A Day in CrazyTown!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The end of summer...

As much as I've been looking forward to the start of a new school year and, of course, welcoming Daddy home around the same time, there's a bit of sadness about the summer drawing a close. The last few days have been markedly cooler here which feels great but is also a firm reminder that fall is around the corner. My mom went back to school yesterday and James follows next Monday. It's hard to believe he'll be a 2nd grader-- the same grade my mom has taught for forever. It didn't seem possible that James would ever be as "old" as Mom's second graders and yet, here we are. And then I wonder... did I do enough with the boys over their summer vacation? Did we enjoy sleeping in enough? Are we really ready for the hustle and bustle of school days, Cub Scouts, soccer practice, and homework?

This happens to be yesterday but it could've been just about any other day this summer. The boys and their friends hanging out, enjoying the summer...

And today, our ever-changing frame with reminders of what is great... certainly the best update all summer!

We still have so much to do before Daddy's homecoming and James's first day of 2nd grade. I'm looking forward to packing as much into these last few summer days as possible.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Another goodbye...

Unfortunately, we have to say goodbye to Allie. We were always scheduled to return her today for eye surgery but sadly, over the last week we've realized James is allergic to her. What started as a mild cough on day 2 has become a full-fledged asthma-like cough, eerily reminiscent of the one he struggled with while we had Mora. Thankfully we haven't had to use James's nebulizer or inhaler in over a year, since Mora passed away, until we brought Allie home. So, while she is quite possibly the best family dog we've ever met, we just can't keep her.

We all loved watching Allie go in and out of the doggie door on the porch!

Pete's favorite new toy

The boys and Allie after a long walk

Henry doesn't want her to leave...

I'm sure we'll get another dog. We'll have to do some allergy testing first-- and maybe look into getting a hypoallergenic kind. It was fun having Allie while we did... and we know she'll make a perfect pet for another loving family (hopefully for our good friends, the Condreys!).

Friday, August 17, 2012

Dadisms...

Dadism: "Life is like cutting the grass."

Here's the thing. That one never made a whole lotta sense. But he said it regularly enough and I understood his point. I was about 12-13 years old and my dad decided it was the summer for me to start cutting the grass. My parents' yard is fairly big and a decent undertaking with a push mower. My parents didn't buy a gas mower until several years later so it took most of the afternoon to push the mower, stop every few lines to empty the bag of grass into a plastic trash bag (it didn't "recycle" the grass like all the fancy ones do now), push the mower, stop, drag the plastic bag to the new spot, empty the grass... Combine this with the sun, the heat, the gnats, a 13 year old attitude, and my father watching me from the deck, and you can imagine how annoying it was. There was one time in particular I remember being really frustrated. My father finally said, "Look. I get it. It's hot and sticky and miserable out here today. There are 100 things you'd rather be doing. But you're going to finish the grass. Life is like cutting the grass... and no one likes a quitter."

I finished cutting the grass of course and as I got older it became my favorite chore. And now the smell of freshly cut grass ranks as one of the sweetest smells I know, second only to the smell of a brand new baby in my book. Freshly cut grass smells clean and new and full of life. I just love it.

My parents' backyard
May, 2006

"I don't know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass,

how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed,

how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?"

--Mary Oliver (from "The Summer Day")

(*Edit: My mom corrected me. We didn't have a completely push mower, ala 1930 of course. It was a "push" mower in that there was no self-propelled or powered movement. Hopefully that clarifies and makes sense? General point-- that shit was hard.)

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Soooo close...

We are soveryclose to Daddy's return home and yet still so far away. With 9 1/2 days remaining, I'm finding it harder and harder to fill up time. Have days always been this long??

So, I did what I normally do when I don't know what to do with my kids. I put them in water. Fortunately, Cort and her kids were up for the adventure too. We checked out a new-to-all-of-us pool, called Twin Lions, on post. What struck me (and I believe Cortney as well) was the incredibly buff life guards they had walking around. They were all men, all about 30 years old, and ALL could have posed for some sort of swim suit calendar. Is this some sort of sick, twisted game a bunch of Navy dudes pull on the spouses of deployed Army guys? Because it was kinda working. Ha ha... just kidding. But really, I should've taken a picture so you'd believe me. It looked like GQ was about to hit up that joint for their annual "Buff Bodies 2012" calendar. But let's get back to the point... what 30 year old men are still lifeguarding anyway-- on a military installation no less?! Weird ones, that's who! (Okay... I threw that in for Chris.)

Without further ado or any more discussion of lifeguards, here are the pictures of the day....

First order up! James and Nicolas passed the swim test and were allowed to jump off of the high diving board! Awesome! Here's James giving it a go...

Splash!

Proud boy

The cheering section

God love this child... Nico got up and decided he didn't want to jump off.
So he crawled off the back. Love it... and him!
He did end up jumping off before we left and we all cheered and gave high-fives!

Henry looks like a giant in this picture, doesn't he? Funny.

Sweet Pete trying to catch up...

Loving another water day

"Woman, if you take ONE more picture..."

So that was most of our day... a fun-filled afternoon at the pool. And a less fun, but still agreeable trip to the commissary (on PAY DAY no less for all of my military friends gasping at the thought!).

For any of you wondering about Allie, she's a keeper. I feel like we won the lottery with this dog! Trained, sweet, and loyal to the nth degree. Wherever we go, she goes. When I take a bath, she is beside me on the mat. When I am on the computer, she is underneath the desk. When I make dinner, she is literally at my feet.

I know the "togetherness" may seem like it might be annoying, but it just isn't. Her presence is large enough to be noticeable and sweet but small enough to not bother. Not to mention it is wonderful to have a dog who is completely trained. She listens to commands and actually OBEYS them. We.hit.the.lottery with this dog! My fingers are crossed that the veterinarian who "gave" her to us doesn't want her back. Allie has eye surgery in Raleigh next week so we'll have to give her back for a few days. I know we have to, but I certainly don't want to. She feels like ours already.

I keep reminding myself... tomorrow when we wake up, it's only 9 more days.... and then 8.... and then it's only a week!!!!.... and then just 6, just 6 little days.... and well, you get the point... we are excited!!!!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Allie...

Look who we brought home today!

That's right.... sweet Allie. She is such a good pup. It's hard to believe, but she already feels like one of us, like we've had her for a long time. I don't know why that is. Maybe it's because she's a Lab, so she reminds me of Mora... or maybe it's because the boys are already infatuated with her... or maybe it's because it feels more like a home with a dog walking around it too.

The kids ran her ragged today. They played "Cops and Robbers" first and made Allie the cop and the rest of them robbers.

She was exhausted from so much running and chasing!

Gabby trying to get Allie to play some more!

Next they played football...

And after that, Allie was done!

Henry: Mom, I think Allie is dead.

Me: Henry, why would you say that??

Henry: She isn't moving.

Me: She's just sleeping, babe.

Henry: AHHHHH!!!!!!! (pause) Oh, you're right. She moved when I screamed.

Me: Sigh.

Pete has a love/ frustrated relationship with Allie so far.... mostly because he's either sitting on her, squishing her, or she's taken his beloved Bunny. I'll tell you what, he does NOT like it when she runs away with that Bunny. He screams and hollers and runs after her. Then he sits on her. :)

I didn't think life could get more hectic... but it could. And it did. Now we just need to throw a "daddy" into the mix and really get the party started! Soon enough...

Friday, August 10, 2012

We're baaaaack!

We arrived home after a week at Tybee Island, Georgia this evening. We had a great vacation with great friends. The most remarkable, unbelievable part of the trip was that the kids (all 13 of them!) never ONCE had a fight, a disagreement, or tears with another kid. Is that crazy, or what? Now... I should be clear, for sure there were a few tears but all crying was a result of individual issues (like Peter who decided he wasn't going to nap the first few days and instead wanted to be cranky and loud about it or kids getting into trouble with their mama)... but overall, it was simply amazing to watch all of the kids play together and enjoy each other's company as much as they did!

Here is the week in pictures...