Post-A lot of Stuff

Mud Monster: Last Saturday was a... unique experience. Ara and I seemed to both be in fairly irritable moods that day. We went with Victor, Cali, and Joey who all seemed to have a good time. There were 2 really cool looking mud obstacle courses, one of which was being used for organized races between different military and service branches. I heard Air Force vs. Navy and got to see some of the fireman vs. the police. All of the trophies were items left behind at the last mud monster, which now that I think of it I saw was back in 1989 so I guess someone has been keeping an old muddy shoe for all these years? There was one mud pit that was about knee deep all along the edges and had a high ground area in the middle. The mud in this pit was THICK and once your shoes and legs were coated in it you felt like you had weights on. There were also several "kid wash" stations which were basically a volunteer and a hose. The resulting puddles from the wash stations were pretty impressive in themselves and this is where Ara and I spent most of our time. The mud pit was just a bit overwhelming to Ara, she was basically stuck until I would move her to another spot to be stuck. She seemed to have some fun dropping Nemo and Dori into the mud puddles so we pretty much hung out there. There were tons of people and I admit I do not like crowds. My Mom says it's a phobia I have. I've personally always just thought.. I don't like crowds. I have never felt faint or fear just a general dislike of people being in my space! However, with Ara so mobile and so the same color as everyone else (mud color) I felt a lot of trepidation. I had dressed her in some of Joey's hand-me-downs in bright orange so everyone thought I had a cute little boy and I stuck to her like glue. I would sometimes even have the urge to push people who could dare be so insensitive as to get between me and my kid. I didn't though, but I would :P Anyway, it was a pretty exhausting day with the sun and the mud and the crowds. I remember it so vividly from when I was a kid so I hope that I was able to give Ara some of the same kidories. I took pictures on my sisters nice camera, when I could while dodging muddy water. I left the card in the camera when I returned the camera so I will have to post mud pictures another day. Most are of Ara looking "complainy" though, which was her general mood throughout the day.

My old quintet, minus the bassonist met for one last get together on Sunday. Brandon and Kelly are moving to Iowa next month so they can be closer to family. Now that Brandon has 2 kids and we have Ara it isn't like old times at all. Early dinner, talk of daycare and nap times, watch the kids play, and go home before 8 pm so we can get the kids to bed. I bet Alison and Charles find it oppressively dull. I have to admit I miss old times some. I want to laugh until I can't breath, argue over articulations with sir, and then go out for frappuccinos at 11 pm. Parenting is serious business so it's a good thing Ara cracks me up so much.

I have been listening to the few potter pod casts that have come out post-book 7 and I am dying to discuss the book with Megan. The student that comes to my house on Tuesdays is a fan and I have to really hold back when she is playing a scale and an idea pops into my head. I'm like, "Nice scale or whatever.. SOOO what did you think of Molly Weasley??". It's bad.