Farewell Summer… See You Next Year

It’s that time again. The sycamores are starting to drop their over-abundant foliage. Windows are left open and air conditioning turned off.  Crock pot is down from the top of the cabinet, jeans are coming out of the back of the closet. The humidifier gets cleaned and plugged in, as the sudden lack of moisture in the usually soggy air dries our sinuses out.

For those of you who read my Facebook or Twitter blurbage, you know I adore North Florida in the fall. There’s so much energy in the air. It takes me back to something very magical in my head left over from childhood. I hope it never leaves me.

My sweet little family and I awoke one recent Saturday morning to catch a perfect glimpse of why we live where we live. I was determined to go make the best of what was left of bikini season, and suggested we head North to my favorite surf spot. It’s over the ferry, which immediately makes it a ten-dollar surf trip, and we live a couple of miles from a State Park anyway, so we decided closer was better and packed up. We’re simple. We packed three towels,  two surfboards, one kiddo and one camera. We made it there so early we were the only ones on the beach. It was beautiful!

And in other news, this past weekend Team Arnold journeyed downtown to the stadium to see our Jaguars kick some Titan butt! It was Donovan’s first game, and as soon as I get the pics I’ll post them. Okay, Heather? :)

I am also intending this week to get the pics up from The Arnold Olympics v2009.  I’ve sat to document the event previously and ended up being overwhelmed by the amount of images to go through so I went and cleaned the house instead.

Hope all is well for you my friends and family!

xoxox

Chicago, August 2009

Long time, my friends! I’ve missed you. I haven’t turned on the desktop in what feels like months. As I’ve said before, summer is not my time to sit behind the computer. My laptop is on the fritz or I could’ve been blogging outside, but no matter, here I am now.

We jetsetted up to Chicago for some Serious Family Fun a couple of weeks ago. Proof’s in the pictures.

When we got to Camp Grandma, she had a big pot of Chicken Paprikash (a family favorite recipe) and of course a nice big salad waiting for us. We immediately chowed, as we’d been waiting for her good cookin’ since we found out we were going to see them.

We spent the majority of our time playing the Wii G-ma had recently purchased. To say it was a hit would be a huge understatement. It was all D talked about, and it provided so much family fun and laughter it was worth however many pennies it cost! We now have our own Wii fund going on. I should get a “donate” button, eh?

Donovan was such a great helper when he and Grandma made zucchini muffins. The zuchs G-ma grew were the biggest I’ve ever seen. And delicious!

In two weeks, we’re traveling up to the Blue Ridge Mountains for The 2009 Arnold Olympics. This will be my first time to the event, but the second time at Uncle Don’s house, where everyone will be staying. It’s huge. Bache ball, golf, volleyball, river rafting, you name it, this family will be competing in it. Even with an athletic background, I’m intimidated. These people are fierce competitors! Here we are below watching the (I think) 1998 version:

We made into the city the day before we left. The first stop? The Shedd Aquarium. It was beautfiul! They’ve totally captured the essence of diving without getting wet or dealing with pesky BCs!

We were stoked on The Billy Goat Tavern. It was a real live gangster feelin’ place. The burgers (which are the infamous CHEEZBORGERs) were fabulous and took less time to get than our signature drinks, called Horny Goats. So much fun. So delicious.

The first few days we were there, it rained the whole time, which is how the weather had been for the 2/3 weeks previous in Florida. The last few days we were there it was 90+ degrees, which is unusual for them. Naturally we joked we brought our climate with us. I brought hardly any summery clothes and ended up living in the one sundress I packed.

We couldn’t complain about a thing. It was a fabulous trip, we got home safe and sound and were just elated. Thank you Mom & Dad for being such gracious and giving hosts!

Summer ‘09 Thus Far…

Greetings my patient, loving, kind ones. It has been the Summer of Love, no doubt, so I’ve been absolutely neglecting my blog, I know. Well here’s a short recap.

Surf camp has been outrageous fun. What a workout! 4 hours a day of intense Florida heat, Monday through Friday, in the ocean, on many types of surfboards coaching many, many types of 7-16 yr old campers. Please, check out this site to see the pictures my friend and world-class photographer, Barry Rabinowitz, takes while camp is going on. It’s so fun for me to go over them and recount how much fun it was teaching each and every kid!

Donovan too has been having the Summer of his Life. One night at the dinner table, he looked at Nathan and I quite seriously and asked, “Mom, Dad, did you guys have fun on your summer vacations?” Having only experienced the first month of his own inaugural summer vacation, we wondered where he was coming from. He spends every day with TiTi Heather and her new pool…

so we were inquisitive to his inquisition. We asked if he was not having a good time. He quickly corrected us, almost apologetically, that yes, he was most certainly having a wonderful time. We’ll always remember that.

Nathan has a birthday coming up on the 14th. I’ve not an idea what to get the man who has everything. ;) Suggestions welcome, as he says only wants waves, which I personally cannot provide. In the ocean anyway.

Pictures… Thus Far…

Happy Birthday Dad

I have a book’s worth to say about the man who raised me. Do not be surprised when it comes out.

He would have been 75 Earth years old today.

In the first pic, he’s on my swingset with me, looking at me as adoringly as a man who’d been through so much already could look at a little adopted girl. He’d already raised two of his own girls, who were in their thirties by the time I rolled around, and neither they or their mom had given him an easy time in life. He loved my (adopted, but real) Mom (his 2nd wife) till the day he died. Not to say they didn’t have their own troubles; that’s part of the book of course.

The second pic is James Nelson Skelton with our favorite goose ever (we raised them from incubators) named UG. UG stands for Ugly Goose if you were wondering. Though you can’t tell it from the pictures, UG had a deformed wing. To compare it to a chicken wing (and Lord I hate to) it was the end part of the wing that you don’t *gulp* eat, that obtrusively protruded from his body. However, something about this anomole made the goose the sweetest, most loyal and loving animal that ever existed. He would “flea” my Dad’s beard, which unfortunately is shaven in this pic.  I was probably about 10 (1985) when this was taken.

The last pic was shot by a good old friend in ‘95 who adored the simplicity and old school ways of my parents. My Dad was fascinating, although I just didn’t realize it at the time. It was actually complex growing up with such an intellectually stimulating Father, while at the same time he was literally a “hillbilly”. He taught me of Bach and Beethoven. He broke the erasers off my pencils in Kindergarten and made me start over if I messed up… but I ended up skipping Kindy, getting Most Outstanding Student and eventually a scholarship to Duke which I did not pursue to his dismay). He taught me to love how Shakespeare wrote, although I’m not sure why I associate that with him because he read Louis L’amour religiously.

To say the least, I am ultimately so proud to have been raised by such a hardworking, straightforward, (secretly funloving) Alabama raised man. His mama done real good raisin’ that boy. His Dad died when he was 13 and he was the baby of 6. One sister had schizophrenia, and his mom died of Alzheimer’s when I was 9. She was my Granny and she epitomized a strong woman. For her, I am so thankful.

God works in Mysterious Ways. For so long I felt victimized by the hand I was dealt. I now revel in the beauty and mystery and wonder of what I’ve been given.

I miss you so much Dad. I feel you looking down on me! :)

Any Given Sunday

This is what Team Arnold will be doing All. Summer. Long!

Daddy pushes him in

He slowly gets up (don't use those kneezles D!)

...getting his balance

...and the suave Arnold steez comes out!

At this point I was peeking through my fingers with my hands over my eyes, I thought for sure the board's nose was a goner. But he stepped off into the sand quite gracefully with the board following suit!

He’s got the stoke! Daddy joked all weekend, “There goes Grad School!” Our kiddo is now one of the stand-up tribe and we couldn’t be more proud!

Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life!

I’m back! Consistency has never been my forte, so kindly excuse my lack of attention to my own and your blogs – we had a few week stint of having no internet due to those infamous Florida electrical storms. We got it back last week but I had gotten out of the habit of sitting down at the desktop. DSH (Dear Sweet Husband) bought me a 16g iTouch for Mama’s Day and I’ve been getting to know it and love it, rendering the PC somewhat useless. Till blogging.

Today I am taking two of my fave ladies out for a surf. We don’t have the time I’d like to have but I’m hoping to get some shots of both of them standing on boards!

I’m waiting on them now. Boards are loaded. Camera is packed. Coffee is ingested. I’m amped. Ready to GO!

20/20

A glimpse of my past. Thank you Nathan for making me relive my somewhat tumultuous yet enlightening twenties via your blog archives!

My Life in PR

Sweet Home

I got up yesterday morning and took the kiddo to school, came home, and decided to hit the beach early. I was so glad I did. The tide was going out, the weather was perfect, no one was around. Perfect conditions for hunting sharks teeth, and I scored.

I can’t help capturing the things I love.

Above you see the Poles. The Poles are the Poles that keep us from the jetty a mile north. At said jetty lingers some of the best eatin’ fish in all of these parts and in the right conditions, some of the best waves too. They’re located on the Mayport Naval Base, which us civilians are not allowed to trek upon.  I, and most surfers in the area, definately have a love/hate relationship with these here Poles. To me, they remind me that while I may not be able to enjoy the proverbial greener grass, I can at least enjoy the sandbars the actual poles themselves create.

Life is beautiful!

And if I don’t make it to the computer before Mother’s Day, Happy Mother’s Day to all of you human, dog, and other animal mommies!

Wharf Rat

I come from a shrimping town. Not just any old shrimping town mind you, the actual birthplace of the shrimping industry. The Isle of Eight Flags. Home of the world famous Shrimp Festival.

This is as big of a deal as deals get in my little hometown. The first weekend of every May, visitors from around the globe pack out our 13 mile island to experience a true (delicious) taste of history combined with the modern amenities of a world class resort stay.

Growing up there, my parents would walk for miles (literally) to avoid paying the close range parking fees, so on top of the jaunt it took to get there, my little legs were always jello by the end of the weekend. Nathan, that dear sweet precious husband of mine, treated our little family to Royal Treatment and got us a room in the Hampton right on the water at the marina – right in the midst of ALL of the action. We were even so lucky to have the pool on the second floor, just around the corner from our room. Fortunately we only live an hour away from Amelia Island, so this was all we heard the whole way there.

“How many minutes until I get to swim in the pool?”

“How many minutes until I get to swim in the pool?”

“How many minutes until I get to swim in the pool?”

The hotel was thoughtful enough to ask if there were children staying with us, and when we arrived, we saw why. D was stoked to find all this booty waiting for him in the room!

Another incredibly awesome part of the trip was the fact that I hadn’t been back to a Shrimp Fest in (gulp) 19 years. Also, I had not seen some of my girlfriends from High School in just about that long. While it was amazing to see how well they are all doing, it was really nice to see my friend Sonya Kim. She’s my also-adopted soul-mate buddy. Her adorable son Walker came too and he and D got along famously, of course. She wrote a great post about her trip back home, and there are pics of all of us girls there.

I didn’t get many pics, well, 2 as you see, because we were so busy walking around seeing the sites and eating the foods and drinking the Pirate Punches (ouch!). Next year we are going to go, but stay another night, and take lots of pictures. Thank you Nate, what a wonderful gift and lovely way to start the summer!

The Dolphin Dash

No, I did not fall off the face of the planet. I have been out and about enjoying our amazing weather and have not had the time when I get home to sit at the computer for any length of time.

Donovan recently ran his first race, his elementary school’s annual Dolphin Dash. He made us proud by doing the 2 laps in 2 minutes, 20 seconds! That’s a half mile! He had a blast and of course I was chill bumped and teary eyed the whole time.

waiting with Lily

Dad & D

Pre-Race Stretching!

Lined Up!

And they're off!

Go D, Go!

Daddy pats D on the back for a job well done.