2013: Week 39

2013: Week 39, a photo by MAStapleton on Flickr.

Week 39 of 2013 was a monumental week in our family. Actually, the week wasn't so monumental, but the Sunday of Week 39 was. It marked the day that our son turned 14 AND the day that our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers played at Wembley Stadium.

It was a fantastic day. We had cake for breakfast, as is the tradition. The sun shone. The tailgating at Wembley was epic. The pre-game show featured Tinie Tempah. We enjoyed some American fireworks to go with the American over-the-top festivities.

The funniest moment of the day was when the lovely gentleman from Devon seated next to me turned to me and asked, "So, is this your first American football game?" To be fair, he hadn't heard me talk yet, so maybe my American accent would have negated the need to ask that question. I only laughed and said, "Well, I've seen A LOT of American football games. I have no idea how many." (This is just a ballpark figure, but maybe 11,631?)

We also learned the answer to the question that had always troubled us: Could Gene Simmons, he of outrageous makeup of "Kiss" sing the national anthem without his usual getup? Alas, he can. Who knew?

Alas, the Steelers did not win. But it was an amazing day just the same.

2013: Week 38

2013: Week 38, a photo by MAStapleton on Flickr.

The party is over, but what a brilliant party.

2013: Week 37

2013: Week 37, a photo by MAStapleton on Flickr.

This is the only picture I took all week. The reason for the paucity of output is simple: I thought I would be spending Sunday at the Goodwood Revival, where they would be photo ops aplenty.

Alas, I spent Sunday at home with my sick teenager. Motherhood is so glamourous sometimes.

On the plus side, I finally installed the new version of the vsco app for my iPhone. This is the first picture I took with it, and I know I'm in love already. So at least something good happened to redeem my day.

2013: Week 36

2013: Week 36, a photo by MAStapleton on Flickr.

Sunset as the Summer Party.

The party was as amazing as this sunset.

2013: Week 35

2013: Week 35, a photo by MAStapleton on Flickr.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Or, in this case, when your son and his best friend want to raise money for their favourite charities, make lemonade. Which is exactly what we did.

I think I got RSI from squeezing several dozen lemons, but it was delicious. The boys also managed to raise £103 on the day, so it was well worth the effort.