Friday, August 29, 2008

Pre Labor Day Weekend

Aaaahh, summer. The time when you have BBQ, fresh fruit and vegetables, and corn-on-the-cob for dinners.

The time of year you have to make sure your cat doesn't snag the cob from your plate...

Sam and I went on a "date" last night down to the Block. No, we didn't go to the Vans skatepark, and we didn't shop in Tillys. We went and bowled a couple games and then popped over to Dave & Busters to play some video games. They had a portrait booth where we captured his mug, hair and all. Cause he's only going to have it for about 48 hours longer...

How do you like this really expensive senior portrait?
Today we took one last jaunt down to the beach. We did happen to go a couple weeks ago when it was nice and sunny, but alas, today we got hit with a marine layer that didn't quite burn off completely. The sun never peeked through the clouds until almost 2pm. Like I said before, that never stops the boys from getting into the water or having a good time.

Kevin and Sam took a break from the waves and decided to dig a hole. Kevin never seems to want to SMILE, #*!(#@!!, but always insists on giving me some goofy grin.
When we buried Sam in it, we gave him the body he always dreamed of. . . Jacob jumped in next, he looks a little more decapitated here than buried. . .
The boys also spent awhile throwing sand at each other. Why? I dunno. . . cause it's there?? Who knows why that is such rip-roaring fun. Jacob and Sam's friend Ricardo had a grand ol' time splatting each other with sand. Maybe SPLAT is the key word to the fun.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Some Last Random Days...

So I played softball again this summer, in all-girls work league (You know you're over 30 when... you don't want to play against a bunch of drunk guys who always want to shove a line drive down your throat). While it was great that some of us were in that over 30-range, we were playing against other teams of girls who were still in their 20's. I had to stop at third one time, while being waved home. I told the base coach "are you friggin' kidding? I ain't running another 90 feet!!" The home run wasn't worth it.

We had a great time, but there was one team that beat us the three times we played them during the season. The type of team that is ahead by 20 runs, and won't slow down cause they must prove their dominance by winning by at least 25 runs. As it turned out, we played them on the last night for the championship title, second game of a double-header for us, and we WON! Totally sweet victory, and 'nuff said about that ~

Random picture of Rebecca and Matt. She's a great kid from the high school that the kids get along great with. We drug her along with us to the beach one time. The one time that the sun came along, too.

First day of school for Jacob and Matt. Jacob is finally the BMOC as a sixth grader, which means for him a year of fundraisers and science camp. One last year of one teacher only and after school daycare.

Matt is going into the third grade, his last year of "lower-graders". Last night he was talking about some friends of his who went off to jr. high. What?? Has been to birthday parties this summer for a kid two years older than him, and one of a kid two years younger than him. I guess that either means he is very comfortable socializing with kids of any age, that kid, or he has figured out the birthday party scene.

Last Random picture for today, with Sam at LAX right before his flight last week.
Pictures of their registration are at http://www.mma-tx.org/whatsnew.htm. Lots of pictures, I haven't combed through all of them yet to find him sans hair.

Letters are welcomed and encouraged, and I'm sure he would love to hear from anyone he can. You can write him at:

Marine Military Academy
Echo Company
320 Iwo Jima Blvd
Harlingen, TX 78550

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The Ramblings of mid-Summer

The weather... we have been to the beach a grand total of two times this summer. What is up with the June-gloom lasting like ALL of July and into August?? I cannot stand going to the beach and wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt and shoes cause I'm freezing! We've got this guideline that if it's cloudy in BP, it certainly is going to be that much colder down the street with the ocean breezes. We make the sacrifice in June for Fathers Day, but man, by the first week of August you would think we would have gone at least two or three other times since then. Nope, just once more in June and not at all in July! Ugh. Well, at least we're not upping the odds of skin cancer this way. And when it's not gloomy we've got this monsoon humidity thing going on. Sure, they say there's lightning and thunderstorms, but that's way out in the desert. We just get the edges of mugginess sneaking in from Palm Springs. (Of course, those would be perfect days to go to the beach, but they usually occur smack in the middle of the work-week.)

The books... I have read TWO books! Never mind that I have like 25 more sitting here staring at me from the "library of Mom", but hey, I have read two books! Kids have read a total of like...zero. Well, except for Sammy, who reads two books a day practically. I remember doing that, back in the days BK. I want to take them to the library more, but that has become the death trap for us. The kids always check out 3-4 books each, and one inadvertantly gets lost and we get charged for it.

The kids... this is that lovely point of the summer where the kids are BORED and they call me every day at work to let me know it. Matt's a pro at calling me over and over and over and over until I pick up (hmmm, gets that from his DAD). Wonder if it's cause they are up at 6 friggin' 30 a.m. to jump on the PS2 (why cant we get a PS3????) and then stay up to watch reruns on TV every night. They can't be bothered to change out of their pajamas until right before we walk in the door, the trash cans and the kitchen sink are overflowing cause God forbid they do their chores before we get home, and there are popsicle sticks and half-full bottles of water everywhere in the house. Threats of bodily harm don't work when they are in this zone, only the threat of school starting back up with homework assignments on the first night. They have had their share of swimming at the park pool, visiting friends, campouts, summer camp, riding at the skate parks, seeing movies, sleepovers, Gameboys, Playstation, and Nintendo games, bike riding, skateboarding, and playing catch, but they are BORED.

The TV... am I the only person on the planet who is sooo ready for the fall TV season to start?? I mean, summer TV usually sucks anyway, but reality TV since the writer's strike is driving me CRAZY. That Japanese Game Show show is better than I thought, but come on. Bring on Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters, I can hardly wait !

The schools... Sammy is all signed up and ready to fly to Texas on Aug 30. We still have to get some school supplies put together, but he doesn't need to take any clothes with him - can you believe that?? PJs, tennis shoes (optional), and toiletries - that's it. Everything else will be issued to him day one. Sweet, don't need to buy school clothes for him! I'm rich! Wait. He's got the most expensive school clothes I have ever bought waiting for him. We pick up Kevin's registration packet for school this week. He is going to be a big bad eighth grader this year; Jacob is going to be a king-of-the-world sixth grader this year; while Matt finally is considered at the top of the lower grades.

The bills... they all go up in the summer. Daycare, electric bill, water bill, gasoline bill, food bill. Gotta remember to buy stock in the utilities in the SPRING, as I'm sure our high electric bills almost single-handedly put some big profits in someone's pockets this summer. Might as well be mine. Seems like every time I walk into a room, it's freezing cold cause someone played with the thermostat, and the lights/TV/VCR/computer/game are on, but no one's in sight. And food. Could my kids EAT any more? Thank goodness they still like Top Ramen, but please, make it stop!

30 days left... only 30 more days to get in some beach time, watch some concerts at the mall, celebrate a birthday, attend a wedding, attend an anniversary party, buy school supplies, clean out some more of 1309, plan a Cub Scout calendar, eat at Rubys on the pier, catch a movie, drive to Balboa for ice cream and a ferry ride, shred at the skate park, watch the fireworks at DL, play some more softball games, BBQ some carne asade, and break in the new margarita blender. Anyone want to join us, drop on by.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Another Milestone Birthday

On July 20 we had a get together to celebrate a big day in a big boy's life. For the guy who has everything, and doesn't want to go anywhere, and doesn't know what he wants to do - I figured lets invite folks over for enchiladas and margaritas, and throw in a birthday cake for good measure. You get to figure out which milestone:

Cliff, Esther, Cindy, Tracy, and cousin Leo joined in the heckling for the day. (Not pictured: Lonny and Helen, as well as Rebecca and Lindsay)Cindy chose the most primo records from her recently acquired collection, the ones that mom wanted her to have, and gave them to RJ as a gift. Here we are trying to explain to the boys what exactly a record album is, the correct way to hold them, and how these were the only way to hear music before iPods, mp3s, CDs, cassettes, or even 8-track tapes (the latter two also a music mystery to them). I still have my record player with working needle(!) from my own back-in-the-dayness, and we pulled it out to show them. We all gathered around, and I felt like we were back at the turn of the century waiting to see if this thing would work... we were able to hear, scratches, pops and all, some Frank Sinatra crooning, while the boys got a history lesson. It was a far cry technologically from the homemade DVD we watched earlier.