Mama Vivas - It's a Vivas Thing!

Jun 13 2009

All Things Creepy!

Yesterday was the Talented One's 16th birthday…and since you only turn 16 once…well, we had a few surprises in store for him. We started off with a kidnapping to get him out of the house.

I don't think he expected to be dropped!

After several hours, he was brought to the party; blindfolded

And then he had to wait for his surprise!

I don't think he was expecting this python!

Kim, at Exotic Pets, was awesome! She did such a great job of educating everyone about the many reptiles that she brought, as well as handling them well. She was so patient when it came to letting the kids handle the animals, but made sure everyone was safe, animals, as well as humans!

I told them I was about to drop the snake!

This boy isn't afraid to hold anything! And yes, that scorpion has its stinger!

No matter how big!

This one was absolutely terrified, but you have to give her credit for trying to overcome her terror! Doesn't she look brave?

There was even a kissing iguana!

And chocolate covered mealworms…she wasn't afraid to eat them, either!

I am pretty sure my son was surprised at his party. In addition to the animals, he had numerous friends show up, as well as family. There were special video's made just for him and lots of laughter to go around.

Jun 12 2009

Laughable Moment #13

While at the salon yesterday getting the boys a hair cut, the Talented One, 16 today, commented that he wondered where the bathroom was. My nephew, 5, volunteered to find out, so the Talented One told him to go ask the lady at the desk, so as to not embarrass himself by asking. My nephew, ever one to impress his cousin, ran over and rather loudly asked her,

"Excuse me, where is the bathroom for my cousin, *****?"

The reception room promptly burst out into laughter! I thought the Talented One was going to crawl under the couch, dying of embarrassment, but laughing uncontrollably. He did NOT expect his cousin to state who needed the bathroom!

Jun 11 2009

Parks and Police Officers!

What a fun day! Really. I mean, we look like we're having fun, right?

Drama Queen and the Smart One

Charge!

Waiting for her turn on the swing

And yet, strange things always happen to us! When we first arrived at the park, we noticed some police had pulled over someone. No big deal, really, everything seemed calm, so we went about our business of playing. After a while, we commented that they'd been there for a while. Again, no real concern since everyone else was enjoying a day at the park. And then it happened.

All of a sudden, my niece's mom yell, "Get the kids, he has a gun!" I look up, I see a police officer pointing a gun at someone in the vehicle. She's panicked and grabs my niece. I yell at my nephew to come here. He ignores me. My daughter comes running to me. My son tries to get my nephew. I yell at him to come to me again. He runs in the opposite direction…towards the gun yielding police officer! I run, grab him and join the others behind the park bench. We don't hear any gunshots, so we proceed to go further down the park, away from the potential shoot out. My niece and nephew are crying and my daughter is pretty shaken up. A woman asks what is wrong, and we tell her to get to safety, there's an officer with a gun.

She smiles. She tells us it is a training session; she saw the officer change into civilian clothes, so she asked. There is no sign. There is nothing that could have led us to believe it was not real.

Once we could breathe again, we did take the opportunity to talk to my nephew about why it's important to listen to us when we call him. The Drama Queen said she felt like she was going to throw up, she was so shaky.

Interesting, isn't it, how a simple hour in the park can turn into a real adventure!

Jun 08 2009

Summer Swimming!

So we decided to go out and have some summer…and relax. Yes, you heard me…I was bound and determined to relax today. After I dropped off my nephew at school, I grabbed B-boo, the Smart One, the Drama Queen and headed over to pick up my sister-in-law and her children for a day of cousins and swimming. So we headed over to the Sandlot Pool….well, that's what we call it anyway.

Our city is known for it's great pools…small pools with amazing slides and such….the kind everyone wants to go to. Which is why we avoid them like the plague! Instead, we head over to our neighborhood pool with the high dive and for the most part, no little kids. The lifeguards are great and know most of the kids by their names. Bound and determined to relax, we even drew an imaginary line…and once it was crossed over, no negative thoughts were allowed. You see, my sister-in-law and I have one thing in common; we've both extended our families to include children not born directly from us. We're part of, or have been part of, that thing which we call, *the system*. And honestly, sometimes it isn't a lot of fun. And you can't relax. And it doesnt' seem like it will ever end. And you can't relax. It's exhausting. And it's hard to relax. Did I mention we went to relax?

So, we drew that line and we headed on in!

and I remembered my camera this time!

And we swam laps. Lots of them. Really. A whole bunch of them. So many that I am exhausted. It was a great day, it really was. Well worth it. But I don't think laps count as relaxing, do they? I'll probably need to relax tomorrow, because I don't think I'll be able to move much!

Jun 07 2009

Photoless Moments

I did not even take one picture this weekend. And that’s a shame…because I had so many photo opportunities!

There was the Josh Stevens Foundation event. Isa rode a pony. We rode a train. We had ice cream, snow cones and hot dogs. There was a balloon release. There were smiles and tears. I did not take a capture a single moment.

There was our youth summer kick-off party. Lots of photo moments. Forgot to bring my camera in. And you know what’s worse? I made my poor husband find it and bring it to me. My bad. I did get to visit and ate an amazing chili dog!

There was the dog climbing up on the outside table and trying to get in through the window. Definitely a photo moment, but I was still mad at her for breaking into the house and invading the trash.

There was my youngest daughter singing in church this morning. “The Wise Man Builds His House Upon the Rock”….Nope, didn’t capture that one either. My husband managed to record it on video though. He’s such a good man.

I’m a photo nerd. I love to take pictures. I have tons and tons of them. Really, I do. But, I was a total slacker this weekend. I hope my memory stays in tact if I’m going to start missing my photo opportunities!

At any rate, here’s the photo moment my husband managed to capture!