I'm looking forward to having the schedule slow down, but I've only got two activity-less days until we head to Silverwood Wednesday for two days and nights.
It's the girls' much delayed Girl Scout trip, which they worked so hard to earn over three years of selling cookies.
I hope the weather will stay hot, because I hear the water park is really cool, and we missed our annual trip to Moses Lake Water Park this year!
I've realized I have no plan for my dog. I can't believe I never thought about what I would do with her while I was gone. I'm not really comfortable asking Clint's relatives to take her, and I've never left her with anyone, so now I'm pondering the solution to that dilemma.
Never a dull moment around here!
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Last Day
Today is the last day of fair. Things are winding down. One of the extra special treats of these last two days has been the FREE DQ blizzard available at the Hwy 395 DQ Grill & Chill when you show them your current day's fair stamp. For us that translates into a $12.80 value...$15.45 if Clint is with us! Blizzards are a rare but much loved treat for us, so we made sure to stop by yesterday and today!
This morning we went in to feed the animals extra early (we left the house at 5:45am) because the superintendent sponsers a free breakfast in the barn, and the kids can't eat until after they've done their animal chores. It's pretty funny to be eating breakfast served in the barn right next to the big sign that warns fairgoers not to eat food in the barn! Eggs for the breakfast are courtesy of the barns feathered temporary residents. The eggs sit out on the counter all week so fairgoers can see the differences between eggs from different breeds of birds. Another fallacy exploded, that eggs need to be refrigerated. I'm sure someday someone will catch wind of the superintendent's kind culinary gesture, and the poultry breakfast tradition will be banned for health reasons(although I have to wonder how many poutry raising kids have ever had a case of salmonella poisoning...maybe we're immune due to regular exposure)!
The girls served barn duty after breakfast, making sure all the birds in the barn stay watered, doing errands for the superintendent, anwering fairgoers' questions, and holding birds to give fairgoers the opportunity to pet them.
After barn duty we did the one fun fair activity we haven't had time to do all week...we wandered. We wandered through the fine arts building (finally) and got to see an amazing array of stunning photos(among them Mary Ellen's award winning orchard shot), wandered past the very loud but impressive chainsaw carving exhibition, wandered through the horti/flori-culture exhibits, the commercial exhibits, and the vendor booths. Tamzin spent her money on face painting, which was beautiful, but I can't show you because of my camera situation. Rhiannon bought a neck cooling thing. Gillian opted to spend $2 on a snow cone and save the rest (a FIRST for her!). Shelby bought a bird at the poultry auction Friday, for which she is now in negotiations with me about whether she should pay for it, or me.
I was glad to get back to the tent to rest. After a week like this, just an hour or two of wandering and I'm very tired!
Now we're home, and it feels so great just to sit here and read my email, and blog. It's effortless.
Tonight we go back for the 4-H barn dance, to see how we fared on the herdsmanship awards, and to check on the birds one last time. We've decided to skip the Starship concert. Tomorrow we can sleep in til 7:30 or 8am, and head to the barns at 8:30 to pick up our exhibits and our chickens. The tough part is that we have to have our animals out by 10am, but purchasers (each 4-H'er could sell up to three birds at Friday's auction) don't have to pick up their birds until noon. Some purchasers let the 4-H'ers keep their birds. They are in effect donating the price of the bird towards the 4H'ers' animal project. My kids want to keep their birds if the purchasers don't take them, so we will have to wait until we know whether they are being taken. So it could be a long morning. On the other hand, we have our campsite to pack up too, so that should keep us busy until noon!
This morning we went in to feed the animals extra early (we left the house at 5:45am) because the superintendent sponsers a free breakfast in the barn, and the kids can't eat until after they've done their animal chores. It's pretty funny to be eating breakfast served in the barn right next to the big sign that warns fairgoers not to eat food in the barn! Eggs for the breakfast are courtesy of the barns feathered temporary residents. The eggs sit out on the counter all week so fairgoers can see the differences between eggs from different breeds of birds. Another fallacy exploded, that eggs need to be refrigerated. I'm sure someday someone will catch wind of the superintendent's kind culinary gesture, and the poultry breakfast tradition will be banned for health reasons(although I have to wonder how many poutry raising kids have ever had a case of salmonella poisoning...maybe we're immune due to regular exposure)!
The girls served barn duty after breakfast, making sure all the birds in the barn stay watered, doing errands for the superintendent, anwering fairgoers' questions, and holding birds to give fairgoers the opportunity to pet them.
After barn duty we did the one fun fair activity we haven't had time to do all week...we wandered. We wandered through the fine arts building (finally) and got to see an amazing array of stunning photos(among them Mary Ellen's award winning orchard shot), wandered past the very loud but impressive chainsaw carving exhibition, wandered through the horti/flori-culture exhibits, the commercial exhibits, and the vendor booths. Tamzin spent her money on face painting, which was beautiful, but I can't show you because of my camera situation. Rhiannon bought a neck cooling thing. Gillian opted to spend $2 on a snow cone and save the rest (a FIRST for her!). Shelby bought a bird at the poultry auction Friday, for which she is now in negotiations with me about whether she should pay for it, or me.
I was glad to get back to the tent to rest. After a week like this, just an hour or two of wandering and I'm very tired!
Now we're home, and it feels so great just to sit here and read my email, and blog. It's effortless.
Tonight we go back for the 4-H barn dance, to see how we fared on the herdsmanship awards, and to check on the birds one last time. We've decided to skip the Starship concert. Tomorrow we can sleep in til 7:30 or 8am, and head to the barns at 8:30 to pick up our exhibits and our chickens. The tough part is that we have to have our animals out by 10am, but purchasers (each 4-H'er could sell up to three birds at Friday's auction) don't have to pick up their birds until noon. Some purchasers let the 4-H'ers keep their birds. They are in effect donating the price of the bird towards the 4H'ers' animal project. My kids want to keep their birds if the purchasers don't take them, so we will have to wait until we know whether they are being taken. So it could be a long morning. On the other hand, we have our campsite to pack up too, so that should keep us busy until noon!
No Photos
Due to an unfortunate mishap while the girls were filming a short movie with my digital camera, the camera is no more.
Well, it exists as an empty shell, but the minimum repair charge as per the manufacturer is $171. So it's back to the 35 mm for a while. I think I will have to pay to have them put onto disk at the developers, because I can no longer imagine photo organization/storage without My Pictures. It's amazing how easy it is to use lots of film once you've gotten spoiled by the digital camera's massive storage space.
On the other hand, I am appreciating the 35mm's ability to take the photo exactly when I want, instead of having to anticipate a digital delay.
So I guess I'm in the market for a new digital camera, if anyone has recommendations.
Well, it exists as an empty shell, but the minimum repair charge as per the manufacturer is $171. So it's back to the 35 mm for a while. I think I will have to pay to have them put onto disk at the developers, because I can no longer imagine photo organization/storage without My Pictures. It's amazing how easy it is to use lots of film once you've gotten spoiled by the digital camera's massive storage space.
On the other hand, I am appreciating the 35mm's ability to take the photo exactly when I want, instead of having to anticipate a digital delay.
So I guess I'm in the market for a new digital camera, if anyone has recommendations.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
...And We're Off! (to the Fair)
And so it begins.
Today is the first day of the fair. For us, fair has been happening for days now, starting with Sunday when we had to drop off all our exhibits, pick up our passes, and set up a camp spot. It was busy, but definitely do-able, in a cheerful fashion. The excitement among the kids was definitely happening.
Monday was livestock day. Getting chickens, vegetables, plants, crazy critters, and flowers to the fair, and then setting up the birds' cages and the poultry display, was the order of the day. We finished by about 9 pm, and headed home to get some rest.
This morning we were up at 5:30 am (as we will be for the rest of the week) and on our way to the fair by 6:30 (well, it was more like 7, but I was running really late!). Off to the poultry barn to feed birds and clean cages, then to set up a spot for the Doobie Brothers, to our tent for a 30 minute rest, then it was off to the just opening exhibit buildings...the kids were dying to see how their entries placed.
This afternoon we have not only Poultry Fitting and Showing and Fashion Revue events, but also a family funeral to somehow squeeze in...Clint's uncle passed away and we need to pay our respects to the family. Just when I think it can't get any more challenging, it does!
The girls are nervous and excited about their upcoming performances, and can't wait for this afternoon! I'm glad though that we had a couple of hours to come home and just do nothing. They need down time.
I'd like to do nothing, but I have two hours to pay a few bills, update my checkbook, water the garden, pet the dog, and get four kids and one mom ready for a funeral, poultry judging, and a fashion revue one right after the other! Argghh!
Today is the first day of the fair. For us, fair has been happening for days now, starting with Sunday when we had to drop off all our exhibits, pick up our passes, and set up a camp spot. It was busy, but definitely do-able, in a cheerful fashion. The excitement among the kids was definitely happening.
Monday was livestock day. Getting chickens, vegetables, plants, crazy critters, and flowers to the fair, and then setting up the birds' cages and the poultry display, was the order of the day. We finished by about 9 pm, and headed home to get some rest.
This morning we were up at 5:30 am (as we will be for the rest of the week) and on our way to the fair by 6:30 (well, it was more like 7, but I was running really late!). Off to the poultry barn to feed birds and clean cages, then to set up a spot for the Doobie Brothers, to our tent for a 30 minute rest, then it was off to the just opening exhibit buildings...the kids were dying to see how their entries placed.
This afternoon we have not only Poultry Fitting and Showing and Fashion Revue events, but also a family funeral to somehow squeeze in...Clint's uncle passed away and we need to pay our respects to the family. Just when I think it can't get any more challenging, it does!
The girls are nervous and excited about their upcoming performances, and can't wait for this afternoon! I'm glad though that we had a couple of hours to come home and just do nothing. They need down time.
I'd like to do nothing, but I have two hours to pay a few bills, update my checkbook, water the garden, pet the dog, and get four kids and one mom ready for a funeral, poultry judging, and a fashion revue one right after the other! Argghh!
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Sewing Lessons
Helping someone else sew something challenging is A LOT more challenging than sewing it yourself. I am so brain weary and stressed from 9 days of helping Rhiannon and Gillian make their Fashion Revue entries. There were so many moments when I just wanted to rip the garment from their hands and do it myself! How do you explain to someone that sometimes the proper sewing method to is to just mess with it until you get it right?!
They both picked projects that were beyond their ability level, and could not be persuaded to try something simpler. They've had to really stretch and challenge themselves, and have learned a ton, and not only about sewing. Lots of life lessons were learned in the process of sewing these outfits. Time management, perseverence, setting realistic goals, financial considerations of a large project, how to cope when you've got a bigger challenge than you anticipated, and so on. Probably the hardest thing for them has been the redos. Poor Rhiannon has had to rip out and redo SO many seams. When I learned to sew, my first stuff was kind of sloppy, but it didn't matter, because it was only for me, and I was proud of my efforts, and so was my mom, who taught me. But Gillian and Rhiannon are going to be judged on their work, and so they want it to be right, which has meant fixing lots of little (and big!) errors.
And while they've done all the actual cutting, sewing, etc, I've had to be available to answer questions, explain the pattern, teach them the proper technique to complete a piece, check their work, and show them how to undo, redo or fix problems, so I've gotten nothing else done all week.
I am once again behind in my office work, my house is a wreck, my garden is drooping from lack of water, and I'm running out of time to get on top of things. My little sister (whom I haven't seen in more than a year!) is coming for a visit on Tuesday, which means I need to finish getting the girls ready for fair by Monday.
And we have stuff scheduled all weekend.
Plus Fashion Revue on Saturday.
Aaaack!!
They both picked projects that were beyond their ability level, and could not be persuaded to try something simpler. They've had to really stretch and challenge themselves, and have learned a ton, and not only about sewing. Lots of life lessons were learned in the process of sewing these outfits. Time management, perseverence, setting realistic goals, financial considerations of a large project, how to cope when you've got a bigger challenge than you anticipated, and so on. Probably the hardest thing for them has been the redos. Poor Rhiannon has had to rip out and redo SO many seams. When I learned to sew, my first stuff was kind of sloppy, but it didn't matter, because it was only for me, and I was proud of my efforts, and so was my mom, who taught me. But Gillian and Rhiannon are going to be judged on their work, and so they want it to be right, which has meant fixing lots of little (and big!) errors.
And while they've done all the actual cutting, sewing, etc, I've had to be available to answer questions, explain the pattern, teach them the proper technique to complete a piece, check their work, and show them how to undo, redo or fix problems, so I've gotten nothing else done all week.
I am once again behind in my office work, my house is a wreck, my garden is drooping from lack of water, and I'm running out of time to get on top of things. My little sister (whom I haven't seen in more than a year!) is coming for a visit on Tuesday, which means I need to finish getting the girls ready for fair by Monday.
And we have stuff scheduled all weekend.
Plus Fashion Revue on Saturday.
Aaaack!!
Friday, August 05, 2005
Normal Life
Why is is that my normal life is mostly being too busy to get everything done?
I wasn't like that in my previous life (before kids and husband). I was really mellow, preferring to spend lots of solitary time reading or just doing my own thing. I rarely felt crowded. Sometimes I worked long hours, but I would use that as an excuse to cancel activities with friends or family, so that I could give myself plenty of time to rest and recover and get my alone time.
Now, life is long stretches of racing from one thing to another. And much of it is not negotiable if I want what's best for the people for whom I am responsible. I guess the truth is that I'm a sucker for fullfilling my responsibilities, and I have managed to acquire so many, I've sentenced myself to a regularly overwhelming schedule.
This summer is a good case in point. We did not schedule any "extra" activities. No dance lessons, swimming lessons or health club; we didn't even commit to regular park days or play days. Yet the entire season has been a blur.
You can tell when I'm too busy becaue I don't blog. That's why I have this pathetic habit of not posting for weeks at a time. It's too far down on my priority list.
The good news is, I'm in one of those rare, short term moments when my paperwork is caught up, I have only a few major things looming, and can allow myself to do one of the many things I squeeze in for myself.
At times like this, my mind goes crazy thinking of all the things I would love to work on...weeding the garden, organizing my digital photos, making a menu plan...But then I remember that I only had a few minutes to spare.
I have to get back to helping the girls make their outfits for fashion revue. We have only a week left, and it's getting down to the wire.
I wasn't like that in my previous life (before kids and husband). I was really mellow, preferring to spend lots of solitary time reading or just doing my own thing. I rarely felt crowded. Sometimes I worked long hours, but I would use that as an excuse to cancel activities with friends or family, so that I could give myself plenty of time to rest and recover and get my alone time.
Now, life is long stretches of racing from one thing to another. And much of it is not negotiable if I want what's best for the people for whom I am responsible. I guess the truth is that I'm a sucker for fullfilling my responsibilities, and I have managed to acquire so many, I've sentenced myself to a regularly overwhelming schedule.
This summer is a good case in point. We did not schedule any "extra" activities. No dance lessons, swimming lessons or health club; we didn't even commit to regular park days or play days. Yet the entire season has been a blur.
You can tell when I'm too busy becaue I don't blog. That's why I have this pathetic habit of not posting for weeks at a time. It's too far down on my priority list.
The good news is, I'm in one of those rare, short term moments when my paperwork is caught up, I have only a few major things looming, and can allow myself to do one of the many things I squeeze in for myself.
At times like this, my mind goes crazy thinking of all the things I would love to work on...weeding the garden, organizing my digital photos, making a menu plan...But then I remember that I only had a few minutes to spare.
I have to get back to helping the girls make their outfits for fashion revue. We have only a week left, and it's getting down to the wire.
Boat Race Weekend
We made it to the boat races this year, after my brother came through with 2 free general admission tickets. We picked up free kids tickets at the mall, sneaking Shelby in as a 12 year old. She was nervous about it, but they never even looked at her.
It was a great time. Very mellow. We found a great spot along the bank where we could swim and watch the air show and the boats. I was afraid the kids would get bored, because there's not really that much to it, but swimming in the river was all they needed to stay entertained. Rhiannon liked walking around to look at the vendors, even though it was mostly food vendors. We bought each of the girls a huge snow cone; they came with vanilla ice cream in the bottom of the cup...sounds gross, but it was delicious!
Our spot happened to be right in front of an almost deserted beer garden, so Clint and I hopped over for a quick $4 Budwiser or two. It was great because we could see the girls the whole time. In my opinion though, the beer gardens are overrated. I had a better time swimming and hanging out with the kids.
I was nervous about the whole event, because Clint has always discouraged us from going. Of course, he denies that, but his past experiences with the wild and crazy earlier years of boat races, along with his reluctance to take the girls to anything if it might be difficult or complicated(which is just about any public event that involves taking four kids), have a tendency to make him less than enthusiastic. I get nervous because if I insist on doing an activity, and it IS hard, he will be tense, and I will be frustrated, both of which make the whole event even harder.
I decided to go on this one, whether he wanted to or not. Of course, once I make the definite decision, he goes along with it, but even then, I am nervous, and almost wish I could go without him, so if things get tough I can just work it out on my own(which is a lot easier than having to also argue with him about how to handle things).
Anyway, there was nothing tough about it. The biggest challenge was the heat, but we were on top of that one. I just kept slathering the sunscreen on the girls and me (Clint didn't, and got burned), and we brought hats, sunglasses, and a beach umbrella.
We wanted to go back on Sunday, too, but felt that deserting my Dad for one day of his visit was already pushing it. So we passed our tickets along to Mary Ellen and Pat, so that they could check it out too! I hope we can finagle free tickets again next year. It makes for a fun an affordable family event!
Shelby's Birthday
For Shelby's birthday, we went to Tony Roma's for dinner(my dad's treat). Shelby had an oddly "blue" birthday. Blue towels, blue Moshi hippo, blue bedroom makeover, blue wrapping paper.
She also scored a trip to the Indy races with Christopher, and Silverwood passes for the entire family from Aunt Roxann. Boy, was that a suprise! They must have been offering them at a great discount to Battelle employees, because she did the same thing a few days later for cousin Preston's birthday.
In this picture, Shelby is showing off her other blue gift. She loves it; after all my hesitation about buying something somewhat out of my affordability range, I'm really glad I did it.
Munchkin's New Look
Munchkin had so many tangles and mats, and so much cheat grass in her fur, we had to go for the shaved dog option. Now she looks like a rat with a beard. At least she'll be cool and burr free for the rest of the summer!
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