But, I don't think I'll ever call GE service again. They are EXPENSIVE! It only took the guy 30 min and it cost me 150.00 in labor alone. The part was 110.00. That's because they don't charge by the hour, it's by the job. Evidently our "mainboard" was bad and needed to be replaced. It basically looked like the "brains" of the fridge. So, I'm a little miffed that the brain died after only 4 years and cost so much to replace. I'm pretty sure I'm done with GE appliances. Our GE dishwasher is also only 4 years old and all the little plastic pieces are falling apart. Based on my experience it appears that you can only expect 4 good years from a GE appliance. Personally, I believe that major appliances are expensive enough to last longer than 4 years!
I did email their corporate customer service but didn't get anything more than "sorry". Oh well, live and learn.
This is off the subject, but has anyone else know a dog to CRAVE tomatoes? Our dog is insane! He has now stolen 6 tomatoes from my countertop! He got 4 on Sunday and then he got 2 more yesterday. I really need to learn to put them high enough that he can't reach. When he gets them he devours them--not a piece is left behind. It's just the weirdest thing ever! If I don't get more careful about where I leave the tomatoes he just might eat our entire crop. Thank goodness we have the fence around the garden or else I'm positive we'd have no tomatoes at all.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Room-temp refrigerator
Well, it appears that our refrigerator has decided to quit working. There is a digital thermostat that is very visible when you open the door to the fridge. When I opened it this morning, the freezer was -4 and the fridge was 52. We tried unplugging it to reset the computer, but it hasn't helped. The refrigerator part is now at 68 (perfect room temperature). Something about the whole thing is working because the freezer went from 12 degrees back to 0 degrees. But, the fridget just seem to stay at room temp. Fortunately, we have an extra refrigerator that only has drinks in it. We cleared out all the drinks today and filled the extra fridge with all the food. WHEW! Thank God we have the extra refrigerator.
I already scheduled a service call. The guy will be here sometime between 8 and 3 on Monday. Would you believe the first time given was 8-5.....why don't they just say ALL day? I was worried that the deal was over when I said I had to leave the house by 4. But, she changed it to reflect that necessity. But, seriously, sometimes I wonder how people do it when they have jobs. I mean really, is someone supposed to take an entire day off work to sit at home and wait for an appliance repair man? That's bordering on being completely ridiculous. Let's see, you can choose between having a broken fridge forever or taking an entire day of work. This is GE, by the way. And, believe it or not, they no longer have a "troubleshooting" dept. That also seems pretty ridiculous to me. Oh well, you do what you have to do, right?
I already scheduled a service call. The guy will be here sometime between 8 and 3 on Monday. Would you believe the first time given was 8-5.....why don't they just say ALL day? I was worried that the deal was over when I said I had to leave the house by 4. But, she changed it to reflect that necessity. But, seriously, sometimes I wonder how people do it when they have jobs. I mean really, is someone supposed to take an entire day off work to sit at home and wait for an appliance repair man? That's bordering on being completely ridiculous. Let's see, you can choose between having a broken fridge forever or taking an entire day of work. This is GE, by the way. And, believe it or not, they no longer have a "troubleshooting" dept. That also seems pretty ridiculous to me. Oh well, you do what you have to do, right?
You have to take a look at this!
I just got the link to the blog my sister set up for her new hand-made frame business. All I can say is WOW!! Click here to see the site Also, it's linked on the right hand-side under "favorite sites". These are beautiful frames and she DOES ship. Keep in mind Shana and Jeff make these frames completely from scratch. If her designs inspire you to come up with your own ideas she would also be willing to work with you to design your own custom frame. The ones with sayings are just beautiful and make me think of scrapbook pages made for hanging on the wall.
So, if you get a chance, take a look and don't hesitate to contact her if you are interested in one of her custom frames.
So, if you get a chance, take a look and don't hesitate to contact her if you are interested in one of her custom frames.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Back from the family reunion
Kaeli, Paige, Ryan and I all left for NY at 8 AM on Thursday morning. I kept in contact with my dad by phone the first 2 hours, then followed him the rest of the way. Before I go any further, I have to tell how we met up because it was pretty amazing! Keep in mind I only knew what town he was staying in (he stayed in a hotel Wed night). When I was about 15 miles from the town he was in, I called to let him know he could leave and we'd find each other on the highway somewhere. When they got on the highway Jeanne called and asked where I was. I told her we had just passed the Allentown exit. She said "that's the exit we just came off of". We discussed a couple of landmarks we were passing and I suddenly realized I was right behind them!! They obviously merged onto the highway right in front of me and I didn't even realize it. Talk about perfect timing!
After many stops--the kids seem to have to pee every hour--we made it to Delhi, NY around 3:30 or so. We spent the rest of the afternoon setting up the tent and preparing ourselves for night fall. The kids headed down to the creek and played there most of the afternoon/evening. The creek was just beautiful and very shallow. An absolutely perfect place for kids to play and explore endlessly. Over the course of 3 days they found crayfish, minnows, small fish, tadpoles, baby frogs, salamanders, and toads. I did hear about the discovery of one snake, but did not see it personally.
The field where we set up camp was in a valley and had no cell phone coverage. I have to admit that was hard! I wasn't expecting it and I felt a little cut off from Steve and AJ back at home. I was able to call and touch base when I went back into town about once a day.
So, I'll do my best to write a quick summary of our 3 days in the mountains.....
This event was a famly reunion/80th birthday party for my gramma. My Gramma has 13 children and each of them now has children and many of those children are having children. So, there were 4 generations at the party and when you start with 13 kids that makes for a lot of people! Also, my grandmother's siblings always attend with their extended family. I was certainly born into the right family because these reunions are the only time I ever feel so content, comfortable, and "right at home" with a LARGE group of people. Everyone is so down-to-earth and fun-loving. I loved watching my kids play with their "cousins". Before I go any further I will explain that in this family "cousin" is used loosely. As you can imagine, when one has 13 kids, there is a huge spacing of ages. I'm the oldest grandchild (36) and the youngest grandchild is 3. So, obviously alot of the "cousins" my kids played with were actually MY cousins. And, they were also playing with my cousin's kids and I have no idea what my cousin's kids would be to me, much less what it would the relation would be between them and my kids. But, regardless, it was so great seeing the kids enjoy nature and exploration with their "cousins" like I did as a child at these events. In fact, I can't help but wonder if, just a little, it helped shape my desire to major in life sciences. At one point Ryan told my gramma (his great-gramma) "look! a frog". She took him by the hand and walked him over to look, then went on to gently and patiently explain that he had actually found a toad. She explained all the differences between and toad and a frog. Soon after they were discussing snails.
So, I was explaining our weekend. The kids seemed to enjoy camping in a tent and so did I. Besides all the fun the kids had, I enjoyed having three kids that were old enough to go off and play while I sat and talked. I missed AJ, but it was nice not having to worry about him every 2 minutes. I belong to a family of beer drinkers, so we spent lots of time talking around a campfire and drinking beer each night before retiring to our tents.
There are at least a million more things I could write about our weekend. But, I'm tired of typing and I'm sure everyone is tired of reading. Here are some pics:
After many stops--the kids seem to have to pee every hour--we made it to Delhi, NY around 3:30 or so. We spent the rest of the afternoon setting up the tent and preparing ourselves for night fall. The kids headed down to the creek and played there most of the afternoon/evening. The creek was just beautiful and very shallow. An absolutely perfect place for kids to play and explore endlessly. Over the course of 3 days they found crayfish, minnows, small fish, tadpoles, baby frogs, salamanders, and toads. I did hear about the discovery of one snake, but did not see it personally.
The field where we set up camp was in a valley and had no cell phone coverage. I have to admit that was hard! I wasn't expecting it and I felt a little cut off from Steve and AJ back at home. I was able to call and touch base when I went back into town about once a day.
So, I'll do my best to write a quick summary of our 3 days in the mountains.....
This event was a famly reunion/80th birthday party for my gramma. My Gramma has 13 children and each of them now has children and many of those children are having children. So, there were 4 generations at the party and when you start with 13 kids that makes for a lot of people! Also, my grandmother's siblings always attend with their extended family. I was certainly born into the right family because these reunions are the only time I ever feel so content, comfortable, and "right at home" with a LARGE group of people. Everyone is so down-to-earth and fun-loving. I loved watching my kids play with their "cousins". Before I go any further I will explain that in this family "cousin" is used loosely. As you can imagine, when one has 13 kids, there is a huge spacing of ages. I'm the oldest grandchild (36) and the youngest grandchild is 3. So, obviously alot of the "cousins" my kids played with were actually MY cousins. And, they were also playing with my cousin's kids and I have no idea what my cousin's kids would be to me, much less what it would the relation would be between them and my kids. But, regardless, it was so great seeing the kids enjoy nature and exploration with their "cousins" like I did as a child at these events. In fact, I can't help but wonder if, just a little, it helped shape my desire to major in life sciences. At one point Ryan told my gramma (his great-gramma) "look! a frog". She took him by the hand and walked him over to look, then went on to gently and patiently explain that he had actually found a toad. She explained all the differences between and toad and a frog. Soon after they were discussing snails.
So, I was explaining our weekend. The kids seemed to enjoy camping in a tent and so did I. Besides all the fun the kids had, I enjoyed having three kids that were old enough to go off and play while I sat and talked. I missed AJ, but it was nice not having to worry about him every 2 minutes. I belong to a family of beer drinkers, so we spent lots of time talking around a campfire and drinking beer each night before retiring to our tents.
There are at least a million more things I could write about our weekend. But, I'm tired of typing and I'm sure everyone is tired of reading. Here are some pics:
bathing in the creek
Muddy hands
These are my gramma's grandkids! This is definitely not all of us. I am kneeling ot the right of gramma.
These are the great-grandchildren that were there.
Here is a pic of Ryan roasting a marshmallow with one of my cousins.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Pictures linked to each vacation entry
Steve was so nice that he uploaded all our pictures to photobucket, organized them into folders by the day they were taken, and then linked them to each of my previous vacation entries! I guess he got tired of waiting for me to do it....:)
So, there is a blue link just underneath each title for pictures. Also, I'll be away from the computer until at least Sunday. No reason to even look for new entries during that time. I'm taking the 3 older kids up to NY for a huge family reunion combined with an 80th birthday party for my gramma (my dad's mom). Steve is going to stay home and take care of AJ. We decided it would be better this way since it's mostly a camping trip. I just don't know how AJ would do sleeping in such close quarters.
So, I better get off this computer now and get to packing!
So, there is a blue link just underneath each title for pictures. Also, I'll be away from the computer until at least Sunday. No reason to even look for new entries during that time. I'm taking the 3 older kids up to NY for a huge family reunion combined with an 80th birthday party for my gramma (my dad's mom). Steve is going to stay home and take care of AJ. We decided it would be better this way since it's mostly a camping trip. I just don't know how AJ would do sleeping in such close quarters.
So, I better get off this computer now and get to packing!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
It's good to be home!
We just got home tonight and didn't even bother to unload the car--we are going to be busy tomorrow! Wouldn't you know today AJ chose to wake up early! I think it was around 6:30-that's actually about normal for him but I was getting used to waking up after 7. I guess I got spoiled.
But, waking up early was a good thing. We got the house cleaned up and the cars packed and were out of there by 11. We went to Mommom and Poppop's house first because we were doing a late birthday party for Uncle Jimmy who turned the big THREE-O on July 4. It worked out great because Mommom had lots of food. We were able to eat dinner there and then headed home around 6:30ish. So, it was nice to not have to worry about dinner once we got home.
Now, here's the very sad (weird?) news! I knew our little above ground pool would be a mess after no upkeep for a week so I headed straight out to add chemicals and start up the pump. Would you believe the pump/filter was GONE?!! Someone took the pump-hoses and all. At least they were kind enough to put the little plugs into the holes left behind. I had left the plugs on the ground because you have to have them when you change the filter. Also, there were little metal clamps holding the hose in place. Someone came here with a screwdreiver, took the clamps off, took the hose and pump, and put the little plugs in place so all the water wouldn't escape from the pool. It's still baffling to me because someone really planned this out. If they had done it in the middle of the night, they never would have found the little plugs because they are black. Very, very strange! Kaeli's reaction was pretty funny. She was telling me to call 911....I still laugh when I think about it. I guess in her mind the loss of a swimming pool pump WAS an emergency. She was so mad that I wasn't doing something to get our pump back. I did call the police station's non-emergency number just to ask them if they had heard of a lot of pumps being stolen, but nope. At least Kaeli felt better when the police officer came over and verified what I had already told her--there's nothing the police can do about it. Oh, by the way, we live in a tiny town so the police aren't exactly really busy. I only called to ask a question and they sent an officer over. I guess they needed something to do. Fortunately, I can order a new pump from ebay that comes with all the parts. It's just frustrating since we have to spend more money and the pool desperately needs to be cleaned NOW. I just can't imagine why someone took our pump--we don't exactly live in a private yard. Very, very weird!
But, waking up early was a good thing. We got the house cleaned up and the cars packed and were out of there by 11. We went to Mommom and Poppop's house first because we were doing a late birthday party for Uncle Jimmy who turned the big THREE-O on July 4. It worked out great because Mommom had lots of food. We were able to eat dinner there and then headed home around 6:30ish. So, it was nice to not have to worry about dinner once we got home.
Now, here's the very sad (weird?) news! I knew our little above ground pool would be a mess after no upkeep for a week so I headed straight out to add chemicals and start up the pump. Would you believe the pump/filter was GONE?!! Someone took the pump-hoses and all. At least they were kind enough to put the little plugs into the holes left behind. I had left the plugs on the ground because you have to have them when you change the filter. Also, there were little metal clamps holding the hose in place. Someone came here with a screwdreiver, took the clamps off, took the hose and pump, and put the little plugs in place so all the water wouldn't escape from the pool. It's still baffling to me because someone really planned this out. If they had done it in the middle of the night, they never would have found the little plugs because they are black. Very, very strange! Kaeli's reaction was pretty funny. She was telling me to call 911....I still laugh when I think about it. I guess in her mind the loss of a swimming pool pump WAS an emergency. She was so mad that I wasn't doing something to get our pump back. I did call the police station's non-emergency number just to ask them if they had heard of a lot of pumps being stolen, but nope. At least Kaeli felt better when the police officer came over and verified what I had already told her--there's nothing the police can do about it. Oh, by the way, we live in a tiny town so the police aren't exactly really busy. I only called to ask a question and they sent an officer over. I guess they needed something to do. Fortunately, I can order a new pump from ebay that comes with all the parts. It's just frustrating since we have to spend more money and the pool desperately needs to be cleaned NOW. I just can't imagine why someone took our pump--we don't exactly live in a private yard. Very, very weird!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Day 8, Friday
I'm writing this on Saturday, but postdating it since I just didn't have the energy last night!
We spent another full day on the beach today. Actually, I tried a different approach. Steve took Kaeli, Paige, and Ryan over around 10:30. I stayed home and put AJ down for an early nap at around 11. Steve bought the other kids home for lunch at about 12:30-leaving all the stuff on the beach. After lunch we all went back together and stayed until 5.
It was an absolutely beautiful day for the beach!! It couldn't have been a more perfect last day! Even the water temp was up a bit. Today was the first day we could actually venture out into the water without freezing to death. It's interesting that in a matter of a day the water temps rose from around 55 degrees to around 65 degrees. I know it must have something to do with water currents and such, but it's just amazing.
Kaeli and Paige spent the entire day playing with their new friends. Ryan and AJ were pretty easy. The tide was coming in most of the day and the beach has a very, very shallow slope to it. So shallow, in fact, that it almost appears flat and makes for a PERFECT place for kids to play. I dug holes for them in the sand and used the sand from the hole to make a big "mountain". Ryan and AJ had so much fun jumping into the hole full of water from the pile of sand and splashing in the water. I don't have much to report from Kaeli and Paige because we honestly only saw them sporadically from time to time. Every day they had a standing date to meet their friends at the lifeguard stand at 12:00. Before we left Kaeli got her friend's email address and phone number. It was really neat to see her make a new friend over summer vacation.
Now this part I didn't actually see, but Steve has told me all about it. While I was sitting in a chair holding Ryan (trying to get him to take a nap) AJ was behind me where I couldn't see. But, I obviously missed out on seeing AJ flirt with 2 approx 13 yr old girls. For about 30 minutes AJ was quite intrigued by them. He would look at these girls with his little "side-eye" look and grin at them. I never saw him do it, but I've seen that look many times and can just picture it. Then he "fell" right next to them and as he was getting up he kind of did a a downward dog stance (for those that know yoga) and grinned at them through his legs for a several minutes. Steve said he also laid in the sand for a while just looking over at them grinning. The girls and their mom were getting quite a chuckle out of him and were amazed to see how well he flirted already. :) We are in trouble with this one! He gets so much attention for being so adorable! And, you can just see the twinkle of mischeif in his eyes.
Needless to say, we were all pretty exhausted Friday night!
We spent another full day on the beach today. Actually, I tried a different approach. Steve took Kaeli, Paige, and Ryan over around 10:30. I stayed home and put AJ down for an early nap at around 11. Steve bought the other kids home for lunch at about 12:30-leaving all the stuff on the beach. After lunch we all went back together and stayed until 5.
It was an absolutely beautiful day for the beach!! It couldn't have been a more perfect last day! Even the water temp was up a bit. Today was the first day we could actually venture out into the water without freezing to death. It's interesting that in a matter of a day the water temps rose from around 55 degrees to around 65 degrees. I know it must have something to do with water currents and such, but it's just amazing.
Kaeli and Paige spent the entire day playing with their new friends. Ryan and AJ were pretty easy. The tide was coming in most of the day and the beach has a very, very shallow slope to it. So shallow, in fact, that it almost appears flat and makes for a PERFECT place for kids to play. I dug holes for them in the sand and used the sand from the hole to make a big "mountain". Ryan and AJ had so much fun jumping into the hole full of water from the pile of sand and splashing in the water. I don't have much to report from Kaeli and Paige because we honestly only saw them sporadically from time to time. Every day they had a standing date to meet their friends at the lifeguard stand at 12:00. Before we left Kaeli got her friend's email address and phone number. It was really neat to see her make a new friend over summer vacation.
Now this part I didn't actually see, but Steve has told me all about it. While I was sitting in a chair holding Ryan (trying to get him to take a nap) AJ was behind me where I couldn't see. But, I obviously missed out on seeing AJ flirt with 2 approx 13 yr old girls. For about 30 minutes AJ was quite intrigued by them. He would look at these girls with his little "side-eye" look and grin at them. I never saw him do it, but I've seen that look many times and can just picture it. Then he "fell" right next to them and as he was getting up he kind of did a a downward dog stance (for those that know yoga) and grinned at them through his legs for a several minutes. Steve said he also laid in the sand for a while just looking over at them grinning. The girls and their mom were getting quite a chuckle out of him and were amazed to see how well he flirted already. :) We are in trouble with this one! He gets so much attention for being so adorable! And, you can just see the twinkle of mischeif in his eyes.
Needless to say, we were all pretty exhausted Friday night!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Day 7, Thursday
The weather was much more conducive to beach-going today! The wind was just about perfect, few clouds in the sky, and the air temperature was warm. The only thing that could have made it better would be warmer ocean water. But, the kids still had a great time playing in the surf.
We had to trash our poor canopy today. It's been slowly falling apart all week, but today it required the help of duct tape to keep it up. We've used it for 4 summers now, so we got plenty of use from it. I guess tomorrow we will have to depend on a regular umbrella. That's going to be hard since we've kind of spoiled ourselves with a nice, big tent-like shaded area on the beach.
We left the beach around 3 in order to get cleaned up and allow the boys to have a late nap. After naps we went out to dinner and then played around on the beach to watch the sunset. We have to watch the sunset over the bay since we only get a sunRISE on the ocean here on the east coast. But, our annual sunset trip is always alot fun. I think we got some good pictures and I can't wait to see them all!
Again, the kids went to bed without a moment's hesitation! I'm guessing they'll sleep great and I'm HOPING they sleep late again--8:00 would be nice.
Tomorrow is our last full day here and we plan to spend it on the beach again. Saturday will just be for packing up, cleaning, and driving home.
We had to trash our poor canopy today. It's been slowly falling apart all week, but today it required the help of duct tape to keep it up. We've used it for 4 summers now, so we got plenty of use from it. I guess tomorrow we will have to depend on a regular umbrella. That's going to be hard since we've kind of spoiled ourselves with a nice, big tent-like shaded area on the beach.
We left the beach around 3 in order to get cleaned up and allow the boys to have a late nap. After naps we went out to dinner and then played around on the beach to watch the sunset. We have to watch the sunset over the bay since we only get a sunRISE on the ocean here on the east coast. But, our annual sunset trip is always alot fun. I think we got some good pictures and I can't wait to see them all!
Again, the kids went to bed without a moment's hesitation! I'm guessing they'll sleep great and I'm HOPING they sleep late again--8:00 would be nice.
Tomorrow is our last full day here and we plan to spend it on the beach again. Saturday will just be for packing up, cleaning, and driving home.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Day 6, Wednesday
We thought we were going to spend another full day on the beach, but the weather had other plans for us. We got all set up on the beach around 10:30 AM....after packing up enough for a full day on the beach. At first, it was a little chilly, but not terrible. About an hour after we got all set up the cloud coverage got pretty heavy and the wind became much cooler. The kids were all sitting down with towels wrapped around them. Soon after lunch we felt some light rain and decided to just call it a day. But, as we were packing up the kids started having a great time in the really loose sand near the dunes. The sand in that area is always nice and warm from the sun so the kids were running around and then jumping into the sand. They were playing so well together and having so much fun we decided to stay a little longer. Steve took the bulk of our stuff home and we only kept the neccesities.
For a cold, miserable weather day our time on the beach turned out to be alot of fun. The kids and Steve made up a cute game. They lined everyone's shoes up and then tried tossing a small ball into the shoe. Each shoe was worth points (Steve's shoes only worth one point, then AJ's shoes were worth 5 points). It kept them busy for a little while, at least.
Kaeli eventually started saying she was ready to go home. Jokingly, Steve said "you know where it is--go ahead". She looked really surprised and said "really?" Steve and I looked at each other and seemed to know what the other was thinking-sure, why not, let her do it. Now, I should say the house is right across the road from the beach and it is not a busy road AT ALL. There are a few cars here and there, but the biggest obstacle is usually bikes. So, we let her go home to get a headstart on showering. We were only about 10 minutes behind her, but that little bit of freedom seemed to mean the world to her!! She was so proud of herself. I can't believe how grown-up she's becoming!
So, she handled that little bit of freedom and responsibility so well that we took it a step further a little later. Kaeli has become incredibly attached to Bailey (our dog) lately and has been wanting more responsibility for his care. She's been asking and asking to take him for walks and we've always said no because he can be very hard to control when he sees another dog. So, today we gave her the end of the leash and let her give it a try. I watched anxiously from the deck. There wasn't a single problem and she definitely seemed to know how to handle him. So, I gave her the go-ahead to take him for a quick walk around the block.
We didn't do much the rest of the afternoon. We cooked a big dinner and just played around and watched a movie.
For a cold, miserable weather day our time on the beach turned out to be alot of fun. The kids and Steve made up a cute game. They lined everyone's shoes up and then tried tossing a small ball into the shoe. Each shoe was worth points (Steve's shoes only worth one point, then AJ's shoes were worth 5 points). It kept them busy for a little while, at least.
Kaeli eventually started saying she was ready to go home. Jokingly, Steve said "you know where it is--go ahead". She looked really surprised and said "really?" Steve and I looked at each other and seemed to know what the other was thinking-sure, why not, let her do it. Now, I should say the house is right across the road from the beach and it is not a busy road AT ALL. There are a few cars here and there, but the biggest obstacle is usually bikes. So, we let her go home to get a headstart on showering. We were only about 10 minutes behind her, but that little bit of freedom seemed to mean the world to her!! She was so proud of herself. I can't believe how grown-up she's becoming!
So, she handled that little bit of freedom and responsibility so well that we took it a step further a little later. Kaeli has become incredibly attached to Bailey (our dog) lately and has been wanting more responsibility for his care. She's been asking and asking to take him for walks and we've always said no because he can be very hard to control when he sees another dog. So, today we gave her the end of the leash and let her give it a try. I watched anxiously from the deck. There wasn't a single problem and she definitely seemed to know how to handle him. So, I gave her the go-ahead to take him for a quick walk around the block.
We didn't do much the rest of the afternoon. We cooked a big dinner and just played around and watched a movie.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Day 5, Tuesday
On Tuesday we spent the entire day on the beach! The weather was pretty nice....a little windy and slightly chilly, but not bad enough to keep the kids out of the water. Of course, it would take a lot to keep them out of the water!
Around 1:00 I took the boys back to the house for naps. Steve stayed at the beach with the girls. I had about 2 hours to relax. I was feeling a little bad for Steve until I called to check on him. He said the girls had found some friends soon after I left and had been off playing with them the whole time. So, Steve was able to sit and relax on the beach for 2 hours just reading a book!! Around 3:30 the boys and I headed back to the beach. We finally called it a day and headed for the house around 5:30. We had a quick dinner and took a walk to the ice cream store.
Perfect day! The kids went to bed without a single moment's hesitation.
Around 1:00 I took the boys back to the house for naps. Steve stayed at the beach with the girls. I had about 2 hours to relax. I was feeling a little bad for Steve until I called to check on him. He said the girls had found some friends soon after I left and had been off playing with them the whole time. So, Steve was able to sit and relax on the beach for 2 hours just reading a book!! Around 3:30 the boys and I headed back to the beach. We finally called it a day and headed for the house around 5:30. We had a quick dinner and took a walk to the ice cream store.
Perfect day! The kids went to bed without a single moment's hesitation.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Monday, day 4 of vacay
It's 3 o'clock-middle of naptime for half the Kirk kids (and Steve, too). This morning we slept until almost 8 o'clock!! That could be a new record for us since having kids!! I'm guessing the time spent running around on the beach until almost 8 last night tired everyone out. We'll be doing that again tonight for sure!
Since the house is quiet I thought I'd take a few minutes to write about our morning. We headed to Ocean City's boardwalk around 10:30 this morning. We knew that we had to make at least one trip to Wonderland's Pier (small kid-friendly amusement park) this week and decided to do that this morning since it was still pretty overcast. The rest of the week is supposed to be mostly clear and we intend to spend most of the days on the beach. We had pizza on the boardwalk and then headed over to the rides.
It's always interesting to see how much our family has "aged" when we do something that happens only once a year. Last year only Kaeli was ready for the "big kid" rides. This year Paige was about an inch too short, but fortunately none of the ride attendants cared. So, we had K and P riding all the big kid rides together and Ryan and AJ were able to ride the little kid rides together. As hard as it is sometimes to get through the day with these 4, it's times like this that make me so grateful. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect situation. The girls buddy up and do things together and then the boys still have each other.
Paige rode all the same rides as Kaeli except for the pirate ship. She just couldn't bring herself to get on it. She wanted me to ride with her, but I made that mistake last year. I just can't handle that ride-it does terrible things to my stomach. Kaeli loves it and has to sit right at the very end of the boat! It still amazes me that she is such a thrill-seeker considering that she is such a nervous-nelly. It's fun to watch, though!
At the end, we had just enough tickets left over to all get on the carousel--all except for Steve who was manning the cameras the whole time. I think he got some great pics overall and of us on the carousel. This may be the very last year we'll get Kaeli on the carousel. She's evidently getting too old to be seen on such a ride. As we were leaving we got another group picture of all 4 of them sitting on the bench with the ocean behind them.
The girls brought their own money and were allowed to spend some of it at the boardwalk. We are now the proud owners of 2 hermit crabs named "beachking" (Kaeli's) and "sharkie" (Paige's). We did a little research about hermit crabs when we got home and realize we have to go buy more stuff. The little cage they bought at the store isn't acceptable for a long-term habitat. But, the really neat thing is that these little critters can eat just about anything. The girls are just loving that! They're having popcorn for a snack and have shared a couple of pieces with their hermit crabs. They are just so excited. For the past couple of summers they've been asking for one and we always said no.
Well, AJ is now awake from his nap and we are just waiting for the other two boys (Steve and Ryan). When they wake up we'll head over to the beach for a couple of hours before dinner.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Sunday, day 3 of vacation
Link to picture album for 7/5 and 7/6
Today we all woke up late (after 7AM) and feeling very refreshed! It was raining for most of the morning, but the clouds broke around 10 and we had to get out of the house. It didn't seem like much of a beach day, so we decided to just get in the car and make it up as we went.
We headed south toward Cape May. We took the scenic route and drove along the stretch of private beaches where multimillion dollar mansions sit. It's always amazing to see those giant houses and just imagine what it would be like to live on your own private beach. Kaeli was just amazed....the other kids didn't seem too impressed. :)
Once we got to Cape May we started seeing signs for the lighthouse. So, the lighthouse ended up being our first stop. We first took a walk on the bird observatory deck. It's a good thing not many people were trying to observe birds because we certainly scared them all away. A set of ramps led up to the main deck and Ryan and AJ had a lot of fun running up and down the ramps. Why wouldn't they? How many 3 and almost-2 year-olds do you know that would want to sit and stare out over a swam watching birds?
After looking for birds we walked over to the beach area for a snack. After our snack we took a walk over to check out the WWII bunker sitting on the beach. It was very interesting to see and just imagine what it all looked like when it was in use. It was also amazing to see how much beach erosion has occurred over the years. At one point the bunker was completely on land. Now it's halfway under water during high tide. During our walk AJ and I were on the back side of the bunker. An rather old gentleman walked past us and only said "looks like you have an engineer in the making". He was referring to AJ and I still wonder what it was that made him say that. I'm guessing it was that AJ always has such a serious look on his face-especially when he's looking at something interesting. It probably looked like he was very much studying the construction of the bunker.
We stopped by the visitor's center before heading off again. For our next stop, we went to Cape May Point--the very end of NJ. We played in the surf for a while and then had lunch.
Finally, we headed to the Cape May zoo. We make at least one trip to the zoo every year. This time our trip was rather short because we were all so exhausted by now. AJ was pretty grumpy because he only had about a 30 min nap in the car. Inside the zoo he had a tremendous tantrum over the fact that I would not put him inside the fence at the flamingo exhibit. For some reason he really, really wanted to get up close and personal with the flamingos. He was making quite a spectacle of himself--but I've become pretty accustomed to getting all these looks when he throws his tantrums. I try my best to avoid eye contact with people and just smile when I can't. We finally got AJ settled down and then it was Kaeli's turn. She wore her flip flops-even though I always tell her flip flops shouldn't be worn when we're doing lots of walking. She did have a blister between her toes, but as usual with her, it turned into a HUGE drama. Again, me feeling like the whole park was starting at us. We put Kaeli in the stroller and started heading for the exit as quickly as we could. We only stayed about an hour, but I should say this is a small zoo and is free. So, it's not like we lost out on alot of money by staying just a short time.
After recuperating at the house for an hour or so we had dinner and then headed over to the beach. It was very late in the afternoon (probably around 5:30), but it turned out to be a perfect time to just play at the beach. There was a huge tide pool and the kids just had a great time playing in it! We will definitely be spending more time on the beach in the late afternoons. It's a great way to waste those last couple of hours before bedtime.
It's now 10:00....the kids are all sound asleep and I'm very much ready for bed myself. I think tomorrow we will spend most of the day playing on the beach.
Today we all woke up late (after 7AM) and feeling very refreshed! It was raining for most of the morning, but the clouds broke around 10 and we had to get out of the house. It didn't seem like much of a beach day, so we decided to just get in the car and make it up as we went.
We headed south toward Cape May. We took the scenic route and drove along the stretch of private beaches where multimillion dollar mansions sit. It's always amazing to see those giant houses and just imagine what it would be like to live on your own private beach. Kaeli was just amazed....the other kids didn't seem too impressed. :)
Once we got to Cape May we started seeing signs for the lighthouse. So, the lighthouse ended up being our first stop. We first took a walk on the bird observatory deck. It's a good thing not many people were trying to observe birds because we certainly scared them all away. A set of ramps led up to the main deck and Ryan and AJ had a lot of fun running up and down the ramps. Why wouldn't they? How many 3 and almost-2 year-olds do you know that would want to sit and stare out over a swam watching birds?
After looking for birds we walked over to the beach area for a snack. After our snack we took a walk over to check out the WWII bunker sitting on the beach. It was very interesting to see and just imagine what it all looked like when it was in use. It was also amazing to see how much beach erosion has occurred over the years. At one point the bunker was completely on land. Now it's halfway under water during high tide. During our walk AJ and I were on the back side of the bunker. An rather old gentleman walked past us and only said "looks like you have an engineer in the making". He was referring to AJ and I still wonder what it was that made him say that. I'm guessing it was that AJ always has such a serious look on his face-especially when he's looking at something interesting. It probably looked like he was very much studying the construction of the bunker.
We stopped by the visitor's center before heading off again. For our next stop, we went to Cape May Point--the very end of NJ. We played in the surf for a while and then had lunch.
Finally, we headed to the Cape May zoo. We make at least one trip to the zoo every year. This time our trip was rather short because we were all so exhausted by now. AJ was pretty grumpy because he only had about a 30 min nap in the car. Inside the zoo he had a tremendous tantrum over the fact that I would not put him inside the fence at the flamingo exhibit. For some reason he really, really wanted to get up close and personal with the flamingos. He was making quite a spectacle of himself--but I've become pretty accustomed to getting all these looks when he throws his tantrums. I try my best to avoid eye contact with people and just smile when I can't. We finally got AJ settled down and then it was Kaeli's turn. She wore her flip flops-even though I always tell her flip flops shouldn't be worn when we're doing lots of walking. She did have a blister between her toes, but as usual with her, it turned into a HUGE drama. Again, me feeling like the whole park was starting at us. We put Kaeli in the stroller and started heading for the exit as quickly as we could. We only stayed about an hour, but I should say this is a small zoo and is free. So, it's not like we lost out on alot of money by staying just a short time.
After recuperating at the house for an hour or so we had dinner and then headed over to the beach. It was very late in the afternoon (probably around 5:30), but it turned out to be a perfect time to just play at the beach. There was a huge tide pool and the kids just had a great time playing in it! We will definitely be spending more time on the beach in the late afternoons. It's a great way to waste those last couple of hours before bedtime.
It's now 10:00....the kids are all sound asleep and I'm very much ready for bed myself. I think tomorrow we will spend most of the day playing on the beach.
Vacation at the Beach
We're in the middle of our yearly beach vacation this week. We got here on Thursday night and will be staying until July 12. Unfortunately, we won't be able to upload any pics until we get home. But, I'm going to try to do a little blogging every couple of days so that I won't have too much to catch up on when we get home. Besides, time ALWAYS fades the memories--especially now that there are more kids to warp my brain and more gray hairs showing my age-- and I'd rather write before that happens.
Thursday night was uneventful. We got here around 7PM and had just enough time to unpack and then put the kids to bed.
MomMom, Poppop and Kristen came down on Friday. We all spent the afternoon on the beach. It was a beautiful day for the beach. The water was pretty cold, though! My feet were actually becoming numb from standing in the surf. I couldn't believe the cold water did not slow Paige down one bit! She jumped right into the water and played on her boogie board for a really long time. Kaeli tried getting in a few times, but she couldn't take the cold water for that long-and I can't say I blame her. Once AJ got accustomed to the beach atmosphere he had a great time, too. He kept pulling Mommom further and further into the water. Of course, he knew his limits, but he really went in further than I would have expected. I love seeing how much he enjoys the ocean now! Ryan also seemed to have fun. He went in at times, but he also couldn't deal with the freezing water for long. Overall, we had a great afternoon on the beach.
After the beach on Friday we got everyone cleaned up. I put AJ down for a late nap so that he could stay up for the 4th of July celebrations later in the night. Fortunately, he actually slept. Around 9pm we all walked over to the beach to watch the fireworks. The kids did pretty well when we first got there. Kaeli really didn't want to be afraid this time and put up a really good front for a while. I think everyone would have been great if not for the fireworks going off RIGHT over our heads. I'm serious--I mean literally over our heads. I was getting pretty nervous myself because it was a group of teenagers, who were obviously drinking, that were putting on this fireworks display. Not exactly a comforting feeling having drunk teens setting off fireworks right next to you. It is illegal to have fireworks on the beach, but that didn't seem to stop anyone. There were lots and lots of individual fireworks being set off. With all the fireworks going off all around us all 3 of the older kids were becoming pretty scared. So, we decided we'd be better off watching the fireworks from our deck at the house. When we left it was starting to sprinkle, by the time we got back to the house it was actually raining. So, it was good timing anyway. I just wish for once we could watch the town's fireworks without having people setting off their own right next to us. Oh well, it was definitely an exciting night.
The boys went straight to bed without complaint. I told Kaeli and Paige they could stay up as late as they wanted with their Aunt Kristen. I think they finally fell asleep sometime around midnight.
Saturday morning was just a long, lazy morning because everyone was still pretty tired from the day before. MomMom, PopPop, and Kristen had to leave around 2. At about 3, the boys woke from their naps. To waste the rest of the afternoon, we took a walk to the playground. After the playground we came home and ordered pizza and had an early bedtime.
I'll write today's activities in a new post. This one is getting long and today was a very busy day!
Thursday night was uneventful. We got here around 7PM and had just enough time to unpack and then put the kids to bed.
MomMom, Poppop and Kristen came down on Friday. We all spent the afternoon on the beach. It was a beautiful day for the beach. The water was pretty cold, though! My feet were actually becoming numb from standing in the surf. I couldn't believe the cold water did not slow Paige down one bit! She jumped right into the water and played on her boogie board for a really long time. Kaeli tried getting in a few times, but she couldn't take the cold water for that long-and I can't say I blame her. Once AJ got accustomed to the beach atmosphere he had a great time, too. He kept pulling Mommom further and further into the water. Of course, he knew his limits, but he really went in further than I would have expected. I love seeing how much he enjoys the ocean now! Ryan also seemed to have fun. He went in at times, but he also couldn't deal with the freezing water for long. Overall, we had a great afternoon on the beach.
After the beach on Friday we got everyone cleaned up. I put AJ down for a late nap so that he could stay up for the 4th of July celebrations later in the night. Fortunately, he actually slept. Around 9pm we all walked over to the beach to watch the fireworks. The kids did pretty well when we first got there. Kaeli really didn't want to be afraid this time and put up a really good front for a while. I think everyone would have been great if not for the fireworks going off RIGHT over our heads. I'm serious--I mean literally over our heads. I was getting pretty nervous myself because it was a group of teenagers, who were obviously drinking, that were putting on this fireworks display. Not exactly a comforting feeling having drunk teens setting off fireworks right next to you. It is illegal to have fireworks on the beach, but that didn't seem to stop anyone. There were lots and lots of individual fireworks being set off. With all the fireworks going off all around us all 3 of the older kids were becoming pretty scared. So, we decided we'd be better off watching the fireworks from our deck at the house. When we left it was starting to sprinkle, by the time we got back to the house it was actually raining. So, it was good timing anyway. I just wish for once we could watch the town's fireworks without having people setting off their own right next to us. Oh well, it was definitely an exciting night.
The boys went straight to bed without complaint. I told Kaeli and Paige they could stay up as late as they wanted with their Aunt Kristen. I think they finally fell asleep sometime around midnight.
Saturday morning was just a long, lazy morning because everyone was still pretty tired from the day before. MomMom, PopPop, and Kristen had to leave around 2. At about 3, the boys woke from their naps. To waste the rest of the afternoon, we took a walk to the playground. After the playground we came home and ordered pizza and had an early bedtime.
I'll write today's activities in a new post. This one is getting long and today was a very busy day!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
I guess this is what it takes sometimes
This morning I asked Kaeli and Paige to clean their room. As usual, before too long I heard arguing and screaming. It's always the same argument. Kaeli complains and makes Paige's life miserable because she blames the mess on Paige. Paige picks up stuff at a snail's pace in hopes that Kaeli will get most of it done before she "has time" to do much. Well, today I decided I'd had enough. I walked up to their room with 2 big garbage bags in my hand and a scowl on my face. No doubt I was mad!! I told them not to worry about cleaning the room because I was going to do it for them. I proceeded to walk through the room filling my garbage bags as quickly as I could. The girls were hysterical because I have thrown their toys away before--so they knew I would follow through. They begged and pleaded and I just kept right on working and ignoring. By the time I was done they had settled down and were making their beds. I told them to make their beds while I was "cleaning" or I'd take their blankets and sheets, too. So, once we were done Kaeli calmly asked if I could just put the bags away and let them earn their stuff back instead of throwing it away. I agreed (which was my plan all along, anyway). I didn't touch underneath their beds and I didn't "clean" anything that was already in boxes or toy boxes. So, I put the 2 big bags full of stuff in the hallway and told them I'd give them one bag if they organized the toys that were left and thoroughly clean out from under their beds. Of course, the rule was that if I heard any arguing or complaining then the deal was off and I'd put the stuff in the basement for a month. After about 20 min I checked on them and they were doing a wonderful job!! Working together and everything! I helped with the last few things and then brought the first bag in. They were so unbelievably excited that it was actually kind of funny. I dumped the bag and told them they would earn bag 2 back if they put away and organized all the stuff from bag 1 (with no arguing or complaining, of course). By the end of it, they had all their stuff back and the room was completely clean and organized.
In the end, I decided I kind of like this method. Their room was such a mess that it was overwhelming anyway. So, by gathering up all the junk littering the floor it made the mess a little less intimidating. Then, by giving the bags back one at a time it kept them motivated and kept the mess manageable. Maybe next time I won't even have to get mad since I know I'll have a plan of action if the arguing and complaining starts. Of course, it would be nice if the room never got that bad in the first place--but I think that's just a dream.
In the end, I decided I kind of like this method. Their room was such a mess that it was overwhelming anyway. So, by gathering up all the junk littering the floor it made the mess a little less intimidating. Then, by giving the bags back one at a time it kept them motivated and kept the mess manageable. Maybe next time I won't even have to get mad since I know I'll have a plan of action if the arguing and complaining starts. Of course, it would be nice if the room never got that bad in the first place--but I think that's just a dream.
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