Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Disapproving Faces Not Everybody Will Like You

It is not necessarily a pleasant experience, but there will be times in our lives when we come across people who do not like us. As we know, like attracts like, so usually when they don’t like us it is because they are not like us. Rather than taking it personally, we can let them be who they are, accepting that each of us is allowed to have different perspectives and opinions. When we give others that freedom, we claim it for ourselves as well, releasing ourselves from the need for their approval so we can devote our energy toward more rewarding pursuits. While approval from others is a nice feeling, when we come to depend on it we may lose our way on our own path. There are those who will not like us no matter what we do, but that doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with us. Each of us has our own filters built from our experiences over time. They may see in us something that is merely a projection of their understanding, but we have no control over the interpretations of others. The best we can do is to hope that the role we play in the script of their lives is helpful to them, and follow our own inner guidance with integrity. As we reap the benefits of walking our perfect paths, we grow to appreciate the feeling of fully being ourselves. The need to have everyone like us will be replaced by the exhilaration of discovering that we are attracting like-minded individuals into our lives—people who like us because they understand and appreciate the truth of who we are. We free ourselves from trying to twist into shapes that will fit the spaces provided by others’ limited understanding and gain a new sense of freedom, allowing us to expand into becoming exactly who we’re meant to be. And in doing what we know to be right for us, we show others that they can do it too. Cocreating our lives with the universe and its energy of pure potential, we transcend limitations and empower ourselves to shine our unique light, fully and freely.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Paseo Verde Park


Logan was stung by a bee (top part of his ear) for the first time, all he knew was PAIN! He was swating at his head, screaming, doing the crazy man dance. The good news is that he's NOT allergic!
Logan and Sean met at the gym they really get along well. He's a cute little fellow.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

More beach memories





There was an old abandoned golf course which provided great pre-dinner entertainment. We discovered some beautiful flowers and it turned out to be a great spot for bird watching. Also, there was a curious water snake that followed us poking his head up every now and again to check us out. The kids thought it was great, my mom wasn't amused. Fortunately, we noticed the "no trespassing sign" after our walk.

Beach Adventures

All my boys love action, they will go until the fumes run out.
This trip we did not insist on naps and here is the result! He played so hard he would practically collapse here Logan was draped over the ottoman with his legs buckling every 10 seconds or so, it was hysterical.
Larry and Logan managed to find some Cherrystone Clams. They dug these up from the mud.
Here we are searching for ghost crabs, they can run forward, backwards and left or right. Although you’d think they might be scavengers, since most other crabs are, ghost crabs prefer their food alive. They hunt small animals like coquina clams, sea turtle hatchlings, and mole crabs. It may seem odd that one type of crab would feed on another type, but mole crabs are not actually crabs at all. They are another form of crustacean, like lobsters and shrimp, and can be easily picked from the sand beneath receding waves—where they bury themselves to safely eat the microscopic plankton the waves bring in—and held in the palm of your hand. They don’t have pinchers and resemble large beetles, ranging in size from half-an-inch to two inches, so they are perfect for throwing at friends reading books in the dry sand. If you don’t pay attention, though, they’ll scurry right off your hand and burrow themselves back into the sand. Damn, they run fast. (I found this information in one of the books at the beach house)
I think this evening crab hunt will become a tradition, the kids loved it and it was a great bonding/memory building time.
We found our 8 legged friend!

Broad Creek Fishing and Shrimping Trip

There were so many seagulls following our boat, I swear I heard them say "mine, mine, mine"...
Spencer did great, Sedona was definitely missing her afternoon nap and she let everyone know!
A moment of Peace - finally.

The Second part of the fishing trip lasted from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm, the babies did well on the boat as far as not losing their lunch. My mom, Alicia and Larry were all sea sick. Betty, Logan and Larry were on the boat all day - what troopers!

Broad Creek Fishing & Shrimping Trip

Bright and Early Monday morning Larry scheduled a Family Fishing Trip. Betty, Hope, Harry, Alicia, Logan and Larry were out of the house by 5:00am to meet Capt. Lonnie Miller and his Mate Jessica (daughter). In total Larry and Harry caught 90 pounds of Amber Jack! Delicious fish. They were quite big, 20 pounds or so...Larry didn't get any pictures on my camera so I'm hoping Harry got some shots with his, they were impressive fish.

Here is Logan inspecting a very small fish caught during the shrimping portion of the trip.
Here's a shot of one of the shrimp we captured in the net. We only caught about 4 pounds of shrimp.
Logan was captivated with the blue crabs. He loved watching them walk around. Jessica showed him how to put the crab to sleep by rubbing it's belly. Not for too long of coure, otherwise they die from being on their backs too long.
Once the net is emptied, we had to sort through grass, fish, squid, crabs and who knows what else, to get the shrimp. You could use your hands if you wanted to, I opted to use tongs...

Here are Lonnie and Jessica pulling up the net. They were Terrific guides, great with the kids and just really down to earth!

Friday, July 18, 2008

The Beach






Jamestown Settlement





Jamestown Settlement






Jamestown, Virginia

Here we are inside the Powhatan Indian dwellings there were so many furs: raccoon, badger, beaver, fox, bear, deer, wolf and more...
Behind Alicia is the hide of a wolf.
A rare pose of just "me", ahh...so soft.
Those Indians sure knew how to create a warm and comfortable bed. I'd take this over a sleeping bag ANY day!

We arrived in Richmond, VA on July 3. The next morning, after meeting up with Betty, Alicia and Harry, we drove to Williamsburg, VA. Our first stop was the settlement in Jamestown. Larry and I had been here before (pre-Kids) and we thought that there was enough there to keep the kids engaged. They did pretty well considering the time change and the jet lag. Harry and Larry were kind enough to carry Spencer and Sedona in the backpack carriers. Once it began to rain buckets, the grandmas were ready to go, it was kinda muddy so it's probably a good thing.
The game plan was to go to Yorktown in the evening to view the fireworks for the 4th of July. There was a storm system moving through so most of the shows around us were cancelled.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Last day at the Outer Banks

The above picture was our trip last year in 2007 we went with our dear friends Phil, Julia & Siena Hoshue.
This year we invited Harry. Harry flew into Maryland to drive grandma Betty and our neice Alicia to North Carolina, I've never seen the usually serious Harry let loose and have such a great time.
This is the deck that you would see from the living room.

We've been going to the town of Frisco in Outer Banks annually since the Summer of 2003. Thus far, it is our favorite spot for vacationing. The water is warm, fairly mellow, the sand is soft, the beaches are uncrowded and you can walk for miles, the fishing is incredible, the people are friendly, and the rental homes are beautiful, well furnished and family friendly (we try to stay ocean front). It's GORGEOUS!