The LST-325

Last weekend we journied to Hannibal, MO to climb aboard the LST-325. In short, this ship carried men and supplies overseas during WWII. It could pull up to shore, open two huge doors on its bow and drop a ramp that tanks and vehicles could use to drive out of the inside of the ship. It was amazing to think of how much weight that boat could carry and still float! I saw a photo of a similar ship out to sea during some rough waves and let me tell you, they would have had to carry me off of the ship because I would have been out! Scary! Nothing in the ship was overly impressive - the impressive thing was just being there and sharing in a piece of history. There is a very moving piece of writing on the deck of the ship that is supposed to be written from the ship's point of view. It was a very moving piece and really made me think about the sacrifices so many have made to let us live the life we have right now. I hope to continue to teach my sons about the importance of history and the role it has played in shaping our lives. I want them to appreciate what others have gone through to get us where we are today. Check out the boat's site: http://www.lstmemorial.org/

Pic #1 is A and the boys next to a "duck" land/sea vehicle. Pic #2 is my nephew with the boys sitting on an anchor on the deck of the LST.

The trip ended with a sweet treat at a small ice cream shop in downtown Hannibal - of course the boys loved that! The third pic is of a tiny little vehicle that belonged to the shop. It was so cute and I wanted to bring it home. They also enjoyed watching the trains on the VERY nearby tracks, and also got to see the Mark Twain riverboat cruising by.

Tomorrow the lovely little darlings will show up for a new year at MRJHS - I am trying really hard to contain my enthusiasm. :) If only they could love school as much as Jackson does right now! Well, I must get some sleep - Lord knows I need it at this point.

In closing, thank a veteran & support our troops!

Happy schooling!

ps-if anyone is interested in the boat and lives near me, it will be in Moline, IL this weekend, then in Clinton, IA, then I believe it will be in Ft. Madison, IA http://www.lstmemorial.org/.

What now?

So this has been a wierd morning...we took J to his second day of Kindergarten, which, by the way, he is lovin' like I thought he would, and then we took Si to daycare to stay for a couple of hours to work back into it, and poof! The house is empty! It's a very strange kinda experience...I am trying to get some last minute things done before I go back to work on Monday:( but I'm not getting too much done yet except downloading music:) Music and taking pics are my total therapy right now. I love it! I need to get out to my bike though because I won't probably get a ride in if I don't do it now between the weather forcast and mom duties. OH - THOUGHT: I can go ride up until I need to get Si and then I will ride him home! He loves to ride the bike and looks so funny with his big 'ol helmet on his head. I'll have to take a pic and post it. Adam is going to do the "Fill the Boot" campaign at a busy intersection tonight. Firefighters have long done fundraising for MDA, and he likes to continue that tradition. If you see any firefighters collecting in your area, please help them out in any way you can!

Speaking of fundraising, some friends of ours have a daughter who is a cancer survivor and have an amazing story to tell. They now hold a lemonade stand as their big fundraising effort to combat childhood cancer. Please check out their site: http://www.firstgiving.com/libbysteamalex
and donate if you can! Be sure to check out the history behind Alex's Lemonade Stand to know the inspiration behind their work.

Have a great weekend and see you soon!

The time has come...

Well folks, it is time. The day has arrived for me to send my baby to Kindergarten. I really don't mind sending him to school - I think I am just as excited as he is for him to learn new things, meet new people, and have lots of fun. The kid is a sponge and needs the opportunities. I always liked school, and obviously I still must given that I am an educator and I can't peel myself away from taking classes. BUT - the idea of him spending more time with other people than with me bothers me. And for the first time, someone in his life is going to know more than we do (or so he thinks - no offense, Nicole!). We visited the room and the teacher today, and he really loved it. The pics are of him with his ridiculously full backpack(just for today so we could get all the supplies to school), him in front of his school ($50 to the person who can guess the name of the school! ha ha), and him with his teacher Mrs. Seward and her aide Mrs. Jones. He REALLY wanted these pics taken so the grandparents in Missouri wouldn't miss out on his first day of school. So, tomorrow, with a torn heart, I will pull up and drop him off and begin a new era of my motherhood. This school really doesn't like you lingering with them, that's why they had the "visit" day today, so tomorrow you can jump right in and learn how to deal with the insane drop-off and pick-up line (the procedures practically require a degree in engineering to manage them). Let me say this - I don't like to get too wishy - washy about stuff, but I'm glad I have a meeting to go to tomorrow to help focus my mind on something else.

PS-We have Halloween costumes in the works - Si will be a Bee (ha ha - that was fun to type) and J is going to be his Beekeeper. Should be interesting - kudos to Crystal for your help so far and hopefully more to come!

I need schooled-up on blogger!

So first of all, if you read my blog at all, thanks and I hope I'm not boring you to death. Second, if you are familiar with other people's blogs, I'm sorry that mine is so lame. I haven't really spent much time learning how to make it look all neat and cutesy(is that a word?) and stuff. When I get on, I like to say my stuff, post a couple of pics, and by then it's time to move on to something else. I have managed to give myself a title and subtitle, so there is evidence of progress. Sorry it's not *flashier* - but if you know me, I'm not really into bling that much rather it be around my neck or on my blog so HA! :)

A "shout out" to Gracie...

The other day I visited my friend Kate at her new house. It is a very nice little place and I am SOOOOO jealous of her new appliances! I want those front-loading huge-sized washer and dryer so bad I can taste it! And to top it off, she has my fridge(well, again, the one I want) - the french door kind with ice and water in the door. Wow, I'm showing my age, aren't I???? Well, it was fun to see the dogs again too - all 3 of her pugs, Gracie, Gilbie and Opie. For some reason they always seem to like me, but yet torment me a little at the same time. So, here's a pic of Gracie lookin' good. Kate says she is smiling...? Next time I'm taking the boys to wear those pups out!

Okay, let's try some pics again...

So, pic #1 is of J at the park one day when we took the boys there to enjoy some lunch and some fun. Pic #2 is of the playset - it still has a few finishing touches it needs and then I will post another pic when it is COMPLETELY finished. Pic #3 is Si at my nephew's b-day party. This kid would sit on that mower for hours! The other day we were going to be in the pool and he wanted to sit on the mower so I pulled it up next to the deck, put the big table umbrella over it and watched him drive while we swam and all were happy!

State Fair Fun

Yesterday I, along with my mom, the boys, and my niece KK, trekked down to Springfield to enjoy some of the I.S.F. Fun was had by all, except that all Simon wanted to do was ride the tractors that were pulling the trolleys and chase down guys riding on Gators. He did finally get to see some tractors up close at the antique tractor display. We did the standard things - milked the cow, saw the butter cow, visited with some livestock, ate some fried food, and did a few rides on the midway. Talk about highway robbery! 4 tickets for $5, and most rides take 3 tickets. It is more economical to go to a theme park for the day! I was a mean mom and only let them have like 4 rides, but I did pay extra to let J do some "bungee" jumping. They were hooked to some huge rubber bands while jumping on a trampoline, so not the thrill-seeking experience I usually think of when you mention bungee jumping, but he had fun anyways. Today we need to recover and do some dishes - not quite as fun as yesterday, huh? Such are the necessities of life.

AAAHHHHHH!!!!!

I JUST TYPED A POST WITH LIKE 5 PICS AND IT DIDN'T PUBLISH! I AM TOO MAD TO SEE STRAIGHT SO I'M GOING TO BED AND I'LL TRY AGAIN TOMORROW!

Stupid blogger.

The doggone days of summer are..almost gone!!!!

Here are a couple of pics of the boys having fun and acting like goofballs. Si LOVES pa-pa's tractor so much he would rather sit on that than be in the pool. And of course, J isn't going to let pics be taken without him!

Well, folks, summer came and it has almost went...I think we are all ready to go back to school. We have (for J, about to start the big K)the backpack, the clothes, the supplies, and all that hoopla, but my mind is still saying NO! GO AWAY! I STILL HAVE MORE TO DO! I DON'T WANT TO SEE JUNIOR HIGH KIDS YET!!! However, a small part of me is saying YES!!! I can't wait to get back into a schedule again! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being a teacher and having time off in the summer with my kids, but I will admit that I am TERRIBLE about keeping them on a schedule and I live to regret it right about...NOW. But hey, it's summer, it's supposed to be a carefree time! All will work out in the end, we just might not be too happy getting there.

Another good aspect of starting school is that I also start my next grad class and I only have 2 more until that Master's is in my hands - YEAH BABY!!! Now, these two are probably going to be difficult but I figure if I've made it this far I can handle it. Then, on to my next Master's...yes, I am crazy but anyone reading this probably already knew that. Here we go girls!!!

Also, this all means that fall is just around the corner, which is absolutely my favorite season in the midwest. I love fall sports, cool temps, leaves changing, pumpkins and mums, etc. Only, I do need to figure out Halloween costumes - any ideas anyone?

With the start of school also comes my quest for a healthier body. Hurting my back helped(?) contribute to a 5 lb. weight gain this month. So, I am inspired by my WLL Bah-bah-ra (WW Queen) to get my but in gear. Any encouragement would be appreciated! It is always easier for me during the school year because of that whole routine thing, so I'm looking forward to that.

It is INSANELY late, I am tired, which have both probably lead to my OVERUSE OF CAPS in this posting - sorry!!!! Now it's off to bed, off to bed.

Gotta love them veggies!

So, Monday was by far the most uncomfortable day this summer, right? And so what was I doing? PICKING BEANS! They really needed to be out of the garden and that was they day we had available. I think I probably sweated out every toxin my body has ever been in contact with. Yikes! Yesterday, I snapped, blanched and bagged beans for freezing and picked sweet corn along with a few tomatoes, onions, and beets. I feel like I am turning into an old Midwestern woman. All I need is a pair of overalls and a big, floppy straw hat and I will be Gert Jr.! My grandmother has always been a big garden person, and I find myself wanting to grow more all the time. My father-in-law should be proud of me - he has the biggest non-commercial garden I have ever seen, and he practically has it down to a science. I know next year I want to have an herb garden. I already have chives and lavender, but I want some basil, parsley, and especially cilantro so I can make my own salsa - yum! On Friday I believe we are going to put up corn, which should be SO MUCH FUN! (I say with a smile painted on my face), and hopefully freeze some zucchini. Our pumpkins are looking good, along with the cucs, acorn squash, and carrots, which all need a little more time. One of the pumpkins is bigger than a basketball, and J is practically busting at the seams to carve it!

Happy Birthday to my cuz Emily in FLA! Wish I were there to go out to eat with y'all. :) Hopefully Hal, J and T get you something special!

Well, off to piano lessons...maybe more later. I kinda have "blogging block" right now!