Final Meltdown, BBQ and Webkinz Toss Across June 29, 2008

Really, it’s not as bad as it sounds…this kind of meltdown was the grand finale of a super fun week of learning and socializing and singing about God at our first ever Summer Palooza.  Final Meltdown of this sort is actually way delightful as we camped out at First Landing State Park.  As if the last day wasn’t enough of a blowout with lots & lots of hugs!  (Finally got that cute face):

Here I am with my fellow Registration Team Divas:

And here’s Bo with Cooper, the ChurchDog:

After that we were just delirously happy to discover Chesapeake Bay with the natives who have been there year after year.  Some swam, some chatted, and some played Capture the Flag:

It was a wonderful time.  THEN today after church, Hubby got to crank up his new grill with smoker box.  Well…”new” as in, bought-it-in-October-but-just-opened-the-box.  Talk about your delayed gratification!

God is so darn good to me I can’t hardly stand it sometimes!  Here’s to plenty of goodness on you too.  My cup & plate overfloweth mucho!

One last random insertion…upon move in, the Big Sibs took to chucking BabyKid’s plethora of assorted and assundry WebKinz collection from the upstairs Look-Over hallway onto the Way-High Shelf over mantle.  Just too hilarious at the time and too darn high to do anything about right away.  They will be coming down tomorrow:

Parental Moment, the shmoopy kind June 26, 2008

I had one of those heart-thumping, time-warping moments today when my former toddler:  circa 1998 welcomed a current 2008 toddler at VBS.  The wee one looked waaaaaay up at the Giant 10 Year Old and just beamed, taking her hand!  Here’s what it looked like right after that moment as all the Huge, Mature, All-Grown-Up 4th and 5th graders walked their preschool buddies to their first “station” today.  That one’s mine with the pink layer underneath the required orange. 

 

Turns out all those meddling biddies at the grocery store were annoyingly correct all throughout the 90s after they, without fail, asked “are they all yours?” when my 4  were all < 6.  You WILL INDEED miss those days once they’re gone.  What a difference a decade makes.

I’ll try & get a face tomorrow.  She knew I was taking her picture and did not even participate one bit.  Granted, we were all supposed to be praying…but still.

Look what we found… June 26, 2008

…on one of our crazier U-turn marathons trying to get barbeque and go home today after VBS:

So…how homesick am I???

 

Like the new theme? June 24, 2008

Time for a change.   Water under the bridge and all that.  Still love all my MI peeps, tho.  Hello facebook friends!

Summer Palooza 08 June 24, 2008

Yay!  Pictures!  After mucho macho and pre/barely teen pseudo angst, the 3 Big Ones are “helping” at VBS and BabyKid is joyfully participating with the other 3rd grade boys. 

Whitney assists in the craft room.

Bo at the tippity top of the playset.  Where else to partake of snack?

Poor 3rd born…memory full on camera.  We’ll get her in tomorrow.

 

 

SNOW CONES! June 24, 2008

Last night at the Summer Palooza (aka “VBS by any other name”) Whitney found out what you get for playing no game: 1/2 snow cone.  If this makes no sense, go to www.brianregan.com and buy one of everything.

 

 

RandomRamblings June 23, 2008

OK what is this fresh new pain?  Molly Ringwald is the MOM in a teeneybopper movie?  Gag me with a spoon.

My brain is remembering in the crazy order of disorganized unpacking.  Our very first mail was BabyKid’s first little league baseball pictures!  Aren’t they cute?  (Pretend you can see his long-hair-hanging-out-the-bottom-of-his-Orioles-cap-and-baseball-bat-over-the-shoulder pose until I scan and attach).

I’ve been (back) to the year 2000 June 22, 2008

One of Chris’ co-workers invited us down the street (same street!) for a hang out.  We gladly accepted late Saturday afternoon after the smoke had cleared (Dismal Swamp in NC and one in Chesapeake are somehow burning)  Insert link to more info HERE once you know how to do that sort of thing.  Much to our delight, these wonderful people proceeded to share with us their huge dock over the water, a fake duck and two gie-nor-mous dogs to rocket dive off them repeatedly retrieving the duck, bringing it back and sometimes giving a bonus sprinkle of dog pond water!  How fabulous!  But wait, that’s not all!  Their 4 kids are a flashback for us of our life back in the year 2000, with their little Luke being the spittin image of our little Bethy at 20 months.  The Hair, the Almost-Language, the Funny Toddler Antics, and the Practically Naked with Only Shoes On wardrobe.  (Stay tuned for the “shoes” story if you haven’t heard it).  Insert pictures of Luke and Bethy at Luke’s curent age HERE once you figure out how to accomplish such a feat.  THEN, as if that wasn’t enough, we were offered rides up & down the canal in the kayak and/or canoe!  When Beth wanted to go home to get her swimsuit on, we PADDLED back home, she & Whit hopped out at our 2 person (almost) dock which just that morning had been cleared from many overhanging tree branches for just such a purpose.  Then as they hopped back in, we paddled a wee bit further down to investigate Voices coming from a nearby yard and were rewarded with a conversation of yet 3 more boy neighbors, also young, but one going into 5th grade, as Bethy is, and their dad who chatted with us briefly asking about What Girls Like to Do.  Looks like this may well be the end of a very lonely family-only week here in Virginia Beach. 

Secret Recipe June 22, 2008

Here is my brand new recipe for “cookie biscotti”

Buy slice & bake cookie tube, mini cookie squares or brownie bites.  Set timer and ignore.  Dip in milk or coffee rather than throwing away.  (Two nights in a row).

And don’t blame the new oven…these were done in the packed and unpacked toaster oven. 

Voila and enjoy!

Skatepark II June 19, 2008

The GirlSibs were so intrigued, they came along yesterday to participate with BabyKid Hawk at the skatepark.  (There’s another one in town that we hope to find today).  While seated in the bleachers, Practically Teen Girl and I were watching the action. 

We showed up a tad earlier than the previous day and were blessed with more little beginner kids and less breakneckspeedbaggypantsunderwearshowing teens, which may have been why TomboyGirl got her skate park juju up and, after checking out the ramps and the grinds and basically choosing to skate around on level ground on her roller blades, decided to sit on the edge of The Bowl and slide her way in.  Now, I don’t know much about skateboard parks, but mostly I see Little Hawks just bravely skate down or jump their wheels into the bowl.  Mind you, we weren’t able to see INSIDE the bowl, just her sitting and disappearing INTO the bowl.  Simultaneously and from the far away safety of the Mom/Cautious Sibling bleachers, we were mumbling a commentary. 

“I don’t know how she’s going to get out of there. “ 

“I predict Bro will lay down on his belly and reach for her, but he will be too short.”

This exact predicted event immediately took place to many giggles from the bleachers.  Then as we continued to watch, the Bro wisely reached for his skateboard and stuck that down to her as well to extend his insufficient reach.  Still no rescue.  Less giggling, but more intrigue from the bleachers.

“She’ll figure it out.”  As we see Bro give up his rescue efforts and Tony Hawked hisself away for more fun.  “Oh well…I tried” thought Bro.

By then there was a small audience of on-lookers at the edge of the bowl looking down–either just watching or, hopefully making helpful suggestions.  Fortunately one suggestion was to ”take your skates off, Dudette, and walk up in your bare feet.”

This was the ticket.  We see a skate fly up.  Then another, then, just like in the movies, a hand, another hand, and a little helmet with blonde locks flying as she muscled herself up & out of The Bowl.  She patiently put her blades back on and humbly skated back over to us as we cheered wildly.  Her only comment:

“That bowl is HOT!”

Better than TV any day!