Monthly Archives: September 2008

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We’re Going to Kentucky, We’re Going to the Fair…

It's a good thing I'm not a newspaper, my headlines are always four days late and slightly unoriginal. Oh well. 

So… four days ago, we drove south to Kentucky to visit the Creation Museum. First, I had no idea this place existed until Michelle said her family was going there. And second, I had no idea I would get to clip the corner of Indiana that day making my state count visit on Friday three! Bonus- I get to add one more state I've been to on Places I've Been To via Facebook.

Yes, you can say it- nerd.

The premise behind the museum is to visually show and explain (to little ones especially!) how God created the world in seven days, expand on Noah's Ark and the depiction of the great flood. There were fossils and articles galore and if you're in to dinosaurs, this place has some gnarly (faux) giants that your kids will love… and if you like the live version- there's a small petting zoo- complete with a one humped camel (hungry and not a spitter- two points) and massive hog that snorts and smells. And one more thing- there was an exceptional planetarium exhibit that our littlest ones didn't make it through, but WOW, if you thought Earth was big, you should go see what kind of other solar systems there apparently are out there. God sure knows how to made my jaw drop.

And because there are too many photos- please take an opportunity to enjoy the mosaic that took me WAY too long to figure out how to do. 
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Our first visitors!

Ohio isn't really around the corner from "home," so when our friends were going to be a mere hour and a half from us in Kentucky, they worked in a visit up to our area for a couple of days. I'm so glad they did! The Buswells make my heart happy. Until this past summer, we've been in some form of Bible study with them since we moved to San Diego three years ago. They're passionate about Christ, their size family trumps ours, and honestly, I love that they always know how to have a  good laugh.

Plus, Michelle is kind of borderline goofy and a good sport. Or at least she was when I coaxed her into these "photo booth" shots (that I swiped from Chrissy) (and took her on a 2  1/2 mile walk with 7 kids):
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I love you Michelle- what a blessing for  to enjoy you and your family in person- thanks for making the extra drive up here ;)
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Bonus pictures – our husbandly's. Jarrod is on the left- he was working the crazy face!
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and the girlies… (l-r back- Gracie, Sarah, Ashleigh, Tessa up front)
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Stay tuned for our trip to Kentucky!

The Pilot’s Wife

Dear Pilot's Wife,

It was so nice to meet you at the park yesterday. I rather enjoyed our time of conversation and chance meeting as our children played. I have to tell you, though, that walking away without asking for your number bummed me out. We clearly could have talked for hours, but I understand that you are burned out from so many good-byes so fresh in your memory, and you made it pretty clear that you weren't going to allow yourself new girlfriend relationships here. But I have some unsolicited thoughts. There are some real cool people out there that would love to come along side you here in Ohio and be your friend. 

Despite your best efforts to stay uninvolved, I know you will meet amazing woman at other venues that you will click with. I will be praying for you to have an open heart and reach out once again to those around you. Your best friends may live hundreds of miles away, but God continues to put new people in your path for different seasons. I will respect your plight not to be involved or seek out new friendships, but I have a feeling that it just might happen and only hope you will welcome it anyway. Even if it is only for a short season.

And even if there will be good-byes once again.

Your unofficial and unnamed park friend,
Susie

Ten on Tuesday

1. This is my second try at this today. Earlier, I made it to four.

2. Which is to say, it's a slow blogging week.

3. If it were The West Wing, this would be a report on the slow news day.

4. And because it's been a long time since we watched said show, I had to google the main character to remember the name of the show and I just found out Martin Sheen has ties to Dayton. How about that?

5. I told you, slow blogging week.

6. Sarah's back to school after a week out. There were still houses in town I saw today without electricity after that crazy wind storm last week. 

7. Our DVR is in full swing and so happy that some of my favorite shows will be airing. Hi, my name is Susie and I'm apparently a TV addict. This could be a post all on its own. 

8. I updated my sidebars to reflect our past and current church homes. I love that I still talk regularly to peeps from each one. God is so faithful.

9. Friends from San Diego arrrive in less than 20 hours. Woohoo!

10. Andy ran the 10K in the Air Force Marathon this past week. He feels bad that the shirt and medal just say marathon- he doesn't want to take credit for something he didn't do. We're proud of him just the same. Next year, we're both hitting the pavement. I'm undecided on 26.2- pretty sure I can sweat out 13.1.
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Joining in on the Fun: Muffin Tin Monday

I happened upon a fun site yesterday that reminded me of something my girlfriend, J.J., has been doing for months: Muffin Tin Monday.

 Which only means lunch served in a muffin pan. I decided last night that we would join in today- I was a little worried since I hadn't prepared by going to the grocery store, but we pulled it off, and the girls LOVED it. 
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(l-r from the top: peanut butter sandwich slices, popcorn, carrots, swiss cheese, grapes, turkey pieces, star snacks, bananas, animal crackers, cantaloupe, jelly sandwich slices, fish crackers)

The popcorn was the final addition, and wouldn't you know, it was Sarah and Ashleigh's favorite. Of course. 

Even Lo loved her mini-muffin tin. She dove in for the bananas first. Yum!
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Dayton Metro Parks #1 of 19: Cox Arboretum

The Dayton Metro Parks are God's saving grace for kindergartners that are still not going to school because of blah blah blah (read: Cranky Ike shut down the city). Sarah REALLY misses school.

Instead, we went to Cox Arboretum yesterday to visit the Butterfly House, only to find out it was closed. 

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What happened- did the Monarchs already migrate to Mexico for winter? We found a few in the Butterfly Waytstation. Big, oversized Midwest bumblebees, too, so we didn't stay long.

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So… we just meandered and the girls came across these Japanese Berry plants (Lauren might have slipped a few into her mouth, but I wasn't looking, and she's still breathing today, so let's not mention what a bad mom I am, okay?)

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There was the rock path where I made everyone do some twirls  so I could entertain my camera with some reflective light:

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Lauren refused.

But then we found a little area away from the collie that was roaming the premises (little did I know when we were trying to get away from the dog that he was there doing an important job: Chasing geese away) and bribed coerced the girls to take some pictures in the stringy plant section. I love taking these super secret spy-on-your-subject shots (that I picked up from Nely, let me give credit where credit's due)

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We saw a family of turtles basking in the sun:

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Sarah was delighted to run up the bridge over the koi pond (they may not have been koi, but I never saw a sign, so let's just pretend):

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And it was time to call it a day when Lolo was letting the world know how tired she was:

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Susie's Metro Park rating: **** out of 5 stars

What to do when school is out #18 : Boonshoft Museum of Discovery *

Since Ike's crankiness came through, only half of the city has power. So, most  of the schools have been out the past two days. I called up Boonshoft and sure enough, they were lucky to have some power. I grabbed the girls and took off to downtown. 

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The girls were SO happy to finally be there. 
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There are water tables that all the girls LOVEd…
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And light-up tables…
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And blowing-out-air tables (not its official name, probably)…
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There were a few rodent and scaly and creepy type things- here's Lolo taking a closer look at the spotted lizard…
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I'm so glad the tarantula was behind glass.

The upstairs had a really cool miniature grocery and camping store. Lauren had the river raft safety thing on as she was doing laps pushing a mini-grocery cart around- it was ADORable…
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See. Adorable. It made for some good comedy.
Ashleigh tried out one of the landfill diggers near the going green exhibit…
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There are a few more areas they girls really loved (like the astronomical exhibit and the climbing and sliding playground!), but the pictures were all pretty awful. So you'll just have to trust me, they had a fabulous time. And as long as there are only 7 cars in the parking lot, I don't mind going once  a week! 

*My Northern Ohio friends gave me a fun list of 20 things to do with the girls come winter. This is #18.

On what happens when it’s warm and EXTREMELY windy

In Southern California, we call them Santa Ana winds.

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In Montana, they referred to the strong warm gusts as Chinook winds.
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But 60mph winds here on warm (almost) fall days aren't so common. It seems that the builders didn't account for the remnants of  a gulf hurricane named Ike coming up this way, because he's still doing some damage.
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Yes, that is my siding coming OFF my house and blowing away.
We also had rain gutters fly away, a neighbor's swing set topple over and I'm sorry to report, even Nobama is no longer hanging around.
The girls thought it was fantastically exciting. And I was certain a tornado would spawn off.
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So. Lori pegged me. She called but couldn't get through to me since my basement doesn't get reception. 
Can you say, 'fraidy cat hanging out in the tornado shelter?

Five on Friday

<1>  Today marks a year since my uncle's passing. And it's been a heavy hearted day. It's true, I think, the memories and relationships of our loved ones really do live on in our hearts.

<2> So, some good news: Andy bought a gorilla rack for my scrap center and at least seven boxes will be unloaded once that thing is built. Woohoo :)

<3> I have a little bit of guilt for not being a sew-your-kid a Halloween costume like my mom was. But there's fun in shopping online for them, too!

<4> Did you notice my weather widget over on the left sidebar <—–? We check the weather forecast everysinglenight before bed to pick out the morning's clothes. It's very unstable around here.

<5> A fun costume sneak peek for MM's biggest fan:
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Happy Friday!

A Favorable Sight

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The flag waves at half-staff today for the tragic events of 9.11.01. And it touches me in a way that pierces my heart, lumps my throat and brings tears to my eyes…  I'm so grateful to be an American.