Answer Me This & What We Wore - June 14th

It's the most wonderful time of the summer! Well, it's not actually summer yet, but it sure feels like it here in Virginia!

1. Any big plans for the summer?

Not so far, and I'm glad! We're planning on playing tourist on our own town (the DC area) and using Andrew's vacation days to take a bunch of day trips to the local attractions - the zoo, the museums, hiking, blueberry/peach/apple picking, etc. I'm really looking forward to a relaxed summer!

Throwback to 1-year-old John Paul picking peaches!

2. What is the strangest thing you believed as a child?

Oh, I've got a couple of doozies... 

First, I was pretty sure that praying was the same thing as wishing. So I would take my Delia*s catalog and circle everything I liked, and the proper colors and sizes. Then I would pray that God would give me all the clothes I wanted, in the right colors and sizes. For some reason it never worked...

Second, remember the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta? Well, our air conditioning broke that summer so we kids all slept in the basement because it was a lot cooler there. Except instead of sleeping, we stayed up late watching the Olympics since the TV was down there (our parents MUST have known and just turned a blind eye because it was summer and who cares?). 

Anyway, do you remember the VERY tense Women's Gymnastics Finals? And the whole Kerri Strugg thing? Well, I was pretty sure that I could communicate telepathically with all the US gymnasts. Because I would tell them things like, "Come on, Dominique! You can stick this landing!!!" and then SHE WOULD!

So basically, I was convinced that I won the gold medal for the US by using telepathy.

Yup.

I'm pretty sure this is me in 1996... And no, I wasn't going for telepathy there, I thought it was supposed to be the silly picture so I made a face.

I thought most pictures were supposed to be the silly picture...

3. What is your favorite amusement park ride? (can be a specific one at a specific park or just a type of ride)

Do the misters count? The ones in the middle of the walkways that just get you nice and cool? I'm not a big rides fan... Too old, and everything makes me sick! Mostly I just like eating the amusement park food.

4. What's on your summer reading list?

Well, I'm reading Flannery O'Connor with the Stella Maris Book Club. And by reading I mean listening to the library recording, which is cheating but there's no way I'd get through it otherwise. I'm also listening to The Penderwicks with the kids, and reading The Moffat Museum with them (I do NOT like the new illustrations, fyi. How horrible!). I think we might read The Tale of Despereaux next? We need some fantasy! Other than that, no plans, but I know I *should* read a lot!

5. Have you ever fallen asleep in public?

I'm pretty sure I fell asleep in an airport in high school, on the way back from our choir trip to Florida. Either that or I thought it would be funny to pretend to fall asleep... But I think I pretended to fall asleep and then really DID fall asleep. We were waiting a LONG time for our bags...

Throwback to me in high school! Or you could look at the awkward pictures here

6. What is your favorite smell?

Right now? Honeysuckle. It varies by season though - in the fall I'm going to love the smell of apple cider, and in the winter it's going to be our Christmas candles that smell like incense.

And here's what we wore to Mass today:

Well, some of us anyway... Personal highlight? When John Paul fell prostrate on the floor in front of a woman with a cane after Communion, and I had to try to drag him down the aisle to get out of the way.

Thankfully Father has a sense of humor and told John Paul he assumed he was in a state of spiritual rapture.

On the plus side, he didn't throw a screaming fit when I told him he wouldn't be getting a treat after Mass!

Go check out more answers at Catholic All Year! And check out more Sunday outfits at Fine Linen & Purple!

P.S. Next Sunday is Father's Day! If you're looking for gift ideas, I've got some good ones here.