Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Monday, July 19, 2010

Chloe gettin down with her bad self

Tradition

Pa is getting Miss Chloe started early on her balancing skills. The photo of Pop and I was taken in July of 1991.  
Chloe is rocking pig-tails for the first time here!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

My 5:30 a.m. Adventure

At 5:30 this morning our phone rang, and rang, and then rang again.  I finally peeled myself out of the bed to answer it.  It was my Mom and she said they are on I-70 west of Puntamville and the universal joint has fallen out of the van. I am thinking "okay since when am I a mechanic of the family?" Doug helped me gather some tools and off to Putnamville I headed. 
    They were on I-70 at 5:30 in the morning, because Levi and his buddy are participating in the Rain-Ride today.  It is a 160 mile ride across Indiana starting in Terre Haute and ending in Richmond.  I assumed that the whole Rain Ride idea was dunzo since the van was definitely broken down and they were still about 30 miles from Terre Haute, but they decided it would be a total waste of money and time if they didn't at least try to get to the starting point.  So,  Levi and his buddy got their hitchhiking thumbs out and scored a ride with another biker, yay! 
  I finally made it to where Mom and Pop were stranded.  They already had the drive-shaft off the van, so we headed over to Napa in Cloverdale to get the new part.  The time is now around 8:00 (had to wait for the store to open, snore).  
  We get back to the van and the first two parts slide in like butter! This is gonna be quick and easy I thought, well I was wrong apparently.  We could not get that stupid thing back together, not to mention it was like 90 degrees and the van was just feet from semis blazing by at 70 plus miles an hour.  It was pretty scary. Every big rig that passed blew the van over a little bit, and we were kneeling on ground on the other side. I seriously felt like the van could tip right over on us.  I kept thinking,I hope those truckers got a good nights sleep. One small swerve could spell disaster for us.
  We took the universal joint apart and put it back together at least 15 times .  Mom was really starting to lose her patience and it was showing.  She told Pop over and over "No more Jim, that's  it!  I mean it this time, we are going to call a tow truck!  She was sounding pretty desperate, it was actually kinda funny looking back.  After several more failed attempts, Mom made an executive decision and  took the tools away from Pop and put them back in my car.  
  Oh, and I need to help you visualize Pop.  He has on bright orange cargo shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, red reading glasses, flip flops, of course his signature Einstein hair "do" was present.  You would have thought he was boarding a plane to Maui, but no, just going to Terre Haute. I think a certain somebody is in desperate need of a vacation.  
  Pop got up for a very short break and stumbled down the hill and sort of turned his ankle. So, then we had to have a melt down about how flip-flops should be outlawed or something along those lines.  I don't know about you, but nothing sends me over the edge like flip-flops.
 
  Anyway, anyone that knows Pop, knows that he is not going to give up that easy.  Even without the tools, he would not stop.  He found a piece of metal and a block of wood on ground next to the van and back to work he went, as if Mom hadn't even taken his tools.  He would not even look away from the part.  He was on a mission.
    Mom was really losing it now "Jim stop, stop, just stop!!!  We are not going to stay out here all day and try to fix this stupid van!  No more!"  You should know that there were many, many, many expletives spewing throughout this whole ordeal, but not proper for the blogosphere.  And then miraculously, after nearly 3 hours of trying, the the part slips together!  We were flabbergasted, but we weren't about to question why it finally decided to work, we were going with it. We were just ready to get the van back together and back on the road.  Pop slid under the van and put the drive shaft back on and we were back in business  As we were wiping the grease off of our hands, Mom gingerly says "Pop I am so glad I yelled like that, I think that is why the part went together".  Pop and I gave each other a glance and then in unison we all three broke out into laughter.  So that was my 5:30 adventure with my folks.  Sometimes memories are made in the strangest places, like on the side of  I-70 just west of "Nam" (Put-NAM-ville that is). :)

Chloe and her new babydoll

Blueberry Pecan Coffee Cake

I made this cake today for..........hmmmm.......hold on........okay, okay no special reason at all, other than blueberries are ripe!!!  I seriously wonder how many of these little jewels Doug, Chloe, and I consume during the wonderful blueberry season.  Love em!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Hansel and Gretel Sandwich

I can hardly believe that Miss Chloe can eat sandwiches without any of Mommy's help.  We call this a Hansel and Gretel Sandwich.  Just follow the trail of crumbs and there you will find BearPie. 

This little girl has kept me so busy, that I have not had much time to blog.  The only time Chloe isn't getting into a drawers, trashcans, laundry (always the folded laundry too), refrigerator, bathroom vanity, etc, etc.  is when she is sleeping.  She is so curious and boy is she a busy body!  

Chloe and I ventured out to the Dollar General today for some "bear" necessities.  We were making our way down the toy aisle on our way to check out, when Chloe spotted a baby doll.  She began bouncing up and down and saying baaaaaby, baaaby, baaaby.  So, naturally I plucked it off the shelf and handed it to her.  She hugged and kissed the baby, swaying back and forth, and then holding baby out in front of her and telling her a story.  There wasn't a price tag on the baby, so I asked the clerk how much it was (as if I was going to put it back on the shelf anyways, who am I fooling?), when the clerk took the baby to scan it for a price, Chloe let out a loud shriek and screamed "my baby"! She let out a sigh of relief as soon as the clerk gave her back her baby.  She has said baby many times, but never MY baby.  It was hilarious, so needless to say that baby has a home with us now. 

Caylee and Alexis' photoshoot

Here are a few photos of Caylee and Alexis.  They are best buds and have been since they were just tots. Their moms were also best friends when they were teeny-boppers. I think it is pretty neat that they are carrying on the tradition   We had so much fun on our shoot.  They were really into it.  It was very obvious that they caught a few episodes of America's Next Top Model.