Family Day

Valleyfair day. Here we are at 10:00 a.m. Ready for a fun filled family day. Duchess and Maiden on the Mild Thing.
Prince Charming was too short to ride The Convoy. The person working told me as long as I rode with him they would allow him to ride. I don't know how I could have stopped him from jumping out from where I was sitting. It didn't matter anyway. We had such a hard time prying him from the truck, the worker let us go around for another ride. I was fortunate enough to ride three times!
We spent a few hours in the water park. Prince Charming went round and round in this tube in the little kids pool.
Duchess looking to see if she was tall enough to ride the Mad Mouse. She was, as long as someone responsible rode with her. That someone, that someone, that someone you see, that someone, that someone, that someone was me. Note to self: Call the chiropractor and make an appointment. You should know better. Remember, you are 40.
My favorite ride of all time is Thunder Canyon. Who wouldn't like a water ride on a hot summer day? Here we are after I got drenched on the ride. I always pick the wrong seat. The wrong seat is the one that goes under every water fall and goes head on with every wave.
And here we are at 10:00p.m. Yes, you read that right. TWELVE hours later. Don't the younger two look like they should have stayed a few more hours ? Just in case you can't see their happy faces, I zoomed in for you to see a little better.
Note to self: To avoid meltdown with the children, maybe try leaving a few hours earlier next time.

Last Ski Day of the Year

Remember last month when The King took the boys to the Homeschool ski day?

$20.00 for a day of skiing, equipment rental and a lift pass?

He couldn't resist taking advantage of the great deal one last time.

This time he took some family and friends.

The King waiting in line with our boys and children of King's Twin.

King's Twin and three of his four children.

The King with two of our seven. He had to be the best dressed skier on the slope in his Carhartt's.

Our friend, Mr. Erosion Control with one of his four.

The three men who made it all happen for the happy children.

They went skiing too. The result?

Sore muscles for King's Twin. Chiropractor visit for Mr. Erosion Control.

And The King? No problems noted. Not even a sore muscle. I believe it is due to the fact he has so much physical activity with his job. (Rolling around the office in his chair, getting searched while going through airport security, and entering and exiting his car at each and every Starbucks along the way.)

Ron Paul

Last night we picked up the King's Twin and family, loaded up our home school bus, and headed off to see Dr. Ron Paul.
You wouldn't believe the excitement in all of the children's voices as they spotted hundreds of Ron Paul signs and bumper stickers as we neared our destination. Why? You see, King's Twin (sitting to the right in the tan shirt) had long ago offered $1.00 for Ron Paul paraphernalia sightings.
I proudly earned a buck before he changed the rule to "only person's under 18". Then another rule was added, the sightings had to be verified by someone, uh, verifiable. Our children had visions of dollar bills packing their wallets. Their dreams were squelched as King's Twin informed them he would not be paying out. Sightings at a Ron Paul rally did not count.
Oh well, we all had fun anyway. How could we not? We were surrounded by fellow Ron Paul supporters. As you can see, Prince Charming loved the rally.
Best of all, we were able to see Dr. Ron Paul in person. But the fun didn't stop there. As we left the rally, we had the pleasure of watching The King honk the horn at person's holding Ron Paul signs while the King's Twin shouted out the window, "Go Ron Paul!" The bonus had to be the children at the back of our bus chanting, "What do we want? DQ. Who do we want? Ron Paul. What do we want? DQ. Who do we want? Ron Paul." Their persistent chants did not pay off. The King and King's Twin had decided. There would be no ice cream stop on the way home. But Sir Oh did not let that get him down. Instead, he enjoyed a little snooze on his big cousin's shoulder. Who needs ice cream when you have a Jester sitting close by?

This talented young man, Eric Richards, performed this song at the rally. I just had to share. Enjoy!

Because I'm the Mom

Today I was trying to find out which one of Beethoven's symphonies included "William Tell". I stumbled upon this and had to share.

Mitch McVicker

A few weeks ago, along with The King's twin brother and family, we attended a Mitch McVicker concert. (Mitch used to play with Rich Mullins and was seriously injured in the same car accident that killed Rich.)

I can't believe it, but I left my camera at home. The photo of eight cousins sitting in five chairs in the front row would have been priceless.

I'm sorry Mitch, your performance, as wonderful as it was, was not my favorite memory of the evening. It was a comment from Maiden that I will never forget. Before the concert started Duchess was poiting out a bass. She said, "Look, there's a big..." Maiden innocently finished her sister's sentence "...fiddle."

The concert was a small gathering in a church sactuary, but the music was great! They are on tour promoting the release of his newest CD, which is awesome. The kids and I have been listening to him every day. Check him out, you won't be disappointed.

The Raising of the Hoop

Jester likes to shoot hoops.

He decided it was time to bring it out of retirement (the shed) and give it a face lift (new paint job).

It's heavy. Here are the King and Jester trying to get it up on the garage.

Proof that the Queen has to lend a hand from time to time.

(Thanks to Scribe for the shot from this angle.)

Here is Scribe showing us how to shoot a hoop.

LOOKS GOOD JESTER! THANKS FOR YOUR HARD WORK.

We Should Live on a Lake....

or get a bigger pool.

Not the King of Speed

My husband has never been very good at the card game Speed. (Not since he met me anyway.) Recently, at a family gathering, he won. Not once, but two times. Notice him holding up two fingers letting all the world know that he won twice. He was wearing sunglasses so his opponents couldn't see his 'poker' face.
He was relentless. He showed no mercy, and he was very proud of his accomplishment. You can tell by the sweat on his brow how hard he worked for those two wins. You would have thought he won the million dollar jackpot by the way he was a hootin' and a hollerin'. Here are his opponents:Two little girls. Our six year old niece on the left, and five year old daughter Duchess on the right.
Until the moms stepped in. I helped Duchess win twice and my sister-in-law and her daughter won a few rounds too. (O.K., so we took over for the girls--they got a little teary eyed when they realized they were no longer playing.) But it was worth it, we put the King back in his place and showed him that he may be the King of my castle but he is NOT the king of Speed!

Poor Jester, he is following in his father's footsteps. He won't be the king of Speed any time soon. Here he is showing everyone how many times he won. No fingers raised? I guess that would mean NONE!