State Fair

The day started cool and crisp. The sun was shining brightly and promised to heat up the day along with the people who dared to face it head on. A couple of hours of school was a small price to pay for the spoils that await. The excitement for what to come was thick, you could almost taste it. Much like the smells that waft through the air. Simply tilt your head back, take a deep breath and you could get a preview of the cotton candy, sausage dogs, corn-on-the-cob and fried dough. This is one place where short legs will not serve you well. The longer the stride the faster you could cover ground. Make haste people, there is food to eat, games to play and rides to risk our lives upon.
Lala was only too happy to test the handy work of the three teeth carnies. As the lap bar slaps down and the dingy man smiles while telling the children, "don't get sick now" a mother can only watch and pray the bolts hold long enough for the children to garner the thrill they seek while we wait helplessly on the ground and beg God himself to hurry and let the ride conclude. With each twirl of the Ferris Wheel or rotation of the Gravitron I hope and pray we have run out of ride tickets or the children will lose interest. No such luck. Their feet hit the traction formed metal platform and they scream the name of yet another ride that will certainly bring them closer to the elusive thrill seeker's "high" they so desperately chase. Ashton seemed to have finally caught a glimpse of the angst I felt as he explained the "black ride" was a bad ride and he did not need to do anything other than games for the remainder of the evening.
As daylight reluctantly gave way to the twinkle of the evening lights the midway seemed to come alive all over again. A new life was breathed into it. A wilder, somehow more captivating spirit seemed to take over. The people seemed to have a renewed sense of energy, a lust for the games and rides that had been lagging during the past hour. Even the slumbering babies in their strollers seemed to raise their foggy heads and peer through bleary eyes to see what had changed. The music seemed to get louder and the rides seemed more fierce as the night progressed. I could only sigh relief as the last ticket was spent and the patter of feet trod off the final ride.
We made our way to the car but only after 2 or 3 stops, OK 4 or 5 stops at local food vendors. One last bag of cotton candy or gourmet candy apple before we find our car.
The ride home seemed a bit quieter than the one on the way to the fair. But, we could still smell the lingering smells of the food and fun as the children's heads bobbed in their seats. Try as they may it was just too difficult to fight sleep as it hammered them firmly into their seats.

The thrill was not enough to stop her.

A picture that Ashton snapped

Who knew Santa worked at the NC State Fair during his off season?

LaLa's favorite game: Angry Birds

Another year, a fist of dollars spent and a day full of memories with Olea, Adam, Lavendar and the 10,000 other people who considered themselves our best friends for one day. See you next year State Fair.

Family Time

The long awaited visit has finally arrived. With it comes a few extra bonuses. Adam, Olea, & Lavendar flew into town to visit the family for a couple of weeks. It must be hard to be so popular and in demand. Lucky for us they picked our house as one of the places to park for a few days. I must say the cousins are thrilled. We were thrilled to have Aunt Shirley, a.k.a., Uhmah, fly in from sunny California as well as Steve, Tori and their family drive up from South Carolina. With Jeremy, Glenn and Betsy rounding out the group it was a Friday night party to remember. The last time all the siblings were together was around Christmas about 6 or 7 years ago. The best we can do lately is about 1/2 so getting 5 out of 6 people here was pretty amazing.
Cameron and Ashton seem to fight over who gets to sleep or snuggle LaLa first. It is rather fun to hear her, touch her and laugh at her 2 year old determination. She even has Sirius under her spell. He will sit and let her give him a bath without protest. Perhaps she should visit more often.
It is difficult to think the kids will get much homework done this week with weather in the upper 70s and family ready and willing to romp in the yard. I ask you, how can homework possibly compete with a scooter, hoola hoops and basketball in the front yard on such a beautiful day? I can hear the conversation with Ashton's teacher already, "You mean you actually wanted me to finish that math worksheet instead of counting the free throws against Uncle Adam?" If only the weather could lure them back to NC for awhile. I mean, I understand, we just can't compete with Washington's blustery winds, short summers, and lengthy winters. After all, we only have Indian summers in October, the NC State Fair and cousins that ride you on their scooters. Oh well, return to Washington if they must. But I promise you this. . . come Christmas when we are singing "Jingle Bells" in our bermuda shorts and tank tops they will think twice about where the party is. We love them and they know we will miss them terribly when they leave.

Scooter mama

The time seems to slip so quickly by, just like watching our children grow up. One minute you watch them take their first step and the next day you watch them step out of the car into middle school. I am so grateful that families can be eternal. This gives us more time to work on ours. Memories are the photographs of our hearts. We hold them close and view them often.
We are struggling to fit as much into a day as possible and fill the album. That is one of the great things about being a kid, you blissfully live in the moment. That is just one more reason it is so fun to kick off our shoes and run in the yard with the children. For a few short moments we can forget the phone ringing, the calls we need to return, the bills to pay, the report due to that "favorite" client or the dinner that is not cooking itself and just have FUN.
Right now, take 10 minutes and go have some fun with your kids. If you don't have kids, borrow a couple and play like a kid. It is amazing how much fun you will have. It may even help a kid have a better day. And to all my family, I don't want to miss the opportunity to let you all know how much I love you.

Fall is coming. . .

Cindi & Tim came to visit on their way home to Oklahoma. What a great treat to see them and to have Patrick and Megan come for dinner. Cindi has always been the one to make the effort to visit the family and keep the relationship strong. Can't think of a better example of a woman who understands the importance of family. We all had a wonderful time visiting, eating, holding Ana & Ava, Patrick's twin girls. It really brings back memories of Cameron and Ashton being babies. Some things you miss and others you are truly thankful to be past. It is easy to wish the kids were still little. We love them and watch them grow and feel so thankful for the time we have with them.
Speaking of time. . .the mornings are crisp, the afternoon is warm and breezy and I can taste the change of colors all around. It is almost time to crank up the baking. As summer has given way to the first glimpses of fall we find ourselves grasping for the last few threads of summer. The children play more feverishly in the afternoons. It seems as if their little internal clocks sense the days to come and are trying to store the last few days of summer's fleeting bliss.
Normally Cameron would have nothing to do with Ashton and tossing him a football, however, this week she seems to seek an excuse to skirt homework and play in the grass. They run carefree through the yard with bare feet. Even those little toes seem to know that in a few weeks the lush green carpet that cushions their feet will give way to the yellow strands of brittle covering that will lie dormant until some undetermined day late in spring. Everything seems to be focused on how to stretch out the last few minutes of daylight. "One more pass, just one more. . . PLEASE," Ashton shouts as he tags Cameron and begs for a long, high pass across the yard.

Cindi & Tim visiting on their way back to OK

Matthew, Cameron & Ashton during a "friendly" game of monkey in the middle

He really loves the babies and asked if the "fax machine" could  open back up. He wanted a baby

Tara, Patrick & Megan

The screened in back porch once again becomes our central command center as the weather invites us all to linger just a bit longer. Matthew and I fantasize about traveling the country in an RV and spending everyday like this day, outside with the kids and no responsibilities or worries other than what to grill for dinner. Then the phone rings and brings me back to the reality of laundry, real estate clients, soccer practice, homework, dirty dishes. . . What's that Ashton? One more pass. Sure! Who needs to go inside with an evening like this? Why don't we sleep on the back porch and watch a movie on the wall?

Track Out

The children have been tracked out for almost 3 weeks. Monday they head back to school. Sometimes I wish we were home schooling again. Less homework, less hurry up and finish this project, less hassle; then I remember how much work for me it is. Between trying to get this real estate business up and rolling and just keeping up with sports I wonder where I would fit another thing in.

Matthew teaches seminary and has so little personal time I could not ask another thing of him. I am just glad we get the chance to be with our children as much as we do. I get a bit melancholy at times when I think about Cameron and Ashton heading back to school. I love being with them and just staying up late, watching a show, snuggling them until they fall asleep in my lap. I know those days are numbered. However, when they have one of those days where they argue and fight, I think, "Monday can't come soon enough." Once Monday does get here I will be wishing they were at home to fuss with each other. I guess it is human nature to want what we don't have.

Fall is right around the corner and the weather is promising to give us a break on the heat. It can't come soon enough. I can truly say I am finished with summer. During this track out we did take a beach trip and loved every minute of it. The weather was warm, the tourist season had ended and the beach was relatively empty. We could not have asked for anything more. We split the rental of a house with another family and enjoyed the sand, sun and water. Even Matthew had the chance to enjoy the beach a bit.

We did not get tons of photos but, we did pick a great time to snap some shots. It was so nice to see the children enjoy each other and be outside so much of the day.

In addition to our trip we visited Alan and Tori in Fayetteville right before Alan shipped out to Afghanastan for a year. We were able to see Danny, Alan's brother and enjoy a cookout with Nancy and Graham. The bonus of having Alan stationed back in NC is that we have seen Graham and Nancy several times in the past few months. The biggest bonus is having Tori stationed in NC also. She is such a joy to have in the family and is such a wonderful person. The children are in love with her and we can't help but notice a similarity to Olea in the way they talk.The cookout was a blast in so many ways. After all, who doesn't like fireworks? Although Alan is out of the country we do get to enjoy Tori. We pray everyday that he is safe and the time for them passes quickly.

For now we wind down our week, prepare for general conference; or as the kids say, "pajama conference" and get ready for Monday.