Unlike many people, we planned to stay home for the Memorial Holiday. Russ was so excited to watch
the 92nd Indy 500 anyway, and I had no desire to fight traffic and pay for gas anyway. I was happy to just work in the yard.
The kids were just happy to play at home.
Friday was a normal work day (not a CWS Friday), so we both headed in like normal. I had a long day,
but work's been a little slow so I found myself nearing the end of my ToDo list. The kids were at daycare and it was a beautiful
day, so they had a great time playing with their friends. Russ, left work around noon to meet the guy who'd be installing
our new Direct TV (satellite TV)…. Or so we thought.
The guy was there around 2:00. He looked our current cable system over, and then found he needed a
part, so he headed over to Lusby (15 min drive) to meet another installer to get a part. He didn't return until after 4:00!.
Apparently, the guy in Lusby didn't have the part, so he had to go to Waldorf (45 min away).
About this time, the boys and I arrived home. To my horror, he was installing a rather obtrusive dish
right on the top roof of my house! I got out proclaiming my grievance, but Russ met me with, "Don't worry, he's got to move
it anyway." WHEW! He looked around our yard, and came up with the idea that he should put the dish on a post in the front
corner of our yard. I thought that was a much better spot, but after he'd mixed up our own quick crete (I thought I'd save
him a trip to Lowe's and another 2 hour delay), dug a trench in our yard, puttered around until I brought him dinner (it was
the least I could do, since he wasn't going to charge us for the post), and tried the dish on the corner of our yard, he finally
decided there was no way we'd get satellite tv. Of course, if we cut down the huge oak tree in our back yard, we might have
a chance. Obviously, we nixed the whole deal and sent him on his way. We just couldn’t figure out why he had to do all that
when he could have just used a hand held GPS to find out if he could make a satellite connection in the first place!!
Russ was up early on Saturday morning because we decided to just upgrade our Metrocast cable to digital
HD. He wanted to call Metrocast when they opened. It even ended up being a couple dollars cheaper. Russ was disappointed that
he'd miss a couple of Indy races on ESPN Classic, but at least he'd still be able to watch the Indy 500 on our new 40" HDTV.
He made us breakfast, and then I went outside to burn some leaves. The kids played in and out side. The weather was gorgeous,
and even though I hate leaves, it felt so good to just sit in the sun. Since Russ didn't get his extra ESPN channels, he watched
a Minor League Indy race on the computer… he's a die hard fan!
Later that afternoon, we went to pick up a couple things at Lowes and the grocery store. Russ ate some
crabs while the boys and I had some salmon that I'd set out to thaw and needed to cook. We sat together and actually enjoyed
watching the Indy 500 parade on TV. Since Liam didn't have a very good nap earlier, he was getting grouchy. He and Jaxson
got a quick bath after dinner and I got them into bed a tad early. It did them both good.
As the sun was setting, Russ got the fire pit ready outside. It'd been a while since we just sat around
the fire, and I was happy to have the chance. The evening was beautiful, and we ended up spending a few hours out there as
we burned log after log, shared some wine, and just… talked. We had such a nice time that our discussion promted the idea
to do it again the following night… and sleep out with the boys in the clubhouse!
Sunday was declared Indy Day. Though the boys and I are not as big of fans as Russ is, we could appreciate
his enthusiasm, and went along with it as best we could. In the morning, we set up the little table top bowling game on the
coffee table, and took turns rolling the marble into the tiny pins. Then the boys and I went outside again, and I started
hauling the leaf ashes from the pit down the road to a drainage ditch. I could only take one wheelbarrow at a time, and be
a bit on the stealthy side, but I had to do SOMETHING to get them out of the yard.
Then I started cleaning the clubhouse. It wasn't that bad, and especially easy when I ran an extension
cord out there so I could suck up all the spider webs with the vacuum. Liam was VERY excited about our proposed camp out.
After lunch, I let the boys delay their nap a little so we could all watch the start of the big race.
It was pretty cool. After a few laps though, I managed to get two hyper boys down for a nap.
While the boys were napping, I went out to the clubhouse to put a tarp along the high edge of the roof.
Rain had been seaping in under the eaves, so I hoped my idea would curb that. The forcast didn't call for rain, but I just
figured I'd do that while I was working on it anyway. Russ kept me up to date with the status of the race. We all had a driver
we were rooting for. I was supporting Lloyd with the WiiFit car, just because I enjoy that "game" for our Wii system. Russ
had on his Danica Patrick shirt, so he was gung ho for her. Liam stuck with Marco Andretti, and I think he picked Tony Kanaan
for Jax.
Once the boys got up from their nap, they came out to help me with the finishing touches on the clubhouse.
I brought out a carpet and some pillows and blankets, and Liam brought in his faithful sleeping companion, Mikey the Monkey.
Jax brought in his beloved School Bus. My WiiFit car was the first to go, and then Danica was clipped by another driver coming
out of the pits. Marco and Tony made for good competitors right up to the end, but Scott Dixon took the checkered flag.
Russ made some steaks and we all ate outside. Then we made a fire in the fire pit, and made S'mores
(although I substituted Keebler Fudge Stripe Cookies for graham crackers/chocolate). After it got a little dark, Russ took
both boys up in the clubhouse to read a few stories. He tried to leave them both up there, but as soon as he turned out the
light (even with the Superman night light), Jaxson began to scream. Even though we'd only be just below, sitting at the fire
pit like we'd done the night before, Jaxson wasn't buying this plan at all. So, I took him inside, and he was eager to get
in his crib. This prompted a little uneasiness with Liam, since now he had the clubhouse all to himself, but he was brave.
We were only feet away from him, and all he had to do was look out the window, but he still took a bit to actually settle
down. A while later, Russ and I were growing wearing too, so we decided to join Liam in the clubhouse. I went inside to fetch
a half-asleep Jaxson, who had no trouble snuggling in against me on the clubhouse floor. So there we were… all four of us…
and Cleo… sleeping in the clubhouse. Well, half of us anyway. Russ said that Liam talked his ear off until about midnight.
Not that I got any better sleep. I didn't even think about taking up our air mattress, but I will NEXT time because that floor
is no softer even if you do put a carpet and a couple of comforters under you!
Though Russ and I were pretty groggy the next day, I think we were all proud that we managed to accomplish
our goal. It really was fun, and I figure it won't be long before both boys will be begging to do it again. I did a few chores
on Memorial Day. Russ caught up on some better sleep on the couch in the den while the boys and I picked up a few toys. I
burned another pile of leaves (can you tell this is my latest obsession?) and began unloading the clubhouse. Russ came out
and started re-planting some corn. I planted about 6 rows of beans. My tomatoes are growing inside, but just aren't
ready to get in the ground yet.
When the boys' naptime came around, I joined them. After we all got up, we lingered on the couch in
the den and watched a bit of the Deadliest Catch marathon. Then took the boys to the Elementary School playground so they
could ride bikes for a little while. I called the folks (and Kate, who was visiting) while we were there. I had no ambition
to make dinner that night, so Russ scrounged up some money for a pizza order and it tasted so good. We watched the first Narnia
movie while we ate. I had also washed the canopies for the gazebos, so I put them back on after dinner.
I got the boys ready for bed with a good scrubbing (it'd been a dirty weekend) and was glad when Russ
didn't seem to put out that I desired to go to bed myself around 9:00. It really was a great weekend. The weather was just
beautiful, Russ got to watch a great race, and the boys got to Christen their clubhouse. Who needs to travel on Memorial Day
weekend, when you can have this much fun AT HOME???
