july in photos

I finally figured out how to get my photos on this computer, so here's a random scattering of the past few weeks, in pictures.

Dad and Rylee, with the remote-control boat/pool skimmer:
Rylee checking out the frog Lisa found in the backyard. I like how the ring compliments the colors of the frog....How many people (and giraffes!) can we fit on Grandma's swing???
Quinn and I on our birthdays: his 8-month, my 30th.Rylee and Q watching a dvd on the portable dvd player, on the bird couch:
Our friend (and Quinn's former babysitter) Jill, and her family stopped by last weekend while they were in town. They moved across the state, back to their hometown, at the end of the school year, and we really miss them. We loved seeing them again and Q had a great time with the kids!This past Sunday all the girls went with our friend Brandy to watch her get her first tattoo. There were 13 of us there, then we went out for Mexican for lunch.....
...and yes, 5 of the 13 were kids. OK, now don't judge me. It's a kid-friendly tattoo establishment. And anyway, it's not like I let Q get inked.....this time........ :)
Here he is with Brandy's son, Preston.And finally, this is what I call the "Blues Clues Trance". I don't know what it is about that blue dog, but he just loves it. He recently discovered Blue, at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and now we watch it in the morning while I get ready for work. He's totally into it and it keeps him happy while I blow dry my hair. It's funny though, it's only Blues Clues that he likes. When it's over and the next show comes on, he's uninterested, and back to his toys.
I wonder if Blue is voiced by Raffi?????

Beach Bums

Friday was "lake day", our annual summertime trip to Lake Erie for a day on the beach. The weather was lovely, the food was great, Quinn and Rylee had a fun time playing in the sand, and we finished the evening off with some cake to celebrate Bill & Jenni's anniversary. The ride up was fun-filled...first Rylee sang "Old McDonald" to Quinn with every animal she could think of, then she sang quietly to herself while he took a nap; next, we made a pit-stop at Bob's (Evans, that is) and then the rest of the way there, we played I Spy...which isn't easy to keep going when you're traveling with grass and trees and fields on both sides of the road.
Quinn even played I Spy, via Rylee. She would play 'for' him, in her funny little Quinn voice.

The ride home was a lot less eventful- both Q and R slept the entire way home. Lisa and I were sufficiently sunburned, mostly on our backs; mom and the little ones seemed to escape sun damage. I thought I put sunscreen on my back, but.... I guess not enough.

As always, my camera was affixed to my face, so there's plenty of beach photos to share.

Cutie Q

Dear Switzerland,

I know you are super-extra busy over there. However, please take two seconds out of your schedule to e-mail me the answer to the password protection question so I can get on with my day.
Much love,
L

i need my tech teacher.

Funny story...I have a couple hundred pictures to unload from both of my digital cameras...but I can't because I am using an Apple laptop while our computer is touring Europe--and I can't figure out how to use the Apple!
And before you say "hey, I know you've already put photos on your computer this week, because you put new pics on this very blog just yesterday!", those pictures were on my phone and I emailed them to the laptop.
What's so hard to figure out?
I can't figure out where to put the memory card.
Go ahead. Laugh at me.

How fun is this swing!?!

just some pictures

Because I know that you care what's on my iPod

What music am I listening to these days? Well, I'm glad you asked. My iPod is actually touring Europe, so I'm sure it's filled with what I call "I'm going to scream and ride on my skateboard" music (aka Panic at the Disco, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Emo-screamo, jr. high punky spiky haired jump up and down 'music') which is not anywhere near my taste in music, but whatever. I know that my iPod will be returned in it's original musical state when it returns to its original United State, so no worries here.

But since my beloved iPod is across the pond, I have to resort to CD's in my jeep. Up until six weeks ago, this was no big deal. But then soon after I got my jeep, my dad pointed out the "AUX" port, in which I can plug in my iPod. The result? Endless music selection AND no more CD clutter. It's a win-win. And now that I'm going without the iPod, I really miss it.

So in order to reduce the disc collection on my front passenger seat, I have limited myself to only a few CDs that will fit into the little side compartment on the door. This means CD rotation and trying to predict the mood of my music for the day: not an easy task. I might want to hear Metallica on my way TO work, and KC and the Sunshine band on the way HOME. And who knows when a random country music bug might bite?! The obvious answer: the mixed tape. Little bit of everything all wrapped up in one tidy little disc. (Mixed tape sounds better than mixed CD, right?)

I have to say, I pride myself on my mix tape abilities. I've been mixing for years. And there's a science to making the perfect mix tape, and I've got it down. Just the other day, Joe found an ancient mix that I made (an actual cassette tape!) called the "412-6 party mix". After a minute I deciphered the title --it's really cryptic-- my first apartment was 412 Perrin St., Apartment 6. And it was a tape made for a party. What can I say, I waste all my creative energy on the music, not the title.

And I even remember the actual party the tape was created for...complete with "Brass Monkey" and some random hip hop that I'm sure I got from my roommate.

Where was I....oh yeah, you want to know what's in my car. This week's selection? Aside from the couple of mixed Cd's I burned (one called "summer 2008". Brilliant, no?) There's the new Kid Rock album- if you like his new song, buy the album. It's awesome. And then there's the new Jason Mraz-- also awesome. And a band I discovered buried deep inside iTunes, called the Submarines. And last, but definitely not least-- in fact probably most important-- is the Raffi CD, featuring "Baby Beluga". I don't know what it is about Raffi, but his voice and that stupid song about a whale can calm my baby in 2 seconds flat, from a complete screaming fit to total peacefulness. I adore Raffi. His CD has a permanent place in my jeep. I wonder if he's available for part time babysitting in the fall????

Yes, I judge books by their covers...

I'm a big-time reader, always have been. I recently (finally!) finished a book by one of my favorite authors, Jodi Picoult, called Second Glance. Thank goodness I bought it, rather than borrowed it from the library like I usually do, otherwise I would have a HUGE late fee on this one. It took me almost 4 months to finish! Yes, months. Usually if it takes me that long to get through a book, it's because it's not very good so I give up on it and find another. (Yes, I'm one of those people who can quit reading a book halfway through just because it's not gripping enough. I know.)
I will say, Second Glance is probably, in my opinion of course, J.P.'s second worst novel. The Tenth Circle was by far my least favorite of hers....I just watched the Lifetime Movie adaptation of the book last week and I think it's one of the only times when a movie was actually better than the book.
Second Glance just didn't grab my attention, but I finished it anyway, despite my lack of interest and time, and usual give-upedness on less-than-enthralling reading material. But because I'm a big J.P. fan, I did finish it. Usually when I finish one of her books, they give the reader something to think about. This time I was just glad to finally be done with it. I still can't believe it took me 4 months to read. And now that I really think about it, I think this one may have bumped The Tenth Circle for the title of my least favorite J.P. book.
Anyway, I returned Second Glance to my bookshelf and picked another one to start. (I always pick a new book as soon as I finish another...and as a side note, I have another J.P. book I've purchased, 19 minutes, and I've heard good things about it, but I like to give myself a break between her books, so that one will have to wait a little while...)
I have a habit of buying a lot of books on clearance...from the five dollar bargain bin, or when they are 3 for the price of 2, or even when the library clears out the shelves and sells the oldies for a quarter. So I've built up quite a library of unread books. This time, I went for one simply because it had a book review quote on the back from Sarah Jessica Parker. And thanks for the recommendation, SJP!!
I started reading Love Walked In (by Marisa de los Santos) on Monday and I'm already halfway through it. In fact, as soon as I finish this blog, I think I will read some more. It's a simple story, about a 30-something single girl who works in a coffee shop and the guy she meets (sounds familiar so far...) but then it seems like the book is evolving more into a story about the coffee shop girl and the 11 year old estranged daughter of the boyfriend, and the friendship developing between 2 girls. Good stuff. So far I recommend it.
Another recommended read: I borrowed Magic Hour from the library; my Grandma D says it's a must-read. So when I finish this one, I'll start that. I also checked out Summer Island by the same author of Magic Hour (Kristin Hannah), based only on the fact that I like summer and I like islands, so it can't be all that bad, right??? (Yes, I also am one of those people who picks books based on cover art and/or title. )

Happy 4th!

We went up to Michigan last weekend to celebrate Joe's mom's birthday. It was a nice relaxing weekend; the little boys got to play together, and the big guys (Joe, Jer, and Bob) all got remote control helecopters. Good times had by all. We had a really yummy brunch Sunday with all-you-can-eat crepes (so good!) and corn fritters, which I'd never had before, but now that I have, I think I need to find a place around here that makes them. They're like little cornbread donuts!

This weekend was great as well. We went to mom and dad's house for an early birthday party for me (I'll be twenty-ten next week.) Again, the food was great: John was the grillmaster yet again--I'm pretty sure he's earned that permanent title-- and mom made chocolate chip pie, my favorite.

Along with the great food, we've had a good crowd to celebrate with. Grandma D is in town visiting for a few days, which is fun. I haven't seen her in a while and it's been great to have a relaxing weekend to hang out with her, and for her to see Quinn too, even in all his teething glory.

And I got to see Grandma L for a little bit Saturday; she and my aunts Becky and Nancy stopped in to see dad for a while and were still at the house when I got there.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon in the pool and eating leftovers from Saturday; I got a nice hot-pink sunburn that will be keeping me out of the sun today, so instead of swimming I think I'll head to the outlet malls to see what I can find.

These are some pictures from last weekend of Quinn and Trey. These are just a few; I took a ridiculous amount of photos of the two of them, but I can't help it- they're so cute!! I have no pictures from this weekend, because I was being lazy and I was too busy eating, swimming, and taking naps.

Here they are, taking turns vandalizing Grandma's flower beds....

What I'm Watching:

Summer is here, and along with that comes summer TV programming. I love summer TV shows, because they are always just a little more lame than the stuff we watch during the rest of the year.

For example, last night I watched the first episode of "The Secret Life of the American Teenager". Catchy title, Molly Ringwald plays the mom, I thought I'd give it a try. I will say this: abc family definitely tried to please everyone in this one.

First off, there's the scandal in the very beginning of episode 1: the main teenage character is pregnant. I guess they figured that Juno was such a big hit, might as well see if it translates to TV. Then there's the two best friends, the perfect sidekicks. One smart, one smarty-pants. One white, one black. One skinny, one chunky. Kind of a tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum effect, but it works. I think so far they're my favorite part of the show, actually.

Then there's the boy who loves the preggers girl...he looks, acts, and speaks just like Stephen Colbert...coincidence? Doubtful.

Next comes the fast-speaking, quit witted Asian girl, a la Gilmore Girls. And the...I'll call her "friendly" majorette. (Did I mention these are a bunch of band kids? Yet another reason to love the show!)

And then there's the pretty blonde girl, and her jock boyfriend, but the catch here is that they are the only two people in school who don't seem to be, uh...."friendly"....that is, until the end of episode 1, when jock boyfriend hooks up with skanky majorette. The blonde girl is the seemingly only religious person in a high school of partiers; and she's awfully reminiscent of Lucy Camden from 7th Heaven.....and the dialoge is kind of the same....and- wait a minute-- halfway through the show I notice that the football coach is the same guy who plays the police chief on 7th Heaven! Yes, sure enough, this show is produced by none other than Brenda Hampton, executive producer of 7th Heaven. Go figure. I'll watch it anyway.

On to other shows, the anti-Brenda-Hampton show of the summer: Swingtown. A nice wholesome (OK, maybe not) show set in 1976 about a family who moves on up to the nice neighborhood and befriends Tom and Trina, a couple who convinces them to....well, the title kind of gives it away. It's got the scandalous smutty factor that we're missing from Desperate Housewives. However, the best part of this show is the soundtrack! They play the best of the best of the 70's hits.

Another great (yes, I'm using the term "great" very loosely here) one is the SoapNet series "MVP". It's basically a show about a hockey team and the drama that surrounds it: a dead team captain and his widow left penniless....her daughter falling for the new rookie, who has a trailer-trash girlfriend back home to send money to....a coke-snorting womanizer...and the new captian who has fallen for the random girl next door preschool teacher. Yes, all very realistic. But hey, it's SoapNet, what can we expect? Still, entertaining nonetheless.

And I'm waiting for the second installment of The Starter Wife to begin. Yes, I actually watched this trainwreck of a miniseries last summer, in all it's horrible acting, editing, and even worse storyline. And yes, I'll watch it again this summer.

So what I'm basically saying in all of this is when you are flipping channels and you come across some lame Lifetime movie or an even worse series and you think "Who watches this crap?" The answer: I do.