Christmas night my dad, brother, and sister (and her boyfriend) all came over for a little dinner and family time. They arrived separately this year now that everyone is driving so our small family dinner must have looked like a huge party to the neighbors :-) After dinner we had some good conversation, opened presents, and played Apples to Apples. As always, we had a great time and wondered why we don't do this all the time.
Christmas Eve night Daniel's mom and sister came over for dinner and presents. The kids played with the Wii and we watched the video of Owen's Christmas program from school (thanks for recording that, Pa) and laughed at the Jeff Dunham Christmas special.
We just finished up with Owen's super soccer season last Saturday (lost in the first round of the playoffs, but Owen had two goals) and now we have free time again. :-)
No, not quite. The end of soccer season means the beginning of basketball season for Sara. Owen has decided he needs a break (me too, Owen, me too) and won't be playing basketball this year. Anyway, Sara loves playing Upward basketball and is excited for practice to start in December. Still, we get a break until then, right? :-)
No, not quite. Sara went to auditions for winterguard this week and is excited about being part of the Byrnes Spin Club this year. She'll have practices at Byrnes (odd seeing her walking my halls) and several competitions after the first of the year. Most of the competitions are close by(upstate), but a couple are out of state (road trip!!). Either way, grandparents, aunts/uncles, etc... are invited to attend with us.
So, the kids are busy and that means we're busy right with them, but I'm not complaining. It's good for them to be involved in things they enjoy. It keeps them focused and out of mischief. It also will build people/team skills and memories that will last a lifetime. Besides, what mom doesn't relish every opportunity to beam over the accomplishments of her babies?
For the past several weeks Daniel and I have been asking the kids about their plans for Halloween. We wanted to get their costumes early before they got picked over. Owen didn't want to trick or treat. He didn't last year. All he wanted was a bag of his favorite candy and to stay at home. So we weren't surprised when that's what he wanted to do again this year, but when Sara joined the "I'm too old for trick-or-treat" chorus, we were in shock. Sara LOVES Halloween. She always has. Instead, she wanted her best friend to come for a sleepover. That was the plan...until 7PM on Halloween when the first trick-or-treater arrived. Suddenly, the kids (all 3 of them since Kaitlyn was with us) decided that they did want to go after all.
So, what do you do for a costume at 7 PM on Halloween? Raid the closets and the old toy chest, that's what. Thankfully, Kaitlyn had brought her costume from last year. Her plan had been to entertain the kiddies by dressing up and handing out the candy so she was some sort of Nordic barbarian (with fuzzy pink boots too....). Sara dressed in black (always a good bet on Oct. 31) and added Owen's Darth Vader mask, a red cape (leftover from a little red riding hood costume from a few years ago), and a light saber. Finally, Owen found parts of his old Zorro costume (mask and belt) and a sword to add to his solid black clothes. They pulled it all together in less than ten minutes and spent the next hour collecting all the candy in the neighborhood. Like the Friday night dance party, it was free and fun. In fact, they probably had more fun this year than ever before.
When the kids were little, most Friday nights were 'dance nights'. After dinner, we'd turn on the radio and listen to music. Eventually, we'd all end up dancing around the living room and laughing our heads off at how crazy we acted. As the kids started growing up, those nights became rare. They had other things to do - play video games, go out with friends, etc. Last night there wasn't a football game or a sleepover and we all ended up in the living room with the directv music channels on. The kids entertained us by changing their dances to the type of music on different stations - reggae, disco, broadway, etc. It was hilarious. Daniel and I seek out and pay for fun things for the family to do - movies, football games, amusement parks, and concerts, but sometimes the most fun can be had at home for free.
By now many of you may have noticed that I tend to respond to e-mails, blog, and hang out on fb at odd hours. That's due to my strange habit of awaking at 4 am. I don't always hit 4 o'clock on the dot and I certainly don't try (or want) to wake up at that hour, but it just happens. My eyes pop open and I'm ready to start my day. My mind starts racing with my 'to do' list for the day and I'm ready to get to it. Occasionally I can lie down on the couch and watch something boring on TV (March of the Penguins especially) and fall asleep again, but usually once I'm up, I'm up. So I head up to the bonus room and log on to the computer.
Daniel thinks I'm nuts (but he's not a morning person at all). I even saw my doctor to make sure there's nothing wrong. There isn't. I'm a little high strung (she said anxious). She could write me a prescription that would knock me out for longer, but it would come with a variety of side effects that just aren't appealing to me. I fall asleep between 9 and 10 at night so I get 6-7 hours of sleep. That's pretty good. Truth is being awake at 4 am doesn't bother me. I get to catch up with old friends, blog about my fabulous family, and see what's happening in the world. With our family life and my job being as hectic as they are, I need some 'me' time and if this is the only time I can get it, I'll take it.
Thursday was a momentous day in our family - Jeri got her first car! It is a cute little used Jetta. (Hopefully, I'll get a picture of it soon.) Sara and I went over to ooh and ah over it. Then, Jeri took us for a ride. She's a good driver and will probably be the first one in the family to pass her driver's test on the first try.
Anyway, as we were riding, we had a chance to talk. How long has it been since the three of us did that? Too long. When they were younger, we did that more. We had sleepovers and went shopping. As they started to grow and their own lives started taking up more of their time, we didn't spend as much time together. I think we all realized on Thursday that we missed that.
Jeri commented that Sara is just like she was at that age and I realized how much both are like I was at those times. Of course they have their own unique qualities, but deep down girls are just girls.
I know I blogged back in August about how I knew I was getting older, but this weekend I had another run-in with the passage of time. This weekend I attended the funeral of my aunt Carol. She was a kind lady married to my Dad's brother Edward for over 40 years. Together they formed the nearest thing to a role model for marriage that I ever saw in my family. Even though Uncle Ed and Aunt Carol lived far away, the longevity of their marriage reassured me that "it could be done."
Anyway, at the funeral I started looking around at my cousins, my aunts, and uncles, and my grandmother. When did they get so old? In my mind, they're all still as they were when I was a kid, but at the funeral I saw them for who they actually are now. My grandmother had difficulty remembering who was who, but she still gets around pretty well. Another aunt was using a walking stick. Several of the pallbearers looked like they really shouldn't be carrying anything much less a heavy coffin. They used to be so vibrant and energetic. When did this all happen?
Anyway, it was one of those surreal (Sorry, Richard, if you're reading this. I know how much you dislike that word.) moments of epiphany -this will be me someday and that someday will be here way too soon. If I can remember what many of these folks were like at my age, then I will be their age before I know it. I wonder if I should get one of those scooter chairs before the price goes up too much?
**Update** See where I said some of the pallbearers looked like they shouldn't be carrying anything? Well, Dad was one of them. He shouldn't have been carrying anything because he now has a pinched nerve in his shoulder. Wonder if everyone else is okay?
What a weekend! It has been filled with old friends and good times. On Friday night we attended the Dorman Homecoming game with Sara and Owen. We saw so many of our high school friends with their families.
It's finally here! No, I'm not talking about back to school time, or autumn leaves time. I am talking FOOTBALL people. We just wrapped up the first full week of bliss - NFL, college, and high school football. I am in heaven. No other sport or hobby gives me the same adrenaline rush that watching a football game does. I have never been known to jump up and down in the living room screaming "GO,GO,GO" because my daylillies or roses are blooming. I love reading, but I don't pound my fist on the table when the protagonist of the novel messes up. However, I do all those things when watching football.
Seeing football games in person is good. We try to see one or two Byrnes games each year (and occasionally a Dorman game). The Byrnes games are really more of a social event than anything. So many people to see that it's hard to focus on what's going on. And, not to boast, but well, the outcome usually isn't in question.
We also try to attend a USC game when we can. Those are always fun and they bring back lots of college memories. I've been to a few NFL games too. My favorite was the year Daniel took me to see Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers play in Charlotte. This year we're taking Owen and Sara to see Owen's beloved Carolina Panthers. That should be a fun weekend.
However, my favorite way to watch football is right in my own living room. We make some good food on Sunday afternoon, pile up in front of the TV, and root (loudly) for and against a myriad of teams. Two additions to our ritual in recent years have increased my fun tremendously - NFL Sunday ticket (we can see any game we want to) and fantasy football. I hated fantasy football until I understood it. Now that I've been playing for two years, I love it. It doesn't hurt that my team (Campy's Campers) won the family Super Bowl last year (thank you, Brett Favre). Now, I have not only teams that I love to watch (Green Bay and now the Jets too), but I have players all over the place and whomever I'm playing against has players all over the place so almost any game is more exciting.
By the way, the Campers are 1-0 this season. Sorry, Daniel.
The first day of school arrived here at the Camp house on Tuesday. One Camp eagerly embraced the start of the school year (Owen) while another begrudgingly agreed to let the learning begin (Me). Sara fell somewhere in the middle - excited to see friends in a new place, but also a bit apprehensive about her move to middle school. Yes, that's right, middle school. For those of you who haven't been keeping track, my baby girl has entered middle school, that world of lockers, cliques, and crushes. SO much changes in middle school - childhood is exchanged for adolescence. It's awkward and cruel, but sometimes exciting and fun. How do I help her navigate such unpredictable waters?
It seems like I just brought her home from the hospital as a newborn. I remember so vividly the first day Daniel went back to work and I was left alone with this tiny person. I was so scared. What if I did "it" wrong? What did I know about being a parent? Where was the instruction manual/lesson plan? She and I made it through that first day and the over 4000 days since then. I've not always gotten "it" right, but I've always acted with love. That's really all a parent can do. And, that's exactly how we're going to survive middle school.
5. Daniel and I are celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary this September.
4. I had to have my first mammogram.
3. I'm starting my 16th year of teaching. That’s more than halfway to retirement.
2. Sara is starting middle school this year.
1. I just got the invitation to my 20th high school reunion.
It's not that I mind getting older, but did all of these things have to happen at once to drive the point home? And where did all of the time go? I'm not sure any of us can answer that one. It's eaten up with doing laundry, driving kids to soccer practices, making dinner, grading papers, etc. One reason I started the blog is to help me remember all those little moments that make up the year so it doesn't just become a blur.
Friday, the kids and I took advantage of the tax holiday to do some of the much-needed back-to-school shopping. We spent the whole day roaming around the stores and people-watching. We played a fun game of spot the ladies with the zebra purses. Have you seen these things? They're black and white zebra-patterned leather (possibly pleather..haven't gotten up-close to tell) with straps and trim in green, pink, and blue. The three of us find spotting them as much fun in the stores as playing punch-bug is while driving down the road. If I remember correctly, we saw five of them on Friday alone.
Anyway, some stores had good sales - we got great deals on Owen's soccer gear for this season. Other stores were craftier in their marketing. For example, the week before we had been shopping and there was a good sale on jeans for both the kids at one of our usual shops so I bought them both a couple of pair. On Friday, this store promoted a BOGO sale, but when I calculated the purchase, I had gotten a much better deal the week before. The lesson here is an item may have a BOGO sign and still not be a good deal.
The most hilarious part of the day was a stop at our favorite big box store. We were shopping away when the power went out! There we were completely in the dark. All the shoppers in the store got silent. It was dark for maybe a minute and the power came back on - business as usual, except for the PA announcement that it takes 5 minutes for the registers to reboot. We shopped for awhile longer until the lines at the register diminished and then we decided to checkout. I had the pen in mid-air ready to finalize my debit card purchase when ... the power went out AGAIN!!!! This time it was out for about two minutes. My purchase hadn't been finalized so we had to unbag all the items and start all over. Thankfully, everyone seemed to keep their patience. I didn't see anyone making a scene. I still haven't heard what happened. There wasn't a storm and the traffic light at the entrance was still working so it must have been isolated to that store. Anyway, it made for a memorable day. I'm sure we'll all be saying "remember the time..." whenever we shop there in the future.
This summer has been filled with lots of fun - baseball games, family get-togethers, vacation, miniature golf, movies, and just laughs with each other, but this past week has brought us a different sort of adventure - life without air conditioning! Our tempermental heat pump (only 4 years old) has gone out once again. In the past, it has gone out at the beginning of the season before the weather got too hot. This time, it waited until mid-summer. Thankfully, it wasn't during those 100 degree days in June, though! The unit for the bonus room still works so we're spending lots of time there and we're trying to divert as much of that cool air downstairs as possible. We've also got lots of fans going so if you call the house and it sounds like we're in a wind tunnel... we are! The repairman is supposed to arrive today. We are praying it will be an easy fix and our days in the wind tunnel will be over.
Today marks the debut of our family blog, Camp Family Adventures. Hopefully this will be a fun adventure for us all as we record the crazy wonderful life I share with my very own three stooges, Daniel, Sara, and Owen. Please give me feedback as I learn how to navigate the world of blogging.
Tracy
