About a year ago, my brother David announced that he was going to attempt the swim from Catalina to Long Beach. On top of accomplishing an amazing goal, he also wanted to follow in my grandma’s footsteps as the first woman to ever swim the exact same route. She was 38 at the time, and he is currently 38…so now was the time.
A bunch of us (anyone who wasn’t going to get sea sick) headed to Long Beach to the chartered boat that would stay beside him the entire time. Out of all the attempts, only 159 people have made the trek successfully, and only one other person has done it this late in the season. The main reason it is considered late is because the water temp is very cold, and the swimmers are only allowed speedos to wear. At 60 degrees, most people thought he was crazy, but you have to know David to apreciate this whole endeavor.
When we reached Catalina at about 11:00pm, he jumped out into the pitch black water…..swam to land to officially start on dry land……then turned around for the over 20 mile swim. He was wearing glow sticks so we could see him somewhat, but to think about being in black cold water, with black skies in only a speedo is a little creepy.
He chose the breast stroke, because he has really strong legs. All 5 of the officials that were along were saying that is a crazy stroke to choose because it is slower than the others, and with exception of the butterfly, the breast stroke takes up the most energy. He was doing great for a very long time, but about 5 hours in, he was throwing up in the water. I never did find out if it was sea sickness that happens often on this swim, or all of the salt water he drank. Anyway, at that time, we sent Ryan in to accompany him. We were a little nervous at first, because Ryan is a total jokester, and the rule is that David can NOT touch anyone or he would be disqualified. So as Ryan was ready to hop in, everyone warned him about 1000 times to not touch David!
About 2 1/2 hours later, Ryan was still in the water. David was doing a ton better and was looking really strong and methodical. The whole time Ryan was in the water, everyone was cracking up. He kept diving down into the water, spitting water out of his mouth and begging for people to throw him swedish fish. But after 2 1/2 hours, the officials said that Ryan wasn’t fooling around anymore, and we needed to get him in to rehydrate and eat. Ryan totally wanted to stay out with David, but he followed the ruling.
In the meantime, I was totally bummed that I didn’t have any gear to use. I totally had the itch, and really wanted to get in. Tarzan — one of the officials who is a world renowned paddle boarder told me that he had a wetsuit that would fit me….and my belly. I tried it on, and it zipped up over my 8 month pregnant belly….so I was next in. When I hit the water, it took me about a minute to fully catch my breath. It was freezing cold! I got over to David, and was going to try and swim with him for two feedings. (Every 20 minutes, he would feed on Cytomax, Gatorade, and possibly a GU — nothing solid) I made it through the first, and was about 10 minutes into the second when I was falling behind David. I decided to swim over to the boat and make it a wrap. I did 30 minutes…and I can feel it today! (Note to self — start working out again so I can have some more stamina!) After I swam, Jake swam and then Brook did. Then Ryan wanted to jump in again, and he was with David until the end.
During the swim, we experienced many cool things. In the water, we saw a ton of sea lions, some dorsel fins belonging to dolphins, a sea snake, a handful of jellyfish, and tons of fish. The sunrise was breathtaking, and so peaceful. Right after I was swimming we saw a HUGE ship that was carrying semi’s somewhere cross right in front of us. (I couldn’t believe the size of this thing….and how fast it was going.)
We passed the time by eating a ton - thanks to Megan…sister of the year. We also played games, and some slept when they could. We loved watching and cheering for David, and just talking and laughing with eachother. It was a great time.
The water was really calm and nice, but at about mile 16 David hit a rip tide. You could tell he was losing steam — who wouldn’t be after 14 hours of swimming. The officials started watching closer, and the captain came out and announced that he had swam for the last hour without moving. I think there was great concern because the very last guy that attempted this swim lost it and started to sink. The kayaker jumed in to rescue him, and he had to be life flighted out. When he left on the helicopter he didn’t have a pulse, and it was very scary. They retrieved him at the hospital, but said that the only reason he was okay was because he was in such cold water, his organs didn’t completely shut down. So after that story, their sensors were up.
They told David what the status was. They told him at his pace it would take another 8 hours to finish the swim, and David made the call that he didn’t have it in him. He said that his body had shut down 2 hours previously, and he had two really painful shoulders and two pretty painful knees. He called the race with a little left to go, and headed to the boat. When he got in, his face was completely swollen. His tongue was totally white and really swollen. He was shaking from the freezing water, that he said never warmed up to him. And he was pretty emotional — obviously!
We wrapped him in blankets and put hand warmers all over him. We got a little hot choclate and PB & J down him. We kept talking to him to make sure he was coherent…..and some questioned that, as he was talking about the “next time”. After a bit, we put him in a warm shower and headed back to Long Beach.
He was in good spirits, and we are all really proud of him. When we got home, Tristen had a cake for him — an ice cream one that he passed on probably because he wasn’t interested in anything cold for a long while. The next morning, he said mentally he was great, but physically he felt like he was waking up from a long coma and trying to learn how to use his body all over again. He told us that when he showered that he had shampoo in his hand, but couldn’t get it to his head for anything.
It was a very impressive attempt, and everyone agrees that the next will be successful. It just needs to be warmer water, so more of his energy can be spent on the swim itself. Nice job David! Next time Ryan (who completed over 5 hours of swimming strongly and without training with David) and Jakey want to join in on the official swim! I, on the other hand, will stick to my 30 minute hop in!
My mom celebrated a big birthday a few weeks ago, so we wanted to celebrate in style! Out of her 12 kids, all but two were represented. Others flew in and drove in for the festivities. All in all, we had about 35 people here…..and she didn’t know anything about it….(until Seth called her and geared a few questions around being in Dana Point this weekend). So…..partly a surprise.
We had the best time. We heated the pool and jacuzzi for anyone who wanted to swim. We played games, and had a tasty meal consisting of burgers, fruit, potato salad made by my mom — (I figured once she was let in on her surprise, she would to contribute her tasty potato salad), fruit, etc. And for dessert, Megan went all out with cupcakes of two varieties and chocolate molten lava cakes.
At the end of the night, she opened gifts and watched my gift. I wanted to do something cool for her, so I spent the previous month getting all 21 of her grandkids on videotape. My dad would always interview us as we grew up, and they are the funnest videos to look back on. So I made a list of about 30 questions, and had each of the grandkids answer. I spliced it all together, and it turned out great. We certainly have some up and coming comedians — and some who don’t even realize they are hilarious.
By the end of the night, we were all wiped! The next morning, we got up and went to church, and came home to more good food and fun. It was a perfect way to celebrate one amazing woman!!!!
I really love these rascally boys….
BUT….when they were in town for my mom’s birthday bash, they gave Scout a whole new arsenal of material. Like saying, “NO….MINE”, throwing everything, and tantruming it up when he doesn’t get it his way. We were in church on Sunday, and he was holding a little dinosaur, and as his mother…I knew it was on it’s way through the air. I pointed my finger and said calmly, “Scout, do not throw your toy” about six times in a row. I had him somewhat contained, until I looked down in my bag to offer him some snacks to get his mind off of throwing his toy, when out of the corner of my eye, a little green dinosaur flew high through the air and landed on little Tanner Samuelian. Everyone thought it was hilarious (I even did), but that little boy was in trouble!
His other favorite thing as of lately is to body slam anyone in sight. Seth’s boys always wrestle with Micah for hours, and when Scout saw the excitement, he joined right in. And it was serious wrestling, as in …Micah was in a full blown sweat. So ever since then, Scout is much more physical with anyone he is around. The list of his naughtiness goes on and on, and he is really serving some serious time in time out. I have brought him back around to the good side somewhat, but come Thanksgiving day…guess who will be here. All of the little rascals that are going to ruin my perfect boy again!
Too tired and sick……will update later!
Why pay for a season pass to Disneyland, when you can go somewhere WAY better for free. Scout had the best time in the fountains at Fashion Island, and we did a picture scavenger hunt with all of the cousins that was a total hit.
My mom is having a big birthday celebration this weekend -to her surprise- and my gift to her is a DVD of all 21 of her grandchildren. Either I, or a parent interviewed all of the kids and asked each one about 30ish questions. I am now putting together the answers one by one, and holy cow….it is taking forever! It is almost done, and so far it looks great, and I think everyone in the family will be stoked to have a copy of their children’s wit / wisdom / advice etc. My mom will love it, and I will be happy when it is over. I got the idea from my dad, because when we were growing up he would always interview us. I always think it is fun to look back and see our personalities and answers from way back when. Anyway….only about 8 hours of work left, along with getting the hamburgers ready, getting everyone here without a hitch, and surprising my mom. Woops…the last one will be hard, since Seth called my mom two days ago to ask if Trilby could get deals at the St. Regis for when they came into town this weekend. For being so smart……brilliant move Seth!
My sister Ashley was in town, so I finally opted to take Scout to Disneyland. It was going to be his first trip, so my mom made the trek to see Scout in all of his glory. Because we make an annual trip with the whole fam, and will be back in the spring, I decided that financially it would be smart to get a season pass. I was very hesitant to do so since we usually go in to Club 33 and have a delicious lunch while getting in to both parks free, but I figured that the nasty park food will have to do for this year. Moving on…….We headed down, and I had high hopes. We got there around 11:00am. It was very empty, and the weather was perfect. Scout seemed to have had a fine time, but I was dying by the time we were pushing 3:00. By then, I was READY to scram. I didn’t want to ruin everyone else’s fun, so I stayed quiet, but I started getting the glances from my mom, and knew we were in sync. I just have to think that it is because Scout isn’t old enouogh to ride the fun rides, or because there were only a handful of us compared to the usual 25+?!?
The part I don’t get……who in their right mind would want to spend more than one day a year there? I can only imagine the $$$ Disney is making off of season passes that only get used once. A few years back, Brett got season passes for all of their boys, and by the end of the day, returned them for a refund….and I totally get it! Anyway, Scout really enjoyed being with his cousins, could have done without the nasty food we ate there, and was probably a wash on the whole “Happiest Place On Earth.” And the fact that my sister who was in town went three days in a row……what is she…..CRAZY?!
The up side to the day was we spotted Scout’s name on the Nemo submarine. We also realized that my mom has a secret admirer on the Jungle Cruise.
On Saturday evening, I attended a baptism of Scout’s Fairy Godmother….McCall Bledsoe. (Story to follow later) I haven’t seen my favorite Bledsoe family in quite a while, so at the last minute I invited them over to dinner the next night. Along with Tristen, Trilby and the girls, Ashley’s family who is in town, my Mom and the whole Bledsoe clan, there were over 20 people. So after church on Sunday, I started cooking. I had the salad, salad dressing, vegetable and rice about ready. But then I was on to the long task of cleaning the chicken — and about two hours later was finished. (I will not allow one piece of fat or vein or anything else nasty a raw chicken can supply on any meat I ever cook. It takes more time, but when I eat my food, I can relax about “geegees” - gross chicken stuff!)
In the meantime, Micah - knowing that the Bledsoe’s hadn’t seen the new house decorated, and that I already was doing a whole lot of stuff - went around to tidy up. He spent two hours cleaning rooms, taking down Halloween decorations from the porch, emptying trashes, straightening towels, replaced a lightbulb, helped set the table – refusing to use paper plates when someone suggested it, and anything else you can think of to make a house perfect. He then did everything Scout needed at the time. And finally to top everything off……he came in and asked me if he could help clean chicken with me.
It turned out to be a really fun night with everyone around. But just the fact that Micah took care of so much of the load made it even better. Schmickster….keep up the good work! (Literally!)
Halloween ‘08 was a success. In an effort to allow myself the easiest costume ever…..I conjured up the idea to be the 3 Mummies. Micah was a super sport in letting me dress him up in ripped up sheets. I wanted to do his whole body, but he only went for the top and legs…..good thing as his costume was dragging by the end of the night, and may have exposed too much skin. Scout was dressed last, and was pretty ccoperative because it was “just like Dada”. In the end, he kept his head wrap on all night long, which I found really surprising and impressive.
This is the first house in Scout’s entire life he trick-or-treated at. The lady was darling, and Scout made his way in the house and thought he was there for a party. When he realized he got to get candy and move on, he was in his element. We then went and trick-or-treated at my mom’s house, and Scout already had the whole candy thing down! Micah was fun to trick-or-treat with also. He made scary “mummy noises” the entire time. Skylar finally had to tell him it was getting annoying! He stuck with us for most of the night, but when he and Marc hooked up over at the Hemeon’s house, we were ditched because they needed to go and scare people around the neighborhood. Two hours later, I packed Skilly and Scout up to look for them, and when we found them, we were informed that plans for a “late boy’s night” scary movie were already in tact! I wished him well, and they were off to “scare more kids”.
Here he is hating Tristen as a ghost, and trying his hardest to get away from her!
Here is the whole gang…including Skilly the M.A.C. makeup artist who was a brilliant sidekick to the littlest mummy.
My favorite picture of the night…..including some serious baby powder all over the camera’s lens.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
I signed up Scout for his first soccer class. It is for 1 1/2 year olds and up, so I guess that makes him official in two days! He knew something great was in the air when I woke him up this morning, and was really excited. He did a great job and learned how to toe touch, kick backwards and sideways, dribble the ball and run to kick the ball in the goal. He got a ton of attention from his coach and only got tears in his eyes when he learned the rule of “no hands”. I was impressed he stuck to the rule for the most part. here the little squirt is making a goal and getting serious accolades from his coach! The best part was when he would clap for himself after everything he did that was good. That’s my confident little soccer stud!
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