Hubby and I each had some things planned for this weekend so we did not go to the WV place. The weather was probably perfect for motorcycling and there aren’t many weekends left, BUT I have planned a week-long excursion for us (coming soon) through the southern part of West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky that should top off our season nicely.
Anyway…
Gaige at football practice last week.
Hubby had to drive up to Central Pennsylvania on Saturday to get some things. I stayed home to take care of some stuff I had to do. One of the things on my agenda was kid sporting events.
I was hoping to get to Gaige’s football game AND Brianna’s soccer game, but the 8:00 AM football game didn’t happen. I would’ve had to leave my house at 7:15 (the time Amy had to have Gaige at the field). I had some other things to get finished before my road trip, so I skipped that one. I did make it to Brianna’s soccer game though.
Apparently, things have finally clicked for Brianna, who will be 10 in December. Not only did she seem to be more aware of what was happening on both ends of the field, she was running with gusto. It was a sight to see.
I’ll show you some action shots later. First, here’s one of my favorites.
Brianna Hamming It Up for Me
This was very early in the game. Brianna was playing fullback (defense) and her best friend Brooke was nearby in goal. Now, I could not hear what she was saying to Brooke, but I’m guessing it was probably one of two things…
“Oh, cool. G is here taking pictures of me.”
or…
“See? I told you if she came she’d take pictures the whole time. How embarrassing!”
I think it was the former, but who knows?
Now that is concentration.
As you can see, the weather was perfect.
Organized Chaos
This is my favorite action shot. Brianna was on offense at the time and the ball was headed toward the right side of the image. Seconds before this was snapped, the other team cleared the ball back toward their end of the field, which is why Brianna appears to be contorting herself in two different directions.
Brianna and the competition sizing things up.
I love the looks on their faces here. How intense! This is a 10 and under team, too.
Brianna on the Attack
I was quite impressed at the level of skill I was seeing. And quite disgusted with some idiot on the sideline who kept yelling at the ref. Said idiot obviously did NOT know what he was talking about.
A Determined Brianna
She is like a totally different kid, I tell you. From where she was last time I saw her play. This kid is obviously into the game.
Are you wondering where her brothers were while Brianna was playing?
The boys did a fine job of entertaining themselves.
They were off playing American football, of course. Click on the above image to see a larger view. I absolutely love the expressions I caught on their faces. Gaige playfully running from a laughing-but-determined Joe.
Game Over
Brianna’s team won. I think the score was 3-0. But it may have been 4-0.
There are quite a few more pictures from the game on my Flickr site. I posted them there for her parents to see, but you can feel free to have a look if you want, too.
Last night, Shannon and I made the trek north to Amy’s house to assist with sports practice.What do I mean by “assist”?
Remember, Amy’s husband is currently deployed. She and her hubby are both of the mindset that the kids shouldn’t miss out on anything just because TJ is away. So they’re still playing sports.
Gaige (age 6) plays football. His team has two-hour practice sessions FOUR nights a week at a field about 30 minutes from where they live. Brianna (age 9) plays soccer. She only practices two nights a week for an hour each night. Her field is only about 5 minutes away, but in the opposite direction. Joey (age 3) is too young for organized sports. So he just makes Amy crazy as she drives back and forth between fields and stands on the sidelines while the kids practice.
On Thursdays, both kids have practice at the same time. I told Amy I’d try to help once in awhile by taking one or the other kid to their respective field. Last night, Shannon came along. We had just the right number of adults. Amy took Gaige to football. I took Brianna to soccer. Shannon stayed at the house with Joey.
I did take my camera along, but it was raining off and on, quite heavy at times, so I left it at the house with Shannon. Which is cool because she caught a couple cute images of Joey.
Joey showing off his work boots that are just like Daddy's.Joe Cool (Note the work boots, work gloves AND the fact that his foot is propped on his motorcycle.)
Of course, I didn’t get any pics of the other kids. Maybe we’ll have better weather next week.
Speaking of next week, Shannon, Amy, and I spent a bit of time trying to determine if last night was our August Thirsty Third Thursday. We were all together, after all, and it was Thursday. But it was only the second Thursday of the month. Yes, we could celebrate early, but we eventually decided that next Thursday should be our August Thirsty Third Thursday.
Why does all of this matter? Because, since Shannon was off traveling the world, our last Thirsty Third Thursday was in September 2009. ELEVEN months ago!
Yes, Amy and I did do some TTTs without Shannon, but it just wasn’t the same. When I told Amy we need to make up for lost time, she said, “Does this mean I can expect you both here every Thursday for the next two months?”
I guess we’ll have to wait and see…
But look, we DID manage to capture a nice pic of the three of us, together for the first time since September 2009.
I’ve actually had an exciting week for a change. “Exciting” in my case does not mean oh-my-God-did-you-hear-what-happened sort of stuff. It means I finally did something different.
It’s about time, too. Different does not necessarily mean exciting, but at least it was fun.
We did NOT go to a sushi bar.
Amy’s kids were with their other grandparents for the weekend. Amy, who was really in need of some girls-night-out sort of fun, adult time or both, invited me to join her and her girlfriend, Jess, for dinner and drinks in Annapolis.
The plan was to eat Mexican food and drink margaritas at El Toro Bravo on West Street. Margaritas would have been REALLY good after yet another 100-degree day.
Jess arrived very early (3:30-ish) with her friend Kaitlyn. They each had an 8 dollar margarita, which they nursed because they are both tiny and they knew Amy and I would be awhile. Amy arrived next and ordered her own 8 dollar margarita. A short time later, they all ordered another round because I still wasn’t there (I had to work a full day on Friday).
AFTER their second round of expensive margaritas arrived, the fools at the restaurant told them there was a time limit on how long they could stay there if they were just going to have drinks.
So, you have three women seated at a table in an uncrowded restaurant who told the staff they were waiting for someone else (me!) AND already spent $48 on drinks, and you tell them there’s a time limit? Seriously? Idiots.
When I finally arrived, the girls told me what happened. We all agreed that was a very rude and stupid thing to do. And, after that, the restaurant didn’t deserve our hard-earned money.
Because I’m an idiot and know nothing about Annapolis, I parked like 10 blocks away (I did mention the 100-degree day thing, right?). That meant by the time I got to the place, I was dripping with sweat and quite thirsty. So I was drinking Amy’s water and Jess’s margarita. The waiter asked if I would like to order something and I said, “No. I’m just going to share these drinks and we’re going elsewhere.” They never did apologize, but instead tried to joke their way out of the screw-up by acting cute and asking if we were mad. Duh.
Anyway… we did not go to a sushi restaurant as the picture would imply (I just thought that sign and the artwork behind it were cool). We went to an Irish pub on Main Street. I won’t mention that restaurant’s name because the chef was on vacation and the food SUCKED. The beer was very cold, however, and we had a great waitress. Had the owner not apologized several times and removed the food from the bill, I would definitely reveal the pub’s name. But I’ll give them another chance. Even if they did serve our butthead, let’s-make-everyone-pay-even-more-taxes governor. And despite the fact that the well-intentioned owner touched Steve (Jess’s boyfriend had joined us) REPEATEDLY when he visited our table.
We did manage to capture a few pictures, though.
Here I am (in back) with Jess and Amy (Kaitlyn was gone by then).Steve, Jess and Amy.
After plenty of beer and a mediocre and far-too-small meal, we left and looked around a bit. Downtown Annapolis on a Friday is always interesting even in the sweltering, still-90-degrees-at-9:00-PM heat.
Steve, the Indian and me with Jess do-si-doing in the front.
Amy knows how much I like being photographed with weird, inanimate stuff, so she made us pose for that fun shot with the wooden Indian. I was trying to look solemn like the Chief. Steve was feigning surprise. And I think Jess was either trying to square dance or strike an Irish-dancer pose. (We should have communicated on the appropriate mood before Amy snapped the picture.)
A booty-defining store.
The store windows we saw were quite entertaining. Annapolis is the home of the US Naval Academy.
Fun, touristy bumper stickers.Taking a positive spin on things.Proof that Jess rarely stands still.
It was a very fun evening full of laughs. I had dual cheek cramps at least twice during the night. It’s too bad Kaitlyn had to go home to feed her dog before I remembered the camera was in my purse. I promised the girls a real margarita night at my house in the near future. So maybe we can get some pics of Kaitlyn, too. And I can find out if her name is spelled with a “C” or a “K.” If I spelled it wrong, I’m sorry. That’s one question I forgot to ask…
Amy and the kids spent the weekend with us at the WV place. Klondike, their very large, white German Shepherd came along, too.
This post is probably WAY too long for most readers, but I have lots of pics to share. If nothing else, just scroll through and look at the images. Be sure to click on each if you’d like to see a better (larger) picture.
The Grandkids: Joey (almost 3), Brianna (9) and Gaige (6).
The only big plan for the weekend was for all of us to do a bike ride on the C & O Canal. So one of the first things Hubby had to do on Saturday was install the bike seat on Amy’s bike. He put one on his bike, too, so they could trade off if necessary.
Pop's Workshop
Brianna and Gaige can ride their own bikes. But Joey is too little to be able to keep up with all of us, hence the bike seat.
The Seat Works!
Saturday was pretty hot, and we needed to do some shopping, so we decided to wait until Sunday for the bike ride.
K and Joey (he's got the devil in his eyes here for sure)
We all sort of just goofed around on Saturday morning. The kids spent most of that time outside playing. The dogs did, too. Our girls were a bad influence on Klondike.
Notice the dirty feet?
Amy and I walked Joey down the driveway. I asked him to pose on the little bridge Hubby made for me years ago for my pond. Since I no longer have a pond, I was quite happy to put the bride to use at the WV place.
Joey saying, "Cheese!"
Joey thinks the new gate is lots of fun. It was Amy’s idea to have him climb behind the sign. Check out the dirt on his legs!
Joey has always been a climber.
Brianna and Gaige were off “having an adventure.” They were exploring the woods around the house. When I told them not to touch any dead stuff they might find laying around, I think they thought I was kidding. Thank goodness they listened because they found the source of all the bones the girls have been finding over the last few months.
Amy and Joey
Joey, being a boy, loves seeing Pop and G’s motorcycles. Pop started his up, sat Joey on the seat and let him rev the engines. That’s no “cheese” grin in the picture below. That’s a “look-I’m-riding-Pop’s-motorcycle” smile.
Joey Revving Pop's Motorcycle
Gaige and Brianna were having a blast exploring our woods. I don’t know how many times they went down the very steep hill behind our house, which they then had to climb back up. Far too many times to count, that’s for sure.
That’s one of the reasons I have far more shots of Joey. Brianna and Gaige just didn’t sit still long enough. And remember that bike ride we were planning? It didn’t happen. Not for Joey and I anyway. He woke up with a fever that had him feeling really crappy. Once he had medication in him, he felt much better, but as soon as the medication started to wear off he’d feel bad again. So he and I stayed at the cabin while Hubby and Amy took the older kids for a ride. Hubby took my point-and-shoot camera along, too, and did manage to capture a few good shots for me.
Amy, Gaige and Brianna all ready to ride.
After the ride Brianna and I had back in April, the kids were REALLY looking forward to this trip. Amy was, too. They aren’t able to get out riding much at home.
Gaige and Brianna taking a short break.Gaige riding his bike, happy as a clam.
Meanwhile, back at the cabin… with a fresh dose of medication in his system, Joey was ready to roll.
Biker JoeyKlondike following Joey.
After riding for a little while, we took a cookie break then Joey got to play in some water. That’s an activity Amy thought he’d enjoy. She was so right, as usual. He sat there for about an hour and a half, happy as could be, making soup. What kind of soup? When I asked him, he thought about it a bit, shrugged his shoulders and said, “Regular soup.”
A Great Day to Make "Soup" (aka water play!)
Soup making was quite a hit with Joey.Joey was only slightly frustrated with these pushy taste testers.
Soup making is messy business. I had to hang Joey’s shorts outside to dry while he napped.
Joey's shorts needed time to dry.
Speaking of naptime, look what showed up outside our kitchen window while Joey was sleeping and everyone else was still away.
Pileated Woodpecker
The Pileated Woodpecker, which is about as big as a Crow, is the largest woodpecker in almost all of North America.
Pileated Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpeckers are extremely skittish/bashful, so this is the first time I have ever gotten a decent shot of one after five years of our living in the woods.
After the bike ride, Gaige and Brianna were more than happy to take over the water play. Joey was back in the house. His fever kicked back in while he was napping, but Amy returned literally just as he was waking up and gave him some more medicine.
Kids are never too old to play with buckets full of water.
After they tired of that activity, they tossed the football around for a while.
Future quarterback.
I’m not saying this because Gaige is my grandson. I’m saying this because it’s a fact. Gaige, at age 6, throws the football amazingly well. See his fingers perfectly aligned on the stitches? You should see the spiral this kid lays on the ball. And he throws it in a very purposeful, practiced arc right to his target. I was quite impressed. Really. I have never seen a six-year-old throw a football with such precision.
I could barely throw a Nerf football at his age. Granted, the ball he was using isn’t full size, but it is definitely larger and harder to manage than a Nerf ball would have been.
I have no idea how well he catches because Brianna can’t throw a football very well at all and I was too busy cooking dinner at the time to play with him.
K and Belle sharing a bed.
By the end of the day, even the dogs were exhausted.
Meg resting after a LONG day.
Sunday was a long day, but we still managed to squeeze in a campfire. I don’t have any pictures of that, you’ll just have to trust me. As warm as it was, I didn’t really want a campfire, but the kids would have been so disappointed had we not had one. During Brianna’s last visit, there was a statewide burn ban on, so we couldn’t have a fire.
Time to hit the road.
By Monday afternoon, it was time for Amy and the kids to pack up and head back to civilization. It really was a great weekend. But it went by FAR too fast. Hubby and I are already looking forward to their next visit.
I actually have quite a few more pictures of Brianna that I took while she didn’t know I was watching. While Gaige and Joey were playing, she was dancing. It was hysterical. I’ll try to get those pics into a slideshow and posted tomorrow for your viewing pleasure. 🙂
I headed north to watch Brianna play lacrosse again last night.
Action Shot
Unlike the last game, when I went by myself to pick her up, Amy and the boys were there, too. Which was good and bad. Good because it’s always nice to see Amy and the boys, too. Bad because Amy and I alternated between chatting and watching Joey entertain himself with a unique tug of war game and THAT means I didn’t concentrate on taking pictures.
Celebrating a Teammate's Goal
So even though the light was better AND I had the better camera with me, I didn’t get many good Brianna LAX shots. I did get a few really cute Joey pictures, though.
This black and white image might be my favorite.
Pull, Joe. Pull!
He was having quite a good time.
There were quite a few giggles to be heard.
Are you wondering yet what he was pulling on?
It’s sort of like that scene from Where the Wild Things Are (the book!) where Max has something on the end of a rope, but you can’t see what it is.
I'm not sure who was more entertained, Joey, the dog, or Amy and me.
Gaige was there, too, but he had a bad day at school and was being punished. So, no pics of Gaige in this post.
That means I can only share pics of two out of three grandkids. I’ll try to capture some shots of Gaige next time.
I felt like such a clueless grandmother last night. A COLD and clueless granny. For more reasons than one.
Brianna at Her Lacrosse Game
That’s Brianna, my granddaughter, pictured on the left. She’s nine. So that her Mom, Amy, wouldn’t have to drag Gaige (six) and Joey (almost three) out past their bedtime, I volunteered to take Brianna to her lacrosse game.
I’ve never been to a lacrosse game. I may have watched bits and pieces of games on TV, but I never gave much thought to the rules.
Before I get too far into the story, I have to say it was cold and rainy at game time. In fact, because of the rain, despite leaving my house at almost 5:00 on the dot, I didn’t get to Amy’s house until about 6:15. By 6:20, I was back on the road with Brianna in the back seat. We didn’t get to the field until 6:45 for her 7:00 game.
It was still raining when we arrived, but not nearly as hard as it had been during my entire trek north. By game-time, it was barely misting. Soon enough, it stopped altogether.
But it was still cold. It was also almost dark, what with all of the lingering clouds and late hour. I only had my point-and-shoot camera with me because of the rain, which is why the quality of these pics is less-than-optimal.
Are you one of those people who think soccer (aka football) rules are confusing? Yes? Well, then you would have felt even more clueless than me.
I mean, I GET soccer. Soccer is not a sport one has to play to understand, but playing helps. Lacrosse, I’m convinced, is a sport one must play to understand. Even if I knew some of the rules, I wouldn’t attempt to explain them here because that would make for one LONG (and boring!) post.
Brianna (#47) Carrying the Ball
One thing for sure, I can tell Brianna enjoys lacrosse. She seems pretty good at it, too. I think.
After the game, she asked me, “Did I play well?”
“I don’t know,” I told her.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Well, I had no clue what was going on. I don’t know if you were doing what you were supposed to be doing, or playing where you were supposed to be playing, but you looked good when you were carrying the ball,” I explained.
And she carried it quite a few times.
Brianna Carrying Again
She either caught or scooped the ball up and ran all of the way down the field with the ball cradled in her stick.
It did look pretty good.
Look at Her Go!
Look at the determination and focus on that face.
Carrying Again
Even if I didn’t know what was going on, it was cool to watch.
She Was Just Fierce
And as I watched I couldn’t help but think not only of Brianna, but about her parents, too.
She’s got great parents.
Amy and TJ
There’s TJ, who spent a very large portion of his young life on various baseball fields and realizes the importance of sports. And there’s Amy, also athletically inclined, who is totally committed to making sure all of her kids get to take advantage of every opportunity, sporting or otherwise, available to them. Despite the fact — and this is HUGE — that TJ is away now and will be away for another 12+ months on his Army deployment. With three kids, it isn’t easy keeping up with all of that stuff and still maintaining some semblance of normalcy.
Hubby and I give Amy lots of credit for doing what she does and being such a great Mom. We give TJ lots of credit, too. But he doesn’t get mentioned here nearly as much as he should.
The man loves his family. He loves being a Dad. And he’s a very good husband to Amy.
TJ means the world to Amy and the kids. Living without him over the next year is going to be tough on them. But it will be tough on him, too. He’s not the kind of Dad that says, “Oh, man, I have to be a coach again?” He’s the kind that’s at the front of the line during sign-ups/registration saying, “I’ll be the coach.” And, “I’m going away, but I’ll do everything I can until the very last possible second before I deploy if it will help.”
Why am I bringing all that into this Clueless Granny post? There are two reasons.
One… when I was asking Brianna about her coaches on the way to the game last night, she told me all about Coach Willy. Yes, she likes him. Yes, he’s nice. Yes, he seems to know what he’s doing.
She went on to say, “There’s another coach, too. A really good one. But he can’t be here.” After a pause, she continued with, “His name is Coach TJ.”
She didn’t sound sad (she understands the deployment thing), she sounded resigned. And proud. Which brings me to reason number two…
I personally have not always given TJ the credit he deserves. I sing Amy’s praises here regularly. But TJ definitely deserves mention, too. He really is a great Dad. He doesn’t think he’s special, he just thinks he’s doing his job.
The Whole Family
TJ, this post is for you. I haven’t said here often enough, you are very special. You are a great Dad.
Hubby and I are both very proud of you, too. We could not have asked for a better father for our grandchildren.
And don’t worry, while you’re off doing your job, protecting our country, Hubby and I are two of many people who have totally got your back.
