Adventures in NJ
S&S were supposed to host a Game Night Afternoon party yesterday (Sun), but last week had to reschedule as Scott is recovering from pneumonia and was having some subsequent digestive issues - related to meds? He's not sure. But, anyway, our Memorial Day weekend was suddenly open, so we decided to come to NJ. There's ongoing car work Will is helping with, and I know MiniPlu loves coming here, the twins always enjoy being together, and Karen loves visitors. Besides, it's kind of a break for me, too - someone else to entertain children, and I can help with someone else's chores, which is always WAY more fun than doing my own. :-P
Saturday: Will rode the bike early, and then the men settled in to work on replacing the a/c on one of R&K's vehicles. Getting K moving in the morning always takes forever, so I spent some time weeding the front roses, finishing the project I had started two weeks prior. Eventually, Karen, the kids and I went to lunch at the family's favorite diner, which is very close to Dad, and nearly half an hour away for us. But first, K had decided to invite our youngest niece, Melanie, along, since the three kids always have fun together. Melanie, of course, lives in the complete opposite direction from the diner, so P&H brought her up halfway. What with the slow morning and retrieving Melanie and all, it was 12:45p before we finally got to the diner. (Dad met us there.) Nice lunch, at least.
Karen needed to get groceries for the weekend, but the kids decided not to come along, so we dropped them off at home on the way to the store, so they could play/hang out. I went along to shop, because K always takes FOREVER and I thought maybe I could help a little. I'm not sure how much I cut down her waffling time, because she's ridiculously indecisive, always wanting whatever will make people the absolute happiest, but I think I helped a little. I'd woken up that morning with a cold sore on my lip - only the second time ever that I've had one - so I picked up some treatment at the store along the way. Still, even with my trying to be helpful, it was after 4pm by the time we got back. And the sky looked threatening.
See, R&K live a mere 10 mins away from a big theme park. We treated our kids to passes for this year, anticipating a lot of weekend visits, and they were dying to go. But the evening was wet - not stormy, but definitely wet - so, reluctantly, K told them we would have to scrap the park. To compensate for their disappointment, she took them to browse a local mall. Then Rob announced he needed cocoa powder for cookies, plus something from Lowe's, and our car needed gas. (Our car being the only driveable one this whole weekend.) I helped Rob make pie crust dough, helped clean up from dinner, etc. The mall crew didn't get back until after 10:30pm - I was already in bed, reading. Melanie spent the night, so all three of our kids camped out in the same room, with M and MiniPlu sharing a bed, Two on an air mattress on the floor. (Fri night, MiniPlu had the bed to herself and Two was on a bed in the downstairs den.)
Sunday:Two and Melanie were up pretty early, but at least they entertained themselves reasonably well until other people got up. Rob had intended to be up early starting cookies and making the apple pies, but he slept in, so I'd hauled myself up early for no reason, sigh. Instead, I finished the rose weeding. Will was already on the bike, but he came up and we got kids moving in time for church. Happened to sit in a pew right in front of a family with two boys adopted from Korea.
After church, Will and I went for a run, although it was almost too warm already - really really gorgeous weather this weekend. K and the 3 kids prepared to head to the amusement park, leaving around 11am. We knew that the band R5 was playing a concert at the park that evening, and that people would likely go early to get tickets, but we hadn't anticipated just HOW much of a madhouse it would be. K and kids encountered a half-mile (nearly 1k) backup on the highway just to get OFF the highway for the park. After nearly 90mins of crawling through traffic to just get to the park entrance, they decided to scrap it and came home. By then, the half-mile traffic backup on the highway had turned to an 8-mile backup. Ugh! At least there wasn't any problem getting home again, but it was clear that whatever alternative activity they chose, it couldn't involve going on the highway in that direction again.
MiniPlu has had her heart set on ice skating this weekend - why? no idea. But she lobbied for that as the alternative activity, but I was concerned because it sounded to me like everyone else - chaperoning adults, included - preferred roller skating. I pulled MiniPlu aside and gently told her my concerns that she was the ONLY one who wanted ice skating and that everyone else was just being dragged along. There were a few tears, but she agreed that she didn't want to be selfish or feel like everyone else was being coerced. But as soon as I suggested to K that they go roller skating instead, everyone else piped up that they were willing to give ice skating a shot, even if it wasn't their first choice, so ice skating it was. But first they had to make sure someplace would be open. K found a place open 2-4pm, and had promised the kids a fast-food lunch to make up for the amusement park disappointment (except MiniPlu opted to eat Two's leftover egg salad sandwich from the diner - I think she felt bad about all the money K was offering to spend on them). So ... off they went again. I helped Rob peel and chop apples for pies, then I went back outside to now prune dead or stray branches off the roses. Will mowed the lawn (1 acre - this requires a riding mower), and I walked the dog.
Came back inside to a text from Karen that they'd waited at the rink for 20 mins, bewildered by the fact that it was closed, despite the website claiming otherwise. Eventually someone came to the door and said they were closed for the holiday weekend. ARGH! Those poor kids! And Karen! I couldn't believe how much trouble they'd had finding something fun to do for the day. But in the end they went to an indoor glow-in-the-dark-ish mini-golf place at a local mall, and had fun that way. There was also one of those bungee jumping things where they put belts on you and you can jump and spin, like, 10 feet in the air, jumping on a trampoline, with the bungee belts to keep you flying all over the place. Each kid went once (at $10/pop for 5 min, ouch!) and MiniPlu shelled out her own pocket money to sneak in a second trip (K took the other kids for a second round of minigolf so they wouldn't notice). I took a nap late afternoon, desperately needed one, then cleaned up all the rose branches I'd cut off - otherwise, the front walk rather resembled Sleeping Beauty's castle - enough prickly branches to prevent anyway from approaching the front walk. :-P
(Side note: I have some spectacular bruises on my forearms, particularly my left one, from sparring last week. I now have enough rose scratches on the forearms - more on the right arm - to look like I'd encountered a very annoyed cat. I've got an old burn mark from a month ago on my right wrist. I'm not likely to win any arm-modeling contests anytime soon. :-P)
The weather was gorgeous, however, so we ate dinner (leftovers and apple pie) outside on a picnic table, and had a bonfire (they have a portable metal firepit in the back yard) once it got dark. Before going outside, I helped MiniPlu study for PREP. Another late night for the kids. (Getting them back on schedule for school will be fun. :-P)
Monday: Woke up this morning to Two telling me that he'd wanted to watch a video and thus had taken it upon himself to set up a "free one month trial" Netflix account. BIG NO NO. This is why we have never let Two know his iPad Mini password for getting apps, updates, etc - because we don't trust him not to do stupid shit like this. At least he was honest about it, so points for that, but Will and I have banned him from all computer-based screens for a week. (TV is ok - no possibility of getting accounts there. :P) And Will was able to cancel the Netflix account. But STILL. What on earth made Two think that this would be ok? To set up an account for ANYTHING without asking first?? Seriously?
After that drama, K and the three kids made one final attempt at the amusement park this morning, leaving again around 11am. I haven't heard a word since they were in line for security, so I can only assume everything is going much more smoothly today. Meanwhile, the rest of us are being kind of lazy. Yes, Will is on the bike again, but he took his time getting on. Rob twiddled online a bit and then went back to bed, even though he was supposed to make another batch of cookies. I've been lounging on the sofa, catching up on LJ and other stuff for the first time in days. The men have had the a/c replacement work on hold while they've tried and TRIED to WD-40 a bolt enough times that it might finally come off, but today they're finally having to admit defeat, and will have to work around it. Assuming they ever get get out to the garage, seeing as it's 1pm already and Will wants to leave by 7p at the latest, right after dinner, which means we have to be packed up BEFORE dinner.
Anyway - overall it's been a good weekend, but definitely not always the most efficient one. I had thoughts of doing some retail-therapy shopping, but then I remembered Karen has our car, and no other vehicle is currently usable. Oh well. If you've had a long weekend this weekend, how have you spent it?
With many thanks to our fallen vets on this Memorial Day. We remember you.
Memo to the media world: No, I do not need to know every little detail of Kimye's wedding. The rings, the food, the celebs, the parties, the ridiculousness of every moment of the weekend.... Please stop hogging multiple headline spaces, ergh.
Saturday: Will rode the bike early, and then the men settled in to work on replacing the a/c on one of R&K's vehicles. Getting K moving in the morning always takes forever, so I spent some time weeding the front roses, finishing the project I had started two weeks prior. Eventually, Karen, the kids and I went to lunch at the family's favorite diner, which is very close to Dad, and nearly half an hour away for us. But first, K had decided to invite our youngest niece, Melanie, along, since the three kids always have fun together. Melanie, of course, lives in the complete opposite direction from the diner, so P&H brought her up halfway. What with the slow morning and retrieving Melanie and all, it was 12:45p before we finally got to the diner. (Dad met us there.) Nice lunch, at least.
Karen needed to get groceries for the weekend, but the kids decided not to come along, so we dropped them off at home on the way to the store, so they could play/hang out. I went along to shop, because K always takes FOREVER and I thought maybe I could help a little. I'm not sure how much I cut down her waffling time, because she's ridiculously indecisive, always wanting whatever will make people the absolute happiest, but I think I helped a little. I'd woken up that morning with a cold sore on my lip - only the second time ever that I've had one - so I picked up some treatment at the store along the way. Still, even with my trying to be helpful, it was after 4pm by the time we got back. And the sky looked threatening.
See, R&K live a mere 10 mins away from a big theme park. We treated our kids to passes for this year, anticipating a lot of weekend visits, and they were dying to go. But the evening was wet - not stormy, but definitely wet - so, reluctantly, K told them we would have to scrap the park. To compensate for their disappointment, she took them to browse a local mall. Then Rob announced he needed cocoa powder for cookies, plus something from Lowe's, and our car needed gas. (Our car being the only driveable one this whole weekend.) I helped Rob make pie crust dough, helped clean up from dinner, etc. The mall crew didn't get back until after 10:30pm - I was already in bed, reading. Melanie spent the night, so all three of our kids camped out in the same room, with M and MiniPlu sharing a bed, Two on an air mattress on the floor. (Fri night, MiniPlu had the bed to herself and Two was on a bed in the downstairs den.)
Sunday:Two and Melanie were up pretty early, but at least they entertained themselves reasonably well until other people got up. Rob had intended to be up early starting cookies and making the apple pies, but he slept in, so I'd hauled myself up early for no reason, sigh. Instead, I finished the rose weeding. Will was already on the bike, but he came up and we got kids moving in time for church. Happened to sit in a pew right in front of a family with two boys adopted from Korea.
After church, Will and I went for a run, although it was almost too warm already - really really gorgeous weather this weekend. K and the 3 kids prepared to head to the amusement park, leaving around 11am. We knew that the band R5 was playing a concert at the park that evening, and that people would likely go early to get tickets, but we hadn't anticipated just HOW much of a madhouse it would be. K and kids encountered a half-mile (nearly 1k) backup on the highway just to get OFF the highway for the park. After nearly 90mins of crawling through traffic to just get to the park entrance, they decided to scrap it and came home. By then, the half-mile traffic backup on the highway had turned to an 8-mile backup. Ugh! At least there wasn't any problem getting home again, but it was clear that whatever alternative activity they chose, it couldn't involve going on the highway in that direction again.
MiniPlu has had her heart set on ice skating this weekend - why? no idea. But she lobbied for that as the alternative activity, but I was concerned because it sounded to me like everyone else - chaperoning adults, included - preferred roller skating. I pulled MiniPlu aside and gently told her my concerns that she was the ONLY one who wanted ice skating and that everyone else was just being dragged along. There were a few tears, but she agreed that she didn't want to be selfish or feel like everyone else was being coerced. But as soon as I suggested to K that they go roller skating instead, everyone else piped up that they were willing to give ice skating a shot, even if it wasn't their first choice, so ice skating it was. But first they had to make sure someplace would be open. K found a place open 2-4pm, and had promised the kids a fast-food lunch to make up for the amusement park disappointment (except MiniPlu opted to eat Two's leftover egg salad sandwich from the diner - I think she felt bad about all the money K was offering to spend on them). So ... off they went again. I helped Rob peel and chop apples for pies, then I went back outside to now prune dead or stray branches off the roses. Will mowed the lawn (1 acre - this requires a riding mower), and I walked the dog.
Came back inside to a text from Karen that they'd waited at the rink for 20 mins, bewildered by the fact that it was closed, despite the website claiming otherwise. Eventually someone came to the door and said they were closed for the holiday weekend. ARGH! Those poor kids! And Karen! I couldn't believe how much trouble they'd had finding something fun to do for the day. But in the end they went to an indoor glow-in-the-dark-ish mini-golf place at a local mall, and had fun that way. There was also one of those bungee jumping things where they put belts on you and you can jump and spin, like, 10 feet in the air, jumping on a trampoline, with the bungee belts to keep you flying all over the place. Each kid went once (at $10/pop for 5 min, ouch!) and MiniPlu shelled out her own pocket money to sneak in a second trip (K took the other kids for a second round of minigolf so they wouldn't notice). I took a nap late afternoon, desperately needed one, then cleaned up all the rose branches I'd cut off - otherwise, the front walk rather resembled Sleeping Beauty's castle - enough prickly branches to prevent anyway from approaching the front walk. :-P
(Side note: I have some spectacular bruises on my forearms, particularly my left one, from sparring last week. I now have enough rose scratches on the forearms - more on the right arm - to look like I'd encountered a very annoyed cat. I've got an old burn mark from a month ago on my right wrist. I'm not likely to win any arm-modeling contests anytime soon. :-P)
The weather was gorgeous, however, so we ate dinner (leftovers and apple pie) outside on a picnic table, and had a bonfire (they have a portable metal firepit in the back yard) once it got dark. Before going outside, I helped MiniPlu study for PREP. Another late night for the kids. (Getting them back on schedule for school will be fun. :-P)
Monday: Woke up this morning to Two telling me that he'd wanted to watch a video and thus had taken it upon himself to set up a "free one month trial" Netflix account. BIG NO NO. This is why we have never let Two know his iPad Mini password for getting apps, updates, etc - because we don't trust him not to do stupid shit like this. At least he was honest about it, so points for that, but Will and I have banned him from all computer-based screens for a week. (TV is ok - no possibility of getting accounts there. :P) And Will was able to cancel the Netflix account. But STILL. What on earth made Two think that this would be ok? To set up an account for ANYTHING without asking first?? Seriously?
After that drama, K and the three kids made one final attempt at the amusement park this morning, leaving again around 11am. I haven't heard a word since they were in line for security, so I can only assume everything is going much more smoothly today. Meanwhile, the rest of us are being kind of lazy. Yes, Will is on the bike again, but he took his time getting on. Rob twiddled online a bit and then went back to bed, even though he was supposed to make another batch of cookies. I've been lounging on the sofa, catching up on LJ and other stuff for the first time in days. The men have had the a/c replacement work on hold while they've tried and TRIED to WD-40 a bolt enough times that it might finally come off, but today they're finally having to admit defeat, and will have to work around it. Assuming they ever get get out to the garage, seeing as it's 1pm already and Will wants to leave by 7p at the latest, right after dinner, which means we have to be packed up BEFORE dinner.
Anyway - overall it's been a good weekend, but definitely not always the most efficient one. I had thoughts of doing some retail-therapy shopping, but then I remembered Karen has our car, and no other vehicle is currently usable. Oh well. If you've had a long weekend this weekend, how have you spent it?
With many thanks to our fallen vets on this Memorial Day. We remember you.
Memo to the media world: No, I do not need to know every little detail of Kimye's wedding. The rings, the food, the celebs, the parties, the ridiculousness of every moment of the weekend.... Please stop hogging multiple headline spaces, ergh.