Oh No it is July!

So, camp was a HUGE success.  Apparently Ben got a "little homesick" although the pictures on Bunkone.com paint an entirely different story.  Everyone is on board for going back next year so that says something.  Although I am not sure how I will swing that cross country trip.  Hmmmm, may need to start plotting planning now.   I picked the kids up from camp on the 4th of July.  Not ideal.  Originally Jim's plan was to be in NC for the whole month of July doing training and so when I booked camp he was all over helping me.  Well, that did not work out for him (or me) and my family is all working at the marina (we are kind-of busy - understatement) soooo, I am picking up the kids solo - AWESOME!  It wasn't that bad.  Yeah, actually it was.  But we did it and actually came home with everything we took which is a huge accomplishment in itself.  Everything of Ben's was soaking wet.  And had been for a few days.  SMELLY!  Of course since it is 4th of July we went straight to the marina to help out for the remainder of the day and afterwards we went over to visit some of our Swansboro cousins.  We played around in the yard and then all went downtown to watch the fireworks.  Which lasted about 15 minutes. Kind of sad.  The children didn't seem to mind (or probably notice).     

Someone missed the children

No time to dwell, we are burning down our time in Swansboro people!  We have people to see, boxes to check off.  Of course what is a trip to Swansboro without going to the Water Boggan.  It will be a sad sad day when the children no longer want to go there.  This year we hooked up with the Monclovas who were in town for the 4th visiting family ... and cousin Wells also joined us!  We were sad that none of the other "local" crowd could join us, but we had plans with them a little later so it will be ok.  

Why won't this picture rotate?  The kids enjoyed being back together.

As noted last month, it is not all fun and games in the Boro.  Lucy was due to have some teeth pulled and we wanted to get it done while we were home with people we know rather than waiting to do it in Yuma.  So the week after she had the "best time of her life" at camp, we were at the oral surgeon having some fun, making some memories.  

Since she was turning 9, I told her she could get her ears pierced.  I thought maybe since she was still loopy from the teeth-pulling it would be a perfect time to get it done.  She, however, did not agree.

Don't feel to badly for her, she rebounded pretty quickly.  Up next on schedule was going to be a day in Wilmington with friends but Mother Nature had other plans.  So a rainy day was spent at the movie's instead.  I am sure the theatre was ready for us to leave.

Minions watching minions

Lucy almost always gets to spend her birthday surrounded by family.  The other two always complain about that, but on the flip side she has only had a birthday party on her actual birthday twice in 9 years.  This year is no exception. We spent the day going to church, playing at the marina and making her cake. 

Birthday cake is the perfect way to end a work day!

Naturally we made our annual trip to Mac Daddy's and were joined by Fa and Mary Hardy for some hard-core gaming fun.  While I am dreading the day they no longer want to go to the Water Boggan, my last time darkening the doors to Mac Daddy's can't come soon enough.  I was able to talk the children into "banking" their points until next year and not buying a car load of junk that we don't have room for in our already maxed-out car for the drive west.  

One more photo opt of the cousins!

Suddenly our endless summer in Swansboro somehow came down to the very last week.  Still so much to do!  The kids wanted to go tubing so we found one big enough for them all to fit on!  Big thanks to Poppa who had as much fun trying to get them to fly off of it as they did hanging onto it!  

Gigi gave Lucy a pedicure for her birthday and there was no way the other two were going to not get one as well.  Lilly opted for a manicure and Ben really wanted a color on his toes, but with Daddy coming in this week, we thought it best not to chance it.

One last cousin play date just for good measure

Sure enough, Daddy shows up on Friday morning and wants to get on the road bright and early on Saturday!  WHAT?!  Well that isn't going to happen Mr. Wellons. We got the car all packed and took for one last visit with Fa and Mary Hardy before we have to get in that car and drive it West.  It is loaded to the gills people!

Nanny found our wedding cake in the freezer so we thought it fitting to cut into it for dessert on our last night.  It was HORRIBLE!  Of course we are only 11 years too late in eating it.  

Departure day arrived.  It wasn't pretty but we managed to actually get a good start on our trip and drove to Knoxville on the first day.  It was not without complications adventures.  Jim decided we "needed" to do a drive by at Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge on the way to Knoxville. I don't know if anyone in the car shared his desire or not, but off to Gatlinburg we went.  Apparently Gatlinburg is the Myrtle Beach of the Mountains.  It was bumper-to-bumper traffic and after creep creep creeping on the only road into and out of the town Jim threw in the towel and agreed to pull over for some Hillbilly putt-putt golf. We thought that would be preferable to stopping at one of the 12 Ripley's Believe it or Not museums in Gatlinburg.  I, wisely, stayed in the car with Oscar and read my book. Unfortunately Lucy got carsick on the windy road to Gatlinburg and puked on the astroturf at Hillbilly putt-putt.  Not good. Fortunately she recovered quickly, but the putt-putt hillbillies weren't happy with us.    

FINALLY we made our way out of town and pressed onto Knoxville where we stayed in a rather dreary LaQuinta.  However, seeing that there were no other rooms in the town due to several traffic snarls we tried to look on the bright side.  

The next day was going to be a short one because we were staying with the Greenes in Nashville!  We dropped off Oscar at Miss Kitty's Cat Corral during our visit and I must say I do not think he missed us AT ALL.  He had the run of the place!  

Scott and Christy took us all over Nashville.  We listened to a band at a honky tonk, walked up and down Broadway and did a few of the major attractions. The kids love it!!  I must say the adults did too.  Definitely need to go back there.  I think the highlight of the short stay was listening to Scott and Christy's son Charlie and his bandmate Ben give us a private concert (in honor of Lucy's birthday -- as if she needed another celebration!).  The band's name is Wilder. They are on Spotify (album Tomorrow), you should check them out!  I, sadly, missed the concert because I wasn't feeling well.  Something did not agree with me and I felt it best to get horizontal.  BLECK.  But I could hear the music although it wasn't the same as being out there enjoying it for real.  Sigh.  We can't say enough about what a wonderful time we had with Scott and Christy, they really went all-out to make our visit special.  They had gifts and cupcakes for Lucy, Lilly, and Ben ... they treated us to an amazing meal at Pinewood Social Club, and they even arranged for Oscar's lodging at Miss Kitty's!  We're lucky to have such amazing friends...we did not want to leave. 

Up next was an extended stop in Memphis!  Now Jim has had quite a bit of time to plan our trip out, and that's what he loves to do.  Seriously. The man loves to plan.  Well we did not do Memphis as well as we could have. Oscar was not allowed to go into Graceland and there were no Miss Kitty's anywhere in sight.  Our going-in plan was to divide and conquer because neither of us thought it would be super busy on a sweaty July afternoon, but it was!  We could have gotten tickets to see the house but would have had to wait 4 hours to do so.  Well that wasn't going to happen.  Instead Jim took the kids to tour Elvis' plane and Oscar and I hung out in the car - do you see a trend here?  

He didn't see the King and he doesn't care

This is all I got to see.  You would think Elvis would have sprung for flashier barricades.

All is not lost!  Instead of sitting around and moping about not seeing Graceland (and listening to the Paul Simon song Graceland twenty times instead) we had other sites to see!.  Next up was the Lorraine Motel (Civil Rights Museum).  This time we were able to divide and conquer.  Jim took the kids in and then I followed.  It was a powerful tribute to MLK and the civil rights movement.  The kids are still talking about it.

Onward!  Since we were downtown, and it was almost 5:00 we decided to chance it and see if we could catch the ducks at the Peabody Hotel (and maybe get a libation).  Oscar was allowed to see this attraction.  Although we had to keep him in his carrier it was a nice break from the car.  There is a video of the ducks parading past.  I, however, can not seem to find it.  If you truly want to see it though go to youtube.  I am sure they have it.

How is it we have been gone for two days and we are still in TN?  I thought driving across Texas was bad.  We finally made it to our third state - Arkansas. One the way into town Jim began prepping the kids on what we would see that day.  He segued the conversations at the Hotel Lorraine nicely with a stop to Central High in Little Rock.  The school is IMPRESSIVE!!  There were tour groups going on and we fell into one.  Oscar slept through 99% of it.  Afterwards we wandered over to the museum and did a quick walk through.    

The car ride over to the Clinton Library was a lively one that is for sure.  The kids just could not wrap their brains around the fact that there was ever such a thing call segregation.   

I was surprised that Jim wanted to stop at the Clinton Library.  The kids were all for it but mostly because in addition to housing the artifacts from the Clinton administration, it was also home to a traveling interactive dinosaur exhibit.  Go figure!

While Jim took the first shift inside I decided Oscar could handle a little fresh air.  So I took him out of the carrier and let him walk around on the leash.  I know for a fact that the guards inside the museum were entertained, because all of them walked around the barricade to get a better look.  As Oscar was turning around we encountered a group of what appeared to be Japanese students on a tour.  They began to madly take pictures and video of the strange American walking her cat on the grounds of the Clinton Library.  Several asked me how I had trained him to do it.  HA!  I am sure Oscar is an internet superstar in Japan now.

No rest for the weary!  We have another state to get through before nightfall and at least one attraction to see; the Oklahoma City Memorial.  Shifting gears somewhat we began by giving the kids some background and then drove over to the memorial.  The place is serene and powerful, especially with the placement of the chairs (one for each victim of the bombing).  

We decided to stop in Amarillo for the night.  The kids were glad to get (and stay out) of the car and check out the hotel pool!  This is when Jim decided to tell me we were changing our "plan" a bit and would not be arriving in Yuma the next day.  Instead we were going to spend most of the following day checking out Indian trading posts and then going to hike in Canyon de Chelly.  So that meant we would NOT be stopping in Winslow, AZ.  Which was pretty much one of the few stops that I really wanted to make.  Oh well, we will be here almost 3 years. I am sure I will get to see it eventually.  So if we are going to a hike we need tennis shoes. Well all of the kids' shoes were up in the top of the car and there was NO WAY we were cracking into that just for three pairs of shoes.  I got the lecture of how tennis shoes should always be a footwear choice (again) and I counter with flops are an easier car riding choice for the kids.  I was rewarded with an eye roll.  Was this going to be the start of the move fight?  We had travelled 3/4 of the way to Yuma and the fact that the tennis shoes were readily accessible was going to derail us?  Nope.  I just drove to Wal-Mart and bought some cheap shoes.  Crisis averted.  

Cadillac Ranch

We are totally in Indian country now!  Jim stopped at so many trading posts that even the children were complaining!

One of the coolest ones we stopped at by far was the Hubbell trading post. It is the oldest continually operating trading post in Navajo country.  The kids filled out the Junior Ranger badge requirements and Lilly was able to get another stamp in her National Park book not to mention it was Pet friendly!  Total Score. 

Since it was still light out we decided to get the lay of the land and go check out several overlooks into the canyon.  It was breathtaking!  Certainly as beautiful as the Grand Canyon.  Although now I know why it might not be as well-known.  It is on the Navajo Indian Reservation therefore it is a dry place.  No alcohol.  Sigh.

Christmas card 2015?  Maybe

We had a problem.  A rather big problem.  There was no pet-friendly lodging on the reservation.  There were two hotels in town, one motel and one dog-friendly camp ground. Since we really weren't set up for camping we decided to go with the motel option.  We chose wisely.  The motel was very nice and clean and I had been wanting to stay in one since Route 66, but we had just had not been able to make it happen.  We decided to eat dinner before unloading our stuff for the night (including Oscar and his litter box).  That would give us sufficient darkness to try to get Oscar into the room without being caught.  We figured it was better to ask forgiveness than permission.  Boy were we wrong. The room had at least 3 GIANT signs that stated no pets were allowed in the rooms.  Apparently we were not the first to try this.  Well we had come this far, no turning back now.  We cautioned the children to not mention the cat or even say the word Oscar in hopes we could pull this off.  The night was uneventful and we woke early the next day to start our 3 mile hike down to the canyon floor.  Just to be on the safe side we secured the curtains to keep Oscar from outing himself to the cleaning staff and put our "do not disturb" sign on the door.  Hopefully Oscar would sleep the entire time we were gone.  

The hike was AMAZING!!  The kids were skipping their way down the path laughing and yelling the whole time at how "easy" this hiking thing was.  Ha! Wait until we have to climb the 600 feet back up.  The signs said to allow for 2 hours to complete it, we had maybe 1.5. The ruins were incredible and even more incredible was there were two Navajo ladies selling their jewelry at the bottom of the canyon within a stone's throw of the ruins!  WHAT!?!  The kids couldn't resist that and purchased a few treasures.

As predicted the children were not as happy on the return hike uphill.  The highlight of our trip back up the hill was running into a herd of mountain goats!  Hilarious.... But eventually we made it back to the car and then a speedy return to the hotel to get the heck out of dodge before the cleaning lady started her rounds.  That turned out to be a good plan but we unfortunately were not able to accomplish it because when we got back to the room Oscar was GONE!  GONE!  I mean it is a tiny one room motel with a bathroom and platform beds!  There was nowhere for Oscar to "go".  He was not anywhere.  We all panicked!  Jim especially when he realized he would be blamed for losing my cat to the Indians!  He was on his way to the office to demand his cat be returned when I stumbled onto something.  I am not sure if Jim's reaction was due to his love of Oscar or fear of what I might do (He swears it was the former). On my 6th check under the platform bed I noticed the underpinning on the mattress was ripped.  I asked Jim to help me pick up the bed and sure enough, there was Oscar in the middle of the platform bed yawning and blinking up at us like it was cool.  OH MY GOD!!!!!!  The search and rescue cost us valuable minutes because by this time the maid was all over our wing.  We were able to slowly and covertly get Oscar and all his gear out of the room and into the car with a child sitting in the car to keep Oscar down out of sight until we vacated and de-catted the room.  Whew!  I am sure there is some sort of footage somewhere and when we try to stay there again we will be fined! 

We hightailed it out of Navajo country and the game plan for today was to see the Grand Canyon and have a drink at the El Tovar Hotel on the South Rim.  This is a special place for us as we had spent Christmas Eve-Eve there way back in 2004 with a 6-week old Lilly and my family and were eager to return.  It was every bit as awesome as we remembered!

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Or maybe this one for our card

Even though technically there is at least a week of July left.  I am going to end it here.  I feel like this one has gone on and on (and on and on), which of course it has.  Couldn't be helped.  Hopefully August will not be as busy - yeah right.

NC for the Summer!

I am sure you are wondering just where have I been?  The blog has certainly suffered, my friends.  Not because there wasn't content, far from it.  I have been separated from my computer/photos and trying to do this blog on my ipad/phone just was not going to happen.  So, sorry for the delay, I will try to make it worth the wait!

As was noted in last month's blog, we are moving.  Sigh.  While I am not a huge fan of South Florida, I AM a huge fan of these ladies!  I am going to miss them terribly.  Why yes, that is a Whale pillow they gave me.  Did I mentioned how much I am going to miss them?

One last hurrah!

I decided to put Lucy's and Lilly's Award ceremonies onto June even though technically they happened in May.  Hey - it's my blog, I can manipulate my timeline if I want to.  Plus it made last month's blog a little shorter, for which I'm sure you're grateful!

Anyway, Lucy did really well at 3rd grade awards day.  She really enjoyed 3rd grade and loved her teachers.  Hopefully her 4th grade teacher will be able to tap into that "something special" that Ms. Lacroix was able to inspire.  Lucy really did shine.

Why yes, that is another 2nd place for AR points.  498.6 points!!

Not to be outdone by her younger sister, Lilly also pulled in some hardware.  She really worked for it too!  4th grade was extremely challenging for Lilly...her teacher EXPECTED a lot and Lilly delivered!!  Way to go Lilly!  She also brought home an AR trophy.  Not, first, not second and not even third! She got 4th with 607.5 points.  Normally only the top three get trophies, but because 3rd and 4th were only .5 points apart and all were over 600 they gave her one anyway.  WHEW!  Thanks AR committee.

Soo....on to the move.  Jim departed Pembroke Pines with my car on June 1st with his Dad Billy, who flew down to Miami to join Jim for the big cross-country road trip.  This was a life-saver and a great opportunity for Jim and his Dad to spend some quality time on the long stretch of I-10 to Yuma.  Back in Florida, the award ceremony on June 3rd was our last full day in Pembroke Pines.  Nanny was able to make it down just in time to get in the car and drive back to Swansboro. Lucky Lady!!  If I ever doubted her love for me and my family, she can point back to all the times she has helped me move as proof of her love!


The first day on the road we made it Pooler, GA.  Do yourselves a favor people, do NOT stay at the La Quinta at Savannah airport.  There are much nicer pet-friendly hotels (just one exit north).  It was horrible.  There was a huge puddle of water in the middle of the floor.  I am sure if Jim had been with us we would not have stayed.  We were so tired, we did not care.  Another bummer about the stay did not have anything to do with the hotel.  We were pulling a 5'x8' U-Haul and I did not want  to re-park it at a restaurant and then again at the hotel so we decided to walk to dinner.  Another bad decision.  Our only non-fast food or pizza choice was the Western Sizzlin'.  I will leave it at that.  The kids did not seem to mind.

We made it to Raleigh by the next afternoon.  Met up with Jim's sister Sallie to transfer ownership of the children to her family and Gaga and Mamama for a few days.  Sallie and her family were gracious enough to entertain the kids for 2 days in Raleigh, then Jane and Billy took them to Victoria for more adventures.  Alas I don't have pictures from the Raleigh/Victoria visit, but the children are still talking about what a great time they had.  We are so grateful they could spend this precious time with Jim's family -- their trips to Victoria are few and far between.  They did lots of field trips, swimming, golf, and of course eating!  They also had the chance to visit the Appomattox Battlefield National Park (their favorite thing -- national parks).   Meanwhile Mom, Oscar and I hightailed it to Swansboro.  Again Oscar was the best traveler.  Below are some of his travel highlights.

He was in such a good mood he was not confined to his obligatory solitary confinement this summer. 

All too soon, my child-free week was up and the kids were ready to get to work! Lilly signed up to help me rearrange some stock.

They were also able to set up a Lemonade/Popsicle Stand in Aunt Gigi's yard on the morning of Arts-by-the-Sea and they ended up each making $15.00!!  They were excited to get to Nags Head to blow it at the Candy Store!

Daddy flew into town and we all headed up to Nags Head for the Wellons Family Beach Week!  I am not really sure why they have the Subway kids meal bags on their heads but it is funny!

COUSINS!!

We spent the week boogie-boarding, digging in the sand, playing football, greased watermelon contest and SUP-ing (That means "Stand-up Paddleboarding" in case you wondered). The water and weather were perfect!  And no shark attacks! This is our third vacation in the Hallelujah cottage at Nags Head, courtesy of Jane and Billy, and it was another amazing week.  We're so lucky that (almost) all of Jim's family could make it in for the week.  Unfortunately Mary Catherine couldn't make it since she's still getting settled in San Francisco.  But all in all it was a blast and it ended much too soon!

Unfortunately Jim had to go back to Yuma at the end of the beach week, but his flight from New Bern to Charlotte ended up getting canceled, so he had to rent a car at New Bern and set a land speed record to Charlotte in 5 hours to make his connection.  Not fun.  But at least he got to reminisce about the fun beach week during his extremely long and painful journey!  Yeah, totally worth it.

Back to Swansboro for me and the kids.  I had a week to get them prepped for Camp Don Lee!!!  All three of them going to sleepaway camp AT THE SAME TIME!  I have dreamed of this for a long time.

Amazing how much they love each other when they are not conscious.

It is not a visit to Swansboro without going looking for shark teeth!  Lilly won this time for finding the biggest!  I am so glad that at least one of my children enjoy looking for them as much as I do. 

It isn't all fun and games in the Boro (despite what my dear husband thinks). After a particularly "challenging" day I took away all screens and they had to rely on their imagination or books for entertainment - the horrors!  This is what I found later on from my "agetated" son.  My response was for them to go outside the house and see if their situation changed.  I don't think that was the response they were looking for.

Thank goodness for free concerts at both Fort Macon and downtown Swansboro. I had hoped to go to one or two over in Emerald Isle this summer, but it just wasn't in the cards.

For his continual good behavior, Oscar was awarded with some early morning jaunts outside.  You can really see how much he loves them.  I am sure I have died a thousand painful deaths in his mind.  How he suffers through his love for me.

Camp is finally here!!  Aunt Gigi graciously elected to ride with me to drop them off.  I am ever so thankful.  Certainly made it easier.  I also got smart this year and borrowed Nanny's garden wagon to tote all the stuff.  The weatherman called for rain so I wrapped everything up in tarps and we hit the road!  Potential bad weather is NOT going to stop this mom from off loading the kids!!    

Got to feed the seagulls on the ferry.

Ben making himself useful.

The girls are super excited to be back at Camp Don Lee for another summer! Ben has LIVED on their stories so I am sure he will feel like he has done this before.  I asked him if he was scared to stay and he kissed me and said yes, but he also couldn't wait.  Gigi and I high-tailed it out of there and I wish I could say I spent the week relaxing on the beach and working on my tan.  I worked the whole week.  It was glorious.  I missed the children, I won't lie.  But it was nice to be Grayson for a week and let "Momma" have a few days off.  I needed it.  July is going to be CRAZY! .