Almost Heaven

Last year my brother and some of his friends pulled together and got a campsite and trailer at a campground less than 2 hours from the house. K and I had never been there . . . until yesterday. It was fabulous. Mike and Jamie took my niece up Friday night and K and I followed Grammy, Pop Pop and Reggie (the dog) up yesterday so I would be able to actually find the place. The campground is named "Almost Heaven" and that's exactly what it was.

Even though the camper has two bedrooms and my folks were just making it a day trip, K and I decided to pitch our tent. My concern that our nylon "cabin" was too far out from the trailer was quickly assuaged when the new next door neighbors put their inflatable pool right in the driving lane and then dug permanent horse shoe pits even further out.

Lunch consisted of hot dogs over the campfire and my niece (who's 4) following K around trying to be just like her. Then it was off to the creek. I expected a shallow bit of water for the kids to splash around in. When I saw that it was deep enough for me to swim in on the far side, I hightailed it back to the camper for my swim suit and beach chair. Sadly, dinner called so our fun was short lived. After dinner we packed up Grammy, Pop Pop and Reggie, rustled up some twigs and got down to the serious business of making smores. Some of the more adventurous campers set off several fabulous firework displays and the rest of the night was spent sitting around the campfire. It's just don't get any better than that.

True to our adventurous nature, K and I snuggled in on the air mattresses in the tent at 10:00 and midnight respectfully. By 2:00 a.m. we were making use of the extra bed in the camper. K would have slept in the tent all night, but when I couldn't sleep and noticed she was cold from her nose to her nails, I decided to play the Mom Card and move it inside. I seriously doubt I'm in contention for the Mother of the Year Award, but I figured letting my kid turn into a Popsicle would definitely put me out of the running.

This morning we cooked bacon and eggs on the campfire grate, cleaned up the site and headed back to the creek. I'm not sure the two lonely fisherman were thrilled to see two rambunctious kids and their mamas come traipsing in, but if they minded, they didn't say. K had a blast with her cousin and the other kids and dogs that came later and I got to work on tanning the parts of my shoulder that don't usually see the light of day. I expected a full fledged fit when it was time to go, but K was a trooper . . . especially after I reminder her that we can come back any time we want to. I think she's expecting a two week vacation there at the end of June.

My sister-in-law and niece left the creek about 30 minutes before us and since I told them we'd be following along in about 10 minutes, I was surprised they weren't sitting in the car gnashing their teeth when we strolled back in. After swapping our wet bathing suits for clean underwear and dry clothes, we threw our last remaining items in the car and headed out. K kept me company for the first 30 minutes and promptly fell asleep for the last hour home. If I'm really good she'll let me take a nap once I post this.

Sunny Day

Well, today did not suck nearly as bad as I thought it would. I had a little down time between when K got on the bus and I had to be at my Census meeting so my Sudoku book and I got reacquainted. Since my meeting was quick, my route was short and my Census check hit the bank yesterday, I decided some retail therapy was in order.

It's a 30 minute drive to the nearest Ross, but it was worth every mile. For a little over $40 I got a very cute skirt, a nice sleeveless shirt I can wear for work and an awesome outfit to wear to Lisa's wedding in June. Personally, I think it shows a little too much cleavage (what doesn't on me) but the other ladies in the dressing room assured me I didn't look the least bit hoochie.

By the time I hit the road to get home in time to meet the school bus, the melancholy of the morning was gone, the damage to my wallet was minimal and all was right in the world.

Ugh!

I am loving my job with the Census Bureau and meeting lots of fun people (and one or two bitchy ones), but today just about did me in. Yesterday I got transferred from the boonies in the mountains to the little town across the river. While I'm delighted that driving around the "block" now takes 5 minutes instead of 20, the downside is that I'm not in the car long enough for the AC to cool it down . . . not good when it's a gazillion degrees out like it was today. My plan to wear a skirt and tank (or as little as possible) did not help . . . but I did look pretty cute. Which was, of course, my secondary motive since my new supervisor happens to be around my age, male, single and pretty darn cute to look at.

I was so disgustingly sweaty by the time I was done I could hardly stand to ride home with myself. I would have killed for a shower, but decided to postpone since I couldn't see drenching another bra with enough moisture to sink the Titantic when we headed back out an hour later for K's make-up soccer game. K's team is filled with incredibly talented kids, but she held her own today, including one spectacular kick down the field when she was on defense. Since it's payday and , amazingly, there was no line at the ice cream place, we stopped for soft serve with rainbow sprinkles on the way home. Since K was still eating hers two miles later when we got home, I walked straight in the door and into the shower . . . it was better than sex. Not, of course, that I actually remember what sex is like.

In other news, I finally found a battery for my cell phone to replace the one that was lost/stolen at the Piano Bar in Pittsburgh Mother's Day weekend. Ironically, having it go missing was a blessing in disguise. (Of course I didn't think that when I visited 2 Verizon stores, the Super Wal-Mart electronics department and Best Buy in Pittsburgh only to be told no one carried the battery when I was getting ready to start a 4+ hour road trip home with a 7 year old.) But I have since seen the light . . . ever since I replaced the battery (and the magical man at the cell phone store punched mystical buttons and updated my phone) the demons have been exorcised. It no longer shuts off by itself (usually as it's ringing) and it actually turns on when I hit the button . . . magical!

Today was hot and sweaty, but pretty fun all around. I am not expecting the same tomorrow. May 27 was my wedding anniversary and, even though the divorce was for the best, nothing reinforces my insecurities and colossal rejection issues and just generally puts me in a cranky mood than my non-anniversary. Ugh!

Cute as a Bug and Busy as a Beaver

The official team pictures will be taken tonight, but I just couldn't resist posting a preview . . . it just doesn't get any cuter that this.





K's soccer game on Saturday was a blast. She seems to be over her fear of the ball (after the gut shot she took a week or so ago) and actually managed to kick the ball several times Saturday . . . in the right direction!

After her game we ran some errands and spent the rest of the day with our good friends the Kishbaugh's for Ryan's 9th birthday party. K had tons of fun playing with all the kids and ended up asleep on the couch with the birthday boy . . . plum tuckered out after a crashing from her sugar high, a trip to the barn and running around all day in the clean country air. Life is good.

It was tough getting up for church on Sunday, but we got there. K decided she wanted to sit in the crying room . . . I don't think she'll make that call again. Immediately after church she had her final CCD class for the year, which included their farewell party for Mrs. Trioni, who is "retiring" after years of volunteering as the 1st Grade CCD teacher. We will surely miss her, but I imagine my friend Renata (who also happens to be her daughter) is delighted since it likely means her kids will have more more weekend visits with Grandma.

Today starts my first full week working for the Census. I'm looking forward to hitting the field today and getting ready for our trip to Pittsburgh this weekend.