I remember writing before our vacation that we had skipped June and gone straight to July. While we were gone Robertson County got quite a bit of rain, and since we've been home temperatures have been very pleasant. We've continued to get some rain, which is frustrating if you are trying to harvest wheat, but the last week has been very enjoyable.
ONE LAST VACATION REPORT. Vicki normally proofreads my newsletters, but this time she was so busy I simply read it aloud to her. Nate was sitting in the kitchen as I was doing this. When I got to the part where At one point Vicki spoke up and said, "Aren't you going to get some feedback from the kids on our vacation for the newsletter?"
I replied that we had been so busy since coming home that I hadn't had time to ask. Then, since Nate was sitting there I turned to him and asked, "Nate, what was your favorite part of our vacation?"
"Going to the Space Center!"
"And what did you like best about visiting the Space Center?"
"All of it!"
So there you have it, feedback from someone other than me.
MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME. Every time I go on vacation it seems like life throws double at me to make up for lost time. With all the rain we got while we were gone both yards looked pretty rough. Then Vicki had to get into gear with her work pretty quickly as she had scheduled a drive-in movie night for last Friday and has Centri-Kid and Vacation Bible School coming up.
We were double booked Friday evening. As I mentioned, Vicki had scheduled a movie at church, but we also had the Hancock reunion on the calendar. The reunion was held over at the Orlinda Community Center. The kids and I got over there before supper to visit -- Vicki was too busy to go -- and Mom brought Aunt Mar a little later. Unfortunately, their car had trouble on the way over there and gave out on them less than a mile from home. I was able to get them to the reunion, but they were quite late when they got there and had to leave early due to the fact that I needed to be at church for the movie.
FUN AT THE MOVIES. Vicki had a good turnout at church for her movie night. She started out with supper and games before it got dark enough to show the film. The boys and I have also built a model rocket and we shot that off a couple of times for everyone to enjoy. It is amazing how for downrange those things go even when there's no detectible breeze. One kid almost caught the rocket before it hit the ground.
SCATTERED TO THE FOUR WINDS. This week our family is scattered to the four wwinds -- well, two of the anyway. Vicki and Ben (along with over 20 others) are at Centri-Kid in Georgetown, Kentucky, and Jenna is with over 50 youth and chaperones at Mission-Fuge in New Orleans, Lousiana. Nate is not old enough to go to Centri-Kid (he will be next year) so he and I are at home.
Both camps are five days long so last weekend was all about washing clothes and packing. I took Jenna to church late Sunday night and their bus headed out a little after midnight. Then we got up early the next morning, drove to Springfield to pick up rental vans, and saw the kids off by 10:00. We get everyone back tomorrow. I've been in touch with everyone while they are away so I can report that all are doing well and having fun, but I'll save any details for the next newsletter.
ME AND MY SIDEKICK. Even though everyone is away I still have some time off from work so Nate and I have stayed busy all week. I think we've been on the road every day running errands in Nashville, Springfield, White House, Cross Plains, or Milldale. On top of all that we've painted the porch swing, set volleyball poles in concrete filled tires, bought a used mower, gotten Aunt Mar's car fixed, and fixed the tailgate on the van (the latch snapped on me leaving us no way to open the rear hatch), and purchased lumber to make a picnic table. We've gotten a lot done this week and I've thoroughly enjoyed paling around with Nate. We've also had fun playing marbles together. He's quite good.
One thing about spending time with an eight year old boy is that he's full of questions. You can be sure that I've fielded my share of them this week. The best, by far, was this one which was posed all out of the blue as we pulled up to church to run one of our many errands: "Dad, do octipusses ever run out of ink?"
That was such a good one we looked it up on the Internet, and yes, octipi can run out of ink, though I'm sure in time they make more.
By the way, I have Nate convinced that the paint shaking machine at the hardware store plays Twist and Shout while it's shaking paint.
Joe
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Family Vacation
We have been away on a much needed vacation. We visited the Cotter family in Orlando, played in the sand at Ormond Beach, and spent time with the Jones family in Athens on the way home. Here's some details of our traveling adventures.
DRIVING TO FLORIDA. We got on the road after Cub Scout camp was over on Friday, the 9th, and drove to Forsyth, Georgia, arriving around midnight. The next day we got back on the road and tackled the rest of the distance to Orlando. We didn't run into any traffic snags and the kids entertained themselves with movies the whole way so it was a very pleasant trip down.
TIME WITH THE COTTER FAMILY. An extra special part of our trip was that we got to see a lot of Uncle Bob and Aunt Linda even though we stayed across town with Jim, Dianna, and the boys.
We arrived by mid-afternoon on Saturday. Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob came over for supper a little later. After supper we enjoyed ice cream at the local Twistee Treat. It's really a good thing that we don't have one of these in Cross Plains.
We went to Jim and Dianna's church, First Baptist of Windermere (http://fbcwindermere.com/), Sunday morning. Lunch was a family birthday party for Chris who is turning 12. The guest list included both sets of Chris' grandparents and Dianna's sister and brother-in-law. After eating the kids played video games while the adults visited. Later that afternoon (after all the guests had left) we walked over to the community pool so the kids could swim.
On Monday we took an airboat tour on the St. Johns River (http://www.airboatridesatmidway.com/). We got to see a lot of Florida wildlife, including some great views of alligators and a bald eagle. We even got to hold a baby alligator at the end of the tour. We ate supper at the 4Rivers Smokehouse (http://4rsmokehouse.com/). I'd never had brisket before and really enjoyed it.
FUN IN THE SAND. On Tuesday, the 14th, we headed over to Ormond Beach. After checking in to our condo, finding some supper, and making a run to the store for supplies we were ready for a sunset stroll on the beach. We spent the next day playing in the surf and sand as well, though we did go out to eat at a restaurant we found last summer.
This year Volusia County and the neighboring area are experiencing a number of wildfires. Wednesday should have been a clear day with blue skies all around, but the smoke from the fires obscured all that and even made the high rise buildings a half mile down the beach hard to see. The odor of burning wood was strong. This was evident all week, but Wednesday was the worst day by far.
Friday was also a beach day. This time Dianna and the boys drove over to enjoy the morning with us (Jim had to work). We had a great time visiting and playing together.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER. We took a break from the beach on Thursday to drive down to the Kennedy Space Center. There is a lot to see down there if you are a space history buff. When we arrived we took the bus tour that was part of our admission price.
The first stop on the tour was the launch pad observation deck. It was here that we could see the last space shuttle poised on the launch pad, ready for it's final trip next month, over a mile away. Unfortunately, the launch pad is situated where the tower and external fuel tank are about all you see, but it was neat to get as close as we did. The other stop on the tour was the old Apollo building where all sorts of hardware from the Apollo program is on display.
Back at the visitor center we enjoyed looking around at the exhibits on space probes, future missions to Mars, and the visiting Star Trek exhibit. We also took in the Shuttle Launch Experience. (Well, Vicki and Ben did that. I observed with Jenna and Nate.)
TIME WITH THE JONES FAMILY. We relocated again on Saturday, this time heading north to spend time with the Jones family. We got there in time for supper.
We enjoyed visiting, swimming, playing games, and watching movies together on this leg of our trip. We didn't get out except to go to church at St. Anna's (http://www.st-annas.com/) on Sunday and do a little shopping on Monday.
Tuesday we loaded the van and came home. While it is good to sleep in my own bed I can truly say this year I was not ready to come home. I still have some vacation time from work, and I'll enjoy getting some odd jobs done around here, but this year it was good to be away.
Joe
DRIVING TO FLORIDA. We got on the road after Cub Scout camp was over on Friday, the 9th, and drove to Forsyth, Georgia, arriving around midnight. The next day we got back on the road and tackled the rest of the distance to Orlando. We didn't run into any traffic snags and the kids entertained themselves with movies the whole way so it was a very pleasant trip down.
TIME WITH THE COTTER FAMILY. An extra special part of our trip was that we got to see a lot of Uncle Bob and Aunt Linda even though we stayed across town with Jim, Dianna, and the boys.
We arrived by mid-afternoon on Saturday. Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob came over for supper a little later. After supper we enjoyed ice cream at the local Twistee Treat. It's really a good thing that we don't have one of these in Cross Plains.
We went to Jim and Dianna's church, First Baptist of Windermere (http://fbcwindermere.com/), Sunday morning. Lunch was a family birthday party for Chris who is turning 12. The guest list included both sets of Chris' grandparents and Dianna's sister and brother-in-law. After eating the kids played video games while the adults visited. Later that afternoon (after all the guests had left) we walked over to the community pool so the kids could swim.
On Monday we took an airboat tour on the St. Johns River (http://www.airboatridesatmidway.com/). We got to see a lot of Florida wildlife, including some great views of alligators and a bald eagle. We even got to hold a baby alligator at the end of the tour. We ate supper at the 4Rivers Smokehouse (http://4rsmokehouse.com/). I'd never had brisket before and really enjoyed it.
FUN IN THE SAND. On Tuesday, the 14th, we headed over to Ormond Beach. After checking in to our condo, finding some supper, and making a run to the store for supplies we were ready for a sunset stroll on the beach. We spent the next day playing in the surf and sand as well, though we did go out to eat at a restaurant we found last summer.
This year Volusia County and the neighboring area are experiencing a number of wildfires. Wednesday should have been a clear day with blue skies all around, but the smoke from the fires obscured all that and even made the high rise buildings a half mile down the beach hard to see. The odor of burning wood was strong. This was evident all week, but Wednesday was the worst day by far.
Friday was also a beach day. This time Dianna and the boys drove over to enjoy the morning with us (Jim had to work). We had a great time visiting and playing together.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER. We took a break from the beach on Thursday to drive down to the Kennedy Space Center. There is a lot to see down there if you are a space history buff. When we arrived we took the bus tour that was part of our admission price.
The first stop on the tour was the launch pad observation deck. It was here that we could see the last space shuttle poised on the launch pad, ready for it's final trip next month, over a mile away. Unfortunately, the launch pad is situated where the tower and external fuel tank are about all you see, but it was neat to get as close as we did. The other stop on the tour was the old Apollo building where all sorts of hardware from the Apollo program is on display.
Back at the visitor center we enjoyed looking around at the exhibits on space probes, future missions to Mars, and the visiting Star Trek exhibit. We also took in the Shuttle Launch Experience. (Well, Vicki and Ben did that. I observed with Jenna and Nate.)
TIME WITH THE JONES FAMILY. We relocated again on Saturday, this time heading north to spend time with the Jones family. We got there in time for supper.
We enjoyed visiting, swimming, playing games, and watching movies together on this leg of our trip. We didn't get out except to go to church at St. Anna's (http://www.st-annas.com/) on Sunday and do a little shopping on Monday.
Tuesday we loaded the van and came home. While it is good to sleep in my own bed I can truly say this year I was not ready to come home. I still have some vacation time from work, and I'll enjoy getting some odd jobs done around here, but this year it was good to be away.
Joe
Friday, June 10, 2011
I Think We Skipped June
Our hot weather trend is holding. The high temperature has been over 90°F every day this week. It definitely feels like we skipped June.
DAY CAMP. The boys have been attending Cub Scout Day Camp. Ben went to this camp in Springfield two years ago so we decided to send them back there this year. The boys have had a wonderful time (even though Nate got sick with a virus yesterday and missed two days). I would say the only advantage the camp they attended last year has over this one is that it runs in the evening when the sun is setting. The boys have participated in all sorts of sports (baseball, volleyball, flag football, etc.), made crafts, and had visits from the fire department, the police, and wildlife management people.
One of the big draws for these camps is the opportunity to earn the Archery and BB Gun belt loops. (Belt loops slip over the boy’s belt and represent and elective activity the boy has completed in Cub Scouting.) Boys can work on all belt loops on their own except these two due to safety reasons. The boys have done the BB Guns at camp before, but this year the activity really resonated with them. I’d say this has been a highlight of the camp.
One thing about having camp from 9:00 to 4:00 on 90°+ days, the boys are tired when they come home.
THEY JOY OF SHOOTING THINGS. There’s something about destruction that finds a special place in the heart of a boy. It’s not a far stretch for a boy to pretend most any object at hand is a weapon of some type -- usually a gun. When I say the BB gun activity resonated with the boys I mean this year they happened to remember I had my dad’s old pump action BB gun at home and asked to see it after the first day of camp. (My old BB gun was a spring action gun and has lost it’s punch, barely shooting a BB ten feet.) When I pulled it out of the closet we took an old pie pan out side and target practice was on.
Those two were in their element. It didn’t even bother them that their sister came out -- without any practice -- and got some great shots on the target. And when they shattered an old jar from about 30 feet away the fun went to a whole new level.
What was funny was when they ran out of ammo. Nate asked me if I had any more BBs and I thought I did. When I was a kid someone gave me a box of about 5,000 BBs. The Freelands and I shot up a lot of stuff when we were kids, but that box is still about ⅔ full. When I set it on the table in front of Nate his eyes almost popped out of his head. It was as if he was digging for gold and had struck the mother lode. Hopefully our windows will survive.
HOW’S THAT. Vicki and Jenna have enjoyed watching American Idol this season. I’ve not watched it much, but this year’s contestants have interested me enough to at least keep up. I would say our collective favorite is Haley Reinhart. We were disappointed when she was voted off.
The other night Jenna was trying to think of one of the songs Reinhart performed and kept coming up with a title which she knew wasn’t right. When she couldn’t figure it out on her own she asked me and Vicki about it saying, “What was the name of that song, House of the Dying Animal?” We both looked at her and said, “What!?”
It turns out Jenna was thinking of House of the Rising Sun, which gained wide popularity when it was recorded by the Animals in 1964 (though the song is much older than that).
It’s sort of funny how the mind can scramble details like that leaving you frustrated about things you know you should remember. We, of course, are getting a lot of mileage out of Jenna’s Dying Animal song.
Joe
DAY CAMP. The boys have been attending Cub Scout Day Camp. Ben went to this camp in Springfield two years ago so we decided to send them back there this year. The boys have had a wonderful time (even though Nate got sick with a virus yesterday and missed two days). I would say the only advantage the camp they attended last year has over this one is that it runs in the evening when the sun is setting. The boys have participated in all sorts of sports (baseball, volleyball, flag football, etc.), made crafts, and had visits from the fire department, the police, and wildlife management people.
One of the big draws for these camps is the opportunity to earn the Archery and BB Gun belt loops. (Belt loops slip over the boy’s belt and represent and elective activity the boy has completed in Cub Scouting.) Boys can work on all belt loops on their own except these two due to safety reasons. The boys have done the BB Guns at camp before, but this year the activity really resonated with them. I’d say this has been a highlight of the camp.
One thing about having camp from 9:00 to 4:00 on 90°+ days, the boys are tired when they come home.
THEY JOY OF SHOOTING THINGS. There’s something about destruction that finds a special place in the heart of a boy. It’s not a far stretch for a boy to pretend most any object at hand is a weapon of some type -- usually a gun. When I say the BB gun activity resonated with the boys I mean this year they happened to remember I had my dad’s old pump action BB gun at home and asked to see it after the first day of camp. (My old BB gun was a spring action gun and has lost it’s punch, barely shooting a BB ten feet.) When I pulled it out of the closet we took an old pie pan out side and target practice was on.
Those two were in their element. It didn’t even bother them that their sister came out -- without any practice -- and got some great shots on the target. And when they shattered an old jar from about 30 feet away the fun went to a whole new level.
What was funny was when they ran out of ammo. Nate asked me if I had any more BBs and I thought I did. When I was a kid someone gave me a box of about 5,000 BBs. The Freelands and I shot up a lot of stuff when we were kids, but that box is still about ⅔ full. When I set it on the table in front of Nate his eyes almost popped out of his head. It was as if he was digging for gold and had struck the mother lode. Hopefully our windows will survive.
HOW’S THAT. Vicki and Jenna have enjoyed watching American Idol this season. I’ve not watched it much, but this year’s contestants have interested me enough to at least keep up. I would say our collective favorite is Haley Reinhart. We were disappointed when she was voted off.
The other night Jenna was trying to think of one of the songs Reinhart performed and kept coming up with a title which she knew wasn’t right. When she couldn’t figure it out on her own she asked me and Vicki about it saying, “What was the name of that song, House of the Dying Animal?” We both looked at her and said, “What!?”
It turns out Jenna was thinking of House of the Rising Sun, which gained wide popularity when it was recorded by the Animals in 1964 (though the song is much older than that).
It’s sort of funny how the mind can scramble details like that leaving you frustrated about things you know you should remember. We, of course, are getting a lot of mileage out of Jenna’s Dying Animal song.
Joe
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Kicking Off Summer Break
I know a lot of this is our perception of things, but it has been amazing to me how two weeks ago it felt like we were having a cooler than average spring and then some time in the last week or so it feels like we've jumped straight into July. I know one morning during the last week of school I woke up and the house was definitely chilly -- so much so that I turned the heat on for an hour to make it comfortable for everyone else -- and by that afternoon the temperature hit 90°F and we haven't looked back. Ready or not, summer is here.
MOWER DRIVER TRAINING. I remember the first time I let Ben solo on the mower. We were in Pauline's side yard. He had been riding double with me and steering the mower for some time. We had been over some mower safety and since he was steering it well I decided to slip off the back of the mower. He drove about ten feet before realizing I was gone. He stopped and looked at me. I motioned him on and he mowed with the biggest grin on his face.
Nate's turn to solo was in Aunt Mar's yard on Monday. We mowed a couple of laps around the perimeter of the area I wanted him to cut, then I stopped and got off. He looked at me and I motioned him on. He sat there with his mouth wide open for a moment and then said, "I'm not ready to mow by myself."
I said, "Yes, I believe you are."
He wound up mowing for about half an hour and did a great job (and he's had much less experience steering from my lap). It was a big day for him.
PACKING. Vicki and the kids took a three day/two night trip to Pigeon Forge this week to enjoy Dollywood (I stayed home due to work). They left Tuesday and came back Thursday.
Tuesday morning I was going over the packing list Vicki had made up for the kids with Ben. After the third item Ben stopped me and said, "I know. I've packed everything on the list. I've even folded it, which was very irritating, because if Mom looked through my bag I didn't want her to see my underwear."
I really wanted to ask if he thought she closes her eyes when she's doing laundry. He also streaks up the stairs naked after taking a shower.
DOLLYWOOD. Last year Vicki took the kids to Holiday World and they were asking to go back this year, but Dollywood offers a deal where if you arrive at the park after 3:00 your tickets are good for the next day. She also found a hotel that offered discounts for Dollywood guests so the trip was all set.
I think the last time we visited Dollywood Jenna was in a stroller so this was a new experience for all of the kids. When I talked to them Tuesday night they told me it had been a fun day. The crowds were low and they got to ride more than they expected. Wednesday proved to be just as fun.
Jenna really enjoyed the Mystery Mine, the Barnstormer, the Tennessee Tornado, and Adventure Mountain. Nate also enjoyed Adventure Mountain as well as River Rampage, the race cars, and the Mountain Slidewinder. Ben never could decide on a favorite and said the whole park was fun, but Jenna said the two of them really enjoyed the roller coasters.
BASEBALL IS OVER. Ben played his last baseball game of the season yesterday. While his team's win-loss record leaves a lot of be desired I think all the boys had fun and it looked like they all made a lot of improvements. I've said this here before, but Ben got the opportunity to play every infield position except pitcher this year. He made plenty of mistakes, but he made a lot of good plays too. Thinking back over the season Ben commented that he thought it worked out well that his team wasn't one of the best. As he observed he probably wouldn't have gotten the chance to play so many infield positions. He certainly wants to play again next year. Right now he wants us to sign him up for fall soccer ... oh, boy!
IT'S ALL CRAP. “Crap” is not what we consider a "nice" word. Vicki and I don't use it in our normal speech and we don't let the kids use it unchallenged, however, the other day it worked it's way into a kitchen table conversation which got everyone laughing.
Ben almost never drinks any carbonated drinks (the boys complain that they're too "spicy"), but he came home from his last ball game with a free hot dog and Coke. While drinking his Coke he decided to read the nutrition label aloud and have everyone guess how many calories, etc. were in the drink. He messed up when he got to "carbs" and said "crap." He immediately knew something wasn't right which got all the giggling started. Nutritionally speaking, Vicki was correct when she said, "Oh, it's all crab," but that made the kids giggle all the more.
A moment later Nate asked, "What's crap?" When Jenna enlightened him he started giggling all over again.
Joe
MOWER DRIVER TRAINING. I remember the first time I let Ben solo on the mower. We were in Pauline's side yard. He had been riding double with me and steering the mower for some time. We had been over some mower safety and since he was steering it well I decided to slip off the back of the mower. He drove about ten feet before realizing I was gone. He stopped and looked at me. I motioned him on and he mowed with the biggest grin on his face.
Nate's turn to solo was in Aunt Mar's yard on Monday. We mowed a couple of laps around the perimeter of the area I wanted him to cut, then I stopped and got off. He looked at me and I motioned him on. He sat there with his mouth wide open for a moment and then said, "I'm not ready to mow by myself."
I said, "Yes, I believe you are."
He wound up mowing for about half an hour and did a great job (and he's had much less experience steering from my lap). It was a big day for him.
PACKING. Vicki and the kids took a three day/two night trip to Pigeon Forge this week to enjoy Dollywood (I stayed home due to work). They left Tuesday and came back Thursday.
Tuesday morning I was going over the packing list Vicki had made up for the kids with Ben. After the third item Ben stopped me and said, "I know. I've packed everything on the list. I've even folded it, which was very irritating, because if Mom looked through my bag I didn't want her to see my underwear."
I really wanted to ask if he thought she closes her eyes when she's doing laundry. He also streaks up the stairs naked after taking a shower.
DOLLYWOOD. Last year Vicki took the kids to Holiday World and they were asking to go back this year, but Dollywood offers a deal where if you arrive at the park after 3:00 your tickets are good for the next day. She also found a hotel that offered discounts for Dollywood guests so the trip was all set.
I think the last time we visited Dollywood Jenna was in a stroller so this was a new experience for all of the kids. When I talked to them Tuesday night they told me it had been a fun day. The crowds were low and they got to ride more than they expected. Wednesday proved to be just as fun.
Jenna really enjoyed the Mystery Mine, the Barnstormer, the Tennessee Tornado, and Adventure Mountain. Nate also enjoyed Adventure Mountain as well as River Rampage, the race cars, and the Mountain Slidewinder. Ben never could decide on a favorite and said the whole park was fun, but Jenna said the two of them really enjoyed the roller coasters.
BASEBALL IS OVER. Ben played his last baseball game of the season yesterday. While his team's win-loss record leaves a lot of be desired I think all the boys had fun and it looked like they all made a lot of improvements. I've said this here before, but Ben got the opportunity to play every infield position except pitcher this year. He made plenty of mistakes, but he made a lot of good plays too. Thinking back over the season Ben commented that he thought it worked out well that his team wasn't one of the best. As he observed he probably wouldn't have gotten the chance to play so many infield positions. He certainly wants to play again next year. Right now he wants us to sign him up for fall soccer ... oh, boy!
IT'S ALL CRAP. “Crap” is not what we consider a "nice" word. Vicki and I don't use it in our normal speech and we don't let the kids use it unchallenged, however, the other day it worked it's way into a kitchen table conversation which got everyone laughing.
Ben almost never drinks any carbonated drinks (the boys complain that they're too "spicy"), but he came home from his last ball game with a free hot dog and Coke. While drinking his Coke he decided to read the nutrition label aloud and have everyone guess how many calories, etc. were in the drink. He messed up when he got to "carbs" and said "crap." He immediately knew something wasn't right which got all the giggling started. Nutritionally speaking, Vicki was correct when she said, "Oh, it's all crab," but that made the kids giggle all the more.
A moment later Nate asked, "What's crap?" When Jenna enlightened him he started giggling all over again.
Joe
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