Summer o'Fun Day 30 (2008)

Today, the boys and I went to the zoo and we met up with CraftyMama and her crew. It was a good day to walk around the zoo - cool with some sunshine.

Of course we arrived late and I was almost having a coronary because I get so stressed out when I am late. One of the bridges across the lake were closed due to the Blue Angels practicing across Lake Washington for SeaFair. Imagine any other city in the world closing one of their main highways (I-90!!) for 3 1/2 hours so some planes can practice for an air show?!

Anyway, we met up with Crafty and her family +1 and spent the day looking at the animals. The newest exhibit were a flock of Chilean Flamingos. Cars was most perturbed because "they only have one leg!". It took a bit to convince him that they actually did have two but preferred tuck one up under them when they were standing.


Here are the monkeys:


And the rest of the Zoo Crew (courtesty of CraftyMama):

Mariner's Offer No Peanut Section for Two Games

On Tuesday, August 5th and Tuesday, September 9th, the Seattle Mariners will be offering sections in a "peanut controlled" section. They will scrub down the seats before the game and will not be selling peanuts in that section or in the nearby concession stands during those games. Please show your support and buy tickets to the game! If this is a success, hopefully the Mariners will offer more games with a "peanut controlled" area next year.

http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/sea/ticketing/no_peanuts.jsp

And, if you remember this ass? We'll he's done it again but about these two little sections during two games in the middle of the week up high in the nosebleed sections. He's still an ass.

Summer o'Fun Day 29 (2008)

Today, I watched Spy's kids for the day. My boys were soooo excited to have a full-day playdate. They played Lego, watched tv, played video games, ran around outside and rode Dex's Green machine and scooters. While we were outside (I was weeding, as usual), we saw a young stag walk down my neighbour's driveway. He stood and watched us for a few moments then walked up another neighbour's driveway then walked across their lawn and disappeared into the woods behind their house. So cool!

We also made "sculptures" using polymer clay. The boys had a good time trying to figure out what to make. Jax made a clown, Dex made a two-headed gorilla, Cars made a big pile of nothing (uh, he would say it was his "sculpture", Spy's youngest made a snake with a bum, her other son made a "guy" (her dd was not here at that time). Ash's ds was here then too and he was going to make Homer Simpson but decided on a donut instead. Anyway, I think they had a great time making them. I baked them and my kids will paint theirs later this week.

Ash's dh is away on business so she came over for dinner (Stephen worked late). We had fun poking around my garden and planning what to do with the big patch in the middle of my lawn (there used to be a tree but now it is a big stump). Anyway, we had pizza and "S'moreos" for dessert (S'mores made with Oreos - we invented it while camping a couple of weeks ago). Yummy!

We ended the evening with a Cosmo. Life is good. :)

Summer o'Fun Day 28 (2008)

Again, not so much fun. We had rain for the first time in three weeks (well, it sprinkled for like 3 seconds on Sunday so that doesn't count). The kids and I just hung out at home again then we headed to Old Navy because they had a jeans sale on. I bought 5 pairs of jeans today for $55 (plus tax). Great deal!

The kids and I then walked over to Michael's for a few craft supplies for tomorrow (Craft day!). Cars fell and scraped his knee really badly. We bandaged it up and he kept saying "I need to walk this way!" and he hobbled around with this very exaggerated limp. It was so funny. (He was trying not to bend his knee so the band aid would not come off - not because he was hurt).

Today, I also decided to get off my butt and file to get my children their proof of Canadian Citizenship. I downloaded the forms off the Canadian government website then I had to get photos taken. I went to the photo place that Big Software Company sends all of their foreign workers for photos for the USCIS (which happens to be at the same mall as Old Navy) because the photos always have to be so precise. This is also the same place where I paid $25.02 for Canadian passport photos four years ago. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the Canadian Citizenship pictures cost $45 ($35 for kids under 5 years of age)! Outrageous! But I was stuck! I had to get them because this is the only place around that will do them.

Anyway, while I was waiting to pay, I noticed that the lady charged 1 @$45 and 2 @$35. How bad is it that I did not correct her? Maybe she did that on purpose because she felt sorry for me - paying an arm and a leg for my children's photos! Next, we have the filing fee for each of them ($75 each!). Please let the Big Software Company stock go up!

The biggest problem is that I waited until now to do all three kids' applications at the same time. I would not be complaining (well, at least not as much) if I had filed when each of them were born the co$t would have been spread out over five years rather than in one fell swoop. And, the cost 10 years ago (for Jax) most likely would have been far less than the $75 fee it is now. And, it was only a few years ago that they stopped accepting US passport photos for the Citizenship ID's so the cost of the photos for at least Jax and Dex would have been far less. No one to blame but myself. *sigh*

Then, this evening, as I was complaining to Stephen about the co$t of all it all, it dawned on me that his Canadian passport will be expiring in a few months so we'll have to get more crazy expen$ive photos taken again very soon! Yike$!!

Summer o'Fun Day 27 (2008)

A lazy summer day. We had no plans for the day so we just hung out around here. Dex set up his tether ball set that he received for his birthday. It came with a little ball and paddles as well as a larger tether ball to hit with your hand. He and Jax liked hitting with the paddles until...

Jax hit the little ball too hard and it broke off (it is the little yellow ball on the left flying towards the garden). Oops!

The kids also had a contest to see who could hold ice in their mouth the longest

(Jax won)


Usually, I let Cars walk around with my old Canon SureShot camera and he loves taking pictures and videos. Today, I let him use my Nikon camera and he took about 150 pictures (including the ones of his brothers above) and this one of me with my freckles and wrinkles.


Dex then wanted a turn and took a picture of the ice in his cup. I was expecting to have to delete it but it turned out pretty cool!


Anyway, I was thinking that today was not much fun but I think we all benefitted from the low-key day. We did walk to the library so I guess it was not a total waste. Jax and Dex received their prizes from the library for reaching their reading goals (they are surprisingly nice - Vivitar binoculars!). Cars has another few hundred minutes to go to reach his goal. Thankfully he picked a book out that we can read (he tends to insist on check out out Spanish-language books).

A few photos:

Ready for the Star Wars Clone Wars Toys Midnight Release (oops, did not fix redeye)


Watching the motorbike demo at the company picnic


Pez Family Men


Kracken Attack at the base of Mt. Si!

Today started off very early for the boys. At 11pm last night, Stephen woke them up to take them to Toys'r'Us for a special Midnight release of the new Star Wars Clone Wars toys. Last night, after I left Nordstroms, I drove my TRU and there were already about 10 people camped out in line. By the time Stephen and the boys arrived at 11:30, there were 50 and by the time TRU opened at midnight, well over 100 people in line to buy Star Wars toys.

Apparently it was mayhem when they opened the doors and all of these grown men rushed into the store to fill their carts with the new collectibles. I am sure some of them were buying them to resell later on eBay but many were getting them for their own collections. LOL Stephen and I joked that in 20 years that will be our sons in line. *yikes*

Jax, Dex and Cars made a bee line for the Lego and they each purchased one. Jax bought a big one that he had been saving up for ages to buy. Cars and Dex each bought smaller ones since they did not have nearly as much money as Jax. They also got free posters with their purchases. It was clearly not the same as the HP book 7 release party that we attended last year but still something that they were so excited to attend.

Sadly, no one slept in this morning.

Later today, we went to the Big Software Company's annual picnic. It was muggy and I ended up with a migraine. The lines seemed much longer than usual this year but the boys still had a fantastic time. We are almost at the stage though where the little kid rides are too small for Jax yet the big kid rides are too big for Cars (and some for Dex). I think next year we will have to split up for the rides and slides.

Summer o'Fun Day 27 (2008)

Today, Jax had a playdate in the morning (see Tuesday's post) while Dex and Cars just hung out here with me. I did some things around the house then a couple of hours after I picked Jax up, we headed to the skateboard park. I am very proud of how Jax and Dex are progressing with their skateboarding.

Here are some short videos of them at the skatepark (from Tuesday):
Jax
Dex
And here is Cars doing his own thing at the skateboard park (this video is a little longer and the camera was turned sideways - oops!)

After dinner this evening, I ran to Nordstrom's to get some Lancôme foundation . I have been in need of foundation for a couple of weeks but I had to wait until there was a "gift with purchase" because that is the only time I ever buy foundation. And I virtually never buy eye shadow because I just use the free stuff (except the one time when the the free eye shadow was a palatte of greens - ick!).

Nordstrom also has its Anniversary Sale on at the moment so I thought I would check out some bras. A couple of my bras are not fitting so well these days and I was thinking I was shrinking so I tried on a couple that were a cup size down and they did not fit so I had to ask for help (which I should have done in the first place). Now, I knew I was wearing an old bra but I did not think much about it when I got dressed this morning. The bra fitter took one look at it and started pointing out all the things wrong with it (puckered cups, stretched band and let's not mention that it used to be pink but is now a kind of greyish/peach) and then she told me I must throw it directly in the trash when I got home. Scolded by the Nordstrom Bra Fitter - how humiliating!

As it turns out, the girls are not shrinking but the old bra is just not doing its job. I mentioned to her that I had purchased two bras at last year's Anniversary Sale too and she told me that I must throw those ones out too. Now, does she not realize that bras are expen$ive? I mean, even on sale, they are not cheap and there are no gifts with purchase in the lingerie department! Of course, she was hoping that I would buy three or four (or 5!) bras right then and there to replace my raggedy old bras but I was doing no such thing. She ranted and raved about one particular bra that of course was NOT on sale and cost more than I have ever even paid for a pair of jeans - and everyone can see my jeans!. I did feel pressured though so in the end I purchased two ecru bras (does that sound better than "beige"?).

However, I now need to find a pink bra before September (I always wear a pink bra to my mammogram for good luck) because the used-to-be-pink one I am wearing will be in the trash momentarily.

Summer o'Fun Day 26 (2008)

The boys had a playdate here with my friend's two sons. We originally had planned to go to the beach but overcast skies in the morning meant 60*F weather at 11am so we stayed home. The sun eventually came out and the boys went on the slip'n'slide.

This evening, I had to take a "Safety Environment" class at church to learn to recognize and how to report child sexual abuse. The class finished early so I came home to find my van gone (I drove the fast car). I went into the garage and the door from the house to the garage was open. Then I walked in the house and the sliding door to the deck was open as was the door from the kitchen to the deck and the front door. I retraced my steps and saw that in the bathroom, the medicine cabinet was open and so of course I figured there must have been an emergency and Stephen had to rush the kids to the hospital. I picked up the phone and dialled his cell phone. He answered and I hear "beep, beep, beep" in the background - the sound of a cash register. Stephen had the boys at at Target buying popcorn (he is addicted to the popcorn from Target's snackbar). OMG! It was sooooo urgent that they rush out of the house, leave all the doors WIDE open and not leave a note? Geez! Of course he scoffed at me for being alarmed but what if someone stole something? Like my computer? Or my camera? Or his TV?!

Anyway, besides being irritated that he left the house all open, I am miffed that it is past the boys' bedtime and they are at Target buying popcorn. Hrmph!

Summer o'Fun Day 25 (2008)

Let's see what we did today:

1) Met friends at a Skateboard park (not the regular one)
2) Dropped off forms for school at allergist
3) Staples for more school supplies
4) Home for lunch
5) Swimming lessons and splashing in the pool
6) Farmer's Market
7) Mexican Restaurant for dinner
8) Sent two children to bed at 6:05pm for screaming in the restroom of said restaurant

One gets to come out in 30 minutes. The other is up there for the night and I have vowed never to take them to a restaurant again without dh present (this was made in a fit of rage and it is irrational and not well thought out. I'll have to figure out a way to have them "earn" it back). Cars is never, ever, ever allowed in the Men's room again until he is 6 years old because according to WA State law, he will no longer be allowed in the Ladies' Room. That's one year, one week and six days away. Plenty of time for him to learn to behave himself, right?

Edited to add that we had had such a great day. No fighting. They were all getting along so well (short of the occassional bickering that would erupt when playing with their Lego right after lunch). I don't understand why on earth they would YELL in a restaurant. I am horribly embarrassed. They know better than to do this!

Summer o'Fun Day 24 (2008)

Today I took the kids to Target and Fred Meyer for some back-to-school shopping. Ok, we were really only shopping for school supplies since this is the week when they are on sale everywhere! Again, I did not have lists so I just picked up the things that I knew I would have to buy such as crayons, pencil crayons ("colored-pencils for you Americans), markers, rulers, erasers and Sharpies. Of course after I got home I had an email from Spy letting me know that the school has now listed the school supplies on their website. Oh well, back out again later in the week so I can hit Staples.

The kids also had a short playdate with some friends before we went out. And I am still de-camping our house.

I mentioned to Jax's psychologist about the friend thing and he told me that it was typical of kids with anxiety and OCD-like traits to be closed off from others and that by continuing to address those issues, it should help in the friendship area too.

One problem that we have is that when I invite one particular child over to play with Jax, he and Dex tend to buddy up so I need to coordinate things so that this kid comes over when Dex is away at a playdate. I'll work on that.

This parenting thing can be so complicated!

Summer o'Fun Day 23 (2008)

The boys went to their last golf lesson for the year. I did not sign them up for the second session which will free up our Mondays for other things.

It was a little sad though because Jax asked Dex to come with him in the 10 year olds group and Dex said he wanted to be with kids his own age. Jax was upset and said "You have friends everywhere so the least you could do is to be with me at golf!". It is true. Dex is very easy going and he gets along with just about everyone. Jax has a harder time making friends because he keeps people at arms length (literally and figuratively) as a way to protect himself from peanuts. He does not connect quickly with others but he does enjoy spending time with them once he knows that they will not tease him about peanuts and will also keep an eye out for them. He's a likeable kid - he's funny and likes to joke, but he does not let anyone get close. Anyway, I got a little teary-eyed as we drove to golf because I could tell he was hurt that Dex would not go with him. I noticed that his counselor had a brochure in the waiting room about helping teach kids to make friends so I think I will ask him about it tomorrow.

S o'F Day 21 & 22 plus the weekend

We survived our camping trip! It got off to a very rocky start. The van was loaded down and we were packed to the gills. The bike rack was riding low and scraped on a curb after we filled up the van with gas. Stephen got all crabby. The van was so heavy that we seemed to have problems climbing the mountain pass. By the time we got to the state park, Stephen had already decided that we were buying (yet another) new car to replace the van. ~eye roll~

We also forgot a few key items (like a hammer to pound in the tent stakes, a slotted spoon and baby wipes). Stephen was keeping a list of all forgotten items and I was PMS'ing pretty bad so I took that list and the comments about the van very personally and it was not until Spy hit me with some seratonin-raising chocolate that I was able to calm down and decided that Stephen did not need some frying pan therapy.

The camp grounds/state park was wonderful. We were close to the beach but not too close. There was a playground the kids could play at and the roads were close together so cars drove very slowly which was nice because the kids were tearing around on their bikes.

It was also a "dutch oven" camping trip because as we were heading up, there was a burn ban in place but it was lifted for "designated fire pits" so we were able to gather around the fire and roast s'mores. But, we had planned all of our meals to be cooked in a dutch oven with charcoal or in a frying pan on the propane camping stove. Stephen made Mountain Man Breakfast and the kids ate it! Wow - they ate eggs! Well, except for Cars. Big step in our house since Jax recently outgrew his egg allergy and Dex swears that eggs give him headaches. Anyway, it was pretty yummy.

My kids had a fabulous time. They ate s'mores, rode bikes, swam in the glacier-fed lake (brrr!), rode horses (Stephen took them as I had a bad experience with horses when I was 13 and I don't ever have a need to get on one again), explored, got a kick out of the little store at the park (virtually everything cost $2.99!) and just had so much fun being kids. We are already planning to go back to the same park again next year.

Here are some photos of our trip:


Stephen made Dutch oven pizza. You will notice that is it not quite round. We had to cut off the portion because I dropped the lid of the dutch oven, scattering ashes all over the pizza. I burned myself on the charcoal briquettes when I picked up the lid. I am sporting a very nice second-degree burn on my knuckle. Anyway, the pizza was surprisingly good.


The lake at sunset on SoF Day 21.



Cars "body surfing" with a life jacket and a floaty on SoF Day 22.


Dex riding the waves.


Cosmo Friday at the campsite. In background - van that is the focus of Stephen's wrath.


Jax at the "secret place" at the lake.



Spy spying. ;)

One more thing I would like to mention is that there were signs posted about bear activity so we had to lock up virtually everything in the van at night - all of the food, sunscreen, bug spray, cosmetics, etc. Everything with a scent that might attract the bears so they would not come to the campsites. So, the last night there, Stephen put some hand cream on because his hands were split and raw (he always has dry skin but forgot his super-duper used-to-be-prescription-hand cream-but-now-isn't lotion and applied my Burt's Bees Honey hand cream. Honey hand cream and there are BEARS around?! OMG - what was he thinking? (For those of you not familiar with this hand cream, when you use it it smells as though you had just dipped your hands in honey). Fortunately, the bears were probably scared away by the super aggressive chipmunks. Whew!

S o'F Day 21

Oops - missed posting yesterday (Day 20).

The kids had a playdate in the morning and in the afternoon, swimming lessons that I actually REMEMBERED to take them to on time. :) While the big boys were swimming in the lesson pool, Cars had fun swimming in the recreational pool then they all went into the hot tub for a few minutes before we left.

I was *that* mother today - the one who does not get in the pool with her kids. I was crabby (PMS) so I just let them swim while I watched them. At least I wasn't the mother who DROPS her kids who are far too young to be left alone at the pool and go for a workout (or perhaps I should have - would have improved my mood).

Rats! Blogger ate my very witty (right) post.

Quick recap:

1) Shopped for more camping gear
2) Don't shop at Fred Meyer in Issaquah for the next 6 weeks in case you have to use the bathrooms which are being renovated or you will be forced to use the totally gross "Deluxe" Porta Potty trailer
3) If you try to force your almost 5 year old to use the totally gross "Deluxe" Porta Potty trailer he will insist that he can hold it until you get home and you will believe him
4) We made it home but underwear did need to be changed
5) While we are camping I will fall off the roof. So many more trips to bathrooms that are probably as gross as the "Deluxe" Porta Potty trailer :\

Summer O'Fun Day 18 (2008)

Monday, so that means golf for the boys. When I picked them up they were all hot and sweaty - P.U.! I hope that means they had fun.

I spent my free time running errands for our upcoming camping trip. Yes, the Griswolds are going camping again. We have opted for a new location this year as Ocean Shores is always way too cold. We are headed to the other side of the mountains this time so that means hot, hot, hot weather. And dry conditions so no campfire! Yikes! We just found out today about the burn ban so we need to make some menu changes since we cannot cook a steak over the fire and I am not too keen on pan-fried steak.

One of the things on my to-do list was to buy a life vest at Fred Meyer and of course I picked on that did not have a tag on it. Then the cashier could not get anyone in the sporting goods department to pick up the phone to get the UPC or skew number and the lady behind me started huffing and puffing and G-R-O-A-N-I-N-G! I was initially embarrassed but then I thought it was funny and I almost laughed right in her face. Seriously, I was at the "About 12 Items" check out (with 11 items) for over 5 minutes. The poor cashier was calling and calling and paging and calling supervisors and no one would call her back or come over. Eventually, a supervisor did arrive and they figured it out but not before the groaning and huffing and puffing lady muttered to the man behind her "Of course I had to pick this lane!". I was thisclose to asking the cashier to give me rain checks for the crackers and liquid soap that they were out just to be spiteful but then I glanced at the "Complaint Free World" bracelet on my wrist so I skipped out of there. ;)

Ok, off to make dinner and then gather more camping gear.

Misc

Dex's birthday party on Friday night/Saturday morning went well. Dex had a really good time though the boys did not sleep as much as I thought they might. Oh well, my kids slept in this morning and probably will again tomorrow.

Stephen is staining the climber today. We've had it for 4 years and it has faded a lot in the sun. Most of the stain has worn off the Gladys Kravitz perch. It should be looking new and fresh by the end of today. BTW, our new deck is higher than the GK perch as the backyard slopes down at the back so the porch is much better for looking around. "Stephen! New people are moving in the house beside us!"

I went to a friend's house last night for a girl's night Rock Band. I think we only played about 6 songs but I have four blisters and a callus on my fingers and hand from the drumsticks (Neil Peart, I am not). One is so big and it is right about my rings so I will not be able to remove them until it heals. Ouch!

In the paper today, I noticed in the ads that the school supplies are starting to go on sale. This year we did not get the school supply list for next year along with the report cards. Aargh! So mostlikely we are not going to know what to get until a few days before school starts when they meet their teachers or perhaps the school will send out a note on "Parent Organizer" which is an online message system that the school uses. With three kids now in school, I need to take advantage of the sales! Especially on glue sticks as in the past, I remember having to supply some ridiculous number for kindergarten - like 18! And they still ran out and asked for more later in the year! We also have to supply about 2 or 3 reams of paper PER CHILD because, again, a few years ago, the school ran out of paper. Crazy!

50 by 50

Last night at book club, one of the other members mentioned that she had started rowing at a local rowing club and that rowing was on her "40 by 40" list. Katie had a "30 by 30" list. Those are such great ideas! Sadly, those milestones have past me by so I started thinking about a 50 by 50 list. I did think briefly about making a "45 by 45" list but that does not quite have the same impact (nor does it give me enough time to accomplish them and why would I set myself up for failure before I even start?!).

So, a 50 by 50 list gives me a number of years to accomplish a many things that I have always wanted to do. I have started the list already and have a few things on it.

1) Run a 5k race
2) Learn to play the guitar (lessons start in the fall!)
3) Become an American Citizen
4) Take a road trip in an RV *

* Ok, I am pretty sure that this will never happen with my family since Stephen thinks this is a form of torture, but maybe I will do it with just the boys or with some friends. Road trip to Vegas, baby! ;)

So, not much of a list so far but it is a start.

Summer O'Fun Day 16 (2008)

After running errands this morning, I took the boys to the skateboard park later in the afternoon. I tried to get photos of them but their backs are always to me. Perhaps next time I will walk down onto the cement course and try to get better action shots.

Dex's birthday party is (finally) tomorrow. Only 6 weeks late. He is having a sleepover and they'll play Rock Band and watch a movie. I think it is a nice mix of kids so hopefully they will sleep!

I've got Book Club tonight. We will be discussing "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. It was a good book and the lecture itself was very inspirational (check it out on youTube). Should make for a good book club discussion. I hope that P. has a book picked out for our September meeting (August we go out for dinner as a group)because I have nothing to read at the moment!

Summer O'Fun Day 15 (2008)

Today, the boys had a friend over for a playdate and they played on the triple lane slip'n'slide and then had a grand time throwing ice down the slide of the climber. Boys! ~shaking head~

They then came inside to play xBox while we waited for time to go to their 4pm swimming lesson. The only problem is that the lesson was at 3pm and I did not realize until 10 minutes to 3! Whoops! I had no time to gather them together, drop the playdate pal off and get to the club so looks like we are out $ for that lesson. Shoot! I did call and leave a message but I am sure that the instructor did not get it before out scheduled swim time. I cannot believe that I totally mixed up the time for the lesson! Aargh!

Anyway, we headed to the skate park then and hung out until the Farmer's Market that is held at the city center opened. I bought some nice fresh veggies and the kids made a pinecone animal in the tent set up for kids' activities. The city has done a really nice job with this market (it just started a few weeks ago). They have a lot of booths selling fresh veggies, shellfish, breads, pastries as well as a lot of crafts (batik, pottery, jewelry, etc).

PEZ and Facebook

Facebook (I am up to 70 friends!) has a "SEND PEZ" application. How perfect is that for me? Yes, I am the annoying friend who is sending PEZ to nearly everyone of my friends. heh.

They have a nice selection of PEZ to choose from too. In my own collection, I have almost all of the PEZ that you can send with that application. I do not have Bullwinkle, the Indian, the Baseball PEZ (Dodgers or Giants - I have the regular baseball PEZ), the Tinkerbell PEZ (cool - I have never seen on before) or the Lost In Space PEZ. I think that one was only released as a Giant PEZ and I do not collect those other than the very few that I already have.

Our cabinet is virtually full so I don't know what I will do with further additions to my collection. Stephen is not loving the cabinet anyway as he thinks it is too full anyway and one cannot see all of the PEZ very well. He may be right but I do not like his idea of lining the walls of the living room with shelves and displaying them that way. Perhaps I need to pare down my collection? Just keep the ones that I really love. Or perhaps I should just buy another cabinet?

Summer O'Fun Day 14 (2008)

It was a gorgeous day today so we headed to the beach at Lake Sammamish State Park. There were tons of people there today - the most I have ever seen there! The lake is still rather chilly due to the late arrival of summer weather but the kids did not seem to mind. Besides, they spent most of their time digging a hole (as usual).

I have two splotches of sunburn on my back where Jax missed with the sunscreen. This happens every year. :\ I also missed a spot on Cars' face so he has a red triangle-shaped sunburn under his right eye. Oops!

After the beach we all came home to shower before I drove Jax to his psychologist appointment. I wish we could take a break in his treatment for the summer. But perhaps if we keep going he will be done and won't need to keep going when school starts in the fall. ~fingers crossed~

Summer O'Fun Day 13 (2008)

(Day 12 was July 4th)

The kids had golf lessons today but Stephen had to take them as I had my very own fun planned - my annual internal exam! I think I am finally ready to get that surgery that I have been putting off for two and half years for incisional endometriosis. I will have it done in Sept or Oct (depending on my cycle and I do not want to ruin Summer o'Fun!) to schedule the date. Doc wants it done mid-cycle so he can see the "cool blue bubbles" that sometimes form with endometriosis. He said it makes it easier to see and remove at that time of the month. (I almost gagged when he said that - kind of like when he cut away part of my old c-section scar and threw it in the garbage during c-section #2 and I only found out about it at my 2 week follow-up exam and Stephen asked him about it - ick-ick-ick!).

My internet connection had been super slow and very spotty today as was my phone service (internet phone). I was on the phone with Comcast for well over half and hour today trying to get things working. It is still painfully slow and I cannot not be sure that my connection will not drop again when I try to post this.

So frustrating. A week's credit on my bill for phone and internet may not have been enough to make me suffer through this!

So the 4th of July party was not without its share of mishaps.

Problem #1
I did not hide the super soakers or barring that, ensure that they were completely empty of water. The kids found them and soaked everyone and while I was inside for a few minutes, someone turned on the hose and lots of kids got very wet. Oops!

Problem #2
I was trying to do two things and once, pulled a plate of the cupboard and knocked over a mug which fell against the cabinet door, pushed it open and dropped onto the plate which once belonged to my Nana (it was a wedding gift 80 years ago)!

The plate and the murderous mug:

Yes, the guilty party is a scrabulous mug.

I guess those really were the only two problems. We had a few small bickering from the kids when it came time to play "Rock Band" and one child had a headache. Otherwise, I think the party was a lot of fun - at least I had fun. :)

I think a couple of my friends who are gardeneres had a fun poking around the yard too. It has been fun exploring and seeing what has been coming up. I am so NOT a gardener because what comes with gardens is bugs and when there are bugs there are SPIDERS! So, I have been trying to tidy up the beds to make them look presentable but I am definitely not a huge hands-on gardener.

So, here are a few highlights to my garden that I can take absolutely no credit for whatsoever.

Raspberry patch


Lavender and lone stock of corn growing in wood chips by play structure


Strawberry pot


Compost "pile" which is really just a mound of dirt with lots of weeds and errant raspberries growing in it. Also, Japanese Maple that I bought to replace the one from Tabitha that Stephen accidentally killed with the weed whacker. :(


What I can take credit for are the carrots that are growing (finally!) and the snow peas plant:


Our pumpkin plants have finally sprouted too (no photos) but the spinach did not and the tomato plants died. I definitely do not have a green thumb!

Wasn't that a party!

Our 4th of July party was great fun! After morning rain, it cleared up and became a very nice day - not too hot, not too cool - just right. Besides hot dogs and burgers, Stephen made some beer brats and lamb souvlaki and it was all so yummy. I think that everyone had fun.

Just before 9pm, three families (including us) walked up to the city center (about a mile and a half) to watch the fireworks display. It was quite a show! It lasted over 30 minutes. The kids had a fabulous time. I got a little choked up watching them watch the fireworks. They were in awe and I enjoyed the moment because I know one day that fireworks won't be able to compete with video games or the kids won't want to sit with us. It was wonderful.

Summer O'Fun Day 11 (2008)

The storms continued through the night and this morning. This is such a very rare event here. At least they keep telling us this. :) This morning as we were pulling out of the garage to go to Costco, the skies opened and we had hail almost a centimetre in diameter! Then that turned to a torrential downpour. I drove back into the garage for a few minutes then we headed on our way.

The rain and thunder have now stopped and we have just about everything I need for for the BBQ tomorrow.

The boys' fun for today, besides the trip to Costco, Trader Joe's and Safeway, will be a couple of hours of xbox time while I whip the house into shape.

Summer O'Fun Day 10 (2008)

Today the boys had golf (which had been moved for this week only from Monday to today). I signed Cars up too and he had such a good time and he looked like such a big boy walking off carrying his little golf bag. I should have taken my camera!

While the kids were golfing, I had to take my car in to have my brakes inspected. It took over 2 hours for them to tell me what I already knew - I need new brakes. And new tires. I knew it was close to new tire time but apparently it is more desperate then I thought. So I have made an appointment to have the brake$ done on Saturday morning and I'll consider getting the new tire$ at the $ame time.

To add to our Summer O'Fun today, we had a huge thunder and lightning storm go through about 45 minutes ago. It poured rain, hailed and the thunder shook the house! I called Ash and we decided that Grey's Anatomy has cursed us with all the fake thunderstorms. We have had so many in the past couple of years. Or maybe it is Global Warming which has caused us to have this more severe weather (including a bazillion snowy days this past winter!).

Update at 10:25pm: We are now experiencing our third thunderstorm of the day. Exciting stuff (except that the power keeps flickering and the kids cannot sleep).

Summer O'Fun Day 9 (2008) - Canada Day

Happy Canada Day! Canada is 141 years old! One day, I will spend Canada Day on the lawns outside of the Parliament Hill in Ottawa, joining in the festivities and watching the fireworks when night falls.

I was thinking back to when Stephen and I first made the decision to get married. We originally had planned to be married on July 1 as we would be guaranteed that everyone would have the day off work. We changed it when I realize that my bff would not be able to make a trip back to Canada at that time from the Middle East where she was working. So our next choice was Labour Day weekend.

Anyway, I just think that July 1 would be such a cool day to be married.

And for our Summer o'Fun today, we just hung out at home. Dex had a playdate with a kid from his class. This kid is soooo quiet - I haven't heard him say more than a dozen words!

Next we are heading to the party store to get some supplies for our 4th of July party. I need plates and then some prizes for kids for the games (Bingo).

Afterwards, we are off to Jax's appointment. He is starting to get resentful about going. I think he thinks he is cured. He is doing amazingly well but the psychologist said that the technique he is using takes about 20 sessions and Jax is only about 11 or 12 sessions along. Hopefully by the end of the summer Jax will be far enough along that he can stop going to counselling or at least drop it to every other week.