World's Fair 2010

So, I've mentioned before the World's Fair of our little town.  It's not ACTUALLY the World's Fair (obviously), but it's become the carnival's unofficial name...

It's always a great time, though, to see people (ALL KINDS of people... sometimes I wonder where all these people come from... I don't run into all of them at our grocery store... or at the parent/teacher meetings at school... but I digress),

to ride rides (but only on the cheap day, Labor Day Monday... except for when a nice teenager gives Bub some tickets, THEN the kids get to ride ONE ride beforehand), and to EAT!  That's why I go... to eat.  But I did stay away from the fried Oreos... this year, anyway!

The kids were pumped for the rides this year!

Bub decided to ride the Storm... it's part of his year of conquering his fears (let's not talk about the scary water slide he rode earlier in the summer... GAH)!

Here he is right beforehand...  I couldn't even take any pictures during the ride, because just watching him go round and round made me sick!

I was a little afraid his reaction afterward would be the same as the water slide...  no such worries!!

Then on to Pharoah's Fury...  WOW, they got high in the sky!

Then the Himalaya (don't think I remembered all these names by myself... I had to ask the kids)

And finally, Bub wanted to play the hammer game to see how hard he could hit the hammer and make the bell ring.  What I liked about the ride is that all kids won a prize (but just so you know... Bub DID hit the bell!).

All in all, a great day.  Great weather, great family time, great rides, and oh yeah, GREAT FOOD!

Last year's World's Fair:  here

My lunchtime view today

- Darla

Retrospective

So, I rarely make New Year's resolutions.  Because I figure I'm just setting up myself for failure.  Is that looking at the glass half-empty?  I don't really think so... I just know if I set my sights too high, I'll get frustrated before I practically even start. 

I do like to evaluate and/or re-evaluate where I am in life.  What I'm doing, where I've been, where I'm going... you know the drill.

So, why am I writing about this today?  Because today is another day when I get all retrospective-ish.

Because it's my birthday.  And not just my birthday, but the birthday prior to a BIG birthday...

And it makes me, you know, retrospective.

So, to look back at the last year...  I'm not gonna lie... some of it has been downright stinky.

My grandfather passed away
I had an emergency appendectomy
Then I got really sick for quite a while afterwards.
I had one uncle who's had 3 heart attacks just in the last few months.
And another who had an accident.
And my mother-in-law has had numerous surgeries to try to fix her ankle.

Yup, stinky.

But there's been some great things in the last year, too.

I got to introduce Bub to the wonderful sport of football.
I got to go to a book-signing and meet one of my favorite "big time" bloggers.
Don stole me away for a "just us" weekend.
Enjoyed my family (immediate and extended), including our family slumber party weekend.
Took a trip to San Antonio with the family.
Took a trip to Tennessee with the family.
We went to a beautiful wedding.
Saw a few musicals at the Muny, our outdoor theater.
And more than even the big events, I had a lot of little, but magical moments with my family and friends.

And I plan on some great things in the future, too...

Traveling - we've got a few trips planned that I'll blog about
Other than that, I have faith that God's got some great surprises in store for me, too!  :)

So, thanks for being part of my internal dialogue and trip down memory lane.

And, you know, for not telling anyone how old I am.

He blames it on a cookie and fruit punch

So, last week, Don and I got ticket to the Cardinals game, so we took the kids with us.

On a school night.

Cause we're crazy rebels like that.  :)

Bub was so excited all week, which I'm sure had NOTHING to do with the fact that his best friend also got to go to the Cards game last week, too (those boys love their sports!).

At one point, Bub got chilly and tucked his arms into his sleeves to keep warm.  Then he decided he was like a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

He kept saying, "I have a big head, with itty bitty arms."  Which is apparently from a movie.  Then he would laugh hysterically every. single. time.

Then he started dancing and playing baseball with his "big head and itty bitty arms."

While that cracked me up, this one makes me laugh even more.  He was having so fun and being so silly... until he saw something on the Jumbotron.  He got so serious, so quickly.

I was teasing him about being so silly, and he said it was J from school's fault... 

??????

He said it was her birthday, and he had a cookies AND fruit punch... and THAT'S what made him so hyper!

Bring on more cookies!

I'm an athletic supporter

That was my Twitter update a few weeks ago:  I'm not an athlete; I'm an athletic supporter.

Because I'm funny like that.  AND I stole that line from someone else.  I'm funny like THAT, too.

So, a few weekends ago, my sister kept my kids for a few nights (woo hoo for THAT!) before school started, and Don and I had a Saturday free.  So, what did we do?  We woke up at the crack of dawn (literally!) so Don could go compete in his first triathlon. 

The triathlon is held locally, and it's a good beginner's tri (do you think I'm more athletic when I use shortcut words like "tri" instead of "triathlon?"  No?  huh).  It's a 450 meter swim (I think...  back and forth in an olympic size pool nine times), a 12-mile bike ride, and a 4-mile run.  The pool is shallow enough that if you're (ahem, I'M) not a very good swimmer, you could actually run/walk in the pool. 

So, Don did it.  And I watched.  And hung out with friends.  It was amazing how many people we knew participating and supporting there!

This is the transitional area where Don's bike/shirt/different shoes/etc. were.  Each competitor started 15 seconds apart.  So, a big group of our friends started about 45 minutes before Don, and we had another good friend who started 45 minutes or so AFTER him.  So there were constantly people swimming while others were riding next to others who were biking.

Here's Don after his swim transitioning to his biking gear.

Don biking on the left and our friend, C, running on the right.  It was pretty cool that they passed us simultaneously out of all the hundreds of competitors all out there together.

We're not athletes; we're athletic supporters!

A big group of our friends (and Don) who competed.  Our friend, S, is showing off his flip flops, because he thought the race was over and he changed his shoes before he realized he hadn't gone through the finish line.  So, he finished in his flip flops.  :)

Don and our friend, M, who did AWESOME! 

So, guess who's signed up already for next year?  And will NOT be an athletic supporter next year?  And who feels like throwing up even typing this?  Yup, you guessed it!

Yo mama

Tonight was a normal, frantic-paced school night for us. Once the kids did their homework, we ran up to the hospital to see Don's mom (who had a minor procedure done on her ankle), then had to rush back to town for Sis's martial arts lessons.

But I forgot to fit in supper. Or dinner, depending on which part of the US you're from.

So after martial arts, I ran them through the drive-thru of the golden arches. Not my favorite place. But I was starving. So I kept looking at the menu trying to find something NOT fried and without cheese (not eating dairy... Part of my new eating plan).

So I ordered for the kids, then I ordered a double cheeseburger for myself. Without the cheese.

My kids laughed. Then guffawed. Then cackled. All the way to the drive-thru window.

They said: Why did you order that?
Me: Because I can't gave dairy, remember?
Them: Mom, what you said is a Yo Mama joke!!
Me: ???
Them: Yo Mama is so stupid that she orders a double cheeseburger WITHOUT THE CHEESE!

Mom, YOU JUST DID THAT!!!

The nice, polite young man taking my money (I'm not even being sarcastic... He really was very polite and professional) piped up:

I'm really sorry, ma'am, but that really IS funny.

Hhrrmmpphh.

I guess that's what I get for letting my kids read Yo Mama jokes on my phone. And encouraging them to have senses of humor.


- Darla

Oh hey!

Heh Heh.  Didn't REALLY forget about my blog.  Just took an unplanned, unintentional little break.  That's all!

Anyhow, so to get caught up...  how are you?  And the kids?  Uh huh... yeah, me too!  :)

So, what happens every August, without fail?  That's right.  BACK TO SCHOOL!

I can barely believe that my kids are in 5th and 4th grades this year!  They both moved to new schools this year (not the same as each other), and both are loving it as much now as they did the first day.

So, yeah, the first day...  wanna see?

You know you do!

Okay, since you begged.

Aren't they gorgeous? 

Then after school, we continued our annual tradition of going out for ice cream to discuss the ups & downs, ins & outs of the first day.

Then, like almost every year, our cousins met us for the ice cream to discuss the ups & downs, ins & outs of THEIR first day of school, too!

(obviously MUCH to discuss here, huh?!)