Moanday's Weekend Recap 8/22/11

Taking it easy this Moanday. Maybe it was the full weekend, maybe it was the strange insomnia last night or maybe it was the mysterious insect that has left several giant red welts on my body, but I'm feeling like a wilted flower today.

Here's the weekend recap.

Friday morning, we helped DS15 shoot some scenes for his movie at a grocery store. I made sure it wasn't one we frequented in case we ruffled feathers, but no one seemed to mind what we were up to. Friday afternoon, I helped him shoot more scenes at our local area park.

Friday night visited a family member for his birthday, enjoyed tasty Angry Bird cake. Late Friday night, I freaked out while watching Insidious. Its been awhile since a movie has made me scream out loud and run around turning on lights.

Saturday morning slept in a bit then went out shopping with my sister. Saturday late afternoon, lupper (lunch/supper) with my boys and DH. I believe we chilled out the rest of the night, I'm having a mental block here. Oh wait, now I remember! I made more healthy Oatmeal Walnut Fudge!!

Sunday morning up and on the road to G-Ma's house. After picking her up, we headed over to Illinois State Park Beach to do some hiking. (I find it hilarious that after growing up in that state, but living in WI since 1991, I can no longer spell Illinois without spell check!) Many of the trails are still closed after the storm about a month ago, but there were some open on the North end. We enjoyed a good hike, but I remember feeling like I was being bit up, although I saw no insects. We found a good sized snake and close by a chunky toad, along with several different species of grasshopper.

Sunday afternoon another Lupper(lunch/supper) this time at Infusinos for pizza and moe joes. Hung around with G-Ma watching Fear Factor and setting up the family reunion Facebook page before setting off for home.

Sunday night, could not sleep. Strange anxiety even though I had nothing to stress out over. (Stupid hormones?!) I'd start to fall asleep and then jolt awake thinking - I'm not getting any sleep and I have so much to do tomorrow! I think I was too tired to relax. Know what I mean? I should have gotten up and had tea or something, but for some reason, I didn't.

I woke up here Monday morning with large red welts on my arms. It must have been something at the park, but I suppose I shouldn't rule out spiders.

I went for a 45 minute walk early in the morning, despite the lack of sleep, only to feel like crashing by 11:00am. Recharged slightly with a veggie sandwich and watched a few International House Hunters while waiting for the laundry machines. I'm going to need a Diet Coke to make it through my shift tonight.

DS12 got his bike ride in and logged in his notebook. Today he went over the 50 mile mark! I'm so impressed by his dedication when it comes to exercising.

DS15 is suffering from allergies but still working on his films. I need to lift myself off this chair and see what he has painted for his latest homemade prop.

I'll continue plowing through Moanday and I know tomorrow I'll feel better.

Sandusky Road Trip May 2011

We're home now and I'm decompressing, with candles and a frozen pizza. Let's see if I can journal all of this out before I forget the details.

We left last Saturday for the Unschoolers Waterpark Gathering at the Kalahari in Sandusky. We had to cut our trip short since DH is really busy at work, but we still had a great time.

On the way we stopped in South Bend for lunch at Chick-Fil-A. For any Southern friends reading this, you must know our family loves Chick-Fil-A but the closest one to us is over an hour away. It was more than worth it getting off the highway to find the mall and find Chick-Fil-A.

It was a very nice mall, technically in Mishawaka. We saw Paul Blart, I'm not kidding! There was a security guard riding a Segway flirting with a woman at a kiosk. We saw him later stop at the mall's candy shop and load up. If you've seen the movie, I'm sure you'll understand why we were laughing inside. I really regretted not bringing in the video camera.

When we got to Sandusky, we were eager to see the lakefront and compare Lake Erie to our beloved Lake Michigan. It was a cold, rainy day, (which accurately describes the weather our entire visit,) and to our surprise, the lake was brown. I found out this was due to a certain type of algae, although I suspect it also has something to do with pollution. The area is known for coal shipping.

Downtown Sandusky/Cedar Point was also a disappointment. We were expecting a lakefront like Kenosha. It looked like they were trying to re-vitalize the downtown, but hadn't done much with the lake front. It seemed like Sandusky was full of tattoo parlors and tanning places. Of course it also seemed most of the population was young adults working at Cedar Point.

We skipped Cedar Point because the weather was terrible and we had to shorten our trip. Maybe we'll be able to fit this in next time.

The Kalahari was great, but honestly, we prefer the Kalahari in the Wisconsin Dells. They did have a few rides that were different, but the lazy river and wave pool were smaller. Plus they only had 2 spas. They were indoor/outdoor spas and that was neat. I spent a great deal of time allowing the warm water to keep my body warm while I allowed the cold rain to hit my face.

I lost count of how many times the boys went on the rides. We did spend most of our time in the waterpark, rather than at the conference, (insert guilt here). I did go on two rides, Victoria Falls and Swahili Swirl. The Victoria Falls raft ride left my stomach a little queasy having to go through a dark tunnel, not knowing which way the raft would turn. The Swahili Swirl was more fun for me, since it didn't completely go in the dark. After a quick drop, you enter a giant bowl and spin around until you go down the chute - yes - it was like being flushed! :) LOL 

We ate out a lot, but we also did a lot of swimming. How can you not eat out on vacation and swimming makes you very hungry. One of our favorite places was Tofts Dairy. Its a 100 year old dairy that processes milk from local, hormone free farms. The business has been in the same family all these years. They have an ice cream parlor to beat all others, 50 flavors! We ordered smalls but you wouldn't know it from the photo. I had chocolate almond, DS12 vanilla, DS15 Philadelphia Freedom(mint), DH Holy Toledo (caramel with caramel sauce and caramel bits). If we ever have the chance to be in Sandusky again, this place is a must stop. It seems very popular with locals and tourists.

At the Unschooling gathering, we did hear Pat Farenga speak on how important it is to let go and trust unschooling. It was a great booster. I hope we can attend this gathering again next year and stay for the full duration. I also hope we can encourage friends to join us. :)

We found a very cool used dvd/cd/video game store called the Exchange. We ended up going back 3 times during our stay because they had so much stuff to look through. I picked up a couple of Aimee Mann CDs, DH found a few he liked too, and the boys hit the jackpot finding 7 plus games, all for a dollar a piece! If we had this store here in Wisconsin, we'd be in trouble!

Unfortunately, we didn't find any good used book stores. :(

I did hit up CJ Banks at the mall since I had a coupon. Turned out it was good for 50% off my entire purchase so I picked up a few pieces for summer weather.

I knew I was homesick for Yumi when we saw a black and white kitty behind a Wendy's. I wanted to "rescue" her and name her Wendy of course, but in reality, there was no way to transport this sweetie back home. Plus my puma would not play nice with her I'm sure!

We managed to make it home, just slipping by the expected rush hour traffic of Chicagoland. Driving through Illinois was the worst of it, 7 tolls! Indiana and Ohio each only had 2, when you get on and when you get off. Later we'll log online to our I-Pass and really see which state cost us the most to drive through.

We knew gas would be most expensive in Illinois. It was $4.48!  We gassed up in Wisconsin before we left at $3.89, skipping Illinois. Topped off in Indiana at $3.95 to get us to Sandusky, where gas was the cheapest over all $3.78. 

I suppose I'll be playing catch up with laundry but it's worth it. We had a wonderful 5 full days of family time!

Weekend Update 5/9/11

Friday - Headed up to Oshkosh for the WPA conference. Hosted Apples To Apples gathering and was surprised at our huge turn out. Many more teens than I had expected, yet I suspect a couple of local college kids wandered in to join us.

I really don't like that WPA basically has the conference in a UW Oshkosh dorm. They may call it a "conference center", but its a dorm. I resent how the "conference director" also tries to turn our conference into a promotion/recruitment weekend for UW Oshkosh. The campus is depressing with liquor stores literally across the parking lot from the dorms. Not exactly family friendly.

Our night at the hotel was brief because we're busy at the conference, but to me it felt long since I didn't sleep. I'm fighting off the scratchy throat & dry cough the rest of my family has already dealt with.

On pure adrenaline, I presented our two other workshops and then we attended the commencement gathering. Lunch followed and then we got some much needed fresh air at the zoo and park in Oshkosh.

We came home Saturday night and met G-Ma. Being tired we crashed on the couch for movies and I went to bed and finally slept.

Sunday was a double holiday for me, Mother's Day and my anniversary - 18 years married, 25 years together. It ended up being one of those days I wish I could record and do over and over.

Woke up and Pride & Prejudice was on. Is there a better way to wake up on your anniversary? After lingering in the love nest, I had a spinach banana strawberry smoothie - YUM! After being spoiled with gifts including gourmet blended tea from Teavana and chocolate, we headed out to lunch at Outback. After lunch we hiked at Magnolia Bluff and saw many early spring, forest wild flowers. Once back home, I spent the rest of the afternoon in the garden getting more veggies planted. After a fend for yourself supper or snack break, the boys watched Repo Man and I made caramel chocolitas. It was a perfect Mother's Day/Anniversary Sunday.

On the agenda this week, get the video loaded to the computer, finish planting the garden and finish all errands before next weekend when we head to Ohio. I'm hoping the Unschoolers Waterpark Gathering is more welcoming and inspiring than the WPA homeschooling conference was.

One more thing, Mr. Crazy Robin has an official name courtesy of GMa - "Osama Bin Robin." He also now has an accomplice. Hopefully I'll figure out how to share video soon. 

Our Kansas Trip

The drive down felt faster than we all thought it was going to. Maybe it was the anticipation of meeting new cousins, knowing we'd be staying in a hotel with a pool and/or seeing the roadside sights. My favorite part of the drive was the southwest corner of Wisconsin. Of course I could be biased, but it just seemed so beautiful to me with the rolling hills and farmland mixed. In an alternative universe, I'm a farm girl.

We stopped for lunch in Des Moines. The service was a great disappointment, but the food was okay. She got our order wrong, blamed me, and then ended up charging us double. It ended up being too long of a lunch stop.

Missouri wasn't all that exciting to drive through. Most of the land seemed to be pasture, only we didn't see any grazing cows. I wondered why there weren't more corn fields.

Kansas City proved to be a little bit of a challenge navigating, but my parents had loaned us their GPS and that helped.

After checking in to our hotel, we headed over to Aunt J & Uncle T's. They have a beautiful home and it was wonderful to meet most of our family waiting for us.

Friday morning began with a swim in the pool,  while I raided the complimentary breakfast and served my family poolside. They had the coolest waffle iron that made cute little waffles, instead of one big one.

After breakfast, we did a little shopping at the Legends Mall. Its a newer shopping center built with a historical theme. You can walk the outdoor mall and learn about historical Kansas figures and a little Kansas trivia. We found a few new stores, but most were chains we were already familiar with. We did drop a few bucks at Books A Million.

After lunch we headed over to Aunt J & Uncle T's. I was asked to bake cookies for our picnic so I made walnut bars and chocolate peanut butter cookies. The rest of the Kansas cousins arrived and we all enjoyed pizza and visiting on the patio.

Our Aunt and Uncle have such a nice yard for entertaining. DS14 showed the younger cousins how to operate his video camera and they had fun making monster movies, running around the backyard. I can't wait to see the footage.

We headed back to the hotel for a late swim and brought G-Ma with us to stay over in our hotel room.

Saturday was the big picnic day. We all headed out to a park where Uncle T and Aunt J had rented a shelter and set up a grand barbecue. We played cards, chess, badminton, horseshoes, and flung chickens. We rested in the shade on blankets under the trees while watching the young ones run through the sprinkler. It was a perfect summer picnic day.

Saturday evening we gathered once again with family back at Uncle T & Aunt J's and ate leftovers.

DH, DS11 and DH's cousin went to a late night movie, Predators. DS14, G-Ma and I rested in the hotel room.

Sunday morning we said our goodbyes and after the thunderstorm, we headed back out on the road home. We really hope to be able to return to Kansas City soon. Its a shame we all live so far apart from one another.

We stopped at a 7-11 in Missouri for Slurpees. We don't have 7-11's in Wisconsin so it was suppose to be a treat getting Slurpees on the road. Unfortunately, I chose a Crystal Light Mango Peach flavor. I had thought, cool, a sugar free Slurpee! I ended up drinking half of it and suffering stomach cramps the rest of the ride home. I am done with artificial sweeteners and colors. I'm planning on avoiding soda altogether as well.

Monday I felt a little better stomach wise, but my cold was still lingering. I had very little energy, but my parents were here for a visit so I took them to Costco so they could load up on tuna. We made a spaghetti supper and invited over my sister's family to help us eat it. Needless to say, I got very little unpacking done, but it was nice to visit with family.

I'm sure it will take me the rest of the week to feel normal again. With all the time in the car, all the visiting, all the eating, fighting off a cold, I'm spent.

On The Eve Of Our Road Trip...Thoughts

Today's my last day before our family reunion road trip. I have so much to do it only makes sense I spend some time blogging right? Actually, I don't want to run the vacuum until after my teenager wakes up.

Why clean before we run away for the weekend? Because our house sitters are my parents. It is a little strange that we have company visiting while we are gone, but this family reunion on my husband's side has been planned for two years, and my parents will still be able to visit with my sister who lives nearby. I'm actually relieved my parents will be here because they can take care of Yumi and our parakeets while we're gone. We'll be able to visit with them after we return from Kansas.

I know the trip will take long, yet go by quickly. It will be 9 hours of driving through Iowa and Missouri, and we'll only get two full days to visit with family before we have to head back. Given that DH has recently started working, it doesn't feel right to ask for too much time off.

Plus financially, this trip will be a hit to our account, but this family reunion means so much to my MIL and my husband's aunt and uncle. If DH were still unemployed, we may have had more time to travel, but the money required to do so would hurt even more. Knowing that DH has work to come back to makes it a little easier to go, knowing we'll have the opportunity to catch up.

I'm going to try and really focus on the adventure of the journey, the time we'll have together cooped up for 9 hours in the car. Its 9 hours my kids can't escape from me! LOL! Actually, I'm betting they sleep most of the way there.

Once we arrive, it will be a pleasure to meet cousins I've never met. I'll keep to my code- no discussions of religion or politics- and our visit should be friendly. DH asked me if I'm ready for the Homeschooling Inquisition. I am. After more than 11 years of learning at home, there is nothing anyone could say to me that would make me regret our decision. I don't feel the need to hide our lifestyle at all because its been working so wonderfully for our family.

I've told the boys, if they are quizzed, they don't have to play along. I told them they could quiz back, but we've decided its best just to say, "I don't feel like taking a test right now. I'd like to enjoy our visit together," and leave it at that. 

I'm not really expecting any negative reactions, but what I don't understand is why sometimes people think because you homeschool, you are judging their decision not to. I've never done this. I really feel each family must decide what works best for them. Why are people offended because I chose to follow a different method? Is it because I've rejected what they've accepted? I'm not claiming our way of learning is superior, but I won't hide the fact of how well it works.

I better get moving here before I truly do step up on my soapbox. Maybe if I make breakfast, the teenager will awaken.

Bemidji Road Trip 2009

Visiting the big, north woods.

A few weekend road trip notes before I forget all the fun details....

Drive up went great. Kept watch on our speed, lots of police all the way through Wisconsin and across Minnesota as well. Can certainly tell these states need revenue. By the 9th hour in the car, we were getting a little punchy. Rolled into town giggling like crazy.

Mormor and Grandpa's little house is as cute as always. The boys settled into the loft and we really enjoyed the cool night air coming in the windows. Mormor's garden is pretty impressive for being this far north.

Saturday morning I scored a bread machine from my parent's neighbor's garage sale. Can't wait to get home and give it a try.

Enjoyed delicious Canadian Walleye for lunch with Grandpa. YUM! I can't live up here because I'd eat too much, that's for sure.

After lunch, we walked and played along the lake front. Saw a huge Osprey in the trees right above us. I'll have to post the photos when we return. Hopefully they will turn out.

Did a little shopping and ended back at the little house, relaxing, watching movies.

Tomorrow morning we're headed to the Lost 40. Its an old growth forest that never was logged because it wasn't mapped correctly. We may find a few 300 year old trees! I can't wait!

The rest of the day we'll visit at my sister's house by the lake. The boys will probably hunt for leeches and try a little fishing. We'll eat more Canadian Walleye! Yeah! (Wish we could get this fish down by us.)

Better, get going. Grandpa says the corn on the cob is ready and they're giving me grief for not eating!!! HELP!!!

Chicago Road Trip Day 8/9/09

Outside of the Shedd. DS10 is holding up 4 fingers because he noticed the Chicago Flag has 4 stars on it.

Last minute road trip to Chicago. We went the the Shedd Aquarium and the Willis Tower.

Hot Town Summer In The City- Weekend Notes 8/8-8-9

Saturday DH & I enjoyed our errand date, but I made the mistake of not being vigilant, skipping breakfast and then over doing it at lunch. I regretted that cheeseburger the rest of the day. My body shut down. I wanted to sleep and my brain got fuzzy. For me, it was a confirming lesson to eat right or pay for it- every bite counts!

Saturday night we had cousins over for game night, which was followed by more horrendous eating, but Uncle Mike's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip bars are too good to be refused. 

Our wonderful neighbors offered us the rest of their City Passes. They had been on vacation and hadn't used up all the tickets. So Sunday was an impromptu road trip to Chicago!

We got up early to beat the traffic and it paid off. We first visited the Shedd Aquarium. Our favorite was the giant shark tank. Its shaped so that when you stand there, all you see is fish and sharks swimming around you. Its very cool. You can't really see where the glass is. The Sawfish kept swimming back to flirt with me.

Our ticket included the 4-D movie Planet Earth. It was fun, but if I would have had to pay money for it, I would have been disappointed. It was very short. Its "4-D" because the seats are rigged to spray air and water at you. The seats also vibrate and there is an annoying poker in the back as well as a wire that whips your legs. So when the shark jumps out of the water to grab the seal, you jump, when the rats are running across the screen in 3-D, you feel them scratching at your ankles.

After spending half the day at the Shedd Aquarium, we headed to the Willis building, the former "Sears tower." Its the tallest building in the midwest. If our neighbors hadn't given us their City Passes, there is no way we would have enjoyed this. The line was a 3 hour wait to get to the top, but because we had City Passes we were treated like VIPs, allowed to go to the head of the line. If you visit Chicago and want to do the museum circuit, (Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, Field Museum, Museum of Science and Industry and the Willis Tower), buy the City Pass. Its so worth it!

I was surprised my fear of heights wasn't that bad up there. I even ventured out onto the glass Skyview box. You are 103 stories up, with nothing around you except glass. Of course I had to cling to DS10 when I was out there, but I did it! Another great one to add to my list of Forty Firsts!

On the way home, we decided to stop for what else, pizza of course. (I'm getting back on track with healthy eating today!)

As we headed back to Wisconsin, we drove into a storm, but missed the worst of it. It was exciting to watch the lightning and see the storm clouds roll in.

By the time we made it home, I was ready for a shower, my PJs and bed, but my sister brought over a Dala Horse Birthday cake decorated hippie style. She gave me the best Birthday card too! She is so sweet! (My birthday is Wednesday.)

I'll post photos from our weekend in an album soon. Today I have to get back on track!

First Road Trip With The New Car

Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother's house we went. DH had to work half the weekend away, but we managed to stretch our new car's wheels and took a road trip to Kenosha yesterday.

After enjoying real thin crust ZA, only found in K-town, we stopped at Tenuta's Deli. This is another reason why I can't live in Kenosha. Too many yummy foods!

DH has not so fond memories of having to go into Tenuta's as a child. He's told us it was then a very smelly place, probably from all of the stinky cheeses. Now it has expanded to a fine specialty store with not only cheeses and meats, but all kinds of ethnic baking goodies.

Their chocolate covered candy collection is to die for. No where else have I discovered a chocolate covered almond covered in as much chocolate goodness as at Tenuta's. Don't get me started on the chocolate covered dried cranberries! (Seriously, don't get me started because I won't stop.)

The boys got a kick out of discovering cans of sliced octopus and conch. Hmmm.. Christmas stocking stuffers? LOL! Actually DS13 has requested a huge block of white chocolate for his stocking this year. What is it about bulk food that is so appealing?

Clog time

I'm still around. Just having a hard time getting back on the blog wagon. A big part of it is I'm still struggling to get my photos transferred. I bought a card reader but for some reason, it's not reading my SD card. Next paycheck, I'll look again for a USB cord, but that didn't go so well last time.

I want to get on here though, and journal at the very least what we've been up to. In the long run, this blog's purpose is to record our history.

We brought mini pumpkins and gourds to Great Grandma's grave stone. Yesterday she would have been 80. It still seems so surreal she is no longer with us. I miss her. She was such a loving presence. She always greeted you with warmth and smiles. She gave great smushy Grandma hugs too!

The boys tried a little trick or treating in K-town. It was way too windy to wear the Poptart costume. DS9 would have been blown away into Lake Michigan like a sailboat! There weren't too many kids out so they really made out. At the last house, the kind lady probably gave them each 10 mini chocolate bars!  She basically dumped her bowl because she wanted to get rid of it. Now of course, its my problem!! DS9 isn't fond of Snickers, but unfortunately, I can be tempted!

Saturday I worked at the pool. We had our Olympic Swim Meet for the season and afterwards we hosted a free Halloween Party Family Swim. It all went very well. My creepy stalker guy was there swimming in his street clothes. I don't know. I think he may be Muslim, but I thought it was only the women who had to cover up?

Have I told you about my creepy stalker? I can't remember, and I'm too lazy to read back to see if I have. If I'm repeating myself, feel free to skip this part. Creepy Stalker guy is this dad who has brought his daughter to swim lessons forever. He doesn't have a good marriage. I know this because he's shared the ugly details with me. I think it was an arranged marriage because that is common in his culture. Anyway, he is always hitting on me even though I've dropped numerous hints I'm happily married. A few weeks ago, he asked if he could have his photo taken with me because, I "motivate him." I declined. Last week I was selling snacks, and he began to walk behind the counter.

"Dawn, I need your help. Its something only a woman can help me with."

WTF!! I asked him to leave the employee only area and then he explained he couldn't get his daughter's earrings out. Now why didn't he just say- "Can you help remove my daughter's earrings?" Because he's freaky creepy and someday if I go missing, I've told everyone at the pool to give the police his address and phone number!! I found out its not just me he flirts with. I guess he's been asking the girl who closes on Fridays all about her life.

My sister is moving! Yeah! She currently rents from a slum lord who is letting a historic landmark crumble to the ground. I'm uber excited because now she'll just be a few blocks from my door! I really hope this works out for her. The house she'll rent went into foreclosure, a real estate broker picked it up, and because she hasn't been able to sell it, she's renting it out for 6 months. My sister may have the option to buy it at the end of the lease. I hope it works out for her. She deserves to live in a safe home, without mold issues. Its a bonus too she's getting a better home for less rent!

I've decided to vote early. Our village hall is offering this to help with the expected crowds on election day. Last year I was able to go during work hours so I only had to wait in line with the other SAHMs and senior citizens about 20 minutes. My working sister and husband waited two hours after work to vote. I remember they didn't turn anyone away, but the voting was still going on long after the polls were suppose to close. I hope we have an overwhelming turn out again.

I think DH and I are going to break down and go mid-life crazy again. Blind Melon had to cancel several shows because the lead singer is having vocal cord trouble, but low and behold, they didn't cancel the Fort Wayne, Indiana show. I think its a sign! If we can get tickets, we're doing the crazy drive through the night thing again. I know we're cutting it close. It will be November and just last night we saw flurries. I hope we can squeeze in one more show, before we're snow bound or they quit touring. I'm a Bee Girl at heart, and I need one last slice of Melon!

Time to stop rambling. My chicken meatball soup DMIL made me is ready now. Take care!

Such a great weekend...

We kicked it off with Pizza Oven pizza. That always brings joy! The secret is out though. Its been getting more and more crowded.

After wards we hit the stores, shopping for birthday presents for our cousins. We didn't find anything at the bookstore, but we scored at Michael's and Target.

Saturday it was road trip time and we headed south to my brother's house (Maija's). We stopped at Legoland in Shaumburg first and we were greatly disappointed. I think Target sells more variety of sets, and the bulk brick bins were lame. I was hoping they would have specialty pieces. Maybe someday we'll try the store at the Mall of America.

We had a great time visiting family and friends at Maija's and the cake was delish! "Happy Birthday" wouldn't fit because we had so many family members' names on it. (Wish I had a USB cord!)

On our way home, a car almost blew up in front of us. We were cruising on the interstate when suddenly we couldn't see. At first we thought it was really thick fog, but then our noses told us its wasn't fog. We could smell it. Something was on fire. Our exit was only a mile or two down the road, but I was nervous we wouldn't make it. As we curved around the off ramp, we saw the poor soul who caused the danger. His car was engulfed in smoke and underneath we saw flames. He had just enough time to jump away from the car! Crazy!!

Sunday morning we headed to another birthday party, this time for a different cousin. (Hi Emma!) She had decided to have a Letterboxing party! It was great fun, hiking in the fall air. We only found 1 of 4 hidden Letterboxes, but as a bonus, we came across a Geo Cache. There were Christmas lights in the Geo Cache, but since I'm really a Letterboxer, I wasn't prepared to trade. For a brief moment I considered trading my hat, but then decided it wasn't worth it. I already have Christmas lights, and I worked hard knitting my Blind Melon themed bee hat!

Sunday my parents checked back into the "Grove Unschool Bed and Breakfast", although I should more accurately say, "Bed and Supper." My sister came over and we enjoyed a spaghetti supper together. My parents head home for Minnesota tomorrow.

I had too much cake, too much ice cream, pizza, tacos, and don't forget the bowl full of pasta! I'm not bothering to log into my Fit Day. Its safe to say the weekend was a total dieting failure, but that's ok. Tomorrow is another day! Such a great weekend has to roll into a great week I hope!  

Blind Melon Tour- CLOG!

It feels good to be home, but out there, in my alternate universe, I'm driving to Winnipeg, Canada for tomorrow's slice of Blind Melon. Oh, but the gas money has run out, and there's children to unschool here at home.

Friday we shared Melon... family style. We all drove to Lafayette, IN, where we discovered there is a Chick-Fil- A! The only other Chick-Fil-A we Yankees have been able to enjoy has been in the mall in Racine, Wi. Lafayette's Chick-Fil-A is sublime! They have all you can eat nuggets the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month. Its a good thing we don't live there! Apparently, I'm fat enough according to Lafayette standards.

We stopped at a Wendy's to use the restroom. (We ate at Chick-Fil-A but doors to the Blind Melon show didn't open until 6:00pm.) While waiting for my family, I sat down with my bottle of water. Through my sunglasses, I noticed I was being stared at by an older woman sitting nearby. She put down her chili and approached me.

Placing her chili warmed hand on my arm, she asked, "Are you recovering from gastric bypass surgery?"

The horror on my face made her back pedal.

"Its just you are only drinking a bottle of water. That's a sign you've had gastric bypass surgery."

She quickly retreated, and I sat there not knowing whether to laugh or cry. I know I'm obese but is this a question a total stranger should ask another person? And why would I be sitting in a Wendy's torturing myself if I was recovering from gastric bypass??!

DH helped me see the humor in this, and I chose to laugh it off and enjoy our pending evening's activities. Lucky's bar is not family friendly but Nel Hoon, the mom of late lead singer Shannon Hoon, had requested this special vigil show be all ages so families could attend. We got right in and took pole positions at the rail. The boys were excited, and DH and I were buzzing as well, (not literally- we don't drink or take recreational substances. The music alone brings me to a happy place.)

The show did start late, as expected, and for the most part, it was incredible. DSalmost13 kept his best- I'm almost 13, too cool to smile face on, but DS9 was rocking out with us. That is until the drunk moron showed up.

He pushed my cub aside to try and steal his spot. My Mother lion came out and roaring in his face, I scared the moron away, but it still freaked out DS9 a little. He made it to the end of the show though.

Driving home through the star filled night, DS9 saw a UFO! Personally I thought it was a triangle shaped light on top of a cell phone tower, but DH & DS assure me, it was a UFO.

Saturday we left the boys in the care of my sister, and we headed to Mankato, Mn. Maybe I haven't said it enough, but I LOVE WISCONSIN! The fall colors were so romantic, and the bluffs in the LaCrosse area breathtaking.

Southern Minnesota I wasn't too impressed with. It looked too much like home, lots of soybeans and corn and windmills. The gas price in Owatana though was awesome! $3.29!! It's been $3.69-$3.99 by us.

We arrived in Mankato, picked up our tickets and even though I saw the tour bus, I refrained from crossing that line from devoted fan to OBSESSED, STALKING, FANATIC. Although I admit that line is a bit blurry to me.

Once again, our talent for being punctual paid off. We were stage front, this time no rail! Brad, CT and Travis were right in front of me. The downside was it was homecoming weekend in the college town of Mankato. The drunken frat boys with their drunk gal pal were directly behind us screaming stupid stuff like, "Is this a cover band?" "Where's Shannon?" "Old people suck!"

Technically, I'm the same age as 3 out of the 5 band members. Being older and wiser, I know it doesn't pay to get drunk at the bar, but to instead, stake out your concert space well before hand. Even after they started playing with my hair, (thankfully no scissors were involved), I didn't budge. Being fat and 40 does have its benefits.

We received much Melon love, lots of eye contact, hand shakes and high fives from band members! (Check out the photo of Travis' sweaty towel in my Blind Melon album! LOL)  I did see people taping. I'll be checking You Tube the next several days to see if we show up.

All aglow, DH & I enjoyed a 1:00am supper/breakfast of pancakes at Perkins after the show. We crashed at a hotel but not for long. DH was up at 5:30am saying he was ready to drive home. I was also missing the boys, so armed with pillow and blankies, we started for home in the dark early morning hours.

So here I am now, 4 states in 2 days, 2 incredible Blind Melon shows with ringing ear drums to prove it!! I'm kicking back tonight.

I think there's a show in Fort Wayne, Indiana in November. My Blind Melon withdrawal should be ripe again by then!

Only 3 more days!!!

Its hard to focus on anything else but our upcoming road trip. Maybe you don't realize how crazy DH and I are, but we are driving 5 hours to Lafayette, Indiana Friday to see a certain band. For the boys, it will be their first rock concert. I've assured them we won't try to be in the front, and we won't embarrass them too much. (They've seen us in many YouTube videos and they're nervous.) We'll be picking up ear plugs too.

Blind Melon is performing a special show to honor their late lead singer, Shannon Hoon. Shannon's mom holds a vigil every year on his birthday, and this is the first year the band will be performing. There is a chance certain songs may be performed which the band hasn't done in concert since Shannon's death almost 13 years ago. This will be a once in a lifetime type show. I've heard through the grapevine several families are bringing their children.

As if dragging our pre-teeners to a rock concert isn't crazy enough, after the show, we plan on driving back home, another 5 hours. I suppose we'll get to bed around 3 or 4 in the morning. Why don't we get a hotel room you ask? Because on Saturday night DH and I will be in Mankato, Minnesota!

The plan is to have my sister babysit. The boys weren't interested in two nights back to back, plus the Mankato show may not be all ages. We'll leave for Mankato around 10:00am, drive the 6 hours and then rock the night away. This time there is a Microtel in our future.

3 states within 24 hours! I'm sure we'll arrive back home Sunday, ready to drop, but it will all be worth it! You have to live each day like its your last, soaking up every delicious drop of juice you can!

Look out Mosquitos, here we come!

Its seems really strange to be getting ready to leave home again so soon, but it's time for our trip up to northern Minnesota. My parents warn the mosquitos are really bad, but the temperatures shouldn't be quite as hot as they are here.

We're looking forward to enjoying the county fair, fishing in Grandpa's boat, a fish fry cookout at my sister's house, watching wildlife wander my parent's land, enjoying a movie at the BlackDuck theater (they have the best popcorn!), and we may even walk across the Mississippi river again. We'll only be up there 4 days so we'll see how much we can cram in.

I'll pack books but I doubt I'll get to read them. Actually packing is a challenge. We are taking our small car to save gas. I'm sure I'll have to do laundry at my mom's. Hmmm... where are those Space Bags?

My sister will come and house sit for us. I'm glad she'll get a break from the heat in our central air, but I'm also happy Yumi will have the company. After returning from our Blind Melon weekend, Yumi wouldn't leave me alone. I could tell she missed us. She is eye balling me today as I pack things up. Too bad she can't go with us.

I'll try to check in, but my mom has dial up.   Ugg!!!

Have a great weekend!

Busy weekend in progress

Sorry I've been MIA. I've been working on getting my workshops ready for our homeschooling conference next weekend. I'm so excited!

We took a road trip to Oshkosh yesterday to finalize hiding spots for around 20 boxes. The weather turned out to be freezing cold! I should have worn my winter coat and mittens. What happened to spring?! I hope next weekend the sun comes out, but it will probably rain on my Letterboxing fun.

The boys rode back and forth really well even though we crammed into the Cavalier to save gas. The drive isn't too bad, around 1 1/2 hours. Speaking of gas, we witnessed a crime almost committed. There was a jerk of a driver who said he was at a different gas pump. He paid the $20 bill and then tried to drive off. The station clerk ran outside to stop him as soon as they realized his bill was for over $60. It was pretty exciting as the store clerk threw his body in front of the guy's truck!

On the roadtrip we saw huge windmills south of Fond Du Lac. They looked kind of scary actually. I'm for earth friendly energy, but I've been reading more about the controversy. I guess these huge windmills can cast strobe effect shadows and cause neurological problems for the families who have to live nearby. The turbines can get noisy too. They may be building these 4 story windmills just south of our township.

It hasn't been a good weekend for movies for me. Its been all guy movies and I guess I'm just not in the mood. DH and DS12 enjoyed Cloverfield, but I thought this movie stunk big time! I can't stand shaky camera shots and an entire movie of them is beyond nauseating. (Maija- stay clear of Cloverfield!) I thought the monster was weak. Last night we settled in after the road trip to watch Alien Vs Predator II. I just rolled over and tried to fall asleep. Some nights I wish I had given birth to girls rather than boys.

To bring a fantastic close to our weekend, I'm ordering Falbo's. I haven't had good pizza in over a month. I've eaten good for days but now I need to feed my soul! Thin crust cheesy goodness is needed!

Weekend stuff

We visited Grandma yesterday and she took us to a dinosaur museum. It was difficult to take photos because the gallery was so dark. I liked this guy. I thought he was a cutie.

It felt so good to get out yesterday and enjoy a day trip. We've had a brutal winter. I wanted to go for a hike but everything is still ice covered or a melting mess.

DH is chopping the ice today on our driveway. I may head out to the store to pick up supplies to make us an Oscar night supper. We're not really looking forward to watching the Oscars like we have in the past. I don't know if its because we don't make it out to the movies as often or because there aren't that many good movies.

Last night we watched "Wind Chill" after we made it home from K-town. It was ok. It was scary enough, but I was disappointed with the ending and later I kept finding myself punching holes in the plot.

DS12 has been filling up his MP3 player with Linkin Park songs and now I feel like rocking out. I can't wait to take him to his first concert! I'll probably embarrass him though.

DS9 still has his Poptart obsession going strong. I'm thinking he may grow up and work for Kellogg's in marketing. On our last grocery store trip, he had to stop and read off all the different flavors. Its not that he wants to eat them. He actually only likes one flavor, Brown Sugar Cinnamon and he probably only eats one or two a week. He just wants to design flavors and draw up ATCs.

I stood there in the aisle and was a proud mom. (He can read!!) He was like a Poptart salesman. "Oooohh! Chocolate Vanilla! Strawberry cheesecake!" I'm sure the other shoppers thought we were nuts! LOL!  I really hope we hear back from Kelloggs. DS9 wrote them a letter about how its his dream to create a Poptart float for our 4th of July parade. He wants to be a Poptart mascot and hand out Poptart cards.

Well, I better get out and enjoy the sun while it lasts. Another winter storm is on the way for Monday night.

Hope you're having a great Sunday!

Greeting the New Year...

We had a great time visiting Great Grandma with Domo! For lunch we enjoyed one of the best K-town pizzas in awhile, and the snow held off for us to reach my brother's house for the evening.

We filled up again on fun food - Culvers, and then headed back to my brother's to watch the snow fall, play games and goof around. We decided to head home around 11:00pm. The roads were a little slippery but we made it home safe 2 hours later.

We figured out that we passed the "Clocktower" right at midnight! The Clocktower is a hotel resort in Rockford, Il. As we passed by the resort, the giant clock's hands were together at midnight position. We then saw fireworks go off and realized, we had just greeted 2008!

Today was our last day of holiday goodness. We hosted my parents and sister's family and feasted on taco bar fixings. I made 36 homemade tortillas! A record for me! It went very quick though and the "make your own" tacos, nachos and quesadillas went over really well. I'll have to remember to use this menu again for gatherings.

Tomorrow is back on track day, and I'm not just talking food here. I have been going through library withdrawal!!! I think I'll be there right when it opens, giant totes in hand. I'm going to do my happy, happy, joy, joy dance as the library will be empty except for us homeschooling souls and preschoolers. Maybe afterwards I'll take the boys to the sledding hill where we won't have to worry about running anyone over. I'm even looking forward to going back to work! How twisted is that!!

Happy New Year!

We're road tripping today. First up we'll head to K-Town to visit with Great Grandma. Then we'll head south to party Domo style at my big bro's home. We don't plan on staying late enough to countdown the new year, but we'll see.

Hopefully the weather cooperates. We have a 30% chance of snow today and temperatures will plummet bringing negative wind chills. The crazy thing is next weekend they are forecasting upper 40's. That's Wisconsin for ya!