What a 9 year old packs for running away

I almost forgot about this story until I scrolled down to my other posts. I remembered I HAD written a post on the day blogger was doing weird things. The best thing about recollecting on this WAY later is I am hoping the the trauma of the day is as quickly forgotten by the children as it was by me, and the won't have me on the Dr. Phil show later in life.

Story in a nutshell-Small Fry locked Big Fry out of the house while I was gone, no biggie, I come home they are both NOW getting along and playing in garage. This is until surprise the garage door know if locked, does not automatically unlock itself. So when small fry came out to make up it locked behind him. Our front door sticks and MY key didn't work (another story about hubby coming home and HIS worked-he was pleased).

No tempers were lost, we actually handled the whole situation well. Small Fry did not, he went immediately to his room and cried and sulked. I went to him later found him under his loft bed favorite blue blanket over his head and his sleepover bag in the middle of the floor. We have a conversation through the blanket and I nonchalantly ask, "What's in the bag?'. Luckily, or coincidently, we had just watched Beezus and Ramona (a must see) and channeled the cool funky aunt. He shoots out under the blanket and grabs the bag. "I was running away", ahhhh I say, and what does a nine year old pack to run away I ask him. He enthusiastically shows me:
1 spider man wallet with all his money
favorite blanket
stuffed cheetah
Calvin and Hobbes Book
Binoculars
And lastly his marine camoflauge shirt-he tells me so he can't be seen

I tell him he is a good packer and that silly locked doors are not run away from, there are way worse things kids can do. He agrees, and we agree to leave it packed just in case. As we all know this won't be the first or last time ONE Of us wants to run away:)

Road Trips vs. Vacations

I came to a glaring realization this weekend, as I pondered riding 6 hours across the state of SD with 4 males, that a road trip and a vacation are two very different things. Now, don't get me wrong, I love road trips, but they differ from vacations in a few key areas.

A vacation is a relaxing, no deadline type, of time period. A road trip, especially a sporting one-is no such thing. There are deadlines, registrations, and instead of people waiting on me, I wait on everyone else.

Vacation food-if you do your research is usually YUMMY. NOw I don't mean healthy-but yummy. I packed health snacks, noone including me, at them. In a car across the praire pringles, jerky, m&m's an grapes are your friend. On a vacation we I hope it is a margarita, which leads me...

Beverage on a road trip consists of tolerable WHITE merlot in a mini bar bottle-I wisely bought my own corkscrew to hide in the car for future emergencies.

Driving, driving, driving...with stinky, stinky, stinky boys. After a vacation, usually everyone smells of sand, or camping, or lake. After hours in full bike gear, helmet, and hot muggy weather, boys smell. BAD.

Vacation photos are treasured, snapped, the camera carried everywhere. I took 3 pictures with my PHONE at the END as my camera lay there at my feet while I yelled my fool head off at people to "pedal", "go faster", "stay in there", and "get the snap". I then spent after time, consoling, reassuring, and telling people to "stop asking for treats and cowboy up".

At the end of it there were some similarities-no one got hurt, we all stayed together and came home together. A little frazzled, dreading the unpacking and cleaning, but prepared to go again, wether it be road trip or vacation.

Road Trip

I say goodbye for a few days-we are heading on a family road trip for BMX. You could almost call us our own traveling team. We head to Abedeen for their state qualifying races. Hubby, myself, Big and Small and one extra child for good measure. I have all the necessary materials packed. Clip shoes, knee pads, colorful jerseys, helmets, pringles, cookies, and lots of gatorade. The boys are excited, they spent three hours tonight at a camp and are ready to roll. Big Fry got his first win in THREE years last night so he is feeling good. I hope the rain holds off there-I guess it always rains.I hope our extra family member doesn't get hurt, the dog is good for her babysitter, and everyone stays on two pedals. I left you with a few back to back posts, mostly pictures. So enjoy and have a good weekend. When I get back remind me to tell you about what small fry packs for running away.

pic link

The link won't work but you can go to
Gallery O Photography under Recently Added

Lord of the Flies in PIcs

Lord of the flies-neighborhood style

I can't help but write about this as I hear the war and words waging outside my house as I sit on the computer. For better and for worse I live in a neighborhood full of boys. 8 in a three house area, and two tom girls. It would be great if ALL these testoterone filled children lived together amicably. They don't. As a school adminstrator I know they won't anything, over 3rd grade and a threesome never works. Well, it will work for awhile but then goes south fast. So we have a neighborhood of "factions". And they are now currently enthralled in a water gun battle. As I am typing I see 3 from the "other side" sneaking through the tall grass of my back hill. I am sure stalking the children from "my side". Soon water will fly, feelings will be hurt, words (I don't want to know) will be flung. I am always torn between going out and monitoring and being like ALL the other moms and hiding in my house-even though most of these battles occur in MY yard.


As Karen posted very prophetically today, I think I will bury my head. I will let my belief that my children will play fair, and take the high road. Then again if I was really listening to her, I am not going to sweat it. War is war after all-now where is my water gun...

Just had to

Friendship

The sun came out

I think she thought she would be the one to tire us out. I could have warned her that fry's, big or small, are exhausting.

The sun came out to play and so did we! Luna experienced her first fishing expedidition. She enjoyed it and is now sleeping heavily. She was a rock star. The fresh air did us all good-and that is all I have to say about that ENJOY the pics. I LOVED taking them.

Fine Print

I performed my annual dishwasher maintenance. This involves taking all the pieces that actually come off, off. My very expensive appliance tends to get build-up of nasty grit and food that makes clean dishes impossible. I don't mind though, it keeps my mind off my mamo "screening". I can't tell you how much "cancer" and "screening" vocabulary together ruins my day. My best friend tells me to get over the "fear" but until they tell me OK, I am always a wreck. Anyway cleaning the appliance was also therapuetic for another reason.
Hubby had this brilliant idea to go over our finances-DAILY-to see where all the money goes. As he is doing this he asks me about some monthly payments that aren't very specific and always the same amount. They have no meaning for me so he investigates. He finds out that in my frenzy of online shopping that I have not once but TWICE clicked a coupon code the website offered-or some pop up offered. In doing so I have been getting charged since then for monthly fees for "discounts" that I have never flippin used. Yes your Dave Ramsey fan hubbies would be having a stroke right now. Apparently these places have very FINE PRINT at the bottom of the pop up that tells you the fee is ongoing until you cancel it. NOW here is the kicker-I don't do FINE PRINT-case in point we are paying for Martial Classes that nobody goes to (for 18 months). Hubby is working on calling the Better Business Bureau for the one for 800.00 plus dollars, yes that's right!
So I am thinking about fine print as I am frenzily (I don't think that is a real word) rearranging the dishwasher parts, hoping they all fit together. And hope that my bosses never read my blog. I hope they never find out that I, in all my leadership responsiblities and their trust, find out I don't read the "fine print".

Life is just too short

Family

I have a lovely teacher coworker who is a not-so-secret-artist (like with actually gallery work) who makes money during her free time doing photos. I loved her stuff and even though we only do family pics (real ones that are not by me and INCLUDE me) only 3 years, I just knew she would be perfect to do ours. I had a special request that I knew I could afford if she did them. She loves old barns and machinery and I told her my in-laws homestead had all of that and if she was willing to ride with us she could take all the pics of all the stuff she wanted to. So we all gussied up, bribed children with the promise of ice cream, and battled billions-I mean billions of bugs to snap 500 pics, yes 500. This was one she sent to me right away while she edits the others-she knew I needed instant gratification obviously. I took one look and I loved it. I took more looks at it. I sent it to hubby, it was were he grew up after all and holds many memories, not all good.
I asked him if he got it, he said "Yeah it was good" and in the next breath says, "It is just so depressing, there is nothing left".
Hubby grew up in this huge open space with a family very different from mine-not much needs to be said there. His grandma-his rock through all the chaos still lives in a falling down house, with iffy plumbing and refuses to leave the land she became a wife and mother on. I know it is hard for him to see it, to see her age.
I then went to a conference today with some of my favorite women coworkers, strong, professional tough women. Some of them whose family lives are falling apart. They are torn, torn between working their asses off and alientating or robbing their spouses and children of time. Living with husbands who are threatened by their drive and tenaciousness. Torn between wanting to be happy and yet afraid to change because of children involved.
I then thought of my own family-not the one I created, but the one I was born to. I think of the strained relationship with my mom (of my own making I know). And I think of Karen and her mommy and her desire to just see her one more time. I then feel like the worst daughter in the world. I think of Carey and her mom-we both know why.
This family thing is complicated, and I think of the picture, and the farm, and the four of us and that moment time pictured there. And I think of how LUCKY I am to be standing with a hubby who supports me and is proud of me, pushes me to do what I NEED and WANT. I think of my parents who got me there, they deserve credit for sure. I think of hubby and for better or for worse how his family had a role in the person who he is now. I think of Big and Small Fry and how they have NO idea how UNCOMPLICATED it all is in that one moment of time.

This aging thing is a tough gig, I really hope I am up to it. This family thing is a tough gig to but I wouldn't change it for the world-past, present, or future.

Smart dog or what

Our new puppy counts ME as her PERSON. I know this cuz Suree told me.
She is a pretty smart dog I think...
She has learned to give the cat a wide distance
To drop the shoe back in the mud room when I catch her, she then looks up at me like "What?"
She goes to the door to bark when she wants out
She can get through the barricade to get downstairs
She has figured out that if humans are not in the room then the couch is open and all hers-she NEVER tries when we are in the room. I know this because hubby and I have both caught her relaxed and sleeping on it.
In fact I was texting while on the couch, with her looking at me with those big eyes and perky ears and wanting attention. I left for SECONDS to the kitchen and hear a clunk. I arrive in the living room with dog on couch and phone on floor.

Yep smart or sneaky-maybe both.

Road Trip # 1 Part 2

Ahh a semi-serious pose...


For every "nice" picture I asked for I had to allow a goofy one, here is the goofy one...

Now that is better, hmm no maybe the first one is better

Like I said, I think 4th grade and middle school humor will only allow "moose ears", I better just go with it.

I may be partial, but a little handsome I think:)

Road Trip #1 and Endless Blue Sky

There it is......BLUE

This is one of the many prairie dog pictures the Fry's practiced taking, I didn't think I would bore you with all of them!

Ahhhhhh the tweener and his mom are happy!

Georgia O'Keefe inspired
Ok, so this one is weird, but the pattern the shadows was awesome because there was a field of them that spread forever.

Today

Today the sky is BLUE!!
Today there is no "Blogger error", which kept me from posting a huge pouting and whining post about NO blue sky
Today I don't think I will need a jacket
Today I will be outside all day doing something/anything

By the way Carey's visit was TOO short but good as always. I think a family vacation to the black hills is a must for her every summer-but with no camp:)

Warning: Graphic

Ok so the agenda today was annual Crazy Horse Volksmarch with Big Fry (my goal this year: not to lose him-I never did share THAT story of last year) and maybe some afternoon sangria.

INSTEAD Big Fry came down with the stomach bug I had but worse. Projectile vomiting on carpet, on wood floor, and on the toilet are not my specialties. To add to insult to injury, it is his job for puppy poop duty outside AND lizard poop. Needless to say these are not my specialties either. I hope I have enough paper towels for the weekend.

I think sangria will still be on the agenda, maybe even a double batch.

awwwww

You have got to be kidding me

Todays agenda:
A few easy hours at work
Official Checkout with my boss
Lunch with friend princpals at On the Border
Enjoying the first tank and shorts day-even if it is a little windy

What am I doing instead? Trying to eat an english muffin and hopes it stays down after being up for 3 hours last night with raging stomach bug.

Summer vacation-the real one, I know has got to be right around the corner!

dog days so far in numbers

1 accident free day
1 super sunny day with lots of outside time
2 nights of sleeping all night
1 flying running leap that got us on the couch-countless attempts to try and replicate
gazillon socks dragged out into the living room and subsequently confiscated
4 shoes dragged out in just the amount of time it has taken me to type so far
5-10 ticks (dead ones -thank you flea collar) picked off dog and 1 attached to small fry's head
1 big fry who is warming up
1 small fry who is really warming up

My computer gave me an error so pic coming soon