Family Fun

Some households are about food (ours). Some households are about work (no longer ours, for this year). Some households are about fun. And fun, especially kid fun, perfectly describes my brother’s place. Okay, work too. They work. And food. They have food, too. And Chair Monsters.

It’s been a while since Diane and I had the good fortune to visit Phil and Family – Liz, Owen, and Carolyn. But it was worth the wait. No sooner did we pull up when Phil, from his office, called home to tell Liz of a much-awaited and anticipated promotion. First came the whoops! from Liz. Then the hugs. And the rest.

A bit of background. Phil is a research scientist with the USGS at Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Forest. The promotion ups his professional ante, vaulting him into the top research slot up at Redwoods National Forest in Arcata, CA (also the stomping ground of Bigfoot!). It’s tantamount to landing a tenured professorship at a marquee university. (Phil: if I got the details wrong, please make the appropriate corrections in the comments of this post. All citations in ABA style, please.) This career path was his “Plan A” since he began grad school, so basically he’s an overnight success after fifteen years of hard work. We’re all very proud.

And we’re all very happy. Phil, Liz (herself a successful scientist, writer, local activist, and full-time mommy); and Owen, 5 (Bionacles and Scobby Doo); and Carolyn, 22 months (princess shoes and monster trucks), Diane (groovy road tripper) and I (humble narrator) basically goofed through a long Easter weekend at kid-speed. It was more than fun: wake-up time, coffee-time, play time, lunch time, movie time, cocktail time, dinner time, dance time, story time, and bed time. Plus the other usuals:

Hunting for Easter treasure;

Working on the bus;

And dancing at a riverside party.

We also painted a wall and installed a bathroom cabinet, sink, and plumbing. So that was fun, too. We didn’t take any pictures. But trust us, we did a beautiful job.

The four days went all too quickly. Phil and Liz have to prepare to sell their house, find a new one in Arcata, and attend to a million other details. And we have a long and winding road ahead of us. With any luck we’ll see them again at the end of our trip sometime this fall.