On the way, to Pompeii

OMG! I have been in Italia for 4 days now. I promise that I will update pictures soon. We have been staying in Cumae at the Villa Vergiliana. The Internet here is really slow, so I have not been able to upload anything. Sorry! When we get to Pompeii, hopefully the connection will be better, and I'll be able to upload some pics.

We have been all over the Bay of Baiae. We visited the island of Ischia. It is beautiful! Very lush and green. We took a ferry over, which was cool. We saw the inside of a museum. There was also a church with some ancient Greek ruins under it. They were really cool. (And it was nice and cool down there, which was good because it was HOT outside!) Then my new friends Chanda, Diana, Andrea, and I went out to lunch at a restaurant overlooking the beach. We even navigated the local bus system to get there! Then we went swimming!!!! The water was clear, cool, and wonderful. It was perfect after a hot day.

The second day we went to Cumae. I will tell you about that tomorrow. Or whenever.

BTW, if you've not had Italian wine lately, I highly recommend it. We've got this nice wine in a juice carton. Only $2 per box! Red. Try it!

Traveling Man (and Woman)

And children. Our next day included leaving our hotel Tuscany Inn and going back on the road. This time, our last stop would be Rome, the Eternal City.

On our way, we stopped in a couple of different places.

First was the town of Siena. I think even Hubs likes this place. He's not a fan of touristy places, but Siena is so beautiful it's hard to resist.

We walked a lot (more steps!!!) to the Duomo there. Most Italian towns have a Duomo. They are all of varying size, depending on how large the town is. Since it was Sunday, we couldn't get into that one. Imagine, they were having Mass. Actually using the church! So we ended up with a little more free time to walk around and shop. Even the teenage boys found stuff they wanted. And there's a big square in Siena, where they have horse races every year. It's really cool. (I know the grammar there was bad, sorry)

Nice, yes? Our next stop was Ostia Antica.

Little history lesson. Ostia was built at the mouth of the Tiber River by the emperor Nero. Why? Rome was having trouble getting trade, because some of the larger boats could not navigate up the river. So Nero filled in some marshland, and voila! Port city to the capitol of the world!

There are so, so many ruins there. Our guide was very knowledgeable, but he talked really quickly. The kids could not keep up. So, after about 2 minutes, they just tuned out. They did sort of pretend to pay attention, but mostly they just talked amongst themselves. Elena (our travel guru) gave them a stern talking to on the bus. In their defense, they had been on a bus all afternoon. And been to many other places. I guess they were just on overload that day. Teenagers!

We did get to see some baths, complete with mosaics of Neptune on the floors. We also go to go to the theater and the Forum. I wish we could have spent more time there, but I know the children were eager to get going. Sometimes, riding in a bus can really tire you out. Bye Ostia!

In the here and now, I am finally finished with my presentation. Now all I have to do is copy a handout and map, and do the thing! Yay! I have a nifty little powerpoint that I will use for my official project. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint, I will not really have access to a computer/projector for my actual presentation. I will be on-site at the House of Menander in Pompeii. That's the day before my birthday!

Anyway, I'm having fun here in Baltimore. It seems to be a nice place. Warm, sunny. I'm about tired of dining hall food, though. Sheesh!

And I miss my boys something fierce! Wish I could get home to visit them tomorrow. Too far.

Up, Up, and Away!

The next day of our whirlwind trip to Italy as leaders of a group of middle school students. How's that? I talked to my man tonight. He wants to know why there aren't more pictures of him. Well, I don't know. So i will attempt to include more pictures of my man. He's awfully good-looking. I hope everyone enjoys looking at him.

And no, that's not me. It's one of the other chaperones. But I thought it was a cute picture. We were having too much fun!

That leads me to the day in question. Florence. We spent the whole day there. Our first stop was the Accademia, which is a HUGE museum. Now, I'm not normally a museum person. I will be the first to admit that. But this place is pretty freakin' aweseme. There are lots of great statues (which we didn't get to see). And one of them, um, is the David. You know, the big one. By Michaelangelo. Large, naked guy. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take pictures AT ALL in there. So I have nothing. You can look for a picture of it on the web. I'm sure there are some out there. I have one of the imitation 'David' which is in a piazza in another part of Florence:

Evidently the original David used to stand in this piazza. But I guess people kept trying to mess it up, so they moved it into the Accademia. The picture above is just a fake one. This piazza actually has a whole gallery of statues. It is right near the Uffizzi Gallery (spelling?). There are lots of cool statues! I highly recommend seeing this area.

Later that day, we went over to the Duomo. If you didn't know, the Duomo is the main church in a town. It usually has a big dome and is very important. The one in Florence is particularly important. There are lots of famous people buried there. It is quite neat looking on the outside. It's like striped, a couple of different colors.

One of the coolest parts of the day was after lunch. We had some time to kill before our cooking lesson. We had 3 choices: climb the cuppola of the Duomo, climb the belltower, tour the Bapistry. Unfortunately, there was only time for one. I "chose" to climb the Duomo. I don't remember the exact number of stairs, but it was a fairly large number. The kids that made the trek thought it was pretty cool. It was a hard climb, I won't deny it. I huffed, and I puffed, but I made it. And the view!

Aren't we cute? We were so excited to make it to the top!

After that, we had our cooking lesson. We went to the Koine Cafe. The ladies who run the place taught the kids how to make pesto sauce, tomato sauce, and a mushroom sauce. Then they made pasta. From scratch. And rolled it out. And cut it. We had linguine and bow tie (they call it butterfly). It was great!

Ahhhhh! The finished product. Looks good, no?

After dinner, we went on to our hotel. The kids were a little hyped up, but overall okay. It was a good day.

On the Water and In the Fields

So, on Day Two of the student trip, we went to Venice. I have had a special request from my mom to include lots of pictures. She's never been, and might not make it there anytime soon, but she does ask a lot of questions. I also took lots of pictures so that I could explain it better to Cheese. He really doesn't get the whole "city on the water" thing. Which is pretty crazy to explain to a 5-year-old. So, without futher ado, here are some pictures of Venezia:These are just generic Venice pictures. In fact, I think I took them on the water bus over. Yes, there is a bus, on the water, that goes from the mainland to the islands. Did you know that Venezia was actually built on over 200 individual islands? And that there are lots of natural sandbars that provided protection? I am just full of useful information!

These are pictures from the Palazzo Ducale, otherwise known as the Doge's Palace. This is real 24-karat gold leaf!

Shiny! Pretty! Wish I could have climbed up there to "borrow" some!

Lucky us. We even got to ride a gondola. It was fun! I had not been on one before, so that was a special treat.

And, yes. Hubs got to ride too!
We also went to a glass-blowing factory, which was cool. We watched a guy make a vase in less than 4 minutes! Honest. There was barely time to get a camera out, which is why there are no pictures of that. By the time I got it out and turned on, he was almost done. In my defense, no one else got pictures either. Guess we're just slow.

Day Three: To Modena and Fiesole. In Modena, we got to see how balsamic vinegar is made. We even got to taste several varieties, and learned all about the local history. Only certain b.v. is allowed to be called authentic. And it has to be aged at least 25 years! Wow! It was pretty cool. They let it ferment in black barrels, the oldest of which was from 1860.

Honestly? Not a big fan. However, I have started using oil and vinegar on my salads. No more dressings for me! Well, at least until I get home.

After Modena, we went to Fiesole. One of the highlights of the trip for me. I had never been there, and it was really, wicked cool! Fiesole was originally an Etruscan town. Those were the people who lived up north from the Romans. The Romans borrowed (stole) a lot of religion and stuff from them. Then they conquered them. The Romans conquered the Etruscans, like they did nearly everyone else. Anyway, Fiesole has some neat ruins. A theater, a temple, some baths. Totally neat! (I know, I'm a nerd. Deal.)

This last picture is of the cold water pool. The calidum et tepidarium were up the hill a bit, closer to the furnace. Makes sense, since you'd want the water to be hot and warm. Smart guys, those Romans!

Okay, almost halfway done. I'll work some more tomorrow night, maybe. And definitely I'll finish this weekend. Just in time to update from this second trip! I'm still in Baltimore. We're translating like there's no tomorrow. Now I understand why my students panic whenever I hand them translation. After all this time, I've forgotten how it works!

Big Ideas

Well, I had this whole plan that I was going to be updating my blog with all my fun adventures. Then, turns out, I didn't have Internet access the entire first trip to Italy. Of course. I took TONS of pictures, but didn't get to post any of them. I will try to get those up. Well, some of them.

I really had a great time. I think Hubs did too, even if he did complain about some of the parents. We got to see some really great places.

The first day, once we arrrived, was mostly on a bus. We flew into Bologna (not pronounced Baloney) and got on a bus to Verona. In Verona, there is a totally cool arena. An amphitheater, like the Colosseum, only in better shape. They were actually getting it ready for opera season, and there were stage props and stuff for Aida.



Pretty cool, huh? Then we stopped for some gelato. I did not partake. That day.

Then it was off to Juliet's house. You know, like Romeo and Juliet. Her:

Anyway, we know she probably wasn't a real person, but still. Shakespeare wrote a whole story about her and Romeo, and now Verona has this statue of her. If you notice, her chest area is a slightly different color than the rest of her. That's because the rumor is: if you go up to her, and rub/touch where her heart is, you'll be lucky in love. Well, I did that in college when I was there last, and I got Hubs. Obviously, the luck worked!

After that, we hopped back on the bus and drove the rest of the way to our hotel. It was nice. We were just the right combination of tired and worn out. I slept deeply and well.

More on the rest of the trip later. Right now, I've got to do some research for the second trip!

Leaving On a Jet Plane

In about an hour, we will leave to drive down to Atlanta. There, we will meet my dad and stepmom who will be watching the boys while we're away. Then, off to the airport to meet all the children and parents who have entrusted their younguns to me. We fly out tonight just before 9:00. We fly into Paris in the morning, then off to Bologna. We're scheduled to arrive at 2:30 local time in the afternoon.

I am so excited! This time tomorrow, we'll be almost there! Right now, I have to go call the banks and credit companies to let them know I'll be abroad. So they don't block my account or anything.

I'll be checking in, hopefully with pictures. What an awesome day!

Oh, and happy anniversary to me and Hubs. It's eight years today!

Craziness I tell you

I must have lost my mind. I actually volunteered to be the head Latin person for the district while T is on maternity leave next year. What was I thinking? That means that I'll be the go-to person for all 6 of the Latin teachers in the district. I'll be in charge of the paperwork, the meetings, the curriculum, the in-services, everything. Yikes! Well, it's only one year. Then T will be back. She'd better come back.

I leave for Italy in 6 days. Am I ready? Well, I thought so. It's the biggest trip yet, 30 people! 17 kids ranging in age from 9 to 14. 13 adults. (I'm counting Hubs as an adult, even though he won't admit to actually being one.) What am I thinking? I'm thinking that I love it over there. That it is worth any price just to see the land again. To feel the ruins under my hands. To smell the lush fields and taste that gelato. We're going to Venice this time. When I think about the last time I was there.... it was a different time. I was so young then. Only 21! There will be no wandering around the various bridges this time. It will only be a day. Wish we could stay there longer. And Verona. And Florence! Maybe we can take a look at those leather markets again. I need a new belt, since the ones I bought back in college will NOT fit me anymore. That was a while ago.

Anyway, just waiting now. Hubs is on his way home with his parents. They want to see the kids and take us all out to dinner. Sweet! I was looking forward to a simple pizza at home, but whatever. They're paying. I'm tired, as I often am when Hubs is gone. I can't sleep without him here. I think that I finally turned off the light last night around 1:15. And then got up at 6:00. I've averaged about 5 hours of sleep a night while he's been gone. And my nose is all stuffy. (by dose is all tuffy.) That's not exactly a recipe for a reunion: Hubs' parents, me tired, me not feel good. Should be a fun evening.

D's Wings, huh? Great. I hope the kids behave!

BTW, I will have use of the school laptop this summer. I hope to be able to update this blog on a regular basis. Well, not during the first trip, probably. Hubs won't let me, I'm sure. But during the long trip, when I'm on my own. I'll write it for him, and the kids. They can keep up with me while I'm gone. I'm a genius! After all, this blog IS called My Summer Vacation. It's almost 2 years old now. Who knew?

NKOTB!

I about had a heart attack when my sister emailed to say that the New Kids on the Block were going to be performing in Atlanta. Seriously? So I said Hell, yeah, I'll go! Then I went to the "official" NKOTB website to check it out. And she was right! Argh!!!! And they have a new single out! I would link to iTunes, but I don't know how. I have already purchased it, of course. I closed my eyes, and it was almost like being 13 again. Sigh. I did love some NKOTB. Sis and I had the sheets, the tees, the everything. We even had our own singing group with our friend Angela (she was my friend really) named Shades of Color. (Don't remember why that name, but whatever.) Our plan was to make it big and tour with the boys. They, of course, would fall in love with us, and we'd each marry the Beantown boy of our dreams. Sis was going to marry Joey. Angela was into Danny. But my favorite was, hands down!, Donnie. He had that whole bad boy thing going on. And I loved it.

So, will I be in Atlanta on Oct. 29? Yep. And I plan on downloading the whole new album as soon as it's released. Crazy? Probably. But how many of us get to relive our childhood fantasies like that? Just because I'm married with 2 kids. Donnie is STILL on my list. I can't wait to tour with them!

Reality Check

Wow! I just booked a flight into Baltimore for June 23. Why? Because I have to go to Baltimore for a week before my BIG 4 WEEKS IN ITALY! I found out over a month ago now, but it hasn't really seemed real. However, now that I have a plane ticket on my credit card, it is really real.

I still can't get my head around the fact that I'm spending almost 6 weeks of my summer vacation in Italia. It is crazy! I have been dreaming of this since I was in high school. Really. And now, in just over a month, the dream comes true. Who would have thought?

I'll be sure to chronicle every step of my journey so that my loving family can keep up with me. I wish, kind of, that I could take them with me. Well, Hubs anyway. We would have such a good time. Wishful thinking, though. At least he gets to go on one of the trips with me.

My Personality

You Are An INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world. Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships. It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close. But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards. You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings. At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist. How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

What's Your Personality Type?

Late.

It is past my bedtime. I don't think I'll be sleeping any time soon. I've got a lot on my mind. I can't even really explain it. I don't know that I'm free to, since my mom reads this blog occasionally. I'm just tired and frustrated.

I hate teaching. Period. On some days, I don't even like the kids any more. They are so mean to each other. One girl, Madi, called some other girls in class "stupid" today. And they were her friends! A couple of other kids are so annoying, I could gladly take an axe to their heads, just to make them shut up. One is a 7th grader, so I have another year with him. The other is a 6th grader, and he says he's signed up for my class for next year. Which means 2 more years with him.

None of them think before they open their mouths. Ever. At least my 2 worst classes are in Washington this week. So I don't have to deal with them. They are all so whiny. At the slightest bit of work, they start to whine. I think they are smart. So why can't they understand that whining is not the way to go?

I'm tired of B-rex saying "NO!" everything. That is his favorite word these days. We've tried Bonnie's idea of just giving him choices for everything, thereby taking away 'no' as an answer, but even that doesn't always work. Tonight, he threw a fit because he didn't want to brush his teeth before bed. Then, when Hubs closed his door, B-rex decided that he DID indeed want to brush his teeth. Only, Daddy had already taken that choice off the table. So he just had to go straight to bed instead.

I feel like I just want to curl up in bed and sleep for a week. I have had it with people.

So Far, So Good

We are now 4 days into the new year, and things are going okay. There have not been any MAJOR issues yet. Just one, small, teensy-weensy problem. My car.

I went to go start the car before leaving for work yesterday because it was freakishly cold, like near freezing. Which for SC is very cold. (I know this is not a good idea. Evidently there have been a few break-ins when people have left their cars outside warming up. Although can you really call it a break-in when you leave the door unlocked?) I put the key in the ignition and turned. It made some strange whirring/grinding sound (if you call, I'll do it for you) and the inside lights came on. But it did not start. I tried again. Same thing. So I ran back into the house to get Hubs opinion. We decided that I should take his car. And I did.

So I get to school, 10 minutes after I was supposed to be there for morning duty in the gym. I served my time in the gym babysitting the sixth graders. Went back to my classroom. The phone rings. It's Hubs. "My keys to your car are in my car." So, since I had MY keys on my keychain, he had no keys. And the first bell would ring in just 10 minutes. Not enough time for me to get home and back. So Hubs stayed home with the kiddies yesterday. Cheese did not go back to school. B-rex did not start his new daycare. Oops. But really, who keeps a set of car keys in a car?! Even if it is a different car?

Of course, when Hubs tested the car when I arrived home after school, it worked fine. Damn thing.

And then AGAIN this morning, it wouldn't start. So I took Hubs' car again. Only this time, I left him my keys. But he called at 8:00 to let me know that HE couldn't get it to start either. And I have no jumper cables in my car. We have some, apparently, but they are guess where? In HIS CAR! Sigh. So a friend came by and took Cheese to preschool, since she works there. Thank God for Sharon. And Hubs called his buddy Fred to come help. Only Fred's wife had run over his jumper cables and smushed one end. So he had to go buy a new set. And us a set. THEN he jumped the car and all was well. This was around 8:45-ish. Hubs finally got to work a little after nine. Then had to leave early to go over to the Seminary to talk to them about his readmission for the fall.

Anyway, that's our drama. We're looking into getting a new car for me. Since mine doesn't want to get up early anymore. Hubs bought it a new battery and got its oil changed, but I don't think that will work in the long run. It is older than most of my students. We're looking at the dreaded mini-van. I've wanted one ever since I found out I was pregnant with Cheese. We've held off for a while, but I think it is just a matter of time. Oh, and money. I don't know HOW we would pay for that. We've never had a car payment before. I'm trying not to think about that though, even though it is the most important part. I suppose we'd find it somewhere. Like the kids' college fund. Such as it is.

Like I said, so far not so bad. If the broken car is the worst of it, it is going to be a GREAT year!

B-rex did start his new daycare today. Ms. Amy said that he had a great day! He just jumped right in like he'd been there forever! I am so glad that he is so adaptable. He didn't even notice when I came in to pick him up. He was like "hi mommy" and kept on playing. After a moment, he did run over to me, but obviously he was having a good time. I'm glad. I wish we'd never taken him out of that daycare to begin with. His home daycare was nice, but he just really needs to be with more kids his own age. I think this is going to be so good for him!

Happy New Year!

Oh wow. I have never been so glad to see a year end. Ever. In just 3 more hours and 6 minutes, the year 2007 will be over. It could not come fast enough.

I knew it was going to be a bad year only 4 days in. My best friend's husband was killed in a plane crash. That's the beginning. Since then, we've been through depression, ADHD, dropping out of school, being out of work for 4 months (again). That was just Hubs.

Cheese had 2 major surgeries (one unplanned and life-threatening), one trip to the ER, and a countless number of minor outpatient procedures.

B-rex had a slow year, he only started speech classes.

And me, I had to deal with all of that plus filling in for a missing Latin teacher at our school all fall.

In between all that, our family had some other upheavals. We left our church so that Hubs could pursue his dream. We moved, kind of, into a new house.

Hmm... I'm trying to think if there is anything else. I can't really remember if there was anything else. It has seemed like it was just one thing after another.

Through it all, and Hubs and I talked about this the other day, our faith has grown in ways that we can't really comprehend. I did 3 Bible studies this year, all written by Beth Moore. (If you haven't checked her out, you should!) Right now, I feel closer to God than ever. When you look at all we've been through, there were two choices we had.

One, blame God for everything. Be angry, because so much stuff was happening to us that we couldn't control. And after all, weren't we doing the Lord's work? How could He let this happen to us?

Two, turn to God. Love God. Give it all to Him and let Him figure it out. Know and trust that there is a plan and someday we'll know what this was all about. l

We chose number Two. I have no idea why we've had the year we had. At times, it has seemed like God was just sitting up there in his throne having a laugh at our expense. Really. But I know and trust that there was, and continues to be, some plan for us. We don't know what it is, but it's there.

I just hope His sense of humor changes for 2008. I don't know if I can handle another year like this one.

Happy New Year, y'all!

Check out my Slide Show!

Merry Christmas!

What an awesome day!

If you have not had a chance to hear some truly praise-full children's music, click here. My sister gave me the CD "The Kids Praise Album!" for Christmas. We used to sing along to all those songs when we were kids. I didn't even know they still made these. We used to listen to them all the time. And we had it on a cassette. Which was made from an album that skipped. So we're listening to it now and skipping all the parts that the original skipped. But all the words have come back. And it means so much to be able to pass all these memories and songs on to my own kids.

Thanks, Nikki!

We spent the day with family. Hubs' family came to Christmas Eve service with us, then spent the night at the parsonage with us. We got up a little after seven this morning and opened presents. Hubs and I cooked breakfast: bacon, eggs, and cinnamon rolls! The boys had such a great time! After that, we went to my mom's and had present time there. Cheese and B-rex were so cute! Cheese got his very own digital camera. Oh the excitement! B-rex got a kitchen set. Yes, a kitchen set. He loves to plays like he's cooking for the family! I'm glad he got that from his daddy. His love of cooking, that is.

All in all, it was a wonderful, awesome day. Thank you, Lord, for sending us your Son. And for giving us the gift of eternal life through Him. Thank you for our wonderful, loving family. And the gift of my precious boys. Happy birthday, Jesus!

An Elfin' Good Time

Take a moment and Elf Yourself. I did. It is funny! Be sure to pick a happy picture though. I didn't do a very good job with B-rex. He looks like a mad elf.

To see us elfed, just click here.

Holiday Open House 2007

I am posting a day early, because I know I can't do this at work tomorrow. And I have a few last minute gifts to go buy tomorrow night while Hubs is actually at home. And some more decorating to do. He gave me permission to go ALL OUT on Christmas decorations! I am so excited! I will be heading to my local Target to gather provisions. I am really excited! I may have to post again just so I can show the updated decor!

Anyway, I have had the pleasure this year of "decorating" two homes. The one we live in full-time and the one we live in on the weekends. Both need some work on the festive end, but they will do for now.

Our "Old" House, as Cheeseman calls it:

These Pooh Bears are ones I collected when I worked at the Disney Store in college. They are the first thing you see when you enter my home. Festive, no? Love my Santa too!
Our tree without and with children:
The mantle. You can't see the stocking hung with care, but they're there!
This is the lovely wreath that would hang on the front door if I could ever remember to buy a hanger-thing. A co-worker of mine made this. Isn't it beautiful?

Now, on to the "new" house:
Our tree, complete with candy canes that the children love.
Yes, the noel has moved houses. Doesn't it look lovely? My stepmom made this for us.

The couch in our new house. I like the $5 pillows from Dollar General.

The boys love to decorate a tree! They get that from me, of course.

That's it! The outsides are not done AT ALL! I'll be getting right on that.

Turkey gone, gone

Another happy holiday over and done. I cannot believe it is almost Christmas.

We went to the in-laws yesterday for food and fun. I actually contributed this year. Made a right lovely bread casserole thing. It was yummy! So moist and flavorful. I liked it. A Weight Watchers recipe no less! I think we will see that one again before next Thanksgiving.

The food was yummy. The turkey was moist this year. Cheese actually ate all his food! B-rex ate most of his. Well, all his turkey and gravy. No green beans or rice. Whatever. He barely eats most days anyway. Hubs took the boys for a walk along the creek that runs behind his parents house. He confided in me on the way home: It used to look much bigger. I just laughed. I'm sure the boys thought it was a big adventure, traipsing along in the "woods" behind the house. And they were spending quality time with their daddy. That's the most important part. They'll always remember that.

Now the Christmas fun begins. I've already ordered some movies as gifts for the boys. Power Rangers. Fun for them, not so much for Mom and Dad. Ordered some DVDs for my bro too. That reminds me, he suggested that I check their registry to see what was left. I don't know what to get his new wife. She can be difficult to buy for sometimes. I hope my dad and GiGi send their lists soon. I hope we get that bonus check soon too, so I can pay for all this stuff!

Hope all had a happy Thanksgiving!

Somewhat Big Goings On

Last weekend was FU's Homecoming. It also happened to be my 10th reunion year. How exciting! I was really feeling "old" due to this. I know that 32 is not really old, like that 70 is old, but it is still a number larger than I really feel at this point. Most of the time. Anyway, I was really looking forward to seeing some old friends, acquaintances. There was no one there. At the tailgate, we ran into some of Hubs' old fraternity brothers. That was nice, but I was only over there for a few minutes. Then we had to go back and meet up with his parents to get our football tickets. We totally missed the "official" class thingy that night, since we had agreed to eat dinner with his mom and dad, and we didn't have an extra $40 anyway.

Later Saturday night, we went into downtown Greenville, where the party was supposed to be happening. It was dead. Lame. A few of the "guys" were there, but there was nothing to do! The band was awful! Beach music! Which is fine if you are at the beach, but it was about 60 degrees outside, and we were in the foothills of the mountains. Not a good combo for beach music.

So, the evening was kind of a flop. We could have gone over to the Normington's, but honestly I was just tired. It was already after 10, which is a pretty hard and fast rule of bedtime around here. I was disappointed.

The boys had a good time at the ball game though. They stayed in our seats during most of the first half, so we actually got to watch the game. Then, at halftime, we went over to a little grassy hill at the side of the stands, and let the kids play. There are always a lot of little people playing touch football, or just hanging out over there. Furman, such a family destination.

Oh, and they won the football game. Furman, I mean. Beat Elon. Go Paladins!

In a fit of cuteness, both boys have now announced that they are going to play football at Furman when they get older. They are tickled to know that Gramma and Pop will be at all the games cheering and waving the flag. How cool! Guess we'd haveto go to more than one game a year!

This week at work has been pretty good for me. On Monday, I was awarded the Culture of Excellence award. I was nominated by the French teacher for all the work I've been doing to keep Latin alive at our school. Our principal even called me "an unsung hero" and said nice things about me for a couple of minutes while I blushed and wanted to sit down. In addition to a plaque, I also got a gift certificate to Olive Garden! Hubs and I are going out this Friday. Far be it from me to let a g.c. sit around. And Olive Garden is one of my favoritest places!

When I'm not so tired, I will update on the boys. Cheese has not had the best week at school.

My Halloween Pictures

Last night, we went trick-or-treating with Princess and her friend Erin. Princess was a mermaid. Not Ariel, just a regular, run of the mill mermaid. Erin was a Barbie princess, or something like that. Cheese decided to be the grey/silver Power Ranger. B-rex at first was Donatello the Ninja Turtle. Then he changed his mind and decided he was going to be Buzz Lightyear. (In between, he wanted to be a power ranger too, but we don't have a costume in his size.)

We went around in my sister's neighborhood. Hubs missed the festivities again. For the 3rd year in a row. Oh, well. He can see the pictures. And so can you:

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