From Inmates to Playdates

Posts Tagged ‘inlaws’

SUMMER IS…..

Sitting beside your brother on a ride at Busch Gardens

Going to a Yankee game with Uncle Dave

Many miles in the minivan as we travel the East Coast.

Music Camp Water Fun

Evening sunrise on the beach

Riding in fast cars

(You knew that was coming, didn’t you?)

This post is linked to You Capture.

Last weekend while we were in Florida, Stevie and I accompanied two brothers-in-law to a Major League Baseball game.

As far as baseball goes, it was a biggie.

Or so I was told.

Because me? I know nothing of baseball unless you count the fact that I’ve thought Derek Jeter was a hottie ever since I saw a picture of he and Mariah Carey on The View several years ago.

The New York Yankees were playing the Tampa Bay Rays and my brother-in-law, Mike, happens to be a huge Yankees fan. When he discovered the Yankees would be playing in Florida the same week we would be there he asked if any of us were interested in going. I myself had no desire to sit in the hot sun for nine L-O-N-G innings, but Stevie was all over the idea.

But when Mike mentioned that the field was actually an indoor stadium I was all, “Sign me up!”

And so this week’s What I Learned This Week post was born at Tropicana Field in Tampa, Florida.

I present to you the things I learned at the baseball field.

1. When you show up to a baseball game played by the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays wearing a bright orange shirt, you will stick out like a sore thumb.

Ditto if you happen to be wearing a Titleist hat and sitting directly in front of someone trying to snap a picture.

2. If A-Rod has made 599 career home runs and is up to bat, you can expect to see hundreds of flashes every single time he bats.

3. If A-Rod is playing in a baseball game and could possibly make his 600th career homerun, there is a good chance that blocks of seats (deep in the outfield) will be purchased by folks hoping to catch the coveted 600th home-run ball.

4. Because according to the guy behind me, the 600th homerun ball batted by A-Rod would “easily be worth about $100,000 and your chance of catching that ball is much better than your chance of winning the lottery.”

Wellalrightythen.

5. When you are sitting behind home plate seven rows from the VERY TOP FOR GOODNESS SAKE, there is no chance whatsoever that you will catch the 600th ball batted by A-Rod.

6. Regardless of where you are sitting Derek Jeter is indeed a hottie.

7. You are not able to purchase Yankee paraphanelia at a Tampa Rays home game unless you purchase something from the robber sorry sap selling stuff at a fold-up table outside of the stadium field.

8. A bag of Cracker Jacks at a Major League Baseball game will set you back $5.00.

9. You can expect to pay at least $20.00 for parking. $30.00 if you wish to park close to the entrance because it is 319 degrees outside and chances are pretty good that you’ll faint before making it inside.

10. Apparently when the Tampa Bay Rays are playing a less popular team, the cost of parking and seats is not nearly as expensive as when they are playing the Yankees.

11. I am all about the stealing of bases at a baseball game because that is much more exciting than the mundane hum-drum of balls and strikes.

12. The seventh inning stretch would be more effective if it were, oh, I don’t know, called the fifth inning stretch because by the seventh inning my legs were cramped and my foot was asleep.

13. The player between second and third base is called the short-stop.

Which explains why Derek Jeter hangs out between second and third base.

14. The speed of a pitch was approximately 90 mph.

That is shocking to me.

15. Nick Swisher, an outfielder for the Yankees is a West Virginia boy. He graduated from Parkersburg South High School which happens to be about 45 minutes from where we live.

Now it’s your turn to share!

Please remember to link directly to your What I Learned This Week post and not to your blog home page.

I am sitting in my big, blue, bloggy chair watching Big Brother. It has been a long day spent mostly on the road from South Carolina to our home in West Virginia. I spent the day thinking about what I was doing one year ago today. There was the little matter of deployment and on this day one year ago, McDaddy returned home from his stint in Cuba.

This summer has been so much different than last summer. And I am thrilled that we’ve been able to spend so much time together. What a difference a year makes.

We have been home approximately six hours and in that six hours, I have showered, bathed the boys, went to evening service at our church, washed and folded clothes, unpacked and repacked. In a matter of eight hours, I will again take my place in the ghettovan, er, Caravan passenger seat and in the words of Willie Nelson, I’ll be “On The Road Again.”

The boys and I are accompanying McDaddy on a short business trip and if I had any sense whatsoever, I would’ve done our last bit of  laundry before leaving Florida.

And speaking of Florida, ohmyword! I miss Florida. I miss the chaos. I miss McDaddy’s family. And the pool.

McDaddy is the oldest of five kids and all of us (the siblings and their spouses) are close friends.

I feel blessed to be a part of their big, honkin’ family and I enjoyed spending the week with them.

And just look at this view.

We have plans to return next year, but as we all know, a  lot can change in a year.

Happy Monday, y’all! And don’t forget to link up to What I Learned This Week tomorrow!

We are at the beach with McDaddy’s family and we are having a blast.

We went to Busch Gardens yesterday (Many thanks to the Busch bunch for offering free admission to military service members and their families. AND IN THE INTEREST OF FULL DISCLOSURE, I am not receiving any compensation for mentioning that fact, I’m just very thankful for their commitment to the military and hope to spread the word!) and I am one tired mama. Before dragging myself to bed, I mustered up just enough energy to edit a few shots for this week’s You Capture challenge which just so happens to be PLAY!

And people, I am not playing around when I say I am dead dog tired.

Only I’m not a dog.

Nor am I dead.

But I’m not far from it because we walked for miles and miles in the blazing hot humidity (OH MY WORD IT WAS SO FRIGGIN’ HOT!) and the early morning, midday and evening sun and even a quick rain storm that lasted long enough to soak yours truly.

McDaddy has four siblings and between the five of them, there are fifteen (15!) grandkids. The entire family (plus a few extras) are spending the week together here in sunny Florida.

Of all the topics that could have been assigned this week, PLAY is just perfect for this special time we are spending together, playing, laughing, eating (oh my word are we eating?!), and visiting.

While waiting for our family portrait on the beach my sweet Stevie (shown holding the yellow DS) plays DS with his cousins.

And speaking of cousins… Can you just imagine the amount of chaos play taking place this week?

And speaking of play, the family is having a shuffleboard tournament this week. We are playing shuffleboard round the clock to get the brackets filled in. For those of you keeping score, you can mark it down that McDaddy and I have been eliminated from the tournament. Pictured here are my sisters-in-law, Michelle and Stephanie. (Hi Girls!)

And of course, no beach trip would be complete without lots of playing in the pool! [Note: My sweet boy was not in the pool alone even though it certainly appears that way. I snapped the picture while hanging out of our third story window!]

While playing around with the settings on my camera, I took this shot from our balcony on Sunday.

The thunder and lightning were playing around with the atmospheric pressure just before the actual storm hit.

And speaking of playing.

Here’s Stevie playing baseball on the beach with his Uncle Mike, and cousins, Mallory, Zachary and Noah.

And guess who mentioned the word PLAY at least thirteen times in this post.

Yup, you guessed it. Thursday Thirteen.

There you have it.

Two birds. One stone.

I don’t play around when it comes to efficiency, folks.

[Fess up. How many of y'all scrolled right back up there to the top to double check my math skills?]

I am having a blast at the beach with McDaddy and his big honkin’ family. We are spending lots of time in the pool, participating in a family shuffleboard tournament (which McDaddy and I were eliminated from just minutes ago), and the beach. Our dinners are being catered by a fabulous lady which I’ll tell you more about in the near future and the kids are enjoying the time they are spending together.

Last night we got all gussied up and travelled about 1/4 mile down the beach for our family beach picture. This is just one of the 5,281 pictures that were shot in the hopes that just one (1!) will turn out without too much photoshopping or editing. Pictured in navy blue, are McDaddy’s mama and daddy, along with their fifteen grandchildren -Madeline, Kalli, Brooke, Zachary, Mallory, Alex, Isaac, Kirklen, Annabelle, Gwen, Lydia, Noah, Kamme, Kessa, and Alex.

This picture makes me smile!

Wordless Wednesday is sponsored by 5 Minutes For Mom!

That title cracks me up!

I am live blogging from the passenger seat of my Dodge Ghettovan Caravan as we make our way out of South Carolina and into Georgia. Only, I’m not actually live blogging because well, live blogging requires an internet connection.

Which I do not have.

Nor does my beloved iPhone have the benefit of the 3G network.

I’m not sure what that’s all about. I just know it’s tough for the iPhone to do anything in a timely manner without the help of the 3G. We’ve driven for miles with just a digital connection and it surprises me a bit that the bigwigs at AT&T haven’t waved their magic wand over the highways and byways of the Carolinas to provide 3G for those residents who are part of the iCult, er, iPhone community.

I have my feet propped up on the dashboard (which drives McDaddy half-batty) and my beloved pink Dell laptop snugly on my lap. I am doing my best to be a good traveler. I am dividing my time equally between the Facebook, Words With Friends, Twitter, napping, and checking Carmen The Garmin to see if our ETA has changed since the last time I looked over at her.

And speaking of Carmen the Garmin (the GPS) she is one smart cookie. Her ability to accurately report the speed limit within a fraction of a meter is impressive. But just like every female, she has her moments. I get tickled when she starts spouting off at the mouth about u-turns and being off-course because McDaddy isn’t one for taking direction. Most especially from females me. He learned a long time ago that my place on any given trip would be the passenger seat. And long before the GPS was even thought of, McDaddy would plot his course on a AAA map which always included a complementary trip-tic. If the navigation were left up to me, I’d have us in Honduras. Or Belize.

Once the packing and preparation are completed, my job is finished and I don’t do much of anything when it comes to the actual traveling.

Except maybe complain.

And whine.

I rarely ever drive. And by rarely ever, what I really mean is that in the eighteen years of “togetherness” that McDaddy and I have shared (that’s two years of dating, four years of engagement, and twelve years of marriage for those of you keeping track of mine and McDaddy’s road to happiness), I can think of only two times that McDaddy has relinquished the wheel to me while driving on a vacation. Which is just fine with me because I’d rather sit over in the passenger seat and hammer out a blog post and play Words With Friends.

Or ask, “Are we there yet?”

I might even get all rowdy and begin some sort of meaningful conversation with McDaddy about the purpose of life.

He, on the other hand, could tell you the price and exit of the cheapest gas within a four-state radius. It’s a gift, really.

Me?

If I need gas, I stop. Period.

Another of my fine qualities that drives McDaddy batty.

Ah, welcome to Georgia. Where the local time is 9:55 AM and the temperature is 93 degrees.

Ugh.

The local radio station is having a love-fest with the 1990′s. Right now I’m listening to Right Here Waiting For You. It’s taking me back to 1988. I was smack-dab in the middle of awkward years, what with my big bangs, and an honest-to-goodness waistline that hasn’t been seen in years.

And speaking of memories. The resort where we’re staying was the annual vacation destination for McDaddy and his siblings for a lot! of years. When I asked him how many years they stayed at this particular resort his response was, “I don’t know. Every year for forever!”

Well then.

For one glorious week all five of his siblings and their families will be reunited (along with his parents, aunt and uncle, and a few extras thrown in for good measure) for yet another family vacation at Redington Surf Resort in sunny Florida.

I hit the jackpot when I married McDaddy because he has a big ole’ family. That means I now have TWO SISTERS and TWO SISTERS IN LAW for pete’s sake. Or is it pete sakes? I’m sure my mother-in-law will be sure to let me know. She gets all fancy when it comes to grammar because that’s her thing. And I’m sure she would pick my posts apart with a red sharpie if she could because the comma usage?

The comma usage alone would be enough to make a normal person crazy.

But since I’m already crazy, I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing.

Because I type deliberately and slowly, which, is, also, the, way, I, talk.

Ahem.

At this moment my Words With Friends plays are backing up.

And Carmen is yapping.

And my foot is asleep on the dashboard.

It’s going to be a long five hours. I’m trying my best to keep the crazy to a minimum.

A big job. Big job, indeed.

Especially for someone who stays so busy over in the passenger seat. Maybe I’ll close my eyes and imagine the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and the seagulls flapping their jaws.

Which would give McDaddy a much needed rest from another’s flapping jaws.

Happy Monday, y’all!

8 big honkin’ bags

PLUS

10 painted toes

PLUS

3 batches of no-bake cookies

PLUS

7 electronic devices, chargers, and cords,

PLUS

Countless medicines, hair products, toiletries, and anything else you can friggin’ think of,

EQUALS

A feverish attempt to get out of town to spend the next seven days with these people + the seven (I think!)  more that have been born since this picture was taken in 2008.

Keeping up with the grandbabies in this family is a mathematical equation that is difficult to keep up with and is subject to change on any. given. day.

As of today, there are fifteen grandbabies under the age of eight in McDaddy’s family.

The next week will no doubt be full of family, fun, food (and lots of it!), floating, and fits.

Florida, here we come!

This post is linked to Works For Me Wednesday over at We Are THAT Family.

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, visit 5 Minutes For Mom.

Welcome to another edition of Not Me! Monday, where I share all the things I didn’t do this week. Or in this case, this past weekend.

It was not me who spent the weekend loving all over my nieces and nephews, who were visiting from all over. There are 15 babies on McDaddy’s side under the age of seven. Four of them were not in attendance this weekend.

I’d like for you to meet Annabelle. And no, before you ask, she is not playing with a blackberry. Nope, not her, because who would allow a 10 month old to play with their blackberry?

 This cutie is destined to be the class clown in this get-up. It may or may not be Alex hiding behind the crazy hair and glasses.

 It wasn’t me who smiled every time this sweet little fella threw a ball which was pretty much every minute of the day.
(Noah’s daddy is McDaddy’s brother.) Isn’t he a cutie?

It wasn’t me who held this little two-week-old-lovey every possible second this past weekend because holding her might make me wish I had a newborn again, for a second or ten.

Oh, and there’s no way I photo-shopped a wrinkle and a big, honkin’ zit from this picture of my face. Nope! Not me.

 I did NOT bust out laughing at these two as they made “scary faces” for my camera. This is Noah again, and another nephew, Kirklen.

And here’s little Miss Lovey again. I met Gwen Geordanna for the first time on Friday. She weighed in at a whopping 5 pounds, and a few odd ounces. Look at those cute little toes.

I told you there were lots of girls, right? Look at this sweet thing. This is Kirklen’s little sister, Kessa.

I did not immediately fall in love with this sweet girl and her big, beautiful, blue eyes. She is a fire-cracker and I wish, wish, wish she lived closer than New Hampshire. (By the way, I call Annabelle a fire-cracker because she was born on July 4th.)

 These two cute little gals are sisters to Kirklen, and Kessa. Not surprisingly they have “K” names too, Kamme, and Kalli.

Oh, and since I do not have a dramatic bone in my body, there is no way that I made McDaddy promise to re- read my funeral post on the off chance that something might go wrong during a minor surgical procedure I’m having today.

Nope. Not me. Never.

But if something happens and I don’t make it through, y’all can find me kickin’ it in Heaven. I’ll be the one sitting on the Emerald Fountain with a swiss cake roll and a Dr. Pepper.

Like I said, not dramatic. At. All.

Happy Monday!

I am a little out of my element this evening because I am not in my big, blue, bloggy chair.

Heck, I’m not even in West Virginia for that matter.

I was hoping  that we would be leaving the snow and cold behind and that we would enjoy some fun in the sun hundreds of miles from home. So  far, though, we’ve seen wind. LOTS OF STINKIN’ WIND. So much wind that it took my breath as I waited for McDaddy to open the gate from the lazy river here at the resort. 

Seriously, do you know how weird it is to be in Florida, and still be freezing your butt off? Well, not completely off, but you get the idea, right.? Even with all the vacation hoopla, there are still several things I did not do.

If you can believe that.

For instance, I did not work up a nasty sweat from the Wii Hula Hoop Event of 2010.

Because that would be embarrassing.

While attempting to fill a water bottle from the automatic water dispenser on the fridge, I did not neglect to hold the bottle directly under the water hose. Likewise, I did not find myself wiping spewed water from my eyes seconds later.

[Note to self: It is never a good idea to bend down to eye level with the water dispenser unless you are certain that your water bottle spout is directly aligned with the little water hose thingie!]

The next morning, it is not me who let out a squeal mere steps away from our front door because there was standing water on the tile floor and then there was me in a pair of flip flops. IF I had gone down (which I really have no idea how I avoided it), there is a really good chance that my purse (which was unzipped) would have flown off of my arm, its contents more than likely going all willy nilly, AND that my beloved iPhone would have went soaring right over the deck railing because I’m telling you the whole thing would have been ugly.

OH. MY. WORD. Believe me when I tell you that I am a klutz without any added variables such as standing water on a tile floor. I have no idea what kept me from going down.

I am being dragged to an outlet mall today, so there is a good chance I’m not having a good time and that I am not buying anything because me and shopping are not friends. I’d just as soon be in the kitchen trying out a new recipe.

Ahem.

That is all for me today.

Visit MckMama‘s place for other things that people did not do.