Gotcha (Wet)!

Water plays an important role in our family vacations. There's water balloon baseball, many swims (and dunks) in the lake, and this year's favorite - the water gun wars!

Football Splash

Dan and our teenage nephews played A LOT of football in the lake. And they couldn't just catch the ball like normal human beings. No, they had to launch themselves across the water to try to catch the ball. And then, whether the ball was caught or not, the real success lay in how big a splash was made. Or how far under Camden was knocked... He loved it.

Package Deal

I married Dan for his family. And this little girl sealed the deal. Her name is Rachel and she's Dan's cousin. She's almost eleven now, and starting middle school in two weeks. But she was the sweetest, cutest little three-year-old when we got married. Not that she's not sweet and cute now, because she certainly is. But you know what I mean. And I just adore her!

Oh, and I really married Dan because he's wonderful. His family just made it the perfect package deal!

A Comparison

This is Faith, my 4-year-old niece. Even with a big ol' water gun, she still looks so sweet and cute.


This is Camden, my 4-year-old son. And when he gets a hold of a big ol' water gun - and then points it straight at me - he starts to look a little scary (but still pretty cute)!

Interesting...

Where To Find A New Best Buddy

Oh my goodness! We just got home (well, we got home on Saturday, but I'm still adjusting) from the Orr Family Reunion, and we had a blast! The whole family - minus two - came this year. We missed you Uncle James and Uncle Jacob! I'm still going through pictures - 271 to be exact - so you can be sure there will be more vacation posts coming soon...

But for now, I thought I'd share my very favorite part of the whole reunion. Jake and Mic. Debbie's son, Michael (Mic), just turned seven, so we weren't sure if our boys would play much with him. Well, they did! Jake and Mic were totally inseparable the entire week. Where is the best place to find a new best buddy? Your family, of course!

Boyhood

I hope when my boys look back on their childhood, they will have many of these moments to remember. The moments when all they had to do was enjoy being a little boy. So far, they're pretty good at it. And I'm just happy to give them the opportunity - and then sit back and watch it all happen.

We're Pretending It's Raining

So, we've been spending all our time at the pool. And it has been lots of fun. But today we woke up and decided we needed a day off. To relax. And watch movies. And play with Army men. So that's what we've been doing. Just thought you might want to know.

P-Nats

We went to a Potomac Nationals (minor league baseball) game last night, and we had so much fun! We ate ballpark hotdogs, peanuts (I think Jake ate about 5 pounds) and cracker jacks, and dippin' dots (now that stuff is pretty wierd - but yummy). We cheered for the team and then, even though they lost, we saw the best fireworks show ever. Seriously, I have never seen a fireworks show like that one. And we ended the night by letting the boys run the bases. Thank you Bubby and Papa for a great time! We had a blast!

The Baby

We're puppy-sitting...and we're in love. We're considering moving away - with puppy in tow - before his mommy and daddy come back.

Down Memory Lane

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

I'm sure there is something you remember about me?!!

Mayo in the Maury

Our sweet Mayo has never liked the water. At the dog park in Seattle they even have a beach for the dogs to swim. Mayo hated it. My grandparents have a pool in their backyard, and although she loves to visit Bubby and Papa, sometimes we get in the pool. Mayo hates that. She does not like to see her family in the water.
Well, last weekend we had a picnic down by the Maury river in BV, and MAYO GOT IN THE WATER! She went in all the way up to her "knees" or whatever you call that part on a dog's leg. Some water even splashed onto her chest! And then...she PUT HER FACE UNDER THE WATER to get a stick! Then she got out as fast a she could, shook more than necessary, and settled down in the shade to worry about her boys who kept going in farther and farther.
It may not seem like much, but for our neurotic Mayo, it was a big step. And we are so proud of her!

Brotherly Love

Camden fell and scraped up his leg - all the way from his knobby little knee to his cute little toes - at the pool. Poor kid. It really hurt. As I was bandaging him up, Jake said "Oh, I wish I was the one who got hurt instead." What a sweet love my boys have for each other!

It's good to have moments like this to balance out the ones where they are rolling across the floor beating on each other.

Della

One of the highlights of our weekend in Buena Vista (for those who don't know BV, it's pronounced Buna,with a long u, Vista, with a short i. DO NOT say it the way it should be said in Spanish!) was playing sports with Della. Oh, Della's my dad. And his name is Dan, not Della. We don't know why, but Jake has always called him Della (not Grandpa or anything normal like that) and now everyone does. Jake calls my mom Bob. Okay, so back to our weekend sports with Della. The boys, Della, and Dan (the boys' Daddy, not mine) played all day, everyday. Soccer, football, basketball. Swimming in the river. You name it, they did it. All were happy. I loved seeing my kids enjoying their time with my dad. But I enjoyed his clothing even more. Della's always been a pretty snazzy dresser...

Independence Day

I love the Fourth of July. I love our country and I love the summer. I love parades and balloons and family and fun! This year we headed on down to BV and Lexington to enjoy all the festivities with the family.

There was the bike parade. Note the absence of Jake's training wheels!

There was ice cream. And a dog who though we should share.

There were fire trucks. Fire trucks that had to leave on a call - I'm just glad they handed me my boys before they drove away!

There was family. That's the best part.

And of course there were fireworks. But I no longer have a tripod, so you can use your imagination on that one.

Happy Fourth of July!

Really Inappropriate

I'm sorry, but I just couldn't help myself.

We had a fun-filled Fourth of July weekend, and I promise to share our favorite moments with you soon, but for tonight I can't seem to focus on anything but Jake's white tush...and the fact that he's wearing sneakers.

Two Wheels

Jake said goodbye to his training wheels a few days ago. I can't believe he's big enough to ride a two-wheeler - this is a pretty huge step on the growing-up ladder, I think. Maybe that's because I was still using training wheels in second grade...but we won't deal with those issues at this time. Right now it's all about Jake. And you should see that boy ride!

Goggles

Camden's goggles don't actually work. About half the time, when he comes up out of the water, his goggles are filled with water and he's looking at me with those big green eyes, through that water. But he's grinning and doesn't seem to notice, so I don't tell him. I do empty the goggles whenever I can get my hands on him, though.

Dinnertime

Tonight, half-way through dinner, I had to tell Dan to put his toys away because he was distracting the boys. So poor Spiderman got left with his head inside the dinosaur's mouth (he had been demonstrating the proper way to punch an opponent - that apparently went terribly wrong). Once the toys were safely stashed on the kitchen counter, I naively thought we'd be able to focus on the task at hand, namely getting some food into our children. Well, some food did go in, but only in between quotes from Alice in Wonderland and a lot of giggling. Things were going well, though. But then I happened to glance under the table at the floor. "Whose underpants are under the table?" No answer. "Is someone sitting at this table without pants on?" Still no answer. So I began checking (hey, I'm the mom...) chairs to see if there was a naked bumm in one of them. And sure enough, there sat Camden, letting it all hang out. I figured at least he was eating...
Dinnertime at the Orr house. It's a real treat. Sometimes I wonder if this is common in other homes. Here, it's a nightly ritual. And I hope you won't think less of me for this, but I enjoy every minute of it.

Sports Culture

I've been thinking a lot lately about how different the cultures are among the different sports we enjoy. There's soccer, where it is perfectly acceptable for a grown man to roll around on the ground pretending to be hurt. There's hockey, where we think it was a wasted game if some big brute didn't knock the teeth out of some other big brute. There's basketball, where you can watch a coach get an anurism because he can't let his emotions show for fear of being kicked out of the game.
And then there's baseball. A sport where it is perfectly acceptable, and somewhat expected, for a manager to spit, throw things, kick dirt, and throw an all-out hissy-fit in the umpire's face. And that manager may be thrown out of the game, but before he goes he will repeat his hissy-fit a while longer. Oh, and it's really exciting when an entire team will erupt from the dugout to join the fight. Really, it's an amazing thing to watch, that American pastime.
Jake is perfect for baseball. Yes, he's actually pretty good at the sport. He can hit that ball really hard. And he really doesn't need that tee. And more importantly, he loves to play. But that's not why he's perfect for the game. He's perfect for the game because of comments like this:
"If I were the coach, I would have called that a foul!" yelled at the other team's coach.
My boy has the temper - and the mouth - for baseball. I'm so proud.

"That was AWESOME!"

Thanks Poppy and Aunt Fran for a great weekend! We went to Dutch Wonderland, a theme park dedicated completely to young children, and had a blast. The boys and Laura, a cutie-pie cousin, rode just about every ride and had the time of their lives. The grown-ups had a pretty great time, too! Some of the highlights of the day:
*After riding the roller coaster with Dan, who yelled and screamed the whole time, Jake kindly told him, "Daddy, you don't ever have to do that again." Both Dan and Jake (along with the rest of us) rode that coaster quite a few times more.
*Camden, who couldn't ride the big coaster but would have absolutely loved it, rode the smaller coaster many, many times. His grin was priceless, and he loved that "That ride is really fast!" He also got some ideas from the "really neat" diving show, and I'm going to have to watch him like crazy at the pool tomorrow.
*And the word of the day? "Awesome!" Laura proclaimed many rides, and ultimately the whole day, "awesome!" The boys heartily agreed. As did the grown-ups.