Grandma

My daughter may never forgive me for the picture of her snuggled next to her newborn son, but what a breathtaking picture.  I sit in a quiet room holding this baby, that my child carried in her for 9 months.  He is tinier than any baby I have witnessed and my feeling seem indescribable to me right now.  This invisible thread of love weaves itself through yet another generation.  I am pulled by several layers in each direction now.  I worry now not only for what my daughter struggles with but also this tiny baby.  He lays on my chest while she sleeps and I can't even summon the courage to be tired.  The world is spinning it teeters on the edge of collapse, a veritable implosion of selfishness and yet I sit here in a quiet corner rocking the future and witness a new generation of selfless mothering, giving up your wants and desires for something greater.  The hand that rocks the cradle, does indeed, rule the world.  How hard will it be for Gavin to navigate the injustices of life?  If my love is not enough to save his mother from the cruel harsh injustice of life, can it possibly change a grandchild? 

School Starts

This year I decided to work on reading.  I want my boys to love reading as much as I do, or at least know how to understand what they are reading.  So we spend a couple of hours reading each day.  Each taking turns.  It is wonderful to hear them improve. Getting lost in the story.

Walked and walked and walked

I grew up singing all about how much pioneer children walked, well I am here to tell you George Washington was no different.  The grounds of his birth home were beautiful and amazing.  We chased goats , watched baby foxes, and saw bald eagles.  It was amazing.  What a great family day and we even learned a little bit about our beloved 1st president of the United States of America.  And I don't care what that guy said he did not just marry Martha for her money. 

What do you do to kill time??

So Tony had his interview at 1pm.  We were heading out to boondocks after so we had to hang in town for a couple hours, so what do the kids think we should do?  Volunteer at the food bank!!! We missed it so much.  Today we sorted some groceries and sorted through many many boxes of apples.  Picking out the rotten ones and throwing them away.  Some seriously fun family time!  I found the tiny apple and fell in love.  It reminded me of a Roma tomato.  It is the little things that get ya through a two hour interview that turns into 3.5 hours for your husband,  that let's you know how worth it that 2300 mile marathon trip was.  I will never do a marathon trip again!!!  Until the next time I have too. 

Family Time North Carolina Style

So this park was practically perfect in every way except the spots were as off level as we had ever seen.  But the view was amazing.  The dogs rocked it in an open field or on the beach every day.  Adam and Lilly took the kayak out to go fishing and fished from the shore, and fished and fished and then went fishing.  And to wrap up the relaxing family time we had a rousing game of scrabble.  Bailey vs. Robinson.  What I failed to tell them before they started was my extensive history in the game of scrabble.  The push to get 50-100 point words and my abundant knowledge of two and three letter words.  They held their own and it was a close game.  Fun was had by all, even Tony who fell asleep at the next table.

You just Gotta

Sometimes when your traveling along the highway of life you just gotta stop and see some of the weird and query things out there.  And yes while the man standing next to Adam (Shawn) is a little weird that is not what I am talking about.  This little Mexican town is in South Carolina.  It is a tourist trap with lots of picture taking opportunities.  If you live in an RV and have no self control when it comes to trinkets don't stop.....but if you find that stuff nothing but insufferable clutter by all means stop.  I can't say I wasn't drawn in.  I walked away with a bottle of water, but the pictures were so much fun.  All of the attractions were closed apparantly we weren't in season.  However this is the best time to stop and take pictures with all the animals.  Sometimes you just gotta stop and stare, because Everything is Awesome with friends!!!

Friends we meet

It was a dreary day at Legoland when we met the Bailey's.  Pretty down to earth people with fantastic kids.  I was even willing to overlook the teenage daughter.  But we began traveling together and on a particularly tough day somewhere in the Carolina's she made this amazing soup for dinner.  This was resteraunt quality stuff and made me feel like $1,000,000.  See in my life it is the little things that matter.  To me it's more than soup.  It is a friend who sees your rough day without words.  There are amazing people traveling out here on the road.