Luckily, she packed a leotard.

So, yesterday, I mentioned we took a little trip last week to visit Grandmama & Grandaddy (great-grandparents to the kids.)

While, certainly, there is no way to prepare for the tragedy known as the death of a celebrity, much less two in one day, we were thankful for some diversions other than the blueberry picking during our stay.

Our stay which occurred during the celebrity tradegy.

And the onslaught of media coverage that was given to said tragedy.

Because I don't care who you are, you can only watch the Thriller video and the clip of the ambulance backing up to Michael's home after they show the 911 call, just a dozen or so times, before you really tire of it all.

Since all 824 channels were airing the same coverage, with varying music eras playing in the background, we had to do something in order to keep ourselves in some state of "reality normalcy". Outside activites, like blueberry picking are all fine and dandy, until someone suffers a heat stroke.

So, we had two other options to fall back on, after we had enough of Michael and his nose jobs.

1. Enjoy the (very repetitive) gymnastics show which featured handstands galore.....mama, count how many seconds I can hold it THIS time!!!..(bless her heart, what's a girl to do in their living room without a beam, or bars, or vault.)

2. watch these two have a race: Crutches vs. Cane.....who do you think will win?

Peter Piper may have picked a peck of pickled peppers.....but my kids just pick a peck of blueberries.

All the kids enjoy fresh blueberries. It just so happens that their great-grandparents have blueberry bushes in their backyard. And it just so happens that last week we decided to take a quick trip to see them.

Hey, it's summer break. Road Trips are what dreams are made of, baby. And picking blueberries is just icing on the road trip cake.


And would you just look right here!!! Do you recognize this young lad standing at one of the blueberry bushes. I'll give you one hint: the crutches should be a dead give away! :)

He eats them as fast as he can pick them. And on the off chance he hoards three or four or twelve, it just means that he wants to throwback a handful every now and again.

Road Trips + Blueberries = Summer at it's FINEST.

Michael Jackson....moon walker extraordinaire

Oh, I was cool. I had the Thriller cassette tape. And a TEEN BEAT magazine centerfold of Michael.

And I knew all the words to P.Y.T--pretty young thing.... Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (got to be starting somethin').... The Girl is mine... Billie Jean..... I Wanna Rock with You (all night)....oh and who could forget BEAT IT?

As so many others I'm sure, we were watching news coverage of the King of Pop's death. Videos were reeling in the background, showing various songs, various nose configurations & various colors of his skin. All of a sudden the video with him doing the moonwalk came on screen....and Rivers just about had a come-a-loose.

R: "Mama, did you see that? Did you see him just do the moonwalk? Man....he can do the moonwalk REALLY good."

Me: "Yes, son. He invented the moonwalk.... or at the very least it is his "signature" move. When you talk about the moonwalk, everyone thinks of Michael Jackson."

R: "Are you serious? He invented the moonwalk....I didn't know that."

That's what I'm here for, useless trivia knowledge.

Then, because my information well is very deep, the kids all hit me with a plethora of questions. I had to try to explain why he wanted to change his nose? why it was so sunken in on the sides? why would someone want to do all that then? and what about his white skin? and why is a sheriff helicopter taking his body somewhere? and what are "remains"?and what do dead people look like? and did he go to heaven?

Look folks, my knowledge is limited to the pop culture facts of the 80's. Wanna see me do the moonwalk?

I did try to explain some sort of competent answers to each of their questions. And when they asked about heaven....I answered that I did not know of his relationship with the Lord, but I sure hoped he knew our Saviour, on a personal level. We later saw in an interview and Rivers pointed out, Michael stating, "the truth will prevail, I believe in God."

I guess one day we will know for sure, and can find out for ourselves. When Moses greets us wearing shiny sequin socks and a white glove, sliding through the Pearly Gates, doing the moonwalk with Jacko by his side.

I did love me some Michael Jackson songs. My best dance days were during his songs. And while we are speaking of the dearly departed, what about Farrah?

Hello? just a few months ago, I tried styling my hair like her feathered finesse of 1977. Gosh, she had great hair. And great legs. And I always wanted to be a Charlie's Angels girl when I grew up. Because they had great hair. And great legs. And got to run after the bad guys. And still look FANTABULOUS!!!

What great memories from two icons.....long live the feather wing hair and the moonwalk!

Cooking Camp....starring the "fancy pizza cutters"

• Apple Berry Salsa with Homemade Cinnamon Chips

This is one of THE BEST refreshing summer dishes e.v.e.r.!! And how fortunate that we get to use our fancy schmancy pizza cutters---a gift from the ever thoughtful Cousin C.

So, the homemade cinnamon chips are made from flour tortillas. Start out by finding you 3 cooking camp kids and 3 pizza cutters. Vital ingredients.

• First things first....add in a touch of art class by letting them "paint" their tortilla with water. Which creates an instant invisible Picasso!!

• And of course you will be needing some of this. How clever they are for producing this hot commodity. Certainly you can make your own, which is what we do when this bottle runs out, then we fill'er back up and shake some more!

• This act of shaking or sprinkling the cinnamon/sugar mixture onto your freshly "painted" tortillas will need some good hand-eye coordination.....and for some folks, they must also use their tongue to get things "just right".

• Here's one of the few times in life where I encourage the kids to "be liberal". Shake a lot on! Go crazy with it. But after this edition of cooking camp is over, it's back to the conservative side of life. :)

• Then it's time to break out the cutters. Remember 3 kids and 3 cutters. Oh, if parenting and cooking camp and life in general could be this easy all the time.

• Once again, you will notice that the tongue must be utilized right alongside with the hand-eye coordination stunt. He cracks me up with this habit.

• Cousin C...I included this photo just for you. Look at the excitement and joy one little wheel of (very durable) plastic has created for broken leg boy!!

• Oh, the cutting could go on for what seems like forever....in fact, it did. They were all so thrilled to use those darn things. Seriously, flour tortillas are cheap entertainment if you ask me. I may start buying those mexican jewels in bulk! At any rate, they kept cutting tortilla after tortilla until our table looked like this everywhere.

• Throw those bad boys on a cookie sheet and place them in the oven for just a few minute and let the magic happen!! YUM-O. Crispy Cinnamon Chips! Which are a great snack alone....but so yummy with the fruit salsa.

• Now it's time to make the Apple Berry Salsa. All I have to report is that's it is a crying shame we only had one food chopper. And it's even cracked on one side so we have to hold it steady with one hand and slam away with the other!!

• Great for POUNDING out the frustrations of life. Which might be a good indication of how it received it's crack. A little character mark, so to speak. :)

• For some lovers of life, there is yet to be enough frustrations and stress in this horrid world for them to feel the need to attack a plastic contraption with the deadly force of a single hand. Therefore, they have to have help knocking it out, and a holder had to be called in to assist. However, that face captures the fierceness of a champion.

• And then the helping smile shows brightly once again. After we put the metal blades away. My head can only stand so much chopping and banging. And in an instant, I was ever so glad we only had 1 food chopper to our name. Because, can you imagine, 3 kids, 3 choppers?

• And eventually, once you have chopped a few pieces of every fruit you can rummage around and find in the fridge....you wind up with this beauty. And it is ever. so. tasty!! Y'all I just can't tell you how divine this fruit salsa is.....wonder in a bowl.

• Cooking Camp was a success again. You know some say, "the family that prays together, stays together."

And we firmly believe in that too.

However, I'd also like to add in the fact that "the family that chops together, and who manages to not cut the fingers off from anyone, well, they have a high rate of staying together too."

Now, I'm serious. You go right on over to our Recipe Blog....a summer afternoon can't get any sweeter until you taste a little of this.

Raise your hand if....

.......you think the summer is absolutely FLYING by?????

Seriously.

Someone make it stop. And soon.

I thought May was such a fast paced month with SO many activities, meetings, field trips, ceremonies, parties, etc. crammed into it. I even had discussions with several friends who felt the same way as I did....

• May was way more stressful than the month of December.
  

And now, it seems, we hopped right off that roller coaster onto another. Do y'all realize it is June 24th?

In my best valley girl accent : "You know, like, the month of June, is like, almost, like, over, TOTALLY."

And it's also H.O.T. !! Raise your hand if you noticed that little fact as well. Unless of course you live in Alaska, wherein, our local weatherman announced it was a cool 48 degrees there today.

a summer accessory we are happy to be rid of....

Well, broken leg boy went to see his surgeon near the end of last week. Why? Because he felt compelled to spend a hot summer afternoon, chatting away with the man who sliced into his leg and placed rods into his bone marrow.

Okay, not really. We had an appointment. Because you know, the people who do surgery like to check on their "art-work", every now and again. And our time had arrived.

He received a great report. I was concerned when they took xrays, because, having not been formally educated in the school of radiology, I cannot read xrays. I can tell you this, what I saw was two very long rods inside my child's leg. I thought when the surgeon would hold his fingers up and show us how they would criss-cross inside his leg, that they were small rods.

I was wrong. They actually go the length of his femur, from the knee to the hip. Oh, and they do "criss-cross" just like the surgeon said. Go figure. He was right. I guess that's why we pay him the big bucks.

I did have a small panic attack in the x-ray room when I first laid eyes on the pictures. It looked to me like there was another broken piece of bone in his leg. And while that would be a problem in and of itself, I felt worse about it because of a certain recent event.

You see, I felt as though I was "hovering" a bit too much for my sweet boy. So, a couple of days before his check-up, I took him outside in his wheelchair to get some fresh air and sunshine. His siblings were out with him, so I came inside to do laundry. Inside, but I could see him through the window, and the back door was right beside me to leap out if necessary.

However, I didn't leap soon enough. TB came running in to tell me he had fallen out of his wheelchair. Yep. You heard that right, he fell out of his wheelchair. I rushed out to him and found his wheelchair laying on the ground, him laying out beside it, on his broken leg.

Did I mention I had told him it was also okay for him to go outside WITHOUT his brace on?

Seriously....can a mother feel any more sorrowful? So, I've already ridden the guilt roller coaster a million times in my mind, therefore, while we all enjoy feedback, I don't need any negligent comments. Thanks, but no thanks.

I inquired to the surgeon about the long rods, stating "I had no idea they were going to go the entire length of his femur, that was quite a shock to see in your son's leg". ......and I also threw in the fact that it looked like a new chunk of his bone was broken. And in the end, I did mention his wheelchair accident.

He smiled and replied that I didn't need to worry about the length of the rods, they were fine, and doing their job marvelously. And no, he didn't appear to have hurt himself during the fall from the wheelchair, but yes, if it looked like his leg was broke, that was because it was, in fact still broken.

But he's mending well. Doing outstanding. Lose the wheelchair, but keep the crutches, put a little weight on the leg, do exercises to help regain use of the quadricep muscle, come back again in 6 weeks, etc.etc.etc.

We also had a family wedding to go to in South Carolina. Packed and ready to leave from Children's Hospital. The surgeon said he was fine to travel, even for that distance. He even added that when broken leg boy arrived, if there were pretty girls at the pool, or restaurant, or wedding reception, and they happened to notice his leg, he should sit around, give them his best smile and say ...."I shattered my femur, and MAY be able to walk again, but I'm not looking for any sympathy".

Apparently, Dr. Doyle, not only specilaizes in orthopedic surgery, but also relationship therapy.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my sweet Daddy, my sweet Father-in-Law, and of course to the dearest & sweetest, the father of my children.

I found this quote, it made me smile, remembering my thoughts as a young teen compared to now. And I am sure it may spark the same in some of you. Plus, we have a son who is on the cusp of thinking these same inclinations, I'm certain. So, I wanted to share:

• "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned." ~~Mark Twain

Cousins are not only awesome, they are pretty clever and cool, too.

Well, well, well, would you look at this....another package came in the mail. We just love mail. And it's from my sweet cousin C, again. Only this time, the elements inside the bubble wrap, should not bring about any undue SEC affiliated arguments. :) You people were cracking me up last time with all the iron bowl drama.

At any rate, the kids had this in the mailbox waiting for them one day last week. What's inside??? The suspense is killing you, I bet. Me too, let's peek. :)





Hmmm....here it is...I bet the suspense is STILL killing you! Me, too. I had to read the note to clue my brain to shut back on again!

It's is none other than the most nifty, fancy, smancy, pizza cutters known to man. All ergonomically crafted and dishwasher safe. And guess what....she sent three of them. Because she reads the blog, I'm certain that latest cooking camp post for Funky Monkey Bread showing broken leg boys slow process of slicing his biscuits, made her think of these gadgets.

And the best news...they can be used for so much more than cutting pizza....they cut through just about anything. We will certainly be using them for pizzas, doughs, cookies, all sorts of foods, maybe even some play dough or clay sometime.....and with my bunch, they will probably try to cut each other's fingers off with them as well. You know, just to see how well they hold up against human cartilage.

And was she ever spot on in the kids' needs department. She sent THREE. People with multiple children understand the MAJOR significance in this small fact. That's 3 cutters, and 3 kids.... get it....one for each of them. To call their very own.

• Do you have any idea how much oxygen she saved me with just that one act of thoughtfulness? She completely took out the need for a referee at cooking camp when the cutters are invovled.

Ah, please allow me a moment to soak in the bliss of that thought.

Okay, so, all she wanted in return was to see some more good recipes on the blog from cooking camp sessions. Well, C....just hold on, we are getting geared back up to start cranking out some serious cooking adventures real soon. And those pizza cutters are gonna be the star of the show!

Thanks....yet again. You're so cool and clever!!

Nobody told me it was a different version of TWISTER....

So, a few weekends ago, all the cousins were at the house. The boys were taking turns entertaining broken leg boy....who had just returned home from surgery. I had not seen the girls in a while, and asked, in a state of ponder, what they might be doing. To which, one of the boys replied,

"oh, they're upstairs playing TWISTER."

Briefly, I reminisced about the good ol' days when my much younger body would allow me to have my right hand on green and my left foot on red, while spinning for an elbow to go on blue.....and then I realized that just thinking about it was beginning to give me a slight back ache.

Did you know, apparently, the brain can send out red alert warnings to the muscles to start acting like they are hurting already, so that you won't convince yourself to do something stupid. For instance, there were messages being sent fast and furiously through my central nervous system relaying the thought that it most definitely was not a good idea to try that silly little kids game. Ever again. Ever.

Anyway, turns out the girls may have been playing the milton bradley version before, but they had apparently come up with a new and improved 2009 edition. However, I don't think it's going to be the top seller in Sear's Christmas Wish Book this year.

Somehow, twisting your hair and tying it in knots with the person beside you doesn't sound like it will be winning "game of the year". Maybe it's just me.....but I'm thinking their might be some discrimination issues to deal with...... boys would feel very left out, as would girls with short cuts, and think the lawsuits for those with split ends and breakage issues, etc. etc.

I must say it was loads of fun watching them maneuver up and down the staircase, around the furniture and hallways. And I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them giggle.....just like a bunch of school girls, because, hello, they are. :)

Knotting your hair up with your cousins.....doesn't that sound like fun? Now, I think my hair is starting to hurt.......must be my brain acting up again.

Gymnastics Camp

Tyner Beth had a grand time at the University of Alabama's Gymnastics Camp. There were lots of great coaches, from all over the states, different gyms and Universities, collegiate gymnasts, etc. And she learned so much....new skills as well as improving her current skills. Here she is with some of her teammates who also attended camp.

Much of our money was apparently spent on her learning to climb Coach Raschilla (University of Alabama Gymnastics Assisitant Coach) like a monkey on a tree. He's 6'5"....so it was a tall tree for her!

Sorry for the blurry pic--I still haven't figured my camera out. :(

We were thrilled to have some "extra one on one training" with our team after camp was completed, with none other than Eddie Umphrey. Here she is working hard on the bar with Eddie helping out.

Eddie was a great collegiate gymnast at the University of Michigan. He is actually a volunteer coach for Women's Gymnastics at University of Michigan right now, as he is training for the Olympics in 2012. His brother, Chainey Umphrey, was an olympic gymnast in 1996. Keep an eye out for his future and you know who we'll be yelling for in a few years.....Go Eddie!!

They just don't get any cuter.

To the man I love...13 is a lucky number after all.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

13 years of life alongside my best friend. I can't think of anything better....except a future of 13 more, and then 13 more, and 13 more, and then 13 more, and oh, wait, I know.....13 more after that!!

• Because every day with you is a "piece of cake" to me! :)
  
  

  I love you, T-5.

  
  

Yet another reason that lifelong family friends are FANTASTIC...they let you use their pool.

• Look who not only got out of bed, but gave up his wheelchair for a little summer fun......

Amazing, I know. Yep. It's official, modern medicine has advanced far beyond my realm of thinking. Not that it had a very hard time surpassing that point. But swimming? Less than two weeks after surgery for a broken femur? Seriously?

When we were discharged two weeks ago from the hospital, the orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Doyle, stated that our little broke leg boy could go swimming within a week or two. I doubted him.

Even when he further explained that the rods inside his leg are what causes the stabilization, therefore no cast is necessary, and the immobolizer brace can be removed during the day. Necessary still to sleep in at night, for safety, but the brace can come off.

He could only get in chest high water, but obviously, the water provides the buoyancy, so he still won't be putting weight on his leg, a win-win situation. So, I set out to try this theory out.

Broke leg boy was a bit nervous about me carrying him into the water....but mama is strong....inside and out. And he was impressed we were able to pull it off, just the two of us. We are ever so thankful to be allowed to use the pool of some good friends. And we may be needing it even more for therapy this summer. Thanks again y'all!!

You can see in the photos it was a bit of a struggle for him. He did well. I think. It was yet another small step in the right direction. It got him out of the house. It made him feel somewhat "normal". It's summer, he's in a pool, that's "normal". He was able to swim underwater a couple of feet. He didn't feel comfortable enough to kick with his good leg, so he mostly just used his arms.

You can see in this photo below, his "broke leg" just kind of floated along behind him, like a dead log. Bless his heart.


He wasn't able to stay in too long. His energy levels just aren't very high yet. He only lasted about 20 minutes in the pool, and asked for me to get him out. Just that little bit of exertion was enough to really tire him and his little body out. He's weak, but getting stronger every day. So, we dried off, braced back up, and headed home.
I was very proud of his efforts. And maybe we'll try it again soon. Just wait til the end of the summer.....he may be doing half gainers off the high dive....but don't hold your breath.

We survived another season of baseball....

Last night was the last time I was "scheduled" to be at the ball park....and I couldn't be happier about that fact. This has been a long season....and with the wake of recent weeks events, the logistics of everything involved has made it even harder.

I still L.O.V.E. to watch my boys play ball, but everyone needs a break now and then from yelling at the umpires. I was able to snap this nice shot of my sweet boy, the one without a broken leg, who has had an OUTSTANDING batting average this season. He has been lead off batter and played 3rd base all year. I haven't checked the books, but I'm pretty sure he's batting close to .700 this season. He was robbed of a great shot last night....but I must give kudos to the awesome diving catch the opposing team's shortstop made....although I wanted him to drop it, badly. :)

But I did get this pic of him right when he was contemplating stealing home....and moments later, a pass ball got by the catcher, and he no longer stood on the baseline contemplating.....he slide safely into home. Yahoo.

And that my friends is what I'm contemplating doing right this very minute, myself....sliding safely into home. This week has been hard. There have been too many factors in my equation and math is not my strong suit anyway!! Gymnastics camp, Football camp, Temple's projects, and keeping up with broke leg boy.....

....but it's Friday, and that means I survived. And that means we are finished with a plethora of outside activities, and thus, home is the place to be. Oh sure, I'll have pictures up sometime to show you all these outings....eventually.

This morning I was allowed the luxury of seeing the Lord bring about another beautiful sunrise. But not by my choosing, exactly. I didn't have my alarm set at 4:30am for it, I assure you of that. However, the Lord saw differently, and I was blessed. The "patient" has had several nights this week of very fitful sleep. He has been doing a little more activity each day, and with that has come many a night of discomfort. But he's still on the mend. We're on the up side of things, and for that, this mornings sunrise and so much else, I am grateful.

Maybe you've had a tough week, too. If so, I hope you can see the sunrise some morning, the beautiful sunrise made by our Creator, who loves us all so dearly.

And here's a Friday quote for you to take into the weekend:

• "Keep your face to the SUNSHINE and you cannot see the shadows." ~Helen Keller

Cooking Camp.....and now I know why I had double ovens installed.

• Something I'm certain you all know and love....FUNKY MONKEY BREAD

So, as it will soon be clearly evident, this "cooking camp" episode actually occurred a couple of weeks ago....I just haven't posted it. But in hopes that it will get us all back on the "cooking camp" train, and as a tribute to my little crippled man laid up in bed, I thought it might bring a smile to his face.

• Without further adieu......I give you Walt, flying solo at cooking camp, prior to his little end of the school year accident. Hence, it could have been cleverly titled, "cooking without crutches".
  

Do you have any idea how long it takes a novice monkey bread maker to perfectly cut a couple cans of biscuits into quarters? Too long for the mama.....so I had to begin helping by using my exact internal "pinch and pull apart" measurements, to get this party started.


Because we all know the real fun comes when you get to roll those pieces in cinnamon and sugar....and then lick your fingers clean. And repeat. About 73 more times.



Then you find your bundt pan and just start throwing them in, layering them up, tossing them about, whatever, you get the idea, just stack them in the pan. And after a few other minor additions (click HERE to go to the recipe blog for all the other info), you're ready to slide her in the oven.



Which is where there was a slight glitch in the plan. You see, while he has cooked in the upper oven before, usually his older, taller, brother is here to handle oven duties. This day, he was solo, and his arms are a wee bit too short to reach over the oven door and into the rack area. So, we were tickled, and I, of course, said I had to take a picture of it.....oven mitt ready and all.


I promptly preheated the lower oven.....and while waiting, explained to him that he actually didn't need the BIG BULKY THICK QUILT LINED oven mitt to hold a room temperature bundt pan. Maybe if he was about to take a role in BackDraft 2, but not to insert a bundt pan into the oven. However, keep it near and you can use it to pull that same bundt pan OUT of the 350 degree oven after a 30 minute layover. Metal is a good conductor of heat.....and 350 degrees will burn your fingerprints right off!



This was a two part victory at cooking camp......

1. some delicious monkey bread was made
2. while it's easy to get an inferior complex when you only get used once a year, due to the remarkable efforts of chef Walt, the lower oven gained a little self-esteem. And may actually become the oven of choice, especially for the infirmed....it is wheelchair accessible.