It's my Birthday (well, it was 2 days ago)

On July 21, I turned 39. Yikes. One more year until the infamous forty. My first job was at a fast food restaurant called Hardees. To lure in the senior clientele, once a week they would host Bingo in the dining area. Apparently, I spoke loudly and clearly and became the regulars' preferred "caller".  Whenever I called N40, everyone would shout in a silly voice, "foooooorrrrtyy". Finally, I asked why and they said it was because after 40 it's all downhill. At the time 40 was decades away. Now, it is right around the corner <sigh>. But, I digress, this blog is not about getting older, it is about how much I love my birthday.

Once a year, I give myself permission to be completely lazy and selfish. Well, maybe I do it more than once a year, but once a year it is guilt-free (maybe on Mother's Day too, but to a lesser degree). I don't really care about presents, but I love the opportunity to dictate exactly what we are going to do and to not have to listen to any complaints. Everyone knows that in this house, on your birthday, you make the rules, within reason of course. This year, I wanted to go to Annapolis, see the State House and the Naval Academy and have lunch at PF Changs. Thomas took the day off from work, but we decided to do Annapolis on Friday and my actual birthday was Thursday, so I finagled two special days.

Thursday, I woke up and decided I felt like going on a bike ride. Jack was awake, so he and I headed to Three Notch Trail and enjoyed a leisurely hour-long ride. Jack was great company and we had a good time. Meanwhile, Thomas and the girls were at home making my requested cake--strawberry with chocolate frosting, all from scratch. When Jack and I returned, it was time for my second requested activity--the Six Flags water park. Me and the older kids rode my favorite ride three times in a row while Thomas happily watched Luke. And, I didn't even feel (too) bad about it! We spent about 3.5 fun hours there. Our plan was to have a snack and then spend some time in the regular park. But, after our snack, I decided I wanted to go home and have a family movie night. There was some slight disappointment, but everyone knew it was my call. And, I made it without really giving much consideration to anyone else's feelings. We told them we'd come back to the regular park the following day after our Annapolis adventure, and they were happy to go home and have cake, so it wasn't a huge deal.

We didn't bring towels, so everyone was laying in the sun to dry off. Luke saw the way Thomas and Jack were laying and decided to join in.

We got home and I picked the movie--Tangled. Again, I didn't ask anyone what they wanted to watch, I just chose a movie I liked and no one complained. We had our cake and ice cream. My wonderful neighbor brought me homemade cobbler and Brewsters ice cream. I can't imagine a better day! Obviously, I tried not to be a jerk or do anything that would be unpleasant for people, but it really was nice to just spent a day doing what I wanted to when I wanted to without having to consider everyone's thoughts and feelings. I certainly wouldn't want to be that way every day, but I think a couple of times a year is good. Plus, it gives the kids an opportunity to put their needs aside and be giving, which honestly is good for them. Thomas always works hard to make occasions special and my birthday was no exception, he changed all the diapers, handled the kids disagreements and worked hard to make it nice. He spent a long time making me an awesome cake and making sure I felt loved all day.

Friday, we did all my requested activities in Annapolis. I loved seeing the spot where Washington resigned his military commission and handed power back to Congress. I wonder what our country would be like today if he hadn't set that precedent? The state building was beautiful, the girls especially appreciated all the chandeliers and ornate fixtures.

The favorite chandelier.

Standing where G.W. stood. I only took one picture and didn't realize it was blurry.

After the State House, we walked over to the Naval Academy, toured the visitor's center and walked around the campus. The highlight was going to the chapel and seeing the impressive crypt of John Paul Jones (founder of the Navy). From there, we headed to PF Changs. Yum!

If you see a face cutout...

every single child...

even the littlest ones...

must stick their head in and ask for a picture.

 We were done by 2, so we went to Six Flags. It was a great day, but, it was HOT; the heat index was close to 100.  Ironically, they were celebrating Christmas in July.  We went to a Christmas sing-along and the kids posed with Santa. We got home around bedtime.

Daffy and Bugs came to the show!

This is actually a really good Santa photo. Too bad it is July and not December.

Thomas took some pictures with Luke. I can't decide which is my favorite, so here's the top 2:

Thomas took some pictures with Luke, I can't decide 

Saturday was Thomas' birthday, but we were neglectful toward him. He didn't want a cake and we spent a lot of the day cleaning the house. It gets pretty rough around here, especially in the summer. The lawn needed to be mowed and that was how Thomas spent his birthday morning. The kids made him cards and I had a small gift for him, but honestly, it wasn't the best day. His normal requested activities all take place outside and it is really too hot to spend an entire day outdoors. We will have to make it up to him.

His best friend arrived with his family Saturday night and now (Sunday) they are off in DC. Luke didn't fall asleep until after 10 last night, so there was no way he could do a DC trip today without making everyone miserable, so I volunteered to stay behind. Hence, I get to catch up a bit on blogging.

What to do, no School!

Six weeks from today, school starts. Not that I'm counting. Well, I am, but that doesn't mean I am wishing time away. Summer break has been great (yes, another weak "rhyme"). We scheduled our time this year with one week of an organized camp followed by two weeks of nothing on our calendar. A third of the way through, we have completed our first rotation. So far, I would say it is a success.

During our two weeks of unscheduled time, we went to the pool, library, Ann Marie Gardens, and local parks. We met Thomas for lunch one day at Nicoletti's and we enjoyed not having to be anywhere at any specific time. We also had one amazing day at the Six Flags water park--the forecast was for rain, but we decided to risk it. The rain, and the crowds, stayed away resulting in a perfect (non)storm for an amusement park visit. We found something to do every morning and I think everyone enjoyed the more relaxed pace. The kids were left to the own devices each afternoon and forced to make their own fun, which most days they did. One afternoon, they spent hours reading through my old blogs. They were sooooo amused at all the funny stories starring them. Kara and Anna especially loved reading about the time I let Anna work on potty training with Kara. I had kind of forgotten about it and I am sure the memory would have been gone forever if I had not written about it. I am so glad that when we moved to Maryland I was encouraged by some friends to start the blog (Debby, Sarah and Cecilia have probably long since forgotten that fateful conversation at one of our book clubs, but I remember!). It makes me want to write more about the everyday little stuff.

For example, yesterday Anna and Kara put on a fashion show. They took laps around our upstairs, throwing kisses and striking poses. They named their looks things like, teacher's pet, vacation, fancy style, workout and going shopping. The grand finale was "sailor girls" where they came out together, each wearing something with a sailboat theme, a pink dress for Anna and a blue skirt with a white sailing shirt for Kara. They spent hours putting together their looks and practicing how they would pose. Luke got involved as well, mainly running in circles and waiting for Thomas to reach out and grab him. He would squeal and run past us, staring at Thomas, just waiting. Meanwhile, Jack was downstairs playing the newly purchased Minecraft. 

Now, the big kids are at their first week of St. Johns. Luke is in his second, and final, week at his future preschool--it worked out really well this year, his first week was during VBS and his second week was while the other kids had camp at St. Johns. Unfortunately, they don't offer anything in August, so it will be just him and me when the big kids do their final week of camp. Luke has not been as enthusiastic as he was the first week and he actually cried when I dropped him off yesterday. They said he quickly recovered and he seemed to be having fun when I picked him up. He always responds with a "yes" when we ask if he likes it and he was very excited to put his artwork on the refrigerator.

Luke rode the "fast choo choo" at Six Flags. I think he had a love/hate relationship with the ride.

Second time he rode with Jack. Then, he was done.

Antietam

Our little history buff.

On the 3rd of July, we headed to Antietam. For their birthdays, we generally let the kids choose between a party and going somewhere. Kara almost always chooses a party and Jack and Anna almost always choose to go somewhere. With their 9th birthday a few months away, we asked J & A what they wanted this year. Anna said Great Wolf Lodge and Jack said a visit to Antietam. We told him that we could do that without it counting as his birthday and asked him what his next choice was. He named another battlefield, the name of which escapes me (I just asked him and he said Chancellorsville and the Wilderness. I dare not tell him I have no idea what those battles are.).

Anyway, on July 3rd, we decided to make good on the promise. We planned a day similar to Gettysburg. We got everyone up a little early and headed out. We arrived just before 10 and watched the introductory movie. Then, we browsed the museum. It was small, but very interesting. There was a piece of a wooden fence rail with musket balls wedged in. There was also a long display case with items found from a neighboring farm. There was a picture of the farmer (I estimate it was taken in the 1950s, but I am not sure) and he was quoted as saying, "I must have gotten down from my tractor a thousand times to pick up some item or another." The items included a family bible, belt buckles, other uniform pieces and lots of weapons/musket balls. As most know, the Civil War is the first one where photography was used and of course there were pictures. The pictures changed the public perception of war forever, taking away the romanticism and belief that death was quick and bloodless.

After the museum, we explored outside. A church that was central in the battle was just steps away from the Visitor's Center and it was amazing to realize we were standing precisely in the spot where some of those pictures took place, complete with the small white church as a backdrop. We did the little walk around the church and a few monuments and then left the Visitor's Center.

The Dunker Church is in the background.

This was Thomas' favorite.

The draping was a flag, see the stars?

We drove a few miles to another central part of the battle--Burnside Bridge. It was also prominently featured in the pictures and we were very excited to walk on it, unfortunately, it was closed for repairs. We did walk down to it and because the area is still so untouched, it was easy to picture the scene.

We didn't get a picture, because it was full of construction equipment, but here's a nice one thanks to Google.

We had our picnic lunch and set out for walk.  There are several marked hikes in the area and we chose one that followed the Antietam (a creek). It was 1.7 miles and fairly level. Luke walked about half of it and everyone else held up great. We saw some people tubing in the river, but it was mostly quiet and peaceful. Again, it was easy to imagine the scene of thousands of marching soldiers.

The family who obliged.

Luke alternated between running ahead and lagging behind.

We were done around 2 and headed home, stopping at Wegmans on the way home because I wanted to see what the hype was all about (it was pretty impressive!).

On the 4th, we were all extremely excited to go to Stratford Hall, but the forecasted rain kept us away. We stayed close to home and enjoyed a quiet day. Thomas was home on Monday, the 5th and again it was rain.