After reading someone else’s blog, I started thinking about snow (thanks Colleen!).  I love snow!  I love playing in the snow.  I think one of the best things about having children is that you get to do all this fun stuff again.  Only the second time around you get the added joy of experiencing it with and through them.

We have an excellent sledding hill near us.  It is, like almost everything else, by the river.  The hill has a flat top, fairly steep descent and long level area at the bottom.  Beyond that the ground rises slightly again, there is a bike path, and small wooded area (about 10 feet) and then the river (which is not deep there, only about 1- 1 ½ feet deep).  Because of the river, they put large hay bales at the edge of the bike path to stop anyone who goes too far, too fast.  They have large flood lights for night sledding

We decided it would be fun to take the girls sledding one night last winter.  We packed up and went over there, only to discover that the lights were out.  They only turn them on for Friday and Saturday nights.  But we really wanted to sled, so we stayed.  The teenage boys who live down the street were there also.  My brother went down first to test it out.  And wow, was the hill fast!  The snow was so hard packed that it was like ice!  Shannon wanted to go next.  I helped her onto the larger sled and she got scared and didn’t want to go.  She was afraid she would end up in the river.  I told her I would wait at the bottom and catch her.  I trudged down the hill and waved and yelled for her to go, that I was ready.  She pushes off and starts down the hill.  As she’s speeding toward me, I realize I have failed to take into consideration how much lighter she is, and that if I try to catch her, we’re both going to get hurt.  And there is no way she’s going to be able to stop before crashing into the hay bales.  I figure my best bet is to grab her as the sled goes by.  As I lunge for her and feel the fabric of her coat slipping through my fingers, I realize there is a small hole in the barricade.  Of course, that is where she’s heading.  At a lightening fast speed.  I scream and watch in utter terror as she goes through the barricade, goes airborne over the bike path and heads straight for the river.  Fortunately, instead of ending up in the river, she slams into a tree.  Nearly 4 feet in the air.  She then comes crashing to the ground.  And she lays there wailing.  I run over, check for broken bones and hug her, trying to calm her down.  Then I realize she’s really crying because her boot flew off and she thinks it’s gone into the river.  I retrieve it (not from the river) and gather her up and we go back up to the top of the hill.  Where my brother says “Wow, that was really cool!” and she gives him the look of death. Now she won’t go back down the hill at all, so he offers to take Emma.  He doesn’t want to take the big sled because  he can’t steer it.  So he climbs on the saucer and puts her on his lap.  But this doesn’t work, so he ends up laying down on his back on the saucer holding her sitting on his chest.  At the time, Emma weighed only 32 lbs. Now, the thing is, this hill is really bumpy.  Almost like ski hill moguls.

They take off, bumping down the hill.  And in the dark all you can hear is Emma laughing and my brother making these little sounds everytime they bounce and she lands back on his chest.  It’s so funny that the boys that are there have to stop snowboarding, they are laughing so hard at her laughter.

We do a few more runs, me on the big sled with Shannon (cause I CAN steer it) and Emma with my brother.  And everytime they start down the hill, the boys have to pull off because her laughter causes them to wipe out.

My maiden name was pretty unusual.  We’re not really sure where it came from.  If you search, there are a few in Holland, but the few in the United States are all related.  We are very proud of our last name, probably because there are so few of us.  It is nearly impossible to pronounce when you see it written, and nearly impossible to write when you hear it. 

A thought occurred to me this morning.  My uncle never had kids, neither did my brother, and my children have their father’s last name.  And that’s all there is.  There is a possibility the name will die with us.  And that’s so strange.  100 years from now, it could be like we never existed.  Isn’t that sad?

Hah!  I have found the best way in the world to bug the bird.  Dog squeek toys!  He already had some, but they were really old and he had pulled the squeaker out, so I didn’t know the effect it would have him.  I thought I would be nice and buy him a present, after all, we had the whole time my brother was gone to bond (which we didn’t).  Knowing that he is color oriented, I picked out the brightest pink one I could find.  I brought it home and showed it to him and of course, he’s afraid of it.  So I squeak it and he starts walking all over the cage chattering, clucking and singing (like an opera singer doing warm ups, not like a bird).  Then he lets out this shriek like he did the night I thought he was being killed by the killer raccoon clan.  And the more I squeak it, the more he talks, etc. And that, unfortunately, is about the most exciting thing in my life.

I did get my hair cut yesterday.  The stylist talked me out of cutting it all off, explained that the humidity would make me look poodley.  But I still got a good 3 inches cut off.  AND NO ONE HAS NOTICED!  I did have the following conversation though:

Coworker:  Did you dye your hair last night?

Me:  no

Coworker: Are you sure?

Me: Relatively.  Pretty sure I’d remember.

Coworker:  Really?  I don’t remember it looking so red.

Me:  Well, I did get it cut!

Coworker:  No, I don’t think that’s it.

???????

School started today, so I was very late coming in to work.  BUT I wouldn’t have been so late if it hadn’t been for the house in the road.  That’s right, there was a big old farmhouse being moved and they had taken down all the electrical wires and streetlights (that’s how big it was) so they could move it less than 1 mile.  The road was blocked and I couldn’t see why, so I figured it was an accident.  I turned around and went the long way around, through the farm fields (which IS the long way, it’s about 6 miles to go around – have I mentioned I work in the middle of nowhere?) only to find that the road was blocked going the other direction as well.  But now I could at least see why.  Not a sight you see every day.  Apparently I had timed it perfectly because they had just passed my office.  So I went back around (another 6 miles) only to find I couldn’t get in because the electric company had the entrances blocked to put the streetlights back up!  But that was an excuse I couldn’t have thought up if I tried!

Sorry my journaling has been so sporadic, but I have no computer at home right now (ahhh!) and I have to try and write during my free time at work, of which I have had none lately.

I took the girls on a spur of the moment picnic Sunday at the park.  It was so much fun just watching them.  The pure joy on their faces when they came bouncing down the bumpy slide and as they pushed higher and higher on the swings.  But the best was when we played hide and seek.  Emma would get this astounded look on her face and scream and run every time I found her (which wasn’t very difficult considering her idea of hiding was to crouch behind a post about 6” wide.  Apparently, as long as she hides her face you can’t see her).  And Shannon would get this look of pride every time she found me and when I “couldn’t” find her.  And that, combined with the perfect weather, combined to make a nearly perfect day.

I offered to take care of Bart the Bird while my brother went on vacation.  I mean, how hard can it be?  And up until this morning, things were going without a hitch.  This morning I got up, took a shower and went into the family room to feed him and then got distracted doing other things. 

Meanwhile, Princess Emma woke up and came out into the family room as well.  I told her I was going to feed Bart and she asked if she could help.  So I walked over to his cage and tried to open the little bowl for the door.  And he takes off, and starts flying in circles around the room (we have a vaulted ceiling in that room), and after two trips around the room decides to land, but there isn’t anywhere.  So he picks the valance on the window.  And just hangs there, looking around, poking little holes through the fabric.  Glad it’s not my house.  Now, the only real problem is that he is at the furthest corner from his cage, and he figuratively has Emma trapped below him.  So I tell her just to sit on the floor so he won’t crash into her (have I mentioned what a bad flyer he is?) when he decides to fly back.  And then the light dawns and I realize what he’s freaked out about.  I have my hair wrapped in a towel.  That’s the only thing that is different.  So I take it off, and apparently I am no longer scary and he flies back.  In the process, he manages to clear off every paper from every flat surface in the room with his flapping.  Which Princess Emma thinks is hilarious.  Just then Miss Shannon walks in and looks around at the mess and wants to know why I didn’t wake her up before so she could see it too (cause being the mean mom I am, I must have planned it that way).

Have you ever seen the movie Beethovan?  If you haven’t, it’s a Disney movie about a St. Bernard.  And it actually has a really strong cast of people before they were famous, like David Duchovny, Patricia Heaton and Stanley Tucci.  It was on the Disney Channel, so I thought it would be fun for the girls, they love dogs.  WRONG!  There is this part where the evil, bad man tries to get Beethovan to bite him and he hits the dog.  At which point Emma starts bawling.  Not just tearing up.  Crying hysterically and saying, “He’s gonna kill him (the dog)!”  At which point Shannon start crying too.  I explain that it’s just a movie and that everything is fine and there will be a happy ending and they calm down a little.  But then there’s a point where Beethovan is taken to the vet to be put down.  And they start crying again.  So I explain again that it is just a movie and Disney always has happy endings and I know it’s going to be OK cause they made another one… but the crying continued off and on until the end where all the dogs are set free.

I’m thinking Old Yeller will never be seen in our house.

Why is nothing ever as easy as it seems?  Sunday we decided to go down to the river to feed the ducks. I had a full box of Cheerios that was at least a year old, and I figured at least this way someone would enjoy it.  After church we went down to this area where the ducks tend to congregate.  Sure enough, there they were.  At least 150 of them.  Thankfully it was the large economy sized box.  So the girls start feeding them and we see one who is limping badly, so Shannon makes sure to give her extra.  And there are ducks coming from everywhere.  Then suddenly, she turns and screams and Emma looks and starts screaming and I turn around and there is this gaggle of about 15 geese headed straight for us.  And I tell them to just relax and throw them some food and they do.  Which placates the geese for about a minute.  But the geese want more and we are all out of food.  So the geese start surrounding us and they’re hissing and making noises and fighting with each other and the circle is getting smaller and smaller.  And the geese are almost as tall as Emma.  The girls are crying.  So I wave the Cheerios box at them and one of them tries to bite me!  Now I’m mad.  A little nervous too.   I stomp really hard towards them and they start to back off, and I tell the girls to start heading for the bridge. And they do, but now the geese decide to follow them.  Which makes them cry even more.  I start stomping again and yelling and they just look at me.  So I run at them.  And they actually start to back off. 

And all I wanted to do was get rid of a box of Cheerios…

Have you ever had a weekend with absolutely no plans?  I did last weekend and it was great!  I mean, I had cleaning and laundry, but that was it.  So we got up on Saturday and bummed around the house for a little while, went to the store and then I put up the Slip N Slide for awhile so I could get some stuff done.  After changing all the beds and doing laundry, I wondered why I had even bothered to shower.  It wasn’t hot, but it was so humid, I was absolutely disgusting.  But at least I really wasn’t going anywhere important.  The girls started whining that they wanted to go to the park, so I agreed to take them.  Of course they didn’t want to go to the neighborhood park, no, they had to go to the big park.  So I loaded them into the car and took them to the big park.  And of course there was no way they were just going to let me read while they played.  So I pushed them on the swings and played tag and got even sweatier.

After about an hour I had had about as much fun as I could stand, so we got back in the car and headed home.  Then I saw a sculpture exhibit in another park, so I quickly pulled in and parked.  We get out and start walking over to the sculptures and I see one of the best looking men I have ever seen walking toward us with a golden retriever.  Of course, the girls run right over and ask if they can pet his dog and then tells them sure, she’s a very friendly dog.  Then he starts talking to me about how great a dog she is, how she never barks, etc.  and I remark that she does seem like a really sweet dog.  Then out of the blue, he says that his wife is over at the fairgrounds.

???????

What?  Does this guy seriously think I’m hitting on him?  1. I’m with my kids.  2. I smell bad and look worse.  I have no make-up on and my hair is piled up on my head.  And even on my best day I’m not in his league.  So I just look at him and say something about the event that is at the fairgrounds, thank him for letting the girls pet the dog and walk away, shaking my head.

The sculpture, btw, was pretty interesting.  It was mostly abstract.  There was one I really fell in love with, but with a price tag of $48,000, it’s not too likely I’ll be looking for a place to put it.

I really love my neighborhood!  We have this neighbor who I call the Lawn Ornament Guy.  Can you guess why?  He’s one of those brilliant, eccentric men.  He used to be a teacher at a couple of the local colleges.  And he still teaches courses occasionally.  He must have over 100 different plants and he knows everything about every one of them.  We stopped to chat with him one day when we were out walking and he very patiently walked us around and explained all the different plants to the girls.  And there was a story behind all the things in his yard.  The pottery,   rocks, everything.  Then we followed him into the back yard, past the bubbles (yes, he had a bubble machine going) and his back yard was even more amazing.  It was like a secret garden (just like the book) and there were colored bottles on sticks, bowling balls set up like crazy gazing balls, it was just incredible.  Then he pulls out a ukulele and starts playing some song he made up. 

So imagine my surprise when my boss comes in and starts talking about this gifted camp that her son went to and she’s telling this story about this nutty guy who was his instructor.  And how he pulled out a ukulele and made up silly songs for the kids.  What are the chances there could be two men like that?  But neither of us could remember his name so it took a couple of days to confirm it.  Yep – same guy.  Small world.

Now, if I can just get some pictures of his yard…….

The heat wave finally broke last night.  I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see a storm roll in.  I know we weren’t as hot as some parts of the country, but 99 with high humidity is way too hot for me.  Especially without air conditioning.  And when it reached 93 with 61% humidity inside, I knew I had to do something.  I locked Bart the Bird in his cage so I could open the deck door completely to try and catch the small breeze. Which, of course, resulted in him grumbling under his breath and yelling at me.

 The winds suddenly picked up, there was a flash, a crack of thunder and then the power went out and it just started pouring.  It was a little scary, but I was so excited about the temperature drop and the rain that I grabbed Emma (who woke up from the storm) and went out onto the deck and danced around in the rain.  I’m sure that was quite the sight, being that we were both in our pajamas.  But it felt so good and it was so much fun!  Of course, this morning, Emma had to make her sister cry by telling her that she went dancing in the rain and Shannon didn’t get to……..  In any case, we’re getting a break from the heat today and then back up tomorrow.