Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard

Anna and Hailey have officially been back in school for five weeks now, and I am finally getting to posting the first day of school pictures. Hailey is in first grade this year, which means a full 6 1/2 hours a day that I have only two children - can you smell the freedom? Anna is in fourth grade - I don't know how they do things anymore, but when I was in school fourth grade was part of the "upper grades" - I can't believe Anna is that old! So far they are both loving school, except for the discrepancy over what time they should get there. Since we live across the street, they walk to school every morning, and Anna is of the opinion that they should leave here no later than 7:55 (school starts at 8:20) so that she will have time to play soccer, while Hailey feels that 8:10 leaves plenty of time to get over there before the bell rings and they can then go straight to class. Many a morning has been filled with the sounds of Anna urging Hailey to hurry up and Hailey replying that she isn't ready to leave yet and that it is too early. I finally started having them switch days so that they go early one day and on time the next. That makes everyone happy, right? Wrong. But at least they are unified in the belief that Mommy is unfair. And once they are off to school, I have 6 1/2 glorious hours before I have to hear any more about it. Yay school.

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Ok, still playing catch-up here, but I am getting closer. In August, my friends Brandi and Stephanie were here visiting their in-laws (they happen to be married to twins) and I was happy to be able to spend some time hanging out with them while they were here. We were also with my friend Vanessa (who happens to be their sister-in-law as well - she is married to the twins' older brother.) We went to the park, Costa Vida (several times - yum), shopping, Lake Clementine (with 12 kids no less), and a birthday party at a bounce place (lots of fun racing over the inflatables.) I was so glad to have them here to play with and was sad when they went home - miss you girls!

Stephanie, Vanessa, Brandi, and me at Lake Clementine

Smiling pretty before going down the big inflatable slide at Bounce-U

I Need A Hero

August 27th, 2008 - a truly outstanding day in the lives of those in the Joyner household. For on that day, we were visited by someone so amazing, so incredible, so Super, if you will, that none of us will ever forget it. On that Wednesday, which started so much like any other day, was the day that Superman came to 2041 Swetzer Rd.

To celebrate his 4th birthday, Adam wanted a Superman party, at which he of course would be portraying the part of the man himself. He had big plans: "Mommy, I will be in the bedroom, and when everyone is there you say "Here comes Superman!" and I will come out." With a cape from Six Flags and the infamous symbol on his chest (made by his mommy), as well as the Superman theme song downloaded from the internet, he was ready to go. I would like to note that he was not coached in any way as to how his entrance would go - it was all him.

I made his cake - a chocolate box recipe to which I added sour cream, chocolate chips, Hershey's kisses, and chocolate pudding mix - and the frosting which was of the cream cheese variety. Yum. I made goodie bags and set the table and we were good to go.

We played a version of Hot Potato with Kryptonite instead of a spud, Pin the Symbol on Superman's Chest, and musical chairs with the Superman Theme. Then we enjoyed cake and presents. Overall, it was a very successful birthday.

How old are you Adam?

Having Fun in the Warm California Sun

Since we didn't manage to get out much this summer due to the smoke and heat, and the furthest the kids got was Pa's house in Alta, we wanted to take them somewhere fun. We settled for Six Flags in Vallejo, since with two coupons from Lunchables we got two of our kids in for free. (Not that it still wasn't way too expensive.) We left Jonathan at home with his Aunt Jamie, and headed off to the Bay Area. It was a beautiful day - 107 in Roseville, but only 85 in Vallejo.

Our foray into the park started with some excitement. While trying to find our way to the kid's area (the park map was wildly vague and unhelpful) we passed by a Ben and Jerry's stand, from which came a women's voice calling out to us to call 911. She had been in line getting a drink when the guy inside fell to the ground and started seizing. There was no one else around, and she was trying to take care of him and couldn't get to her phone. Jon ran inside the stand to help, dialing 911 and then handing the phone to me. There were no workers around to call, and it seemed like several minutes before one came by and said that she didn't have her walkie-talkie on her and went to find one to call for help. Meanwhile on the phone I finally got through to a 911 operator, who asked me where we were in the park, and like I said before, the map was not helpful and I had no idea where I was, so I just started describing things to her - I'm sure she found my "we just passed the Butterfly House" very helpful. In the end, it took the park EMTs FOREVER to get there, but the man was coming around at that point, and we all vacated so they could do their job. If I were you, I would try to avoid having a medical emergency in a Six Flags.

Anyhow, the rest of our day went without incident. We got soaked on the river raft ride - I was the first one to get wet with a huge stream of water right down my back - good times. Hailey and Anna rode more big rides than I did - after my trip on the Medusa I decided not to ride anything else since I was not gripped by a desire to see my lunch again. But we all had a pretty good day and it was good quality family time. I think, however, that we will stick to Disneyland in the future.

Hailey's review of our day

Adam dancing after lunch - yes, I am aware the video is sideways...

Go Shorty, it's your birthday

This year, Anna achieved the ripe old age of 9 (we are looking into a walker and those bars that you use for getting in and out of the bathtub if anyone knows a good distributor.) To celebrate the fact that she survived another year of being attacked, abused, and misused by her siblings as well as relied on very heavily by her parents to deflect said attacks, abuse, and misuse from themselves, we threw her a barbecue.

Anna with her favorite present - a GameBoy from Aunt Tara's family.

Anna and Jon showing their genetic link - her goofyness definitely comes from the Joyner side.

Pa, Grandma, Anna, and Aby - I am pretty sure we have a picture just like this from the day Anna was born.

Vacation (All I Ever Wanted)

At the end of July I boarded a plane and headed for Vermont for a week, sans husband or children - amazing, I know. For those of you who don't know, my mom is from Vermont, and so I have a whole side of the family out there who I rarely get to see. After having survived a particularly rough semester last spring, Jon agreed that I could treat myself to a trip back east (thank you to the Federal Aid For Students for providing me with money.) Rather than regale you with tales of my trip, (air travel is a nightmare), I thought that it would be nice to introduce you all to some of my family (although I assure you that it is impossible to get a true feeling for these people without meeting them in person. Also, for a lot of them, hearing the accent is half of the experience.) Let me start by saying that I love (almost) everyone back there absolutely and would give (almost) anything to be able to live closer to them. They are great people and despite the fact that I don't get back there very often and I have obvious mental defects (genetic I assure you) they always treat me just like I live there and am part of the family.

Ok, first up we have my cousin Jerold and our Uncle Chris. Jerold and his family were kind enough to put up with me for the week while I was there, letting me sleep in their house, although not without plenty of threats to make me go and stay somewhere else (the main threat being to make me go and stay with my mom, which many of you know is a pretty big threat.) Jerold took me for a ride on his Harley, and let me tell you, everyone should have one. And seeing Vermont on the back of a bike was a whole new experience, and it was beautiful.

What can be said about Uncle Chris...he is a nut. I always spend a lot of my time with him shaking my head and laughing at him because he is really a personification of a good old boy, and is very often entertaining.

Next are Christalee and Jaden, Jerold's wife and daughter. Christalee has been putting up with me since my visit for Christmas of my senior year when my mom kicked me out, and that earns her my love and gratitude. Jaden is 6 (and a half, she would ammend) and was my shadow for the week. She is a sweet little girl and we had fun.

Here are the women of my family (minus my sister who, alas, was headed to Hawaii and couldn't accompany me on my trip.) From left to right are my Aunt Julie and cousin Jessica (Jerold's mom and older sister), my Aunt Sherry, my mother Amy, and yours truly. I tell you, if you could get together with all of these women at the same time, you would fear for my genetic future, much as I do. No, really, we had fun and it was a gathering that rarely happens. As you can see from the picture, I am the tallest girl in my immediate family, and as I top out at 5'6" (average height for a girl) you can guess how short everyone else is. The men in my family there are not tall either - it was an odd experience to be on the same level as everyone I talked to and hugged, given that I live in the land of giants here.

This is my Uncle Stuart, married to Aunt Julie and father of Jerold. Now, as I have stated, I love everyone back there, but I have to say that I think Uncle Stuart is my favorite. Apparently I am a masochist because Uncle Stuart's favorite pastime is running me down the whole time I am there (I come by my sarcasm and wit naturally.) But I know that he only makes fun of the people he loves, so I am ok with it. Even in this picture you can just see on his face that he has some smart-alec thing to say.

Finally, this is my Grandpa Loren, my mom's dad. When I used to go back in the summer when I was a kid I spent a fair amount of time with him and my step-grandma Blanche. He, like the rest of the family, likes to tease. Hard to believe I spend $500 on airline tickets to go somewhere and be harrassed, especially when my family here would do it for free.

It was a fabulous trip, and I can't wait until I can go back again. My family has an aversion to California, so I doubt any of them will head out this way anytime soon. But that is ok, because being in the state of Vermont is half of the joy of seeing them all.

Misty Water-Colored Memories...

Here's What You Do...

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 cool (and 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.