The Silly News

Maddy and Sam like to video themselves doing newscasts. They write the scripts, dress up, create props, and tape it with our home video camera--the whole business. Then they assemble us all for a screening of The 22 News, which is actually a lot of footage of laughing and had-to-be-there joking on tape. Trust me, you really had to be there.

I came across a yet-to-be-shot outline for their next production, a brainstorm list of stories and assignments. Here it is, as written (with typos and all):

• men's fooseball olympic match (US against Japan, 9 - 9, US get goal, win championship), (Sam)
• "You Dance Good" finale (Sam & Maddy dancing contest)
  
• Ron the Clown (Maddy) interview by Sam
• Pickle famon in Zimbabue: officials begging others for pickles (Maddy)
• Local Ikea has to close down because of lack of meatballs (Sam)
• This Day in History (Maddy)

Although not strictly in the news department (but--hey--local news is constantly airing infotainment segments, right?) I'm especially looking forward to the "You Dance Good" {I'm imagining a neanderthal dance contest where the judges grunt "You. Dance. Good."} and the Ron the Clown segments.

And to get the full funny, you have to understand that Sam really likes the meatballs at Ikea. And pickles.

Now, back to you...

It's a boy's {pretty great} life

Spending a day at our friends' ranch yesterday,

the girls left to help with a wedding

while the boys (and I) stayed put.

playing football with Dad +

riding on (and, for the first time) driving a four-wheeler up the canyon +

more four-wheeling + kickball games +

cooking out in the fire pit +

telling scary stories around the fire & watching the moon rise 

= one happy 10-year-old boy &

one out-of-commission Dad the next day.

We've hit the point of the vacation where we need to recuperate and relax after all this fun. Greg's coming down with some nasty bug and the kids are dragging and crabby on too little sleep + too much stimulation. I'm not sure if we'll even leave our hotel tomorrow!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig on Tuesday.

p.s. I'm experimenting with a wider format and larger photos.  Hopefully my photo skills (and, someday, a better camera) will eventually live up to the HUGE size. I searched high and low for the Blogger codes to make this happen and I'm happy to share.  If you want to know the codes for this format edit, send me an email and I'll give you the links.

08.08.08

Sam ~ my mom ~ Lauren ~ Maddy

Happy Birthday to Sam!  I can't believe my youngest is 10. years. old.  He is a dream of a boy--filled with curiosity and tenderness and boisterousness and laughs.  I'll have to dedicate a whole post to him when we return and I have my brain and more photos.

Our Logan days have flown by and we are off to Wildwood, one of my absolute favorite places in the world.  My grandparents have created a magical place in Provo Canyon with: a rope monkey bridge across the creek, a birdhouse gallery, all the wood and nails you need to make a boat {and plenty of water to float it in}, treehouses, tire swings, a bed swing, hammock, inner tubes for the creek, a Three Bears' Trail up the mountain, and a loft full of beds. 

 {The only thing missing will be the Olympics Opening Ceremony, since this is decidedly a tv-free cabin. But I'll take the trade-off.}

G arrives tonight after a full workweek in Boston (and braving delayed flights and closed airports on the east coast). Let the games begin!

Apples to wackos

We were sitting around playing Apples to Apples this morning when we stumbled into a hilarious coda to the game. Hilarious to us, that is. Is it dorky or cool? I can't decide.  It might be a case of had-to-be-there.

Whatever word cards you win, you act out at the end.

We started out pretty straightforward:

^

flirtatious

^

patriotic

Then we started combining words and adding props

and things got a little wacky:

^

temperamental & dangerous

^

unscrupulous & cool

(nothing says cool like smoking a pen?

kids, don't try this at home)

^

saintly & powerful

^

scary & loud

And my personal favorite:

^

dangerous and cheesy

(grandma is threatening to grate M's finger)

Sweet escape

With both daughters at sleep-over girls' camp this week and Greg ensconced in work projects, that left Sam and me at home this week. Which I was really looking forward to: quality time with my son, one on one. We could go to museums! Hikes! Make bird houses! Catch up on all the scouting requirements! I started whistling the Andy Griffiths show theme song just thinking about it.

But then I started noticing that we were having a lot of conversations like this:

Me: hey! We have a free afternoon. Do you want to go on a bike ride?
Sam: (after long pause) ...with you?
Me: yeah...I have a bike, you have a bike...we can ride them together.
Sam: Um (considering) no, thanks.

(Not having gotten the full hint yet)
Me: What about a movie?
Sam: Just you and me?
Me: (beginning to get the hint) Well, yes.
Sam: No, thank you. (One thing you've got to say about Sam, he rejects you with his best manners. And deep down I know I'm one of his very favorite people in the world. Just not one he necessarily wants to be seen alone in public with.)

Not to worry; I brainstormed a great Plan B. Thanks to a great last minute deal, we've headed to St. Louis for a few days to stay with some of our favorite people. It's a win-win. For Sam: terrific boys to play with (and the requisite distance from me, I suppose). For me: a good friend to talk/laugh/steal ideas from/watch movies with (and, truthfully, I've been just looking for an excuse for a Christie fix).

^
in the Chicago airport this morning on a layover.
Hmm.
Apparently being seen with your mom
at an airport
is completely fine.