Today

Today . . . .

-- I bought more horse stuff than I ever would've imagined (Allie's party is Friday)
-- I bought 4 bottles of aloe vera gel and 4 bottles of purple baby shampoo (anyone know, can you get clear aloe vera gel?) . . .sure hoping these beauty "recipes" work for the girls.
-- I spent an hour doing little girls' hair
-- Ian told me a story about Levi Strauss and when he made his first pair of jeans (back in in 1850). I mentioned that's where Dad Dad (my dad) worked for many years. He replied "Hmmm, I bet he wasn't working there back then. He was probably JUST a child!" ROFL . . .he started to laugh when I mentioned that would make Dad Dad 156 years old!
-- I took approximately 350 pictures .. . and liked maybe a 10th of them!
-- We had the fur trim vs. beaded look debate (fur trim won. . . not so much our favorite look, but all those beads with 7 year olds!?!?!? Why was I thinking that would be a good thing?).
-- I made it out of Michaels without buying a scrapbooking product (We were there for above mentioned beauty recipe supplies)
-- I've started another headache . . .ARGH . . .
--I've got a growing list of girls for this Friday night shin-dig . . .we're up to a total of 13!
--I'm now breathing a sigh of relief that the day is over!

So, now that you're 10 . . .

I posted my first blog post exactly one year ago . . . on the occasion of Ian's 9th birthday.

Ian . . . happy 10th birthday! I love you.

Ian,

This past year, you were in the 4th grade. You took 3 TAKS tests for the first time (a breeze for you), you actually roller skated during PE (even though you wanted me to sign that "he doesn't have to participate" note), you made all "A"s for the whole year (one of only 3 kids in your class that did so), and Dad and I think you had your first teacher crush (we never questioned . . .but by your actions/talk, we figured you just might really like Mrs. R . . . a good choice for a crush!). So, now that you're 10, you are about to start your last year of elementary school. You will go on a multi-day class trip with your grade. You will be a Big Fish in a huge pond. You'll change teachers according to subject for the first time. Ian, continue that quest for knowledge that you have. Remember what education can do for you and never settle for second best. Love the learning. . .even if it's not the most fun thing to learn about. Savor the knowledge that you know more than you did yesterday, and will know even more tomorrow.

This past year was a year of questions. You began to have some of those tough questions that Mom and Dad can't give you a good enough answer on. We said "I don't know" and "all we know is. . ." a lot this year. You wanted to know what Heaven would be like, what it would look like. You questioned about death. You questioned your own beliefs, and learned it was okay to have questions and doubts. You learned the difference between believing in God (with his many evidences of existence) and believing in Santa, the big bunny and that little fairy with a bag full of teeth. We'd worried about the day you'd find out about Santa. .. afraid that some kid would give you real proof that Santa "wasn't real". You embraced the the knowledge that Santa "just didn't make logical sense" and were thrilled to be let in on the secret. So, now that you're 10, I hope that you will continue the quest. The quest to be let in on the big secrets of this life. That you will continue to seek, question, and study about God and His word. That you will strive to be a better you. You're well on your way. You have got to be one of the few boys your age who's reading the Bible cover to cover.

This past year, you attended soccer camps, farm day camps, VBS. You learned about hard work, about having fun, and being a good sportsman. So, now that you're 10, you're headed to your first overnight camp. I hope you learn so much about God, I hope you (continue to) learn and enjoy the benefits of having friends who believe as you do, and not just base your friendships on similar likes (although you and your friends need to have things you like to do together).

This past year, you played 2 seasons of soccer, again. You played offense, you placed defense, and thank goodness! you never played goalie (such a stressful time for Mom when you do that!). You once again felt the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. You began to feel the desire to do well as an individual player. You expressed an interest in playing high school ball, you wanted to watch soccer on TV. So, now that you're 10, I hope you will take that desire and build on it. To spend the time and commitment to help you reach your goal. To work hard, and not give up if things don't go your way. To strive towards your own betterment in whatever you do. To be proud of your hard work, your progress, and your growth, regardless of the final score of the game.

This past year, you "toughened up". You were not as sensitive to things as you'd been in previous years. You began to understand that everything that happens isn't a horrible thing, and that some things are worth crying about, and somethings aren't worth wasting your time with. So, now that you're 10, I hope you'll begin to carry those experiences into the future and build on them. That you know that in life, some things are disappointing, but not life altering. That disappointment will come, and part of the getting through it is not just healing, but how you work through to healing and what you've learned in the process. With all my heart, I wish I could keep you from any of the taunting that I know is in almost all kids' lives. I wish I could hold onto you, soothe your hurt feelings, put that protective bubble around you so that no one would be able to hurt you. But realistically, now that you're 10, I have to let go . . .just a little. . . so that you can learn about disappointments and hurts. So that you can learn that you can survive through them. So that you can learn from them. Because, one day, Mom won't be able to protect you from everything, actually one day, I'll be able to protect you from very little. And when that day comes, I want you to know how to deal with disappointments and hurts, how to process that and to move forward from that point. I want you to be a strong man, and I know that means I have to let you experience sadness and make some mistakes now. . . while you're in this controlled environment.

This past year, you grew. You went through 3 different jean sizes, grew bigger feet, grew your hair long (then had it cut again), grew vegetables at the farm, grew even more in your heart. So, now that you're 10, I know most of these things won't change. You'll keep on growing physically, who knows how you'll decide to grow your hair next, and you're headed to the farm again. I wish for you that you continue to grow in your heart. To continue to be sincere and caring and concerned. To continue to try not to hurt others, and to apologize when you do.

Ian, this past year, you were 9. You did the things 9 year old boys do. You forgot homework, you rough housed with friends, you were curious, you loved to play, and you loved to laugh. So, now that you're 10 . . . I hope you'll do all the things you did last year (except perhaps we can leave the forgetting homework off that list!), and enjoy that time you have . . .just being 10. Relish those recess days, the days of not so much homework. Reach for those silly times, those times when you can just laugh. Don't grow up too quickly. You've grown past those single digit years, and are now beginning on the path towards adulthood.

Ian, this past year, you told me you never wanted to act like a teenager. That you were not going to roll your eyes, get mad at what I told you to do, hate spending time with me. And while now that you're 10, most of that probably (hopefully) won't change. But I know,that over these next couple of years, you'll begin to act like all teenagers act. You'll want your independence, to make choices without Mom and Dad having imput. You'll be mad when we set curfews, when we tell you "no" about doing things "everyone else" is doing. You won't get all of life's luxuries that some kids are already getting, and that will make you mad as well. And when all that happens, I hope that you will remember how much I loved you, how wonderful I thought you were, how blessed I felt to have you in my life, how honored I was to be your mother in those early years of your life . .. and when you were 9. . . .and when you were 10 . . . .and I hope you'll see that those things won't change as you grow.

I love you always Ian,

Mom

**********

Just a little Ian story . . . my brother teased him Sunday that he could go buy sheets with all the Target gift cards he'd gotten. Chris said he knew that's what my sister gave her gift card to go towards. I asked him this morning what he was going to get with the gift cards. He replied he didn't know, so I had to ask . . . "How about buying some sheets?" He acted insulted I'd even suggest that and said no. I reminded him that Uncle Chris suggested that a couple days ago. His response: "Sometimes you shouldn't listen to Uncle Chris' advice!" Tehehe . . .point well made Ian!

You're Invited . . .

Okay, so you're not really invited . . . .unless you're going to come and help me!

I sent out 19 of these things this morning for a total of 21 girls (2 sets of sisters). For a slumber party (was that thud you fainting or your jaw hitting the floor?).

For 3 years, Allie's waited for a slumber party. Back when Ian had his first one at age 7, we told her that would have to be the magic age. What was I thinking?????

Summer birthdays. . . it's so hard. You can never tell how many people will actually come. One year we went out 25 invites for Ian's party . . .and 8 kids showed up. Great size . . .next year, we invited the same set of kids (basically) and SEVENTEEN of them came! EEK.

So, we're doing pizza, cake, crafty stuff (we're going to make girly stuff like body glitter and lipgloss and such . . .and fuzzy flip flops) . . . and here's hoping I don't have to fit 22 girls into my family room! We might turn the sleepover into a camp out.

In other party news . . .Ian's parties have gotten smaller. He's got a good friend who has a really smart mom. They get parties for birthdays 1-5, then just have a friend or 2 celebrate until they hit the 10th birthday, then another big party, then just a couple big parties through their teenage years. I decided to incorporate this after Ian's birthday last year (when I learned of such wonderful things). Ian's got 3 friends coming to GattiTown with us, then whoever can, will spend the night here.

Then next Friday is Allie's shindig, then I'll be done until October . . .when the 2nd annual birthday carnival is supposed to happen (she loved it so much last year, she's asking for it again!).

Have You Wiki'ed Today?

So, I came across an entry in Wikipedia last night that was about the high school I graduated from. Just somehow didn't occur to me that there would be a time when Plano Senior High was an entry in an online encyclopedia (thanks to the elementary teacher that made that a bonus word! . . . .one lesson I've never forgotten).

I learned a lot of things about the school system I spent 13 years in. Learned the superintendent I had all throughout my school years was the one that put the high school system into place in Plano. I learned the whole history of Plano Senior . . . way back to 1891. And who knew that Plano had an opera house in the early 1900's? I also learned that they added a 6th building to the campus 4 years ago . . .and indoor workout facility. Hmmmm . . . .

And I learned that at least 3 professional athletes, 2 actors ( went through HS and senior HS with one), 1 reality TV "star", 1 astronaut, and the first doctor to attend to JFK (and then attended to Oswald) and is now a professor emeritus at the medical school where my sister got her PA degree. Surely out of all the people who've ever graduated from PSHS, there are more that have become famous in some way . . . so, of course that led me to a google search . . .I remembered a guy coming to visit my theater class that had just made a movie. . . .he now plays some character on General Hospital. Then there's another girl that played a character on the Wishbone PBS series . . . then there's the guy that apparently played the Gold Ranger in the Power Rangers, who has gone on to do a lot of appearances on various TV shows. . . a gal that spent 3 years on Life Goes On . .. . a guy that is now on House . . . and I'm sure the list has gone on.

On a sadder note, one of our alumni was a casualty in Somalia during the conflict that was later depicted in Blackhawk Down. His widow was a gal that graduated at the same time as I did . . .we were on the same drill team in 9th and 10th grade. I remember as a newlywed seeing her and her inlaws on a TV newshow as I sat watching in my married housing apartment at college.

I looked for classmates on various classmate finder sites. . .looks like there aren't many people looking for PSHS grads from 1989!

Now that I've taken a trip back to senior year, I'm going to have to dig up photos!

Busy Summer

** You can click on any of the pictures below to see them larger.

Going to try this post again . . . I had it all typed up and all pictures inserted and blogspot picked the moment I tried to post it to break down!

We hit the ground running from the time school was out. We left that night for San Antonio for a long Memorial Day weekend with Andy's family. We hit the zoo, the treehouse at the Witte, and Sea World. Of course, I took a million pictures there . . .not sure why. How many photos does one person need of some whale?


I love this one . . . shows a wonderful relationship between trainer and whale . .. and how amazing it must be to do this:



Once we got back, Ian had full day soccer camp. The girls Libby Lu'ed with Allie's Brownie Troop, went to a birthday party for one of Alaina's friends, had dress rehearsal and then 2 recitals. Whew!

Libby Lu:






Alaina doing tap:


Alaina's ballet (to Annie's Tomorrow)


Allison's tap:


Allison's ballet (I was sitting in the wrong place to get good pictures!)


Allison's jazz . . .the only non-blurry picture I got of this one.


This week is a 2 hour day camp for the girls. Our kids have been to this camp since they started it .. . and love it. It's at a farm, and they love going and feeding the animals, planting a garden, churning butter, etc.

Teacher Gift . . .

Just thought I'd share the gift I made for Allison's teacher. I didn't do Ian's, because another mom did hers. I simplified things this year by not worrying how many pictures I had of each kid. Was so much easier to do it this way, so it wouldn't be as noticable.

A Little Less Than a Month Later

Sorry guys . . .for those few of you who are still trying to read! I am finally back . . .temporarily at least! Last week of school is next week, who knows how long I'll disappear for while I'm working on teacher's scrapbook (thankfully, only 1 this year), end of the year party, teacher gifts (gotta remember to get Alaina's teacher gift today!), and then we're headed for San Antonio for Memorial Day weekend, then jump into summer when we get back! EEK

This last month has been a good one . . .a busy one, but a good one. I've been on two field trips and went to 2 field days. We've had mother's day (I was treated well . . . gift cards to barnes and noble, ReCollections, and iTunes. . .plus the experience of taking classes with Donna Downey in Waco), several Brownie meetings, a visit from Andy's parents, and the end of soccer season.

Allison had a field trip to Dallas World Aquarium. It was CROWDED! There was a line around the building just to get in . . .all those schools taking end of the year field trips! Every time we go, I get a kick out of these wierd creatures.


We also took a field trip with her class to the Texas Butterfly gardens. Let me tell you that was a letdown after going to the butterfly garden in Costa Rica! Not like I was expecting it to be THAT good . . .but I was expecting to see more than 3 butterflies!

Field day . . . always an experience! The kids had them back to back, so I spent 2 days out in the sun. Allison got upset when she didn't get enough water balloons at the water balloon fight (the kids rushed the coolers and got them . . .and little timid Allie didn't fight her way through the crowd). And the poor girl scraped her knees and hands up pretty bad when falling on the concrete. . . she so takes after clumsy me! Ian . . .they do this hula hoop game where you all hold hands and you pass a hoop around in a circle. He figured out how to do a "double pass" by sneaking in the hoop after his teacher. tehehe I think it might've been a way to get closer to her! Andy and I both think he's got a little crush!

Mother's day was spent with my family . . . we went to a little neighborhood Italian restaurant. The one that Andy and I ate at every week or so when we lived in the duplex in Plano. Love that place! Then we went to Mom and Dad's for the afternoon. We actually got some pictures. As usual, no good picture of the 3 kids and I . . . .there's always one that just is irritated to have a picture taken and this year it was Allie!

We had a mother's tea in Ian's class . . . they presented us all with poems they'd written about their mothers. Here's a couple from Ian's collection.

Cinquain:

Heather

Joyful, Kind

Helping, Loving, Cleaning (mom's note: boy do I have him fooled on that last one!)

The greatest mother ever

Mom

Picture poem (written around a drawing of a Dr. Pepper can)

My mother loves Dr. Pepper

Dr. Pepper is the soda that could keep anyone happy any day.

Dr. Pepper rules!

WWWWW (this so wasn't a poem type when I was growing up!)

WHO: Heather

WHAT: left home

WHEN: today

WHERE: to ReCollections

WHY: She wanted to scrapbook (so funny, because I can't tell you the last time I scrapbooked there!)

Haiku:

Brake Time (gonna have to teach that kid brake vs. break!)

Heather is working

Walking up and down stairs

Her brake is coming.

and finally, the Acrostic.. . . I laughed when Ian informed me he looked most of these up in the dictionary! Searching the dictionary for random words to discribe me! ROFL

Harmless

Eggle-eyed

Awesome

Taught

Helpful

Energetic

Radiant

Spent the past weekend going to Waco for those Donna Downey classes. My friend Terri came down with her husband from Oklahoma and picked me up. We headed down towards Waco, but had to stay in Hillsboro for the night. Baylor graduation cleared out all the rooms in Waco and most of them in Hillsboro as well! We met Jess, Jamie and Jamie's mom and sister and had a great day! Classes were great, company was great.

Okay. . .not making any promises, but will try and post more regularly!

Easter and a trip to the ER

Thank goodness the trip to the ER wasn't on Easter!

Easter went well. We celebrate with my family each year, as we all live within about 25 minutes of each other (that time would be drastically shortened if we could convince our parents to move a bit further north!). The kids got their baskets, hunted eggs, we all had a nice lunch. Couple of photos:

Fast forward to yesterday .. . I go to the side of the school where Ian gets picked up and he's holding a bag of ice on his hand and crying. He was running and hit some kid's head on accident (don't even ask . . .it's one of those weird, why do you think that's a good idea thing that kids do that Ian ran too close to!) with his hand. He hurt enough they sent him to the nurse, but as recess is the last thing they do at school, I'm sure she figured I wasn't going to get there any sooner if she called me.

I get him home. . .feeling around the pinky is NOT something he wants me to do. He cringed when I touched certain parts. His pinky looked slightly swollen . . .but he's broken this same pinky before and I don't think it swelled at all the last time. So off to the ER the 4 of us went.

After about an hour, the dr. said there was a spot on the x-ray that looked like it could be a fracture. . .nothing like vagueness, huh? So they splinted him. Those little metal finger splints just wasn't the right size for him (it was like Goldilocks. .. one was too small, one was too big . . .unfortunately no just right!), so they put a fiberglass splint on him until we can see the specialist. ROFL .. .this makes it look like a horrible injury, doesn't it?

A little of this, a little of that . . .

Andy and Allison went camping with the YMCA Adventure Princesses last weekend. Back when I was little, we called it Indian Princesses. In fact, when Ian started it 5 years ago, it was Indian Guides, then morphed into Y Guides, then Adventure Guides. Trying to find something that's politically correct. Anyway, they had a great time . . .Allison got in her bi-yearly dosage of horseback riding. She loves it. . . we've thought about finding a place around here to get her some lessons . . .but who knows how much that would run!

Ian was invited to a friend's house . . .poor Alaina was feeling left out. So I made plans to take her to Libby Lu. ROFL . . .didn't realize until I went looking for the website just now that there was such a mass hysteria over it! See this article with accompanying link to the original article in the Washington Post. I will say . . .I did see little girls in silver lame costumes, that I at first thought "What was that woman thinking getting those things at Halloween clearance prices for a birthday party???" I finally figured out it was a Libby Lu thing. I don't know if Alaina just looked too young, or if they offer the costumes only to parties of girls, but there was no offer. Didn't bother me. Nor was Alaina called "Princess" (the only name we know here as one gal said it) the whole time. The girl took the time to know her name and use it. She picked out the tween idol style . .. she wanted that microphone! Frankly, that little 17 year old girl did things with hair that I could've never done! Alaina didn't shake, shimmy, or otherwise "work it". She did, however, love it and came out of there with a ton of lip gloss!

So a couple pics of Alaina . . . .


Ian's friend, btw, got grounded, so they didn't get to have their sleepover. He ended up going to my sister's house and having Pizza and watching Narnia with them.

In a couple weeks, Allison's brownie troop is going to be working on one of the girl scouts history try-it badges. Moms that were in scouts when they were growing up are supposed to bring what they can find from that time in their lives. I've got my sash, but have no clue what the patches and badges stand for. I did find a Badge book from 1980 that I should be able to find out what most of the badges were for. But the patches . . . EEK! I've emailed the GS council and had one lady respond she didn't know anything, another gave me some information, and the 3rd I haven't heard from yet. So . . . anyone possibly know anything about these three patches?

All I could find out about this one is ACE stands for "accomplished, capable, and efficient". The woman didn't know what the requirements were for it.


She had no idea about this one, although she said it sounded familiar:



And this one, she didn't even mention in her reply. I'm wondering if it's the precursor to the current World Thinking Day:



There was one patch that she could tell me what it was (actually I had 3 of them ,from different years). And she was kind to even reply!

Just goes to show you how important it is to journal such things . . . I earned all these darned patches and can't tell you a thing about them except that we took 6 weeks of ice skating lessons and I don't know how many horseback lessons to earn 2 of the badges. Going to take pictures of Allie's try-its now and journal what they did to earn them and start her own little brownie badge scrapbook.

Home Again, Home Again . . .Jiggity Jig

I feel like I've travelled more this past month than I ever have. And that's probably true, with the exception of the long road trip we took last year.

Terri and I had a terrific time at the scrapbooking retreat. Flight there. . .well, not the best flight I've ever had. Bumpy most of the time, and the worst landing I've ever had. Terri and Bud were there to pick me up and we went to eat Mexican. Then Terri and I headed off to the store. Nothing like getting to wonder around scrapbooking supplies when you know there's no one else trying to see what you're seeing (and there's no Alaina to keep up with!).

We ran a few errands the next day, then headed to Joplin. ROFL . .without a map to tell us how to get to the building where the event was. I didn't print one, my printer is almost totally out of ink, and I figured knowing 1/2 the directions wouldn't help much. Terri's printer . . .dead. . . .internet at the store . . .dead. Oh well. We did find the place -- right across the street from the Wok & Roll. ROFL Don't ask me to actually say it, or you'll learn what I had many years of speech therapy for when I was in elementary school!

We noticed there were 2 big groups there . . . .CM scrappers, and people who worked with page kits/idea books.

I finished a book for Ian about the Harry Potter Midnight party we went to last summer.




Concept is from Donna Downey's album book (a cardboard box album), but I had my SIL grab me some HP book boxes when the book came out and used those.

And I spent all day Saturday working on a week in the life book for me, but I'm still no where finished! Terri worked on one project after another. I think just about everyone in the place asked about the wooden blocks she was making. I can't wait to see them completed . . .as she didn't have all the embellies she wanted to put on them.

Oh, I actually won 2 door prizes . . .when does that ever happen to me? I got an online gift cert and a package of bazzill red monochromatics. Very nice.

One note . . .if you ever plan a scrapbooking retreat. . .avoid the "spring forward" weekend! EEK . ..that loss of an hour still has me reeling. Terri will tell you I kept her up until at least 1 am each night! She's such a good sport. . .but really girl, you could go to sleep and leave me to yakking my head off to myself! {grin}

I always love spending time with Terri . . .this was no exception! It was an awesome weekend! So glad we only have to wait about 6 weeks to do it again.

Have a great weekend!

First, before I forget. .. Erin H, I tried to respond to the comment you left, and I can't find your email address anywhere. I know I have the ACU friends list somewhere on the computer, but have no idea where!


Okay . . . .so I'm headed out in about 20 minutes to drop the kids and the van off at Andy's work .. . then I'm headed to the airport and out to see Terri! WHOOOOOHOOOOOO . . .we're headed to Joplin tomorrow for a scrapbook retreat. I can't wait! Heck, it's hard to pack for an airplane trip and something like this! I preplanned some things, but it's not all preplanned, and I know there are all sorts of embellishments I'll wish I had.

And I apologize in advance to Terri . . .who can't see Survivor at her regular viewing time because of my flight schedule! Sorry! I'll watch it with you.

Have a great weekend!

Pura Vida!

Pure Life. Definitely our trip to Costa Rica fits. We had a great time (well, we won't talk about Friday's migraine and subsequent throwing up . . .TWICE . . . in the car with Andy's boss, his wife, and the business rep we were with. Or the horrible, horrible, it still hurts a week later, sunburn I got last Monday).

After things finally got rolling, we went out on a sport catamaran and dolphin watched. There were tons of dolphins out. They'd swim right up next to our boat and stay with us. We learned there are birds that fly right around them . . .they work together to catch and eat fish. The birds, unless the accent was WAAAYYYYYYY off were "brown booby birds". tehehe Haven't verified that. We also snorkeled and watched the sunset while on the water. We were suprised at how quickly it sets. Not the slow setting of the Texas sun for sure! And while we were there, one of the other passengers (Edgar) proposed to his girlfriend. We were glad to be there to take pictures for them (see below). And we had an enjoyable tour guide who taught us things like Pura Vida and that Costa Ricas call each other Tic0 (male) or Tica (female).

We stayed at a Marriott resort. . .it was gorgeous! Think I linked it in an earlier post. The rooms were great, the people were great . . .we had a great time!

Sunday we went horseback riding. . .rode through the rainforest like areas, up on high hills, on the beach. Saw avocado trees (did you know there are green avocadoes and purpleish/red ones?), guava trees (Can't tell you how many times we pronounced things with the wrong sound at the beginning. They actually pronounce this Huava), and banana trees. Andy loved the riding on the beach because they let us run the horses. I'd forgotten how fast they go! Think I might've broken a finger in the process. . . tehehe, can you say accident prone? We also went on an aerial tram in the transitional rain forest on our way from Jaco to San Jose. Not so much going on at the transitional rain forest. . . I think we saw 3 butterflies, a toucan (I didn't see it waaayyyy up high in the tree, but another gal from our group did), 1 iguana, and snakes in cages. And a lot of trees. Panama Hat trees. . . .banana trees. . . I know a lot about the trees that are found in Costa Rica!



Monday . . .Andy had meetings, so I read some books. Sat outside with the boss's wife at the pool for about 1.5 hours. Note to self (and others). . . reapply sunscreen every 30 minutes when sitting out at the pool in San Jose! I have a horrible sunburn . . .so bad that a few days ago, I started turning purple (No fear, I checked with my sister the PA and she says as long as a leg doesn't fall off, I'm okay! {snort})

Tuesday we went to a waterfall and butterfly garden place. It was gorgeous. . as much as it hurt to walk, and how many stairs we had to climb! We also went to a coffee bean plantation. And a souvenir place where I'm pretty sure that our tour guide was getting kick backs from what we bought (not sure that isn't true of the coffee place too. Someone asked what his favorite coffee was . .. surprise, surprise it was a regional coffee that was produced at the plantation we went to! We didn't realize this until we tried to get 3 Generations coffee somewhere else!).

In between, we ate peruvian food, cuban food, a lot of fruit, and well . .. I ate a cheeseburger. I just needed a taste of home.

And Wednesday . .. we flew home .. .first class. Ahhhhhh . . .

It was amazing to me how Americanized it was. The mall . . . almost all of the stores were places you could find here in the states. The fast food places at the airport . . . burger king, subway, and about 10 other American fast food joints.

We had a running joke about the conversion rate. Their money is in Calones. It takes about 500 of them to equal $1. Can you imagine what our hotel bill looked like??? ROFL

We're Home!

We had a great time in Costa Rica. Will update more later. No photos as blogspot won't let me put any up! ARGH

Exhausted!

First . .. and update. The keys were found after approximately 3 hours of hunting and tearing the house apart. Where did I find them? The WASHER! I washed (well, Andy did) the darned things. Thank goodness all the door lock buttons still work!

Okay . .. it's spring break, and I'm exhausted! I can't even remember what we did yesterday! We went to see Shaggy Dog this weekend, ran errands for about 4 hours Sunday afternoon, and yesterday is a vague memory. I went to 24 Hr. Fitness, then we drove to a ton of places and shopped.

Today . . .we went here. Fantastic place. Kids love it .. . love seeing all the animals, love having them come up to our van. They spent a majority of the time laughing and making up backgrounds/stories for the animals. We saw a lot of little ones. There was a wreck (looked like a fender bender to me!) on the way up there on a 1-lane highway that stalled us for 35 minutes! EEK Then once we got there, we were one of what had to be a good 75ish or more cars in line to go through. Note to self: Never go during Spring Break again. To make matters worse, I think a National Geographic photographer was in front of me. Every animal . . .he'd stop, hands would come out of sliding rear windows in his van, and he would wait for the "perfect shot". Waiting as in MINUTES! And he'd stop in the middle of the road so you couldn't get by. ARGH I took my fair share of shots, but shot while the kids fed.

Tomorrow . . . .it's Planet Pizza day. It's $5 (as opposed to $10) admission day. Then we've got a soccer practice. I'm hoping for a workout and some time to rest!

Here are a couple animal pics:

Picture 1 . . .taken with a zoom . . .looks like he's posing, doesn't he? The second guy stuck his head in my window (see the door lock in the lower right hand corner?) and wouldn't move until I fed him. His accomplice did the same thing on the other side and scared Alaina terribly! The third picture . . .I love the Mama and Baby giraffe nuzzling. So cute! The 4th . . .this giraffe was standing ON the road and waited for each car to pass by so he could stick his head down and get some food. They tell you not to feed them from your hands . ..but those darned rams (or whatever they are) and this particular giraffe didn't know the rules!

The last picture . .. fuzzy . . .but shows a mama trying to steady her newborn and get him to walk. @@ National Geographic man sat there for a good 4 minutes. . .then apparently the Mama was getting "anxious" (how to the people sitting out there --workers-- know this?) and they forced us all to move on without stopping to watch this cute little pair. So this picture was taken while we were moving.

Has Anyone Seen My Keys???

For the 3rd time this week, my keys are not on my person! The first two times, it was a fairly easy fix. First time, I locked them in the van when I got out to go to Barnes and Noble. Called Andy and asked for a rescue. He said he'd get there "as soon as I can." I told him it was a good thing I'd done it at the mall! At least I had something to do! 8 books and 1 magazine, various CDs from Sam Goody (going out of business), and 1.5 hours later . . . .I was back in the van.

I was quite embarassed when I left them in the ignition again that afternoon with the van parked in the garage. Took me 10 minutes to think "could they be in the ignition again???" ROFL

This morning, got Alaina all ready for western day at school. Went to grab my keys. . .they weren't there. Not on the kitchen counter/bar where I usually put them, not on top of the dryer (another favorite spot), not in the pockets from yesterday's jeans, not in the couches, not in the purse, not in the ignition! SIGH . . .those things are LOST! I had them at the house last night. We did go out to dinner and I didn't drive, but not sure how I would've lost them there (I did call to see if they found any . . . NOPE). Possibly the trash can? Although I don't know how they would've ended up there and one of us not hear it happen! Unfortunately, the trashmen had already been around by the time I figured all this out!

So I called the neighbor, asked if she could take Alaina and I to Alaina's school. She asked for a couple minutes to get ready and then we could go. Well . . .she went out to her car to leave, and hers wouldn't start! ROFL .. . we're in bad shape now!

I did get my SIL to take us to the school, and thankfully, she's taking me back to pick up Alaina in a bit.

I, however, am still frantically searching the house for my little set of keys!

Last time I lost my keys, it was at the PO. I wasn't driving that day either. Stopped in to send out a package, got back in the car with my sister and moved on. I went back and looked there, and they said they hadn't gotten any keys turned in. A YEAR later, they called me. . . I had a club membership on my key ring. . .and lo and behold they found my keys!

Sure hoping it doesn't take a year this time!

How about that????

Two posts in as many days! Go figure.

Allie had her PTA program last night. We got there 45 minutes early . . . .we were still 1/2 way back and pretty much couldn't see! Apparently, you gotta show up about 2 hours in advance to get a spot where you can see! Irritated the heck out of me today when I found out one of said moms didn't send her dd to school yesterday because she was THROWING UP . . .yet brought her last night to the program. And the kid's still sick enough to not come back today??? Oh, I better step off that soapbox before I get all the way on! I sent Ian to go up front with the camcorder and get some video. Not sure how well a 9 yr. old can shoot video . . .haven't checked it out yet. Alaina and I went back today to actually be able to see the program and take some pics. Here are a couple of very cropped pictures of Allie. . .cropped all her friends out of them.



They did a sealife themed program. The first pic is her screaming in fright when the tiger shark "swims" out. The second is her "peace out" stance that they did at the end of one of their hip-hoppy sounding songs. These were the best photos I've gotten, lighting wise and no red-eye, in the 5 years I've been taking pics in that cafeteria!