View from the deck

This gorgeous sunset view was taken from the back deck Tuesday night. We have such beautiful sunsets and I have very few good shots of them. It still is not the same as real life, though. Autumn is such a lovely time of year in this area. I wanted to get some nice shots of the trees, but I'm afraid I may have waited too long and they are past peak.

Last night I got a shot of the moon. Again, not awesome, but kind of eerie as seen through the neighbors trees. It's an October, Halloween kind of sight.

Sadness Reigning

Pun totally intended! It has been raining all day and Morgan's soccer game was cancelled. I hear it is warmer in Maine than it is here in PA. Wonderful! But we managed to survive a day without soccer by taking Morgan to get his flu shot. This is the first time in 7 years that he did not cry when getting a shot. The Little Prince is growing up!

He and the king have been amusing themselves by playing Guitar Hero all day long. Mostly Morgan plays, but when he lets Reese have a turn, Morgan sings into the remote. I have a feeling we will be adding a mic to the mix soon. Yea! I had to drag them, kicking and screaming, out to the kitchen to eat chicken parmesan and spaghetti. Which was absolutely delish, by the way. Yum-o!

I am amazed

Morgan getting ready to kick the ball out during the warm up before Saturday's game.


He kicked so hard and fast that I couldn't even get the ball in the picture.

The amazing thing is that he stays on his feet! How can that be? And, no, he did not kick cute little #5. It just looks that way. Really. I love the expression on his face. He enjoys the sport so much. I will be sad next year when it becomes competitive.

Another one bites the dust

The little prince just lost another tooth. Finally! It's been loooooose for a couple weeks now. I was afraid to let him go to sleep tonight without pulling it. I told him I was worried that it would get stuck in his throat. Well, that did cross my mind. He was wiggling it at 90 degree angles (grossing me out, BTW) but it just would not break free. I told him I would not be able to sleep if it did not come out. He could go to bed, but I would be waking up about every hour to check on him to make sure it was not stuck in his throat.

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After his shower, we sat on his bed for about 1/2 hr and talked between wiggles. It was kind of fun, actually. I never seem to spend as much one-on-one time with him as I would like. He told me about free time at school today. I never get any school information from him. He said he drew a picture of King Julian (from Penguins of Madagascar). Then he told me the funny parts from the show, word for word.

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I finally took pity on him and told him to rinse his mouth in the bathroom and get in bed. Was it really that mean of me to say, "I suppose I will not be getting much sleep tonight"? He rinsed his mouth in the bathroom and came back in his room to tell me he thought he could get the tooth out with "just one more yank". That even sounded painful. Sure enough, he stood in front of the mirror and yanked and out it came. He had the biggest grin on his face as he said to me, "No you can sleep tonight!". As he walked out the door to show his dad, I heard him say "I'm so proud of myself!" Awwww...Little man...

Happy Birthday to me!

I had the most wonderful birthday today. By 5:45 this evening, I had received a phone call from all my sisters, my mom, my cousin, Mary and several other friends. Thanks, everyone, for making my day so special. AND...this morning while I was fixing my hair in the bathroom, my cell phone rang. (Please note: I'm not attached to my phone at all times, I just happened to have it with me in case someone called to wish me happy birthday.) It was the little prince calling me from the kitchen phone to wish me a happy birthday.

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You know, it is amazing how much Morgan tunes into at age 7. He knows how much I love books (my present from Reese was the latest from Dan Brown and he always gets me books for Christmas). When we were opening presents and I didn't have one from him, he became quite upset. He said he wanted to make me one. I gave him the paper he asked for and he took himself and his sticky tape into the living room. It was quiet for a long time. I thought maybe he was trying to wrap himself, which would have been a lovely present! Then he came out proudly bearing a flat, rectangular object wrapped in a plain sheet of paper. He said he was sorry that he didn't have time to decorate it. He wouldn't let me turn it over because he said the paper was not big enough to cover the whole present and he didn't want me to see what it was. Sure enough, it was a book that he found in the living room and gave to me. Thanks, Morgan, you are the best! We will have lots of fun reading it together. :)

Soccer report

Messy weather on the 12th made for a messy uniform. We played the light blue team... Bet their moms loved doing that laundry. Better yet, the team pictures were scheduled for about 1 hr following the game. At least most of the mess was on the back of the uniform and pictures were of the front.
Morgan warming up before last Saturday's game.


Can you blame him for allowing that goal? Look how huge the net is!!!!!

He has to show off. Once one of the girls does a cartwheel, he has to join on. They had a good game on Saturday. Morgan scored a goal and the Green Machine won 6-0. I was sorry for the other team. They did their best, but just couldn't score.

Camping out...sort of

No, he's not bleeding. He is just not very careful when drinking grape juice.


Isn't Morgan's cousin, Ben, so cute? He was racing around all over the place on his little bike.

Not quite sure what Ben's brother Logan was looking for. Probably Morgan.

Ah, yes. The reason we were at the campground. My sisters (left to right - Rosemary, Esther and Darese) love to camp. I'm the one on the phone. I do not camp. However, I do love to visit them when they are camping in the area. So they do the camping and we come to visit and provide the entertainment. What can I say? I'm a funny person!

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This time when we met, the girls wanted to take me for ice cream for my birthday. So we all piled in Esther's giant, 4-door, extended cab or something diesel truck. I mean, it's huge! Darese and Rosemary were in the back shortening Morgan's uniform pants. I know. Not only did I eat their delicious campfire food (it was absolutely awesome) but I brought work for them to do for me. We started out of the campground and I tried to get TomTom to tell us where to go for ice cream. I am very directionally challenged, even with a TomTom. After a few tight U-ies (Esther did an amazing job driving that huge truck), we were pointed in the correct direction for Dairy Queen. Laughing and talking and not paying attention to the one male in the truck allowed us to make a wrong turn. We ended up on some dark, tiny, dirt road facing an old one-lane covered bridge. Next to the bridge was a small sign informing us that the bridge was safe for loads under 4 tons. Not being truck-minded myself, I was tempted to believe Esther when she said she thought we were in a 6 ton truck. Imagine my dismay when she started across the rickety old bridge anyway. Darese, being a typical evil older sister, made the loudest crash noise she could conjure up. After one good scream from me, they started laughing their heads off. Until we heard the bridge start to creak. "Faster, faster, must go faster!" I thought we would never get across! Well, we were fine, of course. They had their laugh, I got my ice cream and all was well with the world. Of course the guys back at the campsite had a good laugh when we told them of our adventure. Esther's husband informed me that it was only a 2 ton truck. Or was it 3? I don't remember. Something under 4 tons.

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I had an awesome time with my sisters. I don't get see my family often enough. My closest sister lives 2 hrs away. But we sure make the times we spend together memorable. Love you girls!

Let's do this thing!

Such excitement at the Green Machine's game last Saturday! The little prince rubs his hands in anticipation of the first faceoff of the season. He played center and scored the first goal within about 40 seconds of the starting whistle. Woot! [correction: the king stopped by my computer and announced that I was mistaken when I stated that Morgan scored within 40 seconds. He knows that it was 22 seconds because he has watched the video several times since last Saturday.] We scored 3 points and then the other team scored 3 points. Well, that got the Green Machine cranking (we were undefeated last year)! The GM scored 5 more points to end the game at 8-3. It was so fun to watch. Next year they will no longer be co-ed and it will be more competative so not as relaxing to watch, I'm sure. I am making it a point to enjoy it "an extra lot" this year.

First day of school

Here is the traditional picture of Morgan standing at the garage door. He doesn't ride the bus on the first day of school. We take him so that we can get pictures of him and his little friends as they wait in the school yard.

This year, we dropped him off at the corner just behind his friend and classmate, Rory. They walked up to the school yard together, chatting about whatever it is 2nd graders chat about on the first day of school. He probably told her he got up so late that he didn't have time for breakfast and had to eat a piece of toast on the way down to school (see above photo). In order to one-up him, she probably is saying she didn't get to eat any breakfast.

Here we see Kameron expressing terror at being looked at by a GIRL. He is getting support from Matthew, Morgan and Aiden. Such goofy boys!

All the children meet in the school yard beginning at 8:10am until 8:30am. They have a chance to talk to their friends (I can only imagine what Morgan is telling them) until the bell rings. On the first day of school, they are welcomed by the Principal and led in the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of "God Bless America". The rest of the school year, they wait in the school yard from 8:10 until 8:20, then go to their classrooms for school to start at 8:30. Once the weather gets too cold, they wait in the gym.

You can't really see the lines, but they are there. The little boy holding the yellow bag is the first one in line for 1st Grade. The lady on the right side of the photo is Morgan's teacher from last year, Sister Mary Jane. The other teacher in the photo is his 2nd Grade teacher this year, Ms. Kochol (pronounced coke-ol). She is at the beginning of the 2nd Grade line.

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They all lined up so nicely and were well behaved. Yea, kids! They only went to school until 12noon today, with no lunch served, so we (Reese used a sick day) took Morgan to Friendly's for lunch. It was fun. We secretly asked his Pappy to meet us there. You should have seen the look on Morgan's face when he spied Pappy in the parking lot. He stopped in the middle of his sentence and his jaw dropped. It was so cute!

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Apparently nothing special happened today, which is a good thing. Because the state budget has not yet been passed, there are no books at school. Anywhere. In the state. I know. Weird. But it will give the teachers a chance for hands-on work. I'm sure they are overjoyed!!

Summer vacation is ending

We are in the last week of summer vacation. This is the last Friday. Since I have to work, Reese is taking Morgan somewhere. They had planned to go golfing, but it is raining. Maybe, since I only work half a day, I can get in on the last-Friday-of-summer-vacation fun!

He's planning something

Not sure what the little Prince was doing in this picture. I think he was making an evil plan to steal the ball from his opponent. He says he was just stretching. Riiiight!

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No matter. I found out that Morgan's team will be called the "Green Machine". Hmmm...Leave it to 1st and 2nd graders. But, hey, it rhymes, right?

Pedro

Baseball fans know who I mean. On August 5th, we went to a Reading Phillies game to see Pedro Martinez pitch. It was great. Morgan did not get his picture taken with the real Pedro, but his picture was on the TV in the background. Morgan did, however, get a ball that was pitched by Pedro. We had awesome seats in the outfield just past first base. Pedro pitched and the ball was hit straight up and was heading our way. Morgan had his glove out (more to protect me than to get the ball, I'm sure) but could not quite get there in time. The gentleman next to us reached down, snagged the ball as it was heading down behind the tarp storage and gave it to Morgan. The look on Morgan's face was priceless. "Pedro pitched this ball" he kept saying.

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We are heading to Baseballtown again tomorrow night. I wonder what excitement we shall encounter? It will be our last big event of summer vacation. School starts on Monday. Second grade here we come!!!

Carnival Fun

So, are you scared? Well, don't be! It's just the little batman prince after visiting the face painting stand at the Summer's End Carnival. Every year, the school has their Summer's End Carnival and, as parents with a student who attends the school, we are required to volunteer. I like to call it mandatory volunteerism. This year, I was scheduled to work 5-7 on Friday and Saturday. I ended up working until 8:30 and 9:30 both nights because my replacement did not show. I'm thinking some of the parents did not get the mandatory volunteerism memo. Or maybe they are planning to spend their mandatory volunteerism helping out with the Race for Education Thank You notes in September or Bingo in November or the Chinese Auction next April. Yes, I'm going with that explanation.

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It was very, very hot working the Ethnic Stand until the sun finally went behind the building, but I must say I had fun. Not being from around here, I finally learned the difference between halushkies and halupkies, neither of which I ever plan to eat. Halupkies (also known as "blind pigeons") are stuffed cabbage. I think they are stuffed with hamburger and rice, kind of like stuffed peppers. Halushkies are an Eastern European casserole consisting of cabbage, onions, potatoes and homemade noodles. The stand also sold bean soup and pierogies.

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There are so many things to do at the Carnival. Reese took the little prince around to the different stands while I was working my shifts. There is a bounce house for the kids, a little putting green, sand art, face painting, etc. There is also a pick-a-number stand, bingo and a very popular dunk tank. Then there is the food...french fries and funnel cakes, hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza...and the live entertainment. There was a DJ Friday night and a band Saturday night. It was a great time. It was just as much fun walking 3 blocks to the car and talking to Morgan about all the fun things he did.

Let's Go Jaguars!!

Yea, Team! Here is Morgan and Aiden. The one photo I took of Morgan by himself was blurry. Go figure.

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So, flag football is over. It was fun, but now it's done. On to the next thing...SOCCER!

Summer Project

Several weeks ago, my longtime wish came true. I got my patio under the picnic table. It's a little thing, but I've wanted one for years. I hated moving the super heavy picnic table every time I cut the grass. Though I need the extra exercise, shouldn't cutting the grass with a push mower be considered enough? Yes, well, anyway, here is our summer project. Hubby worked tirelessly on this and got it done in a day and a half. It was quite a chore, but I love it! Thanks, Sweetie!

Determination

The other day, Morgan decided he wanted to fly a kite. I told him there was no wind. But, 7-year-old boy that he is, he went in the garage and got his kite out anyway. Just had to prove Mom wrong. He unwound some string and threw it with all his might. Several times and from several different areas of the yard. All without success. This caused him to become very cross with the kite, the wind (or lack thereof) and life in general. "Mommy, why won't this kite fly!!?? This is the worst day of my life!!" And like a good mommy, I kept my mouth shut and did not speak my thoughts. I did, however, think them quite loudly. I thought, "I wish that was all I had to worry about." And "Life was so simple back in the day..." But mostly I just thought, "I DID tell you about the wind!"

Growing up

The little prince is growing up. I see it in little things. Last night he was wandering about the kitchen. Suddenly, I heard the microwave door open and close and numbers being pushed. I said, "Morgan, what are you doing?" He said, "I am warming up the rest of my pretzel from today. Do you think 15 seconds is too long?" He had found his pretzel that was left from earlier in the day, got a plate from the cupboard and was heating it up for his snack. Awwww. My little prince is holding his own. Kinda makes me sad to realize that he no longer depends on me for everything. Yet I am glad because that means he is becoming independent and can look out for himself. Mixed emotions. Such is life. Keeps me young????

4th of July weekend

Hope everyone had a safe, happy 4th of July weekend. The weather was beautiful. Actually cool on Saturday, in the shade. We started the day watching the "Baby Parade" downtown. Not quite sure why it is called that when they have mostly firetrucks, army vehicles, Yuengling horses, a band, etc. Well, they did have a few floats with babies on them. And were they cute!! The parade walkers threw out candy for the parade watchers and Morgan did not get run over trying to pick it up. Which is a good thing. Reese's dad came up for lunch and after eating waaaay too much, Morgan entertained us with hand stands and won a 1-inning game of wiffleball against his Dad.

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We walked down to our friends' house for a cookout around 6:30. By 8, I was walking back to our house for a sweatshirt. By 9, Reese was heading back for a sweatshirt. The little prince was running around like a madman (he was the only boy with 5 other girls) and did not seem to need a sweatshirt. Wonderful, thoughtful dad that he is, Reese brought one for him anyway.

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We stayed to watch the town fireworks at 10pm. They were beautiful! Actually, the rest of the town was setting off lovely fireworks from 8:30 until the official fireworks started at 10. Our friends live at the top of the hill overlooking the town. They have an awesome viewpoint for all the fireworks. We took our chairs out around 9 and watched them. From all sides.

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It was interesting to watch the people gather. They came in their cars, trucks, vans and SUVs. I even saw a motorcycle or 2. Many people walked down from their homes, carrying blankets or chairs. And we all ooohed and aaahed at the beautiful colors and the loud booms. It was great fun. An added plus is that we could walk home and skip the traffic jam.

Recovering

No, it's not as bad as it sounds. I'm just recovering from the long ride down and back to my Mom's. Making the trip in one day and trying to spend enough time visiting while there, makes one tired. And I didn't even drive. Reese was kind enough to drive us down.

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Reese and I got to have a nice visit with Mom and Morgan had a great time playing with the kids. Always kids around somewhere. He went "hunting" for "bears" with Alan and Logan and played basketball with Nathan. You must excuse some motherly pride here, but I must brag that Nathan was impressed at how good Morgan was at making 10-foot baskets. That's my boy!

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I got to see my 2 great nieces and my great nephew. They are so cute! Somehow, I really don't remember Morgan ever being that small. Compared to them, he looks like a giant.

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My Mom's church was having their annual Campmeeting, so there were many people from around the world visiting that I got to see again. I did not get to any of the meetings last year. When we got there, there was only grass parking left. Lots of people and lots of good food. Yum!

Birthday Boy

What do you know? Today is Morgan's 7th birthday and I'm actually posting pictures on the very day. Wow. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Reese is not home and Morgan is sleeping and I have nothing else to do. Right now.

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Anyway, Morgan celebrated his 7th bday today. Happy Birthday, Little Prince! Dad brought home a giant bday cake balloon which happened to have 7 candles on top. How cool is that? And a Superman balloon for a Super Boy. Which he really was today. We went to his swim class in the rain (swimmin' in the rain), had a "picnic" lunch in the truck at McDonald's, played pictionary jr and laughed ourselves silly at his drawing of a table with a turkey on it to get me to say "Thanksgiving". It made us laugh even more that I knew what it was!
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We met Reese's parents at Friendly's for dinner. The waitresses sang the Friendly's bday song to Morgan (if you're good you'll get your wishes / if you're bad you'll do our dishes). I got it on tape. You should have seen his eyes light up and his crooked little grin. They gave him two giant balloons, which he loved dearly. Why do kids go so crazy over balloons? Guess I did that myself, back in the day.

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After eating waaaaay too much at Friendly's, we went back to the house to show his parents Morgan's football touchdown, open a couple presents and let Morgan blow out the #7 candle on his cake (which we were too stuffed to eat).

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I hope he had a wonderful day. Most of his aunts (7 out of 8 is not bad at all!!) and his grandma called to wish him a happy birthday. My family rules!