Today, we had a fun day of more shopping...the kids are really enjoying seeing all the toys that i used to have in the antique stores...they think it’s funny--i think i have two of the only children who remotely like antique stores (amber likes the dolls, and tommy likes the sports cards and toys)...today they learned about records and record players...and tommy found some really neat star wars guys...he made it his personal misson to find "old star wars guys" today...and he succeeded. the first of them were all in one bag...for 150.00...yeah...not spending that much on star wars guys-especially ones that are for a seven year old to play with and someones dog chewed a couple of...we did find some single star wars guys...for much less money...and so i got them for him...amber found a very nice precious moments doll...and we found rob some neat chicago bears cards...from the 85 team...at dixie caverns, we found some fairy stone crosses (there’s a neat story that goes along with them--i got one for you mimi :))...and some other neat rocks...tonight, the company that rob is working at this week took us to dinner at a nice itallian restaurant...very yummy! the weather today was BEAUTIFUL!!! 74 degrees...sunny...absolutely wonderful! if the weather is that nice again tomorrow, me and the kids are going to go have a picnic lunch at the park, and maybe do some other outside things (maybe i will get to get a sunburn after all! LOL!!)...amber wants to go back to the one antique store to take a picture of the creepy doll we saw yesterday...the one with the yellow eyes...i’ll have to take one too and post it so you all can see just how creepy this doll is...there are some really neat old dolls down here...some are in really nice condition, but they are VERY expensive...don’t think i’ll be adopting any! LOL!! i did find a really pretty ring...it’s like a spoon ring...very heavy--very pretty...

today, rob got "attacked" by a duck...there is a pair of ducks that seem to be nesting near the building...apparently, the drake either did not like rob being near the window, or he was really hungry and wanted to come inside...he kept pecking the glass...and then when someone walked by on the sidewalk outside, he got scared and tried to run under a table near the window, and smacked into the window...rob was entertained for a while as he was waiting for the rest of his co-workers to get there this morning...i told him that the drake was probably just worried that rob might try to steal his girl! LOL!!! it was funny...rob sent me a picture of the duck--he was a very nice looking duck--a mallard...and he also took a picture of the girl...she is a brown duck, just like the one i had years ago--molly...

while we were driving around, i used the gps in rob’s truck to get us back to the GE facility to pick rob up after work and it gives you three options...the fastest route, the shortest route, or other...well, we had some extra time, so i chose "other". well, "other" took us through a very interesting part of town...mind you, there were serveral very large houses, and it appeared to be a very old neighborhood, however, it did not look to be the kind of place where you would want to stop and ask for directions...it was very interesting...we got some interesting looks! it was fun just wandering around in different places...that is always interesting...we shall see what adventures tomorrow will bring...the kids are looking forward to a picnic...should be fun as long as the weather holds...

ok...so thursday, the kids and i went to the park...it was partly cloudy, but still nice...in the mid 70’s...they had fun playing and meeting some local kids...tommy made a friend named luke...skywalker, perhaps???  they played monster truck show together for a little while...he had fun...amber explored around the park...she had fun too...they actually played together for a little while...and i got my sunburn! :)  ok, not a bad one, but i can actually say that i did get SOME sun!  nothing major...but i was happy (????).  then, the kids decided to go back to the hotel to swim one last time before we checked out on friday...they really enjoyed the pool at the hotel...no green hair this time, though! :)  then, that night, me and rob and the kiddos went to dinner with the other guys that rob was working with all week, who are also from dresney land (dresden station...where rob works...)--it was a place called montano’s...excellent food...mmmmmm...rob and i had the stuffed flounder, and it was delicious...tommy had the everlasting serving of spaghetti...i mean it...no matter how much he ate, the pile looked like it was growing!   i looked, and didn’t see any eyes, or see it breathing, but you’d swear it was growing!!!  amber had....get ready now...she had....chicken fingers...go figure...she’s not a very adventurous eater...mini corndogs, chicke strips/fingers...maybe someday she’ll start to try new things like her brother does...oh well, at least she is eating! :)  after dinner, we went to an ice cream place called katies...hand dipped ice cream...lots of flavors...i had banana pudding ice cream, tommy had coconut, and rob had a coffee flavored and blueberry cheesecake, and amber had mint chocolate chip...it was all really good! we saw a couple of nascar cars in town during the week too...the m&m car went by us (in it’s trailer, of course--which has a really cool window so you can see the car inside!) while we were pulling into the parking lot at katies...i got a picture of it while it was at the stop light...apparently there is a nascar race in martinville (?) or something like that...that is not too far from salem...guess that would explain why it was so busy towards the end of the week...oh, ane tommy got to feed the eel in the auquarium in the hotel this morning...that was neat...he only eats once every 4 days, so we had some good timing there!

friday, rob did not have to work, so we got to spend the day together as a family, which was very nice...we drove about 1/2 hour north to see the natural bridge...there were a couple other things i wanted to see there as well, but they were closed! :(  big bummer...but the bridge was AWESOME...if you get down that way, go check it out...its worth it...you take a self guided trail to the bridge, which is HUGE!!!  then on to a few other points of interest--an indian village, waterfalls, and some beautiful scenery...it was very nice (see my pics in my va vacation 08 folder--i did not put them all in there, since i took over 400 pics that day--digital cameras are wonderful--i hate to think how much it would have cost to take those pictures and develop them with my old camera! LOL!). after we left the bridge, we drove past one of the things i wanted to see that was not open...you could see it from the road, kind of...FOAMHENGE!!!  an exact replica of stonehenge...except this one was closed for repairs...bad timing...oh well, from what i could see, it looked neat...there’s a pic in the folder too...we wanted to ttake the dinosaur walk and see the haunted house...not ghosts...just weird things this guy made...but alas, those were closed as well...we did get to see a couple of snakes when we were at the bridge, so i guess that is as close to seeing dinosaurs as i was going to get...LOL!!

after that, we drove a portion of the blue ridge parkway...it is a winding road that goes up into the blue ridge mountains...it is a beautiful drive...make sure to chekc that our if you get down that way...just not in the winter!  very sharp turns and tight roads...driving on the sides of the mountains...gorgeous overlooks...we saw some deer...actually really close up...the kids threw one some girl scout cookies they were eating...the deer liked them...but then, who doesn’t?!?!  LOL!  (note...we didnt feed it very many...didn’t want it to get sick!) 

then, it was about 5 pm, and we needed to start heading home...back to illinois...we drove all night (well, rob did...i tried to stay awake with him, but the sleep fairy got me a couple times...) and got home at about 5 am...long drive!  we had a wonderful time, and now were just waiting for the temps to go up here...it was sure nice walking around with no coats for a while...it was 75 when we left virginia...23 when we got home...big change! oh well...welcome to spring in illinois!  at least the dog was happy to come home a day early from club vet (we couldn’t take him with us...:(...i missed him!) he just about knocked me over when i picked him up!  he’s tired today too, from playing with the other dogs...oh well, its 5:30 now...guess i should get ready to go get something to eat...been a lazy kind of day! 

till next time, take care! :)    

well, right now we are on vacation in Salem Virginia...well, me and the kids are on vacation...Rob is here for work...so we are tagging along and relaxing while he goes to test some equipment at the GE facility here...we’ve been going to Roanoake to have dinner and stuff...they have a mall and lots of the the stuff we have at home, the scenery is nice...there are mountains all around...not gigantic mountains, but still nice to see. i am a little disappointed in the weather though..thought it would be a little warmer...guess i won’t be coming home with a tan...it’s only been in the low 50’s...glad we brought some warmer clothes! it is still nice to get some fresh air! Me and the kids went on a little adventure today...Rob had the truck today, so we hung around the hotel today, but still had an adventure...
there is a creek at the bottom of the hillthe hotel is on...surrounded by trees...so we ventured down to check it out...it wasn’t easy getting down there...the hills are quite steep, and there were lots of thorny bushes ll over the place--tommy really did not like that part! he actually got a thorn in his head! not a major injury...was but a scratch...merely a flesh wound...the creek was really nice...i took lots of pics...i’ll try to post some shortly...it was a little disturbing to see the amount of litter that was strewn throughout the woods around the creek... we did find a partial skeleton of a baby deer...it had little nubs on the skull from where the antlers would have grown...it was interesting to see...felt bad for the poor little guy...climbing back out of the "ravine" was quite the challenge, though! we had crossed the creek, and the side we were on got to be rather steep...actually we were almost climbing straight up...it was fun--challenging but fun--then, after we came back to the hotel, me and the kids had lunch and got ready to go down to the pool...actually, i was going to exercise for a little bit first..they have a fitness room with an eliptical machine right next to the pool. That is where i spent the majority of my pool time...on the eliptical machine...it was a good workout...then into the hot tub to relax...it was nice...then i actuallabd y got into the pool for a bit...swam a few times across the pool...we had the whole place to ourselves, which made it much easier to enjoy...the kids had fun too...it was a quiet relaxing day...then, after rob came back to the hotel, we went to the mall--not much going on there...not many stores...but they had a bw3’s, so we went there for dinner, and played a little trivia...just a couple games...then back to the hotel to relax a little more. tomorrow, i plan to check out downtown salem...see if they have any cool antique stores, or interesting shops...i’ll be taking rob to work tomorrow, so we can venture out a little further...and today, get tommy a haircut...hes getting a little fluffy! lol!! well...i’m sure i’ll have more to post tomorrow! c ya later! :)

OK--I’ll just tack on to this for day 2...today, we went and got tommy a walmart haircut...now he’s a true redneck...lol! :)  just kidding...it turned out nice...he just didn’t want to sit still! :)  after that, we went shopping...antiques...thought there’d be some cool stuff around this part of the country...want to find some neat jewelry...instead, i found a neat toy--a mechanical walking bear...it is just like one that i found in the attic of the old house we had in north dakota, except the fur is in better shape, it has darker fur, and it has the original box (which is also in excellent shape)...came back and did a little resaerch, and found that the toy is from the 30’s--pretty neat...
at the antique store, we found a really creepy doll...i mean REALLY CREEPY...it had glass eyes that had turned yellow with age, and you couldn’t see the pupils...they wre really yellow...the kids were all freaded out by it too...i told tommy if he didnt leave his sister alone, i’d buy it and put it in his bedroom....bwah hah hah hah hah.....i’m a mean mommy...he was like "no way!!!"///
then, after Rob got off work, we went to this really old cemetery...back to civil war time...they had a section of the cemetery that was for civil war soldiers...several uknowns...it was really interesting...lots of old graves, dating back to to the mid 1800’s...i took lots of pictures...will post them soon...
it is really pretty here, with all old houses, the trees blooming and the hils and all, but i don’t think i would want to live here...it’s pricey...$5 for a gallon of milk...at walmart!!!gas prices have been pretty consistent through the states we travelled to get here...from 3.15-3.30 per gallon!!! well, we’re going shopping again...see what other kinds of things we can find...

til next time...

Movie and Book Review Monday...

Hello all! We've been really busy lately, and have not been to a movie in a while...I mean I can't remember the last movie we went to before this weekend...it might have been 300...wow!!

Well this past weekend, we went to see Beowulf. The previews looked good, and I remember reading the poem in high school, plus the kids wanted to see it...it was pretty good! The whole movie is CG, and you can tell--especially in the beginning of the movie, but as it goes on, some of the images start looking more and more real. The animation was not quite as good as 300, but it was still good. There were a couple times when it actually did not look like CG. The story itself was good...there was a lot that I did not remember from reading the poem (but that was a LONG time ago...), but some things I actually did remember. There was quite a lot of humor in the movie, not sure if it was intentional or if what, but we did chuckle a few times...in one part of the movie, Boewulf is fighting Grendel--naked...which was kind of weird in itself, but what was funny was that there kept being various items strategically placed to block out certain things that could have created an R rating...after a couple times, it started to become humorous, almost like the Austin Powers movie...when he was nekkid and everywhere he walked, there was something to cover the privates...hehehe!!! the whole movie was pretty well done...I felt sorry for poor Grendel. I don't remember feeling sorry for him when I read it, though...maybe that will be my next reading assignment for myself--to re-read Beowulf...Hmmm...not sure if I feel that ambitious right now...but someday. I also know that there have been comments made that some of the Lord of the Rings was taken from Beowulf...so I kept watching to see if anything jumped out at me...there were a couple things, but I don't want to go too much into that for those who have not seen it but plan too...be interested to hear your thoughts on that...:) I think one of my biggest Beowulf memories from High School was that it sure was something fun to say when you were belching! LOL!!! I'd give the movie 3 1/2 stars out of 5...lots of adult themes...went over the kids' heads, but I think Grendel was a little scary for Tommy...he would jump whenever they showed him and it wasn't expected...but Tommy says it wasn't scary...LOL!!!!

The next movie we saw this weekend was Transformers...THAT WAS AWESOME!!!! the transformers were really neat, and there was lots of humour throughout the movie...Tommy got this one for his B-day. We watched it Saturday night, after we got home from dinner and watching Beowulf...busy movie day! The effects were awesome and the story was pretty good too...the interaction between Sam and Bumblebee was great...lots of laughs...especially at the car lot before they got together...and when Sam realized what Bumblebee really was...OK--where can I get a car like that!?!?!?! There were some really cool bots in the movie--I think one of my favorite parts of the movie was when all the autobots were together in Sam's yard, hiding from his parents...around the house...that whole part was great! lots of fun for the whole fam...if you haven't seen it, I recommend it, even if you didn't watch the Transformers when you were a kid...I hope there is a second movie...I really enjoyed the first one! 4 stars! :)

We also watched Shrek 3 this weekend...It was pretty good--funny, but i think i liked the first 2 better...I will say, they have done a good job with the Shrek movies of not letting the jokes from the movies get used so much that they get old...that was something that bothered me about the 2nd Pirates movie...they overdid the Rum jokes I think...Shrek is still pretty funny...The kids really enjoyed it...it was good, and i'd watch it again...i'd say 3 stars...

There's a couple movies I'm anxious to see..."No Country for Old Men", and "Inkheart". No Country looks really intense, and I just finished reading Inkheart, and it's sequel, Inkspell, and they are both good books...Inheart is supposed to be coming out Sept 08...so you still have time to read it before the mivie comes out :)

That brings me to the book review section of this blog...I just finished reading both of the "Inkworld" stories, written by Cornelia Funke. I have to thank Amber for introducing me to these books...she brought Inkheart home from the school library a couple of years ago, and started reading it. Then she bought the boof from a bookfair at school so she could take her time reading it...After she finished it, she let me read it. It is a long story (400+ pages), but well worth reading...but i don't know if i'd read it out loud (this will make more sense after you read the book...). It's about a girl whose father has a very interesting ability-one i think would be neat to have...he can read things out of books...literally...well, this causes an interesting string of events with characters from real life and the story intermingling. It was very well written and very fun to read...you get to feel like you know the characters. These are childrens' books, but they are also very enjoyable to adult readers. Amber was reading the second book, Inkspell, while i was reading the first...i told her to hurry, because i wanted to read the next book...I think it was just as good as the first book...actually made me cry in one part...that is how well you get to know the characters in the story...now i am anxiously waiting for the third book-Inkdeath- to come out...it is already out in Germany-in German...does me no good...I will have to wait with all the other German illiterate folks until April 08 for the English version to be released...what is that-5 months or so? have to start a countdown! Another good book by Cornelia Funke is Dragon Rider...that was another good book...about a boy and a dragon and their adventure to save the remaining dragons of the world. Cornelia Funke is a very good storyteller--she knows how to draw you in and keep you in. I strongly recommend these books...I have not read "the Thief Lord" yet, but would like to soon...maybe I'll get a hold of that one before Inkdeath comes out...I'll let you know how it is...:)

Well, I guess that is enough for one day...at least maybe now if you are looking for something to do, you will have an idea of a good movie to watch or a good book to read :)

Have a great Thanksgiving!