A little this, a little that...

A couple more weeks/weekends have come and gone and the Ribclan has made a few more memories along the way. The weekend of July 20-22 began with some log rolling and lots of greasy street vendor foods...not too shabby! Needless to say, the kids enjoyed both. Saturday afternoon I headed down to LaX for Chandra's bachelorette party and I'm proud to report that I was able to keep up with all the fun ladies until bar time! Whew, it's been a while since I've been out that late, so I had reason to hope I could do it! We did lots of...hmmm...laughing,selling lollipops...ummm, and enjoying some refreshments. I had a great time celebrating with my sister-in-law, the future bride! And speaking of brides, I was one 12 years prior on Sunday the 22nd. To celebrate, our fave babysitter Ann came over and gave us a huge break out...8 hours! We almost didn't know what to do with ourselves, but it was really no problem to hang out at local restaurants, movie theaters and shopping areas (oh, yeah, the weather was a bit questionable that day!). The kids didn't even have a chance to miss us, as Ann & her boyfriend Kevin took them to the Zoo and out to dinner--they had SO much fun. They really love time with Ann, and now Kevin's an equally big hit to them.

The week in between was spent with "Grandma Honey" in mind. Her hip resurfacing surgery (aka similar to hip replacement for the younger generation) went really well and her recovery has been nothing short of amazing. Each day she walked a bit further, started doing steps and looked a bit perkier. Her determined spirit has been impressive and kept her progress moving forward. Since her hospital was near my work, I was able to visit her often. On Tuesday, the kids joined me for an evening visit...so little B could surprise her with his new "big boy" haircut. It's a riot of short, spiky hair and it gave Grandma a big grin. I had a surprise as we left the hospital when I ran into my awesome cousin Karla and her parents, the equally awesome Marlys & Wayne. Well, I turned around immediately and spent some time with them during their visit to my mom. (Yes, the kids were absolutely stir crazy and were making toys out of Grandma's walker and cane...yikes!)But, I loved seeing my family--they are such an important connection to my dad. Mom got out of the hospital on Thursday, so I spent time with her Thursday night getting her all set up for her time at home.

Last weekend began with a fantastic get together at a local playground & BK with my friend Jacqueline and her adorable (& very fun and funny) kids, Carly & Cole. Kdee and little B had a blast playing with them (well, Kdee and Carly especially...2 1/2 year olds don't really play together yet :-). Jac and I had moments where we were able to stand near each other to talk...and then the rest were shout outs across sand boxes, swinging bridges, over french fries--you get the picture. Someday, someday we can be "those" moms who can actually relax during playdates. Kdee announced at the end of the playdate that she wished Carly was her sister! Jac is a very good friend and it means a lot to get time with her during her busy schedule.

The rest of our weekend was pretty low-key, which was a welcome change of pace! I spent a good chunk of Saturday with my mom. It was kind of a treat to just hang out with her and I even got a short nap next to her! Wow! By Saturday, she was walking up two flights of stairs (much to my surprise when I turned around in her kitchen!)and was really showing good improvement. While I was there, ribB was a good sport and pretty much just played outside with the kids non-stop. Kdee did take a short nap that day (a rarity!) before her much anticipated overnight playdate with her good friend Ally. Since they don't see each other much during the summer, Kdee was counting down the days (and even hours!!) until their big get together.

With only one child at home (another rarity!!), ribB and I enjoyed some one-on-one time with little B and went out fishing at a local lake. Our trip out got a bit of an interruption, though, in the form of a trailer tire that was about to BLOW! So, ribB got us set up for boating time and he took the trailer to a local store to get a spare tire. Later, we picked up ribB and enjoyed a gorgeous night outside. With only one child to put to bed (which feels so weird!), we enjoyed a movie and some nice chilling out time later.

Our Sunday was spent with a lot of trailer/tire fixing, Church, retrieving a very tired Kdee (oh the joys of trying to stay up as late as possible!), waiting for a long-napping Kdee to wake up (she slept a record 3 1/2 hours!), being outdoors and later visiting mom & Paul. Very relaxing overall! There is something to be said for not over-scheduling yourself during the weekend.

On Monday, Kdee got her stitches out--yes!, but we were all disappointed that she can't do any big water sports (aka waterskiing) for a week. Our doc also said she should try to keep the incision site out of the sun for a full year, to help reduce the scarring. HA! I had to giggle when I heard that...I can appreciate the thought, but following through with a 7-year old on that one is pretty funny...

If you're looking for any inspired online reading lately, I've got a couple of great recommendations: 1) www.noahsteven.blogspot.com (I wrote about this family & their site in January, but the entries continue to be so amazing and inspring, especially in the face of what this family has been through...their Faith continues to move me!) and 2) www.restandbethankful.com

Pictures for your enjoyment: little B's new haircut (from a couple of angles :-), Kdee's stitches, bachelorette Chandra and friends enjoy a "Fishbowl"...you wouldn't believe how long it took many of us to finish that thing!

Have a great week everyone!