We Evacuated, But we're all ok

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Monday, Oct. 22
Our house is just above the green arrow on Bishorn. The fire got to Brentwood and almost Sandlewood. The large building and field is the Middle School were the Command Post was set. From our window at 6:05 in the morning, we could see flames and massive smoke as 20-30 mph winds came straight at us. Our power was out and it was still very dark so the orange glow was impressive. We were able to get all important papers and pictures into the Suburban as well as a few non-essentials. We got a call for mandatory evacuation from the Sheriff. Got the kids up for a fire drill, we called as many friends on the mounatain as we could remember numbers because with the power out many had not heard anything. We were some of the first ones down the hill and didn't wait in traffic at all. We re-grouped at Chick-fil-a in Redlands, had breakfast and made plans. We are now safely with family in Glendora. We know of at least two friends who have already lost their houses and fear for the worst for another. So far ours has been spared and it looks like the worst has passed us, but for others it's just beginning.

Mammoth Mountain!

That's Katie-11, Anna-5, Keegan-7, and Me. Guess which kid isn't a Coleman? Here we are in the Gondola up to the Summit of Mammoth Mountain. I will be biking down and the others will be taking the gondola halfway down and hiking the rest of the way.

At the summit (Dave's Run) with my bike that almost cost less money than the lift pass. It was an awesome ride down and only two times during the desent did I actually fear for my life. But I lived to blog another day.
Keegan and Katie wondering where I was going.

Our kids with three of the four Buecheler girls (the other Buecheler is a teenager and might have been off brooding) and the Buecheler Dad with his special pal. Randy never leaves home without Pookie.

Randy, me, and Nancy before a big ride. She did pretty well for a girl.

Next up our day trip to Devil's Postpile and Rainbow Falls.

It's Not My Fault

Actually, it's probably not any one's fault. Labeled "The Mammoth Earthquake Fault" most believe that it's actually a Fissure that resulted from a mammoth (pun intended) earthquake several years ago. It was still fun to explore.





















This is June Lake, and the Little Mermaid is Katie. I had no idea that the water would be so clear. The water was a little chilly, but that didn't stop the kids from swimming.




















That's Laura in her bright yellow Perception Antigua kayak




















This is where Laura and Katie dropped off me and my bike. They took the safe gondola halfway down the mountain as I plummeted the entire way down, and lived to blog.






















Here's Keegan's mountain top experience.

The Coleman Family Vacation 2007 - Day 1 - Randsburg

One of the reasons we bought this climate warming 8 passenger Family Truckster 1500 was that it would be a great vacation vehicle. The Suburban did not let us down. With three rows of seats and plenty of storage, each kid was able to rest comfortably in his/her own area code, each equipped with enough ubiquitous cupholders for morning and afternoon juice boxes, while the parents did not hear the three dreaded words of a family intrastate vacation..."He's touching me!"

The first stop of our week long journey was the often over looked town of Randsburg, CA. If I remember correctly, Randsburg was a mining town back in it's heyday, and the fact that 'heyday' is singular seems to fit here. I can't remember what they mined around here, but my educated guess would be rust. Our vacation buddies on this trip were the, equally as ubiquitous as the cupholders, Buechelers. While I'm not sure exactly how many there are of them, there are a lot, and they are mostly little screaming girls. One of them is our God Daughter, Emmy. Walking through the town that sidewalks forgot it's easy to imagine just how miserable it might have been to live there long ago, but...ah, it's a nice place to visit, and now I can check Randsburg off of my "Why in the world did I visit this place list."

Next, on to Mammoth!

Disney World 2009!

I know what you're thinking, "Why so long between blogs?" Well, it could be that I kindof forgot my password then put it off too long, or it could be that I've been busy planning our 2009 WDW vacation! (I prefer option B)

Yup, we are planning on returning to the World that Walt built during the Summer of 2009, which means we have just 18 months before we have to put in our dinner reservations!

We have recruited at least one other family to join us, and we're actively trying to enlist more. I have many ideas for our trip, but I'm hoping that Bear Grylls films his Man vs Wild show there so I can get more survival ideas... "Oh look at the size of that mouse! A mouse that size can snap a man's leg in two, I'd better steer clear of it but the only way out is across this monorail track, but the monorails that traverse these tracks are huge and can easily snap a man's leg in two. As I wait for a good opportunity to pass I notice some popcorn that has been discarded, it won't be as tasty, but I need the energy..."

We are planning on staying on site again, and while I like the Magical Express, I'd like to rent a car so I can explore just outside the World.

I missed the chocolate cake and large glass of milk that I had in 2002 in Celebration. Celebration is the Disney inspired town just outside of WDW. It's a real live town with schools, residents, mosquitoes and everything. Many snobbish writers negatively portray Celebration as a fake town. They seem to think that a town has to be built slowly over generations to be "real." They think that you give up way too much freedom when you live in a "town" with so many CCRs, but I think that we are in a time when I like having a choice to live in a town that will not permit an "Adult Bookstore" to open downtown. What price freedom? The new master designed housing divisions are designed to be more family friendly. Instead of having large yards that people turn into fortifications to stay away from the outside world, they build houses with small yards, but large common areas and parks. They are built with pedestrians in mind, not the automobile. Just think about how many more people you would meet if you walked more places. They actually build walking destinations. The more people who know you, the less anonymous you become. Anonymous people don't feel accountable for their actions. What made Mayberry idealic was the fact that everyone knew everyone's kids. If Opie was throwing rocks at a broken window across town, someone would see him, call his parent and make him acountable for his actions. If you don't know the kids in your neighborhood how will they be accountable for their actions?

Anyway, I like to check the progress of these neotraditional towns and neighborhoods to see the quality of life they breed, so, ah, that's why I need to rent a car. (If you'd like to read more, check out "Suburban Nation.")

Christmas Letter 2006

If you judge a family by the friends they have, then we are a truly blessed family. Thank you for being our friends.

In this age of spin, it is now more important than ever to remember the true meaning of Christmas was that Jesus was born to save us from our sins. Keep fighting evil when you see it and get to know your neighbors.

Below is the family update. (Keegan is last only because I couldn't change the order after I posted.)

Katie had a great year in 2006. We were most proud of her when she decided to donate 10 inches of her hair to a program called "Locks of Love" for kids who have lost hair through medical conditions. She was also selected as a gifted student for the GATE program and through hard work, made the honor roll. She played AYSO soccer again and even had a game in which she scored two goals! She is quite the snow bunny and we have to drag her off of the ski slopes. She enjoys singing in the Christmas Choir and acting in plays.

Laura keeps busy with part-time accounting work, volunteering at the church and the pre-school, playing soccer at least twice a week (seems like 4 times that), assistant coaching the kids' soccer teams, and keeping the family healthy (we didn't miss a day of school nor work this year!) She now has her own kayak and we even went out on the lake on Christmas day, with snow and every thing! Our favorite time, however, is our full moon trips on Lake Arrowhead (Who can live anywhere else!) She skis regularly during the season up here and we took a week to visit Mammoth!

I am the recreation supervisor for the City of Victorville in charge of sports and the City's Recreation Brochure. It's a great job. I manage about 200 softball teams and 100 soccer teams each year and our Rec Brochure has a publication of 37,000. This was my first year coaching t-ball with Keegan, and it was a blast. I am a church "elder" which means I assist with Communion once a month and cook scrambled eggs for the church breakfasts (aka the Eggman). I am entering the 22nd year of my strat-o-matic baseball league which started when I was in college. (It took me slightly less than that to finish my degree!)

Keegan played his first season of t-ball and dad was his coach. With a little encouragement, he was a left-handed hitter and sprayed the ball to all fields. The hi-light of the season came when he hit a homerun with runners on first and second - and scored ahead of the two runners! (pictured above) Now that's coaching! He 'graduated' from pre-school to kindergarten where he is a favorite. He started skiing this year and is a blur down the mountain. Apparently turning is for sissies! He was tall enough, with help from some extra thick "socks" to ride Indiana Jones at Disneyland for the first time! However, as perhaps a punishment to the 'enhancement' of his parents, the ride broke down in the gloomy Spear Room for about 15 minutes. For our trouble, cast member offered us a second ride with exiting the vehicle, which Keegan declined! He played soccer again and sang in the Christmas Choir.

First Snow!

We got our first snow of the season, and just in time, since I hadn't sent out our Christmas cards yet! 

Indiana Jones, Finally!

With a little help from some well placed gloves, Keegan was finally tall enough to ride Indiana Jones! That was the good news. The bad news was that it broke down in the dark spear room for about 15 minutes, when they finally got it going again he was not interested in riding it over, even though they offered us a chance to stay in the vehicle for a second lap! Hopefully he won't be spooked. We were supposed to go to DL again on Dec. 14, but I found out that I have to have an emergency oral surgery instead! Lucky me.

I'm not really nervous about the actual procedure, but the recovery. They have to put me to sleep. The last time I was put to sleep was when I was about 18 for wisdom teeth removal. I remember seeing double for a couple hours afterwards and being very grumpy. The doctor told me to have scrambled eggs and pancakes when I got home. When I sat down at the table to eat, still seeing double, my mom had made pancakes, eggs and bacon. She cut them up for me and I was mad that there was bacon when the doctor just said eggs and pancakes. I closed one eye, picked and ate only the eggs and pancakes, leaving the chopped bacon untouched. I can't wait to get home this time and start screaming at people! 

Lightning McQueen

We finally got to meet Lightning and Mater! After the "Doodle Bugs" mishap at MGM it was great to "meet" them. Lightning was reving his engine the whole time. He also had a little camera in the back and a special magic button... 

The magic button!

So what does this button do? We may never know...

What I am reading...

I actually have a few books open right now, depends on my mood.

On my pda, I am reading Luke, the third book of the New Testament, the big put down in Biblical times had to be "you brood of vipers!" Perhaps I will study Bible putdowns someday. I will be a hit at all parties!

(TMI Alert) In my throneroom I have "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" It's about our global economy. I haven't got to the Lexus part yet, but in Roman times, the olive tree was king.

Bedside, I have struggled to read "Great Good Places" It's horribly long-winded, but I feel obligated to read it...I don't know why. It's about how much better your life is when you have a third place in which to gather. This was mentioned in a book I enjoyed "Suburban Nation" but has failed to live up to the hype... so far.

On deck is:
"More Guns Less Crime" How having guns available to us lessens crime.
"Back to Mayberry" How the morals of Mayberry are important.
"Bowling Alone" Robert Putnam's book about developing social capital.
"The Disney Way" Just how they do it.
"Fast Food Nation" I haven't seen it in a while, but it should still be there. It should turn me against fast food forever, I'll start reading it AFTER they stop serving McRibs again...

I have purchased a few more books that I cannot recall right now, but they sounded good at the time.

I actually would like to re-read these books because I like them and want to absorb more:

The Tipping Point
Freakonomics
Suburban Nation
Dennison Iowa
Do Fish Drink Water?

First Time!

Katie is now tall enough to ride autopia by herself! This is something that I remember vividly as a kid. We would go to Disneyland once, maybe twice each year. I can remember the first two years running up to the measuring post only to find out that I wasn't tall enough yet, but the year I was finally able to ride! Wow that was great! One of the things I remember most when I was a kid, was that the smell of exhuast fumes reminded me of Disneyland! Autopia was one source and the busses that used to park close to the entrance of the old parking lot was the other. (where California Adventure is now) We would always walk by them to go to the gate. So I knew we were close when I could smell the fumes! Kind of Pavlovian. I wonder if they will start adding "Cars" characters to Autopia? Perhaps it will happen at WDW first since DL's Autopia had a major upgrade a few years ago with the Chevron sponsorship. By the way major contruction is happing at the submarine lagoon. It's totally drained and shielded from view. I wonder if the Monorails are not operating just to hide the work going on? 

Last Game for Keegan

Saturday was the last game for the Huskies and Keegan scored his first goal of the season! 

Year of a Million Dreams

We were winners again! This time the Dream Squad surprised us with special Year of a Million Dreams Mouse Ears! 

Jedi Training Academy

Darth Vader arrives to taunt the young Jedi 

Disneyland Halloween

Jack-o-lanterns were everywhere! 

Disneyland Halloween

Mike Wazowski! 

Disney Halloween

 

Disneyland Halloween

Love the details 

The Real Great Pumpkin?

The new Halloween display on Main Street