We can check that one off the list!

One of M.'s goals for the summer was to go bowling. Unbelievably she was dying to do this!! So on Saturday there was a Girl Scout bowling event. I signed up the family, then 2 opted out (yeah, K & L). So I let M invite a friend and we all went bowing. The shoes were awesome- slick, 2 toned, and funky. Add the "missmatched" socks of M. and you have got a look, maybe not a good look, but a look. Then we proceeded to pick out the balls. This was crucial we were told. So we finally found one for everybody. I went for a cool green one that weighed 8 lbs. M. and her friend go blue swirl ones that weighed 6 lbs. H. got a huge 15 lb. ball. (I 'm not going to mention the tasteless jokes I was subjected to about his ball). My first ball was a gutter ball. Bummer. But I did get better, even getting a strike and a couple spares. Ultimately H. won by ONE point. I was not happy! We bowled about 13 frames total then the girls totally lost interest. I think their little arms were exhausted. By the last frame it was the ball leading the way- even into another lane! It was a fun outing that we can now check off the summer to-do list!! Went to Yum Yums for hot dogs and ice cream afterwards.

First Goal and First Victory!

Our "new" field hockey team had our season opener on Tuesday. We had a dinner the night before with lots of pasta to carbo load before the first game. The team captains, my K. being one, made hair ribbons and water bottles for all team members with their names and numbers painted on them. We looked good for the first game. New uniforms, matching hair accessories and some new moves! It was an exciting game with lots of action at the goal. Toward the end of the second half we finally scored! Scored for the first time EVER! We did not score a single goal last year, nor one at the Jamboree two weeks ago. It was thrilling!!! Then we held the other team for an additional 6 minutes or so and WON THE GAME!! The first win EVER! It was a little bittersweet only because my oldest and a senior and team captain was at home sick in bed and missed the game. So sorry K. The second game of the season was last night. And we were playing a very strong, seasoned team (actually my old high school but they did not have field hockey when I was in school). Last year we lost to them 10-0. This year they looked fabulous- fast, strong, tan and had great uniforms. They scored 6 in the first half. They scored 1 more in the second and 1 after the buzzer sounded, which also counted. So we lost 8-0. Better than last year but still a bummer! We will play them again in a month so hopefully we can improve before the next game. Still, way to go Pirates!!!

First day of school/last first day of high school!

Big day at our house. There were many discussions about what to wear, how to wear our hair, which shoes looked the best, etc... Such is life with 3 girls. Everybody had a hard time settling down last night and then getting up this morning. M. was sure I was getting her up earlier than last year (not true). She was the last one up at 6:45 but the first ready by 7:05. And she was the first out the door to catch her bus at 7:24. She did announce that this year she thought she could walk to the bus stop alone- without me! I said no way!! I am not ready for my baby (whose in 2nd grade now) to leave without me watching her getting on the bus and getting my goodbye kiss. Not yet. I did say that I would let her walk home from the bus stop in the afternoons by herself ( I will be waiting on my front porch, thank you). It is the first day for L. in high school today. I told her to text me and let me know how it was going. I heard nothing. I called her after school but before FH practice and she said it was "okay". Not a lot of information from that. I hope all went well. Maybe I can get some more scoop from her sister or later tonight. Last first day of high school for my oldest. She was excited about her senior year and the idea of going off campus for lunch EVERYDAY! She is driving her sister everyday so now I drive no more school carpools- for one year! I plan on enjoying that one! So with my free day, I cleaned the girls rooms and bathrooms, went to the grocery and worked on Girl Scout stuff. I did get the girls fondant cookies from our favorite bakery!! I ate one already but there are still 4 left! Yipee! School is back in!

Zoe joins the family

We broke down. I confess we really lost our minds yesterday and bought M. a guinea pig. She has been DYING for one for some time now. Everyday the sell gets a little more hard core. "Is it mostly a yes or mostly a no- just tell me, and you can always change your mind. But mostly a yes, right?" Apparently we gave her sisters the pets of their dreams- their very own pets, with fur or feathers. Technically, yes, we let K. get a parakeet and L. get a bunny- about 6 years ago. Both these pets lasted less than 6 months in our house, leaving simultaneously on Super Bowl Sunday. One went to a kindergarten teacher (the bunny, Mr. Whiskers) and one went to the big aviary in the sky (Tinkerbell). So M. has been lobbying for "her very own pet" all summer. First we said when K. went to college, buying ourselves a year to talk her out of it. Then it was when she turned 8, again buying 6 months at least. H. even showed her a YOUTUBE video of a guinea pig being eaten by a snake ( and a lot of cute g.p. videos too!) He pointed out how our two dogs had caught a baby rabbit in our yard and uh, shall we say, played with it to DEATH! He asked her to remember the sound of the bunny in the dog's mouth (like a squeaky toy, in case you are interested). M. was still convinced she needed and wanted a g.p. more than anything else, EVER! So on Saturday, we visited the pet store to get some fish and dog supplies. We spent one hour "looking" at all things guinea. I left dragging M. away in tears, telling me how unfair it was that she did not get her own pet (not including the 5 frogs she has had and 3 fish, and 2 family dogs). So, she wanted to go back to the pet store on Sunday to actually hold a g.p. and make sure I was not allergic to them. This was a very thought out plan. She wanted both H. and I to be there. So we went. We held a g.p. and yes it was cute, even seemed to have some personality. There was a much cheaper one too- a resue g.p. So I thought we should at least consider this one too. We asked to hold it but M. was not able too and I barely could keep the deranged thing in my hands either. Once we put her back in the cage she ran around like a possessed creature. Turns out that one had been dropped on her head. So we paid three times as much for the nice, docile, tri-colored female. M. thanked and hugged me a million times before leaving the pet store and told me she couldn't believe she had her very own g.p. (yeah, right!). Zoe made an excellent transition to our home and M.'s room with a mansion of a cage, her personal hot pink igloo, toys, water bottle, treats, hay, and bedding.

P.S. Oh, one of the reasons we opted for the g.p. instead of a smaller hamster or gerbil was because those guys are nocturnal and we did not need anything disturbing our sleep. Well, on night one with Zoe, I was up until 12:30 am with M. who was convinced the dogs were going to get her new pet/best friend. She was having nightmares about all that stuff her dad told her about the snake, the bunny and our sweet spaniels. Thanks honey!

Sunday Morning

I got up about 7 to walk the dogs before church and I found K.'s car "wrapped". As in saran wrapped with about 4-5 rolls of the stuff! A funny sight! L. confessed that she heard people outside on Saturday night about 2:30 am and that they even rang the doorbell. The rest of us heard nothing. She didn't bother getting up though, claiming she had no idea what was going on. After returning from church, all 3 girls helped to unwrap the car. Good old fashion prank where no one (or nothing) gets hurt! Definitely got a laugh from me!

Opening Football Game!

Last night was the opening high school football game. It was TOGA night for seniors so K. was excited and spent a great deal of the day planning on what to wear. It was L.'s first high school game so she was a little nervous and excited, planning on going with other freshmen friends. The rest of the family planned to go too (much to the chagrin of L.)! It was an exciting opener with our team winning 41-0!!! H., M. and I had fun eating popcorn and watching all the seniors in their togas! L. just pretended we were not there and even text us to "please leave". Oh well, it was a fun family night at the game! Looking forward to next week's game too!

Double the Fun!

Both of my girls-now in HIGH SCHOOL- are on the varsity field hockey team!! L. came back from our family beach trip 3 days early so she could try out. The days were HOT and long but her hard work paid off!!! I am so excited to have them on the same team for 1 year! So now I have a freshman and a senior but can watch them both at the same sporting event! It definitely doubles the fun!! We had our first tournament/jamboree last weekend. K. was still a camp counselor so was not there but we did have 11 girls. And all 11 played every minute of all 4 games. They improved with each game. This team is still new. Last year was the first year for field hockey to be at our high school. The team never actually scored a goal last year but we have high hopes for this year. L. has played for 3 years on a city rec league so she has some experience. But most of the team has never picked up a stick until 2 weeks ago. We had about 5 returning players from last year. At the weekend jamboree the Pirates lost the first game 6-0, the second, 4-0 and the third 1-0 but TIED the last 0-0!! We held them off and made lots of attempts on the goal so it was very exciting. They got better with each game and really gained some confidence too! The team remained positive throughout and still had a great day together. It was a fun day for the parents too! Looking forward to a great field hockey season this year! Go Pirates!

Bieber Fever

Took L. and 2 friends to see justin Bieber Sunday night. I had asked what time the concert was since the venue was almost 2 hours away. L. assured me she checked and it was at 6. I thought this sounded great! I can get home before 11, right? Well we were in the mountains getting to see daughter number 1 for about 15 minutes. After doing a load of her laundry and then gathering 3 more loads to take home from the less than 12 hours she (and 5 friends) were under the same roof as us I came back home. Started laundry, showered and left to go to the concert at 3 pm. We actually ate dinner at a funky downtown pizza place at 4:45 pm- all in preparation for a 6 pm concert. We then see huge lines of fans at the arena, but the doors are not yet open. So I ask to see the tickets (hint: I should have done this yesterday) and discover that the concert doesn't start until 7. I asked L. where exactly she got her information about the concert and she tells me "facebook". OMG teens!!! We then walked around downtown and got ice cream before heading to our seats at 6 pm. This really would have been fine if I had had a book with me. We sat there for 3 hours before JB even came out. There were at least 3 warm up acts (all young and not good). BUT when The Bieber took the stage, the concert began. It was by far the loudest concert I have ever been too. More screaming young girls than at Miley Cyrus and the audience sang every word to every song louder than Justin. I could barely make out his voice but he did have some sweet dancing feet! That boy can move! He did have the low slung pants that I am not a fan of, but he was conscious of keeping his shirt down, covering the undies. Thanks man, I appreciate that. He had lots of costume/ outfit changes, usually a monochromatic look with a splash of color in his baseball cap or hoodie. Justin (yeah, we are on a first name basis now) played for about 1.5 hours and he did put on a good show. The concert ended by 10:30. I made it home by midnight listening to his tunes the whole way. The girls thought it was the "best concert EVER"! I thought next time I will definitely bring a book (just until the main attraction).

Beach traditions

We are having a fun, family beach trip even though we don't have all members of the family. My brother was here for about 4 days and we had a nice visit. We have eaten at the local pizza parlor that everybody enjoys and gone to play putt-putt. There were 6 of us and I was the score keeper. Had a ball AND I WON!! (there was no improper score keeping I assure you). I even had 2 hole in ones, M. had one, L. had 2, H. had one and my dad had one. We won 2 free games because 2 of us got the hole in one on the "magic hole". So exciting! Now I am hoping we do not have to play again this week and can save them until next year. H. and my L. have left to get back home for field hockey try outs so I am down to just M. and my parents. Yesterday my great aunt Evelyn and Uncle James came with cousins Sandra and her daughter Laura and her boyfriend Adam. It was a house full and we enjoyed each and every minute of it. It was loud, chaotic and full of stories and laughter until late that night!! We were on the beach during most of the day, then attempted to geocache (phone problems but were successful today), played bocci ball, volleyball, swam, cooked out and generally just enjoyed each others' company. The highlight of the evening was my aunt teaching me, and then M. (who wanted to get in on the lesson, too), to make apple jacks. These were a favorite of mine that my grandmother use to always make for me. It was so touching that her sister remembered this and brought all the supplies so we could make them last night. We made about 15! And ate 14- I hid one for me for today. The family came back today and we spent another great day together. It was sad to say goodbye since we don't see them but a couple times a year. Also found out that K. has a broken last digit of her ring finger, left hand. Such a bummer with 1 week left of camp. Sending good thoughts and bunches of love your way my sweet Katie B.!

A curious thing

On my way to the beach, from the mountains, so about a 10 hour drive, I encountered a curious thing. I was following the Garmin to try to get me there via the shortest route. This meant that I traveled lots of roads that I had not been on (or even heard of ) before. I was on lots of 2 lane, small country roads as I got closer to the coast. At one point, L. was asleep, and I was following Australian Karen when she lead me down Old Elwell Ferry Rd. When I started on the road I had no idea why it was named this. It was NOT evident that the road ended into the Cape Fear River. About 3 miles down, the pavement ended, and a metal railing with at STOP sign was across the now dirt road. Water (at this point I had no idea what body of water) was in front of me. I looked around, saw a shack across the water with a man outside it and an old pick up with a man in it on my side a little ways away. I drove closer to the pick up and asked if there was a ferry. A man of few words, he said "Yep". Then I asked if it would be coming soon. He replied, "on it's way". So I asked where to get the ferry, behind him? "Over there (at which he pointed to where I had been)." So I drove back to the stop sign and sure enough, the shack had moved, it was now on my side with the operator (long hair, overalls, big guy, banjo playing in the background- just kidding) moving the metal railing. He told me to drive on, which I did, but I left my car running- not sure how that was going to help me but we had no cell service in this area and I needed and escape plan. The operator did not talk much either. I asked if I need to pay him and he said no. Then I asked what body of water we were crossing, to which he replied "Cape Fear". That was the extent of our conversation. Not big talkers down here I guess. The "car" ferry can hold only 1-2 cars and 6 people max. I found out later that it is the last flat cable car ferry in N.C. It started in 1905 and currently ferries 60- 80 cars a day with the "curious traveler" thrown in occasionally. Check out this site for more information: http://www.gribblenation.com/ncpics/ferry/elwell.html

A Little Daddy time in the sea

We've been at the beach since Thursday and M. has really enjoyed having her dad around ALL DAY EVERY DAY!! The Atlantic has been incredibly calm and really beautiful. We've gone in the ocean every day because it has been so nice. M. has been "boogey boarding" and body surfing as well as creating all kinds of scenarios for her dad to help act out. So far the beach has been a wonderful retreat from a busy summer. And we have 2 out of 3 girls with us. But we REALLY MISS K!!!