A Day in my Life 4:30 am to 7 am…

When the kids were little the daycare used to give us sheets that said something like “what I did today”.  They were generally useless until the kids started talking and then generally hilarious, as they included things like “quotes of the day", which almost always included "Boyisms" that I wish I'd saved better..

Today the assigned lesson for my freshman orientation class was for them to identify how they spend their days—“How many hours a day do you spend watching tv?   Going to and from school?”, etc.  So while they were busy writing down their day I started thinking about my day…and then tonight decided to make it into a blog entry---bha-ha-ha-ha

4:23 am  I am suddenly awake for no good reason.  If it was Thursday, I’d blame the milkman (he quite often bumbles around on Thursday at about 4:30 am and makes just enough noise that I wake up).  I can’t identify anything wrong, no smoke alarm, no funny noises, no pets or children in the bed…so I roll over and try to go back to sleep.  My new strategy for “going back to sleep” is to think about my toughest class and start praying for each kid, for specific things if I know specific things or for patience for me at least…

4:28 am  The Boy arrives at my bedside and asks to climb in..

5:00 am My alarm goes off.  I actually turn it off on the first try, climb out of bed and shut my window.  If I don’t shut my window when I get up, it gets really hot in the bedroom during the day…Carefully, without turning on a light, so I don’t wake Mr. Ranch and The Boy and the two dogs and two cats in our room…I head for the bathroom.  Today I only stepped on one dog once.  Major progress…

5:01 am Have a conversation with Puff Tiggy about his water bowl, fill said water bowl, shower, get dressed, put on makeup…continue conversation about water bowl with the Tigster..avoiding his sharp little  claws as he tried to catch my feet, apparently in a misguided attempt to speed up my water bowl filling.

5:30 am  Stepped on Indy (again...ok, so I stepped on her twice...you'd think she'd just stay out of my way...).  Convince Tigger to come out of bedroom, convince Liberty to stay in.  Shut more windows, take sheets off The Boy’s bed.  Go downstairs…again, in the dark.  Open back door, turn on fan (geez, why is it so hot, still?  I mean, I’m not ready for snow, but geez….).  Feed Tigger (who is still talking), put sheets in washer, write note to kids (put sheets in dryer, finish packing lunches—Ramen noodles today…really?) .  Pour coffee into overly complicated mug.  I might have to give that mug its own post…it is leak proof…and challenging to open and close.  Heated up some quinoa and fruit for breakfast, checked email (school and home) and facebook…turned off fan, shut back door, pick up mail that needs to go to box, searched for (and found) shoes…headed outside.

6:00  Oops…running late…I usually try to leave the house by about 5:45, which translates to 5:50 or 5:55…moving even slower than usual today.  Mailed a couple things and started the drive.  It is 26 miles from my garage to the school parking lot.  Both of the highways I use to get to school have been under construction, so it takes a few minutes longer in the morning…but nothing compared to the afternoons…ey, yi,yi…We've resorted to taking the "back way" home the last week or so because the traffic on the highway just sits. The drive in takes me about 35 minutes, barring any long stop lights (there aren’t many, it is mostly highway) or construction/accident delays.  I like to listen to KLOVE on the way in—a couple more minutes to think about the upcoming day in a different light…My biggest annoyance is usually “the construction guys”—pickup trucks full of guys who look like they are in a big hurry to get to work and drive like loons…

6:30  A few minutes late to get my favorite front row parking spot, but not bad.  Gather up my 70 zillion bags, coffee mug, water bottle…no jacket today, way too hot…find my school keys, put my car keys in my purse.  (This is an important step, so I don’t lose my mind looking for them later).  Head into building, check mailbox in main office—pick up misc papers and debris…recycle most of it.  Walk to my office—it is open already because this year we have more earlier risers!  Turn on photo copier, computers, put away purse, misc bags…sit down at my desk.  After checking my email it is time to head out to PLC—Professional Learning Communities, which is both my favorite and least favorite part of the week...

To Be Continued…

Snoop Dog and Dave Matthews...

We took the kids to their first "real" concert this weekend--Dave Matthews, with Snoop Dog as the opening act.  In the past couple months we heard that Snoop Dog was now a reggae artist and was going by Snoop Lion.  Um, not so much.  Snoop Dog is still Snoop Dog. Despite the, in the Boy's words, "repeated bad words", it was a great concert--we enjoyed the evening, but were glad that our kids have selective hearing when the artists have a potty mouth, for lack of a better term.

We started out the evening at Joe's Crab Shack--one of our favorite places to eat, went to the concert, and then brought two very sleepy children home!  Ironically, one of my former co-workers recognized our car and let us into the long line of cars trying to get out of the lot.  Now we have to pick our next concert...

Back to school..

The kids and I went back to school on Monday and have immediately slipped back into our school year craziness.  I just updated my weekly wipe board (or is it white board?) calendar and sighed...two afternoons of cross country practice (The Girl), a "necessary" library trip by Friday to pick up requested books (that I don't have time to read?), two back to school nights (The Boy's and mine), possible youth group meeting for The Girl, a couple of hours of time scheduled for me to help with the already growing pile of lost and found at the kids' school.....and I have a large box of "local" peaches in the kitchen that need to be dealt with soon--luckily the kids are doing their part to eat them.  I did (finally) make it to the grocery store to stock the pantry shelves, so at least we have food to prepare and I don't have to suggest popcorn as a Wednesday night meal.  It has been a good start to the year, busy, but good.

I am excited though...Diane Mott Davidson is speaking at our local library this Friday--I've read a lot of her books in the past, although not many in the past few years.  She sets most of her books in the Denver area--which makes it fun to figure out what real place she is thinking of when she creates a fictional town/store/location.  I just looked at her book list and discovered that I have no idea which book to start with...I suppose I'll have to just start the series over again?

Books I read this summer, part 2

And here is July..I love free books on Amazon..
Whisper My Secret (JB Rowley) A somewhat fictionalized memoir, written by the subject's daughter.  It was based on what the daughter knew, but there were a lot of gaps that she filled in with guesses of what could have happened.  It was interesting, told about how single mothers were treated (or mistreated) in 1930's Australia, but not spell binding.
Restoreth My Soul (Debbi Viguie)  My parents hooked me on this series a couple of years ago.  Its main characters are a Protestant church secretary and a Rabbi who solve mysteries.  And might be in love.  Or not.  I can't turn away...I just want to know what happens next.  Somehow I missed that this book was released in March (April?) and a new one was advertised as coming out at the end of July, so I wanted to read this one..It was well worth the $7.99 on Amazon and then I impatiently waited for the next one which was delayed until August 3...
Cuckoo's Calling (Robert Galbraith)  Best book I read this summer...actually (really) saw it on Amazon in mid-June, thought it looked interesting, but it was $7.99 and I had just purchased the book above...so I didn't get it.  Then one Sunday morning I happened to see on Facebook that the author of the book was really (wait for it) JK Rowling.  And that a sample of the book was free for my Kindle.  After attempting to read Rowling's first Harry Potter book and not finishing it...I was in no hurry to buy this book.  But, the sample was free, so why not, right?  After reading the sample in about 6 minutes flat, I "rushed" back to Amazon to buy the book...and discovered that it was nearly sold out in hardback and paperback and the Amazon price had risen to $9.99.  Worth every penny...a return to her Harry Potter style and potentially the first book in a series.  It is about a private detective who is almost bankrupt who hires a new secretary who helps him solve crimes...kind of a grown up (non magical) Hermione...
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky) I probably would not have read this if it wasn't on the "book list" for one of the English classes I am teaming this fall.  I procrastinated reading it, and, if didn't need to read it, might have not finished it, not because it was bad (it was well written and engaging) but because of some of the topics and my hesitancy to have "my" high school kids read it.  Its about a group of kids who have a friend who committed suicide and the kids all take drugs, drink, and party way too much.  It was short, now I've read it.
Inferno (Dan Brown)  I really do like Dan Brown's writing style--one of my favorite books is his Deception Point.  I was kind of hesitant to read this one, I guess it is the 4th (5th? ) in the Robert Langdon series.  Angels and Demons was good, The Da Vinci Code was interesting (but not quite worth the hype) and the next 2 (3?) were not a waste of time, but nothing to get excited about either.  So I picked up this one at the library, just to see what happened to that crazy Robert Langdon next.  This one was a lot less antagonistic to "The Church", it had a lot of religion and literature (and adventure) but was more like Deception Point.  I don't think you need to read any of the others necessarily to read this one.
The Storyteller (Jodi Picoult) This book flashes between present day and World War 2, specifically the Holocaust--I haven't read much Picoult lately, because all the stories are so sad.  This one definitely has sad parts, but was a good read.
The Light in the Ruins (Chris Bohjalian)   See, more Bohjalian...good stuff.  This time he flashes back and forth between WWII and the mid/late 1950's as he follows a family and a series of murders are investigated.  A little slow in the middle, but the ending was good.
Tuesdays at the Castle (Jessica Day George)  For several years the kids have participated in Barnes and Noble's summer reading program  usually The Boy is exponentially more excited about this than The Girl.  Since this is her last summer she can participate, I kind of made her.  After reading and reviewing 8 books, we trekked over to B and N to get "out" free books.  The Boy ended up with some super hero book and The Girl chose this one.  It sat on the homework table for a couple weeks, until we were packing for the Family Backpacking Trip.  We were all instructed by Mr. Ranch to pack a paperback novel and this one made it into The Girl's backpack.  When we dove into the tents during the evening rain storm, I started reading it out loud to the kids (and Mr Ranch).  I enjoyed it so much, that when we got home I finished it (and I think The Boy did as well) and I'm currently reading the 2nd book in the series.  Very much written for little girls (about 8 years old, perhaps) about a princess who "saves" her family.  Very fluffy and entertaining stuff.

We also listened to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in the car again--for about the 8th time...it's still entertaining, in case you were wondering.

Boy-isms

While driving home the other night we were treated to a new Boy-ism...the words to "Home on the Range"

"Where seldom is heard an encouraging word... wait, what does seldom mean?...Oh, I guess discouraging then, right?"

We add this to other gems...like  

"Why are there eggs in my egg salad sandwich?"  
"Is there such a thing as a popsicle maker?'
"Can we un-fix the dog so she can have puppies?"  (oh, no, no,no..)
In response to "Where did you come from?"  (when he popped up from behind the couch)  "God made me!"
In response to 'bats are bugs, right?' (see Calvin and Hobbs)..."Bats are mammals, Dad, they don't lay eggs or have fur like birds"

Books I read this summer, part 1, 2013

I've tried several ways to keep track of and share what books I've read, all with various degrees of success.  Even during the school year I try to read a few minutes every night...even if it is just a cotton candy book (fluffy and no substance).  In fact, cotton candy books are the best kind during the school year...during the summer I have a little bit of extra energy and can occasionally read something intellectual....or not, you can be the judge...Most of these either came from my local library or from Amazon for my Kindle (and most of those were free).  Some were borrowed...and a couple I purchased because I've read the prequels or "needed" a book to read while I was somewhere else...I've tried to include a link to the book on Amazon, so you can read real reviews if the book sounds interesting!
So, again, I didn't receive anything to read or review these books...here we go...
June...
The Law of Similars (Chris Bohjalian)  I've read a lot of Bohjalian's books this year.  They all seem to be well-researched and easy reads, almost always with a twist at the end.  The first one I read was Sandcastle Girls.  The Law of Similars is about a single dad who becomes involved with a homeopathic doctor who is accused of malpractice.  I'm not sure I would have picked it up if I hadn't read other books by the same author, but it was entertaining, if not his best book.
The Astor Orphan: A Memoir (Alexandra Aldrich)  I saw this book advertised somewhere--People Magazine (at the orthodontist), Parade Magazine..somewhere like that.  It was a good summer read, had some things in common with The Glass Castle, but not as tragic.  I thought it was going to be about a child descended from the Astor who was on the Titanic, but it was actually about a descendant of one of his cousins...she only briefly discusses her ancestors, most of the story is about her childhood and early teens. 
The Language of Flowers (Vaness Diffenbough) The book club that I belong to at church read this book for July.  I actually ended up being able to attend for the first time in months and really enjoyed discussing it.  The story begins by introducing us to a young woman who has "aged out" of the foster care system and follows her life for the first few years of her adult life, as well as flashing back to her childhood. 
Unwritten (Charles Martin)  Charles Martin is another author that I've read everything I can find that he has written.  Some reviewers compare him to Nicholas Sparks, I'd agree they have similar styles, but Martin's books seem slightly less predictable lately. It is set in the Florida Keys, so it was a nice summer read.
The Calling of Emily Oakes (Janette Oke)  This was free on Amazon, inf act when I looked just now, it still is free.  It was a very predictable Janette Oke book--I enjoyed it, for what it was and was glad it was free.
The Buffalo Soldier (Chris Bohjalian)  See, another Bohjalian book...and another book about a child in the foster care system.  Interesting.  Good book, interesting twists.

I'm pretty sure that we listened to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in the car this month, too--for about the 7th time (I love listening to Jim Dale read books...and we also listened to Bob and Lrry Go Country about 100 times...even though it isn't a book, it was a story, of sorts...

Movie and childhood reflections..

Written on August 11..

My husband would say that I have to say that I've received no compensation from the Argo movie or book folks, which is true.

Argo is about the Iran Hostage Crisis, specifically about the 6 folks who were able to get out of the embassy before the Iranians got in and how those folks got out of Iran with the help of the the CIA. I read the book a few months ago and really enjoyed it--and, although very serious material, there were definitely parts of the book that were funny.  The book told many stories about the main character's adventures in the CIA, which, in hindsight, were very funny.  (I'm sure in the moment they were quite stressful for the main character, but he put a "funny" twist on many situations when he wrote.) Great lines from the movie..."We're shooting the movie in Iran, not Iraq", Reply..."Don't you watch the news?"  It is rated R, it says due to language and violence...I haven't seen any really disturbing violence (yet, I'm about 40 minutes in), but the F word has been tossed around quite a bit...which is probably realistic for the situation, but kind of limits the audience...

The movie is fascinating, as always there is some conflict between the book and the movie, but I'm amazed as they show 1979 footage how much (I think) I remember.  The hostage crisis was big and constant news through all of 1980..at least as I remember as an 8/9 year old..coincidentally the same age that The Boy is now.

I have really clear memories of making  52 paper dolls (one for each hostage) and taping them in my bedroom window as well as one of my neighbors complementing me on the "pretty stars" that I had in my window.  I remember wondering how he could think they were stars, I mean, wasn't everyone as fascinated by the hostage situation as I was?  I remember saying prayers that the hostages would come home safe and not even thinking that they wouldn't..which, as an adult, seems like great faith.  I hope that my kids have that kind of faith!

My unbiased and sentimental review of the movie is that it is definitely worth watching.  In light of our Mideastern embassies very recent closings, it seems very timely as well. 

Last, but not smallest

Currently the Suburban Ranch is home to two parents, two kids, two cats, and two dogs.  The girls do out number the boys--as The Girl and I are joined by Alice the Cat, Indy the Dog, and Liberty the Dog.  And let's face it, Tigger is pretty girly...
Ever since we realized that Indy is clearly not a St. Bernard or Bernese Mountain Dog we have talked about getting a "real, big dog".  Well, Mr. Ranch has talked, I've mostly "umm, hummed".  Last summer, Mr. Ranch discovered the Colorado St. Bernard Rescue and spent the summer finding the perfect dog for us.  In August a young (between 12 and 18 months) St. Bernard became available.  I was convinced that Indy, being a dominant female, would hate her...but they surprisingly became almost immediate friends and the rest, as they say, is history.
Liberty has some quirky behaviors for a Saint...for example, she likes to run.  And jump.  And leap.  The other day I watched her run down the stairs and leap from about 8 stairs up, easily clearing the baby gate at the bottom and continuing her sprint through the living room without ever breaking stride.  She also also the world's largest and most stubborn toddler...the last time I took her to the kennel she refused to go in.  Just sat down in the parking lot.  The groomer came out and carried her in.  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
She is a good companion for Indy though--we had to convince Indy to stop chewing on her ears though...Indy's fungus saliva apparently caused an ear infection.  (Ick...have you ever tried to put ear drops in a 110 lb toddler's ears?)  Liberty is very protective of Indy, except for when she is dragging her around the kitchen by her tail.  They seem to be typical siblings.
Liberty's most entertaining trait has to be her fear of cats.  For the first several months she lived with us all we had to do was pick up Alice the Cat and hold her in front of Liberty to inspire full-fledged panic and hiding under the couch.  (Of course, that is quite often my reaction to Alice the Cat, so maybe not so quirky after all)

 For a "shelter dog, she has been remarkably good with the kids and other pets.  You can see in the pictures above how scrawny she was--the picture below was this week--she isn't chubby, but certainly looks healthier.

 We have a bad habit of fattening up shelter pets, so we're feeling pretty good about her being a "healthy size".

In other news, since school started for me on the 19th, I guess the daily posts might start slacking off.  Or not, school is always interesting.  I wonder if I have to create code names for all my students and co-workers too?  Sigh..

First Day of School, 2013

During the school year I actually leave before Mr. Ranch and the kids are out of bed.  He does morning duty, I do afternoon duty.  Therefore, I don't get to see the "First Day of School" pictures until evening...Here are this year's...  Enjoy my messy kitchen and photo bombing dog...

Puff Tiggy, the rapping kitty...

Tigger the Cat not only gets to claim the title of oldest pet at the Ranch, but also the author of the yearly Suburban Christmas letter.  Tigger was a shelter cat.  We actually went to adopt a kitten and ended up with a half grown cat.

As a kitten he was excited to fetch--chasing and retrieving a bouncy ball for hours.
MJ, our resident mommy cat, tried for years to teach Tigger to clean himself and to purr.  The cleaning he has never really mastered, however, in a shocking turn of events, seems to have learned to purr since MJ passed away.
A couple of years ago he gave us a scare...we noticed that one of his eyes always seemed dilated.  After a bunch of tests at the vet, we came to the conclusion that he did not have diabetes, as the vet feared, but rather had apparently fallen off something and detached his retina.   He never has been a terribly coordinated cat...but seriously.
These days he is content to sleep on the chair of death in the kitchen or in the death closet upstairs as he ponders what is worthy of publication in the yearly letter.

First Day of School

Ignoring that both kids have gone to "school" since they were six weeks old, we are nearly ready for the first day of school.  It is always a bit bittersweet--this year I'll actually be back in school four days before the kids start...ready for them to have "structure" again, but sad to have another summer end.
Here's a retrospective of first days, starting with The Girl's first day of kindergarten in 2006....

 2007 First grade

2008  Second grade...new school, new uniform

 2009 Third grade and The Boy started official preschool.  And dressing himself, apparently.

2010  Fourth Grade and kindergarten...

2011 Fifth and First

2012 And Sixth and Second...stay tuned for Seventh (!!!) and Third (!!!)

Carnies and free fish

One of the most interesting aspects of the county fair has to be the carnival.  When I play 3 truths and a lie with my students I like to tell them that I was briefly a carny.  It is essentially true...when the carnival came to my hometown one year they were short on ticket takers and such, so they hired a bunch of us to work in the booths selling tickets...it was interesting to say the least.

At this year's county fair The Girl talked us into buying tokens.  Interesting side note...there are no longer ticket sellers at the fair...you put your money in a changer, kind of like the ones at the laundromat for quarter, and get tokens. The folks who run the rides collect the tokens..no more paper tickets.

So after going through the fun house, she decided that games were the way to go.  After watching Despicable Me, she, of course wanted to play a game that would allow her to win something big and fluffy.  She tried basketball (no win) then both kids tried the ping pong ball toss.  Between the two kids they tossed 19 ping pong balls with no luck...then number 20?  Right in the bowl of water.  What do you win in the ping pong ball toss, you might ask?  Well, it wasn't big and fluffy...it was

 A goldfish!  (Oh, joy...or sigh...whatever)

 The Girl does seem pretty happy though :)

 Issue #1...what do you do with a goldfish?  Both Mr. Ranch and I had fish (or our siblings did, rather) as kids, but we don't have anything resembling a bowl/tank/whatever.  So...off to PetsMart we went.  According to the clerks there, we were about the 5th family that came in with a "fair fish" during their shift.  We did manage to make it out for far less than the $86 bill that the clerks claimed another family spent on the "free" fish.  Our justification is that minnows are 15 cents (My brother used to buy them for a nickel...oh, inflation!) so if the goldfish dies, we'll get a couple minnows...We have a zoo (er, ranch?) here anyway, so what's one more little fishy? (Ha!)

 We brought little Goldie the goldfish home and put her in a temporary bowl so we could prepare the tank.  I don't remember "preparing the tank" for fish as a kid, but that's what the directions on the tank say, so we followed the directions.

 Doesn't he (she?) look happy (the four circle blobs are food, the fish is in the top center).  Oh, and The Girl is happy, too!

This post was supposed to go live tonight, but in light of the untimely death of the fish...well, whatever :)  The fish is no longer with us in any case...no one ran around the house screaming "Mrs. Fish is dead" (like my brother did when his fish died and he got a puppy to replace it). This fish lasted a week...care to place bets on how long the next fish will live?  Sigh...

Teacher work week

So I'm writing this on Thursday night, so I haven't technically survived teacher work week, but things look promising.  Today we met our freshmen who will be in our freshmen orientation class and practiced the schedule.  After school I was able (for the first time in about 9 years) attend the welcome back barbeque--it was very fun! Tomorrow we confirm case loads, finish lesson plans...and prepare for Monday...I'm excited about this school year!! Tonight I figured out how to blog on my Kindle...and found a charger in the bedroom, so I can blog short things from my Kindle...again, yay! I'd say a successful day...

Teambuilding and other fun

It's ironic how much trouble I have with team building exercises...I mean, it's not like I'm shy..and I worked as a corporate teambuilding leader on and off for about 3 years...but all my new coordinator had to do was say "For Friday's department meeting, please think of an object that describes your personality."  I've spent since Monday when I received the email obsessing over what I am going to  say...At one point I thought about saying, "A pencil, because I'm sharp"...but then I though, "oh, no, what if she just asks us to tell the object, but not why and our co-workers (or her?) have to guess why...and what if they think it's because I'm easily manipulated...?"  See what I mean...this is stressing me out...  So I went to my old (new?) resource...Facebook, of course.  As I giggled at  my friends responses (cat, magic 8 ball, icosahedron, contrarian...) we touched on many subjects...the homemade, quilted seat cushions of my parents' 1978 Volare Station Wagon, my brother's fear of mashed potatoes, Canasta, my childhood cat's carrier (made of refrigerator shelves), cat hairballs, whether or not I hide under furniture due to lack of socialization as a child (hiding under furniture likely, but not due to lack of socialization).  I still have no idea what I am going to say when we do the activity in our staff meeting...but at least I had a good 10 minutes of laughing hysterically....

More about the yard, because I just can't stop myself..

 We seem to have one red tomato...I think the others are part of a con-spiracy to ripen after I go back to school, making sure I have to work in the garden nightly :)

We have this funny little area between the patio and the fence that Mr. Ranch keeps saying we need a bench in. Not to sit on, but to "look pretty".  I started pricing little concrete benches and about choked..um, no thanks.  The other day I remembered that we had a couple pieces of marble counter top in the garage, left from a project at Mr. Ranch's law partner's house.  And we had 7 blocks that match the patio..wha-la...a bench!  It still needs to be adjusted a bit--The Girl and I had a hard time balancing the marble and moving the blocks at the same time, but I think it turned out pretty cute for a free bench!

Finally, we have this awesome picture of Mr. Ranch and The Boy hanging out in the yard. Not really sure what they are up to, but looks like they are having a good time!

Home decorating gone astray

I have never claimed to be a good decorator...my decorating tends to run more towards function than "pretty".  At the moment our couch is mostly made of duct tape with a throw cover. Most of our walls are still white, even though we've lived in this house since 2007.  Despite my general lack of decorating enthusiasm, I did get excited when we moved into this house--you know, more room than we'll ever need, room to DECORATE! And organize!  Right? So even before we moved in I started collecting "decorating" ideas...some of which make Mr. Ranch roll his eyes...today's post falls in that category.

Elizabethtown is one of my favorite movies of all time a number of strange reasons.  One of them is that I love, really, really love, that the main character's aunt has covered every inch of her bedroom walls with family pictures. 

Yes, that's Paula Deen.  And Orlando Bloom.  And a snapshot of the movie on my tv.  Don't judge.
I covered  one wall in my bedroom with family pictures--

 and then realized that the rest of the room is always such a disaster area that no one outside my immediate family is ever going to get to see them.  Looking at this picture I can also see that one seems to be missing and several are really lopsided.  Oh, well...I tried.

Also in the bedroom I created a little area of what appears to be random stuff and a big layer of dust...

 On the left wall is a basket with silk flower bouquets from 4 weddings (including mine).  The paintings on the wall were done by my Grandma, most of the crosses were gifts from Sunday School students.  There appear to be two trophies--one for "Most improved swimmer 1986" and the other other for 2nd place (3rd?) in a state History Club display competition.  A bird cage music box from my great-grandma is next to an empty vase (shaped like a little girl) that held flowers for me when my brother was born.  A couple jewelry boxes--one from my husband, one from my grandfather round out the left side. There is the unity candle from our wedding, a photo of my grandfather from the late 1920's or early 1930's, a Camp Tecumseh wooden block, a cat soap dish (that I am sure I gave to Goodwill years ago and my mom found at her house not too long ago) An Annalee duck doll, my pledge paddle from college, a couple of decorative dolls (one from my hometown and one was a bridal shower gift--a bride), a framed sketch of my childhood church, a Pooh Bear Snow Globe...and finally, a Hunger Games Movie poster that I apparently threw there at some point...and left. And again, a lot of dust.  Clearly no one has moved or admired my treasures recently.

Another corner of the bedroom that I had high hopes for is this one--see the cute bookshelves filled with my all time favorite books?  And the comfy chair?  The throw pillows?  And the basket of mismatched socks?  Yeah...this corner is more the property of the dog than of me...but at least she has a cute place to sleep, right?  Somehow my free time to sit here and read has never materialized..but maybe next summer!

The Girl's birthday parade and the 4-H fair

I was a proud 4-H member for almost 10 years.  I spend many 4-H fair weeks in the hog barn with friend, working at the Rotary shake booth, the band booster's booth, at various fair events.  A couple of years ago we ended up at Lil Sis's house the week before the fair and at the fairgrounds helping clean out the barns.  At one point Lil Sis had to step away and I ended up with all 6 kids in the dinner line.  She was almost as surprised as me when she reappeared and I had all the kids sitting down at a table with plates and drinks...they are well behaved kids.

Since we've lived in our new house, the kids and I have enjoyed going to the fair once or twice during the week of the fair to see the animals and the 4-H projects.  One of The Girl's friends raises cattle, so the last couple years have included some wandering in and out of livestock barns following his trail (as described by his mom, dad, or brother) so she can say "hi".

The other thing that is great about pretending we living in a small town is the 4-H Fair Parade.  (We're not the only ones pretending, despite our population being almost 50,000 we still have lots of "small town" events--like the 4-H parade, Star-lighting, outdoor downtown skating rink, etc...).  Since the fair is always held the first full week of August and the parade is held on the Saturday of the week, there is a good chance that the parade will fall on The Girl's birthday.

 Here we are in 2011, waving to our favorite float

 And last year, waiting for our favorite float...

This year Mr. Ranch came with us, since his triathlon season is over he doesn't have Saturday morning practices any more.  We got up bright and early and headed downtown...

 Mr. Ranch's first comment of the morning was, "oh, hey, there's the undercover police car that pulled me over for speeding".

 And his second was, "we have to stop coming to the parade...every time I see that vehicle it worries me--why does the County need an armored humvee with a gun turret on top?"

 The Fair royalty weren't as impressive to the 12 year old Girl as they were to the 6 year old girl...

 But the boy did enjoy the "Army truck"...even though it was a plumbing company.  The folks walking along side it were dressed up as water heaters, toilets, air conditioners, and sinks.

 This bus always cracks us up...Figured out that 2005 was 8 years ago...so the young men riding on the roof, claiming the 2005 State Champ label, were between 1st and 4th grade when it was won. Mr. Ranch says, "Makes you feel like you're in the heart of West Texas, doesn't it?"

 Here is the local state park's float...we wondered if it was a display usually in their interpretive center?

And here's a guy with a snake, just walking along as part of the parade.  What did you do in the parade?  I walked 3 miles asking people if they'd like to pet this snake.

 Our version of the Macy's balloons

 I didn't take pictures of all the large groups of horses--there were probably 30 just riding with/for a man running for sheriff, but as you can see from the mid-parade clean up, there were quite a few horses.

 You can see on his face what the boy thinks of the mid-parade horse clean up...

 The rec center has a pick up with a bubble machine...very interesting.

 The Boy decided to rest..the chances of this early snow plow throwing candy were low.

 The Girl wasn't as excited about candy this year, but she really wanted a beach ball.  Don't ask...my answer to everything is "she's a 7th grader".  See her following the lady with the balls after successfully talking her into one?

 And The Boy got one also...his is smaller, one the ladies on horseback yelled down, "that is the smallest beach ball I've ever seen".  Um, ok.

 Mr Ranch "stole" some of the kids' candy...here he is eating a lemon warhead, or whatever those are called.

 So I think that this group needs to work a bit on their slogan . It seems not so bad in theory, but in execution was kind of weird.  They were all dressed in poor imitations of "farm clothes" and were holding signs and chanting "no farms!"...then would say something like "no food!".  We're pretty sure their point was that without farms we wouldn't have food...but it didn't really flow as ideally as one would hope.

 This is just funny.

 And so is this...a zebra horse...he, he!

 And in one of the most anticlimactic endings to a parade ever, we realized it was over when this large street sweeper came cruising by..making a big wet, horsey mess.

 After lunch we headed over to the fairgrounds...I didn't get a very good picture of it, but this shows the "Swine Barn" and a sign stating "no strollers".  After previous years of having my ankles rammed by strollers in the barns, I agree.

 These pigs are hilarious...one of them shows recent signs of a pig rumble, but here they all are, all cuddled up together in their pen...awww...or ewww...whatever.

 Typical poses...

 Project by one of The Girl's friends...she was impressed.

 The only "ride" The Girl went on...

Look at this monster...it is a "family size funnel cake" Mmmmm...