Gotta drive back to the ATH again. I'm tired of these too short trips home. I want time to spend with friends and go out. At least I got to spend a little while at Grandma's again today. Before Amanda and I went over, we decided to pick up the kids so they could come visit for a few minutes since they get to see each other so rarely.

When we got there, the grass was the highest I've ever seen it. I know my Dad would've never let it get like this. He never let it get that high even when he lived in another city. He made sure that the yard was presentable. Obviously, I couldn't leave with it like that. So Robbie and I broke out Dad's lawn mower (there was still some gas in it). Robbie insisted that HE wanted to do it for Grandma so I let him go with it. He got the whole front yard done (relatively well) while I picked up sticks and fallen tree branches. Then Nichole wanted to cut a little, too. She got the driveway side before the gas ran out. My Dad would've loved to have seen Robbie and Nichole out there working on that yard. I just wish he was here to show them how to do it right.

The backyard's gonna look like a jungle if someone doesn't do something soon. It's a pathetic shame that there's so many other family members within a ten mile radius and I'm the one who spends the most time and energy over there even though I live 200 miles away. I can't tell you how frustrating that is to me. A year ago my Dad was there. No one visited him either. Now they say they miss him. Well, Grandma's there alone now. People are blowing opportunities with every day that goes by. I wonder if someday they'll "miss" her the same way they miss my Dad now. I'm not accusing, mind you. I'm simply saying it's sad and depressing. I always have hope that people learn from the past. I'm usually disappointed.

I'm not going to blow my chance.

When we finished doing yard work, Amanda drove Nichole and Robbie home while I spent some time with Grandma. That place is my home. It's the only place I've ever felt at home. It's the only place that'll ever truly be "home." It is "Wayside."

We drove home and ate at IHOP before crashing at the end of a very tiring week.

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Today was a travelling day. I got the kids home about supper time. Unfortunately, when I got to my sister's house, I got some bad news. My Mom's been having health problems lately and she called me to let me know that she has a rare blood disease that could possibly morph into leukemia if it's not gotten under control. Basically, she has "too much blood" which is wreaking havoc on her system, causing problems with her high blood pressure and making it impossible for her to get treated for her other problems which cause severe pain and raise her blood pressure and so forth and so on in a circle that doesn't bode well. Initial treatments involve draining her of a pint of blood a week. Big fun, eh? It freaks me out completely. If that doesn't work, chemo may be involved. It was exactly a year ago that I started getting really bad news about my Dad's health. If there's a God or any sort of higher power, it'll look out for Mom.

Amanda and I ate a very depressed meal at KFC after a visit to the cemetary. Then we spent the couple of hours left before bed time with her family. We went for a late evening walk about 10 to enjoy the heat lightning and a gorgeous summer night. It was (to say the least) bitter sweet.

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Well, it's the last full day with Robbie and Nichole. Gotta take 'em back to their Mom tomorrow. When I got up, Robbie was fast forwarding and rewatching his favorite parts of Kung Pao. He looked at me and said, "I think I'm possessed with this movie."

After we got Nichole up and about, it was time for their second and final swim lesson. The girl from Wednesday had injured her hand so they had a guy teacher this time. When they first got going, he asked if Nichole was on the swim team at her school and just using this for touch up. Wow! On Wednesday morning she couldn't even go underwater without holding her nose. Now, the teacher thinks she could be on a swim team. As for Robbie, his fear of the deep end was long gone by the end of the lesson today. In fact, he was jumping off the diving board (another first for him) and swimming back like an old pro. I'm proud of 'em. They made amazing use of 2 hours of lessons. I wish they could follow up more. They're naturals!

Since it's Friday, it was time for the hike to On The Bricks. I wasn't looking forward to it. I had no real idea about Kanye West and very limited knowledge of Van Hunt. Obviously, I missed something. Over 35, 000 people showed up! It was a madhouse. Tania from the festival was kind enough to give Nichole and Robbie backstage artist passes so we could all keep up with each other! Nichole seems to like concerts. Robbie seems to hate them. I felt bad that he'd have to be there from about 6 to midnight but that's what I do. After Van Hunt played, Robbie walked right up to him. He wanted his autograph but didn't have anything for him to sign. Robbie decided to offer him a stuffed Garfield toy from Wendy's. Van smiled but didn't blink an eye. He signed it, then posed for a pic with Amanda, Nichole and Robbie. Afterwards, he thanked us! What a cool guy. Watch out for him, too. He's the best soul / r & b / rock guy I've heard all year.

Next up was Kanye West. When he took the stage, it was instantly clear that the guy is massive! The audience was insane. Nichole (not surprisingly) was getting into it. Robbie was even dancing side stage! Cool. After the set, the kids got to watch him being interviewed and while I photo'd him for the festival. I wasn't able to get pics with them but Kanye gave 'em both autographs. Considering how much Robbie hated the concerts last year, I took it as a big compliment that he ranked the concert as his second favorite thing (behind White Water) from this year's trip.

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We kind of took it easy today. Robbie discovered my DVD of one of the worst movies ever made, Kung Pao: Enter The Fist. Yes, I know it sucks but it's one of those that suck so bad I had to own it. Plus, one of the special features is "The Panicked Thumb" which I found to be one of the funniest things ever. We also watched Monty Python And The Holy Grail. Nichole seemed to like it. I think it may have been too dense for Robbie...although he loved The Black Knight and The Killer Rabbit!

After Amanda got home, we played a little volleyball and then some horseshoes in the backyard before we introduced Nichole and Robbie to "the crazy old lady." A month or so ago, Amanda and I heard strange shrieks coming from the neighborhood that borders ours. Sometimes it sounded like a child screaming. Sometimes a baby. Sometimes it would whistle. Sometimes it would make an ominous cackling sound. When we investigated, we found a beautiful blue and gold hyacinth macaw sitting on a perch whistling at us. We decided that when the kids came up to visit, if we heard it, we'd play a little trick on 'em. In the middle of throwing horse shoes, we heard a strange squawk. Amanda and I looked at each other nervously and told the kids, "We should probably stop now. That crazy old lady's out. No telling what she'll do." You could tell the kids doubted us. "Let's go introduce 'em to her." Then they looked a bit nervous. As we trotted Blair Witch style through the wooded path, the strange sounds got louder and louder. When it was just on the other side of a few trees, Robbie pulled back shouting "I see her, I see her, I ain't going over there." Thinking his imagination was running wild, we asked him to describe her. "She was right there. She made that noise. I saw her move. She was wearing a blue and yellow sweater." A blue and yellow sweater? He had to have seen her. The description of the feathers as a sweater made it difficult to not crack up, especially since it was about 100 degrees! A sweater? She must be crazy! We played along a little more. Amanda and Nichole moved closer (Nichole had figured out by this time it was a bird). I stayed back, pretending to be too scared. Robbie was in the middle. Suddenly, Amanda and Nichole lunged back toward us, "She's coming." They all left me in the dust before they let Robbie know that we did our own little version of "Punk'd" on him. He was a good sport. He went over to get a closer look. I can only imagine how panic stricken he must've been to see "the crazy old lady" shimmying down a post on the porch...using her mouth!

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What a long day. Took Nichole and Robbie to their first swim lesson at the Y.W.C.O. When we got there Robbie was scared to get anywhere NEAR the 11 foot part. He insisted on a float at first. It wasn't long before the teacher had 'em going. Nichole was already swimming well enough so the teach focused on Robbie. I sat and watched them learn. You could actually see when they caught on. For one of only two lessons we could get 'em during the 6 days that we have them, they learned a lot.

Then it was off to Stone Mountain! We got the armbands this time, which allowed us to do the boys vs. girls Treehouse Challenge (guys crushed the girls, although I think it was rigged). Then we panned for Gold. They found a little fool's gold, some quartz and other precious minerals. My favorite part of the night was the 4-D theatre. 3-D stuff has never worked on my poor, pathetic eyes, but this was amazing. We rode in a tornado, had a dog splash us with water (really), were attacked by honeybees and generally overwhelmed by eye candy. It was super cool.

Waiting for the laser show to start, Robbie found a fountain that shot water every 21 seconds. He took it upon himself to challenge it by mooning it (with pants, don't worry). The look on the people's faces when they would come by to see an 11-year old butt up in a pool of some liquid was hilarious. They were obviously horrified and disgusted. They had no idea the liquid came from the fountain...except when it would occasionally get 'em right in the ear or something.

After the laser show, we rushed home to watch Back To The Future III at Robbie's request. He fell asleep during it, but Nichole hung in there 'til the end. It was difficult for me to stay awake by that point!

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Today, we all just kind of hung out around the house and relaxed a bit. Nichole and Robbie watched several more Twilight Zones on their own. For dinner, we all went to CiCi's for pizza crackers and cinnamon guts. We offered them $100 a piece for every straight A report card they bring home with $100 bonus at the end of the year if they make straight A's on all 4 for a grand total of...well, a grand! Yes, we know it's bribery. I don't care if it makes 'em get it together and on the ball.

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Monday July 5, 2004

So rock 'n' roll is alledgedly 50 years old today, eh? We all know the specific anniversary is bogus but I, for one, believe it's worth celebrating that Tupelo boy going into Sun and recording "That's All Right." Otherwise, who knows what my life might be like now!

Today, I rocked and rolled in a different way...in tubes full of water. Amanda and I took Nichole and Robbie out to WhiteWater amusement park in Marietta. It was a hot, hot, crowded, (and even more) crowded day. The lines were insane and the fun was minimized because of it. Luckily, even minimized, there was fun to be had!

Nichole and I almost exhausted ourselves by going on the obstacle course while Robbie and Amanda dropped on The Cliffhanger.

We got back home around 9 so (of course) we just HAD to watch Back To The Future II. I think it may have short circuited their brains a little bit. Good. It was always helpful when I would re-wire (still does). Afterwards, we discussed the parts that confused them (paradoxes, quantum physics, etc). Anything to get 'em thinking!

Click here to see last week's updates (with Hall & Oates, Everclear pics).

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