Monthly Archives: August 2008

The Fam

15 miles. That’s about how far we hiked at Gilbert Lake State Park from Monday through Wednesday on our camping trip. (We came back yesterday but took a day off from hiking and just hung around.) Hot Husband and I loved to take The Oldest hiking before The Youngest was born, and we resumed it as soon as he was a big enough infant to be carried on Hot Husband’s back in one of those hiking backpacks. This is really the first year that he’s been on his feet the whole time, and it’s amazing to me that, at 6 years old, he can hike 5 miles with very little complaining. (And that only comes towards the very end.) Our boys have a love of the outdoors, and every night around the campfire, when we asked them what they’re favorite part of the day was, it was always the hiking.

I think Murphy may have even enjoyed some of it. He’s a big boy and is normally content to spend his days napping about the house (we lovingly refer to him as being “energy efficient”), but he really knows how to pull it together when he needs to. I may have seen him give us a dirty look or two, and I’m certain he’s grateful to be home, but I secretly think he enjoys the long walks with his family.

Here are a few of the family pictures taken on our trip. I will post the others sometime next week.

Oh, and check out the picture of yours truly. Hot Husband gets all the credit for that one. I actually kind of like it!

Fog

As a Photographer I have several pictures in my head. I can visualize them, but they haven’t been taken yet. I need the perfect subject, on the perfect day, at the perfect time. It’s hard to wait for that to happen. I picture one of these masterpieces printed on canvas, hanging above our fireplace. I refuse to buy anything else to put there, so, after almost 2 years here, the wall above it is still bare.

Most of the images I see are in black & white. One, specifically, is a majestic tree on a foggy morning, alone in a open field. A little over a week ago I’d hoped to get the shot. It was beautifully foggy when I woke up, and I’d already planned a date with Junior. I love to be up early, driving around with my camera and a hot cup of deliciousness…the music as loud as I want because there’s no kids in the car. I don’t usually have a planned route… I just drive. As long as there’s no snow and I stay off seasonal highways, I’m good, lol.

This particular day I didn’t get far from home. There’s a Dunkin’ Donuts on Rt. 11, and a river on the right (that I’m not about to try and spell at 7 a.m). I headed that way for no real reason (well….besides the coffee) and came as close as I have so far to my masterpiece. It’s not quite there yet…there’s something missing that I can’t put my finger on…but I’m happy with it anyway.

It’s Over

Thursday was The Youngest’s last soccer game. It’s a good thing, because it’s just not good for my blood pressure, lol. I get a lot of crap from Hot Husband because I’m less tolerant than him when it comes to how my kid performs on the field. (And just about everything else, lol.) Before I get flamed, it has absolutely nothing to do with being “the best”. It has everything to do with giving it your best. So when I see my kid on the field playing with his shorts instead of watching the ball…well…I start getting antsy.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those parents who needs to be escorted off the field. I realize it’s all about having fun, but I feel strongly that you have to have fun within the confines of the game. Have fun running and kicking the ball, but for the love of God, stay on your feet! (The beginning of soccer was a lot like flag football. It did get better towards the end.)

I still think gymnastics might be his thing, but he did have fun, and that’s all that matters.

Pinky

Skateboard camp was 2 hours a day for 5 days. The Oldest attended with his friend, and when I picked them up Monday they’d had a blast and told me they wished it was longer than 2 hours.

Tuesday, however, was a different story.

I dropped them off at 10 a.m. and came home to resume working on getting client galleries uploaded. I’ve been having some technical difficulties lately, so it seems everything is taking me twice as long as it did before wedding season started. I was battling it out with Lightroom when the phone rang at 11 a.m.. It was one of the instructor’s informing me they thought The Oldest had broken his arm.

Lightroom would have to wait. I grabbed some ice, ibuprofin and The Youngest, and drove over to pick up the boys.

Hot Husband can attest to the fact that I don’t deal well when stuff goes horribly wrong with the body…hence the reason I’m a Photographer and not a Nurse or Doctor. So when I asked to see the injury, I immediately wished I hadn’t. It didn’t take a medical degree to know his wrist was broken after a mere 3 hours of skateboard camp. Off to Convenient Care we went.

Sure enough, x-rays confirmed he’d broken both bones in his wrist. The staff at Cortland Convenient Care sent us over to Ithaca to see the Orthopedist right away to have it set. To say The Oldest and I weren’t prepared for that experience is a gross understatement. I have lived through both of Hot Husband’s knee surgeries because I was occupied in the waiting room. Being present during the setting broken bones, however, is not my cup of tea. I pray my boys manage to keep the rest of their bones intact until they’re adults.

Since Hot Husband was teaching summer school and doesn’t receive any paid time off during the session, I chose to handle the days events on my own. However, when it was all said and done, I felt The Oldest and I had earned a trip to the mall for some retail therapy. He was anxious to spend his Birthday money at Zumiez, and I figured I’d earned a charm for my Pandora bracelet. After a quick stop at Target we were off to do our shopping while Hot Husband borrowed the keys to the Charger to put our purchases in the trunk.

I was knee-deep in Pandora charms when my phone rang.

Me: “Hello?”

HH: “I know this is a stupid question, but do you have a spare key to the Charger?”

Me: “I know you didn’t just lock my keys in the car…”

Since this is a PG-13 rated blog at most, I’ll spare you the rest of the conversation. Having not been present for the day’s festivities, Hot Husband didn’t realize my stress level had already reached “code red.” His keys were back at home because The Youngest’s Godfather drove his vehicle home after he met me in Ithaca. So, armed with a metal thing that looked like a slim jim and a wire hanger, given to me by the nice women at Perrywinkles, I set out to break into my car. (Barring that, I figured I could find another use for the hanger…)

This is the part where I thank Guy With The Slim Jim, because neither one of my tools were working. Thank you!!

(Oh, and by the way, even if you’re able to get a Charger unlocked with a slim jim, you can’t use the trunk release inside the car to get the keys that are inside it.)