IRL update

out to lunch with my beloved MIL & FIL

Mucho family togetherness has hindered my blogging time in the past few weeks. .. and probably for the entire summer. Still, we are having a good time together, so I figured it is time for a family update because a few people who read my blog actually know us IRL (that’s “In Real Life” for you non-bloggers).

boys with their visiting grandparents*

*Grandpa isn’t shorter than Grandma — our driveway slopes, and this picture was taken before they left on Tuesday morning.

Good Morning, Mr. Box Turtle

SnakeMaster is turning 10 years old this month! Can you believe that my sweet baby boy is going to have 2 digits to his name? *sigh* He’s also heading out for a week at the beach with his best buddy down the street. SM’s 2nd family here is taking him along on their family vacation! Yes, I considered begging to be taken along, too…

Humorous-Juniorous was formally introduced to Buttercup on July 4th. He & SuperDad decided this meeting was one year too early after H-J drove it far into the shrubbery and then later took off a guide wheel on the neighbor’s tree.

Humorous-Juniorous

Encyclopedia Blue

Encyclopedia Blue has not been having a lazy sleep-in kind of summer. His father gave him a schedule for training up his body before cross-country season begins August 3rd. And yes, we occasionally make him shave by threatening to do it ourselves.

MusicMan recently had his wisdom teeth extracted, but it hardly seemed to phase him. This is the first night when he was icing his cheeks one side at a time while playing “Oh Heck” with the rest of us. Two days later, he was eating hamburgers. He is mistaken in his belief that his father’s old car is now HIS. Still, there is great freedom (for him and for me) now that he doesn’t need to borrow my ride. I don’t like being wheel-less, and he doesn’t like driving a minivan. I’m still coming to grips with the fact that my firstborn son is now, technically, an adult.

SuperDad isn’t able to travel west with us this summer, due to work requirements. We’ll miss him (that’s a major understatement on my part). I’ve already written about SuperDad’s new ride. It’s a stick-shift, so only he & I can drive it at this point.

As for me, I’ve been working on getting back to looking like I did in this picture (early 2006). So far I’ve lost about 14 pounds (half of that has been since I joined Weight Watchers). I’m still considering coloring the gray out of my hair before my 25th class reunion that’s coming up in a few weeks. (This picture was taken before most of the gray appeared.) But the really exciting news is that I’m off this evening for a blogging meet-up with a half-dozen other women in the general vicinity! I’m very excited to meet these ladies!