Done. Again.

Do you know what today is?

It's my second anniversary.
My blog and I have been married for two years.
The honeymoon's not over yet.
It has been a fruitful union; we have spawned 6 baby blogs in the past 24 months...


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POP QUIZ:


Can you guess what this truck is hauling?
Mandi knows.
She explained it to the truck full of boys I was taking to Cultus.
Put your guesses in the comment box.

This reminds me of a game I used to play with my kids when they were younger; "What do you think is in that truck?" "Marshmellows." "Fishing Rods." "Nintendo Controllers." "Watch Batteries." And so forth. And then I'd get them to estimate how many there would be inside. I'm sure there's an educational element to this whole exercise. I did it to get them to look up from their Game Boys.

Anyway, go ahead Put aside your Gameboy and guess what is in that truck.

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A few weeks ago I was waiting in the back row of the gymnasium for the ukelele concert to begin. Sitting in front of me was a mom being grilled by another mom who was standing in the aisle.

"Do you know anything about her?"

"Not much. I haven't really talked to her."

"Well I know she goes to church. CLA. She seems nice enough. But you never really know, do you?"

"I think they are a nice family."

"But have you heard anything?"

"Hear anything? No. Nothing. I'm sure it will be fine"

"Well, I want to be careful. I know Annie would like to go to Suzi's party, but I told her I'd ask around first."

"What exactly are you worried about? Maybe you could call and talk to Kathy...you might feel better about letting Annie go to the birthday party."

"Oh, no. I've talked to Kathy alot this year. We worked together on Hot Lunch Days. And her and I decorated the gym for the teacher's appreciation tea. It's just that, before I let my daughter go to her house, I thought I'd ask around to see if anyone knows something. You can't be too careful, right? I need to know if anyone knows anything that I should be aware of."

"I think it will be fine. My daughter is going. And if there's a problem, or if something happens that makes Annie feel uncomfortable, she can just call you, right?"

"But, see, if there's the chance that something might happen - she shouldn't go. I really have to find out more about the family. Just because she says they go to CLA isn't enough. I mean, anyone can go to church...I think maybe I better talk to a few more people. Someone might know something...I have to do due diligence. I would never forgive myself if something happens."

"STOP TALKING!!!" I yelled inside my head. OH. My. Goodness. I was embarassed for her. I wanted so very badly for her to shut her face. If this is how Christian parents protect their children from the forces of evil, then I don't want to wear the Christian Parent label. If this is how the Good Moms Network works, then I don't want to be apart of that clique.

I do not want to talk about how good, safe, "Christian", legal, or healthy other familes are. Maybe because I don't want to be judged by some standard that I can in no way meet. We are not the sum of all the things we've done wrong. As a family, we have failed at school, failed at marriage, failed at friendships, failed at keeping our weight under control, failed at keeping the weeds at bay and really failed at keeping our laundry in the laundry basket.

If you are wondering if my home is safe for your child to visit, I'd have to say, "It's a crapshoot. I could be OK; but there's a chance he might be exposed to loud non-Christian music, meals where nothing green and leafy is served, nights where no one is in bed at midnight, days where sunscreen is not always applied, and conversations that wander to the edge of decency and back again.

Today in the parking lot at school a dad poked his head into my Durango:

"Hi, you're Drew's mom?"

"Yes, I'm Jane."

"What's this about taking my son to Cultus?"

"I'm going up for the afternoon and evening, and Drew wants to know if we can take your son along?"

"I'm sorry. I don't know you. It would be irresponsible of me to allow that. I can't just let you take him."

"What can I say to make you feel better about this all?"

"Well, you seem nice enough. But, you are a stranger to me and my wife. We've never talked to you. We know nothing about you. Where are you going, again?"

"My parents have a place at Cultus, and we're going to spend the afternoon there. It's right on the lake. I can give you the address and phone numbers. I do this often."

"By yourself? You're going to go with 3 boys by yourself all that way? Is your husband going to drive?"

"Yes, I'm going by myself. My mom will join us this evening. I'm taking my niece along as well. He'll be in good hands. Really. I do this all the time."

"Your mom? Niece? Just exactly who will all be there? Will your husband show up too?"

"Just me and the boys, my mom and my niece. I'm going to do some gardening and puttering around the place. We should be home by 10."

"I don't know. I just don't feel good about this. We don't let our children just go with anyone. My wife would not be happy if I allowed this. He burns easily and needs someone to keep slathering on sunscreen. He is not a strong swimmer, I can' let him go to a lake where there is no lifeguard... I just don't know how responsible you are."

I think he was looking for respectability. He needed me to have a husband.

And. Oh well. I don't have one.

We had a really nice day at the lake even without a husband.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. We are loved despite our shortcomings. There are people who take a chance on me - allowing their kids to play with mine, even though there's a chance some of our less desirable traits might rub off.
2. I live in the most beautiful place in Canada.

3. I have a pair of denim shorts that fit.

I look like crap in them. But they fit.

Shalom,

Another afternoon at the beach...

"Mom. Instead of you picking me up after school... do you think Clint could?" Drew wondered.
"Sorry, sweets. He's going to be at White Rock skimboarding with his friends. You're stuck with me."
"Do you think..."
"I'll ask him."

Clint was totally OK about having his brothers and cousins drop by to join him and his camp buddies at the beach. (Sigh. He's turning out to be a nice guy.)

So while the kids skimmed, I took 207 photos. Everyone wins. We all were happy.

Not sure if it shows up, but my boy's back is burnt. Just like his little brother's was yesterday.

So many great photo opportunities... and I didn't even have to leave my lawn chair.

The stresses of the month blow away when I'm at the beach.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. Perfect, ideal, wonderful parking spots every time I go to White Rock. THAT is like a modern day miracle. Adds to the perfectness of the occasion.

2. All three of my boys are home and happy tonight. Right now I love being their mom. That will change as soon as I walk past the front hall where I KNOW Clint has dropped 8 days worth of sock balls.

3. In 12 hours school will be OVER. All done. Finished. Complete. I have not enjoyed any part of this school year. It has been brutal and I'm thankful it has ended.

The rest of the photos will be posted to the O's Photo blog tomorrow.

Shalom,

Three Things I'm oh-so-thankful for:

1. Clint is home on a 36 hour break from his camp duties. We went for a walk at midnight around the 'hood. SO good to catch up.

2. Drew's burnt back will probably not blister. He spent the day at the water slides without sunscreen. Ouch.The heat was radiating off him...

3. One more provincial and then this dismal school year, academically speaking, will be over for Max. It is a painful process, trying to educate that boy.

Shalom,

Finished Another One: Book 22

Winner of the Pullitzer Prize, so obviously not my usual reading style. Expanding my literary vobocularly slightly with this one. Chick Lit it is not.

Artsy, with some great underlinable sections. But a slow read. Took me forever to finish. Maybe because it's June and June is Hell Month for mothers.
Regardless, it is a good story written as a letter from an 80 year old father to his 7 year old son in anticipation of his not being around when his son gets older.

I'd give it an 8 out of 10.

A Long Day

From church to the church picnic to White Rock Beach to hours of jumping on the trampoline to washing the glass "lean to" at 11pm, my little boy put in a long day.

But he could not fall asleep.

I could hear him from downstairs, tossing on his squeaky bunk bed, driving matchbox cars over his blanket hills and pillow valleys, rearranging and adjusting his fan for maximum blow power, getting water and then more water, and so on, well past midnight. I came upstairs at 1:00 am just as Max was settling into his nighttime routine. I turned off the hallway light and entered my room to find every single one (of a possible 4) lights on, and this in my bed:




Kids are easy to love when they're sleeping.

I wish I was twelve

I remember that summer...
Listening to CFUN (Ballroom Blitz and Smokin in the Boys Room) and playing rummy at the kitchen table with my friend, Tina during the day.
Staying up to watch the KVOS-TV "Late" movies at at night. I saw all the old Elvis (ClamBake), John Wayne (Two Mules for Sister Sarah) and Clint Eastwood (The Good, The Bad and the Ugly) movies that summer.

The golden days.


I have a feeling Max is going to have rose coloured memories regarding this season of his life. He's had two friends over all afternoon/evening. Instead of playing interactive games, they each are playing with their own game boys while watching old Batman movies on TV.

Summers are more work when you're 45.
The yard, the garage, the laundry, the stomach, the dishes, the meals, the work that never got finished at the office, the list of 101 things to do...it never ends.


On a less whiney note, I came across this list a few minutes ago. Max asked me to take my laughter elsewhere, it was interupting his enjoyment of the movie.


THE 27 WORST FAMILY FEUD ANSWERS EVER
I've always been fascinated by groups of five people who try to guess what 100 randomly selected people have said for a chance to win $10,000, which they'll split between themselves before splitting it again with the government.
Which will leave each of them with about $32.87 for their troubles.

I've also been fascinated by how one of those five people will crack under the pressure and cost everyone else on their team a chance to walk away with $32.87.

As a result, I've polled 100 people to find the best "worst" answers ever given on Family Feud.

The top 27 answers are on the board.
Question: Name a former President that most people would say is honest.
#1 Answer: Lincoln
Worst Answers: Nixon

Question: Besides San Francisco, name a city that begins with the word San.
#1 Answer: San Diego
Worst Answer: Seattle

Question: Name a slang term used for important people.
#1 Answer: V.I.P.
Worst Answer: Buddy

Question: Name something packrats have a hard time throwing out.
#1 Answer: Photos
Worst Answer: Corn

Question: Name something that might annoy a gardener.
#1 Answer: Bugs
Worst Answer: Not getting paid on time

Question: Name a reason a man might send his wife flowers.
#1 Answer: Anniversary
Worst Answer: Happy divorce

Question: Name a term used in football.
#1 Answer: Touchdown
Worst Answer: Fastbreak

Question: Name a special request people ask for when making a dinner reservation.
#1 Answer: Non-smoking
Worst Answer: A menu

Question: Name someone you wouldn't want to get a phone call from.
#1 Answer: The police
Worst Answer: Your son

Question: Name a classical music composer everyone knows.
#1 Answer: Mozart
Worst Answer: Julio Inglesias

Question: Tell me something specific you should drink a lot of when you're sick.
#1 Answer: Water
Worst Answer: Alcohol

Question: Name something you'd hate to find at the end of your nose.
#1 Answer: Pimple
Worst Answers: Lint

Question: Name the worst kind of shoe to run a marathon in.
#1 Answer: High heels
Worst Answer: Scuba flippers
Louie Anderson's Response: If it's up there... I'll be suprised.

Question: Name something a person wouldn't want living in their house.
#1 Answer: Relatives
Worst Answer: Mold

Question: Name a musician who goes by one name.
#1 Answer: Madonna
Worst Answer: Reba McIntyre
Louie Anderson's Response: Show me the strike.

Question: Name something you'd buy for more than a thousand dollars.
#1 Answer: House
Worst Answer: Pleasure equipment
Louie Anderson's Response: I'm afraid to ask what that means.

Question: Name something you think would be difficult about being a waiter.
#1 Answer: Taking orders
Worst Answer: Falling down


Question: Name a unit of currency used in a country other than the US.
#1 Answer: Peso
Worst Answer: Ampere

Question: Name a reason why a woman might not want to kiss her boyfriend.
#1 Answer: Bad breath
Worst Answers: She doesn't love him that much

Question: Name something you do in front of your husband that you probably never did when you were dating. #
1 Answer: Undress
Worst Answer: Make out


Question: Name a complaint you might have about the pizza that was just delivered.
#1 Answer: It's cold
Worst Answers: It went to the wrong address
Louie Anderson's Response: And you just happened to be there.


Question: Name something you need to play Scrabble. #
1 Answer: Letters
Worst Answer: Dice
Louie Anderson's Response: Where did you learn to play Scrabble?

Question: Name the age when a man might start to lose a lot of hair.
#1 Answer: 30
Worst Answer: 14

Question: Name the best month to schedule a wedding.
#1 Answer: June
Worst Answer: Summer


Three things I'm thankful for:
1. Wireless internet and my laptop. I was blog-surfing on my back patio. Where there was a breeze. Oh my goodness it's been hot. It was 32 degrees when I got home from work at 6:00 pm (That would be about 128 degrees fahrenheit for any American readers.)

2. My kids have awesome friends. I have a feeling most of them are coming to Creation with me. How lucky am I? Very.

3. The extra fan I confiscated from Clint's room. Now I have a stereo-style wind storm in my room.


Shalom,

Three Things I'm Very Thankful For:

1. Basins of cool water to soak one's feet in. It's heavenly. I'm doing it right now in fact. Blogging and soaking at the same time. With a fan blowing. Tis a wonderful thing.

2. My favorite place to be on hot summer days is near a body of water. And today we spent a couple hours at White Rock. LOVE that place. Everytime I see photos on Andie's blog of her days at the beach, a longing rips through my soul, calling me to be one with the sand and water. Not really.

I just love the breeze that comes up off the ocean.

3. Summer Flex hours start next week. I only have to wear office clothes three days a week.

Shalom,

"That was the best church picnic I've ever been to, THAT's for sure," Drew said at the end of the day.

Max and his friends played four square. The little ones did running races. The adults sat in the shade and visited. Drew and the rest of the almost teens did their own thing...played basketball, baseball, jumped in the bouncy castle...basically stayed out of camera range.

Max's friend, Maddy, got baptized today at White Rock...

This won't mean anything to you unless you've been to our place at the lake...

It feels like they've paved paradise and put up a parking lot...

They (whoever "they" is) built a dyke right beside the cabin.

It looks like a road. It's 8 feet above the yard.
Kind of blocks our view of the lake from the backyard.

It's a bit of a steep climb to get to the top.

Very weird.

For $1, Drew bought himself a van.

"Look mom, it's all clean back here."

Putting it in gear and driving it down to the barn.

Competently backing it up a narrow driveway manouevering between a parked car on one side and a tree on the other.

Proud owner.

Personalized plates.

If my time is worth $5 per hour, then I've invested well over $500 in vehicle juggling this year.

"Life will be so much easier once he's driving," someone told me a long time ago.
They were lying. No part of this past year has been easier because Clint has a licence.

Hours and hours of time has been spent on purchasing, registering, licencing, insuring, maintaining, selling, and uninsuring our second car - that lovely brown 1980 Camero.
A few weeks ago Clint bought a 2002 Dodge Dakota from his uncle and getting the paperwork squared away on that deal took 3 days of after-work running around. Last week he had the brakes looked at, and found out they were shot. A $1200 bill and two days without a vehicle meant more after-work running around to get the Camero back to Langley so that he'd have a vehicle to use while his truck was getting repaired.

The sale of the Camero finalized today. Two trips to two different insurance agents in Surrey, a treck out to the purchaser's mom's place and then over to the yard where he has the car stored, boiled down to another 3 hours of my life wasted on car registration and insurance issues.

But it's over. The car is in a happy place, parked beside it's brother, another beaten up 1980 Camero in a non-landscaped, overgrown, chain-link fenced compound filled with Harley's, dismantled pick up trucks, beer drinking, grey-haired pony-tailed good ol Surrey boys...

Seeing the car he bought from me is the only one with papers, it will likely be the one that gets to driven. The other Camero will be used for parts. "Hey whadda ya think?" the purchaser said with pride this morning. "By the time I'm finished, I will have the perfect Surrey car, eh"

I wish I could have taken a picture. Or captured the smell of the place. I was in the deepest bowels of Surrey, and lived to tell the tale.

Three things I'm thankful for:
1. Max is still 15. I don't have to worry about a vehicle for him to drive for at least 18 months. And Drew's van will remain an uninsured toy for him to play with on the farm.
2. I took a 37 minute break today and suntanned.
3. One of Max's friends is getting baptized in the ocean tomorrow evening. YAY! Back to White Rock...


Shalom,

Three Things I'm Thankful For:

1. Summer Nights. Spent a relaxing evening with friends on a large cedar deck, complete with a propane heater, a laptop and 4 different chocolate dessert options.
2. I'm finally hitting my stride at work. Got a nice compliment today from the President's Advisor regarding a letter I wrote.
3. A very sleepy Drew is snuggled in my bed watching a soccer game on my TV while I sit beside him and blog. Life is too good sometimes.


Shalom,

It's gone.

Good riddance to annoying pop ups.

Now, on to For on Fri:

Q1 - Holiday: If you could celebrate any holiday twice in one year, which one would it be, and what time of the year would you celebrate it for a second time?
First of all, I'd change our Thanksgiving to November because I think the way American's observe it is cooler than they way we Canadians do.
Then, the holiday that I'd like to celebrate twice is Easter. The first time can stay in the Spring, I won't tamper with that. But the second time should be in October. Can you imagine two Good Fridays every year. That'd be awesome.

Q2- Trash: What was the last thing you threw into a trashcan?
Is a trashcan the same as a garbage can? Because I know a waste-paper basket is a totally different recepticle.
Just to be on the safe side, I'll cover all the bases...This evening I threw the box from the DQ ice cream cake into the bag I'll take over to my parent's place to burn. I dropped an empty juice carton (non-recyclable) into my kitchen garbage. And I tossed some Q-Tips into the waste paper basket in my bathroom. I think I'm going to search the internet for another source of Friday questions. These are mind-numbing.

Q3 - What would you do if you found a pot of gold?
Photograph it.

Q4 - Arrgh: What was the last fight you had about?
Homework. Sockballs. Cleaning up after one's self.
Really. Is there anything else worth fighting about?

Usually I can follow these things

Back to the Future. Outlander. The Time Traveller's Wife. Just Like Heaven.
A doctorate is not required to understand the time travel aspect of these stories. I am familiar with the concept. I love the genre.
But good golly...

I kept trying to figure out which year we were watching. And every time she hooked up with that old boyfriend, I ceased to get lost in the story. It was hard work following the time line. Seeing a romantic comedy should not be hard work.



But something positive did come of the evening.
I think I figured out my next hair do.


Three things I'm thankful for:
1. Movie nights with my mom.
2. Hoses and sprinklers.
3. Spinach Pizza

Shalom,

It's the first day of summer, Let's celebrate...

"I know. Let's go to the beach. And have gelato. And watch the sun set over the ocean."
"No."
"I've got homework."
"I have to study for a final."
"That sounds like a dumb idea."
"I don't want to."

I want to do something special on this day. I live with non-celebratory kin.

So Mandi and I rolled out dough, dropped it into a pan of boiling oil and made Roll Kuchen...


...while Zac and Drew cut up watermelon:

As far as summer meals go, it was pretty close to perfect.

But then, oh my goodness, to top it off, we each had one of these:

They taste like sunshine. Orange Crush and vanilla ice cream. A cookie? Or a float?

We're all still buzzing from the sugar.

Afterwards, I tried again. "Who wants to go to White Rock?"

I ended up sitting on the couch watching two hours of "So you think you can dance?"

(I think I love that show.)

And so, despite the lack of fanfare, Summer is here.