I Love Technology

Guess I do have some other dead-give-aways as far as our actual identities here that I need to clear up if I truly am concerned.  Thanks, Ross for noting that.  Plus, there’s like 6+ months’ worth of posts that contain our names all over the place.  Man, that means I’ll have to go back and edit all of those, and sitting at the computer having fun is just no fun when it is work, you know? So anywho, from now on we’ll go by some fitting pseudonyms as soon as I figure them out.  And that past stuff, hey, I’ll just get to it when I get to it.   

And did you ever notice? See my picture of Kip up over there? The Always and Forever area?  -----------------^

He is Napoleon Dynamite’s brother.  He’s a real character, but I guess that’s the case with everyone in the movie.  And that’s why I love it so much.  It’s in my Top 5 movies of all time, that Napoleon Dynamite. 

Goofball.  Yes, I know I am.

If, I mean, When you watch it again, just count how many smiles you see on Napoleon and Pedro’s faces throughout the entire movie. 

That’s the kind of stuff I get from movies.

Kip is just… Kip.  He sings this self-composed song at the end of the movie and it just struck a chord with me from the first time I saw/heard it.  Especially the phrase I lifted for the bloggy header up there:

Yes, I love technology.

His rockin’ voice so full of life, the Casio keyboard, his breaking voice at the end.  Kip, you got me.  And I got you, on my blog.

 

Weekend Highlights

Our weekend consisted of Friday night having Mom (so happy she’s back) and Dad G here for awhile to have supper and some quick convo and hugs before they left for home sweet home.  And then Saturday day, umm…gosh, I can’t remember.  Then, Saturday night, I know~~Dairy Queen for supper since it was half price day!  Now that I can remember.  And I remember my Georgia Mud Fudge Blizzard.  Oh boy.  Brownie, pecans, ice cream.  Swirled all together.  In a cup.  Perfection. 

On the other hand, G’s: Cappuccino Heath.  Yuck because coffee. 

GrG:  Mint Oreo.  Mint good, Oreo better.  But yuck, because together? 

S: Dilly Bar.  Yuck because chocolate coating, and geesh, only 210 calories.  Don’t be wastin’ my time! 

So anywho (just yesterday C asked me, “Mom, what does anywho even mean?”  That one was kinda tricky.), Sunday was going to be kinda forgettable also until the   unplanned visit Sunday morning from someone we love to have visit,  RrrrrMmmmm.  Hint:  Sounds like like a little Honda speeding off. 

[By the way, I am going with initials these days in case someone other than my very generous friends and loving family subject themselves to these Go-Go ramblings and what if that outside person turns out to be a weirdo and considers tracking us down?  So you know, it’s for protection, the initial names—like that helps?] 

So while RrrrrMmmmm was here, there was some Wii’ing happening, catching up, and annoying camera behavior by just guess who. 

Isn’t the idea of the Wii that it is supposed to be active gaming, involving activity?  Wondering what’s with all this reclining non-active business, boys?

We ate some delectable frozen pizza for lunch and just hung out all afternoon.  And RrrrrMmmm helped G pi-vot a large chair from our upstairs bedroom to the main floor so I didn’t have to.  Yea!  But then he laughed at it becoming our computer chair.

I will admit it’s not the most typical desk chair. 

A 5-year-old can actually get swallowed up in its mongo-ness.

  And yes, at this very moment I am trying to type with my arms fully extended and I am having to reach up ‘cause it sits kinda low. 

But I can sit on the edge of the large comfy seat and then can reach the keyboard fine.  Laugh if you will, but I see it as “seating with options.”

Anywho,  RrrrrrMmmmm, so glad you came by, and gotta ask, how’s those buns??!

Arch Field Trip

On Friday, G and I went to the St Louis Arch for his field trip.  His classmates H and Z were also in my group.  We had a great time!  Here you can see G and the guys touching the top of the Arch. 

We have known H from Scouts for a few years now, and Dad G has always thought of him as a 40 year old man given his mature looking face but, yep, he is a 4th grader.

Our view out the windows at the top was not too hot with the foggy skies we’ve had all week, but it was still exciting.  This is our view of the Illinois side, aka East St. Louis. When we exited and was asked by a ranger what we were able to see, G exclaimed, with a little much enthusiasm I thought,

“I saw  The Casino Queen!” 

Looking out here, we are up 360 feet, for your information. And just a little fascinating tidbit for you, one of my very favorites actually, the legs of the Arch are exactly 360 feet apart.  It is as wide as it is tall.  And, warning,  now the Arch tidbits are just gonna flow.  I can’t help myself!  I love the Arch.  Official name:  Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.

Shouldn’t this entry be required writing of, say, a 4th grader?

The idea of the Arch originated in 1947, a result of a St. Louis architectural design contest to construct a national monument to represent Thomas Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition he commissioned  to explore this brand new land of the United States.  Eero Saarinen, a Finnish immigrant, won the competition. 

Construction began February 12, 1963, the day before my dad turned eighteen years old. The final section was fitted into place in  October 1965, five days after my parents were married.  It was built at  a cost of $13 million dollars.  And sadly, Mr. Saarinen had died of a brain tumor in 1961 at age 51,  before the Arch construction even began.  He designed other famous works in his lifetime, including Washington Dulles Airport.  

Also, interestingly, in order to ensure that the constructed legs would meet at the top of the Arch, the margin of error for failure was 1/64th of an inch. All survey work was done at night to eliminate distortion caused by the sun's rays. Since the Arch was constructed before computer technology, relatively crude instruments were used for these crucial measurements.  What a wonder! Here we are in our little egg pod for the tram ride back down.  We were just speculating how someone super tall like an NBA star would take a ride in the egg pod.  The boys decided he would need a private pod.  No seating 5 big guys, for sure. 

The ride up takes 4 minutes and the ride down lasts 3 minutes. 

I quickly leaned in and snapped a camera shot, telling G this would be nice picture of son and mom togetherness with he and I on our Arch trip.   I had no idea at the time this is what he was doing until this showed on the screen.   

And then I realized his buddies looked like this and this…

I asked G what he was doing and he said he was “protecting his ears.” I asked “from your mother’s voice?” and he said, “No, from the popping.”

 

Smart answer, kid.

Part 1: New stuff around here and then Part 2: a typical Thursday

   G finally got his new glasses since being without since the day before Christmas break when a soccer ball not so kindly met his face.  He never complained when he didn’t have any glasses to wear all these weeks, but once he put these on, he was so excited: “Everything is so sharp!”And go ahead and take a look at these bare teeth.  In one week, they will be metallic. After nearly two years of full-time retainers, he finally has enough mouth space to actually get the braces put on.  Progress!

We have been rearranging and moving stuff all around here, a’ la Friends’ Ross.  Could be my very favorite scene, I think.  But I also love the leather pants episode.  My to-do list just grew:  compare and see which truly brings out the most laughs in me. 

Piii-Vaaaaaat is just so hilarious and of course we have to say it just sliding a chair across the room.  (My first time linking a video—we’ll see how that goes.)

  So, we’ve done some moving around and this is our new computer in a new location, aka the large, underused living room.  It’s also a TV so G and I can lounge on the couch and, the plan is, watch our own stuff in peace.  We’re leaving the Family back in FamilyRoom.

And can I tell you, being a mom just has its highlights.  C had been complaining of not feeling too great all week so I let her stay home today and then by mid-morning realized that was probably not necessary judging by her spunkiness.  Then when I finished my shower, this is what was at my feet as I stepped out. 

 A piece of paper with 6 year old writing that said:

Look Mom at

you will be so happy!

Caroline (at the top since no room at the bottom)

 She found them~~ boots that had been missing since last month!   I was so happy but especially loved how she told me. 

Then I see this sight on our bed where she is delighted to be practicing this mother stuff.  Little sneaky sick-faker totally melted my heart.

And then by afternoon, it was time to take J for extraction of his three baby molars that just won’t budge on their own.  Now that his permanent molars are coming through  too, there’s so many teeth wedged all in there.   You know I still have a baby tooth and I wouldn’t recommend it.  BEFORE

 

AFTER

 

And then sitting inches behind J in the van at the dentist parking lot, we have the polar opposite who poses for a picture any chance she can. 

 

Here’s J with his temporary means of communicating while his mouth was all swelled and numb and gauze-packed.  Boy, did it bring back those cherished memories of the wisdom teeth days.  Yikers.  Someone actually pointed and laughed at me with my huge cheeks while sitting in the parked car at Knapp’s early June 1991.  Scarred? Perhaps.  Baby teeth, wisdom teeth, arg!  Teeth are not fun.  Except for eating brownies and pizza and caramels and stuff. 

And here he is now, puffed up some but eating cheese so you know he’s doing fine.  Just still not loving the camera.

And as I was sitting here posting this, my BFF/Manservant whizzed by.  But then seconds later, I noticed it wasn’t gliding along exactly flat as BFFRoomba is supposed to be.  

See?

So looking closer, I see this extra piece of blue plastic under there.  Hmmmm…

Note to self:  keep Roomba and frogs separated. 

Ninja, daredevil, kook, whatever

Thanks, Karen! Now I feel the need to explain yesterday’s random picture selection… the one of me, on the grass?  Well, give me a fraction of a millisecond and I can post it again since I am on my lightning fast new bloggie best friend.  This feature alone is worth the $800!

Ok, quiz time! 

This would be me:

a.  fallen-down drunk on some super sunny wine-y afternoon while the kids are ….hmm, where are the kids?!

b.  at my hush-hush photo shoot for Vera Wang sunglasses; you know, honestly, I felt I needed to keep it a secret since, down deep, I am a little fearful of fame.

c.  “hanging” on for dear life off the 100 foot Monk’s Mound at Cahokia Mounds last summer on a little family outing, à la Grand Canyon trick photography that apparently didn’t really come through.

Look, I found this shot, too.  Maybe this makes you second-guess your original answer? 

Well, just scroll down and the truth will be revealed. 

Hey, I just discovered a size feature on here!  Too much size?? 

Well, here’s your quiz answer in black blue and white.

No alcohol involved.  I know, you can’t believe it!

Cahokia Mounds are, in fact, near our house and very important historically.   

Check out this view of St. Louis from the top.  And with the combination of past farming and erosion, the mound is not nearly the size it was originally when built by the Mississipians a thousand years ago when this was a huge city.  Vedy, vedy intewesting stuff.  Amazing, really! But, the most memorable part for the kids that day was playing with a baby bird they found with some Hispanic kids that were there having a big party.  My mom was with us this day in May.  Here she’s holding the bird.  Julia, I know you are absolutely freaking out that we are playing with a found bird. 

Goofy pictures seemed to be in the air that day. 

 

There, that explained it? 

New Computer Test. This is only a test.

Ok, got the new computer and it’s like learning how to read and write all over again.  Except this time there’s no fat pencils, rest time, letter people, or chocolate milk in a little carton. 

Only Leo from Dell Support that, funny, doesn’t sound like a Leo. 

So, working on my own without a HinduLeo net, I find our new Windows has a blog feature, so this is a trial run on seeing if this works better than my old way.  So far, so good.  The typing is going well.

Let’s try adding a picture and see. 

OH YEAH!!!

This is good!  I just set my cursor and clicked on a picture and it added it to the right spot.  It took many more steps to do it my old way.  This blogging thing just got even easier.  Watch out!

It’s so fun and immediate, I want to try another picture.  

And another… I’m liking it!!

And here’s wishing Mom safe travels today and strength, but we all know she’s good in that department.  Never hurts to get a little extra boost sent your way, though.  (Hug)

My Big Discovery

Last post, I was telling you all about snapping pictures while we were buzzing down the road coming home after Christmas. I snapped a few of Gary sitting there in the passenger's seat beside me. In most of the pictures, he's showing the mushed up Crunch and Munch contents of his mouth, I know~~ so juvenile, but there were a few just plain hunky ones like these.

The short and serious hair, check.

Dark glasses, check.

Black mustache, check.

Mr. All Business look, check.





And then it hit me! All these years and I just realized







I am married to Travis Junior.



He's gonna have to perfect that horizontal hairline but otherwise, he's there.

All I can say is Thank Gah it ain't Jim Dangle,

although I can attest to the fact that Gary did in fact wear Dangle shorts like this. Two occasions, just off the top of my head, 1984 in High School and 1991 Current River trip. And I still have the little Current River numbers in our basement. I like to call them Proof.