It always makes me laugh the shirts and other accessories people where when floating on the rivers. In case you can't read it, this guy's shirt says "Sex is better when it's BARELY LEGAL"
In the same group I saw a guy with a shirt that said "Show me your shamrocks" and another with an arrow pointing to his nether regions that offered "lotion" in case you needed some.
So just in case you're wondering what to wear on your next float trip, just pull something out of your "Shirts You Can't Wear To Work" Drawer.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Fade to black ...
I guess I'm in the market for a new camera because these are the pictures my camera's now taking. We went floating this weekend, and for the first time in 16 years of canoeing together, we sunk the canoe. Unfortunately, my camera went under, too. Ugg!
This one's going to be trouble ...
While taking the kids to their camps the other morning, the youngest son told me he wanted a motorcycle and a Monster Truck when he "got bigger." He also said, "I want to do flips on my motorcycle." We don't watch motorcross at home, but while eating out at Buffalo Wild Wings over the weekend, it was on TV. Apparently, it made an impression. My older son (the voice of reason) said, "That's really dangerous, Drew."
Drew's friend who I was also taking to camp decided that he too wanted a motorcycle and said, "And my mom's not going to beat my butt for it!" The two of them also decided they were going to race cars "like Speed Racer and Racer X" when they got older.
Two years ago, Drew wanted to be a Tiger when he grew up. Not exactly a great career choice ... but at least he wasn't doing flips on motorcycles!
Drew's friend who I was also taking to camp decided that he too wanted a motorcycle and said, "And my mom's not going to beat my butt for it!" The two of them also decided they were going to race cars "like Speed Racer and Racer X" when they got older.
Two years ago, Drew wanted to be a Tiger when he grew up. Not exactly a great career choice ... but at least he wasn't doing flips on motorcycles!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Disney World ... is it really a vacation
A friend of mine recently went to Disney with her two kids. When she got back, I asked her how her trip went.
Her: It was horrible. We fought the whole time. The kids wanted to go back to the HOTEL POOL! after riding two rides the first day ...
Me: You actually thought going to Disney was going to be a vacation. I could have told you otherwise.
When we went to Disney for the first time, my oldest son was around 3. We were waiting in line for the Dumbo ride. My son was actually behaving -- for the moment -- while waiting in line for 45 minutes in the scorching heat to go on a ride that last around 1.2 seconds. I looked behind me and sasw some 10-year-old kid having a major temper-tantrum meltdown. I looked ahead of me and saw a young child having a major meltdown. I looked at my husband and said, "The happiest place on earth!" We both just laughed.
Don't get me wrong there have been some "magic" moments. After my oldest son rode Space Mountain for the first time, he said, "Mom, were we really flying?" He seriously thought we had left the roller coaster and were flying. Too cute!
And the look on their face when they see some of the characters walking around, is pretty priceless. Though that leads me to one of my other pet peeves about Disney. What is with the autograph books! Is it really that important to get "Mickey's" autograph. Hello, it's a guy dressed in a mouse suit! Some advice: The lines would move much faster if you just took your picture and moved on.
Her: It was horrible. We fought the whole time. The kids wanted to go back to the HOTEL POOL! after riding two rides the first day ...
Me: You actually thought going to Disney was going to be a vacation. I could have told you otherwise.
When we went to Disney for the first time, my oldest son was around 3. We were waiting in line for the Dumbo ride. My son was actually behaving -- for the moment -- while waiting in line for 45 minutes in the scorching heat to go on a ride that last around 1.2 seconds. I looked behind me and sasw some 10-year-old kid having a major temper-tantrum meltdown. I looked ahead of me and saw a young child having a major meltdown. I looked at my husband and said, "The happiest place on earth!" We both just laughed.
Don't get me wrong there have been some "magic" moments. After my oldest son rode Space Mountain for the first time, he said, "Mom, were we really flying?" He seriously thought we had left the roller coaster and were flying. Too cute!
And the look on their face when they see some of the characters walking around, is pretty priceless. Though that leads me to one of my other pet peeves about Disney. What is with the autograph books! Is it really that important to get "Mickey's" autograph. Hello, it's a guy dressed in a mouse suit! Some advice: The lines would move much faster if you just took your picture and moved on.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
What we did in April and May ...
I was a slacker in posting during the months of April and May ... just too busy. So here's some of what we were up to.
In early April, Drew starred as a strongman in his preschool circus.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Scott and I checked out the wineries in Southern Illinois and a little bar called Fuzzy's in Cobden, Illinois. Fuzzy's is definately a stop on next year's tour.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Scott and stayed at the Giant City Lodge in Makanda. Did you know that TVs with turn knobs (NO REMOTE!) and rabbit-ears still existed?
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Our friends stayed in the "upgraded cabin." What did $10 buy them? Cable TV, a separate bedroom and a lounge area. Next year, we're paying the extra $10.
Blake performed in "Only in America." Real drama as only 1st and 2nd graders can perform.
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Blake had his second piano recital. He performed "Bingo" and Beethoven.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Drew competed in his first season of soccer.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
In early April, Drew starred as a strongman in his preschool circus.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Scott and I checked out the wineries in Southern Illinois and a little bar called Fuzzy's in Cobden, Illinois. Fuzzy's is definately a stop on next year's tour.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Scott and stayed at the Giant City Lodge in Makanda. Did you know that TVs with turn knobs (NO REMOTE!) and rabbit-ears still existed?
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Our friends stayed in the "upgraded cabin." What did $10 buy them? Cable TV, a separate bedroom and a lounge area. Next year, we're paying the extra $10.
Blake performed in "Only in America." Real drama as only 1st and 2nd graders can perform.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Blake had his second piano recital. He performed "Bingo" and Beethoven.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Drew competed in his first season of soccer.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Remodel
We've been remodeling our first floor since January. First, we remodeled the bedroom. Ripped out the disgusting carpet and painted ... then the hallway ... and finally the great room. Here's some before and after shots.
BEFORE
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NEW FIREPLACE
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
BEFORE
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
AFTER
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
BEFORE
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
AFTER
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Here's an overview: No more dog-piss smelling carpet. Yeah!
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
BEFORE
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
NEW FIREPLACE
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
BEFORE
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
AFTER
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
BEFORE
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
AFTER
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Here's an overview: No more dog-piss smelling carpet. Yeah!
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Check out Niki
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The Missouri Botanical Garden is displaying the pop art of Niki this summer. The kids loved the mosaic statues, and even loved discovering them "in order, so we wouldn't miss any." That was Dad not me by the way who insisted on this.
Some of the sculptures were just to look at while others you could touch and others you could (to Drew's great excitement) climb on! A sign by each sculpture let you know whether it was OK to touch or climb or not. The first thing Drew would do is run up to the sign to let Blake know what wasn't and was OK.
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Click on the photos to see the whole take
.
Monday, June 09, 2008
A crash course in teaching your kid to ride a bike
My 4-year-old just learned to ride a bike about a week ago. He's got the riding down, but he's still working on braking and stopping. Today we rode up to the park where we had to navigate a pretty steep hill. I told him that I would get off my bike and run along side of him. He said, "No. You can wait at the bottom of the hill in case I need help stopping." I don't know why I took the advice of a 4-year-old, but I did.
He started down the hill pedaling ... and not using his brakes. So he's barreling toward me going about 20 mph with a "Holy Shit!" look on his face, and I'm yelling, "Hit your brakes! Hit your brakes!" He didn't ... and I'm thinking at this point if he hit his brakes, he would probably hurtle over the handlebars. I'm also thinking, "Oh crap! This is going to hurt ... someone!" So as any good mother would do, I took the brunt of it. My front shin stopped his bike. It tipped over with him on it, but aside from a small scrape on his knee, he was fine. A nice man on the bike trail asked if he was OK. And I'm like, Yeah, he's fine ... my shin on the other hand ... is still hurting 8 hours later.
He did get right back on his bike though. And managed to give me one other heart-attack moment when he went barreling down a slight incline. You think I would have learned my lesson the first time.
He started down the hill pedaling ... and not using his brakes. So he's barreling toward me going about 20 mph with a "Holy Shit!" look on his face, and I'm yelling, "Hit your brakes! Hit your brakes!" He didn't ... and I'm thinking at this point if he hit his brakes, he would probably hurtle over the handlebars. I'm also thinking, "Oh crap! This is going to hurt ... someone!" So as any good mother would do, I took the brunt of it. My front shin stopped his bike. It tipped over with him on it, but aside from a small scrape on his knee, he was fine. A nice man on the bike trail asked if he was OK. And I'm like, Yeah, he's fine ... my shin on the other hand ... is still hurting 8 hours later.
He did get right back on his bike though. And managed to give me one other heart-attack moment when he went barreling down a slight incline. You think I would have learned my lesson the first time.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Why I send my children to bible camp
I remember when I was a kid whenever I saw a sign that said "Vacation Bible School," I thought to myself, "What the hell is vacation bible school? I don't think that would be much of a vacation." But I grew up Catholic, and Catholics DO NOT have vacation bible school. We don't really read the bible either. I always thought Vacation Bible School was only done by those "weird religions." Everyone was catholic where I grew up, so pretty much anything not catholic was a weird religion to me.
So why do I send my children to Vacation Bible School? Well, for one I realized that just because somebody believes different things than I do and worships in a different way doesn't make it a weird religion. And I also realized that vacation bible school could be fun. They don't actually sit around and read the bible (which is what I thought they did when I was a kid). The one my kids go to has giant inflatables and on the last day of a the camp, there is a huge water fight. A firetruck actually shows up! And it teaches the kids about being a good person.
And HELLO! here's the best part: Free daycare from 9 to noon!
So why do I send my children to Vacation Bible School? Well, for one I realized that just because somebody believes different things than I do and worships in a different way doesn't make it a weird religion. And I also realized that vacation bible school could be fun. They don't actually sit around and read the bible (which is what I thought they did when I was a kid). The one my kids go to has giant inflatables and on the last day of a the camp, there is a huge water fight. A firetruck actually shows up! And it teaches the kids about being a good person.
And HELLO! here's the best part: Free daycare from 9 to noon!
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