Trained

I’ve been thinking a lot about parenting lately.  A few months back I was reading a book called The Diaper Free Baby.  The main idea is that parents can learn to read and communicate with their children to have them Diaper Free much earlier than the 2 or 3 years old most American’s go with.  The author states that one of the biggest arguments against this method is that people say you are training the parent and not the child, therefore it doesn’t work.

I’m not going to get into having a Diaper Free baby (except to say my 10-month old will cry his eyes out if you try to put a diaper on him when he needs to pee or poop).  No, my beef here is with people who believe that parenting is all about training a child.

Yes, as parents, we are teaching our children things all the time.  But we are not perfect, which means we are all constantly changing and refining our ways.  Noticing what other parents do that work or don’t work.  Recognizing that a punishment for one child doesn’t work with another.  We modify how we respond to a fall or a misbehaving child.  Our tolerance for noise changes.  We don’t start day 1 of parenting knowing all the answers.  We may not be experts in the field but we are training ourselves to be the best parents we can be.  Training ourselves to choose our words wisely.  Training ourselves to put our children’s needs before our own.  What is wrong with training ourselves along with our children?  In my opinion….absolutely nothing – it’s the way it should be.

Dallas

Last weekend we headed out on Isaac’s first road trip and what I think was the first road trip that hasn’t had others for Zach and I since before we were married.  We were asked several times why we’d choose to drive 12+ hours to Dallas and back instead of taking a 1.5 hour flight.  For Zach and I the decision was fairly easy for us…we didn’t really talk about it, we just agreed and moved on.  It wasn’t until we were questioned that we thought about it.

After traveling on a total of eight different airplanes for three different trip (two to the east coast and one to the west coast) with a baby between the age of 5 and 8 months, we found that while Isaac is good, for the most part on airplanes, there is a lot of stress for us.  If he gets fussy, we have to calm him down quickly or face the rath of those around us.  With airline policies, we have to pack light (no pack n’ play, extra toys, diapers, or clothes), we have to be as condensed as possible.  Security lines with a baby, four carry-ons, a diaper bag, and a carseat are NOT fun.  Not to mention trying to get food or go to the bathroom.  Then we’d have to get a rental car, figure out how to install the carseat in this new car.  The list goes on, but really, we just decided a road trip sounded like fun.

We’ve been on several cross-country road trips.  Before we were married, even engaged I think, maybe the spring of 2003 we flew to Oregon to drive a car back for Zach’s dad.  Zach learned on that trip, that I’m not always the greatest road trip companion, as I’m not very good at the driving part (I get sleepy within 30 minutes of being at the wheel) and not so good at the helping the other person stay awake (I fell asleep telling him I wasn’t going to fall asleep, only to wake two hours later still arguing with him that I wasn’t going to fall asleep).   In November 2005, we jumped in my car with my little sis for a trip to Phoenix for Thanksgiving.  Our time with one set of grandparents was cut short and we ended up in Las Vegas with another set for Thanksgiving.  I proved again that my road tripping skills are not the greatest, which almost caused my sister to be stranded in Santa Fe (long story).  In July 2007 we headed up to Oregon and Washington with Zach’s dad.  By this time, we’d just planned me out of the driving schedule and if I felt like driving it was a bonus for everyone else.

All that to say…Zach loves to drive, and we plan road trips thinking that Zach will be doing most, if not all, the driving.  We decided it would be easiest with Isaac to drive through the night.   Our trip down was perfect.  Zach drove 444 miles, and then handed it over to me and yes, I drove the last 444 mile, including navigating through 3 cities I’ve never driven in.  Isaac was a champ.  He woke like normal, but just fussed enough to let us know he was awake and hungry.  He only really got fussy about 10 minutes away from the hotel, but who could blame him, it was noon and time to eat and play.  The one thing we didn’t plan on was that Isaac would be so intrigued by the hotel room, that he wouldn’t want to take his nap and therefore we wouldn’t get to sleep either.  Thankfully, I did manage to get him to cuddle with me, it just took a while.

The wedding was the next day.  So we went out to dinner and gift shopping with some of our friends.  We got a little lost and turned around in Dallas a bit, but what do you expect when you are relying on drunk people with iPhone maps to navigate you.  We ended up having dinner at this little Cuban place.  I ordered Sweet Potato Fries for myself, but Isaac ended up hording them.  He wanted to share with me and those we just about perfect….a little too greasy, but they were soft and fit his hands just perfect.

Isaac slept straight through the night.  In fact, as I was getting ready for the wedding, I was afraid I was going to have to wake him up, but he finally got around to waking up just in time.  This was Isaac’s third wedding, and I have to say he wasn’t as well behaved as he has been in the past.  I think he liked the way his voice sounded in the big, open church because he kept “talking,” at least he wasn’t screaming, right?

The wedding was beautiful and held in a very beautiful church.  I wish I’d had the mind to figure out the Nikon and put it to good use, but after about ten shots I was done and decided to just enjoy myself.  The reception was also beautiful and including an open bar.  I had a few glasses of wine and we enjoyed yummy food, friends and a wonderful photo booth (too bad I lost the family photo, I hope to get it back and will scan it if I do, it’s cute).  We didn’t dance.  We should have, but I didn’t want to be a spectacle.  Isaac was tired, so we put Isaac in the Ergo on Zach’s back and he went right to sleep.  They were already getting enough attention, if we’d decided to dance on top of that, everyone would have been looking and I don’t like when people watch me dance.  I also wish I would have danced the Greek dances.  But again, that fear of what others will think crept in.  I’ve kept it at bay for so long….darn thing.

After the wedding, most of the guys were drunk and it was still early (about 5ish) so we headed over to one of the hotels to go to the pool.  It was a roof top pool, which in idea is cool, but is really just the same as ground level.  We stayed there for several hours.  While Isaac loves the water, he prefers his independence and crawling around and pulling up on furniture.

That evening, we went back to the hotel and enjoyed another evening of Isaac sleeping straight through the night!

On Sunday, I wanted to go to the zoo.  We’d been told to go to the state fair.  But we had to start driving home that afternoon/evening, so we didn’t want to do something that would drain our energy too much.  So we decided on The Sixth Floor Museum.  First let me say, it wasn’t until we were driving past the “grassy knoll” when someone in the car stated where we were, that I knew that JFK was shot in Dallas.  I don’t know where I thought he was shot, but I didn’t think it was Dallas.  I guess that’s what happens to history before you were born….you miss details.  Anyway, since I really do like history, especially when I can be in places that carry history while I learn about it, and you can only do these types of things while you are in those historical places, we decided on this place.  It was just five minutes from the hotel.

It was actually great.  Isaac fell asleep in the Ergo.  They gave you headsets with recorded audio, so you got an actual tour.  It was neat.  I really enjoyed it.  Although, my legs and back were getting tired by the time we got to the conspiracy section, and Zach took a whole class in high school on JFK conspiracy theories, so he was done at that point, so I stopped my audio and quickly browsed through the photos and memorabilia.

We then headed out of Dallas.  We made a pit stop at 7-11 to get slurpees, but all the machines were “flashing red,” so we were going to stop later, but never did.  They had Hawaiian Punch slurpees, which was a major part of our 2005 road trip to the Southwest.  I had to call and tell my sister and I really wanted it.  I do hope that flavor comes back.  It is my favorite.

We left early…around 3, so it wasn’t time for bed for Isaac, so we didn’t know how the trip home was going to be.  He slept a bit (and so did I) as we made our way to Oklahoma University.  Why did you go there, you might ask.  Well, they had a Pita Pit and we really do like those places, so we decided the 10 minute detour was worth it for dinner and it was.  We both got two pitas, one to eat and one for the car ride home.

Then we took the long way across OK….I slept off and on, attacking bugs that were inside the car when I was awake.  Zach was sick of driving.  I think Isaac was even done, as he woke up several times and just wanted out of his seat.  Luckily, if I talked to him and played with him, he didn’t scream.  I tried to drive a bit in the early morning (3 or 4 am), but I didn’t last as long as I did on the trip down.  Thankfully, Zach is a rockstar and finished it up for us.  We got home at 6am and went straight to bed….and we all slept until 10, when Isaac woke up.  Mom came over and watched Isaac and I think Zach and I slept until noon.  When Isaac decided to take a nap, so we unloaded the car.  We rested on Monday and then back to work and life.

In the end, I’m very glad we took the trip.  There is something about driving in a car for such a long time that is so bonding.  It was great to spend such quality time with my two boys.

Forgotten

Sometimes I want to move away.  It would make it easier to be forgotten.

Lunch?  Yes!

When?  Friday.

Great.

Something came up.

….

Lunch?

….

Yes

….

….

Lunch?

….

….

….

….

….

….

Forgotten.

What makes me this person?  The one who gets forgotten?

**Lunch means more than lunch…it was easier than “Get together for ….”

Treasure

Last week my favorite band, Switchfoot, decided to release their new single, Mess of Me, in the strangest of ways… they hid copies all over the world and tweeted the locations on Twitter.  The expectation was that you find the hidden copies, make a new copy, hide it and Tweet the location for someone else to find.  What a great, fun time.

On Friday morning I needed to go to the office.  I haven’t been to the office in months, but someone across the country needed a file that I had in my old filing cabinet, so I promised I’d make the trip.  I decided to make the drive during a conference call I had…I get so bored driving.  Then this “game” entered into the equation…

Someone Tweeted about a copy in Denver, a location I could easily get to on my way to work.  Excitement overwhelmed me.  I actually get out of the house and do something fun and connected to others.  I was all in.  Isaac and I made the trip to the location…which happened to be a store…which happened to not be open…so we walked around for 10 minutes….but the CD was there.  We then made it to work and back home.

I sent a copy with Zach to work, but no one got it.  I wanted to hide it somewhere, but every time I was out I didn’t have the CD.  I feel like such a failure in the game.  But what fun I had following it and being excited with the rest of the world!

Dorothy

About two months ago, Zach’s grandma (on his dad’s side) was given a few days to six months to live.  She was sent home with hospice care and to be surrounded by those who loved her.

A few weeks later, with her only sister and son by her side, she took her last breath.  

Dorothy was an amazing woman.  One I wish I had lived closer to so that I could have known her better and learned from her wisdom.

Dorothy had many brothers and only one younger sister.  She was married once and had two children, one who died almost seven years to the day before Dorothy.  She had four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.  The youngest, Isaac, will never get to meet her.  Dorothy loved to travel when she was younger, and was the keeper of all information.  She was witty and fun.  

I’m very sad she never met Isaac.  

I’m sad that the last time we saw her was almost two years ago.  

I’m sad that we hadn’t talked to her in months.

I’m thankful that I did meet her.

I’m thankful that she was such a saver of stuff, that we have stories for years to share and learn of together.

I don’t think I have the words to describe what an amazing person she was, but I wanted a her to have a place in my blog.  I place where some day my kids will read about there great-grandma and know what a truly awesome, loving, strong, kindhearted, witty person she’d been.

Guns

I’ve been meaning to post this for quite some time, when I told Zach what I was going to do he said I better hurry or it’s going to be old news.  Well, I’m pretty sure it already is old news, but I still wanted to post.

About twoish weeks ago….

Isaac was going through an “I only sleep two to three hours at a time” spell (turned out to be his first tooth!)  Anyway, he woke up around three and Zach went and got him and brought him to our bed so I could nurse him.  I don’t generally go back to sleep, but nurse Isaac and then move him back to his bed.  Well, on this particular night Zach didn’t have a chance to even get back to sleep before we started hearing noises outside.

We live on a corner and our bedroom has windows that face both streets, so it’s not unusual for us to hear things.  Although most of the time it’s pretty quiet around here.

It was a lot of talking and “shooting.”  I could tell there were some pelt guns going off as the neighbor behind and one house over uses a pelt gun almost daily.  Isaac was nursing so I couldn’t really go investigate, but suddenly Zach was wide awake and wanted to know what was going on, so he opened the front blinds and looked out.

Sure enough, a car of “teenagers” had pulled in front of our driveway, stopped and gotten out to “shoot” at some people up the street.  They weren’t there long, but as they got into the car, they thought it would be a good idea to shoot our house up a bit.  Man did it make me mad, but what was I going to do?  Call the cops and say some kids shot my house with pelt guns and they were in a black four door car?  No license plate or discription of the people….plus Zach didn’t have his glasses on.

We are pretty sure it is the same kids that went running through the neighborhood one afternoon last summer with pelt guns shooting each other and hiding behind trees and cars.  OOOOoooooo….it just makes me mad.  Who thinks it is okay to go running around a neighborhood (day or night) with guns???  I don’t care what kind!

Relationships

I tend to think too much.  I  worry about the future, but most of this worry is because I feel so blessed in life and I see others around me struggling.  It doesn’t seem fair.

I have a house.  A good job.  A new car.  Two dogs. TVs. Computers. Cable. Internet.  Plenty of food.  A beautiful son.  An amazing husband.  Who has a great job.  A car. Blah. Blah. Blah.

We don’t have a lot of friends.  Most of the people we classify as friends are from his “old life” or my “old life.”  You know those lives you live before you get married.  Before you have kids.  We do have a few close friends and then some other friends that we see somewhat regularly – we aren’t hermits by any means.  And while this bothers me a bit, it mainly because I’m a social person – I like to see people and interact.  But really I don’t care because I have my best friend with me everyday.

Before I met Zach I was a slightly different person.  I was quiet, introverted, shy, self-conscience, book smart, but not so street smart.  I spent way too much time worried about what others thought of me.

Enter Zach…while I still tend to harbor a lot of these traits, especially around people who knew me “before,” around Zach I’ve always been me.  I can ask the stupid questions about things instead of pretending I know what’s going on.  I can sing as loud as I want in the car and not be asked to be quiet.  I can dance, something I could never do.  I can chill on the couch and just talk, I don’t have to be busy doing something.  I can say words wrong, and even though I get corrected, I know there is no judgement.  I can keep up with every person under the face of the sun and have no questions to answer.  I can share my fears, my dreams.  I’m just me including every flaw.

Zach and I have a great relationship.  I LOVE being around him.  It drives me crazy when I know he is doing something I could be apart of (ie, if he goes to the store on the way home) or if he is home and I’m away.  I remember a few months ago, when Isaac was first born, Isaac was asleep and we needed to drive my mom home.  In the past we would have done this together and it didn’t dawn on me right away that we wouldn’t be doing it together.  Oh, right, someone has to stay home with the sleeping baby.  We shop for groceries together, we run errands together….unless we are working, we are generally together.  This works wonderfully for me, as I don’t seem to need that much alone time, but when we first got married, this drove Zach crazy.  He is very fond of time spent by himself (maybe because he was an only child for 13 +ish years).  I’ve learned to let Zach have time here and there and since he is a night owl and I’m typically in bed by 10, he gets a few hours there, but the bottom line is we like to be together.

Sometimes I wonder if this is healthy.  Shouldn’t we have other friends…girl time, guy time, alone time.  Maybe.  But I don’t think it’s necessarily unhealthy.  I mean it’s not like we are the same person.  We both have very strong opinions and ideas and strengths and weaknesses and likes and dislikes.  In fact, maybe that is part of the fun in being around each other…seeing and hearing another perspective.  And, you’d think that with all this time we spend together there’d be a lot of fighting, getting on each others nerves, right?  Nope.  We rarely fight, although I do find that most of our fights are really the same fight…funny how that happens.

If you’ve stuck with me this long, you know I love my husband and I cherish our life together.  I can’t imagine life any other way.

But then the worry…I watch TV, I read books, I follow the lives of “friends” and sometimes I wonder where we will be in 10 years, 20 years.  Will we still love being around each other?  What if one of us got sick, really sick, would the other one stand firm?  What about our children?  Will they be happy and healthy and love us?

I used to worry about gas prices.  It was actually much more than that, but it all stemmed from there.  I had a lot of anxiety.  I remember Zach and I were reading the Bible together every night and every night there was a little nudge from God about not worrying and then one day I was just able to let it go.  I wish I could find the verse that really resonated with me, (it was somewhere in the old testament, hows that? ) but I guess God always has ways of getting to our hearts.  Maybe for me, it was just getting it out on “paper.”

Switchfoot

I’ve been a Switchfoot fan since the beginning.  I remember there was this Christian magazine that every two months would produce a cassette tape that you could buy for $0.99.  On that tape would be about 10 songs from new CDs that were coming out soon or had just come out.  One time one of the songs was Chem6A.  I think I might have worn the tape out rewinding and playing again which finally led me to purchase the CD.  I practically wore the CD out.

CD number 2 came out and while it was good, I didn’t wear it out.  In fact, when CD #3 came out I didn’t really care.  Until I saw A Walk to Remember and I recognized the songs.  I couldn’t get them out of my head.  I finally find the CDs, but that jsut made me want more Switchfoot, so I went and got CD#3 and from them on I’ve not been able to quit.

Four years ago, I had the wild idea to go see their concert with my sister.  It was one of those sister bonding things.  Dispite the fact that I end up at a lot of concerts, up until this point (and even since), I’d been relatively bored with concerts and actually, Switchfoot has only made that worse.  Stacy and I pushed our way up to the front and were about two or three people from the stage.  We stood firm the waiting for Switchfoot, even through some music that was not our cup of tea.  And it was well worth it.  Switchfoot puts on a good show.  Jon especially works the crowd….interacting and talking with us.  We were hooked.  We said we’d always go back.

The next year, Switchfoot came again.  This time we planned a bit better and got there early enough to stand in line (Stacy had a test the next day, so we studied in line).  We again push/worked our way up to the front, but it was easy because we’d gotten there so early.  We were right at the bar in front of the stage.  We could get no closer.  This was the year Stacy took a wild jump and touched Jon and he climbed the balcony and as always put on a really good show.  We couldn’t stop talking about it and how wonderful it was…so much so my husband said he wanted to come with us next time.

Well, we got skipped over.  And then they came with a huge Christian tour and were in a event center that had “assigned” seats and I was 7 months pregnant.

When I found out they were coming to Denver again, just two days before my sisters birthday and to a smaller venue.  I was so excited….but then I realized Stacy was going to be in Virginia, as she just moved there this summer to be with her husband.  Then about a month ago, Stacy found out that she needed to be in Denver the day before the concert because she started student teaching.  So we got tickets and Zach and my best friend Susie decided to join as well.

Long story, but by the time we got there, the line was LONG.  The people were different (this was a concert with Blue October).  Hopes were high.  We didn’t get there in time to have good position.  And it’s hard to move through a crowd with four people.  We got stuck behind this really TALL guy.  None of us could see around him and he was like a rock.  Didn’t budge an inch.  We managed to move around in front of some teenagers, only to end up almost stepping on a kid sitting on the ground (which Stacy got yelled at for, even though she kept anything bad from happening).  Stacy wanted to leave because of a few of the people near her, so I switched places with her.  Switchfoot was on next.  They came on and this really BIG woman, who smelled like Isaac’s diapers, in front of me was trying to get her two friends over to her.  When her friends finally got there, they just kept talking and talking and because of there angle it was all I could hear.  I, of course, am singing along with Jon.  During one break, I just say out loud that they should be quiet or leave because they are ruining the concert.  A little while later, while I was singing one of the girls turns around and tells me to “Stop singing.  They might be good if I could hear them.”  I told them I came to sing and was about to burst into tears.  They wouldn’t stop and I got mad enough, I pushed in front of them stating, “If you let me in front of you, you won’t have to listen to me sing.”  I got called a “fucking bitch,” which I kinda was but they weren’t any better.  I was only there a minute and looked at Zach and Stacy and said let’s go and tried to get out of there.  They wouldn’t let me go beyond them, only trading places with me.  I really had a hard time…I just wanted to cry.  I put my head on Zach’s shoulder.  He told me to just let it go.  That I shouldn’t let them win.  At one point though, Zach even almost punched them, because they kept telling him to stop singing and told him that Switchfoot wasn’t even good.  HA!  During this drama, Jon had jumped off the stage and walked from one side of the floor to the other, just doing what Jon does.  It’s so funny.

As soon as Switchfoot was done, we were out.  And so were about half the people there.  It was funny because the Blue October fans kept asking where everyone was going.  We hung out for a while in the back trying to decide what to do.  Hoping for some remedy to the miserable night.

We saw Switchfoot rushed downstairs for a meet and greet and we walked over there.  We were told that was the only way out, so we stood there.  We lasted through two or three of Blue October’s songs before deciding that they were much like there fans….not very good and we finally decided to leave.  We had to walk past the tour buses to get to our car and as we got closer we saw about six people standing by the cars talking to someone.  We walked quicker and sure enough it was Jon.

We took the picture for the people who were standing there and then asked for a picture ourselves, unfortunately, all we had was my cell phone, so the picture turned out dark.  But Jon was so nice and wished Stacy a Happy Birthday and asked how old she was going to be.  She was about to pass out and could barely breathe.  He also told us he was thinking of doing a show later at a coffee shop if he could find one and he’d Twitter the location.

We started to walk away and then decided to hang and listen to stories and such while Zach and Susie went to the car to get “the professional camera you can’t take into concerts.”  We weren’t there very long and Drew came out, and then some girls came out of the concert and realized what was going on and started running towards us all.  Jon quickly ducked out and then Drew left too.  We kinda half followed Drew and his Denver friends (mainly because our car was there)….they ate dinner at Park Avenue Grill (I’ve eaten there!), but we just went to 7-11 and got slurpees and Stacy went to the bathroom.  We got back to the car and decided to do a quick drive-by of where they’d been talking to people and we saw Tim out talking, so we found a closer parking spot and walked over.  Stacy got her photo with him and we listened to him answer questions and such.

Periodically, the members would switch up and change places.  Once returning to the bus, and another coming out.  Jerome came out and talked to everyone.  Even came over to us (we were not standing at the rope) and we ended up talking to him about camera’s and lenses.  Who knew his wife was a photographer and he is her backup.

Jon came out again and someone had his guitar and asked Jon to play.  There were about 20ish people and Jon did.  He sang a few songs from his solo albums…..it was great.  Praising God on the streets of Denver.

Then he said if we could find a way he’d play some songs from the new album.  So he worked to find a blank CD, didn’t happen.  Eventually a guy pulled up his car and Jon connected his iPhone to another guys iTrip and we listened to a few songs while Jon took photos and chatted with people.  He is such a nice person.  Really, really is.

As the Blue October concert got out.  Things got more choatic and Jon stopped playing the new music, saying “I just wanted it to be an intimate thing.”  The difference in the Switchfoot fans and Blue October fans is amazing.  Switchfoot fans are like family…they are nice and friendly and look out for each other.  Blue October fans are loud and abnoxious and only look out for themselves.

Before we left, I tapped Jon on the shoulder and asked if we could re-do our photo from earlier with a real camera.  He said, “Sure.  23, right?”  Remembered Stacy’s age!  We got Susie in the photo too!  But it was quite funny as she was leaning on me a bit, which was causing me to fall into Jon and we later found out Susie was holding his hand!  HA!  So I have to share both picture as they go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly.

It was a great evening.  Hanging with Switchfoot made the night totally worth it.  And I feel quite bad about not being a “good” Switchfoot fan and treating those people nice.  I even told Jon about the fact that it wasn’t the best concert of theirs I’d been too (he looked sad) and then I said, “Because I was told not to sing with you.” He responded, “Well, I like it when you sing and appreciate it.”

Susie, of course, had to take some end of the night shots….too bad we don’t get her in them more.

Fireflies

Yesterday I had two friends who can’t possibly know each other post about fireflies back to back.  It reminded me of a part of our trip to Virginia that I’d forgotten – seeing Fireflies for the first time!

On our second night in Virginia we were eating pizza on the deck at about 10:30PM and all the sudden I saw a little bleep of light.  I was so excited!  Joe told me that the best time to see them is around 9 when the sun has just disappeared.  Well, I forgot about that until our very last day and Joe was outside and came in saying that it was the perfect time to watch fireflies.  We were packing, so Zach went out first.  I asked if it was worth it to go out (I didn’t want to get eaten by bugs) and he said yes.  So I headed out and there they were….zooming in and out of the trees, turning their lights on and off.  It was pretty cool.  It would be so relaxing if I wasn’t so worried about the bugs.  You could sit on the swing and just enjoy nature and it was still warm enough to not need a blanket (although a blanket might have helped with the bugs.)

Beaches

Isn’t he cute all dressed for the beach?  One of my goals on our trip to Virigina was to go to the beach.  So, the day after we arrived with got dressed, packed up and headed on over.  It took us forever to get to the beach.  Stacy and Joe aren’t the quickest people and we were trying to get ready for something we’d never done with a baby, so we weren’t overly quick either.

About 15-20 minutes from Stacy and Joe’s house is this nice little beach – they even have a lifeguard on duty!  We sat by the waves and watched them for a while.  Which Isaac LOVED!

Then we decided to go sit where the sand was wet and the waves would wash over our legs.  Isaac loved this too!  He didn’t cry or get scared at the waves and he really enjoyed eating sand.

Zach and I  eventually handed Isaac up to Joe and Stacy and went and took a dip in the ocean together.  It was kinda freaky because you couldn’t see very deep….so I couldn’t tell if the jelly fish were getting me or if there were sharks….so we didn’t stay too long.  But long enough.

Once we got back from DC, we tried to make another trip to the beach, but it seemed like it wasn’t meant to happen.  We spent all day getting ready and then it was nap time, so I tried to get Isaac to take a nap, but he was just being crabby, so we eventually decided against going to the beach.  I helped Stacy prep curry and then Joe came home and wanted to go to the beach….so we packed up and within a few minutes in the car, Isaac was out.

When we got to the beach, I opted to stay in the car with Isaac until he woke up.  Zach decided to keep me company, so Stacy and Joe took their books and headed down to the beach.  Every week this beach has a movie on a blow-up screen and everyone was gathering around for that and they were playing music – mainly Michael Jackson – and Zach and I actually really enjoyed ourselves in the car.  Isaac woke up just in time for the new line dance cha-cha song, that I like and I danced to it in the car and he was just cracking up!  It was so funny.  Then we got our gear and headed towards the beach.  There were swarms of people on the way to the actual sand, but there didn’t seem to be many people on the sand, but I never got to find out, because we ran into Stacy and Joe who were headed back to the car because it was too dark to read.

Back at the house we ate yummy curry (one of my favorite meals now) and then played some cards.  Since we were leaving at 4:00AM and needed to be up at 3:30 we decided to stay at Stacy’s in the living room, so Isaac slept on the floor next to us.  It actually worked pretty good….until the alarm didn’t go off the next morning and I work up at 4:09 panicked.   But we did get to the airport in time, so no worries.