Drive-In Party

Good Monday morning!

The Showcase Pic is a picture of Mikie and Roxie in all of their pre-tubing glory! Do you love Mike's lake shirt? I totally agree. But he would be incredibly easy to spot if he fell out of the boat, so I let him wear it.

The Gallery Pics are more of the same. Tons and tons of tubing photos. I even have enough to use in tomorrow's Gallery, too.

SPECIAL GUEST HINTS - She'll be here tomorrow, but I have two more little hints to help you out in the guessing department. (I'll be supplying the clues today. I didn't want you to think she was a "bragger," because she is not. She's extremely humble, but her gifts are many.

5. I grew up with her husband, and had no idea we went to the same church for several years. (We attended different services!)

6. She is a homemaker extraordinaire, and her attention to detail is amazing. As soon as you walk into her home, you feel her warmth.

Okay. One more day to guess. Give it your best shot!

REMINDER! REMINDER! REMINDER! - If you haven't already signed up for the "How To" Birthday Party Classes coming up (and you have children in this age category), what are you waiting for? We're going to have a lot of fun. On June 8, I'll be teaching the Boy Class (Pirate Party and Super Hero Party), and June 15 I'll be teaching the Girl Class (Luau Party and Make-Up Party). For more information, click on May 23 in my Archives on the left-hand side of A Simple Life.

TOPIC OF THE WEEK - HUMIDITY AND THE RAVEN CONCERT

You don't have to be a lifetime resident of the State of Alabama to know the true meaning of the word "humidity."

I'll give you the "dictionary" meaning first. "Moisture; dampness; a moderate degree of wetness, which is perceptible to the eye or touch; used especially of the atmosphere, or of anything which has absorbed moisture from the atmosphere, as clothing." This definition was written by a person who lives in one of the northern states, because the above does not come close to accurately describing Alabama "humidity."

I'll give you the Alabama version throughout this first of five "essays" on the subject.

A few years ago, my cousin, Amy, invited me and Roxie to attend the Raven concert at Alabama Adventure (our local version of Six Flags Over Georgia... small, but growing) with her and her daughter, Monica, and a few other friends. Raven was very popular at the time, and we were excited to receive the invite.

The concert was to be held in the evening, but Alabama Adventure has a water park, as well as rides, so we decided to make a day of it.

When we arrived, the gates were opening, and, of course, the girls wanted to hit the water rides. I could already tell it was going to be a scorcher because "a moderate degree of wetness" had already started making an appearance on my upper lip, elbow and knee creases and my hands began to swell. It was 10:00 a.m.

The water rides and the Lazy River helped alleviate some of the evidence of the humidity, but if you walked from one water area to the other, steam was starting to appear... rising from the concrete. Steam is not good. Not good, at all!

Around noon, the girls decided they were hungry, so we changed clothes and headed to the vans for a "picnic with the air conditioning running." I knew it was wasteful to sit in a car and run it for 30 minutes while people ate. But I also knew what we were about to encounter during the next five to six hours... and it wasn't "moisture or dampness." It was full-blown, buckets of sweat, not a dry thread on your body, bad hair HUMIDITY!

Because I am a Southern Belle through and through, I did have the foresight to pack TWO extra pair of shorts, bras, underwear and shirts, as well as deodorant and make-up.

There was nothing I could do about my hair. Humidity does one of three things to a Southern Belle's hair. (1) The hair goes completely flat and limp (as if to say "I surrender"); (2) the hair gets huge... bigger and scarier as the day goes on; or (3) the hair tries to go back into the scalp. In reality, it only looks like it is trying to go back into the scalp because it appears to be disappearing. It is just trying to survive the attack of Humidity by banding together which is described in the South as follows... "My hair is drawing up." I have the hair that "draws up."

As we re-entered the park, within seconds it was evident Humidity was going to win. Trickles of sweat ran down my back, my front and my hair "left me."

Waiting in line next to other people suffering from the effects of Humidity is even worse, because sooner or later you're going to smell someone who has a mildew"y" odor about them... and you cannot be sure if it is them or you. So you have to stand in line and wonder. After the ride, you can pretty much determine it was the other person and you move on, only to doubt yourself again two or three rides later when once again you catch a whiff of that mildew"y" odor. It's a vicious cycle, I tell you.

Around 2:00 p.m., I excused myself for 15 to 20 minutes and ran out of the park to the van. I turned the air conditioning on in the Big Gold Van, drew the shades (yes, it has shades) and reapplied deodorant, make-up and changed clothes... ALL of my clothes. I spoke encouragingly to my hair, but to no avail, and then made my way back into the park. Before I ever reached my group, I was once again completely soaked.

Uh-oh. Who knew I had so much to say about Humidity? Not me. You'll have to come back tomorrow for the rest of this amazingly interesting story!

Weekend Review - As the pictures above indicate, we did indeed get to go tubing after church Sunday. We drove to the river in rain with our friends, the Tuggles, ate a quick snack to hold us until the next storm and we headed to open water. We had a great time. We tubed and swam and tubed some more.

We came in to sit through another storm and eat a late lunch which was amazing. Ribs, chicken poppers, pasta salad, baked beans, coleslaw, banana pudding, lemon icebox pie... the list goes on and on.

The sun came through again, and we headed ten minutes away for skiing lessons for Josh and Roxie and some knee-boarding at a "quieter" place on the lake. We mastered knee-boarding (when I say "we," I mean the kiddos) and turned around to see the blackest black clouds ever known to man... parked over the place we NEEDED to be! We pulled everyone into the boats, and started to drive the boats into the midst of the storm. Thirty seconds into our travels, Michael (Tuggle Dad) spun his boat around and we headed back to the spot we had just left.

Thankfully, people who live on the lake are the MOST hospitable people in the world. Julie (Tuggle Mom) knew the people who lived near the place we had been knee-boarding, and as we approached their lake home, there were two or three men on the dock pulling our boats in and telling us to run up the stairs for shelter. Very, very kind people.

We sat on their screened-in porch with their family of ten or so until the storm passed, and it was safe to head home again. I love a little adventure on an otherwise ordinary day, don't you?

A little more knee-boarding, tubing, swimming and eating and it was time to head back to our nice, soft, DRY beds.

It wasn't our whole weekend, but it was definitely the best part.

Argo Drive-In Party

Whether you have a birthday coming up in the near future, or you just want a fun, easy get-together with friends and family, the Argo Drive-In is the place to go.

You will need to call the Drive-In on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning to find out what will be showing the following weekend (467-3434). Once they are showing a movie OR double feature which interests you, get on the phone and start inviting your "guests."

Usually, the cost is $10 per carload, but every now and then depending on the movie showing, they will charge $5 per adult and $2 per child (12 and under). It's still a bargain... especially when you take into consideration they do NOT mind if you bring your own food.

Pack a cooler of drinks, cook a crock-pot full of hot dogs and head up an hour early. (Earlier if it is the opening weekend for a blockbuster like Iron Man 2.) Once they allow the cars into the Drive-In, set up camp chairs and tailgate for awhile. There are usually empty spaces along the edge of the Drive-In the kids can throw a football or a Frisbee.

Be sure to take plenty of bug spray.

If this is something you've been talking about doing for a while, wait NO LONGER! This is the summer to experience the Drive-In... and have a party doing so.

NOTE - It's a great way to entertain a bunch of kids before a slumber party, especially if it is a double feature. They'll be tired enough to curl up in their sleeping bags as soon as you get them in the house!

Have a glorious Memorial Day Monday! I am sure we will all be remembering our men and women who serve (or have served) in the military and their families with a thankful heart. Such amazing sacrifice.

I will have the first of four wonderful homemade ice cream recipes tomorrow, and will continue to share them throughout the month of June. Our Special Guest arrives bright and early tomorrow morning. I will also finish my "Humidity and the Raven Concert" story. My goodness! Tuesday is going to be a busy day!

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

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Moderately Damp Belinda