Road Trip 2017

In early June 2017 we drove across the country from Dayton, OH to Corvallis, OR. This will hopefully be the last time the kids move until they leave the nest. We had a great itinerary planned that would allow us to visit some our best friends from Italy and some of our closest cousins.

After two solid days of travel we arrived in Rapid City, South Dakota, at the home of Megan and Greg Trifilo. We had spent four years in Italy with them and flew across the pond back to the US with Megan, their son Griffin, and their dog Yorba in July 2016 (Greg flew separately with Verna, their other dog). We met up with Greg outside the airport in Baltimore then said goodbye, but only for a short while. Greg spent a few weeks at Wright-Patterson AFB and we were able to spend more time with him there while we were settling in. But then he made the trek out to SD in mid-September and we had been feeling very Trifilo-deficient for about 9 months.

Seeing people again with whom you were very close previously can be awkward, but I felt like we picked up right where we left off. The Trifilos made us dinner and we had a great night hanging out and reminiscing.

The next morning Megan dropped Griffin off at a babysitter's and we hit the road to Crazy Horse.

Merbacks and Trifilos, together again!

Crazy Horse is a massive mountain sculpture in the Black Hills, MUCH bigger than Rushmore, that was started in the mid-20th century and is nowhere near completion as it relies solely on private donations. Once a year they open up the trail to the top to the public and you can hike up right to his face. It happened to be the very day after we had arrived. 

Here were are imitating the profile shot of Mr. Horse. Greg has got his position of attention DOWN, and Ashley is striking the "contrapposto" pose of il Renascimento sculptures ("Renaissance" is French word, and we all know that it was an Italian phenomenon). Also note that Georgie is taller than Isaac at this time. When finished, Crazy Horse will have a flowing mane of hair, will be pointing his finger out towards the lands of his people, and will be riding a horse. If I were betting the over/under of when it gets finished, I would take "never", unfortunately.

A more traditional shot. Just for comparison's sake, Rushmore's four heads could fit in the rectangular flat space just to the left of Crazy's face.

This face is at least twice as tall as the Rushmore faces, and we got to walk right up to it. What better way to commemorate the moment than to pick a good'un. Georgie is obviously not pleased. We were able to walk out onto his future "arm" as well. The whole experience was very cool, but again, I had a dark feeling of foreboding that this unfinished sculpture will serve as an "Ozymandias"-type monument to future generations of intelligent life on this planet.

After Crazy Horse, we picked up Griffin and hung out at the splash pad in downtown Rapid City, walkable from the Trifilos cool old house. We got lunch and then ice cream, a throwback to all of the times we got gelato with them in Italy.

Griff is on the left with his Dad.

That night we left Isaac in charge and walked back to downtown for dinner & drinks, reliving our three date weekends that we had with the Trifilos to London, Sevilla, and Lisboa. It was just like old times and it made me sad that our time living near these great friends has almost certainly come to an end.

The next morning Megan had to take Griffin to an appointment, so Greg, having taken the day off to hang out with us, drove us up to South Dakota's number one attraction, Mount Rushmore!

I had a picture of Rushmore with the Thunderbirds flying past in my room growing up, even though I was never really into either one of those things. I was prepared to be underwhelmed but it was actually fairly impressive.

After Rushmore we packed up the car, said goodbye to the Trifilos, and headed down to Cheyenne, Wyoming to see another that we missed desperately from Italy, the Joneses!

I didn't get a picture of their house but I should have. It was this enormous turn-of-the-century mansion with servants' quarters in the attic, horse stables in the basement, and a servant's staircase in the back of the house that led to the kitchen. It was beautiful and supposedly haunted. The first night we just hung out and at dinner, just enjoying being with each other again.

The next morning Tann took us to the base archery range to shoot. The kids loved it.

At first there wasn't any marshall there so we had free reign and had to keep the kids from shooting each other.

Then we headed down to the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, which is actually much more interesting than it sounds.

These kids didn't miss a beat being back together. It was so much fun to seen them all together again. First in Oklahoma, where we added Juliet and Jacquelyn, and then Italy, where we added Kate, and now in Wyoming.

 Payton and Landon (pictured) have always been the little brothers that Isaac never had.

And Jacquelyn the little sister that Juliet never had. Jacquelyn's outfit in this picture is a hand-me-down from Juliet, appropriately enough.

 Here is Payton hard at work at the typewriter.

After the museum we caught a ride in a horse-drawn carriage and took a tour of Cheyenne's historic district. Also something that doesn't sound too stimulating but was actually very interesting!

That night we left the big kids in charge and drove across the border to Colorado for a true back-country steak dinner.

Those are the faces of two people who are about to eat deep-fried Rocky Mountain Oysters for the very first time. I couldn't stop thinking about Chevy Chase in "Funny Farm". "Lamb fries!" "39!" "Sheep balls!" "38!" They are very rubbery and chewy, kind of like calamari, but they were good!

The next day Angela took us to the base climbing gym and the kids climbed all over the walls.

I made Juliet and Landon stop to take an engagement picture while they were running around playing. Landon was Juliet's first crush! You can kind of appreciate the splendor of their side porch in the background.

I walked out to the car at some point and found this infant antelope lying down in the street. I thought it was dead but when I left to get the kids it got up and walked into the grass.

 Georgie and Samantha tracked it down and went out to sit by it and keep it company.

After a few wonderful days with the Joneses it was time to move on again. This time, we would be stopping in Park City, UT, to stay at the Pettey cabin and spend time with the Monson clan!

We had to make a stop at B&D Burgers near the U in Salt Lake for great burgers, zucchini fries, and amazing shakes. Arie and the girls were collecting honeysuckle flowers after lunch.

Playing on the street outside the Monson's house. They used to live in the same neighborhood as the cabin, but have since moved out to the flats.

We took the kids on a monster hike on the trails behind the cabin. It was a grueling four-hour ordeal that they almost didn't survive without whining themselves to death.

 Family selfie before the whining really began in earnest.

I took Ashley to Ruth's Diner in Emigration Canyon for breakfast on her birthday, the site of our first official "date" together. Unfortunately, it was a windy, cold June 12th in Utah and we couldn't sit outside, but we still enjoyed the mile-high biscuits. After a great stay in Utah it was time to finish our cross-country trek. Ashley wanted to arrive at our new home during the day, so we drove to a campground in eastern Oregon for the night.

We camped at Immigrant Springs in the Blue Mountains, part of the Oregon Trail. Even though most of eastern Oregon is high desert, the Blue Mountains get enough rain to look more like the Cascades. It was beautiful, with Douglas Firs and ferns everywhere. We were geeking out about how green it was, especially after just coming from drought-stricken Utah.

We wanted to ride bikes so I had to unload Ashley's new wicker chairs that she had bought in Cheyenne. Once they were out, the girls decided to glamp it up a bit.

Camping in style, Oregon-style that is: socks with Birkenstocks.

Lovely, lovely.

We all squeezed in to our 6-person family tent. It was really cold that night, down to the 40s. I didn't sleep at all, I don't think. I was too excited about seeing the million-dollar millstone around my neck the next day. And this is what it was like coming up the drive for the first time:

Needless to say, we were smitten, we were in deep smit. And who wouldn't be? Just look at that pond! That property! The excitement was so blissful. I didn't know then that I would get so stressed by my new work that I would have horrible heartburn for four months, that I would get poison oak so wicked that I couldn't sleep well for a month, that my grass allergies would keep me house-bound the next May and June, or that I would be so worried about debt that I wouldn't have the motivation to start all of the outdoor projects that I had been dreaming of. I would still have done it all over again.

Georgie and I taking our turn on the pond.

Despite not knowing anyone, we ended up having guests from Portland. The Hunts, friends from San Antonio, came down to hang out and go the coast with us.

Here we are at Seal Rock, so named not because of any seals but because the rock in the background supposedly looks like a seal. There is an Otter Rock that is likewise named and also bears no resemblance to it's namesake.

Ashley was so excited about collecting mussels! Little did we know that 1) you need a permit, and 2) these mussels are not edible! They brought them home, cleaned them off, boiled them, almost puked, and then threw them all away.

 Trevor with a massive crop of nasty mussels!

 Becky with the kids.

And that was the end of the road trip. I had to fly back to Ohio about a week after we arrived to finish up my last two months with the Air Force. I lived in the house on base alone and packed nearly the entire house into boxes and loaded everything but the heaviest items into the moving trailer. Never, ever again. Ashley lived in the new house with the kids without furniture for for almost two months. We saw each other again at Traci's wedding in late June/early July.

 Back in Park City with the Merback clan.

We played "Cards Against Humanity" with Alyson, Bryant, and Alex during that trip and I won a round, and let's admit it, the entire history of the game, with this Pick 2 combo:

I flew back to Ohio but decided to make one more trip out before my final drive. I surprised Juliet on her birthday morning:

Aww, so sweet. Ashley and the kids had more adventures while I was slaving away in Ohio, but that is their story to tell. The next time we would be together for good, with a new family member and a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event to behold...

Juliet Interview: April 1, 2018

Was moving to Corvallis easy?  Easy because I didn't have an attachment to Ohio.

Whats the best thing that's happened in your 8th year?  getting a dog

What's your favorite holiday?  I like all holidays!

What are you good at?  Reaching, make believe and cooking

Who are you friends?  Emily who is fun and trustworthy,  Kayleigh who is nice and comforts you when you  are sad.  Paisyn who has good ideas of fun things to do.

Georgie Interview: April 1, 2018

What is your favorite piece of clothing?   My grey sweatshirt.

Favorite book of the year?  Keeper of the Lost Cities

Favorite Song of the year?  I don't know
Favorite thing you own?  Naxi...well she's free but she sleeps with me every night.

Best thing about your new house:  My room.

Best thing about school:  I can socialize there.

What would surprise your 8 year old self about your 11 year old self?
That my hair is super curly, I live in Corvallis, OR and I'm out of the military.

What are you good at?  Acting, reading, owning myself and I'm a good student.

What are some of the worlds biggest problems?   Global warming, some places don't have access to clean water, sexual assault and gender inequality...a lot of stuff.

Will your generation make the world a better place?  I don't know...it's scary to think what my generation will be able to do.

Has moving to Corvallis been hard?  Yes and No... (when pushed) yes, because trouble and no because this is a good town.

What are you looking forward to about your 13th year?  Cancun and getting a pet snake!

Isaac TURNS 13!!

Isaac Turns 13!!

This is a big birthday!  Thir TEEEEN!!!   He's done it.  He's gone and grown up!  I see it on the edges of his personality and interactions; I see it in his changing preferences, ideas, and cracking voice!  He's growing up.

This year Isaac has moved from Italy to America, spent the summer with his Grandparents and was reported to have been rather helpful.  We moved to Ohio where he was on his first Lego Robotics Team and learned computer programming.  He played three seasons of soccer and reported that his Fall/Spring team was his most favorite team he has ever played on (which bodes well for his future prospects in moving in 7th grade...Friends can be made quickly!) He participated on a swim team for a bit, is self-motivated in playing the guitar and fell in love with Minecraft.  He received a mountain bike for Christmas and rides his bike nearly every fair weather day.  He particularly enjoys actual mountain biking on trails.  We're lucky to have a pretty good trail system really close to our house.

During this homeschooling year, I have tried to pay attention to what each of the kids enjoys learning, what they pay attention to and what they choose to do with their free educational time.  I had pinned Isaac in the "math/sciences/engineer" category previous to this year.   And while I don't necessarily rule him out of that yet (as I am a less than inspiring teacher in those categories) I have been surprised to see his heart more in History, stories, art, and reading.  When previously it had been like pulling teeth to get Isaac to read, this second half of the year it's been like pulling teeth to get him to do anything else.  First thing in the morning, nose in a book, late at night way past his bed time, nose in a book.  Every week they have free choice education time on Khan Academy.  Isaac chooses history every time.  He shares stories of Benjamin Franklin or the Byzantine Empire at dinner.

Isaac loves comedy.  He loves to laugh, to be funny, to watch funny, to read funny...  On the one hand, he's a pretty intense little guy.  I've wondered if he gravitates to comedy because it lightens things up in his mind.  It's a break from all those intense emotions and feelings that hang over him a lot of the time.  I'm really grateful to have him bring that into our home.

If Isaac never had to eat a meal that would be fine with him.  Sitting down for food is an inconvenience.  He'd rather eat snacks a little, here and there, scattered throughout the day, chips and salsa every time if he had his druthers.  And he prefers store bought salsa, Herdez brand or from Costco.  His second favorite thing is Mangoes and if he'ss forced to eat a meal he'll take chili...or steak (which I never make).  For the most part, he doesn't like the stuff I cook.  After an initial very annoying bit of complaining upon being told what is for dinner, he does his best to keep his mouth shut about it at the table.  I watched him muscle down a savory french toast with creamed chard and poached eggs on top with a miserable-trying-to-hide-it-grimace on his face just a few nights ago.  But he kept his mouth shut and ate it.

For his birthday we went to a Japanese Hibachi steak house.  He'd been with his friend, Rilo, pictured above, for his birthday a few weeks ago and loved it.  That night Isaac and I both lay down with him and reminisced about the past 13 years.  I *think* he enjoyed that (I know I sure did)!  Isaac still likes to postpone bedtime by coming down to talk with me while I'm doing dishes or doing work on the computer.  Possibly a few weeks too late I realize that I should let him stay as late as he's willing because who knows how much longer he'll want to chat with little old me.  But then again there's bed time and Dad waiting upstairs with the guitar, appropriate sleep habits and all the rational stuff..I struggle finding that balance.

 He didn't care for a big party with presents this year so the following night we invited all of his neighborhood friends over for board games, nachos, and cake.  I'll hopefully get some cool pictures of that happening tonight.  Happy Birthday, Dude!  You Are Loved!

Georgie Turns 11

It's birthday season again here at the Merback house.  And tomorrow comes round two of five in the span of 4 months.  Round 2 belongs to Georgie.  Tomorrow she turns 11.

A lot has happened in Georgie's 11th year.  She moved from Italy to Dayton, OH, spent a year being homeschooled and made new friends named Charlotte, Autumn, Katie and Anna.  She continued her love of theater and by the time the 11th birthday rolled around has a new obsession with Hamilton (now spread to the rest of the family).   She took three six-week theater classes and started voice lessons with an amazing teacher that has transformed her singing voice.  She played on her first volleyball team for 2 seasons with her Dad as the coach and has done really, really well.

Less than a month after this birthday she will move to her most permanent childhood home in Oregon.  Of all the kids, Georgie appears to be the most excited.  Almost every day she uses the words "I can't wait..."   Her only "requirement" for our new house was that she have her own room.  To her relief, she will.

Georgie is definitely living in a preteen state.  She LOVES her friends, gets annoyed with her little sister (and the rest of her family) and spends a bit more time in her room than last year.  She makes her bed every day, is very responsible about getting her homework done and can't wait for real school to start.  She gets a lot of identity from her desire to be an "actress" and day dreams of that broadway roll that will surely be offered to her one day.  Her sense of humor has developed quite a bit, she fixes her hair without being nagged *most* of the time and still doesn't care for shopping or girlie things.  T-shirts, jean shorts, and converse are her go-to uniform.

Georgie also likes a routine of getting up early every day.  She sets her alarm for 7:30, comes downstairs dressed and ready and prepares her own breakfast almost every morning.  She's our most independent child in more than just that way.  She doesn't have any interest in boys, she thinks kissing is disgusting and shies away from emotion in general.  Don't get too mushy with Georgie and certainly don't ask her to share any deep thoughts!  Those are personal and come only in particular moments.   But she still loves a nightly kiss and snuggle and can be known to really open up in the dark, on her bed with a Mom (or a grandma) beside her!  I cherish those moments.  With her friends, she scooters around the neighborhood, rides bikes to the commissary on base or plays Minecraft.  If she could have a sleepover every weekend she would.  They also jump on the trampoline for hours. Another really cool thing about Georgie is that if there is a 9-12 year old girl within ear shot Georgie will be friends with her in about 5 minutes.  This girl makes friends so quickly!  She saves most of her money, along with Isaac and Juliet, for a dog they plan to purchase sometime in the near future.

Georgie has developed into quite a little chef.  She makes buttermilk scrambled eggs nearly every morning and puts soft cheeses on everything she possibly can.  She also loves onions in all their forms.  Just yesterday she at a sandwich spread with goat cheese and filled with raw onion and lettuce for lunch.  😲

There's a whirlwind wrap up of our *nearly*11-year-oldd Georgie.   The other day I expressed some desire to get more emotion from her and she's responded with a really great hug every few days or so.  I hope she knows how much I appreciate the effort and have noticed that surprising thoughtful tenderness on my behalf.

Happy Birthday Georgie girl!  You, me dear, dear, girl, are loved!!