August 28, 2011

• Summer (yes, it's bad when the title covers an entire season)

   

  This blog post is dedicated with love to all those who recently had hips replaced, be they right or left and with no regard or restriction whatsoever even if they inadvertantly leave key letters out of ye olde blog poster's name and blame it on their perceset [sic].

  But, as tomorrow is official Back to School for Shaeleigh, I"d better sum up the summer.  Chance has three more days as a Giraffe then he has a few days off before becoming a Star.  Someone at work was commenting on how the parents are probably happy for school to be starting again.  In thinking about it, I much prefer summer.  School schedules are a pain in the neck (this week Shaeleigh has a half day Monday and Friday and Chance is off on Thursday and Friday).  But nevermind, let's dwell on the happy summer memories....

   

  

  This is what everyone's hair looked like when we got back from the beach.  Hahaha. 

   

  

  The beach was awesome!  We went the week BEFORE the hurricane.  Both kids loved the water this year.  Plus, it was the first year that neither of them were afraid of showers.  Perhaps it doesn't seem a key thing to note but anyone who has tried to get a sandy kid clean in a hotel bathtub will understand the joy in seeing kids clean off happily in the outdoor shower.

  The kids were really great about walking this year as well.  Our hotel was on 26th street (first block of the boardwalk) and ever cost-minded parents that we are, we refused to pay $12 bucks for a tram ride ($3 each) and decided to walk down to 1st street on the boardwalk.  We stopped for fries (Thrashers) and ice cream (chocolate and melty) and didn't hear too many complaints at all.  Both hooligans are in love with arcade games so that was the clear highlight of the boardwalk adventure.  Well, that and Batman:

   

  

  (Note the happy tram riders in the background).  Shaeleigh was so good.  Chance was actually afraid to go to stand next to the Dark Knight at first and Chance LOVES Batman.  So Shaeleigh went up and stood next to him.  Chance will follow his big sister anywhere.

  At anyrate, we didn't quite have the same luck with the walking on the way home but I'd say we got about 13 blocks out of them here and there and the rest of the way the wee ones got a lift in one set of arms or the other.

   

  

  I don't know how much Batman makes in his tip jar for a night's work but when I retire, if I don't look good in black spandex, I think I'll make my living as a hair wrapper.  Woe to the parent who does not ask the cost of getting their daughter's hair wrapped in thread with feathers at the end because for the price of 3 tram rides with a small tip included, Shaeleigh got a new look. 

   

  

  Yes, that was $40.  Lady said it would last until December.  I said, "no, it will last until 29 August when the Principal of OLOH calls Shaeleigh to the office and snips it off."  (not to worry, we unwrapped it today)

   

  

  Ah, my family.  This is what I get from them.  They's so cute.

   

  

  Ugh.  Can you believe we ate these?  They were delicious too - although they sure look disgusting in retrospect.  We got them at The Fractured Prune.  Oily, icing covered, messy O's of grease.  So sticky that we actually had to stop at a gas station to eat them.  Well, we were short a cup of coffee and a Red Bull to wash them down with but that's an aside....

   

  

  Here she is with her hair thing.  She would not give me a smile - only goofball faces.  But I snapped this one just before the tongue came out. 

  The rest of the beach photos will have to wait.  They are hanging out in a disposable camera and may become available in the Fall (once again, we try to set realistic expectations here on the Smitheroni blog).

   

  

  And so we will move on to the camping adventure.  Well, pseudo camping.  We went all the way to Bull Run (a trip so short that when we got there, Kenn decided to try to find a gas station before we drove to the cabin, and the driving around looking for a gas station doubled the length of the ride down).  At Bull Run we stayed in the "Rustic Cabins" where you don't have a bathroom but you do have a refrigerator and air conditioning.  You also have enough furniture for three cabins.  Two rooms with a futon, a full size bed, a bunkbed, a table, four chair, and three benches, plus the fridge.  That leaves just enough room to take the half step needed to trip over something.

  The kids spent the first day hashing out who was going to sleep on the top bed of the bunkbed and as soon as the lights went out, everyone got really generous, "Shaeleigh can sleep on the top...  Chance said he wanted it first....  " and the poor bunkbed was left empty on the top AND the bottom and sleeping in a tent next year gained rapid favor. 

   

  

  Ah, nothinig like little creeks full of rocks and nuts to toss.  We took a great hike - classic camping adventure.  The loop on the map they give you at the "camp store" looks feasible but once you've walked for an hour you doubt that you're heading in the right direction.  We did make it out before folks got too whiney but it was close.

   

  

  The cabin had the cutest little porch swing - I took this photo and then as I looked at it in the viewer and realized that product placement left much to be desired.  I told them to lean in for a sweet Father/Daughter shot and just as I click the button -

   

  

  Out of nowhere comes Chance.  He leans in and goes, "Mooooooooooooooo"  HAHAHAHAHA.  I think we laughed the whole week about this picture.

   

  

  This is the Daddy Long Legs that hung out in the girls bathroom the entire stay.  She just moved about the sink freaking Shaeleigh out.  

   

  

  And here we are.  Our little home sweet home.

  The kids got along so well on our vacation.  Hard to believe really - not one squabble, even in the car.  Shaeleigh read quite a bit which is a nice talent if you can manage it - reading in the car.  She's been reading the Bella Sara series.  She spends most of her drawing time, drawing the Bella Sara horses or My Little Pony but on occassion she decides to step out of her comfort zone and draw a little something for her brother:

   

  

  This is Bumblebee (Transformers)

   

  

  And, Superman of course.

   

  

  So my garden....  as usual, a sad state of affairs.  We got about 8 stalks of corn and some stinkin' squirrel pops up and started eating the ears one by one.  We weren't sure what was getting them until Kenn caught the bugger red handed, or red mouthed, in the front yard with an entire ear of MY CORN in his mouth.  The squash grew and grew until it died.  And the beans did okay if you don't need more than 5 beans a week.  The sunflowers - like everything else, we planted them with love in those little peat pots and nutured them until they were big enough to transplant.  I took care to put them in carefully spaced holes in a nice sunny spot and then were were eaten overnight.  Fantastic.  And so, I took the seeds and poked them into holes made with my finger with no love whatsoever into a random blob of a pattern.  There they took off and grew 10 feet tall.  Why don't they put that on the back of the package?!

  And now....  some random shots:

   

  

  Little know fact - In his spare time, Peter Parker likes to jam out to Katie Perry while wearing a tie.

   

  

  Chance trying to hula hoop.

  

  This is from the Fourth of July.  I think I have them posed at this fence a few years ago as well.  Need to dig that up.

   

  

  They might even be facing in the directions above.

   

  

  Once again, if this is what you give me, this is what I will post.  Chance saw a photo of him with this hat in Vietnam and had me dig it out for him.  It was goofy back then.

   

  

  Tall guy, small us.

  There's more but I must get to bed.  Perhaps tomorrow (but as always....  no promises...)

  TTFN

   

   

  • 10:48 pm
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