Date Night. . .

Mark's niece came to babysit the boys on Saturday so Mark and I could go out on the town.  HA HA HA!!  We debated over where to eat and what movie to see and ended up eating at a local little Italian restaurant and not going to the movies.  We were both tired, Mark had worked in the yard all morning and  I went to Women's Football camp at Wake Forest University.  Yeah, I went to football camp.  One of my friends and I try to go every year.  It is really kinda cool, they take you out on the field and run you through drills just like they do the players.  They have to explain more to us though.  We don't put on the pads and heavy equipment but we do learn to block, tackle and run with the football.  It is pretty neat.  You know that Saturday was going to be around 97 and on the turf you add at least 10 more degrees.  My friend and I decided at the last minute we would do the indoor stuff this year.  They offer two options; you can go out on the field and run drills or you can stay inside and the coaches go over each position.  I always feel like I learn something new each time I go.   They always feed us really well too.  They give out door prizes and this time my friend won two tickets to one of the games.  Yeah!!  They always give us a t-shirt or a bag and this year we got a really cool canvas bag for participating.   The money we pay for registration goes to a childrens' charity.  It is a nominal fee to participate and like I said they feed you really well and then send you out on the field and make you puke.  HA HA  just kidding about the puking part.  
Back to out hot date.  We ended up going to a store called the "Hobby Lobby."  We walked around in there to let our food settle and  then went for ice cream.  We did not go to the movies.  Are we old or what?  There was really nothing out that we wanted to see that the kids did not want to see too.  That is one of our family things, to go to the movies together.  There is a lot out for the kids to see too.   So much for "Date Night."

Back from Camp. . .

The boys made it back from camp finally.  Jack stayed a week and Thomas stayed one night.  Thomas was only supposed to stay for two nights but on that second night he called and was "homesick."  They took him to the nurse and so now he thinks that "homesick" is a real sickness.  Any advice on this one?   Mark was surprised that he stayed the one night.  I really thought he would be able to make it for two.  Our preachers son was his counselor and they get along really well.  I guess I thought because he was there that Thomas would be ok.  I guess sometimes only Mom and Dad will do.  I felt rather sorry for his counselor having to deal with all this.  I am sure he learned a lot about dealing with kids this trip.   Thomas is a master when it comes to getting what he wants.  Not in a bad way but he has those dark brown eyes and he knows how to use them.  I can only imagine the show he put on up there.    Mark and I got almost 24 hours kids free this time.  I have to admit it was very quiet at my house and I kinda missed the little buggers.  Shhhh, don't let them know that though.  It is kinda strange not being able to talk with your kids every day.  They were not allowed cell phones or video games or anything like that.  I mailed Jack a couple of letters and I think he liked getting some mail.  So he got to hear from me but I did not get to hear back from him.  It was strange.
We got the call to pick Thomas up late so by the time we reached camp it was almost 10pm.  I felt like a thief in the night stealing my child away.  I thought I would get there and he would be cowering in the corner crying and really upset.  Well, to my surprise, he was laying in the floor playing with his cabin mates.  Not crying or upset.  I guess he knew we were on our way up there.   He told the lady that was over the camp he would come back next year and maybe he would stay for three days.  HA HA HA!!  She was really nice and said they had, had a few kids that left early this time.  I guess he is still young to be staying away from home like that.  Jack didn't go the first time he could have because we did not know about it in time to get him signed up so I guess Jack was a year older the first time he went.   Jack can make friends with anyone so being alone with a bunch of other kids does not phase him one bit.  He is my little social butterfly. 
Now we are preparing for Football camp.  Mark asked Thomas if he wanted to go to Football camp and Thomas said, "No."   I think he may think it is another sleep away camp.  It is not.  It is only a day camp.  Oh well, I may have traumatized him without knowing it.

A walk down Memory lane. . .

Mark and I met while working together in a local laboratory.  We ran a blood test together.  He was my superior, while we were at work.  HA HA!!  He was the senior lab tech on this particular test.  So I had to follow his instructions.   I got this job right out of College.   In fact, I was interviewing for this job while I was still in school.  It was third shift and my folks were not very happy with me about that.   Because it was a third shift position I had to interview with the shift supervisor during his regular shift.  I drove from school to be at my interview at midnight.  That was strange.  My parents were still not happy about all this.  I told them the reason they did all this on third shift was so that the doctors offices would have their blood results by the next morning to treat their patients.  Where I grew up third shift meant you worked in the mill.  Once my folks got over the third shift thing all was ok.
After my interview the night manager took me around and introduced me to everyone and also introduced me to Mark (hubby).  When we met it was a little strange but I knew when we shook hands there was something there.  I felt my heart fall to the floor and it was hard to breathe.  I know it sounds silly but it is true.  I was so excited about working.  I could not believe I was going to have a job that related to my degree.  So many of my friends were not working in their area of expertise.  I was also excited to have a job of any kind.  I felt like an adult.  I was going to work and I had my own place with a roommate of course.  One of my friends from College was working at the lab too and she needed a roommate.  So that worked out great.  I noticed that when I would talk to the folks at work they really listened to what I had to say.  That made me feel good.  They paid attention to me and always looked me in the eye.  That impressed me.  Here I thought wow, they really care about what I am saying.  
I did not realize what a prankster (Mark) I was getting involved with.  I can't tell  many of them or he might get in trouble but let's just say there was never a dull moment in the lab when he worked.  I found out years after the fact that Mark had told everyone that I had a glass eye.  So when I thought everyone was really paying attention to what I had to say, was in fact them trying to figure out which eye was glass.  We had a rocky start to our relationship.   He had his views on things and I had mine. He was always putting his foot in his mouth.  There was this poor young lady that worked behind glass next to us and we had to go in there to get our samples.  I call her a poor young lady because she had to listen to all of our troubles.  Mark and I both confided in her about our relationship.  Like I said we had a rocky start.   I am very head strong and set in my ways.  Even then I was set in my ways.   Mark was just crazy.  He had made the comment one night that Women were inferior to Men.  Well, that flew all over me and the rest of the ladies that worked in the lab.  We had not officially started dating yet and at the rate he was going we might not.  This is what poor Sally behind the glass had to listen to all the time.  I would go and fuss about Mark and Mark would go and fuss about me.  Finally we were going to go out.  We were going to a concert.  It was a rock concert.  I had never been to a concert before so this was new for me.  I will be honest I did not like it at all.  I put on a good show though because I did not want to hurt Marks' feelings.   Later that week Mark and I were at work and having a discussion over something and our manager came over and said why don't ya'll just date you argue like you're married anyway.  I piped up and said we had already been on a date.  I was referring to the concert.  Mark broke in and said that no, we had not been on a date.  I looked very surprised, and asked what?  You can imagine the conversation that ensued.  I simply told him that he need not worry about ever asking me out on a date that it would not happen.  I was so angry.  What did he consider a date?  He picked me up, he paid for everything, and he took me home.  Date?  Right?  According to MARK, it was not a date.  Poor Sally got to listen to all this for several weeks.  I was dead set we would not be dating.  Well, I gave in and we went on a date.  Well, what Mark considers a date.  We went to dinner and then on a horse drawn carriage ride around town.  This was truly a date.  I cannot tell you how excited I was to do the horse drawn carriage thing.  It was so romantic.  So now  19 years later we are still together.  I guess he has done some things right.  We still argue over the date thing though.  I will never understand that one.

The Three Hour Tour. . .

So we had one of our little day trips yesterday with the kids.  We went in tubes down the New River.  It was so nice.  We signed up for a two hour trip that turned into a three hour trip.   This was fine with all of us, of course.  I had never been tubing before.  We had so much fun and the water was really cool.  There were times when we had to get out of our tube and walk because the water was down.  It has not rained in a month, but that was fine with us.  Jack got to  look for rocks and anything else that might be floating in the river.  Mark was looking for fish, naturally.  He said he saw about six.  We had a couple that jumped right in front of us.  That was cool.  I bought a disposable waterproof camera while we were there so I could take pictures going down the river.  I have not gotten those developed yet I will post some of those pictures later.   We all had fun on this trip.  Mark and I got to relax and the kids got to play in the water and splash each other.  There were only a few spots in the river where it was over Tom's head.   I would recomend not wearing a good bathing suit though, my rear end rubbed on the rocks in a couple of places.  The boys all wore t-shirts so their arms would not rub on the tubes.  Jack brought home several river rocks to add to his collection and Thomas brought home a golf ball he found.   We ended up with a three and a half hour trip.  But that was ok the guide said we were not on a timer and if we took longer than two hours that would be fine.  Once we reached the camp the kids played in the river and skipped stones till they were water logged.
Here is your triva info of the day:  Did you know that the New River is one of two that flows North.  The other is the Nile. 

July 4th at the Lake

We actually spent July 3rd at the Lake.  We had a wonderful time; the kids played in the water and of course faught the whole time with each other and one of their older cousins.   They wore themselves out.  We grilled out, of course, and had ice cream sundaes thanks to Marks' sister.  Yeah!!!!  She always knows what the kids like.  We ate all day long and then had ice cream on top of that.   I was so tired I know my kids were.  They played in the water most of the time.   We did not get home till very late and the kids stayed awake till we got home.  Of course they went right off to sleep once they got in the bed.   Poor little things, they were just tuckered out. 
They were a bear getting them up for Church the next morning.  But, we made it.  Sunday night we sat out on our deck and had ice cream again and watched the fireworks around our neighborhood.  It was a nice evening.  I had some sparklers left over from last year and so I got those out.  The kids had a ball with these sparklers that I got at the dollar store, I think.   They ran around the yard  waving their arms.  It looked like we were trying to send up smoke signals it was so smokey from those things.  The kids had fun though and that is all that matters.

Leaping into the 21st Century. . . at a snails pace

Yes, I have stepped into the 21st century as far as technology is concerned.  Of course, it has leaped ahead of me yet again as soon as I made my pruchase.  I mentioned in an earlier post I had been substitue teaching and learning a great deal about technology from the youth of today.   I learned first that my kids are deprived when it comes to technology.   Most of the kids in Middle School have cell phones, email accounts, facebook pages, and home computers.  They are all quite savy surfing the net too.  My kids have none of this.  I busted two kids with cell phones in one of the classes I was teaching.  I did not take their phones but I did tell them I would be leaving a note for their teacher.  I found out later I was supposed to take their phone and turn it over to the office.  When I caught them with their phones the conversation came up as to what type of phone I had.  I hated to tell them that I had only within the last two years gotten one with a camera.  They had a big laugh about that one.  Their phones all had the latest technology; email, camera, text, even GPS.  Now I ask you, what does a Middle Schooler need a GPS for?  What does a Middle Schooler need a phone for at school?  I went through middle, high school and even college with out a cell phone or even a computer and I turned out ok.  Well, that is subjective I know.    The phone I recently purchased does have all the gadgets and some I don't even know how to operate.  I guess I should let Jack look at it and maybe he could teach me how to use it.  My husband still refuses to text or any of that stuff.   His co-workers all text but he refuses.  He will read what you send but do not expect a reply.  He says that all this texting stuff is making the spoken word and the written(hand) word obsolete.  I agree with him in some respects.  I have seen two tween girls texting each other while sitting right beside each other.  Now that to me is odd.  This also brings up a good question about our social skills.  Are our social skills already at risk?  Think about when you shop; does the cahier make eye contact, do they smile and say thank you?   Has all this technology really helped us that much?   I stepped in just recently with my  cell phone.  I do  text sometimes.  I text my niece's just to let them know I am thinking about them and to check on them from time to time.  I do, however, text in full sentences.  I do not shorten things to only letters.  I guess I am that old dog you can't teach new tricks.