Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Good Thursday morning!

And a wonderful Thursday morning it is, too. Josh is working out for football. Roxie is working at VBS. Austin is playing basketball with buddies this morning. I have the house to myself for maybe 30 minutes before someone calls and asks me to pick them up. Life is good. Oh, yeah. And we played Rummikub last night for National Game Night. I haven't heard from any authorities, so I'm assuming it was okay for me to declare June 10 of each and every year (beginning with 2009) as National Game Night. You didn't hear anything, did you? Give me a head's up if you see my picture hanging in the Post Office.

NEWSFLASH

Austin and Mikie are going to.... (DRUM ROLL, PLEASE!) Washington, D.C. Finally! Now, I can get busy. No, no. Not packing. STICKER BUYING! (Jared. You're not off the list yet. I'm taking your case under advisement!)

Could the pictures in the Gallery be more random? That let's you know we're having a very random week. I put the magnolia blossom in the Gallery because it reminded me of a funny story from my single days at Shades Mountain. We went to a party at a friend's house one night. It was beautifully decorated, there were candles everywhere, and the food was delicious (excellent presentation). There was only one problem. There were magnolia blossoms floating in the apartment bathtub (which were beautiful), but there was also one floating in the one and only toilet. Tell me you can see wherein the problem lies... or floats. Who was going to be the person who removed the floating magnolia from the perfectly decorated bathroom? You guessed it! It was Mikie. And while the hostess was less than pleased (she had a bladder the size of Texas), the rest of us were most thankful.

As far as my newest Copper pic goes, he is just a crazy, happy dog. I really think he was laughing. "The lady master came out and took pictures of the magnolia tree! She is JUST hilarious!" Everyone needs someone (or something) in their life that gives them this much joy (with so little effort), don't you think?

Weekend Family Fun

Please note everything under Weekend Family Fun isn't just on the weekends. But during the summer, isn't every day like a Saturday or Sunday?

Argo Drive-In - The Drive-In is open seven days a week now. Monday through Thursday of this week they are showing UP around 8:10 each night. It is $10 a carload except for Wednesday night (which is $5). Friday and Saturday are double feature nights. UP and Hannah Montana will be showing those nights for $10 a carload. As always, call before you leave to make sure nothing has changed. The phone number is 467-3434.

Dollar Movies - The movies worth seeing at the Dollar Movie in Hoover are (in my humble opinion) Race to Witch Mountain and Mall Cop. Can you believe Mall Cop is still at the Dollar Theater? It's been about a year now, hasn't it? But if you're the only person in the universe who hasn't seen it yet, you better hurry. (Who am I kidding? It will probably still be showing next June!)

Eat Free on Wednesdays (Arby's) - This is a great deal for the family to go out to eat TOGETHER. On Wednesdays, Arby's has a menu item free with the purchase of any size soft drink. Every Wednesday it is a different menu item. You can call your local Arby's or drive by and check the picture on the door to see what is free any particular Wednesday.

Eat Free on Thursdays (Chick-Fil-A) - Another great deal! Not to be outdone by Arby's, Chick-Fil-A is offering a free entree from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday nights. Tonight it is the 8-piece nugget entree. Again, you can call your local Chick-Fil-A or just drive by to see what item will be free next Thursday. (Instead of having pizza at the pool tonight, we're having Chick-Fil-A nuggets... FOR FREE!)

DON'T FORGET - Sign up for free bowling (www.kidsbowlfree.com) and watch free movies in Trussville and at the Rave Theaters during the week. Check their respective websites for info.

Childhood Memories - Part 4

I have two memories to share today... My Daddy had an old Army truck painted light blue. The back of the truck had two benches along the sides, and it was uncovered. On Sunday afternoons, we would get a family or two, load into the back of the truck and head for the woods. Much of our time was spent "off-road" riding and it was not unusual for Daddy to yell, "Everybody out!" We would then watch, holding our breath, as he negotiated the truck over rocks, small trees and through deep ditches... often at gravity-defying angles. Many times the truck was totally sideways or standing straight up as it climbed a mountain. As soon as the truck made it through a difficult area, we would do our best to hike to the truck (very, very hard hiking), climb back in and begin the adventure again. We always made it back in time to bathe, put medicine on our cuts and scrapes and be ready for Sunday night service... ALWAYS!

My second childhood memory for today has to do with roller skating. Our church would go roller skating at a rink in Springville. It was a very old rink. The skating was supposed to be for the kids, but my Dad, Mr. Nabers, Mr. Smothers and Mr. Isom (all family friends) would get out on the floor and eventually they would start ramming each other into walls and slinging one another over the rails. (For those of you in the over-40 crowd, think Roller Derby!) They thought this was hilarious. The manager of the rink did not. She would tell them to get off the floor (basically a time-out), but she always gave in before the evening was over, letting them skate again. And within moments after being given a second chance, they were back to their old tricks. I was pretty good on roller skates. The only reason being survival. You couldn't be a slow or bad skater and be around those guys for any length of time and live to tell about it.

I sound like I was a really tough, outdoorsy-type tomboy, don't I? It's funny how you can portray yourself when you write your own blog.

In actuality, I was a bookworm. I loved crafts. I loved embroidery and making potholders and knitting. While I played kickball, baseball and football with the neighborhood kids, I wasn't very gifted at any of those things. I rode my bike everywhere. I did roller skate. I could climb a tree, but it wasn't something I enjoyed a great deal, so unless there was something in the tree I really, really wanted (which there wasn't), you rarely saw me in said tree. I loved speed and would ride any ride at any amusement park any time. I loved the pool and swimming. I played in the ocean and was fearless (until I saw Jaws). I caught lightning bugs, frogs, and put worms on my own hook (if I couldn't talk someone else into doing it for me).

All in all, I was (and am to this very day) an enigma. Or as I accidentally said to someone I worked with many years ago, "I am an enema."

Tomorrow I will share one last childhood memory for the week. It's a good one, too (even if I say so myself).

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

That's right. Grab your kid of choice and head to a Barons home game. The tickets are around $10, and they have free fireworks at the end of the game. Really, really good fireworks, I might add.

I'm not really a baseball-loving gal, but I have ALWAYS enjoyed going to the Baron's games. There is so much going on. They have the games for the kids to play in between innings (Dizzy Bat Contest, etc.), someone or some "thing" (the mascot) is always throwing peanuts or T-shirts at you, the food is good (nothing beats a ball park hot dog in my opinion), and win or lose, it is just a lot of fun.

As I said before, baseball isn't my favorite spectator sport, but the Barons make it a great evening, so if I were you, I would definitely take a son or a daughter on this date.

NOTE: If you are worried about them losing interest halfway through, take them to the game a little later so you can enjoy the fireworks display at the end. All good dates should end with a fireworks show!

Have a great Thursday. Come back tomorrow for a summer reading suggestion. I'll also have my Jon & Kate TV Review, small as it is.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.