First Day of the "S" Word...(School!)

All week the kids have been moaning about school. Granted, they were in one of the country's greatest vacation spots EVER (OBX) so I cut them some slack. It became very apparent on Sunday night (after a 12 hour drive home on Saturday) that Devin was actually a little bit happy about going back (but continued to deny it with a sly little smile) and Julia grew increasingly more wary.

Julia is like me, massive control freak. If I know it, I'm on it, I own it, I'm the queen of the world. Unfamiliar territory...meh, not so much. So, she starts to panic a little, but quietly, in a control freak kind of way.

They were both up with the birds today and bursting with excitement. Devin even got dressed, took his allergy meds and BRUSHED HIS TEETH WITHOUT BEING TOLD. This might be a 5th grade miracle, people.

Julia, asserting her 3rd grade girl independence wore the exact opposite of anything I would have chosen for her. I stayed mum, I still wear socks that match, so what the hell do I know?

They allowed 2, count them 2 pictures on the front steps. Usually I'm allowed a few out-takes, but not this year! Devin ran ahead. Never got to wish him luck, have a good day, don't forget to write - NADA. A pack of girls swallowed him up in hugs and "HI DEVIN!!!" Neil and I shot each other a look and burst out laughing. Any predictions on when the first girl calls the house??

Julia, now one of the school's "big kids" gets to line up on the ramp for her first year in an upstairs classroom. Oh the joy, ohhhh, the trepidation... She told me not to come with her, then quickly changed her mind and pulled my hand, then dropped it and kissed us and took off. Turned around and never looked back. That's my girl!!

They were both bursting with stories about friends, new and old, teachers, new and old and both agreed it was a great first day. Oh, the relief!

So it begins. But really, shouldn't they both still be in kindergarten??

OBX 2009

FANTASTIC week in the Outer Banks with the Hannas and the Odells. Great drive down, tolerable drive back (not counting NJ) and just great stuff in between. We had a couple red flag days at the beginning from the wave remnants of hurricane Bill, but it was all typical NC surf after that. The first day or so had big surf and the tide came up so far there was literally no beach. Water right up to the dunes (never saw that before). We made runs down there the first night after the kids went to bed.

The women got the first run. "Oooh look how far out I'm going..." (Deb)

"Has she been drinking?" (male bystander)

"Uh, yeah." (me)

"Mmmm, keep an eye on her..." (male bystander)

Ok, we were being a little bit wussy about it, but, out of concern...

Kids managed to have fun in the red flag (no swimming) days. Lifeguards seemed to be ok with going in knee deep. So, we sat in the surf to keep cool. Sadly, on day 2 I forgot to apply sunscreen to my legs (senior moment?) and got a bit fried.

We did something new and rented Jeeps this year to drive up to Swan, NC (where it's only sand roads and 4 wheeling) to see the wild horses. It was REALLY hot and sunny, and the Jeep was a bit bumpy for some of us (Bec has bruises, that's all I'm sayin') but the horses were so neat. We also saw dolphins breaching in the ocean, and lots of neat houses you can't see unless you have 4 wheel drive. It's VERY tempting to rent up there sometime...

Kids had a ball playing with the other kids. We barely saw them! There was a lot of gimp, matchy "squirrel" (aka skunk) nightgowns, DS "pictochatting", pool and beach play.

The adults always seem to have fun (despite 1 day of broken A/C. I think it reached 85 degrees on the top floor?) with cards, guac, Oreos and a couple of adult beverages.

I took lots of pix, did some skinny dipping (gasp) and only used the outdoor shower (which I miss dreadfully).

The only low point was on Friday when a 12 year old boy from NY went missing in the surf about 2 miles south of us. The local rescue and Coast Guard searched until dark, but couldn't find him. I spent that day until 5:00 at the beach and couldn't quite keep my eyes off the water, hoping to see him bobbing to safety. His family has not been far from my mind ever since. It only shows that life can change in an instant, and you have to enjoy every minute and grab every morsel of joy out of it.

So, thanks to the Hannas and the Odells for helping to create another year's worth of great vacation memories, they will last a lifetime for all of us!!!

You know you're old when...

...your cake catches on fire. Just sayin'. Happy Birthday, Sissy!!

Penultimate Cross Over

It was a day of back to back events. Julia had a party in the middle of town, then we zoooooomed over to Bloomfield for the Cross Over ceremony. We made it just in time to see our Webelo 1's become Webelo 2's. This will be the last time Devin crosses over to a Cub Scout rank. If he continues with it, next year he'll become a Boy Scout (or MAN SCOUT as they say at sleepaway camp).

It was funny to watch our grown up boys acting as role models while I watched the younger scouts running amok. It wasn't but a few years ago it was our little Tiger Cubs who were dancing with ants in their pants.

Ellen and I were very much thinking about the 5th grade yearbook as we gathered our boys together for a "class shot". Ah, one of 4,000 pix down.

Devin and E were running around after the ceremony (ok, so they aren't as far from being Tigers as I thought) and Devin wiped out on the pavement. One of those really hearty, left all my skin on the pavement kind of wipeouts. Since it was pretty early in the season, the recently trained lifeguards swarmed over to him like he was a shoplifter at Macy's. We initially said he was fine, and we'd clean it up at home. But after seeing the sad looks on their faces as they were dying to use some first aid skills, we relented. They did a great job, all bandaged up!

Celebrate!! (WH)

June? Must be time to Celebrate WH!! This involves crazy parking, expensive craft booths, yummy but expensive food and ridiculous lines for $5.00 ferris wheel lines. But that's ok, it's all for a good cause...oh wait, no, it's just for the coffers of our town. Oh well.

The kids adore it and it was a beautiful (though hot) day. Papa, Lindsay and Lis joined us too which was cool. Got to hang with "the girls" and Papa went on all the rides with the kids. When did my inner ear start to hate rides that spin?? God, I'm old.

Bumped into lots of folks we know and drank fresh squeezed lemonaid. Julia got her face painted. The woman who did it liked the design so much when she was done she asked if she could take her picture for her website. Gosh, NO, wouldn't want her face splashed all over someone's blog...hee hee.

These Cats ROCK!!

On a whim we took the kids to a Rockcats game in June. We invited Grandma and Oompa since we know they love baseball too! Every time we go to a Rockcats (or Portland Seadogs) game we always remark about how great a family night it is! The tickets are cheap (we had FABULOUS seats for $12 a piece) and the food is very reasonable. Great between innings fun and a fantastic nail biter of a game!!

We saw a few families we knew, and entered a charity drawing. Well, wouldn't you know we get a call in the middle of the game that Julia won a big basket in the drawing she entered? The luck of the Hartzogs!! She got a big bag full of great summer toys and games. She was thrilled!!

We had a tiny bit of rain, but it didn't spoil the fun at all. We can't wait to go again! What a nice way to kick off the summer.

Conspiring Against Us

One day I found the kids sitting in the front yard having a discussion in hushed whispers. What were they talking about? I don't know, but I think we're officially in trouble now.