Finished

For those of you that know, and those that don't,  I have become completely obsessed with a series of books that I found out about because of a new HBO series, True Blood. After I watched a few episodes I knew I had to investigate the books. (Mostly because I couldn't wait for a weekly episode, I needed to find out what happens next!)

What has happened next is that my life has been a whirlwind!

Reading 8, 300-400 page books in less than a week had taken on a life of it's own.

(Brian has pretty much resorted to being Mr. Mom. God bless him.)

So I have retreated into my books, into Sookie Stackhouse's life. Absolutely, 100% addicted. I truly could not put them down. Yesterday when I picked up #8 and headed to the beach I was a little sad because I knew when I finished... I finished.

Thank goodness Ms. Harris wrote a ninth... it will be out early May '09.

(I read on her website that she will release the first chapter around Christmas time. Only a couple more months until I get a clue into what Sookie's next adventure will be... although I have a few of my own ideas of how I would like it to go. :)

Never in a million years did I think I would be so taken with science fiction... but I have been sucked into the underworld... hook, line and sinker!

Charlaine Harris 

True Blood

(click onto the names.... if you dare be swept into my obsession and addiction!)

~Tara :)

Not a Cloud in the Sky

Well, Sam was up at the crack of dawn this morning, literally. He came into tell us the sun was coming up. So, being the good dad that Brian is, he got up with him to watch it rise. I on the other hand decided to stay in bed a little while longer.

We did start our day at the beach a little after 8:30am.

The kids were between the beach and pool the entire day.

It was 85 and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. The waves were pretty mild too.

Brian spotted Manta Rays jumping.

He and the kids tried their hands at fishing later in the evening but no luck.

The beach is very quiet this week, not a lot of visitors.

After our grilled dinner, Sam fell asleep on the couch and Beth was shortly after.

Not much else to write about.

It was simply... the PERFECT beach day.

(Sorry, I don't mean to rub it in.)

The 'Nights in Rodanthe' house is at the end of this row of homes, if your interested.

It's pretty beat up. A couple of storms have gone through in the last few weeks. The cement foundation is showing and there is very little beach in front of it.

Good catch Sam!

We're Here!!

We made it safely to our beloved beach house!

We had a quick visit in Philadelphia with Luke and Danielle yesterday. Brian and Luke took the kids out and about for the day while Danielle and I stayed back. I have the onset of a sinus infection I think and wasn't feeling too good. I slept most of the morning then Danielle and I laid on opposite couches in a wonderful silence reading our books. (K.A. - by the way, I just started #7) The guys had a great time with the kids. :) We finished off the night with milkshakes from Nifty Fifties.

Got up early this morning and hit the road. The kids were GREAT in the car.

Four movies and two potty breaks later we were here!!!

Nothing too spectacular happened on the ride down. Brian drove the entire way, the kids were zoned to movies, and I was in the back, back seat all cuddled in and zoned to book #6.

As soon as we got settled in we hit the beach, let the kids run through the sand and look at shells. (For those of you that have been here with us, (my family and Kristin A.), the beach is very eroded.  It seems that at high tide the water comes right up to the dune in front of the house.) So after a great sunset we are here... safe and sound.

Doorbell just rang... pizza is here... got to go! :)

(Special thanks to my mom who showed up on Friday morning with a new DVD player for the car. With out that this would have been an entirely different entry! Thanks to Luke and Danielle for the overnights and craziness.)

~Tara

*** Don't forget... you can click on each individual photo to see it larger, if you want.

Pumpkin Patch

I decided to take the kids to get our pumpkins this morning. We usually go together, as a family, down to LaFayette to get pumpkins and apples, but Brian has been really busy with work the last... uh- well, 9 years!:) He couldn't get away this morning and we have much limited time now that the kids are both in school. Anyways, I didn't feel right about going to our annual spot with out him so I took the kids someplace different. Hopefully when we get back we'll head down there. 

This place was great too. All pumpkins... $2. There were so many great ones, still on the vine, fresh and alive! I could have brought home 100+ but restrained myself to just 14. The kids were having fun looking for their "perfect" finds. Beth ended up having a slight meltdown when she remembered that she didn't have her breakfast and was now hungry. As I was giving her a quick lecture, Sam was frantically calling for me to come over. He found deer tracks in the mud. He then proceeded to tell me that he followed them a little bit and was sure they were headed South. (Where does this kid come from?) Meanwhile, Beth is now yelling me to come over because she has to go potty. Ok- now we are in the middle of a field with no bathroom in sight. What do I do?

I walked her over to a higher patch of grass, giving another quick lecture, pulled down her pants and had her go right there. It was priceless. I am holding her up and she is whining about the grass touching her bottom. After she was finished she said, "I feel so much better... but I am still hungry." Needless to say it was time to leave. 

One by one I carried each pumpkin through the field and into my car. (I have now considered this my workout for the day, walking hundreds of yards carrying 30+ pound pumpkins.)

She always has to have one picture with "the look" and her hip sticking out!

Our pumpkin pile.

I had to take this picture. As we were in the patch we witnessed one of my favorite parts of autumn, the Canadian Geese flying South for the winter. It's something that is truly beautiful. This group was just a small flock with in the HUGE migration. It was so loud.  We stopped, listened, and watched the "V's" fly overhead. 

*** Oh- and by the way, Beth had 2 bowls of chicken noodle soup when we got home! :)

The Countdown Begins!

OBX is just a few days away! YAY!!

My friends and I went to see 'Nights in Rodanthe' this weekend. It was a good movie but I came home ready to leave RIGHT NOW!! We stay in Rodanthe, literally  just a few houses away from the one in the movie. I can almost hear the waves crashing, taste the salt water in the air, feel the wind in my hair, and see the incredible sunsets .

Just days away...

I have been slacking a bit on blogging this past week. Things have been really busy. Fortunately I have had a lot of clients come my way in the past few weeks. I have been on the computer but it's been time completely devoted to getting photos done and delivered to them.

Unfortunately this week will be the same. I am working to get as many clients finished before I leave.  Trying to get the house in order. Trying to pack, still make breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Trying to still volunteer at both schools this week. Trying to see my friends. Trying to keep up on the chore that I loathe... LAUNDRY! So, since Brian doesn't do any of the entries... (he's busy with work, hunting, and fantasy football) ... it'll be a skinny week in the world of blogging.

BUT next week....

watch out!!! 

I'll have lots of entries, very picture heavy I'm sure. 

You'll be able to imagine yourself sitting next to me on the beach. :)

See you soon....

worldle.net

Click on image to view larger.

Lacrosse

Sam has been playing lacrosse this fall. He LOVES it! Big surprise, uh?

Brian and I definitely have some concerns about this league but we just wanted to see if he liked it. It's a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds, no helmets, mouth guards, pads, ect. running around swinging sticks in the air. We would prefer "clinic style" learning to this. But he loves it. 

I may look into indoor lacrosse for the winter, something that has a great deal of instruction and skill building before sending them into a "game". 

This brings me to our other issue. 

Competitive Parents.

As I was talking to other parents on the teams I realized that Brian and I are definitely the minority. (What else is new! :) Parents looking at me as if I had 2 heads when I suggested more skill building, practicing, and learning basic concepts. They were there for the GAME! They were actually keeping score. We have even talked to the director of sports about having "clinic style" seasons but the response we get is that most parents want games. 

While their sons were running all over the field, Sam patiently waited in the defense zone. Brian trying to explain to him that certain positions only play on certain parts of the field. So he listened to Brian and maintained his position. The "lacrosse dad" sitting behind me was egging on is son to keep scoring even though he was supposed to be back with Sam in defense.

Let's just get something straight. Four and five year olds don't know what they are doing. 

Why not teach them the right way to play?

They don't know what a "game" is. They don't care if they practice running, scooping, passing or playing a game. All they care about is that they are out there. So we as parents need to curb the competitive urge and give them the skills to understand. Something appropriate for their ages. They have their whole life to compete... in every aspect of life.

But I guess it is easier for parents like "lacrosse dad" to sit in his chair and shout orders from the sidelines, rather than teach. Brian at least had enough guts to get out there and help. Oh- by the way, 2 kids did get hurt from our team. They had to sit out the rest of the time with ice.

I think this will be our last sports sign up at this facility. 

I know that we need to pace our selves.... it's only the beginning of the "sports years" with Sam and Beth. 

Oh yeah,  there a kid on the other team that we found out is 6 1/2. He was almost twice the size of Sam. The big kid was a "one man show" on the field. I love that Sam wasn't intimidated by his size and still tried to defend his goal.