The Death of Frankenstein

One evening, last October, Frankenstein mysteriously appeared in our yard. Mason loved it!

He took great pride in Frankenstein and was excited to plug him in each and every evening.

We got a lot of laughs out of Callie's barking when Frankenstein was filling with air. It never ceased to be amusing.

This year, Frankenstein seemed more like a neighborhood punching bag. The boys enjoyed coming over to abuse him by pulling on his arms or punching him in the gut. Poor guy.

Bodie and Mason were in the yard raking leaves and started taking pot shots at Frankenstein.

They managed to end up on top of him! He was absolutely defenseless.

He tried to fight back, though.

The boys were too much for him to take.

And the boys won. Farewell, Frankenstein!

Our Neighbors Have the Coolest Stuff!

Our neighbor has 3 children: 2 teenaged boys and a daughter who is a few years older than Mason. Mason plays at their house on a daily basis. Sometimes he brings home things the two boys have outgrown and sometimes he brings home a crafting project. Sometimes, he bursts through the door and insists I come over to take a look at what's going on outside.

Over the weekend, Mason was excited to show me the hornet's nest in the neighbor's tree. I had to admit I was curious about it, so I went over to check it out. I'd never actually seen one that was still active with hornets – a little creepy.

I was able to get a bird's eye view with the help of a ladder and my trusty zoom lens. Nature never ceases to amaze me! It's hard to believe something so small can create something so large – not to mention that it's really beautiful!

The hornets buzzed around me as I snapped a few photos, but didn't seem alarmed that I was there. Whew! Once the weather cools off, the hornets will leave and the nest can be removed. I'm curious to see where the neighbors will display the nest. It's a real keeper!

Betrothed

I rarely pass up an opportunity to go to the beach. So, when the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone by attending a Taekwondo tournament AND going to the beach arose, I jumped! I was able to swindle a friend from work (and his family) into going with us and splitting the cost of a condo on the beach. Well done. The condo was beautiful, conveniently located and had a fully functional kitchen – which saved this cheapskate a ton of cash! Love it.

Bradford and Heather have a beautiful 3-year old daughter, Amberly, who also enjoys going to the beach. Mason doesn't know it yet, but they are destined for each other. She instantly gravitated toward him and he was incredibly patient with her! This girl knew good genes when she saw them. We'll have to arrange something in about 20 years. Look for that post...

Grand Master Lee's Tournament: Battle on the Beach 2010

Grand Master Lee is the highest belt rank in the ATA organization and hosts his own tournament every year in Panama City, FL: The Battle on the Beach. Given that this will be the last year he hosts this tournament before retirement, Mason and I wanted to check it out.

It's not difficult to find Grand Master Lee in a packed house – just follow the masses of people. Mason and his friend, Solomon, were two of the lucky ones that were able to get their belts signed before they were called to their rings for competition.

Mason was able to get some practice time in beforehand after spotting an empty ring. His form looked as good as it ever has. Look at that middle stance!

Mason placed 2nd in forms and 2nd in sparring! We'll be using those medals for dinner plates.

Grand Master Lee set up shop in the hallway to give autographs and take photos with the competitors. He's incredibly gracious and signed anything you put in front of him. The next Grand Master has some pretty big shoes to fill.

Who says taekwondo is just a bunch of kids hitting and kicking? I couldn't think of a better place to hold a tournament or a better organization to be a part of.

Hello?

Anyone out there? Am I talking to myself?

Honeydew Popsicle

I received a Zoku popsicle maker for my birthday this year and so far, we've had some interestingly flavored popsicles: strawberry/pineapple, blueberry, blackberry/pineapple and regular strawberry. I bought a honeydew at Publix last week and it was tasty, but a bit overripe and squishy. Solution: make popsicles, of course!

The recipe was simple enough, but the popsicles are very decadent. Who would have thought something as simple as a honeydew melon would make such a rich popsicle? Eating an entire popsicle is really difficult and, when he couldn't finish his, Mason offered it to Callie.

I would have never thought a dog would enjoy a honeydew anything, let alone a popsicle. She finished Mason's and, for the sake of documentation, we pulled another out of the freezer just for her.

She was extremely suspicious about the camera, so Brian (her true love) had to hold the popsicle for her in order for me to photograph. It was pure amusement for all of us.

She watched me the entire time she licked...

and she ate the whole thing! Wow, her tongue is long!

And In the Beginning...

Over the last 8 months, our family has had an educational epiphany. The epiphany is this: Some children don't learn well in a public school system-type environment, and Mason is one of those children. He began going to a homeschool co-op in January of this year and has really blossomed academically, emotionally and spiritually.

We are fortunate to have found an environment in which Mason can learn what 2nd graders should be learning (and then some) as well as receive spiritual guidance through weekly Bible lessons. This week, he learned about the beginning. A good place to start, right?


And, of course, on the 7th day God rested. No need to illustrate God lounging on the couch that day, I suppose.

Summer's Ending Soon...

Where has the summer gone? Didn't school JUST let out? Brian heads to Kansas next weekend for his cousin Charles' wedding. Mason and I head to Panama City for a Labor Day taekwondo tournament and then, it's back to the regular grind. Stay tuned...more end-of-the-summer photos to come.

ATA Intra-School Tournament

The ATA intra-school tournament was this past Saturday and students from all over the Atlanta area came with their game-faces on to compete in forms, sparring and weapons. As always, Mason was prepared and knew, and performed, his 44-move form spectacularly. His score 7-7-8.

I posted this photo, not to show off mason's stance or concentration, because the "oh crap" face on the kid watching is priceless.

After every student went through their forms, there was a 3-way tie in scoring. Just when I thought I couldn't be MORE nervous! All three students had another chance to show their stuff. Mason wowed the judges (and me) with a different form the second time. Man, that kid has a good memory!

Sparring is not Mason's forte, but he did very well in his first, and only round. It's hard for mama bear not to come out when someone is kicking Mason in the head, but that's what sparring is all about. The final score was 4-5, so he held his own until the very end. Well done, indeed!

After all the excitement, nervousness and judging was over, Mason took 1st in forms overall and didn't place in sparring. A good day!

The smile on his face is enough to make any mother proud – win OR lose. The bonus to those trophies is that they are bendable and posable. Fun!

Summer Adventure:

Miss Allison took Mason and Clive to the Farmer's Market in Duluth yesterday. Does anyone have any idea what this is?

July 4th, 2010: A day in history

Yes, every day is considered a day in history. Perhaps better verbiage might be, "July 4, 2010: A day in Fleske history." As you can see, Mason got his first driving lesson over the long weekend.

While we were waiting for darkness to fall at the maintenance shop, my usually confident 7-year old made a rather meek request to drive a golf cart. "Ask your father," I replied, as it's not my liability if a 7-year old drives a club-owned golf cart into the side of the maintenance shop.

I fully expected a chuckle and an emphatic "no" to accompany the request. Instead, I heard, "Sure, but after I get the oil changed in my truck." I'm sure I did a double-take.

I must admit that he did rather well for a rookie driver and off they all rode into the sunset. Child, man and dog. Scary stuff.

The birthday fairies were good to me this year! I got one of the coolest gadgets from my parents-in-law. I will be posting more about that at a later time. For now, I want to talk about the gift Brian got me!

I'm a camera geek. No, really. Even though I don't always have the latest and greatest camera gear, adding a waterproof camera to my repertoire has been on my radar for quite some time.

I am accident prone and my clumsiness has been detrimental to several of our point-and-shoot cameras in the past. I thought having a waterproof camera would be handy, not only for the fact that we CAN take it into the pool, but because if I dropped it into the pool on accident, it wouldn't matter.

Besides, who doesn't need a photo of their kid under water?

Super fun AND super handy, yes?

Brian's True Love...

Yes, I may be his wife and Mason may be his son, but Callie is definitely the love of Brian's life. I can't really say that I blame him. She provides unconditional love and affection, follows him anywhere he goes, obeys his every wish and never talks back. You know, things a wife and son would never do. What more could a man really ask for?

The Useful Pickle Jar...

I recall visiting my in-law's family farm several years ago and, in search of a cup or bowl, opened a cabinet full of leftover glass containers of all shapes and sizes. At the time, it never occurred to me why one would keep glass containers or what they could be used for. I, however, have never had my hands in the daily goings on of a farm, nor had I grown up on a farm. The idea of hanging on to something that seemed to only take up space was a foreign idea.

Looking back, I now realize the importance of keeping various containers of all different shapes and sizes. It seems that, in her infinite wisdom, my mother-in-law had opened my eyes to the wonderful world of motherhood. Subtle, right? Over the years, Mason has utilized many of the oddities I have tucked away in drawers and cabinets for various art projects or mischievous childhood games. It pleased me greatly that, when he requested glass jars for he and his friends to capture fireflies, I was able to oblige. I was suddenly transported back to my childhood while watching the neighborhood kids running around laughing and having fun. It's difficult to think of anything that brings back fonder memories of childhood than catching fireflies in a pickle jar!

Eating a Watermelon 101:

Start with a watermelon you've obliterated with a melon-baller. If you're a melon slice kind of person, disregard all information listed below and go to The Pioneer Woman's website and browse around for a good laugh or a useful cooking tip or recipe.

Next, give your offspring said melon-baller and shoo them out the back door; this is messy business. It's very helpful to have something comfortable to sit on, but if you only have a stoop, it will do nicely. It appears that no instructions are necessary after handing over half of the watermelon and the melon-baller. They seem to know how to put 2 and 2 together when food is involved.

There's a lot of juicy goodness in the middle of a scooped watermelon. Don't let it go to waste!

I knew those straws would come in handy for something other than craft projects.

When your husband asks you why the offspring got half of a watermelon and he didn't, kindly remind him that there are 2 halves and hand him the other when you're finished obliterating it with a melon-baller.

Obama and My Hometown:

President Obama visited the humble town of Macon, Missouri this afternoon. In 2000, Macon built an ethanol plant that creates biofuels. Pretty revolutionary stuff considering when I lived in Macon, we were a coal mining community. Check out the video here:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Photo Booth....

I've photographed many weddings and photographed many weddings that also had a photo booth. I've never set up a photo booth at one of my own events, but I was photographing my friends' wedding and she wanted a booth. I don't have the entire setup for a booth, but was able to piece together an impromptu booth. It did the job...a little ghetto, but the results were just as fun:

Thanks to Jeremy and Cona, this proved to be a worthwhile venture!

Happy Belated Earth Day!

It's hard to believe that we have lived in our house for 9 months now! We are avid recyclers, but the bins we used before we moved just weren't efficient and quite ugly. Ever since we moved from Norcross, I have been searching for a stylish recycling center for our stylish new pad.


These are made from a composite plastic material. I love the colors and the details of these bins. Easy to clean and easy on the eyes.

These arrived in the mail on Earth Day. What a great way to let the Earth know we are going to do our part in keeping her beautiful!

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Important Life Lesson Learned at Camp #4:

Patience is one of many pieces of the puzzle when it comes to being a good leader. There were opportunities abound for exhibiting patience at camp:

1.) Patience to not put the keys into the ignition of the car when you're waiting for your mother to leave after signing you in at camp.

2.) I imagine getting 100+ campers in belt order formation is not a quick task early in the morning.

3.) Likewise, I'm certain that waiting your turn to get into a canoe would take some patience – especially for a 7-year old.

4.) Waiting in line for food at the canteen cannot be easy when you've been working out and playing all day.

5.) Anxiously awaiting the time to come when your mom finally rescues you from Taekwondo camp. Okay, maybe not.