Nothing much to report. It was a busy week last week. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night I had to work late. Thursday night was Venessa's engagement party - what fun to hang out with the girls and look at bride magazines! Makes me wish I was planning a wedding. At least I can live vicariously through her.
This weekend Jon taught a dive class so Rylee and I basically hung out by the pool. Not too shabby! Gaga even joined us this morning until the rain drove us back inside.
Sorry for the boring post. Hopefully I'll have something more interesting to share soon.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!
"Argh!"
Or if you prefer Jon's favorite: "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!"
Or if you prefer Jon's favorite: "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!"
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Top 10 Vacation Stories
Oops. I had one more vacation post that got passed over with all of Rylee's birthday hoopla. :)
These are the top stories that get told and retold whenever someone in our crew brings up "vacation." They're more in chronological order than anything else.
1) Tying Penney to the dock at Haze Haven
Penney can't swim, but if you know Pelican Lake it's ridiculously shallow. You'll get tired of walking out before you get to any depth that's above your head. Still it was quite the feat to get her to lounge on an air mattress in 12 inches of water. We tied her to the dock so she wouldn't float away.
2) Watching the bears eat at the dump in Big Fork
When we asked what there was to do for fun, this is the activity they directed us to. It was straight out of "The Great Outdoors" except we didn't drive away with any bears on the hood of our car. Most people were lounging on their hoods eating snacks while viewing the scavenging bears, but my Mom wouldn't let me of out the car. I'm pretty sure she had the doors locked too, just in case.
3) Conan
"Conan" was our nickname for a young boy at that same place in Big Fork. He climbed all over and walked on his hands and had no qualms about inserting himself into your vacation experience. When we were barbecuing one night he came over and announced: "I like mine burnt."
4) Dave dancing the Pee Wee Herman
He was the baby of the family and was always happy to perform his rendition of the Pee Wee Herman (with or without the "Tequila" song). He tried to pass on the legacy by teaching the dance to Max this year, but it wasn't quite the same.
5) Storm in the camper
The first year at CC we could only get one cabin so my Mom, Heather and I slept in one of my Grandpa's campers. One of the first nights we were there, possibly THE first night, there was a huge storm. Heather and I were freaking out and my Mom kept telling us to calm down and go to bed, but when she opened the door the next morning guess what she saw: a huge tree down a few feet from our camper. Yep, it was a tornado!
6) Trade ins & General White Trashiness
Bart was the Ford Dealer in our town so the joke was always whose trade in station wagon would he be taking on the trip. We always over packed, brought too much sh*t, and looked like "gypsies, tramps & thieves." For many years, we brought a screen tent that we really only put up to keep all the floats from blowing away!
7) Heat on in the motor home
One year we borrowed my Uncle's motor home. The guys drove that and the girls were in the other vehicle. After a while, the guys pulled over to let the boys out since they couldn't get the heater to turn off. One of them joked that they were "getting third degree burns."
8) Yelling "it's Nov 24th" at the turkey farm
The guys thought this was the height of humor.
9) Renting a P.O.S. pontoon in DL
Bart has a very dry and sarcastic sense of humor so when they guy told us how much it would cost for the dilapidated pontoon, he said: "I don't want to buy the thing, I just want to rent it for the hour." Hysterical! The whole time we were out on the water we swore people were pointing and laughing, saying "hey, so and so suckered another one into renting that thing!"
10) "Stirring the stew"
I'm pretty sure that Max's fashion show declaration that he was "stirring the stew" is going to be one of those stories that stand the test of time!
These are the top stories that get told and retold whenever someone in our crew brings up "vacation." They're more in chronological order than anything else.
1) Tying Penney to the dock at Haze Haven
Penney can't swim, but if you know Pelican Lake it's ridiculously shallow. You'll get tired of walking out before you get to any depth that's above your head. Still it was quite the feat to get her to lounge on an air mattress in 12 inches of water. We tied her to the dock so she wouldn't float away.
2) Watching the bears eat at the dump in Big Fork
When we asked what there was to do for fun, this is the activity they directed us to. It was straight out of "The Great Outdoors" except we didn't drive away with any bears on the hood of our car. Most people were lounging on their hoods eating snacks while viewing the scavenging bears, but my Mom wouldn't let me of out the car. I'm pretty sure she had the doors locked too, just in case.
3) Conan
"Conan" was our nickname for a young boy at that same place in Big Fork. He climbed all over and walked on his hands and had no qualms about inserting himself into your vacation experience. When we were barbecuing one night he came over and announced: "I like mine burnt."
4) Dave dancing the Pee Wee Herman
He was the baby of the family and was always happy to perform his rendition of the Pee Wee Herman (with or without the "Tequila" song). He tried to pass on the legacy by teaching the dance to Max this year, but it wasn't quite the same.
5) Storm in the camper
The first year at CC we could only get one cabin so my Mom, Heather and I slept in one of my Grandpa's campers. One of the first nights we were there, possibly THE first night, there was a huge storm. Heather and I were freaking out and my Mom kept telling us to calm down and go to bed, but when she opened the door the next morning guess what she saw: a huge tree down a few feet from our camper. Yep, it was a tornado!
6) Trade ins & General White Trashiness
Bart was the Ford Dealer in our town so the joke was always whose trade in station wagon would he be taking on the trip. We always over packed, brought too much sh*t, and looked like "gypsies, tramps & thieves." For many years, we brought a screen tent that we really only put up to keep all the floats from blowing away!
7) Heat on in the motor home
One year we borrowed my Uncle's motor home. The guys drove that and the girls were in the other vehicle. After a while, the guys pulled over to let the boys out since they couldn't get the heater to turn off. One of them joked that they were "getting third degree burns."
8) Yelling "it's Nov 24th" at the turkey farm
The guys thought this was the height of humor.
9) Renting a P.O.S. pontoon in DL
Bart has a very dry and sarcastic sense of humor so when they guy told us how much it would cost for the dilapidated pontoon, he said: "I don't want to buy the thing, I just want to rent it for the hour." Hysterical! The whole time we were out on the water we swore people were pointing and laughing, saying "hey, so and so suckered another one into renting that thing!"
10) "Stirring the stew"
I'm pretty sure that Max's fashion show declaration that he was "stirring the stew" is going to be one of those stories that stand the test of time!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Pirate Princess
To wrap up, Rylee had a great bday party (or parties rather). In true fashion, we celebrated three times. First on Labor Day since we all had the day off, then the next day on her actual birthday and finally on her party day.
The weather was nice for the party so after the kids came in and forcibly got their picture taken, they hit the pools (big and little). Jon grilled up some hot dogs and my Mom made coney sauce for the adults for lunch. (A big thanks goes to my Mom who basically slaved through the whole party and didn't have any fun!) Then we did the cake and the pinata and the kids were out the door only five minutes later than we planned. Rylee was supposed to take a nap, but of course she wanted to open presents instead. Go figure! Between the present opening, the party, and the kids playing with all of Rylee's toys, the house was a wreck, but we were all picked up two hours later so it wasn't too bad. Although I believe both Jon and my Mom may have uttered "never again" in reference to hosting a house party. :)
Finally here are some last miscellaneous birthday shots...
Rylee in her new princess dress from Gaga and her Ariel shell necklace from her cousins (just like the one Ursula uses to trap Ariel's voice and it sings Ariel's melody). Rylee is pretending to sing - ah, ah, ah!
Trying on the boys pirate costume a few days before the party (it was something I had for my kiddos at school once upon a time).
Goofing around with Daddy in the photo area.
Wearing one of her new outfits from her friend, Shannon. The eye patch is fall's hottest new accessory! :)
The weather was nice for the party so after the kids came in and forcibly got their picture taken, they hit the pools (big and little). Jon grilled up some hot dogs and my Mom made coney sauce for the adults for lunch. (A big thanks goes to my Mom who basically slaved through the whole party and didn't have any fun!) Then we did the cake and the pinata and the kids were out the door only five minutes later than we planned. Rylee was supposed to take a nap, but of course she wanted to open presents instead. Go figure! Between the present opening, the party, and the kids playing with all of Rylee's toys, the house was a wreck, but we were all picked up two hours later so it wasn't too bad. Although I believe both Jon and my Mom may have uttered "never again" in reference to hosting a house party. :)
Finally here are some last miscellaneous birthday shots...
Rylee in her new princess dress from Gaga and her Ariel shell necklace from her cousins (just like the one Ursula uses to trap Ariel's voice and it sings Ariel's melody). Rylee is pretending to sing - ah, ah, ah!
Trying on the boys pirate costume a few days before the party (it was something I had for my kiddos at school once upon a time).
Goofing around with Daddy in the photo area.
Wearing one of her new outfits from her friend, Shannon. The eye patch is fall's hottest new accessory! :)
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Party Decore
If you haven't already guessed from the other photos, Rylee picked an Ariel party for her birthday and we adapted it to a mermaids and pirates party since we had a couple of boys coming.
I thought the house looked adorable, but it's kind of hard to tell from the photos. We had fish and seaweed (green curling ribbon) everywhere. Here is the gift table area anyway.
This is a closer look at the Ariel drawing I made for Rylee. It's not perfect by any means (it looks like Ariel is about to "fork" Flounder and I'm pretty sure one of her arms is significantly shorter than the other), but I had a lot of fun working on it (even though I left it till the last minute and had to stay up until 2 in the morning three nights in a row to finish it!).
Here are the bakery pull apart cupcakes. Jon laughed hysterically when he went to pick them up because the Ariel figurine is quite well endowed (DD sea shells for sure)!
These are the milk-free cupcakes I made to go with it. Nothing too fancy this year, but I did borrow an Ariel figurine from Venessa to make Rylee's cupcake feel more special. :)
I thought the house looked adorable, but it's kind of hard to tell from the photos. We had fish and seaweed (green curling ribbon) everywhere. Here is the gift table area anyway.
This is a closer look at the Ariel drawing I made for Rylee. It's not perfect by any means (it looks like Ariel is about to "fork" Flounder and I'm pretty sure one of her arms is significantly shorter than the other), but I had a lot of fun working on it (even though I left it till the last minute and had to stay up until 2 in the morning three nights in a row to finish it!).
Here are the bakery pull apart cupcakes. Jon laughed hysterically when he went to pick them up because the Ariel figurine is quite well endowed (DD sea shells for sure)!
These are the milk-free cupcakes I made to go with it. Nothing too fancy this year, but I did borrow an Ariel figurine from Venessa to make Rylee's cupcake feel more special. :)
Monday, September 12, 2011
Rylee's 3rd Bday Party!
Rylee had her 3rd birthday party on Saturday. She loved it! The weather was great (a little hot, but we were in the pool) and the kids seemed to have a good time. Here's a photographic look at the guest list. Some of the kids were more into getting their picture taken than others (mine included). :)
The birthday girl singing like Ariel (not exactly like Ariel...it sounds more like Scuttle!)
Shannon (and Carrie)
James (and Karen)
Norah and Caleb (with Jess and Jerry)
The birthday girl singing like Ariel (not exactly like Ariel...it sounds more like Scuttle!)
Shannon (and Carrie)
James (and Karen)
Norah and Caleb (with Jess and Jerry)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)