Naples, Florida

So on my vacation to Florida, I had a wonderful time. Renae is very good to vacation with. We seemed to have the perfect blend of activities. We biked, canoed, walked, shopped, and relaxed on the beach! Oh yeah, we went to 2 movies as well. Going to a movie is something I don't usually get to do. We saw Amazing Grace (wonderful!!!) and Wild Hogs (funny, but not for children).

One of the coolest things was canoeing in Everglades. We saw dolphins! It is way more exciting to find dolphins in the "wild" rather than walking up to one in a huge pool in a zoo.

The weather was beautiful! We are planning another trip for next winter!

I can't believe I have been home a week already. Feels like I've been home for weeks. Shouldn't I still feel refreshed?

BONUS: My husband surprised me with re-doing the floor in our bedroom while I was gone! He pulled out the carpet and put in a laminate that looks like a wood floor. He did an awesome job. The new floor came in handy during the March 2007 barf fest (see previous post).

Barf-o-rama

Well, I hope its safe to say that the barfing is over!! I realize it is dangerous to say that, considering neither Tim nor I have had this bug. It started with Mikale and he was sick for a three days, then Megan for 2 days, then Mikkena for only 6 hours or so. Maybe the germs just ran out of steam. I don't know, but I have cleaned up enough barf!!! If you have children or are planning on having children just rip all carpet out of your house!!! How does one get carpet clean of all barf?

I'm Back

Well, I am back from my vacation! I had a wonderful time. It only took about a half a day for me to realize why I needed the vacation in the first place. Seriously, this Mom thing is very challenging!! I have so many things to blog about, yet so little time. Did you guys bring your dirty laundry here while I was gone?? I have so much laundry to do that I may dry up our well! Hopefully I can blog tomorrow about my vacation.

Test

This is a test to see if I can put a u-tube clip on my blog!

The clip is fun, so hopefully it will work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI

The lesson for today

Do you remember a few years ago when the kid's choir at Faith Community did the play of Esther? Rob Spear played the evil Haman. Each time he came on stage everyone Booed. Or if the name of Haman was said..everyone booed or hissed. Are you remembering??????

This week in our Home school lesson we learned about the Jewish Holiday "Purim". Purim is a holiday that celebrates the story of Esther. They do this by telling the story through drama & song. They also read the whole story of Esther aloud in the synagogue. Whenever they hear Haman's name they boo loudly, stamp their feet. and make lots of noise to drown his name out. I found that so interesting!!!! I thought during the kid's play that the booing was just for fun or to make it funnier. Little did I know it was a Jewish tradition to do so.

See, I learned something today.

On the side of the road.continued...

I asked Tim if we could stop and take a picture of the deer. He said "no". He doesn't like stopping on the highway, he thinks its dangerous. I will try to do it today when he isn't with.

We were driving home from Woodbury one day. I was in the van with Megan & Mikkena. Tim was behind me in his vehicle with Mikale. Megan and Mikkena were being bad..fighting, yelling you know things that drive a Mom crazy when she is driving. So I (very quickly) pulled over. Tim followed ...I got out of the van, walked back to his car. I told him I couldn't drive with the girls. ( I probably said some other stuff, but I don't recall). He was sooooooo mad at me! I couldn't really hear why ( the semi-trucks were flying by and it was kinda loud ). It was rush hour and there was lots of traffic. Tim doesn't get mad that often, so I know it wasn't the smartest thing to do. He said I should have pulled over on a exit ramp.

On the side of the road.

Have you ever seen a squirrel on the side of the road that is totally flat? You know it is the perfect silhouette of the squirrel but just flat as a pancake. Okay picture that but instead of a squirrel picture a deer. On Hwy 94 going west in between mile markers 7 & 8 is a deer stuck upright in a snowbank. It looks like it is running with traffic, but if you look really close its only a few inches thick. Somehow during the last snow storm the plow must have picked it up with the snow and it got set upright. I am not sure of the odds of it getting set up looking like it is going with the flow of traffic, but it is totally hysterical. I have a big laugh each time we drive by. Mikkena says it looks like its burned. Mikale says its gross, but for some sick reason I think its totally funny! Mikale says I should stop and take a picture of it.

Hug a Loon

I was driving Mikale to gymnastics on Monday and I saw a bumper sticker that said "Hug a Loon". What does that mean? Is there a hidden message in there somewhere? I don't know a lot about Loons, but I am pretty sure they wouldn't like to be hugged! Of all the birds it seems as though Loons stay as far away from people as possible. How am I going to hug it?

We were at my Mom's up north and she lives on a lake. We paddled out to the little island in the middle of this very small lake. (we call the boat a paddle boat???--the type you paddle by using your legs--kinda like riding a bike---anyway...) We thought we saw a loon on the island, but it didn't look right. We got closer to check it out. It popped up and flew right at us. We tried to get away, but steering and going quickly just didn't happen! The loon then jumped into the water and would attack the boat. We would think we were safe then all of a sudden it would come up from under the water. Kinda like a shark in the Jaws movies. It was scary. I think Megan was about 4 years old.

So why am I hugging a Loon? And of all the things in the world to feel strongly about and place a statement on the back of your car, this is all you can come up with? Do you really want $ to fund Loon environment or a Loon breeding program? If so then tell me that, don't tell me to hug a Loon. I might get my eye poked out or something.

Change is good

Last Thursday when everything was cancelled due to the snow all 3 of my children decided to rearrange each of their rooms. This is a good thing!
1 st. you clean up your room.
2nd you move most of the furniture to the middle of the room.
3rd you vacuum where the furniture used to be.
4th you move each piece of furniture to a new location.
Finally you vacuum again!
They each found something they didn't know was missing! They also threw away some junk and now their rooms look great.
Megan & Mikale can do this all on their own, and I helped Mikkena. The funny thing is I remember loving to rearrange my room as a kid. The other bonus for ME is that they now like to hang out in their rooms more. (this makes for a quiet house)! See change is good!

What a Beautiful Day

Yesterday was so beautiful!! The ski seemed so blue! I love the sunshine. I need sunshine! I get a little crabby without the sun. (I have a special light to sit under during these times). My kids spent the day sledding at a friends house and they had tons of fun! I had so much fun just watching them. I had spent the morning at the Y and then joined the sledding group later. When I got there it was a game to figure out who was who under all that snow clothes and ski goggles. The kids got pulled up this enormous hill by a snowmobile then got to fly down on their sled!!! No one got hurt and all had a blast!

Snow Day

I haven't left my house in the last 48 hours and I think that is a record. This snow is so awsome and I love the fact that everything has been cancelled!! Because we live out the the open (very few trees bigger than a broom) we get some serious snow drifts. The dogs look like polar bears - the snow just sticks to their fur. Snow is so fun. Trollhaugen here we come!!!