Wordless (well Nearly) Wednesday

It is only the 6th day of school and so far this school year is kicking my butt.

And I'd really like to go back to this enjoyable night right now.

I've been to a Swedish wonderland and a circus today

No, really. I made my first trip to Ikea today. Oh my goodness...it's a good thing that the closest one is an hour away. Seriously. I'm in love. I bought this, and this, and these among other things. I got some ideas for my updated craft area, and can't wait to take my husband there when he gets home. Oh, and the swedish meatballs meal was to die for. Yuuuuummmy, and cheap. 4.99 and I was full.

Then we headed over to watch Britney Spears Circus tour. As long as you remembered that it was a show, not a concert, it was really good. I have pictures to add, but they will have to wait until tomorrow. Now it's time for bed.

The newest Thespian in the house

Last year, PB performed in Robin Hood for the Missoula Children's Theater, and I blogged about it here.  Unfortunatly, she was not able to participate this year since she is away at camp.  But luckily for Monster, he is here and old enough to finally participate.He was cast as Seahorse #2.  OMG, isn't he just the cutest little seahorse you've ever seen?

I love this program, and I'm so happy Monster was able to participate this year.  It's such a positive and fun experience for all of the children that are a part of it.

Beaching it, Kindergarten version

Today was Monster's field trip to the beach. Yes, we took 85 Kindergarteners to the beach. Crazy? Yes, especially when the beach we went to didn't have a playground or anything near by. We had sand, the water that they were allowed to dip their toes in, and the pier they could bother the fisherman on. For 3 hours.

But I got to watch my son interact with his friends. And give him the occasional kiss or hug. This was my view, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

John & Kate Plus 8, now divided?

I've started and erased a post about this situation several times over the last couple of weeks.  There is so much here that hits so strongly. 

My husband and I have had our rough patches.  We've hurt each other, sometimes very deeply.  That's not a news flash.  We often do hurt the ones we love and need the most, because we are sure they will always be there for us.  But how long should you go on when that hurt is continuous?  That seems to be the real question for this couple.

I struggle with the comments regarding this family and their situation.  She is mean and walks all over him.  He doesn't stand up for himself.  He's made some iffy decisions, and so has she.  Sitting back, looking in, we can be quick to judge.  It makes us feel better about ourselves to see other people's problems.  Of course we would never choose money over our marital happiness, we would never leave our children to travel all over the world, we would know what our husbands are thinking and doing.  But none of us should truly say that unless we've been there.  No one knows what decisions they might make in a given situation until they've been in that situation.  I would probably never do a reality show, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't subject my children to one either.  But, given the right situation, I might have to agree to do the show.  They had 8 children and very little income.  Doing the show for a few seasons probably didn't seem like such a big deal at the time.  But somehow it became a runaway train. And the microscope of fame has magnified the small problems they had in their relationship.

I once thought that my husband and I were so lucky.  We were so in love, we knew each other.  We were the ones that would be married forever with no real problems.  And then we hit some serious snags.  The pain I felt was so deep and so strong, it truly felt physical.  I didn't know who to talk to, since my best friend was the one that was causing all the pain.  But ultimately, we realized that our relationship was the most important thing to both of us.  We worked on it, struggled and fought for it, and now, almost 12 years later, we are still happily married.  It wasn't easy, and there are times that it still isn't easy.  But the good things in life are worth the work it takes to keep them.

For me, one of the things I learned was to never take anything for granted.  It isn't okay to assume that what I want for our family falls into line with what he wants.  If we both agree that a decision is good for our family, great.  But if not, then we have to find a way to work it out so both of us can be happy.  I don't think that is occuring in Jon and Kate's marriage, and that leads quickly to things going wrong.

Did Jon cheat? I don't know.  Really, at this time, it seems only Jon and the other woman know that for sure.  No matter how unhappy he is with his current relationship, cheating is not the answer.  It sounds trite, but if you aren't happy with yourself and the choices you've made, you won't be happy with someone else.

Ultimately, they both need counselling.  And we all need to remember that these are real people, with real feelings.  They are hurting right now, and hurting with the whole world watching sucks.  Tonight, watching them hurt on television, all I felt was sad.  Sad for a family going through a really tough time, not knowing how to end the runaway train.


 

Road Trip to Washington, Part II (Easter Egg Roll on the White House Lawn)

Our second trip to Washington, DC brought us to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. We were invited to meet Vice President and Dr. Biden before attending the Egg Roll on the White House Lawn.  For those who don't know, this is the Eisenhower Executive Office Building...

A big behomoth of a building that sits right next to the White House...see?

We had a chance to meet with the Vice President and his family.

I really like Dr. Biden.  She seems like a genuinely nice woman. And I admire that prior to her husband becoming Vice-President, she maintained her own professional life. 

The rest of our visit wasn't so pleasant, and didn't go exactly as planned.  But eventually, after standing in various lines for almost 2 more hours, we finally made it into the Egg Roll...

Unfortunately, in trying to create access for many, the whole thing was ruined for all.  There were too many people, and the lines were so long to do any of the activities.  There were at least 75 people in line just for the egg roll activity.  After spending so long just waiting to get in, and a morning that had to start at 7 am, we were all done.  So we took some pictures, got our posters, and headed out to the egg station.  The wooden souvenir eggs are cute.

Photo taken from the White House official Site.

Then we went to the US History Museum.  Another post of that part of the trip soon.

  

Feeling Wicked

While my husband was home on leave, he took me to New York for the first time.  And I was reminded why I don't live in a big city.  But the main goal of the day was to see the musical "Wicked" on Broadway.

OMG. Amazing doesn't even begin to describe the experience.  I read a part of the book prior to going to the musical, and the musical takes a lot of "dramatic license", but both versions definitely ring true.  The two leads that performed in this musical that day were phenomenal, and our seats were amazing.  We were in the 6th row near the middle of the stage.  I felt like a little kid, sitting there watching the story unfold.  I didn't notice the people sitting near me, I wasn't wondering if someone had texted me, I was engrossed in the show the entire time.

If you have a chance to see this musical, go.  It's well worth whatever the cost.

Road Trip to Washington, DC (Part 1)

We actually went to Washington, DC twice during my husbands two weeks leave. The first trip was literally the day after he came home. It was a bus trip arranged by the military 4H club to celebrate Month of the Military Child. It was Cherry Blossom Festival time, and we were dropped off just a block or so from the parade. Unfortunately, it took a little longer to get there than planned, and the parade was about to start, so the parade route was completely blocked by onlookers. We are nothing if not creative, and we quickly decided the steps of the FTC building would make a good vantage point.

See those people up on the high part? That's the rest of the family. It was so windy, and it was pretty high up, and the Monster refused to sit still, so the two of us climbed back down and went exploring on our own. DDS was able to take some nice shots of the parade, and maybe he'll upload them to Flickr at some point. But really, a parade is a parade, and unless I know people in it, I don't get excited. Monster apparently gets that from me, and we had a much better time searching for dandelions, climbing on statues, and just enjoying the day.

Finally, everyone was tired of the parade, and our group adventures began.

We wandered towards the Capital, since that was our next scheduled stop. We had to stop along the way and enjoy the Cherry Blossoms and some large rocks.

Then a visit to the Capital Building.

We gave Monster daddy's point and shoot camera to use while we were in DC and he took some nice photos. But my favorite was when he handed me the camera and asked me to take a picture of him.

After that, we had lunch in the Capital Cafeteria. Then we headed to the Air and Space Museum, since that was our bus pick up site. We explored a few of the rooms, did a few of the hands on activities,

then happily boarded the bus or home, exhausted.

Our inaugural experience.

Last night, Monster, PB and I attended a once in a lifetime event.  My husband is serving in Iraq with the 261st Tactical Signal Brigade.  Beau Biden is a member of this unit, and is currently serving with my husband.  His father and stepmother invited the family members of the unit to attend the Kids Inauguration concert last night at the Verizon Center.  They provided bus transportation to and from the venue as well as securing tickets for all that wanted to attend. 

I was advised that this invitation was being extended several weeks ago.  At that time, we knew nothing other than it would be a concert.  No idea who would be performing.  We had to commit to attending without knowing.  Even at that point, I felt this was a once in a lifetime event for my children and myself.  To attend any part of the inaugural festivities is a big deal.  We committed, and I stressed to anyone I talked to that they should also go if it all possible.  Late last week, the lineup was announced...Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.  I truly about fell over dead.  I had found out that Disney was co-spoonsoring this event with Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, but I never dared to hope that it would be such big name performers. 

We travelled to DC by bus.  The normal 2 1/2 hour trip took us almost 4 hours.  The amount of people, cars, and busses in that town is mind-boggling.  You think you can imagine it, but you can't.  We sat at one light for 30 minutes, watching it cycle, blocks away from our destination.  Eventually, we were given a police escort to get us through.   What an amazing feeling...lol.  Once there, we were welcomed by a member of Biden's staff.  He gave us gorgeous tickets, working very hard to make sure that families were given tickets together.  We were escorted inside and shown to our seats.  We had good seats and the show started almost as soon as we took them.  A Disney employee came out and fired up the crowd, and then Miley came out to open the show.  The screaming was deafening.  Throughout the night, we enjoyed performances and commentary by many actors and artists...Miley Cyrus, Bow Wow, Jamie Foxx, Rosario Dawson, Queen Latifah, Lucy Liu, George Lopez, Demi Lovato, and Corbin Bleu.

Dr. Biden was introduced by her granddaughter, Naomi.  Naomi did a wonderful job, appearing very poised and calm.  Dr. Biden spoke briefly, mentioning that they were also a military family, and then introduced Michelle Obama.  She also spoke about military families, and the struggles we endure during deployments.

The highlight for me was when Queen Latifah was on stage.  Several family members from our unit were brought on stage with her, and we had a link up with their soldiers in Iraq.  Each member was able to give a short message to their loved one...my favorite was the little one that said "I don't have anything to say."  It was a moment that made me swell with pride.  I am proud to be a military family, and sometimes that gets lost.

We didn't arrive back at the unit until 1:30 in the morning, and I was very thankful that the kids didn't have school today. 

Although I didn't feel strongly in favor of either of the Presidential candidates back in the election, I feel strongly now that we must support our President.  I can appreciate the historical nature of everything happening right now.  And I am moved by this.  I've watched several interviews with Michelle Obama, and she speaks of helping military families.  She talks about President Obama reducing the amount of time military members are deployed.  I hope that these aren't just passing speeches.  We need more home time, shorter deployments.  All the special activities in the world don't make up for your mom or dad or spouse being away from you for a year at a time. 

The country today is in a desperate state.  I worry about my job, our finances, what we are leaving to our children.  And although I feel that we have made a significant breakthrough electing the first African-American President, I still do not feel the sense of hope that many others feel.  He is just one man, and he is not God.  And his powers are still limited.

A peach of a day

Today, PB, Monster and I joined my mom and grandmom at our local Peach Festival. Well, technically we didn't actually go to the festival. The town has the Peach Festival, and it's all stupid booths selling fair food (which we are sick of after the fair two weeks ago) and stupid craft items that people have been selling since I was a kid (soda bottle art anyone). Basically, it's a festival of kids begging for crap that we don't need. But the local Orchard/Farm has it's own little Festival. It's called Peach Ice Cream Day. And they call it that, because you get....free peach ice cream. Seriously. They partner with a dairy farm from the state, which has it's own creamery. The orchard provides the peaches, and the creamery makes the ice cream. They give away thousands of ice cream cones from 9:oo am until 3:00 pm.

In addition to the free ice cream (which is soooo yummy. Did I mention fresh cream and peaches make it? I did? Oh.) they also have a little petting zoo and a DJ. There's a store there as well, and you can buy all sorts of fresh produce, local honey, etc. For a small fee ($1 a person, to a maximum of $5 per family) you can ride on trailer behind a tractor touring the farm/orchard, learning about the crops. We do this every year. Yes, it's pretty much the same speech, and we've had the same "guide" for the last three years. But it's fun to see what changes they've made each year. And during the ride, you get to stop in the orchard and pick your own peach. That alone is worth the price of the ride. Everyone searches the trees for the perfect peach...and they are soooo yummy.

After wandering through the store, we came home with some ice cream for daddy (we had to buy it, but that's okay. Have I mentioned it's really yummy? I have? Sorry.), fresh blueberries, corn on the cob and some Honey.

Did you know that honey purchased from local beekeepers helps allergy sufferers? Since the bees are only exposed to local pollen, eating the honey helos build your tolerance to those pollens. This helps to reduce your reactions to these pollens. It costs a little more, but I look at it as prevention as much as an ingredient. And really, it just tastes better.

We've come home, had a litle lunch, and now I will force my kidlins to nap. I know, I'm mean that way.

mother nature is a...

not nice lady. Hubby and I headed out for a quick boat ride to pick up our crab pot. This one was stolen (as was the other one last week) and once we got home, we both were hit with some sort of stomach bug. Yuck...why, oh why, when we have time alone. So now we're hanging out watch Little Miss Sunshine together. Yes, I know, we're just getting around to watching it. I never get to watch anything that lasts more than 30 minutes unless it's a kids movie.

Following in the footsteps of vacation past

Last night, we took the kidlins to see the Minor League baseball team in our state. My employer was given free tickets, and we were lucky recipients of 4. It was a good night. The weather was beautiful...not too hot or muggy, the game moved at a good pace, and we ate dinner before we got there. (Have you seen the prices at these places? Geez!) The monster was much better behaved this year, as he actually watched some of the game this time. They had an amusing gentleman dressed up as a nerdy umpire do little skits between each inning. The players and managers even got involved with them, dancing with him. My favorite was the manager that did Dueling Signals with him, to the tune of Dueling Banjos. It was really cute. Our team won 5-2, with the winning three runs coming in the bottom of the 8th inning. I wasn't sure why, but the group has a person dressed as celery come out and run around home plate whenever they score. I had to google why celery, and it's simply a matter of the costume being left in their store room. The kids get a kick out of it though. After the game, FIREWORKS! They were really good, and were well enjoyed. Don't worry, we did buy a pretzel, 2 drinks and some of those nasty dippin dots in baseball caps for the kids.

Tomorrow we are going to Sesame Place. I'll have lots to post about on Tuesday I'm sure.

Ninja!

Have you ever watched this show? Ninja Warrior has become a staple in our house. As it says on the wikipedia page:

Sasuke is a Japanese sports entertainment television special where 100 competitors attempt to complete four obstacle course stages. An edited version, Ninja Warrior, is screened in the United States by G4 and in the United Kingdom by Challenge.

Everyone in our family enjoys this show. Characters are remembered, my son sits still, it's a big thing. They are broadcast in Japanese with subtitles, and the commentators are funny to listen to even though you don't understand what they are saying. The obstacles are challenging...they test not just strength, but agility and balance as well. And as we've watched the same challengers come back again and again, my kids are learning a lesson in perseverence and hard work. The amount of time these athletes train is amazing...some build model courses in their own yards to work out on.

What's the number one thing my son has learned from Ninja Warrior? How to spider walk on my hall walls.