Mama On The Move

 Ben and Emily are having a blast in Hawaii. At least, judging by the pictures they are tagged in on Facebook. There is often no caption to the photos so I just have to guess what is going on based on past experience. Ben turned nineteen in Hawaii.  Emily will turn sixteen in Hawaii. I've never missed their birthdays before. Their first two weeks in Hawaii, they were at training camp learning this year's Bible lessons and how to teach them to children.  They had to study a lot before they left and they have to study a lot while they are there.  They have to go to a laundromat to wash the clothes they took with them.    There's just no way to pack for a two-month trip in one suitcase without doing lots of laundry. They held practice clubs so they could work with kids and get hands-on experience.  They have chow lines.  Dishes to wash.  Kids to carry. ...

Katie and I both needed new walking shoes.  We took Kerry shopping with us because he is our expert on exercise footwear.  Being a serious runner, the man has been through so many pairs of running shoes, he knows what works and what doesn't. His favorite brand is New Balance, so that's what we went hunting for.  I'm all about saving money though, and New Balance can be on the pricier end of the scale. At the shoe store I found one pair of New Balance in colors that I liked - white with light blue trim.  Unfortunately, that was also Katie's favorite pair.  I didn't want us to wind up constantly wearing one wrong shoe (her foot is slightly longer than mine) so I decided to try on a cheaper brand. I walked around in the cheaper shoe for a few minutes while Katie tried on several hundred different sizes of the one we both liked trying to find the right fit.  When she finally became disgruntled that they didn't have her size, I decided to try one on...

We've signed up with the "Kids Bowl Free" program where your children can bowl two free games every day all summer.  This gives us a way to get out of the house and do something different without having to spend a small fortune. Today's session was interesting as there was a middle eastern group in the lane next to us.  The women were all wearing black burkas. Katie looked at them and then looked at me and said, "I can't believe there are nuns bowling!!"

Kerry made the promotion list!  It will be a while yet before an official promotion and ceremony, but it's on the way!  Woo Hoo!

Kerry and I went to see a movie at the nicest theater I've ever been to!  It was date night and we actually went out with another couple from church so it was double-date night. This theater had leather recliners instead of regular theater seats.  It reclined by way of a power button like the power seats in a car so you don't have to reach over the side and haul on a handle to get the footrest up.  Each seat also had a movable tray and waiters could be called to bring you an appetizer or a drink with the push of a button.  Kerry and I ordered the spinach artichoke dip with tortilla chips and happily crunched our way through the movie.  We may have missed some dialog while chewing. The only down side:  You know that creaky noise that leather makes?  That can be very distracting every time someone adjusts their seat.  CREEEAAAAAK when they lay back.  CREEEAAAK when they sit up.  It's sort of like fingernails on a chalkboard.  Th...

We try to have a family game night every so often.  Unfortunately, we end up bored with a lot of our games after we've played them over and over. Before Ben and Emily left for the summer we suddenly had an epiphany and pulled out Ben's old HeroScape set. HeroScape was Ben's favorite game for years when he was a pre-teen to early teen.  Everyone gave him figures and board pieces for birthdays and Christmas.  He has so many that we had to buy him a trunk to keep them all in. Whenever we would move to a new state, Ben would insist that we take all his HeroScape pieces in the car with us instead of letting the movers pack them because he was so worried something would happen to them. He actually hasn't played it in years now and they no longer produce the game or any of its pieces which is a shame because we really had a blast playing it.  Despite the fact that Ben hasn't played it in so long, he still remembered every single character and their ...

   Another interesting restaurant that we've tried is Iron Barley in St Louis. It's been featured on Man vs. Food and Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. One of the things that they are famous for is the Monte Cristo Dog - a grilled hot dog with swiss cheese and strawberry jam.  I know, it doesn't sound good.  I didn't have the nerve to order it, but Kerry did so I took a bite of his.  And wow was it good!  I've actually been craving it ever since and wondering if I could replicate it at home.  They also have a sandwich called the "Ballistic Elvis".  It consists of strawberry preserves, crunchy peanut butter, grilled banana, and hot pepper flakes on Texas Toast.  None of us had the nerve to order it, but if they had been passing out samples I would have taken a bite just because I was so surprised at how fabulous the Monte Cristo Dog.   Man, I want another one. I went with a safe bet and ordered the Oak Roasted Chi...

We recently took some time out to go see the Renaissance Faire in St Louis. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and gray which put something of a damper on the day, but at least it kept it from being overly hot.  We had to take refuge a few times in various buildings to escape the rain. We tried a lot of the fun foods they offer at these events.  We ate roasted corn on the cob, pulled pork sandwiches, a fried Twinkie, a fried oreo, and an elephant ear.  We somehow missed the turkey legs this year.  They also had a fried pop tart that we wanted to check out, but we were stuffed . We don't normally eat like that, but part of the fun of a faire is a good heart attack at the end of the day. We always look forward to the jousting at ren faires, but unfortunately this wasn't a good day for it. It wasn't safe to bring the horses out because of the slippery mud so they used toy stick ponies. But even without horses, the knights kept falling i...

We finally made it to the Gateway Arch in St Louis! Kerry took a couple of days off so we could spend some fun time with the family before Ben and Emily left for the summer. I feel weird every time I tell people that my two oldest kids are gone for the summer.  I'm worried they'll assume Ben and Emily have a different dad and they are off to spend the summer with an absent biological parent.   Trust me, they are Kerry's kids.  Katie definitely has his eyes.  Emily totally has his chin.  And Ben.....well, Ben is such a cross of my father and me there's no real visible proof that he's Kerry's,  but he's definitely got Kerry's personality. First of all, order your tickets on line to go up in the Arch.  You can pick the time of day you want to ride.  If you wait until you get there, you have to take what's available and you may have to wait several hours before you can go to the top. And you'll have to wait in a hi...