Good times!

Last weekend the kids headed about 100 miles east for a small-town fair. There were rides, swimming, fishing, and a demolition derby. Many thanks to Mary Beth for making it possible and to her awesome parents for hosting. Thanks too to cool Aunt Steph and her friends for the fishing fun!


Here they both are on my most favorite ride EVER! I think the prince is hamming it up a bit!

First Day of School

In honor of the first day of school, I found this funny quote:

"Ever wonder if illiterate people get the full effect of alphabet soup?"

John Mendosa

Maxine's Funny

Since I have to work for 3 days before the kids start school, I've been leaving them a list of "chores" to do while I'm gone. I can't be sure, but I like to think it keeps the fighting down to a minimum. They do know that if they fight, they'll get even more chores assigned to them, so they've been pretty good. But I'm sure they are ready for school to start Thursday so they can be done with the dreaded "chore list" they wake up to every morning. I'm the best mom ever!!!

For what it's worth...

For what it's worth, I thought the opening ceremonies of the Olympics were AMAZING! We have watched here and there over the past 2 weeks. I loved everything about the redeem team, the U.S. men and women winning the 4x400 meter relay, and even watching the Australian, Mitchum, beat the two favored Chinese guys in diving. I got caught up in the Michael Phelps drama, along with everyone else, in part because I have clear memories of watching the Olympics the year Mark Spitz won his seven medals. So I was very excited for Phelps to beat Spitz' record and expect him to add to his collection in 4 years. HOWEVER, I was so disappointed in NBC's coverage of the medal ceremony when Phelps AND HIS TEAMMATES won the medley relay. Phelps wouldn't have won that 8th medal without those teammates, but during the playing of the national anthem, the ONLY team member they showed was Phelps. SHAME ON NBC!!!

Dance Star!

Announcing the newest member of the

Junior Dance Competition Team!!!

Rock On--oh, I mean--Dance On, Sister!!!!

Sarcastic

I've been accused of being sarcastic from time to time. Someone sent these to me. I can't take credit for them!

The Zen of Sarcasm

1. Do not walk ahead of me for I may not follow. Do not walk behind me for I may not lead. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me alone.

2. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.

3. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

4. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably a wise investment.

5. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

Yes, I saved the best for last!!!

Class of 2012

Every year the Beloit College puts out a "mindset" list for the incoming class. Here's the list for this year's college freshman:


1. Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
2. Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
3. They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
4. GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
5. Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
6. Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
7. Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
8. Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce "tax revenue increases."
9. Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
10. Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
11. All have had a relative — or known about a friend's relative - who died comfortably at home with hospice.
12. As a precursor to "whatever," they have recognized that some people "just don't get it."
13. Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
14. Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
15. Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.
16. Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.
17. Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.
18. WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
19. Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
20. The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.
21. Students have always been "Rocking the Vote."
22. Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.
23. Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.
24. We have always known that "All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten."
25. There have always been gay rabbis.
26. Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.
27. College grads have always been able to Teach for America.
28. IBM has never made typewriters.
29. Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.
30. McDonald's and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.
31. They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.
32. There has always been Pearl Jam.
33. The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.
34. Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.
35. They never tasted Benefit Cereal with psyllium.
36. They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
37. Authorities have always been building a wall across the Mexican border.
38. Lenin's name has never been on a major city in Russia.
39. Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.
40. Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the U.S.
41. Macaulay Culkin has always been "Home Alone."
42. Their parents may have watched "The American Gladiators" on TV the day they were born.
43. Personal privacy has always been threatened.
44. Caller ID has always been available on phones.
45. Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.
46. The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.
47. They never heard an attendant ask "Want me to check under the hood?"
48. Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.
49. Soft drink refills have always been free.
50. They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about "nothing."
51. The Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
52. Moscow residents have always been able to buy Big Macs.
53. The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.
54. The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.
55. 98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear.
56. Michael Milken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.
57. Offshore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.
58. Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.
59. There have always been charter schools.
60. Students always had Goosebumps.

Dance, Dance, Dance

The princess danced at the fair this week. Her usual group of about 9 girls was only 2 for the first performance on Friday and 3 for the second performance on Saturday. Here are a couple of photos of the Friday performance. They did great!
On the Saturday performance, the princess was asked to fill in for another dancer on a dance she had never done so she did this dance for the first and only time, wearing someone else's costume. And, as is her style, she was great!

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit. Good times!

Like Father-in-Law; Like Son-in-Law

They aren't blood-relatives, but you'd never know it the way they dressed alike for the ballgame. Yellow shirts, red hats, and lots and lots of beer.

In fact, they liked the beer so much that they had to get matching BEER GOGGLES!!
Here are two of the biggest KIDS you'll ever meet!

Happy Anniversary

The royal brother and sister-in-law came to visit Wednesday. They left yesterday--their anniversary. They eloped to Vegas many years ago. As we were discussing it last night, I asked the king,

"Why didn't we attend?" He reminded me that we were young and broke back then! I think we should all plan on renewing our vows together sometime--in Vegas. I love Las Vegas!

A knight's tale...or is it a donkey's tail????

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away. Really, you couldn't wish this land any farther away. There was a king and a knight. But the knight didn't start out as a knight. No...he was originally the court jester. And he kept the king and the royal family in stitches! What was truly amazing was that even though the king and the jester were brothers-in-law, they looked surprisingly like brothers. People in the kingdom started to whisper that perhaps the queen and her sister had, in fact, married brothers. Perhaps that was how the court jester had managed to become a knight when everyone knew that jesters were never knight material.

Finally the brothers, um...I mean, the king and the jester decided to stage a royal--HAIR RAISING--battle. Surely their separate male pattern baldness heads--kind of like fingerprints--would prove to the kingdom that they were NOT brothers in blood but only by marriage. So Princess Shelley got out the royal clippers and went to work, sheering these donkeys--I mean men.



Alas, it was true. Upon closer inspection, one was definitely a much bigger FATHEAD than the other. And the jester, who had been claiming all along that he had more hair than the king, did appear to have a little more fuzz on top, although king thinks it might have been his tan!




The king had no choice but to knight the court jester, since he had won the DUEL OF THE HAIRLESS fair and square and knighted the court jester in a special knighting ceremony held only on rare occasions when in-laws become brothers. BALDY BROTHERS, that is!





Oh yes, and they lived happily ever after!

More Cousins

Here are the "other" cousins, back when they were here for a visit! What a bunch of knuckleheads!