Birthday Season

Well, it's time for the birthday blitz around here. I always try to make a post on each of my kid's birthdays, but we had so much fun while celebrating Seth's 7th, that I am only now getting around to writing about it... some two days later. Shame on me!

Birthdays are typically a big deal in this family, but this one really took the cake... and the ice cream, too! We started off by opening presents at 8:30 am and then preceding to eat the aforementioned foods. Yes, it was rather early for such things, but we couldn't figure out how to fit it all in, otherwise! Below are pics. of Seth with his gifts and cake:

Generally speaking, children like to actually open the boxes and play with their new toys. Unfortunately, there was not time for this, as we had places to go and rodents to see... We headed straight out the door and traveled to Chuck-E-Cheese, our traditional birthday destination. I should mention, here, that we allow our children to pick whatever restaurant they want for their birthday lunch/dinner, except on "party years". They always pick Chuck-E-Cheese.

On this particular Saturday, it was, of course, a zoo! The entire stage section was reserved for some other party, but we eventually found a couple of booths that we could occupy. I no longer enjoy Chuck-E-Cheese, myself, but this post isn't really about me, so I'll stuff it. Seth had a great time! I was quite proud of him as I observed him sharing tokens with his brother and sister, as well as complete strangers, on occasion. In the end, he won enough tickets to purchase a slimy little lizard thing and an itty bitty yellow slinky. We were all impressed.

It took us roughly half an hour to get everyone's shoes back on and to get out the door! This, of course, would have made us slightly late for Seth's portrait sitting. What we didn't count on was the traffic/construction that made us really late. The photographer took us anyway, even though she was supposed to be on her lunch break, and that was greatly appreciated. We got several good shots that we will share once they arrive!

I was ready to call it a day at this point. Instead, we drove to CP for yet another fun, family adventure. Seth's crowning achievement was riding the Gemini for the first time! He loved it! Unfortunately, I only have about four seconds of video to show for our half hour wait, because I never saw Phil and Seth get on. I haven't re-watched the tape yet, so I hope it turned out OK.

I plan to archive our entire trip, per normal, but this particular post is specifically about Seth's b-day, so you'll have to check again soon for another post... We did manage to finally snap the all elusive pic. we've been waiting for all year! That's the teaser...

After a few hours of fun, we walked back to the van, loaded up our crew, and drove home. Grace, Caleb, and Ian were all asleep within minutes, so we drove through at McDs and got fries for all parties age seven and up. Seth almost never falls asleep in the van anymore. After all, you never know what you might miss. He did fall asleep, however, after he ate his fries.

At the end of a long and exciting day, we returned home and crashed (Well, except for Phil who still had a paper to write... I saved mine for Sunday...) It was a fantastic day. I cannot believe my "baby" is seven!

Here's one more pic:
Thanks for Reading!

Lisa

Where Were You?

9/11. Throughout history, the most critical events have been marked by each individual's ability to remember exactly what they were doing when "it" happened. My parents could tell you where they were when JFK was assassinated or when man first stepped on the moon, without thinking twice. I could tell you where I was when the Challenger was lost, and subsequently, where I was when the news of yet another space shuttle disaster, Columbia, reached my ears. But, without question, the events of September 11, 2001 are etched on my memory like no other.

It was a beautiful, typical morning for our family of three (plus my bulging belly... later known as Grace). Phil was sitting at his computer desk, just getting ready to check one of the Detroit papers, on-line, for the latest Tiger's scores. He often called to me to report these on any given morning. I had just begun to prepare Seth's bottles for the day, when Phil did, indeed, say, "Lisa, you have to come here!" Figuring that there was some clutch, game winning home run or something, I called back that he would have to hang on a minute. But he wasn't going to wait.

Within moments, I was staring at footage of a second plane flying, mercilessly, into the World Trade Center.

I sat down to read the breaking news, as Phil worked to get the television tuned in. The only word that comes even close to adequately describing my feelings is surreal. Somehow, I couldn't believe it was really happening.

At some point, I must have gathered my wits enough to finish making the bottles, because Seth didn't starve that day. In fact, we hung him up in a "Johnny Jumper" in the computer room doorway and fed him Cheerios all day long. And we watched the news for nearly 24 straight hours.

My immediate concerns were for my cousin who lives in New York City and for my dad who was on a flight to Chicago that morning. Both were fine, though I assume a bit inconvenienced. It took my dad hours to rent a car in order to get home.

As I think back on this event in history, today, I realize that I still have a difficult time wrapping my mind around what happened there. It changed our world forever... and it changed our world completely. Yet I think there are already a great number of people who have forgotten. I am not suggesting that we all dwell on the events of the past, day in and day out, until we find ourselves unable to live in the present or hope for the future. There is a time to move on. Our own family did just that, celebrating Seth's first birthday just four days after the attack... welcoming a new little princess to the world the following month... beginning our journey toward God's call just weeks later... and so on... and so on...

But I hope that we will always stop to remember, if only just for a moment, each September 11th.

Thanks for Reading.

Lisa

And So... I Start All Over Again... Again...

Over the past few years, I have played around with blogging a bit. It all started with a xanga account that has long since been retired, but that's another story for another time that no one really needs to re-hash...

Since then, I have used my other two xanga accounts, relatively faithfully, except of course when I wasn't faithful to them at all. Seems that's how everything in life goes... I have set up accounts on facebook, bebo, and the ever popular myspace, but they don't really count, because they are social networks, for the most part, with very few participants who actually blog. In my opinion, they are kind of the next generation of Jr. High notes that ask the question, "Do you like me? Check yes or no"... except they don't waste so many trees... Additionally, I think that I am using up at least two or three site names on blogger that I can't even access, because I've forgotten my passwords... and maybe my e-mail addresses, too. My quest to own a piece of every new blogging community has been fun, in a way, but I finally came to the realization that I simply cannot keep up with them all. It has become necessary for me to maintain one blog, and, quite frankly, this is it, because I've run out of room to upload any more pictures to xanga.

The purpose of this blog is to share the basic, everyday things that happen in my life. It will include cute quotes from my kids, faith explorations and revelations, and probably a story or two about dead goldfish along the way (though I hope not any time soon, because we've all become quite attached to "Bobby"). I am planning to archive posts from my various blogging ventures, but this is bound to take some time, and I don't have a whole lot of that to spare at the moment. Please be patient as I bring this particular corner of the net up to speed.

Thanks for Reading!

Lisa

Birthdays Are Fun...

...Yesterday was mine.

The day started with breakfast in bed, made by my kids… and I might add that I am pretty sure Phil helped, because it actually tasted good. This is not a knock on my kids. They are just… well… creative when you leave them in the kitchen alone. It was not so long ago that they combined molasses, maple syrup, sugar, flour, oatmeal, and a variety of other things and then tried to bake their batter and called it cookies. I did not sample those. At any rate…I enjoyed my waffles and toast.

Then I took a bubble bath. And no one knocked on the door. And no one screamed for me, while I was in the bathroom. This is a very rare occurrence, these days. It was wonderful.

After that, it was present time. Birthdays are a big deal around here, so even though I encouraged Phil to skip on the gifts this time around, I knew there would be something. First, there were gifts from the kids. I received a new dish towel from Caleb. He was so proud of his offering… especially the wrapping paper. He drew me a beautiful card filled with butterflies. If you looked at it, you would think they were just random lines, but I know that they are butterflies. Phil labeled them, after all… Grace, who is traditionally our big spender (our girl… no surprise) had two gifts for me: a plastic box to hold CDs and DVDs and a dove candy bar… mmm… my favorite! Of course, there was also a very nice hand drawn card. And Seth, generally a cheap skate, but that's why he has more cash than anyone in this household, bought me some socks and, not to be outdone by his sister, a dove candy bar, as well. Gosh, where did I put those? I could use some breakfast! Seth also drew a card and wrote an incredible poem for me. It was so cute. Ian drew a card, too, but I'd bet he mostly tried to eat the crayons!

Now… after ten years of marriage… Phil and I kind of have an understanding about gifts… I think. Some pretty non-traditional stuff shows up in this house on birthdays and Christmas. For example, I like kitchen gadgets. Many women would be offended if their husbands bought them stuff to cook with, but I actually ask for it. We are also "techno-geeks", to a certain extent, and we like media. Phil does not buy clothes… and he does not buy jewelry (mostly)… and I sometimes get flowers (but not so much… I'm allergic to them after all)… and I just realized that he didn't buy me any chocolate this year (the nerve)! At any rate, I am not complaining about any of this, because Phil buys me stuff I like! Phil is notorious for buying really sweet, kinda mushy cards. Not so, this year. I am not sure I have ever laughed so hard about a card in all my 28 (now) years! I am not going to share the whole thing, but it came with a button attached that was supposed to qualify as "jewelry". It was hilarious! As another surprise, I actually did receive a piece of clothing. It is a Rip Hamilton Pistons jersey. This is fantastic, since I have not been wearing my Ben Wallace one so much, since he became a traitor… I also got several My Little Ponies… uh… let me explain. I actually asked for them! While cruising Wal-Mart the other day, I ran across replicas of the original My Little Ponies. Of course, I fell in love and had to have them! Now I can take my own ponies to Grace's room when I want to play, and she can't tell me what to do with them… hehehe… To top it off, there was a book I've wanted for quite some time (White Chocolate Moments… oh, there's the chocolate), a movie (Facing the Giants), and seven CDs. If you think this is excessive, you're probably right. But, remember, we are deal shoppers. We can buy the same amount of things as most normal people for half (or less) the price, much of the time. As the week rolls on, I'll try to tell you more about what I think of each CD.

Rakin' in the Loot...

Well… that would have been enough for me during any ordinary year. However, we still have these season passes to CP burning holes in our pockets, so we took a little trip! Grace and I rode Disaster Transport first, because there was signage that said "Now in 3-D", and we wondered what that was all about. We couldn't find anything different about the ride, but it was a walk-on, it's one of Grace's favorites, and we got the front seat, so there are no complaints here. I rode the Wave Swinger with Seth and Grace and got a real kick out of Seth's reaction to the tree you almost run into if you are seated in an outside swing. I remember trying to touch it, as a kid, while riding. That was always a favorite of mine.

Another fun adventure was when I decided that it would be fun to find one of those machines that makes picture strips. Phil and I had done this, once, when we were dating. Let me tell ya, it's a whole lot easier to fit two people into one of those booths than it is to cram in our family of six! But… since we are a little on the crazy side, we made it work. I love the results:

Undoubtedly, the best moment of the day came when I was getting ready to board Woodstock Express with Caleb. Seth and Grace had already taken their seats, when the ride operator stopped us and asked, "How old are you?" I thought I'd heard wrong, and honestly I couldn't figure out why it mattered, so I said, "What?" He repeated, "How old are you?" I was still a little confused at this point, so I repeated his question back to him as a question of my own, "How old am I?" And, of course, he responded (a bit irritated now), "Yes, how old are you?" And then, all of my research on CP policies came back to me at once, and I realized that this man was not going to let me on the ride with my three year old, because Caleb is too short to ride unless he is accompanied by a responsible adult. He didn't think I was an adult! Well… happy birthday! I stifled a laugh by pretending to cough… looked right at him… and said, "28". He looked at me as if he didn't believe it, but he said, "Oh, OK" and let us board. To think…I was nearly carded to ride the Woodstock Express. I love it… I mean, does it really matter how old you are if you can still pass for 17? There are still no good pics. of me and Caleb on this ride. After all of the confusion, I forgot which side I was supposed to sit on so Phil could get good pictures.

We walked to Breakers in order to have my birthday dinner at TGIFridays. Ordinarily, I love Fridays, but you never know what you're gonna get when you're on amusement park property. Let it suffice to say that it wasn't what we'd hoped for, but it was OK. We did take a nice tour of Breakers, since it took a while for us to find the restaurant. The kids were kind of irritated that we couldn't go swimming in the pool.

When we returned to the park, Grace and I took a spin on Wild Cat. It had been a decade since I last rode this coaster, and it has now fallen to Demon Drop status with me. It is simply too old and rickety for me to enjoy anymore… or maybe I am simply too old and rickety to enjoy it. At any rate, I don't feel the need to do that one again. I value the health of my spinal cord too much. After a nice ride on Iron Dragon with both Seth and Grace, I was ready to call it a day.

However… Caleb was disappointed that he hadn't ridden very much, so Phil promised to take him on one more ride. They chose the Cadillac cars, because the line was short, and Caleb enjoys them. Seth, Grace, Ian, and I sat down under a nearby tree. But the sky looked dark, and once the thunder began, I didn't think the tree was the best place after all. I shouted to Phil (who was sheltered with Caleb under a roof) that we were headed to the Snoopy Boutique across the street. Within moments of setting foot inside, the downpour began. Little did I know that Phil and Caleb had just begun their ride! Thankfully, they were not far along and were able to return to the station. Several other cars that had departed just ahead of them were stranded in the rain! The storm did eventually blow over, so we made our way through all of the smoke. Apparently the non-smoking policy does not apply during thunderstorms… and it wasn't all tobacco, either. We could have gotten high, just walking down the midway. Then we waited for Phil and Caleb to take their ride. It still took a while, as the ride operators had to dry the drenched seats!

After that, we started for home. Three out of four little people fell asleep on the way, which isn't so bad, these days. It was a really nice birthday.

Grace... The Little Me...

Today we had our first quizzing temper tantrum. I was so... uh... proud... hehehe.

Seth and Grace were holding up the little numbers that come out of the box (yeah, it's taking me a while to get used to this system), and Caleb was serving as my content judge (is there such a thing in children's quizzing?). At any rate, Grace pulled out a 1, when she meant to pull out a 3, and then she burst into tears before I had even announced the correct answer. Oops...

Grace, of course, went on to vow that she would never speak to Seth again, because he scored 19/20, but she only scored 18/20. How unfair! By the way, I wasn't even going to tell them what they scored. It was just practice, for crying out loud! But, you know, they keep track...

It was really all I could do to not burst out laughing, because I know this attitude is largely the fault of the gene pool. I think that when Grace grows up, she's gonna be a quizzer just like me... Heaven help us...

Labor Day Weekend, 2007...

So… For all of you out there (mom) who have eagerly been anticipating this post, it's finally here…

As many of you know, our family purchased Cedar Fair season passes this summer. I am not exactly "cheap", but I do like to get my money's worth out of such an… uh… investment. So, as the summer wound down, I was perhaps a little irritated over the fact that we had not hit every possible park within a reasonable geographical area. Knowing this, Phil devised a plan, and the rest is history… Very fun history, I might add…

On Friday morning, we headed to Sandusky (again) for one last Soak City adventure before it closed for the summer. That brought our Soak City trip count to three, for the season. All of our trips to Soak City were a great deal of fun, but this one was the best. I think that's because we really had our bearings, and we knew exactly what we wanted to do. Waterparks are not for everyone, but we are definitely waterpark people. It would be rather difficult for us to spend a whole day at Soak City, but 3-4 hours is just about right, and we had a blast. One of the highlights for us was driving around the back side of Cedar Point, in order to park in the Soak City parking lot. We usually just park at CP and walk though the park. However, doing it this way allowed us to see some great views of the coasters that you would otherwise miss. It also occurred to us that it might be a nice shortcut to Frontiertown for future visits.

Soak City has one of the most incredible lazy rivers ever. Actually, it's not so lazy, but that's what makes it great! Phil rode the river with Seth and Grace, and then I took a turn with Caleb. We also did a trade off in order to ride the family raft ride that has quickly become a favorite. We played in the float pool and hit all three kids play areas, as well. Caleb was sad to say good-bye to his water train. Even Ian had a lot of fun splashing around, this time, which proves that he is getting too big, too fast, just like everyone else. Here are some photo highlights…

Sliding...

Playing...

Riding...

Watching...

Splashing...

Drying...

When we were soaked through and through, we headed to the bathrooms to change, and Grace and I even managed to sneak in a shower. Then we drove to Cleveland. Although we are avid Tiger's fans, Seth likes the Indians. Shameful… yes… I know. So, we took him to an Indians game. Phil, of course, had the presence of mind to wear his Tiger's gear… I spent most of the evening strolling up and down the very long ramp with our littlest guys. I figured it wouldn't hurt to get some exercise! I also hid out in the first aid area for a little while, because it was the only place I could find that offered some privacy for nursing Ian. Ordinarily, I don't mind doing this in public, but it was just way too hot to cover the kid with a blanket, and my only other choice was to sit out by the gates where the entourage of security people would be scrutinizing my every move! After much whining and crying (guess who) over the pathetic show by the Tribe, we decided to leave after the 7^th inning. We felt that we had done our job, supporting the Tigers with our karma (just laugh… you know I'm not serious… mostly). Unfortunately, as we were making our long trek through the dark city streets of Cleveland, back to our van, we heard the Jake irrupting with cheers that could only mean one thing… a late Indians comeback. Perhaps we should have stayed a bit longer. We are now ashamed of our great failure. Detroit fans, please forgive us… Photos, anyone?

That Tiger Orange Sure Stands Out in a Crowd

We stayed at La Quinta Inn, and in the morning we awoke and headed straight for the continental breakfast area. I am writing this part for Phil's benefit. He finds it funny that my main concern when choosing a hotel is the breakfast details. Actually, it is funny. Come on, though… we all have quirks… I enjoyed the company of several older travelers who enjoyed watching our children interact, spill things, and spit up all over the floor. Breakfast was good.

Then, we left for Geauga Lake. Now, I have wanted to visit Geauga Lake for many, many years. I can remember seeing it from a distance while visiting Sea World as a child. I always wanted to go check it out, but we just never got around to it. Now that I have experienced Geauga, I'd say it was an average park. I loved the flume ride, which reminded me of the old Mill Race at CP. We could have done without the naked statues on the carousel and the old fashioned cars that stalled out partway through the ride (an employee had to go rescue Grace and bring her in). Our afternoon was better than our morning there. We walked back to Wildwater Kingdom (formerly the aforementioned Sea World), and that brought back a lot of memories for me. There are still several rides there from the Sea World era, as well as the Happy Harbor climbing nets. We enjoyed the water park, though there wasn't quite as much for kids to do there as other parks we have visited. One of the best parts was the Lego Racers 4-D show. I admit that it was slightly embarrassing when they had to hold the doors for me as I darted into the theater with my half dressed, sleeping baby, but it all turned out OK. I'm glad we didn't have to wait another 45 minutes for the next show… The quote of the day, from Saturday, was uttered by Seth as we were waiting to ride the Black Squid: "Mommy, I thought your spinning days were over!" That about says it all. It certainly made for interesting conversation in line with complete strangers. And, yet more photos…

The Pepsi Plunge Beaver Creek Mine Ride The Black Squid

Look at that Hair!

Americana

I drove home from Cleveland, late Saturday. Phil worked early on Sunday, and the kids and I slept in. I woke up to the sound of Seth stomping through the house, because he gets rather upset whenever he sleeps past 7:00. It's not like he missed anything… well… except church. I just couldn't bring myself to rise at 5:00 am and then to drive all over the state. It's a long story… and it works on most weeks… but I require more sleep than that to be a safe driver. I spent the day doing load after load of laundry.

I got plenty (he...he...he) of sleep on Sunday night, so when we woke up super early on Monday morning, it wasn't so bad. We gathered the gang and a whole bunch of stuff, and we drove to Mason (basically Cinci). And here we enjoyed a very nice, though incredibly hot, day at King's Island and Boomerang Bay! I should mention that King's Island has not, traditionally, been one of my favorite amusement parks. However, I read recently that it has received several awards for being very family friendly, and we found that to be true. The children's ride area is fantastic, offering many traditional rides, as well as some innovative ones. I never really thought I'd allow my children to run through something called "Spongebob's Bikini Bottom Bash" over and over again, but the theming was alright, and you have to keep cool somehow! We were disappointed that we missed the Dora's Sing Along show, but other than that we managed to take part in most everything the kids were tall enough to do. The only issue we had was that the ride operators for the Racer felt like they needed to measure Grace several times in order to make sure she was tall enough to ride. This resulted in her entering and exiting the car THREE times, and it held the ride up for quite a while. In the end, she didn't enjoy the ride, so I'm thinking it wasn't worth the trouble! We loved the Runaway Reptar, although we don't care for Rugrats, and I thought Avatar was awesome, although I almost lost my hat. The people riding behind us caught it with their feet! We enjoyed another lazy river and more kids water play areas at Boomerang Bay. It was a good time. Hmmm… more photos?

Atom Smashers

Bathing Beauty Cutie Pie

Seth Caleb & Grace

At Boomerang Bay

We are not planning to purchase season tickets again anytime in the near future, because we have other vacation plans for next year. However, if anyone reading this is considering season passes for next summer, I would say, "Go for it!" They are already on sale, they are cheaper than ours were, and they include parking and extra hours this time around. Should I feel jipped?

No… We had a fantastic summer, full of incredible memories. Let the DVD making begin (Oh, wait… I already started last night)!

Good-Bye Summer.

Good-Bye...

How Appropriate.

CP, August 25, 2007

Ok… So I am so far behind in regard to blog posts… again… it's not even funny. We are currently sort of in the middle of our end of the summer trip. It's kind of difficult to explain how I can be writing this from home in the middle of a trip, but just go with it. At any rate, I realized, today, that I never wrote about our last CP adventure, so here goes…

On August 25^th, we took a trip to CP with Phil's mom and dad. We were going to go on the 24^th, but we kind of got caught up in doing more important things… like helping with the flood relief effort in Carey. It was too hot on the 24^th, anyway, so I'm glad we waited the extra day!

I think I'm getting just a little bit tired of CP, which is good, because I won't be too sad when it closes for the season. I am definitely getting to the point where my body dislikes spinning in tight circles. With this post, I will eat my words about riding everything. The older I get, the more I am becoming a strictly coaster kind of girl. Sorry. I just dropped yet another rung on the fun ladder… Grace, however, stepped up a rung, because she has finally mastered the art of standing as tall as possible without actually getting on her tiptoes. As it turns out, she can now sneak her way onto almost any 48" ride. That means she got to add Blue Streak and Snake River Falls to her list of accomplishments!

How about some photo highlights…

Grandma, Grace, Seth, and Linus Seth and Grace on the Calypso "Hammin' It" Up on the Carousel

Grandma and Grandpa Just Hangin' Around...

Exiting Snake River Falls Don't Ask Why... The Giant Wheel

SOAKED!!! Phil on the Tilt-A-Whirl? Caleb's Favorite Ride

Sorry there are no pics. of Ian this time around. I promise there will be several from the latest trip... once it is over...

In other news, we are not officially calling our summer over until Tuesday, but we have all put in some school time at this point. It looks like we are going to have a very fun and productive school year for the kids. Phil is working hard and late, so I know he's learning, even though he's not sleeping. And, me? Well, let's just say I'm currently taking eighth grade science and computer concepts for idiots... I have WAY too many college credits to be enrolled in this kind of uh... stuff... but requirements are requirements, what can you do?

Gotta go grab the diapers out of the washer so we can continue having a fun weekend.