....Family

I spent the day with my brother and his family on Sunday. He's getting ready to rent his old house and I offered some help. His family got a little too big for it and they bought another house many years ago. It's been a while since I had been in it the previous tenants had lived there for years. There were marks on the inside of the closet of the boys at different heights and their ages. I remember when my mom used to mark our heights on the wall. It gave me some quality time with them. I helped my brother and Matt & Bryan with the house. Afterwards, watched "One Missed Call" with everyone and got to hold baby all through the movie which was nice. Its almost like holding a baby Bryan but no 18 month old Matt on the other shoulder:( Bryan's girlfriend came over so the house started to get full and noisy. It was kind of hard to follow. My brother said it must not be very good because he tried to watch it ten times and couldn't get into it. I got to drive Matt's new car (well new to him). Red used to be my favourite color when I was a kid. Its in the top 3 now. If you don't count different shades of green as more than one. Otherwise it'd be teal, sea green, emerald, lavender, then red. Its funny how our preference change like that. I think red was my favourite color as a kid because my brother said it was his and it just stuck. I still would've loved that car as kid. Did I tell you Matt was most like me of my nephews and nieces? He is.
Okay time for the trip down memory lane....
My brother and I did some reminiscing about growing up which we tend to do a lot of these days when we're together. Lexie likes to tell me how she wishes that we weren't poor whenever I tell her I can't afford to buy her something. The economy is hitting most people hard - that doesn't make us poor. I tell her that she doesn't know what poor is. We used to pick our own food out of the garden and eat the same thing everyday for a month because it was whatever was 'in season.' I think sometimes Lex doesn't appreciate how good she has it. She has a tv in her own room with cable. I would've loved THAT as a kid. Other people had cable. They were rich; WE were poor. My brother and I did have a tv in our room it didn't get any channels we could only play atari on it. And being 10 years younger I always got beat. At everything. Atari, cards, checkers, arm wrestling... it sucks being little. And when my brother let me win stuff it was so obvious he was letting me win it wasn't even fun. It also sucks sharing a two-bedroom house and one bathroom with four other people & only one television (that only got 3 channels and 2 of those not very clear) . But I think it made me appreciate things more. Sharing a small house with them made me closer to the two people I loved most. These days I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
The tiny house with five people.... (approximately 1982.. lest you think it was longer ago than that because of the truck)

May Day Vs Field Day

Today was Field Day at Lexie's school. We didn't have Field Day when I was a kid - we had May Day. And apparently that is different. I always thought they were the same thing - they just changed what they called it??? I don't know.
So this morning I'm driving her into school. At the rink at 6am. At the store getting snacks for Field Day - and I have to have her at before school by 7:45 and me at work at 8:30... I was incredibly pressed for time. So during all that driving we're chatting away discussing which is better Field Day or May Day.
So as Lexie says "In the last century when you were in school" - as if the 80's were 100 years ago we had May Day. May Day starting with walking around a May Pole wrapping ribbons around it. And consisted of fun events we could sign up for - like 100 yard dash, broad jump, potato sack races, and hula hoop contests. And we got ribbons for the places that we got.
And Field Day they play outside, throw water balloons, and have centers. I said that doesn't sound like much fun. Lexie said May Day doesn't sound like much fun. It sounds like P.E. Nobody this century would think that is fun. I'm glad we have Field Day now instead of May Day. I told her I don't think I'd like her Field Day. Even as a kid I don't think I would've liked being hit by a water balloon - SO NOT my idea of fun. And this is how I tie this into skating. I asked her how she likes it when she does a skating competition and doesn't get a medal. I was equating that to not getting a ribbon at May Day. Lexie said, "I think you should just be happy you got to do the event and have fun doing it and not worry about having something to show for it." What a great answer. But I also know how much she cried and was so very upset those few times she didn't get a medal at a skating competition. Its not much fun.
So weigh in - what do you think? Field Day vs May Day? Is it a this century vs last century *cough cough*? Or is it where you live? What'd you do as a kid? Which do you think you'd like better?

On another note, Lexie got her yearbook yesterday. Melanie was pictured along with her classmates. And a beautiful "In memory of..." at the end of the yearbook. With this year drawing to a close its hard to not think of Melanie. Missing her Field Day today. Not going to third grade. And hard to not think of what those kids went through losing her. Next year, those kids will be in different classes some will probably be at different schools. The world moves on. Everything changes. Nothing lasts forever.

Spending some time with the family

I had a really great time spending the day with my family yesterday. I went to one of my cousin's weddings. My favorite cousin Jessie was matron-of-honor. We were really close when we were little kids up through high school but now mostly communicate through email. It was nice getting to see her. She looked absolutely gorgeous as matron-of-honor. After the wedding we headed over to my brother's house. They didn't go to the wedding. My sil, well she just had a baby so didn't exactly feel up to it. And I don't think my brother's too big on going to stuff like that without her. My brother cooked dinner for us. And the best part (well second best part) my brother sang three songs to me (us) and played his guitar. The thing I miss most not living with my brother anymore (its been 22 years) is being an audience to his singing on a daily basis. Now of course the best part was getting to hold my little nephew. I kind of hogged holding him most of the time I was there. Some of my brother's friends stopped by to see the baby and he took him from me to show him off. But I got him back. I forgot how heavy babies are. Its weird how you can workout and curl dumbbells that weigh three or four times a baby's weight yet they try the muscles when you're holding one for a couple of hours. Sorry I have no pictures. My flaky camera is currently not working. And my brother has one of those old-fashioned cameras that use film. Lexie spent most of the evening playing with her cousin Kellie. Hopefully my next visit I'll get some photos to share.

Guess what? I'm an Aunt!!!! Again.

My sil gave birth to my nephew today. 7 pounds and something. I'm hoping to get some pictures up this weekend. I really can't go see him before then. I have to work and my daughter has school. And my car is still in the shop. I'm driving my mom's old car and it gets around but I'm not driving it anymore than I absolutely have to.
Anyway about my nephew, my sil was intending to name him Ronald Ethan. Most people in my family go by their middle names and another large percent go by initials so they weren't intending to call the baby Ronald but I still don't like it. My sil's dad died several years ago. His name was Ronald Bryan Matthews. Watch someone google him and tell my sil how much I hate her kids names. I don't. I just don't like Ronald. And Matt's first name is Joseph (after my dad) and Matt is short for Matthews. Bryan actually goes by his first name. So why does boy #3 have to be named after him too? So today while my wonderful and beautiful sister-in-law was busy giving birth. I was busy complaining about this horrible Hancock she was planning to stick on my poor nephew. My co-worker asked me what I like. If it was up to me to name him. I said my daughter's friend that died's brother's name is Lucas Carter which I really like a lot. I wouldn't mind a nephew named Carter. You know if it was up to me. I like Carter. I like "Lucas Carter" together. And then she asked me how Melanie died. There was somebody I missed telling. The words 'my daughter's friend that died' poured out my mouth without my being upset by the tragedy. And funny I can type this recollection without bursting into tears. But the sudden image that popped into my head of this tiny little girl with long blond hair being pulled and drug to death underneath a horse brought me to tears.

My nephew is "Nolan Spencer" I like it. I do. Much better than Ronald.

Working Out

Still no baby to report on. And its about 6 weeks until state games. Lex will be doing the same program she did for the Classic for state games. She's only competing in Freestyle for this next competition. So I figured I'd do a post on my goals. You may or may not know that our rink is being overhauled (you can see fiberglass in my latest video). We are hoping they'll have the rink renovations done soon (summer or fall). So there should be a Nutcracker on Ice this year. 2007's Nutcracker on Ice was canceled because of the renovations. And Lexie's skated in every Nutcracker on Ice since she started skating in 2003. And I've skated in every one since 2005 (the year of Lexie's first solo). Anywho, I am really excited about the rink opening back up and getting to perform Nutcracker on Ice this year. Some people think Nutcracker on Ice may be a thing of the past because the seating won't be big enough after the renovations. I really hope not. On my agenda is to get back into taking skating lessons again this summer. Maybe I can learn to skate dutch waltz and cha cha over summer. But for the time being I've been getting in shape. Over the last month or two I've been running several times a week. I ran 25 minutes today... walked 10 minutes... and jumped rope 5. And two weeks ago I started lifting weights again. I had quit lifting because I wasn't doing it consistent enough to progress any and decided to spend my time running instead. For two whole weeks I've been making the time for both running and lifting weights. I get to feel every little fiber of muscle ache. In another month or so I should be able to stand some skating lessons without getting so tired I want to quit. Its a lot more tiring when you are working on something than just skating laps around the rink. Maybe by then I'll have had some time to recover from my recent financial setbacks.

Waiting to be an aunt.....

I've been hit repeatedly over the head with the bad-luck wand the past couple of weeks. Since I hate seeing myself as a whiner I'll spare you all the details. And focus on some good news - because any day now I'm going to be an aunt. While I flail around a lot at the whole parenting thing and have absolutely no idea what I'm doing most of the time I've always thought I was a really great aunt. I have had a lot more practice. So in my toast my becoming an aunt again any day now here's an old photo of a young, loving "Aunt Renne" with my other brother's son Curtis. See I told you I had a lot of practice... and you thought I'd only been doing the aunt thing for nineteen years.



Also... when I was looking through some old photos I found a couple of my daughter teaching my now 19-year-old nephew Matt how to skate a few years ago. This is how to do backwards swizzles. I thought it was adorable - though the quality of the photos weren't so good.

Classic 2008

The video is a little small so it might be hard to see. She skated extremely well. She landed all her jumps and did well on the spins. I'm linking through youtube so hopefully you can click on it and make it bigger and see the lutz and camel at the end. It really was a great program I wish I could've zoomed in a little more.