RAIN! For us here in Middle Tennessee 2010 will be remembered as the year Nashville got the 500 year flood. What's funny is that this has been a really dry year. So, we're really glad to see the rain.
WELCOME HOME! I'd like to extend a welcome to a new Tennessean and member of the Freeland family. A couple of weeks ago Brian, Debbie, and Jessica Freeland went to China to adopt Olivia. They returned home this weekend. As with any adoption, this has been in the works for quite some time, and we are very happy that they have Olivia home now. You can follow up on the Freelands on the blog at http://thefreelands.blogspot.com/.
EXCITED BOY. East Robertson Elementary uses Character Counts to promote good behavior among students. Every so often students who have received good behavior commendations have their names in a drawing to be able to decorate one of the concrete blocks in the hallway near the library. They can paint their bricks however they wish within certain guidelines. Jenna and Ben have both painted bricks in the past.
This year Nate's name was among those chosen for the honor and he is EXCITED. He came home with the news Friday and has one week to come up with a design. When Nate was telling me about this he was literally wiggling and dancing with excitement. I can't wait to see what he decides to put on his brick.
CAMPING. We had a church bonfire and campout over a Buzz and Tammy Graves' house Friday night. I know I've mentioned previous events we've had over at the Graves', but I'm not sure if I've said much about their yard and shed.
Buzz has set his yard up to be a place where kids can come and have fun. He has a sand volleyball court, a zip line, tetherball, horseshoes, corn hole, and hillbilly golf as well as plenty of space where kids can just run and have fun. His shed has a big room where people can eat and play other games like table tennis. Basically, their yard is a place where kids can be kids and have good, clean, cheap fun.
Friday we loaded our camping gear and headed over to their house for an evening of fun. We had several people come for supper. Rick and Sharon Robinson stayed overnight in their camper. I camped out with our boys a several other boys who wanted to stay the night. Vicki and Jenna went home but returned in the morning for breakfast.
When we got home Saturday Jenna said she wanted to camp out in the backyard that night. The boys were game for this so we set up the big tent. Ben wound up sleeping inside due to a sore throat, but Jenna and Nate bedded down for the night out there. I know Nate went to sleep pretty quickly, but I saw Jenna's book light on pretty late.
ANOTHER BIRTHDAY PARTY. As recently as last year it was really hard for Nate to see Jenna or Ben go to a birthday party. He was simply too young to be invited to many parties like his brother and sister. His social life has changed since then.
Nate was invited to a party for his friend Zachary Saturday afternoon. He came home with a large box and telling us all about the good time he'd had. Nate was so impressed by the party that he said it was the best party he'd been to except his own. And after a moment to think it over he said, "Nope, it was even better than my own party."
Zachary's mom had a large box for each guest and helped them decorate their boxes as cars. When the cars were made they parked them in front of the TV and had a drive-in movie. Their cars were even complete with a window tray with a cup holder (this was a shoebox fastened to the side of the car with binder clips). Nate's car is now parked in our living room and he sits in it to watch TV now.
MARRIAGE PLANS. The other day Ben said to Vicki that he was never going to get married.
"So you're going to be a bachelor, huh?" replied Vicki.
"Yep." And then about 30 seconds later Ben asked, "What's a bachelor?"
I guess we have a little time yet before he starts to notice girls.
Joe
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Fall Break Staycation
Last week was our fall break and we enjoyed a fun week at home with our cousins from Florida. The weather was perfect. We've even seen a little rain which is long overdue.
FAMILY TIME. Jim, Dianna, Alex, and Chris arrived Monday evening and spent the week with us, leaving Friday morning. This time they brought Uncle Bob and Aunt Linda with them (they stayed at Aunt Mar and Mom's house). It's been an extra treat to have them here this time.
We didn't overload this visit with a lot of things to do, leaving the boys (and Jenna) a lot of free time to play together. They've had Nerf gun battles in the yard, romped through the woods, and played games in the house. We've eaten supper over at Aunt Mar's each night with the exception of Tuesday night when we went to the Catfish House.
SPELUNKING. We drove up to Bowling Green on Tuesday to tour Lost River Cave (http://www.lostrivercave.com/). This is the only cave boat tour in Kentucky. The cave was a main attraction in Bowling Green before I-65 claimed most of the traffic through the area. The cave can still be rented for parties and such. I mention this because the cave reminded me of what Cross Plains' own Yates Cave used to be many years ago. This was a really fun little day trip.
GOODBYE, PEANUT. I must pause here to say goodbye to our beloved cat. From what we can gather Peanut was following the boys as they played in the hayfield beside the house. This was the first time Peanut explored much outside the yard so when he got to the stock barn in the hayfield he naturally went in to check things out. The best we can tell Peanut met the stray cat that lives in that barn, and being young and inexperienced lost a territorial fight. We buried him the next day.
WALNUTS. Dianna mentioned that they brought home a lot of walnuts from last year's vacation and that she'd like to gather more this year if she could. Wednesday morning we gathered walnuts, filling the bed of my truck about six inches deep. Dianna and I spent that afternoon hulling the walnuts and our hands are now stained black.
PAINTING AND ANTIQUING. While Dianna and I were into walnuts Jim and Jenna took Uncle Bob and Aunt Linda to an antique mall in Springfield. I think they had fun shopping. I know Jim came home with several interesting treasures.
Vicki went in to work where she and some volunteers started repainting the room used for children's activities to make it more fun looking. They are painting a large mural around the walls of the room.
FUN ON THE FARM. Thursday we spent a good portion of the day at Honeysuckle Hill Farm in Coopertown (http://www.honeysucklehillfarm.com/). Vicki and our boys had been there a few times on field trips, but I had never been and had no idea they had so much for kids to do there. They have animals to pet, corn to play in (like a huge sandbox), pedal tractors to ride, pig races to watch, and an inflated truck tarp to bounce on. We had a lot of fun doing these things, but the big attraction was the six acre corn maze we explored. The maze was laid out to celebrate the Centennial of Boy Scouting, and had several stations for solving a murder mystery.
LIFE AFTER COMPANY. As I mentioned above, the Cotters left Friday morning. We were all sad to see them go. Nate was in tears. This weekend has been uneventful except for a birthday party the boys were invited to Saturday afternoon. Ala in all in all we've had a great fall break. We aren't ready to go back to school or work tomorrow.
Joe
FAMILY TIME. Jim, Dianna, Alex, and Chris arrived Monday evening and spent the week with us, leaving Friday morning. This time they brought Uncle Bob and Aunt Linda with them (they stayed at Aunt Mar and Mom's house). It's been an extra treat to have them here this time.
We didn't overload this visit with a lot of things to do, leaving the boys (and Jenna) a lot of free time to play together. They've had Nerf gun battles in the yard, romped through the woods, and played games in the house. We've eaten supper over at Aunt Mar's each night with the exception of Tuesday night when we went to the Catfish House.
SPELUNKING. We drove up to Bowling Green on Tuesday to tour Lost River Cave (http://www.lostrivercave.com/). This is the only cave boat tour in Kentucky. The cave was a main attraction in Bowling Green before I-65 claimed most of the traffic through the area. The cave can still be rented for parties and such. I mention this because the cave reminded me of what Cross Plains' own Yates Cave used to be many years ago. This was a really fun little day trip.
GOODBYE, PEANUT. I must pause here to say goodbye to our beloved cat. From what we can gather Peanut was following the boys as they played in the hayfield beside the house. This was the first time Peanut explored much outside the yard so when he got to the stock barn in the hayfield he naturally went in to check things out. The best we can tell Peanut met the stray cat that lives in that barn, and being young and inexperienced lost a territorial fight. We buried him the next day.
WALNUTS. Dianna mentioned that they brought home a lot of walnuts from last year's vacation and that she'd like to gather more this year if she could. Wednesday morning we gathered walnuts, filling the bed of my truck about six inches deep. Dianna and I spent that afternoon hulling the walnuts and our hands are now stained black.
PAINTING AND ANTIQUING. While Dianna and I were into walnuts Jim and Jenna took Uncle Bob and Aunt Linda to an antique mall in Springfield. I think they had fun shopping. I know Jim came home with several interesting treasures.
Vicki went in to work where she and some volunteers started repainting the room used for children's activities to make it more fun looking. They are painting a large mural around the walls of the room.
FUN ON THE FARM. Thursday we spent a good portion of the day at Honeysuckle Hill Farm in Coopertown (http://www.honeysucklehillfarm.com/). Vicki and our boys had been there a few times on field trips, but I had never been and had no idea they had so much for kids to do there. They have animals to pet, corn to play in (like a huge sandbox), pedal tractors to ride, pig races to watch, and an inflated truck tarp to bounce on. We had a lot of fun doing these things, but the big attraction was the six acre corn maze we explored. The maze was laid out to celebrate the Centennial of Boy Scouting, and had several stations for solving a murder mystery.
LIFE AFTER COMPANY. As I mentioned above, the Cotters left Friday morning. We were all sad to see them go. Nate was in tears. This weekend has been uneventful except for a birthday party the boys were invited to Saturday afternoon. Ala in all in all we've had a great fall break. We aren't ready to go back to school or work tomorrow.
Joe
Monday, October 11, 2010
A Century of Scouting
The Boy Scouts of America are celebrating a century of scouting this year. The boys and I joined in on the fun at the Middle Tennessee Council Jamboree at the Wilson County Fairgounds in Lebanon this weekend. It was HUGE with over 12,000 scouts and scouters there. It was a weekend the boys and I will always remember. We got to the Jamboree Friday evening and left yesterday morning.
CAMPING OUT. I have never seen so many tents in one place before. There were acres and acres of tents. We camped out with our pack (I think there were eight families from our pack there).
The area was one big, organized tent city. We were fortunate to be right by the entrance for our side of the fairgrounds -- and right by the bathrooms. (This was something of a curse though, because our campsite was a high traffic area.) We unloaded the truck and then I had to go park about a half mile away. Again, walking by all the conglomeration of tents just blew my mind. The whole scene reminded me of the tent city described at the Quidditch World Cup in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
We were responsible for our food (unless we wanted to take advantage of the food vendors). I am no cook. My only motivation to even prepare food is because I need to eat. I didn’t make us sick, but I think the boys were being kind when they complimented my cooking. At breakfast I burned the toast and bacon (but not the eggs). The peanut butter and jelly sandwiches didn’t involve a stove so that was safe. The hamburgers were a near disaster. I had to cook those in two skillets because they patties didn’t fit in one. Before one side the to hamburgers were done the grease in one skillet caught on fire. I removed that skillet from the heat and the fire went out pretty quickly, but I still needed to cook the other side of the burgers. About that time the grease in the other skillet caught fire. I got that out quickly enough, but not before catching some dry grass afire. Somehow I got the burgers done without burning them, but it was an adventure I’d rather not repeat. The cold cereal we had yesterday morning was served with glad hands.
WEATHER. We had great weather for the Jamboree, though it was unseasonably hot for this time of year. We felt like we were living in extremes. We woke up to 46° Saturday morning (which is about 5° below average) and were a bit chilly in our sleeping bags. By mid-afternoon our chill had worn off in the 91° heat (18° above average). If we were hot by the end of the day we got over that with another cool nighttime low (45°). At least it wasn’t 30° and raining as those who attended last year’s Cub and Family event were reminiscing about.
COOL THINGS TO SEE AND DO. We were awakened by cannon fire Saturday morning. After the opening ceremony we had a whole day of things to see and do. There was no way we could get everything in. The Tennessee National Guard had two Bradley tanks and other vehicles there for scouts to tour. They also flew in a Blackhawk helicopter for the day. Other exhibits we saw were the caving demo and spelobox, the Tennessee State Trooper’s car crash exhibit, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency’s wild animal display. We missed about a dozen other exhibits.
The boys completed requirements for their Science, Language and Culture, Marbles, Music, and Weather belt loops. Ben also got a chance to complete several requirements for his Readyman activity badge. He was chosen to be the demo boy in three of these activities.
We also made paper airplanes, painted pet rocks, made ball and cup games, jumped in a sack race, sailed in a rain gutter regatta, and did some geocaching. These were just a few of the dozens of elective activities around the fairgrounds.
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. Saturday night everyone went to the arena for a show which celebrated a century of scouting here in America. There were about twice as many people as the arena would hold and we wound up sitting on the ground outside. The show features a series of skits depicting scouting in each decade over the last 100 years. It was interesting and well done.
SUNDAY SERVICES. The last thing on the schedule before departure were worship services yesterday morning. A pastor from Columbia, Tennessee, spoke to us. The boating story he told from his adolescence and the message were well said and memorable. After that we loaded up and headed home with many great memories.
All in all this has been a great way to begin our fall break!
Joe
CAMPING OUT. I have never seen so many tents in one place before. There were acres and acres of tents. We camped out with our pack (I think there were eight families from our pack there).
The area was one big, organized tent city. We were fortunate to be right by the entrance for our side of the fairgrounds -- and right by the bathrooms. (This was something of a curse though, because our campsite was a high traffic area.) We unloaded the truck and then I had to go park about a half mile away. Again, walking by all the conglomeration of tents just blew my mind. The whole scene reminded me of the tent city described at the Quidditch World Cup in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
We were responsible for our food (unless we wanted to take advantage of the food vendors). I am no cook. My only motivation to even prepare food is because I need to eat. I didn’t make us sick, but I think the boys were being kind when they complimented my cooking. At breakfast I burned the toast and bacon (but not the eggs). The peanut butter and jelly sandwiches didn’t involve a stove so that was safe. The hamburgers were a near disaster. I had to cook those in two skillets because they patties didn’t fit in one. Before one side the to hamburgers were done the grease in one skillet caught on fire. I removed that skillet from the heat and the fire went out pretty quickly, but I still needed to cook the other side of the burgers. About that time the grease in the other skillet caught fire. I got that out quickly enough, but not before catching some dry grass afire. Somehow I got the burgers done without burning them, but it was an adventure I’d rather not repeat. The cold cereal we had yesterday morning was served with glad hands.
WEATHER. We had great weather for the Jamboree, though it was unseasonably hot for this time of year. We felt like we were living in extremes. We woke up to 46° Saturday morning (which is about 5° below average) and were a bit chilly in our sleeping bags. By mid-afternoon our chill had worn off in the 91° heat (18° above average). If we were hot by the end of the day we got over that with another cool nighttime low (45°). At least it wasn’t 30° and raining as those who attended last year’s Cub and Family event were reminiscing about.
COOL THINGS TO SEE AND DO. We were awakened by cannon fire Saturday morning. After the opening ceremony we had a whole day of things to see and do. There was no way we could get everything in. The Tennessee National Guard had two Bradley tanks and other vehicles there for scouts to tour. They also flew in a Blackhawk helicopter for the day. Other exhibits we saw were the caving demo and spelobox, the Tennessee State Trooper’s car crash exhibit, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency’s wild animal display. We missed about a dozen other exhibits.
The boys completed requirements for their Science, Language and Culture, Marbles, Music, and Weather belt loops. Ben also got a chance to complete several requirements for his Readyman activity badge. He was chosen to be the demo boy in three of these activities.
We also made paper airplanes, painted pet rocks, made ball and cup games, jumped in a sack race, sailed in a rain gutter regatta, and did some geocaching. These were just a few of the dozens of elective activities around the fairgrounds.
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. Saturday night everyone went to the arena for a show which celebrated a century of scouting here in America. There were about twice as many people as the arena would hold and we wound up sitting on the ground outside. The show features a series of skits depicting scouting in each decade over the last 100 years. It was interesting and well done.
SUNDAY SERVICES. The last thing on the schedule before departure were worship services yesterday morning. A pastor from Columbia, Tennessee, spoke to us. The boating story he told from his adolescence and the message were well said and memorable. After that we loaded up and headed home with many great memories.
All in all this has been a great way to begin our fall break!
Joe
Friday, October 8, 2010
Cooler Weather
I mentioned when I last wrote we were looking forward to the last of the 90° weather. Well, the weather changed in a hurry with the high and low temps dropping by as much as 20°. It feels like fall now. We switched our thermostat to heat last weekend.
NO MORE LIMP, NO MORE SPLINT. Jenna went back to the doctor for a follow-up exam last Tuesday. He said she has healed sufficiently and allowed her to take off her boot and wrist splint. He also gave her an extended doctor's excuse from PE through fall break, but Jenna later admitted she hadn't turned it in. She had decided to hold it until they played something she doesn't particularly enjoy. Vicki and I told her it wasn't a "get out of jail free" card and to give that note to her teacher.
THE AMAZING BLAKE. Vicki found a really neat magician and invited him to do a show for our Awana club last week. He really connected with the kids well and performed quite a few neat illusions. His show was a big hit.
AS IRON SHARPENS IRON, SO ONE MAN SHARPENS ANOTHER. Last weekend I went to the Middle Tennessee Men's Conference. It has been several years since I attended this event. This year the speakers were Ken Weathersby and Jim Henry. I enjoyed listening to both very much.
PARTY AT THE PITTS. Last Saturday Jimmie and Susanne Pitt had a big pot luck party at their house. They invited the whole church to come and there was a large crowd in their back yard. We had a lot of fun, but left a bit early because there was a cold breeze blowing. I decided to dig out a sweatshirt just before leaving the house which turned out the be the best decision I'd made all day. This wind sort of caught everyone off guard because it had been perfectly comfortable all day. The kids and I even went exploring the woods across the road from the house in shorts that afternoon.
VIOCE ON THE PHONE. We are setting up a computerized phone system at work for automating the calling of substitute teachers when a teacher is absent. It fell to me to give voice to many of the options (such as school names) that will be part of the menu system. While recording these sound bytes I stopped and listened to myself closely after recording "sixth grade social studies teacher" and thought, "Boy, I sound just like Sylvester the Cat!"
Joe
NO MORE LIMP, NO MORE SPLINT. Jenna went back to the doctor for a follow-up exam last Tuesday. He said she has healed sufficiently and allowed her to take off her boot and wrist splint. He also gave her an extended doctor's excuse from PE through fall break, but Jenna later admitted she hadn't turned it in. She had decided to hold it until they played something she doesn't particularly enjoy. Vicki and I told her it wasn't a "get out of jail free" card and to give that note to her teacher.
THE AMAZING BLAKE. Vicki found a really neat magician and invited him to do a show for our Awana club last week. He really connected with the kids well and performed quite a few neat illusions. His show was a big hit.
AS IRON SHARPENS IRON, SO ONE MAN SHARPENS ANOTHER. Last weekend I went to the Middle Tennessee Men's Conference. It has been several years since I attended this event. This year the speakers were Ken Weathersby and Jim Henry. I enjoyed listening to both very much.
PARTY AT THE PITTS. Last Saturday Jimmie and Susanne Pitt had a big pot luck party at their house. They invited the whole church to come and there was a large crowd in their back yard. We had a lot of fun, but left a bit early because there was a cold breeze blowing. I decided to dig out a sweatshirt just before leaving the house which turned out the be the best decision I'd made all day. This wind sort of caught everyone off guard because it had been perfectly comfortable all day. The kids and I even went exploring the woods across the road from the house in shorts that afternoon.
VIOCE ON THE PHONE. We are setting up a computerized phone system at work for automating the calling of substitute teachers when a teacher is absent. It fell to me to give voice to many of the options (such as school names) that will be part of the menu system. While recording these sound bytes I stopped and listened to myself closely after recording "sixth grade social studies teacher" and thought, "Boy, I sound just like Sylvester the Cat!"
Joe
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)