Trying to Kill the In-Laws...And A World Cup Guide for You!!

Now, before you get the wrong idea, I love my in-laws. In no way do I want to cause them physical harm. The episode that you are about to read about was an unintentional attempt to kill them, and everyone ended up ok in the end, so it makes a good story!

This story really begins after the Father and Sons campout. The campout was the big event on Owen's potty calendar that, but once it passed, we needed another event for him to look forward to. Lucky for us, Beki's parents were coming about 3 weeks later, so we started to talk a lot about that. As the day got closer on the calendar, Owen started to get really excited. All week he kept asking if we could go and get "Abuela" yet (If you don't speak Spanish and don't know what Abuela means, I suggest that you accept that bilingualism is coming and learn!). Friday was the worst, from the moment I got home from work Owen just knew that it was time to go and get Abuela. It really was time to go and get Mommy, then go to the store, then come home, then go and get Beki's parents.

Owen is a shrewd bargainer, and he tried to work a deal with me - "Ok, we go get mommy, then go get Abuela, then go to the store!" No matter how much I tried to convince him that it didn't work that way, he was adamant that we go get Abuela. Luckily he fell asleep on the way to the University. Getting Beki, and getting the shopping done didn't take too long, and soon we were back home putting the groceries away. Finally Beki announced that it was time to go, and Owen was out the door!

(Total Random Aside: So Owen just woke up from a nap with a really confused, cranky look on his face. I have been thinking about why the boy always wakes up like this when he takes a nap and I think that I have it figured out. Owen woke up from his nap and found himself in our bed, but that it not where he fell asleep. Owen played so hard this afternoon that he crashed in the computer chair while watching videos. Seeing him asleep in the chair, I moved him to our bed - because it is easier than climbing up the ladder to get to his bed since you asked. Now, when was the last time that you woke up in a place different than where you fell asleep? You probably can't remember can you? Yet this happens to kids ALL THE TIME! No wonder they are always looking confused! Now back to the narrative)

Do to space issues in our car Beki took the boy and I stayed home. This means that I have no clue what happened at the airport, but I have pictures, so I think we can draw some pretty solid conclusions...

Knowing Owen like I do, the moment he saw Abuela he took off running...

BIG HUG!!!

I think Abuela was just as excited to see the boy!

BIG HUG from Grandpa...It is important for the rest of the story that you understand that my father in law is a big strong cowboy type man...this is important...

On the drive home they got to experience the D.C. "sea of red tail lights" traffic, but eventually made it to our house. The next morning the real adventure began. We have some friends from church who just came to the U.S. from Nigeria. It was Jude's (the father) birthday, so Mercy (the wife) wanted to do a surprise party. She had some connections with some people who run a outdoor adventure company, and was holding it on their property. We had no idea what to expect, and honestly, I didn't really want to go, but they are our friends, so we piled into the car - with me climbing into the trunk cause there wasn't enough space - and headed down the road.

When we arrived things started to fall into place and make more sense. When they informed us that we would be canoeing across the Potomac to their own private island, two things became vary clear. One, they owned an island...and Two, we were so not dressed appropriately for what was about to happen! We all loaded into a big "war canoe" while the instructor took a separate canoe with the food and dry bag. The fact that we needed a dry bag - which is a waterproof bag in which you put anything that you don't want to get wet - is what sealed the deal that we were all going to be getting very wet. It is also the reason why there are no pictures for this part of the story, the camera was in the dry bag.

The only real problem in the trip centered around the steering of the war canoe. Matt, the man in charge, left his VERY pregnant wife Kolette in charge of getting the boat to the island. Somehow Kolette became convinced that another member of the party, Tildon, knew where we were going, and knew how to steer the canoe. We did pretty good going over, Owen really liked the paddling, but as we got closer to the island, we encountered a fork - it looked like this: (Right click the link and open in a new tab or window.)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=13015+Rileys+Lock+Road,+Poolesville,+MD%E2%80%8E+&sll=39.028296,-76.957623&sspn=0.010335,0.022724&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=13015+Rileys+Lock+Rd,+Poolesville,+Montgomery,+Maryland+20874&ll=39.061054,-77.332984&spn=0.002762,0.005681&t=h&z=18

I know that link is ridiculously long, but as you can see, one way is calm, and the other way is terrifying. I am pretty sure Owen could have told you which way you should take a giant canoe full of small children and grandparents, but of course we went down the raging river of death! How the boat didn't rip apart is a miracle, and before our driver could take us down any more, we crashed ourselves into a tree...HARD. It was at this point that Dickie, my father in law, showed his true cowboy awesomeness. The moment we hit that tree, Dickie was out of that boat into waist deep water, securing the canoe to the side so we could evacuate people. Then, while we started to walk down the island towards where we going, he helped Matt take the Canoe back up over the rapids and to the safe harbor that we missed originally.

We eventually made it to the base camp, and we went down to swim in the river. We got the camera out, so we could snap some photos of the boy swimming...

Owen though that we were going in the canoe again - he was ready to paddle!

Sitting on a rock with Mommy watching Papa "rapid swim" down the river. (That is where you just let the river carry you down the rapids.)

Owen and Papa on their way back from the Rope Swing. The other children were all swinging on a rope and falling into the water, and Owen thought that he needed to check this out. He went twice, and did really well. The second time he did a little too well, and got some serious air and distance. After that one he decided that he was done, so we couldn't get him to do another one for the camera.

Just letting my son float down stream...

We must have spent 30 minutes just throwing rocks in the river...by far Owen's favorite activity!

On the island they had all sorts of activities and things to do. Owen liked the rope bridge because it was bouncy!

There were lots of snacks too!! (Notice how thoroughly soaked we are!!)

Playing Peek-a-boo with Abuela!!

It ended up being a really fun day - probably more walking than the we had planned for Grandpa and Abuela, but they didn't complain - and they got to experience the wonderful Maryland humidity!!! After we had had our fun we were walking back to the war canoe when we came to a smallish stream that we needed to get across. There was a rock in the middle that you could step on to get across, but there were tree branches in the way that were causing problems. While we were trying to get the branches out of the way so that Owen and Abuela could get across, Dickie pulled a Spiderman, and suddenly leaped from the rock that we were on to the rock on the other side of the stream. I honestly do not think that I could have made that jump, and I don't have a bum knee like he does. It was truly one of the most remarkable things I have ever seen. My father-in-law is a total get the job done cowboy!

It was pretty late when we got home - the boy was out cold in his seat, yet another time when he was going to wake up in a place different from where he went to sleep. And we were all feeling the effects of our adventure. Beki was concerned about her parents, but in the end we all survived, with Dickie seeming to come out of it the best!

Sunday was an inside day because we had a tornado warning and a huge thunderstorm roll through. Notice how dark this next picture is:

Owen looking out the storm door at the rain.

Now look how light it is in this picture, taken 30 minutes later...

Owen is very good at helping, especially when it involves making cookies!

Playing "trains?" with Grandpa...I think was playing the roll of Godzilla!


Chris' Official World Cup Guide

This Friday marks the beginning of a worldwide phenomenon known as the World Cup. I know that there will be a lot of people in this country thinking, "who cares?" and the answer is, "You should!" Unlike the World Series, the World Cup actually involves the entire world. Countries have spent the last 4 years qualifying for the World Cup, and the last 32 teams remaining are meeting in South Africa to determine the World Champion. Even if you know nothing about Soccer, you can still enjoy the World Cup - and to help, here is a little guide that will make the next month more enjoyable for you!!

The Rules: There aren't a lot of rules in soccer, but it will bog things down if I try to explain it all here. Let's stick with the basics:

There are 11 players on each team.

Only the Goal Keeper can use his hands - he wears a different color jersey so you can keep him straight.

You score by getting the ball in the other teams goal - harder than you think.

There is a thing called offsides that will make it so your teams goals don't always count - don't worry, no one else understands it either!

If someone commits a bad foul, they are shown a yellow card.

If it is really bad, you get a red and are ejected. 2 yellows = a red.

That really is all you need to know about soccer to follow along. There are other things like corner kicks, free kicks, goal kicks, offside traps, etc... but knowing about those aren't critical.

Choosing Teams to Support: Notice I said teams. Some people go into a World Cup only rooting for 1 team. If that is the case then you only are interested every 3 days when your team plays, and after the first 3 round robin games, your team could be eliminated, and then you're bored! Instead, I say you select a few teams to root for, and some villainous teams to root against! Find a connection that you have with a country and go from there. To help you, here is my little breakdown of the countries:

Team USA: First things first, root for the Red, White and Blue. If you aren't going to root for us, start walking North or South until you leave the country, and stay out!

Then choose one from each of the following groups:

The Favorites:

Brazil - Brazil has won the World Cup more than any other team, and look like they will again. If you want to support a winner, follow Brazil.

Spain - Spain should be awesome, they have more talent than anyone else. Yet they always manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They will make a lot of sharp passing, and will be enjoyable to watch.

England - Probably overated, the English invented Soccer, but have only won the World Cup once, when they hosted it in 1966. They have lots of talent, but are always underachievers, maybe this year will be different. Their first game is against the USA, so that will be a big game.

Argentina - Argentina have, in my mind, the best player in the world, a young man named Lionel Messi. He could single handedly destroy other teams. (I know this because he did this to my favorite club team Arsenal this season.) Argentina's coach is a basket case (and a villain in England! More later.) so there will definitely be a buzz around their camp.

Portugal - Ridiculously talented, Portugal have earned a reputation for being pretty boy sissies who will fall on the ground if you breathe on them. Their star player Ronaldo could be better than Messi - this next month will tell us.

The "Not-quite-as-Favorite-as-the-Favorite"

Germany - I was tempted to put Germany in the favorite group, because out of 18 World Cups, the Germans have made the Semi-Finals 11 times, and the finals 7 times. No one is expecting anything from them, but they are tough to beat, and always seem to be hanging around.

Holland - The Netherlands have talent and a favorable group, so things are looking good for them. They have some of the best fans ever, and play very attractive soccer.

Italy - The Italians are the defending champions, but they are old. Traditionaly the Italians have had a defend first mentality, so their games aren't always exciting, but as old as they are, you still have to take them seriously.

France - While they qualified for the World Cup under sketchy circumstances (one of their players used his hand, but the ref didn't catch it), the French are another team loaded with talent who have grown older. They lost the last World Cup in penalties after their captain was ejected for head-butting another player.

The Dark Horse

Ivory Coast - The only African team that anyone has really given any chance of making some noise at this world cup, the Ivory Coast would have been in the previous group, until their star player, Didier Drogba, broke his arm last week. There is talk that he still might play, and even injured he could still be a forced to be reckoned with.

Chile - If you like a team with the mentality of "score more than your opponent," Chile is for you. It has been a few years since Chile has made it to the World Cup, so they will be anxious to make a mark.

South Africa - They are a weaker team, but they are the home team, and that can mean a lot in the World Cup. No host nation has failed to make it out of the first round, so here is to high hopes for South Africa.

Once you have them teams that you are rooting for, the next fun thing to do is to choose teams to root against. Here are my villains, in order of hatred, and why I root against them:

Mexico - Duh, it's Mexico!

Argentina - Living in England you learn to hate Argentina. If you want to know why, go to Wikipedia and search for "Hand of God."

France - I've been to France, and my feelings towards France have mellowed, but I will still be rooting against them in every game, except the one against Mexico...

Portugal - Remember that girly-man Ronaldo? I dislike him soooooo much that I want nothing more than for Portugal to lose all of their games.

South Korea - This goes back to the World Cup in 2002, when the USA played South Korea in the first round. This was during the time when South Korea was feeling like they didn't want the United States helping them keep the North Koreans out any more. I just don't like ungrateful people who owe their existence to our protection.

So there you go, choose some teams and follow the most important event in the world for the next month. In case you are wondering, these are the teams that I am rooting for:

USA, England, The Netherlands, and Chile.