A Sibling Surprise

My brother and his family came to town unexpectedly late Monday night, so yesterday after the kids finished their school work, we went to Denny's for the free Grand Slam. I'd hoped to make it over earlier in the day, but because of their surprise arrival, we didn't make it over until lunchtime. The crowd was out the door. We didn't stay. (A friend told me later that they were handing out rain checks to people who didn't want to wait, and now I'm disappointed I left.)

We've not seen my brother and his family since they came down in October to see my mom in the hospital after her little heart episode. Rae Lynn got sick during the holidays causing them to cancel their plans to come here, then an unexpected pregnancy complication forced us to cancel our trip up. Having them come down was a nice surprise.

We didn't do anything exciting while they were here -- ran a few of their errands and let the kids play -- and I'm a bit disappointed about that, too. I was hopeful we'd have a game night or get go out all together, but they didn't arrive until after midnight Monday night. Then, James works very late on Tuesday and Wednesday, we have school work to do through the day, we had doctor's appointments scheduled, both kids have practice on Tuesday night, Dustin and Amanda had a sleep away date night (which was great for them), and they're leaving for home early tomorrow while we're at our church for Bible Study.

We loved seeing them, no matter how brief their stay. I know I miss seeing my siblings on a regular basis, but I don't realize how much until I see them again, or until I hang out with friends who have their sweet siblings around all the time. I'm hoping to take a road trip to see everyone this spring, but who knows how I'll feel or what will be going on. By summer, I imagine I probably won't be going anywhere. Some days, I truly wish we were closer.

Bub's Family Birthday Fun

We took advantage of our visit with Poppa John to have a family birthday party for Bub. Bub has the unfortunate disadvantage of having a birthday that falls right in the middle of Thanksgiving week. In general, people are unavailable to celebrate then, and since we seem to host on the holidays, I'm afraid his birthday often feels like an afterthought (though it's not).

We often schedule parties before his actual birthday, just to avoid any holiday rush, but because of work commitments in the past, Poppa John hasn't been able to come before now. Now that he's retired, he's able to travel a bit more, and he just happened to be coming on the week we were planning some birthday thing anyway. Because of his visit, we decided to keep things low-key and family-focused.

We sat around and visited, then had Bub's favorite meal for dinner -- Frito chili pie. I made a homemade cake with the greenest green frosting and sprinkles. We had vanilla ice cream cups and sweet tea, then Bub opened birthday presents from everyone. He said it was the best birthday of his life, which makes me wonder why in the world I've spent so much money on more extravagant parties in the past. :)

Final Games and First Trophies

Bub and Gracie wrapped up their soccer season on quite possibly the coldest day of the year. They were both so excited to have Poppa John in the stands, and he seemed pleased to be able to come to his very first grandkid sporting event. Overall, we really enjoyed our teams this year, as well as the challenges this season brought. We've seen both kids grow and learn so much. As for the Spring season, Bub's ready to play again, while Gracie's still on the fence.


After the games, we celebrated with back-to-back parties. Bub's team planned a party at the park, but with the change in weather, the party was moved to a teammate's house. Gracie's team celebrated over giant pies and cupcakes at a local pizza joint.


Both Gracie and Bub were awarded trophies (along with every other child on the team). The trophy was Gracie's first. Both kids were so proud of their awards, and they carried them around, showing all their friends and family members. Days later, I found both trophies abandoned in the backyard.

The Asian Market and My Attempt at Lumpia

James' dad, affectionately known as Poppa John, came up for a weekend visit. Every time he comes to my house, I do my best to replicate some of the Filipino dishes he loves. In general, I fail miserably, but hey, I still try.

In search of rice wrappers and other more exotic ingredients, we spent an afternoon in the Asian Market. I love the sights and sounds and the really great prices. Bub loves the live animals deemed "food." We always have a fun time exploring.

The Produce Aisle


Who'd wanna eat these guys?


Help Me!


Curious about the altar
(and no, she's not pledging any sort of allegiance...)


The Great Rice Wrapper Debate


The Original Cup-O-Noodles


A Sale on MSG -- Brain Damage, Anyone?


Picking Out Some Panda Candy


My Attempt at Lumpia

The verdict: the rice wrappers were too brittle, the ground pork was too course, the vegetables were too abundant, the rolls were too full -- an enormous failure this time. Fortunately, the adobo I made was quite good (according to James, though Poppa John thinks I should have used chicken instead of pork tenderloin). There's always next time...

Auf Wiedersehen zu Emily

My closest cousin Emily moved to Germany yesterday, and we were fortunate to help her go and to see her off. Her husband is a Sergeant in the Army, and is being stationed at a post in Heidelburg. They got orders probably a year ago, and Emily has spent all this time preparing. Even still, we both felt surprised that the time had already come.

When they worked to schedule their journey, it made the most sense to travel from their home in Kansas to my house here in the Metroplex. They could fly out of DFW less expensively, and they could ship their car from a Vehicle Processing Center not more than a half-hour from my house. Every other option was far more complicated. They were concerned we would be inconvenienced to host them for a couple of days and to haul them around, but we were so glad they included us in the process.

Emily and her family arrived Sunday afternoon. Emily and Aaron had a bet that I'd meet them at the door with a hot tater tot casserole, but they were mistaken (though I came this close). [[Sidenote: Emily and I spent several summers crammed in a double bed in my Aunt and Uncle's basement coming up with devious plans for dorky home movies (Fiber Food, anyone?), and tater tot casserole was the one thing guaranteed to draw us out of our lair.]] It was wonderful to visit with them, and to watch our kids play together (particularly since Gracie and Genevieve share exactly the same age difference as Emily and I). Both Bub and Gracie were absolutely fascinated with baby Samuel who mobilizes himself by doing the breakdancing worm.



I had aspirations to do school on Monday, despite houseguests, and experienced a small taste of homeschooling with a toddler. We tried hard to focus on our reading while Genevieve did DDTs on the Scooby Doo Bop Bag in the background. She was too funny to ignore, so we quickly finished our reading and watched her have her fun. Later, when we said our morning prayer, she came over and took my hand and Gracie's and just got all involved. She knew just what to do, and it was all so, so sweet.


My mom came over mid-morning to act as "substitute" while we dropped their car off at the processing center to have it shipped overseas. We stopped on the way to detail the car, and once we arrived a the VPC, the process was so much easier and faster than we anticipated, what with it being a government office and all. We spent part of the afternoon picking up those last minute essentials.

On Tuesday, the morning was surprisingly leisurely despite some of the heaviest rain I've seen in a very long time. We left a few minutes earlier than expected to account for weather traffic along the way. We arrived at the international terminal probably two-and-a-half hours before departure and accidentally parked right outside of the correct departure door (we thought Murphy's Law and a HUGE number of bags would dictate a very long walk, but we were wrong -- hooray!). We entered to find a check-in counter replete with attendants and completely void of other passengers, so check-in was much smoother than expected. The clerk gave me a guest pass to help them through the security gate and back to their terminal, while my mom found space for my kids to play and explore.

Going through security was a bit challenging. Removing shoes, sending liquids and laptops through the machine, manually checking strollers and car seats, and coaxing kids through metal detectors all make for a real fun time. We were fortunate that even at security there was no line, so we took over an entire side while other less-loaded-down passengers filed through the opposite side. Their gate was right past security, and in between was a USO courtesy station filled with free food and drinks for those in the service and their families. Overall, we were quite surprised by the ease of everything, and this morning, I got an e-mail that they'd not only arrived safely, but that the kids slept on the plane. Seriously, could you even ask for more?

Emily, I love you, and I love your family. I'm so glad we got to be a part of your big adventure, and I can't wait to live vicariously through you. Enjoy every minute of your new German life! Auf Wiedersehen!

Genevieve going to "Jeremy"


Loads of Luggage


Off on a Big Adventure


More Than Cousins --
Lifelong Friends

All Grown Up

Chelsea moved into the dorms today.


Our little girl's all grown up.


** SOB **

(Photos generously supplied by my sister who hauled Chelsea and all of her stuff to campus today. I'll take my own pictures on Monday when I check out the new digs and stock her dorm room with all varieties of junk food.)

Hello Again, Hello*

On Saturday, we said goodbye to Chelsea who is off to camp and school.
Despite the smiley faces, we were all quite sad to see her go.



Not more than an hour after she left, she called to say she'd broken down.
We immediately headed out to her rescue and came upon this:


A State Trooper showed up to help...


... as did this guy, who poured gallon after gallon of water in the radiator,
and insisted it was normal for her tiny car to hold so much.


James stood around and "googled" mechanical terms
and other general nonsense on his Blackberry...


... while I entertained the children with bubbles and rock-throwing
and all sorts of traffic-dodging games**.



"Are you seriously going to blog this too?"***
Yes. Yes, I am.


When the car was unresponsive to all of our begging and pleading,
we had it towed to Gainesville and we drove Chelsea to camp.


Not where we planned to spend our Saturday


Moving In


Checking Things Out


Sleepaway Camp ROCKS!

The Good News: We got Chelsea to camp safely and in a timely matter, in light of her situation. The kids thought the campgrounds were so cool that they want to go to sleepaway camp next year, so I've already called a friend whose daughter will be away next summer at a camp near Chelsea's (during the same time frame, I believe) to have both kids join in on the fun.

The Bad News: The automotive shop called today to say that the head is cracked in Chelsea's motor. She just had the whole engine replaced, so the issue would be covered under warranty if the car were in Tulsa. Unfortunately, the car is in Texas, so she has the option of towing it back to Oklahoma or paying to have it repaired here. Both options cost way more than the car is worth, so she and her family have opted to have the shop send it to auction. Chelsea is now on foot, poor girl.





* Yes, I am a closet Neil Diamond fan. Thank you.

** Just kidding about the traffic-dodging. We were on an empty feeder road a very safe distance from the highway.

*** An actual quote from Chelsea. Silly girl!

Arr, etcetera

Quasi-Pirates

Blockage

I don't know what to post about. I'm really, truly blocked.

Well, I guess that's not true. I have plenty to blog about, I just don't know what to say about all the topics. Nothing really important -- just life stuff. Just the same old nonsensical life stuff. I guess I'll just kind of ramble, so prepare yourselves for pretty much nothing.

The fourteen-year anniversary of my dad's death was two days ago on July 15th. I can't believe it's been that long. He died five days before I turned 18. Needless to say, that was a pretty confusing year and the timing of his death always puts a damper on the day of my birth -- particularly since my dad's birthday was the day after mine. (My birthday is the 20th, his was the 21st.) What used to be a happy connection of days was forever altered.

Chelsea's boyfriend flew down for a visit this past weekend. They spent two solid days at Six Flags, and Chelsea learned the ins-and-outs of driving across the Metroplex, meaning she discovered what traffic really is. Last Sunday, they spent the early part of the day with us. She drove back to Arlington to pick him up at his hotel, and he joined us for church and lunch. We, of course, grilled him and have determined that he is a very nice young man. We've also discovered that we're a lot older than we thought we were because we keep referring to someone in their early twenties as "a young man."

Bub participated in a local golf camp this week. Though he already plays golf with James and I, we thought it would be helpful to sort of hone some of those early skills we see emerging. He enjoyed himself immensely and learned so much more than we thought he would in one week. He even won the chipping competition, beating out 25 or so other kids ranging in ages from 7 to 13. He's already asking to go back to camp next summer. If this week is any indication of the learning potential he'll have, he can go back anytime he wants.

This is Chelsea making the most of her situation (namely, hanging out in the kid's section of the library). While we do lots of things centered around Chelsea and her stay in Texas, she's been very gracious tagging along with us as we do all the things we do with and for the little ones. Having Chelsea here this summer has been an interesting experience, one which I think has stretched us all in the best possible way. While we've always been close, Chelsea and I, her staying here this summer has allowed her to reach out to me and trust me in a different way than I think she ever anticipated. Recently, I was able to be a sounding board for her as she opened her eyes to the truth of a certain situation in her life and worked through a very difficult decision regarding where she'll be attending school next year -- a decision that ultimately brought her such peace and lifted a visible burden from her shoulders.

More important than anything else, Chelsea seems to have reconciled some spiritual struggles she was having. We've had some long talks about God and about the fact that as believers, it's OK to have questions and emotions about situations in our lives we don't like. Ultimately, God is gracious and loving, and it's our being honest with him about the true condition of our heart that draws us nearer to Him. It is that nearness that makes things right (in the sense that they're minimized in His presence, not always that they just go away). She's been going to church with us where she's heard messages saying essentially the same thing, and she's already begun looking for a new church home and places to connect with other believers when she goes off to school.

Because Chelsea's going off to school, we took a trip over to IKEA this week to begin picking up some dorm decor. The multi-colored color scheme reflected in this pillow is what she's opted to go with, so we picked up the pillow and a few accent things in the dark navy, olive green, and orange. We have a few more specific things yet to get (like extra-long bed sheets), so we'll do a little more shopping before she goes home. I suggested she wait to get everything until she's actually on campus. Once she's there, I'll make the drive up so we can scope out all the local thrift stores and resale shops together.

And now, speaking of shopping -- well, not so much shopping as standing dumbly in the middle of some retail establishments -- I've been living in here and here over the last several days. Yes, Homeschooling Resource stores.

We've been talking and praying about homeschooling now for years -- since before the kids were ever even enrolled in public school -- but we could never come to an agreement on the matter. After a couple of years of struggle and dissatisfaction with the public school, the discussion about homeschooling became more serious. We have dinner plans this weekend with some friends we respect greatly to talk about their homeschooling decision and experiences, and I think that meeting will help James with those last few concerns he has on the matter. However, after some extensive research (which is not limited to me standing among the curricula, mouth all agape ), we're (dare I say it? should I say it?) planning to move forward with homeschooling in the fall.

The End.

Stop This Crazy Ride -- I Wanna Get Off!

You know how you feel when you come to the end of a loopy roller coaster: body still propelling forward, mind continuing to spin? Well, that's how I feel today. The last of house guests left this morning*, and I find myself hardly functional.

Chelsea keeps asking me if I want to watch a movie we rented a week ago, but I feel like I can do little more than grunt at her and sigh deeply (and blog, because I can always blog). I believe she's tired of my inability to communicate and has wandered off for a midday siesta. I'm tempted to join her.

Though I am exhausted, we've had an amazing time with the family and friends who have passed through over the last several days. We have learned, however, that it's a really bad idea to stack them back-to-back, so next year there will be some staggering. Fortunately, Marcie is like a second sister to me and all her kids are like cousins, so she and her family just make themselves right at home. That's advantageous when you're totally wiped out.

During Marcie's stay, we did little more than cook and eat constantly (because that's how she chills), stopping only to play copious amounts of board and card games. We even played dice at the neighborhood pool while the kids went for a swim! I'm pleased to announce that I did won a number of Nertz games. I know there was some concern, what with all the pre-visit smack talking I did.

For your viewing pleasure:

Get Your Game On


Beating the Heat

* Chelsea is the exception --
she's still here, but I'm pretty sure she's moved in for good.

Free Admission to Fun

To celebrate Parks and Recreation Month, a nearby water park is offering free admission on Wednesdays in July. The theme was "Pack the Pool," but this is as crowded as it got. The people on the right belong to me, so it's not packed at all.


I've been wanting to take the kids this water park for some time, but at a cost of $7.00 per person, it is far more expensive than the other parks we frequent. The free admission deal couldn't be passed up, even though free admission begins at 5:00 P.M. We planned ahead, ate an early dinner, and packed a cooler full of snacks. We also have no plans for tomorrow so the kids can sleep in.

The little kids spent the majority of time on the water slide, while the teenagers floated in the pool and lounged in the chairs. For some reason, my kids think the girls are for climbing on. Fortunately, they're kind to their little cousins and gave them "horsey rides" all over the place. Gracie brought bubbles from home, which ended up being a great idea. She blew all the bubbles she wanted, then rinsed all the drips off in the water.


It's been so wonderful having the girls here. They're so sweet and so helpful. It's such a blessing to have this special time with them having fun and making memories. I think we'll all be sad to see them go.

Slow Day at Six Flags

We're in the midst of the last days before Kate goes back to Missouri, so we took full advantage of the slow part of the week and made another trip to Six Flags. Somehow, we spent ten hours in the park.

Because it was Tuesday, Six Flags was quite empty. It was so slow, in fact, that the big girls and I rode all the big coasters at least twice. A few times we didn't even have to get off the ride we were on -- we just stayed strapped in and rode on. I think it's safe to say Kate got the full Six Flags experience. She can go home a happy girl.


After a day of water rides and roller coasters, Katie's hair staged a protest.