Teenagers....

So, yes, it's been a while, but I have been busy... who hasn't LOL! Anyway... I am perplexed, confused, angered, confused, irritated, confused, in awe, and just plain confused about K1. All she has talked about these past few years is being a teacher. She has been in Teacher Cadet 1 and Teacher Cadet 2, done some student teaching, and finally, after much mind changing decided she wants to be a music education major. FANTASTIC!!! We are so incredibly proud of her! She makes awesome grades and SEEMS to be on track. She is going to apply for all these scholarships (the only way, besides student loans, she will be able to attend college) keeps her grades up and aside from annoying teenage stuff and drama, pretty much keeps her nose clean and out of serious trouble (THANK YOU GOD!!!). All of a sudden this year, her senior year, she has lost her mind. Her grades are still awesome and she still wants to do music education but she has not made ANY effort to apply for scholarships, study for her SAT (except the week before, which didn't work that well for her so she is taking it again), or anything except TALK about going to college. She decided ON HER OWN that she did not want to apply for the NC Teaching Fellows Scholarship. No consultation with the parents, nothing... everytime we inquired, she was on it. Now, this scholarship and her wanting to attend ECU was one of the MAJOR factors we based our decision to stay in NC while William took the job in Maryland. Our family has sacrificed A LOT so she would have residency and be able to attend where she wanted to and graduate with her friends. SHE DROPPED THE BALL! Why have we lived apart for these past 2 years... so she could muck it up?? K2 was another major factor - there is not an early college high school where William is and we didn't want her to have to repeat some classes and let's face it, she has the chance to graduate with her Associate's Degree next year! While she has had her moments also, she is still focused and on track.. she is motivated enough to take on extra classes this year so IF we decide to move this summer, she will have completed the work required for her high school diploma (a year early). But this is more about K1. I don't know if she thinks college is going to fall in her lap?? I inquire almost daily about the progress of her studying for the SAT (not yet, I need to __________ first), filling out her FASFA form and looking and applying for scholarships (no K1, the entry every day to seventeen magazine for a 1 million dollar scholarship does not count) and while she may not actually get all these scholarships, it would help if she would at least TRY!!! Show some initiative girl! Have we made life too easy for you??? She does have her audition date for the School of Music, but she hasn't submitted her application yet... and this is serious stuff, you would think she would be practicing for her audition in one month... nope... she is an extremely talented musician! BUT it takes practice... after all, she isn't the only talented one out there. Harsh realities are being presented to her this weekend. She has the possibility of losing her car and cell phone until she can pay for them if she does not make some kind of effort to get the ball rolling - in the RIGHT direction.... UUUUGGGGHHHHHHHH

K3 is doing great in school and has aspirations to attend the Naval Academy... and be a star lacrosse player! I hope it stays that way!!

K4 is also doing great in school, but his aspirations change quite frequently these days... but he still has plenty of time!!!

What the heck were we thinking William???!!!!!

Laundry...

Laundry at the Recreation Center is hit or miss... last night there was a wait so I only did 2 loads for William since he went on a trip today :( Earlier Kalee washed her own laundry and now I am waiting here using Kamile's computer to play random games and blog about laundry while I do SIX loads... a little bit of William's, a little bit of mine.. the rest... the BOYS!!! Kevin may get the dirtiest, but Kendall changes the most! At that age where is dresses to impress LOL! Okay, back to your "has to be better than waiting on laundry" day!

Summertime

Well, it's our now annual trip to Solomons Island for the "summer". Due to the boys being in year round school, we have a relatively short summer... plus this year 3 of the 4 added a week of band camp, making our trip even shorter. BUT we have packed in a lot of summer into our short visit!! They have run of the recreation center (basically a huge playground/camp ground) and we only see them when they want money for games or food to keep going :) We went to Kings Dominion this year on July 3rd, it wasn't as crowded as I thought it might be. Everyone had a blast on the roller coasters and we did learn that we should have started off in the water park area as the boys only got to do one ride... whoops! The fireworks were amazing!!! For the 4th we hung out and did lots of nothing, but it was perfect. The weather was great and once again Solomons put on a great fireworks show. I love my tree. It is a huge tree with tons of shade and I just sit out there and read while a cool breeze blows and the dog loves napping out there also. William is going on a trip for 4 days... it will be the first time I've been here without him... as long as the kids are out and about, I think we will all survive just fine! We may go into DC when he returns as July 13th is our return to NC date. The boys start school on the 15th :) That's okay... 3 week break coming up at the end of Sept and we will be back again!

Addictions

My Husband... I miss him terribly when he is gone... he is my heart and soul
My Kids... They are growing so quickly, they are truly amazing
Photography... my kids, their sports, the dog, things the family does, nature, airshows, etc
Computer... Scavenger Hunt on Facebook, emails, photo editing, free samples, blogging, myspace
Starbucks... Peppermint White Mocha, White Chocolate and Raspberry, Mint Mocha Chip Frappacino
Fontana Coffee Cafe... being allowed to make my own creations of lattes, since I used to work there, such as White Chocolate and Toasted Marshmallow YUM!
Good Romance Novels... I can finish one in a day!
Comfort Foods on a rainy day (today!).... making chicken and dumplins for dinner and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.
My work... part time is perfect for me!!!! I really do love seeing all the photos that come in from all over the country and knowing that most of the time (lol) the recipients of the photos are going to love them! Wedding and baby photos are my favorites. I also love helping on the photography side... action shots are my favorite.
Spending Summers on Solomons Island with my husband and children. So calming and peaceful... as long as K1 is not putting away the dishes as she is now...

Distractions...

So tonight was Tucker Creek Pennies for Patients night at Burger King. I stopped by and got some food to go to support this great cause.... however, as usual I was distracted and thinking of other things, such as remembering who the guy behind me was in line and where the heck I knew him from... so, I place my order, which I had written on a piece of paper in front of me as to not get the boys and their friend's burgers wrong... I ordered 4 #3's.... with fries and drinks... I THOUGHT I ordered 4 Jr Whoppers with cheese, etc... imagine my surprise when they said "4 TRIPLE Whoppers and 4 fries"... I looked at the guy with a bewildered look and said "you mean 4 Jr Whoppers, right?" he looked at me, the receipt, I looked at the board... ummm yea.... shoulda ordered #4! My mistake! So I took them home, K3 and K4 ate the whole thing!!! Friend ate almost the whole thing! They haven't asked for ANY snacks tonight LOL!!

Oh, and the guy... I worked with him at Gold's Gym many years ago!

And mine... I threw two pieces of meat away and ate about half LOL!

K1, the driving test, and major lessons on the first day....

Feb 23, 2009: It's official! We have a new driver in the house!



And she came this close to failing her test after doing an outstanding job! She parked at the only spot with a utility pole!!! If she would have hit it, she would have failed!! He asked her why she chose that spot when there were a lot of parking spots open... typical teenage answer "I don't know" LOL!



After she passed the test, we went to the insurance co so they would have her driver license number and got proof of insurance for her car. Then, we went to the license plate agency so we could register her car. Carpool was next(in my car, with me driving lol), then home and she got to put the plate on her car. It was Teen Court night and K3 had Science Olympiad so K1 filled up on gas then went to get K3. I ran back to the house for something I had forgotten and met them at the middle school. Here is a very short video of K1 leaving the middle school and me getting a good chuckle... I guess I should mention that her car, as well as K2's truck, has a manual transmission... it's a bit bumpy at times!




Here she is leaving the house earlier and in traffic on the way to pick up K2 and Teen Court.



K2 was pleasantly surprised when K1 drove up. We went to dinner and proceeded to Teen Court arriving all in one piece. A little note: She can have any or all of her siblings in the car OR one friend/other passenger under the age of 18 but not both, for 6 months.

K1 and K2 were attorneys on the first and second cases of the evening. K3 was a juror for cases 1, 3, and5. K1 and K2 asked to leave after their cases to go to K1 boyfriend's (G) house. After assuring me G's dad was home, I said OK hesitantly, with directions to be home BEFORE 9. Also earlier in the day, we had discussed the "rules". You will go where you say you are going... I am not stupid, I was a teenager and told my parents I was going one place and then went another (sorry mom, but I know you knew...lol) but I have an advantage over my parents... the cell phone. You will call me when you get there, you will call me before you do anything not previously approved (ie run to the corner store for something), you will call me when you leave, you will call me when you get home if I am not there. What I did not exactly specify in specific words was that a text or voice mail was not acceptable for changing plans... this will come into play, of course! Off they go.....

In the basement of the courthouse, there is NO signal, K1 and K2 know this... so I am sitting, waiting for court to be over thinking they are at G's house... Court ends, I walk outside to a voicemail - so I listen... they have gone to K2 friend's (T) house - in the same neighborhood as G, as G was not home. "Don't worry we will be home on time, T has to be home by 8:30" was the message from K2. Then there was a text... we are at walmart... Needless to say, I was not amused in the least.... I called K2 phone and since she didn't answer, left her one heck of a message stating that K1 was doing a great job of trying to lose her car on the first night, going to a different friend's house was NOT approved and definitely going to walmart was NOT approved and they BETTER GET HOME BEFORE I DO! click!!!

Then I call William... he thinks I am over reacting, they are just wrapped up in the excitement of some freedom, etc... I think about it, already having decided she would not be in "trouble" as in losing her driving privileges, but we would go over the rules again specifying that if she did not speak to me personally, she was to take it as a no and go home, not assume she could change her plans... BEEP goes the phone, I put William on hold... It's K1 calling from the corner store by T's house... BAWLING hysterically... "I'm so sorry, I broke the car, the muffler is hanging off" or something VERY close to that.... BEEP goes the phone, its K2.... I ask K1 why K2 is calling me if K1 is on the phone with me.... "oh, she's at walmart, I'll explain when you get here". I answer the beep, K2 sounds so innocent.... I honestly don't even remember one word of what I said to her or what she said to me.... but I get back on the phone with K1, tell her I will be there in a minute. Try to get back on the phone with William to explain what the heck is going on, but we had been disconnected or I hung up, who knows... so I called him back. He is now the angry one LOL! I am almost at the point that I am just laughing... He wants to know what she's done, but I don't know because I hadn't gotten there yet. I pull up, go in the store, hand Kalee the phone and let dad deal with her while I look at the car. The pipe leading into the muffler has come out and the muffler is hanging and on the ground. I peek under the car... it was bungee'd together! OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I asked William if he knew that and he said no, the person who had given us the car had told K1 and William he had fixed it.... William never looked completely under the car... you had to lay on your back to see the bungee. So... T's step dad arrives and "fixes" it so she can drive it to his house around the corner... he did a temporary fix until we can get it fixed correctly... William will be home this weekend to check it out.

So, in K1's words the story goes:

When we got to the neighborhood, K2 asked if I would take her to T's house. I dropped her off then I went to G's house. He wasn't home so I went back to T's house. K1 asked if we could go to walmart, I told her I wasn't comfortable doing that, but she kept bugging me, so I finally said okay, but you have to give me a couple dollars gas money. We went to walmart and hung out. We were talking to a friend and I was telling him what the officer had said about siblings/friends in the car and that's when I realized what I had done (she drove K2 and T to walmart). Then we got your message, so I drove T home, leaving K2 at walmart and that's when the muffler broke.

Now, this all appears very calm to the reader, but you have to understand that K1 is a 17 year old DRAMA QUEEN! You would all be dying laughing if you could hear her talking and telling the whole story! I pretty much told her this was a great lesson in what happens when you are doing something you aren't supposed to be doing.... something will happen... and not always end this nicely! I told her she was not in trouble, but she needed to learn from this and we went over the speaking to me is the only way she can change her plans! I told her this would not be forever, but she needs more experience and guidance before she can just "go". William finally calmed down too.

WHAT A NIGHT!!!!

20th Anniversary Trip to Asheville

My gift from William!


The following is what I wrote in an email to my mom... I am too tired to retype it all!!!

"the incident" = Friday Feb 13, 2009 my wallet and camera (my super really nice camera, two lenses, two filters, cleaning kit, two memory cards, etc) were stolen from our car. We did not lock the car, we thought we had, but this proves otherwise! HUGE thanks to Moose the dog... he took his owners on a walk a different way and he was sniffing a gutter.. they peeked to make sure he wasn't eating something he shouldn't and found my wallet Saturday afternoon. All the ID's and bank cards, credit cards and the beloved Starbucks card (with $100 on it) were still intact, only the $10 cash was missing, thank goodness!!!! I do not even want to know how you go about getting a new military ID with absolutely NO ID to show who you are!!! Anyway, Moose's mom and dad were an awesome younger couple and they called Navy Fed to try to get in touch with us, but they wouldn't really help them out ( I do understand why....) so they contact AAA and gave them my account number and AAA called my house with them on the line and let them leave a message on our answering machine. HUGE KUDOS to AAA!!! All the pawn shops in Asheville have been notified and the serial number of my camera and one of the lenses is in a national database, but I seriously doubt we will get it back :( However, thanks to the generosity of my parents, they gave us a very nice anniversary gift and I am now looking for a new camera!

The Cottage @ A Hill House Bed and Breakfast Asheville NC

The Bed and Breakfast was amazing!! The owners (Bill and Terry) were soo wonderful and helpful - even contacting the local pawn shops after "the incident"! We arrived Friday and the cottage was perfect! There were even roses waiting for our arrival. We went to a local grocery store, like the one on Solomons with the cheeses, and picked dinner from their deli/bar area and it was good. We also bought some cheeses and crackers :). We drove around downtown Asheville for a little while, looking for the ABC store, but instead found a beer shop that William really enjoyed. We came back to the cottage watched some TV, got ready for bed, found out the stuff had been taken from the car, waited for the police and were finally done with all that about 2 a.m.

Saturday we had a wonderful breakfast. She is a truly amazing cook!! Then we went to the Biltmore Estate. It was really interesting, huge, and yes, I am saying amazing again!! We couldn't take pictures inside and the gardens were not in their splendor, but it was still very nice! We also visited the winery, William tasted the wines, I had some pretty darn good grape juice! We also ate an appetizer from the Bistro - we had french onion soup and it was out of this world! Since we didn't even think of having reservations for Valentine's Day, Terry had made some extra reservations "just in case anyone needed them" but they were late (9:30). We snatched those up for S&W Cafeteria (S&W = Steak and Wine). We had the best steak we have ever had, it just melted in our mouths... it was awesome! The sides are big enough for two people, so we had to agree and we chose the loaded baked potato with no butter and sour cream on the side, it was quite tasty too! For dessert I chose the chocolate covered strawberries and we had off handedly mentioned it was our anniversary and they gave us our dessert for free! That was a nice little bonus.

Sunday we enjoyed Crème Brule French Toast and oh boy was it good! We drove around waiting for things to open and found the salon where our couples massage was going to be. We didn't really find anything we liked when we shopped while waiting for the massages, but we did have fun window shopping! We arrived for our massages and they gave us a soothing foot soak. William was a little weary of the robes because all the ones hanging up for sale were very feminine, but the ones for the massage were beige and very comfortable. The massages were amazing, the ladies did a wonderful job. While I don't remember smelling anything, William says his lady had garlic for lunch LOL! Not overpowering, but he could smell it! We drove around some more after the massages, then went back to the bed and breakfast for some delicious cookies from the endless cookie jar and recommendations for dinner. We went to a restaurant called Salsas. It was not your ordinary mexican restaurant. It was excellent though! After dinner, we got back to the cottage early and watched Nights in Rodanthe... it was good, but William wants to know why someone always dies in Nicholas Sparks novels/movies....

Monday we had breakfast in the cottage and I ate the omelet! and it was good! I don't think I will be eating them regularly though... but it was good. After we checked out of the bed and breakfast, we went to the arts district to look at pottery. The first place they had just left for lunch, the second place was closed, the third place wasn't what he was looking for... so we started the journey home. I wasn't feeling good and wanted lunch but he wasn't hungry, so I waited too long to eat lunch and had a horrible headache most of the way home, but overall we had a great time and I can't wait to do it again!!!

Oh, and it's a big deal that I ate the omelet because I DO NOT like eggs!!!! But I was very open minded and tried new things on this trip!!!