Memorable Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend 2010 will go down as one of the most relaxing weekends of my life. We went absolutely NOWHERE!!! It was brilliant.


We woke up every morning without an alarm. Had a relaxing breakfast, read the paper, put on some grungy clothes and worked out in the yard. Worked hard - filled up four garbage cans and got my much neglected garden back in shape.


While we were gardening, we found some cool critters. The boys have an old aquarium that we used to capture and cage those cool critters. The boys had so much fun creating the perfect habitat and finding plenty of food for these guys.

The first was this huge, hairy caterpillar. I mean this thing was so big you could feel every step it took on your hand. It was kind of freaky.

We also caught and captured this sweet little frog. We named him Mr. Lippe. He was terribly cool to look at and the boys spent a good long while gathering little bugs for him to eat. It was a bug buffet the likes of which this guy had never seen. He must not have liked the selection though because he busted out over night! We were planning to let him go yesterday, but he didn't stick around for any goodbyes!

We did turn the caterpillar loose! But not before Chip let him crawl all over his hand! It started heading up his arm and it was game over, caterpillar in the grass!

In addition to our outdoor critters, we are babysitting this indoor critter. He is a guinea pig and his name is Vince. His people went to Disney World and all he got was a trip around the corner to our house. We are enjoying him though. He probably hasn't had this many people watch him eat in a while. He is ravenous over his veggies!

While yard work was being done, the boys played in the hose. They spent an hour filling up these squirt guns and blasting each other.

I am sure the neighbors would have appreciated a little less screaming, but summer fun is hard to keep quiet!

Chip loved this!

After gardening and lunch, the Clampetts spent the afternoons at Beth's house and acted like the rich and famous. Beth's family is out of town and she invited us to use their pool while they were gone. And boy did we ever. We loafed around there for 3 hours every day. It was just like being at a resort.

These yahoos never got out of the water. They played Blind Man in the Water, Water Baseball, Jumping Contests, and we had team swim relays.

We broke out the underwater camera and took loads of pictures.

There was jumping and jumping and jumping and jumping. Then they jumped just a few more times for good measure.

There was some splashing, floating, swimming, dunking and hand standing. We were on vacation in our own neighborhood! It was awesome! Both the boys were water logged and wrinkled.

We came home, cleaned up, grilled out hamburgers Saturday night and pork loin Sunday night. Why does food on the grill just taste so darn good?? We had some yummy grilled asparagus and corn on the cob too! Chip ate a piece of asparagus on a dare! Harold passed on that dare!

We also made margaritas! Yummy, refreshing margaritas. They were awesome and perfect for a little refreshment on a summer evening.

The margaritas also helped rejuvenate us for a weekend of competitive ladder ball in the cul-de-sac. It was me and Harold against Chip and Dad.

Can you tell who won? Here's a clue: It wasn't Chip. I am just going to say it here - I am not good at very many things, but I ROCK THE LADDER BALL!!! Put it on my tombstone - She Rocked the Ladder Ball.

To wrap up the weekend we went to the local sporting goods store so Chip could spend the last of his birthday money. Look what this boy came home with! A headband and a shooting sleeve. Is this kid cool or what? I know you are probably thinking "or what", right? Can't wait to see him bring this look to the rec ball league in the fall. They better watch out!

It will be so awesome to crawl into bed tonight knowing that we spent this weekend just being a family. We talked, played, laughed and got every moment of joy out of this weekend we could manage. I wish every weekend could be just like this one!

One closing thought as this holiday weekend comes to an end. We are always aware that FREEDOM is not free...thank you to those who have served and those who are currently serving our country! Our blessings are many and we thank you for your courage and bravery and personal sacrifices so that we can live in this outstanding country! Happy Memorial Day to all!

Pure Bliss

Lots of moms take their camera to school on the first day of school, including me! This year, though I also took mine on the last day of school. If you want to capture, pure joy on your child's face, be there the minute the last bell rings for the school year. It is right up there with Christmas morning.

Here is Chip, loaded down with all the contents of his desk and every project he did during the year. Even weighed down with all this stuff, he was walking on air.

Yes!!! SCHOOLS OUT - it is summer! I waited on the front porch for Harold to get off the bus so I could capture his expression! As soon as he saw me he started a backward jog of joy!!!

Kid has moves when it comes to celebrating the end of 8th grade!

Look at his face - Pure Joy I tell you!

Oh yeah - no more Algebra - no more Spanish II - no more homework - no more bedtimes - no more early mornings - no more crummy lunches! Bring on summer fun!

He calmed down enough to show me the Top Actor trophy he got on the last day of school. His class voted and he came home with the hardware. He posed for me just momentarily and then was off to change into his swim suit.

He and his buddies were having a swim party to celebrate the end of school.

He was off on his bike to Jack's house and the beginning of an awesome summer! Me and a few of my friends took the younger kids to see Shrek - The Final Chapter in 3D. It was really, really good! Then we grabbed some dinner and came home to collapse! Great day in the life of a school age kid! Makes me wish I would have appreciated it more when I was a kid! I do enjoy getting to live it through my kids again! Not quite as good as living it myself, but not bad!

More to come with our Memorial Day Weekend! We have had one of the best, most relaxing, enjoyable long weekends in family history! It is exactly what I needed!

Technical Difficulty

This is my 130 post since the inception of this blog. Hard to believe isn't it. As with all things computer related, a technical glitch has me sidelined a bit. I can't get the pictures off of my camera. It has worked perfectly since it came out of the box. It worked great last week - but today not so much!

I have some great pictures of our luxurious three day Memorial Day weekend and all the activities we have been doing. I can't wait to share them with you! I will drag out my camera manual tonight and see if I can figure out what is going on.

In the meantime, please say a prayer for my brother-in-law Kevin. His Dad passed away on Friday morning after a lengthy battle with numerous health issues. Kevin and his entire family could sure use your prayers of comfort as they make the final arrangements for their beloved husband, father and grandfather. He was loved, that is for certain. He will be missed, also for certain. It is never easy to say goodbye to someone that you love and it could not be more true in this case.

More to follow as soon as I figure out my problem!

The Last Day of School

I will be waking my boys in about 15 minutes for the last day of school. Goodbye Middle School, Harold is outta there. Goodbye 2nd Grade, Chip has had enough of you! It will be a great day at school today. More for Chip than Harold. Chip gets to play kickball all day and Harold has to take two final exams. Regardless though, they will both have a spring in their step and a smile on their face. I envy them, to have two solid months off to just play. Too bad that when you are young, you just don't appreciate how very awesome that deal is!

For me, here are the best things about summer:

No bedtimes.
No schedules.
No overloaded calendar.
No homework.
No hectic mornings.
No studying for tests.

Here is the worst:

I'm bored.

Personally, I love to be bored. Bored out of my ever loving mind. So bored that watching paint dry would seem like a Broadway production. I LOVE BORED. I could curl up with a good book and nothing on my schedule every single day and be happy as a clam. It doesn't even have to be that good of a book, it could stink and I would still be happy.

I hope we at least make it through the first week without hearing those words!

First Swim of the Year

I took the boys to the pool after school yesterday and I got in for the first time of the summer! They have been in several times already, but I have just been a lifeguard. It took me a few minutes to talk myself into it. It was scorching hot outside and I thought I was good and ready. That is, until I touched the actual water and it was so cold. I waffled back and forth, but in the end decided to man up and get in.

It helped that Chip was beside me the whole time with this dialog running:

Are you getting in Mom? It's not that bad once you get in. Do you want me to splash you? Do you want me to go under? How long is this going to take? Why are you getting in so slow? Just jump in. Watch me. I will jump in and show you. Do you want me to do a cannonball right by you? Want to see me do a hand stand. Here, catch this ball. Why didn't you catch the ball. Watch how far I can swim under water. Count how long it takes me.

Very relaxing to be peppered non stop with questions while you are trying to get your privates acclimated to the chilly water. I would have clamped his mouth shut if he would have swum a little closer to me!

He was right, though. Once I got in and moved around a bit it felt down right yummy! We stayed for about an hour and I got a little pink on my back. I know sunscreen is where it is at...but I just love the feeling of getting a little sun. It will be SPF 50 from here on out!

So after our swim, we came home to get ready for Chip's baseball team party. Bathing suits, goggles and towels are everywhere. I need to come up with a better system this summer for drying out suits and towels. I think I might get one of those drying racks to set up in the garage. It will be so much better than having wet suits hanging on bike racks and off of golf clubs!

I am so happy that we have only two days left of school - BRING ON SUMMER!!!!

It's All About Chip

My baby turned eight this weekend and we partied like there was no tomorrow. We kicked it off with a little celebration at school on Friday afternoon.


I picked up a yummy cookie from the Cookie Company and some drinks and went up and shared that with his classmates. He loved when they sang Happy Birthday to him and threw in lots of "cha-cha-chas". I checked him out of school a little early and he loved that even more.


On the morning of his actual birthday we kicked off the celebration with a Scavenger Hunt.


I hid ten little presents around the house with a clue for the next one. It ended with him outside getting his most eagerly anticipated present out of the car. Ironman 2 for Wii. He was thrilled.


Later that morning it was out to the ballpark for Closing Ceremonies. He got his trophy and who doesn't like getting some hardware.


Then he was happy to find out he got picked to play in the Player's Choice game. It is exactly what the name implies. The kids on each team vote for two kids to represent their team in the Player's Choice game and Chip was one of the them.


It was a nice group of kids and Chip's team played really well.


They were nice and weird. Later that evening we went to Chip's first love's wedding to another man. Our sweet babysitter, Brittany got married to a great fellow named Rick. The wedding was lovely. During the reception Brittany and Rick had the DJ announce a special guest in attendance who was celebrating a birthday. Chip heard his name and his arms shot up in the air like he just won the lottery. The bride and groom brought out a piece of wedding cake with a candle and the whole place sang Happy Birthday to Chip. It was so sweet and thoughtful and he loved it!


The next day we squeezed in his actual birthday party with his friends. Bowling fun for everyone.


Bowling makes Chip happy.


His brother does not always make him happy.


Presents....ALWAYS make him happy.

Cool new Red Sox hat really made him happy.

After school yesterday we went to Ms. Beth's house and she bestowed two Iron Man toys on him. She gave him the light that goes in Iron Man's chest and he is obsessed with it.

After that, I realized that his birthday money was burning a hole in his pocket so we had to urgently go to Target to spend every penny. We currently are the proud owners of the entire line of Iron Man toys available for purchase at Target. I have Iron Man crap from one end of this house to the next. He loved his birthday!

Chip, I hope you have many, many more happy and wonderful birthdays in your future! I love you like crazy and can't even think about how fast eight years have gone by. If I do, I might cry! You are a wonderful part of our family and a supreme blessing to this lucky mommy! I love you to the moon and back! I get to have the last word on this blog and I LOVE YOU MORE!!!

P.S. Bonus happiness around here is that there are only three more days of school remaining! Hip, hip, hooray!

My Many Hats

I thought it might be fun and terrifying to see the many different hats I am wearing during this crazy busy month of May:


Wife/Coaches Wife: Can you pick up my dry cleaning? Would you put my Coaches shirt in the dryer when the washer stops? If you go to the store we need Gatorade. I think we are bringing snacks for the game tonight? Bring the camcorder/camera and try to remember to take some pictures? Are you keeping score for us tonight? What are we having for dinner? Coaches gifts - Team Mom gift - Closing Ceremonies 9:00 a.m. on Saturday - Player's Choice Game after - Order cookie for end of season party next Tuesday.

Mom/Maid/Cook: Wash Chip's uniform for third consecutive game this week. Make sure Harold has what he needs for his field trip on Friday. Coordinate Chip's 8th birthday celebration at school (pick up cookie, drinks, napkins, plates). Coordinate Chip's real birthday party (call with final numbers, find a damn Iron Man cake somewhere in this town, finish treat bags, figure out what to buy the child for his birthday, make it fun, magical and all that an 8 year old would want!) Make sure Chip has a good bathing suit to wear to the 2nd Grade end of the year party. Get check to PV for Bible Study leader gift. What is for dinner? Do not want to eat out again.

Pet Owner: Get Astro to the vet for Bordetella shot before we leave for vacation. His has expired and they won't let him stay without it. Try daily to not wish harm on my cat.

School Volunteer: 8th Grade Dance Raffle Co-Chair (make posters, paint sign, buy pens, set up at 2:00 on Saturday, bring ladder, print master list of prizes, print schedule for announcements of prizes, bake 2 dozen cookies for dessert) 2nd Grade Award Breakfast (bring juice, napkins, plates) 2nd Grade End of Year Party (teacher gift, official photographer for the Hawaiian photo booth, print pictures at Walgreens on Thursday night and send into school on the last day of school)

Personal Shopper: Graduation Cards get them in the mail, Wedding Card, What are we wearing to the Wedding?

Team Captain: Send out Training Schedule to 3 Days 4 Hope Team, write some kind of inspirational message to get folks to donate money, chase down corporate match and figure out when it is going to hit my 3 Day account, get to Wal-Mart to set up dates for the Adopt a Duck fund raiser.

Employee: Issue new subcontract award, work on status of 14 subs submitted on recent proposal - need to be ready to award immediately if we win, finalize audits for six files, continue to upload all electronic files into our new shared database (painful and slow and confusing), issue mods, pay invoices, weekly report, log mods into database, and other duties as I remember them!!!

Other than these few things, I have very little going on at the end of May! The good news is that my June calendar is blissfully bare!!! HIP HIP HOORAY!!!