So Far Behind...

Tomorrow is the first day of AUGUST! I've got posts lined up from July 15th!
So many posts, so little time!

And now to further impede my blog progress, my littlest girl has decided to create her own blog. Check it out here.

Do you think I can pass the torch??

County Fair Pics

Going to the County Fair is a real treat. Where else can you see animals, ride rides, and soak up the local culture? The kids had a great time seeing all the animals and exhibits. We searched every entry for a familiar name! Several friends were awarded ribbons for their entries!

Will loved the petting zoo - especially the brown and white "best of show" calf. Will decided that he too needs a calf. He'd keep it in the front yard and love it and say "hi" to it on his way to school.



After winding our way through all of the exhibits, we headed toward the rides.



Oh, the excitement! The kids rode the merry-go-round, the wiggle worm, the dizzy dragon, the swings, the roller coaster, and the ferris wheel.


They tried their hands at the water balloon game and the pick a duck (a.k.a. the easy to win a prize) game! They all even tried to climb the flippy ladder!

It was all great fun! I'm hoping they'll do it again next year!

Project 365: Day 212 - July 30

So my girl has her own blog. Of all the things that could have trickled down or rubbed off on her, I guess that's not the worst.



She's having fun with it and is enjoying reliving her summer activities. Getting some writing practice in isn't hurting either!

Will's only comment was "So why don't I have my own blog?"

Project 365: Day 211 - July 29

Project 365: Day 210 - July 28

No longer satisfied with blending in on the road, David decided to advertise his preferred locale. Had he not burdened himself years ago with a wife, four kids and mortgage he'd likely be off somewhere guiding thrill-seekers down the rapids in West Virginia.

Project 365: Day 209 - July 27

Will just had to take the kite down to the beach today. Yesterday's fun with Uncle Brian's kite got him all riled up and wanting to fly his own kite. He did great and didn't let the string go at all!

Unlike his sister, who upon trying to show us a trick, let the string go and then spent the next 20 minutes running down the hot sand and over the walkways (not the dunes!) trying to retrieve the kite. She did!

Yay Morgan!

Last Day

Already we've hit our last full day at the beach. So sad.

The good thing though is that everyone is finally here. We've got Grandmama and Granddaddy, the six of us, Bill and Carolyn, and Brian and Katie. That's a full and busy house!

Today is also a special day because it's Granddaddy's 70th birthday!

We'll celebrate big today and head home tomorrow, leaving Morgan behind.

For those of you who were concerned about me working too much, you'll be glad to know that I put aside that awful workers' compensation chapter (to be finished later unfortunately) and picked up a different (medical malpractice) one which I finished last night. I feel like I've gotten something accomplished and plan to spend the day on the sand.

Project 365: Day 208 - July 26

While some of us kept Granddaddy on the beach others crept off silently to go make the cake.



Happy 70th Birthday to Granddaddy!



Cake-making is such a stressful task that Katherine and Aunt Carolyn had to get a bit of yoga in after dinner!

Saturday on the Beach

Project 365: Day 207 - July 25

We went to see Wall-e this afternoon. I didn't like it. Everyone else did, so it must be me.

Afterwards, we went to Michelangelo's for their wonderful pizza. Then the kids and I shopped while David tried to find an open medical center. We managed to find plenty of books and games and he failed in his attempts to get meds. Poor guy. We went home and he went to bed. We played field hockey and paddle ball and then watched movies until Brian and Katie arrived.

Project 365: Day 206 - July 24

David took the fisherkids to the pier for the afternoon and evening. Upon gathering items for the excursion, David discovered that, for the first time in the more than 20 years that his family has been vacationing at Emerald Isle, someone had stolen his fishing rods and his dad's tackle box. The thieves left his dad's rods and David's tackle box. Everyone was bummed but there was still plenty of fun to be had.

Project 365: Day 205 - July 23

Morehead City

Hi Ho. Hi Ho.

Years ago I worked at home, so when I went on vacation every August I'd drag my work with me. I'd work several hours each day and still manage to get to the beach and have fun with my then babies and toddlers, and then work late at night.

Fourteen years later, I'm working at home again and find myself once more on vacation with work to do. This time though it's killing me.

It's Wednesday morning and I'm forgoing my run to get two hours in before the kids are up. The chapter still won't be done and I'll be faced for the third day in a row with the tough choice of staying in to try to get it done or to go out on the beach with my kids. I have yet to don a suit and enjoy the surf. So far my kids don't seem to have noticed. But I have. I'm feeling a bit guilty and I'm still not getting this chapter done. Grr. The worst of both worlds!

Of course, I am at the beach and I am with my family so it's not all bad!

Project 365: Day 204 - July 22

We got a late start today. David and the kids didn't get to the beach until late afternoon. They've all gotten into the habit of staying up way too late and sleeping in way too long! Of course it could have something to do with liking to play with the sunscreen rather than putting it on!

Project 365: Day 203 - July 21

We made it to the beach just after midnight last night. Having waited until after 5 to leave town we knew we were looking at a late night and we were hoping to avoid the double whammy of the rains that were supposed to be meeting us on our way down!

Luck was on our side. Nary a raindrop hit our windshield. . . until this afternoon . . . and this evening . . . and tonight!!

I had an uneventful first day of vacation: I worked for (more than) several hours, went to the grocery store and made dinner. It doesn't sound like vacation until you consider that I did it all here and my kids were having fun on the beach the whole time!!

Project 365: Day 202 - July 20

Today we said goodbye to some wonderful friends. For years they've been talking about the day they'd move back to Kansas and for years we just hoped that day would never come. It finally has and we're just so sad.

Project 365: Day 201 - July 19

A Day on the River

Today we drove over the mountain for a day on the river with a bunch of friends from church. The last time we were on this river was almost 5 years ago - Katherine barely remembered that she had tubed once before.

The toys for the day included several canoes, a kayak, 17 tubes, and about a hundred fishing rods.


Okay, not quite that many rods, but it sure did seem like it! At one point there were so many fishing lines out in the river that I was sure someone would get hooked on a cast! It never happened though - thank goodness!


The girls put their camp canoeing skills to work and ferried the little kids up and down the river all day long.


Everyone tubed at least once and some two or three times! Will loved it! He refused to use the tube with the seat, refused to be tied to anyone, and refused a life jacket. He and David tubed past our regular exit point and, as a result, had a much longer walk back to the house.

I'm hoping I can get the video of his ride down the last rapids on here so you can hear him scream in delight at the ride! If he keeps this up he'll be more than ready for his dad's annual whitewater rafting trip!


Katherine caught 3 small mouth bass, and Will caught one. Morgan dug her own worms, baited her own hooks, and could have fished all day. Lots of other people caught fish, too, but everyone threw them back into the river to be caught all over again!!



Caroline did not fish. She never does! She did however hold Katherine's rod for her while Katherine scrambled into the canoe and then she even paddled her sister around the river so she could fish more.

When we weren't on the water we were inside eating or just hanging around on the porch!

A nugget of trivia for those of you who like that kind of thing. Katherine was the Rock Paper Scissors Champion of the entire SB2W First Term camp! Hearing that Scott challenged her to a 2 out of 3, and lost!

At the end of the day, when everyone else had gone home (because of course we had to be the very last ones to leave!), I found Morgan and Caroline out in one of the canoes with our host. He was loving it. They were loving it. So, instead of bring the vessel in when I said we needed to leave, he dropped Caroline on shore and scooped up Katherine! I think he would have kept them out there all night just fishing away - and they would have stayed too!