Two signs of a fun day

LOVED the private Cabana. I drank too much, smoked too much, ate too much, and got too much sun.

I had a GREAT time.

Cabana rental is THE way to go.

Our midsummer staycation

We have a fun weekend lined up. We considered hosting another weekend-long keg party, but not knowing how hot it would be, we opted for adventure instead.

Tomorrow we are heading to Greensboro NC with friends to spend the day at the water park. We've reserved a cabana so that we'll have beer service.

Saturday we'll stay in town and do local things (disc golf, go karts, batting cages, etc). We'll cap off the day with a Hillcats game and the fireworks show afterward. We'll have friends over for a bonfire in the back yard after all that.

Sunday we are driving into the mountains for a six-hour mega-tubing trip on the James. We did a shorter one last year with the kids and really loved it.

After a full day of that, Court's planned for just the two of us to go to the drive-in.

You know you vacationed with your teenager when...

Your picture of her is this...










and her picture of you is THIS.

Help me out

I'm driving with Amanda to Naples, FL next week.

Once a year the two of us vacation together. We've been to San Diego, Vail, and Washington, DC.

We're going to Naples this year because friends of ours at the college have a beach house there, and they offered it to us for free. I love my friends. Amanda and I can have a great vacation for WAY more than I can afford, and now I can afford it. People are so nice.

Other than having my Judy checked out by a mechanic for trip-worthiness, I am sorely under-prepared for this trip.

Help me out. What am I going to forget?

Summer vacation's last drop

It is the end of Amanda's summer vacation. It's been a good summer, I am happy to say. School starts on Monday and Amanda is ready.

I'm going to miss her through the day. We've enjoyed each other's company.

We're on the road again this weekend. First it's north toward Fredericksburg for a music festival. Saturday morning we'll drive to DC for an overnight stay with Court's cousin Ann. We'll head back to East Jesus early Sunday.

I have reports due today, Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. I am so behind on bloglines!

I out-dumbassed Syd

And lived to tell the tale.

Road trippin' again

We're headed to Syd's and then to the in-laws in Little Rock to return the kids.

Back Tuesday.

I hung up my whistle 24 years ago

Yesterday I scored my first ocean rescue.

We nearly lost MM yesterday at the beach. Another couple of seconds and she was going under for good. But I got her.

And then she ran away.

And then I became Angry Mom.

And despite it all, we had a wonderful day at Virginia Beach. We had great food and the best server EVER at this place. Court gave us each an envelope with $10 for lunch/spending money. M scored three cute dresses, S bought a hermit crab, and MM added to her sea shell and stuffed animal collections. I got a do-rag.

Today has been a workday and I've spent most of it trying to get a critical query working.

Next time, bring a rope

We nearly lost MM (age 9) yesterday, right at about this point, at these rapids.
We went tubing on the James, and had just launched ourselves into the river. Everyone got out into the current, save for MM. She fell out of her tube and was stuck on the very rocky shore. Somehow Court managed to break loose and get to her, while I held on to M & S for their dear lives.

The kids & I got through the rapids and paddled toward shore, where we planted ourselves on a rock and waited for Court and MM to float to us. MM was traumatized, and a bit scraped up.

What upset her most was fearing she might need stitches for a cut on her hand. Despite Court's motherly assertions that stitches were unnecessary, MM worried. So Court told her to ask me, 'cause I'm a "doctor" who used to be a lifeguard. I examined her cut and told her she would not need stitches. She was comforted; all was well.

Once rejoined, Court and I used our PFDs to tether the kids tubes to ours. Despite our rocky start, it was enjoyable. In all it took us two hours to reach our stopping point. The kids (even MM) said they had a great time.

Next time, I'm bringing rope. We'll tie our tubes together before we hit the water.

And I'll also wear these on my feet in the river instead of these. I nearly broke my ankle on a rock and worse, my pedicure was all scraped up.

Tubing was just one of the several fun things we did during our day at Natural Bridge.