reunion in California when she fell
and had to be taken to the hospital. She had all the symptoms of a concussion
and was released so she could return home to rest. Morty was in Portland for a Saturday
Oregon Duck game. He and Katie put their skills together, Katie's work made
some exceptions since it was a medical emergency that kept Grandma off her
original flight and got Morty on a flight to go pick up Grandma in Oakland. He met Aunt
Denise and Grandma at the Oakland
airport and returned on a flight to get Grandma settled in her home. It worked
out very nice thanks to their kindness and availability. Grandma now feels much
better with the rest that she has been able to get.
In
Clovis we
enjoyed wonderful weather, a relaxing time and fun at the pool with Carla and
Scott's family. We had a real treat on Sunday morning as we were enjoying a
relaxing breakfast on their back patio when we heard a helicopter flying close
by. We realized that it was Scotty doing a fly-by on one of his medical runs.
He now works for an ambulance company where he is the trauma nurse that picks
up people in their plane and helicopter. It is quite an exciting work for him.
He still works in the Cath lab at St Angus and at Kaiser when he gets called
in. After church the Tobler family gathered for dinner so we played games with
them in our last hours in Clovis.
It was a short but sweet trip.
While
we were enjoying a relaxing weekend in Clovis,
Adrianne and Blake were facing a weekend of digging out from a flooded
basement. They will remember their Friday the Thirteenth experience for many
years! They opened their door upon arriving home from work and knew something
was wrong. Water rushed from the neighbor’s yard where the builder had changed
the natural landscaping, filled the window well of one of their guest rooms and
burst through the window sending water, mud and glass all the way to the family
room. Unfortunately, the room that received the most damage was where they were
storing the unopened boxes from their recent move. They threw away much of what
was in that room which included lots of photos. Five men from a clean up
service came in and worked until midnight, pulling up their carpet and cutting all
their walls up about two feet. It may be a while before they can repair things
since the builder, who originally agreed that it was his fault, is now saying
he has no responsibility.
BYU
football season is upon us so Dad and I watched the TV broadcast of the BYU
Cougars lose to University
of Utah. RATS, I just
hate watching them lose! This week we were able to watch them WIN; I love that!
I even watched some of the Duck game last night since Morty was in town at the
game; in the rain the entire game!
Last
week I was at a lecture where the presenter had a great football analogy: Just do something. Not everything has to be a touchdown. Just
start the play and move the ball 2 ½
yards (4 times) for a first down." I LOVE IT! And for my detail-oriented
children, I KNOW that technically, 4 times 2 ½ yards will not fly on the
football field but I think you get the gist of the message. Just keep moving
forward!
Speaking of football, Morty was here this weekend for an
Oregon Duck game. I wasn’t supposed to be here until Sunday but I had a very
disheartening non-revenue experience this week trying to get to a SendOutCards meeting
in Hartford, Connecticut. I even slept (well tried to
sleep) in the Denver airport when I couldn’t get
on a 1:00 am Red-Eye flight to Charlotte, hoping
to be early for the 7:00 am to Philadelphia or
7:05 am to Charlotte.
Running with non-running shoes between concourse A and B with my luggage still
didn’t do the trick! I DO NOT like USAirways for more reasons than it is hard
to know how full their flights will be ahead of time! I came home extremely dejected
and then realized that it would give me more time with Morty.
I slept in Saturday morning to try and get rid of the
headache with which I came home and so Morty came and sat on my bed and talked
for a long time. Now that is heaven to me! He had a fun suggestion for
Christmas since only the Las Vegas
children are traveling home this year: Vegas for Christmas if Katie is still
working for SW. He thought maybe the Utah
families would drive to Las Vegas
at the last minute also. So, this all will be a last minute decision; kind of
fun!
Morty’s football game was Saturday evening giving us time to
go to lunch with Dad and Grandma Maldonado. I didn’t get out of my pajamas
until noon! It was really a lazy day. He took all sorts of rain gear since we
are having tons of rain right now but his feet still got wet since it rained
the entire game. I couldn’t believe they
stayed the whole game since it was also a blow out.
Today was Tanner Green’s mission farewell. Can you believe
that, the youngest Green? He is going to a mission in Guatemala;
somewhere that I never knew existed. He ended his talk in sacrament meeting
with this thought: It all boils down to, “Did Joseph Smith really see God the
Father?” And yes, he did.
Love you all. It is that time of the year when I would like
any Christmas gift ideas. I will send the sibling gift rotation on a separate
email. Love, Mom
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