High Water, No Lights and Good Friends

Gusty winds and heavy rains woke me at 6am around the time Andrew rises on Sunday mornings. By the time we trekked downstairs the usual parts of the basement were leaking and new spots along the wall were wet. Fortunately, it is contained to one general area that we avoid putting anything of importance.

Along the north side of the house we had a rolling river. Ours is the yellow house on the right. Notice the white 'spots' on the pic. It was raining so hard and fast that you can see individual rain drops that the camera caught.


The backyard was a lake which emptied into our river. Fortunately(again) for us, we live on the high side of the street and at the top of the road. The water has other places to go. Some areas in St. Louis weren't as fortunate. This image is from ksdk.com and was taken in front of Adria's high school. It also happens to be a route to church. We had to go the long way to church.


Before church and while Adria was taking a shower the power went out. Bathing by candlelight is grand especially if you have to shave your legs. I was in the process of preparing a brisket for dinner. I called a friend and arranged to use her oven while at church. After church the power was still out, so we invaded another friend's home and settled in for a bit. It's 8:30pm and power is restored, children are fed and the basement is drying out.

A HUGE thanks to Bonnie and Julianne for making the day better.

At Home with the Boys

Life is a lot different this school year. At the moment, both boys are home with me all day. For various reasons, we decided to homeschool Colin this year. We're still trying to find our groove, but life is more calm. Colin started guitar lessons and now that he is twelve and in Young Men's he has Boy Scouts in addition to school work. I have to say I enjoy having him home. He's a cool kid who makes me laugh and reminds me not to take myself too seriously.Liam loves having Colin to himself all day. Colin is his big brother/wrestling partner.
Next week, we'll shake all of this daily rhythm up a bit. Liam will be starting preschool. He has a moderate speech delay which qualifies him for free preschool. Today I met with the early childhood center to put the finishing touches on his IEP and see his classroom. He'll be in a class with 8 children including him. There will be two to three adults in the classroom. Two regular teachers and then the speech therapist and the occupational therapist will rotate in and out. I know he needs this just like I know Colin needs to be home this year, but he is my baby. My 'little Liam, monkey boy'. His speech delay keeps me from remembering how old he is until I am around other children his age. So come next week, I'm sure I'll be a little weepy as my 'baby' takes the big leap into school.
*Sadly, Colin won't allow a pic of him playing the guitar. I'll have to be sneaky.

Foot in Mouth Disease

Have you ever had the best intention, yet come up short and end up with your foot so far down your throat there is no hope of retrieving it? And when you try to apologize, you fall so short the situation becomes worse?
I've learned never to talk politics with anyone at church or in my family. Never get involved with a group of women discussing "birth stories", someone always has a more sad, painful story. Let things sit a day or two or six before sending off that email. Always think twice before saying whatever pops into my head.
Just some common sense most people learn early on, but which I am continually re-learning. Oh, and another thing, always ask forgiveness.

Birthday Girl

Yesterday was Adria's birthday and, poor thing, she spent the day in bed with a cold. She did enjoy her favorite ice cream and cake, but refused any picture taking. I'll have to fake some birthday pics later.
I have to say I love the woman my daughter is becoming. Pushing aside some of that typical teenage angst, she's great to talk to and be around and doesn't mind hanging out with her mom. She is her own person, not afraid to express a differing opinion especially about clothes and music. It's hard to believe I have a fifteen year old who will soon be in college, but it's wonderful to have such a friend.

In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.
~Alex Haley

My little Eva Gracie's heart is always turned towards her family. From the beginning she loved talking about and asking about her family. "What is Grandma doing today?" "Where is Granny?" "When can I see Aunt Kelly or Aunt Julie again?" "I miss Uncle Peter." "Why can't I live near my cousins?" For a long time she would ask about her Grandpa Charlie who passed away long before she was born. "What is he doing now?" "Does he see me?" "When will I see him again?" She seems to have been born with a connection and longing for her family.
This weekend Granny Diann, Aunt JoEllen and Uncle Stephen came to visit. It was the first Sunday that Colin passed the sacrament as a Deacon. We just said goodbye after a nice weekend and my beautiful baby girl is in tears. "When will I see them again?" "I miss them already." It all makes me a little sad that we don't live closer. I am happy when my children remind and teach me about what's important in life.

So Easily Pleased

Yesterday my new cell phone arrived. I say 'mine', because I'm the one that carries and uses it the most so I view it as mine. Although, Colin has informed me that it's not just mine. It's a little bigger than my previous one and black which as we all know is my favorite color. It's just a basic, non-expensive phone, no bells and whistles except this one has a camera. I know what your thinking, 'pretty much all phones come with a camera'. Ah, but my old phone didn't have one. When Andrew told me we were getting a new phone, I didn't think I cared too much. He asked me which one I wanted and I said 'whichever, it doesn't matter'. I didn't realize how much I would enjoy my new toy. I can carry pics of my kids wherever I go. I loved picking out a new ring tone. And I like how new it looks. Isn't that strange? How easily I can be pleased? I feel like such a kid at Christmas.

Another School Year, Another Dollar (or five)

Aah, the beginning of another school year. My time is spent prior to the first day with endless mind-numbing activities. Filling out the same bazillion forms for different children, hunting down imaginary school supplies from mile long lists, fighting other parents for the last sturdy backpack that isn't covered with Bratz or Barney, and, of course, writing checks for lunches, PTO dues, school spirit T-shirts, yearbooks, etc.

Do I sound a bit bitter? Probably so. I have to admit I have mixed feelings about school time. My girls love school, and after a long summer, we all look forward to school starting. I just don't enjoy all the mess that comes with it. For example, there is always at least one item on each kid's list that doesn't exist. This year, it was the 70 page, single subject notebook for Eva. I could find 80 page ones and larger, but no 80 page ones. I know, I probably went to the one store that didn't carry them, but who wants to schlep all over town for a notebook. So, ten extra pages it is for Eva.

It sounds silly, but those pages represent all the silliness that is the beginning of school. We happen to live in a school district full of parents that I can only suppose are able to write checks without batting an eye. It's a great district with lots of advantages for my kids, but the downside is we must be one of the 'poorer' families. Otherwise, more parents would balk at all the money that's asked of us at the beginning of the year. This year we are homeschooling Colin so we didn't receive a supply list for him, but I understand that a flash drive was on the list. Come on, a sixth grader needs a flash drive?!

So what's a mother of four to do? Protest. I only pay for the necessities like lunch. If they ask why I haven't sent in my $25 per kid for class parties, then I'll volunteer to bring cupcakes. I doubt it will make any difference except in my pocketbook. Maybe with the extra money, I can buy the real Cheez-Its for kids snacks instead of the store brand.

"We're Bobbing Along in Our Barrel"

Yes, by the time we reached home after the long car trip, some of us felt liked we'd 'tipped right over the edge'. We did manage a stop by Niagara Falls. As promised, I have the pics to prove it. We wanted to see if the Maid of the Mist statue truly existed(as seen on a TV show), but didn't have enough time.

American Falls


My Beautiful Kids


Horseshoe Falls


Bridal Falls

"And hie him home, at evening's close,
To sweet repast and calm repose."
~Thomas Gray

We rolled into St. Louis yesterday to find the house standing, the lawn mowed and the cat anxiously waiting our arrival. Midnight greeted us at the door complaining about being left so long and continued to follow us around for the rest of the night. He was so annoying this morning with all the meowing that Liam got up, shooed him out of the room and shut the door. Midnight was interrupting "Blues Clues" after all.
We all woke up at 6am since our bodies are still living on Eastern time. Maybe this will carry through to Monday when school starts, but I'm sure with our night owl tendencies we'll correct that in a flash.
*I have some pics of our time at Niagara Falls that I will post later.

Final Images of Middlebury

We leave tomorrow for home. Vermont has been great and here are some final pics.

Otter Creek Falls, Our Favorite Place in Town


The Chateau on Campus


It's been so rainy, that everywhere you walk you find Mushrooms in the Grass


Otter Creek, again


Isley Library where we spent a lot of time


Two of My Monkeys


Main Street Middlebury

Birthday in Vermont

Yesterday was my 36th birthday. The weather was beautiful, clear and cool. Andrew took me to a restaurant here called Fire and Ice for lunch. We are tired of limited kitchen facilities and the dining hall here. Later, for dinner, we took the kids to Neil and Otto's for pizza. Although they are small, they make great pizza. We wish we could take them home with us. The place has about ten tables and is in the basement of a Baptist church. Colin asked if it smelled like pizza during church. He is usually pretty hungry during church and doesn't think he could handle having pizza in such close proximity. I have to agree with him.

Life on the Roads of Vermont

Aside from all the crazy wildlife we've seen attached literally to the roads of Vermont, we have some other favorite sightings. We hoped to take our own photos, but all the heavy rains have washed out roads here. Many of the wonderful, beautiful, scenic places are now under water or impassable. Thanks to www.freefoto.com we can still bring you our favorites. Those of you who don't live in a city may see some of these all the time, but to my city kids it was something new.

These are everywhere once you get off the main roads especially in the Green Mountain forest.


I love these and an added bonus is the horse dropping right beside to authenticate the signs.


Not sure if I'd want my kids snowmobiling across roads.


These annoying signs are everywhere on these twisty Vermont roads.


Further Sightings

Last Saturday as we drove back from Sharon, we crossed one of the mountains and saw a Neighborhood Watch sign. All those not asleep burst out laughing. We were in the middle of nowhere, hadn't seen a house or driveway for miles, not sure if we were on the right road and here was this Neighborhood Watch sign. Who is there to watch and who's doing the watching?

I wish we could have gotten a pic of the HUGE bug that crossed the road. It was big enough for us to see, smaller than a mouse, had lots of leg, was black/dark brown and scuttled in such a way that shouted bug. Andrew and I looked at each other and said, "What was that?" We've recently re-watched The X-Files episode War of the Coprophages so maybe that's the explanation.

I've already posted about the wildflowers along the road. Vermont also has lots of motorcycles. They roar through all the time singly and in groups. My favorite was the all African-American one. Usually you just see these old, geezery white men or couples out together. This was a group of ten to fifteen bikers with matching jackets, beautiful bikes, everyone wearing helmets with mikes. They definitely traveled in style.

I also love the tall trees creating a canopy across the roads; the rocky, swift moving rivers that the roads follow; mist surrounding the top of the mountains; and such clear, blue skies you know your kids are not ingesting a lot of pollution.

Vermont's Answer to Snow Cones

In Oklahoma, every respectable town has at least one snow cone stand. Vermont, a state that takes its dairy seriously, has the Creemee stand. Creemees are big, soft serve ice cream cones. Every few days Colin asks if we can go to the library for books and movies then to the local creemee stand.

Rainy Days and Pickles

Today is a another rainy day in Vermont. For the past three weeks we've had one or two clear days out of a whole week. I'm told that July is usually more dry.
At church, we hustled the kids in one at a time under the umbrellas. Eva was the last to wait in the car. As we were walking in she said with a sly bent to her voice, "I felt like the lone pickle left in the jar". Yes, that is our precocious Eva.

Visiting Sharon, VT

We spent today traveling to Joseph Smith's birthplace. It's this small visitor's center in the middle of nowhere with a monument and grounds. The church also owns surrounding land and built Camp Joseph complete with cabins. They hold Girls Camp and Scout camps there. The peacefulness rivals that of Palmyra.



Liam was antsy after the 1 1/2 hour car ride and loved chasing butterflies.


And sitting on the original step of the Smith family home.


Thankfully, we had a wonderful tour guide, Elder Slade from Star, Idaho. He didn't mind Liam running all over the place and took us around the grounds in a golf cart.


Along with taking us to see the foundations of Smith family homes on the property, we saw a stone bridge used by wagons. It was part of a turnpike that ran through the area carrying travelers during the late 1700s and early 1800s.


On the way back to Middlebury, we missed one of the turn offs and took the long way home. In the process, we saw excellent views of valleys and mountains. All and all a good day.

The Ben & Jerry's Factory

We made it to the Ben & Jerry's factory yesterday. It was a great tour, nice and short. It even worked well for Liam who was fascinated by all the machines.





Purple Passion fruit was my favorite. I loved getting smoothies made from it and was highly disappointed when they discontinued the flavor.

Robert Frost and Falls of Lana


Today was spent hiking. The first trail was the Robert Frost interpretive trail. It was an easy trail for the kids. Everytime we came near the river, the kids would head to the water trying to get wet. It's a little over a mile around and beautiful. Along the trail are poems by Robert Frost. A bit cheesy, but enjoyable.


Choosing the Road less Traveled


Wild blueberries that were too small for us to pick


Eva climbed this tree and promptly fell out. She was brave enough to climb back up.


Next we drove to the Falls of Lana area. The hike from the parking lot to the picnic area is shorter, but more steep and rocky. All and all the kids had a great time.

The "short footpath" to the service road at the beginning of the hike. Thankfully, the main trail wasn't this rough.


View from our picnic area


A rock Colin couldn't resist climbing


The Falls of Lana

Wings to Grow On


Colin has 'discovered' Buffalo wings on this trip. He loves them and orders them whenever he can. One of the other instructors is from Buffalo and was visiting home last week. When she returned, she brought a HUGE box of wings for the kids. Here are some of the few we have left. They are by far some of the biggest wings I've seen. And yes, the kids eat them with blue cheese dressing, carrot sticks and celery.

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer


We made another trip to Burlington yesterday. School is right around the corner and as we will return home two days before opening day, I need to buy the girls clothes now. This time we hung out at a typical mall not the cool Church Street one. Then we had dinner out at Adria's current favorite restaurant.
We swung back into town in time for me to visit the art fair on the town Green. I picked this up as a gift for the house. I just painted my kitchen and dining area in yellow and blues.


After Liam and I hit the art fair, we met back up with the rest at the library. While waiting outside, we sat on a stone wall along the sidewalk. Liam decided to jump out at unsuspecting passersby and "scare" them. With arms held up by his head in the shape of claws, he would jump and yell, "Raarr!". Some people just walked by, but one nice couple pretended to be scared. This just encouraged him. Next he decided he would try to "trip' people by sticking his little leg out. Where do they learn these things?


Five bucks if you can name the title reference. And, no, Adria as my daughter you are disqualified.

On the Sidewalk

Okay, okay so I've been a slacker. It has been almost a week since my last post. We seem to have fallen into a rhythm here. One that involves walking downtown to the library every few days, getting ice cream and skipping rocks at the creek. The kids and I will go exploring a bit in afternoons. It has been raining a lot, and Adria has been babysitting in the mornings which will end this week. So stay tuned for longer adventures like visiting the Ben & Jerry's factory.

We've recently observed a number of frogs on the sidewalks. They are always belly up, all stretched out and flat and dehydrated. There must be an excessive amount of frogs in Vermont plus a large amount of bugs(Colin found a blue, fluorescent fly) for them to eat. I'm not sure how they end up squished on the sidewalk. It's not like a car drove across them. Did that many people not see the frogs and step on them? Pedestrians do have the right of way in Vermont, and it is a state law that you must stop to let them cross. I think the frogs need better lobbyists.

Lake Dunmore, Redux

I was able to take the kids to Lake Dunmore today and didn't forget the camera this time. Liam keep saying, "Aargh, Aargh" (his word for pirate) everytime a boat went by us. It was a great day. Isn't it nice how easily kids can be pleased.











Finally! An activity that tires Liam!

Liquid Manure

Last night, we came home to an unusual smell. Horses. It smelled just like horses outside and the fans sucked that smell right indoors. I happened to ask about it at church this morning. Seems the local farmers spread liquid manure on the crops a few times a season to promote growth. Thankfully, it rained today helping with the smell. Unfortunately, they will probably spread it one more time before we leave. Liquid manure. Who knew.

Wildflowers and Wildlife



Chicory is one of my favorite wildflowers. I love the color and they can grow anywhere. They are a native to Europe, but can now be seen all over. In Vermont, the roadsides are covered with wildflowers. Marsh marigolds, larkspur, Queen Anne's lace, wild lilies, baby's breath looking the way it should, flea bane, milkweed, crimson clover and of course, chicory. I love it!

They mow a small strip along the road and leave the ditches full of flowers. Makes for a beautiful drive. There is a wildflower farm north of here that I am going to stop at and pick up some seeds. I'll try to find those that will do well in Missouri. The gardens here tend to be on the English variety with a mass of the same flower in one spot. I love this 'careless' way of planting, appearing beautifully unorganized. Much like a house should be.

On the other hand, we have seen quite a few critters along or on the road. Mainly, squirrels. Most of you know that Adria detests squirrels. Thinks they are rodents with tails and believes all are rabid. Most of the ones we've seen are belly up with their front paws in a death pose. Aside from those and the odd mop we saw, I contributed to the road art with a silly bird. On a busy highway, he just sat there not moving until the last second. Colin looked behind to see feathers flying and said, "Man, what a way to go!"