There Must Have Been Something In The Water

That water being from the lake, and that lake being Hume; which is where my two oldest were this past week at camp with their church youth group. What other explanation could there be for a 16 year old brother to volunteer to pose for a photo with his 14 year old sister?
Or...for that same 16 year old to come home with his hair cut like this:

(It's a little difficult to tell from the photo, but in between the shaved portion made to look like eyebrows and a mustache, are eyes and a mouth that read, "Hi Mom!" written in permanent marker)



My first inclination was to call the camp and suggest a water analysis of the aforementioned lake, meanwhile rushing my son to the ER for detoxification. However, after hearing all of the great stories that they both had to share about their week at camp, I knew that the only water that had any effect on them was the living water also known as Jesus Christ.

I am so thankful for the time they spent with friends, pastors, other volunteer staff and most importantly God. I am also thankful for my dear friend and hairdresser who was able to fix the haircut that came by means of a bowl, scissors, and a bunch of guys looking to gain extra spirit points during recreation!

Mamma Mia!

Sunday afternoon I went to see Mamma Mia! The Movie and couldn't believe what I discovered; Matt Doan looks like Colin Firth! I have loved Colin Firth (in a movie star crush sort of way) since he was the wonderful Mr. Darcy in the TV mini series version of Pride and Prejudice. I have loved Matt Doan (in a thankful parent of a high schooler in his youth group sort of way) for the last 3 years. However, I have NEVER seen this resemblance before. For verification I immediately leaned over to my good friend Julia to share what I'd discovered. She gasped in agreement and couldn't believe that she'd never noticed it either. So, are we just a couple of 40-something-yr-old women who've completely lost it, or does anyone else see what we see?

I've never colored my hair

But it looks like I'm gonna have to start! My 16 yr old son, is on his first behind the wheel driving lesson as I'm writing this post. I thought I was OK with this and even though he wouldn't let me take a picture of him w/his instructor to forever remember this day, I was still OK. Then it happened...about an hour into his 2 hour lesson, my cell phone rang showing a number that I didn't recognize. I quickly checked the business card the instructor left and saw that it was his number. I took a deep breath and calmly answered the phone. It was RJ, "Hi Mom, I'm just checking to see if I'm available to take my next lesson on Aug. 1st?" I replied (hoping that he couldn't tell my heart was beating in my throat), "Yeah, that's fine, what time?" He told me the time and I hung up. OMG!!!! Could that not have waited 'til they returned? I was certain that the call was from the instructor letting me know that there had been some kind of horrible accident, or that my son wasn't trainable and that I'd have to come pick him up. Now I have to wait for another hour before he returns. All the while praying for calmness and that my good friend/hairdresser will be able to do something with the countless gray hairs I've just acquired.

Come Sail Away

The weather was perfect for the landsailer today in Punta Banda. We all took turns and had a blast. Below is RJ's video de la landsail that he filmed using his dad's Flip video camera. If you are prone to motion sickness, you may want to take some Dramamine. Since this gives a better view of RJ's feet than the landsailer itself, I will post photos of it along with other fun shots from our Punta Banda trip later. Now I need to get back to my lounge chair in the glorious sunshine.

I wanted to be Karen Carpenter

When we were eating dinner last night at Baja Mama's in Punta Banda, I had a flashback to a childhood dream. The owner/chef, a muu-muu wearing, tooth missing, elderly woman sauntered over to her boom box and began to play a cassette tape of a compilation of The Carpenter's Greatest Hits. I immediately began to sing along and knew all the words to each song. This would only come as a shock to anyone who didn't know that I wanted to be Karen Carpenter when I was a little girl.

My mom had their albums and they played constantly on our turntable during my lower elementary school years. One album even had pages of photos of the 70's drumming diva and her piano playing brother, which I'd study to try and replicate her poses. I thought she was beautiful and so talented. What young girl wouldn't want to be like her? I think my fascination began when my mom would hold me on her lap and sing along to Close To You -- "on the day that you were born the angels got together and decided to create a dream come true, so they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold and starlight in your eyes of blue." I have to confess that I thought the song had been written for me. What can I say, I was young and naive.

As I got older I was sad to learn of her battle with anorexia and couldn't understand how someone so beautiful could struggle with that. Clearly she couldn't see what I and so many others saw. I guess Rainy Days and Mondays really did get her down.

For the record (pun intended) I no longer want to be her, but it was fun to take a trip down memory lane. I know that this post really shows my age and many of you may never have heard of this superstar songstress. I'll gladly take the ridicule and maybe even add a few of her songs to my iPod when I want to remember what life was like Only Yesterday.

Flexibility Is The Key

What do 11 people in a cozy Mexican beach house do when the sun just won't come out?

GET FLEXIBLE!!!!

Check out Laceyann & Mitchell (with a little help from their siblings in the leg department)


Laceyann has really gotten into her reading!




Mitchell has to work a little harder at having an attitude of flexibility!

It's great to have silly times with good friends -- with or without the sun!!!

6 quirky things

After reading Erin's quirks and therefore being "tagged", I'm now listing six of my potential oddities. Of course, I'll feel much better if I find I'm not the only one who does these things. After all, there's safety in numbers.

1. I almost always snort when I laugh. (I don't think that needs further explanation, and most everyone knows that anyway.)

2. I am a syrup snob. Raised in a family of French Canadians from Vermont, the only syrup I'd ever experienced as a child was REAL maple syrup and therefore, it's the only kind I will eat. I won't eat anything that requires syrup at a restaurant or friend's house if they only serve fake syrup and the smell makes me nauseous.

3. I believe that bathing suits are just an extension of my wardrobe. No one likes to wear the same outfit day after day. Why should bathing suits be any different? However, I won't pay more than $30 for one. Which leads me to #4...

4. I am a bargain shopper (Marshall's, Ross, eBay, etc.) and refuse to pay full retail for anything unless I've been given a gift certificate and even then, it's incredibly difficult for me to do so. The MSRP for most items can be pulled from my brain at anytime. My life is a virtual "The Price is Right" and I intend to win the showcase.

5. When a song I love plays on the radio I get really excited. Even though it most likely exists on my ipod or a cd that I own and I can listen to it anytime I want. There's something about hearing it on the radio that makes it sound better.

6. I think that toilet paper should hang on the holder so that it rolls over the top of the roll, not from underneath. I not only use that rule of placement in my own home, but have been known to turn the roll over at other people's homes as I'm sure they don't care and probably place it on haphazardly. I justify that if they do care, they'll be thankful that I've shown them the light.