The Curtis Clan - Fall 2015
Fall Equinox to Winter Solstice
Fall started with Randy and Bethany celebrating their 14th Anniversary and switching things up a bit by having sushi instead of the regular choice of pizza. It was also the day we sent off Cate to go with the other Webster Groves 6th graders from Team Atlas to Camp Wyman for the week (3 nights). Camp Wyman is a long tradition of the WG School District, going well past 41 years earlier when Randy went. As an experienced and enthusiastic camper, Cate had a terrific time and would gladly have stayed longer.
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Cate at Camp Wyman.
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At the end of September, Bethany and her friends Elisabeth and Maria took an extended weekend trip (Thursday to Monday) to the Mayan Riveria outside Cancun, Mexico. They stayed at the Iberostar Paraiso Maya Hotel & Resort, an all inclusive resort, including alcohol, so hanging out and doing a lot of nothing on the beach with a parade of coatis and umbrella drinks suited them just fine. They made friends with the bartender, who kept them in White Russians, The Rainbow and his specialty drink: Mama Is Going to Jail, an original creation, and a fine sipping beverage. A terrific trip with terrific friends.
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Enjoying themselves at the Iberostar Paraiso Maya Hotel & Resort
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Meanwhile back in WG, Randy shepherded the girls around, including a free movie (1985 The Goonies) courtesy of IKEA at the Skyview Drive-in in Bellville, IL. Fortunately nothing bad happening when he took the Google Maps suggested route through Alorton and East St, Louis back home. Not the best decision with a car load of pre-teen girls. He also introduced the girls to the joys of watching episodes of MASH, which is clearly more sexist then he recalled when he was a teenager watching them in reruns.
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With IKEA swar at the Drive In for Goonies
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Fall Camping Trip – Pulltite
The next weekend was our annual pilgrimage to sleep out in nature for a few nights at Pulltite campground on the Current River. Randy took off a day early, Thursday, so that he could get everything set up without enlisting help from the girls. Our cache of firewood at home had became home to a colony of sweat bees preventing its use but he found a road side stand just outside of Salem, where he got twenty ~4-5 inch diameter hard wood logs for $10 (quipping I don’t think I would have split the wood myself for that much). On Friday, he joined Charlie, Joann and a few others in kayaking the Current River from Pulltite to Round Spring. Bethany and the girls arrived after dusk but were in a good mood not having to set anything up. On Saturday, we floated from Akers’s Ferry back to Pulltite with Jane in a kayak and Randy and Cate in a rented canoe, having decided last year it wasn’t worth the $10 difference in price between canoe rental and canoe portage fee, so William Henry Harrison (i.e. Old Tippy Canoe) stayed stored in the rafters of the garage. There was the regular program of hollow log fires courtesy of Bill and Carol Asman but the real treat was the return of the Burk family, after a many years absence as Dan, Kathleen and Cali came down too. One of our favorite weekends of the year.
| The Curti at the Pulltite sign |
Group Photo on Sunday |
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| Randy and Bethany |
Bethany and Elisabeth |
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| Cate tasting her veggie chili |
Uncle Charlie and Jane |
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In mid-October, Cate caught a garter snake in the yard and hanging onto it for a couple hours before letting him go. Gussie was fascinated with it.
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Cate holding a snake for Gussie to smell
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Camp Fiddlecreek
That weekend, Randy help chaperoned Jane’s Girl Scout troop of ten girls to Camp Fiddlecreek outside Grey Summit. Although it was a beautiful fall weekend with the foliage near its peak color, the campground was largely empty with the WGSD 7th grade troop the only one making use of the permanent canvas tents nestled in the woods (probably a function of the chilly upper thirties degree temperatures at night). The troop stayed at the Pleasant Valley / Happy Acres camp site and as the only male, Randy got to have his own tent at the far end of the camp, so his snoring wasn’t an issue. Although a bit of an interloper to the girl power weekend, Randy proved useful in waking up first, and showing the girls who were up first how to make a fire and light the propane grill in order to boil water for hot chocolate and coffee. Saturday was essentially an unscheduled day of hanging out around the campfire with lots of time for non-structured activities that the girls joined or skipped as the mood hit them like: Gaga-ball or hikes. Meals were fairly planned out with lots of yummy food, even if it took some effort to make. Randy proved a hit with leading the troop in “new” (to them) bonfire songs from his camping days, in particular the Three Jolly Fisherman with the girls gleefully singing the refrain about Amster-DAM at the top of their lungs the gusto of youth getting to use forbidden words for a legitimate reason. Fortunately, they choice to skip that song at the campfire with the group bonfire with the 2nd grade troops (who slept in the heated indoor group cabins). A good weekend with a great group of kids.
| Jane, Ada and Bianca inside thier canvas tent |
Jane and Ada around the campfire |
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| Morining around the campfire |
Troop 1000 pyramid |
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Fall saw us continue the semi-regular 2015 tradition of Sage Townie Brunch, allowing the in-town family to gather even though the out of town siblings weren’t visiting (and simultaneously upping the quality of the cuisine too).
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October Townie Brunch
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On Friday, 30 October, the girls had a teacher’s meeting day off from school, Randy took a vacation day and the family finally made their first pilgrimage to the St. Louis IKEA, which opened a month earlier (We’ve visited IKEAS in multiple other states over the years). It was crowded and we didn’t really need anything but did get some sconce reading lights for the bedroom and enjoyed the Loganberry drinks and $1 yogurt cones afterwards.
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Curti at the STL Ikea
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Halloween
Halloween came on Saturday and the girls had reached the point where they no longer wanted to just go trick or treating with their sibling but rather with their friends from school, which is a social mile-stone of growing up. We agreed to host sleepovers for both groups. Jane decided to go as Captain America, buying a t-shirt and making a shield out of poster board with battery powered LEDs from IKEA and a red, white and blue tutu. Her new friend Krysten joined her as Batman. Meanwhile, Cate and her cronies chose characters from Alice in Wonderland. Cate was Alice, and was joined by Emma (White Rabbit), Constance (Mad Hatter John Depp version) and Brianna Buckman (Red Queen).
Jane’s Joke was the rather uninspired: What did the Spanish farmer say to the chicken? Ole!
Cate’s Joke was: How is a raven like a writing desk? Because the notes they are noted for are not musical notes.
The riddle came from the book and wasn’t meant to have a responce but fans of the story have developed a number of answers over the years, with this being the best, even if it was kind of nerdy and most people didn’t get it, which pleased her (and her Dad), to no end.
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Jane and Cate ready for Trick or Treating
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It was a rainy day, but the rain stopped (mostly) before dusk and the start of trick or treating. Randy chaperoned the gaggle of girls but was essentially obsolete though he did provide useful advice as needed such as politely ditching a clinging male classmate or skipping the houses on Clark Street with the 5 minute queues for candy. The 500-600 blocks of Clark Street, one street away and parallel to Tuxedo, was locally known as the BEST decorated and most enthusiastic atmosphere for kids in the area. This was a first time visit for the Curtis girls, who didn’t have the energy for going that far in the past. The crowds, mostly imports from far beyond the Tuxedo Park neighborhood, crowded the street but the party atmosphere was not conducive to the Seinfeld Halloween inspired mantra of Get Candy, Get Candy, Get Candy!. The girls dumped their bags at 8:30 at our house but the 6th graders got a second wind and went back out to Greely and Fairview until 9:15, finding out that many homes were very generous about the amount they gave out by that point in the evening to groups of cute girls in costumes that they put some effort into (as opposed to the teenagers sans costume and jokes, that typically inspired shutting off the porch lights for most people at that time of night). Randy’s favorite house was the Lisses up the street proffering “John Basement Brews” home brew treat to the parents. He had to swing back around and bring back one for Bethany (as well as a second one for himself).
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The Trick or Treat group
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Smashing pumpkins
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Jane smashing a pumpkin
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The next day, we bought some pumpkins for a dollar from a stand near Cate’s field hockey game and took them back home to drop out the window to the driveway below. In the name of science, Cate dropped a banana at the same time to reenact Galileo’s Tower of Pisa gravity experiment that objects fall at the same rate.
| For science, Cate dropping a banana & pumpkin |
Reneacting Galileo’s Tower of Pisa gravity experiment |
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The next week Jane’s participated in the Hixson Orchestra concert with her cello.
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Jane with her cello
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After the failed Webster Groves School District tax levy and bond issue, Randy decided it was time to volunteer a bit more and see if he could put his talents to use for the District. He submitted a resume and joined the newly expanded WGSD BAC (Building Advisory Committee). It’s too soon to see how well he fits in after a single meeting.
On 18 November, the Sage tribe expanded by one as Bethany’s sister Rosemary gave birth to Lucy Margret Shaw. Bethany took Jane and Cate to visit that night and celebrate the evening up of the cousin boy/girl count to 6 and 6 for an even dozen cousin/grandchild from the five Sage siblings.
| Cate welcoming her new cousin |
Jane craddling Lucy Shaw |
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Thanksgiving
On T-day eve, Bethany organized an outing to see Brooklyn and was probably responsible for about half the audience being at the Hi-Pointe with her email invites. The next day, we took lasagna dinner to Nancy at Manor Grove. Friday was the annual Sage-giving gathering at Amy and Alvan’s. The Curti provided a fried turkey courtesy of Randy and Van third year of afternoon of pre-party cooking, BSing and barley popping. It was a terrific family feast with most of the Sage family able to attend. After Amy and Alvan’s month long road trip to Vancouver and cruise to Alaska, Alvan developed a slide show documenting their adventure which he shared with the tribe after dinner. Recalling an earlier years hour+ slide show of their trip through the Panama Canal, his brother Barry suggested turning the presentation into a game, where whenever Alvan said the magic words: glacier, Erin, cruise among, the participants would take a drink (other words were added during the show). Most people gave up on the game before the return cruise trip pictures but at least one person enthusiastically saw it through to the end of the 1 ½ hour presentation. With family vacation pictures, less if more (yes I’m aware of the hypocrisy of this statement in a wordy family blog but feel free to stop reading at any time or turn it into a game of your own invention). Saturday night was the annual Notre Dame game with Sage pizza and Sunday morning sported a pleasant brunch, ending one of the best Sage-givings in memory.
California - Working Vacation
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Picking up a treat to great Bethany with at LAX (it's better than flowers right?)
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The following day, Bethany joined Randy on a week and a half research trip to California leaving Jane and Cate to stay with Amy and Alvan. The first week they stayed at the Ventura Marriott. Bethany worked in the hotel room with an ocean view and was able to reward herself with a walk along the beach when she completed editing a paper or needed to grab a bite to eat. Randy researched at the Seabee Museum, along with colleague Kirk James, a good family friend, who happily joined us for dinner, drinks and conversation most evenings during the week.
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Ventura Beach sunset
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On Saturday, we drove the Pacific Coast Highway / Highway 1, to the Monterey Peninsula, having taken the PCH from LAX through Santa Monica and Malibu to Ventura on Monday night (it loses a lot in the dark). We got an early start so that we could visit Hearst Castle at San Simeon. It was an uncrowded day and we ended up spending 4hours touring the home. The PCH from San Luis Obispo to Carmel is one of the greatest drives in US (and the world?) and always a treat (at least according to Randy; Bethany was less enthused riding shotgun). It was also fun to recognize the private residence that was the location of Jake and Andrea weddings in between Eslan and Big Sur while on route. We reached Pacific Grove at dusk, staying with Randy’s dad Ron and partner Gaye in Pacific Grove for the evening and the following day. It was a splendid visit with family, where distance prevents more regular visits.
| At Hearst Castle |
Possible Holiday greeting card pose? |
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Why another picture? Because I like my smile in this one
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On Sunday evening they drove up to San Francisco Bay, staying at the Millbrae Fairfield Inn near the National Archives in San Bruno (south of San Francisco). Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning were work days but in the evening, Randy and Bethany drove into town and spent the evenings with Jake and Andrea in the Mission District. A fun work trip but it was nice to return home to our girls and very happy dogs. It is priceless to have parents/in-laws to watch and shepherd your kids for long periods of time on occasion (Much Thanks and love Amy and Alvan).
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RnB in San Francisco with Jake and Andrea (who don't like to be posted on the web)
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Christmastime is Near
That Saturday, picked out our Christmas tree, getting it for half price from Lowe’s as they sought to clear out the limited remaining quantities. Given the mid-December time frame, there wasn’t much choice left and we end up with a very FAT tree, which was more round than triangular. Still we loved our Douglas Fir with the trimmings looked just fine but more like a Christmas shrubbery than a tree. The 70 degree day allowed for comfortable outdoor lighting as we upgraded our lights to LED outlining the house roofline.
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Randy and Jane with our Christmas Shrub
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As the holidays and the end of the first semester of school approached, we attended Jane’s first A Capella concert at Hixson. It was Acca-Awesome!
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Hixsontonics (Jane is 2nd row, 2nd from right)
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Randy, Cate and Lucy with the dogs
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As is the norm in the Curtis household, we continued our indoctrination of the kids into the joys of film, typically centered on visits to the Hi-Pointe. For the October Classic Movie we saw the cheesy thriller House on Haunted Hill including the fun Q&A with Vincent Price’s daughter. On $5 Wednesday Nights, Randy and the girls saw The Martian and the whole gang enjoyed watching Tom Hanks in Steven Spielberg’s Bride of Spies at the Back Lot. In November, the Classic Series offered James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan in the Shop Around the Corner a film that the girls enjoyed quite a bit on the big screen but probably wouldn’t liked it so much if we had watched it at home. That night we watched the Nora Ephron remake with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, You’ve Got Mail, providing a clear juxtaposition of the changes in filmatic storytelling. November sported a second classic with PEO somewhat incongruently sponsoring How to Marry a Millionaire as a fundraiser for college scholarships for girls. In December, we saw White Christmas at its annual packed house screening at the Hi Pointe. On DVD, the girls rewatched Adams Family and Addams Family Values (one of the few cases of the sequel being better than the original). We also watched Mockingjay Part 1 prior to seeing Part 2 on the big screen when it came out.
| The Martian at the Hi Pointe |
At Hi Pointe for White Christmas |
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Cate and Jane at the Rep for Peter and the Starcatchers
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Fall officially ended the following Monday, with Jane hosting a party for her group of 7th grade friends (9 girls total) with a gift exchange and sleep over. There was very little effort on the parent’s part and they were generally well mannered and behaved (we made them all turn in their phones at 10 circumventing selfie mischief). It’s interesting to note that the entire group represented friends she made this year in school, although she had met some of them in various activities previously (e.g. YMCA day camp, strings class). Similarly, Cate attended a party the previous night with an entirely new group of kids other than friends from the WGCS. After half a decade of knowing the same group of kids and parents from the small nest of the WGCS with a maximum class size of 22, it was a bit unsettling to realize that probably won’t be the case in the future, as least not to the same extent.