Empty Nesters...For a Bit...

Monday morning...(Think 'The Mama's & Papa's')...and the Mini's are gone.

Yesterday was the last day of our 'Mini'-Vacation. Such a play on words...Jake's literary talents may have a bit of a challenge here.

Sunday was our final day of watching Hayden and Bailey. Bless their hearts they slept in until 7am. Now, if my body hadn't started waking in preparation for their waking, it would have been GREAT (Think 'Tony the Tiger'). I do love the early morning snuggles with two little cuddly kids.

Breakfast was easy with those little boxes of cereal. Hayden downed two of them and Bailey ate one and a yogurt. Pa woke up and joined us.

I teach the Gospel Doctrine class at Church on Sunday mornings, so Pa had grandmonster duty while Gramma headed to Georgetown. Pa took said youngest grandmonsters to the basement for the 2nd Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

We had a storm come through the night before. We had amazing wind, sound and light action in Sadieville but only a little of the rain. It was interesting to watch the difference as I got into Georgetown. There were downed trees in lots of places. The crew was out on one residential street with the cherry-picker truck cutting up a big one that fell in the street. When I got to the church parking lot, one of the little trees on an island was snapped right off at the base.

I enjoyed my time at Sunday School and then headed back to Georgetown to catch the very end of Harry Potter.

That was enough TV time for a bit. We decided to pull out the painting projects. Andie sent ceramic train pieces to paint and I had paint-by-number sets for each of the Mini's. We spread out on the breakfast table and enjoyed some painting time together. Then the kids played with the trains.

Time for lunch...I had a can of 'Cars' Spaghettio's for Hayden and a can of 'Princess' Spaghettio's for Bailey. Bailey downed almost her entire can. Hayden wasn't up for Spaghettio's so he enjoyed apple, cheese stick and chocolate milk.

With their tanks full it was time to play. Then Hayden remembered his snorkeling gear. Bailey and I filled the tube while Hayden finished eating. Then into the tub he went. I set the time for 1 hour and he was under the water and, I believe, pretty much stayed under the water for about an hour. Amazing.

Bailey busied herself with imaginary games and I set to work gathering, packing and cleaning up. Somewhere along the line we lost Bailey's light sabre and could not find it anywhere. I'm sure it will turn up in a very obvious place after all of us looking through every place we could think of.

Now it was time to switch places. Bailey to the big tub and Hayden with Claude in the basement to watch Incredibles, well, the last half of Incredibles.

The Mini's found two fly swatters and, wonder of wonders, the Quidditch match was on. Hayden even figured out the brass door knob to the deck looked like the Snitch.

We got a call from Andie and they were going to meet us in Shelbyville for dinner at Taco Bell at 6pm. We had all in order and headed to the car between 4:30pm and 5pm. I don't think we forgot a thing. As we headed down the road, I gave the Mini's their Shrek sticker books, we turned on the kids music CD, I started to read Harry Potter to Hayden and Claude drove us down the highway.

After a few minutes I looked into the back seat. Bailey was out. As Claude told Andie, "We won!!" Hayden's eyes were drooping but he hung in there for his Harry Potter reading.

We met rested and happy Michael and Andie in Shelbyville. We enjoyed a nice meal and chat time about our respective adventures.

Michael and Andie gave us Red-Neck Wine Glasses to say 'thank you'. These are made out of Mason pint canning jars with Ball lids. The lids allow you to shake and store your 'wine'. These are truly a unique find!! Thanks Andie and Michael for these treasures.

Michael switched the car seats and moved their treasures to the Marx van. We had final hugs until we see them again in two weeks. And we were all off to our respective homes.

Claude and I came home to a clean home that was very quiet and empty. The intent was to sleep late this morning. Not so much.

Now we have an empty nest until this coming weekend when we get Aubrey Anne and Paul for an entire week!! Hope we are rested for them.

Filling a Saturday...

Day two of our Mini-Marx Adventure...

We had a forecast for rain. The clouds were there in the morning but they never produced rain all day. We adjusted our day for the possibility of rain and filled it up quite nicely no matter the weather report.

Bailey was awake first before 6:30am. She and I cuddled in the guest bedroom till Hayden woke up. He joined us for more cuddle time. Then I suggested breakfast and they were both ready for some nourishment. Takes a lot of food to keep little ones going 90 miles an hours all day. After a quick check of their trusty little light sabres, they were off and running.

The choice this morning was bacon, eggs and cinnamon rolls. The appetizer was Bailey foraging in the snack cabinet till she found her can of Pringles. That girl loves her chips and knows there should be a can in there for her each visit. I limited the intake of chips hoping to fuel their little engines with something a might more nutritious. They took this in stride and we had a picnic breakfast in the living room while they watched a morning show.

The storm clouds appeared to be gathering outside. We determined to go to the park early in the day in case there was no chance later. Hayden wanted to go to Brookings Park so we headed to Georgetown after calling Papa and inviting him to join us. This was the best time to go. No big kids at the park. Only little ones with parents or grandparents. The storm clouds provided a nice cover from the hot sun. The Mini's hit the car tables first, then ran to get Papa when he arrived, then the playground.

There was a piece of playground equipment that Hayden and Bailey never tried before. This time Hayden gave it a go first and then Bailey really wanted a turn. The pole is slanted and I just pulled them around and let it go. They go in complete circles at an angle. Great fun.

Hayden wanted to go to the tunnel that goes under Hwy. 32. It is a great place to make echos. He and I headed there. When he got through the tunnels he yelled at me, "There are horses. Bailey needs to see the horses." We went back and yelled for Bailey to join us. She was one happy girl to see these beautiful horses.

We had been at Brookings Park for about an hour now and it was time to rehydrate. Back to Claude and Papa for the water bottles and snack bags.

During our break, Bailey noticed some little flowers in the grass. She diligently pulled three of them up by the roots, then broke them off from their roots and brought them to me one at a time. Each time she brought me one Claude would ask where his was. She kept telling him I was a girl. Then she finally brought him the last stem and root. Thought Papa and Claude would burst at the seams laughing.

A little more play time followed. More car table, Bailey got Papa and then Claude to bounce her high. Hayden tried his feet at balancing on the edge of the playground.

The menu today was a trip to Little Caesar's so we did this for lunch. Papa headed to feed Mimi and we headed to Little Caesar's and then home. I read more of the Harry Potter book I'm reading to Hayden and Bailey as we drove.

Today we were to watch the first Harry Potter Movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Pizza and drinks to the basement, picnic towels spread out and we all settled in for lunch while watching Harry Potter. It was a great movie.

Hayden had Claude help him bring up the train stuff and he set up a small track on the kitchen floor.

Then Hayden remembered his snorkeling gear. We filled the big whirlpool tub and in he went for another hour and a half playtime. This time he asked about the water jets. I explained what they did and asked if he was ready for me to turn them on for just a second to see what they did. He thought he might try it this time. Fortunately, when you first turn them on they go slow for a bit. Hayden thought that was cool. Then they cranked up to a higher speed. This sent him into a happy orbit. On went the goggles and the snorkel. Under the water he went to see what was happening. He came up sputtering and grinning. He said, "It's crazy under there!!"  I showed him how to push the button to stop and go on the water jets and he was off to a new level of fun.

Bailey wanted to play in a tub so we filled up the front bathtub for her. She gathered her toys to play and enjoyed her playtime for as long as Hayden almost.

I have one other tub in my home and I truly thought, if I had some Calgon, I might just let it 'take me away' for a bit. Silly Moi!!

After tub time we were ready for a snack and the final movie of the day. Hayden hasn't seen the Incredibles in a long time, Claude loves the Incredibles, so a match was made. They headed to the basement while I got frozen fruit bars and yogurt for the kids snacks. I set to editing today's pictures and working on this blog. Eventually I heard Hayden say he wanted something more to eat. Bailey and I made corndogs, grapes and green beans for dinner with chocolate milk to drink.

The Incredibles is about over. The rain storm is now here. We'll finish with some viewing of the 'Jack, Jack' additional material on the DVD. Then story time. Then bedtime for the Mini's.

It has been a great day. What fun to stop and enjoy family.

Awesome & Stupendous

Today is the first of a three day adventure with our two youngest grandmonsters. It is Michael's birthday this weekend. Andie is giving him a few days to themselves at home called a 'staycation'. Claude and I get Hayden and Bailey for those three days.

This afternoon we drove to LaGrange and picked them up after Hayden got home from school. We drove from LaGrange to the Peytonia/Waddy exit off I-64. They had gas for $3.33/gallon. A steal for gas lately and we wanted to be sure we got some of that before it went up. This turned out to be a good thing because by the time we got back our Pilot station's price went up 10 cents from when we left Sadieville at 11am to $3.55/gallon.t

We made note of the fact that this Love's Gas Station also had a McDonald's and that was where we wanted to take our little charges for dinner. It would split up their long ride to Sadieville.

Hayden and Bailey were super excited they were getting McDonald's for dinner. They were also super excited to be out of the car for a bit. Claude filled the car and I took the Mini's in to order their dinner.

They each ordered a hamburger Happy Meal with fries and chocolate milk and apples. I tossed that caramel dip before they figured out what it was. Yeah me for that save of sugar.

Claude joined us as soon as he moved the car and parked it. We enjoyed our dinner and the Mini's ate every single thing in their meals. We were most impressed.

Hayden was tickled that this gas station had a McDonald's, a Subway and the Love's market on the inside. He also figured out you could walk through all of that without going outside. He was really anxious to show it to me. I asked him if Claude could go with him and that was perfectly fine. So he and Grampa headed to find the Love's store.

Bailey continued to dip her apples in ketchup and eat them. Go figure. I'm not complaining, just making note. The girl ate her fries with her ketchup, then finished her hamburger dipping each bite in her ketchup and finished her apples by dipping them in the ketchup first then eating them.

Claude and Hayden returned with treasures in hand. They found little light sabres that actually lit up with M&M characters as Star Wars characters on the outside. Claude eventually figured out that inside the handle was a little bag of M&M's. Hayden picked out a blue light for him and a red light for Bailey. They were thrilled and this kept them busy for the rest of the trip home.

We made it home to Sadieville just in time. The kidlings were ready to be out of the car. We unloaded the car and then the kids ran and made sure things were as they knew they should be inside the house. I just love that part. It pleases me no end when the family is at home in this home of ours.

Michael purchased Hayden snorkeling gear and Hayden brought it with him. The intent was to put up the wading pool tomorrow and he wanted to try it there. The weather is now calling for rain but that wasn't going to stop Hayden. He really wanted to try his gear tonight so he fetched it from their suitcase, gave it to Claude and they went to the kitchen to get the packaging open.

Bailey and I headed to the bathroom to fill the whirlpool tub. I have created a monster. Bailey looked at my vanity in the bathroom and said, "I need to put in my contacts."  Translation...I need to play in your make-up. I let her do this last visit and now she wants to do it again. Bailey applied her make-up while I filled the tub.

Claude and Hayden got the packaging open and Hayden tried the gear on in the kitchen first.

Then we were off to play in the tub. Hayden figured out the particulars of how to work the goggles and the snorkel. Then he played for at least and hour and a half. He was one very happy boy. Even figured out he could swim with them on and gave that a go in the big tub. He had me add water to the tub and loved watching the water come into the tub from underwater. My favorite statement was, "The underwater world is AWESOME!!"

Bailey was a great little sister and added toys for him to search for under the water. She was having such a great time and she said, "This is stupendous!!" Where do they get these words?

By 8:30pm I had them out of the tub and in pajamas. Grampa set up a show for them. Then it was off to find our beds and get them to bed for the night. They settled in just fine and were so worn out that sleep came easily for each of them.

I made cookie dough for us to cut out cookies on Saturday and bake them. It was a good first day of this weekend.

My New Toy...

Claude got me a new camera for my birthday. Today I took some still shots and some video.

We started our day at the Louisville Temple.

After the temple, we stopped at Little Caesars and picked up pizza and crazy bread for lunch at the Marx abode.

After enjoying lunch Hayden set up the WII they have recently purchased. We watched Hayden playing Lego Star Wars. Then we tried our hand at bowling. This was an opportunity for me to try the video feature on my new camera.

This video has Andie, Claude and Hayden in it. Bailey is pretending to be a puppy in the background. You just hear her voice.

It was a wonderful day and great fun to try out my new camera. I'll get better as I learn the tricks this camera does.

Let's Dive Into the 60's...

Last Saturday was my 61st birthday. A most auspicious occasion.

My hubby decided to treat me to a day doing whatever I wanted with an inclusion of some camera shopping. Hmmmm...I could go for that!!

My first wish was to sleep as long as my 61 year old body would sleep in the morning. Well, it decided 7:30am was as late as it wanted to stay in bed. Rats!!! I was thinking more like 9am. But this mortal part of me was ready to be awake and so out of bed I climbed, quietly dressed and headed to the basement.

My sewing/craft/computer room is in the basement...and the treadmill is in the basement as well. I spent my quiet time before Claude woke up doing the daily jigsaw puzzle on the AT&T website, doing the daily Mahjong game on another website, checking eMails & Facebook and doing my daily crossword puzzle and three rounds of Mahjong's Dimensions. Okay, I'm a compulsive puzzle maker.

Computer stuff done, I headed to my trusty treadmill for 30 minutes of walking and reading my Book of Mormon. I love this 30 minutes of time each day I get it done. It is invigorating and I love getting some reading time in each day.

I do Papa's laundry and it came to me this week with his pajama bottoms needing some mending. So I tackled that tiny chore before heading upstairs.

By now Claude was up and starting his morning.

I got my shower. Then we loaded the car with Papa's laundry and tomatoes for Andie to try another canning recipe and off we headed.

We stopped in Georgetown and gave Papa his laundry. Then we drove to Frankfort. On the way to Frankfort I started the first of several eMail to my dear friend, Laura. I would spend my birthday sharing a 'Blow by Blow' description of the day. It's truly nice to have a friend who can enjoy my silliness and send back clever retorts to the things I do. Keeps a certain balance in ones life. Laura is mentally quick and cracks me up often with her wit.

Frankfort was our lunch stop for the day. Andie sent us a link to a show she saw on the Food Channels Diners, Drive-in's and Dives (http://www.rickswhitelightdiner.com/). It looked like our kind of place to try out.

Now, Rick's White Light Diner is not upscale in decor, but it definitely is in quality of food and character. This is decidedly 'Our Kinda Place'. On the front of the diner the name of the previous business that was there is painted "White Light Company". Rick has just added his name.

We got Rick's spill about all the food being fresh, no chemicals and as much from Kentucky as he can get. He shared with us that none of it comes from China, etc., etc., etc. We were given menus. Claude and I each chose the muffaletta sandwich.

A bit of history is in order regarding this sandwich. When we lived in Louisiana and were dating and then married, one of our favorite treats was to go to Fertita's and get muffaletta sandwiches. Then we would drive like a bat out of hades to get to the A&W root beer stand for the drink portion of our meal. Once, after we moved from Louisiana to California and my parents flew me home for a visit with Nissa (who wasn't even a year old yet), the last thing I did on my way to the airport to return home to California was purchase a muffaletta sandwich for Claude, stow it in my luggage and carry it back for him to enjoy. That's how much we love a good muffaletta sandwich. Everybody makes them a little different. Rick makes his on homemade french rolls and does an excellent job of creating a great muffaletta.

Next time I go to Rick's I'm thinking of trying the alligator Po-Boy...Hmmmm...

Rick is a true character. And a delightful one at that. He was a sailor and uses sailor expletives.  He has definite opinions about the world and shares them freely with everyone that enters. He is very outgoing. A father was in the diner with his three kids having breakfast. He must have been a regular because as he left he encouraged his older son to make a snide remark to Rick. As the family left, Rick picked up his baseball bat and headed out the door after the kid. Great fun for that kid and Rick.

The walls, ceiling and windows are full of all kinds of stuff. There is not much seating. Only three tables with 4 chairs each and about 6 seats at the counter. There is also not much parking. Fortunately we were there before the lunch rush on a Saturday and found a lot nearby with lots of spaces. On a week day, that would not be the case and you might have to hike a bit to get there.

One of the things I noticed is that Rick uses nice linen napkins. It just seemed out-of-place in this, shall we say, rustic environment. I'm sure it is in keeping with his philosophy about life and he is living more green by not using paper napkins.

I highly recommend this unique spot for a meal. It is pricey but so worth the time and effort. We'll definitely go back together again and Claude may stop in on one of his trips to meetings in Frankfort.

Our second stop in Frankfort was Buffalo Trace Distillery. I had one more Groupon for the gift shop and needed to use it to purchase another case of Dr. McGillycuddy's root beer.

Now we pointed the red Buick toward LaGrange. I called Andie and told her we were on our way. Then I eMailed Laura with our Frankfort adventures.

Our first stop in LaGrange was at Dairy Queen. We were arriving after lunch and we were going to bring Dilly Bars for dessert. Cherry and chocolate Dilly bars purchased we were off to find the Marx home.

The Mini's didn't know we were coming. That, my friends, is truly one of lifes greatest pleasures. Ringing the doorbell and looking through the glass by the door to watch the kids come and answer it. Hayden squeeled, "It's Ma & Pa." Bailey came running. There was jumping and hugging and laughter. It was just what this aging body needed.

We gave Andie her tomatoes. She took a canning class in June and is trying her skills at different recipes that appeal to her. She ended up making tomato sauce out of these tomatoes and some peach BBQ sauce.

Andie has been reading Harry Potter books to Hayden. After they finish reading a book they get to watch the movie of that book. I have never read a Harry Potter book, never planned on even doing that. But kids and grandmonsters have a way of sharing their lives that opens one up to possibilities one would not have taken had they not had kids and grandmonsters. We are going to watch the Mini's over Michael's birthday weekend. One of the things we wanted to do was watch the first Harry Potter movie with Hayden. He is very excited to share this with us. However, according to Hayden, he can't watch a movie until he and Andie finish reading the book. Soooo...that means Ma can't watch the movie with Hayden until I finish reading the first book. I came home with Harry Potter, the Sorcerer's Stone. I'm happy to report I have finished reading it and totally enjoyed this book. I called Hayden to report my completion of my reading assignment. He was one very happy grandmonster. Now I can watch the movie and he will give me the next book to read.

We got some instructions from Michael about camera shopping and some suggested locations to go. Michael even had a staples coupon we could use if we found one there. Good-byes were said and hugs were given and received and we were off to check out camera options.

Off we went to find Best Buy. This was a good place to begin our camera research. They have people who actually know about the product you are purchasing. A nice salesman came up and asked if he could help. I told him what I have had and liked with each of the last two digital cameras I've owned. I told him what I would like to have on the new camera as well. He quickly processed all that and told me he had the perfect option. Around the counter we went and I set eyes on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H70. This camera uses a special rechargeable battery. I wanted to see if he had one that used AA batteries. He did but I didn't like it as well. After thanking him for his help and assuring him I was trying to learn and needed to process information before purchasing, we left Best Buy.

Around the corner was a Staples. This was the poorest selection of cameras we found.

Across town to the Office Depot. Found the Sony for the same price. They had extra disks but no batteries. They also had the camera in stock.

Across the street to Walmart. They had the Sony, no batteries, and disks on sale.

Next door was another Staples so we tried again. Again, the poorest selection of cameras we found.

Back to Walmart to see if their sale of disks was for all Walmarts or just a local sale. The salesman looked me straight in the eye and said, "I think they are on sale in all the stores." I confidently looked him back in the eye and said, "So you are telling me you don't really know if it is on sale in all Walmart stores."  He looked back at me and sort of grinned while saying, "Yeah, that's right." Then he grabbed his scanner and checked and was able to tell me with confidence they were on sale at all Walmart stores. Geez...

Back across the street we went to Office Depot. Same little salesman was right there working on a computer. He showed me the disks and determined he did have the camera in stock. Then he went back to his computer playing. I realized these disks were much more expensive and not at all like the ones we saw in Walmart. We were being ignored by our salesman so I found myself clearing my throat to get his attention. Then I said, "I believe I'm ready to make a purchase and it would be nice to have some attention." We checked and found this camera can use either kind of storage disk. Office Depot carried the same kind as Walmart and it was at the same sales price as Walmart. We purchased the camera and three of the disks. I really wanted an extra battery for when we travel and are gone all day. We would have to find that elsewhere.

We left the Louisville area and headed back to Frankfort. I sent another eMail update to Laura and started to read Harry Potter.

Walmart in Frankfort did not have any batteries for my new camera. I was beginning to be a bit concerned. I was told at Best Buy that the camera just came out in March of this year. Maybe it was just new enough that was the problem. There was an Office Depot across the street. They had the extra battery. Yeah.

Dinner was eaten at A&W before heading back to Sadieville. One last eMail was sent to Laura.

When I got home I received a call from Nissa and Katelyn who were enjoying a mom and daughter evening. Then I got a call from Jake. Then I got a call from Junie, my sister. Then I checked my voice message on my cell phone and had a wonderful singing of Happy Birthday by the Mini's on my phone and an apology from Andie. There was no need for the apology, they celebrated my birthday with me the weekend before. Andie was amazed she didn't even think of it while we were at their home AND she gave her dad a chocolate cake with no icing. It is a funny little thing I want to remember.

I had a splendid birthday. I totally enjoyed every part of my day. I was able to talk with each of my kids. So now I'm officially 61 and feeling every year of it. But I'm happy and going to enjoy this decade.