Wii Rock

A playing guitar hero. He has decided he likes Kiss and White Zombie. He can recognize the songs when he hears them other places like the radio. Maybe we can add those to his list of songs he sings for his "shows". Speaking of, the price is going up. We had to pay $1 on Sunday.
R is the biggest kid himself! He loves this game. He is much better at it than the rest of us. The kids like to sit and watch him. They can't watch me because I get kicked off the stage since my skillzz are not so good.
M and myself attended the Hannah Montana 3-D concert movie this weekend. We went with some friends we knew in Altus and are here also. The girls had a great time. M sang almost all the words to the songs. She should be able to since she listens to Hannah everyday. However, I think I did more dancing in my seat than either of the 2 girls. It was M's first concert experience. For those of you who haven't heard about it, they filmed parts of the concert and made them into a 3-D movie. It is a BIG hit with girls in M's age range. Hannah Montana is doing live concerts but we didn't feel she was old enough. The movie was perfect, you got to see the concert but no crowds plus still be in bed on time.
Here is a picture of Madison and her friend that went with us. I didn't have my camera so I had to use the one Chuck E. Cheese did for me back in Jan. Not bad for 25 cents.

The weather is starting to improve (get warmer) slowly. A loves being outside but he also loves being on the computer. You might know based on his word choices. For example, today while I was on the phone he asked me if I could hurry and "log off".

BRI: 1. There are 24 flowers on every oreo. (Hey,I've never counted so if anyone has an oreo count and let me know!) 2. Montpelier, Vermont is the only state capital without a McDonald's.

I've been tagged

I've been tagged by the A team with a meme. Don't ask me what a meme is because I have no idea. I'm just trying to fllow the rules.
THE RULES:
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

Here goes!
1. I hate to get my haircut. It is never a fun experience for me and I always leave thinking this is not exactly what I wanted. It has been that way since I was a child. I can remember the first one I didn't like, I was 5. I am not fussy about having my hair in the right place. In fact, I like the not so perfect look better. I always decline on the hairspray after they have styled my hair.

2. I do not leave any beverage in the cup when I leave a restaurant. I make sure and drink it all even if I am not thirsty. Plus, if it is a fast food chain and I can refill it before leaving I do, again even if I am not thirtsy. I have been know to drink R's too but all too often he does not have something I like. He never refills his cup before we leave and that is difficult for me to handle.

3. If R is driving, when we get out of the car, I ask him if he has his keys. I'm not sure why because he always does. When I am driving I always double check to make sure I have my keys. I have not ever been locked out so not sure where that stems from.

4. I LOVE rollercoasters. Any and all. I hope my children develop the same love. If not, R will kindly volunteer to stay with one or the other on the sideline.

5. I am usually pretty easy going but I can get obsessive about some things. For example, when A got a cavity, our toothbrushing ritual changed. We now do pre-rinse, 3 minutes of brushing with a timer(1 min on top, 1 min on bottom and 1 min together), flouride and flossing every night. Yes, even on vacation! The timer goes everywhere.

6. I do not enjoy being late. I am usually early or on time. This even flows over to our bedtime rountine. The kids are to be done and in bed by 8pm. I get very tense if it is not going well if it looks like they will be a few minutes late.

7. I love finding things on sale. The bigger the sale the better. I love to come home and say "guess how much I paid for this?" I bet R might even think I buy just because it is on sale. Just because I'm not quite sure whom it is for, doesn't mean I don't have a great plan for it's future. These days you could be invited to a child's birthday without much notice and bam I ready.

I think that wraps up my 7 things. For the next part, I have no one to tag because the few people I do know who blog have already been tagged. If you are ready, you could just give me your answers on the comment page if you don't have a blog or better yet start one so I can tag you. Now you know the real me.

This was tough but not as tough as school being cancelled all day today. There was to be lots of ice but never really happened just rained. So instead of having almost 3 hours alone I had all day with multiple kids. I did manage to get all the towels washed that I used the day before to dry up our basement after the hose dissconnected from our washing machine. We had lots of water on the floor. Then today while vacuuming the basement, a fuse popped. Therefore, I decided between the water and the fuse, someone was giving me a sign that I should not be cleaning (which I don't like to do but couldn't list that on my 7 because most of you already know that). On a positive note, R went to the commissary on his way home and saved me a trip tomorrow. What a nice guy (but he still thinks I should clean).

BRI: The ears of an African elephant can weigh up to 110 lbs each.

Have a great weekend.

Bring on the Ladies

Brad and Jen's wedding Dec 2006
Look no training wheels.

"Bring on the Ladies"

These are the words I recently heard A say as he was getting into the bathtub. He is becoming quite the ladies man like his father (pre-me stage). I thought maybe my husband had taught him this pharse but no . He said he learned it from Oliver on Hannah Montanna. They pick up on these things quickly. M loves Hannah, therefore, A gets to hear and watch her. A likes the Jonas Brothers and so we here lots of them too. In fact, if you misssed the concert with both groups, then head on over to our house for your personal show. Be warned, you need to bring money because they charge admisssion here in our house too. R and I wrapped up our holiday weekend with a show costing us 11 cents each tonight (only the Jonas Brothers, I guess that is why it was so cheap). I know Brad and Jen will be sad that they had to leave before seeing the show. Maybe next time!

We stayed busy this weekend with company from FL. Another one of my cousins and his wife. Since we had visitors, we headed downtown for more sightseeing. We are discovering more of downtown with each set of visitors. I learned a very important fact while on a tour- Thomas Jefferson had red hair. The weather held out and we all had a good time. The kids even had time to introduce them to Wii. He took all the pics from our outings so once he sends them to us I can post them. They headed off to Maryland and Delware this AM as it is their plan to visit all 50 states.

We decided not to venture that far but to head to a nearby lake. The temp was 64 this am and there was no way we were going to stay inside knowing the next day would be a high of 43. We had our first family bike ride (outside of the neightborhood) with no training wheels. Both kids did great with no complaints and no running over any of the many walkers. We saw 4 deer on the trail but I am not so dedicated to bring my camera so we have no shots of them. As we were leaving, we ran into a family we knew from Altus but had not yet seen since arriving here. It is always nice to see a familiar face. The kids are excited for warmer weather so we can ride our bikes more, fish and rent a small boat. I know it will be beautiful once all the trees have leaves.

Not much else went on during our week. A got to attend M's Valentine's party and was proud to say he acted like a first grader. That was after he had been to his own party just hours before. M has been busy at school- they celebrated 100 days last week and this Fri she goes on her first fieldtrip here.

BRI: Workplace hazzard: Beavers sometimes get crushed by the trees they gnaw down.

Skip this fact: The first leap year was in 46 B.C.

Snow tubing

This past weekend we headed over to the "mountains" (elevation 1,500 ft) for some snow tubing. We had been worried since it had been quite warm for this time of year but the place assured us they were open and ready for business. We bundled up with many layers for our snowy fun. When we arrived we realized the only snow was in the tubing lanes and there was not too much of that. However, since the kids and I had never been before we had nothing to compare it with. We ended up having a great time minus the compliants of being too hot (myself included). The kids and I quickly shed our hats and gloves. At first we were going pretty far but by the end of our 2 hours the snow was getting pretty slushy and we had to walk down to get back on the "magic" carpet. The kids were even brave enough to go down alone.
Yes, that is about all the snow we saw. Here is one of M and A riding down together.
They had a great time and we plan to go back and maybe even try skiing. R loves skiing but the rest of us will need some lessons. We finished the day at an indoor play area that has putt-putt, skating and tunnels to crawl thru. The kids loved it there too and we had to encourage them to leave after 4 hours. It was a very hip place if you have a mullet. R can't wait to go back! He even mentioned something about retiring out there and watching the movie "Deliverance" over and over.

We ended our weekend with a visit from my cousin (from CO) and her 5 yr old son. It was a quick visit but we managed to get lots of talking in by staying up til almost 2 am. Can't remember the last time I did that. She is a great mom and puts 100% into her kids. She inspires me with her energy! Plus A and her son had a good time playing while M was at school.

Hope everyone has a great week. We have more visitors planned for this weekend. Better book soon, spaces are filling quickly.

BRI fact (Bathroom reader) #1 The Mayflower was dismantled by the Pilgims and turned into a barn. #2 How long drivers wait at traffic lights in their lifetime: 14 days.

Honest Abe

Here is our guest all the way from CO. You may recognize her as Flat Stacey.
A with Washington Monument behind him.
M reading the info at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. She was interested in reading ALL the info and A was interested in hearing NONE of the info. Makes for an interesting mix in seeing the sites. We picked up the flyers in hopes she can save some of her reading for later.

This week we had an unexpected guest arrive. Her name is Flat Stacey. She's a thrifty individual since she arrived in an envelope vice a plane, train, or automobile. She wanted to do some sightseeing and was pretty insistent. Since the weather was great this weekend ( sunshine and high of 56) we took her out on Sunday. We were glad she was pushy since that made us get out and see some sites. We went downtown and saw the Lincoln Memorial, WW II Memorial, the Reflection Pool , Vietnam Veterans' Memorial and the Washington Monument. We had a great time and the kids and R even got some soccer playing in. We didn't actually get to go up into Washington Monument because the elevator got stuck 2 trips before our turn. We were glad glad we weren't the ones trapped for who knows how long with lots of people crammed into the elevator.

When we started walking back to the van, we saw 3 helicopters flying over and headed to the White House. We saw Marine One land at the White House and lots of staff outside waiting for him to get out. We were far enough away that we couldn't see him get out and figured by the time we tried to get closer it would all be done. I mean what luck, and timing, for us to to see Marine One land at the WH.

We did all that and still had lots of time to get home before the Super Bowl started. Finally,at least one advantage of being on the Eastern time zone. We welcome more visitors so we can see even more sights.

Also, I am planning on learning how to place the pics where I want them not just at the beginning. But I am not quick on the computer thing, so bear with me. Plus, most of you have realized that the part that says my info is a pic of R; when you are the Mom, you take the pics and you are not in them.

I am also planning on ending each post with a fact from Uncle John's Bathroom Reader. You will see soon where R learns all his little known facts.

"What do Abraham Lincoln and William Shakespere have in common? No living descendants."

Here's another as we think about tax season: "Could be worse: Denmark has the highest income tax in the world. Rates start at 42%."