Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Drivin' In My Car

O.k., well when I tried to start this post I was riding in my car and decided to put my iPhone to the test and see if I could post from there. Either I don't know what I am doing (which is entirely possible) or it doesn't work. Chris tried to explain that it was a script and iPhones can't do that, but he lost me and I just gave up for the time being...

So, we drove to DC and met Richelle, Jamie, and Bobby for the day at the Museum of Natural History for the afternoon. We had a really great time. Cookie really liked seeing the Hope Diamond. When I called Gommy and told her thatshe said that he likes rocks as much as his Poppy does. Tater Tot growled at all of the dinosaurs, even the skull of a prehistoric rhino skull he saw outside on the sidewalk that he called Nemo. Jana took Nosey on a few rides in his wheelchair down the ramps throughout the museum, so he could get a few laughs.

We walked around the White House to show Jana. She said it was much smaller than she had thought it would be. Pretty much like everything in life, right? We drove around at the end of the day partly to show Jana the city, partly because we took a few wrong turns. It was pretty to see things at night. Chris had lots of interesting facts to share that he had picked up on his trip to DC while he was working on his MBA. You know that trip where he got to go into the West Wing and have his picture taken behind the podium in the Press Room? Punk.

So, this morning we have come down to the lobby of the hotel and had breakfast in our pj's. While I am typing there is a guy sitting next to me at the next computer singing his heart out so loud that he can be heard all over the lobby while we watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He is jamming out, and is totally oblivious to the rest of the world. GrandBob just came and picked Cookie up so that he could go play his new Mario Kart that they gave him for his birthday a little early.

I am looking forward to the rest of this lazy day. I hope you all have a great turkey day, and spend some time being thankful for what you have. I know I will!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Turkey Day is Coming!

I don't even know if I have anything to talk about really. I am realizing that I am just not very good at keeping in touch no matter the method. I wish I was. Some people just have the gift, and for me it is next to impossible. 

Just sitting across the room from Jana speaking in German to her mother on iChat. I have absolutely NO IDEA what in the world they are talking about, but it is always cool hearing another language spoken. Having Jana here has been so good for us in so many ways. It helps me see just how small minded I, as an American, am. I think a lot of Americans are this way, though. Jana knows so much about our country compared to what I know about Germany or most other countries. Not that I am much of a world traveler, unfortunately. I guess I am showing my world ignorance, but that's just me...

So, today is my mom's birthday. I feel very fortunate to have both of my parents in my life, and to have the relationship with them that I do. That doesn't happen everyday anymore. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! I Love You!

So, next week is Thanksgiving, and we are going to Maryland. The family hasn't been in a while, and it has been even longer since I have been. When I started to think about it I began to realize that it been a LONG time since I was up there. I think the big boys are going to go skiing on Friday. It's opening day at nearby ski resort. I am going to skip those crowds and all of the grass and rocks that are sure to be still sticking through the snow on the slopes. That is how I know I am getting old. When I was younger it didn't matter about any of those things. I would have jumped at any chance to go snow skiing. 

We are also going to DC. I am looking forward to it too. Jana will get to see some more of America, so that will be good too. I haven't been to DC in a long time. The kids have never been, so that'll be cool. And, we are going to get to see Jamie and Richelle on their stomping grounds. I hope the drive won't be too awful. 

Next week the Kindergarteners are having a Thanksgiving Program as usual. And I just found out today that Nosey is the turkey in this year's program. There never was a turkey before, but this year the turkey's name is Nosey. I can't wait. I hope he feels better by then. He has a skin infection, so he is taking an antibiotic and it is making his tummy hurt. He is such a tough boy. Can't wait to see him in his starring role.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Trick-or-Treat!

So, here we all sit watching the election results wondering what the future holds for this country... I would be lying if I didn't say that I am greatly concerned. Chris and I waited a little over 2 1/2 hours to vote, so that we could make a difference as Jana put it. I am already trying to tune it out, though, by writing here. Even Chris keeps flipping it to the NASA channel every now and then-- I am not quite sure what that is all about... However, the most amusing part of this election has been listening to Cookie discuss politics. He says he knew he was going to vote for McCain when he found out Obama planned to raise taxes. LOL :) He is his father's son.


Soooooo, I wanted to just update everyone on our recent exploits. Halloween was a blast! The kids were so stinkin' cute! Cookie was the best looking Indiana Jones I have ever seen!


He put Gommy to work on his costume last month, and we were still finalizing the details the afternoon of Halloween. He had it down to the whip, hat, gun and holster. He even got 
a leather jacket to perfect his look. He was insistent on looking EXACTLY like Indy! I think he achieved his goal, don't you?

Now dressing Nosey up was my favorite part, but don't tell the other boys. He was a rock star. We always call him that, so it seemed fitting. He was soooooooo cute. He went all around school in his wheelchair carrying his toy guitar jamming out all day long. The blue hair, tattooed arms, and skull and cross bones earring were my favorite part of the costume. He had so much fun riding around in the golf cart while we were trick-or-treating because it was decorated with hanging lights.  He really is a ROCK STAR!





And Tater Tot... He was our Little Devil on Halloween. like most other days. He was so
 precious. He loved his costume, the cape especially. He also really enjoyed 
trick-or-treating even though it was very time consuming with him going up and down all of the front steps on DI. He was definitely working his costume, so people would give him more candy. It worked. He had quite the stash. His bag was bigger than he was, but that didn't stop him from dragging it from house to house, and you better keep your hands off or else he would let you have it! And after spending most of October trying to teach him to say "Trick-or-Treat" we had to finally settle for "Ween" followed by his devilish smile. Still very cute, maybe even more so.