Labor Day Picnic at Coney Island

Today we went to Coney Island for the AFL/CIO Labor Day picnic. Rich is a member of AIM 912 out at GE. Free food for a family of 6 is certainly nice. We all got free union t-shirts to wear at President Obama's speech. Emma's t-shirt went down to her knees and looked like a dress. LOL. Rich and Josh won additional t-shirts, and Jenna won a CD case.

President Obama is certainly a gifted speaker. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to his speech, even though we don't agree on several issues. It was exciting to see him in person. We took lots of pictures, and the kids are taking some of them to school tomorrow. As you can see, we sat WAY in the back. I wish I had brough binoculars. The kids loved seeing the Presidential helicopter and cars. From a historical aspect, the entire day was interesting and educational for the kids. Emma thinks that she saw us on television, but we're not sure.

Rich even got interviewed by a radio station after the speech. The reporter asked him if he supported the public option. Unfortunately, Rich wasn't sure what that was, so he just nodded and said "yes". We got a good laugh out of that.

It should be interesting to find out what the kids think of the President's speech to school students tomorrow. I think all of them will have the opportunity to listen. I'm going to listen also, so we can discuss it tomorrow when they get home.

The firefighters' union had 2 fire trucks, ladders extended, with the American flag hanging between them. It reminded me of the firefighters that have given their lives to save others, especially those that died on 9/11.

I got a video of the kids playing bumper boats at Coney Island. They had to wait in line for almost 40 minutes, but I think it was worth it. Bumper boats takes sibling rivalry to an all new level.

Mr. Tomatohead

What do 2 grown men do with a big partially ripe tomato, left-over fireworks and too much time on their hands? We found out this weekend.

Here is the tomato that Josh found laying in the yard, aka Mr. Tomatohead. It had tooth marks on one side, so the dog probably managed to drag it out of the garden. This pic shows Mr. Tomatohead with his friend Blowtorch. If you look closely, you will notice that Mr. Tomatohead had some recent surgery to hollow out his insides and replace them with something special - a left-over firework from the 4th of July. Dr. Rog performed the surgery with Dr. Rich assisting.

Here's what happened next.

Missing June

Wow - I didn't blog at all during June. There is an explanation for this: Cub Scout Camp, VBS, Baseball, and a massive number of sleepovers. The kids have had friends over non-stop. I'll try to blog next week when Mom and I get back from California.

If I forget, at least I have a blog entry for July.

Just For Miranda!!

I don't normally write 2 posts in one day, but this is for Miranda. When we were down in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago, Miranda curled the girls' hair. Jenna LOVED how her hair looked, while Emma was a little less enthusiastic. In fact, Emma acted really nasty about it.

Guess what. We got back, and Emma asked me to curl her hair and put little braids in it....JUST LIKE MIRANDA DID. Isn't that hilarious? So, here's a pic of the girls with their hair curled. Fortunately, it doesn't take long to do in the morning, but I'm not sure about this. I thought hair curling would hold off until they were teens. lolol.

Now we have a special message for Miranda, who is down in Florida and probably very wet, since they've had about 15 inches of rain (at least).

Yet Another Band Concert and an Awards Ceremony

It's that time of the year. We're starting to have all the "end of the school year" activities. It certainly has been busy doing all this and then baseball on top of that. Every night seems to be either ball practice, a game, or something at school. Even with all the chaos, it's a lot of fun.

Well, some things are fun. I actually had homework from Jordan's teacher last week. Imagine that. I thought I was done with homework...well...FOREVER. I'm not talking about just helping kids with homework. I mean actually having to DO a homework assignment. I had to write a biography of Jordan's life, and it had to be at least 1 1/2 pages long. I found that lots of pictures help with the length (lol).

It really wasn't all that bad once I got over my "writer's block." The memories of high school term papers came rushing back: sitting at the kitchen table for hours the night before a paper was due.....hearing the click of the typewriter (yes, a typewriter)....smelling the strong odor of white-out and hoping I didn't have to retype a page...whew. That's enough to make anyone sweat.

My writing contribution is only a portion of Jordan's "All About Me" project. I hope he gets an "A." I hope my paper gets "A." How humiliating this could be.

On to bigger and better topics. Jordan had his last band concert of the year last Thursday. It was quite entertaining, and obvious that his class has been hard at work. This video is a combined effort of the 7th, 8th, and high school bands. I think they sound much better than last time. Jordan is in the trumpet section. If you look closely to the left of the conductor, you can see him.

We went to an Awards Ceremony at the Middle School last night. Both Jordan and Josh got certificates for making the honor roll the last 3 grading periods. Jordan got an additional award for outstanding work in social studies. I'm so proud of the boys and their achievements. They both have certainly worked hard this year to keep their grades up. This isn't always easy with additional activites, like boy scouts and sports. Here is a pic of the boys with their friends, who also got awards. The pictures I took during the ceremony didn't turn out great, because the lighting was poor. I got this picture after the ceremony was over.

What a great looking group of kids :)

Mother's Day and Atlanta

This year we decided to have a picnic lunch and spend the day at Fernbank Park for Mother's Day. It was a wonderful family time! Mom, Dad, and Holly were able to meet us also. We had fun walking the trail and visiting with everyone. I brought along the cornhole game that Jesse made for me! I'm absolutely awful at cornhole, but it IS a fun game! I'm not exactly sure about the rules or scoring either, but that just makes things more interesting.

Mom brought me some plants for my garden! She had tomatoes and goards that she grew from seed. Mom also gave me three moonflowers! These bloom with giant, fragrant flowers (almost 12 inches in diameter) that open in the evening. I planted 2 in the back yard where the wisteria used to be, and the other in the front yard. Yes, I finally ripped out the last wisteria. After 12 years of trying to get that finicky plant to bloom, I decided this was the last year.

Mother's Day just wouldn't be complete without an emergency room visit. Just before we left for the park, Emma was running down the hallway and missed her doorway. I think she tripped on her flip flops. She fell and hit the wall. It didn't look serious, so we took an ice pack along, and thought she'd be back to normal in no time.

A few hours later, I changed my mind. I thought her collar bone looked ok, but she wasn't using her arm much and didn't want to play. Rich thought she seemed alright, but I took her to the doctor anyway. Moms just know. They doctor took x-rays and thought that her shoulder was possibly broken. He gave her a sling and told us to see an orthopedic doctor.

I took her to Dr. Argo at Beacon (the same dr. that did my knee), and after more x-rays, he determined that she has a separated shoulder. Two weeks of limited activity and she should be back to normal. I'm so thankful nothing was broken. Somehow, I don't think this will deter Emma from running down the hallway, though. Emma is just so energetic, to put it mildly. It's not easy to limit her activity.

We went to Atlanta last weekend for Shelley's graduation. What a fun time!! It was wonderful to have almost the entire family together (on Rich's side). Miranda came up from Florida and brought the kids some t-shirts :) Here's a family pic that was taken the afternoon of the graduation. On Friday, we decided to do a little sightseeing. We took the kids to the Georgia Aquarium. Jordan has wanted to see whale sharks for several years, ever since he found out this was one of the few aquariums in the world that had them. We weren't disappointed. The aquarium has four whale sharks, and we were there for feeding time. It was fascinating. Each whale shark had a different colored feeding bucket, and was trained to follow that bucket as it traveled through the water. I think this allows the aquarium to supplement the diet of each individual shark. The whale sharks extend their mouths an average of four feet in diameter to feed. Their diet consists mainly of krill. We also got to see beluga whales. I thoroughly enjoyed the aquarium, although it was a little crowded by the time we left (around 12:00). It's a good thing we got there when it opened at 10:00.

Next we went to see Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. The Civil War museum was so informative and interesting. We hiked a little on Kennesaw Mountain, and could see both Stone Mountain (32 miles away) and downtown Atlanta (28 miles away) from the overlook at the top. Saturday we returned to the park to hike to one of the actual battlefields. The Confederate earthworks were located on the top of a small hill. They had dug a series of trenches behind which they hid. On one side of the hill was a meadow, through which the Union troops had charged the earthworks. It was sobering to think of how many men died in this particular battle. At one point, both sides took a break from fighting to remove the dead and wounded from the field. Over 400 men died in this battle, while around 4000 men died in the various battles on the mountain. Such a loss of life. It was sad to think about.

There was a memorial to the soldiers from Illinois who died charging this particular Confederate earthworks. Some of the Union troops who survived the initial charge were trapped less than 80 feet from the Confederate position for 6 days. They tried to build a tunnel under the earthworks , with the hope of filling it with explosives and blowing up the enemy. However, after several days, they found that the Confederates had secretly retreated.

The museum contained several pictures of men that fought in the Civil War at Kennesaw Mountain. I couldn't believe how young some of the men looked. In fact, one picture greatly impressed me because I thought the person looked so incredibly young. It was the picture of a 13 year old boy who played the bugle for the Union army. He had been in the army for three years, joining when he was only 10 years old! As a mother, I certainly can't imagine sending a son off to war at such a young age.

We had a fun family weekend, although the 16+ hours riding in the car was a little tedious. It's nice to be home.

Jordan's B-day, Easter, a Doomed Vacation, and Emma's Baptism

Now that's a title. Obviously I have not blogged in a long while....too long. So now I have several topics to cover. I think I'm going to cover more than I listed in the title, and I'll mention them in whatever order I feel like too. Because....it's my blog.

Jordan has been inducted into the National Junior Honor Society at the Middle School! I attended the ceremony the week before spring break. This is a huge accomplishment, and he worked SO hard to achieve this. He is actually taking an advanced math class at school, and was determined to get straight As again. I'm proud of you, Jordan!!!

I guess that I should mention Jordan is officially a teenager, as of April 11th. However, he's been ACTING like a teenager for the past year, so this is nothing new to me. If anything, I think he just eats more. Below is a picture of my favorite teen opening one of his gifts. (I can say that because the other kids aren't teens yet!) He LOVES the ipod that Uncle Jeff gave him, who actually flew in from California for our family party a few weeks ago. It was wonderful spending time with you, Jeff!! We've been loading lots of MonsterHunter episodes on the ipod (mega-jaws was a real winner - lol). We celebrated Jordan's birthday at Papa Wade and Grandma Joanie's house. This picture was taken at Dan and Jane's house during Jordan's THIRD b-day party.



This year we stayed home for Easter (instead of going to Gatlinburg) and had a wonderful time with family. We visited Dad and Mom in New Carlisle for 3 days, and totally trashed their house (but I did help clean it up). I think we ate all their food too. Well, actually, JORDAN ate all their food! Mom and I walked about 6 miles!

On Sunday, we attended church with our friends. I'm still in awe of the huge sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us, by paying the penalty for our sins and making a way for us to have reconciliation with God. Sometimes the enormity of Christ's sacrifice is hard to comprehend; especially that God would come to Earth as a man, out of love for His people.

During the afternoon, we went to Dan and Jane's house for Easter dinner. The kids had their traditional Easter egg hunt. Since Jordan is a teenager, now he qualifies to hide the eggs! Jesse and Jordan did a great job hiding the eggs, and I think the kids found all of them. We'll see if Jane finds any when she's gardening. Remember the year Holly and Jeff hid the eggs? Jane was finding them in the garden for several YEARS after that!!!

Emma was baptized last Sunday at church!! The child made a profession of faith several years ago, but lately has had a strong urge to be baptized. I was concerned that she was too young, but she fully understands that her sins separated her from God and that asking Jesus to save her from her sins provided a way that she could be 'right' before God. Emma wanted to be obedient to Jesus by being baptized, and she wanted to be a witness to others of the spiritual decisions that she has made. She actually understands more than I did at her age. I gave her a spiritual journal, and I hope she starts journaling her thoughts and dreams in it. We all wrote little notes of encouragement in it for her.

Now I suppose I should write about the doomed vacation day. Since we stayed in town over spring break, Rich and I thought that we should take the kids to the zoo on Friday. We wanted it to be a special day that they would remember. LOLOL. He decided to take off half a day from work. We got to the zoo around 12:00, and ALL the parking lots were full! I've NEVER seen the zoo that full of people. After driving around for a while, we decided to change our plans a bit. I got the bright idea of going to Krohn Conservatory to see the butterfly show. We went through the conservatory, and found out that the butterfly show didn't start until the next day. Figures.

After eating a picnic lunch in the Presidential Grove next to the conservatory, Rich thought it would be fun to go up to Fort Ancient. We haven't been there in years, and it sounded interesting. We headed up towards Lebanon, and found out that Fort Ancient was closed for the season! I was ready to go home at this point, but Rich wanted to go boating at Lake Cowan, which was 15 miles to the east. We went to the lake and rented a pontoon boat for a couple of hours. Only it broke down...in the middle of the lake.

You would think that we were stranded on a desert island without food. Fortunately, I had brought the leftovers from our lunch on the boat, because suddenly the kids were starving! Eventually we were towed by a little rowboat until they could get another pontoon for us. I guess it was fun on the lake. Kind of fun, anyway. We saw lots of geese, herons, and other lake creatures during our solitary time on the lake (not the loch ness monster, although the topic DID come up when the boat broke down). The kids took turns driving the pontoon. Jordan was especially excited to drive (I'm not ready for this)! I think all the kids like driving the boat. Look at the smile on Josh's face!! The lake was bigger than I thought. It had a small island, where geese were nesting. I think we counted almost 20 geese. Not a good island to explore! The lake wasn't that crowded. Maybe next time we'll take fishing poles, and see what we can catch - other than water lilies. At least we finished out the day by eating at the ice cream parlor in Lebanon. That was delicious; it wasn't closed; and nobody spilled anything! I've got to include this picture of Emma steering the boat also. Toothless smiles are so cute!!

Birthday Party and an Easter Egg Hunt

I hiked in the woods today before it started raining, and there were trout lilies and trillium blooming. There were Dutchman's Breeches blooming in the sunnier areas. In some places, the floor of the woods looked like a carpet of yellow flowers. Spring is definately my favorite time of the year, because of the beautiful wildflowers. It seems so hopeful to finally see tiny flowers blooming where the woods were barren and frozen during winter. Bleeding Heart and Virginia Bluebells are starting to bloom in my garden. I hope the predicted cold snap doesn't damage the flowers.

I filmed Emma opening her American Girl doll on her birthday. Since it was a combined gift, she wouldn't have had much to open on her actual birthday if we waited until the weekend when all the family got together. Now it's on film for everyone to enjoy :) I know everyone is admiring my wonderfully talented and creative method of gift-wrapping (lolol). It was just such a big box. I don't think she ever noticed the gift wasn't actually wrapped.

It was wonderful seeing Jeff for the party last weekend! Hope you have a great vacation in China, Jeff!! Take lots of pictures.

The boys went to a Boy Scout campout last weekend for both Friday and Saturday nights, ending Sunday morning. The house was so quiet....for a while at least. I decided to let the girls each invite a friend over for Friday night. We had such a fun time. The girls are so cute. They played dress-up for a while, then we all watched "The Secret Garden." Wonder if they'll want to read the book. Books are almost always better than the movie version. Saturday afternoon, we went to an Easter egg hunt. The girls got their faces painted, and then got washable tatoos. They all found a little candy. We went to a movie, then took dinner to a park. After dinner we walked for 2 miles. I think I wore them out. Here's a pic of the girls and one of their friends after the hunt.

We had a lot more fun than the boys. When they got home Sunday, I heard the entire tale of woe. First of all, it got fairly cold at night. Cold enough for them to complain. Then on Saturday night while he was sleeping, Jordan threw up all over his tent and everyone in it. Josh also didn't feel good. So....we had about 6 loads of pukey, stinky laundry when they got home. Poor kids. Bet they'll sleep good tonight. Here's a great way to end this post. Jordan's crawfish is waving good bye!!!

Volleyball and Wildflowers in the Woods

There isn't volleyball in the woods, just wildflowers. Kind of a catchy title for a beautiful spring day!! Let's start with volleyball. Jordan's team at church won the tournament today!!! It was a great game. The team has improved SO much over the course of a couple months. I think they won because of team work. The kids cheered each other on, even when they made mistakes. They also worked to set up the ball for each other. It took the entire team to win, and they did a wonderful job. I tried to get a team picture when they were awarded their trophies, but my camera didn't work correctly. I think it was too dark, and I was standing too far away :( Maybe someone else got the team pic, and can share. Anyway, here is the picture I got of Jordan after the awards ceremony. He is so proud of his team. I really like the Christian fellowship they've had together. He's developed a lot of new friendships.


After we got home from volleyball, I went for a short hike in the woods behind the house. There were some wildflowers blooming!!! It's nice to see the first signs of spring. I saw spring beauty (pink) and false rue anenome (white) that were just starting to bloom. The daffodils that I planted two years ago are coming up. There is red trillium that has set buds already (aka toadshade)! The larkspur and trout lily are just starting to come up, but don't have buds on them yet. In a few weeks, it'll look like a carpet of white and pink down in the woods. It's my favorite time of the year.

There was a baptismal service at church today, and afterwards Emma mentioned that she'd like to be baptized soon. I questioned her, and I think she really understands the reasoning behind baptism. She has already asked Jesus to be her Savior, and wants to be a witness to others. She actually answered my questions by quoting Bible verses, which she seems to understand well. I told her I can go with her and she can talk with the pastor about this. I'm so encouraged about her testimony, especially given the fact that she's so young.


I think I'll end today's entry with a picture of Smokey and Buttons. They were laying on my bed cleaning each other. How CUTE!! Jordan noticed this and wanted a picture. I'm glad they like each other so much.

Band Concert

The footage from this concert is actually from March 5th, but I just haven't had time to blog. It has just been so busy. This is Jordan's 7th grade band performing at the Spring Band Concert. You can see Jordan's head just below the conductor's left arm. Jordan has his music stand raised a little high. It's hard to see the trumpet players because they are in the 2nd row.

It's also hard to concentrate at the moment. Rich is making 'peep frog' noises on a comb, while he and Jordan talk about hair. They can't decide whether or not to part Jordan's hair on the side. It sounds like a giant frog and 2 arguing hair stylists are in the room. And Jordan's socks are disappearing (I don't know HOW that topic slipped in the middle of the hair discussion). Maybe bigfoot took the socks. They would probably fit.

Back to the concert. As I was filming this with my camera, the batteries went dead. Right in the middle of filming. And somebody took my backup batteries out of the camera case. So due to technical difficulties and a battery thief, I only got the first few minutes of the concert. After listening though, I don't think it's really a problem. You'll see what I mean. I thought they were very good for a typical 7th grade band. They have REALLY improved since last year. Enjoy!!

Three Rivers District Showcase

This afternoon we went to the Three Rivers District Showcase at Taylor High School. The kids had artwork on display, and we got to see Emma perform the library song with the 2nd graders!!! This is the song that we usually sing when I volunteer at the school library on Fridays. Emma did such a great job (cutie pie alert)! She is standing on the far right side.

After her show, we saw the various art displays from each grade. Jenna drew a wonderful white polar bear with a blue background. I think her pic demonstrated the use of contrasting colors in artwork. It's great how her polar bear has a huge smile on it's furry face!

Next we have Jordan standing next to his picture of leaves, a star, and other various freeform shapes. You can see his initials on the upper left hand of the picture. I really like his use of earth tones.

Josh's art project was to draw a city skyline. He couldn't really stand next to his picture, since it was hanging a little low. I guess "a little low" is an understatement. It was actually halfway on the floor. Poor Josh was pretty upset about it. He thought the art teacher didn't like his picture because he hadn't drawn stars in the sky like the other kids, so she put it on the floor. We talked a little, and I pointed out that the paper banner on which that row of pictures were hung looked as if it had only slipped down a little bit. Besides, you usually don't see stars at night when looking at a city skyline anyway. It's just too light outside. His picture was just more realistic than the rest of them!!

He wasn't convinced, so we talked about the "worse case scenerio", namely, that his teacher didn't like his picture and put it on the bottom of the banner to drag on the floor (which I seriously doubt). I also talked to him about letting one person decide the quality of his artwork. There are so many talented artists that have had their artwork rejected at one point or another. But rejection doesn't define the worth of a piece of art. He "got" this concept, and decided to go with my opinion of his picture (which I am going to hang in a prominent area when we get it back).

The boys are tired from their Hobo Campout with the boy scouts this weekend. They camped in cardboard boxes for 2 nights at the Miami Whitewater Forest campground (with warm sleeping bags, at least). I hope nobody gets sick. They get some kind of polar bear merit badge for winter camping. I'm sorry, but can that possibly be worth it? LOL

Jordan's team won at volleyball this afternoon too. It was a fun family day together!

P.S. My sewing machine is fixed!!! Rich helped me take it apart and there was a screw loose in the bottom of the machine. I think it had gotten caught in one of the really important moving parts. We figured out where it was supposed to go, oiled the machine and put it back together. That machine is almost 15 years old!!

Sewing Machine Bailout Package

My sewing machine is broken. I think it's bad, although I'm not sure as to the extent of it's injuries. I decided to reattach Josh's hood to his coat AGAIN on Wednesday afternoon. That's another story, but I have to add: NEVER buy a coat with a snap hood; get one that is attached. Anyway, I noticed that my sewing machine needle was bent. I'm ok with that. It's easy to fix, although a strange occurence. This was my first tip-off that something was wrong. I changed the needle and sewed the hood back on. But I noticed that the wheel wasn't turning correctly. In fact, it hardly turned at all. And there was this weird smell, like something was hot, coming from my machine.

I asked the kids if they knew anything about it, and the answers I got were truly amazing. It was unanimous. NOBODY did it. That nobody REALLY annoys me. Nobody is soooo destructive to things in our house on a regular basis.

I decided to wait until Saturday to take the machine apart. It will probably take awhile, since I'm not mechanically gifted. I think I can go so far as to say that I'm mechanically "ungifted." Anyway, the point is....I should qualify for a "sewing machine bailout package." I wonder if President Obama included this in his recent plan.

It just annoys me so incredibly much that my tax money is going to yet another bailout package. Last time my dollars went to bailout the bank executive who was worried that he might not get that weekend at the exclusive spa, or the 10 million dollar bonus. Now my money is probably going to bail out someone facing foreclosure, who is in trouble because they had to buy the big screen TV/movie system, all the latest electronical equipment, and a cable dish.

I'm sure there are some people who really do need some help, and are having financial trouble because of the economy, not through any fault of their own. But I think these people are the minority. I'm not getting back enough of my tax money to help pay for my kid's braces, buy a new sewing machine, or pay the ever-rising heating bill. I'm upset about that. What a mismanagement of money by the government.

Well, enough blogging for today. Whew....I needed to vent.

Firebugs

The boys were getting a little wild this afternoon, by wrestling and chasing each other thru the house. So I sent them outside to "play." Jordan asked if they could start a small bonfire. I really did think before answering. I gave him a list of conditions: no fire outside the fire pit; no flour; yes to dryer lint. The normal "Mom" answers. I even let Jordan use his broken red candle, which he had stripped partially of wax so that it looked like a stick of dynamite. LOLOL.

I was surprised how well the afternoon went. The boys were actually fairly quiet, and responsible keepers of the flame. I looked out several times to check on them. Then after dinner, I heard Jordan mention that he had some pictures he needed me to download from the camera to his folder on the computer. Only.....he wasn't supposed to have my camera. Even if he had asked, I probably wouldn't have let him use it. At least not around fire.

I have to admit, I was FILLED with curiosity about those pictures on my camera. I actually downloaded them tonight. Wow. When teens and pre-teens are quiet, it's bad. I should have known. Here's the fire, burning HUGE.

This is a view from the back of the pit. The door makes it easier to shovel ashes out the back. The front of the pit is open, and it's got a huge stack on the top. In this case, flames are actually shooting out the top. sigh. It looks much more dramatic at night, though, as you will see in the upcoming photos. I think this pit has a strange resemblance to the machine on the moon in "Wallace and Gromit". It's the episode where Wallace and Gromit vacation on the moon in hopes of finding cheese. In the end, the machine fulfils it's life-long dream of learning to ski. Classic.

Here is a view of the fire pit from the front. Jordan must have taken this picture shortly after adding wood. Unfortunately you can't see the flames chugging out the top. But you'll see it in the next extraordinarily creative picture.

I don't think that's the Holy Spirit on his head. LOL. Where does he get this sense of humor. It must be from the Wright side of the family!!! Don't worry Mom...Jordan's head isn't REALLY on fire. It's an optical illusion created by 1 pre-teen and 2 teens with WAY too much time on their hands.

Did I mention how much those kids ate this afternoon? FOUR bags of popcorn, too many pop-tarts to count, valentine's day candy (good - now I won't eat it), grapes, half a box of Rice Krispie Treats, and a 2 litre of Root Beer. That's not counting lunch and dinner.

Arrow of Light Ceremony and a Really Strange Song

Today Josh graduated from Cub Scouts during the Arrow of Light Ceremony. I'm so proud of him. It took a lot of work and perseverance to reach his goal of becoming a Boy Scout.

Here's a pic of Josh (2nd from right) with the plaque that he and Rich put together. It has all of Josh's badges, beltloops, and other important items that he earned (well, all of them that would fit on the board). There were four scouts that graduated.

Now Josh will attend the same meetings and do the same activities as Jordan. From a parental standpoint, THAT'S GREAT!!! It'll certainly simplify our week a little. Josh can't wait to attend summer camp this year. He and Jordan will be away from home for a week. Whew. That will be hard for me, but they're growing up :)

Rich was the Webelos 2 den leader, and claims to be retiring. He IS keeping his den leader shirt, so I guess there is a possibility that he might help out with the Boy Scout troop too. Here's a pic of Josh, Rich, and Jordan after the ceremony. At least I finally got a pic of Jordan without him making some kind of strange face at me. I told him I was going to post it to my blog for his entire family to see, so he acted normal. I think he was a little worried - lol.

That takes care of the "Arrow of Light" portion of this blog. You're probably wondering about the "Really Strange Song." Well......you won't be disappointed. Since Josh is in the spotlight today, I thought this was a prime opportunity to display some of his special talents, in the form of the "Really Strange Song." I took this video a few weeks ago, when Josh was singing in his room. I tried, as you can see, to be stealthy about taping this. Stealthy just doesn't always work as planned. Enjoy!! We certainly did :)

Snow Goons

Have you ever read the comic strip "Calvin & Hobbes?" If so, then you know all about snow goons. If not, then see this snow art gallery. The kids and I LOVE reading "Calvin & Hobbes." Today we made some of our favorite snow goons. We had plenty of time today. The 2 hour delay got changed to "no school", so this is the 3rd day the kids have had off school.

This is the 2 headed mini-mutant snow goon. I especially like the ice-encrusted eyes and arms. It gives the arms a special translucent look. We built it on top of the wood burning stove, so we could see it a little better. It's kinda small (the snow is too powdery), but nice. Of course....if we decide to have s'mores tonight.....it's history.

This is a happy swimming snowman. Unfortunately, he doesn't see the 3 sharks to the right. Yes, I know it's strange, but you have to see the comic strip. It really is funny in a weird way. Wonder whose side of the family that strange sense of humor comes from?

Jenna actually spent a lot of time outside today. She decided to make a snow fort out of sheets of ice. It's kind of hard to break off large sheets of ice, so this was a problem. It would be a great fort for small snowmen though. We had a fun day playing in the snow, but it was much colder - around 18 degrees. Brrrrrrrrrr.

Snow Forts and Motrin

Motrin should actually be first in this blog title. The boys and I shoveled the driveway today after a short discussion about teamwork. They wanted to either play wii or play in the snow, while I cleared the driveway. LOL. Unfortunately there were about 2 inches of ice underneath 5 inches of snow. It's a good thing I put down salt yesterday after shoveling, because it actually melted the ice a little and we were able to chip it into slush and get it off the driveway. Since we couldn't get Rich's plow started, it took a little over 2 hours. We dug out the car too. Blah. Motrin is my friend. I'm sitting in bed right now with the electric blanket cranked up on high. Hope the power doesn't go out.

Early this morning, I heard a crash in the corner in the room. I thought it was the kitten getting into trouble. It was actually one of Rich's radio antennas falling off the roof. We also had a few tree limbs fall, but nothing hit the house. The ice is fairly thick on the trees.

The kids have been busy building snow forts. It's hilarious. They had a huge snowball war yesterday, and I'm not sure of the outcome. Nobody tattled about anything. Although I did intervene when I noticed Jordan throwing shovelfuls of snow on Emma - in her face. That was a little extreme. Here are the three main types of snow forts that we have in our yard:

This is Emma's snow fort. She balanced a sled on the top of two sandboxes. Then she dug out a crawl space type area underneath. It's nice. I especially like having a roof. That was a clever idea. She is small enough that I think she'll fit into that tiny area.

Here is Jordan's fort. He has a snowball arsenal behind the main wall, so it's hard to tell exactly how much firepower is involved. That could be to his advantage. Especially since I'm not about to find out. Having the car behind him might give extra protection from sneak attacks. Although if I were to get a large push broom and sweep the snow from the roof of the car into his fort, he'd probably be in real trouble. Hmmmm........ That might be worth filming. lol.

Here is Josh's fort. This is the crater approach. I think the walls of the crater need to be a little taller. This could be really bad if someone does a mass attack. It'll just fill in the crater. I think if it had a roof.... Josh and Emma ought to combine forces. They would make a great team.

Jenna actually didn't make a snow fort. That is probably because she hates snow ball fights. She did play outside in the snow a little, but really wasn't very interested. I guess it's just more fun being inside where it's warm. Can't blame her much for that. Jordan wanted a pic of himself standing in front of the lilac trees in the back yard. The ice looks especially thick on these.

Just found out that the kids have a 2 hour delay for school tomorrow. Yeahhhhhh. We get to sleep in a little!

Battle of the Snowmen

The kids are off school today, and it's fairly likely that they'll be off tomorrow also. Guess the snow dance worked! Josh made extra ice cubes as soon as he got home from school yesterday. We've got around 4 or 5 inches of snow on the ground, and now there's a little freezing rain falling. Tonight we're supposed to get more snow. At least we got the driveway shoveled and put down salt. That was enjoyable. I woke up this morning with a stiff neck and it still hurts after all that work. Blah. I feel old.

We've been playing outside all day. Yes, I even went out. I made a bunch of little snowmen on one wall of the pool. Then challenged the boys to hit them off. It kept them busy for a long time (lol). Here's a video of the snowmen army vs. the boys.

When I looked outside this afternoon, I noticed that someone obliterated the snowmen. Too funny. Right now Jordan, Joshua, and Jenna are outside building snow forts so they can have a huge snowball fight. I will NOT be going outside for that.

Jenna and I have been knitting a little today. She's making a purse, and I'm not sure WHAT I'm making. It really doesn't look like anything. Hmmmmm. I think I need a new hobby. I'd like to go snowshoeing down in the woods later today or tomorrow. I think maybe tomorrow would be better with the extra snow. Wonder if the turkeys are out.

Well, hopefully the power doesn't go out due to the freezing rain. Have a great time in Kilauea, Jeff. Wish I was there too. Bet it's hot.....sunny......beautiful.

Really Cheap Cat Toys

Are you tired of wasting hard-earned cash on toys that your pets don't play with anyway? Waste no more. The kids and I have discovered a cheap, economical, new cat toy. Dogs love this toy too. Even kids will play with it for hours. Guaranteed.



After watching this video, I realized that we might get closed down by the health department. Emma was actually eating cereal off the floor that the cat had been playing with. And she put cereal on the cat's back, then ate it. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww.

Volleyball and Flammable Flour

We went to church today for Jordan's first volleyball game, and his team won!! He really hasn't had much experience playing volleyball up to this point - aside from gym class at school and team practice. Jordan's first serve actually hit the ceiling, but after some further instruction later from one of the coaches, he started serving really well. Whatever she told him did the trick. It was fun watching the kids work together, show team spirit, and support each other even when they missed a shot. I don't think Jordan fully understands the game or how to hit the ball, but that'll come with a little experience.

Now the boys are going over to a friend's house for the afternoon. I'm actually a little worried because they took dryer lint and flour. This means that they'll be practicing their boy scout skills of fire-starting, probably using a magnesium stick. Ever since they found out that dryer lint is flammable and works great for getting that initial flame started, I haven't had to worry about dumping the trash can in the laundry room. They take all my dryer lint, sometimes even emptying the tray in the dryer. (When they're desperate. LOL) They even have Grandma in on this - now she brings them bags of lint when she visits (Thanks, Mom)!

Last night I learned that flour is also highly flammable. I had NO IDEA. We went to a birthday party for one of Jordan's friends (the kind of party where parents all stay and have fun too!!) It was fairly obvious that something was up when several of the boys had white stuff on their clothes. Of course, being moms, we had to find out what they were doing. What a surprise to learn that it was flour (luckily not from my supply)! The boys were using it to start a fire ourside, in a parent-approved fire pit. So today I had to sacrifice some of my flour to their cause.

The Snow Dance

I heard a strange sound in my bathroom this evening. Guess what? Jordan was flushing ice cubes down my toilet. This is something those parenting books just never mention. I asked the obvious question, "Why?" This is one of those "whys" where you don't really expect a logical answer, or maybe any answer at all. You just don't know what else to say.

All the kids were doing a ritual that will cause it to snow several feet, so there won't be school tomorrow. Needless to say, we don't have many ice cubes left in the freezer. They must REALLY want to stay home.

First, they flushed ice down the toilet. Next, they decided to wear their pajamas inside out. Then lastly, but most importantly, they did.....the SNOW DANCE. In case you're wondering what this rare, yet exciting, dance looks like; here it is, performed in full by the Sauer natives.

Turkeys and (believe it or not) Utter Boredom

This morning Josh ran screaming into the kitchen, "Mom, Mom, come quick!" When he uses this tone of voice, I usually assume the worst, like vomit or a wound of some kind. But as I ran into his room, he was at the window, looking out into the front yard. There were about 10 wild turkeys walking across the street! These are the elusive turkeys I've been trying to get on film for the past few weeks, and they were practically in our front yard. I went outside and got a few pics of them, which was good, because I scared them all across the street. We didn't want them to get hit by a car. Maybe we should get a "Turkey Xing" sign.

It's raining here. A lot. Sigh of boredom. It's hard to believe a person could be bored in a house with 4 kids, but we are all bored. At least we're warm. There is a nice fire going in the wood-burning stove. I made some sticky buns for breakfast. YUM. Bet that won't help my diet. We watched some "Survivor Man" on TV for awhile. Jordan stayed home from school yesterday with the flu, and was quite sick last night too. Today he has actually been able to eat a little. I've been following him around the house with Lysol, hoping that nobody else gets sick. He's bored because he has to rest. The girls are cleaning up their room, which is a total pit. I'd be afraid to post a picture of it. It would scare everyone.....horribly. I might do it though, just to embarass them. Hmmmm. Be right back.

Only watch this video if you have a strong constitution and don't mind rats. (Just kidding). Well, now I'm bored AND depressed, since I'll probably have to help clean that pit. Maybe I'll go play a game of backgammon with the boys, or a wii game. Wii don't clean.

Josh is in rare form this afternoon. He's sooooo bored that he spiked his hair right down the middle. Here's a few pics. He made a horrible faces for the first several pics (normal for him), then I actually got a good one. Josh was not happy. He's likes to look like a monster from outer space.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!! Hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's Eve. Sorry to hear you lost big-time at "Hand and Foot", Mom. Maybe 2009 will be the year for retaliatory winning :)

We were able to see the celestial show last night. Shortly after dusk, we were picking up pizza, and decided to pull onto a back road and look for the planetary display. Luckily, the clouds had cleared for a short time. We were able to see Venus, under the crescent moon. Then we saw Jupiter and Mercury on the horizon. Jordan made the comment, "Now I've seen 4 planets today!" Of course, Rich had to say, "4 planets? What was the 4th one? You only saw 3." To which Jordan replied, "I saw the Earth too, along with the other 3 planets in the sky." Too funny. Guess Jordan read the article, because that's the comment the author made too. Rich, however, was not impressed.


We went to Roger and Frost's house for New Year's Eve. What a fun time! We were thinking of locking the kids in the basement, but never got around to doing it (lol - just kidding...kinda). They just seemed to migrate down there, but came back upstairs to tattle on each other occasionally. There were 8 kids altogether, and the boy/girl ratio was even, so they didn't really gang up on each other too much. Here is a pic of them eating pizza and snacks. I think it was the only time during the evening when they sat down in one place. What a cute bunch of kids! They watched "Prince Caspian", and it was so funny because we could tell when the movie started and ended by the noise level in the basement. I was glad that the kids got along so well. We really had a fun time. Roger set off some fireworks at midnight, which the kids LOVED.

We played a really fun game that I've never played before. I don't know the name....wish I could remember....I think it was called Maxli or something like that. When I asked how to play, Roger said that you have to be good at lying. I would like to report that I held my tongue and didn't make any sarcastic comments....but....that's not what happened. LOL.

The game consists of a small, plastic container with a lid (kind of like a play-doh container) and 2 dice. You roll the dice, and your score is the highest dice first followed by the second dice. For instance, if you roll a 4 and a 6, then your score is 64. Doubles are higher than the other numbers, and are called "posh." So if you roll two ones, you get a 1 posh. Maxli is the highest roll you can get, and is a score of 21 (don't ask why). The first person to roll looks into the cup to see their score, tells everyone what it is (supposedly), and then puts the lid on the cup and passes it to the next person. The next person has to either challenge them (if they think that person lied) or try to roll a higher score. If you challenge them, you just take the lid off the container and see if the previous person was telling the truth. If you get caught lying, you get 1 point against you and the other person gets a point for catching you. If a person gets a Maxli (21), then they get a point. We didn't really keep score. Wow, was this funny. Sometimes people really put on a show, and you couldn't tell if they were lying or not. It's a fun game, especially for a large group. By the way, Rich WAS really good at lying. He hardly ever got caught.

Today Rich saw the turkeys down over the hill again. There were 10 of them this time. I'm going to see if I can get a picture of them tomorrow, since they seem to wander by approximately at the same time each evening.