7 Good Things About Vacation So Far

I know, I know, it's Monday morning and I'm supposed to blog on Fridays, but I'm on vacation and the weekend was busy, what with my cousin's wedding and all the necessary hugging and kissing of my new niece and nephew, so this will be brief.

1. The new niece and nephew are as darling and cuddlesome as previously advertised. Here they are with my mother, last week:

I held them and kissed them and loved them as much as possible all weekend, because they went home last night. I'm sure there will be more pictures to follow.

2. Our flights last Thursday were on time and fairly trouble-free; it's just exhausting to spend all day on an airplane. Still, 3,000 miles in a day is handy when you live in NJ and your family is in CA. The only stressors, really, were the lines at 5:30 am at the Philly airport, both to check luggage and then go through security. Our kids were remarkably tolerant, all things considered.

3. My cousin's wedding was lovely and the ceremony was very meaningful. I enjoyed visiting with my extended family and good friends. My sister-in-laws took some lovely photos that I hope to share later.

4. I'm only 5 days into my 12 day vacation so even though I woke up at 3 am this morning, I'll be able to get a nap later.

5. My aunt and uncle have a Netflix Roku box hooked up to their tv, which meant I got to watch my favorite Farscape episode last night, "Revenging Angel."

6. Alex has been presented with some real challenges on this trip and he has coped marvelously. I keep reminding myself what Mrs. Garrett, his one-to-one aide, would say about requiring him to do new things and expecting him to rise to the occasion. I cannot bubble-wrap his life.

7. My aunt found us a wonderful babysitter for Alex and Miranda while we were away at the wedding and my kids loved her. I wish I could take her home with me.

Here's Jen.

Because It's Monday . . .

. . . and Marshall and I were able to go out for a movie TOGETHER last night, like a REAL DATE, and I'm full of anxious energy waiting for Thursday when we fly out to California to join my family for a wedding and a vacation (it's a package deal!), I thought I'd update my 2012 movie list, if only to remind myself of all the movies I want to see while I'm in San Diego and the childcare is free. (Yes, that's me, the freeloading-off-of-my-family girl.)

Alrighty, folks, let's review:

2012 Movies

January 20
Haywire (This is sitting on my DVR, waiting for me to watch, as it has been for weeks. Somehow, I just haven't felt the urge.)

Underworld: Awakening (even though the first one was only mildly entertaining and the second one was so problematic I had to refer to Wikipedia's plot summary to figure out what was happening while I was watching the film on cable, Kate Beckinsale is a lot of fun to watch run around in black leather with double pistols. Maybe on DVD.)

Coriolanus (Marshall and I watched it last month and it was BRILLIANT! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Ralph Fiennes takes your breath away, both in acting and directing, and Gerard Butler and Brian Cox were perfect. I remarked to my husband afterwards that I didn't care how many money-making-but-poorly-reviewed romantic comedies Butler did if he would do something like this in-between.)

February 10
Safe House (This has also been sitting on my DVR for weeks. Sigh.)

March 9
John Carter (of Mars. It was awesome! You should have seen it. Rumors of its failure were greatly exaggerated.)

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (looks really sweet. Maybe on DVD.)

March 16
21 Jump Street (Yet another just waiting to be watched.)

March 30
Wrath of the Titans (I saw it right before it left theatres; they ran the movie just for me. It was pretty but rather hard to follow if you know a lot about Greek mythology. If you knew nothing about the origins of the characters, I'm sure it was fun. As always, Sam Worthington and Rosamund Pike are very appealing.)

Mirror Mirror (I went to see it with my mother and really liked it.)

April 13
Lockout (I really enjoyed it even if my husband choked on the serious scientific flaws in the story line. Guy Pearce was so amusingly irreverent and his chemistry with Maggie Grace was remarkable as I've never thought much of her acting. Lennie James was also good, as always.)

April 27
Safe (I did see it in theatres and while it did have plenty of plot holes, Jason Statham is still as appealing as ever)

The Pirates! Band of Misfits (from the makers of Shaun the Sheep, got great reviews but was geared for older kids so we did not see it as a family. Maybe when it comes out on DVD we can watch it together and tackle it in pieces.)

May 4
The Avengers (I did see it twice and it was just as good the second time as it was the first.)

May 18
Battleship (Waiting for DVD, even though the reviews were better than expected.)

May 25
Men in Black III - (It was really fun and sweet and we had a good time; Josh Brolin was brilliant as a younger Tommy Lee Jones.)

June 1
Snow White & the Huntsman (I dragged my poor husband to see it and we did not like it. Here's why.)

June 9
Prometheus (this is the movie Marshall is most looking forward to in the summer of 2012 and while we liked it, we weren't thrilled.)

June 22
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (I still want to see it and here's why.)

Brave (The story just didn't interest us and the reviews were good but not overwhelmingly so; wait for DVD.)

July 6
The Amazing Spider-Man (Even though this picture has transfixed me for months I still haven't managed to see it. Put it on the "To Do on Vacation" list.)

July 20
The Dark Knight Rises (We saw it last night in IMAX, which means my brain felt like it was still spinning for hours afterwards. We had mixed feelings and here's why.)

August 3
The Bourne Legacy (Basically, I'll watch Jeremy Renner in just about anything. Also on the "To Do on Vacation" list.)

Total Recall (I don't care how bad the reviews are, it still looks pretty. Maybe on vacation, even if I have to go by myself.)

Films still to come

August 17
The Expendables 2 (the first one was amusing; I will probably will see this on video.)

September 21
Dredd (Karl Urban is a good actor and I've read enough about the project on Wikipedia to read the reviews and think about seeing it.)
September 28
Looper (comparisons to Moon can only be good.)
Hotel Transylvania (this looks really funny)


October 12
Argo (sounds interesting, although I have yet to watch any of Affleck's director projects, even though I hear they are very good.)


November 9
Skyfall (new James Bond; end of story.)

December 7
Les Miserables (love the musical so am curious about the film)
December 14
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (do I have to make any explanation about why I want to see this movie?)

Unannounced Date
Much Ado About Nothing (directed by Joss Whedon, cast includes innumerable old favorites--what's not to like?)

And that's my list, so far.

Last Friday Before Vacation

1. Yes, I really have been watching the Olympics during most of my waking hours. I'm not really much of a sports fan, but every two years I turn into some sort of fanatic. My family is very tolerant, even though both children keep asking me, "Why do you love volleyball so much?" I have no good explanation: I never played, I never saw my brother play when he was in High School because I was away at college, the only games I ever watch are in the Olympic broadcast because the USA is stupid and doesn't have a professional league like Russia and Turkey and Italy and China and.... But I watch every minute of every Indoor Volleyball in the broadcast (and get upset when NBC preempts it for things like Handball or Floor Hockey or when they only show portions of the matches; you can actually watch the whole game on the website, but it's only available without the color commentary and that's half the fun) and a lot of the Beach Volleyball as well. And all my fun will be over tomorrow.

But then I get to start packing for vacation, so it's not like I'll be bored.

2. Various photos from the past 3 weeks:

Alex with his new orange bird, a reward for getting a tooth pulled by the dentist.

We went to the shore 2 weeks back and the reason these photos are good is that my mother took them. The waves were so high and strong, we left early due to exhaustion, but the kids had fun in spite of being knocked down regularly.

Proud owner of the whole collection (minus the Mighty Eagle, which is priced ridiculously high). To his annoyance, I moved them around for the benefit of the picture; he always puts them in the correct order: Red Bird, Blue Bird, Yellow Bird, Black Bird, White Bird, Big Brother, Green (Boomerang) Bird, and Orange (Balloon) Bird.

I haven't touched it in two weeks, but made good progress until them. And, yes, I had to do a lot of frogging on the edges of the tail because my counting was off.

Great Miranda pictures, taken by my mother.

I think Miranda was dressing up for my birthday on the 27th of July: a fancy dress and rain boots. Yes, she is adorable.

3. On Thursday, we fly from Philadelphia to San Diego, via Houston, which breaks up the trip in a nice, half-way point for the children to get off the plane and run around for a bit. We will spend 12 days in California celebrating the wedding of a dear cousin and enjoying the company of my family. The children are very excited and I am trying not to be anxious about packing perfectly. Trying, but not being very successful. Instead, I've been catching up on correspondence and noticing all kinds of household chores that suddenly seem terribly important: defrosting the freezer, cleaning out my closet, trimming the trees and shrubs in the backyard.... I haven't actually done any of these things, mind you, but I'm cataloguing them in my head, instead of planning what to pack. Or I just go back to watching the Olympics.

4. Marshall and I are going to see The Dark Knight Rises at the IMAX Theatre at The Franklin Institute on Sunday night. One of our favorite babysitters is about to go back to college but she was able to squeeze us in before she goes.

5. I hope to see a whole bunch more movies while I'm in San Diego on vacation so I'll do a movie update then.

6. I mowed both lawns this week. Because July was so dry here, and we don't water the grass (or the weeds), I was able to put it off until the backyard returned to its natural jungle state. Although with all the rain forecasted for this weekend, I may have to mow again before we leave so as not to return to even worse conditions.

7. Surely I've done more in the last 2 weeks but celebrate my thirty something birthday and watch the Olympics? I can't remember. And, anyway, I have more volleyball to watch.

Here's Jen.

Sorry To Worry You

I haven't been posting because I've been recording approximately 35 hours of Olympic coverage every day and spending any free moments watching the sports I'm interested in (Indoor Volleyball, Swimming, Diving, Gold Medal Tennis, Beach Volleyball, Gymnastics...) and skipping all the rest. I will try to get back on the horse this Friday.

I Feel So Much Better!

1. Apparently, all I needed was some sleep. My parents took the kids yesterday afternoon from lunchtime until after dinner, so I took a long afternoon nap, and then they came back this morning at 7 am to feed the kids breakfast so that I could sleep until 10 am. I feel like a new person!

2. I didn't get a lot of stitching done this week (I guess I was just tired) but I was able to finish up that bottom section and then moved on to the tail on top. Although, you can tell by the trailing thread that I ran into some counting problems last night and simply gave up, figuring I could fix it when my brain was working better.

Hopefully, it won't require a lot of frogging.

I'm not quite at the half-way point on the basic stitching (don't forget the extensive back-stitching and beading that await me at the end) but I can see it from here and it's a good feeling.

3. Speaking of (or writing) of accomplishments, my dear husband has been working hard on his own to get those other bookshelves built into the other corner in the living room. This morning, he got both of the frames in place:

This afternoon, he plans to work on the actual shelves. Woohoo!

4. Miranda had a wonderful week at camp at the Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge. If she had any behavior problems, I didn't hear about them. It was quite a drive for me as there is no easy way to get there from here, but I have a much better idea of the layout of the city of Medford, NJ, even if it is laid out in the matter of a rabbit warren (i.e., no straight lines or right angles, anywhere, but when you're building a town in the midst of a series of lakes and forests, I guess that's what you get).

5. I still haven't been to the movies to see either The Amazing Spider-Man or The Dark Knight Rises but have hopes for the coming week, since I'm feeling all refreshed and everything.

I watched more Perry Mason while stitching this week, but I think I'm starting to burn out on it and may not make it through all 9 seasons before I give it up. I also got caught up on Longmire and went back to watching the first season of Magnum, P.I. My mother-in-law is right, Tom Selleck is incredibly appealing.

6. Alex continues to be emotionally fragile even though he's having a great summer with school and his afternoon program. We don't know why, so we just hug him a lot and don't worry when he spends all his free time glued to a computer.

7. My birthday is next Friday, the day the Summer Olympics start in London. It's going to be a happy day and it means I'll be glued to the television for hours, watching every bit of gymnastics, swimming, diving and indoor volleyball and maybe a little track and field. I'm not a sports fan, really, but everyone has to make an exception for the Olympics.

And here's Jen. If you missed her hilarious post from earlier in the week, read it here. I mean it, you will laugh until you cry.

Too Much Fun

1. Too much fun in our house means you are crying with exhaustion. That pretty much describes the week. Which would explain why it's Sunday afternoon and I'm only just now blogging.

I planned all these fun things for my children to do to keep them occupied this summer, not remembering that they wake up bright and happy every morning, ready for the next thing while I drag myself out of bed, moaning. Silly me.

2. We were invited to a birthday party at the JCC Camp in Medford yesterday, which has a really awesome swimming complex. Here's Alex having a fabulous time:

3. Miranda also enjoyed herself, just not to such abandon:

4. Instead of cleaning or organizing or sleeping this week, in the evenings when my children were unconscious, I continued to stitch and watch Perry Mason. So, lots of good progress:

5. This week, Miranda will be going to camp in the mornings at the Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge. I deliver her at 9 am and pick her up at noon, much dirtier, or so that is the promise. It should be an interesting experiment.

6. I haven't been to the movies yet. I'm too tired. I've been changing into my pajamas before Marshall gets home from work in the evening. Pretty sad.

7. Is it nap time yet? Maybe after I go fold all the laundry I just dumped on my bed so it would get done before I tried to lay down for a nap.

Here's Jen.

It's Too Darn Hot!

1. We are in like Day 11 of an Excessive Heat Wave and I think it's making us all bonkers. I woke up this morning, just after 6 am, to the sounds of Alex laughing maniacally in the living room, watching A Bug's Life. And it's all been downhill from there.

We did go to Surf City yesterday with both grandmothers, my sister-in-law and the cousins and had a fabulous time, but I think all that time in the sun gave us sun poisoning. Alex had the right idea: he spent nearly 4 hours in the waves, under water as much as possible. His eyes are still red today and he has sunburn all over his face, no matter how much sunscreen I put on him. Next trip, I'm going with zinc sticks, because this is just ridiculous.

2. Here is Miranda with cousin Lilly. They were having a great time and being a lot braver in the waves than in previous years. And yesterday's waves were not inconsequential. But the water was cool and clear and just gorgeous.

3. We've been alternating heavy activity days with quiet days: last Sunday we had the church picnic at the lake, Monday we rested, Tuesday we tried to go see Despicable Me at the Cinemark Theatre (and left halfway through because neither child could hold still or be quiet) and then Miranda had a swim lesson, Wednesday everyone but me went to swim and eat BBQ at a friend's (I was not feeling quite right and spent the day resting and stitching), Thursday we rested and Friday we went to the beach. Today is another mandated rest day because we have another swim party scheduled for tomorrow after church. And then Monday morning Alex goes back to school.

4. My mother and Alex spent most of their time body surfing and looking good while doing it. This was one of those moments when I caught them with the camera off-balance.

5. I still haven't managed to go see The Amazing Spider-Man because no one wants to go with me. Maybe I'll catch a matinee this week, while Alex is at school. And Magic Mike. Really not interested in Brave, though.

6. This Tuesday morning we will be attending the memorial of a dear friend who passed only a few days ago, Robert Jones. He was very dear and we miss him but trust that God knows best when to call his children home. Here is the information for the memorial, if you need it.

7. Most of what I did this week, when not supervising my children swimming in some body of water or other, was stitch and watch Perry Mason, so I have a good progress pic for y'all:

The dragon has a whole face now, but the farther I go, the more the back-stitching scares me. Even the beading seems easier than that. I may finish the whole project, minus the back-stitching, and go do something else until I get my nerve up. I wish the photo could show the density of the stitches; I'm just not sure how I'm going to get my needle through all of that mess all over again. And I use a sharp one already. If you need a reminder, here's the finished product from the designer and another shot done by a fellow stitcher whose blog I follow (sorry, you'll need to scroll down to Celestial Dragon and click on the photo to enlarge).

And now the laundry is calling me. Here's Jen.