Louies New House

My dad made this cat condo for his "baby" Minnie, but she seems to have outgrown it. He brought it over for my cats. Louie loved his new house!!

Mothers Day and My Cousin Belinda

Yesterday was Mother's Day. It started off with a 8am phone call from my Mom telling me my cousin, Belinda 44, had died that morning around 6am. She had been in a nursing home for a year or more (don't recall just how long it was) with MS. Late last week, she had developed Pneumonia and it had been touch and go all weekend. Its funny how you can sense things, but I knew before I even saw who was calling that it was my Mom and what the phone call was about.

Chris and Harrison were camping with the boy scouts, so it was just Maia and me curled up in my bed snoozing away. I have to say, that while I will miss her, I have not known my cousin in a long time. I grew up pretty close to her. She and her sister lived two houses down from us all our young lives. Their Mom, my Mom's sister, passed away from breast cancer when she was 40 years old. The daughters were just teenagers then. (It seemed fitting that Belinda went to be with her Mom on Mothers Day. ) Belinda coached several local swim teams as a young adult and introduced me to my first boyfriend when I was 14. I remember a lot of fun times with her as a child and teenager.

Then she met Dale. First class loser that he is. Belinda has a son, Ryan from a previous relationship. He now has young kids of his own. Dale's presence in their lives just totally turned things upside down. They had three kids, who are now young teenagers. He was a drunk, unemployed and pretty much a worthless freeloader who took my cousins life and basically destroyed it. Destroyed the relationship Belinda had with Ryan and those around her as well. I could write a book with things I know of their life together. Long story short, he abused her and the children, both verbally and mentally. Not sure about the physical part.

After Belinda became bedridden from the MS, the kids were removed on several occasions by Social Services. Dale is not fit to be a parent. I must say, they did better in the system than they were doing at home. After she was placed in the nursing home, he was able to clean up his act enough to fool the Social Workers and get the kids back for a short time, but a few weeks ago he disappeared with them for a couple of weeks. They were not in school at this time. He broke all sorts of laws when he took them. The kids are now back in the system. The were notified by the social worker that their Mother had died. My heart broke for them. Family members cannot contact them at this time. They were alone, with strangers, when they were told the news. I just cannot imagine. Dale will not be told that his "wife" has died. He will read it in the paper along with the rest of Lynchburg. He is not worthy of being told. We are hoping a protective order will be in place to prevent him from attending the funeral. What a mess.

I was able to have a good Mother's Day, despite all of this. I felt for my Mom and Grandmother, as well as Belinda's immediate family. My heart aches for her children, who have suffered so much in their short lives. I hope that they will be able to go forward from this and grow into productive, strong adults. I hope they learn from what they saw as children and take that with them into their adult lives to make a better life for themselves and their families to be. It made me thankful for my husband and children. They are not perfect but they love me and I love them. We work through our troubles and are committed to being a family no matter what. I hope that my cousin had a wonderful first Mother's Day in Heaven with her Mommy. I hope all of you reading this also had a wonderful Mother's Day.

Is That a Muscle I Feel??

Today, we had Harrison's official party at FunQuest with all his buddies from church and school. They got to roller skate and play in the jungle gym area from 1-4. They should all be good and tired tonight! We had pizza, drinks, and cake and opened some gifts, but the real fun was in the skating. Harrison had only been one other time before today, and he did great! Maia did pretty good too, but not as confident on skates as Harrison was. Chris and I also skated. Chris opted for the inline skates, but I prefer to be on 4 wheels. Especially since it has been a while since I skated myself.

Back in the day, my friend Debbie and I were the roller queens. I must say, it is kinda like riding a bike in that you never forget once you learn. The only problem is, this body is much older and heavier than it was in my early years. When I first started I was thinking there was no way I was gonna venture onto the rink where the wood is shiny and slick. I could hardly hold my balance. BUT, the carpet was grabbing the wheels and making it VERY VERY hard to skate without looking like an uncoordinated cow on wheels. Once I got to the rink, it was smooth sailing, er, skating! After about 1 trip around, I was feeling muscles I didn't know existed! Oh, the strain on your shins and especially, for me, my hips. It seemed to ease the more I skated around. I was quickly testing out my "moves" by turning around backward while moving to skate with Harrison and take his photo. Pretty impressive!!! LOL. Just glad I didn't bite it with the camera. I think I skated for several hours all together. I am totally anticipating not being able to move a single part of my body tomorrow.

The birthday boy, just getting started good.

Granddad and Chris help Maia skate.

A rare shot of Chris and I together in one photo! Thanks Tim!!

Maia and her buddy Ryan cling to the wall for dear life.

The three Toler Men, Harrison, Tim aka Uncle Tim, and Chris.

Harrison doing the limbo. He did pretty good!!

How low can you go?? Harrison was quite impressive...

Chris kept saying how long Maia's legs looked in these bell bottom jeans...

Ryan and Harrison's attempt at being serious for a photo.

This is what we got when we asked them to be silly.

On a side note... After uploading these photos, I must say I am NOT impressed at the quality of them considering I was using my brand new $250 camera. I exchanged it tonight for the same camera because I think it is defective. I hope it works better now. My friend has the same camera and hers works great! Leave it to me to get the bum camera!!

The Slackers Week Old Post of Family Fun and Things

Last Saturday my Mother in Law's church, Calvery Baptist, in Concord, had their fall festival. It was an all day affair. The kids had spent the night with her so that I could attend a women's fellowship night at my church on Friday night. I ended up bagging that for a dinner out ALONE with my Chris. You know, I wanted to go, but when it started to feel more like something I had to do rather than something I really wanted to do, I knew it was best to skip it and hang with the hubby.

Saturday we headed on down to Concord (about a 20 minute drive) to have some fun. The weather was great. Chris had taken some of the ramps and such from the skatepark for the kids to skate on at the festival and he went along to help out with that. The kids LOVED the Balloon Dart game and the dunking tank. They could win tokens to be traded in for prizes. There were tons of games set up, great food, music, door prizes, mini ponies, and the cutest alpacas ever. I want one. They are so gentle and sweet to look at. Harrison won 350 PIXIE STICKS. Yep, 350 tubes of PURE SUGAR. How? You had to guess the number of pixie sticks in the jar. There were a bunch of different items to guess on, so WHY I chose to submit a guess for SUGAR I have no idea. He was in seventh heaven. I've been in hell ever since. Maia "spent" all her tokens on three blow up rainbow colored unicorns. She drug those things around for a week afterward. Harrison got a blow up dinosaur and a lot of small items. He went for quantity, she, for quality. That's my girl!

They had a very small (as in three kids) teddy bear parade around the parking lot. Our friends little boy, Haisten, was too cute with his John Deere wagon full of bears.

Enough of my rambling. Here are some photos from the day. I will try to not be such a slacker from now on. I just don't have that much to write about lately, and you REALLY don't want me to get started on the bailout situation. I will only say this... Follow this link. It says all I want to say much better than I could actually say it.

The kids weren't really expecting me and when I got there I caught this photo of Maia seeing me. How cute is that? Excited to see her momma.

The poor guy in the tank didn't stand a chance with Harrison throwing the ball!

Maia and Cousin Christy, who was visiting from Richmond, with her Dad for the weekend.

Harrison and McGruff the Crime Fighting Dog. Nice shoes McGruff.

Maia was so proud of her kitty cat that she didn't want to wash it off that night.

He just looks too happy here. Simple things...

Ready to start the Parade. Maia WAS NOT into it at all. Can you tell??

Haisten Lynn on his John Deere. Too cute!

Uncle Ed, from Richmond, stirring the brunswick stew.

Having a staring contest with Harrison. Actually, if you leaned into them, they would kiss you. (Karen, how do you spell staring?)

The alpacas from Fishwood Farm in Concord.

Every Mother's worst nightmare. (For those of you wondering, the Pixie Sticks have been hidden and will be rationed, then will suddenly disappear at Halloween. If you don't like them, don't come to my house!)

Maia and her Unicorns. She worked HARD to earn enough tokens to get all three.

Hayride! Aunt Kathy, Harrison, Judy aka Grammie, and Maia

Busy Weekend in the Toler House

We had a busy couple of days this past weekend. Friday evening, after all the gas craziness in town died down, the kids and I grabbed a bite to eat and headed over to my mom's house to hang out. I desperately need a change in scenery by the end of the day on Friday's, and I didn't really feel like dragging the kids out in public and dealing with the meltdowns that have been occurring quite frequently when I do attempt it. So, to Grandma's house we went. Dinner in tow. I found some quite time on her computer, which blows mine out of the water even though I have DSL. My computer is a virtual dinosaur as computer's go. It is pushing 8 years old! YIKES!! That's REAL OLD for a computer. Can't afford a new one, so I make do. We hung out there for a little bit. My kids love to watch all her old movies that she has had since my 21 year old brother was a kid. They chose "The Indian in the Cupboard" this particular evening.

Saturday was Day in the Park, part of September's Kaleidoscope in Lynchburg. Basically, a bunch of local businesses and vendors set up food, games, rides for the kids, a petting zoo and pony rides as well as a variety of live entertainment in the local park. All free, except for the food of course. The kids love it and it is something to do that can be free if you eat before you go and can resist the temptation of fresh cooked funnel cakes. I didn't take money. The kids loved the pony rides and watching a karate exhibition and had fun jumping on the moon walks and such. Chris and I enjoyed watching our church's (Fairview Christian Church) Praise and Worship band, 24/7, perform for a while until the kids started to get bored. Then it got cut short. Oh well. It was REALLY Hot anyway.

Chris, Harrison and Maia relaxing in the shade, watching 24/7 perform.

Most awesome Praise and Worship Band, 24/7

Sunday we headed to church. Chris and I had to keep the nursery. The kids had to finish their crafts they had been working on for a local nursing home. Today was the day we were going to visit and deliver the goodies. After worship, the lovely ladies in charge fixed all the kids a hot dog lunch and we all headed over to the Odd Fellows Home (or Oddville as Maia refered to it in all her innocence) for a visit. The kids had made cute little flower arrangements, cards, and painted boxes, and also had teddy bears and candy to pass out to the residents. They had also worked hard on learning some new songs to sing for them. I forgot my camera, and I could just kick myself! They were so cute! I am going to try hard to obtain some photos that were taken during the visit. They were so excited to visit and pass out their treasures. They brought lots of smiles to faces during their visit and I know they were much appreciated. You could just see it in the eyes of the people they went to see. It was a fun day for everyone.

From the Shore to the Mountains...

...in one week! Wow! My kids and I have done quite a bit. First the beach (see older posts). This past weekend, my kids and myself headed to Mount Rogers to camp for the weekend with my Mom and Dad at Beartree Camp Ground. Let me tell you, this is some beautiful country! Do I sound like a hick?? It is located off I-81 at the Abingdon, VA exit. You pass thru the quaint little town of Damascus, VA which thrives in part due to the Va. Creeper Trail, that passes right thru this cute little town. (Have you guessed that I like the Hyperlink option?? I REALLY REALLY like it!) My hubby was working the skate park all weekend, so I decided to drive the three hours to the campground with kids in tow and expose them to a little nature. We arrived around 9:30pm Friday night and stayed until 10am Sunday morning. While we were there we visited Green Cove Station, the lake at the campground for a little mountain lake swimming, the playground for some tire swing and fire pole action (my Dad decided it would be a good idea to spin me around on the tire swing, yeah, maybe not. I almost puked!), and the kids took a short hike with my Dad while Grandma and Mom got some much needed R&R. They loved the hike, and my four legged brother, Spike, managed to find his way to a mud hole where he decided to take a dip. He didn't like the bath that came after the fact.

Saturday night, the kids had a ball roasting marshmellows and making their first S'mores. I got great pleasure just watching my kids revel in things I use to do on a regular basis as a child. I remember playing with my older brother on our family camping trips in the same mountains. Our favorite was taking matchbox/hotwheels cars and making roads, bridges, and such complete with stick guardrails around the campsite. Harrison found pleasure in the same. So much so that he didn't want to leave on Sunday when it was time for us to go. He ended up staying with my Mom and Dad and coming home with them on Monday. Maia and I headed back down the mountain and to Roanoke (and 100 degree heat) for a little girl time shopping and using our Gymbucks on some new digs for school. Quite a fun weekend for all!!

Surfside Myrtle Beach

Harrison and Maia's Sandcastle

*** Warning: Lots and Lots of Photos of Cute Kids***

I have been a slacker on this blog lately. Ahhh, summer. Lazy days and lazier nights. We got back from the beach a week ago tomorrow. What fun. The kids had a blast and we got some good quality family time in around the area. We went to the "strip" as mentioned in my previous post. Kids played some skeet ball in the arcade and walked on the beach. Thanks to my hubby's Aunt Pat who works at the Crown Reef Resort, we were able to get super deep discount tickets for the four of us to go to The Dixie Stampede one night. We had front row seats and Harrison got to participate in the chicken races that they do for the kids. He had a ball and even got a medal and a book for taking part in the fun. Maia was suppose to join him, but backed out at the last minute. If you have never been, it was well worth it. The show was fantastic and the food wasn't bad either.

Inside Dixie Stampede. Mom, of course, rarely gets in a photo since I am ALWAYS behind the camera. If it wasn't for me, we would have no photos.

Inside the Gay Dolphin Gift Shop

Miss Hollywood posing in her getup

Harrison and Maia really enjoyed the ocean and the sand. I was convinced that Maia would turn into a sand monster the way she rolled around in it. Her bathing suit is still full of sand, even after a washing and several dips in the pool. Harrison really was brave in the water. Showing practically no fear. A huge change from last year. He was a little pro riding the waves on his boogie board and a little body surfing for good measure. Me, I love the ocean. There is nothing like coasting over the waves before they break on you and the sensation of rolling along with them. I could do without the sand though. Here are a few photos taken on the beach on various days. I am a freak with a camera. I really like the ones of Harrison with the boat. Yeah, I am an amatuer photographer at heart...

About mid-week, we took the kids to Family Kingdom. It is a great amusement park, very clean, very family oriented and mostly full of kid rides, minus the scary park workers. This is definitly a place you want to visit if you have young kids. I can't say enough about it. The kids have a blast and got to ride just about every ride. Harrison said his favorite ride was the roller coaster and Maia liked the bumper cars. Harrison cracked us up by putting his hands up in the air as the coaster went down the hills. Too cute.

Riding the bumper cars at Family Kingdom

Harrison was pretty much over the "photo shoot" at this point. His face says it all.

Maia on the Carousel

If you are going, a great, off the beaten path to eat is Nibils at the Surfside Pier. It is small, so if you go and have a large party, call ahead. The food is great, and the service is superb.

After we ate at Nibils, I attempted to do an amatuer photo shoot of my kids. Boy, I could never be a professional photographer of kids. I would be arrested to what might happen to them. Mine were determined to make it difficult, chasing each other, throwing sand, etc. Anything but what mom wanted them to do. If it had been sunny, fine, but there was a light rain and it was getting dark. I did manage to get some great shots (IMO) though. Let me know what you think!! In the photos are my MIL, Judy, my FIL, Wayne, my kids, Chris, and LOOK!! I got in one photo!! (though i don't know how flattering it is!!)





One night, we headed down to Garden City Pier one night in hopes of seeing the fishermen and their catch. The fishermen throw the fish heads off of their catch of the day, and when they do this, sharks will come to the surface to eat them. Harrison was sooooo excited, but alas, the fish were not biting, so no shark sightings this trip. Harrison and Maia did get to jump on one of the trampoline/bungee jump things. I have never seen a kid go so high as Harrison did. Maia looked a bit scared or unsure at first, but once she got the hang of it, she loved it!




The last night of our vacation, we were going to head to minature golf, but it rained. The kids were disappointed, but all was well when we pulled out the Wii and taught them how to play the bowling game. I am not a video game person, but i swear, it was like being in a bowling alley, minus the 10 ton ball that I can never hold. Harrison and Maia really got into it and I have never laughed so hard at them. They were so cute and serious. They topped Chris and his Dad's score at 100 and 103 in the final game. The look on their faces during the game was priceless.

I love the beach and love a vacation even more, but there is something nice about coming back home when all is said in done. We came home on Friday, so we had the weekend to recover from our adventures and get back in the swing of things.