Campmeeting 2009

What a difference a year makes! V is now a champ at traveling (although I must admit that the portable DVD player we finally broke down and bought helped a lot)...

As usual, campmeeting revolved around the same 4 things (in no particular order):

1. How to stay cool 2. What to eat 3. Who to play with, and
4. Church

For V, the answers were:
1. How to stay cool: the creek and popsicles

Ready to swim!

Braving the slide

Enjoying a fudgesicle

2. What to eat: biscuits and figs

Special "Ginny-size" biscuits and cheese grits made by Queenie every morning

Mississippi figs hand-picked by Devon Guy!

3. Who to play with: the Hale children
There is a thing known as a "campground crush"...everyone has one at some point in their years growing up at campmeeting. I won't reveal any from circa 1989-1995 here, but I will let you know that V developed what may be the youngest campground crush ever at age 2 1/2. She fell head over heels for Roe Hale, her 7th cousin.

Roe is 7 years old, has 2 younger siblings and talks a little like an English butler (I am quoting his mom here). V called him "that tall boy" "my best buddy" "my great guy" and only sometimes, "Roe". We spent most of every day tracking him down, discussing whether or not he was awake or asleep and when she could see him next. She loved him in a way I wasn't expecting, but couldn't help taking advantage of like, "V, time to go to church. Roe will be there so come on!" or "V, time to take a nap, Roe is taking a nap now, too."

She also loved hanging out with Roe's 4-year-old brother Abram. Although he was mostly too busy being a superhero or playing with his 1st cousin and partner in crime, Guy Braden, to really pay attention to her.

She also made plenty of time for baby Sophie...the newest addition to the Hale family. She tickled her, hugged her and kissed her as often as possible. I can't blame her, Sophie is beyond cute.

4. Church:Well, there was plenty of playing in sawdust and trying to escape the pew to get to the playground, but then again, there was this one sweet service that I actually got to hear the sermon.

Her best quote was after the service when I asked her why she fell asleep and she replied, "the sermon made my eyes close, Mama." Amen, sister. Amen.

Church, by the way, is held twice a day at campmeeting, in an open air tabernacle with sawdust floors. (It is United Methodist- so no comments about snake handling, and no, it is not a cult despite what T thinks.) On Sundays, we sit with the whole extended family, this year represented by Aunt Dale (left) and Aunt Jennie (right).

It is lots of fun catching up with cousins (this is Bonnie, my 3rd cousin)

AND getting to meet my cousin's children and watching them play.

This is Alec, my 3rd cousin Heather's son...

And so, the campmeeting tradition continues on...despite the heat. :)

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Tres was out of town for the weekend (Vegetarian photographer shoots bass fishing tournament in Vermont. Ironic story live at 11.) so V and I were on our own for fun this weekend!

After an exciting Saturday that included doing laundry while also playing V's favorite game "baby" (it involves pretending to nap, pretending to cry and, sometimes, pretending to drink from a dirty sippy cup held as a bottle) we decided to liven things up on Sunday with a trip to Pullen Park. Pullen Park is also known as "the park with the slide that Grandma takes me to" which is not to be confused with "the park with the slide where the kids are" in my mother's neighborhood.

We brought along a couple of pbnjs, crackers, and V's new buddy "Hello Kitty" which was purchased specifically as a bribe to let me get through my Target shopping list.

It was tons of fun...until we tried to play in the hot sun and V realized everything was one thousand degrees. We tried a slide...she cried at the top and I had to go up the stairs to rescue her. We tried the swings...she cried and said her booty was burning. So we tried the wooden playground.

Where we quickly realized the climbing bars were metal and thus...too hot to play on. Oh well, at least there is the train and carousel, right? NOPE...not before 1 on Sundays. Just remember those delicioso pbnjs, V!!!

We went home and regrouped for naptime and then headed to Marbles to see some NC Theatre Conservatory students sing a few numbers from our upcoming production of The Sound of Music. V was smiling and pointing at the end and as I'm saying "yes, those kids are great, right Virginia?" she says "I wanna go play with the food!" I think she was mad that the kids were blocking her way to the play kitchen the whole time. So much for exposing your kid to the arts.

No matter how many times we go to Marbles I am always amazed at the different things V decides to do. While she is usually attracted to the "chocolate babies" (I just don't know how to correct/address this yet!) this time she latched onto a baby pig and carried it everywhere with her. Here she is as an ambulance driver...using the pig as a booster seat.

She was also a pig-toting firewoman (pig not pictured, but close by, I assure you).

She did take a moment to try to call Daddy. Seriously.


I finally got her out of there with the lure of chocolate ice cream. And wound up carrying her 6 blocks to Crema downtown. It was a little too good- she actually ate every bite when I can usually count on scarfing down the leftovers. I blame the crazy "spoons" they give you which V found fascinating.


It was a very fun weekend...so fun that I went to bed before 9:30 p.m. both nights from sheer exhaustion.

A Girl Scout in the Making...

So one of my most vivid memories of Girl Scouts is standing around in a circle with crossed arms, holding hands and singing the song "Make New Friends But Keep the Old"...I sing it to V every night so she will be ready to join the ranks of millions of girls before her as a Brownie in 4 more years. Here is how it is going so far...

Rehearsal One:


Rehearsal Two:


Showtime (don't miss the bow at the end)!

Which one is your favorite?

Happy 4th!

It is 10:35 p.m.

V has been in bed for less than an hour.

The yard is strewn with lawn chairs, wet towels and crackers.

The driveway is wet and sticky from the homebrew, our cooler is overflowing with beer.

T is trying to pick up cups and forks in the dark.

I have finished washing countless platters, threw out anything and everything that sat outside for 6+ hours and am now reviewing the pictures from the day. All 5 of them.

All signs of a good day, eh?

Happy July 4th!

OMG, it is July already!

It is amazing how fast time goes by...! It has been over a year since VeggieBruce the blog was launched and in that time V has managed to get potty trained, learn how to speak small bits of Spanish (thank you Dora) and cook dinner every night (OK, that part I made up). :)

Summer time is treating us well so far. Tres has braved a 3-5 hour drive to Virginia two weekends in a row- the first trip SOLO* with our 2 1/2 year old roommate, V.
*If you don't count the DVD player he conveniently purchased before heading to Ashland for Father's Day.

Since I was wrapping up NC Theatre's production of High School Musical 2 (don't ask, I don't want to talk about it) Tres headed to his parents' to celebrate Father's day...allowing me a weekend to work yet also sleep in and organize toys. I owe him to say the least.

According to all reports, the hit of the weekend was the crazy whale pool Grandma bought V.

Of course Grandma also made time to pick up a Dora themed toilet seat and sheets for her "big girl bed" so all around, V was treated like the only granddaughter that she is. :)

There was plenty of Pawpaw time too, don't worry.

From pushing him in the hammock...

...to demanding he read her books, V got her quality time with the Big Bopper for sure. :)

Then, we decided at the last minute to sprint to Alexandria last weekend for James Coynes' 3rd Birthday Party!!! (who could miss it, really?) Bug-themed and sugar-fueled, the party itself was fabulous! The kids ate ladybug cookies...

decorated their own bug cakelettes...

and of course, were a total mess.

Tres and Brian took the big kids to the National Zoo on Saturday morning while the girls (Steph, E and of course, super-napper Molly) completed final prep for the party.

I could go on and on about the 10 cakes Steph made to turn into chocolate "dirt"...the crazy balloons I almost burst my eardrums trying to blow up, and the delicious strawberry salsa...but I won't because I have the picture of the weekend to sum it all up:

Could these two BE CUTER? As V would say, "No way, Jose!"