twiddling my thumbs

The older son is back from overnight skateboarding camp.  It was a grand success.

The younger son is perturbed that the oldest, and his friends, took over the TV to watch a skate video.

The youngest has Googled "ways to torture your brother"... and has plans in motion.

I am washing clothes and wasting insanely huge chunks of time.  Anxiously awaiting an evening with friends.

It's been a do nothing day.   I am fortunate... I know.
I am also going slightly loopy.
I'm sure that there is something I should be doing.....

friends

I have AMAZING friends.
Really.
 I know that I am fortunate.
I have a few 'groups' of friends and a few BFFs that are like family to me.
I am always so grateful that they take the time to nurture our friendship and take time to make me feel loved and accepted.
I don't get mushy, ever, but I really mean it....  I am majorly blessed with awesome, supportive, friends.

Not having a significant other can be very lonely.   But for the past, almost six, years my friends have gone out of their way to make me feel a part of something bigger than myself.

I have a couple of friends who are always shopping for my next husband.
(Thank you, Jamie, for terming that as 'shopping'.)

I will be TOTALLY thrilled when my next husband enters the storyline.
I have pretty much forgotten what it's like to have a husband around.  I long to have that helpmate, that companion.   And I'm ready and willing to welcome the right man into our family.
But.... I'm not in a huge hurry to settle.
He's gonna have to be one special dude!

I'm currently very happy with my friends and my kids.   My social life pretty much rocks.....
.... even though I think I can count my male friends on one hand.   And I can't recall the last time I had a date.  (wow.  that's depressing)  :(

BUT.... my girl friends and I have FUN!   (always!)
My kids and I have FUN!  (....sometimes.)

I have come to the conclusion that if Mr Right shows up, my friendships will probably suffer.  Friendships are usually casualties of new relationships.  I'd like to think that I could balance everyone.... but dating would surely suck up a lot of my free time, right?
My prayer is that Mr. Right will be accepted into the circles and roll with it.    
He has to be someone who is comfortable with car singing.

....
 please hold while I add that criteria to my official list 
 .....

Okay.  where was I?

yes.  My friends are great!  And I hope that God always surrounds me with these great people. Especially when I'm old.    Chances are....my married friends will become widows at some point.   I could totally use their help with all of the cats.*
 it would be great to have a roommate in the assisted living place.
We'd be able to flirt with old men and make inappropriate comments to the young men who serve our meals.

But I don't want to get ahead of myself.
I'm enjoying where I'm at now.

Thank you, God, for my friends!


*There will absolutely be NO cats.  I promise.

trippin'

Well.  So much for me documenting our 'everyday' occurrences.

 I suppose we've just been too busy. hah.

Last week we snuck away for a few days to go camper-ing with Jamie and T.   Overall a great time and we enjoyed staying in a fancy pants camper!   Way cool.

I could have stayed at the lake for weeks and weeks and weeks but, by the third day, the boys were wiped out and ready to get home.

I really don't enjoy coming back to reality.    I've been super excited that I've been able to escape this summer.     My desire to travel has been slightly nurtured by the mini vacations we have taken this year.  But I'm kinda aching to do a larger trip.  Maybe fly somewhere.

We're "technically" not supposed to have a 'big' trip for another few years.... but we'll see.

a day in my life

It's been over a week since we returned early from our vacation.
The at-home vacation days filled up quickly.    I was able to meet with friends, have a cookout with my family, and spend many hours at the skate park with the boys.

This week we have visited the park, gone camping, and ventured to play in Otter Creek.

Today was our first full day at home.  I intended to clean all day and do all of the stuff that I have neglected for so long.
Upon waking at 10.... (hehe).... I dove into the piles of stuff laying around the house.  For the most part things have been returned to their places.  Lucas woke up and "cleaned" his room.  
 Within a few hours I decided that running errands also sounded like a good idea.   We dropped off things at people's houses and spent way too much money at Target.

I intended to come home and clean the bathrooms and mop the floors.    But why waste time on such things when we don't expect to have company until Sunday??  If I wanted clean bathrooms, I would have invited someone over for dinner tonight!  ;)

Instead of cleaning, I sat to finally finish writing Thank You cards for the gifts from my preschoolers..... back in May.    I normally don't wait this long to write thank you notes.    I have forgotten how tedious it is to write 15 hand written notes.  Even short notes.   Exhausting!
I suppose I have been spoiled with typing.   I enjoy typing :)

That's the update as of thursday afternoon.  
We don't have much planned for the weekend.   Just more of the same.
I am loving my summer and I hope the next month will creep by.

leaving Rodanthe

Wednesday, July 2nd:

Well.   Arthur officially wants to be a hurricane.   So we packed up and left the beach today.
The county had not declared a mandatory evacuation but from the looks of the weather reports, our location was not the best place to be when the storm came by.   Our rental house was close to the ocean, and the dunes out front were rather non existent.    The likelihood of flooding, and salt water in my car didn't seem appealing.     And I was even more convinced when the folks on the weather channel specifically mentioned the "highway north of Rodanthe" as the most susceptible of being breached by the ocean.  (And let me remind you that there is only one road off of that tiny strip of land).  And NO WAY do I want to get stuck out there in the ocean.
About the same time I had decided to pack up, my friends also said that they were hightailing it out of there.    Their executive decision sealed the deal.

The boys and I packed the car, headed up the highway, and went to the aquarium as planned.

I had promised Lucas a big seafood dinner this week.   So we stopped for an early dinner at a Seafood Buffet.
It was about half way through our meal when I realized that I had learned the most important lesson of the day.   "Seafood Buffet" is a far cry from what I'm used to.    Apparently the key to a good seafood buffet are the words "Calabash Style" seafood!   We discovered that the food at this joint was gross, slimy stuff from the ocean.... and they didn't even have french fries.
WHAT?!
Lesson learned.

We hit the road and got home before 10pm.
Sabrina called to inform me that a mandatory evacuation has been issued for Hatteras Island, starting at 5am, Thursday.
 I am thrilled that we got out of there before the thousands of other folk slug their way up Highway 12 in the morning.

I am home tonight and unpacked!
Even though our vacation was cut in half we had a great time.  Lots of sun and relaxing with our friends!

on our toes in Rodanthe

July 1st, continued:
As of Tuesday night we have been instructed to keep an eye on the weather.  Tropical Storm "Arthur" developed down in Florida and is heading our way.   With a possibility of becoming a hurricane as it gains momentum.
By the looks of several weather models the storm should be here by Thursday night /Friday morning.
The realty company has already sent a three page information sheet with instructions for weathering the storm or the steps to take if there is a mandatory evacuation.
The dude at the pier seemed convinced that things weren't going to go well this week.

I, on the other hand, will not let the impending doom ruin my vacation.
The boys and I plan to visit the aquarium tomorrow.
 And then we'll see if the county deems it necessary for us to leave.
I'd hate to cute our stay short.... but we'll do whatever is necessary.

Tuesday in Rodanthe

Tuesday, July 1st:
Three full days of vacation are slowly becoming the past.

Isn't it interesting how the first few days of vacation seem to drag by, and then the last several fly by too fast?  I'm trying to hold on to this Tuesday as long as possible.

Sunday we spent the morning and the afternoon on the beach.
The waves were rough.   Outer Banks rough.
The boys had a close call and learned a valuable lesson, and healthy fear, of the ocean.
Undeterred, they enjoyed a full afternoon of boogie boarding, staying close to the sand.

We've been sticking to our summer sleep schedule!!

We slept late on Monday, ate lunch, and then headed to the sound for an afternoon of glassy smooth water and easy swimming.

The boys had combined their money to buy a two- person inflatable boat and Daniel floated around in the boat for most of the day.

Monday evening, we went out to eat BBQ and ran some errands.

Today we headed to the beach after lunch.   The water was much calmer and the kids enjoyed jumping waves and boogie boarding.    I even joined in on the wave jumping.  It brought back memories from my childhood trips to the beach.

The past few days have given me plenty of time to read!  I'm currently in the third book of The Walk series by Richard Paul Evans.  I recently realized that he is a great storyteller and his books are right up my alley.   They are quick reads with good messages.

I may have more time to read this week since the weather might bring a tropical storm our way later this week.
We'll see how it goes.

Our nights in Rodanthe

Saturday, June 28th:
Our first night in Rodanthe.

We journeyed to the Outer Banks to vacation with our dear friends.
Always a pleasure.

The boys were anxious to get to the ocean so we went down to "put our feet" in the water.  That went just as expected as both boys jumped waves and were soaked in seconds.

Sabrina and I geared up for our big shopping excursion to Food Lion, along with thousands of other people.   It was successful (we survived) and eventually fed the crew pizza for dinner.

My boys and I took a late night walk on the beach.  The sand crabs were out in abundance and we speculated why some Asian folks were collecting them in buckets.
Dinner?

I stood and watched my boys splash in the surf.  Running up and down.... attempting to outrun the waves.
I marveled at how much my boys have grown.
 I thought about how proud Thayer would be.   I missed Thayer.

Then I thought about the magnitude of the ocean.  So huge, so beautiful, so dark, so deadly.
Time by the ocean is so full of family bonding, so much beauty, so much God.   And at the exact same moment the ocean is vast, lonely and consuming.
I stood in the darkness trying to attach words to the black roaring, and squeals of  laughter, in front of me.

By the ocean is where our family has vacationed for years.   The ocean is where we scattered a portion of Thayer's ashes.   The ocean also took the life of my friend's husband.
So much beauty.  So much sadness.
It's like a giant exclamation mark on emotion.

Despite all of this the ocean is one of my favorite places.  Perhaps it's the vastness, and possibility, that draws me.
I'm looking forward to an amazing week with amazing people... by the ocean.