I love this kid.

As I left in the middle of the Cards/Pats game to take Evie to a birthday party, I said to Tyler, "You're going to have to text me so I know what's going on."  Fast forward to us walking through Castles n Coasters with Evie's friends and their moms.  My phone would buzz and it would be a small update.  (3rd period, we're still ahead).  Then twenty minutes later, for about 2 minutes, my hip is practically a constant vibration.
"Fumble"
"Touchdown...flag!  Holding Patriots"
"We're about to lose."
":("
"He missed!"
"We win!!!"
I think the moms may have thought I was about 15 with the constant texting, but I loved it.

Who knew an elastic band was such a novel thing??

So I read on one of those "helpful hints" websites that after you slice your apple (with your Pampered Chef apple slicer of course) that if you put an elastic band around it to hold it in it's original shape, it wouldn't get brown when you put it in a lunchbox to eat at a later time.  I did this with the kids' apples a few days ago, and you can't believe how many apples we are going through now!!  The kids love it and ask for apples almost every day for lunch, so much so that my grapes are turning brown in the refrigerator, which rarely happens at our house; the grapes used to be the first fruit to go.  Go figure...

On tools and squeaky hinges...

As a single woman homeowner, all of my tools fit neatly into my handheld, metal toolbox (a gift from my dad), and consisted of:  a small hammer, a large hammer, a set of screwdrivers, a stud finder, wire cutters, needle nose pliars, an adjustable wrench, a hot glue gun and glue sticks (which now live with the "craft" stuff, not the "tool" stuff), wood glue, WD-40, and various nails and screws.  Also a hand saw and that "other saw" (which I now know as a hack saw) that did not fit into the toolbox, but rather sat neatly on top of it.  Either way, all the tools were always in one small, easy to locate place.

Fast forward to this morning when the squeaking hinges of the front security door finally made it to the top of the "to do" list, and I went into the garage to find the WD-40.  In case you don't know this about my husband, he is a tool aficionado.  Our garage is now home to 2 large tool boxes plus shelves full of tools, spillling over to tools tucked underneath larger tools on the floor.  As I was standing in front of the shelf that holds bottles where I thought it made sense the WD-40 would be stored, I found:  Rust-oleum automobile primer, Brakleen brake parts cleaner, Goo Gone, QD contact cleaner, BBQ grill and microwave cleaner, and Carb Medic.  No WD-40.  Moving on to the next shelf, we have:  Crackshot spackling paste, Wood Filler, Spa Lube, Silicone Sealant, Tune up grease, Belt Conditioner (Belt Conditioner?? What's this for?  Sounds like it might be oily, would this work to stop my squeaky hinges?  Ok, better keep looking before trying that.  You don't want to eat away the screen by mistake, Lori!).  Ten minutes later I finally found the WD-40, and it took all of 15 seconds to oil the hinges and get rid of that annoying squeak.

Anyway, not that I begrudge my husband his tools, because he can fix (dryer, dishwasher, my car, various broken small applicances) or make (bookshelves, built in BBQ, Aquarium stand, additional shelves in the laundry room and pantry) ANYTHING.  However, it took me 10 minutes to find the "tool" I needed to do a 15 second job.

Redo

Okay, so Gabrielle wanted to know why pictures of our mud and seaweed "spa treatment" didn't make it onto the vacation blog, and Dennis pointed out that I actually posted a second picture of Gabrielle on the tube and labeled it as Tyler, so...  more vacation pics.  :)

A belated vacation blog...

Notice the French(ish) braids, done by the "I'm not a hair mom".  I was very proud!

This chipmunk got so used to being fed, he would come right up on the porch as if to ask, "where's my portion today??!"

 My mom's flowers make for a pretty backdrop to the chipmunk feeding. 

Our friends got a new boat...

...which made for faster and much more exciting tubing!

If memory serves me, Tyler actually saved this one.  He had his falls too, but managed to stay on during this flip; I'm not quite sure how!

The speed made Evie nervous and she wanted her sister on with her.

We finally met Talia!  (my niece's little girl)  What a cutie. :)

Talia and her grammy.

And with her great grampa.

Coming back from a canoe trip trying to get closer to the bald eagles that landed across the lake.

Hot and humid means we hang out in the water all day.  Just what we like at the lake.

We celebrated a late birthday...

...and an early one.

Look at that same mischievous grin on both of their faces.

The swings had to move locations when the tree they were hung from came crashing down! (luckily without anyone on them)

Tyler fished and fished and fished.  Caught a couple, but I think it didn't really matter, he was just happy to be out on the lake, pole in hand.

First time up on water skis!  She was determined, and got up within a few attempts.

He wasn't going to let his sister have all the glory, and he also got up with just a few attempts.

We love the loons, and when they call, it draws everyone's attention to the lake to see if we can see them.  Evie and I actually had a canoe ride encounter where they were playing, diving and surfacing within feet of the canoe, but alas, no camera!  (It was my first canoe ride with just Evie, and if I'm being honest, I wasn't sure she wouldn't get excited and stand up and tip us over, so I purposely didn't bring it.  Turned out to be a bad decision as she sat perfectly still and there we were, no camera.)

This year we were all a bit separate in when we could be there, so this is the family picture with as many as were there at the same time.  Missing Dennis, Kev, Carol and Dick.  :(

We have seen a bald eagle the last few years, but this year there were a pair of them flying down the lake.  Of course, my camera was not at the ready so I caught only one.  Still a majestic  sight.

Once again, Dennis was okay with me taking our kids and running away from the heat for a month, while he had to be content with a week in the middle of the month.  As usual, we spent a good amount of time at the lake, which has always been one of my very favorite places in the world, and has fast become one of the kids very favorite places in the world.  Above are some of the most memorable moments from summer, 2012.

Shades of Independence

I mentioned that I was going to start walking/jogging/bike riding again in the mornings, and Tyler decided he wanted to go with me.  I woke up and got dressed and he was already downstairs waiting for me, dressed and ready to go.  We walked outside, and after a small detour to catch one of our elderly neighbor's dogs who had broken from his leash, we walked to the parkway to start the loop.  Tyler asked which way I wanted to go, and then decided he was going the other direction.  I guess it's not cool to be seen jogging with your mom anymore...  At least he still will hug me in front of his friends.

What the heck??

Riding in the car with Gabrielle in the front seat, an Usher song came on, which I promptly turned up.  Gabrielle commented that she didn't really like the song, and that I seemed to really like Usher songs.  I agreed that I like his newer music, and that it is good music to dance to.  I also commented that he is a good dancer.  Gabrielle's response?  "You better not tell Dad." 
"Why?"  I queried.
"HELLO, you're married!!" with an exaggerated roll of her eyes.
"Umm, I like the way he dances, I don't want to marry him."  I said.
"Uh huh." with a sly grin and a shake of her head.