Memorial Day

Food Prep starts first thing in the morning.
You MUST fortify yourself (especially the kids) with breakfast on party day

Because, there is food More food
Food Again
The best food of all.
Even the injured show up for the party, because...

There are enough drinks to share
And for yourself.
And if one kind runs out, there is always more.
There is conversation of one kind...
Niece and Uncles catching up...

Cousins catching up

Brother's wrestle while cousins cheer on

Uncle's trying stunts they are to old for....

And paying the price.

More Playing...

The Start and The Finishes of the racing. Of course, these races went on for about 20 minutes

Winding down. Fire and Marshmellows (yes, the kids still had room in their bellies to eat more).

Dirty Feet show the result of a good day.

Bath time for baby, and dirty water and legs for Middle.

Can't Wait For Next Year!!

Long Time

I knew when I started doing this post that I probably would not be very reliable, but I tried very hard to be at least consistant once or three times a week. Now it has been along time. So much has been going on. To start, the last time I wrote, we were getting ready to go to another race. The boys did amazing. In the series that we ran that weekend, the two boys ran against each other. The person who runs the series asked us to move Little Son up to run with Big Son since Little has won the points for the last two years. Big Son has won the points in the same series for the last two years also. He is looking for excitment in the racing and knows that people will watch the two boys race each other. Tomorrow night I will most a video of the two boys racing against each other and explain what happened.

Then there was Memorial Day Weekend. Again, pictures tomorrow. Memorial Day weekend is very special to me. It is a time to catch up with my family with no real "holiday" pressure (ie Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter). Everyone is relaxed and very willing to talk about what has been happening. There is always the good ripping, calling eachother out on what has been happening. Best thing of all, watching the cousins together. My Grandmother has always said to me that she knew she taught her family well when all her grandchildren and great grandchildren can get together and there are no issues or arguments between us. We may not always agree with each other and what the others do, but we are family, we get along, and bottom line, we love each other and have each other's best interest at heart.

The Garden

I finally finished cleaning out the vegetable garden. Every spring I remind myself that I should have pulled out all the dead plants in the fall. Every spring I remind myself to be more organized in regards to the garden in the fall. Then fall comes. Back to school. Racing season winding down except for those all importand last races. Football starts. Needless to say the garden clean-up gets pushed to the side.

Unlike my sister, I DO NOT plant seeds. I am way to impatient and need instant gratification for spending the day planting vegetables. I like to plant them, then sit on the drive at look at my hard work. Probably Monday I will put in plants. Tomorrow is the day to clean the motor home and start packing for the weekend. Friday is final clean-up in the house before we leave.

Braces

Yes, this is my baby with braces. He has an overbite that needs to be corrected. He's had them for 6 days now and today is the first day that he has eaten solid foods. Since last Wednesday he has survived on soup and sherbet. I really don't feel that he needed them. But then, I felt that Big Son didn't need them either. He gets his off in 1-2 months. We are just waiting for one tooth to turn. Braces are expensive. For 4 years (with both boys) it will cost about $7,000.00. That is if everything goes as planned. It has gotten me to thinking about what kids now are faced with. Everything has to be perfect. If it isn't perfect, people hire shrinks, touters, extra doctors, more medicine, more expensive cloths, better parties. Is it really necesarry? When my boys were younger and had birthday parties for friends, parents were surprised that nothing was planned and that it was at my house. I would tell them that we were going to do a pinata, let them run around, and make it up as we went. The looks were of pure shock and horror. No party planners? Not at a controlled site? No. we had the room. Big Son in the summer had parties outside. Little Son in the winter had his parties in our basement. Nobody ever wanted to go home. They were free, could run around, play and make up games as they went.

Now that the boys are older, it is very easy to point out the kids who had their younger years controlled. They are hesitate to be in an environment where you make up your own fun. Walking through the woods can be fun and scary at the smae time. Making up a game at the basketball hoop for some of them is amazing. Both Big Son and Little Son's friends like it when I take chalk and make boxes in the drive around the hoop. Each box has a number. You have to stand in the box and if you make the basket, your initial is put in. At the end, all numbers are added up for a winner. We have gone through 2 boxes of chalk this spring already.

Yes, this is me after dealing with Little Son with braces for a week and Big Son having his braces tightened real hard to get that tooth moved. Can you see the stress in my face? Yes Rebecca, I need a haircut and hopefully you will find it in your heart to do it in 2 weeks. Also, as you can see my camera is FIXED!!! The boys are going nuts because I keep taking pictures.

Big Son is getting so BIG. He is now at least 5'10". Size 10 1/2 foot. He at times has a major attitude and at others is asking me for advise. Right now he wants to know what is wrong with him that he keeps getting pimples. Not bad, but a few. I told him that it was a part of growing up and just to make sure he takes care of it. (I got him Proactive, I use it too, and when he uses it, it works great). He's nervous now about having a girlfriend. I asked him if he likes a girl and he said no, but that soon he probably would. Funny.

Little People

My camera is still not fixed, hopefully it will be by this weekend. I find it hard to post when I have no pictures to go with the post. Besides which, not much has been going on at this house. The kids have been in the woods after school every day for the past week "fixing" their motorcycle track. They cut down branches and mark the trees so they can follow the path easier. Husband and I laugh because all they have to do is follow their tracks and they could go the same way each time. But it gives them something to do. I've been making Big Son take my cell phone with him in case something happens. Husband's friend was turkey hunting in the woods last week and a coyote walked in front of him. If I tell the boys that there are real animals besides just turkey and deer in the woods, they won't go in there by themselves.

I've also been trying to "invent" new food for dinner. On Monday the boys watched Little People, Big World with me. They were amazed. Big Son couldn't understand how they could have average height kids and only one small. Little Son was surprised that they didn't have all "little" things in their house, that it was an average house. So yesterday when they asked what was for dinner, I said "little people food" What? They were confused and a little worried. What did little people eat? They sat down at the table and I could also tell Husband was a little worried. I wouldn't let anyone in the kitchen or near the grill. I carried out the trays of food, uncovered them, and they all laughed. I made "little" cheese burgers on small buns, little wrapped hot dogs, "little" buffalo chicken (chicken wings), a tuna steak cut into small circles, and small salads. They really enjoyed it.

Grandpa

Husband started sneezing tonight and it reminded me of my grandfather. My grandfather would never sneeze once or twice. No, sometimes it reached 10-15 times in a row. Especially after he ate soup on Saturday afternoons and who do you think liked to put his soup in his bowl? That's right me. Of course he liked it with pepper and I enjoyed putting a little extra into it. He always would go into a sneezing fit. My Grandmother, after the sixth or seventh sneeze would always say "Frances, please stop." That would make him laugh and then sneeze even more. He always thought it was funny.

My Grandfather was the best. I loved him more than anything in the world. I miss him so much. I think of him with my boys. Even though he never met them, I think that he is smiling down on them. There are traits in them that remind me of him. My Grandfather was my best friend. I loved being with him. I would always make time for my grandparents. I was in high school and still loved sleeping at their house. Does that say something about me? To me it means that they were the most important people in my live. My Grandfathter died about four months before I got married. My wedding dress was kept in their house. The day of my wedding, when I went to pick up my dress, I cried for my grandmother and my grandfather. My grandmother because she still seemed lost without him, and my grandfather because I wanted him with me. It was hard to take that dress out of their house. It made me feel like I had to grow up. I missed my Grandfather so much and was hurt that he wasn't going to be at my wedding. He was so much apart of my life.

My sister and I were fornuate to be able to enjoy our Grandparents. They always made time for us. To me, some of my happiest times were with my Grandparents. I'm sitting here, typing about them crying because it is still hard to put into words what my Grandparents meant to me. It saddens me that I can not spend as much time with my Grandmother as much as I want to. I make a point to call her every week. To me, that's not enough. Tomorrow, posts of my Grandparents.