The End of a Perfect Day

We finally took the boat out for the first time last night; joining Jana & Co. at the State Park located just down the road from Petticoat Junction. Since we all had to work, it was four o'clock before we got on the road, and, the lake was practically deserted by the time our convoy pulled in to the dock. That meant five hours of peace with nothing but the ducks and dragonflies to  keep us company, so, no one was complaining. Plus, with the recent heat wave, the water remained warm well into the evening, giving us plenty of time for entertainment.

Naturally, the kids had an especially good time; riding the tube, wake boarding, knee boarding and hanging out on their choice of boats while teasing each other about the cute boy whose family had joined our group when their own boat experienced a malfunction...

...well, the girls did that; Darren and the Man-Cub didn't find the new addition interesting at all. Shocker.

Since the girls seemed so hot and bothered, Hugh did the polite thing and gave them an opportunity to cool off...

They may not have appreciated the gesture, I'm afraid.

Since the kids seemed like they were having so much fun, Jana and I decided to get in on the action, jumping on the tube and dragging the mother of the above-mentioned teen aged boy with us; her name is Pam and she turned out to be a fun person to ride the tube with. Also, she had no problem teasing Jana for the massive cleavage she sprouted when she donned a life vest two sizes too small for her, which, totally made her my kind of gal.

Unfortunately, since we were on the tube, there are no pictures of that massive cleavage so, you'll just have to take my word for it. Also, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Jana is still having trouble breathing, today. How in the world the women of the olden days wore those corsets is totally beyond me.

And I am totally digressing.

So, the kids had a good time....

...and the menfolk seemed to enjoy pulling us all around the lake fifteen million times (I think it has something to do with the hope of flipping us all off our tubes/skis/wake boards/knee boards, etc.). Jana, Pam, and I obviously enjoyed hanging out together, and; the mosquito population that came out just as we were pulling off the lake got a tasty meal, which, note to self: Pack bug spray for tonight's excursion.

That's right; we are going to do it all over again; providing the Man-Cub doesn't have a baseball game, that is (waiting to hear from the coach).

I can think of worse ways to spend the evening.

Swimming in the Gene Pool

My mom recently returned from a two-week long trip to Arizona. She went on the journey with five of her sisters, ending up at the home of the sixth.

Yes; that add up to seven.

Seven sisters growing up in the same home, sharing the same clothing, and, arguing over bathroom rights and whose turn it was to take out the trash (I'm guessing).

I had two sisters and have a hard time imagining the chaos generated by three times that amount of estrogen in the air, but; I also tend to think that they must have had an awful lot of fun back in the day, and; clearly, they still do...

I know I had fun looking at the pictures that my mom took during the visit; mostly because I am fascinated by the resemblance between the sisters and my late grandmother. And, by the resemblances between the sisters, themselves. And, you know, by the resemblances between the sisters and my sisters, cousins, and, myself, which, for the record; I appear to resemble my aunt Constance more than my own mother.

Is there something you want to tell me, Mom?

Kidding.

Although, my older sister really does look an awful lot like my aunt Patricia these days...

Genes; what a wacky phenomenon.

It's a Conspiracy

I am about to confess to a particularly heinous crime against parenthood; are you ready for it? Ok, here goes...

...I am not exactly the world's most supportive sports parent.

Some of you may be shocked by that admission, shaking your heads and quietly defending my parenting practices in your heads (Hi,Mom!) while others may merely be rolling their eyes while thinking to themselves; "You don't say" (hi, Dad!), but, there it is.

Last night's baseball game provides a pretty good example of my short-comings in this regard:

The drive to the game took an hour and twenty minutes, through the Canyon of Doom, with the constant threat of a car-sick kid hovering over my head. Once we arrived at the baseball field, we were greeted by one of my favorite Baseball Mom-slash-Ladies Who Porch, who; informed me that the 10 Run Rule would be in force due to the relative awesomeness of the team we were about to play. Further, the team had smoked the other team from Petticoat Junction; dropping them in the third inning when the 20 Run Rule kicked into effect, and; the other Petticoat Junction team is supposedly "stacked" and has a better record than our team (by one whole win, whoop-whoop).

So, to put it bluntly; we would probably wrap up the evening in record time, which, would be sort of awesome considering the whole "driving an hour and twenty minutes back to Petticoat Junction, through the Canyon of Doom, with the threat of car sickness hovering over my head, plus the added worry of not being able to see the wildlife on the road due to the challenge of driving straight into the setting sun" thing.

And, that's clearly where the first crack in my "supportive parenting" appeared, because; I was happy.

I know. Terrible.

The second, and most obvious, crack appeared not long after.

We were nineteen runs behind entering the fourth inning, with the promise of the 20 Run Rule kicking in, provided we didn't manage to score any runs during our at-bat. This meant that there was still plenty of good daylight left in which to grab ice cream before the drive home, and; that there would be less possibility of one of us accidentally totalling our car on a deer while making that drive.

Spirits were high amongst the mothers who had made the trip (I am not alone in my weakness) until I jokingly remarked that it would sure be funny if the boys were to rally, thus ruining our chance at the 20 Run Rule.

Yes. I did; I jinxed us.

The Man-Cub started it off with a solid hit to center field and the Game Was ON. Seven runs later, it became quite clear that we would not be partaking of the 20 Run Rule, and, here is where the above-mentioned crack turns into a yawning CANYON OF SHAME, because; we totally started to root for the other team.

Not even kidding.

And, I'm not proud of my short-comings in this regard, but, the first step to solving a problem is admitting that you have one, so; My name is Chelle and I am a terrible sports-parent. If there is a twelve-step program out there, please feel free to tell me. I might take advantage of it. Or, I might not, since, the other mothers and I discussed the situation and arrived at the conclusion that the boys had planned, all along, to play poorly before making a dramatic come-back, just to screw with us.

The fact that they still lost by ten runs is totally irrelevant.

So, no ice cream for them.

They're just lucky that no one hit a deer on the way home.

Hi, Monday. Yes, I still Hate You

We had a lazy weekend here at Casa de Chelle. Well, after Friday night's marathon baseball game, that is, and on that topic; three hours for a youth league baseball game, really? I can only hope that tonight's game is at least an hour shorter, given that it is taking place an hour's drive away and we all know how I feel about driving in the dark. Actually, this drive will be even worse, given the high number of deer that cross this particular stretch of the local highway, the curves and turns of the canyon we are forced to traverse, and, the fact that I am going it alone as Hugh will be attending to his cadets at a night shoot.

Bleh.

But, back to the weekend.

I spent the best part of Saturday cleaning house, weeding the garden, and, refereeing "games" between the cats; games that look eerily similar to cat fights, but, who am I to judge? And, while I can think of far more entertaining ways to spend a summer Saturday; it's really nice to have a clean house, and, the radishes and lettuce from the garden were a nice addition to our dinner salad.

The cat fights "play dates" between the cats, I could have done without, thank you very much.

Sunday was almost lazier than Saturday. We celebrated Father's Day by going to see Snow White and the Huntsman which ended up being fairly entertaining, with a solid thumbs-up from three-out-of-four of my family members (The Teenager expressed her opinion that the movie was "boring". I think her assessment had less to do with the movie and more to do with the fact that she was exhausted from three days of volleyball camp, so; I'm willing to forgive her).

Today, we are back to the grind and beginning a week that looks to be quite busy on paper. According to my schedule, we have three baseball games (including tonight's trek through the Canyon of Doom), two meetings of my woman's club, the usual work-related stuff, and, Hugh wants to try to have the boat ready to take to the lake this weekend.

It's going to be hectic, is what I'm thinking.

On the other hand, if I have a weekend on the lake to look forward to; I can probably get through anything. Even the drive through the Canyon of Doom.

I hope.

Baseball or Cats?

These seem to be the only topics that I have to write about, lately. Unfortunately, there is nothing new to report on the cat, and, the Man-Cub's team lost their game this evening, so; nothing too exciting, here.

Although, the Cub did get to pitch and, that's new. He did ok, too. He didn't like it, but he did it.

He didn't like it because; the pitching mound is 90' from home plate this year, as opposed to 70', last year, and; there is a huge difference in 20' (yeah, like, 20', duh). Thankfully, the coach pulled him after one inning and he was able to go back to second base, where he is happiest.

For my, part; I was in the concession stand, stirring neon-orange "cheese" and trying to keep the cooler stocked with purple Gatorade. As an aside; kids love purple Gatorade. Also; the concession stand is not my favorite place.

In other sports-related news; The Teenager is currently at volleyball camp in Neighboring City. I dropped her off yesterday and haven't heard a peep out of her; I can only assume this means that she is doing well.  We will collect her again on Sunday, just in time for Father's Day.

And, this brings to a close the most boring post I have ever written. Watching paint dry would have been more scintillating.

Le sigh.

Holding His Own

Guinness is slowly, but, surely, becoming acclimated to our household. He's been spending more time in the general population and has become a bit less skittish around the Man-Cub and me. He's not quite sure what to make of The Teenager and actively fears Hugh, but; I'm hoping time will solve both of those issues.

Recently, he has adopted one of the recliners as his own, a turn of events which appears to displease Finnigan, immensely. On the occasion that Finn dares to breach the serenity of Guinn's throne, an intense battle ensues....

...and, despite his smaller size; Guinn manages to hold his own quite well.  Once the battle is over, there is usually a lick-fest that serves as a make-up session and they are back to being warily tolerant of one another.

It is equal parts adorable and nerve-wracking. Also, I am not entirely certain that Guinness is as old as his paperwork would have us believe; he just seems so small in comparison to Finn. Now, granted, Finn is a brute, but, still; I would expect them to be at least a bit more evenly-sized.

Anyway, we are exactly one week into our guardianship of him and I feel fairly confident that we are on the road to him fully embracing his place in the family.

You know, until he meets Rowdie, anyway.

What is this "dog" creature of which you speak?

I'm Not a Jinx, After All

The Man-Cub's baseball team won their game tonight, by a score of 10-12. This brings their record to 2-2 and proves that my presence at a game does not actually interfere with their ability to win; what a relief that is.

In his four at-bats; the Cub made it on base three times (his first at-bat resulted in an infield pop-up that was caught by the first baseman), and, he crossed home plate twice. Not too shabby for the youngest kid on the team.

Base hit....

Stealing second....

Rounding third....

Crossing home plate...

Not too shabby, at all.