Jeepin' and the rest of this beautiful July week....

My first drive in the "Zeep" as Nick calls it...we headed out to Matt's Mom's house to wash her dogs (don't ask). It was a beautiful ride in the country and the kids LOVED it..

<--does it look like he's telling me to watch my speed? Cuz he is.

Geez it's windy... note to self: headband.

Carly jeepin'. Yo.

The kids and I tackled Ocean Breeze on Tuesday... (thinking about getting a tattoo but not sure what to get? Go to Ocean Breeze and browse; I've NEVER seen so many tattoos in ALL MY LIFE)

She's so purty.

Oh boy, was this fun!! Chris Mitchell was back in town for a bit... we had too much fun. I miss him more than ever. It WILL not be that long before I see him again....

Halo (Carly names 'em all) the squirrel who hung out with us on the picnic table at Princess Anne Park. He at one point tried to get IN my purse....

oops, back to the Ocean Breeze visit... Acrobatic divers, with accents and loincloths. Doesn't get much better than that! And I got to interview them for work!

Who says you gotta have Starbucks? We made our own Caramel Fraps on Sunday and they were as good as the original!

Gotta go, Christian from Carraba's is here with plates of food for us to sample... it's a tough job but someone's gotta do it.

more learnings from Oprah..

...who's always yammering on about banishing negative thoughts in order to more be a "person at peace." So here goes, some thoughts I'd like to banish:

1) the fact that no matter what the trend, I will always look better WITH bangs.

2) that my demise will come early one morning in the s-curves of Greenwich Road, at the hands of one of the hundreds of Budweiser trucks that swerve across the line into my lane...

3) that succotash will never, ever taste right unless it's made from fresh North Carolina-bought white sweet corn and butter beans.

4) that something is bound to go amiss at tomorrow's remote...nothing good can ever come from volcanoes, virgins, rum, and a unicorn.

5) that the America I love is only at it's best after a horrific tragedy... (after recently seeing a giant flag waving proudly from the back of motorcycle...haven't seen enough of that lately)

6) how easy it would be to borrow from my 401k to fund a trip overseas to follow Fleetwood Mac on their fall European tour....

7) the look on Carly's face when she sees the SPCA ad about abused animals with Sarah McLaughlin singing "Arms of an Angel".....

8) the incredible envy I'm feeling over Matt now driving this sweet ride, and I'm still stuck with the minivan....

more from Carolina....

The guys doing their double Tony Hawk....

and Nick trying to reel in on of his "boats"

there he is diggin' at that belly button again....

the kids checking out Digger's Dungeon....

Are we rednecks now or what? Don't answer that...

Views from the field:
<---a gohper? a fox?

and my favorite: mimosa trees!

ahhh...the possiblities...

When we were kids, Dad cut the grass with a riding mower and our little red wagon hitched to the back. Good, cheap, suburbian entertainment...
And look! He's recreating it for the second generation!

We have lift off!!

uh, oh though... Houston we have a problem!

Yep, that's not right...

the smoldering remains of Launchpad Roberts

beautiful moon coming up

our own fireworks from the dock

Back inside for Dad's birthday cake and some presents!

Always a good memory for me... Captain Crunch breakfast!

and check out the sunrise glistening off the early-morning water...

Eating sausage, pancakes, hashbrowns and most importantly, COFFEE from Digger's Diner... it was delicious!

And how most all of our Lundgren family adventures end...

Pooped out kids, dreaming of all the memories they've made.

the start of a Booming Birthday weekend!

ahhh, choices, choices.....

a boy and his tractor....

Grandaddy listening to Carly describe all her ponies.

The big hit of the weekend. Now to just teach Nick NOT to shift into reverse while still hurtling along at mach speed.

One of the more successful rocket launches... no matter that the rocket itself was never recovered despite a massive search.

I'm guessing the astronauts on the International Space Station are at this moment wondering what that flimsy gold-painted pointy thing is that's floating by their window....

Cheeeeese!

Melissa and Carly afloat...

canoeing along the shore....

peeking in the boathouse.. looks good!

Ahhh, so relaxing; but I would NOT want to fall in the water here...look at all that seaweed! Pretty sure if the canoe got swamped at this moment, Jesus and I would have a talent in common.

Look at my little guy lovin' life! Sure he's squeezing the life out of Matt's poor toe, but he's having a blast!

Snapped some pics of the grand ole house.... just love all the character she still has....

The memories I have here are priceless; and it thrills me no end to see my kids now making those same memories....THAT'S priceless.

Heard from somebody this week who also grew up with these gorgeous doorknobs that she used to pretend they were diamonds :) I'm so telling Carly that next time we're there....

My favorite; reminds me of summers there, hanging towels over that banister to dry...

plenty more images to post from the weekend, but I suppose I should get back to "work".....

a sunny Friday

Little Carly's new kicks. She was such a big helper to me on Thursday when Nicholas' tummy was acting up, and she'd been wanting these for a while ....she kept seeing the commercial on TV and telling me "Mommy, they're at Kohl's! We can go there!"

So on thursday night, we went and got 'em for her :)

Friday was absolutely gorgeous...so off to the beach we went with Mom and the kids for some sand, sun, and fun!

New hairclip from Charlottesville looks good!

Carly was so concerned that I was NOT watching her... she even asked "are you ASLEEP??" Nope, I'm watching, hon. :)

Eww... Nick, that's just gross. I guess he's trying out for this weekend's "Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest"

She was so chilly on the way home; we broke out the cozy red "car blanket"

The lovely city of Chesapeake puts on a great family-friendly fireworks/concert thingy on Friday night and we decided about 15 minutes ahead of the display to high-tail it over and see how horrible parking would be (well, first we made the pit-stop at Mickey D's for a chocolate shake) ... then we drove right up to an empty parking lot off Greenbrier, and had the best seat in the house. :)

Got a chance to try out the "fireworks" setting on my Olympus and it works pretty good!

Cali Rolls, cake, and chlorine...

Leila, Cheri, and I hung out at Zushi on Monday for about 3hours... the waiters finally just gave up and started eating their own lunch next to us... it was SO good to catch up with these amazing women.

So good, in fact we're making it a monthly thing.... and not in that usual "once a month womanly thing" way!

Zushi for three!

We're women through and through obviously, as the beautiful bathroom was the giggly highlight of the day. We all took pics and wondered if our hubbys could make one for us in our own homes... Yeah, right.

Here's our "5 minute choco-mug cake." Won't do that again... even with the caramel sauce drizzle, it desperately needed some vanilla ice cream. Like the Sahara needs rain.

We're poolside!

He sucked it up and realized he could, in fact, stand in the shallow end!!

Meanwhile, I'm gritting my teeth in blinding pain because an itsy-bitsy spider BIT ME in the water! I thought I was going to die from the stinging poison, it was so bizarre; then gone in a couple of hours...not even a welt that I could summon some sympathy from!

Look how sweet these angels are....

a nature day!

Check out the Lundgren Vineyards first crop! They're coming along nicely and I'm sure Matt's been busy getting the oak barrels good and ready for the harvest...

Peaches are in, too! So juicy and sweet! They didn't seem to mind being in a cage this year due to the sneaky squirrels.

A fishin' we will go! We piled everyone in the car and headed out to West Landing Marina with the Kocan's for some fun!

<--- bait!

Of course... They slipped in the mud.

Fishergirl Carly's busy reelin' 'em in!

They're plotting something....

Yep, wasn't long until both their butts were soaked....

Got one!!

Teamwork...

Reel, girl!!

The End

last week of June

looking for tomatoes at Nana's house

Aha!! Got one.

Eating a cucumber whole. Ewww, that kid.

Yummy tomato!!

Moving on to date night :)

Guess where we are....

<---that there's a Crabtini

Guess yet?

Ruth's Chris! Thank you, thank you Mr. Lamb!!

Looks like we're wearing the same jeans....

Blue-ish view...

Yellow-ish view...

<---Reddish view...

And feet strolling 'round Town Center

Beautiful sunset to cap off the ride home!

Photo shoot with little Miss and her "Wildcats" t-shirt... which whenever she puts on, says "you know, I love Troy!"

(it's a High School Musical thing, btw.)

She's just so beautiful to me, so full of expression and independence.

While I certainly don't want to rush things, I just can't WAIT to see who and what she becomes....

She had to have one with Lovey, too...

Coming into church for the Vacation Bible School program..

all the little Aussie's with their outback hats on...

The littlest Lundgren singin' with the hymnal; so sweet!

playing iPhone pics catch-up...

speaking of iPhone... saw this joke in our morning show prep and had to copy it :) TOOOO true for anyone who has one!

So our new favorite Mexican place FINALLY got their liquor license!! Yay! Although when I asked for my normal "frozen with salt"...

<---- this is what I got. Reddish?? Really?

Bike-riding babies...

So, I've made my peace with chilled coffee. I can almost tolerate their Caramel Frapp.

Oh, and I got a new toy!! XM

Us girls eating Pho! Don't know what Pho is?? Oh, do try!

It's truly...

:)

Skinny Dip treats on the last day of "school."

The saddest sight in our house... the top of Nick's bunk bed. All his toys up there because of bad behavior/potty-training accidents, etc. BUT, fortunately for him the piles becoming smaller as he has more and more successes.

Our newest dinner favorite... LAMB! Trader Joe's does a great seasoned boneless leg o'.

It was part of Matt's Dad's day gift and it's just so juicy delicious on the grill.. Carly eats piles of it!! Makes Daddy so proud :)

A Happy Father's Day!

Of course no Father's Day is complete without a trip across the water to Bass Pro Shops!

Then Dad come over for some fun and pizza and outdoor fun; what a beautiful evening it was!

She connects!

...and the outfield watches it fly into the neighbor's yard :)

Look at that concentration and wind up!

even though many times, the poor tee took quite a beating...

Boom Boom Pow!!

Even with the eyes closed...

She swings and STRRRRIIKEEEEE!

The outfield in action!!

Sorry about the smell, Uncle Jeff....

and a little slow pitch, too! (which she hit, by the way!)

The very FIRST pitch Matt ever threw to Nick and....

HE HIT IT!!!

Horsing around with Granddaddy, and uh oh, I think they're in trouble...

Having a little Impala fun, complete with hard hats.

Love this one... a goodbye hug for all!

An Africa Hot Saturday....

"Father Mows Best" contest at Land & Coates... 100+ degrees. Outside. In a parking lot. With roaring lawn mowers. Freaking HOT!!

We have a winner! Jeff Nelson of Williamsburg

The kiddos with "Barbie" at the Toys 'r Us opening

Carly with SpiderMan and the closest scaredy cat Nicholas got.

Going backwards in time for these... for some reason they uploaded backwards :)

At Granby's Guads.... we for some reason felt like buying a car after a couple of hours...

our own table by the light of the "brick"

my shoulder, earring, and some inappropriate behavior ...

.....and what my girls looked like after those vodka and Red Bull's

"Don't be scared.... just keep dancing!!"

my lovelies....

flexing for her peeps...

feet, feet, feet, how many different feet you meet!!

the start of a beautiful evening....

beautiful....

just a guitar and their harmony....
turn off the playlist on the right, click below, and experience the magic :)
Stevie and Lindsey

Lovey goes to work

So, after being inspired by Aaron's day with 'Lamby' I thought we'd give Lovey a chance to go to the radio station with me.... After PROMISING I'd take good care of him, she let him go.

Here he is waiting on the potty for me to shower and get ready.

Peeking in to whisper "bye, bye Carly! We're off!"

Helping me pick out my banana and riding to work in the front seat... I was in too big a hurry to strap him in. Sorry.

Scanning my keycard to gain entry into the Max Media haven..

and checking my mailbox...so far just roadshow form changes. But wow! Mark McKay's got his work cut out for him today!

Walking the hallowed halls and rounding up my headphones, notepads, and coffee cup...

He passed me a Splenda for my gourmet (HA!) coffee then we headed back in the studio to wait for showtime.

Sitting in the studio browsing what's new on iTunes

Trying on my headphones! Hey, it's "All Summer Long"

Potty break! He hung out in the lounge chair, then helped me wash my hands...

Trying to kill time at my desk before it's time to go...

All packed up and set for the ride home....

strapped in tight and safe!

Lovey was pooped out by the time we got home, so I tucked him in for a nice nap after his very busy and productive day :)

Carly and Nick LOVED these pictures and shhhh... I'm going to get a big picture photo book made up for her as a surprise with the story written in it for her to read :)

Tennis Wrap-up

Tuesday was our last tennis class... it was SOOOO much fun!! We're going to take a break for the July session and then get back to it with some of the other Mommies for the August session!

Here's coach Paul after he and all the kiddos launched boatloads of balls at Tracey...

Coach Jason and Paul; they're amazingly awesome and really made all this so fun AND educational.

She loves her coaches..

After the final sweaty practice it was out to the shed for... POPSICLES!!

Look, she got pink!!

finishing up last weekend...

we started out Saturday driving down to Knott's Island to take the ferry over to the Currituck side... on the way? Beautiful lilies and other cool flora!

waiting at the gate....

is THAT the real Slim Shady??

there's our family:

a boy and his belly button...

Sally loved her first ferry ride! The rest of us? Eh, kind of a yawn.

Here's the girls at Mama Kwan's on the OBX; one of our must-dos.

racing by Jockey's Ridge...

storm clouds gather as we head over to Manteo....and the littlest Lundgren catches some Zzz's...

back at home now... here's what we did with some of the rolls of brown paper we got from Rhonda...

And finally, another edition of....

"Heard from the back of the Mini-Van"

so we're driving by the car wash, wondering why it's not open and Mat makes the comment "well, it IS after 7pm on a Friday night..."

Carly yells from the back...

"WHAT?!!!??? It's FRIDAY??? I have on the WRONG PANTIES!!!"""

In honor of Sunday....

GLAMOUR's 10 THINGS YOUR FATHER WAS RIGHT ABOUT
1) Sinatra.
2) You should always keep jumper cables in your car... just in case.
3) Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey.
4) That guy really wasn't good enough for you.
5) You do not need a pony.
6) The cardinal rule of grilling: Pressing down on the burger will only dry it out.
7) Yes, honey, all your male "friends" do secretly want more.
8) Paying $200 for a haircut is crazy.
9) It's not worth trying to repair the toaster yourself.

10) You are the prettiest girl in the world.

An 80th birthday for Aunt Jeanne!

I guess the party can't start until a farmer sets his field afire! 

We all went down to the Newbold-White house outside Hertford/Edenton... the weather'd cleared and it was set to be a great evening! 

Hugs from the birthday girl! 

Matt and the kids scoped out the old house and the boys found some sort of creepy bug that HISSED when you listened closely...yikes! 

Nick on his Oyster Phone.... hello?  can you hear me now?  

sisters! 

(Mom and Aunt Jeanne) 

Here's our little vegetarian with his tomatoes and asparagus 

this kids on the lawn sailboat 

Carly wanted off.  Quickly.  Then pouted when we didn't pounce to get her down.  Drama, drama.  

Little Nick manning the rudder 

enjoying some family time! 

a rainbow appeared at the end of dinner; how special! 

This is one of the newest members of the Chappell family.  Her name?  Carly!!!  How cooll!! 

No, I'm NOT going for the trifecta.  

On to some more fun...it's cornhole! 

The Symons girls 

Matt and the kids goofin' off and Carly taking a toss. 

Yep, field's still burnin' 

Carly takes another try... and Mom and I discuss the finer points of the game... 

Am I about to hit her?!!?!?  Goodness, no.  But Landon and I did win.  :) 

That sure is an itty-bitty boat you got there...

We went kayaking! It was a pretty expensive night; given the fee to do it, a babysitter, pizza for her and the kiddos, etc.  BUT it was so fun, and totally different from the crazy, hecticness (that IS too a word) of our normal life. 

This is the group that put on the 'tour;' it was at the Botanical Gardens and couldn't have been on a more beautiful night.  

I'm kind of panicking here about how wet we're going to get. 

Shannon, Oscar, Matt and me....The adventurous four :)  

Kelly pointed out to me the other night how I like to take "feet pictures"... hmm.  Guess I do! 

Hurry!! Paddle faster, they're catching us! (By this time, our butts were completely sitting in a pool of water.  Did ya KNOW these kayaks have HOLES in the BOTTOM?!?!??  MIght've been nice if they said that going in.  

Surprise!!  Aaron and Kay were in the group, too!  

Hi, Aaron and Kay! 

It's a bird!!  

It's a plane!! 

It's a cove full of lilypads!  

And a tree Matt made us go under that really frightened me.  Thought we'd get snagged and tossed into the lake.  Where snakes probably lived.  

This is the fastest we could get it going.

Meet tour guide Randy; tour guide Randy was a bit of a hoot. 

my favorite mimosa trees and some colorful hydrangeas, too! 

One of the celebrity eagles that live at the Gardens.  Randy thought this might be Dad. 

hi!  there's my foot again.  

Randy hauling us back to safety... whew, what a ride!  

miscellaneous

Got my media pass for all the shows at the Verizon Wireless Va Beach amphitheater!! 

New shoes.  No, they're not as uncomfortable as they look.  And yes, they make me about a foot taller than Dick Lamb.

  
Nick's ready to go fishing! 

Carly and I made cupcakes....delish! 

A backyard skink update! 

Mops splashin' pool party

She shoots.....

..... she scores! 

I wonder what's running through his mind at this moment....

totally relaxing...

Yay!  a diving board first!! 

 

Another first!!  so proud!