Graduation Trip

Good Thursday morning!

I do not have a "Roxie Report" today. They didn't have tryouts Wednesday because of church. (I do so appreciate schools working with church schedules!) However, that being said, we are a bundle of raw nerves. (If she asks us to throw a ball at her head one more time... Who am I kidding? We'll keep throwing volleyballs at her head until she doesn't make the cut. It's what we do. We support each other. Especially when it comes to chunking balls at each other. I've got to admit, it's kind of fun. I even threw a few at Josh and Austin, and they're not even trying out for anything right now.) I know admitting that means I just lost my "semi-good mother" status.

Wednesday was another tornado day. Josh did okay. I watched the news until it looked like we were about to start having warnings, and I checked him out after his first class. The storm moved through so quickly, I was able to check him back in for his third class. After that, the schools cancelled after school activities (football spring training), but the weather was gorgeous from 3:00 on. Thankfully, today is supposed to be a better day weather-wise.

I added my May Flag to the Gallery yesterday. I have two, but I bought the one pictured last year (on sale), and I thought it was cheerful and fun. LITTLE KNOWN FACT: I collected frogs when I was a little girl. I had hundreds of them. We kept them in my neighbor's basement in terrariums. If you met me right this minute, you would probably think I was not a "frog collecting type of girl" growing up, but I was. Again, I am an enigma (excellent word). I think this skill helped me raising boys, and I know it will help me earn points when the grandkids arrive.

Weekend Family Fun

Dog Daze Festival (Trussville) - Read yesterday's post. It has all the info you need for this event.

Gumbo Gala - Saturday, May 9 at Caldwell Park - 11:00 to 2:00. This event is sponsored by the Episcopal Place. Their brochure describes the event as follows: "Twenty professional and amateur cook-off teams will serve up bowls of gumbo and compete for the bragging rights to Birmingham's Best Gumbo. Come enjoy Cajun cuisine, Cajun music by The Pineapple Skinners and Swamp Poppas, and other activities." The cost is $10 a ticket and children 12 and under are free. For more information, call 939-0085.

It sounds fun, and it is definitely not the ordinary way you would spend a Saturday afternoon, is it? (Mike and Roxie are thinking about attending this one. I would go just to see what a Swamp Poppa looked like.)

Steam Days at Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum - May 8 and May 9 - For all you guys out there with train-loving little boys, the Heart of Dixie Railroad is offering a six-mile excursion pulled by Flagg Coal #75, a real operating coal-fired steam locomotive built in 1930. All seats are $15 for ages 2 and up. For more information, visit their website at http://www.hodrrm.org.

That's a pretty good variety, isn't it? If any of you know of anything else happening this weekend, let me know by e-mail or in the comment section, and I'll be happy to pass it on.

Monthly Anniversaries

I had big expectations for this one. We were going to have "Little Italy" night, and I planned on cooking my lasagna for Mikie. However, it was a very hectic week and my plans were altered just a bit.

I set up a little table, candles, fresh flowers, etc. on the balcony of our tiny apartment. I put all of our indoor plants around the balcony to make it look more romantic and cozy. (Since everything was so busy, I ended up doing take-out for dinner.)

Mikie came home at 6:00 in one of the WORST moods I have ever seen. In order to pull off the romantic Italian atmosphere, I wanted to wait until 7:30 or 8:00 to eat when it was a little darker and a lot cooler. However, since Mikie was in his MOOD, he had to eat RIGHT AWAY. (Please keep in mind that I do not, nor have I ever, enjoyed sitting outside in the bright sunlight.)

I wanted to soothe Mike's feelings, so I complied. We set everything up outside and sat down to eat our meal.

WHAT WENT WRONG:

1. The sun was in Mike's eyes and he couldn't look up from the plate to talk to me (even if he had wanted to).

2. The sun was beating down on my back (making large streams of water run down the back of my pretty, new outfit).

3. It was 99 degrees (making large streams of water run down both our fronts, faces, legs, etc.).

4. Our apartment overlooked a main thoroughfare in the Hoover area. Thus, we had to contend with strange looks, rude remarks, etc.

5. There were a lot of children in our complex which made for loud, distracting noises.

6. The candle smoke was in my eyes the entire time (and the candle was also adding to the HEAT).

7. The fresh flowers I had picked from my friend's garden wilted.

8. Because we were so uncomfortable, our entire "gala" celebration lasted ten minutes. Just long enough to gulp down our lasagna, bread, drink four glasses of tea and take a few pictures to make it look like we enjoyed ourselves for the scrapbook.

WHAT WENT RIGHT:

1. Mike gave me a sweet card. (He's a good card giver.)

2. We had enough lasagna left over to heat up the next night, so I didn't have to cook.

3. I needed to sweat off five or six pounds anyway.

We both knew that no matter what happened, our next anniversary would beat "Little Italy" night hands down (or at least we hoped it would). We were so, so wrong!

Graduation Trip

When Austin finished 8th grade, we started putting $20 a pay period in an envelope marked "Austin's Trip." On the night Austin graduates, we want to offer him a choice of three trips which "fit" his personality, likes, etc. Austin loves history, fishing, hunting, nature, etc., so as of today's date, his three choices are as follows:

1. San Antonio, Texas - They have the Alamo (of course), River Walk, Sea World, great food, etc., etc.

2. Fly Fishing in Colorado or Montana - He would have a guide who would teach him how to fly fish, and we would plan other things around that specific area of the country.

3. Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota - Again, other than the "obvious," we would plan other special things in and around that area during his stay.

We offered to let him take one person, and he picked his Dad. (That's why this falls under the Date Section.)

Nothing is written in stone. If there is a destination Austin prefers, we are more than willing to be flexible. As it stands right now, he is leaning toward San Antonio, but he doesn't have to make the final decision for another week or so. He and his Dad will probably be taking this trip the last of June or first of July.

We decided to do this four years ago because we wanted him to have a really memorable, special senior trip which was safe AND fun. The fact he picked his Dad to join him on the trip was a plus.

We started Josh's envelope last June. However, we're not sure how well he will be able to travel in four years. We'll just have to wait and see.

Roxie has told us not to give her three choices because she is going on a cruise. (She's probably already booked it, and hasn't let us know about it yet!)

We are glad we decided to put back a little at a time. Who would have known the economy would have gone down so quickly a few months ago? And with all the other expenses involved with senior year, graduation and going away to college, it's nice to have that money put aside for a very special gift.

And since he's going with his Dad, that will be a date to remember!

Tomorrow's book series is for little girls. By the time I had discovered the series, Roxie had just about outgrown them, but they are wonderful. I'll tell you more on Friday. Also, don't forget our TV review and Weekend Happenings. We have a lot to talk about before the weekend arrives.

Have the best Thursday EVER! Have you had a name of someone on your mind this week? Remember what we talked about? Pick up the phone, drop them a card, etc. It will take ONE minute out of your busy schedule, and it might make a world of difference to them. You never know what someone might be going through.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.