10 posts tagged “friends”
On Saturday, Pete, Miles, Colsen and I traveled to Saluda, NC to spend some time at a couple cabins with a bunch of my old friends. There are about a dozen of my Spencerport classmates (plus spouses and kids) that still get together annually -- and this time, conveniently for us -- the gathering was close by. I'm so thankful for these friendships -- several of us have even known each other since we were 6 or 7 years old. It's been so strange, and wonderful, watching everyone grow up over the years (on the outside anyway!) and choose various life paths. Still, we always say it's like no time has gone by since we were in school together, learning what a noun was and how to do long division. We've been on sports teams together, on Odyssey of the Mind teams together, in student government together, etc. And now 25 or 30 years later, we're still friends. (And no one has aged a bit -- that's what we keep telling each other anyway!)
So the 19 of us had fun together this past weekend -- doing a lot of sitting around and talking, and even riding a zip line that was next to the cabins. Some of the group went mountain biking and some went shopping and hiking, but I just enjoyed the time to catch up. Pete likes these friends as well -- I guess he's known a lot of them for about 14 years now -- and he also enjoyed having the chance to sample the product of a friends' new business venture: mead!
I had to ask myself: If I'm just now finally getting around to cleaning up a half-empty wine glass from last night, and it's 4:00 in the afternoon, does that mean it's been a really good weekend? Or does it just mean we're being a little too irresponsible and playing too much? Either way, we're thankful for the fun times.
The highlights...
On Friday we had some good play time with our friends the Dickmanns at a park nearby. The kids ran around and played while we adults had some good conversation time. Then we all went for a short hike through the woods, which we always love.
Friday night I was able to go out for awhile. Over 50 of the women from our church went on a retreat this weekend*, but for those of us who could not go, Sandy hosted an "Unretreat Girls Night Out" which turned out to be a lot of fun.
Saturday, we all bounded out of bed to head our separate directions (which is why the dishes did not get done and the wine glasses were not picked up!). Pete took Strider and Rayna uptown to meet Poppa and see the Harlem Globetrotters play. Before the game, the sports league Strider plays in arranged to have the kids get a chance to play on the court, etc., so they loved that. Plus there was both a trolley ride and a train ride, and lunch at a restaurant, thrown into the mix, so all in all they all had a great day.
Meanwhile, I took the 2 younger boys to our neighborhood's annual Kite Day. Colsen had fun making a couple of crafts and seeing all the kites -- although he may have had just as much fun seeing the men with their lawnmowers in the yards we passed on the way walking to and from the field. Then the 3 of us packed up and went to run some errands. It makes me smile to think about how I would have dreaded taking 2 kids to the store with me when I just had Strider and Rayna. But now it seems much simpler-- and even enjoyable. I love the feeling of growing into motherhood. I think I've been a very late bloomer in this arena, but slowly and surely I'm feeling a little more capable as the years go by. :)
Saturday night (just minutes after we finally got the house and kitchen picked up) Katie and Graham came over, bringing Shepherd's Pie for dinner, and a couple games to play afterwards. It was a very fun evening with them... no pictures to show, though.
I was very thankful for a Day of Rest today... though I'm not sure how I should feel about the fact that I needed a break after so much playing!
*As a side note, I always enjoy going to church on the Sundays when all the women are gone -- it's fun to see how the kids show up, if their clothes match or not, and how bedraggled the dads all look! But I have to say, I was very impressed today. In fact, the scraggliest-looking kids were probably my own. So many dads were there with smiles, looking very sweet with their children.)
We are entering another significant season today: the season of Lent. Our family has really benefited from learning more about the traditional Church year and so we are excited to embark on this season once more.
This year, we have the added fun of celebrating with our friends as well. So here's where we were last night:
http://coleclan9rdfc.vox.com/library/post/shrove-tuesday.html
Thanks, Alleyn, for documenting this for us! And thanks for all the great pancakes, games, lessons, and even the Gilligan's Island Psalter song. :)
Knowing my mother's abhorrence of snakes, this would not have been a fun activity for her to be at, or to hear about.... but for our kids, it was a different story.
This morning our friend Elizabeth turned 7, so Rayna went to her party. The whole family ended up crashing, though, when we found out what the activity was... a man with all kinds of live animals!. The guy had quite a show planned... from the very beginning when he pulled a snake out of his front shirt pocket, to when there was suddenly a lizard on the top of his head, to when he hauled out a 25-lb tortoise that Rayna was convinced was coming after her.
The first big attractions were the snakes... including a python that for some reason the kids (and a few of the adults) thought was fun to wear as a belt. Crazy if you ask me.
And there were other creepy crawlies, like geckos, bearded dragon lizard things, frogs, turtles, as well as the cute and furry animals that everyone loved to hold. In each case, the man brought around the animal and each kid got a turn to hold or pet it.
Strider clapped with glee -- literally-- each time a new exotic one was lifted out of its secret crate, and at one point turned to me and said, "This would be the BEST job!" Rayna was a little less enthusiastic about some of the creatures, but she did think the huge tortoise was pretty cool... once it wasn't chasing her. I remained mostly a hands-off observer, having inherited a small/large bit of my mom's fear and distaste of reptiles, I guess. But I kept myself entertained by constantly swatting my kids' hands away from their faces and reapplying hand sanitizer every 5 minutes... Something about the combination of a bunch of kids with runny noses, exotic caged animals, and the fact that I'm about to bring a newborn into this world was making me a little wired.
It was quite the fun birthday party, though... afterwards we all went outside and played in this spring-like weather -- beautiful. And the kids are not likely to forget this experience for a long time!
As I type this, the kids are all upstairs (finally), supposedly in bed, and this is the scene by our fireplace. And "dreams that St. Nicholas soon would be there" are likely running through the kids' little heads.
We've had a fun evening celebrating this "Santa" holiday again this year, with some friends joining us for the festivities. Before dinner all the kids enjoyed making little gingerbread ornaments (gingerbread is something like a delicacy the real St. Nick likely handed out in his day), and then after we had our Middle Eastern dinner (food St. Nick would have likely eaten), we all gathered to hear the story of St. Nicholas, read by Mr. Timberlake. Right when the story ended, there was a mysterious "ding dong" of the doorbell, so off everyone ran to see who was there....
No St. Nicholas showed his face, but he apparently left some little goody bags for the kids, which they all enjoyed. But the best part of the evening, in my opinion was when Pete shared with everyone about some kids we had just heard about who are in need this Christmas, who won't have any stockings unless people give them to them. When he asked if any of the kids would like to give away any of their new things they had just received, every single kid -- even the 2-year olds -- enthusiastically brought forward items to put in the new stocking to give away. Just like St. Nicholas would have done!
Now we'll just have to wait and see what St. Nicholas might bring the kids this year while they sleep... And then all of our "Santa" stuff goes away after tomorrow -- and we focus only on the Baby in the Manger now.
So, happy St. Nick's day to you, and to all a good night!
As mentioned before, Pete joined a bunch of his friends for their semi-annual "ATF" gathering last weekend. By some rough calculations, I think we have determined that this was approximately the 26th such gathering! There is a group of 10 of them who attend regularly -- 9 former Grove City students, and one former Grove City professor.
Thanks to Trey Miller (owner of Pascal Agency -- how's that for a plug?), I got to see some pictures of this auspicious event. The guys usually stay in cabins that are part of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, and this time they picked one they had not tried before. It required them to park and then hike in for about 2 miles, reportedly on a narrow and harrowing trail with multiple switchbacks, the threat of killer bears and an uphill incline in both directions. But they were MEN about the whole thing, hauling in whole cases of beer, several pounds of meat, etc. It looks like it was in a beautiful location once they got there!
They got to spend some time hiking on the Appalachian Trail on Saturday, and by the looks of things, also got to spend a lot of time talking and talking and talking...
The name for these ATF weekends was originally meant to be "alcohol, tobacco and firearms" but from these pictures it looks as if it's become more like "alcohol, talking and food." To be fair, I think the "F" has actually been usurped by Football usually... although I did not hear about this this time. Maybe something about the average age of attendees precariously tipping over the far edge of 35 has now brought this activity to an end as well?
They DID try and revive the original "F" intention last winter, though.... Here's a picture from that event.
In all seriousness, I am very thankful for this group of men. Even though I don't get to actually go on these trips (thankfully), I do benefit greatly, having a husband who comes home refreshed, newly challenged, and encouraged by these life-long friends. I admire their commitment to the group and to one another, and the accountability they provide for each other is amazing to see. I won't get all sentimental and weepy, since this is supposed to be a manly post, but I'll just say that Pete and I are both very thankful for these friends!
The daughter of some good friends of ours turned 15, and in the Spanish-speaking culture, this means it's time for a Quinceanera party! Over 100 guests came to this big event, which meant it was a fun time for all of us to party with a lot of friends. The dinner was very yummy, and the ceremony part was beautiful. Kathryn was honored and blessed by several different family members, and was bedecked with a jeweled necklace and a tiara, fitting for a Daugther of a King, as was emphasized all evening. I loved watching my friends go through this milestone with their firstborn... not sure how they got it through it without weeping the entire time -- they are much more poised than I am (who WAS weeping through a lot of it. :) ) Everything that was said was spoken in both English and Spanish, so the ceremony was doubly long, but as our friend Tim pointed out, it made for a good opportunity for all of us to try and increase our Spanish understanding.
All 3 of our kids were very excited to attend this party -- in fact we were all dressed and ready to go an hour early (unheard of for us, the family who is always rushing out the door 10 minutes late). Colsen kept chanting "PAR-TY! PAR-TY" and Rayna searched through her room to find some good "dancing shoes" which she eventually found (some Cinderella dress-up shoes). She did some made up tap-dance routines for us on the kitchen floor.... but then we were mean parents and made her wear shoes that actually fit to the real party. Unfortunately, we ended up having to leave before all the dancing got underway at the Quinceanera -- the younger kids were getting way too tired -- but we hear the dancing was a blast. Maybe when Amanda, the 2nd daughter of their family, turns 15 in a couple years, we'll all be old enough to party all night long!
Some funny faces...
The kids all had fun with their costumes this year (all of which I got for $4 or less at a consignment sale!)... Strider was excited to be a ferocious dragon (I kept overhearing him tell Rayna that since dragons are so big they don't even see flowers and they step on them!) But Rayna was still thrilled to be a flower. And Colsen even seemed to enjoy his costume -- he didn't rip the hat off constantly like I thought he would.
In the evening we first met a bunch of friends at IHOP for dinner. There were 19 of us in the group, and even though the restaurant was basically empty when we arrived, we were pretty sure the wait staff groaned when we walked in. And they were right to be apprehensive: between the wild costumed children all playing and yelling about scary dragons attacking beautiful princesses, who were then (possibly) rescued by superheroes, and the 4 babies in high chairs repeatedly yelling and throwing anything within reach onto the floor, we were a very loud and messy group! (We left large tips!)
Afterwards, we came home for some quick trick-or-treating around the corner. All 3 of our kids were very into it... Colsen just thought it was great to be outside in the dark, Strider was intrigued by every costume and activity everyone else was doing, and Rayna thought she was visiting everyone at each house. I had to keep calling from the sidewalk, "Ok, Rayna, time to go!" She just wanted to stay and chat with everyone. It WAS fun to see all the neighbors and enjoy the excitement.
Yesterday we went to the North Carolina Zoo -- and it was a perfect day for it. The leaves were beautiful and the weather was great. And thanks to the homeschool program the zoo has, the entrance fees, which should have cost $44 only cost $10!
We took a couple of Strider's friends with us and I think everyone had a blast. And I think we only said "Boys, get off of that" or "Boys, get back on the trail," LESS than 100 times! At one point I came around the bend to find all 3 boys perched up high on the back of some bleachers. I groaned, "Why do you guys always have to find the most risky place to be??" and a lady nearby chimed in, "I'll tell you: B-O-Y."
My favorite line of the day, though, was, "Can I throw a rock at him [a sleeping otter] to wake him up? I've been wanting to do that all day [to all the sleeping animals]." Guess who said it.... Pete!! (Thankfully none of the kids heard him!) Once a boy, always a boy.
Seriously, though, the boys were very well behaved, and even surprised us by listening to "The Secret Garden" on CD for about an hour on the way home. :)
Here are some pictures from our day:
This weekend was lovely in many ways -- perfect weather, happy people, fun activities. Here are some of the highlights!
Yesterday we walked into the town center for our Fall Festival... the kids had been looking forward to it for weeks! They got to do a lot of fun things...
And then in the afternoon.... I got to escape to....
to spend a few hours with my beautiful friend Heather! Lots of fun. And even though we're too young to be in the Red Hat Society, we apparently both decided we should start the Red Shoes Society!
Then today, after church, Strider and I went on a special date that we've had planned for a long time: we went to see "The Music Man" at Matthews Playhouse. It was a great production! And Strider loved it -- even though it was 2 1/2 hours long. We got to sit 2 rows behind the orchestra, and Strider was in awe of all the drama. When the lights dimmed at the very beginning, he said rather loudly "Yay!" Awhile later, though, during a particularly long and seemingly gratuitious song-and-dance number, he whispered to me, "Does this have anything to do with the story??" I think he was just ready to get to the point. :) I know a couple of his relatives that feel the same way about musicals!
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend, and we are very thankful.
