Ann Landers and my grandpa

I was reading an archive of Ann Landers yesterday, and I came across this letter.  As soon as I saw the joke that the man was relaying, I started to smile.  This is a joke my grandpa would tell often.  Always with that mischievous grin on his face.

Ha ha!  It's a nice little memory to pop up in the middle of my day.  =)

Dear Ann Landers: As a longtime wearer of hearing aids, I would like to say I have developed a rather keen sense of humor about my deficiency.


People with normal hearing do not realize that the hearing-impaired often hear something totally different than what is actually said to them. This is best illustrated by a story I heard, which may or may not have actually happened. Either way, it amused me.

Three elderly men, all wearing hearing aids in both ears, were sitting on the back steps of a nursing home. They were quite silent, when suddenly, one gentleman, wanting to make small talk, said, "Boy, it sure is windy today." One of the other gentlemen replied, "No, I don't think it's Wednesday. I'm pretty sure it's Thursday." The third man started to get out of his chair and said, "Yes, I'm thirsty, too. Let's go get a drink."

This is a good example of how we often hear, incorrectly, what is said to us. I hope you will share it with your readers. — Woodrow in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Old is the new cool.

"What's this?" Lydia asked as she stood in the doorway of the fire truck at the Sweet Tea Festival?

She was pointing to this.

"Oh," I said, "That's the crank to roll the window up and down."

"Huh?"

Then she gave it a try...

"Bekah, come here! You have to see this!"

"This is so cool!"

Ha ha!  Sooo, the most impressive part of the entire fire truck is the crank to roll the window up and down.

Yeah.

I feel OLD.

Sweet Tea Festival

On Saturday, we went to the Sweet Tea Festival held in town!

YES!  In the south they have festivals in honor of SWEET TEA!!

It was super fun!!  (And free to the public!!)  We did not anticipate the huge crowd that would be there!  (It took us forever to get in the parking lot!)  After we arrived, they gave us a ticket to vote for the sweet tea competition/tasting.  But the line was so long and it was so hot, we skipped that and just bought a glass ourselves.

On the grounds, they were also having an antique car show.

The girls loved this one.

Lydia is pretending that Bekah is royalty and that she has just stepped out of this car.

And I think Lydia looks a little too comfortable with this one, don't you think?

The local firefighters were also there, showing off their trucks...

and their fire gear.

And who should we run into? The Boye girls!!

Lauren and Evie were waiting in line for the kiddie train. 

We got there just in time to join them.

After that, we headed over to the kids' area and Lydia got a balloon crown.  (Bekah didn't ask for anything made out of balloons.  I guess she's getting a little too old for that.  Kinda makes me a little sad that she's out-growing some things.  Hmmm.)

But, Bekah ISN'T too old for a good 'ole bounce house...

And they had a few fun things like that in there.

The kids absolutely FLEW down the slide!!

But before you see these pictures, I need to put in the "Daddy Disclaimer." 

The girls are wearing SHORTS under their dresses!!  So these photos are still totally modest!!

They had a little petting zoo as well.  The girls really had some fun in there.

We ended the whole event by finishing up in the box maze.

It's made entirely of recyclable materials. 

All in all, I think the first annual Sweet Tea Festival turned out to be a grand success.  I think we'll make plans to attend next year as well!

Getting ready for the party!!

Now doesn't this look like perfect preparation for a Barbie party?

You are not mistaken.  That IS a slingshot in Lydia's hand.

In Barbie & the Three Musketeers, Renee's weapon of choice is a slingshot!

This may be a Barbie party, but it'll be awesome for both boys and girls!!  Ha ha!

Thanks to some paintballs courtesy of the president of Extreme Paintball Sports, this activity at the party is sure to be a blast.

(Thanks, President Jack!)

Here's Bekah taking aim with a little help from Daddy.

Lydia needs to watch her aim.  She released too early and hit me with a paintball!!

Thankfully it didn't pop on my skirt.

They DID however, pop on the neighbor's fence.

And David was quick with the water hose.

I think we're going to need to build a target!

Weekend News by Lydia

Lydia brought home this bit of morning work.

I just love figuring out her spelling.  *grin*

She had to write about what she did this weekend. 

(If you click on the image, you can view it larger.)

What she wrote: I Lrnd Haw to swim in the pool! With frens. and slept ovre. for hav uv. The nite.

What she meant: I learned how to swim in the pool with friends! And slept over for half of the night.

I love seeing her spell her words phonetically (so I can see exactly how she says them).  And I love her generous use of periods.  Ha ha!

Rebekah's Science Project

Rebekah's been working on a big project this week.

For her first science grade, she had to create a model of a plant cell.

She was careful to label everything according to the instructions (name, plant cell*, and roll #)

*That's Bekah's fancy exclamation point (!) at the end of the word "cell."

On the inside she had to create certain parts of the cell using everyday household items.

Then she had to create a key, identifying each piece in the model and describing what each does for the cell.

• Cell wall - green box
• Mitochondrion - Laffy Taffy
• Chloroplast - blue play dough
• Nucleus - pink play dough (with a button) surrounded by bubble tape
• Chromosomes - chocolate sprinkles
• Vacuole - water balloon
• cell membrane - foil
• cytoplasm - cotton balls

She typed her key on the computer tonight.  And I'm not ashamed to tell you that it was AGONIZING watching her type...knowing that I could do it so much faster...but AGONIZING letting her do her own work.  But I am DETERMINED NOT to be THAT mom - that does her kids' work for them.

So here is Bekah.  With HER project.  That she did HERSELF.  (Even the typing part!)

...and the font color...and font type...

*grin*

Introducing baby Abby!

Introducing!!

Abigail Ruth Green

‎7lbs. 5oz.

20 inches long

born just a few minutes ago!!

Congratulations to Michael & Kathy and big sisters, Sarah and Ellie!

Grandma & Rebekah

Guatemala Part 10 - The final chapter

Since we arrived at our hotel, there was something that I was really anxious to do.

Take this photo:

The photo that I have of David and me in this same place in 2008 is one of my favorites from our trip.

But I don't feel it represents me anymore. (Thankfully...)

The location is the same.  The gorgeous husband is the same.  The smiles are the same.  The love is the same...

...there's just less of me to love now.

And I really like it that way!!  Woo hoo!!

****************************************

Our last day in Antigua flew by and we came to the realization that we still had two soccer balls to give away.   It was getting late, but there were still tons of children in the square, selling their wares and working their trades.

This is where we met Rosanna.  She was in the park with her sisters selling bracelets and other handicrafts.  She noticed David's soccer ball right away.

She insisted she could play well...

and promptly kicked the soccer ball across the park!

Her sisters and cousins gathered around and began making sales.  David bought three bracelets, Dana and I bought three.

And then the boys noticed Jamie had a soccer ball too.

This little shoe-shine boy got to take it home (as long as he could keep it away from his big brothers!!).

We did get some harrassment from Rosanna's cousin (right).  She was unhappy we didn't have a soccer ball for her and wanted us to buy something from her as well. 

"Why you not give something free for me?"

"Why you not buy something from me?"

"You're cheap. You're mean."

In all fairness, we were down to our last few quetzalas, with it being our last night in Guatemala.  Jamie and Dana had $15 cash and bought a table runner from her. 

She still wasn't pleased.

Oh well.

Rosanna just let the drama roll off her back.  She didn't seem surprised at all.  She tucked that soccer ball in her bundle with the bracelets she was selling...anxious to take the ball home to share with her eight brothers and sisters (several of whom we got to meet that night).