Captured

Twingenuity, Revisited

Graduated

Finished!

Missing.

Good Day, Careful, Love.

Blame It On the Rain

We planned to spend our first Memorial Day as boat owners on the lake. We made it out for about 45 minutes with the Sedgleys. The kids and guys jumped in for a little while, and then the rain began to fall. We thought that maybe it would blow over, but instead the sky got darker, so we hightailed it for the dock. The kids continued to play when we got home, but the rain continued for the rest of the afternoon. Kevin wasn't going to let a little rain prevent him from having grilled food, though!

You Know You Live in the South when...

...you wake up in the morning to the heavenly scent and sight of newly opened magnolia blooms. They are just, simply beautiful. And we've got a ton of them all over our Little Gem Magnolia trees that we planted last fall!














On an unrelated topic, we spent the day recovering from our camping excursion. There was a huge amount of laundry to do, plus re-setting up the tent and canopy to clean them and allow them to dry before putting them away the right way. While working on the tent, Barbara popped over to see whether we had dinner plans. I guess we couldn't get enough of each other because the camping families reconvened at her house for pizza and beer and games.

Making Memories

Last night the kids were up until nearly 10 p.m., and they still rose bright and early at 6:30 a.m. today. We had over 3 hours to spend at the campsites before the "attractions" opened (playgrounds, carousel, train ride, paddleboats, minigolf, etc.). Our friends Don & Erin brewed several pots of coffee that we enjoyed while the kids rode their bikes and scooters around a loop. Now that we know the trails are paved, we'll be sure to bring our bikes next time.

We hiked over to the activities around 10 o'clock and spent time on the playgrounds and then the gem mines. After a few hours, we returned to our campsites for lunch and the adults "relaxed" a bit while the kids rode the loop some more. We broke out the ladder ball and track ball too. Kevin and Ryan got back from the baseball tournament and we hiked to the volleyball nets. The grown-ups played volleyball (I can actually serve and even scored a few points!), while the kids made sandcastles on an un-used court. Then we played mini-golf, rode the train & carousel and headed back to the campsite for dinner.

During dinner, the rain began to fall. Gulp. We tried to wait it out, but it just kept falling. Since we were going to have to leave fairly early Sunday morning because of the baseball tournament, Kevin & I decided to break camp that night. It wasn't a neat or organized loading of the van and car, but we got it done and spent the night in our beds. Since the rain continued to fall most of Sunday, and our neighbors all returned much earlier than planned, we are so glad that we made the choice we did!

It was still a generally fun experience, and the kids are excited about going camping again. I won't be doing it in the middle of the summer or if it's cold out, but we'll try to plan another trip for the fall. Although I'm still of the mind that the best thing about camping is the way it makes you appreciate the comforts of home...














By the way, all of the kids in this photo are in our camping group! And two of them (Ryan who was at his tournament and Ava who is too young to climb) are missing from the photo.

Camping

It's been nearly 16 years since Kevin and I attempted camping together. And now we're trying it out with 3 kids! We now have a 7-man tent, and air mattresses for all of us. Plus a canopy for the picnic table, lanterns, and all sorts of cooking implements for open-air cooking. Oh, and Kevin brought along our little refrigerator since we've got electrical access at our site! I contend that this is still roughing it--we're sleeping in tents, for heaven's sake.

Five families from our neighborhood reserved adjoining campsites at a campground about an hour from home to celebrate Memorial Day weekend. We have 11 adults and 15 kids (5 boys/10 girls). I would be lying if I said that I was totally excited about the idea, but I am hopeful that we will have a fun, family-filled weekend together. Unfortunately Ryan has a baseball tournament this weekend, so he and Kevin will be absent for part of the time tomorrow and we'll need to leave early on Sunday. No matter what, we'll be making memories with our kids--hopefully they'll be positive ones!

Chillaxing

Today was the last day of EOG (End of Grade) testing for Ryan. It is a somewhat stressful time of the school year, because students who do not pass the tests will not be promoted to the next grade. Period. These tests begin in 3rd grade and continue throughout the remaining years of elementary and middle school. Ryan felt the tests were pretty easy, but he was glad they're over! The remainder of the year will be spent on social studies and science (these EOGs focus on math and reading), with some fun field-day activities and end-of-the-year parties thrown in for good measure. And his teacher let them celebrate the end of the testing with a break from homework.

Strollin'

A new generation is submitting to the whims of my daughters. I can remember doing similar things to my cousin Anne Marie's cat Patches. The cast may change, but the song remains the same.

Drama Queen

If Olivia gets hurt in any way, you can guarantee that there will be crying. A lot of crying. A lot of loud crying. Even if the injury is invisible to the naked eye. Especially if the injury results in hurt feelings (the wails for hurt feelings are often much louder). And if there's blood? Well. You might as well just hang up whatever it is you're doing because the task of fixing the scrape and then comforting the cries will take a while. I take some small comfort in the fact that Ryan used to be the same way, and he is now quite brave. Perhaps there is hope?

Lucky Charms - Katy's Way

Some people like to eat their Lucky Charms in a bowl with milk. Others prefer them dry. And then there's Katy, who likes it a little bit both ways: first, pick all the marshmallows out before any milk is added; second, add milk to the cereal and finish the cereal; finally eat the marshmallows for 'dessert.'

Girls, Girls, Girls

Our neighborhood has an abundance of elementary-aged children running around. There are 7 boys in our cul-de-sac, which sounds like a lot, but they are thoroughly out-numbered by the 11 girls! It's all fun and games right now, but I suspect this spells trouble, with a capital T in about 5 years...

The Pleasantest Thing

For a combination anniversary/Mother's Day gift, I received a lovely, cedar outdoor swing. It smells wonderful and is the most relaxing thing I can imagine.

The best part? The way that a swing brings about conversation. Is it the serenity of swinging with someone that does it? I don't know, but in the few days I've had the swing I've shared more thoughts and words with my husband and kids than in a long time.












(Don't you just love the port-a-potty in the background?! That makes me giggle every time I see it in this picture!)

You Know You're in NASCAR Country when...

more than 2 weeks before the race comes to town there are signs popping up all over the place saying "Welcome, Race Fans!" and posters advertising various race-related events and activities. Those checkered flags are waving e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e!

A Whole New World

This is what we found on our doorstep this afternoon:















With the following note attached:
We are so pleased to welcome you to the "family" and wish you much success in your new position! The Verian Technologies Team
It is a lovely basket from Reid's Fine Foods, a local catering outlet. Kevin? I don't think you're in big banking anymore!

Brighty Whitey

When we first sealed our deck, Kevin chose a gray stain thinking it would blend nicely with the house. Unfortunately, the shade was a bit off and it looked rather battleship-like. We lived with it for 2 years, but since the deck needed to be re-sealed, I asked that we do it in white. Practical? Probably not. Especially with all the red clay around here. But we plan on replacing the floor boards in a few years with trex, so it should be fine. And the rails look wonderful! It was another day filled with hard work, but the end results were stunning (in my oh so humble opinion). It really compliments the white trim on the house. Of course, now the trim is looking a bit dingy in comparison... but that will have to be another day!

My Gloves are Dirty Now

Yesterday Kevin dug out this new planting bed on the north-facing side of our house. I got to wheel the sod that we removed to the vacant lot down at the end of the cul-de-sac. We've got to get all of this kind of work done before they finish building around here--don't know where we'd put this stuff without the empty lots!

Today, we took a trip to the nursery and bought 3 new knock-out rose bushes, 3 rhododendrons, 6 new hostas, and 12 day lillies. We then transplanted 5 hydrangea bushes that were not doing well in the locations we'd originally planted them to the new bed, along with the rhodies and the hostas. The knock-out roses replaced 3 of the hydrangeas, and 6 of the day lillies replaced the other 2 hydrangeas. The remaining 6 day lillies went in beds near the air conditioners near the deck. And then we spread 5 yards of mulch.

It looks a bit sparse in the new bed right now, but based upon the mature size of these shrubs, it should be quite lush in about 5 years. I had hoped to put in some annuals to help fill the space this year, but our budget is tapped, and I am tired!

Fresh Leather

Nothing smells quite like fresh, clean leather work gloves. And with all the yardwork we have planned for this week, it was time to finally get my new pair. Look how white they are!

Save the Date

I need to remember to maintain low expectations because then I'm less likely to be disappointed when things don't turn out the way I imagine. For example, my ideal Mother's Day includes sleeping late, spending time with my children and other beloved mothers, and no cooking.

But this year Ryan's baseball ended up dominating the day. The girls were camping with the Zirkle's who were at a bluegrass festival about an hour east of here. Ryan was supposed to go too (and Kevin & I would have had a whole weekend to ourselves to celebrate our anniversary), but he had baseball practice Friday night and a game Saturday morning. He also had an important all-star team practice to finalize positions on the team on Sunday afternoon.

So. We got up bright and early (Kevin let me "sleep in" until 7:30), and drove out to pick up the girls. We wanted a little time to visit with the Zirkles since Kevin and Ryan didn't go with me when I dropped them off on Friday (baseball, you know). And then we turned around and headed back so that Ryan could be at the practice by 1 p.m. I did get to plant flowers with the girls, which we all enjoyed. And Kevin picked up stuff for dinner and did the grilling and food prep.

But this is what really saved the day for me: chocolate. My man knows me well. :)

Bring On the Rain

While doing some yardwork, we were surprised by a fast-moving heavy rainfall. It turned into quite an electrical storm. Kevin only had about 10 more passes with the lawnmower to finish the job, so he kept going. I ducked for cover as soon as the first drops began to fall and had to grab my camera when I saw him!

Unwinding

The kittens have developed definite rhythms to their activity-level throughout a typical day. They are wound up first thing in the morning, and then again mid-morning, late afternoon, and late evening. But the rest of the time they're pretty mellow. It works out really well because when the kids get home from school, they don't really feel like playing with the kittens, they really just want to snuggle them. And because the kittens are so mellow at that time of the day, they are more than happy to oblige.

On a side note, can you believe how huge Midnight has gotten? He was almost 7 lbs. at his pre-op check-up on Monday (we got them fixed (or broken, depending on your point of view) this week). Oreo was not much larger than that when he was fully grown, and Midnight is only 4 months old. I wonder how big he'll end up? Bella is still rather petite and dainty, at least compared to her brutish big brother!

All About Fraction

Olivia: "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Look outside! There's a rainbow! Mommy! There's a rainbow outside, Mommy! Look outside! It's right outside! Right out front 'cause the rain isn't raining in front!"
Me (grabbing camera and jogging to the front porch): "Wow! That's really exciting. Look at how big it is--it goes all the way across the sky."
Olivia: "Rainbows come from when the light get fractioned through the rain drops. We tried to make rainbows happen at school, but they were never this big!"

And if you look really closely you can see that it is actually a double rainbow, although the top one is really faint. I couldn't get over how brilliant the colors of the main bow were!

14 Years, and Counting

Since getting married on May 6, 1995 we've:

rang in 1 new millennium
moved 4 times
bought 3 houses
voted in 4 presidential elections
had 3 children
suffered 1 miscarriage
lost 5 grandparents
owned 7 vehicles
worked for 5 (soon to be 6) different companies
taken 15 vacations
gained about 20 pounds between us
kissed at least 20,000 times
made too many friends to number

It has been wonderful sharing the past 14 years of our lives with each other (okay, 17 if you count when we were dating), and we're both looking forward to weathering the rest of our lives together.

Works For Me, 2

I am one of those people who plans their meals out for the week and then makes my grocery list accordingly. There are some items that I buy in bulk at BJs, and some from the grocery store. And I hate having to go to the grocery store more than once in a given week. Of course there are also certain items that always need to go on the list, and even though I know what those items are in the back of my head, the OCD part of me insists on having them included on my list so that I can cross them off. In fact, I only buy things on my list (although I've been known to add something to my list as I put it into my cart so that it's on my list and I can cross it off!). So imagine my delight when I found this laundry list at Target! It has big magnets on the back so I hang it on the fridge and check items off if I run out of them. And all the staples are listed, so all I have to do is X the box if I need them. It makes my grocery list super easy to make, and it even has a nice "don't forget" section at the bottom for me to list other stops I may need to make during the week.

In Full Bloom

This is the current view from our deck, and the sight that greets us as we pull into our driveway. Gotta love those pink azaleas in the front, and the knock-out roses in the back are amazing! They'll be in bloom the entire summer and into early fall. We're going to plant a bunch of these, but I'm debating between getting the double knockout variety, the sunny variety, and the white variety. We may just end up getting some of all of them! The hostas came back, much to my surprise since they get a little too much sun. I'm planning to move them to a new bed this year on the North-facing side of the house. Not sure what I'll replace them with, but I'm leaning towards varieties of daylillies. And the red maples are showing lots of new growth. This is my favorite time of year.

Cuddlebugs

Katy absolutely adores sleeping with one of the kittens. Bella, in particular, but she'll take Midnight if he's willing to stay still for that long. This is the sight that we saw tonight while checking on the kids before going to bed ourselves. I'd say they both look pretty cozy.

Satisfaction

The first few months of this year have been quite a roller coaster for us with Kevin losing his job, and then finding a new one; and Roger's cancer scare, and resolution. Throw day-to-day life stuff into the mix, add in economic uncertainty for the whole country, plus the joys of new family members (my neice!) and it made for some real highs and lows. But right here, this is the happiest, and most content I've seen Kevin in a while. I can't begin to say how seeing this expression on his face brings me satisfaction too. I think it's safe to say we're both hoping for some nice, smooth sailing for the next little while.

Friday Pizza Night, Revisited

When we lived in Virginia, we purchased a discount card that the local high school was selling as a fund raiser. On it was a "buy one, get one free" coupon from Papa Johns. For years we would go in halfsies with the McQuillan family and split the two pizzas on Friday nights. Without planning it, a Zirkle family tradition was born from this: Friday Pizza Night. We now have pizza every Friday night for dinner, and if we try to change things up, the kids protest with "but it's Friday! We always get to have pizza on Friday." Well, since traditions are part of what brings families together, we don't try to fight it any more. So when we announced that we were going on the boat tonight for dinner, we had to make a stop at Sebastiano's to pick up our pizza. Can I just say that pizza tastes really good on a boat?