Rick Springfield and Life Without Kids

I had almost forgotten what life without kids could be like. Peyton and I have had three days without our children. The girls have been at my mom's and Michael is at Blake's house. Funny thing is, the first night, Peyton and I both had to work late. The second night, I picked Destiny up at Kylee's house and my mom brought all of the kids over for a couple of hours when she came to pickup Destiny. Peyton made it home just after midnight from work. He did a job to the Highlands...one of those fun barge, house on island deals that take FOREVER. But yesterday was great. We didn't see one another until about 3pm. Peyton had to return the truck and went by his dad's house to see Owen before he left town and I slept until 1030. Then we went to the Rick Springfield concert. Kim, Kelly, Peyton and I went to Taco Mac before the concert for a drink and some wings. Then we headed to the Fred. We were there less than ten minutes when it started to storm. Trees blowing, raining hard. There is just enough cover at the Fred, which is an outdoor ampitheater for people to gather out of the rain. Peyton and I headed to the bar, while Kelly and Kim decided the bathroom was the safest place to hang out in a storm. Basically, since we were right under a small awning with about 15 other people (all that would fit), the bartender had nothing but time on her hands. I helped her to fill that time. She started pouring the Absolut and by the time the rain cleared, I was cloudy. I have to say this was the craziest and best night I've had in a few years. Rick was fantastic. Even Peyton was really impressed. I can't believe he's almost 60 years old. The music was great and his energy was all that I knew it would be. I have waited 24 years to see him. I was 10 years old the last time my sister, Kim, got to go to one of his shows. I wasn't old enough. She was barely 14 herself. So, I can't imagine sharing that night with anyone else. Kim drove Peyt and I home. Very funny. The cop made us turn left instead of right when we exited the theater. The two of us in the back of the escalade, completely ignoring Kim as she asked, "is this the right way?" We just kept glancing out the window and saying, "yeah....just keep going straight." Well, we were actually on HWY 74 in Fairburn before I glanced out the window and said, "Kim, take your next right, we're in Fairburn." I thought she would kill me, but I couldn't quit laughing. We went at least 7 miles out of the way. It was too funny. We were all so busy singing and carry on like a bunch of teenagers. Kim is having surgery on Friday, so she couldn't drink. Good thing for us because we certainly needed a driver. We made it home about 0030 or 0100. Of course, going to bed was completely out of the question. We didn't have any kids in our house. We took the party out to our back porch and didn't make it to bed until 0545 this morning. I couldn't believe the time. Turns out, we still have a lot in common outside of our kids. I remember this morning why I was so head over heels forPeyton when I met him. He is TRULY CRAZY and CREATIVE in a really fun way. I've never met anyone who makes me laugh the way he does. I'm the luckiest girl in the world. I hope my girls find someone as loving and generous as their dad when they grow up. I won't wish that Michael find someone like me...that might be tragic for him, I'm a little difficult sometimes.

The NEVER ending Birthday

I didn't mention that the day before we went on vacation, Papa Don built two "wardobes" for the girls. They love to play dress up right now, especially Samantha. Papa made these little open fronted closets that are just their size. They can hang up their own dresses. He is putting in shelves next week so they will have places to put their shoes. They are really cute. They also filled them full of new sun dresses. It was a wonderful birthday gift and one that I will never forget. When we came back from vacation, Mema Lorelei came over with presents. We spent the day with her and ate dinner together. Then Peyton came home and brought prensents from Eric, Krysia, and Finley. Followed by a trip to Grandmother and Grandaddy's house for more presents. The girls are a little spoiled these days. Just last night Peyton brought home presents from Great Grandmother Tingle. The girls are pretty convinced that birthday's last for at least a week. Samantha is annoyed that I'm taking too many pictures of her and Mema. "Stop Mommy," she says.

Sabrina and Tyrus I am sure it will seem like no time at all before they are driving real cars.

Happy Third Birthday Tingle Twins

I think the girls have finally learned what it means to be TWINS. They seem to understand that it means they share everything, including a birthday. I've always said the girls were fraternal twins. They were in seperate sacs...so this tends to mean they are fraternal. There is still a chance they are identical. It's something like 15 to 25%. If the egg splits in an identical pregnancy within the first ten days or so, then identicals can form in seperate sacs. The doctor told me from day one that DNA testing would be the only way to determine if they infact came from the same egg. I met a lady in Myrtle Beach, SC who had twin girls. They were 7 years old. She said for years that they were fraternal because they didn't look alike to her or her husband. At four years old, they had a DNA test to determine if they were identical. Turns out, they are in fact identical. Just like my girls, they are a half inch apart in height and a pound different in weight. I am really starting to think that we need to do a DNA test.

We are so blessed to have such beautiful and healthy children. The past three years have been a lot of work, but a lot of fun. I can't be around the girls these days without laughing. They say the funniest things. They really are growing up.

We had an immediate family birthday party in our hotel room. We bought balloons, cake, ice cream, presents, the works.... It was a lot of fun and the girls didn't seem to mind that it was just us.

Tingle Family Vacation

For the past four years we have taken this week off for vacation. We try to make sure our anniversary and the twins birthday falls during our time off. I realized tonight that they have only been in town once on their actual birthday since they were born. We were in Destin, FL on their first birthday, though we did have a big party the day after we came home. We were here, doing a vacation at home on their 2nd birthday. Finally, we spent their 3rd birthday in Myrtle Beach, SC. We rented a room on the beach for five nights. The hotel had 7 pools, including three for kids and a lazy river. They had bucket drops, mushroom fountains, and even a submarine. The kids had a lot of fun. Before the week was out, Sabrina was jumping off of the second step and going all the way under the water. Samantha, more cautious in the pool (would not put her head under at all), loved the beach and the waves. She was fearless when she went out with her daddy in the surf. She would laugh and scream with delight as wave after wave crashed over them. Sabrina, in her own words, "hated the beach." By the time we left, she was playing in the surf a little. She was laughing at the waves and letting him roll over her legs. She still wasn't as thrilled with it as Samantha was. Destiny loves the water. She doesn't care if it's the ocean or the pool. She just likes to swim. Michael and Peyton went fishing the second morning we were in town. It's hard to believe, but Michael will be 15 next month. He took off on his own to the store several times on his skateboard. He pretty much had the freedom to go where he wanted to on this trip. I think he still spent most of his time with us. Mema Shirley and Papa Don stopped by the hotel and spent the night with us on the girls birthday. They were on their way home from Chinqapin, NC. We were only about an hour out of their way. It was a lot of fun to have them there. It also gave Peyton and I a chance to go down to the Sand Dunes for an anniversary drink. Our outing was going well, until just after 10pm when they started the karaoke. We usually love karaoke, but in this case, there was a group of teenage girls staying at the Dunes. You can imagine where this is going....Miley Cyrus city. The girls just could not sing, they had to squeal the words to all of the songs. It was still a really nice night. Peyt and I spent the next couple of hours on the beach. I felt for a moment like I did before the kids. It reminded me of lying on our hammock at Sir Galahad and talking for hours. It's amazing how much our conversation revolves around our kids. Sometimes I have to remind myself that Peyton and I had plenty to talk about before they came along. We spent the better part of two days at "The Boardwalk." We saw an IMAX movie about the Grand Canyon. The scenery was beautiful, but I felt like Al Gore was sitting right next to me. They couldn't show a beautiful picture without stating the HORRIBLE truth....that global warming was ruining the canyon. I just wanted to scream....."Can't you see the walls of the canyon? It's been getting deeper for millions of years....why would it stop evolving now?" Peyton and I are not exactly on the same page with the whole global warming mess. He can't stand the term at all. My feeling is that it exists, but I also feel that global cooling exists. If you look at the history of our planet, it's gone through periods of cold and hot for millions of years. We have cooling and then heating trends. We should conserve where we can...it just makes sense. But give me a break, I wanted my kids to see the beauty of the Grand Canyon...instead, they watched a 50 minute narrative on how horrible the human race is. On a happier note, we got to ride a lot of carnival rides. We even rode the "catapillar". There are only three left in the country and the one we rode is the only coaster that still has a working canopy. Basically, you go around and around on a closed circuit track that has hills and valleys. Halfway thru the ride, it reverses and the catapillar is covered with a "caccoon." You can't see anything. You are just flying around the track backwards in darkness. Peyton, Destiny and I rode this one together. It was really funny. Destiny was sliding into me and I was sliding into Peyton. Samantha is with Peyton and Sabrina is with Papa on the Carousel ride. All in all, this was my favorite family vacation to date. It was relaxing and the girls were old enough to really enjoy everything. I can't tell you how many times they made me laugh this week. Peyton has been writing down all of their funny little antedotes. One day, I'll have him put them up on the blog. Sabrina and Samantha had a private conversation that we over heard. They like vacation. It's fun because Daddy doesn't have to go to work and Mommy doesn't have to go to work. It was so cute. It made me want to send in my resignation. We all know that isn't in the cards. I would go crazy without work, but I think after all the fun I've had this week it is going to be hard to go back this time. I forgot to mention that the first morning, we woke up and before we were even dressed, the fire alarm went off and they evacuated the hotel. We were all standing on the corner in front of the hotel in our nightgowns. Luckily, mine is a short outfit. The picture really looks like a fire, but it was a false alarm. The change in temperature from the room and the heat, caused the lens to fog over. TOO FUNNY......

Fourth of July

We had a crazy long weekend. I had an MRI on Thursday. Good news is that it wasn't bad enough for the doctor to call me before he left for a couple of weeks vacation. He promised to look at the results and if we needed to move quickly, he would send me to his counterpart while he was away. This is very different from the amount of pain I was in before. That time, he took one look at the films and within 48 hours we were in surgery. I am doing much better this week than last week. The tens unit has really been helping. I've also been much better about not lifting the girls. I just can't do it right now. Hopefully this is just an episode and the disc will calm again for a few months. I'm not happy at the thought that surgery could be needed again. I have to be realistic and look at my family history. Four out of five of my dad's siblings have had at least one back surgery. Most of them have been diagnosed with degenerative disc disease. It is very likley that I have this as well. I really believe this might be the outcome of the MRI.
Peyton ran the Peachtree Road Race on the 4th. He finished a few minutes faster than his time last year. We are so proud of him.

We went to Jace's birthday party on Saturday. Everyone was there. I was really surprised that the girls were not afraid of the water slide. They each took turns sliding over and over again. The big kids were helping them up the ladder and for the first time in a long time, I got to really enjoy talking to my family. They are really growing up. Hard to believe that Jace is 5 already.

Bobby Gene Dennis

I am always surprised at how down I feel on July 4th. As patriotic as I am all of the time, I can't make myself really enjoy this holiday. This year the fourth marked the 33rd anniversary of my Dad's death. I wasn't even two when he died and it still depresses me to think about it. I am lucky to have the best step dad in the world. He has never thought of me as anything less than his daughter. He and mom took me to a parade and fireworks EVERY year when I was growing up. You would think I would have grown to love the holiday, but it just isn't my favorite time of the year. .

Movies Under the Stars

We took the kids to Star 94's movies under the stars last weekend. It was too close to home to miss. McCurry Park hosted the event. We took a picnic dinner and ate under the stars while watching The Bee Movie. The girls had so much fun playing with the little girl next to us. It was a nice treat.