We Are Psyco!!!!!

I've made a list.......... and I'm checking things off!!!!

You know, stuff like..... clean the windows, change burnt out light bulbs and re-pot houseplants.   Things that are easy to put off.  I'm considering patting myself on the back because I dusted my bedroom ceiling fan the other day.  

I go 90 to nothing 99% of the time and things like these go on the back burner.

So, I miss this little blog.  I miss spilling my guts.  

It's important to me to keep record of things.  I'm a historian, a family historian, a crazy-person who wants to keep track of all the psyco things that happen around this place.  For the record, the psyco things happen daily.  

Sometimes the psyco things are funny....

Sometimes they are strange......

Sometimes they can be exhasting......

and other times, they are downright gross!!!

But it's OUR psyco, and I love it!!!

This psyco hummingbird bangs on the window 50,004 times a day.  He has brain damage!  

Jamaica (the 3rd and final)

This is the final intallment of the Smith Jamaica Vacation for two reasons.

1. Because it really makes me sad looking at beach pictures when it's raining and cloudy in Missouri.

2. Because a million gazillion other things are happening around here that I'm not blogging.

The starfish in Jamaica were gigantor!  They had suction cups and they weren't afraid to use them.  

Mwa Ha ha!!!

See what I'm saying about looking at beach pictures.  I have lots of great memories and even more photos, but really, must I look at them!  

Gracie was gracious and allowed her mother another mini photo session.

I love this picture.  All my peeps are in it!

It was almost as if the locals could sense a small horse lover on the beach.  We weren't even settled into our loungers when a man and a young boy were soliciting horse rides.  Gracie was giving us a puppy-dog look and I'm a sucker for the puppy-dog look.  

I sighed and forked over $10.  Then I followed behind them the entire ride because they weren't getting 5 ft away from me with my baby girl.  

The horses weren't exactly well fed but Gracie didn't care.  Her horse's name was Ginger and it was love at first sight.

I loved that this picture captured Ian digging in the sand and Gracie on the horse.  

Ginger and Gracie went for a little dip.

Ginger's owner put her in the water so Gracie's crazy mother could take the 100th picture of her horse ride on the beach. 

Ginger was being VERY still.  She stood exactly where he put her without moving a single step.  I was impressed at how well the animal was behaving.  

Later on that day, I was reviewing the pictures I had taken so far, when I noticed that Ginger was still for a reason.  She may have been eliminating her bladder.  I could be wrong, but her stance and the yellow stream where huge red flags.  Just saying!

The resort had several restaurants, this one was named "Kimonos".  It was Jamaica's version of a Japanese Steak House.  

Now we are all settled into our routines again.  Laundry is as caught up as it can be (it's never really done).  I have attended approximately 8 baseball games, attended Chillicothe's football mini camp, watched 3 football scrimages, stayed in two different hotels, driven the boys (plus a friend) to 7 weightlifting sessions, and went to one basketball practice.  

Tonight I will sit on the bleachers of a basketball game.  Tomorrow I will drive to Savannah, MO to sit on the bleachers of three more basketball games.  Lastly, I will go Saturday to a baseball tourney in Oak Grove, MO (where I will more than likely sit on more bleachers).  

Seriously!!!!!!  I wonder sometimes why I'm worn out.  

Jamaica (part 2)

When you stay on a beach in Jamaica, it's RARELY quiet.  Between the reggae music, vendors selling shells, Cuban cigars, rolling papers, cigarettes, women offering massages and hair braiding and then the occasional individual selling woven bracelets.   Then you have four or five current hit songs on a loop from America blasted out of speakers in the water park.  I never want to hear Britany Spears "Till the World Ends" again!!!!  

I'm not really complaining guys, I was on the beach, drinking fruity drinks, with sand on my toes.  How could I complain?

Our first full day, a woman named Angela offered hair braiding to Gracie and I.  I respectfully declined but Gracie jumped at the chance.

Gracie picked out her beads......

Then sat through 30 minutes of torture.  She is a little tender-headed and apparently tight small braids hurt.  Based on her facial expressions, it REALLY hurt!

She is reconsidering her choice to have braids at this point!  

The Smith's (minus mommy)

A sailboat had an unfortunate accident less than a year ago on our beach.  Based on what we heard, it was a 40ft boat that was caught in a storm.  It sank in a bad way!  Not only did it sink, the sand nearly buried it.  So the owners of Beaches/Sandals are responsible for dredging up the boat.  In the process, hundreds (probably thousands) of shells are getting caught in the wreckage.  That, my friends, was fortunate for us.  Because we came home with a mother load of awesome shells.  We found so many that  we were offering the ones we weren't as fond of to other children.  JACKPOT!!!!  I have a strange condition called shell-itis.  If I'm on a beach and do not find shells, it's not pretty!!!  I may not be a deer hunter........a turkey hunter.......or a crocodile hunter, but I AM A SHELL HUNTER!!!!

I told the kids and hubby to pick out their favorite so I could take their picture.  Ryan added a little bit of drama to his pic.

Gracie cracked me up.  We found shells as big as our heads.  Perfectly formed pink shells.  Shells with no slime, no grime and most importantly, no chips.  

My friends, Gracie's favorite shell was this itsy bitsy one.  The shell that had no outer layer because it was busted.  I love you Gracie!!!

Eee's favorite

Legal drinking age in Jamaica is 18.  Since Ian is 6'1" and over 200 pounds, he looks like he's 18.  We had to tell the bar tenders more than once that he CANNOT HAVE RUM!

Jamacia (part 1)

Home Sweet Home..............

We had a wonderful time in Jamacia, but there is something to be said for crawling in your own bed after sleeping on sandy sheets for eight days.

We swam, soaked in beach UV rays, searched for Carribean critters, ate more food and drank more fruity drinks than I have.......well.......since our last vacation.   The kids enjoyed the all-inclusive convience of getting cheeseburgers and Supermans (which is part pina colade, part strawberry daquari which blue syrup poured over the top) at a whim.  Eating for them was a form of entertainment.  It is also a form of entertainment for them at home, but not nearly as convienent.  Besides, there is no one here besides mommy to cleap up the mess.  The "Don't Worry About a Thing" song is way more pleasing to listen to than momma ranting about the messes that she has to clean up.

It didn't take long before we found horses on the beach.  Less than 10 minutes on our first night to be exact.  

A jumbo chess board served as a perfect photo op.  I practiced my newly learned depth of field knowledge on Ian and Gracie (and a pawn).

Beaches resorts and Sesame Street have partnered.  Which means Elmo and Cookie Monster were everywhere!  Gracie even found Oscar the Grouch  once or twice.

Unlimited ice cream at the "Sweeties Bar".

.....and all you can eat (whenever and however and however much you wanted).

Sandy beach, turquoise water, Hummingbirds (Rick and I's new favorite fruity drink) and comfy beach chairs.

The resort offered kayaks, catamarans, water tricycles, and banana boats for free.  All you had to do was write down your room number and sign your name.

I will try to post more photos tomorrow.  We jumped into busy life with both feet as soon as we landed in MO Saturday night.  Ryan has played four ball games, him and Ian have weight lifted every morning, he is as we speak at a football camp in Columbia, MO with the H.S. team and Ian is packing for a 4 day trip to Tennessee with his confirmation group from church.  I'm dizzy from it all.  So, if my posts are lacking some this summer, I hope you understand.  Life is in full swing at the Smith house.

I googled the recipe for Rick and I's favorite drink, "The Hummingbird".  I am posting it because I thought you might like to try it.......... and I was to make sure I don't forget.  Hope you get to enjoy it.

HUMMINGBIRD


1/2 oz. Coffee Liquer
1 oz. rum
1 oz. Creme de Bananes
Crushed Ice
Half of a Banana
1 oz Coconut Cream
1 oz Strawberries

Directions are super easy...........
Blend them together