Sunday, June 29, 2008
Get Ready Cause Here I Come!
I'm leaving for Illinois today! We are starting off at 12 noon today for Cornerstone. We will be driving through the night (keep us in your prayers) and will arrive out there at about 8am tomorrow morning. I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself! It'll be a week of laughing with friends, listening to some great music, eating lots of canned food, and hopefully learning a little more about myself. But I think one of the best things of all is I'll be a week with out computers, cell phones, or TV. I always find it refreshing to get away from those things. So I will be gone until July 7th. But if you'd like to leave me some love on here, send me an email or a text, or leave me a message on my cell (which I will check daily) I will greatly enjoy them!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Kentucky at it's Finest
I just got back from spending almost a week with my sister, brother in law, and neice. What a nice time! Mostly we just hung around, which was a nice break after finishing work a few days earlier, drank lots of Ale-8, and watched "Flight of the Concords" on DVD. It was great to hang out with Lucy and see how much she's grown and how smart she is. She is a super eater (loves peas), loves to be read to, jump, play, and laugh. A true joy. I also had to chance to see all of Sarah and Alans old friends, meet some new ones, and get to know everyone a little bit better. It's so nice to see what a great life they have made for themselves and how happy they are. I look to them as the inspiration for my life as I grow up and start my new life on my own. I will post pictures of little Lucy soon.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Redlight Ivan
Part 3 of 3 (see two posts below for the whole story):
Stephen had taken his fathers mini-van that morning so that we could drive more kids, smart idea! Well, you would think so. It wouldn't start. Dead battery. It had happened before so Stephen felt confident jumping it would do the trick. Gina, a fellow youth leader, started calling AAA while one of the moms looked for jumper cables. We located the cables before AAA answered and got the car started in a matter of minutes. Whew, we all sighed with relief. It was still about 80 degrees out and the thought of standing in the parking lot waiting for AAA was not a fun prospect. We loaded up the car with 3 Brinbaum kids (they are a nice family and we know them well), Evan (14), Forrest (12), and Grace (8), we also had two of their friends with us, Aaron (12), and his brother Charlie (14). Off we went. Everyone else in the other two cars were driving through at McDonald's but we didn't want to stop and risk not starting again so we headed straight home. Right outside the McDonald's, which was right outside Six Flags, we stopped at a red light and the car just died. I panicked! Stephen gabbed his phone to call AAA and found out it was dead so I gave him mine and he started dialing. The kids asked what was going on and Stephen was so calm, he told the kids to get out of the car, take Grace's hand,walk over to the grass outside of WaWa, sit down in the center and wait. Stephen was so smart about that cause we didn't have any lights on the car and it was dark and he was afraid we might get hit. After a few minutes of holding with AAA a tow truck pulls up next to us! He asked if we needed help and we said yes please. He was a AAA guy too! So he tried jumping us with no luck. He than pushed the car over to the shoulder and out of the intersection. I decided to take the kids into McDonald's and get them some food and out of the heat. It was there that I almost lost my head.
Grace asked to go the bathroom. I said yes but immediately after she was gone I was thinking "is it ok for her to do that? are 8 year old girls allowed to do that?!". I ordered the food set the other kids at a table and went into the bathroom. She was washing her hands and smiled at me when I came in. She was fine. My heart started beating again. So there we are sitting in McDonald's. I had no idea what was going on. I wanted to cry s. Than Michelle walked in, Larissa and Joes step-mom. She had gotten a call from Gina (whom Stephen had called when we broke down), and told me what was going on. Between her and her husband Gary, Gina, and the other youth leader the kids could fit in the cars and they would take them all home. I had to ride in the tow truck with Stephen. So I thanked them, told them the whole thing scared me out of having kids for quite some time, and ran out to meet Stephen.
We hopped in the truck and I wanted to cry again. We were still over an hour from Stephens and I had to drive myself home from there. I don't even know what time it was at that point. But the guy was so nice. He was eastern european of some sort, young, and very talkative and kind. We told him funny stories from the day and he asked us questions about this and that while listening to rap music. Then he got pulled over. We pull into the WaWa parking lot in Flemington (so close to home!). He had apparently run a red light. No ticket for that just for a burnt out license plate light. He announced he needed a cigarette after that experience so I treated Stephen to a coffee and some donuts. We got back into the truck, made it to Stephens house, and I got home by 12am with sore legs, a sun burnt nose, and a terrible head ache.
It was such a stressful day to say the least. But I laughed alot and got the chance to get to know some genuinely nice kids. So I'd say it was worth it. I'm never going back to Great Adventure though.
Stephen had taken his fathers mini-van that morning so that we could drive more kids, smart idea! Well, you would think so. It wouldn't start. Dead battery. It had happened before so Stephen felt confident jumping it would do the trick. Gina, a fellow youth leader, started calling AAA while one of the moms looked for jumper cables. We located the cables before AAA answered and got the car started in a matter of minutes. Whew, we all sighed with relief. It was still about 80 degrees out and the thought of standing in the parking lot waiting for AAA was not a fun prospect. We loaded up the car with 3 Brinbaum kids (they are a nice family and we know them well), Evan (14), Forrest (12), and Grace (8), we also had two of their friends with us, Aaron (12), and his brother Charlie (14). Off we went. Everyone else in the other two cars were driving through at McDonald's but we didn't want to stop and risk not starting again so we headed straight home. Right outside the McDonald's, which was right outside Six Flags, we stopped at a red light and the car just died. I panicked! Stephen gabbed his phone to call AAA and found out it was dead so I gave him mine and he started dialing. The kids asked what was going on and Stephen was so calm, he told the kids to get out of the car, take Grace's hand,walk over to the grass outside of WaWa, sit down in the center and wait. Stephen was so smart about that cause we didn't have any lights on the car and it was dark and he was afraid we might get hit. After a few minutes of holding with AAA a tow truck pulls up next to us! He asked if we needed help and we said yes please. He was a AAA guy too! So he tried jumping us with no luck. He than pushed the car over to the shoulder and out of the intersection. I decided to take the kids into McDonald's and get them some food and out of the heat. It was there that I almost lost my head.
Grace asked to go the bathroom. I said yes but immediately after she was gone I was thinking "is it ok for her to do that? are 8 year old girls allowed to do that?!". I ordered the food set the other kids at a table and went into the bathroom. She was washing her hands and smiled at me when I came in. She was fine. My heart started beating again. So there we are sitting in McDonald's. I had no idea what was going on. I wanted to cry s. Than Michelle walked in, Larissa and Joes step-mom. She had gotten a call from Gina (whom Stephen had called when we broke down), and told me what was going on. Between her and her husband Gary, Gina, and the other youth leader the kids could fit in the cars and they would take them all home. I had to ride in the tow truck with Stephen. So I thanked them, told them the whole thing scared me out of having kids for quite some time, and ran out to meet Stephen.
We hopped in the truck and I wanted to cry again. We were still over an hour from Stephens and I had to drive myself home from there. I don't even know what time it was at that point. But the guy was so nice. He was eastern european of some sort, young, and very talkative and kind. We told him funny stories from the day and he asked us questions about this and that while listening to rap music. Then he got pulled over. We pull into the WaWa parking lot in Flemington (so close to home!). He had apparently run a red light. No ticket for that just for a burnt out license plate light. He announced he needed a cigarette after that experience so I treated Stephen to a coffee and some donuts. We got back into the truck, made it to Stephens house, and I got home by 12am with sore legs, a sun burnt nose, and a terrible head ache.
It was such a stressful day to say the least. But I laughed alot and got the chance to get to know some genuinely nice kids. So I'd say it was worth it. I'm never going back to Great Adventure though.
Gracie in Koch Land
Part 2 (see below for part 1):
So we, me, Larissa, her brother Joe, and Luke, head over to "El Toro". Larissa (a very fun 13 year old girl) and I wanted to crap our pants when we saw the drop! It looked terrifying. But we were brave and all got in line, after helping Luke hide his bag from the employees so we didn't have to rent a locker. I have to say we all made the best of what could have been a very miserable time. None of the kids knew me very well and I barely knew them. So we spent some time chatting about this and that. They talked about school and teachers and I made jokes about feeling so old. After about an hour we were up! Larissa said she wanted to ride with me so we got in the car behind to boys. And, since we were bad luck for the day, the ride was having some problems starting up. At this point we really felt doomed! But sure enough after a few minutes we took off. It was amazing! On the first drop Luke put up his very long arms (he's 6'4!) and caught someones gross sweat rag. Peoples jewelry was flying off as well. It was crazy and we all had a very good laugh for the rest of the day about it! And, I must say, it was the best roller coaster I have ever been on! So feeling good and wanting more we headed to "Rolling Thunder" and waited in line for an hour and a half for an extremely disappointing ride. Not worth the wait at all. But we laughed so hard about it it was almost worth it. By the time we got off it was 5pm, time to head to the arena for the concert we were there to see. I was so hot and tired and grumpy by this point I wanted nothing more than a shower and something tasty to eat. But we had to sit through the two bands I could care less about before we could head home. I also had an allergy attack in the arena which really did not help things.
After about two hours of sweating some more, and feeling jipped by the fact I only rode 4 rides in about 7 hours, we got to the cars... (oh, no it's not over yet)...
So we, me, Larissa, her brother Joe, and Luke, head over to "El Toro". Larissa (a very fun 13 year old girl) and I wanted to crap our pants when we saw the drop! It looked terrifying. But we were brave and all got in line, after helping Luke hide his bag from the employees so we didn't have to rent a locker. I have to say we all made the best of what could have been a very miserable time. None of the kids knew me very well and I barely knew them. So we spent some time chatting about this and that. They talked about school and teachers and I made jokes about feeling so old. After about an hour we were up! Larissa said she wanted to ride with me so we got in the car behind to boys. And, since we were bad luck for the day, the ride was having some problems starting up. At this point we really felt doomed! But sure enough after a few minutes we took off. It was amazing! On the first drop Luke put up his very long arms (he's 6'4!) and caught someones gross sweat rag. Peoples jewelry was flying off as well. It was crazy and we all had a very good laugh for the rest of the day about it! And, I must say, it was the best roller coaster I have ever been on! So feeling good and wanting more we headed to "Rolling Thunder" and waited in line for an hour and a half for an extremely disappointing ride. Not worth the wait at all. But we laughed so hard about it it was almost worth it. By the time we got off it was 5pm, time to head to the arena for the concert we were there to see. I was so hot and tired and grumpy by this point I wanted nothing more than a shower and something tasty to eat. But we had to sit through the two bands I could care less about before we could head home. I also had an allergy attack in the arena which really did not help things.
After about two hours of sweating some more, and feeling jipped by the fact I only rode 4 rides in about 7 hours, we got to the cars... (oh, no it's not over yet)...
The Gary Mozingo Experience
This is my adventure from Saturday June 7th. I will split it into a few posts. Here's the first:
Yesterday Stephen and I went to Six Flags Great Adventure with our church. It was intended to be for the youth group but a few parents and younger kids came along as well. There were quite a few of us in total but a fun group all in all. The day started off a little nutty with figuring out who was driving and all that but we got on the road and arrived at the park around 10am. After getting in the gates we headed to "Dark Knight" which was awful. We than started sweating profusely. We rode "Nitro" which was worth the hour long wait. Than it was time for lunch (yes those two things took that long). After lunch at the cars half the group wanted to hit up some ride where water was involved. The other half wanted to ride "Superman". Stephen and I, along with our friend Mitch, had 7 teens in tow. We waited and waited in the line. We started to get sick from the sun. My head hurt and this kid Evan felt like he was going to throw up. One kid decided to get out of line to get a drink. We got his cell number and said we would call when we got off the ride. Another 20 minutes later we hear that the ride is broken down. I announce we should get some water so we don't all have heat strokes and Stephen and Mitch agree. After a much needed break we split into two groups. Mitch and Stephen took 4 of the kids and went to the log flume. I took 3 and went to the wooden coasters. Oh, did I mention it was 100 degrees with full sun? Yeah, well, it was only the beginning...
Yesterday Stephen and I went to Six Flags Great Adventure with our church. It was intended to be for the youth group but a few parents and younger kids came along as well. There were quite a few of us in total but a fun group all in all. The day started off a little nutty with figuring out who was driving and all that but we got on the road and arrived at the park around 10am. After getting in the gates we headed to "Dark Knight" which was awful. We than started sweating profusely. We rode "Nitro" which was worth the hour long wait. Than it was time for lunch (yes those two things took that long). After lunch at the cars half the group wanted to hit up some ride where water was involved. The other half wanted to ride "Superman". Stephen and I, along with our friend Mitch, had 7 teens in tow. We waited and waited in the line. We started to get sick from the sun. My head hurt and this kid Evan felt like he was going to throw up. One kid decided to get out of line to get a drink. We got his cell number and said we would call when we got off the ride. Another 20 minutes later we hear that the ride is broken down. I announce we should get some water so we don't all have heat strokes and Stephen and Mitch agree. After a much needed break we split into two groups. Mitch and Stephen took 4 of the kids and went to the log flume. I took 3 and went to the wooden coasters. Oh, did I mention it was 100 degrees with full sun? Yeah, well, it was only the beginning...
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Summer of Alex
For all of you who enjoy Seinfeld you'll understand this blog. I am going to have a Summer of Alex! It's going to be me living life to the fullest (hopefully not being quite as selfish as George Costanza while doing it though), and just having alot of fun in general. I already have some big plans for my summer as well as some ideas for other things. In a few weeks I finish at work (I love being a teacher for that reason!) and I'll be off to Kentucky to spend time with my favorite sibling and her lovely family for five days. A week after that I will be leaving for Cornerstone where Stephens band will perform and I'll have see a crap load of awesome bands as well as having a much needed break from cell phones, internet, and.. well... showering. After that I plan on returning to New Jersey to spend as much time as I can with my friends, stay out late, drink coffee at diners, eat more than is natural for a person my size, try out some new baking recipes (like lemon chiffon pie!), finish packing to move (not so fun), and than move my entire life to Michigan. All in all it's going to be a great Summer of Alex! If you would like to be a part of it just let me know.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
