Amanda!

Here's cousin Amanda. She's a horse-lover. Her dad's not going to be too happy that I didn't crop him out, but it's not about him. It's about her. Could she be any prettier? (I stole this picture off her mom's Facebook.)

Is This a Good Thing?

This is Isaiah. He's our cousin (nephew) and lives far away from us. He's a ham and an awesome wrestler...yes, I said wrestler. I stole this photo off of Facebook. I didn't steel it from his mom's stuff or from one of his sibling's stuff or even from Grandma's stuff (as she was recently there for a visit). Someone I am friends with commented on this, and because of the way the owner of the photo's privacy stuff is set up, I was able to see that comment. It was just another click to see the photo. Another click gave me that person's entire photo album. I could see lots of photos of people I'm not related to. I have to wonder if this is a good thing. I happily stole the cute photo of Isaiah (and the one I posted yesterday of Jajuan pitching), but it's sort of scary to know how easily what you post on Facebook can end up with someone else. Facebook has added privacy features, and you can lock things up so only certain people can see them, but it's still out there. It's why I don't post many photos of my kids on Facebook. You'll have to stick to the blog for that. And yes, the blog is also public, but unless you know me, you've got to really be looking to stumble onto it! Or so I think!

Huh?

I just read the status of one of my students on Facebook. It said, "I just found my dad after 8 years."

First of all, the boy is 13. That means he hasn't seen his dad since he was 5.

Second, how did he "find" him? Was dad lost? Did dad reappear in his life after being absent for along time?

I feel sad for him.

Intense Concentration

Our cousin (nephew), Jajuan, winding up!

Go J!

Sunny Sunday

It's an absolutely gorgeous day. Not a cloud in the sky. Slight breeze. It's supposed to reach 83*. The prince is at a car wash to support the cheer department. Perfect! Except for the fact that he's too cool for sunscreen. Whatever. It's not like he didn't get a bad burn last spring so he knows what it's all about. We'll see how that works out for him.

Fun Friday

I took the kids and a friend to the fun park yesterday. We played a little mini-golf in the rain. The princess was the only one to lose a ball in the water, and that wasn't because of a bad shot. She was being Tiger Woods and trying to bounce her ball on the end of her club, but it got away from her. The boys did some go cart driving. We all played a little pool. It was a fun way to spend a few hours. We'll definitely put that back on our summer "to do" list again.

Oh, she's not going to like this photo!

The prince.

The prince is in the center of that group.

About good health...

I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.

Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

There but for the grace of God...

All that water that was running into our neighbor's yard and then out to the street ended up 1/2 block from us. We are more and more glad we're "almost" at the top of the hill.

Hooray!

Hooray (gulp)! The prince has his learner's permit! GULP!

"Dang Me"

The prince--with no prompting from me--is in his room teaching himself "Dang Me" by Roger Miller on his acoustic guitar. My dad would be so proud. He played that song all the time on his guitar. And if he were still alive today, he'd have been bugging the prince to learn that song. He's smiling down from heaven right now. The only flaw in this otherwise perfect moment is that the prince refuses to sing the "dit dit dit do do do do do do dooooo" part the way Roger did! Next he's going to have to learn "King of the Road".

Scarier than a tornado?

Last night we let the prince go to the baseball game. This was scary because there was strong weather in the area though we didn't end up seeing any of it. But it was even scarier because we let him ride with the friend who has had his license only about 2 months. Yikes! When is it safe to let them go with another driver???? Never!!! But they did fine. It might have been that we made them follow us to the ballgame so we could gage his driving skills (we're wacky like that), or maybe it was just that he's a nice kid who was trying to be responsible. We didn't escort them home. We let them do that on their own. Neither of them could find the two alternate routes home, so they had to use Main, which we're still trying to avoid. But it was almost 10:00 (because they had to stop off at Taco Bell for a snack!) so the traffic wasn't too heavy.

We also went home via Main last night. We stopped to see the damage at Metra. They have part of the fair grounds set up for news crews and the National Guard. It was quite impressive. More impressive was the destruction and damage. Wow. Amazing that no one was hurt. Truly a miracle from God. The National Guard was set up in the Reiter's Marina area to protect the buildings that still might have some salvageable merchandise. McDonald's was closed and did look quite battered. Their mangled sign was already down.

Given the path of the tornado and the debris we could see all over the Metra/Applebees area (it made it all the way to the king's mom's yard), and the location of the salvage company nearby, it's a blessing that the tornado didn't hit there. There would have been metal and scrap iron scattered for miles, and the loss of life might have been much different. God is good!

Around the golf course and our neighborhood...

Look at the fences (white and tan). The brown line is how high the water got--about 4 feet. There was still water in that field when the photo was taken though most of it is gone now...probably into those houses' basements!

This shed for the golf course shouldn't be surrounded by water.

This is the "pond" near our house that is actually a holding bay for water for the golf course. It was overflowing, and at it's peak, the king thought the water in this area was about 6 feet high. I didn't see it so I'm not sure though that sounds really high, but when you look at the fence above...



Around the corner from our street.

Around the corner from our house. This field was still wet today though the puddles were much smaller. This field was probably part of the drainage you see in the photo above it.

Flooding!

Look into the field. You see the "river" flowing into Nate and Amber's. Though it's too cloudy to see it, that river runs all the way up toward the high school.

This is the "river" running from DJ's (our other neighbor) to Nate and Amber. They were getting water pouring in from two directions...not to mention what was coming from the sky.

The browner water is from the top soil in their garden (top right of photo) running into their yard. There was no stopping it. You can sort of see it cascading over the brick along the play area. It veered toward the other fence before it hit their house--thankfully. The prince and the king were ready to help dig a quick trench if it came to that, but it stopped raining, probably just in time.



After it went under the fence, it flowed down the lot next door to the street and into the storm drain... or what the drain could hold. Much of it just poured down the road--along with all the other water running down the hill.

It looks like it's snowing!

This is the front by the porch. It was 5:30 at night but so dark I had to have my "night" setting on my camera.

Sorry for the blurriness. I wanted to capture the water bouncing off the lawn as the hail hit. That's how much water was in the grass and how big the hail was.

Back patio.

Golf Ball Size Hail

For us the brunt of the tornado was 2.25 inches of rain and golfball size hail. Here is the prince (smart to put on his helmet--or not!) going out to get a couple of the hail balls.

Yes, that's smaller hail you see falling.

That's a straw inbetween them. Most were pea sized, but there were still many this size.

Happy Father's Day

10 Things My Father Was Right About

By Jancee Dunn

1. Hold hands while you hash it out.
2. Pay attention to anyone who wears a tool belt...
3. ...or a uniform.
4. You can never have enough Ziploc baggies.
5. You can't go wrong with Clint. (Eastwood...when in doubt, rent an Eastwood movie.)
6. Don't belittle the annual sack race.
7. For Pete's sake, stop worrying.
8. Carry a hankie.
9. No one's smarter than you.
10. You will want kids.

Cruise Fever

My brother and his wife went on a cruise to Mexico in March. I have a friend who is cruising Alaska right now. We have friends going on one this winter. It's been over a year since I went on one and much longer since the king, prince, and princess have gone. We are longing for a cruise. Dreaming. Wishing. The kids recently told me they would rather go on a cruise than go to Disney World--which is what we were sort of looking at doing in the spring! Even the princess said she would fore go her fear of motion sickness for a cruise. We've got it BAD!

These photos were taken by my brother in March. I am posting them without his permission, but I don't think he'll mind! :) Love you, Bro!

Elevator on their ship.

How cool is that????

Cabo.

Phew!

Today's the last day of "summer school." No longer will I spend afternoons in my room while 3 boneheads try to pass 8th grade. They are all going on to high school--thank goodness--and I am free from work until August 23! Yippee!

I love...

I love a good night's sleep. After a poor night Tuesday night (too hot, too much snoring next to me, couch not comfortable) last night a storm came in. It cooled everything down to GREAT sleeping temperatures. If there was any snoring last night, I didn't hear it. Ah, what a good night's sleep will do for your mood.

I love that the prince has driven three times with his driving instructor and not had any problems (that he's admitted to). His partner tends to "veer to the right" when they're on the highway, but at least she hasn't put them in the ditch yet--which happened to another driving team.

I love driver's ed! So glad we don't have to do the initial driving with him! :)

I love that it's been 3 days of the Insanity Workout and no fighting yet between the kid yet.

"I love it when a plan comes together!" We saw the A-Team last weekend. That's my new favorite line!

Yeah Blogger!

Yippee! Blogger has added new, easy to use and change, templates! Good-bye boring blog. Hello to current color and style!

That's Insane!

Have you seen the infomercials for this? Both of the kids have used it at school in PE class. The prince decided to use some of his birthday money (it runs $80+) to buy it. He talked his "work-out buddy" (the princess) in starting this workout with him yesterday. He thinks he'll look like that guy on the left by the end of the summer. It's a crazy workout, but they seemed to enjoy it and aren't too sore today. We'll see how it goes.

Connor

The king makes fun of my sister, who has been dreaming of grandkids for at least a couple of years now--she's younger than us, but she has a couple of kids who are old enough to grant that wish. But what the king doesn't see is that he's already a grandpa-in-training. He dotes on the little neighbor kids in our area. He likes to buy them ice cream. When our kids outgrow their toys, he gives them to the neighborhood kids. And they eat it up! He never knows if it's truly appreciated by the kids (the parents all adore the king), but yesterday he got some feedback from Connor--or at least from Connor's parents.

Connor is 3, lives next door, and reminds us A LOT of the prince when he was 3--in looks and temperament. Last fall the king took a big box of balls over to Connor. Recently Connor stopped by with his dad to visit and the king gave him some ice cream. Yesterday they stopped by again--and even brought baby Emelia, though I wasn't home to enjoy her (I'm less about the kids and more about the babies myself, but I don't need any grandkids yet). They had recently returned from a trip to Utah for a family wedding. While at the wedding a grownup asked Connor where he lived. Connor didn't say, "In my house," which is what I was expecting. He didn't say our town or state. Nope, Connor's answer was, "I live next to Rich." The king is glowing!!! It's so cute.

Summer!

This was taken Wednesday. It looks good...swimming pool, kids, temperatures in the mid 70's, but what you can't tell is that the pool was only about 60*! Yowza! Still, these are the same kids who were in it one year while it was filling!!! If you look real closely, you'll see the prince and princess. Thanks MB, for the photo and the fun!

Ahh...relief!

This is how the girls relaxed after the recital last week!

That's nasty.

Put that thing away.

A little better.

Everyone worships Val.

Sweet success!

Amazingly Simple Home Remedies

Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop.

Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.

For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.

A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives; then you'll be afraid to cough.

You only need two tools in life--WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

I got nothin'

Sorry Shelley, I've got nothing today...unless you want to hear me whine about all the driving I'm doing hauling my children here, there, and yonder. I do have book club tonight. The Help. Love it!

Driver's Ed 101

This morning the prince had his first driving lesson at 6:00 AM!!!

Lesson #1 ALL cell phones will be locked in the trunk for the duration of the lesson. (I LOVE That! We should all do that.)

Lesson #2 Half-way through the lesson there will be a mandatory stop at Burger King so the instructor can refuel and calm his nerves. And there will be no using the drive-thru since there is no eating in the car.

I love driver's training! :)

Summer Vacation???

Let's see...

The prince has driver's ed daily from 10:00-12:00--riding the mombus for that.

I'm working from 1:00-3:00 for the next two weeks.

Had a meeting at 4:00 yesterday.

Have a cheer meeting at 5:30 today--riding the mombus.

Have a driver's ed meeting at 6:00 Thursday--riding the mombus.

The princess has dance photos at 6:30 Wednesday--riding the mombus.

The prince is golfing today at 1:00--riding the mombus.

The prince drives at 6:00 AM tomorrow and needs to be picked up at 10:00--riding the mombus.

What vacation?

Dance Recital

The princess had her dance recital on Saturday night. It was a great show featuring all dancers in the studios at least twice. The cutest are always the littlest, but we were most proud of the princess who has come so far in three years of dance. She danced in 8 numbers this year, and boy was she tired by the end of the week. She gets to take a few weeks off from dance but will probably perform in a few summer fairs here in town. Then she'll be back at it in the fall, adding ballet classes to her list of to-dos!

This is the group she competed with all year.

We anticipate that this group will probably stay the same next year.

She's on the far right.

Her solo.

Thanks Mary Beth for the photos!

Recital Funny

I will post photos from last night after I download the pictures, but I had to share this story in the meantime.

One of the dance groups at this school is a teen group. Last night they did a jazz number and then later a belly-dancing sort of dance with tambourines and long skirts and the whole nine yards. It was pretty cool.

At one point in the dance, the prince leaned over to me and said, "I want to join that group."

"Why? Because it's where all the hot girls are?"

"No! Because I could totally do that belly-dancing. Sign me up for belly-dancing!"

Hilarious. I'm sure the dance teacher's jaw would drop if she knew a guy wanted to belly dance!

Yikes!

The prince went in for a sports physical today and flunked! His blood pressure was too high. So now we have to get him in to his pediatrician soon and get that fixed. Suspiciously, his father had to start BP pills at about the same age the prince is now. Hmmmm...

Golf

The prince wrapped up his freshman year today. It looks like he'll make the honor roll again! Yippee! The king has Friday's off so they are off golfing on this beautiful summer afternoon. Ahhh, the good life. The prince even asked his father to borrow a polo shirt to golf in. Grandpa has taught him well. Maybe the prince should own a golf shirt!

That's Gross!

Yesterday was the last day of school, and the 6th grade had their awards ceremony. I was standing in the back with other adults when the princess--and 14 of her classmates--were called up to receive an award the PE teacher was giving. In a class of 120+ kids, only 15 had managed to bring their PE clothes to class each day, so he gave them each a certificate.

The teahcer next to me said, in a very serious voice, "You must be proud."

I replied, "I'm more proud of another award she's getting later." I knew that she was getting the President's Award for Academic Excellence.

After the awards were all done, he came back up to me and said, "I see why you are more proud of the other award."

And I said, "Here's the truth about the PE award. I don't know about the other 14 kids, but in the princess' case, she had her PE clothes every day because SHE NEVER BROUGHT THEM HOME AND WASHED THEM!!!!"

She claims she did bring them home once or twice. I don't know; maybe...

Still, we are proud of her. In addition to those two awards, she hauled home another PE award, student council and talent show participation awards, an honor roll award, and a math testing award. She rocks. Her dance recital is tomorrow. After all the princess, princess, princess news, perhaps the prince will make an appearance in this blog again! ;)

Hot Air Balloons

Each year, in a whole-group learning event, the 6th graders read the book Around the World in Eighty Days in their English Class. They do other work related to the book in Social Studies, but the big fun (what could be more fun than edible cars you ask?) is that they figure out how to make a hot air balloon out of tissue paper in science. They are put into groups, shown how to use a coat hanger, glue, tape, and tissue paper to make these balloons. All of the teachers help with this project. Finally, launch day arrives, and if it's not too windy or raining (which happens about 2/3 of the time) they get to launch their balloons. (I think the last time they were able to launch was the year the prince was in 6th grade.) As luck would have it, I was able to take my 8th grade class out to watch yesterday and snapped these photos with my cell phone.

Step 1: Take 3 smarty-pants girls who are

detailed enough to not miss a spot

when gluing and taping.

Step 2: Take your balloon to the dock to

fill with hot air

--what you don't see is the small bbq

with briquettes below that pipe.

Step 3: Almost there.


Step 4: And she's off!

Step 5: Wow! Their balloon is the smaller (higher) one. The lower one landed on school property. Theirs went over those trees and landed a few blocks from the school in someone's yard! Their balloon went the farthest this year, and they were very excited about that! Gotta love whole-group learning!

That's Rude!

Should I wait until tomorrow to tell you the story? Nah, just kidding.

So this year, the dance teams have been riddled with injuries. Lots and lots of injuries. From broken toes, to fractured legs, to displaced hips, to muscles pulled away from ribs. Ouch!

This past weekend we were at a garage sale where we saw this boot--yep, it's yours, Karen. The princess and I decided it would be a funny joke to have her walk (limp) into dance rehearsal last night in the boot. She was able to borrow crutches too, to complete the effect. It couldn't have worked out more perfectly. As she hobbled into the theater (they're rehearsing for their recital this week), both of her dance teachers were in the theater lobby. The look on their faces was PRICELESS. I wish I had my camera then!

Both of them were nothing but nice as the princess told her story of woe. It was early...I was tired...I fell on the stairs...broken tibia...They were really so kind, and I was starting to feel badly for them as I tried not to laugh. The princess is a great actress. Meanwhile, in their minds, they are both trying to decide how best to revamp the 7-8 dances she's in and rework the order of dances for the show and fix the program that hasn't gone to the printers yet...

After several minutes she came clean. They all had a good laugh, but I think we owe those nice ladies something really nice now!!!

And yes, my biggest fear, in doing this little prank was that she might actually hurt herself right before the recital. The crutches go back to their owner today. Hey Karen, do you want your boot back? :)

About Night

I just read Night by Elie Widsel. It is his true story of being a Jewish boy of 14 and being sent to one of the concentration camps. Actually, over his stay, he was at more than one camp. This is not a book about the crematoriums. It's a story about what happened to all of the people who didn't go to the crematoriums and what happened when they were liberated at the end of the war. I found it to be brutal but not harrowing. I am highly recommending that everyone read it. It's a short book. A very quick read. And his main point in writing it, and his point when he accepted a Nobel Peace Prize many years later, is that we should never forget. And oh, how we'd like to forget. Read it!