Keeping Up With The Kolbeck's: 2009

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

The Long Buh-Bye

WOW, it's over a year later that I'm looking at this incomplete post about our roadtrip to Louisiana. Since then, much has happened so I will leave this blog as-is and try to fill in some gaps from the last year!

This is much overdue and I tried to start documenting the entire trip based on my notes (yes, I seriously took notes while we were driving!) Since it's five months later, I'm not going to bore you with the details but will leave you the story that I started and some of the more entertaining pictures from our Easter trip to Louisiana...

I doubt that I can do our trip justice but I will rack my brain, scrutinize my notes, and browse through the pictures to try and bring you a decent account of the Bassett Family road trip we like to refer to as "The Long Buh-Bye".

We left Vista at 4:44am on Wednesday, April 8th with the Explorer filled to the brim with luggage, books, DVDs, games, pillows, blankets, people, and of course the dog. Camille started "funny time" right off the bat when she decided she'd put her "night goggles" on as soon as we got in the car. Now I've never heard of eye covers referred to this way, but it seems like a good enough name...

As you will find out, I was very diligent about my notes for the first few hours of the trip but soon realized that it was all the same...long straight highways, no real scenery, a potty stop every couple hours, and three meals a day.

Our first stop was three hours later in Yuma, Arizona. This stop marks Molly's first taste of McDonald's breakfast. I believe the term that was used for her Egg McMuffin was "A Feast for the Beast". I've never seen anyone or anything chow down so fast. From that moment on it was nothing but unhealthy yet delicious food for all of us.

Around 11am we made a pit stop somewhere near Tucson. At 1:40pm we stopped somewhere in New Mexico. This time I got to sit shotgun while Mom and Camille watched Twilight in the back. (Our neighbors were kind enough to loan us their portable DVD player which has two screens that attach to the back of the seats. Needless to say, this gadget was a lifesaver!) This is where the trip started to get interesting. I'd never been to New Mexico and found myself wondering why anyone would want to live there. No offense to anyone who reads this; small, hot, dusty, windy towns in the middle of nowhere are not my cup of tea. There happened to be a sign at this particular rest stop so we took this as a photo opp...

We stopped in El Paso, Texas for gas and snacks around 5pm. This was our first mistake. In case you don't know...El Paso is less than 1.5 miles from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. If this still doesn't ring a bell, go ahead and read all about the recent serial killings in the area: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/ciudad_juarez/

or the drug wars that have been crossing the border:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-juarez-troops27-2009feb27,0,2667623.story

Actually, to make sure you understand just how safe we were in El Paso, go ahead and visit this link. It's a Google search for Ciudad Juarez in which not one headline doesn't mention drugs, crime, war, or death!

http://news.google.com/news?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS274&q=ciudad+juarez+mexico&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=P_9KSsWrH4PmM_jkncMJ&sa=X&oi=news_group&ct=title&resnum=829645537

Ok, now that the scene has been set, you probably won't find it too shocking that Dad witnessed a drug deal while standing in the parking lot of the gas station. Us three girls just happened to be in the bathroom but we were ordered to get in the car immediately upon our return. The funny part was that there was a highway patrol car parked at the station when we went into the bathroom and apparently the dealers were circling the area waiting for the patrol to car to leave. How obvious can you be?!?

Thursday, April 2, 2009

The Repressed Accomplishment

In a family of multiple student-athletes, there is a point where athletics become as natural and obligatory as education. We play tee-ball at 5, fast pitch at 10, and at 15, watch as most find alternative extra-curricular activities. What's left is a small percentage of folks who have made a commitment to see the sport through. We call them intercollegiate student-athletes.

After playing softball my entire life, competing in college was the next step to take. Being recruited was exciting...being awarded an athletic scholarship was huge...my final four years were incredible. Now, at 25, I find that there are times when I downplay the opportunity I had to participate in an NCAA sport. I forget the hard work, the smiles and tears, the determination and perserverance that got me to that point in the first place. I take for granted the fact that those efforts play an integral part of who I am today.

In a family of multiple student-athletes, it's easy to forget that very few people can claim that they are or were an intercollegiate student-athlete. It's as if it becomes an assumed part of life. Thinking back over the three years that I've been in the workforce and the hundreds of times I've had to introduce myself and include a unique fact, the amount of times that I've met a fellow student-athlete as a result is ONE. For those of us who have been surrounded by student-athletes for years, it is a normal part of life; but to others who have taken different paths, it is an impressive acheivement.

My point is that an experience as a collegiate athlete is an honor easily lost in the trials and tribulations of life and an accomplishment that will be a significant part of life forever. Sometimes I need a reminder. When I watch Kylie play and see where I've been, I am reminded. When I watch Camille play and see where she's going, I am reminded. I'm proud of myself and proud of my sisters for all we've achieved. When we went to watch Brandon Relf play baseball against San Diego State, I was reminded. Despite the lack of contact I've had with Brandon, I was excited and proud to see him out there.

Here are some pictures from our day at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Yes, I resembled the paparazzi. :)

I hope that we never forget how lucky we are and always take advantage of the opportunities presented to us...

Saturday, March 28, 2009

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

I always look forward to our family birthday gatherings. Not just to celebrate another year of life, but to enjoy the company of those I love and to be reminded that the best things in life are free. I know most who read this were present for the March Birthday Celebration but you probably have not seen the complete photo library from the weekend so here it is...

Molly's hard at work...and so was I obviously.

Camille and I at the Jonas Brothers 3D Concert Experience.

Going to the Dog Park!

Camille on 3rd base.

Goo Orange!!

Kisses for Bamie.

Molly loves softball.

Ben and his big boy bike.

Birthday Girl #1.

Birthday Girl #2.

Been - Jammin.

Bamie.

Eric.

The Kids.

The Big Blue Box.

Presents!

Gotcha.

Grams and Poppy.

Caught!

Wii!!

Friday, March 27, 2009

What Happened in Vegas...

What better way to celebrate a quarter century of life than spending a weekend in Vegas with a dozen of my closest friends!

It had been over a year since we'd spent taken a trip out there so we decided to take the opportunity and use my birthday as an excuse to go.

Samantha was lucky enough to get us three FREE nights at the Wyndham Grand Desert Vacation Resort (no thanks to the fact that her dad personally knows Mr. Steve Wynn himself).

The hotel was a block or so off the strip but had two full bedrooms and two full bathrooms as well as a pullout couch, a kitchen and a dining area. It was perfect. Because we had such a big group making the trek out to the desert, we all arrived at different times. Samantha, Margo and I flew in on Thursday evening and met Jacene, who was already there for work. We checked into the hotel, had dinner, made the compulsory stop at Fat Tuesday (our favorite place to get blended beverages) and proceeded to sit at the BlackJack tables at the New York, New York for at least three hours.

This was the night that I won $120! Considering gambling never ends well for me or anyone else, I was ecstatic! I finally decided to walk away ahead of the game and celebrate with the others. Tara, Rob and Casie had arrived while I was busy playing and, to nobody's surprise, Rob knew of a suspect little dive where we could get a hot dog and a beer for $2.50. Obviously, that was our next stop. Suddenly our "relaxing" first evening in town became a long, late night.

Once we got up and about on Friday morning, a few of us went to brunch at The Cheesecake Factory in Caesar's Palace.

Every time I walk through Caesar's I am reminded of the trip Kylie and I took to Vegas with Grams and Poppy when we were little. We stayed at the MGM Grand but made a special trip to Caesar's to get Poppy the Caesar's cologne from one of the kiosks in the middle of the indoor mall. Apparently it was his favorite. I don't think Grams and Pops have been to Vegas in quite some time so I wonder what type of cologne Poppy's wearing these days...

Lauren, Sean, and Ashley arrived on Friday. It was Sean's birthday as well so we got dressed up for our joint birthday dinner at PF Chang's. After dinner we headed to Jet, which is a nightclub at the Mirage.

The Birthday Kids

Lauren and I after dinner

The Girls outside of Jet

(There was a serious color scheme going on!)

Samantha and I at Jet

Me, Ashley, Sam, Margo, Casie

Tara, Me, Casie

On Saturday morning we ate at the Terrace Pointe Cafe in the Wynn hotel to help soak up the night before and kill some time before Tiffany and Scottie arrived. (They were troopers and flew in for about 24 hours! Actually it was 23 hours with the time change...Scottie was not happy when he realized that he'd lost an hour.)

A small group of us gambling junkies then rented a family mini-van and drove to Oldtown Las Vegas to spend the day gambling for cheap. This is the point where I lost everything I won plus some. I guess I should have known that would happen because nobody leaves Vegas with more money than they start with, but I was still pretty angry. Once everyone had lost their fair share we picked up pizza and had dinner as a little (or should I say BIG) family in our hotel room.

For our last night in town we were headed to The Bank. Unlike most banks, this bank was a money eater, but it was a great club located in the Bellagio. We hopped in a limo and were on our way...

Happy Birthday to Me!

Me, Casie, Tiff and Tara in the limo