Season’s Greetings from the Groscost Family -
We hope this letter finds you in the same place (financially)
as you were 4 years ago. The continual
economic skid calls for disciplined spending, so we completed our 6threfi in 10 years. All have been under
the guise of “the lowest interest rates you’ll ever see”, so totally
justifiable. This allowed us to free up
some of that secure capital to be used irresponsibly.
Our Travels:
Our vacations and weekend trips were fraught with family
chaos and emergencies despite the ill-advised spending. The summer fun started with a ferry ride across
the sound to the peninsula. Lounging on
the upper deck was cut short with an announcement from the Captain – “if you
have a Honda Pilot with dogs in your car, they miss you.” The annual trip to Chelan and teaching Ruth
to waterski included a jaunt to the local hospital. After a 90 minute evaluation from Chelan’s
finest physicians, it was determined that Ruth was actually uninjured and she
ended up back out on the water tube for the rest of the day.
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| Ruth and Mari in Chelan |
We
took the kids to their first rock concert – a local cover group Spike and the
Impalers. Now Ruth has “Dirty Deeds Done
Dirt Cheap” in her iPod favorites. We
unexpectedly ran into Si’s teacher there.
It was a fair trade: 2nd grader out ‘til 11 on a school night
vs. gradeschool teacher with backstage pass to a rock concert. No one felt the need to bring it up
again. The adults went to Vegas this
fall. Believe it or not, the main
instigator of the gambling trip was Tracey.
Of course she had ulterior motives – Rod Stewart was playing. We
purchased flight tickets to Spain recently.
Since it wasn’t authorized by us we won’t be going unless the person
that facilitated the transaction fesses up and lets us in on the details. Notice how Detroit never seems to be a credit
fraud destination?  |
| Ready, set, go |
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| Hiking up Dungeness Trail |
We’d planned a camping trip to the Oregon Coast but the rain drove
us east - to Sun Lakes Resort. In
typical eastern Washington fashion we fished, drank Rainier beer and let the
kids shoot bb guns with their friends.
No injuries were reported but a lot of fun was had. They had this “water balloon wars” area where
you launch water balloons at the other team.
The kids – the “adult kids” – had a great time. The real kids didn’t see the humor of being hit
in the face with a water balloon. Kids
these days. They did enjoy the fishing
on the dock and the kayaking though.
The Kids Are Growing Up!
The
age of innocence has officially ended in our family. The kids are not
doing what they're told, talking back, and flatulence is no longer accidental. Tyranny has expired – everything is up to
debate and conditions regardless of how loud we holler. The toughest part of parenting is figuring
out all the tie-breakers because, by gosh, our Gen Z kids are going to be treated
fairly.
Since we encourage
competitiveness and are keeping score out loud (as is encouraged in all the
good parenting manuals), Si is finally catching up with Ruth in hurting the
other's feelings. This gave us a peek
into Ruth’s well-camouflaged softer (and more dramatic) side. She has a flair for acting but most episodes
of pretending to be hurt aren’t long enough to outlast Si pretending to care. The ole spell-a-word-so-they-won’t-know-what-you’re-talking-about trick is no longer effective
on the kids, but now they use it on Copper and
Olive. “Can I give the dogs a
T-R-E-A-T?” The kids can spell all swear
words so inadvertent phonetic cursing has caught on. It’s still hard to get used to a 7 year old
girl calling her 9 year old brother “dude” or seeing her fist pump like Tiger
Woods (though it’s debatable whether the reason is
ever cause to justify it). Homework
is currently overwhelming. It’s probably
just first, second and third grade and will be much easier from now on. It’s no accident that most of it takes place
between 25 and 70 MPH, as we are a family on the move. Fortunately, thanks to the internet, parents
aren’t sought for their wisdom or as a knowledge resource any more – Uncle
Google and Aunt Wikipedia are doing all the heavy lifting from here on out.
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| Gator training mishap |
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| Veggie heaven |
We went from iPods to iPad this year. The kids time-share one they received for
their birthdays….. and it only encourages cooperation because there’s an app
for that. Harvesting boxtops continues to be a primary source of
entertainment, just to give you an idea of how interesting life can really be
here. It brings money to the schools,
but certainly doesn’t encourage good eating habits. You don’t find those things on fresh produce
or organic meat.
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Si is no stranger to getting his attitude on. He has bouts of ungratefulness which are
welcomed with parental care and consideration (what font do you use for
sarcasm?). Usually, happens when he’s
tired, so we’ve granted partial credit for being a human being. Si went to his first overnight camp this
summer – 7 days at the YMCA’s Camp Orkila on Orcas Island - and came back with the RESPECT Award, so one week must not be enough
time for an accurate assessment.
Si enjoyed
soccer, skiing, baseball and swimming this year. He tested out lacrosse and may give that a
whirl (=pain tolerance test) this year.
He had great soccer and baseball coaches this year and we feel very
fortunate to have such dedicated folks making
such a positive influence on our kids (since we don’t make the time for
it).
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| Ruth at a kid's triathlon |
The Homestead:
The brick driveway is officially finished. View the completed project at
divorceproject.com.
Tracey got a new car. The
first car she picked was met by Curt with “do you know that’s a luxury car?!” (probably just an error on Tracey’s part). We ended up with a Lexus but had to get a
2009 order to afford the appearance that we are luxury people. Tracey is happy and Curt is not unhappy that
Tracey is happy. Next challenge – sell a
Volvo wagon with a quarter million miles on it.
Tracey’s brother Jim moved to Thailand.
He has sent pictures and videos which make life there seem very easy. Will it seem disingenuous when we visit him
more now than when he was a few zip codes away?
Dogs
drew the short straw on timing. Before
or after kids is when pets get spoiled.
Though they have it good, they are subject to actual training. Fortunately for them, we lack the time and
discipline for the optional enforcement part.
We have
been able to uphold No Dogs in the Kitchen though (see blue line in pictures). Copper
somewhat parallels the Wikipedia description of his name... “high electrical conductivity”
running through the house... “tensile
strength” when he pounces on Olive... “corrosion resistance” explains his impeccable coat, although his
slobber may well be... “creep resistance” is clear in his training (or lack of). He’s a joy for the family but needs time to
adjust to guests – so high maintenance but duty bound and protective. He’s three now, so we probably have another
eight years of this. Olive (if her coat
was brown) could not be any more like the dog in The Grinch That Stole
Christmas. Typical lab(ish) – apologizes
for everything and wags her tail even when she’s barfing. Both are great family pets.
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| Barely crossing the line |
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| Rule follower |
The Groscosts -
Curt, Tracey, Si, Ruthie, Olive and Copper
