Happy 84th Birthday, Granny!

Today, my grandmother turns 84. Born in 1930, Ida Annette Gilbert grew up in small town Georgia. This is one of the few pictures I have from her youth, just prior to her marriage to my grandfather at 16.

She lived the life of a military wife through the Vietnam era, farmer's wife, catfish cleaner, and more importantly, mother and grandmother. I have so many memories of spending summers with her, mostly simple things like going to the post office and watching her make spoon bread. She now lives in an assisted living facility in Jacksonville, where my dad (her oldest son) takes good care of her and keeps her supplied with Coca Colas and M&Ms. We visit her whenever we can get the chance to break away from our busy lives.

Granny, you are very loved by your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren! We will see you soon!

The Creamers' Labor Day weekend

Labor Day weekend for the Creamers can be summed up in two words, fun and hot. Our fun started with the McCranies on Saturday at Discovery Cove, Sea World's all-inclusive park where you can swim with the sting rays, float in the lazy river to view otters, and feed the birds in the aviary. We got the same cabana we had in 2012, and spent the day relaxing, eating, drinking, snorkling, and having good clean fun. Here are some of the pics from the day.

Because DC closes so early, we made dinner reservations with our friends, the Mazeracs, at Raglan Road,

Kevin Dundon's Irish restaurant located at Downtown Disney. Raglan Road was having a big Irish fest that weekend, and we were excited to see the bands, dancers, and to have some awesome food. The wait was a little long, and we missed most of the entertainment, but we had a great time being with good friends.

Unfortunately, Danny was a zombie after swimming all day.

Megan tried to revive him, but I don't think blowing on someone's face is a valid CPR technique.

After a late night, we got a late start at Sea World the next morning.

When we arrived, we got almost immediate reservations at Sharks Underwater Grill, and after a quick ride (George and Zachary) on the Manta, we headed over to eat some seafood while watching sharks, grouper, rays, and other large fish swim over the Shark Encounter tube. It was awesome food, if not a little expensive, and Danny really enjoyed the whole experience. After a trip through the Shark Encounter,

we headed to the new Penguin ride where we stood in line for 30 minutes (of the total hour) before the heavens opened, and we escaped line to the store with 250 or so other people for whom hygiene was not a priority.    After the downpour ended, we went to catch the dolphin show, but it was delayed from the storm. So after petting the stingrays,

 

visiting Turtle Trek,

and seeing the dolphins from the underwater viewing area, we were done. It was 3 or so, and the rain had made everything very steamy and hot. We dragged our dehydrated bodies to the front of the park, and made one last shopping stop before heading back to our hotel (Hilton Grand Vacations) across the street. We enjoyed the rest of the night relaxing in the pool. We even got to catch some real life soap opera action poolside. People are people, where ever you go. All in all, we had a great weekend, but after a quick stop for breakfast at Friendly's, we were ready to get home.

First day of school, 2014

Last Monday, we celebrated the first day of school by getting up at 5:15, getting ready, and walking Megan to the bus stop, in the dark, so she could catch the bus, in the dark. 

The kids had a great, if not a little overwhelming, day. Megan became known as "Comic Book Girl" in one of her classes, and Danny signed up for Safety Patrol, continuing in his dad's footsteps. I can't believe that my little baby girl is in high school, and my baby boy is in his last year of elementary. Just two years ago, they looked like this...

By the way, Megan is wearing these same pants today, and she commented that they were getting shorter. She's the only adolescent girl I know who can wear the same pants for years and years. Funny enough, it seems like yesterday that they looked like this...

Time is flying, and while I miss these days, I am so excited to see the young people they are becoming.

One Awesome Dog

This summer, our Harley turns 9. Our beautiful Great Dane/Treeing Walker Coonhound mix is the best dog that could have chosen us as her family. Harley's favorite pastimes are napping (especially during the day with her Daddy),

 

 

 

walking with her kids,

watching over her humans, especially when they're sick,

chewing up toys,

and monitoring the cooking process for and stray particles.

 

 

Always alert, she is an excellent watch dog. 

She is always happy to see us and she always exhibits a very obedient, mostly passive friendly personality.  She doesn't bark much, but she talks all the time. She is the sweetest dog on the planet. Except when she's threatened...

A few months ago, we decided to adopt Norm, a big English Mastiff.

Norm was a sweetheart to us, and walked into our house like he owned the place.

Unfortunately, Harley immediately disliked Norm, and while they eventually could be in the same room,

we experienced one too many scenes from Call of the Wild, and Harley ended up with a hole in her chin.  Sadly, we made the decision that Norm was a liability to Harley and to us, and we had to give him back. However, we learned one very important lesson in all of this. Harley is a bad-ass. She stood her grounnd and fought a dog that outweighs her by 3 times. My respect for this dog is boundless.

I thank God every day for bringing Harley to us. We love you Harley!

An All Natural Deodorizing Room Spray

Yesterday, Danny came home from camp with a note from his ceramics teacher to me. In the note, she explained that she had eaten some garlic for lunch one day that week, and it was so stinky that she had to break out her room spray to cover the odor. Danny loved the spray so much that she wrote down the makings for the spray for him to bring home. So, last night we stopped at Earthfare and Target and bought some essential oils, distilled water, and a spray bottle.

Ingredients for the spray:

4 drops Lavendar essential oil

3 drops Frankencense essential oil

6 drops Rose Geranium essential oil

(we couldn't find Rose Geranium, so we used 4 drops Geranium and 2 drops Rose separately)

 

1/2 cup distilled water

1 small spray bottle

 

 

Add distilled water to spray bottle. Add drops of essential oils. Replace bottle cap, shake and enjoy!