A Night At the Theatre

This summer, one of the kids' summer camps was a Theater Camp. The group performed "Aladdin Jr.," and Jack was part of the stage crew. Ellie was a performer, playing a "villager" and the magic carpet. Jack and Ellie were very excited that Grandmom and Granddad were able to come see it, and we all were very excited to see the best dang villager in Agrabah. And just let me tell you, even though Grandmom and Granddad have more than 60 grandkids, it's safe to say that none of them has done such a fine job playing a rug.

Mom's Law

Because when the theater group makes your son wear parachute pants (and will not let him do any MC Hammer) then under the Mom Code (subsection 4) you must embarrass him publicly. Sorry, honey, it’s the law.

Sisters

It's been like 4 years since us three sisters have been together, so of course we had to capture the moment.

Except then the sun was creating weird shadows on Jeanette's face.
And then Jeanene was worried that she looked too big next to Tiny Mom.
And then Lydia was worried that her chunky calves looked too, well, chunky.
And then Jeanene was worried that she showed a double chin.
And then Lydia was worried that her gut looked too big.
And then .... well, I think you can see how this photo shoot went.

Let's just say that it was NOT the best example of beauty-is-within confidence.

Sigh.

But still, good to see my sisters, right?

Right?

We All Scream For Ice Cream

What's better than family? Why, family and ice cream and cookies, of course!

We were so happy that my sister Jeanette's family was able to come out for 4th of July - and even happier that we were able to see them again for some ice cream fun. See, that's why it comes in handy that your brother and sister-inlaw own an ice cream and cookie shop, because you have 24/7 access to the yummiest of cookies and ice cream. Add that to some family togetherness and you've got a recipe for fun (and chunky thighs, but we will not speak of that).

Bonding, Acne Style

Just the other day, my daughter granted me the most meaningful of gifts:

She let me pop her zit.

You don't understand the magnitude of this generosity. For years, as my son has journeyed through the World of Pre-Teen Acne, he has refused to let me pop his zits, or even pop them himself. So I've had to stare at those BIG, WHITE ZITS, ones that called to me, begged me, taunted me - pop me, pop me. But alas, twas not to be. So I suffered in silence (or, ok, sometimes not silence, sometimes I'd chase my child around the house, begging him to please pop his zit).

And then, my daughter entered the World of Pre-Teen Acne - and at first, would not pop the zit - or allow her loving mother to do so. And then the other morning, it happened (hold a sec, I'm getting choked up). She let me pop her Chin Zit.

It was so very satisfying. It was so very NECESSARY. And all those of you who may say otherwise, just keep your Anti-Zit-Popping Bigotry to yourself. Haters, back off I say.

Because my daughter and I had a special mother-daughter bonding moment. Acne Style.

Priorities

Y'all, I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation here. No, I'm not talking about Russia. Or immigration. Come on, people, get serious. Because as we speak, my daughter's ponytail is bumpy, her eyebrows look wonky, she's got a zit on her nose, and she has NO shorts that she likes. Set aside your petty concerns like world peace or whatever and focus on what's really important here.

Go, Croatia!

Today was the World Cup finals - France vs. Croatia. And I bet you can guess from the photos who we rooted for. Unfortunately they didn't win - stinkin' French - but we were still proud of our Croatian friends. Go, Croatia!

ROI

I like to call this photo "Return on Investment."

You can also call it part of our "Make Sure They're Not Drains on Society" Plan. (Next step - convince Ellie that she should become a doctor instead of a "YouTube Sensation.")

One Size Fits All?

Experiment time.

I saw a little post about a pair of jeans that, a la Sister of the Traveling Pants, was 'one size fits all' Ever the curious individual, I decided to test it out. On the website, they clarified that the jeans were one-size-fits-all for US sizes 2 to 10. Well, that's just perfect, because I'm a US size 10 in pants, and Miss Ellie (although typically still in kids' sizes) has been known to wear a size 2. So I ordered the jeans and we both tried them on.

They legitimately fit Ellie. Did they fit me? Well, hmmmm, I guess that depends on how you define that. Yes, I was absolutely able to pull them on without difficulty (I didn't have to twist and turn and suck it in to pull them on). And yes, they were fairly comfortable. But actually 'fit'? Well, only if you are going for the Skintight Look.

So...one size fits all? I'm going to have to say Myth Busted on that one.

The End of an Era

When I think of Riverside (my parents' current home) I think of 4th of July. Even before it was their permanent home - just our weekend place - we always spent 4th of July there. Steamed Maryland blue crabs, swimming, fireworks, and more than our fair share of mosquito bites - that's 4th of July at Riverside. Well, my parents are moving to a lower maintenance place in Richmond next year, so this is likely our last 4th of July at Riverside. So as many of our Candland family came out to celebrate this year. We had yummy crabs (and fried chicken for those who just can't cut it - and yes, I'm judging you, ya wussies). Lots of yummy food. Swimming and boating. Fireworks. And the mosquitoes even gave us a break this year! All in all, a great way to mark the end of an era.



Seriously, my mouth is still watering. They were SO yummy.

Everyone waiting to dig in. But, per tradition, we must first talk about Independence Day. Then we must listen to my mom's lecture on separating trash. It's important when you live in the country, people. Separate the burnables, people, separate the burnables!

Although it was definitely hot, it wasn't too unbearable - and nice and sunny the whole day.

There are my kiddies.

My brother Matt brought his boat - which, speaking of traditions, was actually my granddad's boat from Way Back When - and took the kids tubing. Needless to say, he was very popular.

Never the wallflower, Miss Ellie was the first to jump into the tube.

Farewell, young Ellie, farewell!

Manliness Alert

I'm going to have to issue a Manliness Alert in the Sorenson home, because our Jack has started shaving. He has not quite achieved a Tom Selleck-caliber 'stache, but he is sporting the 'dirty lip,' which means it's time to start shaving. Shaving - check. Stinky pits - check. Willingness to kill bugs for me - check. We're on the Road to Manhood, my friends.

Sweets and Sweat in New Orleans

Pralines and beignets and gumbo, oh my! And did I mention copious amounts of unsightly perspiration?

That pretty much summarizes our trip to New Orleans - lots and lots of yummy food, really cool culture, and just embarrassing amounts of sweating.

Thanks for the fun times, New Orleans! I'd say sorry for the Sorenson Stank, but I think we all know that New Orleans has enough stank that they probably didn't notice ours.


We started our New Orleans fun with a food tour. We got to try pralines, brisket, boudin, jambalaya, oysters, and a muffaletta.


We passed by Cafe du Monde, the famous place to get beignets, but there was no way we were going to stand in the 50-person line to get their beignets. (No worries, we got plenty later on.) But it was fun to watch them making them.

There are my darlings. Yes, they had already started to complain about the heat.

And here is my other little darling - the muffaletta. Oh my oh my was this sandwich good.

Our tour guide was Chef Felipe.

Anyone for some brisket? Melt in your mouth, I tell ya.

And while you're at Tujague's - the bar that invented the grasshopper - you HAVE to try one. There's really no choice.

The jambalaya was so yummy that we all devoured ours.

But man, was it a chore to choke down that oyster. Sorry, I still hate 'em.

There's my handsome young man at the next bar, where we had to sit in the "Not Quite 21" Section. Hey, I took it as a compliment.

And there's my beauty, who certainly has the salty language of an over-21-year-old.

A couple times along the way we got to taste pralines.

Later that evening, we went on a Ghost, Voodoo, Witches, and Vampires Tour. Yup, they have all kinds of colorful folks in New Orleans.

Afterwards, we relaxed with some gumbo and red beans & rice.

Oh, and did I mention the beignets? Yum.

The next day, we started off with a tour of Mardis Gras World, which gives you a behind-the-scenes view of the preparations for Mardis Gras. We got to try on some of their costumes.

This is my proof that I was actually there.

They had a lot of cool decorations from the floats, and we got to see how they re-purpose them each year to make new characters.

They showed us how they make them out of Styrofoam and paper mache.

The kids had the most fun on the swamp tour. Ellie kept asking the airboat captain to go faster.

Yup, that's an alligator. We saw a handful of them, but this fella came right up to our boat.

And yup, that's our captain hugging the alligator. He rubbed his belly and tickled his neck, and they had a grand ol' time. The kids got to pet him and everything.

See you later, alligator.

Apparently our guide was the Cajun equivalent of Dr. Doolittle, because he could get lots of the critters to come to him.

No trip is complete without a trip to McDonald's, of course.

On our final day, we took a tour through all of the New Orleans neighborhoods, and got to see the areas we hadn't walked through on previous days.

The kids in Jackson Square.

Our last stop was at one of the city cemeteries, which was fitting, since we were JUST ABOUT ready to die from the heat.