Fall Fun

I apologize for the utter lack of posts for the last few months. Can I say that life got hectic? Not a very good excuse, I know. I'm continually impressed by how some bloggers manage to post daily! I can't even imagine that! Maybe I could try weekly at some point in my life.

Two weeks ago, Dan and I took a brief trip to Pennsylvania, land of the Steelers and Heinz ketchup. While we were there we had our first Thanksgiving of 2009, followed by trick-or-treating. Kylie was a hippie with some awesome hair, Craig was Batman with a super cool mask, Caleb was "Super Caleb", Ella was the Little Red Hen, and Vohn was "Super Vohn Chicken"! At least, that's what Vohn declared as his name partway through the evening.



The little guys got tired on the way back to the house, so Super Caleb used his super-powers to fly home.



Super Vohn Chicken's wings weren't quite strong enough, so he got a little help.



Please notice his awesome chicken feet. My sister-in-law gets some mad props for their costumes.

Fall is nearly gone here, but it was beautiful while it lasted.

It's Monday...

Life is a road that I want to keep going, love is a river that I want to keep flowing.

I think of this song, a refrain from my freshman year of college, because teaching is such a journey. Here's where I am tonight.

I'm feeling tired on this Monday evening. It was a long, long day, filled with teaching, meeting, and helping, as well as watching students play in a girls' bball game and shopping for groceries. Fortunately, Danny boy was the ever helpful husband, making dinner and being my partner in crime at the store. All this AND I had him worried because I forgot to tell him I wouldn't be home until late, due to the faced-paced basketball game I was watching.

All this, and I remain encouraged. Teaching is truly a joy -- even if I feel like I'm already playing catch-up with this brand new week. I am thankful to be in this place, in this situation, learning and growing and maturing. And I am thankful to the giver of these blessings.

"Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." -Isaiah 46:4

Mountains, Animals, and Miles on the Car

DBS and I spent two wonderful weeks touring a smattering of the western National Parks, including the Badlands, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Glacier, and Theodore Roosevelt. We slept in our tent a total of 12 times, which made us even more grateful to the people we stayed with (Dan's high school pal, Dan's former boss, and one of my college roomies). We splurged on a hotel only once, but on ice cream several times. We saw a bull moose, a grizzly bear, hundreds of bison, and mountain goats. We got slap happy in the car on our way to Idaho, were 20 miles from being in Washington State, and drove over 4000 miles.

We had a blast.

Now we're home, and we've hit the ground running. It's back to OWLS for Dan (although it has moved to a different location), and on to student teaching for me. Welcome back to the real world!

Summertime

Yesterday, I plucked the first ripe cherry tomato from our garden.

Pure heavenly bliss on the tongue. Dan just might be converted to a tomato lover this summer.

I'm excited to try out Brandywine tomatoes. They have an awkward lumpy look that makes them really unique -- and I've heard they taste amazing. They are slow to ripen this year because of the cooler temperatures. But good things come to those who wait.

A Day in Madison

Lucky for us, my dear sister has come to visit! Joanna flew in on Saturday morning and is hanging out with us until (very early) next Saturday morning. Dan and I wanted to do something unique while she's here, so yesterday we headed to Madison, WI, capital of the dairy state, home to University of Wisconsin-Madison, and one of the most bike-friendly cities in the U.S.

In the afternoon, Jo and I walked around shops while Dan either browsed patiently or waited on a bench outside. We both scored not quite perfect shoes from Land's End (another WI attraction), which will be excellent for student teaching. We went into tons of interesting and eclectic stores. I saw this adorable doll house. Now don't read into this folks, but I'm hoping Dan's dad will make one for a little girl someday. (Catch that word someday.)



We also went out to eat at The Great Dane Brewing Company, in search of deep fried cheese curds and other dinner deliciousness. The beer-battered cheese curds were excellent -- not as stringy as cheese sticks, but just as tasty. Joanna wanted to have a true Wisconsin dinner, so she had the Wisconsin-Style Mac and Cheese (complete with beer in the cheese sauce).



Dan had a hearty hamburger-bratwurst combo on a pretzel bun. (Along with cheese and beer, brats are wildly popular in Wisconsin.)



The food I choose had origins nowhere near Wisconsin -- falafel and fried sweet plantains -- but my dessert sure did! After a walk to a bike shop, we stopped at Ella's Deli, a tourist attraction and a site at which a horror movie could possibly be staged. At least 100 figures flew on wires attached to the ceilings, filling the Deli with whirring, clicking and clacking. It was kind of creepy, we all agreed. But the decor didn't distract me from sampling an ice cream delight: homemade espresso ice cream on grilled pound cake topped with hot fudge.



Now this is what Wisconsin is about.

Husband of the Year!

If you haven't heard, Hilary got a new camera for her birthday. A Canon T1i. Here are my favorite pictures taken thus far.




Take a good look at that picture and tell me what is missing? Cancer survivors attitudes are amazing. That girl has one leg and went up the firecracker ladder. Next time you consider whining...suck it up.

Click Click Click Click Click...

You're a model.

For my birthday, I got numerous awesome, stupendous, fantastic gifts, but one stands out above the rest: a Canon Digital SLR. Whoa.

The new phrase around our house is "click click click click click you're a model."