Braids, Bleach, Bingo & Burritos

Rainy vacation day number two consisted of braids, bleach, bingo and burritos. Due to the rain, we opted for another day hanging at the resort and doing activities. Hannah opted for the "Island" Hair Braiding. After waiting our turn and then being braided for about 30-45 minutes, Hannah was transformed into a braided and beaded beauty. Glad she opted for the half-head braid instead of the full head, as it was between waiting for the person before us to get done and getting her braids, we spent 2 hours there.

Our next fun event was tie-dyed t-shirts. We all made shirts as a souvenier of our trip. We won't be able to see the final results of this until tomorrow evening. I am thinking of doing a mini photo shoot in these when they are done. This is the part where the bleach comes in. The dye for the shirts supposedly will stain your skin for days. Although we were protected with gloves and smocks, we still managed dye on us. Parker in particular managed dye on his face. Michael said not to worry as we could photoshop this dye spot out of pictures. Instead of taking his suggestion, I sought out my own solution. I had a bleach pen and put a little on a paper towel with some water and presto, no more dye on the skin.

To cap off our day we went to "Fiesta Bingo & Burrito Night". Kids had fun playing Bingo, but no winner for us. The burritos were okay, but hey, I didn't have to cook, so it was great for me.

Vacation Photos

Here are some photos from our vacation so far. I love this picture of Hannah facing the ocean. I wonder what was going on in her mind.


These are some of my attempts at Black and White Photography. Parker wasn't totally cooperative for this "photo session". Not sure what I think of taking in b&w yet.

Wet, but not in a good way!

So we planned a vacation to relax before the craziness of the school year begins. We thought we would be wet from hours at the beach and the resort pool. Unfortunately most of the wetness has been caused by rain. In true fashion for our family, we still went to the beach twice yesterday. The first time was to just walk the beach, but needless to say, all three kids were soaked head to toe. We decided to swim in the pool in the late afternoon despite the constant drizzle. The kids begged to go back to the beach with swimsuits on this time. It was now a "balmy" 67 degree, drizzling rain and a breeze coming off the ocean. Parker opted for his beach chair covered with a beach towel. Lucas and Hannah braved the water and played in the flying foam coming off the beach. Tuesday's weather hasn't been any better, so we have opted for activities at the resort. We hope tomorrow will bring at least dryness to us, so we can get wet in a good way!

A long time coming!

Back in fourth grade (3 years ago), Lucas had to do a report on a plant.
He did it on Asian Tiger Lilies. To show the plant in more detail, we bought
three young plants off Ebay. Only one survived and this year is the first year it bloomed. So after a long time waiting, we finally got to see these flowers that he had spent hours researching.


I've also been trying to increase my photography skills, so I have been experimenting taking photos at various angles. I took these from below the blossom looking toward the tree tops.

When & How?

So when and how did this little boy of mine

become old enough to do this?

Can't be that Lucas is old enough to play real contact sports. I know he takes Taekwondo and I have watched him get hit but that seems so controlled. I am not sure I am going to be able to watch him play football for his middle school.

These pictures were taken Monday on the first day of football practice in full gear. I can't believe that he has stuck it out with football, as it is really demanding. Since a week after school got out he has been doing voluntary conditioning 3 nights a week for an hour, followed by a week of football camp and now in August it is 3 hours every night and will continue that way even once school starts.

Life's Ups & Downs

Well Friday night was one of those up & down sort of nights. Both Hannah & Lucas had Taekwondo Black Belt Testing. Hannah is on the first of 2 tests for her 1st Degree Senior Black Belt. Lucas is on the second of 2 stages to earn his 2nd degree black belt. He passed the 1st stage awhile ago and has failed to pass the second stage the last 2 attempts. You can only attempt once every 2 months. The first failure was for not properly executing his form and the second for wood. If I am reading the curriculum list correctly, that even though he broke all of his wood tonight, I am fairly sure that he did wrong kicks, which will mean not passing. On the other hand, Hannah seemed to do well on her form (hard exactly for me to know,as I can't remember all their moves at this level), sparring seemed good and she broke all her wood. She was actually the last one breaking wood and didn't realized that the other groups had finished and everyone's eyes in the whole place were on her breaking her wood.

No matter the outcome, I am so proud of both of them. It is hard work to get to this level in Taekwondo and they both have continued to work at achieving the next level.

Rock Chicks!

Last night Hannah & I went to see the American Idol Tour. Either I am getting old or the music was too loud. I'll go with the latter choice. It was an interesting show. I would have loved to see even more of Blake & Jordin. Too bad for Hannah that we didn't have seats one row back. The guy behind us had an extra backstage pass that he offered to the girl sitting next to his family. Not sure anyways that I would have let her go backstage without me. How cool would it have been though to meet some of the Idols in person? I was surprised at the number of young kids at the show. Guess the tour promoters figured that out though, since they made a $20 souveneir puppy wearing an American Idol t-shirt. That and having Pop-Tarts as a sponsor. We did get free Pop-Tarts Splitz at the end of the show.

Roughing it

This weekend we went camping to Bark Camp, an Ohio State Park. We ventured there with all the kids, the dog, my Aunt Darlene and Fred. The kids, especially Lucas, weren't sure what to make of the "no flush toilets". Hannah wondered how people did it in the "olden days".

They also experienced swimming in a lake for the first time. When we first suggested it to them, they were not excited about the idea. Once we got them there though, they didn't want to get out. Hannah made a friend and together they found freshwater clams and snails.

The spot to fish was nearby the beach area, so they alternated throughout the day swimming & fishing. Lucas caught 1, Parker 1 and Hannah 2. I caught 1 also. Speaking of fishing, I bought Parker the "Rocket Rod", as seen on TV. I have to say that was one neat gadget for safe fishing with little ones. The adults even had fun using it. Definitely recommend it for anyone fishing with a small child.

The evenings were spent around the fire. The kids enjoyed making smores, burning marshmallows and making Hannah's new recipe that she learned at Girl Scout Camp, "Banana Boats". Saturday night they showed a movie outdoors. It was the "Last Memsi". It was a weird movie, especially for a movie geared toward kids.

Sunday evening we got a bad thunderstorm for about 45 minutes. Kids were scared of all the close by thunder and the pouring rain. Michael got too claustrophobic in the tents during this time, so he opted to stand outside under the canopy flap. Luckily the storm passed over and we didn't have to make an escape for home in the rain. The only bad part of the night was that the tent leaked around the windows, making things a little damp. All in all it was a good trip. The kids were good for the most part and the puppy behaved even better.