What {NOT} to get your 10-year-old for her birthday

So, I learned a very important lesson this last week as we begin the steady approach to a couple of our daughters encroaching on teenagerdom. 

It was Alicia's 10th birthday last Saturday. 

I know she doesn't look uber excited here, but trust me when I say, she was counting down the days to her birthday.

Now begins the story of my complete lack of knowledge when it comes to CD buying, this coming from the gal who didn't even know who Michael Jackson was when I was the ripe-old age of 12 in 1988.  I had a lot of catching up to do in Junior High, believe me.

In fact, most of our CD collection comes from John, who knows every artist out there, what genre they sing, and always knows exactly what to buy at the music store.  I usually just go along for the ride and enjoy whatever album he picks up, and then think - oh, that's who sings that song.

You see, I am one of those that just happily listens to what's on the radio with nary a clue as to who is singing, though in this case, when Alicia mentioned awhile back that she liked Katy Perry, I excitedly thought, "Yes!  I know that one!  She sings the firework song, or something like that, but yes, I am familiar with her, and that would be a great CD to buy as one of Alicia's birthday gifts."

eh-hem.  Give me a chance to explain, oh you readers that know exactly where this is going.  I had no clue what her other songs were.  Really...I didn't.  It wasn't until I had the CD sitting on our dresser that I noticed the 2-part imagery on the front of the case that shows her scantily-clad lying on a bed.  (that wasn't the picture I saw at the store - it's one of those illusion pictures that you get when you move it slightly, you see a second picture - not sure what the exact term is for that, but you get the idea) - at which point, I began to go...hmm, this may not have been a good idea.

Enter John a few minutes later who noticed it sitting there too and asked me in a rather shocked voice, "You bought a Katy Perry CD for Alicia?"  I told him she's the gal who sings the famous firework song, and what's wrong with that?  He informed me that the firework song was indeed, a decent song, but shouldn't I take a moment to hear the lyrics to some of her other songs?

He began giving me a run-down of the lyrics for the other songs listed on the CD, and to my chagrin, EIGHT of the ten songs had inappropriate words and/or topics.  Cryminy!!  Then when he set the CD back down, he noticed the small black box in the lower corner (the black box I obviously failed to notice in my rush at the store) that says, Parents Advisory:  Explicit Content.

By this point, John and I were rolling in laughter at the gift I had thought would be appropriate for our 10-year-old (and admittedly, laughing at some of the explicit songs - I could not believe how painfully explicit some of them were - and again, just laughing at how much I don't clue into in the music world).  I will most certainly be getting her a different CD, and will be consulting the music pro around here before investing in any other CDs for the girls.

To be honest, I am still chuckling over my blunder.  I may have musical talents, but knowing anything about the music industry is not my forte.  Thankfully Alicia has a new bike she is riding around the block while she waits for me to replace her CD with a more appropriate one, I'm thinking something along the lines of Kids Bop.

Meldrum Time!

We just got back from Lincoln City, Oregon where we had a wonderful get-together with the Meldrums - all 17 of us.  The above professional pictures are just a sneak peak from the photographers' website.  We'll have the full set of pictures in a few weeks when she gets back from vacation. 

Here are a few of the highlights from the trip:

I remembered that you are never too old to act like a kid again when you're hanging out with our clan - there are even enough team members for kickball and volleyball!

 There was this awesome park across the street from the house we stayed out that had a large field, play toys, sand volleyball pit, and even a fire pit. 

 Here is the house we stayed at.  It was perfect, especially since it was within walking distance of the beach.  Christy and Brice's families brought their bikes, so we were able to bike around the neighborhood too. 


Speaking of the beach, I learned something else from the reunion.  As always, when we find ourselves amidst the rain in life - like we did on the beach for couple of the days . . .

...the sun always finds its way back out again . . . 

 

 Yah, I know we're missing Alicia in this picture.  She ran back to the house before we could take a family snapshot.  And yes, that is a starfish Kimberly is holding. 

The kids loved checking out the tide pools.  

On the first day, before we headed out to the beach, we stopped at a water park.  It was a tad expensive, especially for the six of us, so my sister found out about a scholarship program they do for people who write an essay about how water is important to them, and the winner gets free tickets.   

Crazy enough, my essay was selected, so we got 4 free tickets!  Woo-hoo!!

The water park was really fun, especially since the water slides came out of an actual Boeing airplane.

The whole goal of our yearly reunions is to stay connected with our family, feel of each others' love, and let the cousins build friendships.  I love my family - all 17 of them.  There are simply no words to express how much they mean to me and what they have done for me through the years.  

So, getting the chance to be with everyone under one roof for four days, reminisce, laugh until we pee our pants (them, not me), and even share a few tears - that is what it is all about.  There is simply nothing that can replace it.  

 What more can I say?  Now the cousins will get the chance to forge powerful friendships between them and continue on with the Meldrum love.  

Another thing I was reminded of on the vacation is that your family gets you.  They even get and love you when you run their car over a cement wall, resulting in a very stuck, very high-centered car.  

Yes, I am the one who seems to wrack up the most car 'incidents'.  I was trying to move my brother's Honda so I could get my car out.  Sad to say I failed to take any pictures because we were too busy trying to figure out how to get the car back over the cement wall (let it be known - SMALL little wall - and very hidden from my view from the driver's seat).  Thanks to some genious engineering from the guys, who made a small ramp out of rocks behind the wall and drove the tire on the rock-ramp, over the wall and back into the driveway.  Thankfully, no damage was done.  Phew.  

I also learned another important lesson:  we were able to stare grief in the eye without even thinking twice.  A year ago, imagining a family photo without my dad was unthinkable.  However,  we sucked in our sadness and managed to accomplish the task - some beautiful family photos on the beach that I can't wait to see.  

And now a handful of other pictures to share . . . 

Mom with several of the cousins

The crazies, aka Kimberly and Dereck running out to the frigid water.

Well, at least they got to catch some waves out in the freezing water.

The long set of stairs we had to take to reach the beach.

Hmmm.  Apparently the cousins felt the iPad version of Life was better than the real version.  

Grandma and Megan

Roasting S'mores with the clan.

As the fun-filled reunion came to a close, it was hard to say goodbye, knowing it would be awhile before we were all back together again.  

No worries - the family simply loaded themselves into our car and said they were coming with :)

 I'm already looking forward to next year's reunion. 

What would summer be without Bear Lake?

Another summer, of course means another trip up to Bear Lake for our annual Rimington get together.  This year we rented jet skis all day from a place down by us.  I totally forgot to get a picture of the van hauling two jet skis - I would have said, 'this is how a minivan should look.'

We all got there bright and early and ran the jet skis hard all day until after most everyone had even left the beach.  Fun times, as always.  Again, no pictures of riding jet skis, but you guys get the basic idea, right?  I was too busy enjoying my time on the lake to take too many pictures. 

 Megan and cousin Mo

Natalie

 Kimberly's Turtle

 Mom, Justin, Teagan, Heather

 Megan - she spent hours playing on this sand dune.

 Er, I thought this was a boat?

 Alicia and Emma

I think we wore them out.  This was just on the 15 minute drive to the burger joint for dinner.  

We had to wake them all up - I felt so bad.

And if you look closely, you can see the jet skis out of the back window.

Fun times, indeed.

Tribute to Our Beloved Wisteria. Sniff.

 We said goodbye to our beloved Wisteria that has been growing on our deck for the last 10 years or so.  It took about 4 years for it to grow over the entire deck, giving us plenty of beautiful, glorious shade in the summertime. 

 

Sadly, it has been pulling apart the siding on our house for the last few years, so I have had to come to terms with it coming down so it wouldn't damage our house further.    

 We have been debating over a number of replacement options, and given my love of the wisteria, nothing sounded good enough.

That is, until out trip to Moab when we sat out on the hotel's patio to eat our breakfast.

They had beautiful outdoor fabrics draped across the pergola. 

I was sold.  We ordered up some outdoor fabric, and John was gracious enough to wait pulling down the wisteria until it arrived.  

When he did, it all came down in one, fateful swoop with the pull of his rope after he made a few snips to the roots.  

We sewed up the fabric in long strips and weaved them through the wood, and it has actually turned out really nice!  

What do you guys think? 

The Mothership called us Home

  

It has been a year since I last had my beach fix, so we returned to one of my favorite places last week - Pineview, where we enjoyed the sandy beach and warm water in the mid-90 degree weather.  

Where else can you spend an entire day with no complaining from the littles and the bigs? That is one of the disadvantages to having a younger set and an older set of kids - finding things all ages can enjoy. 

Someone doesn't think she is tan enough.  

No wonder my girls are brown by the end of the summer.  

True story, one of Alicia's friends a few years back drew Alicia on their Wii with brown skin. 

Wait, maybe it was even black.  

Suffice it to say, my girls darken easily.