Bad Blogger

I do realize that I haven't posted anything new in ages. And, no, I don't really have a good excuse... other than the fact that this has certainly turned into a "photo blog," and I haven't had any new, cute photos to share lately.

And to make matters worse, we're leaving on vacation tomorrow morning! So, this will be the last you'll hear from me for at least another week, diehard fans.

Nick's mom rented a beach house for her whole beloved family for the next week. So, we are currently doing laundry 'round the clock, arranging for boarding for Lizzie, and will soon be packing everything but the kitchen sink for our departure in the a.m.

Never fear, when we return I will surely have oodles and oodles of beach/family pics to share... so stay tuned! And Happy 4th of July to everyone!!!

Their First Barbershop Experience

We took Damon to the barbershop to have his hair cut, for the first time ever, today. He's 5.5 years old, so yes, he's had a haircut before... but that usually consists of Daddy using his set of clippers and giving Damon the good ole "buzz cut." Personally, I'm sick of that look, and was ready for Damon to have a "little boy haircut."

So, today the whole fan-damily took off for the neighborhood barbershop. While we were there, I realized that Avery could use a cut, too. I haven't been able to see that child's gorgeous blue eyes in months. And ponytails are not cuttin' it... she rips them out about five seconds after I painfully put them on top of her head, so enough's enough already.

They both cooperated beautifully "in the chair." (Are you sure these are MY children, who never cooperate for anything?!?!? hmmmm....)

Here are the end results:

I'm loving Avery's new "do." Her little bangs are "feathery" and she even donned some hairspray today, for the first time in her life. She's just precious, don't you think?? :)

Damon's new look, I'm not quite sure about. I think he looks like he's about 10 years old now, instead of 5... and that makes me want to cry. He's still my "baby," after all. AND, I'm just not sold on this "look" for him. We told the barber to give him a "boy haircut," and this is what we got... I'm digging the back and the sides, but that front, choppy look, I just don't care for with all my heart. I'm thinking we need a better description to give to our barber friend the next time... any suggestions?? (Oh, and can you tell how enthusiastic he was about Mom putting the camera in front of his face? He's such a dear!)

My Daredevil Offspring

I'm in trouble... I always knew I'd be in trouble, having given birth to Nick's offspring... but, really. I'm in trouble.

Yesterday, we spent the day on the boat, and Nick and a couple of his buddies played around flinging each other off of our new tube. The kids played around in the tube, while we were on shore for a while... shown here:

That's cute, right? Yeah, cute and calm and SAFE. Okay, kids, glad you had your fun.

WRONG.

Daredevil Damon (he's 5 years old, in case anyone forgot... OH, and he can't swim... read on...) decided he wanted to tube... really tube. In the middle of the bay. hmmmm, Mommy's getting a few more gray hairs just at the mention of this activity.

But, Daddy, who likes to encourage his boy to be a "boy" said, "okay, Damon, hop in the tube and hang on!" Daddy putted around, not even making a wake, and figured Damon would FREAK as soon as we pulled away from our little shoreline. HA! Here's how it started:

Nice and calm, no wake... weeee! This is fun. We're expecting Damon to start screaming that he wants off this ride, but instead we hear, "Go FASTER, DAD!!!" So, Nick goes a little faster:

See us pulling away from the shore (Damon's still not freaking), and the wake is increasing a little (still not freaking... Mommy, however, is a nervous wreck at this point)...

And, again, we hear, "FASTER!!!" and Damon's back there bouncing around in the tube, so Nick goes a little faster still:

Notice how the shoreline is a distant memory at this point? And the wake is getting increasingly larger? And I know you can't SEE his face or hear any audio here... but he was grinning ear to ear and squealing with delight, and yes, screaming, "FASTER, DAD!!!"

To sum up, Damon loves tubing. He would've hung on for dear life back there half the day if we'd let him. We adults on the boat were amazed that my baby went on a "real" tubing run.

*And for those of you concerned "safety-first" readers, we did have an emergency action plan... if, for some odd reason, Damon went overboard, Mommy was to resist her maternal instincts and remain seated in the boat, while "Uncle" Tom jumped in the freezing bay to perform the heroic rescue. Plus, he had his SpongeBob lifejacket on.... what could be safer than THAT??

Happy Father's Day!

We spent the day out on the beloved boat (oh yeah, prepare yourselves for lots of boating pics this summer, people! You've been warned!).

Here's a cute pic I snapped of Nick and his offspring in honor of the holiday:

One thing I love about summer...

We are lucky enough to live near the water... lots of water.
And we're even luckier because we "inherited" Nick's dad's boat when he went to China for work several months ago.

Last night, we took the kids and a couple of friends of ours out for a nice boat ride. Nick and Tom were even brave enough to jump in the freezing cold water and do some water skiing.

Fun was had by all, evidenced by the pics below!!

Daddy and Avery

Nick skiing
"Aunt" Traci and Avery
Captain Damon
Avery
"Uncle" Tom and Damon
Avery, Mommy, Damon

Redneck Status Update: It's Official

Just in case you readers weren't 100% convinced by my last post...

Today, I excitedly ordered Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Limited Edition checks, shown here:



I did manage to resist purchasing the leather checkbook cover that matches them (okay, so I considered it, but DID resist!).

Rednecks Anonymous, here I come! lol

I think I passed the initiation...

I have joined my husband in the "redneck" classification, I fear.

Yesterday, we attended our very first NASCAR event together in Dover.

ummmm, WOW. That's really the only way to describe the whole experience!

We started the day tired and grumpy, and I was really doubting that even going was a good idea. But, Grandma showed up to watch our offspring for the day, and we had free tickets for the day's events at the racetrack, so off we went!

As we got closer to Dover, we both got really excited... and the sour moods disappeared!

Getting there and finding parking was a piece of cake (whew!), and we soon found ourselves surrounded by tractor trailers FULL of driver/NASCAR/Dover memoribilia. Redneck heaven, to put it lightly. We made several purchases (Dale Jr. hats and shirts galore; some of which are pictured below), and headed into the grandstands. We had general admission tickets for the whole day, which turned out to be really super cool.

We were able to watch Nextel Cup Practice and Qualifying... the highlight of the day, for sure. I almost peed my pants when Dale Jr. came out onto the racetrack the first time. And snapped this pic of him heading for pit road:



We also saw some Busch Series practice, and of course, the main event of the day: the Craftsman Truck Series Race. Okay, it was SUPPOSEDLY the main event... it was a huge snore. Two hundred laps of pure torture. There weren't even any good wrecks to save it! (and yes, I've learned that IS what those sick race fans are there to see!)

We did see two "nice" wrecks during Nextel Cup Qualifying, though. Who knew that a car driving around in circles BY ITSELF would be prone to an accident?? I had no clue, and almost had a heart attack with Jimmie Johnson started spinning as he got loose coming out of Turn 4, where we were seated. (Notice the NASCAR lingo?? I'm telling you, I'm really getting the hang of this whole redneck thing!)

The weather forecasts were threatening thunderstorms all day, but we got lucky in that department... there was one downpour in the middle of Qualifying, and we all had to run down under the stands for cover. But, it only lasted a few minutes, and they got busy drying the track, and the fun started up again. Here's a pic of Nick hunkering down under the stairway, trying to stay dry:
A couple more pics... of Nick and I donning our new Dale Jr. gear and getting sunburned in the stands (yes, today I'm a nice lobster-ish color!):



Fun was had by all, and I can't wait to go back... hopefully for a Nextel Cup race the next time! Go #8!!! We'll be there in spirit Sunday afternoon!

Bonding over a vintage tricycle

This is what my kids do for fun around the house in the evenings...

Damon received that cool 1920s replica tricycle as a Christmas present from his Grampy a few years ago... and Avery has just discovered that she can stand on the back of it, and hold on for dear life as they make the circuit around the house!!

They're quite amusing... of course, someone usually ends up crying before it's all said and done! But don't they look like they're having a grand time?!?!?