Can we follow them, Mommy?

We had a pretty full day on Friday, We had a back to school lunch at school, to meet our new teachers. Except Ian's teacher is not new! Ian was lucky enough to get his Kindergarten teacher, Miss Cross, again for second grade. Ian loves Miss Cross and she adores him. He also is back in class with his buddy Lorenzo, with whom he shared Kindergarten. Unfortunately, his friend Taylor is in the other second grade class. We will have to set up a playdate or two with Taylor.

Jamie has Mrs. Peterson for Kindergarten. I have yet to hear a bad word about her at all. Last year there where only 3 girls in the Pre-K class, this year there are 23 kids in class 13 of whom are girls. And the class is quite culturally diverse. I think that is great for the all the kids but for the girls specifically because no one looks very different from everyone else.

After we spent our lunch time at school, we went to kmart to buy all our school supplies. I don't know what was in the peanut butter sandwiches they had at school.. but I'd have given them away with a bonus of $160 in school supplies if I could have found any takers. Like my Grandmother says, "If you could just bottle that energy."

After our Kmart adventure we went to McDonald's for an early dinner.

Then we proceeded downtown, because the Budweiser Clydesdales were in town. We got to watch as the team was hitched one by one to the wagon, so they could make deliveries to a few places downtown. When they where ready to go, Ian asked if we could follow them around town. I dont know that I said yes exactly, but when the team moved so did the crowd, and so did we.

We got our exercise. The wagon plays the theme song as it rolls along, and the kids where quite excited by the parade atmosphere. I took quite a few photos as you can well imagine, but I have not uploaded any yet. (I'm still writing names on all the school supplies)

After the trip around town we watched the horses get un-hitched, and we visited their temporary home in the old National Guard Armory. And before we left we saw them get their baths.

It was quite the long day. But a very good day.

The Biggest Little Rodeo in the Midwest.

The boys and I went to the New Windsor Rodeo on Thursday night, with Jacque, our neighbor from down the road. The boys and I have never been, and Scott thinks he might have went once when he was about 5 or 6.

The boys where dazzled by the carnival rides, none of which they would have liked to ride. And mystified by the cowboys, and disgusted by the smell of the bulls. They had fair food, and made about 20 trips to the porta-potties. I finally has to hunt them down from one trip, and accompany Jamie to the the PP, where he took so long we missed all of the barrel racing.

However we did see most of the rodeo. Which began as all things should with the presentation of The Stars and The Stripes, and the singing of the National Anthem.




Before things got kicked off Miss Rodeo Illinois graced the arena.
Then it was time for some action. See that pile of laundry on the ground there? That is the cowboy. And he had a pretty good ride up until that point.
During the rodeo we where entertained by the clown. This is not the hard working danger dodging rodeo clown, this guy was the red neck, wise cracking, out of harms way staying, clown.
We were treated to a performanceby the New Windsor Drill team. This is a chevron pattern, where four horses across the line make an arrow shape and maintain it as they all ride together.
The Bull riding was really the main event, and we were treated to quite a bit of it.


Plus we got to see the real deal hard working, danger dodging, rodeo clown at work.


Later in the show the other clown changed, and boy when I say he changed I mean it!
He tried to pick up the "Pick-up" men. Poor guys!






We had a good time, even if we were up to late, and terribly grouchy the next day!

In the Dog House.

The dog and the boys. Mostly the dog. When we leave Sabrina has to be in the kennel, eversince the incident with the chickens we make no exceptions. As i locked her up yesterday, Jamie wanted to give her a treat, I told him to lock the kennel, and stupidly did not check on it myself.

I'll grant you I'm not the greatest house keeper... in fact, I'd rather not may any guesses as to what percentile I'd fall into in housekeeping skills. But when a jealous dog adds 2 or 3 garbage cans of trash to the landscape? Oh so not cool.

I had the kids pick it up. I don't think it was much of a punishment for them, the entire time they had a multitude of imaginary friends over to help. Among others a Stampede of mice and Kim Possible, came to help. Oh to be young.

Welcome!

I wanted a blog separate from my photo blog to blog about family goings on. Unfortunately, every witty variation of our last name that I could come up with was already taken. I've been brooding off and on about this for a few weeks, and today this title came to mind. Yep, I'm weird. Maybe my allergies have the best of me right now, and maybe I'm just weird. But for ill or nil, here it is. Dirt And Fur, life in the country.