This what greeted me the other day when I came home from work.
Guess who found a scissors and felt the need to cut his hair?

I quickly returned the gesture with my own scissors and trimmer.







He doesn't quite look like the same boy....

I got some shoes!

I will be starting the new year off right with my new Brooks Axiom running shoes. Thanks to an error with purchasing a left handed golf club for my husband, we had some extra funds that I was able to buy me some new shoes! It took 2 trips to Oshkosh but a very helpful young man (that runs an insane 90 miles per week!) at Run Away Shoes, researched for us to find us some size 11 shoes for my HUGE feet. I am SUPER excited.

In the sport of triathlon BRICKS are what they call it when you do one exercise block immediately followed by another. Such as biking and running or Swimming and Biking.

Today I did my first training Brick of the 2008 season. (I am beginning early) I am hoping to get 3 workouts a week and one Brick a month. Gradually getting longer on each brick.

I can tell the 'Resolutionist's" are starting to come out in full force too. (Hey Julie- Jason is back at the Y again, just in time for the new year) When I arrived just about all 20 of the ellipticals and Arc Trainers were full. There was only a handful of treadmills open.

But... the bikes were just about wide open.

I signed up for the bike and the treadmill. Just as I was finishing up on my bike, whad do you know... some one was on MY treadmill. Luckily many more were open than when I arrived, but Geez, Did nobody explain the theory of signing up for the machines to this guy??? It's not even the new year and I am getting shorted on my treadmill!

Today's workout was only a 20 min bike and 20 minute run, but total it was 40 minutes and that was hard enough.

Will I ever come out on top?

Aunt Sara is the Best. I don't know how she does it. She just has this knack for gift giving...
She seems to tower over me.

I asked the boys how they liked Christmas this year they said 'Great.'

I asked them what gifts were the best... Here they are...

Brock
1. StarWars Battlefront 2- Aunt Sara
2. Civilization Computer game (Thanks Aunt Jill!)
3.MP3 player- from Me

Reece
1. Lego Airport-Aunt Sara
2. Helicopter (Thanks Grandma W)
3. All the other gifts

Zeb
1. Airport play set (At least 1 got one right!)

Zeb didn't have any others. He just began naming everything he got. (I think he said the airport toy because Reece named a different airport toy, but I will take it)

Maybe it is the stigma of the 'Parent'.

Money, Money and More Money!!

So I had purchased this MP3 player from the internet.

I had thought about the IPOD and the Zune. Both expensive.

While working out these days I see all kinds of music players on the arms of fellow YMCA'ers.
I thought there has GOT to be a way to put music on those non specific machines.

Bzzzz!

Wrong! Not an easy way, at least.

Walmart.com is BAD for songs. Any songs you BUY WILL BE DRM PROTECTED. Meaning you can not use them on any other system. Even though you PURCHASED IT!

Rhapsody.com is also bad for songs. Any songs you will BUY will be in .RAX format, also is DRM protected. Great.

So far Zero for two.

Ok. Enter in the google search for WMA converter to MP3 and Convert DRM protected music.
I found many websites willing to sell my a DRM converter for the low price of $14.99. I was able to find a very helpful website called SWITCH that helped me convert some WMA's to MP3's but was useless since I needed to remove the DRM protection. I tried another one called tunebite (I think) but it only let me do a 60 second download??? Who wants sixty seconds of music? That really helps... Not! So, I tried looking up NERO.com, again "pay me". No thanks!

Mind you I PAID FOR THE MUSIC ALREADY. Why do I need so much grief to play MY music on my son's IPOD?

Ok. So I was VERY tempted to download one of the DRM protectors that I saw, but it was the principal of the deal. I had already paid for the music. They didn't need anymore money.

It took SO LONG to download the tunebite software and so many of those VISTA flags kept popping up I am thinking with have a good chance of having some spy ware on our computer somewhere now. I will fix that later.

Ok. On with the story, I finally decided to see if I could convert my I tunes to MP3's.
I stubble on this wonderful site that describes how you convert a song to MP3 format by burning it to a disc and importing it back as a Mp3, Now I will have 2 of the same song, but at least one will be in the correct format. Sheeesh.

Needless to say 3.2 hours later, I have downloaded 1 song on two the Mp3 player.

Yippeee!

A New pet? I dont think so!

Saturday night I was awoken from my sleep by my family to tell me that we acquired some new pests, er... I mean pets.

Duner went out to the Fridge we have in our garage to get a beverage, when he heard a noise. The kids soon joined him and located the source of the noise.

Our Dogs food bag.

We have 2 labs that stay mainly outside or in our garage, in the winter. We keep their food near the coop. We do have a storage container for it, but that is more effort to use in this cold weather than any of us want to fumble with, so we just open the bag and dig out their food when needed.

We feed them twice a day. Once in the am and once at night lately.
I had given them the usually nightly feeding that night. I noticed nothing.

The mice must have an internal clock and know when to hide out and wait.

It was 2 mice.

Both in the bag. Duner grabbed a empty milk gallon and tried to coerce them into the empty gallon. No takers for the first one. The kids said his butt was too big.

Need a bigger opening. Ok, so he grabbed the container we use to give the dogs water and gets one in. He actually got him to go right in!
The next one was a little more involved. The second mouse had fallen between the wrappers of the bag.

Those of you that don't know large dog food bags frequently have multiple layers of paper to keep the food contained. The second mouse had a hole in the bottom that they must have been using to negotiate a trail to and from the food source. He didn't want to come out of the layers but Duner squeezed the layers to make the mouse go in the correct direction.

Once both were in the water bottle the boys found a cover and sealed them in the container (since the mice were just about jumping up the 9 inches of the container!), to figure out what to do with them in the am, since they woke me up to ask me what to do with them and all I could say is 'I don't want them here. I don't care how they go away, just not here.' They were trying to tell me how cute they were. Did I mention it was around Midnight? Yes they are CRAZY.

No pets.

My thoughts briefly flashed back to my own experience with a mouse when I was 6 yrs old or so, I picked up a mouse that I thought was my neighbors hamster. It didn't appreciate me and bit me. It was squashed with a broom, so we were even.

Anyhoo, The next morning I woke and asked the kids about the mice.
Reece explained how Brock was worried about them so he put some water and food in the container so they would be ok overnight.
Yes, Brock was FEEDING the pests.

Reece went to go check on them shortly after that.

They were dead.

The water that Brock put in the bottom was a little much and they were FROZEN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE CONTAINER.

Great! Problem solved.

Thanks Brock!

Ventilation, Time to exhale...

I work at a doctors office. We get crabby people somewhat frequently.
But today was a extra special.
What people don't seem to realize, yes, they only see the Doctor for X # of minutes, but they don't realize the work on the back end. Lab testing, possible x-ray testing, calling in med's, and the dictation the Doctor will do on you that with recap the ENTIRE visit. Not to mention the phone calls, and faxes from pharmacies, nursing homes and hospitals. *that do usually need to be signed or replied to in some way.*

Then add in the time spent making specialist appointments or testing that will need to be done.

Not to mention any prior auths for the meds that were called in!! (Gotta LOVE medicaid)
A 'Prior Auth' is when your insurance says 'Uh huh! We like this med, use it first." or 'Patient had to have tried and FAILED on X, Y AND Z before we will CONSIDER your request'. Even with that some STILL get denied.
Doctors do make a LOT of money. I agree. But on days like today. NO Thank you!
Oh yeah, I almost forgot the perks like going to go deliver a baby after the office closes or having to spend the night in the hospital just in case the woman delivers since your home is 30 minutes from the hospital.

We saw over 30 people. Between 8am to noon and 1pm to 5pm.
Basically 15 in the am and another 15 in the pm. That is 4 people per hour on the average. Not bad. BUT WHEN YOU ADD PEOPLE IN THE ALREADY OVER BOOKED SCHEDULE TO HELP THEM OUT....
DO NOT COME TO THE OFFICE EXPECTING TO BE SEEN WITHIN AN HOUR!!!! You are the exception. We are STUFFED! We tell you that when you call. We are WORKING YOU IN!!! No whining allowed!

My personal fave is the patient that asks to speak to the Dr because 'US STAFF' are useless, or the person that calls the Dr a 'Quack' because he won't prescribe pain medication. How old are we? 5 or 8?

I like to go to work to not have to listen to the whining!!!

ah, hm...

Thank you for listening to my small tirade. Carry on...

Brother Power

We finally were able to make it to Target to make use of a gift card and some money Reece received from his birthday.

We HAD to have everyone with to help him pick out a gift, of course.

We head right away to the toy department. Specifically Lego aisle. After much pondering, it was decided to not get Lego's and buy a R/C helicopter. We stopped over at my parents house and he immediately asked for batteries, it worked Great! We left the batteries there, and headed home, since I had some at home.

He played with that for a good hour or two, then....

...the driving gear shifted. It wasn't working right. It couldn't fly. Reece, (AKA- Drama King), immediately began the tears and sulking.
... and more tears.
... and more tears...
Sigh...


I told him we can see if with can exchange it tomorrow. He was better. In the meantime Brock, who desperately wanted the board game Risk, was bending Reece's ear about what fun the game Risk is. Brock is not one to mention something only one time. You can expect to hear things over and over and over and over, again. Poor Reece probably had Brock whispering that in his sleep!

The next morning we took the kids sledding at a local park. They had fun. Zeb was all by himself on an super tube. He loved it. He would put his belly on the edge and leave his feet drag behind him and that was how he went down. Over and over again. He would use his legs to direct himself. He was quite good.

Brock and Reece went down together, Brock had taken off his coat he was too warm, he got knocked off the tube, but Reece got some 'Snow Burn' and out came the 'Drama King' in him. He was Waaaaaaaayyyy down at the bottom of the hill and we could hear him just fine. Kids on the hill were stopped looking at him to make sure he is ok. Brock was fine and he walked up to Reece and stood there trying to get him up. We knew Reece was fine. Brock would have tried to get our attention right away, but he just kicked the tube a few times trying to get Reece off to bring it up to the top of the hill.

After 10 minutes of ignoring him, Reece realized that no one was going to come to him and walked up making Brock carry the tube alone! Brock should have left Reece down there to carry the tube up by himself! We let the boys continue for 30 more minutes or so after Reece had some time in the truck to regain his composure.

After that we dropped the boys at home and brought in the helicopter.

They let us return it! Yay! We tried to get a new one but they were out. Reece was bummed. He tried to find something else to buy, but everything he thought he wanted was more than he had.

We happened by the game of Risk just happened to be on sale. After a quick phone call to Duner and Aunt Sara (got voice mail), to figure out if that was the game she had gotten him, I realized I must have deleted that email so the boys wouldn't find out what she bought them. Argh!

I think she had gotten that for Brock for Christmas, but after much discussion I couldn't talk him out of getting it. (Sorry Sara!)

So he brought home the game Risk and some Lego Clone Troopers.

Where is it all coming from?

I don't remember a December that we had so much snow within a week!
Granted, we didn't get it yet but wow! I love it!
Yes, the roads are bad and it is so much work to clear up... but we are heading to a WHITE Christmas!!
Talk about holiday spirit.
Yippee!

The boys got some gifts from St Nick last night, much to Brock's Dismay St. Nick did not drop off a game boy Pokemon game. Bummer. Considering Brock suggested it the night of St Nick visiting I told him right out; "GOOD LUCK, but it wont happen."
They each did get a mini Lego set, PJ's, Hershey kisses, mini peanut butter cups, an ornament, a flying saucer toy and a lifesaver holiday book.
Brock was showing me the life savers he has left, I was amazed to find out he hates CHERRY!! YUM!
Those are my favorites! His favorite is GREEN! I told him I hated those I used to throw them away.
Geez, Kids these days!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

The weeks are flying by.
I am barely able to get the 'normal' stuff done! Then add to that decorating, Christmas cards, tree trimming, baking oh, and why not toss in the volunteering at the school!
We came home from the water park and Duner had the house picked up and looking great, so all we had to do was unload and put away our stuff.

I can not tell you how happy was on Monday to find a lost video game and card that we temporarily misplaced!

Reece school needed some school supplies for kids in a foreign country, Zebs needed food for the local food pantry and if Brock's needed something I don't know. He hardly drops me piles of paperwork like the elementary schools do. Thank Goodness!

I did manage to grab the kids gifts and wrap them safely without them around. That is one reason why I love school for them. Yay!
I was just finishing wrapping Brocks when Reece and Zeb came home. Brock can't wait for St Nick to come tonight, he was begging me to fill the stockings last night. He said "If we can open presents on Christmas Eve then we can have St Nick come one day early too!".
Nice Try buddy!

So far, SO GREAT!!

So, What do you do when there is a winter storm warning on the horizon?

Why not head to a water park? We did. Especially when you son's birthday was the occasion, Not like you can really say 'lets do a rain check on this ok?'

It was a little over an hour away, but the drive went quick as the snow began to fly. The kids were occupied as they played their game boys. As we got closer Brock was our navigator. He did a good job since we made it directly to our location.

As we pulled in the kids were in awe of the mere size of the place. Enormous. We pulled in to check in to the place. As we walked in some valet's acted as Doormen for us, the kids were impressed with that. The lobby was impressive. 3 stories tall, with a huge staircase going up to the second floor. It was decorated with trees and garland all over. In the center they have a neat fountain with dolphin's the kids liked.

Thankfully, We were early to check in but we were still able to get a room. Our room was on the 4th Floor, it had a vaulted ceiling, a small living room area, two queen beds, small fridge (but nice size, bigger), microwave, granite counter tops, and 37 inch TV with Nintendo Game Cube. The kids loved it. Reece said he was in heaven. After changing we head down to the water park. The have 7 water slides. Two that you use with an intertube, 2 body slides and 3 kiddie slides that Zeb LOVED! I think I spent an hour watching him go up and down those alone.
They have a huge tank that holds 1000 gallons of water and dumps it every 10 minutes or so. By 4pm Zeb was ready to take a break at the room. We headed up an let Reece and Jake play one more hour. There were lifeguards all over and they were mainly playing with the slides and the water toys. They were having loads of fun.
We ordered Dominos pizza and one hour of playing time from the Nintendo game system to give time while we waited. When our pizza arrived, I had to go down and get it. But they had about 10 drummers from a local school in the lobby doing a small show. It was packed. It was neat to see but I didn't even know it was going on! The room was quiet. It was neat to see. Zeb helped me bring the food up to the room. Thankfully I had brought the laptop and the free internet was a help for giving us quiet time before we go swimming again. By 6pm they were ready to swim again. I wasn't going to get into my wet cold swimsuit, so I just staying in my clothes. I knew Zeb would probably be using the slides mostly anyway. There was not a lot of people in the Water park this time. It was very nice.
We were able to see some snow lighting and hear some thunder, even over the noise of the water park.
Zeb was being chased a lot by this one little girl that he didn't appreciate. He kept running up to me to ask her to leave him alone.
By 8pm, we headed back to the room. In my search for a water machine, I learned they had Milk and cookies for the kids and they were reading them a story on the steps of the lobby! I quickly grabbed 4 cookies and a big glass of milk for the kids before she was putting it away.
I noticed they had an ice cream and dessert shoppe, so we headed down there for some ice cream. Reece picked a vanilla cone, Zeb had bubble gum ice cream in a dish, Jake had orange cream dream in a dish and Brock had Maple Nut in a dish. I just got a bottle of water. I knew Zeb wouldn't finish so I just waited for him to give it to me.
After the ice cream, we checked out the arcade. Zeb's first choice was a driving game, no surprise there. The chair you sat in actually moved when you hit a wall, It was neat!
We headed back to the room and the kids played more on the internet, and watched a Harry Potter movie that happened to be on TV. Zeb was tired but he had a hard time drifting off to sleep with the boys talking and the lights on.
Currently we are waiting for the time to pass until they can go into the park this morning. This morning's breakfast consisted of leftover pizza. I had thought about getting room service, but I figured we will just get a nice lunch instead.
Well, the toilet had been unclogged- Thanks to Brock and Maintenance (later...), and the boys are ready to go, so I better change myself and head down to the water park.

Sad News.

I was shocked and saddened to see an email pop in to my box on Friday...
She was 58 and it wasn't exactly expected. I had just heard on the Sunday before that she was even sick.

It said...

Some of you we have tried to contact, others we have already had the opportunity to talk to. For those of you who have not heard the unfortunate news, our mom passed away today while at AMC in Appleton. Most of you knew how sick she was, but it still comes as an unpleasant surprise. She had a rough night at home last night with shortness of breath and being exhausted. This morning she was scheduled for some lab work at the hospital but she was so weak that dad called Gold Cross Ambulance non-emergency to take her for her appointment.

While she was at the hospital, she went into cardiac arrest. They tried several times to revive her, and even got her pulse back once or twice, but it didn't last. They tried everything they could for her, but in the end it just wasn't enough. They don't know exactly what caused her death, but they speculate that her heart threw another blood clot that went into her lung. The nurse said she put up a good fight and did not suffer. There will also be an autopsy to find the final cause. Dr. Hari from Froedtert even called today to talk to dad and say how unexpected this was and that dad can call him anytime if he needs anything.

I will be attending the visitation, but I am unable to go to the funeral. My Mom suggested that I bring Zeb with since it is something he will need to experience sooner or later. It will be his first experience with death. I am going to research online what to expect from him so I am better prepared. I don't remember how the kids acted when Duner's Uncle David died. Reece was really young, and Zeb wasn't around yet. Brock's always been care free.


She was a nice person and will be surely missed by those that knew her. I feel bad for them. This time of year is extra hard with the loss of a loved one.

Unfortunately, they will get reminders every year when Media and Marketing talk of Black Friday...

also known as the day of her passing.

Reece's Gift

With Many Thanks, Again to Auntie Sara, Reece was able to spend some birthday money at Target.
On Thanksgiving he had gotten a gift card for his Birthday that is coming up on December 1. I had to work til 5pm and when I got home I made sure that he had the house picked up and some food in him for supper. (Delay tactics really is what they were) I was avoiding any lines and large groups. When we finally headed out, it wasn't bad AT ALL! No lines, no Large groups of people. We headed for the Toy department. After much consideration, he picked out a game called Battleground: Crossbows and Catapults. He had seen that on TV and really wanted that. He also picked out Star Wars Droids Battle Pack Legos. He even had enough money left over for a Popcorn combo he just loves! (You can get a small popcorn and medium soda for a buck, at Target!)

The Hunt.

After a day of turkey and stuffing, it was time do some serious planning. I was able to have sometime off and wanted to make the most of the after thanksgiving day deals.

I had scoped out the 'ad's' online and in the paper. I had narrowed my plan to Toys R us, Dick's Sporting goods, Target and possibly Wal-mart.

It didn't take long for me to be asleep once I finally decided the plan of action. I was rather annoyed when I woke up at 2:40 am, unable to go to sleep. Yes. 2:40am.
I stayed in be until 3 am, then I got up and discovered that Zeb had woken up and was watching TV. I hopped on the computer, hoping that some deals would be available, so I wouldn't be have to go out in the cold.

Of course, nothing was 'Currently Available Online'. *sigh*...
Ok, time to get my butt to the store.
My theory was to sit in my car, when the line began moving walk up. I wanted to get a Zune MP3 player, Robo-reptile, some kind of Lego set and batteries.
I was craving a warm beverage, so I stopped at Starbucks Coffee. Yes at 3:30am. I got a Grande Mocha and headed to Toys R Us. Adrenaline setting in.

4AM I pull in the parking lot. Not bad. Not quiet half full, but it didn't open until 5am. My plan to sit in my car disappeared as I pulled in the parking lot. Temp outside is 20 degrees, I did not have my winter jacket, no mittens, or hat. Wasn't dressed in Layers. I really had planned to stay in my car.
I began seeing the MP3 player fly off the shelves. I grabbed my coffee and made my way to the line.

Since I was by myself, I wanted to pass time, so I began talking to the couple behind me. The were from a city an hour away. They didn't have a clue what they were going to be going in for they just picked Toys R us because they wanted to.

As my toes chilled more and more the crowd began to get restless, especially after they came out and gave away all the tickets for the Zune. Only 16 were in the store. They were gone. Okay, one of my big ticket items gone. A handful of people left the line, some flipping the bird to the crowd as they drove off. Jerks!
Some were beginning to complain others were 'in there space', or complaining about the people that joined the line on the way in the store. I was not feeling a warm and cozy holiday spirit there! Geez.
I grabbed a cart from outside and some yelled at me as I tried to get in the store with it, since they couldn't squeeze themselves in past my large cart. Excuuuuuuse Me!
I walked in, going over my list in my head. Robo, lego, batteries.
I found the robo-reptile right away. I turned to my right, and there was the lego display. What Karma! On to the checkout. No Lines and the batteries are right there! Woo Hoo!
As I walked out, the line of people was still entering the store. I heard a few people say "Oh, now those are gone." As I walked past with my Large Robo-Reptile.

On to the next store. Dick's Sporting goods. I wasn't there for the Heely's but when I got there at 5:07am (seriously), I had to wait for them to open at 5:30 pm. Bummer... I was hoping my standing in the cold was done.

Heely's are shoes with a roller at the heel so you can skate or walk at any given time. They were half price. They guy I met in line was getting some for his son, I was getting a golf club for Duner, but the Heely's would be a nice idea for Reece.

Thankfully they opened a bit early so I didn't have to stay out side too long. I found what I needed right away. I decided to grab some Heely's for Reece I knew that he would like them. I just grabbed the first pair of Grey Heely's. By the time I reached the check out I had to wait for 2 people. Still not bad.

I was leaving Dick's as the parking lot began to fill up. Sweet! I am just in an out of these places...
I drove to the other side of town, it was 5:45am as I pulled in the Target parking lot. I noticed not a lot of cars were parking on the side of the building, but a ton were in the front. I just went right for the side. I also noticed they TOO WERE NOT YET OPEN. Geez. I was waiting in my car this time. I don't care about the lines. I really wanted to use the bathroom, but I knew they were not going to let anyone in for 10 minutes.
At 6am I headed for the door. They were only letting people in through one door, in order to avoid a stampede. Smart move, I thought, about my experience at Toys R Us. They also had a guy standing at the door like a body guard. I think there was a fight 'cause one guy left before getting in, after some pushing near the front of the line.
I finally got in, even though I needed to use the bathroom, I figured I would go and quickly find the gift first. I was looking for the Star Wars II game Target had in the flyer. Zeb had wanted it. I wasn't able to find it but I wasn't upset. I just looked for the Ten dollar weather station they also had. I was pretty much just taking in all the chaos. I didn't find it, but I didn't want to look to hard. I had to use the bathroom, so I headed to the front of the store and left.
I had gotten most of what I wanted, and that was good.

I wanted to get some PS2 games at Walmart, but I just didn't want to go through ANOTHER store opening. I don't mind one but 3 stresses me out too much. I was happy to be done by 6:20am.

Makin' Cookies

Last night we made some cookies.

Here are some of our pictures from that experience...










"I am going to make a doughnut!" He said.










"I really don't want to do this." He said to Reece before sitting down to cut out the Gingerbread men!

It didn't take long for him to change his mind...











Reece just couldn't wait to get out the dough and start cutting. He just loved to help. He is such a GREAT Helper!













FLOUR POWER???

Yes, it was messy but they turned out some really neat looking gingerbread dudes.

Many Thanks Auntie Sara!

We have returned from a fun weekend at Verona to visit Aunt Sara and Jason. You can read about that adventure on her blog here.

We returned by 11:30 am so we could make it to a Baby Shower for a High School friend.
As much fun as it was, it was good to be back home, but we had to leave again.

After picking up another friend from school we headed to the baby shower. We played a very interesting game of 10 substances of white powder consistency. That was interesting. We had to guess which was what and we were not able to smell them or open up the baggies. There was 5 baby items and 5 cooking items. The women at my table worked together to guess each item. We got 8 right. Powdered milk and laundry detergent really were tough to guess.

Zeb managed to leave with a balloon, bubbles, bowl and plate. I won some floating candles that Zeb had his own ideas on where to put them.

We got home and Zeb immediately headed over to his Moon Sand, that Auntie Sara gave him. She also let him come home with a Rubiks Spaceship.

Brock and Reece were home from the Cabin by then and Zeb couldn't wait to tell them how much fun he had.
"We went to see Bee Movie! And the Zoo! And I got to play Call of Duty 2!" and on and on he went...
Then they started talking about how much fun they had playing on the PS2 and what they played... and then on and on they went....

I think fun was had by all the boys, with many thanks to Aunt Sara for all of the Adventures and trinkets.

Rambling's in Mom's Free time.

There are so few times these days that I can sit down and type out anything, without one of my kids stopping to read what I am writing. Thankfully, these are one of those times.

They are all off to school. I am able to be in a peaceful house. I don't even watch my soap. I read about it from time to time and that seems to be enough for me to catch up and what has happened. Not even a radio. Just me and my thoughts. Ahhhh....

Reece was signed up to play soccer next year with the Rec Dept here. He used to be really good at it. Since we moved here he hasn't been in a league because he was too shy. Hopefully he finds out a friend is on the league this year. We had to bring his birth certificate and pay an insane amount to get him in but I think he really needs this. He likes to be physical, he doesn't like to sit around all day and play video games, like Brock.

Brock went to the Flight School on Saturday. At the last minute Brock was able to go due to a last minute cancellation. He was excited. I only was left with Reece, since Duner had taken Zeb to scout out his hunting area. Zeb is so funny. He gets SO EXCITED about hunting or ANYTHING to do with hunting. The other two could care less. Brock is supposed to go Deer hunting for the first 'Real' season on Saturday. We will see how this plays out. I predict he will only go Saturday AM. Regardless if he sees anything or not, I think he will stay in the Cabin the rest of the Weekend.

Zeb and I are heading to Auntie Sara's for the Weekend. Zeb REALLY wants to see Bee Movie and I really want to try a Kick Boxing Class with Aunt Sara. We may do a family swim too. We will see how much time we have and how Zeb's behaving. He keeps Asking when we are going down there. It's hard to explain days or Weeks to a 5 year old.
I had Zeb's conferences today, it seems Zeb has a hard time following directions, keeping his hands to himself and not talking to his friends. No surprise there! Otherwise, he is polite, shares, takes turns, interacts appropriately and seems to enjoy being at school. I believe he likes being at school, but he was none to happy to see his 'friend' Caitlin sitting next to a new boy... Hmmmm. Friends huh? I heard about that all weekend!


I got my new passport photos taken today. Next October, Auntie Sara and I are going to Germany. So, I have to renew my passport. It was 15 years ago this December when I last used it. I have since misplaced it, but since it was within the 15 year mark, so I can just renew it. (Yay, it saves me some Cha-$-ching)
I hope to go in next week to get that taken care of. It seems funny to me that to pay for it I have to make out two checks. One for the government and one for the county. Do they not get along??? Geez.

Well, times up... must get back to work... uh... House work that is.

Too Funny.

It's a good thing they were not on a bike ride...
: - }

Cow falls off cliff and crashes onto van near Manson, Washington The Associated Press

MANSON, Wash. — Charles and Linda Everson were driving back to their hotel when their minivan was struck by a falling object — a 600-pound cow.

The Eversons were unhurt but the cow, which had fallen off a cliff, had to be euthanized.

The year-old cow fell about 200 feet from the cliff and landed on the hood of the couple’s minivan, causing heavy damage.

A Chelan County fire chief, Arnold Baker, said the couple missed being killed by a matter of inches in the crash Sunday on a highway near Manson.

The Eversons, visiting the area from their home in Westland, Mich., to celebrate their first wedding anniversary, were checked at Lake Chelan Community Hospital as a precaution.

Everson, 49, said he didn’t see the cow falling and didn’t know what happened until afterward.

He said he kept repeating: “I don’t believe this. I don’t believe this.”

Welcome Fox Cities Triathlon Clubbers!

Since I am the featured member of the Fox Tri Club this week, I will write about my triathlon life. I am not a FAST tri-athlete. I COMPLETE THEM. Not to be confused with compete. It is so nice to have fellow athletes that know our pain. Understand our fears. Not to mention, know our lingo.
Now, I admit, when I am not the last one on the list of finishers I am happy. Ok, I have to admit I would love to be in the top 10, but I am working on that. I am a MOM first. I need to balance the two aspects in my life.

So I was trying to talk my husband in to doing a triathlon, but he is still TOO SCARED! I don't know what to say to get him to just jump on in! He thinks he can't do it unless he has a new bike. Which is strange since he wouldn't let me just BUY a road bike until I proved myself.

I was trying to tell him NOW is the time to get going and pick which one(s) you want to do so you don't have to pay so much to do them. I just sent in my money for the High Cliff Triathlon.

I am trying to get improved in my running. I have improved, SLOWLY! I know it is not going to happen over night. I have lost weight, but only about half way to where I want to be next year. Running is a great way to help lose weight.

This school year it has been tough finding the time to workout. I usually like to get my workout in right in the morning, but since my youngest is in afternoon 4k, we usually stay home until the bus comes to get him. I don't want to leave because I am afraid I will lose track of time an miss the bus. Zeb LOVES the bus.

Speaking of Zeb, we took him to the Dentist yesterday. About 2 weeks ago he fell while riding his scooter and knocked one of his front teeth lose. It is now turning a nice dark color. It was shifted back a little bit, too. According to our dentist he should be ok he told us what to watch for, in case of infection, but otherwise it should just stay there until it is ready to fall out. (crossing our fingers and toes) I really don't what to have it pulled. He was terrified when he found out that his teeth will fall out. He told me he no longer wants to have anymore birthday's. He wants to stay 5 forever!

Ahhhh... now that was nice.

After a couple of weeks with extra hours put in at work, I was really in need of some piece and quiet. Last night after work Reece comes up to me and tells me that he got yet ANOTHER late slip.

I was furious! On Thursday, the night before his late slip, I told him there would be NO TV, Computer or video games. He needed to find something constructive to do. I was just so sick of the extra noise.

And yet somehow he didn't get his homework done....

I had told the kids to throw a pizza in the oven for supper since I had to go to get some groceries. I was looking forward getting out of the house after that. I really didn't want to come home.

But...

Then today Duner to the boys and the dogs to the cabin to scout out for the upcoming hunting season. I was left alone from 8am until 2pm today.
I was able to clean the bathrooms, organize my desk, put away Halloween Decor, vacuumed up the dog hair in the garage, drop a load off at the thrift store and worked out.

There was No TV. When I was by myself, it was so peaceful, no Lego's magically appearing. No noise. Until I put on my itunes. I had treated myself to Starbucks on Friday and they gave me a free song from itunes. It was a song by John Mayer called Dreaming with a Broken Heart.

Well, needless to say that is no longer the situation. I am now in the company of my kids, since Duner has now gone hunting. I guess we each have different ideas of bliss.

It was a Dark and Crisp fall night...

Here we are with another weekend come and gone.
On Saturday, My husband and I were invited to a wedding of his cousins. It was the second wedding in row that we were invited to. It was also the same side of the family.

We were not able to make it to last week's wedding and Duner had to work yet again, so we didn't make it to either wedding. It bothered me a little. I really don't like missing things like that if I can help it. But Duner worked both weekends at the Restaurant. At least we were fair to both and didn't make it to either one.

We were invited to a neighbor's Halloween party on Saturday as well. I was feeling guilty about being home and not stopping over so I managed to get really creative and dress in my Triathlon gear, swim cap and googles. I was tempted to wear my bike shorts but after a quick look in the mirror I changed my mind on that one, and opted for some running pants.

I entered their garage and was greeted with questions asking if I was the Police? There was probably 20 people and only one was not in costume. There were lots of pirates, a boy-girl cheer team, a caveman, hunters (2) many witches, grim reapers, an Indian, a few clowns, and a chauffeur.

I stayed for about an hour and headed home. I was so cold I didn't warm up until the middle of the night.

I wish I would have taken some pictures but I didn't. You will have to use your imaginations.

So What have I been doing since I have Not been Blogging?

Oh Boy!
Where do I start???
Ok.
Last I left you I was patiently awaiting my husband to return home from a week long existence with out his family (unless you count his brother). I waited a week and a few hours before I heard from him again.
Yes one FULL week without hearing from my husband. AT ALL.
Honestly it felt like he was working long hours again like he was when he was on 12 hour shifts, but I wasn't able to call his cell phone.
They didn't get the trophy cow they were hoping for but they gain LOADS of knowledge. Such as, Three hours in the 3rd seat of the Durango is Way too long to be sitting there.
I then spent the duration of my weekend in Laundry Central, cleaning the weeks worth of campfire clothes, not to mention our own, as well.

The boys had a friend spend the night on Saturday, I spent the majority of my time trying to maintain the level of clean I was able to do while my husband was gone and I was off of work. That is just about impossible these days. It was kind of nice while it lasted, but *sigh*, farewell clean house of mine.

I did manage to sneak away to grab some Halloween customes for the boys.
B is going to be the 'King of Pop'. He is going to have a cape with names of soda on it a crown and necklace of soda bottles or cans.
R. is going to be a ninja. He is so excited about that he was told twice to remove his costume. I finally hid it or else he would lose an accessory.
Z is going to be the CUTEST skeleton you have ever seen!! He loves his costume too!

I visited with a cousin of mine that recently had a baby. A Boy she named Isaiah. I am a bit biased when it comes to babies. I love boys. It was nice to be able to hold him and get him to fall asleep, but be able to leave. I really don't miss the 'baby' stage. I LOVE to visit that once in a while but as far as I am concerned, NO WAY GOIN' BACK NOW!

Zeb was hoping to go hunting with Dad but since Reece wanted to go he couldn't. That was when we decided to let him go out and play with my cousin's 3 older girls. Zeb just loves to play with them. It was hard to get him to leave, but once the girls began giving 'Good-bye kisses' they left pretty easily.

Duner and I also spent some time doing some pre-holiday shopping, while the kids were in school.

The boys have been off of school since Wednesday, so I don't have much on the selves anymore. I will be having to go get some food soon.

Ma Ma Shopping trip.

I was able to spend some time without kids and without anything going on. It was a nice change. I took this time to do some much needed shopping. My job will be switching from wearing scrub tops to 'business casual', so I need to update my wardrobe.

There are some very good sales on right now, and I haven't been in a clothing section like that in a long while.
I found some shirts, unfortunately, not what I prefer. I am not a huge fan of 3/4 sleeves and that is practically the only thing out there.
As I violated the maxium number of garments to bring in the fitting room, I discovered some rules for shopping...

1. If you are having difficulty getting it over your head, chances are it won't fit the rest of you.
2. The words 'Modern fit' mean you will need the next size up, don't bother with the size you think you wear.
3. When undressing, Never look in the mirror until you are dressed. Your in the store with size 2 mannequins, You will not appreciate the view.

I had over 3 hours to spend so I stopped in some 'Big Name' type stores. Hoping to score a few good deals. I am amazed at what we as a public are spending our money on! So much for Quality! WOW! I was amazed. I could have bought a long sleeve t-shirt material type shirt, that looked like it was put together by a 8th grader and worn 5 years, before going to the store! That was something like 15 bucks, on 'SALE'!!

Needless to say I didn't find anything there. As I continued a women stopped me to give me her sales pitch about some dead sea skin care. I will agree it was neat, but not for the 'great deal price of $59.95! Which shrunk down to $29.95. (I noticed online it is only $39.95 and the salt scrub she told me was $80 bucks I can buy for $64.95 online!)

I managed to sneak away from her by telling her I was going to stop back on my way out of the mall. Then I made sure I took a different way back to the car.

I managed to leave with just about what I came with, except I grabbed a Hot Dog and soda at Target.

Fall Fun 2007

Saturday a local landscaping place had a Halloween Fun Day. We had gotten something from the kids school telling about it so I decided we would go check it out.

Shortly after we parked we were met by a guy made up to look like he had cuts all over his face. He also had sun glasses on so you couldn't see his eyes. He was wearing dark clothing and a hooded sweatshirt. Even though it was high noon, it still freaked Zeb out that he was looking at Zeb. He walked with us for a little bit, but then he pointed at Zeb. If Zeb could have climbed me, he would have been on my head. Then he started to wave at Zeb, that helped a bit.

As soon as we walked up they had some hayrides. We hopped on the first one we saw and began traveling through the various trees and landscaping elements they had for sale.

This peticular location has a fancy water fountain, pond and boulder display. As we got closer we were treated to a girl pirate show, complete with costumes and even a Bassett hound dressed as a shark.

As we wandered on we came upon 3 plant houses that were made up in various scenes.

The first was a guy in a coffin that made a very loud noise and made you jump as he got up out of the coffin and followed you down to the next one.... , where two guys were 'cutting up a skeleton.

The third one was 2 girls fighting in jail and then they would start yelling at you.

The rest of the ride was a graveyard from the decorative boulders, a truck buried in the dirt, various 'dead bodies', a witch and 2 guys with chainsaws.

That was only the Hayride~
Then we go to the Store where they have cotton candy, popcorn, Hot Chocolate, Culvers custard, candy bars, face painting, pumpkin decorating and photo studio to take pictures of the kids in costume.
It was all Free! It was VERY fun. The boys completely enjoyed it.

We finished out the adventure by picking some pumpkins at the apple orchard by our house and headed home. Reece barely made it out of the car he was so tired after all the fun he didn't want to wake up to pick his pumpkin.

Moraine & More Hunting...

Reece recently went to Kettle Moraine State Park, as a result, he was to build something resembling what they may have seen if they were around during the ice age. Here is how his turned out. He was pretty happy. We used a recipe to make play dough for the glacier, and tinted some of it to make a Mammoth, we used a toothpick for the tail.

He used some duct tape to hold the grass he picked out of our front yard and added some sparkle glitter to the dough for ice effect. We used long cinnamon stix and some green paper to make some trees, just to help give it something more.
I hope he stays pretty happy with it since I saw some of the other kids projects and they were pretty good.
In other news, Brock recieved a new shotgun just in time for the Youth Gun hunt this year. Reece was just as excited as Brock about the new gun. Don't worry, yes he know's about gun safety and how he is not allowed to touch it without Dad present. He just wanted to pose for the picture.

Brock's youth gun hunt was not quiet successful, but it was a learning experience. Brock needs to learn to not talk so much, but I don't think that will change any time soon. They did manage to see 4 deer total on Sunday but that was it.

Update on Dad: Duner called from Iowa tonight at 6pm, he has approximately an 8 hr stretch through Nebraska then about 6 hours to Steamboat, CO. The latest weather called for rain on Saturday and Sunday. Yuck. I think they are going to come home early. Just my opinion.

The Big hunt is coming

I have been busy getting my husband and car ready to go hunting.
Something is wrong there, I know.

Tomorrow he leaves for Colorado with his brother and some friends to hunt for about a week in the hills of Colorado. I have heard all kinds of interesting stories about how dehydrated and exhausted you can become. He was supposed to be running about 2 or 3 times a week to get prepared, but he maybe ran 5 times total.
Our Truck is the transportation for all of the guys. We cleaned up our truck, gave it an oil change and made sure the tail lights are working correctly, which brought to our attention the battery needed to be replaced. They are bringing our truck for 6 guys, their gear and food. I am glad they decided to bring a trailer. They think it will be to bring home the "big Hunt's Rewards".

I am NOT holding my breath.

They are going to be enjoying the balmy temperatures, as the high will be in the upper 60's, and the low in the low 30's. Sometimes lower it depends on the website you check. For some fun, the big guy upstairs has decided to throw some rain there way.

I remember watching the athletes at last years Wisconsin Ironman as it was in the mid 40's and rainy. Brrr. I watched for about 2-3 hours. Then I was ready to go in to a warm home. I can not imagine Eating, Sleeping, and just camping with rain and cold.

I am certain he and the rest of them will have loads of stories; From the email's we have been getting, I can tell, they are a bunch of clowns when they all get together.

Just Runnin'

I managed to guilt myself into waking up at 5:45 and head out on a run. I laid in warm cozy bed thinking how I was awake, B was home to hold down the fort until I came back. Since my window was cracked open, I could tell it was colder than it had been the previous days this week.

The last time I ran was Thursday. I did a 4.4 mile run. It was at sundown, and by the time I had gotten home he was very dark. It was a beautiful time to run. It wasn't 80 degrees and I really enjoyed the lack of sun beating down on me. (No lectures necessary)

I was hoping to run on Saturday or Sunday, but I just couldn't find the time.

So... I needed to do it this am or else I have to wait until the afternoon. That is when Z will be in School.
I got my butt out of bed. I grabbed my ipod and workout pants and long sleeve shirt. I was feeling pretty good and actually awake. I got my gear on, told B. that I was going for a run. He was already on the computer. The kid is nuts he actually wakes up insanely early to sometimes play on the computer or sometimes just watch tv.

Anyway, as I headed outside, I was in awe of the sky. It was still dark and crisp. I love Fall. It is probably my favorite season. I began out on the country roads, I like to go the opposite way of traffic. That way I can see if a car is coming. The only bad part of running that early is the lack of natural light. Not so much cars, but road kill. I knew that there was a dead muskrat, frog and cat along my route, I just had to avoid it. The muskrat was on the side of the road in the gravel. I tried to avoid it but each time a car would come I would go into the gravel, and be blinded due to the headlights of the upcoming cars as I tried to watch for the dead animals. Somehow I managed to skip it, but I don't know how.
Luckily the cat was on the other side of the road. There was also a dead frog but he was already pretty flat, so no chance of falling on that one.
My hands were pretty cold as I finished the first mile, but I was warming up pretty good by my 2.5. As I was coming to the 3 mile mark the sun was begining to come out.
That was the neatest and scariest run I have had in a long time, but things went well I think.

Career Searching

Brock is in something called Education Talent Search. ETS is a 'magically funded' program that helps kids whose parents did not go to a 4 yr school or can't afford to do so, a guide in the right direction. We qualify for this since Duner and I did not got to a college or university.

Last year, I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork and send it in to get the whole thing started. They had a get together with pizza but that was it.

This year they will have monthly workshops, field trips and various speakers planned.

One field trip is to a Flight School. HOW COOL IS THAT!!!

The school is about an hour away, but a bus will bring him, and the other kids that are going to participate in a variety of activities designed to help them explore aviation. They will also go on a flight simulation machine after they complete "pilot training". I haven't talked to Brock about this yet but I imagine him worrying about his ears... The last time we flew he had a lot of ear pain. We visited a specialist for ears and he told us to load up on decongestant, and basically allergy medication. It sounds like Brock has a lot of fluid in his head normally and by getting it out that should help.

I heard from a wife of a pilot that I work with that flight school is outrageously expensive, but college is not cheap either. She said the big bucks in flying are with the larger companies, not the local Midwest Airlines, that we have around here. If we could get his ears in check, I bet that would be an interesting career choice.
But, OF COURSE, that is HIS to decide.

Ok that was FUN!

What a busy weekend...
First I meet the girls from the neighborhood out a local establishment to record a Happy Birthday message secretly to a neighbor. I drove a neighbor and passed one walking to the place on the way. We probably could have walked to but we both had time reasons to leave early. She is a nursing mom and Duner had to work nights Friday.

Bright and early on Saturday I woke at the crack of dawn to get ready to spend the weekend away. I showered, packed and headed over to my friend's J's house. She was ready and waiting for me to get there. After loading up my bag we headed out. Three hours later we were pulling in to a parking stall and gearing up for a busy day of shopping.

Warrens is a town of 400 that becomes flooded with about 100,000 people. The entire town gets taken over. We walk all over the place. In peoples yards, in Church yards, in ALL the streets and a few nearby fields.

After a loaded baked potato, we warmed up a bit. The air had a slight chill to it. Every year the weather in this city is the opposite of what you think. It was forecasted to be in the high 70:s on Saturday, it was really in the low 60's in the highest. We decided after it began to sprinkle after 4 hours to head back to a hotel and sit in a hot tub and realax.

We had forgotten the name of the hotel we had a reaservation at. We were able to stop in at a hotel to use their computer to look up the name of our hotel. We kind of wished we were staying at that hotel, but we had another reservation.

After checking in our hotel, the hot tub was in need of a really good cleaning so we retreated to our room. After calling a local theater for movies times and prices we decided to rent a DVD player and some movies instead. It was nice. I learned my friend has not seen very many movies recently, but I was still willing to re-watch any that she wanted. We picked out Knocked Up and We are Marshall.

After the first one, we barely made it through the second. It was a busy day so we went to bed early.

The next day I woke first and tried to get the coffee going for us, but when I turned on a light I ended up waking up her too.

Within a short time we were ready to try our luck again.

The weather was beautiful!! We heard there was a posibility of showers, but none appeared. It was nice being only two. I think we covered more ground. I definitely got further than I ever have. We found better deals on day two; Not to mention many less people. It seems like a shame, so many people stuck it out on a crappy day, to miss out on the deals and weather the very next day.

I came home and learned Reece got his first bee sting. Apparently he is not allergic. He went to some festival with his Aunt Shannon and was using a port-o-potty and as he was getting out it got his hand. I guess the bee's were just mean that day because Aunt Shannon ended up getting stung too!

Sounds like they had fun too! Enjoy the Photo Show, just ignore my funny face...

Help for Brock, Please.

Please allow me list little bit of your time for my child's benefit. I don't do this often,
I really despise this about the K.A School District, but they send this home each year.

B. is selling magazines. They will will plant a tree every time a 3rd magazine is purchased by the same household through a non-profit organization called Plant-it 2020.
Brock is desperately trying to sell as many as he can. He hopes to earn enough for a MP4 player. (That is 75 magazines...) so any help I am sure is appreciated.
They have all different kinds.

Cooking
Fitness
News, Business and Home
Lifestyle
Sports & Leisure
Entertainment & Fashion
Outdoors
Travel


Please go to this Website.
Click on Order Magazines.
Then enter the School's Code. WC2350.
Then click on 'Start Shopping'
Enter B's First Name. Enter the Last name. (So he can get credit for it)

If you are more comfortable please email us your choices and we will reply back.

Thank you for your time....

Wow!

Who knew a dictionary would be such a treasured item? Too bad R is in not in 3rd grade.
Apparently the 3rd Graders from R's school think it is the 'Greatest Dictionary EVER!'
Take a peek

Field Trips Everywhere!

I am not really sure why but this school district likes to front load all of the field trips for the kids in the early parts of the year. I don't know if parents aren't as likely to pay later in the year or what, but it is a bit overwhelming.

Two kids have a field trip to an apple orchard. I am sure they will pick apples, probably some gourds or pumpkins, too.

One to a historical state park, Kettle Moraine State Park, and a local nature center.

Some need a bag lunch others not. Apparently if I would agree to chaperone, I need a background check. That never happened in the other schools. I guess it is a nice feature, but I just didn't realize they were so picky.

Then my oldest tells me that he only has $7 in his account for school lunch. Ok, we are less than 3 weeks into school and he should have had more than enough to make it through the first month, no problem!

Well, evidentially, he has been getting some extras... ala carte. His school lets him buy additional items if he wants for additional money.

He told me at first he was getting an extra milk. Hmmmm.

After a little bit I thought no there is more than just milk.

It didn't take much longer for him to crack. He confessed to having COOKIES AND MILK!

AH HA!

Boxer Boy

Brock has been looking to break the the world record for length of wearing underwear without washing. Yes, he is out to impress, I know. I don't think there is an existing one, I Google'd it but was afraid I was getting too many porn references.

So, this AM I had to wake up Brock, he forgot to set his alarm and I just happened to get up 2 minutes before he is to leave. I quickly told him to hop in the shower and I ran around getting clothes and making sure he didn't miss the bus.

While I was looking for clothes I noticed I couldn't find any clean underwear. Hmm. I remembered the 'record' he was trying to set. I wondered if he secretly hid the others to remind him of his record setting attempt. Yes, I am so very proud of him.

So, after doing some laundry today I asked him about the lack of underwear.
He said he didn't know where more were.

To which I said "Either they are lost or they ran away because they didn't want to have to be on your butt that long. There is only one on your butt and one in the laundry room."

He was so amused by that he had to run down to his brothers and tell them what I said. He giggled about that for a good 10 minutes.

So, I will be adding boxer briefs to my next clothing adventure. (probably not in camo)

We are goin' to Albuquerque!

It's official we are going March 9th to March 18th.

I was online yesterday and found an insanely cheap airfare. I called a travel agent just to make sure that was correct and she said it was and we should snap it up since it's not often that happens.

We are going for 9 days. Now, I have to finish preparing for our baby's 5th birthday party, opening of bow hunting season, Warrens cranberry Festival, Duner's Colorado trip, and Halloween. All in the next 45 days. Yikes!

Gone!

Well it is official.

I have 3 (yes, 1.2. and 3!!) kids in public schools!

Ahhhhh!

Of course we had to get some last minute pics, which he hammed up for the camera.




He was the first one on the bus, I had to buckle him up as he got on.

At the last minute I stuck a ID Badge, that I was going to use for his birthday party on him with which teacher he belonged to, so he wouldn't get lost.




One last picture then he was off on his way on the little bus...

I am sure he will be just fine.

Now I must get my butt out on a run/walk. I am hoping to do 5 miles today. Yikes!

Learning to swim in a sea of chaos

This weekend I was able to escape the craziness with kids to live the life of non-kidness.
What a nice change.
I went down to Madison to volunteer with the Iron Crew for Ironman Wisconsin. Otherwise known as the Cheddar shredder. My sister had some pics on it on her blog. It will also air on TV on FSN network on October 15th at 7pm.

I can't possibly begin to describe how my fun, it truly was. Our shift began at 8:30am and lasted until 12:30pm. I was so filled with the adrenaline that I couldn't believe it was done. It went so quick!

My sister and I both worked at the food both. It was part of a long line of refreshments meant for the athletes. Water, Gatorade, bananas, oranges, power bars, and gu. There was MANY athletes from different countries as well. It was fun trying to understand some of them as quick as they rode by pointing and repeating what they needed.

I gave bananas. My sister was oranges. She began handing out bananas and oranges after while because a lot of the athletes wanted bananas. Probably to avoid the cramping that was inevitable after excising as hard as they do for at least 10 hours straight. I was the first person of our food station, immediately after the water group. Lots of athletes wanted water. It was scary to see them get so close, and so fast. I would say less than 10 athletes actually slowed down. Many times I had to keep my eyes on the water guy in front of my because you have to run with the athlete. Yah! Try doing that backwards! They are going DOWN HILL and about 2o miles per hour, some up to 30! Not easy! (I know this because they had a police radar trailer set up monitoring speed, so you could see it as they went down hill)

I also had to watch for flying bottles of water that were slipped out of the hands of athletes as they tried to grab some water. Some not realizing they twisted open would throw the unopened bottles back at us. Yes, a little Scary, but so FUN! We also, had to make sure the road was kept clean from debris. We didn't need any bikes plowing in to us or the crowd across from us.

The athletes went by us twice. On mile 55 and 95. Some kept going past on the first round, but as they came around again that was when it got tricky. Some said thanks to us for working that day, some cursed they way they were given their water/food. Some would be delighted with the options and say 'Ohh, BANANAS!', some would say 'GEL, GEL, GEL' in a heavy accent. (Meaning the high energy Hammer Gel or GU packs that we had.)

I saw one guy take a nasty dive in the water part. Luckily, he was the only one, even though others ran into him, they didn't fall. On girl also fell, but she got back on, too!
Two athletes had to replace tires, one had to replace 2 tires, his spare had a hole! One guy needed some screws tightened.

After some pizza, my sister and I headed out to cheer on some athletes. It was interesting to see the people that cheered people on too.

Many people had T-shirts custom made for this event. (or maybe many events, I am sure)

One groups said...
'See Mike Swim
See Mike Bike.
See Mike Run.

Another said "The beatings continue until the morale improves". The had some kids with them and they were all decked out in pirate bandannas.

The groups cheering on the Mexican Ironmen were by far the most colorful and excited. I don't know if it is the Spanish language, but it always sounded so encouraging. One woman had a mega phone and would yell anytime she saw one of the over 300 Mexican team members. They also had many instruments to help make noise. That was a nice idea. My hands hurt so bad by the time we left at just before 3pm.

I had almost forgotten about the Packers that were playing during that time, until one of the female athletes asked us what the score was.

I had gotten a nice T-shirt and sunburned face to remind me of this adventure. It was definitely not the last time for this!

It's Begining...

So I am at work today and I get a phone call from Brock. Exactly 4:22pm. (The time he gets off the bus) I was very busy so I had to call him back.

I get a minute and call him.

He answers the phone "MOM" (obviously he saw the Caller ID)
"The weirdest, most strangest thing happened to me today. You'll never guess." as he continued...
"At lunch a girl asked me out, but my friends and I ran away from her. Later, as I was getting on the bus I told her I don't want to go out with her and I don't like her."

ok.

So, I told him that he will need to be more considerate when declining a date. You never know when she will get a really cute friend that you will need help with.

It's deader than dead!

The other day, we put up the deer head that Duner's bro mounted for us and Zebbie asked me
"Mom, When you put that up, will it come alive?"
"Oh No!" I replied.

Later Duner said I should have told him 'Yeah, the rest of it is on the outside of the house.'

Bad Daddy.

Reason # 5

to hate Circuit City....
Our computer monitor decided to die. Yes, not even 10 months old and it dies.
Apparently the salesman that sold us the computer didn't include the monitor in the 'optional warranty' that we purchased.

Lovely.

The recommend we call Gateway.... THREE phone numbers later, they tell us our monitor will cost us $40 bucks to have them LOOK at it.
**sigh**

I love Best Buy.
I love Best Buy.
I miss Best Buy.

We hop in the car and head to Circuit City to chew someone's ear off, but by the time I get there common sense takes over and we decide they won't exchange a monitor no matter who I talk to, so we just have to chalk that up to a learning experience from Circuit City and bite the bullet and get a new monitor. GRRRR.

We grabbed a new keyboard too since our space bar only worked part of the time. (Which is partly why the blog has been quiet).

Now 4 hours later...
1 new monitor
1 new keyboard (cordless no less, it was cheaper than the corded)
1 new mouse (it was included)

Finally!

Ok, now Breathe! Ahhhhhh.

After much running around the kids and I made it up to the cabin late Friday night. We washed the kitchen counters and fridge down and popped in a movie. Brock won the coin toss so we watched Blades of Glory. I didn't care too much for it, but Brock was dying to see it. After trying Zeb's movie Called Kart Racer, we ended up putting in Reece's movie, In the Army Now, since Zeb's didn't work. I had to talk Reece in to getting that movie, but he LOVED it so much he watched it twice.

We got together for a horseshoe tournament this weekend at Crooked Lake. Duner and his Brother team up each year. Last year the had a really bad loss to kick them out in the 2nd round of play, so this year the goal was to make it past that. They succeed! They made it into 4 rounds and then a couple of older guys that have played much more than Duner and Cory, kicked their butts. But they were still happy. They made it further than they did before.

That night we lit a campfire and let the boys dig a large hole to fit Zeb in it all the way up to his neck. We stopped the fun when the boys began to dream up tunnels underground and rooms big enough for more than one person. They were so dirty, we made them bathe before getting in bed that night.

They had so much fun they decided to dig the next day too!
We gathered up the boys, and some fishing gear and headed out to a small pond. The boys caught about 12 Pumpkin Seed fish.
We didn't expect to catch that many fish, so we didn't bring anything to keep them in. We had to release them all.

After lunch we walked through the woods near the cabin and picked out some wild Sweet Ferns. The kids also got a nice lesson about poison Ivy. Thankfully, no one got a rash or anything, but we came close. The woods we were in had roads made of sand, Zeb and baby G loved that. They slid, rolled and ran around on them. The boys loved the carpet moss they found in the woods.

We ended up coming home that night to get the kids ready for the upcoming beginning of school the next day.
Of course the kids waited until the last possible moment to tell me they don't have this or that.

It was so nice to get that over with. Reece was afraid he wasn't going to wake up in time, but by 6am he was fully dressed with his backpack on. The boys were very excited to get the day going.

The list never ends...

I have a constant to do list running through my head.

• lay grass seed for bald spots lawn at home.
  
• paint cabin
• plant tree spikes for tree at home.
• kill hornets or wasps at cabin.
• don't forget to turn on hot water at cabin (never fails, I wait til I want to take a shower to remember this)
• water trees at home
  
• water plants at home
  
• laundry
• make a food list for cabin.
• pick up house.
• kill dogs (just kidding) they are just really noisy tonight.
• remember paint, air chuck, and bug spray for cabin.
• remember to buy dish detergent for work kitchen. I just used the last of it today.
• check on laundry
• find out why the kids have the TV on and no one is watching it.
• Get a new keyboard. The one I have, the space bar doesn't always like to work. Grrr.
  
• pack clothes for cabin
• rent movies for weekend.
• bring some bikes up for the weekend?
• buy some asphalt sealer for the driveway at the cabin?
• Kill kids that are whiny and crying???? Ahhh, only 5 more days until school... who's idea was the 'waiting until AFTER THE HOLIDAY'?

Wow, that is quite the list, maybe I need to get out my Complete Book of Pocket Positives and get some encouragement.

Yikes!

Are we done yet?

Today was Ducks Unlimited at the EAA fairgrounds in Oshkosh. We decided to bring only one dog, the lucky dog today was Lighting. He generally listens better. After letting Dad sleep a peaceful 2 hours, we woke him up and headed out. He was actually very much awake and ready to go.
After parking, we headed directly to the dog area where we tried our dog with others to see how well he was at retrieving. I am so glad it was Duner up there with the dog.
After getting into the water, he lost the dummy and began swimming in circles. At least the dog before him was worse.

After that was canoe and kayak time, catfish fishing, rockwall climbing, bike riding, archery and paintball shooting.The boys had fun. Zeb was a little pre-occupied with the thought of going to the races today. By the time we finished the Rock wall he kept suggesting that we need to leave so "Mom can drop me and Dad at the races."

Unfortunetly, I wasn't able to lose the other two.

So I am home with the older two boys...




On a side note... Let the Exodus begin.... I think the neighbors are finally fed up Crazy neighbor Craig's driving everyone has decided to leave our old yard!
House#1 (Almost exactly across the street)
House #2 (Next to House #1)
House #3 ( 2 doors away from House number 1)