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July 29, 2008
Out Of Reach At The Beach
I’m in a house at the beach with double the number of penises I usually live with. This year we’re sharing a house with our friends from Memphis, who also have three boys. One is Finn’s age and the others are four and eighteen months– precious reminders of those ages which seem so far away with my own guys. The other two families we vacation with are just across the street. It’s our own beach kibbutz.
Last year the mothers (we were all college roommates) were afraid that the oldest kids, two boys and two girls, might stop being friendly and start being romantic. We were lucky then, and this year, although the hormones have definitely increased, the twelves are primarily concerned with protecting the whereabouts of their secret hiding place, reachable only by bike. “Let’s go play cards” is code for an imminent meeting, and so far even Drew, determined teen-wannabe, hasn’t cracked it.
This is the eleventh year we’ve taken this trip, and having the two littlest boys reminds us of how far we’ve come. Was Drew really just eighteen months old the year he got stitches in his lip from a shady Doc O’ The Beach? He seemed so OLD. Remember the year we started bringing bikes without training wheels? How long have I been making this delicious bean dip we eat every evening while the adults drink and play dice games?
Traditionally we go to the beach in the morning. Porter skimboards,
the majority of the children dig and make castles,
and a few holdouts stick close to the grownups waiting for the goldfish and pretzels to come out.
Goldfish served on a plastic tennis paddle
Some members of our group have amused themselves by sitting on the beach and watching the people who walk by, then determining whether they are wearing proper beachwear. Should that lady’s cleavage be more covered? Is a Speedo ever appropriate outside the Olympics? (No- our husbands deserve to see some buxomness without having to buy a magazine for that particular purpose. Yes- it is also permissible to wear a Speedo at the Olympic trials, but these are not typically held at the beach.)
Finn and I have taken a couple of walks and determined that this year’s popular beach read is The Shack
After so many years we’re used to each other’s idiosyncrasy’s. For example, Kimberly refuses to buy any food that contains calories. Also, she loves the beach, except for the sand. We’ve spent many years bribing children to spill sand on her pristine feet so that we can watch her freak out and them carefully de-sand herself with the Diet Dr. Pepper can of water she keeps handy just for this purpose.
I’m still practicing with my camera, and Me Ra Koh is my new hero. At BlogHer she was able to make concepts I’ve read about and struggled to understand seem easy-peasy. I’ve picked a different tip to work on each day, and I’ve filled the frame, learned to blur the background, experimented with higher and lower ISO to increase color saturation and get shots in a dimmer setting. The pictures of Drew digging and this one and the one above of Porter skim boarding were taken at a lower ISO and should have more color saturation.
I took these below of Porter on the Auto setting and they should have less saturation, although it’s hard for me to tell after a couple of glasses of wine:
Some things don’t change, whether you’re home or away. We came home from an adult evening out last night. All three of my boys had put themselves to sleep, as instructed, although Porter put his special twist on it.
Goodnight, Finn.
Goodnight, Drew.
Well, maybe not exactly as instructed. Porter is buried under those pillows, and plans to sleep in this fort for the rest of the week.
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Posted by Anne Glamore @ 11:05 pm • Blast From the Past, Boys: Demented & Dangerous, Wanderlust: Travel Tales Stumble it!
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July 29th, 2008 at 11:58 pm, Headless Mom Says:
Have a great time with the gal pals. All that testosterone would make me cry for girl time.
Headless Mom’s last blog post..For The Love of My Life
July 30th, 2008 at 8:58 am, Jamie Says:
Sounds fun! You had me at double the amount of penises and bean dip. And that fort? Rocks. My girls are into constructing massive forts.
HAVE FUN! Love, love the beach. No place better for the soul.
p.s. post that recipe, will ya?
July 30th, 2008 at 8:59 am, Karyn Says:
A dear friend gave me “The Shack” to read this year, telling me it was a life changing book. I’m SO open to that. And really in the market for anything life changing - so long as it’s change for the better.
But the writing really isn’t very good. And while the first half kept my attention…it petered out after that, and grew repetitive to the point of being monotonous. But I repeat myself. You see what I mean?
I am surprised to hear it is the Beach Read of the summer; maybe I should take another look. Because my life still needs changing.
Karyn’s last blog post..Waiting Is The Hardest Part
July 30th, 2008 at 9:00 am, Karyn Says:
Oh right - and - I live at the beach. But I have never had a kibutzy experience like what you’re having and I’m totally jealous. Happy for you, but jealous. Your kids are gorgeous btw.
Karyn’s last blog post..Waiting Is The Hardest Part
July 30th, 2008 at 9:32 am, twinkie Says:
How is it that I live in Panama City and you’ve spent more time at a beach more times than me this year. It just proves that if you live at the beach you never go.
July 30th, 2008 at 10:18 am, lake lurker Says:
I knew you had a dose of Erma Bombeck in you, but I think there’s some Annie Leibovitz coming out in Mrs. Glamore.
lake lurker’s last blog post..Out Of Reach At The Beach
July 30th, 2008 at 3:34 pm, Marine Wife Says:
Sounds like you all are having a blast!
I couldn’t comment on your earlier post, but wanted to say congrats on being included in the book! So exciting!
I just had an essay printed in a collection that came out in May. Unlike you, I didn’t get to be first, but I was the first in a chapter. Anyway, congratulations! I know it won’t be the last!
Marine Wife’s last blog post..It’s never easy…
July 30th, 2008 at 4:05 pm, Anna See Says:
My husband bought me “The Shack” for Mother’s Day. I put off reading it– even the typeface looked a little “off” to me. Anyway, I finally read it and am glad I did. In fact, I think it would be a good jumping off point when discussing faith and relationship vs. religosity.
Anna See’s last blog post..One Man’s Trash…
July 30th, 2008 at 8:34 pm, Karen Sugarpants Says:
Ha ha ha Porter cracks me up! Have a great time chicka!
Karen Sugarpants’s last blog post..Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice
July 30th, 2008 at 10:11 pm, jen Says:
There’s one in every family, isn’t there? LOL! Gotta love the kids with “funny brains.”
(Oh, and I have two “funny brained” kiddos, God help me)
July 31st, 2008 at 2:09 pm, Anna.m80paremts Says:
Your’e taking some nice photos! I came across your blog looking for some high-quality material to link to on our mom blog site. we’ll definitely be visiting here again soon. You’ve got a sharp eye for details and a great writing style!
Anna @
http://m80parents.blogspot.com/
Anna.m80paremts’s last blog post..Military wives blog at the home front