The Summer So Far in Pictures

Well, I promised pictures over a week ago.  So, I figured I might as well load up a bunch of the pictures of the summer to day.  A month from yesterday Boo-boy heads back to school.  I can't believe it's August already!  Where has my summer gone?  I want it back!!  Although, at this point I'm sure Boo-boy is beginning to want to get back to the normal routine of school.  (I just wish we'd get the letter from the district with his supply list and teacher assignment and confirmation of his afternoon busing....)

We've had several adventures this summer.  We may not always get a lot of time together, but I try and make the most of it as best we can.

There was the field trip to the Crayola Factory with his class.  He asked if I could chaperon, and luckily enough, i was one of the ones who actually was chosen from all the parents that said they could.

We've had ice cream, several times.  We've had a picnic in the park.  We took Billy with us to the beach.  We went camping and to Knoebel's.  And we've had plenty of "hanging around the house" time.  So, with a month to go, I think this summer's been a pretty good one.

Two first grade classes at Crayola Factory.

A boy and his dragon.

Birthday Party time!

Zonked Cody.

Last day of school!

A visit from Lissa-love and the Kidlet.  Splashing fun in the creek and ice cream at Owow Cow!

Beach fun with Billy!

Sidewalk chalk and a picnic at the park.

Camping, hiking, swimming and Knoebel's!

Ack!

Ack!  Where has the week gone?  It's Wednesday already and I have no idea where the week has gone.
Oh, that's right, I've been struck by the first head cold of the season... and hopefully my only one.  Thanks Boo!  I really do love you for this, really.  (Boo was sniffly all weekend, and still is a bit, and I just thought it was seasonal allergy type sniffles.  Nope, Gak and I are both hit with varying degrees of head cold...)

OK, so the important stuff all happened this weekend.

Saturday morning we went to bowling, only to find out that bumper league isn't starting until the end of the month.  That's OK, we got to hang out with the big kids and watch them bowl.  Boo and I also bowled one game.  I got a 134, but that was mostly dumb luck and slightly assisted by bumpers.  (Most of my spares and one of my two strikes were legit, most of the time if I bounced off the bumper I missed anyhow...)  Boo managed a 71.  According to him, he won because 7 is bigger than 1... Guess we have to work on math a bit...
After bowling was lunch and then home for nap time.  After nap time it was time to pick up Daddy and we went to BJ's to pick up some drinks and stuff for the picnic Sunday and some stuff for the house.  Then it was home for dinner and Dr. Who.  All I have to say is: Dinosaurs!  On a spaceship!  Great episode.

Sunday was filled with all kinds of errands and running around.  There was breakfast to be eaten, groceries to be shopped for and laundry to be done.  Then there was some other odd and end things that needed doing all in getting ready for the picnic.

The Girl Scout picnic went great.  I made up 20 folders with registration information in i, I came home with three, and there were a few girls missing that I know will be coming.  So, yeah, it looks like 17 or so will actually be in my troop.  Unfortunately, I didn't get as much time talking with the girls as I'd hoped, but they all had plenty of time to hang out and play at the playground together and get to know each other.  Several already know one or more girls in the troop, but this way they got a chance to hang with everyone without too much leader interference, which is important.  I've got lots of parents ready and willing to help, I just need to tell them what I need.  I can do that.

This week has been kinda ugh.  That's the best way I can put it.  I started feeling icky Monday afternoon and by yesterday morning I was in full fledged ick mode.  Today was a bit better, but I didn't feel up to riding my bike this afternoon, which really stinks.  The weather has been so beautiful this week that it would be perfect for riding.  Oh well, maybe Friday.

Tomorrow is my company picnic and Boo's school pictures.  Oh boy!  It's also my first leader meeting of the year.  Ugh.  I have a love/hate relationship with them.  Love them because I'm actually involved with Scouts, hate them because... well... I've attended less painful meetings at work.  And most of those are pretty painful.  Hopefully I won't fall asleep or anything silly.

This weekend is going to be a good one.  I actually get to see three friends of mine from college who I haven't seen in ages.  And we're going to AC overnight.  Yep, I'm going away overnight again without my boy-o.  Or his daddy.  (Gak and I have got to get an overnight away just the two of us, we're trying to make it happen in November...)

I know, I know, I promise (or maybe that's threatened) a crafty girl post a while back.  I haven't sorted through the photos and I haven't taken photos of a lot of things... so it'll have to wait.  That and I can't seem to stop starting new things... I just started yet another project tonight.  At least that one should be quick and easy.  And one of my other projects should be wrapped up in another 10 rounds or so... but of course, that means each round will take longer than the last as it keeps getting bigger.  Oh well.  At least I have plenty to keep my occupied!

I'm off to stand in the shower and dope myself into a Benedryl induced haze...

Peace to all and may your sinuses be clear and your weeks good.

Party Time!

We're off to see the wizard!  Well, maybe not the wizard of Oz, but we're off.  We're off to Knoebel's for Zoe's birthday party.  Can you believe she's 11 already?  I can't.  It seems like only yesterday Kat was telling me she was pregnant!  Or heck, that I has just met Kat at the airport on our way to Space Academy.  Time really does fly.

Anyhow, it should be a great adventure.  Unfortunately, Gak has to work today so he won't be joining us. *pout*

The rest of the week got a bit better over time.  There's still a lingering funk and the exhaustion has been holding on fast.  And yes, if I feel like this at the end of next week, I'll be calling the doctor.  I'm hoping this crazy hot/cold, dry/wet wacky weather pattern we've been having the last week or two is part of the problem.  Yeah, I know, I'm reaching.

Anyhow, I'd best be getting ready.  So, enjoy a picture from one of our trips last year.  (Actually, looking at this picture makes me realize exactly how much my boy-o has really grown this past year. *sniff*  He really isn't a baby at all any more... well, he'll always be my baby, even when he gets taller than me, probably by age 10.)

Peace to all and may your adventures be fun.

Where Was I?

Now, let's see here, where was I?  It's been so long since I've taken the time to form coherent thoughts here, that I'm not sure I can.

January has truly been a busy one and not all the fun kind of busy.  Work has been tough and I keep feeling like I'm slipping further behind.  I keep closing as many tickets as I can, but they're coming in fast and furious right now, and not all are related to the reporting month we're in the middle of.  And it seems like I keep finding myself eyeballs deep in something long and involved that isn't going to be cleaned up quickly, or even just be a bunch of grunt work.  Oh well, it's been keeping me on my toes at any rate.

We had a bit of an off week with Boo this week.  I think I mentioned it on Wednesday evening.  He was healthy the rest of the week, just a little off.

Yesterday we finally got some snow.  Yes, we had that nice big storm back for Halloween, but yesterday was the first day we'd seen anything other than a few flurries since then.  We have had a good bit of rain and a good bit of very cold weather, but not until yesterday did we have both cold weather and precipitation.  Thankfully for us, it stayed all snow.  I think we got about 4-5 inches or so.
The toughest part of the day was dropping Gak off at work.  The roads were truly a mess and the snow was still coming down pretty good.  Boo and I then put the wash in at the laundromat and played in the falling snow until the washers were done.  Then I peeled off his wet mittens and socks and tossed them in with the rest of the laundry.
After laundry I took some GS cookies over to Rachel because she managed to sell out of Caramel deLites in 2 days.  (That reminds me, I should probably put in an order for some more of some things... especially with the cookie booths we've got coming up... we'll see where we're at Tuesday...).  Actually, I ended up picking Rachel up and taking her with us to have brunch with Kat, Zoe and Granmom.  Zoe asked if Boo could come over sledding, and I said after Gak got off work but only if Boo napped.  That was pretty good incentive for Boo to stay in bed and I could tell he had played hard in the morning because he crashed hard and only woke up because Michelle from across the hall pounded on our door so I could move the car so Jim could plow that half of the parking lot.
So, after picking up Gak from work, the three of us headed over to Kat's house.  Kat was out with Scott (which is a good thing), but Zoe and Granmom were home.  Steph got home right after we got there too.  After a few I took the kids out sledding.  We had a lot of fun.  (I didn't get to sled much myself though, but was chasing them up and down the hill a lot.  Steph got Boo this awesome inflatable snow tube for Christmas.  He's so light, that once there's a path down the hill, he just flies!  He had so much fun.  He did end up in the prickers once or twice but he didn't really care.  I think we were out there for at least 45 minutes.  And once we came in, the kids wouldn't stop eating.  That's amazing for both of them.  They each had almost 2 servings of popcorn chicken pieces, Zoe had a little thing of mac-n-cheese, they split a packet of ramen soup, shared a huge slice of watermelon and then I lost track of what all they asked for and ate.  I know there were strawberries involved, and goldfish crackers, but I'm not sure what all else.  Very little of it was junk, so I didn't care.

Andy got home about an hour after we'd come in from sledding.  He cooked dinner and the four of us adults (Granmom had left for work already) hung out and had an enjoyable time.  It was very nice to be able to spend time with just Steph and then just Steph and Andy once Andy came home.  I really do enjoy hanging with them and they're my friends in their own right, not just because of Kat.  And it was also nice to be able to hang out without all 4 kids underfoot.  Don't get me wrong, I love them all, but all four in the house at the same time gets a bit crazy.

Today was mostly a low-key kind of day.  We went to Target and found this awesome Sesame Street DVD set.  It's two DVDs with the best highlights from the first 40 seasons.  It included things like the introduction of Telly.  The scene with Big Bird when Mr. Hooper died.  Maria and Louis's wedding and the birth of Gabby.  And there were a lot of my favorite counting and letter scenes as well, and a "Monsterpiece Theater" with Alistair Cookie.  I'm hard pressed to say who enjoyed it more.  Anyhow, the boys both took long naps this afternoon and I'm now about 7 or 8 rounds from completing my 3rd pair of socks.  (Yes, I've been busy this month.  3 pair of socks, finally finishing a shrug that started out life as a wrap pattern and I'm about 2/3 of the way through a circle vest too!  I haven't worked on the afghan for some friends I wanted to do, after starting I'm just not that into the pattern I've got and need to find another...)

So, it's now 8:30 and I think I'm going to finish off those last few rounds of the cuff of the second sock and call it a night.  (Boo, has other ideas though, he just paraded through here for about the 4th time since I tried to put him to bed...)

So, peace to you all and may you have fun adventures and good weekends.

Picture Post

Well, it's been just about a week since I last posted.  I'm so not doing well with this whole "regularly scheduled" update thing.  I mean, I have it all planned out, but it just doesn't seem to happen.  Usually because I'm too busy (or should be too busy) at work and when I get home, I'm too tired and out of sorts to do anything meaningful or productive on the computer by the time Boo goes to bed.
I've got loads on my mind, but nothing that's been able to be formed into anything post-worthy or even not post-worthy drivel.  So, I'm going to have a picture laden post for you with all kinds of goodies from our trip last weekend, with a few words to 'splain things a bit.

Sunday morning is when we left to go up to Knobels.  Gak, Boo and I left from our place around 9 so we could stop at  Cabella's before going up so I could try and find some pants that fit.  Cabella's sizes tend to run a bit small, but they don't usually believe in this thing called "low-rise" which I can't wear and will not explain for your amusement.  Those of you who know me, can figure out why they just don't work.  I managed to find a pair of pants that fit just right.  Unfortunately, the blue were only in "tall", so I couldn't pick up two pair.  Gak even found a pair of shirts that fit him wonderfully.

Just as we were getting done with our shopping, I get a text from Kat that they were all just getting to Cracker Barrel, which is across the street.  The plan having been that we would all meet up for brunch there.

Boo ate almost two whole pancakes and a full cup of milk.  He got very mad at me when I tried to cut one of his pancakes into slightly smaller pieces, so he just picked up the other one and chowed down.  This is near the end of the meal.

After lunch we all caravaned up to Knobels.  It was a pretty uneventful ride and Boo even napped for about an hour or so.  Once we got up there, we set up our tents.  I told you last week I got a new one for us, and well, I love it.  It's so very easy to set up (even with Zoe "helping") and is very roomy.  It would comfortably sleep a family of four, if everyone's stuff stayed in the car for the most part.

Boo liked the tent very much.  Especially once I inflated his air mattress.  I think he would have been happy to play in there until bedtime.  The only reason he couldn't is that it was 3:00 in the afternoon and about 95 degrees in the tent.

We were going to take the kids into the park to ride a few rides before dinner, but everyone seemed to be happy just hanging out and then Zoe broke out the sidewalk chalk.  That kept everyone entertained for quite some time.  Oh, the kids we had were Boo, Zoe, Mel and Ant and Rachel and Billy.  Billy's a bit younger than Zoe, and Rachel is the same age as Mel.

Boo actually had fun watching and coloring a little bit too.  It was nice that he was able to be included with the "big kids".  Sometimes it stinks having so much of an age difference between him and the others.

Most of the cooking on the camping trip is handled by Andy.  Here he is cooking the first of the burgers and waiting for the water for the corn to boil.  As usual, camp food always tastes better than home food, even when it's the exact same thing.

After dinner we hung out and talked and the kids played.  Andy's dad and step-mom and youngest sister had come by for dinner as well.  (Mary had a procedure scheduled for Tuesday in Danville, which is right near by... so they were in the area anyhow, but were staying at a hotel instead of camping.)  At just about 8:00 boo starts going over to our tent and saying "night night" and "bed" and just being fussy and cranky.  I was going to let him stay up a bit later if he wanted, but apparently he didn't want to.  About 5 minutes or less after I put him to bed, here he is zonked out.  He woke up a couple of times in the night, once patting Gak on the shoulder going "Poppa.... poppa...", to which Gak replied "it's night-night time, go back to sleep" and he did!

Everyone else went to the fire works in Shamokin, but I was on people overload at this point and Gak didn't really file like going, so we hung out with the camp fire for a while before I crashed.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to sleep right away, thanks to neighbors setting off fire works.  It woke Boo once, but he rolled over and went back to sleep without a fuss.

There was a rock in our set of camp sites that Boo was fascinated by and couldn't stop climbing up and down and sitting on.  He really enjoyed it and was just too darn cute.

Monday we spent a good part of the day in the park.  The rides opened at around 11, and we were in the park by 11:30.  Much fun was had by all.  Zoe got to play "big kid" and show Boo how it's done with the rides.  Billy also joined us on the tamer rides.  Boo even got to "drive" his own bumper car.  (A huge THANK YOU to the young woman operating the ride who pushed his car around because he didn't quite get the "step on the button" part.  I wasn't expecting him to get his own car, but they gave him one anyhow...)

After several rides and a lot of hot weather, we met up with everyone and standing still for about 2 minutes was just long enough for Boo to conk out in his stroller.  He napped for about 45 minutes or so.  

Gak and I had ice cream for lunch.  We all headed back up to the campsite and everyone else had sandwiches, Boo ran around for a bit and we headed out back home.

So, overall it was a fun weekend and Boo did great with his first camping trip.  I really didn't think he'd have any issues, but you never know with holiday weekend campsites.

Anyhow, hopefully in the next few days I'll be able to put some of the things that are bouncing around in my head into writing and post something a little more "meaningful".  (But, I really enjoy doing these family moment posts too...)

Peace to all and may your weekends be fun and filled with good friends and good times.