Girls Night Out

Notice anything new with Athena?
O.k. besides the bangs in her face. (She's a tween, what can I do?)
Yes, she has her ears pierced!
Last weekend, Brian took the boys to a Riversharks game (baseball) and so it was just me and Athena. She had Girls Night Out all planned.
We went to the local mall and shopped at Justice. She spends a good part of each day "shopping" on line and putting together outfits so she knew just what she wanted. They were having a huge sale so I thought we might as well do some back-to-school shopping. I about fell over when Athena *had* to have black skinny jeans. This is the same girl that won't wear anything but lycra and elastic bands because jeans are "too restricting". Apparently, Selena Gomez (from the Disney Channel) wears them, so now jeans, and skinny ones at that, are o.k. I'm not ready for teenagers!
Then we had dinner at the food court and then headed to Claire's to get her ears pierced. After 2 years of waffling back and forth, her money savings and courage level finally coincided. She was still pretty nervous, but they put the piercing chair right by the walk-way --whether to provide entertainment to passers-by or to encourage the participant to not scream and cry, I'm not sure, but probably a combination of both. I had to sign and initial like 3 forms; which kind of made me feel like maybe they knew what they were doing.
Athena knew it would hurt but I think she was hoping it wouldn't really. After the first ear was done, she grabbed my hand--hers were cold and clammy. But it was over before she knew it, and the left ear stopped hurting right away. The right ear still tingled an hour later, and Athena who had poured over the fine print, worried that it might still hurt in 24 hours, and she would have to take out her earrings. She's a worrier, our Nina. I told her we'd see how it felt in the morning and luckily, they didn't hurt at all!
She picked out her birthstone (garnets) for her earrings. I think they look beautiful. She'll get to buy new ones right about when school starts--so I imagine she'll start a wish list on-line soon enough.
BTW--the boys enjoyed the baseball game, though what they liked most was being able to run the bases afterwards. Brian's comments consisted mostly of how much better soccer games are vs. baseball games, especially if you are taking kids. (A soccer game is only 90 min., you can explain the game easily(except for offsides) and there is a lot more action.)

Just for kicks

Athena and Paris just wrapped up a week of soccer camp. Paris is an old pro--he went last year, as well as playing in the fall with the rec team. Athena always wanted to play soccer, but with dance, I just couldn't agree to driving and paying for both. So I let her take a week soccer camp so she could get a taste for it. As much as I love having a dancer in the family, I would hate for her to think that that is her only option. We borrowed shoes and guards from a friend, and she borrowed shorts from her brother. It was so cute, the first day, they were talking in the car--Paris saying "I'm glad Athena's coming to camp with me. It'll be great showing her around" and Athena saying, "I'm glad Paris is there. I would be so nervous if he wasn't." Warms a poor mother's heart.
Anyway, they had a good time, though they had to play in the rain one day and got sopping wet, and muddy--(I think that was their favorite day).

Setting the Table

What do you think about when you set the table? I admit I haven't really set the table in several years, that being one of the first chores relegated to our "dwarfs". However, I will say I find housework in general to be repetitious and monotonous. I find myself playing games like lets see how many dishes we can load in 15 min. or I bet I can sweep the kitchen before this song quits playing on Pandora. Sometimes I load dishes from left to right, other times from right to left. Other times I let mind wander while I do the same chore for the 1,000,000,000th time writing a new blog, or an imaginary letter, or I call my sisters to take my mind off of what I'm doing--yes, that's why you all get calls at about the same time every day. Otherwise I think I might go insane, feeling like Sisyphus rolling that big rock up the hill over and over.
However. I do not think I felt like that when I was a kid. Setting the table, or any chore for that matter, was simply an unpleasant interruption to my business of being a kid. That's not to say I didn't occasionally use the chore as an opportunity to expand my playing...I could be a poor orphan ordered to set the table for the rest of the unfortunates; I could be a giant and the sauce I was asked to stir was a cauldron; I could be lost in the forest and the meal I set out were things I had scavenged from the wilderness. Anyway, that's what I vaguely remember.
Do not ask me what my kids are thinking when they are setting the table. Apparently, on July 4, Paris was thinking, I wonder what will happen when I dial 911. In between clearing the table of the mail and other miscellaneous items and getting the plates down, he decided to dial 911, and then push the end button, because he did know that you shouldn't call 911 unless there is an emergency.
Two minutes later (Paris had just counted out 6 plates), an emergency operator called and asked if everything was alright. I thought for sure she had the wrong number. I looked around. Apollo was outside, Tritan was on the computer, Athena was watching TV, Paris was setting the table--who could have called 911? The operator told me I had to talk to the policemen outside and tell them everything was ok. Policemen? What policemen? I looked outside--no car. Surely, this lady was mistaken; she had the wrong house, the wrong number--what was she talking about? But sure enough, they had parked just behind the bushes in front of our house-- I guess not to alarm any would-be attackers into a panic killing spree, and were just then approaching our house with a wary caution.
I apologized profusely. Paris followed me outside, still holding the plates, looking slightly curious and not in the least bit guilty. I tried to surmise how Apollo could have called from our house and still be 4 houses down playing with a neighbor. I wondered if Tritan had somehow hacked into the emergency response system without knowing it and tripped a call button or something. I never once suspected Paris holding the plates as his perfect alibi.
The officers took my name, my number, and my birthday. I'm not sure why they needed all that information but he was young and cute, so I complied and apologized again.
Paris eventually copped to calling, though he was amazed that the call went through. "I hit the red button!" So that mystery was solved, but I still want to know why anyone would call 911--even for pretend--in the middle of setting the table. When I asked him, he replied "I don't know!"

Trip to Palmyra and Niagra

What I love: Road trips. Especially now that the kids are older. I actually like that they have no access to computer or TV and have to come up with other means to entertain themselves. Tritan reads his Calvin and Hobbs comic books out loud to the entire car, and does the voices and expressions so well, we don't need to see pictures to get the jokes. He can entertain the entire car for an hour or so.

What I love: Red Robin. There was one in Rochester where we had a hotel for the first 3 nights. We ate there the night we arrived. They need to expand to South Jersey...


What I love: Vacationing as a family. It was really neat to visit the Church history sites as a family. We saw the Hill Cumorah, the Smith farm, the Sacred Grove, and the Grandin Printing Press where the Book of Mormon was printed. Athena had some really great spiritual moments and got to be one of the sister missionary's companions and bear her testimony. Paris enjoyed being the go-to guy for answering questions. And Tritan enjoyed the Sacred Grove. I'm glad Mom and Dad planned this trip; I would've thought the kids would be bored with all the historical stuff, but they really enjoyed it.

Hill Cumorah

Smith home

The Smith frame home

Sacred Grove

Sacred Grove

Grandin Printing Press--Athena being a "companion"


What I hate: When people prey on others. Mom and Dad's rental car was broken into and their camera and GPS was stolen at the restaurant we ate at Wednesday. It was frustrating to have that happen on vacation, and I feel bad for Mom and Dad. They were able to get a new rental car on Thurs. but their insurance didn't cover the stuff that was stolen.

The theives shattered the window and took the good stuff

What I love: Hotel pools. Hotels are magic for kids, and hotels with pools are the icing on the cake. We had some down time on Thurs. between visiting the Martin Harris home and the Whitmer farm in Fayette and going to the pageant that night so a-hotel-swimming we a-went.

What I hate: Hotel pools. When the ambient air is only slightly warmer than the air-conditioned lobby and yet the pool is only 70*. Everyone freezes.


What I hate: When your kid gets hurt. Apollo got his finger caught in the back of the van door as we were unloading at the pageant, and it quickly plumped to the size of a large purple grape. We saw an EMT truck so we took him there, just to make sure it wasn't broken. They gave him the all-clear, gave him an ice bag and a stuffed kitten, and Apollo was able to muster a smile.




What I love: The pageant. It is amazing to think that they pull this off year after year with volunteers and a couple of days rehersal. It was so well done, and the spirit was strong. It was really amazing.





What I love: Tours. We saw the American side of Niagra Falls on Friday. We signed up for a tour which was great, since we got to see all of the sites, and have someone else drive us around. We saw the dams which take half of the falls' water, rode the Maid of the Mist(a boat that goes right by the falls) , and touched the Bridal Veil on Hurrincane Harbor (our favorite attraction on either side). We grabbed dinner at the the casino and then watched the fireworks.

On Maid of the Mist

American Falls and Bridal Veil with Niagra in the background

Mom and Dad at Hurricane Harbor

What I hate: Having to have a passport to go to Canada. What the deal, eh? I stood in line all day on Monday at the Philadelphia Customs House, paid double for the cost of a passport, and then they didn't even stamp it when we passed into Canada!! On Sat., Mom and Dad went on to Ohio to see the sites in Kirtland, and we went to the Canadian side of Niagra Falls.

What I love: Seeing the falls from every possible angle. The Canadian side does have a better view, and the illumination at night shows up much better on that side.

The Falls from the Canadian side

Illumination on the Canadian side

What I hate: Not planning well enough. We paid twice for parking, and walked 1 1/2 miles just to learn that the attraction we wanted, the White Water Walk, was actually 9 miles away, so we ended up taking a taxi. The White Water Walk was wonderful though. (notice the allteration).

What I hate: Kitsch tourist traps. While the American side was a little depressed, the Canadian side was sort of garish. Every store was either a theme restaurant, tacky souvenior store, wax museum or thrill ride. I felt like I was bleeding money.


What I love: Coming home after vacation. I actually miss cooking dinner and grocery shopping.