Well, we tried...

First things first... Missy thought I was wrong about something and I ended up being right and that doesn't happen very often so I wanted to blog about that too... We headed out to vote and I started heading down Lincoln Ave. towards Bell Road. Missy immediately said, "Where are you going?" I said, "To vote!" She said, the library is down by the river on Market Street. I said, "No, it's on Bell Ave. by Schnucks". She said, "No, there's only one library in Warrick County and it's down by the river". Well, we went back-and-forth a while and finally I just gave in (because she's only right about 99% of the time) and headed downtown. She decided to go in first to vote while I waited in the van with the kids. About 2 minutes later I saw her come back out of the library with a HUGE smile on her face. It was a smile I had only seen a couple of times in my life and I immediately knew what had happened... I was right and we couldn't vote there!!! I immediately jumped out of the van and started dancing my butt off in the parking lot!!! We both cracked up and she said that the lady told her they just built a new library and moved the voting to it. She asked where it was and the lady told her it was ON BELL AVENUE BY SCHNUCKS!!!! Awesome...

Anyway, we went to the new library and went inside and there were about 30-40 people in line so we asked the guy how long it was taking and he said 30-35 minutes, so since we had the kids with us, we decided to try another night. Hopefully the lines will get shorter over the next couple of days and we'll be able to vote early. They said the early voter turnout is incredible and we definitely experienced that tonight. This really is a historic election.

We're voting tonight!!!

We're taking the kids to the library tonight and voting early for the first time in our lives. I think this is probably the most important election in my life and I feel very, very, VERY strongly that we need the change that Barack Obama will bring to the White House. Our economy is on the verge of probably the worst depression since the Great Depression, our dollar is at historic lows, inflation is out of control, and we've got to do something to stop the bleeding of $10 Billion per month for the war in Iraq. I honestly think we'll be better off with either candidate than we were with George W. Bush, but I just feel like our family will be better off with a Democrat in the office, so I'm voting for Barack. Missy doesn't follow politics as closely as I do and doesn't feel as strongly as I do, so she may not agree with me and that's fine. I know she likes Sarah Palin, so she may vote for McCain. Either way, we hope to teach the kids that voting is an important part of Democracy by taking them with us and letting them watch us vote.

Whew! What a weekend!

I worked non-stop from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening and I think I got more yard work done this weekend than ever before, so I wanted to capture it so I don't forget how much I can do if I set my mind to it! Here's what I did this weekend:

• Cleaned all of the leaves out of the pool in preparation for closing in tomorrow
  
• Went to Home Depot with Mike Coomes to rent an aerator
  
• Went to Rural King to get some straw
  
• Cut the grass (Missy trimmed)
  
• Coached Jack's game at noon on Saturday
  
• Aerated the whole yard
  
• Over-seeded the whole yard
  
• Used the aerator to till up the dirt behind the pool by the new vinyl fence
  
• Raked the dirt to loosen it up
  
• Spread seeds over the dirt
  
• Spread straw over the seeds
  
• Watered the seeds twice each day
  
• Winterized the jet ski and took it to Blake's for winter storage
  
• Cleaned up all the leaves behind the house
  
• Tried to fix the leaking faucet behind the house but couldn't so I tightened it which seemed to help
  
• Trimmed all the bushes around the house and tried to remove most of the leaves so they wouldn't fall off into the landscaping rocks
  
• Trimmed the little evergreen tree in the back (first time I've ever trimmed it!)
  
• Cut down the annual landscaping behind the pool
  
• Went to Home Depot and bought the tools I needed to fix the roof
  
• Fixed 4 broken shingles on the roof from the hurricane Ike wind storm (that was FREEKIN SCARY!!!)
  

Maybe this will be the worst thing he ever telIs me...

My son is totally in love with this girl in his class named Ella! That's literally all he talked about this past weekend. He kept saying he wanted to go to school so he could see her and play with her and KISS HER!!! It was very funny and cute. But the best thing he said was when we were riding in my truck on the way to T-Time to play golf. We were talking about her and he said, "Dad, I have to tell you something, but it's very bad…" So I said, "Uh-oh, what is it???" And then he said, "No, never mind, I can't tell you – it's too bad…" So I said, "It's OK buddy, I won't get mad at you." And he said, "No way Dad. I can't tell you this - you'll get mad!" So I kept trying and trying to talk him into telling me and he just wouldn't budge. Finally, he said, "OK, if I tell you, will you promise to not tell Mommy???" I said, "Yes, I promise I won't tell Mommy." So he said, "OK, here it is…"


"Ella… is beautiful TO MY EYES!!!"


Is that great or what???

Chillin at the Jameson Inn courtesy of Hurrican Ike

We went camping this weekend and got up early Sunday morning and checked the weather forecast b/c we knew there was a possibility of rain today and Missy said there were some storms coming right at us, so we packed up as quickly as we could and got the heck out of there! It was VERY windy driving home and the camper was getting blown all over the road but we made it home safe and sound. About 30 min. later, the wind really picked up and started blowing like crazy. Our power went out shortly after that. We didn't think much about it and figured it would be back on in a few hours, so we went out to eat at Logan's for Lori's birthday. We got home about 7:00pm and the power was still out, so we decided to get a hotel for the night. We packed all our stuff up and headed out to find a place to stay. We eventually found a place at the Jameson Inn on GRR. It's a very nice room and we got the RC rate of $69, so it's not too bad. The kids were kind'of excited about the whole thing, but a little scared by the darkness at home before we left. We were FINALLY able to watch the news and see what was going on with hurricane Ike and the strong winds from today and to our amazement, there are an estimated 40,000 people without power in Evansville today, so it might be a LONG TIME before we get our power back. They said the crews are going to be working around the clock this week, but it might be Wed. or Thurs. before everyone has power again. It should be an interesting week!

“Is that your little helper?”

Well, it finally happened… I've thought about this many times since Jack was born and really couldn't understand why it has never happened to me. Maybe it was a thing of the past and something that just isn't "in vogue" today... Maybe I always seem too stressed-out or rushed and people don't feel like they can approach me… Maybe Dad was just a more charismatic guy that people liked to talk to… Maybe people just aren't as friendly as they used to be… I remember it happening to Dad almost every time he took us somewhere. I remember it happening to Dad EVERY SINGLE TIME he took us to Kuesters Hardward on South Weinbach by East Side Marine. Someone would always ask Dad if Greg and I were his little helpers and he would smile real big, look down at us, pat us on the head or rub our shoulders and say, "Yep, they're my little helpers." It always made me feel so good that Dad actually thought we were helping him when, Lord knows, it was usually just the opposite! Well, tonight, Jack and I went to Sam's to pick up some things for Missy and as we were checking out, Jack was helping me take the items out of the cart and put them on the conveyor belt. All of a sudden, I heard someone behind me say, "Is that your little helper?" It took me a few seconds to realize they were talking to me and when I turned around, there was about a 70 year old man smiling at me and waiting for me to answer him. I said with great pride and a huge smile on my face, "Yep, that's my little helper!!!"

What a difference a day makes!

Today was MUCH better. I was so afraid he wouldn't try again today but was up and ready and excited. Yesterday, I called the bus driver and told him he needed to sit up front and that he was lost. The bus driver told me that he makes 2 stops...the first one is for the older kids (that's the one Jack got off at yesterday) and then the second one for Kindergarteners, 1st and 2nd graders so Jack got off at the wrong spot. I told him if Jack hadn't been in the back of the bus with the big kids then he wouldn't have followed them out! I told Jack all that and then we went down the street last night and knocked on some doors and introduced Jack to a couple little kids that ride the bus so he would know someone. So, this morning, he was ready to go and we waited at the end of the driveway. I was praying he wouldn't start crying and say NO! As I got him on the bus, the driver had saved the front row for him and he said "Is this right Mommy?" I said yes. I then met him at school and saw them stop at the 1st stop and then pull up to the 2nd stop and I waited right there. He came running full speed off the bus yelling "Mommy, I did it!". I was so relieved and proud of him. I told him to now take me to his class since I won't be there tomorrow. He slowly walked in that direction looking at every door and when he found the Kindergarten area, he got so excited and started giggling. He was so proud of himself and it made my day!

When I picked him up today, he said "Mom, you need to just go straight to work tomorrow and tell Grandma not to meet me at school!". He's all grown up now!