Lots of Random Bits (August)

Ticks have been bad this year. The one benefit of my melanin deprived skin is it makes ticks easier to spot. I killed this one with a pair of scissors and prejudice. 

Despite my constant checking, I got bit once at the start of summer by the smallest tick ever. It couldn't have been on long, but it made me extra paranoid that it got through my defenses.

Lonnie, one of Carrie's coworkers, has a son named Prescot who went overseas to Japan to teach. He was in town with his wife, Saki, and Lonnie offered to introduce to them at some point. Carrie set up a Sunday lunch and we met at 5 Guys. 

Shane barely spoke. I was so annoyed. The kid doesn't shut up and when there's someone he could talk to and ask whatever he wants? Shy routine. He wouldn't make eye contact and all the things that he never does normally. Carrie and I kept the conversation cycling, and eventually I got Shane to say a few things. It was fun meeting new people, but a letdown that Shane barely tried to talk to them in English or Japanese. Carrie did get a text from Lonnie later saying they thought Shane had excellent pronunciation for the Japanese he knew.

Speaking of new people, Carrie declared a barn clean up.

The granddaughter of some family friends was coming to check out our barn. She's going to be attending UVA and debating where she can stable her horse. We actually have a wait list for the barn with people calling. This family seems like the kind of people Carrie wants at the barn, so they're currently at the top of said list.

Carrie mowed and then all three of us pulled weeds to freshen up a little.

I went down to check on things and ended up in an hour conversation with the grandfather. He used to test water levels all over the area and has seen the area change (and not change) for decades. We're expecting Ernie to leave us this Fall/Winter, so if they choose our barn the new horse would come near the end/start of the year. 

I finally bought a new board game. Shane keeps saying that Marvel Champions is boring, because you play cards and it's the same thing. I'd like to point out his favorite Roblox game right now is slap battles. You slap people off a platform and it keeps track of all your slaps into the thousands and thousands.  

But I digress. I don't force Shane to play board games with me. I want him to play and I want him to enjoy it (Love is a choice and not something coerced). There was a game I've been curious about that was on sale for $14 on Amazon. I'd play with Carrie or Shane, but he bit first. 

Ideally, I'd have read the rules fully, set up, and practiced before Shane tried it, but when he says, "How about now?" I jumped to it! We haven't played a full game, but we've sat down for the first couple of turns twice. I feel like I understand all the core mechanics way better now....but what Shane really wants is to sit on the phone with his cousins and play Slap Battles and maybe Terraria.

We've had so much rain this summer that the weeds wherever Carrie doesn't mow are HUGE. Kila dived into the weeds to chase after the poop I was flinging on a Wednesday morning (Hopefully, she left any ticks she found behind...). 

We got everything done before Meredith rolled up (the farrier). She brought her dogs.

Kila said, "NOPE!" 

She ran straight back to me. I made her go back down the stairs. Then Loki was having so much fun and I pet one of the dogs without getting eaten. It was enough for her to feel safe and join in!

Shane came out when he heard all the barking and then it was a party.

That same Wednesday, we drove up to Dylan's house at 3 PM.

Kyrie's grown a bunch!

Dylan showed off some of his Legos and the kids talked some.

But you know they hit the electronics hard. 

Eli was sad no one wanted to play Doors at first (which Shane was obsessed with for a while). We were only around for a 2.5 hours or so before we had to head towards swim practice. 

John ordered pizza for his family for dinner and told me what a fabulous deal it was Wednesdays (Large Cheese for $8). I ordered a cheese for takeout right after him! We ran into Dylan's oldest step-brother, Evan, picking up the pizza when we got ours ($10 with tax and tip!). 

I bought a water bottle from Giant ($1.30 after tax for at least a liter) and we ate as we drove to swim! The pizza had a sweater sauce and was thin. I saw why the kids liked it and why the price was low, but it hit the spot. Shane and Dylan can both talk about how much they like it next time they see each other (Shared memories are worth something!).

I'll never capture everything in this blog and that's okay. There's no substitute to actually being/living with someone. Memories fade and I hope these ones bring up some fun ones for Shane at some point. Carrie's mentioned maybe having him look at a random post each Saturday to see what he remembers. Maybe I'll do that. I dunno. I'm almost caught up, though, and I'm going to redefine things when I get there.

Last Week of Swim (August)

We got back from the beach just in time for the last week of swim practice. Coach Courtney gave all the kids a rundown of the week and things to be aware of for the championships on Fri/Sat.

Shane was almost disqualified from competing. You're supposed to participate in at least 2 previous events. Shane only successfully swam in one and went home when he got his head bumped in the other). I was glad to hear that he was an exception and could compete.

I was also glad there were special events for the week. We didn't sign up for it, but we were assigned a secret swimmer. I picked up a $5 gift card from Wawa day 1. I figured a treat after practice would be a good gift since Shane couldn't tell me a single thing about our person! (Ooops.)

Shane laughed out loud as his gift. Apparently, his secret swimmer knew he liked Roblox.

Monday, there was a cake walk after practice. Shane is hit or miss on cake walks, but they kept going and going and going until he got a cupcake!

It was less of a cake walk and more of a cake wait. You'd get your turn if you kept at it!

We did some errands afterward. First stop was a passport photo at CVS.

Then, I stopped at Tacos Gomez on a whim. I was hungry. It was right there. I paid $13 for 4 tacos and I'm proud of it (I saw an old student, too!)

We went to Wegmans afterward. I'd scoped out Melatonin prices for Carrie at CVS. If they were cheaper at CVS, I'd have stopped after practice on Tuesday. Wegmans was cheaper, though, so I went ahead and grabbed some option for her (She likes gummies!).

It was a chiller week overall. We're done with most of our big activities for the summer. Shane didn't have VBS anymore, so he got to help with horse chores Tuesday morning. 

Then we went into town to the Doller General ("Nana says they're a scam!" -Shane). I needed a couple of gifts for five dollars or less for a boy I knew nothing about! We went by the library and the grocery store afterward.

Too bad I forgot to get Shane a white shirt for tie-dye day! I used the first part of practice to scoot off to Rose's and find him something that would work. I found a real winner for $4!

It helped me spend part of practice productively.

I'd forgot my computer, so I couldn't blog. I did remember to bring the rule book to a new game I wanted to try with Shane or Carrie (both in a perfect world, but his sound effects tend to drive her crazy!).

Practice has been ending a little early each day for the spirit activities.

Shane looked like he was into it!

Not so into it he wasn't aware that I was nearby.

He used all of the colors.

Here's a look at the finished product. Nice job, kid!

Shane cracked up when he opened his secret swimmer gift today.

He got a knockoff Nerf slingshot....which was basically what we got our kid! Maybe ours was Made in China and there's was Made in Taiwan. 

Wednesday there was an ice cream party after practice. 

I didn't think to take pictures of his secret swimmer gifts until we got home. He got an elephant you could squeeze to make it's eyes pop out.

And some Duo Slime! Shane went on and on about there being a meme about it where it's really the remains of people Duo from Duolingo has killed. I'd say it's from being a duo of colors, but whatever makes him happier, I guess.

I totally forgot to drop off our gift Wednesday. I put $10 and a "Cash is king" note for the final gift. I figured it was better to let the kid pick something since we were so clueless!

We arrived early, so Shane had a chance to play in the deep end with River.

Coach Courtney gave everyone the run down on what to expect tomorrow.

"No DQs!" was repeated many times.

Then it was secret swimmer reveal time!

Shane was over the moon excited. He got Robux from Caden (Spelling?) I refuse to buy those! He burnt through most of them in a few minutes when we got home.

But there was a slip and slide party before we could leave! The kids all ran around for a while.

I felt really good about choosing to join a swim team this year. I'm really hoping to see Shane improve on his times at Champs. I know he can as long as he doesn't get DQ'd.  

The End of Beach Week (August)

 Friday was our last full day at the beach house. Pop started it surrounded by grandkids.

I used the stupid cabinet microwave to make hot water for my tea (and probably ate some more bacon).

It was a slower moving morning. Everyone was at least a little tired from a full week.

Or at least the adults were. The kids were on ___________ (You know the answer!).

Shane started off the week so excited about his Switch game, but he quickly traded it in for anything he could do multiplayer instead. 

I did my rounds. I checked on the kids, talked to Carrie, and talked to all my siblings.

I even got drafted for some cleaning by Nana (There was always plenty to do with so many of us. Everyone helped out and that's what makes the beach possible).

I probably spent a chunk of the morning blogging and maybe reading. I didn't take any more pictures for a couple of hours. I started again with these five all on the couch (Most of the family doesn't have large personal space bubbles).

Shane saw me with the camera, so he made a face while Nana made him eat lunch.

Graham climbed right into Ka's lap and asked her to read him a book during "Quiet Individual Play Time" (QIPT?).

Matt thought that was great and half-read half-slept on the couch while he "supervised" Aiden (or at least that's what the picture says).

Ka was such a good reader, Aiden wandered over (That's not individual guys!).

I had been reading on the couch, but I hopped up so that Megan could do some work. She had her laptop and charger there from earlier.

Graham ran up to me with a book and asked me to read later. I don't have any pictures, because I was too busy reading to think about it. I was glad he asked. Reading picture books with kids is something I've always loved to do.

Personally, I was a little worn out by the end of the week. The beach isn't restful so much as it's a break from the routine filled with people and excitement. I love it, but phew!  

I'd gotten a ton done on the blog, so I was proud of that. I read most of a book, too (3/5 stars - I finished late Saturday night). I would have napped, but I was afraid I'd miss something fun (or I'd have been woken up rudely with a dive bombing kid).

It was well after lunch before there'd been any electronic breaks. I heard the twins starting to try and nicely start one and decided to be the bad guy. I walked in and announced Shane was on break with author-ity (Can you see how happy he was about it?).

I have no regrets. That set things in motion for the kids to go down to the pool! Shane turned into a pool monster and terrorized the blue seas.

I watched from upstairs while reading. I hoped Shane would walk in and 'catch' me at it. Side note - This was my bookmark. It's the same one that Graham dubbed 'my happiness' and kept trying to steal!

After a while, Shane disappeared. He never came in! I was able to look at the window and spot first, Stu, and then the boys at the beach! Stu's swimsuit marked him while the wild arm movement and dancing in the waves marked Shane and Cole

I went out to help and got there just as Cole was ready to go. Stu got to head in while I watched Shane.

Eventually, he noticed Cole was gone.

I got a few pic's as he came in. I wasn't in my swim suit since I'd been caught off guard.

Shane wasn't ready to go and started playing in the waves. He started asking me questions about clams (because I know oh so much about them!).

I pointed out the holes in the sand to catch his attention (It's worked before!)

But what really got Shane's attention when I pointed out all the little feelers filtering the waves. There was a whole colony of something!

Inquiring minds wanted to know.

Shane got digging and found a bunch of sand fleas. 

I saw a boy Shane's age walking by with his grandma. They were digging stuff up from the sand, so I said, "Want to see some sand fleas?"

Shane did the rest.

The kid brought over even more kids! I'd wanted to go back and ended up staying a little longer.

Shane jumped right in the pool when we got back. Matt and his kids were there!

I still made him rinse in the shower (Sorry about the sand, home owners!).

Dinner was leftovers. The more we ate, the less there'd be to pack. 

Matt and I spotted a small ice cream shop close to the house when we'd gone to laser tag.

He and Renee checked it out (Maybe when she had a craving for a giant pretzel from a nearby pub?). 

It was an easy walk, so it became the evening activity!

I thought it was more stressful watching the kids as they tried to jockey for position and who was first on the sidewalk than it was safeguarding them at the beach! Ha!

It was only a block away, but the sun was coming down full force.

Kids would have to eat whatever they ordered fast!

There was a line when we got there. It extended into the street, so I positioned myself at the back to keep the kids forward.

Nana said, "Get me a pistacho scoop," Pop handed a twin his credit card, and they headed back to the beach house.

I tried to drill sergeant things ("You! What flavor? Great, one scoop, please! NEXT!"). 

Most people just got a scoop of something. Aiden got a rocket pop. Sammy really wanted a banana split! He didn't just want some ice cream, he wanted a lot! Meanwhile, Renee craved some chicken fingers. If we were smarter (and not wrangling kids) we could have ordered hers first since it actually took time to make. 

Matt and Renee stayed behind to wait for her food while everyone else marched back en masse.

I took Aiden with me. When we got back, he told me Matt said he could watch Bluey. I'd heard the lobster story from Nana, so I texted Matt to confirm! Aiden stood outside on the front porch with me eagerly awaiting word from his dad.

Matt gave the thumbs up and Aiden got his Bluey time!

If you turn it on, more will come.

Bedtime hit first for Matt's crew. They go to bed early  on the norm (7:30 PMish?), but they were planning on heading out while it was still dark. Renee had plans for Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte if I remember correctly.

Aiden and Graham ran around with Matt saying goodbye to all their cousins.

Everyone else kept playing. B looked to be playing some variant of Battleship with Tenley and his brother when I shot this.

It was packing time for the adults. Matt volunteered bravely to try the elevator that was supposedly working.

Renee went with him, so at least he wouldn't have been alone if they got stuck overnight.

I drafted Shane to pack his things.

I spotted one of the reasons my bed sucked so much when I was checking under it for anything Shane missed.

I told Pop right away. All the signs seemed to indicate the owners were ready to charge for anything and everything. 

Pop was busy cleaning out the pantry when I checked in.

It was all hands on deck to clear out the kitchen and make the morning as easy as possible. I carted stuff up and down the stairs to the trash.

Anything that wouldn't melt was loaded up. Other things were staged just inside the door of the carport.

There was a subdued, sad air upstairs as the kids went to bed one by one. I would have put Shane to bed sooner, but since his younger cousins were still awake I held off. They turned in eventually and I sent Shane to carry something down "real quick."

"Real quick" became one last bowl of cereal for bedtime snack.

I woke up just before my alarm Friday morning. I got up, woke up Shane, and moved us downstairs. Nana and Pop were already up. Matt and Renee's family left around 5:30 AM.

Stu's car was blocking mine, but that wasn't a problem. Stu wakes up way early. He was reading the news or about sports when we came out of our bedroom and took care of it while we said some goodbyes.

I made sure to get a picture with Nana and Pop. I hope we have many more beach weeks to go, but you never know. It's better to appreciate things while you have them!

The goodbyes extended a little bit down to the carport. We left at about 6:12 AM.

Then Shane and I were on our way. He always chokes up a little as we pull away. In theory, Stu's crew would be waking up and trying to leave within half an hour of us. They had a 14 hour ride (including stops) north to visit Stu's family in Maryland (and they were stopping to see Jama, I think). None of the kids were awake when we left, though!

I'd hoped to find cheaper gas before we left SC, but I didn't want to stop too soon either in case traffic formed (ugh....traffic!). We were on I40 closer to Raleigh when I was low enough on gas I had to stop. It was higher than the $2.96/g I paid at our Costco. On a whim, I did some math and didn't do a full tank (I included travel time to some events during the week and NAILED IT. Math for the win!).

What I didn't calculate for was the tea I drank. I didn't have any caffeine before we left the beach. I bought some at Sheetz so I wouldn't have a headache from withdrawal. 

An hour or so later, I was about to explode. We were driving through rural country, too, so there weren't a lot of options. I eventually stopped at a garage with a convenience store/restaurant combo. Shane played on the Switch while I ran inside.

It was just in the nick of time. I bought gas station apple pie as a thank you. The lady warmed it for me and I split with Shane. It was delicious. I would have taken it a la mode if I wasn't driving!

We got home around 12:05 PM. Just about 6 hours again! Shane stayed at the house to tackle Happy cat while I went to look for Carrie.

There was a party going on when we arrived home! Way back when, Carrie paid for a wedding photographer as a wedding gift to both Micayla and and Jess. It was rained out and the reschedule was today.

Carrie cleaned and prepped like a madwoman! She set up the party in our brand new feed room.

The photographer was long since gone by the time we got home. They'd spent the early morning doing the hour long photo shoot. Everyone was talking and eating when I arrived at the barn.

Everyone was dressed up nice... 

...but I'm unashamed to admit I had my eyes set on one woman.

I grabbed all the pictures Carrie posted online, because they're fantastic.

It was good to be home. I love Beach Week, but

Saturday night, there was a Christmas in July party at church! Free childcare? Pizza? You're going Shane! There was an error on the website and we showed up half an hour early. We met the pizza guy. It was my peer tutor from a couple of years ago!

I was excited for Shane to have a party and excited to go home and have some alone time with Carrie. I was less excited when Shane pointed someone out. The kid who'd hit Shane at Youth Week showed up with his 'yes-man' friend.

"Wait...he goes here?" I asked. I was shocked. How had I not known that? Shane said yeah, but it turned out he didn't often go here. He sometimes showed up for special events, etc. I went from elated to feeling slightly guilty about dropping Shane off. 

Carrie and I went in with Shane. I wasn't sure if I wanted to say anything, but Carrie squeezed my arm and I knew she was right. When Shane didn't bring it up, I mentioned to Liz that Shane was concerned about someone else who'd be at the party tonight based on their history. Liz thanked me and said the information was helpful and then asked Shane what he thought. Then she encouraged Shane to grab a Wendy's frosty ('frozen hot chocolate'). I saw the kid and his friend go to get a frosty as well when Shane did, but it looked fine as he wandered away.

Fast forward to pick up. As we're walking in, I heard a girl say to her mom, "_____ was here." I don't know if it was good or bad, but it was that kid's name! Shane came out in a great mood. He's hidden things before when he's upset, but we took him at face value. It was a huge relief.

I'm definitely going to be taking notes when I ask Shane about who's in his classes next year. He'll talk endless about games and comics, but he always clams up when I ask about the things I'm interested in: Him and what's going on around him!