October!

I just went an entire month without a single post. I guess that means I've been busy! Here's a recap, for the record.

Jiro got to spend a week at the beach for Fall Break thanks to the incredibly generous and amazing Edwards family.



He went last year too. How lucky is he? Last year he got pretty homesick and I got a ton of late night "I can't sleep" texts. This year, I barely heard a peep. He had a great time.



We had to celebrate Warren's 49th (!!) birthday without him. Satchel and I took Warren to the Beauty Shop for a fancy brunch that included cake.



If you are thinking that Satchel looks huge in the picture, it's because he is. He's officially taller than both Warren and I (though only one of us will admit it) and his feet are definitely bigger. It's an amazing thing to watch your baby grow taller than you!



Wait, I thought I just said Satchel is taller?



Someone just got busted on his tippy toes!

Let's see, what else? I am still amazing the children with my culinary skills. I made potato soup for the first time and Satchel said it was better than Warren's. (Shhh!)



Satchel saved up enough money to buy a Swegway. It's pretty awesome.



It's actually making him want to leave the house, which is great.

Jiro has been learning to play bass now that he's in the band.



He's VERY shy about it.

On Halloween we had our very last Rock-n-Romp ever. Ever! It rained so hard that we almost cancelled, which would have been a first, but the awesome owners of Memphis Made let us move it inside. Good thing, since original DC founder, Debbie Lee, came all the way to Memphis for the show!



It ended up being really awesome, and it was great hanging out with Debbie! Mean ol' Satchel refused to attend.

After RnR, Warren and Jiro dressed up for Halloween and went to a party.



That's Jiro in the monkey mask. He's a Black Ops 2 character called Lui Calibre.



Guess who Warren was?



Alex from a Clockwork Orange!



I don't play Black Ops 2 and I haven't seen A Clockwork Orange, so I'm a little out of the loop on how awesome or not awesome these costumes are.

And that was October! At least what I can remember of it!

B Team + Rock-n-Romp Camp

Miles and Natasha came all the way from Massachusetts to attend Rock-n-Romp camp with the boys. Liz & Vanessa sent them down with their grandmother, and she, Warren, and I took turns taking care of them. I was a little worried about them being away from home for so long, but they did great. Of course, being in an amazing camp all day long helped entertain them and wear them out, so by the time I needed to feed them and get them settled in for the night, they were more than ready.

Here's Warren dropping everyone off for Day 1.



Satchel was a counselor this year, and less than enthusiastic about it. ("None of my friends are doing it," he complained. "You need more friends," I replied. It is hard mothering an introvert! But that's a different post.)

I was a little worried about trying to cook for everyone on Monday, so we went to Huey's for dinner. Miles and Tasha LOVED it. I don't think they get to eat burgers on the reg.



Back at the apartment, Tasha and Jiro helped Miles learn his lines for an upcoming role in the Wizard of Oz.



The boys all had games and YouTube videos to watch, so I had to go old school keeping Tasha occupied.



Warren was in charge on Tuesday, and decided to introduce the kids to Jerry's Sno Cones.



Wednesday the kids finished their pet rocks. Most of them broke by the time we got them home, but they were cute while they lasted!



I decided to cook for everyone, and despite the apartment getting a teeny bit smoky, it was a total success.



As evidenced by the above photo, Satchel was siblinged out by Wednesday and started to retreat into screens. The others were much more social about it.



This is what Tasha looks like in the morning. I got pretty good at getting everyone up and fed and out the door in about thirty minutes.



By Thursday, Satchel was doing his best to get out of going to camp. We compromised--I let him stay with Warren while I kept the three younger kids.

I made dinner two nights in a row! I went with burgers again, and the kids told me they were better than Huey's! Ha! By Friday breakfast, Miles asked me why I didn't have my own restaurant!



The weekend was a little hectic, but we managed a group outing to Tamale Fest, the new playground at Overton Park and the Shell.



The kids clearly loved their new tees. I got them all to smile by saying, "Say Deez Nuts!" They were less compliant at the Shell.



Sunday's showcase was a major success. The three youngsters were in a band together called Firepit.



After two days of working on an original song, they scrapped it for a cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Per usual, Jiro was on bass.



Tasha was on keys.



And Miles sang!



(All black & white photos by Chip!)

They did a great job, and their moms were super proud.



All in all, it was a great week. I'm looking forward to what the future summers bring for all of us.

More Boys of Summer

The question I heard for most of the summer was, "When are Santi & Enrique going to get here?"

They came for the first two weeks of July and we did our best to let them spend every second together.

They picked up right where they left off, which is what being best buddies is all about.



There were trips to the JCC...





Lots of sugary treats consumed...





Rock-n-Romp Camp and the formation of Deathpunch...




A brilliant performance at the Young Ave. Deli...



And more sleepovers and swimming at Mrs. Pam's than could be properly documented and squeezed into this post.

They definitely got spoiled rotten while they were together, and deservedly so.

Their last meal was at the Majestic followed by Maggie Moo's. Then it was hugs and promises to always do Rock-n-Romp Camp together.



The saddest part of this goodbye is that this time, their dad left too.



Best of luck to all of the Provencio boys. Memphis isn't the same without you. We hope to see you all soon!

September Rock-n-Romp

We had another great show at the Corn Maze on Sept. 21st. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for jumping pillows, mazes, beer, and music.

Jiro had a bit of a freak out on the way because Rock-n-Romp especially reminds him that his best buddies no longer live in Memphis. I assured him he would still have fun and know lots of people and thankfully, I was right. I pretty much never saw him again once we got there.

Satchel, who brought his friend, Pavel, along, came by every few minutes to ask for money.



I spent the bulk of the show "helping" the homebrewers. This meant I sat nearby and then did something if they needed it. This translated into walking around and hollering that there could be six beer lines instead of just one.

Then I sat and chatted.



I believe this was in the midst of a conversation about 11 and 12 year olds not brushing their teeth.



Once the show was over, we took a new board photo against the corn. Awesome, right?



(I had someone ask me the name of the "Rock-n-Romp lady with the big boobs" and I replied, "This is a trick question, right?")

After the show, we went to Chiwawa to have dinner with friends and half of my soccer team. We had to wait a while for a table big enough for everyone, but once we were seated on the patio, we had great service. Our waitress never missed a beat with 4 adults and 8 kids.



Jiro sat with the adults and pretended not to regret it.

At some point there will be an official recap on the Rock-n-Romp blog!

Rock-n-Romp Camp

For the third year in a row, the monkeys attended Rock-n-Romp Camp. The fact that they looked forward to it all year and consider it their favorite camp makes me very happy.

We were back at Rozelle Elementary this year, but we did things a little different. Rather than do two weeks of 50 kids like last year, we did one week with 70 kids. We added an acoustic guitar class and Rock-n-Roll Gym class.

Warren decided to take a break this year since he'd had his fill of teaching. Caleb stepped in and did a bang up job. I texted him on Wednesday and reported that Jiro said he was a buzzkill, so he made this shirt for himself. (Jiro calling him a buzzkill means that he was running a tight ship!)



Throughout the week Chip and Melissa popped in to take some pictures, and I was lucky enough to have them capture the monkeys in action.






(Photos by Chip)

As you can see above, both monkeys are very serious about the bass! (At least I think that's what they are playing!)

This is one of my favorite shots of Jiro's group during band practice even though you can't see him sitting in front of the drums.


(Photo by Melissa)

The end of camp showcase was held at the Young Avenue Deli. Satchel's band, Disco Lemonade, who reunuited from last year, took the stage by storm.



Satch was super nervous because he had to set the beat, but he did great!



Jiro also played bass in his band.




(all showcase pics by Chip)

Later, when the teen counselors played, cousin Branch, also played bass. I guess it runs in the family!

There was something else new this year--camper awards. And guess what Jiro won? Yep, the bass award!



(He had it folded up and crumpled in his pocket.)

Thanks to Jiro's make up, Warren noted that all three of us had grey hair.



It was a great week and both boys had a great time. Well, I think it's fair to say all 70 kids had a great time!