Did You Miss Me At All?

I can't believe I have let my blog go for so long. It's a combination of several things: I got behind and hated to skip over some posts I wanted to do which meant I didn't post anything, we started school back up in September and we're using a more Mommy/Teacher-intensive curriculum than before, and I have a new hobby that takes up my "spare" time.


But I am biting the bullet and skipping over a bunch of things I wanted to post and going right to the last excuse on my list: my new hobby. I am now a "sweeper." I enter sweepstakes and contests, and I enter a lot of them. Which brings me to the topic of my post: My biggest win so far was a four-night/five-day trip for two to Orlando, Florida, to go see the 2009 Dew Tour Finals. What? I know it doesn't sound like something I'd enter, but the odds were good and my hubby's dad lives near Orlando, so I figured it would be worth trying.

The Omni ChampionsGate Resort
It turned out to be an incredible trip! We flew first class to Orlando, had a car rental which wasn't listed as part of the prize, we stayed at an incredible resort and were given an upgraded room which gave us access to all kinds of things for free at the resort, we had breakfast at the hotel each day, four-day VIP passes to the Dew Tour, a meet and greet with one of the skateboard celebrities (Paul Rodriguez), and $500 cash!


The view from our room which shows one of my new
favorite things...the lazy river.

Another view from our room showing one pool,
jacuzzi, fountain, and golf course.
Once we arrived in Orlando and got our cute little rental car (Mazda 3), we picked up our VIP passes and grabbed some free food from the VIP lounge before heading to our hotel. We were duly impressed with our accomodations! The staff was incredibly friendly and did everything they could to make us comfortable.


We spent the next day relaxing and enjoying the resort, including a delicious breakfast. They had a Par 3 nine-hole golf course that was free, so I played golf for the very first time. I stink at it, but it was still enjoyable and pretty good exercise too.


After golf, we got into our swimsuits and played in the water. The lazy river was so much fun! I was talked into going down the water slide once, and hubby went down a couple of times. Mostly we just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company, which is something we don't get to do a whole lot. After the pool, we explored the resort a little before heading back up to our room to get cleaned up for dinner.


We aren't really into the whole skateboarding and BMX scene, but we decided to go to the Meet and Greet that was set up for us and to watch the Vert BMX finals that evening. We enjoyed the evening and were glad we went, but we were happy when we were able to sell our VIP passes on CraigsList for the remaining two days.


Us and Paul Rodriguez, who doesn't look much like his comedian dad.

Can you believe the height this guy is getting? These people are crazy!
Saturday after breakfast, Eddie went to play golf with his dad while I relaxed at the hotel. In fact, I ended up falling asleep for almost an hour while watching TV. I was fighting a cold, but we bought some Zicam and it did the trick. I had a special lunch and afternoon with a friend I haven't seen in over ten years! Bonnie drove 90 minutes to come visit with me, and we had a nice lunch and great afternoon chatting. After Bonnie left we played another nine holes of golf and went to dinner at the glamorous Waffle House. They have the best waffles and hash browns and our whole meal including dessert was $12!



Sunday we went to church at St. Andrews where R.C. Sproul preaches. They have just moved into their new church building, and it is huge but lovely. We spoke briefly with Dr. Sproul and even had a chance to say hi to Alan Keyes who was in town for a conference.


After church we met Ed's dad and his wife Irma for lunch at Mt. Dora. Irma is Cuban, and we actually ended up eating at a little Cuban restaurant, which was a first for Ed and me. Unfortunately, the golf game pretty much wore Ed's dad out the previous day, so he needed to go home after lunch. Ed and I walked around a park there in Mt. Dora for a few minutes before driving back to the hotel.



After making a stop at the hotel, we decided to drive to Downtown Disney for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. We haven't been before, and it was a fun experience. After dinner we browsed some of the shops and found something to bring the kids home. I'm not much of a shopper and we only made it through a small fraction of the shops before I was ready to leave.



I took this picture just for my Disney-loving sister-in-law.
In case you can't tell, it's a power pole! Cute, huh?
Monday was our last day, but we requested a late check-out so we slept in, had breakfast, relaxed in the jacuzzi, went in the lazy river, went back in the jacuzzi and just generally enjoyed our last few hours at the resort. Finally we packed up, checked out, had lunch, turned in our rental car and made the long journey home.


One of the days maybe I'll remember to look at the lens and not the screen.
It was a totally unexpected vacation, but it was one of the best vacations my hubby and I have ever had. We missed the kids quite a bit, but it was just the break we both needed.

Not Forgotten

Eight years later it is still fresh in my mind and emotions. My heart picks up the pace and feels like it is rising in my throat every time I see the images. If it is still painful for me after all this time, what must it be like for those who actually lived through the nightmare at ground zero or who lost loved ones? I am praying for them today.

I have not forgotten that America still has enemies in this world who are plotting more evil against us. I thank God we have men and women who are fighting that battle every day. I am praying for them today as well.

Local Townhall

Our representative Congressman David Wu held a townhall in the little town right next to ours, so I thought I'd take the kids and see if I would get the opportunity to speak to him about my concerns. Not surprisingly, that didn't happen. Though we have a high school with a large gymnasium and several other venues he could have chosen that would have given many more people the ability to participate, there was only seating for 70 people inside the room where the townhall was held.


I'm still glad I went. Both kids were interested in the whole thing, and Ryan enjoyed reading all the signs and asking about what the meant. We had an impromptu civics and history lesson right there in the parking lot, and they got to see the democratic process at work. We didn't stay too long once we realized we wouldn't get in, but while we were there, it was pretty peaceful and respectful. It was frustrating to see (and hear) union employees who had their professionally made signs and who were bussed in from who knows where...but I digress.


The kids behaved very well and were patient with me as I lingered to listen to people talk and when I took the time to fill out a comment card, so afterward I surprised them and treated them to an ice cream cone at McDonald's. We ate ice cream and discussed the Constitution. I had a great time, and moments like those are what keeps me going with homeschooling, reminding me what a gift it is to be able to be there when the light bulb goes on.

Snail Mail

I got a package in the mail today. Check out the postmark on it!

I had written this off over a year ago and had completely forgotten about it. I pointed out the date to my mail carrier...she apologized.

Blogging Memories

Everytime I feel overwhelmed with all the tasks at hand and discouraged by the lack of time I can devote to my blog or other "me" things, I am tempted to give up blogging. But then I look back over the past years' posts (I've been at it for four years now), and I'm so glad I didn't quit. I was looking up a date for something on Abby's old blog this morning and ran across this little gem. I had completely forgotten about the event, but it was such a sweet moment and I am so happy I took the time to do a post about it.

I wish there was an easy way to turn my blogs into a book because that would be incredible! But for now, I'll just keep plodding along with my blogs and hopefully catching those special moments that will be forgotten if I don't write it out.

Have You Cried?

Chris Matthews once said, "You’re not an American if you don’t cry when you hear Obama speak." At first I was insulted because I consider myself to be very patriotic had never once felt the urge to cry upon hearing Obama, but since the inaugeration and his first 200 days in office, I've been crying just about every time President Obama opens his mouth or signs some new policy of his, so I guess I have to let that offense go.

First Job

Some friends of ours from church live just a few doors down, and last month they asked Ryan to water their plants while they went away for the weekend. He was so excited to have his first job!


He had a great time and felt very grown up doing his job each day, and except for a few pointers I had to give him, he did a very nice job. Then he was overjoyed by their more than generous payment of $10!

A Survivor

African Violets must be a sturdy breed of plant because I can't seem to kill them, at least not in the last couple of years. I am not usually very good with houseplants, but when we moved to our new house we have a window that plants seem to like. My favorite violet is about nine years old, and when a friend gave me another one back in March, I decided I should transplant my old one into a bigger pot and put the new one in the old pot.


Much to my dismay, while I was removing the old plant, I accidentally snapped off the entire root system leaving only a small stump! I thought for sure I had killed it, but I decided to stick it in the soil and see what happened. It wilted and stayed that way for about a month, but then it slowly began to perk up a bit!


Now, just four months later, my plant is absolutely covered in blossoms! They have lasted for over a month now, and it is just beautiful. I'm surprised by how happy this little plant makes me!

Darth Ryan

All last week when the weather was incredibly hot (100+), this is what my son insisted on wearing! It's not just black pants and shirt, mind you, these are sweats! Now, we have air conditioning, but there is just something wrong about wearing black sweats when it's so hot outside. (I made him change whenever we did venture outdoors, by the way.)

Cooling Off

It is currently 100 degrees, and that is very hot for our part of the country! We are mostly staying indoors, but the kids wanted to try splashing for a while to help them cool off.


I think they have long since outgrown this wading pool, but it still holds water so I can't bring myself to buy a new and bigger one yet.

Blueberries

We missed berry picking last summer and we missed strawberries again this year (Oregon's strawberry season is only about two weeks long!), but I was not going to miss blueberries! Blueberries are among my kids' favorite berries, and they are the easiest ones to pick by far. I was surprised how well the kids did today too. They have really gotten better in the last two years. We had no complaining about the heat and they actually picked most of the time instead of playing!


We only picked for an hour this morning and got about six pounds. We came home, washed and dried them, then flash froze them before putting them into a gallon ziplock plastic bag for later.


I think we will go back later this week or maybe next and pick some more for jam and/or a pie as well as more for the freezer. I love having them on hand in the middle of winter to scoop out and put in muffins or pancakes or whatever might be enhanced by some blueberries!