Labor Day Weekend - Saturday

We had such a busy weekend (as always), that I'm going to make this entry as individual days!

Saturday, we rolled out of bed at the crack of 10:30 am. :) It was a holiday after all! But then we remembered that we were following the Asst. Zookeeper's father to Chambersburg for a family wedding. Which meant bathing and dressing the five of us and being at the meeting place at noon. Lovely!

Believe it or not - we pulled out of the Zoo at 11:40 am. We are never early for anything. Ever. Just doesn't happen. We're never horribly late - but usually a minute or two behind schedule. We pulled into Nana's driveway (the meeting place) at 11:50! We were very excited to make it somewhere early. And then I realized we had left the card at home. The Asst. Zookeeper offered to run us home to get it - which would make us late getting back. We decided to mail the card and stick with being early!

Now, traveling with the Asst. Zookeeper's father is always a treat. The man travels for a living, frequently driving to New Mexico or Canada and back every week. He's a horrible driver and is the world's worst tailgater. Between Johnstown and Windber, we counted 5 partial lane changes where he started to change lanes and then changed his mind. He also had is turn signal blinking on one side and then would turn the other. It amazes me that no one has killed him in a fit of road rage yet!

The wedding was actually a renewal of wedding vows for a cousin and her husband. They were married in March, but it was a civil service. This time, they wanted to have a religious ceremony. It was very simply and nice. The dresses were beautiful and of course, the bride was breathtaking. The church was beautiful as well!

The rest of our day is in my previous entry.

Falling Spring Road

I finally got to do something with my Heathens today that the Asst. Zookeeper has always been able to do and I never have.

It's a normal part of conversations at our zoo for the Asst. Zookeeper to share with the Heathens something that he did as a small heathen and then drive us to that location for the boys to see. He went to the same elementary school my Heathens attend. Played on the same playgrounds. He's always been able to share part of his childhood with them simply because this is where he grew up. I've never been able to do that before today, and I've always been a little jealous.

Today, I had my chance.

The Asst. Zookeeper's cousin got married today in Chambersburg, PA - a place I lived for four years while in elementary school. It's a great town and I've always remembered it happily. After the wedding, I was able to get us from the church over to my old elementary school. We stopped for about an hour for the Heathens to play on my old playground. It was really cool to see my Heathens on the same swings that I played on and on the same sliding board.

We drove past my old house - which is now yellow instead of the pale green that my father painted it. And the two big maple trees are gone from the front yard. The cow pasture behind it is gone as well, replaced with a strip mall. But it was still my house. I could still walk through it in my head and recall where all of the furniture sat inside when I lived there. I could even tell you the color of the carpet on the floors and the designs on the comforters on the beds from 20 years ago.

It was a really great walk down memory lane today. And for the first time, I got to share that with my Heathens.

Bus Stop Styles

The morning bus stop is the bain of my existence. Heathen #1 is old enough to put himself on the bus - bless him. In fact, he likes the fact that I hide in the house and no one sees me. You have to love 6th graders.

Unfortunately, Heathen #2 still needs an adult at the bus stop. Which means I have to be out on the road with him at 8:05. Ugh. It wasn't a problem when I worked. We'd be out there on time. I'd be showered, and dressed for work, complete with makeup. And I would be chipper.

Yeah. Not so much anymore. Heading into my second year of staying home with the Heathens, I've started setting an alarm in the kitchen to remind us to head out for the bus. We missed the bus several times last year and I don't want to do that this year.

I don't mind having to drive the Heathen to school. I just don't want anyone to see me in my bus stop fashions.

Gone are the days of being dressed for business with hair and makeup in place. Usually, I'm throwing a jacket over my sweatshirt and heading out the door in my glasses and my pajama pants. On chilly days, like today, I had on socks with my flip flops. Coffee cup in hand as I shuffle down the front steps.

Two years ago, it was my neighbor lady that was dressed like she just rolled out of bed. Standing there in my business attire, I was always jealous. Now the tides have turned and she's heading off to work as soon as the bus pulls out. And now she's jealous of me in my socks and flip flops. That's a fashion statement that I never thought anyone would envy!

The Duchess of Shady

Meet the Duchess of Shady Lane.

The Asst. Zookeeper has said for years that he wanted a dog that was a mutt, with one blue eye and one brown eye and he wanted to name him Duke. Duke would be the best dog in the world according to him. It was always like listening to a little kid tell you about the dog he wanted for Christmas.

Last September, on my way home from a meeting in Bedford, I stopped at the SPCA. I found a mutt, with one blue eye and one brown eye. But she was a girl. I went home to the zoo to pick up the Asst. Zookeeper and the Heathens to go meet her. I was hoping her personality would override the fact that she was female.

Obviously we brought her home. "Duchess" was as close as we could get to "Duke." And if I could clone this dog I would. She's housebroken. Well-mannered. Listens. Is FABULOUS with children.

She's usually very dignified. Unless, of course, you look like someone who could rub her belly. Start to pet the Duchess, and she oozes to the floor and rolls over. And she will lay there as long as you will rub. And of course, the foot has to move!

The Duchess joined the Zoo a year ago, and she's been a great addition!

Geronimo!

This past March, the Heathens and I purchased a gift certificate for the Asst. Zookeeper to go skydiving. Then, at Father's Day, we purchased another certificate that would send a video-guy to jump with him and record it. The Asst. Zookeeper has been impatiently waiting for the day to arrive.

And it finally did just this past Saturday. He had to be at the jump site at 3 pm. We drove the two-and-a-half hours to Grove City and arrived to find a small hanger that was packed with people!

The Heathens and I left him there for his prep work and headed to the closest McDonald's. Not feeding the Heathens is NEVER an option. While we were eating, the Asst. Zookeeper called me. Wires had gotten crossed at the jump site. The only way he could jump on Saturday was to jump tandem. He had wanted to do an instructor-assisted jump and that was what I had purchased. However, when they scheduled him, they scheduled him for a tandem. He had two choices. 1. Wait, and jump another day and do the instructor-assisted jump. Or, 2. Jump tandem today.

Like he was going home without leaping from an airplane!

So they suited him up and got him ready to jump! They matched him up with an instructor named Don and put him in a group with two other tandem sets. And sent them out to load onto the plane.

I don't know what I expected the plane to be. I knew it wouldn't be very big. However, I wasn't expecting it to be covered in polka dots and smiley faces either! The six people jumping could barely all fit inside!

It took 10 or 15 minutes for the plane to gain enough altitude for them to jump. And then they were out of the plane and it became very obvious which parachute was the Asst. Zookeeper. Two of the parachutes were just gently floating down and moving slowly from side to side across the sky. The third chute was spinning in really tight circles, first in one direction and then in another. Hmmmm...... Which one was the Asst. Zookeeper?

When he landed, he had the biggest smile on his face and it was like listening to a little kid on Christmas morning trying to tell you about everything they got. Such a shame he didn't like it and isn't already scheduled to go again on Labor Day weekend!

He's an Empty!

While out and about on our errands for the day, Heathen #3 and I stopped at Sears to pick up contact lenses for the Asst. Zookeeper. On the way into the store, we passed their Portrait Studio. As we were nearing it on the way out, Heathen #3 asked me when he was going to get his pictures taken for his 4th birthday. I asked if he wanted to stop right then.

He glanced down at his clothes, and said, "Yes, my shirt is clean." And into the Studio we went to see if they had time for a walk-in. They did!

Our photographer was very nice and Heathen #3 really took to her quickly. He was a gem! Did everything she asked and he couldn't seem to smile enough.

At one point, she had him laying on his stomach on the floor and she made the comment that he looked like a superhero. She asked him who was his favorite superhero.

Without pausing to think, he answered said, "My Daddy."

She paused and looked at him (I was behind them both). She asked him why he had answered his daddy. And he answered because his daddy rescues people. She turned and looked at me, and I just smiled because I knew exactly what he was saying. I asked Heathen #3 to tell her how daddy rescues people.

He grinned and said, "He's an Empty!" (Which translates to "EMT" for those that do not speak fluent Heathen.)

Heathen #3's Super Hero!

"Strange" Shoelaces

Dirty, Broken, Untied, Knotted, Long, Short, Colorful

I have heard all of these words used to describe shoelaces. But NOT "strange."

And this is how Heathen #2 described his shoelaces as he was tying them this morning. He actually got dressed without issue - no fits. He put on socks - no fits. He put on the sneakers - no fits. And then he tied them - and proceeded to have a fit because they were "strange."

Apparently, he just needed to have a fit while getting ready for school. He seems to have worked it out of his system and is happily watching TV until it is time to leave for the bus.

"Strange" shoelaces - good luck, Miss Freidhoff! He's all yours!