The Golden Ticket

Remember Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? Not the one with Johnny Depp, but the old one with Gene Wilder. Remember Charlie's anticipation on the quest for the Golden Ticket-the ticket that would allow the children to fulfill their wildest fantasy of visiting the factory? In my house we had a quest this summer as well. It was not a golden ticket, but a blue ticket. And it was 100% fun delivered almost daily.



On the last day of school for the past two years, the boys have brought home a blue ticket from school. On the ticket reads a notice that students may bowl one free game of bowling each day of summer vacation.

I remember the first time I received this card; my instinct told me that there must be "a catch." Nothing is free anymore. Yet, this truly was free.

Bowling this summer became our perfect segue between events. It took Andrew and Brendan only about 20 minutes to bowl, so we would squeeze it in between library or sports. Often the bowling alley was a destination that we rode our bikes to.

Our local alley is nothing special. Rude's personifies good-old small town fun. A distinct smell of smoke lingers even in the mornings. The "regulars" are always perched on their stools by the bar, watching TV and chatting with the workers. The carpet is a faded red that may have once been burgundy. The alleys were all replaced this year so the look of the lanes was fresh.

None of this mattered to the boys.

What mattered to them was who won the game. Throughout the summer I would watch each child take a triumphant turn as the winner while the other boy looked dejected and pouted all the way home. Losing is hard.

The blue ticket represented at least $125 in money I did not have to spend; we used it 25 times. They felt like I was giving them a treat when we went there and it was FREE. Yesterday we bowled for the last time on the ticket. The boys pleaded, and I relented. I was so amazed at how much better they have gotten this summer.

The blue ticket was vital to our summer. Unlike the Chocolate Factory, however, there were no heirs to the bowling alley determined by the blue ticket-- just a whole summer full of fun.

Withdrawal

For the past week we have been fortunate enough to have Chris' parents in town visiting. The boys love it. They get pampered and spoiled for a week solid. Therefore, when Chris' parents left today. The boys were perplexed. They gaped at us after an hour like "What are we going to go? I want to do something great."

You could almost hear their little minds working:

Boys: Can't it be like Tuesday when we played tennis at the school, bowling at the alley, swimming and soccer?

Us: Um. . . No

Boys: Maybe today can be like Wednesday when we drove to Chuck E Cheese and played and ate galore. Then, we went bowling afterwards.

Us: Um . .. No

Boys: Possibly could it be like Thursday when we got to see Wall-E again? We love that movie. We could even follow that with Culver's for dinner.

Us: Um . . . No

Boys: Fine. At least let today be like Friday when we went bowling then to the Mackenzie Center to see the animals. Yet, we also need to include McDonald's for lunch. No skimping on the fries, mom.

Us: Um. . . No

Boys: Can we have donuts tomorrow at least?

Us: No

I suppose they quickly realized that they were stuck with us. We may not pamper and spoil at that scale on a daily basis, but we sure love them a lot. Thanks for Grandma and Grandpa for visiting. We ALL miss you already. It was a great visit.

Friday Photo Fiesta: Soaking Wet!

Hello Candid Carrie visitors! Thanks for playing along today!

This is an old picture of my youngest son who is now four. He was only one in this picture. I like this picture for the hilarious story it represents.

If you look in the background, you can see two sets of legs in the bathtub. My older two boys were taking their evening bath, and I wasn't ready for Evan to partake quite yet. So, he was playing with a tissue and talking to the boys. I watched as Evan precariously perched on the precipice of the tub. I, as any good mother does, incessantly warned, "You are going to fall in. Don't lean so far."

Being a curious one year old, he continued to lean and laugh with his brothers. I walked into the kitchen and heard a giant splash. I raced back to the tub and saw Evan dripping with water. What did I do next? The appropriate answer would be that I hurried to the tub and immediately extracted my drenched toddler. Yet, I can't confess to that. What I did was race back to the kitchen for my camera because I was so entertained by the contrite look on his face. This picture was the result.

Thanks for playing with me! I hope you enjoyed. Here is link back to Carrie's!

Ev's Birthday

Evan had been looking forward to his 4th birthday for a long time. He had told me specifically all the components necessary for him to have a good time. We didn't disappoint him.

On Monday Evan turned four years old. For his birthday he wanted a Spiderman cake. Now, he didn't want the "red Spiderman." He wanted the black Spiderman from the last movie. Luckily for me, Chris' mom was in town and assisted me (did it all!) in making a beautiful Spider man cake. Evan's reaction: "It's perfect!"

We let him have Grandma Compan's presents in the morning that she had mailed. He just couldn't wait to start the "opening." He has been toting that backpack and wearing those glasses ever since!

His birthday dinner, all my boys can dictate the menu on birthday night, consisted of pizza and juice boxes! (I added a few extra treats for the adults.) After dinner, a few of his friends came over. His babysitter from last year, Gina, and her husband and kids came. Evan's preschool friend, Gabriel, and his family came over. The kids all played in the yard and ate cake together.

His favorite new possession is the driver that Chris and I bought him. Now, he can golf like the big boys! I will send pictures of that later.

At the end of the night, Evan was content. I asked him before he went to sleep if he had a good time, and he just grinned. He had a great day.

Four Years Old

Four years ago today, I was calmly sitting in a delivery room, waiting on my epidural. Yes, I was calm. It was the third time around, and I knew what I was doing. A little after noon, Evan Robert announced himself to our world, and things have never been the same.

Cuddling and rocking like a pro, I enjoyed Evan's infant hood more than the others. I wasn't nervous. I had gone through the same motions two other times in the past four years. I can remember just blissfully holding Evan as an infant and feeling so content.

As he started growing into a toddler, I could see that Ev had a certain flair to him. He was my only child to do the "baby babble." Learning to talk was an adventure. He would just ramble in nonsensical syllables to himself for hours. My other boys only spoke what they knew. Evan wanted to forge new paths.

He continued that trend of being different as he continued to grow. Evan always wanted -- and still does-- to be like his brothers. Fighting the nap at the young age of two, Evan would often collapse exhausted anyplace he found at night.
Today, Evan continues to be unique and unlike the boys in so many ways. He is a free spirit and is currently testing the waters of my patience as well. I love hearing his creative approach to life, and I wanted to share a few of "the things Evan says."

* When he turns 14, he can be Spiderman. Because only teenagers can be superheroes.

* He speaks Shakespearean. He will say "Where it is?" or " where they are?" For some reason, he turns the verb and subject around.

* He has a collection of stuffed animals he has recently collected: Charlie -- the dog, Chuck -- the dog, Billy Bob Joe Bison- from our trip, and Super Pika- from our trip. (There are many more. Those are just the favorites.)

* His belly has strong feelings. He will always say, "My belly wants to play a game. My belly needs a snack. My belly doesn't want to go to bed."

Many actions and words can give an image of Evan, yet I have found that he is truly indescribable. I am so grateful that my life has been blessed with Evan. I feel more complete having him in my life. Happy Fourth Birthday, Evan!

Blindsided

A female's emotions are so close to the surface, waiting for an eruption of many kinds: happiness, jealousy, sadness, anger, etc. As a mother of three rambunctious boys, I see this to be so true for myself. Therefore, I am not sure why I was so blindsided the other day when I did the simple act of getting the mail.

I walked out to my mailbox on a stifling weekday and saw that there was a package in there. Most packages this week come to Evan as it will be his 4th birthday on Monday, so when I looked at the name on the package, I was startled to see it was addressed to me. The name in the return address corner was one of my best friends from when I lived in Cleveland, Tyna. (Here we are on the night before I left town!)

In my kitchen I started the open the package. I could already feel my throat tightening and tears beginning to come to my eyes at the thought of my friend. She had sent me a "Back to School" teacher package chock full of pens, pencils, stickers-- the works! At this moment, I sobbed. Tears were just streaming down my face. I was blindsided by my emotions. I realized just how much I miss my friend.

Tyna and I met when our oldest children were just six weeks old at a Baby Gymboree class. The babies did not get a lot of enrichment from that class, but I know that both Tyna and I did. That class started a friendship that became so important to my years of staying at home. At first, we had a playgroup with all the mommies in the class, but eventually it dwindled down to just Tyna and me.

Our routine consisted of occasional zoo trips because I lived so close to the Cleveland Zoo. Mostly, we would gather on Friday mornings at Tyna's house to let the five children play (my three kids and her two.) At about 11:30 the chicken nugget cooking would commence, and then Tyna and I would feast on BBQ Chicken Pizzas and frosty Sprites.

The most important part of these gatherings would be our chatter. We would laugh about the latest TV shows we shared in common. We would gossip about the latest news from our friends and families. We would commiserate about the hardships of being a mom and rejoice about the delights of motherhood as well.

When I knew I was moving to Wisconsin, we acknowledged it then didn't discuss my move until about two weeks before I went. I vividly remember the tears that would linger in my eyes during those conversations. We would just say, "Let's not talk about it yet."

It is easy to see why I was blindsided by her package. In an instant I remembered how much I miss her friendship and daily chatter. How much I miss just hanging out with our kids together. How much I missed just being her friend. My emotions betrayed me again, yet they reminded my of my remarkable friend Tyna. I miss yoU!

Friday Photo Fiesta: The Animals Cometh!

Welcome Candid Carrie visitors for a showcase of animal sightings from my vacation I just arrived home from. Feel free to browse my last few blog entries. There are some amazing pictures of the Tetons, Yellowstone and the Badlands lurking at every corner.

While buffalo are not the most beautiful animals, they are amazing in their power. We ran into buffalo at each National Park, sometimes we almost literally ran into them as they sat in the middle of the road! We actually saw them being herded at Custer State Park

Chris took this next amazing picture at Yellowstone near sunrise. The water is not as turbulent as it appears. I love this picture!

We also were fortunate to see a few bald eagles along the way. This eagle proudly sat by the river at Yellowstone.

We happened to be driving by a river at Yellowstone when we saw these full-grown elks just drinking and eating. We watched them for awhile and just marvelled at how HUGE they were.

When we hiked up Mount Washburn in Yellowstone, these Bighorn Sheep literally crossed our path. They actually came a little too close for comfort.
We had a rare black bear sighting at Yellowstone as well. We accidentally stumbled on this bear ambling near a creek. The bear proceeded to meander wherever he chose and eventually crossed the road in front of a pack of gawkers snapping pictures.

Our favorite animal sighting occurred at the Grand Tetons. We all wanted to see a moose! On the final day, we saw four moose! The two pictures here were taken at a pond where we happened upon a moose eating. All I can say is "WOW!"
Thanks for taking an animal safari with me today! If you want to reconnect to Candid Carrie's website, click here.

Days 7 and 8: The Grand Tetons

The purpose of a finale is the culmination of a show or performance that showcases the greatest aspects of the entire act. As we planned our family vacation, we truly felt that Yellowstone was going to be our Grand Finale. We added a couple of days in the Tetons because we knew they were closely located; they were almost an afterthought in the planning.

We were wrong. Behold our Grand Finale!

The Tetons were an amazing place. I know that if Jackson Hole, the town on the outskirts of the Grand Tetons, were to have a Biotech company, Chris would move us there in a moment.

We began our journey to the Tetons by finding a campsite. (We never make reservations!) Here came the LOL moment of the day. Chris was so worried about finding a campsite. When we stopped at one site to check availability, I got the materials and as I was approaching the van to get back in, Chris was literally pulling away from the curb. I laughed and told him to stop. It was like a Nascar pit stop, and he was trying to beat the guy behind us out of the pit! We did find a campsite shortly after. . .

We were only able to hike one time at the Tetons. The kids were wearing down, but we tricked them into a 4 mile hike by letting them throw rocks along the way.

One of my favorite moments of the trip came in the Grand Tetons as well. We decided to relax with a two hour Scenic Float trip down the Snake River, which runs through the park. The Snake River is actually the subject of a famous Ansel Adams picture of the Grand Tetons. Anyways, I was tentative about the trip because I knew my boys were young and two hours can be a long time. They did fantastic. They asked questions and looked for animals. When the river guide asked the group questions about the names of the Teton peaks, Andrew proudly knew almost all of them from reading a book about the Tetons.

After our serene float trip, we toured Jackson Hole a little. In a hilarious misadventure, Chris and I temporarily lost each other as I herded the three boys through a crowded town. Ultimately, we met up at the local microbrewery for a yummy lunch and some awesome beer samples. We drove back to the Tetons for our final evening.

The final evening at the Tetons we allowed the boys one last chance to participate in their favorite part of the trip: throwing rocks! They can proudly boast throwing rocks at some of the West's most beautiful places.

The regal peaks of the Tetons served as an appropriate finale to an amazing vacation.

Tomorrow: One final vacation picture post. I will be showcasing the animals we saw.

Days 4, 5, and 6: Yellowstone!

I am not sure I can appropriately sum up Yellowstone in one blog entry. Yellowstone is such a rich, diverse National Park. Showing the main highlights is my poor attempt at relaying what we did at the park. Only being there serves as a true representation of how amazing Yellowstone truly is.

We arrived at Yellowstone, after another overnight drive through Wyoming, to see the sunrise. We felt so blessed to have seen the sunrise at both Yellowstone and the Badlands.

Our first order of business was to find a campsite. I felt that we didn't need to make reservations, so we just "winged" it! We were fortunate to find a great walk-in site at Norris Campground. The campground is a little more rustic than the others; the boys loved that our campsite was up against a little stream where they could throw rocks. Every night while we cooked dinner, they would run over to the stream and throw rocks like crazy!

The other delight we quickly learned about Yellowstone was that it was COLD in the mornings. I saw a woman putting gloves on before bed and laughed at her overreaction to a "little cold." The next morning there was a frost on the ground. We were all shivering to pieces! That day I bought a Yellowstone hooded sweatshirt to wear to sleep so that I could tolerate the frigid mornings.

Each day we would take time to travel a section of Yellowstone seeing some of the tourist sites such as the following:

Old Faithful

We saw Old Faithful erupt twice. Once we watched it from the crowded platform that surrounds the geyser. The second time we were walking a path that surrounds the area. I enjoyed watching its powerful eruption more privately the second time, as I thought it felt more authentic. The absolute power in a geyser astounds me. The water is surging from the ground at such force. Truly incredible!

Sinkholes --I thought the colors of these were so beautiful! Doesn't it look bottomless?

Hot Springs --They smelled like sulfur, so the kids and I were holding our noses to show how stinky they were. The boys would always yell, "who's stinky?" or of course "Who farted?" as we went through those. They thought they were hilarious!

One of our favorite parts was a 6 mile hike we did up Mount Washburn, the second highest mountain in Yellowstone. The hike is fairly well laid out with a nice trail. The kids did put up a little fuss about the uphill. Andrew got so tired, and then he slipped near the top and had a huge bloody scrape. Chris took the hardest route as he carried Evan on his shoulders about half of the way up the mountain. The view at the top was so rewarding! This was an amazing hike.

The waterfalls there are also beautiful. There is one main waterfall area that Chris snapped this awesome picture of.

Humbly I admit that there is so much more to tell. I have scratched the surface of what we saw, but I didn't want to inundate you with all of our little details. Yellowstone was the kids' favorite part of the trip. They all want to go back someday.

Tomorrow, I will finish the summary with our two days in the Grand Tetons. Then, I plan to post pictures of all the animals we saw after that. Stay tuned. . .

Day Three: Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave and beyond

I promise to speed up the updates once I get passed Day Three. We crammed numerous activities into a short period of time those first few days!


Day Three began with a crazy, circuitous road trip to Mount Rushmore on Iron Mountain Road. The road had a disclaimer that RV's and campers should only travel at their own risk. There were countless times that you would be travelling up or even down the mountain and see a sign that advertised a virtual U-turn with the upcoming stretch of road. There were at least two one-lane tunnels as well as a few similar bridges. In exchange for this harrowing drive, we were rewarded with amazing views of Mount Rushmore. This is a view from one stretch of the road.

Upon arrival at Mount Rushmore, we participated in all the "touristy" events we could. Andrew and Brendan completed a Jr. Ranger program to receive little badges. We walked up to get a closer view. We walked to the Sculptor's Den where there was a replica of the monument. We did not linger excessively, however, because we had plans to come back and watch the evening lighting.

After Rushmore I wanted to see the building of the Crazy Horse Memorial. However, we had looked up the price and it would have been $25 just to see the progress made so far. As we drove by on the road, I snapped this picture and figured out that I didn't really need to get close. The statue will be amazing if it ever gets finished; it is massive!

The boys insisted on touring one of the gazillion caves that were in the area, so Chris and I chose the National Park of the Wind Cave to tour. I was pleasantly surprised by the cave tour. We walked through a portion of the cave with just a lighted path for about an hour. The boys kept the nearby tourists laughing as they danced and said silly quips throughout. Chris and I were trying the shush them! They did tire a little toward the end. Then, Andrew asked the ranger a question about wind pressure that she couldn't answer. He just earnestly wanted to know!

After the Wind Cave, Chris and I insisted on a detour that we quickly regretted. We drove to Deadwood, which is north of the area we were in. It was about an hour and a half drive to get there. What we were hoping for was an old-Western city that afforded the family a chance to do Western activities. What we encountered was an old-Western city with a modern emphasis on casinos. We sadly walked around and ultimately paid too much to eat at a restaurant that housed the chair Wild Bill Hickock was shot in. Bummer!

Our evening capped off wonderfully, however. We drove back to Mount Rushmore to watch the lighting of the monument. All three boys fell asleep on the way, so as we arrived we had to wake them all up. As we began watching the patriotic evening show, Brendan and Evan were just too tired, so Chris walked those two boys to the car. Andrew and I stayed for the show. That 30 minutes was one of my favorite times of the trip. Andrew and I watched a clip on the presidents whose faces adorn the mountain. We sang "America the beautiful" and the National Anthem. We watched as lights slowly illuminated the faces of the presidents. It was moving and incredible.

As we left Rushmore and began our overnight drive to Yellowstone, Andrew sadly stated, "I don't want to leave." He loved being there. I understood. He loved what I loved: the feeling of safety, security, and patriotism that we shared as we sat there. It was an unforgettable night and day.

LOL Moment of the Day: As we began our tour of the Wind Cave, the ranger showed us the cave's natural entrance, which was a hole about the size of a cowboy hat. Both Andrew and Brendan looked at me with quiet trepidation. Finally, Brendan said, "I don't think I am going to fit in that hole!" I giggled and assured him we would not need to enter there. It was cute!

Tomorrow: Yellowstone! I will cover all three days there in one entry.

Days 1 and 2: Driving, Badlands, and Custer State Park

Day One: We began our vacation like any typical road trip: excited babble in the car, delight at each passing state, and eventually everyone sleeping except the driver. We left Friday evening and decided to drive overnight to arrive at the Badlands. Chris and I took turns sleeping and driving (Not at the same time, of course!)

Day Two officially began as we arrived at the Badlands at 4:30 in the morning! We decided to try to explore in the pitch black darkness. I had only driven about 2 miles when a huge animal scared me from the side of the road. We promptly turned around and parked at the first turn off and waited. This afforded us the chance to watch the sunrise in the Badlands. Wow! How beautiful it was! No picture can quite convey the feeling of watching the sun peek over these gigantic masses and illuminate their rich colors. Here are a few pictures from later in the day.

We spent about five hours at the Badlands, hiking and taking pictures. The boys were such troopers. We took them on a few steep hikes and they truly delighted in them. They also fixated on the "Beware of Rattlesnakes" signs. Brendan especially was hoping to encounter one of the serpents; much to my delight, that did not occur. Here is a picture of a hike that we went on where we needed to climb this huge ladder to get higher on the hills.

After lunch, we left the Badlands and drove about two hours to the Custer State Park area. We were a little concerned because there was a big Sturgis Bike Rally in the area, but we had no problems finding a campsite. Actually, the campsite was part of the coolest aspects of the trip. We camped close to where the buffalo herd in Custer had chosen to rest for the evening. Here is a picture of only a SMALL part of the herd.

We were later privy to one of the most fascinating sights I have ever seen. We had toured around the park some, had some dinner, and were just sitting at our campsite when we saw this herd of hundreds of buffalo go running by. Then, we see actual cowboys-- men on horses with cowboy hats, whips, and chaps-- go riding by "yipping" and hollering to herd the buffalo out of the main area where we were. Yes, there were also men in trucks, but I was amazed at watching REAL COWBOYS do their job! The buffalo stampeded across the field, and the cowboys' horses thundered behind them and beside them to keep them in line. It is an image I won't quickly forget.

The night capped off with Brendan losing one of his front two teeth and we fell into bed exhausted by 9. Lucky for Brendan, the tooth fairy found him at Custer State Park! WOW!

LOL Moment: The laugh out loud moment for these days came from myself! When we were driving overnight, I was drinking caffeine to stay awake, and it worked. However, it also had an effect of making me need to "go potty." Finally, I couldn't wait for another rest stop because they were few and far between in South Dakota. I stopped on a road called Dead Horse Road. As soon as I pulled off 90, I knew something was wrong. It looked like a service road: gravel, no lights, no sign, no people. But it was too late, I had to go! Scared to death of having an encounter with the dead horse that was the road's namesake, I quickly went to the bathroom and ran into the car and scooted back to the highway. Only ONE MILE down the road was a rest stop!

Vacation

When Chris and I were married two years, we went on a vacation to Newfoundland, Canada. After three plane flights and a car ride, we arrived at our bed and breakfast and walked around a little. A few hours later we were getting ready for bed and Chris was setting the alarm clock for 6 am.

I looked at him and said, "But Chris, it's vacation. I don't want to get up that early."

He looked at me and said, "But Jen, it's vacation!"

I realized then that we had two contrasting views of what a vacation should be. So, as we planned this first major family vacation, I knew that Chris' version of constant activity would be the dominant plan. In truth, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

We just got back from 10 days of travelling in our van over 3,500 miles! During the next few blogs, I will try to capture as much of the vacation as I can without boring you with every minute detail. I will say that we had an amazing time. Here are the places that we visited with an adjective or two to describe our overall reactions.

The Badlands: stark, incredible
Custer State Park: so cool; alive
Mount Rushmore: awe-inspiring, patriotic
Yellowstone: diverse, enriching
Grand Tetons: stunning, regal

We loved them all. Look for updates coming at you fast and furious! This was definitely an action-packed vacation. It is good to be home, however!

Rerun:The Rant

Here is a recent post I wrote about visiting the OB-Gyn and the dentist. I am still frustrated about those visits.

This is one of my favorites!

Friday Photo Fiesta: Wrestling cousins

Hello! Welcome everyone for another Friday post for Candid Carrie's Friday Fun.

I love these two pictures because of the looks on the boys' faces. The older boy is my youngest son, Evan, and the younger guy is my sister's son Noah. (Tif authors the McCallen Musings blog.) I like this picture because Evan is usually the one pestering his older brothers, trying to get them to wrestle and fight.

In this picture, you can see how absolutely delighted Noah is to be "wrestling" with his older cousin, and you can also see how apathetic Evan is about the whole situation. Noah was literally squealing with delight during this time period. It was so cute!

Thanks for playing with me today!

Rerun: Name Change

I am doing a rerun. Sorry! I thought I would recap a few of my favorite blogs during the next few days I'm back in action later this week.

Here is one of my favorites about changing my name. Just click on the underlined text and enjoy the read.

- Jen

Super Reader, Super Golfer, Super Kid

We all like to think that our kids are wonderful. I love it when I get affirmation from outside sources to confirm what I already know. This week, Andrew was in my personal spotlight as being simply a super kid.

Super Reader: This summer my boys were involved in a reading contest through the library. For Andrew and Brendan, they needed to read five hours and record that on a sheet, then they could take their sheet to the library for a prize. I lost track of the amount of sheets, but I know that Andrew read at least 35 hours in two months. The librarian called on Monday to tell me that Andrew was one of the top readers for the program, and he received a shirt as a prize. He was thrilled!

Super Golfer: Andrew and Brendan participated in another golf tournament on August 7th at a Par 3 course. Brendan struggled a little early on, but still ended strong. Andrew, however, played well! He had a solid round with only a few strokes he regretted. He ended the tournament with a 40 for 9 holes. At first when we looked at the leader board, Andrew was in second place behind one kid with a 39. He was beaming at the thought that he may win a trophy. Eventually, another boy posted a 39 and yet one more boy posted a 34, which put Andrew in 4th place. However, that was his highest place in a tournament so far. I am so proud!

Super Kid: Andrew is not always the most affectionate of my boys. He tends to keep his gratitude and emotions bottled inside. For some reason this week he was compelled to create a piece of artwork to show his appreciation.

That is Mom #1. He colored the sticks with my two favorite colors and worked hard to make it just right. I was nearly speechless with pride. When he shows his love like this, I find myself reeling.

What a super kid!

Blog Hiatus

Hello all,

At the time this is posted, I will be in super fast-forward, slogging my way through an insanely busy week. Can't wait to fill you all in later.

In the meantime, I have planned some posts to put on the blog to tide you over until things are back to normal. Some are new, others reference older events. I look forward to catching up on your comments later!

Enjoy!-- Jen

Now you're talking my language. ..

I'm a bookaholic.

There. I've said it. I know that I have a problem.

I teach high school English, so it seems so clichéd for me to actually love books as much as I do. Yet in June, July and August, I seem to just tumble through as many books as my eyes can absorb.

I look forward to browsing the musty shelves of my library even though it will send my allergy- sensitive nose into a total tizzy. My bedroom has two of the four walls as solid bookshelves so that I can look at books even as I fall asleep.

However, I don't just like to read books. I want to tell people and talk to people when I find a book that I love. I don't yet belong to any book clubs, so I am extending my love of books to the cyberworld looking for others who share my passion.

This summer (and in the past year) I have read some amazing books. Let me offer a few short recommendations to you.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy was my favorite book of the year. This is a love/hate book. The content is dreary as it discusses a post-Apocalyptic world where a dad and his son have survived and are walking on the road to find a better life. It is not a "pick-me-up" read, but I found the book powerful and moving.

I recently finished Then We Came to an End by Joshua Ferris. This book was hilarious and touching. I laughed out loud in some chapters and found myself crying in others. The story focuses on the daily life in an advertising office that is experiencing layoffs. I blogged about it a few weeks ago if you would like to read more.

My pure gluttunous pick is Janet Evanovich's newest Stephanie Plum adventure, Fearless Fourteen. I became addicted to these fun reads a few years ago. They are side-splitting fun with Stephanie, who is a bounty hunter, chasing after wild criminals and hot men. Fun, Fun read!

My last recommendation today is more for an author, Gregory Maguire. I started reading his books last summer with Wicked (like the musical) and I continued reading many more of them this school year such as Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and Mirror Mirror. I enjoy Maguire because he offers the viewpoint of the villain in common fairy tales. You ultimately sympathize with the villain by the end of each story. They are great reads!

If you have a favorite book, I would love to hear your recommendation. I still have a few weeks left of reading! Happy Summer Reading! Thanks for joining me from Candid Carrie's Weekend Trip. If you want to head back to Camp Candid Carrie just click on the picture below...

Doucette Olympics

Welcome to all those joining me via Camp Candid Carrie's weekend journey in Wisconsin. I am not a native 'Sconnie; I actually hail from Buckeyeland. However, I have lived near Madison now for almost three years, and I lived near Milwaukee for three years when I first got married. Enjoy the blog!

In honor of the Olympics beginning, I would like to award some medals to my children for the many Olympic tasks they accomplish on a daily basis. To offer some background, I have three little boys, ages 8, 7, and 3 (weeks from 4!) They are typical rough and tumble little boys and have perfected the skill of being "absolute boy!"


On with the award ceremony!


I award a Bronze Medal in the category of Fashion Sense to my youngest son, Evan. When my older boys were little, I carefully picked out their outfits to make sure they matched and looked as cute as I knew they were. My youngest son Evan gets more freedom. On a daily basis, he creates the most interesting outfits. Yesterday, he put on his favorite red Dirt Bike t-shirt with blue jogging pants (yes, it was 85 degrees out!) Then, he put long white socks up over the bottoms of the pants. One sock came to about his knee on the pants. The other came to about his shin. (Not a match!)



Here is a picture of one of my other favorite fashionable Evan moments. He wore this to the park one September day. The top shirt is a jammie shirt! And yes, those are swim shoes.



I award a silver medal in the category of Sibling Fighting to my older two boys, Andrew and Brendan. Fights in my house occur hourly. When you put this much boy energy in one place, competitiveness breeds profusely. One day the boys were playing the Wii together while I was cleaning. I then see them get furious and begin tackling each other every few minutes. Confused, I run upstairs and ask what is happening. They explain that they were playing baseball on the Wii, and sometimes the other person would get their guy "Out." Bewildered I ask them, "Are you kidding me? You are fighting about a pretend out?" They get a Silver Medal for absolute insanity!


I award a gold medal in the category of Lap Conquest / Cuddle Time. When it gets close to bed, my boys become absolute geniuses in the art of squeezing one last moment of cuddling in before bedtime. To do this, however, they need to beat out their brothers. Last evening, Brendan was cuddling with me, but it was time for his to brush his teeth; Brendan hadn't left my lap one second before Andrew snuck in to cuddle. Brendan, frustrated by this, hurries through his teeth brushing and usurps Andrew's spot with a conspiratorial grin telling Andrew to go brush his teeth. They love the conquest of my lap! (Frankly, I love it, too! I am fearful of the day that my lap is no longer their favorite spot in the house!)


I hope you enjoyed my Olympic moments. I am not sure the real Olympics can compare, but I think I am a little biased.



Tomorrow, I will post another blog in honor of Camp Candid Carrie. This one will be about books. If you love to read, please come visit me tomorrow. In the meantime, if you haven't already visited Camp Candid Carrie and are in the mood for a festive field trip, just click on the picture below...