Life. It [Continues]

-(20)-I didn't write the weekend of the 14 and 15 because we didn't do anything. We left for the shore on Monday the 16 and got back Thursday the 19th. I didn't write yesterday because I had gymnastics and we were unpacking. So I've got today to update.

Monday, August 16 (The Ride Down)
It takes so much to get out the door in this family. It is definately one big struggle. We were getting the van packed, no piled, down with bags and stuff. Everyone is all over the place. Riley runs around making messing and we're running behind her cleaning them up. Dad was whining about how we have too many bags so mom went and packed the van to keep him quiet. It went well. I helped with that. Finally, we got everything in and jammed Rachel's big bag in where ever it could fit. It was a pretty packed bag to say the least. Reid and Rachel were also bringing a picture of the dog, Presley which I thought was pretty funny. We took her over to my aunt's earlier that day so she could stay with them.
Here is where everything gets a little complicated. That is getting into the car and being able to close the door without having to run in one last time. Doing that is just literally impossible for us. Rachel started it by bringing out a chocolate bar. Riley saw it and of course she wanted one. Reid wanted a water bottle and Rachel had to get out for something so, naturally, I hopped out too. It turns out, Riley never got her chocolate (thank goodness) and Rach came back with nothing. I did the same. After all that we did actually manage to clear the driveway this time without any worms in the back seat.
-(21)-So, Rachel and I were in the back loaded down with stuff in front of us and behind us. Reid and Riley had the middle. I lent Reid my CD player so he could listen to Elvis. I never use my CD player anymore anyway. It didn't bother me. Rachel was singing Ashlee Simpson and Riley was watching the Rugrats. I entertained myself by reading the Good Earth. Although it wasn't too entertaining I did manage to read a good 20 pages or so.
We arrrived at the Charlroy around 1:45 and checked in for 2:00. It was so nice to be back in the room again. I missed seeing it. Last time I was there was with my nana and hop pop almost exactly a year ago. So yeah it was nice to be back. Everything was exactly as we left it with the execption of a bunch of animals on top of the TV.
The first thing we did after bringing eveything into the room was eat. We all had Hop pops tuna fish which tastes soo good. Chips and soda on the side. Oh how healthy we eat at the shore. Riley figured out how to turn the TV on almost right away and Reid found the channel for cartoon network. I claimed my corner where I would set up my Aerobed airmattress. I felt so lucky to have my own bed. Normally, it's Rach who gets that privilege but since it was MY air matress, I got it!
We decided on going to the beach after we all ate. It would just be a short visit. Rachel and mom brought the video camera and taped us walking so we could show nana and hop pop when we got back. Actually, we're going over tonight to show them the tape and visit. (It's the second day of me writing this. I stopped yesterday) Anyway, we went down and sat on the sand which was directly across from the motel. All we had to do was walk across the street. Reid brought his boogey board and attempted to ride the waves but he ended up crashing every time and gave us a good show of getting sand up his shorts. We decided on walking the board walk for a bit after that. I wanted to win my sour patch kids like I do every year so we stopped and played the candy wheels. Nana gave us each 50 dollars and I tell you I used it sparingly. My last quarter was spent on our last minute at the boardwalk. I only used 10 dollars of it the first night. It was spent at my favorite place, Lucky Leos. It's a casino and arcade where I spent most of my time playing the animal machines. Only the quarter ones too. I've grown up playing them with my nana. That's probably why I was so attached to them. I probably spent over half of my money there. But I'm not going to get ahead of myself. I'm still on the first day here.
-(26)-So like I said, we were at the boardwalk that night walking around. We played wheels and stuff occasionally. Rachel bought a sweatshirt. We won a big stuffed Princess Fiona from the giant animal crane and all the other details are fuzzy. (Why did I wait so long to write this? It's been exactley a week since we've come back now.) Later that night, mom and I walked over to the Sawmill and got dinner to bring back to the room. The guy there was very friendly. He gave mom a free soda and sat us down at a table even though we were doing take out. I was impressed with the place. I always have been considering the pizza is the size of my head. No joke. Plus it tastes good which is always a plus. Not all pizza places taste good you know...
We ate in the hotel room and I have a very good image of that in my head. Rachel got it on video tape. She was always taping something. Now that we're home, I'm fond of the tape because I can easily remember the trip when I watch it. (Maybe I should do that to get my details back) Closing up the first day there (actually only half a day) I have to say that it was one that stuck out in my mind. I remember the way it felt when we first arrived and those first minutes spent there are the ones that stand out the most. The next 3 days we were there have now begun to blend together making it difficult for me to remember EVERY SINGLE THING. Of course, I would love to write about EVERY SINGLE THING but I don't think my brain remembered it all. I only have the main points now being that I waited so freaking long to finish writing this thing. So anyway, this brings me to.....

Tuesday, August 17 (Our Beach Day)
I slept on the aerobed that night. MY aerobed. Mom, Riley and Rachel slept on one double bed and dad and Reid took the other. Riley was bouncy that night. She didnt' fall asleep easily and mom got mad. I stayed in my corner. Reid and Rachel were (excuse me for this) farting up a storm, blowing the tiles off the ceiling and yes I stayed in my corner. I didn't sleep too well either mainly because my blanket was too darn small for me and I ended up using a sweatshirt for extra warmth. Plus my air mattress was too firm. (Or maybe it was too soft...) The point is, I didn't sleep as good as I could have. I think we stayed up watching the olympics that night too. Actually I think we were up watching the olympics every night. It was men's gymnastics so yeah that was exciting.
Today was beach day! The plan was to spend the whole day at the beach so we woke up and started getting ready. Mom and Dad were the first ones up. They walked down the street to a coffee place and left us, the kids, sleeping in the room. I wouldn't have known it if mom hadn't come right up in my face while I was sleeping and let me know. She got right down face level and might as well have screamed in my ear because it sure as anything scared me a little. That's okay. I fell right back asleep when she went out the door.
-(29)- So mom brought donoughts back for us that morning along with the paper. Everyone got up and started moving. I folded up my aerobed for the day and got dressed. Mom, Reid, and Riley headed down to the beach first and dad, Rachel, and I would meet them down there. Prepared with our sand shovels and castle makers, we made our way across the street and onto the beach. In case the person there asked, I was going to be 13 and get in for free. Luckly, they never asked. So I don't know how I can really describe the time now. We went in the water, layed in the sun, and ummm yeah did beach stuff. I brought the Good Earth to read, which I am done reading now anyway. It was a perfect day. So around lunch time everyone but my dad and I went back to the room for lunch. I went back seperately a short time later. Mom and Dad went back a short time later while Reid was in the pool and Rachel and I were in the room. We occupied the time by bouncing between the hotel beds. I never realized how much fun that is. The day went by fast. One minute I was waking up and then all of a sudden I'm back in the bed again. We went to the boardwalk after mom and dad got back. Reid won me my sourpatch kids. Oh yeah!! We went into lucky leos again and played the animal cranes. Reid gambled his quarters for points. I want to work there someday. That is if I ever get a beach house.
Later that night we all walked down the street and ate at Ryan's Deli. Yeah I have my own deli. It was good too because I had a meatball parmegeana sandwhich.
We were planning on doing rides tomorrow. Reid wanted to do the sling shot ride where they launch you into the sky. I don't think I would do it.
So back at the hotel that night I went to turn on Big Brother but because we got a different kind of cable, the baseball game was on and Big Brother was rescheduled to 1:36 in the morning. I can't believe they would do that and I was pretty mad. Truth is, I didn't stay up to watch it. Mom was up and tried to tell me but I was soo tired I couldn't keep my eyes open. She watched it and told me all about it in the morning. So yup that ends day 2. It wasn't as long but like I said, the details are getting kinda fuzzy. Good thing I remembered a lot about these last two days. I'll probably never forget them...

Wednesday, August 18 (A Day of Rides On the Pier)

I slept like a rock last night. Maybe it was because I went to bed kinda early for a change but I woke up at around 10:30 without even trying. That's unusual for me. I'm normally up around 9:00 or so. So yeah it felt good.
We went to Friendlies with my nana for lunch. She's home from the hospital and it's good to see her back. I had a cheeseburger and then chocolate ice cream with gummy bears. Man, I couldn't feel my stomach after that. I think I gained some weight, which is a good thing. I could use a few pounds here and there.
I was on the computer for awhile when we got home then I went outside to the pool and trampoline. It wasn't a particulary exciting day but like I said, it's summer. The days will get more interesting when school starts. I'll probably also have a lot to talk about when we come back from Seaside next week. We're leaving this coming Monday and coming back Thursday. It's not as long as originally planned but we're planning on going to Hershey park in the fall. That will be fun. Oh hershey chocolate. My stomach is groaning at the thought. That's what 5 big scoops of chocolate ice cream right before you get on the computer will do to you.

It was Thursday so I watched Riley while mom went to work. I'm not going to bore anyone by going on about it. I feel like I say this often. I don't mind watching her. It's not a hard job at all if you can even consider it a job. It's more like something normal.
So there was nothing special today. My throat is kinda sore now and so are my ears. Yeah, my ears hurt and I don't know why. Actually, I do know why. I went in the pool earlier and never got the water out of my ears. 0_0
I made Rachel and her friend a CD today. It took a chunk out of my time but it was worth it. They were pretty excited and I enjoy seeing they're faces of surprise. (I make the real deal you know?) Plus it gives me something to do that is fun.
No injuries at gymnastics tonight. Only some red marks on my stomach from the strap belt which pinced me. My leg is bruised and hurting a lot. Hopefully, I'll be over it at the end of this week because we're going to Seaside on Monday of next week. That will be a good week but we were supposed to go with my grandparents. Now it looks like they can't make it. It won't be the same without them. The olymics are also on that week. I'll have to remember to watch them in the moTEL. You know, that word is funny when you say it like that. It sounds like Mo tell.

So I didn't write anything yesterday. There was nothing to say because I stayed around the house all day and ate candy. (It wasn't as much as the day before though)
Anyway, today was different. I woke up craving a chocolate donut knowing we had a box of them in the kitchen. I ate one for breakfast, turned around an hour or so later, and they're gone. Things go fast around here. The motto: If you don't get it while you can, you'll never get it. In other words, you snooze you looze. Now how true is that?
Reid had a friend over again like every other day. They go and climb trees. Isn't that exciting? Mom took us to Toys'R Us because she had to pick up a few things for Westampton Day and I bought a new playstation game. We went to the dollar store after that for a few more things and I got some stuff there. Dollar stores are funny.
I had gymnastics at 5:00 but before that I jumped in the pool. It was cold thanks to all this darn rain so I wasn't in long. I went on the computer for a bit and that was when time flew by. I looked at the clock and had to be out the door in 5 minutes for gymnastics. I hate it when that happens.
It turns out, I would have saved myself a lot of pain if I didn't go. I'm not saying that I DON'T want to go anymore. Otherwise, I wouldn't have these bruises on my arms right now. I did a handstand on those parrell bars and fell forwards over onto my legs and arms. It hurt. It was embarressing. It left a nasty pain. My arms are all red but they don't hurt too much. I'm proud of myself.
I'll have you know I only cried for an hour. ;)

I didn't do anything special today and I can honestly say that. It was a perfect example of a lazy summer day. Reid had a friend over and Rachel biked around and went to cheer camp. Mom took Riley to the playground (that's her new thing) and I stayed home. It was a nice day so I was outside for a while. When I wasn't, I kept eating candy, which I had a huge craving for ALL day. I was constantly back and forth to the cabinet grabing hand fulls of Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids. Then I ate some blueberrys. At least that was healthy.
I had gymnastics tonight at 7:00 and yeah it was the usual. Hopefully, tomorrow will be more interesting because I'm tired of writing about nothing. We're going to Seaside hopefully next week which will be fun and I've got to finish my summer books. I read a bit of the Good Earth today. One word for the book. Blah

I remember the title of a book I read once. It was called Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharron Creech. Though the book itself doesn't have much relevance to our life, I think the title does. Normal chaos. That's the way it was around here today when Rachel came back. It was like all of a sudden the house grew louder and tension mounted. Rachel and Reid started it but like I said, it's normal. They had arguments over the Sims and for some reason it seemed to affect the whole house. I noticed it today on the way home from visiting Nana in the hospital. Rachel and Reid fight in the fan and it makes everyone else edgy. Know what I mean? It was like a dark cloud that once it affected one area, it spread and hit everyone else...except me that is. I sat back and kept my cool, staying out of stuff as best as possible. When we got home, I headed out the backdoor and got away from it all until Reid followed me. I think the fresh air did wonders for everyone because the tension went down from there. That is until it was time for dinner. I don't need to go into detail here though. It was a normal dinner. It was the absolutely normal chaos dinner that we all have grown to know and live with.

I didn't do anything too special today. Mom took Riley and I with her to the hospital so we didn't have to stay around the house and we got to visit my nana again. I have to admit it was better than staying home. We were there for a while while Reid was at a friend's house, we left then were back again tonight. So overall not a very eventful day. But I feel like typing tonight so I'll describe in more detail our visit to Maryland since we're not all going to pick Rachel up tomorrow. Just Dad is going. It actually was pretty interesting and it's a shame I didn't feel like talking about it the night we were back.
We left on Saturday around 6:30. Rachel had cheer camp that whole day so that's why we left that late. Actually, it would have been later if Rachel had gone to her teacher's wedding that was originally scheduled. I got a visit from Ed earlier that day whom I hadn't seen since school got out. I knew he would find me eventually. We took a walk around the block with Katy. It was a fun time. We all piled into the van about an hour or so later (after getting Wendy's for lunch that is) and hit the road. But that sounds way too cut and dry for our family. Nope there had to be some excitement thrown in there and, yeah you guessed it, it dealt with Rachel and Reid. Not that it's surprising but Reid found it neccasary to tease Rachel with a bucket of worms that was sitting behind her. Dad was taking them for fishing. Of course, she freaked and flew out of the back of the van screaming. I sat there laughing. But c'mon! You have to laugh about it. Besides, she would have found out some time. Eventually, we got out of the driveway, which was by no means easy. Rachel and Reid started their bickering before we could get out of the neighborhood. They fought over who had more leg room. (Personally I think Rachel did but I didn't say anything.) Good thing too because I hate getting in the middle of their "battles." I simply loaded on the headphones, got out a book, and pretended nothing was wrong. Two and a half hours later, we were there. Unbeknownst to me, I was missing Big Brother.
We settled in at the house and arranged where we would be sleeping. Riley warmed up quickly. She was running around without a diaper. Reid was amused by a dart board and Rachel went off with Holly. I was in the middle of it all like always.
The next day we planned on going to the beach. Rachel and Holly were going to a birthday party and dad and my uncle were going golfing. We had an open day and beach seemed perfect. But then, like a sign for the day ahead, it started to rain. We hoped it would just pass over but it never did. One could say that it stayed over because the rain never ceased. It stayed over us all day and ruined all plans for the beach. Naturally, when it rains one may go to the movies so that is what we considered. To make a long and complicated story short, we never went to a movie. Instead we went to Walmart. Yeah that's right. We went to Walmart. It was the wackiest Walmart I've ever been to. I've never seen so many people jam packed into one store like that and it was definately weird. Originally, we went to go get some "dinnas" for Riley (we forgot em at home) and we were gonna pick up a few things. We ended up buying a coloring book for Riley, a boogeyboard for Reid, some pool goggles for me, pop tarts, and cheerleading shoes for Rachel. Meanwhile outside the sky is turning dark. We didn't know that. If we did I bet we would have been outta there a lot faster cause the storm was wicked. So here we are. We got all we need to buy and we're going to the check out line. Mom says we can go hit the outlet stores now and then go back to the house. We're walking to the register when we hear thunder. I'm talking about thunder thunder cause this was loud! One lady screamed which was pretty funny. Mom held her ears with Riley. I chuckled to myself. Now the only thing left was to get to the van with the groceries and make it back to the house. The only problem with that is mom is scared of the lightning yet she is the only one who can drive the van. I waited with Riley and Reid in the little foyer area of Walmart while mom went to bring the van up. Me, being level headed and calm, assured her that it would be fine and I told her I would do it if I could drive. (I would too. I don't mind the lightning.) Obviously, we got back to the house in one piece and we never went to the outlets. I didn't mind. That rain was pretty intense. There's no way we would have made it to the rest of the stores. Score one for me for suggesting to skip it.
Later that night, we rented Along Came Polly on On Demand and we had S'mores on a s'more maker. Holly filed my nails and made em all nice and shiny. It was a new experience, I must say. Bedtime came. We left the next morning and left Rachel there. The ride home was easy. I slept the last half hour or so and Riley and Reid slept practically the whole time. It was quiet. There were no Rachel and Reid fights. Dad's going to pick her up tomorrow and he'll stay a night there. I'm expecting the house to become a little louder by the end of the week now. Rachel will be back and everything will go back to normal. Well, everything will be normal enough for us anyway. For anyone else, it would be crazy.

Just call me Riley's babysitter. Call me the house keeper. Call me a big brother because I'm getting really accustomed to watching Riley. I even found it in me to clean the house and do the dishes today. See, mom had to take Reid to drums at 10:15 and I ended up watching Riley until 1:30. Mom went over to the hospital to see my nana after Reid's lesson. I cleaned the rooms, made the beds, did the dishes, made Riley lunch, and I tell you I was thinking, only THINKING, about vaccuming and sweeping the floor. (Don't worrry. I don't think I would go that far) But, overall, it paid off. Mom came home to a clean house and a not-so-clean-wet-diaper Riley. (I knew I was forgetting something!) When I got my break, I went up to my computer and played a computer game. Oh yeah. Did I mention that while I was being perfect son and cleaning Reid sat on his butt and played on the downstairs computer. I don't think he even moved until the 15 minutes before mom arrived and that was because he knew he had to clean up the clothes in his room.
I had gymnastics at 5:00. My hands were bleeding after I ripped em open on the bar. So I got to relax the last 5 minutes of practice. It felt good. We went straight over to Virtua hospital after that to visit my nana. Here I am with dried up blood and chalk on my hand (Predominately the right hand) walking through a hospital. Not that I really cared, but it was uncomfortable. Anyway, we gave her a visit. Big Brother came on at 8:00 and I missed the first 45 minutes of it. That's okay though. I got all the details at the website. So that about wraps up my day. Who knows what I'll end up doing tomorrow but I can tell you that watching Riley for a while is definately up there on the possibilities list.

It was such a nice day outside today. Too bad I was only out there for about an hour. I think I wasted it (on the computer) because now all it's doing is raining. I just want some hot days. The only reason I was in today was because well I decided to reinstall my Sims games so I loaded my laptop with the Sims and some expansions. It's been forever since I played that game and I'm surprised I'm back into it. Only problem is that it's so addicting that you end up wasting your day away in front of the computer screen. Sad isn't it?
So, I had gymnastics tonight too. There's not too much to say about it. I managed to jump in the pool earlier and it was really warm. It was like 84 degrees. Nice.
Reid brought home a drum set from my uncle. This is going to be a pain. I can hear it coming now and I have the feeling it will be loud. As long as I keep my bedroom door shut I should be fine.
Rachel is still in Maryland and we're going to pick her up at the end of the week. I've given some thought to me describing the trip in more detail. I didn't really do it justice when I came back. You can tell from the vauge entry a couple days ago. There actually was a lot more to the trip than just rain so I'll describe it on the weekend after we pick up Rachel. That way, I can include the end as well. (Cause we still have to go back one more time you know!) I'm surprised at how non eventful these days are when Rach isn't here. Normally, we would be running her around but now the house seems so much more.....quiet. I know I've repeated this over and over but it's unusual. I've come to the conclusion that this time must be known as "still." Let's just see how long this lasts.

Wow! My legs are killing me today. It must be something from gymnastics last night and now it hurts to walk down the stairs. Luckly, it wasn't a busy day. I had to watch Riley while mom went to work from 9:00 to 1:00. My nana is pretty sick so I might be watching Riley a little more often now. Not that I mind watching her though. She's may be a handful (getting into chocolate and throwing the remote across the room) but it's not too bad. At least mom comes home with Burger King. That's a good reward. I had a whopper junior today. It was free from the Spiderman scratch off game. Normally I eat a whopper and a medium fry but I ate Chinese food left over from yesterday so I was kinda full.
Reid and Riley fell asleep today so I got to play a video game for a while. It was nice being able to play a game without Reid whining to watch Cartoon Network. That's the only thing he watches. I'm serious. I don't know why we're paying for these other channels when the only thing on is Nickolodean and Cartoon Network. Urgh! Sometimes it makes me mad cause he expects me to do the same. Sorry but I like some variety in my shows.

Got back from Maryland today around 2:30 in the afternoon. To be honest, I don't feel like describing the trip. There's not really any point. It rained the whole time we were there so we didn't get to go to the beach. That's about it. We stayed around the house.
I'm really tired now. I had gymnastics tonight at 7 and my hands are killing me. I ripped the side of my thumb on the high bar.
I came home from the ride today and went straight to my computer here. I think I was on around 3 hours and before I knew it we ordered Chinese food (I had that chicken stuff) then I headed off to gymnastics. So what I'm trying to say is the day went fast. Good thing too. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed. The house will be quiet. Rachel is in Maryland and Reid is down the street at a friends. I love the quietness!