Rooms With a View

PAIN IN THE HEAD...

My Tysabri headache is one of my worst. Hopefully I will be back tomorrow.

IN MOURNING

I am sorry to report that my computer has died. It is not just sick, it is dead. I am currently using the kids desktop which is very difficult for me to use. I have already popped a few blood vessels on my wrists from the awkward position I must be in to use the keyboard. I miss my laptop. I am not sure if or when I will be able to replace my laptop. So, I will not be blogging very often. If I can figure out a way to use the mouse and the keypad without the resulting pain then I will be back to my daily blogging. I cannot even send emails receive them at this time.

I am trying not to let this loss make me upset but I must admit, I feel like I have lost a dear friend. I must sound very spoiled. Oh well. I hope to post later this week about the Prom. I have Tysabri tomorrow which as you know will have me down with my friend the headache. I will leave you with a few photos from our first day of swimming. These are from Friday the 24th. I actually jumped in on Thursday, the 23rd after doing some yard work. The water temperature today was 78! `

It appears that Mitchell is running on water. Patrick took these cool photos.

 

Vinny's legs.

 

Vinny showing how happy she is to be back in the pool.

 

Is this not the coolest photo? It looks like she is diving into cement.

I hope you all have a glorious week.

IT WAS A DARK AND 'STORM'Y NIGHT...

When this came into our lives. Meet Storm. He is a friend of Patrick's from school who also works with him. Storm has been living with his dad since leaving his mother's house due to a step father with a bit of a temper. It turns out that his own father has a similar temper and Storm simply could not take it anymore. Patrick got wind that Storm was planning on moving to the woods until he found better accommodations. So he called me one night a week or so ago and asked if Storm could stay at our house. Of course I said yes. What is one more kid to feed.

It is funny because it feels like he has lived with us forever. He is a great kid! He adores Vinny and Mitchell and has already taught Vinny a few cords on the electric guitar. He is polite and has wonderful manners. He helps out around the house without a single complaint.

We are not sure how long he will be with us. We have told him that he is welcome to stay here as long as he wants. He even let me dye his hair on Friday.

 

Thanks for all of your nice comments on Patrick's concert! Oh, I almost forgot; I hit 10,000 views today! Now, if I could only get a few more comments.

Have a groovy Thursday!

MOON RIVER...

You should all be very thankful right now that I am not going to force you to hear me sing. I am however, going to ask you to listen to Patrick sing. Last night was his Choir's annual Jazz-Pop concert. Patrick had a duet for part of Moon River. He is suffering from allergies and a little cough. That plus a good case of the nerves kept him from singing as loudly as I would have wanted. You can still here a little bit of him if you listen real closely. The video of Moon River is in two parts. The second one contains his duet...

Thanks for stopping by!

DIG IT!

On Friday of last week, the 6th grade choir at Mitchell's school performed a musical journey through Ancient History. It was actually much better than I had imagined. The songs were fun and the acting was pretty good. The best part was the length of the play; it lasted about 30 minutes. Mitchell played Romulus who must kill his brother Remus with a rock. He even got to do a little dancing. Here a a couple of photos...

 

Mitchell singing. If you do not recognize him with his short hair, he is in the back row in the middle.

 

I also took a few videos. Actually, I took about 5 videos but don't worry, I will not ask you to watch all of them. Here are a couple....

 

You may notice that Mitchell's clapping is not on beat with the rest. He gets his rhythm from his dad.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope ya'll have a groovy Tuesday.

TIE DYE EGGS, TOO MUCH CANDY, AND MORE

We had a wonderful Easter this year. No one was sick (Mitchell was sick last year), our eggs turned out perfect, and we all made it to church together.

I purchased a tie dye egg coloring kit. The problem was that it only had one plastic case in which you had to put the egg. It also only had one dropper. So, we had to take turns with the tie dye kit. While waiting for our turn we all got a little creative.Here are a few (okay, more than a few) highlights.

 

Mitchell with his first tie dyed egg.

 

Vinny using a Versa Mark marker.

 

Charlie with his first egg of the night.

 

Patrick doing his creative thing. 

I am not sure when I lost control of the camera.

 

Charlie decided to make his own tie dye kit with one of my mesh dish towels.

 

After he wrapped the egg in the towel, he dipped it into several different colors.

 

Vinny had more dye on her hands, arms, and shirt than she did on her eggs.

 

The results! See the one toward the bottom with the tiny squares? That is the one Charlie did wrapped up in the towel.

 

Charlie and I decided to have Easter in the office/guest room this year. The Easter bunny covered up the baskets just in case the kids discovered where they were.

 

Vinny's, Mitchell's, Patrick's, Charlie, and mine. Vinny received a couple of Webkinz, and the boys got SKATE IT for the Wii. The Easter Bunny surprised me with Photoshop Elements 7. You may be wondering why Charlie has the tiny little basket. Well, that was his basket when he was a little boy. He knows if he runs out of candy he can eat mine.

 

In they come!

 

Mitchell had to bring Milo in.

 

Vinny happy to see her two new Webkinz.

 

The wrappers were off in about 3.2 seconds.

 

This is the look I received when I told the boys only one piece of candy until after breakfast. I had gone all out and actually cooked. We had cinnamon rolls and sausage. I know, that is really not cooking but for me to do that much on an early Sunday morning is noteworthy.

 

Nothing like three tired faces on Easter morning.

After church we decided to forgo the cooking. I mean, one meal a day is enough don't you think. So, we went to Fudrucker's and had a great meal.

When we got home I realized I had not taken photos of everyone in their new Easter outfits.

A nice shot of the kids.

 

This would have been one of our best family photos if it weren't for Patrick's eyes only being half open. 

I hope you all had a blessed Easter. Thanks for stopping by.

FINALLY! THE LAST DAY OF SPRING BREAK

On our last day in Virginia we (the girls) decided we had earned some time in the Spa! I believe the boys spent the time loading up our car and just hanging out. The younger girls decided on manicures while Christi and I opted for a 90 minute massage. I am sorry to report that I do not have any photos of Christi and I getting our massage. I had the boys take photos of the girls to share with you. We were on the road by 12:00 while Christi and her kids stayed for one day longer. Here are some photos of the girls...

 

They could only do two manicures at a time so Vinny and Anna Kate went first.

 

Joyce and Abigail came to watch and hang out.

 

Here is Anna Kate with her arms wrapped up in warm towels. This was Vinny's favorite part.

 

The Spa is an Aveda Spa and the young girls section is called Scoops.

 

 

 

 

Vinny thought the color she chose was more of a lime green. It turned out to be neon green.

 

She had her thumb painted orange with neon green stripes.

 

Abigail, Vinny, Joyce, and Anna Kate. I am not sure if you can see Anna Kate's nails. They are a pretty blue color with brown on her index finger.

 

A beautiful photo of Christi and her kids. Al Jr. Christi (looking very relaxed after our massage), Anna Kate, and Abigail.

I hope you enjoyed my 100 posts on our spring break! Now I need to try to catch up on other fun events. Thanks for stopping by. Have a groovy weekend and I will be back on Monday.

SURFIN DUDES AND DUDETTES

Day three of our Spring Break was spent at the water park. The boys were determined to improve their surfing skills and the girls decided that they would give it a try.

 

Anna Kate was the first girl to give it a whirl on day two. By day three she was becoming quite good.

 

Abigail was a quick study!

 

Vinny getting her balance.

 

She had a good ride up until the end. Unfortunately her bottoms came down just a little. I warned her that she should wear her one piece.

 

Abigail comforting an embarrassed Vinny. I just love the look on Abigail's face. Needless to say, Vinny did not surf again.

 

Mitchell.

 

More Mitchell

 

Patrick looking like a pro.

 

Mr. Show off.

Meanwhile, Charlie and Christi and seriously considering trying this thing out. They decided if one of them did it, the other would as well.

 

Getting up the nerve.

Christi went first. The lifeguard was more than happy to give her a lengthy lesson on how to surf.

 

She immediately got the hang of it.

 

Can you believe this was her first try?

 

She was on for a good three minutes. We were all very impressed.

 

She even looks good when she crashes.

Next up was Charlie. He did not receive as much instruction as Christi.

He actually did really well. I was so proud and the kids were very impressed. So, the only people who did not give surfing a try were Al Jr., Waller, Joyce and yours truly. I am going to give it a try next time.

Here are two videos of the boys surfing. The first one is Mitchell and the second is Patrick. Enjoy!

OPTIMISM

Mitchell was invited by his drama teacher to audition for the District Optimism Club's Oratory contest. The theme was Optimism (this is not the theme every year). He tried out and was chosen as one of three boys to represent his school. Tonight was the contest. I am so proud of Mitchell. He did an excellent job and looked so great up their speaking. Oh, he also WON!!! He now has the opportunity to compete in the State contest in Columbia, SC. The only critique the judges had was for him to relax.

I could not take photos or video at the event because someone (Patrick) forgot to put the memory card in the camera. I did take a few when we got home and video taped him reading his speech.
Thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow I will continue with Spring Break.

 

With his plaque.

 

With his medal.

 

And with his favorite prize, $100. If he wins at the state level he wins a $1500 scholarship. We know it will be tough at the state level since we will be competing against kids from 12-16. We just want him to have fun and enjoy the experience. Here is the video of his speech...I am sorry that the video turned sideways. I could not figure out how to rotate it. So, either turn your head or turn your computer. Enjoy!

DAY TWO COMES TO A CLOSE!!!!!

This is the last post on day 2 from our Spring Break vacation. I promise! I will start with some black and white photos taken by Patrick.

 

 

 

 

 

We finally took a break for lunch and ended up at a cute place right next to William and Mary called Retro. The food was amazing! The restaurant had a HUGE chalkboard wall and the cook said the kids could go crazy and crazy they did. This board was empty when we arrived except for the word 'Bingo'. 

Vinny and Abigail.

Mitchell

Anna Kate, Mitchell and Vinny

The finished project.

Joyce, Vinny and Abigail looking very tired. We were on the shuttle back to our car.

 

Beautiful Christi and Anna Kate. That is finally all for day two!!!