Glasgow Fiasco

Its madness I tell you: 5 blog posts in 5 consecutive days. That's got to be a record. Speaking of records...

On Saturday, August 21st Mom took part in her third run of the season: The 2nd Annual Glasgow Fiasco 5K Run/Walk.



The all important results: Mom completed the new course in 26.14; her best time yet! She came in 53rd out of 162 participants and 4th in her division.

Congratulations, Mom!

Getting Away

Seeking a wee respite from our daily routines, Mom and I recently packed up the crew and went on holiday to the Delaware shore for a week.

Traveling down Friday morning, the boys and Sadie rode with me in the truck while Mom took the girls in the van. While en route, Mom stopped to pick up Abby's friends, Emily and Kristin, who stayed with us over the weekend. That evening, after getting settled and some take-out Grottos, we loaded the 8 of us onto public transportation to ride in to Rehoboth and wander the boardwalk.

Saturday and Sunday were both beach days at Tower's beach. Blessed with an abundance of good weather, both days yielded a wealth of holes dug, waves rode, and memories made.

But alas, not all was well: Sunday, Aidan was just...off. Thinking he was just sapped from the day prior, I had him take a nap with me under the umbrella. He ended up sleeping for over 2 hours. When he awoke, Mom commented that he seemed warm. We later confirmed he had a fever over 100°. As a result, we laid low Monday and Tuesday at the beach house, giving Aidan a chance to recoup.

Wednesday, with Aidan seeming better, we packed light and took an afternoon trip out to Tower's. What a great time. It really was one of those near perfect beach trips: Not too hot, not too cold, not too crowded, waves just big enough to ride without beating you up. Everything was so right we stuck around until close to 6 that evening.

Thursday, under threat of showers, we headed over to the Outlets for some shopping. This would have been OK if we hadn't had to deal with the millions of other people who also were not on the beach. Wow was it busy. The evening culminated with a Kid's Eat Free dinner at IHOP.

Friday, Grammy popped in. So, despite the cloudy skies, we took another afternoon trip over to Tower's. What a difference a day or 2 makes: Huge, crashing waves and a strong undertow were the order of the day. You'd have thought we had a Cat 5 hurricane off the coast. I think we saw 3 rescues by the Life Guards just in the first 45 minutes we were there.

Finally, Saturday, the sun returned. For our final hurrah, we once more headed over to Tower's beach. This time we met up with 2 separate groups of friends: Alex's friend Zach and his family as well as the family who introduced us to Tower's just last summer. We had a great time catching up and watching all the kids play together...

So despite a few hiccups here and there, all in all in was nice to get away. Thanks Grammy and Grandad for the use of the place. We always appreciate it.

Wild Kingdom

On Monday morning, while Sadie was out for her morning constitutional, I noted that she had taken a particular interest in the kid's play-set, sniffing intently around one outside corner. When she darted to the inside of the same corner I knew something was up. I dashed down the stairs to seperate her from her quarry and found a wrack of 4 bunnies.

Monday evening, during a pre-walk bunny sweep, we found no trace of the babes. Thinking they had moved on, we sent Sadie out in the yard on her own. This lapse in judgement resulted in soon finding Sadie with her curious nose pressed against the now wet forehead of one of the little ones who had wandered back into the yard.

Now, on Tuesday night, our 4 hares have multiplied out to 7. Yes, 7 baby bunnies are now nesting is my heavily dog-scented back yard. I know the housing situation is tough out there right now but...come on...!

3/4 of a First Day of School

Well, the 2010-11 school year has mostly kicked off. Alex, Abigail, and Amanda started back at Red Lion today. Emotions ranged from excited (note who's wearing cheery colors) to depressed (note who's wearing black).

New for this year: Uniforms. While the initial cost is a bit of an ouchy, the payoff will come with decreased disagreements over appropriate dress during the morning prep time.

While Alex plans to continue his foray into the world of soccer, Abigail is hoping to follow in Mom's footsteps by securing a place on the Field hockey team. And Amanda should be taking up an instrument in band. Maybe. I think. More on this as it develops.

Open Wide and Say 'Aaagh...'

Here's something I myself have never experienced: One of my kids at the dentist. More over, this was Aidan's first trip. He was so well behaved that they were even able to do a fluoride treatment.

Tradition Building

As adults, we are able to look back and cherish traditions we had as we grew up. For example, I recall our family day trips to Ocean City, MD: Parking near the Senator Motel on 12th, changing clothes afterwards in the back of the car with towels in the windows, and dinner at Pizza Hut on 27th before heading home. Ah, good times...

I can only hope that nights like this past Thursday conjure the same feelings for my kids as they age. What happened Thursday night, you ask? Why, it was time for our annual trek out the Fairhill Fair Grounds for the Demo Derby at the Cecil County Fair, of course.

Firsts abounded this year. Our first first; after yearly invites, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Jason finally relented and joined us for the evening. As if that wasn't cool enough, Nana and Poppop tagged along as well (First we got Nana out to a baseball game back in May, and now this. What's the world coming to?) All seemed to have a genuinely swell time.

Our second first; 2 gentlemen from our church family fielded cars this year. Having someone you know to root for really adds something to the experience. And to top it off, one of them won their round. Congratulations, Tony!

We still didn't convince anyone to tackle the greased pole, but, as a tradition, there 's always next year...right?