Awwww...What a cutie, and smart....Glad you had a great trip, even if you are lighter in the quarter department.

i loved ruby in paradise too. ashley judd is awesome.

how did you get through security with all those quarters?

SMART kid!

Why didn't I have someone like you in my life when I was a kid and had a loose tooth? Instead I had the twisted friends who took pleasure in my pain. "Please let me tie this string around your tooth so that I can tie the other end to the doorknob and slam it shut."

That's what crazy aunts are for!!! Spoiling the nieces and nephews.

Looks like you had a great time, Laurie. You must explain Thirty-one to your fans. Sounds like a very interesting game.

How come all your relatives are so good-looking? It must run in the family.

You're making me want to get on the next plane to Florida. (Honey? You'll have to hold down the fort for a couple of months... yeah, I'll be in Florida. I'll sleep better there.)

So are you gonna teach us how to play Thirty-One, or what?

Now that is a trip home, my parents live in a one dirt road town with lots of sand but no beaches, sigh. :(
And it came with a trip to the Cub Scouts' Pinewood Derby and everything. Sweet!

I love 31! It's definitely a family favourite, although I can't say that we bet when we play...I'll have to suggest that! We used to play in the car, btw. Even Dad would play while driving (someone else had to shuffle and deal, obviously). :)

That's one smart boy! It reminded me of the time when I got bitten by a dog and got 22 stitches. I made so much money out of that one!! They couldn't get the stitches out since I refused to go to the hospital, so they had to get the doctor to do house calls and he ended up coming to visit for about three times before all the stitches were out. I would charge money each time, and they had to buy me ice cream and libby's canned peaches in heavy syrup (my favorites!) to calm me down. I even got a barbie pool for all my troubles!! Poor mom and dad, I'm feeling guilty right about now.

Your family must be a bunch of sadists - no need to pull it unless it was cutting his lip or something like that. But, hey, 10 dollars is a respectable bribe. Just don't tell my kids - they only get a lousy quarter from the tooth fairy.

check out the second post in june 07, "general dentistry." reminded me of your nephew. Losing teeth is a BIG deal the this crowd. monsters. :) http://kiddiecapers.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html
if we learn 31 we will be playing for pennies. I'm just saying...

You just broke so many hearts by showing us that your brother Eric has a girlfriend.

Aww, sounds like the perfect weekend getaway. And everyone knows that Florida sunshine cures the ills.
My son wouldn't pull out his looser than loose tooth this summer, and ended up swallowing it. During a wedding, which he was standing up in. Better warn Andrew!

Let's see, gambling addiction, prescription drugs, bribery, attendance at a race car event, crossing state lines, beach bumming, eating fattening foods...I'm assuming there was alcohol...you are just a step away from rehab girl! Living in LA is starting to get to you!

(sigh)

Sounds like a great weekend to me!

That pencil car is adorable. My favorite from our own derby past is the one that the scout made to look like a wedge of swiss cheese - holes and all. It was really cute, but also - cheese...mmm.

Wooo, you were in my hometown! Daytona girls, unite! (Not really).

That last photo is priceless.

ONLY A CARRYON!!!!

You're my hero...

BRAVA!!!

That's one hell of a tooth fairy!

Cute family!

Wow-- and to think I could have had a celebrity sighting this weekend right here in Orlando!!! Hope you were able to stick around for a bit of Sunday when it was glorious Florida winter weather. Sat was pretty gray. Glad you had a good weekend anyway. The beach is almost always nice, barring any hurricane weather, that is. Sorry I missed you.

Wow-- and to think I could have had a celebrity sighting this weekend right here in Orlando!!! I live in Oviedo-- a "suburb" of Orlando, if you can call it that. Hope you were able to stick around for a bit of Sunday when it was glorious Florida winter weather. Sat was pretty gray. Glad you had a good weekend, anyway. Sorry I missed you.

oops! double post-- sorry everybody.

Hey! Mark was working at the Monster Jam in Orlando this weekend. We could have hooked up. BETTER THAN THAT - the Kumquat Festival was this weekend!!!! Can't believe you missed it ;)

Glad you got to spend time with your family. I heart your mom and dad.

Love Ya - C

I would totally drive a pencil car too!! Those pics reminded me of when my brother was little and I helped make his pinewood derby car. Thanks for the memories!!!

Eileen

I have been playing "31" or Blitz, as it is also called, since I was little, and I am a bit -ahem- older than you. But we played with pennies. You're big time players. I see you were a pinewood derby virgin. Oh, baby. Been there, done that. My son just did his 5th or 6th derby. Luckily my husband didn't make me go. I did have a headache, you know - well sorta. Too much excitement and noise and all that. He won "best of show" with his Legocar.
The Becca of Erbecca looks a lot like the actress who played Marcia in the Brady movie and was also in Dodgeball, married to Ben Stiller.

(smiling and laughing and grinning) You. Go. Girl.

and Andrew? You. Da. Bomb.

(more smiling and grinning and laughing)

Well, I could just squish that cute little Andrew in his cubby uniform. My nephews both raced their Pinewood Derby cars this weekend and it was a blast to see the creativity that comes from those little brains. Also the dads I think had a little something to do with it. Love the tooth bribery.

Eric. Yum. "Erbecca"...love it.

In the last picture, the $10 bill is basically the same width as your nephew...or is it just the camera angle?

Oh, you're too funny!

He's lucky you lost at cards or he might have gotten quarters instead!

Glad you had a great time!
.

Your family is so dang cute!

Last year, my daughter's extremely loose front tooth held on for a full 8 weeks longer than it really should have, till she finally got sick to death of having to eat her food cut into tiny pieces and grabbed a Kleenex and hauled the thing out herself. The Tooth Fairy was so proud that she brought the kid a necklace-beading kit...but $10 from Aunt Laurie is probably totally excellent too! :)

my family played 'Knock', and I think it's the same as 31- three cards and lots of quarters...I am a serial 'floater' after I lose my three- I simply love coming back to win after many hands of floating. we knew were grown up when we got to stay up during the holidays playing knock with the adults- ah the memories. thanks, I needed that. :-)

Off Topic:

Thanks, Laurie! I received my Daily Winner package in the mail this weekend (I'm...Me!...a winner!!) I nearly throttled both my boys when they made a move on the Cheetos. The thank-you note was a nice touch and it all made me feel as if you really had me in mind when signing everything. I'm very much enjoying the book, too! THANKS!

xo

Good times, good times. :-) Glad you got to take a trip and see your family -- I'll bet that was a nice break.

By the way, Windows Movie Maker is fairly user-friendly and can compress your movie file small enough to meet YouTube's limits....

My daughter had to have most of her teeth pulled because they got a little loose and then the next came up next to it.

Then the dentist said "If it doesn't come out you will get more cavities!"

So she has to go the special room and money won't work!!

What a tooth fairy you are! I bet he remembers that for years and it becomes one of his BIG stories. The beach pictures don't look real...what a soft sandy color and misty blue. Sounds like a great week-end of luv.

How about "Rebric" instead of Erbecca? Sounds like a crazy frog.
That pencil car reminded me of Richard Scarry books! (Very Busy People, etc)!

Really - what are aunts for? Bravo!

perhaps Crazy Auntie from California with the Possibly Off-Colour Jokes but very definitely Not Crazy Six Y.O. Nephew in possession of the Lovely Ten Dollar Note.

Hillary, Obama and the weirdy Salt Lake Guy watch out! That kid is going places!!!

Ah, sweet memories of the Pinewood Derby!

Flash may not be as important to find as Portrait. Love the portrait setting on my new camera! ;)

What an absolute doll that Cubbie Andrew is! I remember trying to get loose teeth out of our kids heads too... not fun. We didn't have a Crazy Auntie Tooth Fairy to help things along!

Your nephew is super cute in his little uniform!

My son had his derby to this weekend and also didn't win either. He didn't care though. He got a trophy and a certificate that read, "Most likely to peal out." That made him very happy. The kids really don't care one way or another if their car doesn't win. They have a blast just makin' the cars and racing them.

Good Job, Miss Auntie Bribey McBribeson! I heart your nephew -- what a cute fella! Glad you're well again and that you had an excellent time in Flory-da. ;)

My family (well, my mom's side of the family) plays 31 as well, except for some odd reason we call it Scat. Don't know why. But for some reason winning quarters is really satisfying :)

I love the game 31! My family plays EVERYTIME we get together for birthdays, holidays, days that end in 'y'...whatever the occasion. We play w/ 3 dollars, plus your 'honor'. How do y'all play?

We used to play 31 but I have completely forgotten how. Loved the derby car and the new smile.

Oh my gosh! Ruby in Paradise is one of my favorites too! Up to now, I've known absolutely *no one* who's even seen it!

Cute nephew. And rich, too. Can't beat that :).

I wish my kids had an aunt like you! Their real aunts are all too serious to give them a big ole tenner for a tooth, but they'll miss having crazy relative stories to talk about when they get to college, whereas Andrew? Probably all set!

Puleez tell me/us how to play 31 becuz if I have to play another game of Pitch with my SO's family I think there will be bloodshed...I'm just sayin.

Glad you had a wonderful/memory-filled time in FL...we think it's been chilly here in S.FL...but I know we have it pretty darn good!! Come back soon, ya hear! K.

Failed to mention the latest Family Game is called Pirate Dice...with accompanying parts, this game is enuf to wake the dead...and, if you're trying to sleep (as I was), you'd rather hear a baby crying (that was my other choice!) than listen to this game being played. Luckily for me, I travel with Advil PM!!! All I can say is AAAARRRR! K. P.S. So, 31 sound good!!!

...umm, Dads totally do most of the work on those cars. The dads start out with the best of intentions ("let me show you how to use that power saw, electric sander, nail gun") and due to the kids very short attention spans, the dads sort of help alot and all the way to the end... we have 3 cars to prove it and those cars got better with each kid!

Glad you got away, even if you lost all the quarters and ten dollars to boot!

Try www.dropshots.com. You can get a life subscription for something like $50. It works really nicely with blogs too. :)

Could that child be any cuter?! Geez. Excellent genes, by the way..... excellent.

Hehe, haven't been commenting here for a long time.

LOL, Crazy Aunt Laurie played the Tooth-Fairy.

Just thought I would mention you can still upload your video to You Tube! I don't know if you have a Mac or PC, but on both there is a movie program. On Windows it's called Movie Maker. Import your movie, then save it to your computer. On the second screen, click on show more choices and 'Best Fit To File Size'. You can change the file size to 99mb. Voila! Upload that to Youtube. There are also a ton of videos on youtube about how to do this incase I'm not being clear, which is entirely possible as I have not had a full cup of coffee yet! Hope that helps!

Oh, and I have not noticed a loss in quality on the video, in case that is a concern.

Sounds like fun, and your whole family is cute.

Oh, and the packing thing? We have to talk. I took a very small (carry-on-able) duffle bag with me for a month in Scotland. Y'all need some help!

(of course then again I'm not particularly cute, and neither do I care about appearing to be so, but still ...)

Andrew's parents should thank you. My boy had two stubborn molars that Would Not Come Out, so we did the dentist thing. Cost me $25 PER TOOTH to have them cut out by an oral surgeon. That broke the tooth fairy budget, let me tell you!

I LOVE the game 31! No one I know outside my hometown (Nashville) has ever heard of it though - and I gave up years ago trying to find someone to join me in a pick up game. The kid is cute, btw.

Your family is so cute. Do you think your parents would adopt me? Heck, even your brother. Then I could have a Crazy Aunt Laurie, too! (I just had a crazy Aunt Barb, and she wasn't so much fun. She said very mean things.)

You need to liberate yourself! No More Checked Baggage!!If I can go to Europe for a week with carry on only,(and NO I'm not a nudist) you can too. Just observing the looooong line of suffering humanity attempting to check their baggage makes me hyperventilate.

I'm just sayin'...Brett is hot.

Oh, I miss playing 31! If it's the same game... Ace, face card, and 10 are the winning combination? I used to play penny, penny, penny with my grandmother...

I'll read the other comments afters (if I don't write right away I'll forgit my Ancient Bubbeh Wisdsom and stuff). So I'm probably hangin' on the back of the already-crowdy bandwagon. Nevermind. YES, please, 31? Sounds more exciting that "dreidl", which is my only attempt at money-making with the family and they get real testy after February when I'm still wanting to play. ('Sides, if you get THAT song stuck in your head you're doomed, ask Faith). (Also 'sides, we play with M&Ms and Ben eats 'em all when he wins, so....uhnWHAT? Where was I?) Nevermind. Your family is uniformly ADORABLE, makes ME want to go to Florida and hug them all my own self! The beach looks beautiful, we don't have anything at ALL like that in Wisconsin (and HI MRS LAURIE'SMOM!). Andrew is just FAB, VERY smart indeed (tell me, that errant tooth is MISSING in the last picture, yes?) and boy have Pinewood Derby cars gotten classy since my brief interlude with 'em. (My sons weren't so much "Scout" types - I did my licks as a Drum Corps Mom). Laughed through the whole story, my dearling - and if you could see outside my window today you'd know what a gift it IS!

Last year for my son's Pine Wood Derby Race, they had a vote for the scouts to choose the best looking car and the audience to choose best looking car. Richie won both! He got 2 huge trophies for it (larger than the one for 1st place winner) and he was so proud! Aren't they great when they are that happy!

Sounds like you had a great time. :D I remember the Pine Wood Derby days and my son in that Cub Scout uniform. He's now one rank away from Eagle in Boy Scouts. Your family looks awesome.

I am glad to see that you fulfilled your auntly duty! Although you probably could have gotten away with half that amount.

My six-year-old has five teeth all coming in at once, and the corresponding baby teeth are all at different levels of looseness ... and I'm way, way too squeamish to suggest pulling any of them for him!

Laurie, if you have Quick Time Pro you can downsize videos for online sharing. How I do it is to use the "export" feature, and choose "movie to quicktime movie" and under "use" drop down box you can choose various types - i.e. broadband medium, broadband low, etc. which will reduce the file size greatly.

wow I never noticed before but you and your brother eric could totally be twins!! I mean its uncanny!!

I love your blog. I had read it waaay back when you started and was recently reminded about your site when I found out about your CrazyAuntPurl book. I have to say that I abosolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE your sense of humor and the way you write. It's as if I'm sitting in your living room or playing cards with your family or living my life through your bad hair years. It's all great stuff!

Ruby in Paradise...what a wonderful movie. I would watch it often to get a sense of peace about my place in this world during my single years. Loved your book...your sense of humor is priceless.

miss aunt purl, your brother is hot!!!!