If I Run Away

For the boy's Fall Break, we went to The Happiest Place on Earth.  Again.

 

 

 

If it were up to me, I would go to Disney every year.  Maybe twice.  Three times a year isn't inconceivable.  But I'm not independently wealthy, and Dan/Daddy says we need to go on other trips and see other places.  Blah, blah, blah.  Tell that to these faces...

 

 

 

 It was a fantastic vacation, and there was only one sad moment... The day we had to leave.

 

 

 

If I ever go missing or run away from home, you will know where to find me.



And It's Not Even Shark Week Yet

We "vacationed" to see Dan/Daddy's family for a few days last week.  It's always great to see family, but it's even better when they live at the beach.
It's not so great when it POURS rain almost the entire time you're there.
It's also not so great when your child gets strep throat while you're there.

We made a visit to Urgent Care with the boy's temperature at 102.7, and the physician wouldn't even let us leave the office until they were able to start bringing the fever down.
We've actually made lots of visits to Urgent Care with the boy while in Florida.  It's become a tradition.
At least 3 times for strep... more when he was younger.
Twice for hives.
Once to the ER with a sea catfish barb embedded in his thumb.
Do we know how to vacation, or what?

The boy is convinced the ocean hates him, even though he loves it.  He told me he thinks his death will be by sea life... which makes the rest of my story a little freaky.

The sun came out for the last 2 days we were there, and I let my sick kid go to the beach. 
The water was beautiful.

I was taking off my flip flops and putting my stuff down on a towel when I heard the boy calling me.

Apparently, Dan/Daddy had dived right into the ocean, and a lady in the water close by was yelling,
"Sir, there's a big fish near you!"

Dan/Daddy called back to her, "That would be a shark."

She was on the shore in about 1.3 seconds.
Dan/Daddy started making his way to the sand (but not nearly as fast as the lady).
The boy yelled to me,
"Come watch Daddy get eaten!"

Maybe we watch a little too much Animal Planet.
Perhaps it was the heat and sun.
He was running a very high temperature the day before.
Please don't think he was being cruel... he loves his dad. 
I just think he has his mother's sense of humor.

Youth Camp And The Zombie Apocalypse

The summer is more than halfway over, and I don't even have a tan to show for it.
I do have a few itchy streaks of poison ivy, and the boy has strep throat.  We know how to have fun.

We knew this summer would be a busy blur, but I don't think any of us realized just how fast it would go.
Our schedule has included (or will include):
1 week of Soccer Camp
6 days visiting the Florida grandparents
6 days visiting the South Carolina grandparents
1 week of VBS at church
1 week of Youth VBS at church
1 week of Youth Camp
13 episodes of The Walking Dead

Those last two items on my list are more closely linked than you can imagine.  The 3 of us recently started watching what is - quite possibly - the grossest and scariest TV show I have ever seen.  It's a very well-written show, because the more I watch it, the less it becomes about the zombies.
I start to wonder what I would do in a survival situation... which may or may not include dead people coming back to life.
I've contemplated packing a backpack with food... and a hatchet.
I've also decided that watching this show may be the only thing that ever motivates me to lose weight and exercise.  You know what happens to the slow people.

When I chaperoned the boy's Youth Group week at camp, I was able to put my zombie apocalypse skills to the test.  I functioned on very little sleep, lined up for my food, rationed out meds, screamed, and ran.  Not in that order.
We spent 3 days doing different types of mission work in Kentucky, and we had a great time.  We had 31 teenagers and 7 adults  in our group, and everyone made it home alive.

By the end of the week, I felt and looked more like the undead than a survivor.  There were dark bags under my eyes, I was moaning, and I think I was even dragging one leg.

The November Post Where I Force You To Look At Beach Pictures

Fall is zooming on by.  I read a blog earlier today, and the blogger said she hates the word "busy."  I agree.  Everyone is busy, so I don't feel like it's fair to complain about it. 
My new word is "chaotic."  Life - for us - in the last 4 weeks has been "chaotic."  Full to the brim with running here and there and doing this and that. 
I have to scroll through my camera to actually remember what's happened.


We went to the beach with Dan/Daddy's parents for the boy's Fall Break.  The weather couldn't have been more beautiful.
The boy and I were photo-bombed...

I stepped on this...

 And I took lots of pictures of this face.  Even if it bugged him.

We took a weekend trip to see my brother, sis-in-law, and nephew... who treated us to the most exciting 4 year-old soccer game I have ever seen.
In the words of my nephew, he was "on FIRE."

 

 

In our "spare time," the boy finished a huge research project for one of his classes...

 

He presented his project wearing a swimsuit, goggles, and flippers.  Good thing we hadn't packed up the swimwear and accessories yet.

 

 

I would like to think life is going to slow down a little, but I realize I'm only lying to myself.  In case you haven't noticed, it's almost the middle of November. 

Gold Medal In Nothing

Around here, we are all about the Olympics.  The TV is on 24/7 and the Games are holding our attention.
I have been amazed at every single event I've watched.
Maybe it's my complete lack of athletic ability combined with my zero amount of motivation, but I am A M A Z E D.
Most of these competitors are just kids, too.
Amazing, y'all.  Amazing.

I've decided my only gold medal would be in procrastination.  Or overeating.  Or not running marathons.

Anywho... with only one week left in this blur of a summer, here are some pics of our fast and furious visit to see our families.

First we headed to sunny Florida to see Dan/Daddy's family.  We went from the beach to the pool to the restaurants, and then we did it all over again.
PS... At some point in the last few months, my 13 year-old passed me in height.  What is happening here?

From Florida we drove up to South Carolina to spend a few days with my family.

The schedule at my parents' included fishing, napping, shopping, some delayed 4th of July fireworks, and a rowdy soccer game.

Since we've been home, we've:

1.  had a mini house guest (more on that later),

2.  survived Vacation Bible School, and

3.  started to get ready for 7th grade.

Phew.

I'm off to watch some swimming.

Go USA.

Flashback To 2011

I have composed about 17 new blog posts. I've written a few in my head as I drive. I've sketched out one or two on scrap paper. Some are actually in the drafts folder.
But they are all dead to me. I am in a slump and I don't care who knows it.
So I will do the next best thing... Bring out old stuff y'all haven't seen yet.
Due to the death of our computer, you folks missed a lot.

Back in December, we took the BEST trip ever to Disney. My whole family went, and it was good times all around.
In looking through my pictures, I had a hard time deciding which ones to post. There are a bunch of great ones (160ish to be exact), but I don't want you all to run for the hills out of boredom. So I will limit it to a few of my favorites. (Well, they are all my favorites. All 160ish of them.)



















It was an awesome trip, and I am blessed to have such an awesome family to go with.

I made my mom ride Tower of Terror, and she's still speaking to me.
I bought my nephew a Pirates Of The Caribbean gun, and my sis-in-law still loves me.
I made my brother ride Rock & Roller Coaster with me, and he didn't throw up on me.
I carried on like a psychotic 7 year-old when I saw Mickey Mouse, and the boy still took pictures with me. (160ish of them)
My dad rode Space Mountain, and he hasn't had to visit the chiropractor.
Dan/Daddy went on an extended vacation with his wife's side of the family, and he had a blast.

It really is the "happiest place on Earth."

Roll Tide and Rainy Headaches

Two very important things happened over the weekend:
1. The boy went to his first Alabama football game.



2. I'm getting a job at the Weather Channel predicting (with 82% accuracy) when rain is coming.

Just kidding. I'm not getting a job at the Weather Channel. I can, however, predict the rain. Actually, it's my head that predicts it. Actually it's my raging headache that predicts it.
It started Saturday afternoon, but I blamed it on the screaming and cheering at the game. By 4:00 a.m.-ish Sunday morning, I was ready to chop off my noggin to relieve the pain. By midnight-ish last night, I was hearing thunder and rain. I had an "ah ha" moment lying there in my bed. The headache always comes before the rain.
That sounds like something you could put on a t-shirt. Or a mug.

Anywho...
The football game was a roaring good time. Dan's parents were able to get the tickets for us all, so we met them there. I believe, at one point, the boy leaned in and said, "This is better than Christmas."

This boy LOVES Alabama football.



We lived in Alabama for about 12 years, but we never swore any allegiance to either of the two big rivals.... Alabama or Auburn.
We had church members who insisted we make a choice (Alabama or Auburn) or we couldn't partake in Communion. Well, it wasn't quite that bad. But, it's not far from it.
We were always able to take the neutral road. Dan/Daddy was a Florida State fan, and I was a Clemson fan. Easy.
When the boy came along, another football fanatic was born, but he didn't really have a favorite team.
Until... while we were living in California, he said,
"If I was born in Alabama, that will be my favorite team."
So the logical love of all things Crimson Tide began. When they won the National Championship a few years after that, he was a goner.
It also gives Dan/Daddy and me a chance to join forces, and we all root for the team that represents the state we love so much.
The boy would have filled out an application on Saturday if we had allowed it.



PS... I made sure he saw the soccer fields while we were there.

I'd Rather Be The Po-Po

I was about to title this post: Local Yokels
When I looked up the definition of "local yokel" on a few websites, I realized I am not...

local yokel:
1. Trucker slang for city police officer as in
"That town up ahead is crawling with local yokels."

(By the way, I call them the po-po.)

The definition I was looking for was:

local yokel:
2. a naive or gullible inhabitant of a rural area or small town

We've lived here 4 months now, and it still fells like we're settling in.
In an attempt to feel more like folks who know what's going on, we have been "touring" and "visiting" parts of the area.
I don't want to be a naive local.

We went hiking at a cave and park; it has been a beautiful Fall here in these parts...






On the day we were at the park, I made a decision to become a nature photographer. Not because I think my photographs are amazing, but because nature cannot talk back to me or complain.
Taking pictures of my people has become such a chore, a burden, and a pain in the patootie. And I only have two people! You brave souls out there with 4+ kids? You are in my picture-prayers.

The biggest complainer, sadly, happens to be the cutest person in the family. So I take a nerve pill and keep taking his picture.


We also took a short road trip to "Land Between The Lakes." It's a large national recreation area that covers parts of Tennessee and Kentucky. It is THE place to go for boating, camping, hunting, fishing, and summertime activities. Did you get that?
SUMMERtime activities.
This place shuts down from November to March.
Meaning we were the only people there besides two 88 year-old tour guides. And a sleepy park ranger. And a cook and a waitress at the ONLY place in town to eat.

They have a bison and elk prairie that is part of a project to reintroduce those species and their habitat back into the area. So cool. You pay $5 per car to drive through.
The sign that greets you at the entrance got me all excited...


Another sign said the current population was Elk:45, Bison:47
We saw absolutely nothing.
Not. One. Single. Thing.
Almost one hundred bison and elk were hiding. 2000 pound and 800 pound animals... hiding.
At least the views were nice.


As we were leaving the park area, we saw one more bison pasture, so we slowed way down and strained our eyes, and...
There they were.
Lounging around on a hill where I could see them for free.


So we three yokels are a little more local.
I would still rather be the po-po.

All Things Apple

Two weekends ago, we were at a beautiful cabin in the mountains of Georgia.
I haven't blogged about it yet, because it has taken me some time to return to reality.

My brother and sis-in-law have the sweetest friends who own the most beautiful place in the Georgia mountains, and... they let our rowdy crew spend the weekend there.
(Minus Dan/Dadddy... he was working.)

The view of the river is unbelievable.
I didn't want to come home.



We had a whirlwind Saturday of picking apples and eating apple treats and shooting apples from an apple cannon.

When I say we all took a turn, I mean we all took several turns.






I actually just noticed the "apple cannon assistant's" face in this picture of me taking a shot. Hee hee. He looks worried. (He probably should be.)


After we picked some apples, we bought even more.



These two ate their weight in apples.


Later that day, we went hiking up the Amicalola Falls until I thought my legs were gonna detach themselves from my body in protest and dive off the mountain.

It was such a nice weekend, and as we like to say,
"A good time was had by all."
Truthfully, any time I get to spend getting love from this blue-lipped kiddo is a good time to me.