Trampoline Fun

I made the bottom part of our 15-foot diameter trampoline with the oldest, and the top enclosure with the middle kid. Now we get to enjoy superb bouncing!!!!

Cole Brothers Circus

How fun it was to sit with my family and friends to watch the Cole Brothers Circus last night. Nothing quite like the big top experience. It included:

• Tigers as a group lay down, one tiger walks on the metal roll.
• Trapeze artist family from Guatemala.
• African animals: camels, zebras, white horses, llamas.
• Elephants
• Clowns on ladder
• Married clowns take a dingbat (Chevy Metro) taxi ride.
• Top-hatted clowns and the fake levitation
• Girls swinging on ropes
• Trick dogs, including Super dog who dives off of platform
• Lady who stood on head and juggled upside down.
• Sphere of danger: father, son and daughter motorcycles ride inside globe, globe separates while father and son are riding in the top half. Great physics lesson.
• Human cannonball.
• Parade of circus performers
• 4-wheelers balancing on side wheels, balancing on back wheels. One four-wheeler had a roll cage which was used just for that purpose.

Just Me and E

There's nothing quite like having time for just me and my son. So often, it's just going from one day to the next, one weekend to the next. . .and there's not much quality time. Well, this weekend was/is a golden opportunity to kick off something new between me and E.

We worked around the house today, doing a little of the following:

• Cleaning out the ashes from the woodstove (one of his favorite activities).
• Assembling a drill press (it's been sitting in it's box brand new for the past year or so). I saw it in the box and thought he'd get a kick out of helping me assemble it. Not only did he get a kick out of it, but he also got a kick out of drilling NUMEROUS holes in a piece of scrap board. And he can't wait to do it some more....
• We went to Harbor Freight and picked up some new tools to play with.
• We went to McDonald's and hung out together. He ate two happy meals (ostensibly to get the two Batman toys that they had in stock). E, the bottomless pit....
• We came home and played with toys, he took a shower bath, and we had stories...and now he's in slumberland.

Me....I'm vegging out writing this and IMing a former colleague on Facebook.

Finishing Third Grade

Well, Miss Kayla finally finished third grade (home school) tonight! Got all her projects done, a day after finishing all of her classwork online. I might have predicted it, but she confirmed it when I tucked her in tonight: she's sad to have finished third grade!

I know the bittersweet feeling. . .you've worked so hard to accomplish something, and then when it's over, what a letdown.

Well, she's growing up...and I told her she had more years of elementary/middle school, then on to high school, and onward....

Frederick Airport (Monday/Tuesday of this Past Week)

Yep, I should be posting to this more often and, more importantly, right after stuff happens.

This past week, on a whim, I took my kids to Frederick Airport. We watched several planes get ready and take off, as well as watched a helicopter lesson in progress.

One of the flight instructors gave us a free tour of one of the planes, and Kayla got to sit in the pilot seat and turn the plane on.

Also went to the flight planning room for the charter company that now owns the airport.

Got Taco Bell and sat in the parking area off the south end of the runway and listened on the scanner for radio traffic...and...watched a few planes take off (yes, a few touch and go's).

I never get tired of doing stuff like this, and the kids aren't getting tired of it either.

Cool Harper's Ferry

Took a trip up this afternoon to Harper's Ferry, with the promise to the kids that we'd walk across the railroad bridge into town. E-man forgot his jacket, but fortunately had three layers of shirts on and stayed warm for most of it.

We saw one CSX freight train cross from MD to WV as we were crossing into town.

We climbed down from the town point facing the two rivers onto the Shenandoah River side and explored the water's edge. Of course, Sandy the retriever had to get in the water.

Temperature got chillier and we headed back to the Jeep. On the way back across the train bridge, we saw our second CSX freight train cross to the Maryland side from WV. I think Munch said there were 6 engines and 101 freight cars.

Hiking back westbound on the C&O canal, we saw our third CSX train back on the train bridge crossing from MD into WV.

Got in the Jeep and headed back through Sandy Hook (the little village that borders the railroad tracks), then crossed into VA, and then into WV where we went over Bolivar Heights down to the bottom of the hill to Bakerton Road.

The goal at this point was to try to find the property to Moler Cave near Bakerton, WV. I hadn't been there since before we got married almost 12 years ago. I managed to find Bakerton, and I think I found the right turn-off, where the road dead-ends into a little church. I know we were supposed to turn right, and we did, but where I expected another church after a bit, and a recognizable farm field, I saw nothing that reminded me of where the cave was.

As it was getting close to dark, we turned around, found our way to Bakerton, and then back to Bolivar Heights, passing by a "new" battlefield (Schoolhouse Ridge on the Bolivar Heights area --the back side opposite Harper's Ferry). It's right close to a miniature train museum that has an outdoor train you can ride (some other day).

Went back through Bolivar to the Hillside Inn (sometime I want to stay there). We then drove up Church Road (before that we got lost on a similar hilly road in Harper's Ferry) and angled our way around to the church in the middle of Harper's Ferry, and then drove by the old cold storage cellars. . .and then time to get out of town.

Considering the cold, the kids did pretty well and were willing to continue exploring. It was good for me to get out and be myself for a change. . .the old KP who liked to explore a lot.

Love Them Stories

My kids love stories, and the other night, I treated them each to four stories!

Yesterday, we dug into my special stories, books given me by my Grandma Speaker when I was in the birth to four years range. They are probably my kids favorites, just knowing how old the books are.

And last night, my daughter dug out "Anne of Green Gables"...so I've got that to look forward to. Never read the whole thing, only portions of it, and only abridged ones at that. Plus there have been the audio books (I think also abridged) and the videos. Ah well, I love books, so this isn't hard to do....and it's my favorite part of the day.