Workin' for the Weekend

Sooo, here's my last message of the week! Unfortunately Blogger is having some issues with uploading pictures, so I'll have to wait until later to add the pictures, but yesterday I saw my cousins from Maryland. Our family is in the middle of the Great Furniture Exchange that seems to happen every time one of the "triarchs" in the family moves or downsizes. Since my Mom is entering her first "Senior Active Lifestyle Community" in a couple of months, we are all moving my great grandparents' furniture up and down the East Coast. Amy and Pat came down to drop their Mom's dining room table and chairs off with Chuck and Kelly so that they can head on to Virginia Beach to pick up our great-grandparent's dining room table and chairs, for which Amy and Pat have the matching buffet. I know, I know. VERY confusing! :) Great to see everyone, though.

I head out to Ocean City tomorrow to celebrate my friend Karen's 40th birthday. I will also get to see a lot of our friends from our Delta days, many of whom I haven't seen in years. There is only one thing I know about tomorrow night and that is this: it will NOT be pretty. Still, I can't wait!

My friend Padma is also in town this weekend, so I can't wait to catch up with her on everything she did on her volunteer vacation in Nepal. So exciting!

Monday, I have to cram for my sewing class ... I don't like working on this alone. I don't trust myself with a pair of scissors yet!!

What happens when you take Sudanese Refugees to Chuck E Cheese?

A LOT of fun!!

Nyabol (pictured on the left below) has had some behavior problems at school, so I made a deal with her. If her teacher told me that she was good for THREE WEEKS IN A ROW, then I would take her and 3 people of her choice to Chuck E. Cheese. Needless to say, she didn't know what Chuck E. Cheese was, but she accepted the bet!

After a couple of false starts (one good week then one bad one), she got the hang of it. Last week we planned it for Sunday afternoon. All 4 kids were ready when I arrived (which rarely happens!)

We had such a blast ... they had never seen talking animals before. It was so cute. When the machine would wave, they would all wave back. :)



Nyabol and Duk on the flying ride, where you watch the screen and the chair moves along with the game.

Nyabol, Deng and Duk dancing for Chuck E to "If You're Happy and You Know It" - for free tickets, of course!

Bon Voyage, Uncle Bill!

This morning Aunt Crazy took Uncle Bill to the Amtrak station, where he begins a 45 day trip through Africa.

Have a Trip of a Lifetime, Bill!

(Meanwhile, If ANY friends and family of Aunt Crazy hear of ANYTHING bad going on in the following countries over the next 6 weeks, PLEASE CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY! Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Swaziland, or Egypt. I'm on alert!!)

50 Favorite Things

From my friend Susan's blog ... As of April, 2008, these are 50 of my favorite things, not necessarily in order:

NOTE: I guess I’m just not as happy a person as Susan, because I couldn’t list 100... and I really gave this some thought!

1. My family & friends – I could use up the whole list on this, so I won’t mention everyone specifically … plus, if I did it in the wrong order, I’d get in lots of trouble!
2. Austin, TX
3. The color blue, particularly Marina blue
4. The Beach, especially swimming in the Ocean
5. My nieces (OK, I said I wasn’t going to mention friends and family specifically, but I had to do it)
6. Photographs
7. Thanksgiving
8. Italy
9. Tutoring the Lual family
10. Ice Cream, especially Coffee Toffee
11. A favorite pair of blue jeans
12. Old houses
13. Movies
14. Live Music
15. Children, especially from 2-8 years
16. Good yarn
17. Bad television
18. Hello Dolly bars, sometimes called 7 Layer bars
19. When great things happen to people I love
20. Open windows in warm weather
21. Gadgets
22. Bombay Sapphire, tonic, lime and lots of ice
23. Unexpectedly getting out of work early
24. A first kiss
25. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
26. Ideas for green lifestyles that reduce waste AND make money
27. Fresh paint
28. Mushroom risotto
29. When I get an e-mail from an old friend out of the blue
30. Spas
31. Anything with Samantha Bee (The Daily Show)
32. Broadway
33. Standard transmission
34. Sleeping
35. Red wine – especially most Super-Tuscans
36. Uber-soft fleece blankets
37. Coffee with a little whole milk and raw sugar
38. Gutsy people
39. A clean house
40. Eating steamed crabs (JUMBO) and drinking Miller Lite at Seaside Restaurant in Glen Burnie, MD
41. Pajamas
42. Snapdragons
43. Going out to dinner
44. Jackdaws by Ken Follett
45. Pad Thai
46. Girls’ Weekends
47. French fries
48. Books on tape/cd
49. My new bike
50. When my friend’s husband calls me to see if I am available before planning her party, because he truly wants me to go.

Addendum

Well, it looks like I've reached Google's limit for how many pictures I can put in a single post, so here is a separate post for Saturday morning! So I'm calling this post "addendum." :)

This is Bill, Jon, Nate, and Sydney around 7:45 on Saturday morning.

Pre-Race

I didn't mention in my previous post, but after the guys left for the race, I rode my bike up to see my friend Courtney's band, Ledfoot. They ROCKED! Even with the Rain and guitar amp fuse breaking, the show was amazing. I didn't think I could get that energized at 9 on a Saturday morning, but it was a BLAST! The runners were going by, pumping their hands in the air. Some of my personal favorites are below.

Ledfoot (Bill, Courtney, Daniel, and Brian)

Hugh Hefner and The Girls Next Door

More fans - is that Kid Rock?

Happy Birthday, Bill!!

You may know him as Bill, "Uncle Bull" or Uncle Bill (interchangeably), Billy, Bubba, Kennedy, Stretch, Tower of Power, or any number of things. What it comes down to is this: today is my baby brother's birthday!

Happy 30th Birthday, Bill!

This past weekend my entire family came to stay at my house to celebrate Bill's birthday with him here in Richmond. Unfortunately it was a rainy and dreary weekend, but we had a BLAST nonetheless. On Saturday morning Bill and his buddies ran the Monument Avenue 10K that morning, then Christie, Matt and I met him at Popkin Tavern that night for the party. Also in town were Jon Fitte from South Carolina, Ronnie and Beth, up from Virginia Beach for the event, and Dearne and Andrew, down from Arlington. It was such a fabulous time! Many thanks to Mema for babysitting!

Sunday morning MOST of us made it to brunch at the Jefferson, something Bill and I have done for his birthday in the past and something Christie really wanted to do while she was in town. It was fantastic, as usual, but because of our late night on Saturday - as well as Munchkin and Pipsqueak to keep us busy - I don't think we took full advantage of it. Still, Mema and Kyla were chosen to be filmed for a documentary on the famous percussionist who was playing.

Birthday boy, Dearne and Andrew (AKA "Laba")

Kennedy kids Christie, Bill and Aunt Crazy (AKA "Anne")

Nate and Matt

Bill, Fitte, and Christie (everyone laughs like this when they're talking to Fitte)

Pipsqueak (Kyla) and Mema at Brunch

Munchkin (Lauren) attacks her OJ

Road Trip to Northern Virginia

I drove up to the Washington DC area last weekend to visit a few friends ... and a few NEW friends!

Cindy and Eric just had their first baby, Paige. She was several weeks old and - although perfectly healthy and normal - still several pounds smaller than big ol' Aunt Crazy's 10 lbs 7 oz birth weight. (I love you, Mom!) I had a great time holding her and she was SUCH a sport as we passed her all around!

Proud Papa Eric

Mama calls Lost Dog (Aunt Crazy's request - YUUUUM), with Mama's Mama on the right

I also finally met Soo's new boyfriend, Jeff... very good guy! Here are Jeff and a VERY nervous Soo, who is holding baby Paige.

After visiting Cindy, Eric and Paige, we (Jeff, Soo and I) went out for a drink. Lots of girltalk and a long sleep later, Soo and I took in brunch at Brio at Tyson's Corner on Sunday morning. YUM!

Then I visited friends in Fairfax, including my third-new-friend-for-the-weekend, Katie! Katie was born in November, but this is my first time meeting her. She has Shirley-Temple-cuteness potential, no doubt!

Squirmy Christopher, Kerry, Katie, and Dave

Miss Nicole (FKA - Formally Known As)

Christopher, Skateboard, Pablo, Diego, Tyrone, and Mickey