Back from a 15 day vacay in Myrtle Beach, SC. This was our third camping trip there in our 3rd camper (at Pirate Land). I told Sky I never want to go back in another camper. I'm done buying campers. Well - driving through TN: YES! TN! A man fainted behind the wheel and totally ran into the bike rack on the camper. The bikes and rack pushed into the bunk house and the impact bowed the hitch in the back of the truck. The other vehicles occupants were okay, albeit stunned from the impact, airbags deploying, etc. They were okay, that is - until they decided they HAD to get their cat out of the car. It tore them up! At anyrate, our camper will take months to repair at well over $10,000. We'll see. Adjuster to come out this week sometime. AGH! Oh well. At least he hit us. Why? Had he hit another vehicle there would have no doubt been many fatalities. Had they hit no one - they would dead off the side of the mountain. Take it how you see it. But, I find it too hard to be too upset because, we were supposed to come back the day before. Plus, Sky WAS looking at an alternate route. ???????

Love the beach photos. But, the last one is of a group of older people who came out to camp at PirateLand together. They played in the waves - I loved watching them. And, then I came out one day and saw them all sitting in their chairs just watching the ocean and talking and laughing. I hope that will be me someday. How wonderful it is to see older people getting out and having fun and still being young - their skin may wrinkle and hang and their hair may be gray - but they seem so young at heart and full of stamina. They weren't here with grandkids, either and I think that is what set this group apart. Just a bunch of old people, old friends out having a grand time. LOVE IT! :)

Justin & Joshua swimming at the pier, Tyler fishing at the pier, my BeachToes, and a difficult group shot of my boys at the ocean.

Kayaking, Building sandcastles, Sky fishing at the pier, and Putt-Putt.

Eating at Captain George's (OmG! LOVED it! That and Rioz Brazillian Steakhouse). Boardwalk at the Beach for fireworks, and MagiQuest!

Sky and Tyler did the Sling Shot. As Tyler was getting strapped in he asked the attendant, "Can I have second thoughts?" And, without missing a beat the attendant replied, "You can have all the second thoughts you want, but your not getting off this ride." LOL! They loved it! Justin flat out refused. Me, too. But, I don't know - I might have done it. ????

Hanging out with Nana & Grandaddy. Everyone loved the lazy river UNder their condo that opened to the outside. The boardwalk was interesting - lots of interesting people and shops. :)

It was nice that Sky's family got to come and visit. Granny, Uncle Andy, Brandon and Alyssa. Paddle boats. Trying on Nana & Grandaddy's hats from Hawaii in 1985. Catching waves. And, just being goofy - a group pic is actually easier when they were younger and inclined to listen. :)

The second time we've celebrated Tyler's birthday in Myrtle Beach. For his 11th he got a cell phone. A Blackberry of some sort. But, he also got some much needed clothes from Granny and a B&N gift card from Nana and Grandaddy. I think he had a good one this year. :)

Overnight in upper TN.  Wonderful! Hotel!

Joshua's baseball game NY Mets PYO 2011

Blake, tyler & joshua

Took a wrong turn & discovered this mansion down the road.  Cool, huh?

The End of a busy week and the '10-'11 school year

Well, it's been a busy week. Monday there was no school but Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were packed enough to make up for it. Tuesday I went to the school to watch Tyler do his wax museum piece on Aldo Leopold. He did a really good job and I was pleased with his knowledge of facts, his eye contact, and with actually being able to hear him. Tuesday evening was taken up with Joshua's baseball game. Sky and the boys came and afterwards we had dinner at the Pine Tree Grill. Wednesday I volunteered for Field Day! I remember field day when i was a kid. It was so much fun. We used to dye our t-shirts and most of the activites we did were like obstacle courses: tug-of-war, running through tires, etc. Well, Hillcrests field day was Survivor Island and it was a load of fun. I worked the Code Punch station. Ironically, neither of my children came to my station while I was there. I only stayed for the morning session because of my poor feet. :( Thursday - whew - what a day! It was the 5th graders recognition day and I was there - ALL - day. We bagan at Four Seasons park were we brought back some old-school games that so few of the kids had ever heard of. Remember Red Rover? I loved that game! The kids did, too. Then half went to play Red Devil while the other half had free play (although I was hoping to get in some Red Light, Green Light). Then, we headed to Tundra Lodge for pizza and swimming. OK - not the grown ups. LOL! Anyway, after that we all went back to the school for another good old-fashioned game of Scavenger Hunt. And, finally the kids were recognized for their hard work, recieved their certificates, and had some cake. There was a slide show, too. It was neat seeing many of them from the time they were kindergarteners at Hillcrest to where they are now. I thought it was really nice that the rest of the school got to enjoy an all-school recess so that the teachers who had these kids at some point in their elementary careers could be present to watch them graduate to the middle school. Now, if that wasn't enough - I came home and made a card then decided we were going to walk the City Deck. So, I took my mom, Robbie, Tyler, Joshua, and Blake (Justin wanted to stay home and clean my kitchen - no joke) downtown. We ate at Erberts & Gerberts, walked along the City Deck, drove through Astor Park, swung by to pick up my GPS from a friend then headed home (McD's in hand for Justin). My mom had to pee really bad and we kept going of bumps and holes in the road due to construction. Joshua began singing Mohombi's 'It's gonna be a bumpy ride.' LOL! I turned it on and when it was over he suggested Kesha's 'Blow.' Haha! We dropped Blake off, had a chat session with Tami (JT's mom) and drove home to let my mama go potty. What a day! So, upon waking this am - the kids last (1/2) day of school - I thought, 'no need to get up and take a shower. I haven't anywhere to go.' Until Justin calls from the middle school (waaaaaay out there in Pulaski) to tell me I have to sign something very important. Sheesh! So, I spoke to the secretary and told her the only way I'd come sign anything is if they let Justin come out to meet me since I wasn't going in. :) Kids - you gotta love 'em!