Wordful Wednesday: The Cornflake Monster

When we left off, we were talking about family vacations. I was telling you about ours, at the beach in North Carolina. I told you stories, but saved this one for last.

One night after dinner, when the kids were a lot younger and the first time we were at the beach, Uncle Moker took Uncle Lynn aside and told him he was going to tell the kids a story, and to just "play along." Lynn was supposed to operate the lights, and turn them off when he got the signal. So Uncle Lynn agreed, and launched into an elaborate story about the trolls that lived under the bridges over the dune, which lead to the beach.

Mr. Pops had a rapt audience. He explained how children should not dawdle when crossing the dunes, and to be sure to hold hands and to NEVER go across the bridges alone in the dark. Lynn was giving Uncle Moker enough time to get ready, and when the story was long enough, and scary enough, the signal came, the lights went down and THIS...

jumped out of the dark!

The little ones were crying and holding their mamas. Even the big ones weren't acting all that big. It took quite a while for them to settle down.

Even the oldest of the cousins still asks for a reappearance of Cornflake Monster. Soccer Boy missed it, since he hadn't come into the world yet. Should have had a repeat performance years ago. Don't think the Cornflake Monster would have the same effect on a 13-year-old. He's waaaaaaay too cool now!

Until it gets dark.

Well, this is the first year in a very long time that we aren't having Beach Week. My two oldest boys have full-time jobs now and have not earned vacation time. College Boy is working 60 or more hours a week, so he won't have to work during the school year. And the girls have their obligations, too.

Maybe they'll sneak a week in, maybe not. Summer is fading fast. The kids have mostly grown up. Soon there will be careers, weddings, and families of their own. No matter how many more beach weeks we have together, or whether there are no more, one thing is certain...

...I wouldn't have missed it for the world! This memory brought to you by Angie and her Wordful Wednesday.

"I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat"

Remember that famous quote from "Jaws"? Well, Aunt Julie and Uncle Lynn were saying just that last year on vacation in Florida, when Shark Boy caught this monster.

"Last summer, we postponed our spring break until August, and still went to Florida," Aunt Julie explains. "Three of the boys brought along their girlfriends. Well, six 20-somethings aren’t happy walking the beach and shell hunting (there are none that time of year, anyway!), so we needed a plan. Not to mention that it was extremely HOT."

Aunt Julie got one of those ideas that come along with the cartoon lightbulb that goes on above your head. "I had taken a 'shuttle' across a narrow stretch of water to an island for shelling on previous trips. The shuttle was run by a college kid and his pontoon boat. He charged $10 and I am so cheap, I told Joey, the kid, that I could swim it and save the $10! He said he wouldn’t do that, because of the sharks. Yeah, right. Anyway, he also charged to take tourists fishing, so I set it up for early the next morning."

The Pop'r Boys were a little disappointed when they saw the pontoon boat the next day. "They were expecting a fancy fishing boat, but it was Joey and the pontoon that met us," Julie says. "One of my boys whispered, 'Mom, Joey isn't a college boy! I’m a college boy!” So I asked him how old he was. Turns out he was my age! I guess the folks down Florida way are better preserved than we are up north!"

What about the sharks, you ask? I'm getting to it! "Anyway, we followed a shrimp boat for a few minutes and saw lots of dolphins. About 10 minutes out, well within sight of the shore, we stopped and Joey went to work baiting the hooks. We asked what we were fishing for and he said 'sharks'. Great. We were out about 2 1/2 hours and it was constant action. Shark Boy caught this 6-foot, black-tipped reef shark, and everyone else caught at least two smaller sharks."

Even the GFs got caught up in the action. "There was a seat bolted to the front of the pontoon, where there was no railing, where you sat to reel," according to Aunt Julie. "Joey held onto the back of the girls' T-shirts, so they wouldn’t fall in. At one point, a hammerhead circled the boat, close enough to the surface that we could see him very well. Joey thought he must have been 15 feet long! He tried to catch him, but no luck. We would have had to drive to boat back in, dragging that huge shark!"

Even though the sharks were pretty scary, Julie's glad she went on the expedition. "It was exciting enough just to see such an amazing creature!" she says.

We'll have more of this Shark Story tomorrow. In the meantime, have you entered the Great Pop'rs Giveaway? You have until Monday at 8 p.m. EST; it's really easy--just click here--no gear or pontoon boat required!

This Pizza's Actually GOOD for You!

I've been trying so hard to get into good "beach shape" for our trip this weekend with The Pop'r Family down to North Carolina's Outer Banks. We've been going to the OBX in the summertime since College Girl was a toddler. Aunt Julie, Uncle Lynn and The Boys started sharing a beach house with our gang about 15 years ago.

Remember that even though we're going on VAY-kay, we'll never be far away from our Bloggy Friends! And don't forget to enter our newest Great Pop'rs Giveaway! The contest runs through Monday, August 11th, at 8 p.m. EST--be there, or be square!

While checking my e-mail the last couple of days, I found out that I'm a winner, too! Amanda, over at mommymandy.com, notified me that I won her Baskin-Robbins Coupon Giveaway, which is pretty darn cool! And IHChicky, over at Everything Up Close, just let me know I won The Ultimate Walking Workout DVD, in her First Ever Giveaway, which makes me feel pretty special! Don'tcha think those two prizes were meant for me? You know, they really go hand-in-hand!

Aunt Julie's sad that her Favorite All-Time Quarterback, Brett Favre, has been traded to the New York Jets. What's Lambeau Field gonna be like without Brett? But she collected herself long enough to send me this fresh and delish twist on an old standby. It all sort of works out with my workout routine, too. Thanks so much, Aunt Julie, and see ya soon at our Beach Rendezvous!

Aunt Julie's Fruit Pizza
1 roll Pillsbury sugar cookie dough
1 8 0z. package of cream cheese
12 oz container of Cool Whip (thawed)
Any fruit you like--pineapple, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, kiwi, bananas, etc.

Line a large pizza pan with the dough, pressed to form crust.
Bake the crust @350 degrees for 10-15 min. Cool. Mix Cool Whip and cream cheese, and spread on the crust. Arrange the fruit on top.

Glaze:
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup water
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp lemon juice
½ cup sugar
Mix the glaze ingredients together, and heat this mixture on top of the stove until it thickens. Cool and pour over fruit. Keep in fridge.