Gatlinburg Trip

We arrived home yesterday from a wonderful trip to Gatlinburg with Larry's family. We were there for 4 days and stayed in a beautiful cabin with beautiful views of the fall foliage. The entire trip was very relaxing and the kids had a great time.

We spent one day at a place called Ober Gatlinburg which had ski lifts that led to the top of a mountain and a spectacular view!! There was also an Alpine luge type ride that we rode down the mountain, which Spencer particularly enjoyed! There were a few kiddie rides and Olive loved riding the cars around in circles! The kids also played mini golf and enjoyed "the cyclone", an indoor boat/waterslide that was very fast

and fun!!

I spent quite a bit of time at the outlet mall and got some really good buys on things for myself (which I don't get to do very often). Larry got some quality time with the guys, drinking beer and watching football.

We also celebrated October birthdays and also surprised Jodie by having a celebration for her birthday, which isn't until Dec., but she will be in Australia for her nephew's wedding!

First Day of School !

Spencer's first day of Kindergarten (1/2 day) started this past Thursday. He was very apprehensive despite my best efforts at talking it up. In the end, we ended up making a deal that if he didn't cry when I dropped him off, when I picked him up, I would take him to dairy queen for a hot dog and cherry slushy. And...voila! It worked. He did great, no tears. In fact, I didn't even have to sneak out of the room b/c he was so busy coloring and meeting new kids in his class. I decided to forgo the whole room mother thing this year, but I am going to help out with the Halloween Party and also accompany the kids on a field trip to Stage I to see a play in the Spring.

I had bought Spence a special shirt to wear for his first day, and I must say that he received several compliments on it. He also picked out the cutest messenger bag (he's too metro sexual for a backpack). I had his name embroidered on it...turned out adorable!! Things seem to be going well except for the fact that his little girlfriend Claire (whom he had a crush on last year) is in his class this year and won't play with him. She says it's because she is "too old" for him. She evidently turns 6 around Christmas. Spence is crushed and says he wishes he had his own personal Genie so that he could make a wish to be older than Claire. Another concern of his regarding school is that he prefers to play in the "big room" than to go outside. The big room is an alternate area for play when it's raining, too cold, muddy, etc. He said that he wishes he could go to heaven but not be dead so that he could control the weather and make it rain in order to play in the big room at school. Oh the woes of a 5 year old, but I admire his clever strategies/solutions. He does, however love his new teacher, Ms. Susan...as seen here posing with Spence!!

Other than school, Spencer is obsessed with the Wii. He kicks my butt on Mario Cart on a daily basis. He is so good at that game...plus, he knows all of the characters and is able to read the instructions, etc. I had to limit his playing time b/c it was becoming an obsession. For example, a few weeks ago he said "Mommy, when your laying in bed at night and can't fall asleep, do you think about Mario Cart?, cause I do.." Allrighty, how about we turn the Wii off for a while...

Happy Birthday Spencer!

As hard as it is to believe, Spence tured 5 this month. My baby is no longer a baby. He wanted a Super Why party, and despite the fact that PBS has nothing commercially available for that particular show, I was able to use clip art from their website to create items. The theme of the party was to come and be transformed into your favorite super reader. I used pillow cases and printed out different characters that could be ironed onto the fabric to make different capes for the kids. Then I used green foam to cut out super why masks. I found little foam crowns for the girls who wanted to be princess pea! The kids decorated their capes and crowns and had a great time.

Before and After

My Dad emailed me this picture about a year or so ago, and I was hoping to get a shot of Olive this year that was similar. I didn't get exactly what I wanted, but you get the gist.

Fripp Trip 08

We left Friday morning with four kids in tow (Spence, Olive, Isabelle and Jenna)…and what could have been a completely disastrous expedition surprisingly turned out easier than I had ever dreamed. All the kids did great, even Olive. She slept a few hours and then was content watching a movie on the DVD player and then she looked at books. Once we arrived in Spartanburg, we met up with Mom, Dad and Chris and headed to Outback for dinner followed by some swimming in the hotel pool. The kids were worn out and went to bed early and slept well.

Saturday went well too, the final leg to Fripp was only 3 ½ hours long and we were all relieved to finally arrive. The house was nice, but not exactly what we expected. The bedrooms were all very small but they were livable. The most disappointing aspect of the house was its absence of wired/wireless internet access. So, the only way anyone could get online was to drive up to the beach club and log onto their wifi. So, I was only getting on about once a day.

The beach was beautiful, not an ounce of seaweed the first day and the water was warm and clear to the bottom. Tuesday, it rained for a better part of the day, but cleared up in time for us to spend a few hours playing in the sand. Spence played on the boogie board, riding waves in, and I even tried riding one of the skimming boards, but I’m not very good at staying on my feet. Olive loves the ocean and the waves don’t seem to bother her, even when she gets hit in the face. She is my adventurous girl, she also takes the pool head on and jumps in with no fear.

Wednesday we visited the Hunting Island State Park and climbed up a very tall lighthouse. It was really cool , but became very limited on space as we neared the top, and after climbing in circles for several stories, we were all very dizzy. I was miraculously able to get some good shots of the beach despite the tunnel vision that set in once I set foot out on the balcony. I also bought a very nice rendering of the lighthouse to hang in my bathroom, which is "beach themed".

The last two days were spent at the beach and pool and the kids couldn't get enough water. We did take a break on Friday and the girls went to Beaufort and did some shopping while Larry and Spencer went Kayaking. By late Friday afternoon, Spence was so tired he was floating around the pool in a daze. Olive became more and more confident in the water and was sticking her head under every chance she got, trying to swim like the bigger kids. I didn't apply enough sunscreen Thursday and therefore, I suffered with a sun rash that night and thereafter. Nevertheless, it was a great trip, one that we hated to see end.

The drive home, as always, was not fun, and the trip wouldn't have been complete without Spencer throwing up....which he did due to car-sickness about 30 miles south of Gatlinburg, TN. So, we called it a day and spent the night in Gatlinburg. The slugger recovered fast though and managed to swim in the hotel pool and eat a great dinner out....he just needed to get off of those winding mountainous roads. We finished the drive this morning and were home by lunch time. The rest of today has been spent putting things away, dong laundry and stocking up on groceries and getting ready for the work week. There should be a pill that specifically treats Post Vacation Depression.

The Unlikely Suspect...

This is just a quick post. When I came home from work today, I spent a lot of time with the kids out on the deck since the weather wasn't so hot/humid. While I was out there, I would occasionally hear a noise that sounded like a parrot or some other strange exotic bird. With all of the cicadas flying around, it was hard to tell if there could be a bird mixed in all of that mess. Over and over, I'd hear the crazy squawking sound "whapah". It would even catch Olive's attention and she would look around to see what was causing such unpleasant auditory input.

Since I have recently been the recipient of some practical joking by some friends/family (you know who you are and you two will pay), I began to become paranoid..of what, I don't know...but at this point, I didn't know what the hell to expect. After a few hours of being truly baffled,it wasn't until I cleaned up around the deck this evening that I found this:







A Kung Fu Panda toy from a McDonalds happy meal. This isn't just any Kung Fu Panda...Nope, this one is possessed by pee pee, yep...you heard me...a urine intoxicated Panda lives on our deck. Evidently, Spencer couldn't hold it one day and decided to let loose in the back yard. He looked down and realized he had tinkle'd on Po, the Kung Fu Panda. Ever since then, Panda kinda yelps out at will...even with the power button turned off!!!!

The future's so bright...I gotta wear shades!!

Today was one of my "at-home Fridays". I love these days!! I never really have a plan for them, but the kids and I always seem to have a great day. Today I took them to the Library and started them on the Summer Reading Program. Spence checked out 3 books and Olive checked out none. That is because Olive had a meltdown and we had to leave immediately. But, at least Spence managed to get his books, a few easy-readers. We are trying to get him prepared. A few weeks ago, I met with his Kindergarten teacher for next year and she mentioned that the class will begin having homework the first week of school and will start reading simple books the first week too...and have spelling tests every Friday. Gosh, I'm pretty sure in my Kindergarten class all we did was color and have recess.

We also went to Kohl's in search of some sandals for Olive as her toes are sticking out of the ones she is currently sporting. Shocked, I found out they don't even carry her size...for any of you Mom's out there with kids who wear toddler 4's, don't bother going to Kohl's. As we were walking out, Spence spotted the sunglasses rack and he picked a pair out for himself and for Olive. He did a great job, both kids look like movie stars!!! Then Spence had to try on everyone's glasses.

June Celebrations !!

Another wild weekend here. It started off with Isabelle's birthday on Saturday and ended with the State Cup on Sunday!! Little Izzy turned 4 this weekend and we celebrated with a "Little Mermaid" party Saturday afternoon. The kids played in the pool and the inflatable water slide, while the adults ate the tons of food Bev had prepared. It was great to celebrate with the family, and unbelievable to think that the little Bee is already 4...where has the time gone?!!

Unfortunately Larry had to miss Izzy's party on Saturday b/c his team was playing in the state cup semi-finals in Bowling Green. He had mentioned staying the night in Bowling Green, but came home as a surprise at the very end of the party and let everyone know that they won and were headed to the State Cup Finals Sunday!!

Upon hearing this news, I really wanted to go and watch the final game, but knew that it would be a challenge to do it with both kids in tow. Most games, the players' parents help out with the kids and play with them, hold them, take them for walks to help out....Not during the State Cup Finals. I knew there would be no relief, and that the parents themselves would be on pins and needles the entire game. But, against my better judgement and all that I know about parenting and dealing with kids on trips, etc., I decided to go for it..

With my last minute decision to go to Bowling green, we left in such a rush this morning that we forgot to pack chairs/blankets to sit on during the game. Luckily, once we arrived at the fields, Spence saw some of his friends (little brothers of the players) and took off immediately and was pretty much entertained by them the entire day(one less kid to take care of).. Now, let me just say that, once you have a toddler, your own vanity is shot to hell...Let me explain...after Spence took off and it was just Olive and I, I decided we needed a place in the shade to set up shop. We found one lone tree and plopped right down in the mulch. As the game wore on, Olive and I had shared a cherry snow cone (my favorite) and cheesy nachos. I was covered from head to toe in pink and orange and my butt was covered in black mulch. When I say covered, I mean all over arms, legs and in my hair. My butt was completely black and merely "dusting" it off was only possible the first time I stood up...and I gave up after that. If I could have stayed under the tree and hidden the entire time, it wouldn't have been that bad...but I had to get up for various things and expose my pathetic self to the public.

With all of that said, thankfully Larry's team won 2-0 !! At the award ceremony, when Larry stood up to speak, both kids took off and bombarded him. He took it in stride and when it came time to hand out medals, Larry let Spencer put the medals around the players' necks. Spence did a fine job, and lastly, Larry placed one around the little guy's neck and then Olive's. It was a great moment!

May's Days

It's been a busy May so far. Mother's Day weekend was filled with a Rehearsal Dinner on Friday, Wedding on Saturday, and Mother's Day Celebration on Sunday! It was great to see some out of town relatives again, especially Adrienne, Sarah & Tom !! We all had a great time visiting!! It never seems to be long enough!!

The following week, Spencer completed his second year of pre-school, and is officially a Kindergartner!! We took him out to lunch after his last day to Celebrate at Red Robin (his favorite restaurant).

Larry and Spence went out of town this weekend to Cincinnati for another Soccer Tournament. Spence is always excited b/c he loves staying in hotels and swimming in the indoor/outdoor pool. That means another girl's weekend with Olive!!! We had a great time, and spent most of the weekend with Meme'. We did some shopping and then much-needed Spring House Cleaning!!! I was able to organize the kids' summer clothes and store away the ones they have grown out of.....which will be passed down to Lucien and future cousins!! Here is a pic of Olive from the weekend....in her typical Olive pose..
Larry and Spence arrived home this afternoon. Poor Spence is sick with the croup and was up all night last night, having trouble breathing. Poor little guy still sounds terrible, coughing like a seal. I read on the internet that a cool air vaporizer helps. So, I ran out and picked one up this afternoon. Tonight, I gave him a warm bath and then put Vicks Vapo-rup on his chest and feet (tip I learned from Jodie). Hopefully he will sleep well. Here is a pic I snapped while he was watching TV in our bed.. Poor little guy is miserable....

And they're off..

Today was the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby. We decided last minute to have a few friends over for dinner and the race. Thanks to on-line gaming, we were able to place some bets, which makes the races a little more interesting. Without knowing one fact about any of the horses running, I was able to pick my favorites based on names and numbers. This year was easy. I always bet the #8. So, I bet #8 "visionaire" and also the horse called "8 belles"...the only philly in the race. Sadly enough, if you watched the race, you know how it turned out, and it was truly heartbreaking..

But, aside from that, we still managed to have fun. The kids wore themselves out playing (as displayed by the picture of Olive eating a rice krispy treat), and the weather cooperated by staying warm throughout the afternoon. Larry made his famous Mexican Dinner and Doug & Michele brought yummy desserts. Nobody won a dime on any of our bets, we are all losers...except for Dad, who watched the derby in Alabama and put his money on "Big brown", whose name relates to UPS (go figure).

Girls weekend!!

This weekend was great!! It was an all-girl's weekend. Larry and Spence spent the weekend in Indianapolis on a soccer trip while Olive and I spent some quality time together. It was so nice to spend the weekend with my girl!! I think she enjoyed it too. Saturday, we spent the whole day just playing outside together. We ran a few errands and took a nice long walk around the neighborhood. That afternoon, my friend Sarah came over with her girls Laura and Claire, and had a nice visit. Olive loved it. Laura is nearly 3 and little Claire (a fiery red-head) is 6 months younger than Olive. They played on the swingset for most of the visit.

Sunday was spent at Mom & Dad's. Adam and his family were also there and we grilled out for lunch and had a great afternoon. Little Miss Olive was a busy little bee, taking wagon rides, eating ice cream cones and running in the tall grass. It is great to see her experience new things!

She slept the entire way home......While I had a wonderful time with my sweet girl....I couldn't help but miss Spence...

Spring, and Why it's Super!!!

Spring has finally arrived and I, for one am celebrating. One more day of freezing cold weather could've possibly finished me mentally. It's so nice to be able to go out and sit on the deck and watch the kids play in the evenings. They love it too. Spencer is back to playing with his buddies that live behind us, and Olive wakes up and brings me her shoes first thing in the morning, indicating she would like to go outside. I can wear short sleeves again and have the excuse to get frequent pedicures.

So many things happen and I think, OH..I need to post this on the blog, but I never get around to it. Like, Spencer's newest obsession....the PBS show "Superwhy"!! Yep, we are moving on from the Backyardigans finally. It's been fun Uniqua, but 2 1/2 years is enough. He hasn't quit them altogether, but he doesn't care to watch their shows that much anymore. I can't complain really, Superwhy facilitates reading, letter recognition and problem solving. The superheros have the powers to read, spell, write, etc. Olive enjoys it too, she dances to the intro music, then goes on about her business. In fact, if she's upset, I will start one of the episodes and the music calms her and she's happy again, dancing around. Here is Spencer in his homemade Superwhy costume....look for more superwhy at birthdays, Halloween, etc.....



Olive talks more and more everyday. She will walk into the kitchen, raise her shirt, rub her belly and say "hungy". She's a girl with no shame. Some new words are "Bob", "Cheese", "Moo", and "ow". She took a fall yesterday and smashed her fingers. This morning she woke up and pointed to them and said "ow". Poor thing. Here is Olive this morning...her typical response to my question of "where are you going sweet Olive?" See that look of defiance....we are in big trouble here, She is Little Miss Mean-ness.... On a more positive note, she has a new favorite book called "quack quack, who's that?". It's one of the lift the flap books and she loves it. I believe she received it for her birthday, don't remember who gave it to her, but THANK YOU!!! She loves it so much!!! She will hand you the book and hop in your lap and gesture for you to read it over and over. That's where she started saying "moo". Her favorite page is of the rooster, but she just can't quite form the phrase "cockadoodledoo". But I know it's coming!! She is so smart, and can follow just about any directive you give her, within reason of course.
Poor little neighbor girl down the street who is a few months older than her tried to get in her "cozy coupe" car outside a few weeks ago, and I thought Olive was going to hurt her. She gave her the "look" and then went for the kill (biting). What do you expect though, with a brother and 2 wild boys living behind us...the girl has to be tough....Oh, how I envy her sometimes...I was always so squeamish.... Oh, and this was also Olive this morning...she gets into my lingerie drawer and pulls out my bras and tries to wear them....clever girl even knows that it hooks together, but just can't quite figure it out....all in due time my dear, let's get past diapers first...

Olive's first haircut!

Well, it finally happened. I didn't want to admit it, but the girl desperately needed some shaping up. She was sporting a mullet and I couldn't take it anymore. Her hair was long but stringy. I knew I didn't want to get bangs cut since I'd (she'd) worked so hard on letting them grow out. At this point, she can tuck them behind her ears..but of course, she doesn't understand or know how to do that, so we end up pulling it back in a bow or ponytail holder. But eventually, she will understand, and since I don't like bangs, she doesn't really have a choice. Just like her Meme', she has a short forehead and looks better without them.

Before:

During:

After:

She did great at the salon. I took her to my hairdresser, who also does Spencer's hair. She sat in my lap and did just fine. It's the first of many (hopefully) trips to the salon/spa together. Meme' came to help out which made it even more special. 3 generations of beauties!!!

Easter 2008

We had a nice Easter! The weather wasn't the greatest, but the kids were able to have a few Easter egg hunts nonetheless. The Easter bunny delivered some yummy goodies and a few toys too. We had lunch with the Raibles at Larry's aunt Karen's house. Spencer and his cousins had Easter baskets waiting on them and had fun playing with new games and racing hot wheels cars. The afternoon/evening was spent at our house with Mom, Adam and family. Dad was in Mobile :( We tried to have an egg hunt and while hiding the eggs, it started snowing. The kids did the egg hunt anyway (very quickly). Crazy weather around here. Here is a collage of the kids throughout Easter weekend,

Updates after a Very busy month!

The last 4 weeks have been very busy for us. It's been a hard month and some good things and some bad things have occurred. We took a weekend trip to Nashville the last part of February and Olive took a fall and knocked her front teeth loose, and eventually they both had to come out. It was a horrible experience, and although not life-threatening, still very upsetting for all of us...especially me, I still have a hard time dealing with it. Luckily, her permanent front teeth were not damaged and should come in fine....eventually. Until then, we have the option of just letting her go without or having some porcelain partials made. I have chosen to go with the partials, for both aesthetic purposes as well as to help with her speech. The last thing I want is for her to have a "tongue thrust" or a lazy tongue that just hangs there in the spot where the teeth are missing. I also want to help her with the correct pronunciation of the "th", "f", and "v" sounds. The dentist said when her 2-year molars are completely in, they can attach the partial to them. So, it won't be long. Here is a picture of her before the tooth fairy came..

Something good that has happened this month has been the start up of our newest business venture: Mariposa Place. It has been very hard work...much harder than I imagined, but hopefully it will pay off in the long run. We have had 2 successful open houses and have another one scheduled for this coming Friday evening. Our Grand Opening is still scheduled for next Monday!! I don't know the status of how many clients we have signed up and ready to start, but I should find out more from the marketing team tonight. If you are interested in checking us out, our website is http://www.princecaregroup.com/.

Mariposa Place has kept us all busy this past month, even the kids put their own sweat equity in on many occasions. Spencer really enjoyed going there and would play with the other owner's children. Olive enjoyed scribbling on the walls with chalk (before they were painted). We basically gave the place a complete makeover. It was a huge transformation, and I am glad I was a part of that process. I didn't realize all that goes into starting a business, and even with 10 people working simultaneously, it is still quite a task. We also did this on a shoestring budget in a very short time period. It has been quite a ride and hopefully it is just the beginning!!

During the process of creating Mariposa Place, we were hit with one of the largest snowstorms we have had in a few years. A foot of snow fell on Louisville and even though it made the restoration process tough on us, the kids absolutely loved it. Spence and his neighborhood buddies had a blast sledding down hills and I must say, it was beautiful. Here is a picture of Spence on our deck the morning of the snow..

Sunday Dinner

Larry started a Pot Roast on the slow cooker this morning and I thought it would be nice to invite Adam and family over for dinner tonight. It was such a nice afternoon that the kids were able to play outside some. Olive was beyond tired and was running around like a little wild child, but she loves when Isabelle comes over and follows her everywhere. I think she knows she's a girl like herself. When she goes to the Raible's, she is surrounded by all boys, and only having a brother to hang out with, she enjoys being around girls. Somehow I don't count though,as she prefers Daddy over me any day.

I was able to get some cute shots of the kids. Lucien slept like an angel the entire time he was here. In fact, I had let him use Olive's old bouncy seat and Adam and Bev took it home with them. Evidently, he hasn't slept well in quite some time and the seat may be the cure. When your desperate, sleep deprived, you will try anything. I remember putting my kids in car seat carriers in the bed, in the crib, a bouncy in the bed. There comes a point when you are so tired, that you will do anything out of desperation in order to get the kid to sleep for just 2, maybe 3 hrs. straight. I remember with Spencer, I finally put him in another room, put earplugs in and said screw it.

Oh the good old days. I don't miss that part one bit, but I do miss having a sweet little baby to cudde with, but not enough to revisit those days again ;) I'm content with my 2 and thankful that they are good sleepers. And..Spence is my "best snuggler" after all, as he calls it. In fact, when he is upset about something, he uses it as leverage. He will say "well then I'll never be your best snuggler again...." It's his trump card....and it works. Normally he says it through tears, and it just breaks my heart. It breaks his heart too b/c he loves that more than anything. I will cry my eyes out the day he decides he's too big to snuggle with me anymore....unless he's like 15 obviously.

My Funny Valentines !!

When I woke up on Thursday, I had the best intentions of getting the kids dressed in their Valentine's outfits and getting some pictures. But, as usual, I was rushing, and it didn't happen. By the time I arrived home from work, the kids were already eating dinner....and spaghetti at that. Olive, who had on an adorable red/purple dress was covered in tomato sauce despite being a double bibber...Spence was at least salvageable.

Determined to get pictures for albums/videos (that I never finish), I cleaned them up as best as I could and took some snapshots. The one at the bottom left is of Spencer after going to sleep with wet hair the night before...this is a usual look for him on mornings after bath night and requires much hair gel to look halfway decent/presentable for school. The one of Olive in the box shows her favorite place to be...she climbs in, then out, then in, then out, then in,......

Recently, Spencer and I had been reading the book Charlie Brown's Valentine. In the story, Pigpen makes a special Crunchy Munchy Valentine Snack for the Peanuts' Gang. Spencer decided that he wanted to make the snack on V-day, so I picked up the ingredients for the crunchy munchies and we made them as soon as I got home. The main ingredient was marshmallows, which were a big hit with Olive (as seen above). I was also showered with wonderful Valentine gifts and cards from Larry and the kids. I received a Diamond heart necklace, a flower windchime and a cool ceramic wall clock/thermometer for the deck area..oh, and a whole bag of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolates. I can't wait until Spring to put out the clock and windchime!

Let it Snow!!

They are predicting anywhere from ...oh... 3 to 10 inches tonight. Who knows though....back in 1992, they predicted 1-2 inches of ice and we ended up with 22 inches of snow. The flakes began coming down around 4:30 this afternoon. Spencer was excited to go out and have a snowball fight. But...the snow was too icy and wouldn't cooperate. Olive made an appearance and liked walking on the slippery stuff too!! Hopefully there will be enough left tomorrow for the kids to ride the sled/saucer down the hill in the backyard...or at least build a snowman. I hope the Subaru comes through for me in the morning!!

Olive is walking!!

I haven't posted in a week. So much has happened, that I don't know where to begin. First off, the biggest news of the week is Baby Lucien entered the world on Jan 30th!! Mother/Father and baby are doing well. I will post some pics soon. Every time I go over to visit the little guy, I forget my camera.

As far as my crew, we have made it through another week, sickness-free! Although, Spence and I went to a birthday party yesterday at Gattiland, so that could all be ending soon. Say some prayers!!

This past week, the little Olive finally grew tired of crawling around and began taking steps....Watch Out World!!! She is growing up so fast now. I'm realizing how different boys and girls are. For example: Olive loves babies. She walks around the house babbling "baby baby baby". She carries any stuffed animal and loves on it. She also loves books. She brings me books to read to her. I used to have to literally hog-tie Spencer down to read him a book. Not Olive....she just sits patiently and then points to the pictures. She is a jealous little thing though, and doesn't like to share me with her brother. If I'm reading her a book and Spencer joins us, she hits him. Luckily, he is very easy going and thinks it's funny!

Roller Skating is still Fun!!!

Today was a great Day!! I got to be a kid again today, reliving my youth through my Son. This morning, Mom called with the bright idea to take the kids roller skating. It has been so cold, and the kids have been basically sick and stuck inside the past month, we all needed to get out and have some fun. Honestly, I didn’t know if Spence was old enough or would have enough balance to roller skate, but I thought..what the heck, and with that, we headed down to Champs Rollerdome. Larry and Olive came too and Adam and his kids met us there. I hadn’t been skating since I was in Elementary School…

Turns out, things are a little different now that I’m 35. For instance, I don’t have my own skates like I did when I was 8, so I had to use rentals. At 8, I hadn’t yet stretched my abdominal region out to a frightening diameter, leaving myself (to put it nicely) with a slight decrease in muscle tone. The music they play these days sucks! I didn’t recognize one song. Back in the day, they used to play classics like “Rappers Delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang, or various hits from the then ultra-popular movie, “Xanadu”. Also, the roller rink seems much smaller than it did when I was 8. But, other than that, everything (i.e.: disco ball, strobe lights, video games, snack bar) was exactly as I remembered it.

Larry doesn’t roller skate, or ice skate, or ski. He says he doesn’t like the sensation of having no control over his feet. So, he was of no help out on the rink today, but he did have the important job of watching Olive, who, but the way, was shaking her little booty the whole time, loving the music and the lights. Mom was there to help him/us too! Adam skated, so it was up to us to help guide Spence and Isabelle. Jenna, who is 8, has been skating for quite some time and did her own thing.

Going into this, and seeing other small children around Spence’s age skating fairly well, I figured Spence would be a natural like his Mom, but I was mortified when I saw that he could not even stand up. I mean, it was like his legs were made of Jello. One trip with him around the rink and it felt like my back/abdomen were ripping apart (I know, pathetic) because I was constantly pulling him up, getting on the floor, helping him balance, etc. There’s no way I can explain just how terrible the poor kid was. Isabelle looked like a pro compared to him. She would scoot along, and hardly ever fell. I couldn’t understand how he could be so bad….it had to be Larry’s genes. Finally, he gave up and wanted the skates off. I couldn’t blame him. His poor arms have to be at least 2 inches longer with all the pulling I did on them today. When I went to take off his skates, I realized the problem….Larry had tied them on so loosely that there’s no way the kid could balance himself. He had no support around his ankles. Larry argued that tying the skates tighter would not help the poor guy, and it didn’t matter anyway, because Spence was done…he wanted to play air hockey.

While they played, I went out and did some more skating with Adam and Isabelle and, not to brag or anything, but…. I’ve still got it!! It’s like riding a bike I guess. I am still able to skate as well as I did when I was a kid. I mean, since I hadn’t skated in so many years, I didn’t know what to expect.
Eventually I was able to talk Spence into putting the skates on one more time….and would you believe it…it was like a new kid. He was so much better. He had great balance and was able to skate around the rink with me, no problem. I would skate backwards and hold his hands while he was facing me. It helped with his balance. He was so proud of himself, and I was so proud of him..and relieved that he hadn’t inherited Larry’s genes after all, it was just poor shoe-tying.

It was getting late and we were talking about leaving, but then they announced that they were going to have races. Of course, Spence and Isabelle couldn’t race..you have to be able to skate on your own. Jenna decided she would race and she did great!! She didn’t win, but came close. Adam said he wanted to race and asked me if I would. Now…..let me tell you…..at age 8, there was no way in hell I would’ve gotten out on that rink in front of all of those people to race. But, at 35, I said “what the hell” and decided to do it….I’m breaking down walls here people !!!! When they announced that it was time for the parent’s race,I didn’t really mind going b/c I thought it was a co-ed race. Turns out, that’s just a rouse to get people out there. Once out on the rink, they divided us up. Of course I couldn’t leave at that point, I’d look like a coward. So, I had to be tough, and do it. I looked to Adam for support, he gave me the “kick some ass look”, but then we both looked to my right….. and there stood a woman in a muscle shirt, cut-off jeans and her own pair of speed skates. We both knew I was already defeated. I tried to stay strong, standing timidly in my cords, turtle neck and some cheap rentals. My only solace was that the other Mom’s in the race seemed normal like me, I thought I would have a good chance at beating them…they had rentals too. But, alas, I didn’t do so great…I came in 5th out of 6. Muscle shirt woman beat everyone by a landslide. The best excuse I have for my weak performance is that I didn’t have good pole position. I had a great start, but you had to skate around cones, and I was way on the outside. I was also kind of cautious taking my turns, because the one thing I didn’t want to do was fall. When Adam’s turn came, he got off to a bad start, but still finished in the top 3 and just like back in 1980, received a free Coke!! I was very proud of him and of both of us really for getting out there and trying. That’s something I never really had the chance to do as a kid since I didn’t play any sort of organized sports. After the races, we took a few more spins around the rink and then decided it was time to call it a day…and what a wonderful day it was!!

I know the pictures aren’t great…they were taken by my phone, but I thought I’d post them anyway.

Surprise!

Yesterday we threw a Surprise 30th Birthday Party for Adam and a Surprise Baby shower for Bev! It's hard to say if they were really surprised...with so many people in the know, somebody was bound to slip up and say something. But, we had a great time nonetheless. The kids played Wii downstairs while adults enjoyed the playoff games upstairs. Olive had a great time, despite skipping her afternoon nap.

Long Time Gone

It has been too long since I posted. My best excuse, and it's legit, is that I broke yet another camera. I had so many pictures I wanted to put on here, but couldn't. I bought a new camera this weekend, so now..problem solved. Olive's first birthday!! She had 2 actually. One on her actual birthday, which was held in Texas and another party we had for her here at home. Unfortunately, she was sick and running a fever at her party at home. But she still managed to eat some of her cake. In Texas though, she had a ball and made a huge mess with chocolate brownie cake !!

The rest of the month has been spent with our family fighting another flu-like virus. This weekend, we find ourselves healthy, and thankful for that. Olivia is still not completely walking, but is taking small steps unassisted. She also says the word "baby" now...she likes playing with her baby dolls...she has a love-hate relationship with them. One minute she loves on them, the next she chews on them and finally she beats the floor with them. Spencer's newest love is the Nintendo Wii, he's been spending some quality time at his Uncle Adam's playing Wii bowling.