Twenty Years Ago

Twenty years ago, I put on a pretty dress and walked into church. I met Tony, and a bunch of our friends, in front of the pews, and his grandpa talked to us about commitment and dedication, about love and life.

Twenty years ago, I married my best friend. He knows me best. He is the one I want to talk to, when I have something happy to share, or when I need comfort. He is strong and capable. He has boundless energy. He is a great father to our two great kids. He is my rock, and my rest.

Thanks for twenty great years, darlin'!

After Tuesday

As I begin typing this, it is 7:35 p.m. on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. I do not know who won the election yet. But I felt it important to write this. Before I know who won.

I have a favorite in this race, but I have lot of respect for both Presidential candidates in this race. John McCain served our country bravely, and fought bitterly, and persevered most admirably, and inspired fellow captors in a prison camp in Vietnam. Barack Obama overcame a family broken in several different ways. He, too, believes in this country and has fought hard to serve it. He does so with calm, efficient leadership, thanking everyone who ever helped him all the time. He honors his family, and his country. That said...

I was really impressed with the pastor's message at church on Sunday. I go to a non-denominational Bible church, and the pastor there always amazes me. He is a true leader, and explains things very clearly. Using the bible, so his points are valid. Pastor Mark made a good point, right off the bat: No matter who wins the elections tonight, Jesus is still on the throne! It just doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter! It just doesn't matter!! (name the movie) God is in control.

We're studying Ephesians at church. Ephesians talks about respecting our leaders. Whether or not we agree with them, Mark (the pastor) said, we need to respect them. He also said (hang on to your hats!) that it is not as important that we have a Christian President in the White House, as it is to have a Christian presence in our world. And he is right. It isn't.

The pastor said that Leading is not easy. If you think it is, try raising children, or teaching kindergarten for one day. You'll be convinced. Leading is difficult, and, Pastor Mark said, the first thing a leader needs is respect. No, NOT agreement, necessarily. Respect. Willingness to not pick apart and divide. Just respect. That "Hello, Mr. President" kind of thing.

It's perfectly fine to disagree with any leader. That is what makes the United States of America what it is today. I have my beliefs and values, you have yours. We all have opinions, and we are all allowed to express them. That's how we have balance. That is how we communicate, and start to bring change about. That is healthy. That is our right, and our responsibility, as Americans. But we must do it respectfully and constructively.


The pastor went on to say that wouldn't it be great, if the Christians of this country came together and made our presence known? What if, instead of saying "How are you going to help me" "How are you going to fix this mess?" "What are you going to do?", we said "How can I help? What do you need?" How about, "How can I make my country better?" Yes, it is a lot like what John F. Kennedy said, so many years ago.

But isn't that what Jesus preached? Christians are to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. If Christians pull together and help people, love people, and care for people, no matter their political party, won't that make the presence of Christ more apparent in the world?

Let's face it, folks...one person, or even the President and 535 congresspeople, can't do it alone. We expect too much of our leaders, without offering our help. Without saying, "what can I do?" Without volunteering. No, I don't have any idea whether you volunteer or offer help or not; I don't know you well enough. And I'm certainly in no position to judge anyone, at all, anywhere, ever. I'm just saying, what if Pastor Mark is right? What if we could make a difference in our world by offering to help instead of complaining? I plan to make that a priority, after this campaign. No matter who wins. I hope you will consider that, as well.


It's getting busy here, as polls close all over the place. I want to get this posted before the final results, and it may be a little ragged, but I wanted to get it our there. Thank you for reading this. As I finish typing, it is 8:13 p.m., and I still don't know who won.

A Bloggy Halloween...

Yes, even though I'm incredibly irritated by Halloween...this is really funny and I still like funny. That's my job...to like funny.

Things that go bump

in the night

My brother-in-law, Ed, was walking home from the Elks club late one

foggy night last week, when behind him he hears:

BUMP...

BUMP...

BUMP...

Walking faster, he looked back and through the fog he makes out the

image of an upright casket banging its way down the middle of the street

toward him.

BUMP..

BUMP...

BUMP...

Terrified, Ed began to run toward his home, the casket bouncing

quickly behind him.

FASTER...

FASTER...

BUMP...

BUMP...

BUMP...

Ed ran up to his door, fumbled with his keys, opened the door, rushed in,

slammed and locked the door behind him.

Not so easily deterred, the casket crashes through his door, with the lid of the casket open and clapping,



clappity-BUMP...



clappity-BUMP...



clappity-BUMP...


The terrifying coffin was on his heels!

Ed ran faster than he ever had before!!

Rushing upstairs to the bathroom, Ed locked himself in.




His heart was pounding; his head was reeling; his breath was coming in sobbing gasps.

But to no avail...


Suddenly, with a loud CRASH the casket breaks down the door,

Menacingly Bumping and Clapping toward him!

Ed screamed and blindly started reaching for something, anything to defend himself...




but all he could find is a bottle of cough syrup!






Desperate, exhausted, and out of options (kinda like Wall Street),

he threw the cough syrup at the casket...

And...

The coffin stopped.

Have a happy Halloween.

Oh, be careful...

So, there's this song out now, in contemporary christian music (i.e., on K-Love radio at klove.com), that I heard many times before its meaning really got through to me. I listen to K-Love at work most days, because it keeps me sane during a busy day, and keeps my mind focused on God.

Anyway, the song. It's called "Slow Fade," and much of it centers around a church song I learned when I was a little kid. It's the song that goes:
Oh be careful, little eyes, what you see
Oh be careful, little eyes, what you see
For the Father up above
Is looking down in love
Oh be careful, little eyes, what you see.

The group singing the song talks about how it's a slow fade, when you give yourself away...black and white turn into shades of gray, etc.

At the end of the song, there is an actual little kid singing that, like we used to do before Sunday School at church. And for the first few times I heard the song, it never occurred to me. I've always had issues with gruesome, scary, non-happy movies or TV programs. If I see one, I will run the gruesome, scary, icky, or unhappy parts through my head over and over, feeling bad for the people involved. Because I'm an expert at self-torture like that.

I finally realized that the song is talking, at least in part, about the very thing I just described with unpleasant movie/tv viewing. I'm in control of what I let myself look at . If I don't put the crap in my head, it isn't there to bother me. Duh!! (I know most of the planet has probably already figured this out; I'm slow. Learn to love me anyway.)

So here's the stupid part. Stupid me, that is. Today, I'm sitting here watching TV, enjoying the quiet while the kids are with friends. I'm channel-surfing. I rarely get the chance to do that anymore, and I thought it would be fun. And I hit the "up" channel button over and over, until I came to TNT. Now, I should have known. TNT is not known for their happy, cheery programming. Except now they're playing "Pretty Woman," as I type. Whatever. This morning. I stumbled up on "The Ring."

This is a horror movie. It is not gruesome, particularly. It's one of those thriller-type movies. And I got completely engrossed in the storyline. So, I watched most of it. Parts of it, while not being gruesome, were disturbing. And of course, I ran the disturbing parts of this stupid movie through my head for most of the afternoon, being upset that fake people did this stuff way back when. Sigh...

It occurred to me, driving home from picking up the kids, that I was in control of how much of my day I let this stupid movie eat up. And then, I finally started to feel better. But meanwhile, a few hours of my day were used up, worrying about fake things happening to fake people.

I wonder if I'll ever learn...

Who passed Finance Class???

That's right...little ole' me! That horrific class is completely over with! Woo-Hoo!! Par-Tay!!





More news...the 19-month old with the amputated toe? She is doing great and may go home from the hospital today! With a cast, but still, home! She "amputated" it (I know, dramatic terminology, but that is what they call it) when whe was sitting with her daddy on an ATV. This particular ATV did not have a chain guard, and her toe got into the chain, and ...yeah...I can't type any more about that or I'll pass out. But the toe is reattached, the doctor is extremely happy with the blood flow, and says she is a miracle. This same little girl, when her mom was pregnant with her, had only one functioning kidney. Now both work just fine. She has two miracles already, at just 19 months! I can only imagine what God will do with her life.





Thank you, leechies!!

(I found a pretty leech to post a picture of. It's completely fake.)

Quiet weekends

Well, it's been kind of exciting around here. Too exciting in some ways. Here's some random stuff that has happened lately:

I got a phone call at 10:30 Monday night. It was my friend, informing me that she and her husband and 19 month old daughter were in town, because the 19 month old had amputated (fancy word for cut off) her big toe! They were (and are) at Phoenix Children's Hospital. The toe is reattached, but as of yesterday the doctors were not really happy with the level of blood flow. They are using leeches to help circulate the blood (they don't hurt, and they cover them up so the baby can't see). It is kind of cool to watch. We're waiting and praying the toe heals, and that the vessels connect again.

My mom's recliner was worn through where one's feet go, on the little rectangle of wood and fabric that prop the feet up. So today we went to JoAnn fabrics and picked out some complementary (not free, but goes with the chair) fabric. I remembered Nancy Face telling how she and Kris Face reupholstered the chairs for Lauren & Ted, so I stapled the fabric right over the top of the other fabric (they did it the right way and removed the other fabric first, but I figured I wouldn't mess with that on this chair. It looks much better!).

Finance class; stupid, boring finance class with the "good ole boy" teacher is finished!! I don't know what my grade is yet. We have five weeks of classes, and as of today, he has only posted scores through week 3. As of week 3 I have an A-. I just hope I pass this and don't have to take it again...ugh.

My next class is marketing. So far, I have read several paragraphs of the book and it is not hard to understand. I think I'm in! :)

My kiddos are in Disneyland with their grandma and aunt. They left eaaaaaarrrrrrrly Thursday morning. They always go during at least part of the week. I was going to try and go with them this time, having saved up a bit of vacation, but my boss is out of town and the new executive assistant they hired has worked with us a grand total of 2 days, so it was not a good time. :(
Oh, well, Tony the husband and I got a quiet weekend to ourselves! And the kids had a lot of fun. They prank called us last night at midnight, but we were both still awake...ha! Got 'em!

My mom is busily planning Thanksgiving dinner, which we always have at her and dad's house. There is a beautiful Thanksgiving platter at the Cracker Barrel store, and I want to get it for her. The kids and I always go over to their house the night before Thanksgiving and have a sleepover, where we get ready for the next day, and play cards, and watch movies. It's fun. I could stop by Cracker Barrel on my way, because there is one on the way to their house. I just might...

I discovered a lovely thing to read online. It's on the "Prairie Home Companion" website, and it's called The View from Mrs. Sundberg's window. I love it. So relaxing, and good advice, and recipes! How could it get better than that?

I hope you all have a lovely Monday tomorrow.

Things I'm thankful for. Or, more properly, Things for which I am thankful.

I know, you might think this is really a goofy thing to be thankful for, but today I am thankful for the customer service at Pitney Bowes, and for ink! On Friday, I noticed that our postage machine’s “low ink” indicator was on. Naturally, I ordered more ink immediately from Pitney Bowes. Apparently, when the low ink indicator is on, it means you have about 2 envelopes to go, because on Monday, the machine indicated “out of ink” and would not put postage on anything. Last night at 2:30 here (5:30 back East, where Pitney is) I called and ordered an ink cartridge to be sent overnight because my order hadn’t arrived. I told everyone I talked to that the indicator just lit up on Friday, and already we were out, but they said there was nothing they could do; the soonest it would get here is Wednesday. So we would have a day without mailing, which is not good.

So this morning, I’m sitting here worrying about mailing stuff, while panicking about homework I don’t understand, while stuffing envelopes and reading the chapters I need to read. And suddenly, in walks the UPS guy, with my overnighted ink cartridge! I looked at him like had had 3 heads, because I couldn’t believe it was here! But, see, I had prayed too, about the ink situation. Kind of. It was “one of those days” yesterday, and I think I said to God, “Look. I’m one person. I just am not capable of being everybody’s mommy and taking inventory of everything in the office and getting supplies here when needed. I can’t do this. (Those are always key words for God!) I said, "I need ink for this machine, and I just don’t have any. Help me, Lord.”

Well, I’m thankful I can’t do this, because God can. He takes care of our every need, when we ask him.

Praise God from whom all blessings (and ink!) flow!!

Edited to add: I know, not all my problems are over for today. But the ink reminds me ('cause I need a lot of reminding, apparently) that God is in control. And that I shouldn't obsess over one problem out of an assignment. 'Cause there's other parts I will get more credit for.

Why Men are Happier

WHY MEN ARE NEVER DEPRESSED:Men Are Just Happier People-- What do you expect from such simple creatures?Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can be President. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park.

Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100.

People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks.

A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend. Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.

Everything on your face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck. You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one pair of shoes--one color for all seasons.

You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache. You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.


No wonder men are happier.

I know I should, but...

I just can't keep reading my homework. It's finance homework. It's a bunch of formulas and equations and it's 9:39 p.m. I'm at Unlimited Coffee on 12th-ish Street and Glendale, because it is supposed to be quieter than my house, which has kids in it.

Did you know kids are not conducive to quiet homework time? They're not. They're fabulous at many, many other things, like bringing joy and happiness, painting/coloring/drawing really cool pictures, and hugging. But not so much on the quiet homework time.

But Unlimited Coffee has this fabulous music playing. It's all stuff from the '50s and '60s, and it's that great "Who Put the Bomp in the Bomp...etc", and "Turn around, look at me," and stuff. So I'm trying to concentrate on percentage of something-or-other, and on the time value of money, really I am. But I'm listening to music instead. And having great coffee with pumpkin flavoring. And a cranberry-orange scone.

I have my homework done. It's just reading the chapters that I'm not caught up on. I'm a chapter behind. I hope it will be okay, and I think it will be. Besides, "Mr. Tambourine Man" is playing...how bad could life be?

Dear you,

We miss you. It has been a long seven years without you, and every day we think of you. It has been hard since you left us. There are big holes in our lives where you used to be. We were so scared when you left us. We were numb with shock and grief, and then there was this terrible pain. Such pain, for such a senseless act of violence.

It's hard for us to dwell on your last moments, but we know they must have been very frightening. We're glad that is over for you now, and we hope you are in a much better place.

I just want you to know, America didn't give up. There were people on the streets that day, walking out of Manhattan, and they were cheering on the police and the firefighters who kept going in to help. After that, people lined up at blood banks around the country. Big musical stars and celebrities got together and raised money for the families you had to leave behind. People flooded into New York City from every state, police officers and firefighters and military people and regular citizens, just wanting to do whatever it took to help. Do you know, they had the World Trade Center Plaza cleaned up more quickly than anyone expected? People worked night and day, to keep America's spirits up and to move forward. Not to forget you, you understand. America needed to know that the country could recover, and move forward, but never forget. Never.

We couldn't forget you. Ever. You were brave, you were doing what you were supposed to do, and your life was ripped from you much too soon. We miss you so much. Every day.

And then, to show our enemies that America wouldn't give up, and to help those of us left here, people designed a beautiful building to stand where the World Trade Center used to be. They made a beautiful memorial at the Pentagon, and one in Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 crashed. It's not enough, really. Nothing can ever replace you. But it helps, some. We grieved and grieved, but eventually we came to understand that we had to go on, while we remembered.

I just wanted you to know, I'm so very sorry we lost you, and we won't ever forget.




Rest in peace. We will never forget.

And Finally...

My sister is a fabulous shopper. I don't mean that she spends hours and hours and too much money because she loves to shop; I mean that she has seven kids and a mother-in-law living with her and her husband, and she manages to have plenty of food in the house, and plenty of gifts for everyone for birthdays and Christmases. This is because she is a fabulous, or smart, shopper. At the place where I took the picture of the hearse in the last post, for instance, we bought fudge.

Now, Mackinac Island is well-known for its fudge. When people go there, they generally buy fudge. It's what you do. My sister, however, found the ONE and ONLY fudge shop on all of Mackinac Island that had a sale on. Yes, campers...we got our fudge for 15% off. I never had any idea there was a less expensive place to buy fudge on the island. Heidi found it, though.

After we bought ridiculous, copious amounts of fudge, our carriage tour took us to Arch Rock, one of the niftiest landmarks I've ever seen. One can stand at the observation platform, look through the hole that Arch Rock creates, and see the beautiful lake.





While standing at Arch Rock, I noticed the storm below. It was huge. It never did affect us, but I thought it was a cool picture. The Straits of Mackinac is famous for its storms in the winter, and a lot of ships have sunk in these very waters.




We enjoyed the rest of the day walking around and looking at all the historical places, and of course shopping (because my awesome sister found a discount souvenir shop--hey, how else are you going to buy souvenirs for seven kids, a husband and mother-in-law?)


We drove back to Heidi's friends' house that night, and back to her house the following day, which was Thursday. On Friday, we went to a zoo and to Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland. I am always happy at this place...how could I not be? Here are Ben and Julie outside the store...




And the Silent Night Chapel. I know it's weird, but I loved how the picture of the sign came out, so I had to use it. This is a replica of a chapel in Germany, built with permission of the original chapel by Wally Bronner, the late owner of Bronner's. He went home to heaven in July of this year.




...and Finally, here is Heidi (and Ed and Krystal and Eddie and Caitlin and Jason and Megan and Noah)'s house. This is our last day there, when Heidi and I were both crying because we had to go home. :(




I have to say that I've been ridiculously sad since I've been home. My husband and I have decided to move back to Michigan, in fact. I know it's not right, but I so miss Michigan. It is my home. I was made to be there. I have even heard God tell me it is right for us to be there. If and when we go, it will be when God says that it is right. It's pitiful how much I cry these days, and how much I want to be back there, setting up our life. I feel like I've been wondering what to do with my life for 20 years, and now I know, but I can't go yet.

But hey, I didn't mean this post to get all morose. We had a great trip. We had a lot of fun. I'm truly grateful for it. And I'm grateful for my husband, who puts up with my weepiness and still manages to love me anyway.

Thanks, honey, for the great trip, and for loving me. :)

The Story that Wouldn't Die

When we left our crusading vacationers last, they were enjoying a day in the author's hometown, Alden, Michigan.

After we reached Alden, we did some things that would probably bore most readers, so I skipped telling you about things like buying an ice cream cone at Higgins' Store, where I worked all through high school dipping ice cream, and oddly, never once whining that I couldn't scoop Superman ice cream because it was "too frozen." Sadly, the cutesy chick behind the counter didn't have the same resolve. We also went to the cemetery to visit old (REALLY old) relatives, and to visit the new high school. We spent the night with friends of my sister, in order to be able to go to Mackinac Island without driving four hours each way the day we were at the island.

The next morning, we set out for Mackinac Island. My nephew, seated next to me in the front seat of the van, took this picture as we approached Mackinac Bridge.






And this picture...


Once on the ferry boat required to access the island, I took this picture of the bridge...



...and once on the island, we took a carriage tour! I figure I can use this picture to introduce a new element to my blog...the occasional Horses' @$$ Award! Much like Tori's Tad Awards.




No cars are allowed on Mackinac Island (except they now have a couple of fire trucks and an ambulance-type vehicle, I believe), and so when someone dies, this is the hearse. I don't know why I wanted a picture of a hearse, except this one was cool.

What A Great Idea!

I will continue to post pictures of the awesomest vacation ever, but now, I wanted to share a good idea.

If you work with files, or if you just use a lot of labels, you might find this discovery I made, helpful. If you turn both the file (or object to be labeled, in some cases) and the sheet of labels upside down, and attach the label while both are upside down, why then, you don't have to guess where to press the label on, because you can see it.

Try it...it works!

This post brought to you by "I Need A New Job, Inc."

Vacation to Michigan 2008...Continued!

On Monday, we decided to go to the lake for a swim. Here are Ben (further away) and Noah...





And here is the view from shore. We did get a little rain that day, but nothing to worry much about.




Here is the "beach area." See the wonderful picnic tables (not sprayed with gang graffiti!) and some of the playground areas they have for the kids.





Here are Julie and Megan, playing and posing for pictures...




And here are Julie and Megan putting sand on their arms. I don't know why, but it seemed to work for them...



And more fun in/with the sand...






On Tuesday, we decided to head to northern Michigan, to go to Mackinac Island!! Yay!! On the way, we stopped in a little town called Millington, MI, and found this smiley water tower.



My nephew Jason took the picture of the water tower above. He went to these train tracks to take it. He loves trains, so I took a picture of him on the track. Happily, no trains were coming.




Can you believe this is a freeway? I love all the trees, and the green! We're on the road again up north!


This next smiley face water tower is part of my heritage. My sister swallowed lye when she was three, and we spent a year and a half driving from northern Michigan to Ann Arbor, Michigan, every other week. We would stay for a week at a time, so that Heidi could have her throat dilated (they had to replace her throat with part of her colon, and it kept wanting to close). When we would see this smiley face water tower, we would know we were in West Branch, MI and it was time to stop for lunch at Render's Restaurant, which I don't think is there any more.



Since we were in West Branch, we did stop for lunch on this trip, too, but we went to Burger King. Here are Heidi and I (she's the cool-looking one in the sunglasses).



After our long-ish drive, we stopped at Alden, MI, the town where I grew up. It is much more touristy now than it was back then, but it is still home. This is a railroad museum we stopped at so that Jason could see the museum and the partial train that is there. From left to right, we have Jason, Julie, Caitlin, Megan and Noah. Ben is standing, leaning his head on his arms.




Here are the kids on the back of the caboose: (left to right again) Jason,
Caitlin, Julie Noah, Ben, and Megan.


This is the lake I grew up swimming in, Torch Lake. It is beautiful! Can you see the different shades of blue in the water? It's like that all the time. Some days it is perfectly still and mirror-like. Other days it is frozen over and covered with fishing shanties.





Alas, my arms are tired and my chest hurts again, so more tomorrow. I'll bet you didn't think this would be the longest story in the history of the world, did you? :)

Oops...

I said I would post more about the vacation today, but I did not post. I found out Monday that I have pneumonia, and today I woke up feeling more awful than yesterday, so I napped and barfed and took medicine most of the day. It was SUPER!!

So, that's my excuse for not posting more pics. I will post more as soon as I can, though.

Vacation 2008! We're back!

We are back, and we had a great time! Here is a picture story of our vacation (or at least part of it)...

This is Ben & Julie outside our house at 3:55 a.m., waiting for the Super Shuttle to pick us up. They have a lot of energy for that hour of the morning!



Here is the first airplane they would ride on...a Southwest airplane with pointy-uppy wings! Here it is about 5:00 a.m., and they are loading the plane. Why are they loading the plane? Because they are Southwest, and unlike other airlines, they actually offer free soft drinks, coffee & tea as well as a bunch of snacks that you can choose from. Once in the air, the flight attendants actually come around and hand out activity books for all the kids! Southwest rocks!



Here are Ben & Julie on the plane. I think this is the plane we transferred to in Chicago.




And here is our rented minivan! I reserved this van two or three weeks in advance, but when we got there, there was some major golf event in town (Detroit), so they didn't have enough cars to go around. This reminded me of a Seinfeld episode. I, however, was really quite tired by this point, so I didn't do the whole Seinfeld routine, even though I wanted to. Eventually, Thrifty Car Rental called Dollar car rental and got me a van. And because I decided to wait politely for 1/2 hour, the agent gave me a free tank of gas, and really good directions to my sister's house (well, not her house, but her exit). It was a silver Chrysler Town & Country. It held 7 people, but we had 8 people in it for most of the week. It held up rather well and got amazing mileage!



The first night, we took all the kids (my sister has 4, I have 2) for ice cream cones. We were tired, so after that we pretty much went to bed. I had my own room with its own digital cable and a really comfy bed. Pretty awesome!

When I stay with people, I always buy groceries, because I figure I'm there eating with them, and I should help out. With that in mind, my sister and I went to buy groceries on Sunday. This was our first stop...




This is a Meijer store, as you can see. Back when I was a kid, my mom used to shop here. This is quite similar to a Wal-Mart Supercenter now, but back then, there wasn't really a store near us that had clothes, groceries, auto parts, sporting goods, housewares, etc; except Meijer. They also have an ice cream shop inside, where you can get a hand-dipped ice cream cone. Obviously I like that about it, too.

Once inside the store, I knew I would find one of my favorite things...Faygo Pop! Yes, it is pop. It's on the label. Faygo Pop. There are amazing flavors, like peach, blue raspberry, rock-n-rye, orange, 60/40 (grapefruit/lemon-lime), black cherry, cream soda, and on and on. Good stuff. You should go to Michigan and buy some!




Here are Julie (my daughter) and Noah (my nephew) playing "basketball."




And Julie on the trampoline...


And the campfire we had Sunday night. To give you an idea of the scale, the fire pit is at least 8 feet across...this is a BIG fire!




And here are Heidi (my sister, on the right) and I (with the half-mast eyes...must've been tired!) enjoying the fire.



Here is Noah the pyromaniac, wet from some water game or something, and worshiping the flame of the citronella torch!



Here are pyromaniacs Noah and Ben, lighting twigs in the citronella torch, because it is Michigan and not Arizona, so even if they drop the twig, the entire state will not go up in flames. In fact, they did drop a few, and because there is actual moisture in the air, and at this time of night, on the ground in the form of dew, there was no problem.



And here is Julie the pyromaniac, also lighting twigs. Her cousin Megan was there, and I could've sworn she was in this picture, but I guess not.


And here is the reason the fire went out so quickly...my nephews Jason (the older one) and Noah thought they'd see how big they could get the fire if they put this wooden box on it. My sister is in the background saying "uhh...guys...I don't know...




I will post more pictures and info tomorrow.

Vacation 2008!

On Saturday, me and the best kiddos on the planet


















will be traversing a little bit of the planet...we're going to Michigan, my homeland and where my sister lives. Tony has to stay home and work :( but we will try to have fun anyway.


Our plane leaves at 6:00 a.m. so that means getting up at 3:30 a.m. to get to the airport on time. Hopefully, we can all nap on the plane, except the kids have never flown before, so they will be excited. We will actually end up a little north of the heart in the picture above, just to the west of the white bloop that's over the heart.

While we are there, guess what will be in season??





Yesssss...sweet corn!! I am one of two people in my house who will eat corn on the cob, and I love it. And my sister loves it, and so do her seven kids...so I can buy, and eat, fresh sweet corn that is actually in season! And guess what else will be in season??




Bingo! Tomatoes! When I was a kid, we used to eat tomatoes like apples...they were so good, warmed from the sun.

And, finally, I can have another (few) Faygo Pop! Have you heard of Faygo Pop? It is the best pop in the world!








Besides eating fabulous vegetables, we will be doing other things. We will visit:











Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland, this huge place that is full of Christmas decorations. The picture doesn't do the size of the place justice. The white building on the right is the Christmas Chapel. Here's a link to Bronner's...it is a really fun place.


We may be going to a waterpark in the same town as Bronner's, but we aren't sure yet. I can't find any pictures of it, but I'm sure I'll have some (if we go there) when I come back.

There is a remote possibility that we will go to an amusement park, Michigan's Adventure, and an even more remote possibility that we'll visit Mackinac Island, but that is a 3-4 hour drive each way. Although my sister will be there...we can gab and stay awake on the drive back, right??

Our kids will also spend a lot of time playing together, I would think. My kids hardly ever get to see these cousins, so I'm sure they'll have a lot to talk about.

I will post pictures when I get back! Have a good week, and keep your powder and your pants dry! (1,000 magic points if you can tell me what movie that line is from. Are the points redeemable, you ask? No. But you will have the thrill of knowing that you know stuff.)