{Monday Memory} Maryland

A day late, I know.  My computer and I had a disagreement last night.  The computer won.

On with my Monday Memory.

Last September I was able to (finally) get out to see Sister 3 who lives in Maryland.  Last time I was out there was October 2008!  (It was high time for me to get my fanny back out there, I tell you!)

It was so nice to just be with my sister and her kids and her hubby.

While I was out there we:

*  Ate at Broom's - very delicious, beautiful scenery, great company.

*  Went to see all of the sunflowers abloom, oh wait, we missed it, no, over there, I see some!

*  Had some sister-bonding time while my sister ripped my eyebrows out of my face.

(Gotta take advantage of her skills while I'm out there...)

*  Went to Rita's (once, twice, thrice?  It was a few several.)

*  Went on a scenic run (very beautiful).  Sister 3 did great, me not so much.  I hadn't been running since EPIC.  You'd think I would not heave a lung at sea level.  Um, you're wrong.  I was panting the entire time.

*  Took a tour of Philly.  It was really neat.  Made me wish I had read John Adams with my book club over the summer to refresh my lack of history knowledge.  My sister's kids were troopers!

(Stolen from my sister)

*  Went to church with my sister and her family.

*  Sat on her porch and laughed and laughed and laughed and....well, you get the idea.

(stolen from my sister)

*  Made chocolate chip cookies with H.  She's a pretty great chef.  I ate almost all of the dough (go figure!)

(Stolen from my sister)

*  Took a tour of her neighborhood pre-dinner.

*  Speaking of dinner, they introduced me to this dinner.  I think I have made my family eat it about a bazillion times!  So good!

*  Before dinner I was trying to be helpful so I went inside to grab something for the outdoor table.  On  my way back out I came around the corner and slammed right into the screen door.  My face was completely mashed on the screen and I couldn't get my feet to stop going on the "forward" direction.  I finally hit my "reverse" button and backed up a step or two.   I may or may not have had a minor abrasion on my face.  We all laughed until our sides hurt.  I am so glad that my brother-in-law was standing at the grill and saw the whole thing.

*  Before I left we grabbed a bite at the Broadway Diner, took a spin through Baltimore, and enjoyed the harbor area.

All too soon it was time to go!

Thanks for the great visit!  I can't wait to get back.

Little V

The newest member of the family arrived today!

We got the phone call in the midst of all the other celebrating that was going on.

Congratulations G and S, V is adorable!

Can't wait to meet him in person.

PS - Thanks for letting me steal this picture.  :)

V brings the tally of grandchildren to:

4 boys

2 girls

whiskers

My sister brought her kids over this afternoon.  While the kids played, my sister and I tackled the pile of clothes that I needed to take to Kid to Kid.  She helped me sort and organize the mound so that I could check that off my list.  Thank you!!

While we were sorting the kids came upstairs.  D was still in his regular clothes.  Mr. Orange was dressed in his lion costume and Miss Pink was dressed up as a lion.  They were busy looking at themselves in the mirror when my sister said, "Um, they have a Sharpie".  I turned around and Mr. Orange was putting whiskers on Miss Pink's face.  (He had already put whiskers and a nose on himself as you can see below.)  I put the Sharpie away but later D needed a triangle on his forehead.  Then Miss Pink wanted a heart on her belly button, then the boys needed dinosaurs on their tummies.  Then Miss Pink needed a dinosaur on her ankle.  I can see how people become addicted to tattoos.

D and Mr. Orange showing off their muscles

 Later I was making cookies and I looked outside.  D and Mr. Orange were "working out".  They would take turns holding each other's ankles while doing sit ups.  They also did pushups, pullups, and Mr. Orange's favorite exercise (below) from his tumbling class.

Kids are funny.

They are full of surprises.

I love that they are so full of imagination and wonder.

And that Mr. Orange had no problem going to music class later in the afternoon with whiskers on his face.

Sisters

Before Christmas my sister and I found some old slides in my parents basement.  Well, okay, more like THOUSANDS!  We found a stack in a plastic sandwich bag and decided to get them scanned.  Oh, are there ever some goodies in that short stack of slides.  Sorry, little brother, this post has to be about sisters.  Mom and Dad had done away with the slides by the time you came around.

Sisters are wonderful things.

When you are really little, a big sister will help you know what it feels like to have your entire face licked by the family dog.

She'll also lay with you on the ground and let you stare at her for hours at a time.

She also teaches you the fine art of balancing just right on the end of a lawn chair so that it doesn't tip over on you.

A big sister won't kill you when you post a picture of your glory days as former "Golden Girls" dancers.
Oh, the good old days.
Gotta love that frizzy, pink roller hair!

I always looked up to my big sister.  She was pretty cool.  She did her own thing and never cared what others thought.  I thought she was totally awesome because she would wear a neon green shoelace in one shoe and a neon pink one in the other.  She also had this totally sweet nickname.  I was super jealous of that!  

When we were little we used to catch tadpoles in the ditch by our house.

We tried so hard to grow them into frogs, but it never worked.

We would play basketball with the kids across the street and she could hold her own against those boys. I was awful at basketball.  One day one of the boys passed the ball to me and it hit me so hard in the stomach that it knocked the wind out of me.  My sister walked me across the street and helped me lay down until I could catch my breath.

My big sister was always watching out for me.

She was really smart and got accepted to universities all across the country and was offered scholarships to several.  When it came my time to apply to college I just wasn't that into it.  Being the big sister, one might accuse her of being "bossy" sometimes.  Well, in January of my senior year in high school she pulled "boss" on me and sat me down at the kitchen table and helped me fill out all of my college applications.

See?  She's pretty cool.

As for little sisters, well, they are pretty cool too.
Who else would let you squeeze their cheeks all day every day for five years?

Or wear the same type of outfit as you for years on end?

Or hold your hand after Primary?

My little sister and I shared a room for many a year.

I am not sure what got into me, but I got on a kick where I really liked scaring my little sister...BADLY!

It started out innocent enough.  Jumping out from under the bed, or behind the door.  I am not sure what other things I did, but there must have been a bunch of them because it led up to a night I still have not lived down (22 years later).

I was about 10 and my little sister went to the bathroom.  I decided to hide in the closet.  She came in and started to look for me.  She even looked in the closet, RIGHT AT ME, but didn't see me.  I could hear the panic in her voice but I didn't want to jump out at her and really scare her, so I did what any good big sister would do and I stayed hidden in the closet hoping that she would leave the room for 30 seconds so that I could hurry and hop in my bed.  Would she leave the room?  Not on your life.  She sat on her bed, totally worried, with a wobbly little voice saying over and over, "Karen?  Where are you?  I'm scared!"  I think I finally just  jumped out and scared her to half to death, made her cry, and apologized like crazy. She settled down and I went to my bed to go to sleep.  

I was laying on my back, just drifting off to sleep, when suddenly...WHAM!!!!! A fist landed perfectly in the center of my stomach forcing my back through the bed and onto the floor.  (Okay, so not really, but it was really, really hard!)  I thought I was going to die.  My sister didn't say a word.  She just turned around and got back in her bed and went to sleep.  She would like to tell you that that was the only time she gut punched me, but that would be a lie.  I remember getting gut punched suh-everal other times.  I'm sure I deserved it
{wink wink}

little sister, big sister, me

I love my sisters.  I really don't know what I would do without them.  They are my best friends.

Family Fun

My sister G lives in Maryland.  That's way faraway.  I don't get to see her very often so it has been nice having her in town for a few weeks with her husband and daughter.  While they have been here we have done several fun things.  Besides all of the Christmas-y things we also found time to do a few other things.

We took a tour of the Sweets Candy Factory.  (Sorry, completely spaced it and didn't take a picture.)  We watched a little video about the history of the candy company.  Then is was time for everyone to put on their hair nets.  Most of them went on without complaint, but it's pretty hard to explain to an almost one year old, and almost two year old, that they have to keep them on or else...We all worked hard on distracting those two throughout the tour and we all made it to the end.  My kids were pretty impressed by the HUGE barrel of sugar.

We also spent time at the Dinosaur Museum.  The kids, as always, wanted to play in the water and sand. They probably would have stayed there all day if we hadn't bribed them with lunch with Grandma if they would get out of the sand!

Mr. Orange and cousin D built several dams and were thrilled when they knocked them down and sent dinosaurs everywhere.

Why, oh why, can we not bypass the "dig site"?

We ate lunch with Grandma in her secret eating place.  The kids love to eat with Grandma at work!  Maybe it's because they know they can always sweet talk her into an ice cream cone when they are finished with lunch.  

Another day I went out to lunch with my sister's (yes, my new sister-in-law was there too, I just consider her a sister now) and mom.  My mom brought her "If?" book and we found out all sorts of things about each other.  Sorry, I cannot divulge any of the information I found out here on this blog.

Afterwards we went to my sister's house and relieved the men-folk from "kid-watching".  My brothers-in-law headed up to Alta to "ski free after 3".  My mom, brother, and sister-in-law all headed out leaving my sister's and I alone with the kids. YIKES!  We planned on going to an early movie when the guys got back from skiing.  Plans quickly changed when we realized that the boys were not going to be home anytime soon.  It was super stormy up the canyon and they had trouble getting down.

Since we were stranded at my sister's and the kids were all having a great time, we let the older cousins have movie night while the younger cousins passed out upstairs.  Have you seen "Despicable Me" yet?  If you haven't, you really should.  It makes me laugh right out loud, and even makes me misty-eyed in some parts.  All too soon it was time to go home and put the kiddos to bed.

Sister Saturday

We had a double shower for Sister Saturday this month (yes, I know, it was on a Wednesday and not a Saturday, but the name stays the same regardless of which day of the week it is held on...) for my cousin K who had a baby boy in November and my little sister G who is having a boy in April.

 My cousin K is an amazing person.  I truly admire her and her positive attitude.  She just had her fourth boy!  She is a wonderful mother and I can only imagine that she is the BEST teacher in the world.  I wish my son could be in her class.  :)

My brother in law is a photographer, hence the camera shirt.

 My littler sister G is pretty awesome too.  She is able to get her creative juices flowing like nobody else's business.  (Remember the Proclamation book???  She did all of the design work by herself.)  She's one of my best friend's and I miss her when she is so far away.

Our Sister Saturday ended up being on the night of a terrible storm.  Mr. Blue was worried about me driving to my parent's house so he came home early and kicked me out of the house so that I could head down.  I thought that was a little rude of him since I hadn't finished my gifts yet, but he insisted that I leave so I did.  I packed up my sewing machine, grabbed my pot of butternut squash soup (it was soooo dang good too!!!), and the rest of my "supplies" and made the trek.

I arrived at my parent's house and set up my station at one end of the kitchen table.  My sister had taken up the other end of the table.  I sewed like crazy for the next hour and a half to finish up 12 onesies that I was giving to my sister and cousin for their babies.  I finished with time to spare and my sister swears that she didn't see the ones I was making for her.  Hmmm, maybe that's because she had to start making another pot of soup since my mom was having a difficult time getting home from work.

I cleaned up my mess, made the table cute (thanks Mom for providing the decor!), and helped finish up the food.  Everyone made it through the storm and we enjoyed a fun evening filled with delicious food, fun stories, laughing, baby pictionary, giggling, more stories, more laughter, and of course dessert.  I love my Sister Saturdays.

I'm pretty sure I cracked a really great joke right before I took this picture of my aunt.

My cousin K's little guy, Z.

Don't you worry, I made "Z" onesies for him.  They turned out super cute!!!