Sunday, November 12, 2006

American loves

Aaron and I will have a college friend stay with us for a few days while he attends a conference in DC. Our friend has been living with his wife in Aberdeen, Scotland for the past year and a half. Icant say when he visited the States last, but as I've prepared for his stay, I've been thinking about the things that I would want to see/do/eat/revisit if I were in his shoes - visiting America for just a few days having lived overseas for over a year. What would I miss? I haven't come to too many conclusions, but a few things came to mind right away.
a) I'd want to go to Wendy's and get a spicy chicken sandwich and a frosty.
b) I'd need some good pizza. I imagine Scottish pizza isn't that exciting. Mellow Mushroom sure would be good.
c) I'd want to drive a really big car - something embarrassingly large and shiny. And I'd want to drive fast on the highway.
d) I might want to read a junky People magazine.
e) Shopping at some outlets might be fun. Outlets seem like an American thing.
f) Since I live up here, it would be neat to take a night stroll by all of the monuments in DC while they're nice and lit up. I bet it would be an inspiring reminder of what America is.
This is, of course, a list of things that are actually do-able within a few days. Nothing like "see the grand canyon" or "hike the Appalachian Trail". There's lots of other stuff I'd do in that case. What would you want to do if you just had a few days in the US having been overseas for a year?

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Christmas change-up?

There it is. The 'C' word. Not "Christmas" - "change". Most folks dread it and our family in particular has a phobia for it. Two points for anyone who can find if there's actually a clinical phobia for change. Anyhoo... we're all older. Not one of us isn't. Some of us (ahem) even have kids and stuff.
That said, I'm ready for a change in Lawrence family Christmas festivities.

Let's face it - even with a moniker as cute as 'the cousins', our generation has reached adulthood. I don't believe that means anything except that we are able to bring more to the table, to add more to the conversation.
I think it's time that we try. Recently I've shared my thoughts with tumblekat, Bee, DaddyofAddie, and Nae. Now I propose it to the rest of you. My thoughts are the following:
  • It would be fun to have the opportunity to do something that focuses Christmas energy on more than just the person whose name I'll draw.
  • We have the ability and perhaps the responsibility to be doing more for Grandma and Granddaddy. Since Christmas seems to be one of the very few times that the family is all together, why not use that time to really honor them? And as tumblekat pointed out, this is a particularly big year for them since 12/22 will be their 60th anniversary!
  • Is it realistic to think that our Christmases will continue as they are for much longer? The alphabet is finite and, though we're only on the letter O (I think), isn't it fair to say that a change now will revitalize the tradition?
The cousins that I've talked with were in favor of a change and had some great ideas. I invite them to comment! In my mind, though, the night wouldn't look much different than in previous years. The progressive dinner and the parents' gift exchange would still happen. The biggest change I would propose would be no cousin-to-cousin gifts. Of course, I'm not assuming this will be a permanent thing, but the anniversary this year is a great opportunity to try a change this Christmas and see if it's something we want to keep working with. One idea that I particularly liked was to do a little skit or something that celebrates Grandma and Granddaddy's marriage complete with a communal gift for them (gift certificates to restaurants, grocery stores, WalMart, etc). It's already October. If anything is to happen this year, it's high time we started planning. If you guys aren't really excited about changing the Christmas gig just yet, no big deal! I'll still love the time together. Please chime in. And as our first act of independence (in a good way), let's not tell our folks. Just yet, anyway. It's especially important if we want to surprise them with something. Anyway, this is my two cents.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

blog. blog. blog. Wow! This is fun. I'm blogging! It's great to be blogging with all of you...great idea, Wees! Seriously, Molly and I are excited about keeping up with everyone through "The Cousins" blog, despite everyone being so spread out.

Also, congrats Steph and Andy...although we'll all need some practice saying the baby's name.

A Word From Addie

Hi folks! I've asked mom to type for me since she won't let me touch the laptop yet. Mainly because my fingers are always slobbery. Anyway, on September 16 I turned 4 months old. To mark this big event, I thought I would give you a little tour of my world. Or, a tour of my little world.


First of all, I drink my meals - 5 of 'em a day. Recently mom gave me some rice cereal which is like cream of wheat, but made with rice. It's totally textureless and flavorless, but I don't have a problem with it. I wish mom could get it in my mouth, though. She'll learn.


I had to get some shots when I turned 4 months. I'll get more in 2 more months. Geez! I'm like a pincushion here! This shot is of me before I went, of course. I got a Nemo sticker for being brave, so that wasn't so bad.




I have a few friends that I like to chew on. One is a blanket that's easy to hold, a little dolly, and "Buster" that Yees and Chris gave me. My friend "Filibuster" (pictured) looks just like "Buster". Maybe they're related. Also, though not technically my friends, I like to chew on my fingers, once again why I'm not the one typing.


Dad bought a trumpet recently. Every time he plays, I cry. No offense. One thing I do really like is when Dad turns me into a helicopter. I don't know how he does it, but I just take off!


I also like to play in my bouncy seat, look out the window in the car, and watch TV but mom does her best to keep me from doing that since I can get 'overstimulated' or something. Other than those things, I just say 'whoo, whoo, whoo' or sleep.


I guess that's about it. As I'm able to do more I'll let you know. I mean, I'll have mom let you know. Later!

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Congrats are in order!

I've been trying to post some photos but it's not working very well. I'll keep at it. It seems like if you add photos after you've added text, that might be the trick. A thinks Blogger.com might not be the greatest blog site, but it's free, so we'll try and deal for a little while. I'm glad folks are getting the hang of it. It's my first time on a blog, too.

Big news! - You know that Geeps and Mister Jackson are expecting, well... their SON arrived yesterday afternoon. That's right - another boy cousin! Actually, tumblekat explained that baby Jackson is your first cousin once removed. I heard about the delivery secondhand, so I'll let one of the parents fill in the details. I think all three of them are fine though Geeps has some recovery ahead of her.
Serious congratulations to the Jackson family!
With a new Valentine girl due in January, that'll be 2 new cousins in just 4 months! The next generation is in the works - weird.
<-- Geepie a month ago. She doesn't look like this anymore!


As soon as I can get it to work better, I'm going to add my favorite recent photos. You can bet most of them will be of Addie. But since some of you still haven't seen her, you're in for a treat!
Have a great Wednesday!

Sunday, September 17, 2006

So it begins...

As the family grows and moves around, it's going to take more effort to stay connected and informed. This blog is set up with the hope that since (almost) all of us are on the computer on a regular basis, then maybe (almost) all of us would be able and willing to type a short note about what's going on in our world. I hope you'll take advantage of it!