It's all about family.

 "You don't choose your family.  They are God's gift to you, as you are to them." -- Desmond Tutu

"I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich."  ~Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford, "Identity Crisis," M*A*S*H

"Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts."  ~Author Unknown

A favorite week for me this Summer just recently ended.  We started it off with Ian and Sam going to "Gramps Camp".  From Monday to Thursday, they had a most excellent time with Jeff's parents.  They went bowling, to the movies, to the pool, the Science Center and many restaurants for lunches and dinners.  Sam and Ian were on their best behavior and a glowing report was given upon their return.  I definitely see more Gramps Camp in their future.  Yay! 

Picking the kids up on Thursday.
Grandpa and Ian at lunch.

It was wonderful to have a few days kid-free and get stuff done.  I took a pediatric first-aid/CPR class (for my upcoming preschool job), worked for the Crazy Man, and spent some quality time at the movies.  I recommend "The Way, Way, Back."  if you are looking for something to see. 

The fun continued for all of us as Jeff and I picked Ian and Sam up from Grandma and Grandpa's house on Thursday and traveled North to New Jersey.  We had planned a play date with my cousin Leslie and her kids.  They live in CT, so meeting at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Cherry Hill is the halfway point for each of us.  It's perfect and gives me the opportunity to spend time with my Aunt and Uncle too.

Many, many months ago, we had planned for Jeff/Ian to go to a baseball game with Max and Max's father, Matt.  Matt wasn't able to come, so my Uncle Bernard took his place.   Ian is a big National's fan and Max is a big Phillies fan.  We made sure to pick them playing against each other at Citizen Park Stadium in Philadelphia.

I most nervous about the gloomy forecast (thunderstorms!) and the possibility the game would get cancelled.  Fortunately, it turned out to be a beautiful night and the boys made it to the very end of the game.  They had a fantastic time, filled with tons of stadium food, great seats and a deep love for their respective teams.  The Phillies won 3 to 1 if you want to know.



Two peas in a pod.  When they come together, its like no time has passed.

While they were at the game, the girls (me, Sam, my Aunt Beth, Cousin Leslie and her daughter Ellie - age 4 1/2), went out to dinner and to Rita's Water Ice.  It was a great evening.  

Ellie doesn't like getting her picture taken. 
She was pretty sure she wasn't going to be included in this picture.  She was wrong.  :)

The next morning, the kids played a bit, I went for a 5 mile walk (!!!!) and we hit the road home.

I love it when plans work out.  Even better when the weather cooperates too. And, I love getting to see my relatives.  There is nothing like family.  My Toppall team and I are so fortunate to be related to the most amazing people -- both sides, Jeff and me.

I only wish we lived closer and could see grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and sister-in-laws/brother-in-laws more often.

Introducing Mr. Wright

Right before school let out, Ian had to do a whopper of a project for his second grade class. The students did this thing called a "Living Wax Museum".  All the kids in second grade were assigned a historical figure who made some kind of significant contribution to society. 

The project had 3 parts to it: 

1. Create a tri-fold presentation board that incorporated a timeline of the person's life, pictures, what contribution they made, interesting facts, etc.

2. Write and MEMORIZE a 2 minute speech.  Yes, I said MEMORIZE!  (Holy smokes!)

3. Dress like the person they are portraying.

Who did Ian get for his project?  The Wright Brothers -- Orville and Wilbur.  For weeks leading up to the big presentation day, Ian worked hard on his speech and tri-fold board.  He practiced reciting his speech two, three times a day until it was memorized cold. 

When it was finally time for Orville and Wilbur to come to life, I was a mixture of excited and nervous for him.  I knew he knew these two brothers as well as he knew himself.  I couldn't wait to see him in action.  My mom and stepfather made it back to Burke so they could come see Ian too. We arrived at the school and headed to the cafeteria where all the second graders were set-up.  Boy, was it noisy and crowded! 

The time came to get started.  Ian took his place and got very still, wax-like.  Then you had to press this button on his hand and The Wright Brothers would come to life.  It was hard to hear him with all the noise of everyone else doing their thing, but Ian did great!!!

This was a big project for second grade!  All the kids did a wonderful job creating their presentation boards and memorizing their speeches.  Way to go!

Ian being very still, waiting for someone to press his hand.

Sam, Swimming, and Survival.

I have one last post about our week at the beach.  This one involves Sam and her ability to swim. 

My dream is to be sitting on a chair (wearing regular clothes) with my kindle in one hand, reading a book, while the kids are splashing around in the pool having a great time with their friends.   I see other moms regularly doing this and I drool with envy. I figure I am about 2 years away from it being optional if I get wet or not. 

My reality is that I HAVE TO wear a bathing suit and need to be in the water, within arm's reach of Samantha, G-d forbid something should happen.  Even with lifeguards around, I take full responsibility for watching my kids in the water.  This is my job to make sure they are safe.

While we were at the pool during our week at Emerald Isle, I stepped out of the pool and sat on a nearby chair to dry off.  I kept my eye on Sam who was hanging on to her inner tube, floating around the pool.  At one point, Sam and her float wandered to the middle of the pool, where the water was way over her head.  She accidentally came out of the inner tube and slipped under the water.  I got to my feet and quickly walked to the edge of the pool that was the closest to where she was.  I was very ready to jump in and get her, but noticed something very cool.  As soon as Sam realized her inner tube floated away from her and she was in over her head, her survival instincts kicked in and she began the swim to the side of the pool.  She didn't panic and used her head.  She instantly knew what she needed to do and did it.  I was so proud of her!  When she reached the side, I pulled her out and gave her a HUGE hug and kiss. 

And as I was describing what just happened to my friend Kelly, Sam went right back in the water and ended up doing the whole thing again.  This second situation was also an accident on her part.   Sam did it twice!

Sam has been taking swim lessons all year long.  I knew she can swim, but I would never have known that she could hold her own in a 'crisis' situation, unless I had seen it for myself.  She didn't panic!  That's my girl! 

Impressive.

We stopped at Chick Fil A for lunch on the way to Emerald Isle.  We loved it so much we stopped at the same one on the way back too.  What a great alternative to McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and Taco Bell. You know how sometimes you walk into a restaurant and you feel like a burden asking them to get you food?  Food you are paying for?  Asking people who are getting paid to be there for this food?  Well, you don't feel like that at Chick Fil A.  They like you being there.

While we were eating, a Chick Fil A employee came up to us and asked if we needed our drinks refreshed.  How awesome was that!?!?  In fact, we got better service and more delicious food than we did at the first restaurant we went to that night in Emerald Isle.

I had the most amazing salad -- Grilled Chicken Market Salad.  It was fresh, full of wonderful fruit, delicious grilled chicken, chunks of cheese and they even had a few crunchy nut toppings to add.  Yummy!!  Loved it!

I enjoyed my salad so much I had to take a picture of it.  Wow!  What a great salad. And what a wonderful surprise when stopping for fast food.

The other really cool thing about Chick Fil A are the straws. They offer the bendy straws as well as the regular straight kind. 

You have to respect a restaurant that doesn't open on Sundays due to religious reasons.  Anywhere in the country!  How many people would actually give up being open for one of the busiest days of the week because of their beliefs?  I think that is amazing...sad for me when I want to go on a Sunday, but a wonderful testament to how strong their faith is.

Summer lovin'

Ian has a crush.  A big crush.  He likes Emily.  And I am pretty sure Emily likes Ian back.  The two of them were like two peas in a pod at the beach.  They did everything together.  Their personalities are very similar and they had a blast together. 

One of the funniest moments was when we were in one of the stores looking around and Ian was sitting in the only chair, taking a break.  Emily really wanted a turn in the chair too.  Ian wouldn't get up.  I said to Emily, "there is only one thing left to do, I guess you will have to sit in Ian's lap."   Ian got really red in the face (he blushes very easily) and said, "I wouldn't mind that."   Oh my!  I guess I better be careful about what I suggest in the future.

When we were doing the bumper boats, Emily was in the boat with her sister and mom.  Anna was squirting Ian with the water.  Emily was very quick to shout at her sister, "Don't do that!!  Ian doesn't want to get wet!".   Another time during the bumper boats, Ian looked over at Emily and saw she wasn't happy because she wasn't driving the boat.  Ian asked loudly over to them, "Why isn't Emily happy?"   Too cute how they were looking out for each other. 

I love watching Ian and getting a glimpse of the boy he is going to be when he gets older.  If you ask me, he is going to be an amazing catch!  So will Emily.  :)   I know I am projecting far ahead into the future and so many things will happen between now and then, but if for some reason these two do end up together, we've got so many wonderful pics of them through the years growing up together.

Ian's got game!

 

Beach Happy or Not

Each year with Sam gets a little easier.  I firmly believe the scales of her being good versus her being "challenging" are tipping her favor.   We've come far from the days when her temper tantrums would outnumber the good moments in any given day.   During our week at the beach there were a few explosive episodes and everyone around us knew Sam was not a happy camper.  Some of these were hard not to laugh out.  The ones on the beach, I just let her explode and get it out of her system.  I mean, if you can't scream at the top of your lungs at the beach, where can you?  :)

Sam in the middle of a temper tantrum.

At one point during our week at the beach, Sam lost her iPad for 2.5 days.  She went all of Wednesday without it and then had an opportunity to earn it back with good behavior.  I am pleased to say, she got it back on Thursday morning.  Whew!  It would've been a bumpy car ride home if Sam couldn't use her iPad.

Sam's whining hasn't been too horrible. I think her being around the older kids has helped greatly.  It's like she can hold it in only for so long and then has to let it out.  Sometimes it is exhausting to be around her, not knowing if she is going to explode at any moment.  Other times, she is this amazing, sweet, lovable little girl who can't stop giving you kisses.  It when she's like this that helps me get through the more challenging times.

Sam being adorable and sweet.

 

Sam's most epic meltdown came on our last evening in Emerald Isle.  We spent a long span of time at the pool in the late morning until afternoon.  It was a lot of activity and swimming for Sam.  We came back inside, took quick showers and headed to the movies.  Afterwards, we went for pizza at a nearby restaurant.  It was then that Sam started throwing her fit.  She was yelling about being starving and not hungry at the same time.  She was causing quite a scene and I took her out of the restaurant twice.  It didn't help.  We left the place in a hurry and as I was carrying her out, I apologized to all those eating that I am sorry we ruined their dinner.   I know that Sam was overtired.  She gets to the point of being irrational and doesn't even know what she is saying.  It's hard to talk her off the ledge and you just have to get her down to bed as soon as possible.

I am most thankful that my friends are very understanding when it comes to Sam.  I don't ever feel like I am alone and they're support means the world to me. 

A magical moment

On Monday, when we arrived at Emerald Isle, NC, we unpacked the car, got settled in the condo and had a little downtime before deciding what to do next.  It was approaching the dinner hour,  so out to a restaurant we headed. 

After dinner, we took the kids go-carting and came back to the condo.  Instead of going straight upstairs, we did an impromptu walk on the beach to check things out.  We told the kids they could take their shoes off and stick their feet in the water.  One thing led to another and the next thing you know, the four kids are playing in the ocean, fully dressed in their clothes.  The 45 minutes that followed weren't planned and or discussed in advance.  It was a total spur-of-the-moment experience.

There are few occasions in life that will stand out to me like this one did.  Seeing the joy on the kids' faces was priceless.  It was magical watching them ever-so-slowly get in the water deeper and deeper, until "oops!" they fell in one by one.  The laughter and playfulness was immeasurable.  The kids were having a blast.  And I loved getting to see this unfold.  These moments were full of such lightheartedness.  As the saying goes, "The living was easy."

The kids weren't wearing their bathing suits, there were no towels ready to dry them off, and certainly no beach toys and goggles for them to use.  No whining occurred, no screaming, and no one was upset.  It was pure fun in every way.  It was a moment that can't ever be repeated in the same manner.  Now there is a precedent for our impromptu swim in the ocean.  Forever more, this time will be compared with whatever is like it in the future. 

It was so magical how it happened.  This is a memory I will treasure. This is what childhood is all about.  This is the stuff that makes the trip worth it.  These are the times that will get talked about over and over again.  And I got to be a part of it.  Pure awesomeness.