The weekend

We got a lot done over the weekend.

It seems a deer had decided to make itself at home in my garden. Grrrr... Now, we live out in the sticks, so this is still a "country deer" and not one of those crazy "city deer" that has become so tame that it tips over garbage cans and stuff. *shudder* No, this deer had just realized that there were some tasty rows of green beans at the edge of a clearing in the woods. The deer had also realized that the 2 chocolate labs "guarding" the property, were really just too lazy most of the time to be bothered.

Unfortunately by Friday, he had wiped out all my green bean plants. They had already begun to flower.
*Insert much swearing and stomping and loud declarations of freezers full of venison, here*

So. Jackson and I replanted the green beans, and then Austin and I put up fencing around the garden. I then followed that up with the Deer Scram spray "fencing" stuff. Yeah........ummmm......ever used that stuff???? I don't know how well it works on deer, but I can attest to how well it works on CHILDREN. The kids were in the pool when I started spraying it out of the bottle, and within seconds they were gagging, covering their mouths and grabbing their towels to run indoors. Wow. But who can blame them? Do you know what that stuff is made of?? Rotten eggs..........and Garlic. MMmmmmmmmmm..............

Anyway, after replanting and fencing, hopefully we are "country deer" proof.

I planted the rest of the tomato plants and cucumbers and used the grass clippings left after the boys mowed the lawn, to mulch everything.

We have also begun to remodel Savannah's room. We smashed a wall out weeks ago, (I have nothing, if not a demolition crew) and now we've have been removing wallpaper. Ugh. This week I've made a deal w/ the kids that if we can get it all the way to primed-ready-to-paint stage, I'll take them to see one of the new movies out that they've been DYING to see. It's a lofty goal, but they are pretty good workers when they want to be.

And speaking of working, Austin is at Mam-maw and Pap-paws house trying to help them get some things done around their house. They have a big Par-Tay coming up next weekend, so he was sent up there to help out. I was told that they had steak dinners last night. Poor kid.

We hauled off a Sanford and Son load of garbage in the
Scalded Dog, got my flower beds weeded AND my closet re-organized.

So, you see, some people work in a steadt stream of small bursts of energy, while mine just seems to burst all at one time.

Happy Fathers Day!
Cheers!
Melissa

The shoes...

The shoes. The kids and I got to go and meet Race for a few days while he continues through more weeks of Johnny Bad-DER Ass Training. I slaved away by the wave pool at Water Country, while the kids took on every wild water ride in sight. That night, the kids were exhausted and only too happy to stay in their hotel room pigging out on pizza and playing X Box 360 till they couldn't hold open their weary eyes. SOoo....when Race came back from lounging around at Johnny Bad-DER Ass Training, we met some of the guys he works with, for dinner. I wore the shoes. I wore them with white cuffed dress shorts and an awesome black swing top, that ties halter style behind the neck. I concentrated very hard on walking in micro steps, because that is the only way a gal can look remotely normal in 4 inch heels.





*At this moment I would like to thank my private school and Christian college upbringing for making my life a living hell all those years by forcing me to wear dresses EVERY DAY. Sadly, one of the most valuable skills I took from those years was, you guessed it.....learning to walk in heels. So, Thank-you, my education was not in vain. *





And you know what? As soon as I stepped into the resteurant, the cute hostess gal, exclaimed,"OH MY GOSH! I LOVE your shoes! Where did you get those?"


I swear it. It's true. You can ask Race. And the night just got better from there. We had an awesome time. Great company, great food. We ate too much, drank too much and laughed way too much.





And when I got home....

THESE were on my porch. I could not love them more. You must buy these. You MUST. The back even ZIPS, so that you don't have to fasten all those little buckles every time. If I could buy you all a pair, I would. I love them THAT much. AND no training required to walk in them!! I am deeply indebted to all gladiators for inspiring this sandal.

And now that I've gotten that out of my system, I swear I won't post about shoes ANY More.

Cheers!

Melissa

A bit of a mixed bag here....

Check it out! I grow stuff!

I cut all the broccoli except for a few smallish heads, got it blanched and put up in the freezer.


It amounted to 4, 1 gallon ziploc bags full. I reserved the stalks for cream of broccoli soup for the fall.( You know,... that chilly time of year when the air itself doesn't suffocate you?...I have the faintest memory...) And I gave some to my sister, Thom.

The fresh broccoli is of course delicious, and the first thing that strikes you is how unbeleivably BRIGHT GREEN it is when you steam it. The plan is to leave the plants in the garden a bit longer to let them finish spitting out all those tiny little heads, and then pull them up and plant more beans in that space.


Switching gears, fast...........

The shoe gods have smiled on me. Look what I found yesterday:


You KNOW I had to get them when as I was trying them on in the store and admiring them in the mirror, and my 10 yr old boy walks up and says with great enthusiasm, "Oh my gosh mom. You HAVE to get those.They look SO good on you!" (He followed that up by showing me the Smithsonian gem kit that was on sale for $5. I could not love TJ Maxx more.)
I got the shoes. He got the kit. Sweet.

So, what would you wear these with? I am thinking about a pair of white, straight shorts that come down to the knee. You know, the city-fit style. What do you think?

Race will be home for the weekend and I am super-excited about that. So after lessons today, we are going to run around and try to make the house look like we don't actually live in squallor the whole time he's gone. ;-)

Here's to a great weekend, ahead!
Cheers! (*clink*)
Melissa

What's that smell?

That was the first thought that blasted into my head when I walked into the kitchen yesterday morning and opened the refridgerator door for the coffee creamer. Moments later, as I reached in to remove the offending food, I accidently raked out the entire basket of eggs. And they fell. And they all broke. All 13 of them. On my running shoe.Which I was wearing.

* Please take a moment to reflect here that this was all BEFORE the first cup of coffee*

So there I stood. In my running shorts and multiple running bras(don't ask) and tank, hair hastily pulled back, running hat squashed on my head, with a long forgotten smelly piece of food in my left hand, and a dozen+ eggs oozing all over my right foot.

THAT was how the day began.

The day ended up being full of challenges and at one point that evening I found myself trapped in the dugout with 2 very large baseball coaches and 12, 10 yr old boys while the torrential rains blew in on us. This in and of itself wouldn't have been so bad, but one of the coaches decided to corner me and recount all of his latest parenting horror stories, in dealing with his eight year old. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE SAID TO ME THE OTHER DAY?!" This gargatuan man must speak to you very loudly and all within an INCH of your face. Gah!! What could I possibly give you NOT to tell me....and to please respect my personal space a wee bit more?*shrug* I like hin though-good coach. ;-)

But the day wasn't all bad. That morning, I ended up wiping off my shoe and going for my run anyway. :-) ( ANd just FYI...egg yolk actually will seep through your shoe and into your sock....How sick is that??) After the baseball game was rained out, Race called and said that he was going to be able to make it home for the night! (excited squeal!) SO after picking up one kid from MMA, I dropped by the Outback and picked up salads, ribs and veggies and headed home. I got to spend an unexpected, relaxing dinner with Race and the kids. (Yes!)
After dinner, we all watched the Alaska Experiment ( HONESTLY, If I am ever stranded ANYWHERE with that Wise family, just shoot me), and we ended the night with a couple of rounds of submission Jiu Jitsu between Race and Jackson. (Yikes! the kid's getting good!)

So, here's to turning the day around!!
Cheers!
Melissa

Home School Post

*Non-homeschoolers, feel free to talk amongst yourselves, here. * ;-)


For the last several weeks I’ve been trying to get us back on track. I haven’t been happy with the way that school and our life in general has been going for the last several months. It felt like I just “lost it” somewhere along the way and just never could get everything back within my slippery grasp again. I guess with Race being “home” (he isn’t really, but at least he is in the states right now, and the bullets flying at him are only fake ones) I began to realize how uptight I get when he is away. I don’t even see it in myself when it’s happening, but I guess the combination of underlying concern that I have for Race along with the constant running pace to keep on top of things here makes me a little…….TENSE.
So, for the past few months, I’ve been slowly relaxing my grip on the wheel, slowing down and gazing around at the scenery a bit. And I haven’t been liking what I’ve been seeing.

In short: High school has been kicking my butt.

School for the older 2 had become little more than a checklist of textbook assignments. And while I love the different curricula that we are using, we just weren’t making the most of it. The love of learning was gone. The interest, the curiosity………….gone.
Jackson had become undisciplined in his academics and was routinely bored and looking for an escape route. The kids still had all of their activities, and I was usually completely frazzled and tired at the end of each day. To top it all off the household chores were all left to me and I had allowed this to be the case.

This is not what home schooling should look like.

So, while Race is “home”, I took a breather and decided to reanalyze my strategy and then regroup my army.

I took a look again at the method of home schooling that drew me in to this crazy world of home schooling to begin with:Charlotte Mason . I began reading her books again, only this time, Book Six (kind of the high school age) really caught my interest.
I really BELIEVE in this method. It really resonates with me. And if Charlotte Mason were alive, and living in VA, you can bet my 3 kids would be attending her school!

But alas, she isn’t and she doesn’t and so, the kids…aren’t. So I started to scan the internet. But as I joined email groups and perused message boards, I was left feeling that most of those using this method for high school had settled for something much less than what I believe Ms. Mason would have recognized as a whole education.

SO I pulled out my tried and true “go-to” book for home schooling The Well Trained Mind. I love the classical method as it is presented here. But , alas, I am no academic. And while I loved, Loved, LOVED this when the kids were younger, I was really struggling trying to accomplish this in our home with grades 10,8,and 5 all at once. I was just falling woefully short.
But the more I studied, the more I realized that these 2 methods actually dovetail beautifully together. They are , in fact very similar in many ways. They are both meant to educate the “whole” child and to encourage the child to learn to focus so that he/she becomes disciplined to learn for themselves. And as an EFFECT……… learning itself, becomes enjoyable. Learning becomes a task worthy of one’s time and effort.

SO I set about to make a master schedule. Perhaps re-inventing the wheel at times, but, hey- my family needed a little different wheel!

My curricula and my end goals ….my SPINE comes from TWTM, but many of my methods are now drawn from Charlotte Masons work, along with getting back to Journaling, Shakespeare, art and music study. And you know what???
IT’S WORKING!!!!!!!!!!

The older kids have their schedules for the week. On Sundays I make out their lists. Every subject , along with the chapters to be completed, any assignments, and written work. And for the most part they regulate their own work each day. On Fridays, we discuss the readings for the week and all written assignments. This is where the Socratic dialogue comes into play as well. ;-) Discuss, discuss, discuss. This is my favorite day of the week with the older two. This has really given them a renewed focus.
With the older two knowing what to do and staying on task, I am freed me up to work with Jackson. We have our list too. Jackson is dyslexic, so there is still a considerable amount of reading that he cannot do on his own. But he is working above grade level in almost every other subject, so we don’t let this hold us back.

It’s really been going great and I have seen such a renewed interest in each of the kids. Their own ideas are flowing forth from them again and they are EXCITED about learning.
Now, the REAL key to this new system is what we will call……. The Daily list. I will try to explain this a little bit better.
To keep everyone on task, they each have an additional list in their notebooks. And before anyone has free time, all the things on the list must be completed.

The Daily list looks like this:

Shower
Make bed
Room picked up and laundry put into place
School finished for the day
School books put away
Choose 1 chore from the kitchen list , complete it and cross it off
And:
Austin: Dirty dishes in dishwasher
Savannah: put away clean dishes.
Jackson: take out kitchen trash

The kitchen list referred to above is a list of things that I would like to have done each week. Things like cleaning their bathrooms, cleaning out the car, doing their laundry, etc. I printed it out and placed it in a page protector . It is posted on the kitchen with a marker. Each day they pick one, do it, cross it off and initial it.

This has been working really well. I think the beauty of it is that it places the responsibility back to the children, and helps everyone see a clear-cut goal each day. It also helps each person to be able to look back on the day and realize all that has been accomplished. Of course some have taken to the list faster than others, but I have found that with constant encouragement, each of them is “getting it”. The kicker is, that without exception, the Daily list MUST BE DONE before anything else can take place. That means baseball, martial arts, running around outside…….whatever. And if for some reason the older 2 don’t have their work ready on Friday then that means you have to work through the weekend until it’s finished. Not to be seen as a punishment at all, just a direct consequence of taking your free time during the week.


So. We’ve turned a corner here, and it actually feels really good. I’m thinking that we may not screw them up completely after all, and maybe……………….just MAYBE………..we might make this whole thing work!

At the ball game..........

Bases loaded. Jack is up to bat.

The kids are in the dug-out chanting, "Jack-SON!!!, Jack-SON!!!, Jack-SON!!!!!"

And then the pitch....... fast ball.........right down the middle.

*CRACK!* There it goes!!!!!!!!!!

GRAND SLAM HOME RUN!!!!

Congratulations Jackson!
Wish that Race could have seen it. It was awesome.

I don't need to remind my readers that Jack has been in that situation before when it didn't turn out the same way.

When he ran across home plate and made it back into the dugout I thought that his teammates were going to kill him in their excitement. And when his big brother and big sister came over and congratulated him with that fist-to-fist thing that all cool big kids do.......well..........the team was awe-struck. (*whisper,wisper*....woah.the BIG kids) It was a great night. This is only the 2nd game we've won this season.

I love the game of baseball.

Cheers!
Melissa

P.s.- Homeschool posts coming soon! (*snort!* What??? Did ya think we weren't educatin' the lil' sluggards anymore??)

Wordless Wednesday

Don't Shoot!! Or.......rather......DO shoot.

We may have another competitive shooter in the family!
(I was hoping that you'd all be so focused on the gun that you wouldn't see that sock hanging over the kitchen chair. (sigh))

Enter Race .

Race has been stateside for a bit and one of the things that means is that the kids get to pour over tons of his cool gear. (He believes that you can never have too much “kit” in that the way that I believe you can never have too many shoes.)

Race being home also means firearms training……..for me and the kids.

Now, while I am not able to do it blindfolded, what other wife do you know that can disassemble a Glock and put it back together? (Dy, put your hand down….this is my moment.)

But, enough about me, silly. Let’s talk competition shooting. Race began shooting competitively some years ago in the military. He would not be able to legitimately hold his Johnny Bad Ass title without a few state and national wins to his name, now would he?

But a few years ago we were introduced to IPSC. This, my friends is like the shooters nirvana. It is the competition that levels the playing field. I’ve seen a shooter under 16 yrs old, absolutely destroy the competitive time and accuracy of every cop in the group.

By a mile.

Quickness and accuracy. That’s what it’s all about. And of course, that’s what every shooter wants to be better at. Whether you are a professional, a novice, or just a gal hoping to hit the unlucky s.o.b. that tries to harm your loved ones, it’s speed and accuracy that you need. Watch the video, you'll get the idea.

Uh-huh......uh-huh..........How cool was that?
So, anyway Race got bit by that bug. And we followed along. And, oh my, what a wonderful group of people! All walks of life, lots of family members and everyone willing to help out the beginner, (or the cop learning for the first time to MOVE and SHOOT ;-) ). It’s good stuff. This brings me to Jack. He is using a Glock practice gun. An “Inert” It has no firing pin, but everything else is the same. Even has pink practice rounds.





We aren’t ready for the Jr. Olympics yet. But, hey... it’s a start.

Savannah and Herriott

For those of you who don't know, my daughter Savannah has a cat named Herriott. She is a girl cat, but she is named after the author James Herriott. His stories have always been some of Savannah's favorites.

My Sister has been working on getting her photography studio opened up and she thought that some "pet portraits" might be nice to add to her collection. So, naturally, she thought of my girl and her beloved cat! (It is SOOoooo beneficial to have a sister who is a professional photographer!) I absolutely LOVE these images os Savannah. They really show her personality. She has turned into such a beautiful girl, inside and out.
I have to choose from these for an enlargement for our dining room. I have the room decorated with a B & W picture of each of the kids, so the one that I choose will need to be B & W to replace it. The frames are a pretty cherry.

The one below is Savannah's favorite.

I have never seen a pet more devoted to it's owner than Herriott is to Savannah. I swear, if Savannah was out in the ocean, that cat would swim the waves of the sea to reach her.

When did this happen? My little girl is growing up so fast!

SO which one would you choose? I think that I'll get the one Savannah likes for her room. Tough decision.

You can see more of my sister's work here at her website. Thanks again Thom for the awesome photos.

Cheers!

Melissa

ooooo......that hit's the spot!

This is from E. Elliott

Does Prayer Work?

The answer to that depends on one's definition of work. It is necessary to know what a thing is for in order to judge whether it works. It would be senseless, for example, to say that if a screwdriver fails to drive nails into a board it doesn't "work." A screwdriver works very well for driving screws. Often we expect to arrange things according to our whims by praying about them, and when the arrangement fails to materialize we conclude that prayer doesn't work. God wants our willing cooperation in the bringing in of his kingdom. If "Thy kingdom come" is an honest prayer, we will seek to ask for whatever contributes to that end. What, after all is said and done, do you want above all? Is it "Thy will be done"? If so, leave it to Him.
Is it "My will be done"? Don't waste your time and God's by praying. Have it your way.
I am hoping to be back tonight with a few pictures and stories. See you then! Have a wonderful day!
Cheers!
Melissa

It's ball season again.......fill up my flask, please

Baseball is going good for the boys this year, so far. Austin is having a blast for playing for this high school team. He 's playing so well at short stop and his team really looks up to him.As I watch him this year I realized that while I am immensly proud of the baseball skills that he has worked so hard on......what has really impressed me this year is this kids character. It does a mom's heart good to see her son, as one of the stand-outs on a team go out of his way to truly encourage the younger kids whose abilities aren't there yet. (Sigh)....Now THAT'S good stuf.

Jack is playing 1st base and pitching. He's really found his bat this year and he's sending them to the fence.

But He's pitching.

And that's why I need a flask of strong drink.

Don't get me wrong. He's doing a great job. And he loves it.

But I am a nervous wreck.

I want to stand and run away. I want to shake someone(just anyone) by the shoulders really hard. I want to stand and shriek, "THAT"S MY BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

But not Jack. He's cool as can be. And to show his ultimate coolness, every so often he reaches up adjusts his cap and then turns and spits on the mound. (A lot of the boys at this age adjust their CUP on the mound after each pitch instead of their CAP and I can tell you that the latter is much cooler).

Have I ever told you that we have an umpire for Jack's age group that only has one eye? Yep, it's true. We have a one eyed umpire. (Could I MAKE this stuff up?)


And no, he's not very good. at all.

One time there was this adorable little boy on the mound pitching. The handsome little guy went through his wind up and let the ball fly. The one eyed ump called the pitch a ball.

It was at this precise moment that everyone heard the little boy's well dressed, and usually poised mother yell from the stands, "C'MON UMP!! TRY WATCH'N IT WITH YOUR *GOOD* EYE!!!!" .................. and then she sat down, saying "that was a strike"......but in a much smaller voice now.

Honestly, what kind of mother would yell such a thing????? (*blush*)

( But in my own defense it WAS a strike)

So.......I'm dustin' off the ole flask and fillin' her up.

Let's PLAY BALL!!!

Cheers!

Melissa

P.S. Huge HUGE thanks to my sister Thomasina for taking the awesome photos. I can hardly wait to show y'all the one's she just did of Savannah!!

Yeah, Yeah.....I know.......

Making some big changes on the old homeschool front around here, so I've been up to my eyeballs in schedules and curricula. Race is gone, so all the baseball stuff has still got me on the run as well.

It's busy, man........REAL busy.

SO busy, in fact that today at 2:15.........our scheduled departure time......found me opening up the running dishwasher to retrieve the washing, crock- pot innards. With my purse slung over my arm and my big sunglasses aready on my face, I was ripping the skin off of the chicken thighs like some sort of deranged Food Network wannabe. It was really disturbing. And gross.

But, on the bright side, within 4 minutes I had de-skinned a pack of chicken thighs, dumped them into the crockpot and then dumped in tomatoes, jalapenos, black beans,mushrooms, onions , salt, pepper and red wine. I even remembered to turn it on!! Back in the door at 6:00 and wa-lah! I added brown rice, steamed broccoli, and baked multi-grain rolls. So.......ya know....all craziness aside............Yay Me. Super mom slammin the good food on the table.

Now......onto stranger things.

O.K.- On this message board that I frequent, there were some posts about modest swimwear. Now, typically this is a pretty well balanced board. The topic of modesty ran on for awhile and several people thought that they.....the mothers as well as their daughters.....should wear modest swimwear so as not to cause the male population to falter. Here are the swim suits in question:

First of all....I say.......... NO WORRIES. Mission Accomplished.


Secondly, Someone please keep a life preserver within reach in case either of these gals accidently falls off that diving board. Seriously.........HOW could you SWIM in that????

HOW??? You'd sink like a rock. Or be tangled like some poor dolphin in a fishermans net.

Save your $$ and swim in your clothes. You'll attract less attention and it'd be cheaper.

Hey, how about this one?



What the hell is that??? What's that you see out there Sylvia?


I think I'm gonna go with something from Athleta. Different strokes, I guess.

And at almost 39, if I can make men think of anything other than gouging their eyes out......... Well then, good on me.

Cheers!

Well...that was quick!

Crabtree Falls Virginia

I can't believe that it's Sunday already!!

Well, we had a super busy week, but the weekend made it all worth-while. We went camping again. We had such an amazing time! We went to a spot that Race and I have been going to since we first began dating in college. And it is still just as great as it was back then!

It always amazes me how the term "camping" means so many different things to so many different people. I thought that I would show you how we camp. We've been camping this way since before Austin was born and the only thing that's really changed is the quality of our gear and how much food we bring with us!!

This is a really special place for us up at Crabtree Falls. Isn't it beautiful? And the river is teeming with trout!

This is how we camp:

The first thing that we do is choose a place to camp. This is always scary. We don't do campgrounds much, so we do the off-road camping thing. Race always picks out the spot and then eases my precious-life-sustaining suburban down steep ravines and over gigantic river rocks that make me constantly spew helpful comments like, "Are you sure that we can get back in here?" and "Do you think that we can get back outta here?" and the even lesser appreciated, "Oh CRAP! what are you doing? You're going to kill us all!!"

But after this little excercise, we arrive safely to our campsite. Time to unload and set up. Now, one of the best things that Race ever did was to buy each of the kids their own, private, one-man tents and show them how to put them up, take them down, and care for them. It makes camp set up a snap!

Here, you can see Jack heading to the river with his net to scoop up bountiful treasures. He is walking past Austin and Savannah's tents already set up...off to themselves, mind you...so that they can blast the ipod over A's speakers. (Ahhhhhhhhhhh.......camping with TEENS) Luckily we all share pretty much the same tastes in music.....so....ROCK On!Here you see Austin running away from his embarrassing, camera-slinging mother. The indignity of it all.

Anyway this also shows what camp looks like after it's set up. The wood has been gathered by the slave children, ready for burning in the fire pit to your left. The ginormous appetites of the slave children that we bring along force us to use the fire pit and the little grill simultaneously, for cooking. The orange tent belongs to Race and myself. We LOVE this tent!! But more on that later.

Jack set his tent up right beside us for safety and crowd control reasons. Then Savannah and Jackson headed to the river for a swim, while Austin got the fire started in the pit.And can you blame them? How fun does that look? Wading out through the rapids like that!

A shot of boyhood bliss. (sigh)Isn't this just a beautiful spot?? We really LOVE it up here.

Tune in tomorrow for more of the hot topics and how-to's of tent camping.....including " What's a Cat Hole?" and "Why does my mate keep crawling on me?"

Cheers!

Melissa

Camping and Kayaking

SO, we've been trying to fit in a little outdoorsy stuff. Don't get me wrong- what with school, baseball, martial arts, art class and the upcoming vocal instruction....we've still got a lot going on. But if you've been reading here for any time at all, you'll know that this family CRAVES to be outside. Race and Austin went kayaking the other day. Jack had ball practice that morning, so while Race had Jack at practice Austin got the kayaks loaded, strapped down and all the pfd's and paddles in the suburban. When race and Jack got back, we headed out. And as I was kayak taxi, I got the opportunity to snap a few pictures of the "put in" and "take out".

Below, Race and Austin get their kayaks ready to hit the water.



The water was high from all the rain that we've had lately.That, coupled with the small water fall just above where they put in, made the water foamy that day.The skies were threatening rain, but the guys decided to take their cell phones and head out anyway. After seeing the guys off, Savannah and Jack and I ran a few errands and then headed back home. late in the afternoon, Race called to tell me what the ETA was for them at the pick-up point. So we headed out to pick em' up. It is really a beautiful area, teeming with water birds of all types as well as the occasional muskrat. We love just hanging out here waiting for the kayakers to come around the bend.Eventually, we saw them coming around the corner. The rain had started, but not much more than a drizzle. From put in to take out it's about 15 miles. There are a few rapids, but nothing huge. With the water level up, they made it in a few hours. Right up onto land!And of course, this presents a perfect opportunity for the little brother in the group to try out his own kayaking skills.
We've also been camping. Minus Austin, however. He was at a "MODGNIK" retreat with the church youth group. Have you ever heard of "MODGNIK"? It's "KINGDOM" spelled backwards.And as far as I can tell it's a bunch of church youthgroups that get together and they participate in things like rock climbing, tackeling a huge ropes course, swimmimg, and of course the obligatory singing at times. Austin could do without that last part.....but he had an awesome time none the less. So the rest of us went camping. We had a blast, but unfortunately Jack had my camera the whole time. When Jack has the camera, he takes pictures of Savannah mostly. That's because she HATES it. I mean she HATES to have Jack take her picture. So most of the pictures look like this: This was right before she knocked Jack in the head and the camera fell out of his hand.He also likes to take a lot of pictures of Scout:
He also, looks less than thrilled to have his photo taken.



Here, he has captured his mother, showing the more "serious" side of camping. But still managing to capture both dogs and his own tent in the background.

And the fire. He always takes pictures of the fire.
So, that's what's been going on here.

Cheers!

Melissa

hairy monkey arms.......

Remember when I told you about my gaw-ge-ous dress that I got for the wedding? Beautiful, right? I LOVE it. I would wear this dress everyday if I could.

But you know, a special occasion like this wedding doesn't come along every day, so it requires a gal to do a little more "polishing" than usual, ya know? The nails and the pedicure are really just the begining.

Let's talk hair removal, gals.

Forgive me for being candid for a moment, but lets face it ladies, I am dangerously close to 40 years old and hair removal has become of paramount importance. I do it like it was a full time job. The waxing, tweezing, shaving... at various times,I hit it all. I log in some serious hours.I have a schedule. (Incidently, all you just-turned-30's.....write it down. You heard it here first.)

So here's the thing:
The dress is arm-bearing.
Now, I think that we can all agree that nothing says, "I'm a freak-hermit with no life", like hairy, monkey arms protruding from a lovely silk dress. Nevermind that the hair is blonde (thank-you Lord)...it still looks like a boy I sat next to in 5th grade. I used to stare disgustingly at his bushy, blonde haired arms during reading group. Ew.

I digress.

I was running short on time. We were frantically cleaning up from Easter,unpacking the kids from Mom and dads, unpacking Race from his trip, and PACKING for Florida the next day. So I figured I'd take a short cut on the arm hair. Just before I got into the shower I spread my arms with Neet. Nice and thick. 3 minutes go by.
Ouch......is it supposed to be painful???
Oh well, many hair removal methods are painful, so....no biggie.
I step into the shower.
OUCH! Damn it. That HURTS! I don't think it's supposed to hurt like that.

When I get out of the shower, I gingerly dry my arms and as I examine them I see that they are indeed, hair free. Unfortunately, they are also completely covered from shoulder-to-wrist in painful blisters and large red splotches!

Race looks at me incredulously. He's speechless.

I dress myself, trying hard not to cry out as the sleeves of my shirt rest on my raw, red appendages.

The Wedding is day after tomorrow.
Ah..yes....nothing says "I'm a strung out, needle-using drug addict" like blistered, raw, splotchy arms protruding from a lovely,silk dress.

I wimper to myself while slathering on aloe and hoping for the best.

While driving my 1/2 the next day, I had to hold my arms in a certain position on the steering wheel and keep the air on full blast, blowing on my arms in order to keep them from bursting into flames. Jack, of course wanted to know, "MOM! WHat HAPPENED to your ARMS!!?" The answer probably didn't move me very far up the intellectual ladder for him.

That night, in the hotel,I examined the damage again. Well, the blistering looked better, but unfortunately the rest of my arm looked as if I had been in a really bad skateboarding accident. That's right: Road Rash. I slathered the aloe on, once again. It was on so thick that my arms were green and slimy.

So there I was, in some nameless hotel room with my slimy, green arms laying motionlessly on the outside of the covers for the entire night.......I must not be touched. My wings of flame could not bear it.

The next morning Race got us up early to get on the road. I was less than sunny in my disposition that morning, and I let him know about it on several occasions. As I sat in the passengers seat, he returned from checking us out. He opened my door and handed me some coffee as he tried to divert his eyes from my hideous stumps. "Thank-you for the coffee" I said coldly. "What do you want me to do?" I asked. "Nothing, babe. You don't have to do anything" He said speaking in a voice like you would use for the mentally deranged. "You don't have to do anything, just sit there and look hot like you always do", he cooed. He stepped back and grabbed the edge of the door to close it and added, "And don't speak for the rest of the trip". And he closed the door. *grin*

The Wonderful Magical Aloe Vera saved my life.

By the time of the wedding, the pain was completely gone, and the road rash not very noticable. Of course had anyone stroked my arm, it would have felt like heavy grade sandpaper, but....you know....no one did. And after a few drinks I didn't even remember about my awful monkey arms.

So I don't know what the moral of this story is. Can you think of one?
Don't rush hair removal?.......... Is that a moral?

Do you ever wonder if he's just hideously ugly??

CHEERS!!!

Melissa

Weddings and Gators........

Congratulations Ronnie and Katie! After the wedding and all the visiting, it was on the road heading north.



We took the kids to the Okefenokee Swamp. Here one can get up close and personal with the snakes and gators. Being from Virginia, gators have always been just the coolest thing for us.







My dad was from Georgia and he and my mom took me and my sisters to the swamp eons ago, when we were just kids. We rented a jon boat and went into the swamp. (A brave man to take my mom and 3 little girls deep into gator country...) My sisters and I were simultaneously mesmerized and terrified as my dad slapped the top of the water with a paddle to make the gators come up. And up they came. Ahhhhh!!!! That boat got small really fast.




So, naturally, I wanted to give my children the same terrifying experience.







I must say that the gators were actually BIGGER than I remembered. It seems that the jon boats are no longer available. You have a choice: Take the guided 30 min motor boat tour or rent canoes and go it alone. So what's it gonna be? Wimpy boat tour for babies and blue hairs........or will you find out what you're made of?







We paid $$ and were given a hastily sketched map of the swamp.



We made our way down a small dock, where we came to a sort of make shift office with all sorts of pictures taped up on it. Pictures of gators...........lots and lots of gators. As we grabbed our life jackets and canoes, the old guy helping us kept saying, "Naw, naw, you'll do jest fine.....you ain't gotta worry about no gators........and you cain't get lost..............jest stay in the water and you'll do jest fine". And just as we were stepping into our canoe at the dock........we saw this guy. Swimming up right by our inlet. (gulp)The only other people in the park were all waiting for the tour on the other side of the river. They were all just watching us . I tried to look brave. "heh, heh....do it all the time, folks."We got our paddles and we were off. The last thing that the old guy called out to us was, "Try and be back by 4:30!!!"



Ummm......it's 12:00..........AHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
Savannah and Austin were in front of us. We were off.

We never saw another soul the entire time we were out. It was so incredibly quiet. And take a look at that water. It literally plays tricks on your eyes. The water is so dark that it is a perfect mirror, and unless your paddle..........or something else........is going through it...it is perfectly still.It was just as beautiful as I remembered it when I was a kid. I was so busy taking it all in that I almost didn't spot this big mama. She was laying out on the bank sunning herself. She had a few babies that were nearby. Now. I was super excited to see this big gator . ANd I thought that we were going to have to strap Jack down into the boat with the straps from our life vests. Jackson has grand visions of becoming the next Steve Irwin and I have NO DOUBT that if we had let him, he would have been out of that canoe in one heartbeat.I was so busy taking it all in that I almost didn't spot this big mama. She was laying out on the bank sunning herself. She had a few babies that were nearby. Now. I was super excited to see this big gator . ANd I thought that we were going to have to strap Jack down into the boat with the straps from our life vests. Jackson has grand visions of becoming the next Steve Irwin and I have NO DOUBT that if we had let him, he would have been out of that canoe in one heartbeat. You can see here that we have eased up on her. I am the one taking the pictures, and I didn't zoom in here. You can see her eye already on us.
This was plenty close enough for me. But Ohhhhh....Noooooo.......we have to paddle CLOSER. I swear if that thing had ONE move, I'd have walked on top of the water to get away. I kept pleading with Race, "O.k, O.k, I don't wanna go any closer"...followed by my hoarse whisper, "STOP!" All the while, Jack is saying "Why can't we get closer?", Can I get out of the canoe?", Can we just paddle over there (pointing to a nearby bank) so that I can get out and try to get closer to her?"

Before we were out of there, we saw this big fella. He didn't mind us at all. He was only concerned about soaking up the sun. But just look how BIG he is!
When we got back we turned in our canoes to the same old guy, and took a look around the park. I asked about the old gator "Oscar". He had been a fixture around there forever and he was already old when my sisters and I had visited. Imagine my surprise to learn that "Oscar" had just passed away last year! But you know what? As it was related to me:
" They wanted $40,000 to mount him....and we said nuh-uh. NO WAY. So, we took him out back and skinned him and let the bugs and things clean the bones.......and now we're boilin' em and puttin' em' back together in a nice disply over in the museum."

And sure enough. I went to the museum, and there was PART of "Oscar's" skeleton.....the other bones were still being boiled and cleaned.

I can tell you in all honesty that the tiny, one room museum that was there has the EXACT same exhibits that it did when my sisters and I were there as children. No, I mean it. It's like it had been sealed off for all those years. I felt like I was the first person to enter it since that time. EVERYTHING was the same..........only older..........and dustier. I loved it!!!!!! It was a great trip. I can't wait to tell you a few of our stories from the road.

And now I leave you with this:

Only in the state of Georgia can a boy get a picture taken of himself like this: For Jack....this made it all worth it. Great stuff!