"STUR WURS COLN WURS"

I love when kids start sounding out and writing words on their own. Nathan is just starting to do that, and it is so funny. On the back of one of his school papers, he drew a battle scene from Star Wars. He titled it "STUR WURS COLN WURS". We took him to see Star Wars: The Clone Wars a few weeks ago, so it's his latest movie-related obsession. I have already told him that we will not start collecting every piece of Star Wars merchandise that we see. First of all, the original trilogy has been around for what, 20 or 25 years? So, there's a lot of Star Wars stuff out there. Secondly, we have too much stuff already.

His "collections" include everything related to Buzz Lightyear/Toy Story, almost all of Cars movie toys, and countless Hot Wheels (some of which he inherited from Jeff and my Dad). Not to mention, the last phase that didn't quite make the "obsession" level - Kung Fu Panda. He wanted the Happy Meal toys so badly that I bought a couple of them on eBay to complete his set. Now they are stashed away in a Rubbermaid container under his bed and haven't been played with in months.

I completely admit that I have been an enabler for his obsessions, but we are seriously cutting back. I told him that he could spend his money that he made at the yard sale on toys, but anything else would have to be put on his birthday or Christmas lists (which I am keeping very short!) Mom, however, has already started collecting Star Wars things for him at yard sales, flea markets, etc. I guess I better get some more Rubbermaid boxes!

Hogs vs. Bears

Jeff and the kids were playing football in the backyard tonight. Nate and Ashley were the Hogs and Jeff was the UCA Bears (or should I say "Bear"). Hogs won 28-14 according to Nathan's score keeping.

Ashley said she wanted to play football but was actually more interested in picking flowers.

Little Tailgaters

The whole family made the trip to Fayetteville this weekend. The kids and I didn't go to the game. I've been working a lot lately, so I didn't want to leave them with someone for the whole day on Saturday. We tailgated, though, and then went back to the Fowlkes' condo to watch the game.

I ended up having a lot of quality time - well, most of it was quality time - with the kids this weekend. On Sunday, Jeff went to Springfield, MO, to visit our friend Brooke. They were best friends in high school, and she just had her second child (Brynn) last week. She was very premature (29 weeks) and weighed just 1lb. 15oz. She is doing as well as can be expected, but it will be a trying time for all of them.

I spent the day with the kids and no car in Fayetteville. We took 2 long walks and went to the park. Even though it was only for a few hours, it was really weird to be without a vehicle.

Here's a few more pictures of my little tailgaters:

Family Fun Night

We took the kids to Cheeburger Cheeburger for "Family Fun Night" which basically means that they have a magician who makes balloon animals for a few hours on Tuesday nights. We got there a few minutes after 6pm, and the place was not crowded except for one giant table that had 6 adults and 14 children - yes, I counted - which included 3 newborns. Since that large party was ahead of us, it took over 45 minutes to get our burgers.

We were just about finished eating when the magician made his way over to our table. Please bear with me as I describe the weirdest interaction that I've had in a restaurant in a while.

First the magician (who looks perfectly normal) takes one of Nathan's carrot sticks off his plate, eats it, chokes on it, and has to go get himself a drink! He then starts his "show" and the first couple of tricks were total flops.

Meanwhile, he was talking non-stop about his recent weight loss (which started the whole carrot-eating episode)...his Calvinist grandfather who was freakishly strong...the rip tides and suprising lack of jellyfish on his recent trip to the beach...etc. It was just weird! The guy stood near our table for at least 15 minutes, and that is no exaggeration! He did make some pretty cool balloon animals and did one trick with a dollar bill that I still can't figure out.

I'm going to have to pass on Family Fun Night for a while. It wore me out!

This picture cracks me up. Ashley is using her pink poodle balloon as weapon.

Shutter Happy

I got a new camera yesterday! I got a Canon with a similar style to my old 35mm, but still not quite as fancy. I took some random pictures of the kids in the yard this evening.

Nathan posing

Nathan clowning

Ashley posing

Ashley scowling

Little Rock School Board

I don't think that anyone who reads my blog lives in LRSD Zone 5 (Terry Elementary/David O. Dodd), but just in case, I'm going to put in a plug for Jody Carreiro. He's running for school board, and the election is on Tuesday. We are not in that zone, but we have been putting out some signs for him in the area. It's the only thing on the ballot, so they are trying to get some voters to turn out for the election. For more info, check out this article.

Hurricane Season

Just to clarify, I am not the sister who moved to the Florida Gulf Coast. I know that it might be confusing since I keep reporting on hurricanes. What is the deal? We have had more a of "hurricane season" here in Little Rock than Amanda has had in Ft. Myers. Ike has passed through, and it is actually nice and sunny outside this morning. (And, we did not lose power! Yea!)

We have had a busy weekend. We went to the Benton/Catholic game on Friday night. The first waves of the storm blew through before the game, so we didn't get wet.

Then yesterday morning, (in spite of the impending tropical storm) we had a garage sale. Jeff and I were debating on when we last participated in a garage sale. He thinks it was when we did one with the Fowlkes at their house in Cammack, but I swear that we had one at the little house in Maumelle. Regardless of when it was, I said that I would never have another one. Well, I guess I'm a liar, because we did, and it went very well. We sold almost all of our things in about 3 hours and made over $200. Missy participated at the last moment and did well, too. Most importantly to me, we got rid of a lot of junk that I now don't have to haul off to charity or the dump.

One last note on the yard sale, I thought that our steep driveway would be a deterrent to customers, but it was not. People are very determined when it comes to buying other people's junk.

Nathan and Will

Here are a couple of pictures of Nathan and Will on Saturday that Jennifer sent me (see previous entry). The first one is on the carousel at the zoo. The second one is a picture of them trying to call Boss Hog over to the side line.

Camera Shopping

I can't get my digital camera to charge, so it looks like I am going to be shopping for a new one soon. I only became a digital convert about a year ago (around the time I started this blog.) I bought a $200 Sony for a starter camera. I have been pleased with it, but I'm going to upgrade. I used a Canon EOS Rebel 35mm and loved it. If anyone has a suggestion for a good camera, let me know.

Holy Toledo!

We were headed out the door tonight to go to dinner, and the lights came back on! There were 5 big electrical trucks in our neighborhood tonight from Toledo working on the lines. I guess all of the Arkansas trucks had been deployed earlier in the week to Louisiana, so we had to wait for a crew from Ohio. Anyway, we are glad to be powered up tonight. While we were eating, Nathan said that he couldn't wait to get home and turn all the lights on.

Hello-Amanda....Are you out there somewhere???

Has anybody seen or heard from Amanda? I've tried to call a few times, but no luck. Maybe that was her a few weeks ago in Washington state on the boat??????????? Maybe she got swept away in Gustav??????????? Maybe she sits outside of the school all day waiting for Brandon to get out of school so she can't answer her phone????????????? Maybe............................I don't know you fill in the blank.............................

Look out Dallas, Here I come...

Quite by chance, I will be going to Dallas the first week of October for the National MOPS Convention. A lady had to cancel last minute so I am going in her place. It's nice how things work out sometimes. No kids, no husband, no Washington, PA....sign me up. Many of you sponsored me this summer for our "Great Moms Walk." Your contributions are making this trip possible for me. So-Thanks! If anyone is reading this and is not familiar with MOPS (Mothers of Pre-schoolers) you've got to research it. It's been my lifeline since moving 900 miles away from family. I'm not sure if I lived in Little Rock still that I ever would have gotten involved in MOPS, but it has been a great place for me to meet new people and make friends. You can find more info @ www.mops.org

In the dark

Well, the electricity is still out at our house. A tree fell on Crazy Rock Man's house and damaged a power line behind it. Unfortunately, all the rock "sculptures" are still intact. (If you've ever driven to the top of our cul de sac, you will know what I'm talking about!) There was a crew working on it this evening, but they said it would be tomorrow before they had the power restored.

I have really been working with the kids (Nathan, anyway) on being grateful for things and not complaining so much. In light of that, I have tried not to complain to much about the power. I had to throw away some food from the freezer and CHI my hair at work this morning, but it's not that big of a deal. We took some toys to a hurricane shelter here in town yesterday to try to emphasize the being grateful part. I'm not sure if any of if is sinking in, but we're working on it.

Anyway, I still have e-mail and Internet on my cell phone, so I'm not totally disconnected. Thankfully, the power has not gone out at work. I would really hate to have to implement the Emergency Preparedness Plan.

Surviving Gustav

The remnants of Hurricane Gustav have arrived in Arkansas. As I am typing this message from the room over our garage, sheets of rain are pelting the house, and the trees are being blown around like you wouldn't believe. (Jeff has already instructed me to keep the kids away from the windows. Safety first!)

I usually park the car and walk to pick Nathan up from school, but today I decided to try the carpool line since it was raining so hard. I got there at 2:17, and was still in line at 2:42! I gave up on the line and found a nearby parking space (which is not always an easy feat at an elementary school with over 800 kids!) and then walked up to get him.

It's supposed to rain all week, so I guess I will have to keep my rain jacket in the car. I apparently do not have the patience for the carpool line! Otherwise, everything is going well with kindergarten. I'm not sure if Nate's learning anything. I ask him everyday if he's learned anything, and usually he says, "Not much". Today they went to the library and had to learn the library rules. Riveting stuff!

Brandon's first day of school (finally)

It has been very busy around here and we have not been entirely happy with the whole kindergarten experience. However, Mom is going to kill me if i don't put some pictures on here so here you go.

Mikayla had a had a hard time letting him go (Mom and Dad did OK but not great)

Brandon outside of Rayma C. Page Elementary.

This is what Mikayla and I did while B was at school. It's a cupcake alligator.