Just a Quickie...

Before I forget, last night I was tucking Lucas in and he said, "I wish underwear had pockets." (Oh, Lucas, you and every other man on the planet!) Meanwhile, he was trying to figure out if that thing on the front WAS a pocket or not. It sufficed, as he got his whole hand in there, but it's probably not a good place to store soda pop-tops or coins and rocks you pick up off the ground. I guess he'll figure that out.

This picture was after he got his Bobcat badge last week, where they made the parents turn the kids upside down for the warpaint application, as expressly forbidden in the Tiger Cub handbook. I felt like I was participating in a college hazing after that....I nearly turned myself in. It looks like being upside down for a while had some kind of effect on his brain, doesn't it?

Didn't Make it to Church

I didn't make it in to my usual church today. Do you think I missed anything? By the way, there were 4 dolphins who joined me in the congregation at the dock. I caught 3 in this picture - the 3rd one is far to the left. And the squawking pelican took away a little bit from the mourning doves - I think the choir director needs to work on that. But the sermon was most excellent - we had the Big Guy himself in the pulpit, wouldn't you say?

Dog Day Afternoon

Jake had a very relaxing time at the beach, as you can tell by the photos. He likes just kicking back after a busy week and taking it easy. Oh, the peace and quiet out there lulls one into such a contemplative state. And there is so much for Jake to contemplate, like the pelicans, the cranes, those damn ducks that won't sit still for 2 seconds, and of course, the dolphins. He barks and barks, but they just swim on by and never stop in for a quick bite.

Of course, he didn't have on his Jimmy Buffett loungewear, but he was still wasting away. Come Monday.....back to the daily grind.....

Bowling Fun with Blonde Bombshells

We had an AWESOME weekend! Friday we met up with some old friends and their 2 daughters, the lovely Amy and Anna, who are 14 and 12. We had dinner with them first then drove separately to the bowling alley, and Lucas says in the car, "Those girls are just so pretty."

He was dancing non-stop at the bowling joint, despite it being 11 pm when we left. Could it have been wrong to let him have a root beer for dinner and that ice cream at 10 pm? Anyway, we also saw them Saturday, and when they left that afternoon a deep funk settled in. Lucas got tears in his eyes at dinner and said, "Do they ever eat at this restaurant?" Drew held himself together a little better, but he was obviously smitten, too. He said, "They're a lot older than I remember," with raised eyebrows.

Did I mention that Anna plays the electric guitar and Amy plays a bass, and they have their own amp? Hubba hubba!!!

Need a Lift?

You can only watch your child go through a stomach virus for so many days before you lose it. Lucas is on his 6th day, and I'll spare you the gory details. Suffice it to say that immediately after eating his grilled cheese tonight, Lucas ran to the bathroom, whereupon Drew stated, "Now the wailing starts." Get the picture?

But I get ahead of myself. After wiping a tushy for the 5th time today (1st time was at 5:30AM, thank you very much), I was a bit snippy with everyone and so left the house in search of dinner and a breather. Despair was setting in, because I love Foosackly's but these kids don't, so what are you gonna get at a drive-thru? Then it hit me - MILO'S!!! Now these kids DO love Milo's when they can get it, which ain't much because Dean HATES Milo's. I think it's more the principle of it than the taste that he abhors, but my principle was the one buying dinner tonight, so I headed that way.

Now open up some car windows and get some Milo's and turn this song on and you'll get right, as Daddy used to say. This has been my favorite song for the past 3 months; just go down to "Play the song" and select how you want to play it, should you accept this mission. And I don't say that lightly, as this is a RELIGIOUS song and NOT for the faint of heart. No, you won't hear "Jesus" in it, but "mercy" and "grace" do make appearances and the name of it is "For Your Glory," for Heaven's sake! Ahhh.....a religious pun.....go girl!!! So, Scott and Dean (I know you're reading this), you should avoid this; but Mother and Tracey, do check it out. It's rocking and I've picked it out on the piano and you should hear Lucas sing it! Plus you can also dance to it - always important.

Needless to say, I walked back into the house a new woman, ready for more stomach cramps and wailing and skipping my Sunday school teaching gig to take somebody to the doctor tomorrow! Rock on!!!!

Another Bad Dream

Lucas woke me up at 5 AM Friday morning because he had yet another bad dream. I walked him back to his room and he told me that dinosaurs and mummies had been chasing him. (Real good idea going in the Halloween store to buy decorations with the kids. They had a special section with a life-size mask-wearing, strait-jacketed Hannibal Lecter and other scary things, like the monster whose head lifted up to show you his brain. Real nice.)

Anyway, I tucked Lucas back in and said to think about great things like camping Friday night at the beach, and wouldn't he like his music on? So what would be the greatest song to be on the radio at that moment for a scared kid to listen to lying in the dark?

You got it....Hotel California! "What a nice surprise."

Teardrops on my pencil sharpener

Lucas shared with Mimi and myself tonight that when I was away at BOW last weekend, he dripped the tears he cried into the pencil sharpener I had given him from a previous trip to North Carolina. Drew said maybe that's why the pencil sharpener doesn't work anymore - it's rusted out. That Lucas is a con artist - when I asked him about it later, he said he was just joking. Although maybe con artist isn't the right word; just think about the lines he'll feed his wife about how much he missed her, etc. Romantic would be a better term I think.