It's a Small World

A couple of weeks before we left on our vacation I posted a status update on Facebook asking for ideas of what to do in and along the way to PEI.  Shortly afterward Cami's best friend from elementary school, Mikhaela, who had moved back to Canada a few years ago, excitedly got in touch with us asking about the dates for our trip.  In a very random twist of awesome timing, it just so happened that her family was planning to be in Prince Edward Island for two of the same three days we were planning to be there.

After jubilant rejoicing from our oldest daughter, we looked forward ourselves to reconnecting with our long lost friends.    We arranged to stay in the same place in Cavendish that they were staying and joined them for ice cream as soon as they arrived.

After being separated by an international boundary for the last three or so years, Cami and Mikhaela were happy to reconnect and lost no time picking back up in late night chats and lots of giggles....

Mikhaela's younger sister Josée was just a baby when they moved away, but Ellie and her hit it off too!

Mikhaela used to live around the corner from us and I didn't realize until we were all back together again how much I missed their family.  Luwana is a kind, dear friend and I really enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with her again.  Heck, we even joined in the fun with the younger girls and played dress-up too.

The night before we left we kept the kids up way too late, so us adults could all keep talking...

Josée was already asleep, but Ellie, Cassandra, Cami, and Mikhaela didn't mind their parents' distraction a bit and took full advantage of the extra time with their friends.  :) 

It was hard saying goodbye, but we are grateful for the opportunity we had to reconnect with our friends again and hope that we can find a way to do it again in the not-too-distant future!   

Traversing the Town

Take a walk with us through our neighborhood....

First, I want to point out that a minor miracle has occurred.  In storms past, our neighborhood is 19,381st (or so) on the priority list for snowplowing and usually gets plowed about 3 days after the snow is melted. 

 

(looking right from our driveway)

This storm, however, we had a guy with a snowplow attached to his pick-up truck go through our neighborhood every hour or so during the storm.  Since we know several people around town who haven't seen a plow at all yet, we figure that it was somebody in our neighborhood who decided he wanted to be able to leave the neighborhood before Easter and bought his own plow.  Whoever he is, he is my new hero!  

  

(looking left from our driveway)

Walking on a little further we found several evergreen trees that had split or had large branches broken off.  Thankfully, none of them looked like they caused any damage to property.   

  

A little further on here and you'll find the main entrance to our neighborhood.  Normally, we use it several times a day, but whenever there is snow or ice of any kind we completely avoid it.   It's a rather steep incline right into a busy street and they rarely, if ever, plow or treat it.   As per usual, it is still a hazard. 

  

Then a little later on, if you happened to notice some giggly girls dangerously traversing a large snow mountain at a busy intersection today, that would be us (except I was taking pictures instead of giggling) with no sidewalk to stand on.

Cami and her friends were feeling pretty tall after being able to touch the crosswalk thingy (does it have a name?) before crossing the street.  After tomorrow's growth spurt, er,  storm they probably won't even have to lift their arms to reach it. 

 

It was shortly after crossing the street that we discovered that the minor miracle mentioned earlier was more monumental than originally thought.  Our little street is actually plowed better than this major local thoroughfare.  

  

After a little grocery shopping where people had once again emptied the shelves of basic necessities (like eggs and bananas) we went home and greeted Ashton Kutcher who had made more than $300 in the last few days shoveling driveways with his friend.  

 

What's that you say?   You didn't know that I gave birth to Ashton Kutcher.

  Truth be told, I didn't really know that either, but when I logged onto facebook this week I found this photo as my son's profile picture.   I was quite impressed with the fabulous genetics I seemed to pass that way and then figured having an in in Hollywood these days may not be such a bad thing. ;)

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Pigs Flying By and Dropping a Rocky Road

Don't ask me how it's happened. Maybe it was the h1n1 germs causing delusions or something, but it's official now....
pigs were spotted flying right over our house this past Thursday and dropping us a little surprise.

I'm not pregnant, we're not moving, my Christmas shopping isn't already done, and my kids most certainly did not clean their rooms without being asked, sooooooooo it must be something REALLY stunning and unexpected.

Okay fine. I'll stop teasing and just tell you.

An alien briefly gained mind control over me and when I awoke I was greeted by...

Rocky the puggle.
He's got all his shots, he's already neutered, he's totally housebroken, he's playful and cuddly, and given to us completely free.

In my moment of alien control I was convinced that it was the best head start we were ever going to get at this whole dog ownership thing, which all my kids (namely Cami) have been so desperately eager to try....
We took him on as a trial of sorts, but I'm already getting a little nervous that he might be here to stay. Not only is he exceptionally cute and cuddly, but there are a few people who are already getting pretty attached.
Blasted aliens.

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Day 247--Anti-Spontaneity

Last night we learned that Spencer wouldn't have any football practice again until Tuesday, so we started hatching this idea that we would take a spontaneous trip out of town today just because we could. We hadn't been anywhere together as a family since our rainy trip to Hershey/Amish country in early summer and didn't think we would be able to because of Spencer's football that he's had since early August.

Today was the official middle school and high school orientation day. Spence and Cami took the bus to their schools, rotated around to their respective classes, and got to reconnect with old friends. The bus dropped them both off at the elementary school, where I had walked the mile or so and let the kids run and play on the playground before taking them all home.

While there at the playground Cami started getting wind of the idea that we would go on a last minute trip out of town today. Rather than being ecstatic as we thought she would be...

she was SO ANNOYED with us. Her, Megan, and Mikhaela had been hatching out all these fun ideas that they were going to do tonight at Marissa's party and she was so completely irritated that we were going to take her away from all that.

Glen was able to get off early enough so we jumped in the car to go finish what we started in Hershey in June. We never did get to go to HersheyPark since the weather was too horrible and we thought it would be a fun way to end the summer. Cami still was NOT happy with us in the slightest when we left, but I think she's coming around now with the anticipation.

We checked the weather before leaving and it's supposed to be 81 degrees and sunny tomorrow!

Too bad we didn't get the memo that Emma was going to come down with a fever before we even hit Frederick. We assume it's the same bug that took down Ellie earlier this week, but we're hoping to keep the vomiting far away....knock on wood.

Ack! Toting around a sick eight-year-old does NOT sound like a fun day. Sure hope she fits in the stroller....

Day 243--Like Mother, Like Daughter...

I had to laugh when I caught a glimpse of Emma walking through the park with Ellie studying the pictures she'd just taken on her camera. It was funny that I had my camera right with me to take a picture of her and it was even funnier that she thought it was totally normal to tote a camera around with you while playing at a park with your friends.

Cami, on the other hand, is WAY cooler than I was at her age. I still had buck teeth, weird hair, and was totally awkward at age 12 (still am). How Cami got to be so cool and sociable is beyond me!

Day 236--Adopted?

Today was the first day of middle school orientation. They spend the week getting to know people, learning to open lockers, and exploring the school. Cami's friends showed up at our house bright and early so they could "primp" together.


And although this picture was actually taken last night, I thought it significant enough to share it here...

She's ironing. Jeans. I don't iron anything and she's ironing jeans. Whose child is she anyway?

Play Dates: Then and Now

Play dates when they're four:

Princess dresses, tiaras, dolls, and fighting over who gets to be the mom when they play house.

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Play dates when they're twelve:

Straightening each other's hair, trying on each other's new school clothes,

manicures, applying make-up to each other, and ogling over Zac Efron.

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Both of them pretending to be older, but somehow the 12-year-old version seems a little too realistic to me and scares the living daylights out of me. While Ellie and her friends look fancy and cute all dressed up in their princess clothes, Cami and her friends just look beautiful. I can't imagine the day is too far away when little frog princes really do come knocking on our door. AAAAAGH!

Disclaimer: While it may appear that I have kids old enough to go to middle school and high school, it's merely all an illusion. I am still a young mom with young kids. Got it?

Day 230--Laundry and Baseball

The start of Spencer's two-a-day football practices has brought with it a new urgency to keeping up with the laundry...

and Spencer experienced his first bout of jealousy with his new sporting commitments when he returned from practice to discover that everyone but Ellie and I were downtown at the Rockies/Nationals game.

They came home happy to report that the right team won the match-up.

Rockies 4--Nats 3.

(You couldn't expect 2 Colorado boys {Aaron and Glen} to root for anyone else now could you?)

Customers of the Year

I have a love/hate relationship with Wal-mart that only be rivaled with the love/hate relationship I have with chocolate.

I love that I can pay only $1.84 for the same bottle of shampoo that would cost $2.79 at Safeway, but I hate the fact that I always leave there with a big headache, a huge bill, and an inexplicable desire to take a shower.

Sometime mid-August every year, I start bracing myself for our annual pilgrimage to the land of long lines and roll-back prices to replenish the kids' school supplies. The school publishes a list of all the items they need grade by grade. Markers, pencils, highlighters, scissors, folders...it's all spelled out for me in black and white.

4 dozen pencils--check. 6 Highlighters--check. 3 pink erasers--check. 3 boxes of 24 crayons--check...

Things were going surprisingly well until we hit one box of 12 Washable Markers on the first grade list.

Sounds easy enough, but I dare you to find a box of 12 anywhere. We found boxes of 8, 10, 16, and even 11, but not a single box of 12.

So after wasting 5 minutes of searching high and low and briefly entertaining buying non-washable markers, I eventually decided it was a box of 10 or nothing. Whoever wrote that list clearly had no idea what they were asking for.

Then I got to the next item....20 glue sticks. Woohoo! Double packs of glue sticks are 5 for $1.

Oh wait, their lists clearly state that only large, white glue sticks are acceptable, which happen to be $1.59 each. Yep, that would mean I spent 30 bucks for glue sticks that could have totaled 4.

So an hour and a half later with 2 carts full, our bank account drained, and the kids in various stages of starvation I left with a satisfied air that somehow we made out better than last year...

then I went home and took a shower.

Day 226--School Supplies and Birthday Parties

After a play date for the kids was canceled for this morning I was bound and determined to make today my back-to-school shopping day. I wanted to be out the door no later than 9:00am, which meant we didn't leave until 9:30. Even with the late start the school supply aisles were void of people when we got there. I gave each of the kids pens and went up and down the aisles calling, "How many packs of pencils do you need?" "Markers. Who needs markers?"
Spencer was at football practice at the time, so obviously I had to bring someone extra with me so I wouldn't be gypped of my full quota of children. We put Cami's friend Mikhaela to work pushing the second cart and helping keep track of Ellie. Now we've got everything on those blasted lists except the math supplies (rulers, protractors, compasses, etc), which we could not find anywhere. Oh and a pencil box for Adam too. He totally refused to take a pink or purple or sparkly one, which were the only ones Wal-mart carried.

Then an entire month past her 12th birthday, Cami finally had her birthday party. Since one of her best friend's (Mikhaela) birthday is coming up soon, they thought they'd plan a joint party and make the best of it. They planned every last detail, down to homemade ice cream cake, "13 Going on 30", frozen pizza (because it was cheaper than ordering), and swimming in the dark. All their planning paid off and they had a fabulous time with their friends.

Day 208--El Pollo Rico and New Windows

After spending the last month as the ghetto house on the block with our duct taped windows, we finally got back up to speed today.
Then, after a long, painful visit to the orthopedist for Spencer (where they told us everything was normal and fine) we met Aaron and Trish for an early dinner at one of their family favorite restaurants, El Pollo Rico. The food was simple, but excellent and the company was even better.

Day 168--Bye bye Elementary School!

For whatever reason, elementary school graduation is a really big deal here in Virginia. The graduates all dress up in their finest, have a really long, boring ceremony, then go off to party at Outback Steakhouse. There was a whole lot of silliness going on there at Outback today, mostly involving the boys teasing the girls and the girls reacting dramatically to it. Oh yay, I can't wait for the next 6 years or so.

Day 166--Check, check, check.

List of things to do today:

1. Take seats out of van
2. Go to dump to get rid of stuff
3. Go to Unique to get rid of more stuff
4. Go to Costco to buy storage containers
5. Help Cami with her speech
6. Have Emma's, Adam's, and Cami's friends over
7. Vacuum car while seats are out anyway
8. Put seats back in car
9. Drive everyone home
10. Make dinner
11. Go to Cami's orchestra concert
12. Get back to work on the basement

Day 136--5K Success!

After another awesome 5K race with the Girls on the Run program, Cami gets a much needed splash of water down her back thanks to her good friend Mikhaela.

Day 127--Rockin' Out at the Air & Space Museum

Leave it to Cami and her friends to find a way to dance at the Air & Space Museum. Luckily I had my camera handy to capture the moment!

Just as a side note, I wanted to mention that today was the easiest field trip chaperoning job EVER.

Cami + 3 best friends=No Stress Whatsoever!

Day 125--Working Hard

I couldn't help but laugh when I came to pick up Cami and her friend Mikhaela from school today.  They were red-faced, winded, barefoot and soaked from head to toe!  The girls had had their practice 5K run for Girls on the Run this afternoon, which was a formidable enough of a challenge  under the best of circumstances, but all the more impressive considering that they did it in the pouring rain.  

Day 89--Getting Bored?

For the first time since starting this Project 365, I'm starting to feel really stretched by it. It seems like my pictures are all the same and most of days are a lot like the one before and the one after it, and there's not all that much interesting going on. Sorry if it's a bore; I'll try to plan some really exciting outings soon. Since it's Monday, our house was filled to the brim with friends all afternoon, so yet again here's a picture of some of them jumping on the trampoline on a beautiful Spring day.

Day 68--Love thy Neighbor

Sadly I have to admit that we don't wash our car very often. However with all the driving around to the airports, funeral, viewing, etc. we had to do during Sunday/Monday's snowstorm we ended up with our car just caked with salt and chemicals. It was too grimy even for our low standards...so I set aside my laziness just long enough to send the kids out to wash it off.

When our neighbor saw me shooting pictures of the kids in process, he asked me [seriously]...

"It's been so long since your car was clean that you're taking a picture of the occasion?"

Uh, yeah. He's been scratched from our Christmas cookie list.

Day 47--President's Day at Great Falls

Yesterday may have been slim pickings for a photo, but today I had such a plethora it was hard to narrow it down! The kids have been begging to go Great Falls for ages, so when we were searching for a family activity this afternoon we loaded into the car and finally went!

Emma was quite the super model today. She was always by my side chattering away about school, friends, life, etc. and whenever I found a cool place to take a picture she was the first to volunteer!

The kids were enraptured with this hollow tree. It was big enough to go inside and stand up. We could have just hung some pictures up on the wall, installed a door, and it would have been a home fit for Winnie the Pooh himself!

Ellie was tired and cold the whole time and did not want to leave her cozy cove of blankets in the stroller. Most of the time she whined when we took her out, but not this time. She got to do a little rock climbing and she was really excited about it. Granted her joy last 5.2 seconds, but I was happy to capture this sweet smile in Daddy's arms!

Who would have guessed? Cami and Mikhaela were so enthralled with this corn snake, that we had to drag them away unwillingly from the poor park ranger who tried her best to keep up with the dozens of questions they kept throwing at her!