the 2010 beach trip: presentations, beachtime & lottie's new mudder

the official photo, the gang's all here

(shon, chris, cj, tony, suzy, kristina, andy on greg, jennifer, spencer, megan over ronny, lianne and tommy over matt, moi with rowdy, lottie sue, lucy and sam, mary ann and then max)

we got back on saturday from a week of fun in the sun, it was another venable beach trip and was so much fun! i have some photos that i will put up here, but with two kids we noticed there is less photo-taking. i am SURE megan will post about it and will have 100 photos so i will link to her blog once it's up. i did steal a few photos from her but there were so many i was overwhelmed. anywho, here we go - and please note that their is not way that i can convey ALL of the jokes (inside and out) of this trip. it is rich, people. rich.

matt made the yummy pimento cheese (mild and spicy) for everyone with lottie sue's help.

after shredding, a mountain of cheese

lottie sue working the food processor

we left on friday and spent the night at the gilmore's house. it was super fun and we packed up early to head over to ocean isle.

the caravan from the smiths' car

once we got there lottie sue started with beach shenanigans, it was pretty funny.


then it was tommy's turn.

mazola

if i go anywhere the first thing i do is unpack everything - i like to have my room like my house. i put everything in the drawers and organize the bathroom and whatnot. tommy and megan live out of the suitcase so this year i offered to unpack their room and make it all martha stewart.

everything has a place in its place

the first night we arrive we have presentations and this year was the best! first, you will notice the queen of ocean isle here...this year she signed a new proclamation.

our queen bee

megan reads the proclamation before all

sam and mary ann enjoy the show

i'll have to get the actual proclamation
for you (or i bet megan will put it up)

then suzy and tony had an awesome presentation, they had special t-shirts for everyone (as in, everyone had their own special t-shirt that relates to them - yes, like i said - awesome). i have a few here that we took shots of...

matt's shirt states the truth - proud to be an american!

i'm a rowdy raider!

sam's shirt says "sin kills" - so funny

lottie sue got a hannah montana shirt, and even though she has no
idea who hannah montana is she LOVED it and wore it every day

our presentation was also great, we made a video titled "deaton the odds" - i can't post it here (soooo very sorry) but believe me when i say that there was a lot of time and effort put into this video that honors one of our brothers, the great tony deaton. he is america's new hero!

there were testimonials, doctors, jezebels (former), UT kickers, bag boys and so much more. you will have to trust me on this one. tony loved being the center of at all! we also made writstbands a la livestrong for the group. it was a winner.

all natural talent, never had a lesson

every night after dinner we walk out down to the beach together. usually the kids end up naked and in the water.

lottie sue maneuvering a sand castle

every afternoon around three, man time happens. man time consists of smoking meat, cocktails and LOTS of laughs for everyone. it is the most entertaining time of the day, lemmetellya.

let me introduce one of the stars of the show/man time...the smoker.

please don't crowd him, as he has to be able to catch his breath

it is rare that we get into the "ideal" zone

here we have a few more shots of the beach, lottie sue loves her some beach. she cries when we have to leave.

i put her in this hole someone dug and then
four people told me how dangerous it was, i missed
the 20/20 show that recently aired on the topic

our first and only (the horror, i know) family photo

there are many underwater meetings at the beach. we really try to solve world issues and come up with new business models.

rowdy's first attendance

matt chillaxes

i can't get by without mentioning the food - OH THE FOOD. matt gained seven pounds this past week! but don't worry, he can lose weight so easily. he'll be back.

megan made some yummy bruschetta

ok, more photos...

we are cute, yes we are

more man time fun

my kiddos

tommy loses an arm to lottie sue and her light saber
(don't worry, it grew back)

there was someone near us that made awesome
sand castles, alligators and so forth

lottie sue on the beach, carefree

here i am with the rowdyman

cj gets a beach feeding

lottie sue and matt run around together

tommy and chris

lottie sue did this one night sans underwear
(yes, sand was EVERYWHERE)

me and my cutie pie

oh yes, i leave you with this photo. lottie sue absolutely LOVES mary ann. i think she may love her more than she loves us. she called her "mudder" all week and the first thing she asked me every morning was "where's my mudder?" - true story.

lottie sue and her new mudder

i have a few more photos that i can't get to right now (mostly about the turtle nerds but i think i have more presentation-time photos). matt is doing a two-city tour this week and they are on his laptop. i'll get them and post later. i also have many things to post about the past month. i am WAY behind on posting about our happenings. forgive me.

but i will, of course, leave you with a few interesting reads. you're welcome.

• louis c.k. interview gets npr's fresh air banned in mississippi, their loss
• metallica says the 2004 documentary was a big, bad mistake
• here's an interview with paul buckley, he's the book cover design guru behind penguin books
• i love stuff like this, check out persona - it's an original photo series that displays a subject and their essential daily items
• i'm sure you've heard about post secret, people send in their secrets via postcards - if you are nosey like me it's a great thing
• here's a site that can tell you song meanings, lyrics and trivia
• you should bookmark this site, it's ALL about television shows
• the word detective can tell you everything you want to know about word origins
• pastemagazine is a great resource for anything in music, film and culture

buh bye!

ocean isle beach trip: a love that dares not speak its name returns & oodles of photos

Boy oh boy, I am finished uploading the photos from our fabulous beach trip. Phew! Dear blogger: Why can't we upload more than five photos at a time? WHY? Anywho, on with the post...

The Venables have been vacationing at Ocean Isle Beach, NC, for many many years and we have been lucky enough to be invited the past few years! This was the first year Matt has been able to make it due to his work schedule so this year was EXTRA special for us! I hope you caught the post I wrote last week. It has great Lottie Sue photos and the Mary Ann newsletter (plus news about a baby on the way for a certain couple we all know and love)!

The first night at the beach is dedicated to presentations, you never know what's going to happen...

Suzy makes the trip HAPPEN, people! She is the organizer, manager and director for the week - and she is GOOD! This year we decided to crown her Miss Ocean Isle, but going with true trash humor we gave her bunny ears for a crown, a plunger instead of roses and a "Miss Ocean Isle" sash that had seen better days. I'm not even sure it was spelled correctly.

Don't worry, she didn't let the power go to her head.

our reigning queen

bona fide mardi gras cups for everyone courtesy of the senior smiths

shon and chris get some love after
announcing they have a baby on the way

Please allow me to give you a little back story for the next set of photos...when Ronny was a wee child he wanted a doll in a bad sort of way. I think his parents decided on a dancing doll instead, and he loved her. He loved her so much he literally wore her out (dancing, I am sure) and the family ultimately buried her in the backyard, complete with a funeral. This story comes up often (as you can imagine) but Matt and I heard it for the first time a few weeks ago.

SO, of course we HAD to make a new and enhanced (breast augmentation, tattoos, belly ring - you get the idea - she IS a modern woman after all) dancing doll to return from the dead. I must give a big shout out to Matt's mom for helping with the bikini, it was awesome!). Oh yeah, we even wrote a letter with the Smiths...

That night a mysterious box showed up at the house addressed to Ronny. Enjoy...

My dearest Ronald,

A fortnight ago I found out you have been married for quite some time (and to a woman, no less!). Yet, try as I may, I cannot be at peace with our current state, my love. I have to reach out to you once more, if only to set my heart free. Allow me to pour out my heartfelt words into your friendly bosom, which I once thought to be ever in unison with mine.

Various sensations swell within the liveliest emotions of my despair. Oh, my almost bursting heart! I tell you your dear wife is not the most amiable of women; nay, I say she is the most wanton of harlots. I doubt not that you have tricked yourself into believing you are blessed in your matrimonial state. Please, let me rectify this.

It has now been nigh on five decades since I last felt the warmth of your skin against mine. I remember the clods of earth raining hard upon my worn self when in that shallow grave, but the sting of that injury pales in comparison to the wounds of my heart. I am willing to set aside the past. Much has changed over the years for me - and all for the better. I sincerely hold true in my heard your eye will be caught once you see how I have blossomed forth into the full fruits of womanhood.

I dare say I am here to win you back. Let us start afresh, my dear Ronald.

But no matter what decision you make, I shall always be...your dancing doll.

Forever yours,
Mary

ronny reading the letter and having NO IDEA what was going on

reunited (and it feels so good)

dancing again, just like the good ole days

ronny, mary and lianne (the most wanton
of harlots) take a new family photo
*can i just say that lianne's face is priceless here?

I suspect this won't be the last we see of Mary, she's heading back to NYC with Ronny and Lianne. I'm not sure how she will adjust to big city life, but I'm sure being with Ronny is all she needs.

OK, more photos!

all the pregnant ladies in the house, say yeah!

each night was game night

megan didn't have a sleeve so she used her top

one afternoon, with a few cooks in the kitchen
*megan let me make the dessert and instead of putting 4 teaspoons of salt in the crisp i put 4 tablespoons - not good but everyone acted like it was the best crisp in the world (good people)

me and my pregnant belly

papa tom (tommy's dad) made fish
piccata one night and it was delicious

lottie sue waring her glasses
(she wore these a lot and didn't want to take them off)

ronny and lianne (sans mary) on the beach

mary ann, megan, sam and tommy on the beach one night

lottie sue and andy pretend to be asleep on the hammock

now they're awake!

lottie sue checking out the other houses

shon plays a few hands of "go fish" with lottie and
andy while matt watches from the hammock

i try to get off the hammock but did a back-flip instead
*please note matt took this photo instead of helping his pregnant wife to her feet. nice.

lottie sue and dalton get their exercise one morning

lottie sue loves on a baby one afternoon

that gang's all here, the annual crazy photo

seated front row: mary ann, megan's legs, lianne, patricia, suzy, and matt

seated on couch: tommy, lottie sue, moi, suzy s., hampton, jennifer, andy, greg, spencer, london and teddy

back row: sam, mary the dancing doll, ronny, shon, chris, papa tom, tony and randy
*dalton is not in the photo, i think he was night night

megan and lottie sue horse around on the floor

shon, moi and megan holding a lottie sue

hanging out after dinner one night

matt didn't shave all week, and for some
reason decided to shave out a mustache
*he shaved it one i declared it an anti-aphrodisiac (as mary ann said)

greg, randy and tony enjoy a cocktail before dinner one night

shon strikes a major super-model pose

lottie sue making her rounds before dinner

spencer made necklaces for everyone
from shells he collected on the beach

here i am with my baby girl

randy and patricia enjoy one of the many
gourmet meals prepared that week

lottie sue wears chris's sneakers one night and is super cute doing so

megan, chris and myself on the beach one windy night

sam, megan and mary ann love each other

sam and mary ann on the beach

we tried to get a good shot but the wind was too crazy for my hair

lianne and ronny out AGAIN without mary

ronny and sam brace the wind

chris dances a tribute to michael jackson

here i am on the beach, the wind was so strong that night
(i did not get the money shot i hoped for)

sam and mary ann run around with lottie sue

we always end up stripping her down because she gets in
the water, she LOVES splashing around so much

lianne and lottie sue hold hands

mary ann and sam dance the riverdance with lottie sue

the wind gives shon a "tina turner" do

one of the sand castles dalton, papa tom and hampton made

lottie sue and dalton relax in the shade

preacher tony fights the angry sea - and wins

matt enjoys a game of beach ball

papa tom, matt and lottie sue build a sand castle

lottie sue running around the beach one day

here she is with hampton, another water-loving kid

her hair really lightened up over the week

matt and chris go out to boogie board

OK, I think those are the photos we have. I may find others on my phone but if I do I'll put them up. We had such a wonderful time at the beach! The company is choice and having nothing to do is just great. Our typical day is just waking up, eating breakfast, going to the beach, home for lunch, pool time, shower time, food time, walk on the beach and ending the day playing board games. It's perfect for me! We left the island once to make a grocery run. Otherwise we were beach bums.

And I MUST direct you to Megan's blog (yes, Megan is a blogger now - whee!!!). So please click here to read her post on the trip, she wrote an excellent post about it and has a lot of different photos than me (water balloon fight, earphones, underwater meetings and etc.).

Coming up: Lottie Sue has been kicked out of the nursery - she is really a big girl now. Last night was her first night in her new room and she did so well. More to come, plus the before and after photos of her new room. Whee!