Adventure Park

Twice a year, the department I work for gets everyone together for an outing. Our summer outing is our "fun" outing, while our winter outing is more work related. Today was our summer outing and this time we went to Adventure Park USA, a little park located outside of Frederick. It was a cute little park although there wasn't much for a pregnant lady to do, unless you like arcades...which I can only handle so much of. We played miniature golf when we first got there, which was a good thing since the game took us 1 1/2hrs and by that point it was starting to get really hot. I think the Go Karts were a big hit as I know many of my coworkers drove them multiple times throughout the day. The rollercoaster also had a number of riders although I'm not sure that I would have ridden that even if I hadn't been pregnant...it was a tad rickety looking. All in all, it was a good day. A nice day to get together with fellow coworkers outside of the normal work environment...and I even made it home before the beach traffic backed the traffic up too badly at the Bay Bridge.

Hot, Hot, Hot

It is only the beginning of June, right? The temps the last 3 days have been incredibly hot for this time of year...95 degrees with a heat index over 100. Was a good weekend to stay inside in the air conditioning. Unfortunately, that was not be the case on Saturday. The day started off with Andy and Kenzie leaving to go to Laurel for a tournament that was to last all day. They ended up playing 6 games...well 5 and the start of a 6th which ended up getting called due to a nasty storm that came through. Kenzie's team was ahead 1 - 0 so they ended up as Champions. Yay Lightning!

My day started with having to get Connor to a Wade-In where he was volunteering. Unfortunately, there was some miscommunication on where the Wade-In was being held but I managed to finally get him there, albeit a tad later than we'd said. This is an annual event that is held at the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center. The objective of the wade in is to see how far you can walk into the water before you can't see your shoes anymore and then to measure the depth. The hope is that each year you can walk in a little further which would mean that the bay is getting cleaner. Connor ended up being the kid from his youth group that showed up to volunteer which was disappointing but they were very thankful that he came.

The twins had a baseball game at 3 and boy was it hot and there wasn't a hint of a breeze. It took over 1 1/2 hrs to play 2 innings at which point the other coach asked his team if they wanted to play another inning or quit then (games have a 2 hr time limit) and I was very thankful that they all voted to stop them. Of course, the twins coach wasn't happy about the decision...he wanted to keep playing...but I could have cared less at that point. Everyone else wanted to go home. Taylor got to pitch in the first inning for the first time and he did a great job...got two strike outs, walked a couple, and had a few hit off of him. Tyler ended up making the third out of the inning which I thought was pretty cool. Then in the second inning, Tyler made an awesome throw from third base all the way to first base and ended up hitting the running on the helmet as he stepped on the bag. It was pretty funny! and just goes to show you why you wear helmets during the game.

Ending the game early worked out well since I had to get Tay, Ty and Connor to the high school for select soccer tryouts. We were able to go home and get changed without having to rush around like chickens with out heads cut off.

After I dropped the boys off, I decided to walk across the field to where my parents were participating in the Relay for Life. I chatted with them for about an hour before it got too hot for me and I had to leave...ended up back there an hour later when I came back to pick the boys up from tryouts. They enjoyed having a short chat with their grandparents. The relay ended up getting cut short at about 11pm due to some pretty nasty storms that came through the area.

The good news from the soccer tryouts is that Connor got picked up by one of the teams. It's a team that he had actually practiced with a little last fall and the coach has decided to officially pick him up for the coming season. That's great news except it means we have to travel to Centreville for practices every Wednesday night. Maybe my parents will feed me dinner since they only live a few miles down the road from where they will be practicing.

We finally made it back home and jumped in the pool just in time for it to start lightening. Grr! That's the only sure way to get the kids out of the pool fast...usually you have to forceably drag them out. I did have a little time with Keari in the pool before the lightening started and she loved it. I think she's going to be another little fish.

Today, most everyone except me, Alex and Keari, went kayaking on the river....even some neighbor kids came along. From what I hear, everyone had a great time kayaking and swimming. They all came back and jumped in the pool for awhile.

I felt kind of bad for Alex...he spent the entire weekend studying for his finals which start tomorrow. He had to write two essays and a timeline for history which took him forever to do, the it was on to Biology. Those will be over with tomorrow, then it will be gym (which is a paper that he's already done) and Religion on Tuesday, Spanish and English on Wednesday and Math on Thursday. Hopefully Thursday will be a nice day because his class is getting together for an end of year party after the last exam.

Retirement

Tonight was mom's surprise retirement party and she was very surprised. Everyone did a great job of keeping it a secret. It was held at The Narrows which has a lovely waterview that you can enjoy while eating. There were about 30 people there that she works closely with everyday and everyone was commenting on how strange it was going to be not to have there at the start of the school year in the fall. She's been there for 30 yrs and I know it's going to be strange for her not to be there for the start of school. On the other hand, I know she's really looking forward to not having an agenda to follow everyday. She'll have the time to put into her flower beds, crafts, bike riding, etc...things that she has to try and fit in now...she'll be able to enjoy at her leisure soon. She got some lovely gifts...one of which was a hand crafted bracelet that was designed by a guy she's work with at Josten's for years. She doesn't officially retire until June 30 so while she held up very well at the party today, I know the 30th will be hard for her. And I'm totally jealous as I'd love to be able to retire but that is nowhere in my near future. ;-)

A Good Day to be a Duck

So far we've had almost 2 inches of rain since last evening. Everything was already saturated from the rain we had the other day so the water is having a hard time finding places to go. Our corner was completely flooded out earlier this evening...brought back memories of Hurricane Isabelle. Here's a picture of the latest approaching storm...nice dark clouds heading our way...which have reached us at the time I'm typing this and are dumping tons more rain on us. I'm just very glad I'm not driving in it...did that on the way home but at least it was light out then. It took me an extra 45 minutes to get home.

Crownless

I had my dentist appt this after

.noon to fix my broken tooth...which didn't end up getting fixed. He took a look at my tooth...checked out the edges to make sure they were sealed, checked to make sure my filling still looked intact. That all being good, he said he would prefer to wait until after I have the baby before doing the crown. Even though the numbing agents haven't been shown to have any ill effects on an unborn baby, he'd prefer to error on the side of caution. He did say to let him know if I started having any pain with tooth, at which point he would go ahead and do the crown regardless of whether we'd had the baby or not, but he's not expecting to have any issues. Let's hope he's right. So my visit took all of about 10 minutes during which we talked and filed my broken tooth a little so that it wasn't quite so rough...it feels much better. And now I'm off the hook for a few hundred dollars until hopefully the end of November. ;-)

And an unexpected bonus was the extra of working at home...and with gas prices the way they are now, I sure won't complain about the.

Piano Recital

Today was the last piano recital for this school year. It always ends with a recital that their teacher hosts where all his students play a song and then he does a summary of all the activities done over the past year. Students either get recognition or awards for performances done throughout the year. Kenzie was unable to attend this years recital but Taylor and Connor participated. It was a good thing too, since Connor received a number of awards this year. I didn't realize how many things he had participated in until his teacher kept calling his name.

Below is a picture of the awards he received. He received one for getting 3rd place (Honorable Mention) in the Solo Festival & Competition, one for have the highest score on the National Guild Auditions, one for highest average amongst his teachers students, one for playing in the Young Musician's Solo Festival, one for participating in the Chamber Music Festival and I can't remember what the others are for.
And here is a picture of Taylor's awards...he was nervous about performing this year so didn't participate in too many performances. His award was for particpating in the Young Musician's Solo Festival.
And these are Kenzie's awards. She also didn't participate in too many this year due to conflicts with softball games. I can't remember what her two awards were for.

Broken

This is starting to become routine...I just broke another molar...my third one in two years. I know I'm getting older but good grief...this is starting to get ridiculous. Luckily I'm not having any pain due to missing 1/4 of my tooth so I think I'll be safe until I can call the dentist Monday but then I get to look forward to the two lovely appts it will take to get a crown put on...not to mention the expense associated with it...something we don't need at this time.

Memorial Day 2008

Another First

another First Communion...this time for Tay and Ty. There were 10 kids in this group to receive their First Communion and they were the last of their second grade class to go through the ceremony. It was nice to have such a small group. And even though it is Memorial Day weekend, I didn't hear any complaints from the family members on the traffic being awful to get to us so that was good.

Kenzie has a softball tournament in Hagerstown this weekend, Saturday thru Monday, and because it is the twins special day, they got to accompany Kenzie and Andy for the outing. Should be a good time for them as it's not often that they are able to something without their older siblings around.

Of course, that leaves me with the two oldest and two youngest...will have to find something to do that will be fun for everyone...Terrapin Beach, maybe.

Awards Banquet

Tonight was the Academic & Services Awards Banquet at SSPP. Alex wasn't sure that he was going to go until a teacher called a couple of nights prior to tonight and personally invited him to come. It was held in the gym of the school and the place was packed. I wasn't expecting there to be that many people there. They gave out all kinds of awards thoughout the night, from perfect attendance to participating in the debate team...but I didn't realize they were going to pick one student from each subject (Math, Science, History, Theology, etc) to honor. The very first subject award was for Theology and Alex got the award for Excellence in Freshman Theology. How exciting! And it was such a surprise for him...he had no idea. He got a certificate and The Prayer of Jabez book. In addition the awards, they also served us dinner which was okay but the desserts were delicious and very, very plentiful. LOL

It's Official!

Had my 20 wk ultrasound today and the baby is most definitely a boy. I guess this means we really do need to move the crib from the pink room back into the yellow nursery. LOL He looks great...they checked out his heart really closely and it looks wonderful...no problems that they could detect. His measurements were right where he should be...although some were a little hard to get since he was being uncooperative and was moving all over the place. Poor tech followed him all around my belly trying to get one of the measurements. LOL Now to come up a name for the little tyke.

Honorable Mention

Connor played in a piano competition this weekend. It was for middle school students so this was Connor's first year competing in this particular competition. When I asked how he thought he did (I wasn't able to hear him play since I had Keari, Bekah, Tay & Ty with me) he commented that he had messed up on one note in one of his songs. He thought he did okay with the second song. As it turns out, he did great! Out of 7 kids competing, all of which were older than him, he came in third, getting an Honorable Mention. 1st & 2nd place got money but you can't complain about a third place finish his first time out. Way to go!

Happy 12th Birthday!

Today is Connor's 12th birthday. It's amazing how much he has grown during those years. His abilities continually astound me. To think he's gone from someone who could barely get through playing one piano song at his first piano recital to someone who actually competes in piano competitions. I'm very proud of all the accomplishments you've made so far and I know there are many more to come in the future. Happy Birthday, sweetie!

7 Things Meme

I was tagged by Meari to share seven random facts about myself.

Here are the rules: Each player tells 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. You need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they have been tagged and to read your blog!

The Rules:
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the Rules on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged

Seven Random Facts About Me:
1. I had my dad as my 7th grade math teacher.
2. When I was little, we used to live in a big farm house that had two big rooms on the first floor divided in the middle by the staircase. When my parents weren't home I used to ride my bike around in a big circle through those two rooms. As far as I know, my parents never found out.
3. I'm currently pregnant with our 8th child
4. I hate, hate, hate to be cold
5. I used to run cross country in Middle School
6. I love doing math at work but hate to do it at home
7. I used to live on a pig farm when I was little

I tag Sara, Tammy, Velda, Martha, Michelle, Jen and Patty.

Drs Appt and Ultrasound

I had my ultrasound for the nuchal fold test which is a check for down's syndrome this morning. Everything looks great there and baby is measuring right on target...he's measuring about a week before my due date so he's growing well. And yes, I did say HE as they are thinking that this one is going to be a boy. Things are still pretty tiny so it's hard to say for sure but it definitely looked like there was something there. We should be able to find out for sure at my April 11 u/s assuming that he is as cooperative as he was today. They were done the test in less than 5 minutes whereas last time it took almost 1/2hr to get Kearsyn into the right position to the measurement. They said he was laying in the perfect position today. Also had my 12 wk drs appt this afternoon although he laughed and said there really was no need for it since all he was doing today was listening for the heartbeat and since I'd already seen this morning, it didn't really matter.

Here's a couple pics of him. He looks like such a tiny little thing in the 3D pic.

I sure hope this boy likes a pink room and pink carpet as that's currently what color the baby's room is. Guessing we'll be painting at some point before he gets here. LOL

Another Repair Bill

There are times when I really hate my car and this would be one of them. Seems like everytime I turn around we are having to make more repairs on it. We just did a big repair on it 3 months ago and now it needs another one. Grr! This latest trouble started Tuesday afternoon as I was leaving work. I'm pulling out of the garage and notice that my check engine light has just come on. Not knowing what exactly this means I pull over to try and decide if this is a warning light that can survive 60 mile drive home or if it's something more serious. After reading in the manual that it has something to do with the emissions control system and that the car is safe to continue driving but should be taken in to be looked at as soon as possible, I continue my drive home. I make an appt to drop my car off the next night so it can be looked at on Thursday. Of course this would be the evening of our snow dusting that turns into a 4.5 inch downfall but we make it to drop my care off without incident. They must have had a lot of cancellations due to the weather because they called with the news about my car early Thursday morning. So $1000 later and two new 02 sensors later (whatever the heck they are), I have my car back in running order.

A Dusting

That's what the weathermen were forecasting for us today in the way of snowfall. An Alberta clipper was supposed to zip through our area around midafternoon - evening and drop a dusting to an inch of snow. If this is a dusting, I'd hate to see what a significant snowfall looks like. We are currently at 4 inches and counting.

Fracture

That's what Alex ended up with after a game of soccer with his dad last night. And no, Andy didn't cause the break. LOL Alex couldn't put any weight on his foot last night and when we took him in to the orthopedics office today, they said the injury is located in his growth plate area...what else is new, that's where all his injuries have been. He's now in a very attractive looking black shoe which gives his foot great support...he wasn't able to walk into the office but he was able to walk out with this shoe on. Dr says no sports for a month which is a bummer because baseball is just about to start. Hopefully his coach will be understanding and still let him be part of the team.
I had to make a stop on the way home because one of my headlights burned out. I'd just gotten it installed when this happened. What timing.

I also discovered today that the drs office made a mistake in scheduling my appt to have the nuchal translucency u/s down. They scheduled it for 3/27 instead of 2/27 and needless to say the March date doesn't work at as it's way too late for the test. This meant that I needed to reschedule the appt for an inconvenient time for me which defeats the purpose of why I made it a month in advance in the first place. Ugh!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I came home to this cute little guy sitting on our counter singing and dancing away. He's a lobster, in case you can't tell. Keari loves these animated animals. I had a dancing gorilla that Andy had gotten me for a Valentine's Day many years ago and she's basically worn it out because she plays with it to much. She loves to dance to the music and she gets the biggest grin on her face watching these things dance around.

and Finally. Sickie #9

Andy put up a valiant fight but the bug finally got him. Hopefully it will be as short lived in him as it has been in most of the others.