And the Good-Byes Begin

Turns out Kammy is going to Ecuador to stay for a while.  How much can she fit in her suitcase without being charged for trying to ship something the size of a small elephant?  Only one way to find out.

Out with the Old, In with the New

No, we've (finally) moved on from New Year's posts.  This is a tale of 2 cars.  No, scratch that... it's a tale of 3 cars.

Right before the New Year, my not-so-trusty car started being even more not-so-trusty.  While down at Mom and Dad's, I decided not to make a trip back home with a car that smelled strongly of burning rubber, so Mom and Dad graciously offered to let me take their car for a few days while Dad even more graciously offered to go car shopping for me while I was at home working for a few days.  Umm, yes please!!!  Who's going to turn down that offer?  Not me.

Good-bye, Stella.  It's been nice, but this is what happens when you smell bad.  Let that be a lesson to you.

I ended up with a car which I purchased without ever actually driving it first (though I had test driven the same model only a couple of weeks before).  Dad did all of the wheeling and dealing and I went and picked it up.  How's that for awesome? 

But know what's less awesome?  Someone rear ending you less than 3 weeks after you purchase your first-ever brand new car.  (Okay, I promise it was new.  It's just that it takes less than 3 weeks for a car to look like an absolute mess in the middle of an IL winter.)  Poor Molly had someone else's license plate prints embedded in her bumper.

So while Molly was getting touched up, they gave me a rental car.  (No, I don't name my short term cars, only my long term cars.  What do you think I am?  Crazy?)  My rental car was a Chevy Spark, and it felt like driving a toy.  I kept waiting for a policeman to pull me over and tell me to get off the road and back up on the sidewalk where I belonged.  And because I was driving a toy, of course I would be obliged to comply.

Ah, there's Molly.  Good as new again.  Welcome to the family!

Scavenging Part 2

Since Krista was sick on the day of the big group scavenger hunt, Krista and Brandon each had a team to help them complete their searches.  Who will win?

Team Brandon is victorious.  It might help that Mom was on his team, seeing as how she had a bit of a home advantage...

 While Team Krista finishes a respectable 2nd.  (You've already forgotten how many teams were competing, right?)

Wait, it's been too long since we've had a picture of Levi.  Let me fix that.  Hey cutie!!

 

He enjoys time with his Aunt Brenda

And Uncle Eldon

While his Daddy takes a break to... umm... well, who ever knows what Kevin is doing anyway?

And the Festivities Continue

Usually we ring in the New Year at the school where Mom teaches.  This year, our gathering was on the 1st instead - but no less fun.

Most of the pictures below are from running charades, a fantastic relay-style charades game.  Makes for some great laughs and some great photos!

Mom and Kam

 Let's see... how am I going to do this?

Who put these two in the same group??

Wow, this team is full of life!

Ready, set, go!

I don't think Elissa has any clue what she's guessing, but she knows how big it is!

Hey, this team has an extra person!

Uh oh, Aunt Beth - better move!

Well hello there :)

 Aww.  Not a bad job, no?

Happy New Year...

... even if it is 8 months late.

New Year's Eve was on a Wednesday night, so a few people stayed after meeting for a few games.

Mom and Sam enjoy a friendly game

Kamela was never quite sure of the rules for the game she played with Adrian.  Seemed like they were fairly fluid.

Levi and Elinor get acquainted

Nice to meet you!

Getting a little sleepy.  Are we going to make it until midnight?

Just barely.  Hey Mom, I'm ready to go home now.

 Happy New Year!

Extra Extra

So is it even worth playing catch-up on here?  It's August, and I'm still in the previous year as far as blog posts are concerned.  Um, oops. 

Maybe I'll go with the brief version.

One of our last year-end activities was a trip to see the musical Newsies.  Highly recommend if you ever get the chance to go!  "But Karmen," you might say, "you say that about all musicals.  You seem to  like them all."  Good point.  But trust me on this one.

Through the Eyes of a Child

I interrupt my timeline of events to share some amusing things that I stumbled across this afternoon - then it's back to finish up the 2014 material.  (I know, I know.  Hopelessly behind.)

A while back, Mom and Dad were cleaning out their basement and found a box of stuff that was mine - old school papers, report cards, art work, etc. - and decided it would be better stored in my crawl space than in their basement.  Fair enough.  But I already had a box of similar stuff, so I decided to do a little cleaning out and consolidating.  Here's what I learned about myself from a few years back:

• If I had a general store (I don't think I came up with this premise myself; I think it was a writing prompt) I would stock it with bright materials - hey, some things never change!  I would also like it to be located "anywhere in Georgia".  So then, some things do change.
• Apparently the biggest problems in the world, at least back when I was in grade school, are that "people are always either fighting or polluting".
•  My dream name was Christina Nicole.  Unfortunately, my parents went with Karmen Lynn.

Most of the papers ended up in the trash, but a few were too good to toss out.  I'm sure in another 20 years I'll get another laugh out of them :)