Wrapping Up

From here on out, it will be current or semi-current updates. But this is what we get for me taking a small sabbatical.

Hands down, my favorite part of christmas this year was playing student in Miss E's class. If this girl doesn't do something where a crowd of eyes are staring at her, then there's no hope for any of us. She's a natural performer.

Setting up shop in front of the fireplace

Reviewing the class rules: 1) Be quiet while teacher is talking. 2) Raise your hand if you have a question. 3) Tell the teacher if you need to use the bathroom. 4) No interruptin'

I thought she added the accent on #4 for my benefit since I'm further south than she is. And when I did in fact interrupt, at least she didn't try to please the Arkansas in me by saying "Oh C, you're a mess." You remember my disdain for that phrase... here.

K had #2 down pat, and R needed a tutor for this subject apparently.

My other favorite parts of the day? Here's just a few:

Helping prep the food with mom in our aprons.

Gut laughs during our White Elephant party with the cousins, aunts, & uncles.

And last but certainly not least, passing around the sick baby doll and giving him shots in the rear.

 

Point Taken

After walking away to heat up some cinnamon rolls, I came back to the game and asked N if he went already.

"Yes," he said.



 

Got the hint, N.

Can I have that piece of my ear back?

This is literally what we do almost every night during the week. Don't be jealous.



N sits on one couch, I sit on the other... and we watch R try to beat Mike Tyson in Nintendo's Punch-Out. It has become a very sad event to witness, R coming so close and then getting knocked out every time. He turns into Million Dollar Baby and won't move until time for bed, he becomes so distraught.

Was that an inappropriate joke?

Anyway, N & I want him to beat Tyson just so he'll quit obsessing over it and *we* can play some games. Like Dr. Mario or Goal.

You will know when R wins.  You'll be able to hear him he'll yell so loudly.

And, yes, we've finally hung those pictures leaning against the wall. The Shack is coming along.

Catalina Island and beyond...

I'm not feeling very wordy today. So just follow me through the last day on Catalina Island...

But first, the night before. We popped a few more advil and sat in front of the fire to watch the sunset. Later, we would all snuggle our way into the tent to play Taboo for a couple hours. Knowing it was cold outside and us warm and safe in our sleeping bags helped soothe our achy bodies.



But I couldn't sleep. And neither could my brother.

So we spent most of the night staring at the moon and its reflection on the water, quietly thinking to ourselves. That's the good thing about M. You don't need to converse. You can just sit and drown yourself in thought.

Morning came almost too soon.



But, with morning came the sun. And oh how wonderful it felt on our faces.

So, let me take you on the hike back. I want you to imagine a slight breeze, crisp air, and warm sunshine. The ground was dry, but you could feel the moisture on everything green.

We hiked up hills, cut through the Others' neighborhood, ducked under canopies of trees... All of this with a smile on our faces. We were happy.



We arrived a couple hours later and enjoyed a nice lunch at the restaurant and a game of speed on Tinkerbell playing cards. And no, they weren't my cards. I had a falling out with Disney while working at an Equity Center in college. It was ugly. R had to endure the brunt of my anger so no one else would.



On the way back, I refused to sit inside. Instead, I wrapped myself up in a sleeping bag and sat on the top deck with eyes closed, just embracing the wind. I could live outdoors.



The next day we intended to hike up to the Hollywood sign, but we didn't make it very far. Our legs hurt.



This is what happens when I ask the brothers-in-law to "get together". R just stares at M's outreached hand.

We had a really good time. M & D were great hosts and you could tell they really wanted us to enjoy ourselves. And we did. Thanks you two!

A and I shared a bed for many years...

Did that get your attention?

I hope so. I hope it also got CBS's attention as well.

Because our small town was having auditions for the Amazing Race last Saturday. I mean, really? This teeny place? So I called my sister, who didn't have much going on in the next few months, to make a quick roadtrip. She hadn't seen our dorm room yet, anyway.



A piled up the car and trucked on down. On the way, she got lost, which was extremely appropriate for the occasion.

When she arrived we sat down and filled out the application. Things were going well until we got to this one: What is your biggest pet peeve about your teammate? Now if only the cameras were on during that segment. R sat wide-eyed and silent; trying to not be noticed. Because if he had been, we'd have eaten him alive.

Fine. You're moody. THERE. Yeah, well you're flaky. SO DOUBLE THERE.

and after we wrestled and pulled each other's hair for a bit, everything settled down.



We made it to the casting place, conveniently located at a casino, and stared at our competition.



I mean, couldn't we at least beat this guy?

And what the heck was I wearing? Isn't this a casting call? Here I am with wet hair, a free t-shirt we won from a 5K race, my husband's vest, and highwater pants. Every casting director's dream.



So we sit down and kinda go over memories and other fun details about ourselves. You know, picturing the audition as someone throwing out questions really fast. Man, were we on it. Sitting in that room, waiting our turn... we were on fire.

And then.

And then a lady walked in and told everyone to listen up. This is how it's gonna work. You walk in, give your applications to one of the guys and then you'll have two minutes to do whatever you want. So get pumped up!

A and I looked at each other and I felt a little vomit come up my throat. Anything we want? [silent scream]. We were not prepared.

Luckily, A is in marketing/advertising and just naturally an outgoing character. So she patted my hand and said, "Carrie, just follow my lead, okay? You'll be fine. I'll carry us and you just pipe in whenever you want." So loving. Such a leader.

"Team 14!!!!" someone yelled on the overhead. We took a deep breath and walked into the room. After we handed over the application, they positioned us in front of the camera and said, "Go!"

We managed to get the opening out which was basically our names and then...

[crickets]

I looked over at my leader A in desperation and she was standing there, with this weird downward smile I'd never seen on her, just looking up at me. So I panicked and started rambling. And if any of you ever heard me talk under pressure, this is the worst possible scenario. I don't even remember what I said, but I do remember dropping the phrase Passive Aggressive hoping to get a little spark in the room.

Nothing.

We literally said nothing. A wrapped it up and they turned off the camera. It was extremely uncomfortable. No one looked at us. And we left.



So what did we do? We called up R to have some drinks with a couple Debbie Downers. We tried to convince ourselves that the show really was looking for two people who couldn't spit out any coherent words and spoke in monotone voices followed by awkward silences. Right?

But R wouldn't have any of it. He said, "Look. There is no line. Have some more food and liquid courage and GO BACK IN THERE." It was like Hoosiers all over again.



He dragged us to the car and drove us back. When we walked in, the room had been cleared out for several hours and the cameramen were bored.

I left it up to single cute girl, A, to seal the deal. They said, sure why not and that they could splice the new audition over the old one. We asked R to stand on the sidelines this time because we knew he'd laugh at us. I don't even care if it wouldn't be with us, someone just laugh for goodness sake.



We stand in our appropriate spots for the second time and jumped in. Our hook? That we shared a bed for many years as kids, which is true and now all of you guys know. Oh well.

But that wasn't it. Not only did we share a bed for many years, but I did once pee in the bed. After I realized what I had done, I sat on top of my pillow and watched it trickle down to A...watching in slow motion as she came unglued.

See? Teammates, right there.

In the middle of our two minutes, there came the same awkward pause. But instead of succumbing to it, I called it out. "Why is this so awkward, A? [Turning to the camera] I think it's because we think we're funnier than what we really are." A disagreed and pointed out that all of the cameramen were laughing. And I argued further that "no they aren't. They're looking at the ground avoiding eye-contact." And just that little riff instantly calmed us because that's exactly how we would banter. Dry, yet with the same high nasaly voice. We continued with more descriptions of each other (mostly on how moody I am) and eventually got the "wrap-up" motion!

Oh happiness. Even if we don't make it any further, just getting that hand motion made our night.

Well, that and the $2.50 I won on the slot machines.

Wish us luck!!

Brothers

I enjoy watching R and his brother's relationship.

They look up to each other

and appreciate their (dis)similarities.

They are each other's sounding boards.

They enjoy each other's company.

When they don't, they yell loudly, then quickly get over it...

and spend $20 worth of tokens on a

Star Wars arcade game to make up.

I like that.

Grand Canyon Part 2

Ah, day three at the grand canyon. We woke up extra early this morning to join a guided hike along the Cedar Ridge trail. One of the park rangers would walk us down and then give a schpeal on the wildlife as well as a brief history of Native Americans. My kind of thing!

Also my kind of thing? Forcing other people to come along with me. Sleep or no sleep, get up people.

When we hopped off the shuttle at the trailhead, we still had a few minutes to spare and wandered around. That's when we found what is now considered R's favorite photo, ever. He's openly admitted to being enamored by it.

But you know I can't let someone do something without me trying it too. Hello, that's how I cracked my tailbone, remember?

So I mosied on out there and politely asked R to take my photo too.

This is where we get into the section of the post delicately named "I'm married to a non-photographer." And by non-photographer, I don't mean someone who doesn't like taking photos. I mean someone who just doesn't take photos.

Get this, he studied in Australia for 6 months and took exactly zero photos.

That still bugs me.

So I handed over the camera and waited the appropriate few minutes for him to find the power button.

I was scared out there on that ledge, my friends. And R managed to capture it.

He also managed to capture the fact that I was wearing granny panties. Thank you, R.

Go back to not taking photos.

But man, was it a great view of the trees. I always think of the GC as all rock, no greenery. Not here.

Little did I know what was lurking in those trees. But I'd soon find out by the park ranger a bit later.

First, though, we had to walk down. And honestly, walking down was a lot harder on the knees than the way up.

Choose your poison: lungs or knees. I choose lungs.

So I shoved the camera back into R's hands and ran ahead so I could nonchalantly have an, ahem, unposed photo.

No really. I never knew he was taking my picture.

Not even here when I was waving at my brother-in-law while strategically facing into the sunshine for a better shot.

Finally!

We made it to the checkpoint. It was a little plateau of land with overlooks galore. It was also where our park ranger sat us down for a history and nature lesson.

What he first wanted to talk about was the wildlife and what you might find if you took other trails close by. For instance, up along the rim of those pine trees, you would probably encounter mountain goats. But beware! It's mating season, so you'll want to stay clear of them.

And not any sooner after he said the word mating, I turned to look at R.

Settle down, R.

After soaking in the 180 degree view of the canyon, we headed back up.

Nothing too eventful happened.. Oh wait. Yeah, something did happen.

R almost tumbled to his death.

No, I'm not kidding. You see, this trail had been given a grant to fix it up. So along the way, you passed by workers moving stones here and there or even using a jack hammer to break up areas.

It was as we hiked past the jack hammer when it happened. R wanted to get past as quickly as possible and so hopped onto a slightly slanted rock that hung over the edge of the trail.

It was like slow motion. He lost his footing on that rock and slid over the edge, but managed to flip around and grab that same rock with his left pinky finger.

okay, it wasn't his pinky. But he wants people to think that.

No, but it was scary enough for him to say, "Ask me in five minutes" when I asked him whether or not he's freaking out.

Shortly after, N & A came up the path and I relayed what happened. Immediately, N pretended to fall too, yelling that he wanted to have a near death experience too.

The night ended with a marathon game of dominoes..

...while I marveled at how differently everyone set theirs up. I see four different patterns here. Well, five if you count the table cloth.

It was a great weekend. Lots of outdoor time and not so much hair-brushing time. My favorite way to spend the weekend.