FEAR

I have a fear... of canoes.

Silly, right?

But real.

When Joe suggested we borrow a canoe for our lake trip I was very honest with him about my feelings... NO!

Being that I am so mature, we brought the canoe along and I requested that I not need to be in the canoe. He made my dreams come true. He took the kids out without me. I stood dock-side to take photos. The lake was very windy that day and there ride lasted all of 5 minutes. Pepe was thrilled to help paddle. Baby girl was very nervous and began to cry (that's my girl). And Phinneous... he just went along for the ride.

In the end... Pepe's dream of canoeing was realized, my dream of not canoeing came true.

Comfort

At home, I have all of my things around me that make me comfortable... favorite cup, blanket, squooshy spot in the couch, etc.

On vacation, I've realized that I immediately find things to replace my comfortable things. As I was pouring coffee this morning I realized that I reached for the red mug. The house we've rented has a set of nice yellow striped mugs (which I gave to Joe) and I took the red one. I prefer to sit in the big oversized brown couch and I've found my favorite water glass... it's green... I gave Joe the pink one.

Hmmm... even though it's only "stuff" I have found a way to create comfort.

And we sat...

we sat at the end of the dock, in our chairs (pushed really close together) with a blanket spread out over the two of us. We watched the moon rise, the sun set, the fish jump, the birds dive and we sat. We talked about our trip, but mostly our day with guests at the Lake House. It's not often that we find the time to just sit with each other, to listen to each other and just BE.

Just a little bragging!

Pepe had an incredible soccer tournament last weekend. We are soooo proud of him. He played tough, aggressive, smart and most of all consistent! The team went 2 and 1 to make it to the semi-finals. Unfortunately, they lost in the semi's, but Pepe made the only goal for our team in that game... he hadn't scored since last fall (and when he scored last fall I missed it... I was coaching one of the other kids teams).

I was soooo excited... I went to mommy crazy town (you know when you forget where you are and you let it all out... with a huge YAHOOOOOO!) I stood up to cheer and about dropped my camera. That's when I realized that I didn't capture "the moment". I then started clicking away without even looking through the lens. I was able to capture the excitement on his face and high-fives with teammates. I love the goalie getting the ball out of the net.

Winner -- Winner

The boys have done their share of camps this summer and most of them independently. But they had the chance to attend the Martell Webster (formerly a Portland Trailblazer -- we are so sad that he's been traded) basketball camp.

The camp was held during the three hottest days of the summer. Needless to say they both worked very hard, got very sweaty and red in the face. The boys love Martell... he is so good with the kids. He even brought squirt guns and water balloons to the camp to help everyone stay cooled off.

Joe headed to camp on the last day to take a few photos. The boys didn't know he was coming and they were a little stunned!

Pepe -- going through one of the drills. He did a contest at the camp and took 3rd place in bump.



Phinneous also competed in a contest called hot shot. You have to shoot as many baskets as you can from different locations and you earn points. He made it to the finals and finished the contest in front of all of the campers. He "drained" two 3-point shots and had a final score of 57 and won the contest. He beat everyone in the camp. He competed against 13 year olds! He won a signed Martell Webster jersey. He was ECSTATIC! The thing that just blows my mind... he told me the day before the contest that he was going to win. I watch this kid and see the determination he has and I am impressed!

Self

Do you ever stop and realize that you've just learned something knew about yourself?

I know I will always keep learning and growing and developing, but sometimes I just laugh when I realize something new.

New #1 :: I like drinking water out of a straw.

New #2 :: I like to listen to instrumental jazz music when I study.

New #3 :: I can't work if the kitchen isn't clean... something about doesn't let me focus.

New #4 :: I like good food... we went to I22y's the other night and I wanted a salad. I made my salad and as I ate it I realized that the ingredients were just not up to my standard. I admit I am spoiled... I get organic vegetables every week from the farm and they are really good. So disappointing.

New #5 :: I don't like large crowds. Really this isn't new, but reaffirmed. I took my kids to the movie last week and I chuckled when I realized that I always take them to a small theater.

New #6 :: When I start my homework it takes me about half and hour to get settled in and really work. Interesting.

What's new with you?

Oh, those silly boys!

I just found these pics and laughed hysterically. What a fun night! One of those nights with Joe out of town and myself running kids back and forth.... baseball, soccer, etc. I remember dropping Phinneous off at baseball and running Pepe to soccer. Pepe finished soccer in time to catch the end of Phinneous' baseball game. We headed down and when we stepped out of the car it started POURING! The field was disgusting, but they kept playing.

Phinneous had a great hit and ran the bases... the coaches were yelling for him to slide into third base... which he did pathetically. The field was so gross... so I was yelling for him to stay on his feet. He had to slide into home and it was muddy. It happened to be their last game, which was a make-up game.

Afterward, the boys ran the bases like they usually do but decided to slide into each base. I was in shock -- MUD. And then I see Pepe... in his soccer gear running the bases with the team and sliding... so GROSS! Must they ride home with me?!?!?!?

I live with this daily!

Pepe had already removed the mud filled jacket he was wearing!

Sometimes you've got to throw the kid a bone.

Phinneous has a LIST of movies that are "must see" this summer. I am very frugal (some may say cheap) and we typically only see 2-3 movies each year in the theater. Maybe it's because he's the middle child (the forgotten one -- ya right), maybe it's because of that blonde hair and those blue eyes, maybe it's because he wrote me a list of all of the characters, maybe it's because he was able to compare the first two movies in detail or maybe I just caved.... but I took the kids (plus 2 friends) to see
Toy Story 3.


After getting past the ticket cost and snacks (we kept it reasonable... 1 large, refillable popcorn, 2 large sodas and they threw in a box of candy for an extra $.50)... a whopping $62.50, we settled in to enjoy the movie. It was darling. I haven't seen Toy Story 2, but I have seen the original MANY time. I must say that I liked both of them... for different reasons, but they are both good.




One movie checked off of Phinneous' list. (And a priceless moment for mama when I looked down the row as the movie began and saw the look on his face... excitement, thrill, surprise, love... it was the best!)

In a jam?

We've had non-summer like weather, which pushed strawberry season way, way back.

But, I finally have my flat of strawberries and that means... jam time.

Last year I made raspberry jam and no one in my family liked it. I liked it, but I ended up giving it away as gifts. (Which was fine, because who doesn't like a homemade gift that you can eat?)

Phinneous likes strawberry jam... (but now he tells me he only likes Smucker$ -- what?)

Looks good, huh?!?!??!