Our Christmas celebration usually begins with a visit with the Hollis family before things get too crazy. We all had some yummy spaghetti and Jon's special "Cool-eo" dessert before opening presents and having some fun times.
OMG! My brain is frazzled from all this semester's end activity, my fingers and toes are numb from the bitter cold, and I'm just plain worn out from all of the running around, but as Andy Williams keeps proclaiming from my iPod, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." It should be and it could be and it would be if we didn't try to cram EVERYTHING into it, but we try our best to make it PERFECT. Well, perfect isn't in my vocabulary this year. Imperfect can be wonderful too.
Let's look at a few examples:
Christmas cards - I've only done these a few times over the years and always when I planned WAY in advance (you know, buying and addressing them in September). The last time I bought them to send out to "everyone" I had them all ready ahead of time and never got around to putting stamps on them and sending them. The solutions? 1) Cards for folks at work I love and depend upon daily to keep me sane (no stamps needed either). 2) This very personal message:
Daniel put Sara in charge of the Thanksgiving pictures this year. Here's her photographic essay of our day with family.
We had quite a crowd - Granny & Pa, Devin, Cameron & Austin, Grandmama & Madeline, Grandpa & Zeb, Nanny, and the four of us, but apparently none of us was as exciting to Sara as the guests featured here. :)
Another marching band season has just wrapped up. The Rebel Regiment presented "To Boldly Go", a Star Trek themed show which was terrific. The music was great, and the guard was fantastic, as always. It was a powerful and moving show. We had lots of fun following them to competitions locally, in Tennessee, in North Carolina, and to State at Irmo. They won several Grand Championships, and placed 5th at State. They were disappointed at the State results, but overall it was a great season.
And so as one season ends, another begins. Winter guard tryouts (for the vets) were held yesterday and Sara made the JV guard this year. She is so excited and we are so excited for her. Way to go, Sara!
Okay so Friday we learned that the Shuttle launch was delayed from Monday to Tuesday because of some leaks that were found during an inspection. That eliminated me from the trip because I had to be at school on Wednesday. I said a big no to driving home from Cape Canaveral Tuesday night and going to work on Wednesday. I did check airlines, but found no cheap flights that would be any better. Anyway, the trip was delayed from Saturday to Sunday and we were all able to go to Charlotte to see the Rebel Regiment claim another Grand Championship!
So, on Saturday, we found out that the repairs were a little more extensive than expected and that the launch was delayed until Wednesday. That meant the gang couldn't leave on Sunday. We gave Owen the okay to miss two days of school for this and nothing more than that. So, the plan was reformulated so that everyone would go to work/school on Monday, but leave early (for Owen that meant missing band and computer lab - I can deal with that) so they can leave at about 2 this afternoon.
Hopefully there will be no further delays and they'll take lots of pictures for us all to see. I'm not too sad about missing it. There is so much going on here this week - State this Saturday so lots of hub-bub leading up to that and its Homecoming at my school so lots of hub-bub associated with that. I won't be lacking for excitement one bit.
UPDATE: So, the launch still hasn't happened. A series of cracks in the foam of the fuel tank is being investigated. It looks as though it will be mid-December at the earliest for a launch or even some time in February. The gang made a valiant effort "suffering" in Florida until Friday of that week, but jobs, school, and real world responsibilities called them back home. They did manage to see some of the sights (Sea World, Cape Canaveral, Daytona Beach) and have some fun times together.
We are right at two weeks from our latest Camp Adventure and there is excitement brewing at the Camp House.
As you all know, my husband and son are space junkies. They love Star Wars, Star Trek, you name it. Anyway, NASA is phasing out the Space Shuttle Program and there are only a few more shuttle launches left. Well, Daniel decided that he wanted to see a launch. The program began when we were kids so we've grown up with the Space Shuttle. We were in the 10th grade at Dorman the day Challenger exploded at takeoff. He was the one who ran into my class and told my teacher to turn on the tv. We watched together the day Columbia disintegrated during re-entry. It has just been part of our lives and now it's almost over. So, he wants to see it in person.
He did some research and found out about the lottery to get tickets to the launch and, somehow, his name was selected to buy tickets. I tell you when he sets his mind to something, he makes it happen.
Anyway, the launch is scheduled for November 1st which creates a long weekend for Owen and I since election day has schools closed that Tuesday. So we're packing up and heading to Florida again. Sara isn't going with us because that's the same week of her State band contest so she can't/wouldn't miss practice for anything, but Daniel's sister, mom, and dad are going with us so it'll be a family affair for sure. I am less excited about the Space Shuttle than I am about seeing Owen and Daniel's faces when they see it blast off. It will be for them, like going to the Folger Shakespeare Library was for me, a surreal moment when dream meets reality. I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Well, we've made it to the end of the longest week ever and I thought I'd post so you'd know how things are progressing at the Camp house. We now have restored phone service (but only one of the phones actually works) and restored DirecTV (but the DVR is not functioning properly so they're sending us another one). The heating and air conditioning was fixed yesterday.
Today Daniel is expecting the electrician to do a whole house inspection, the appliance repairman to evaluate the refrigerator and stove, the plumber to check on the hot water heater, the garage door guy to install a new garage door opener, and the contractor to evaluate the structural damage.
Right now our kitchen is essentially shut down - we have the extra freezer in the laundry room and the microwave. The stove top still works, but the oven doesn't so I'm not completely comfortable using it. The insurance guy asked me to make a list of all the refrigerator contents that were lost and assess their value - it was like shopping in reverse. I did learn that we seem to be big fans of cheese and salad dressing. We had more of those items than anything else. The insurance company has agreed to reimburse us for those items and the meals we have to eat out because we can't cook at home. Sounds better than it is. Eating out is fun when you have time to go where you want and relax. It is not fun when you have to wait on everyone to get home and then find something quick so the kids can get back to do homework.
We are planning to shop tonight for a new wireless router and two telephones. We may also have to shop for new applicances. Tomorrow the Geek Squad is coming is evaluate the computer. My feeling is that we'll have to shop for another one of those too. Still, during this ordeal I have not had to visit a hospital or funeral home. Thank you God. The Camp Family Adventures continue...
