Long Hot Summer

I can't believe I have gone so long without posting something on my blog.  Sometimes it seems so easy to come in and sit down and just let the words roll out of my head and off my fingers.  Sometime it makes sence and sometimes it doesn't, but I write something never the less.  It has been a hectic summer so far.  We took a drive out to Colorado Springs with our friends Sandra and Charles.  We stayed a few days and drove back with Sondra, David and Daniel in tow.  John drove the 37 ft U-Haul van and I kept Sondra company on the drive back.  They were fixing to make the move from Colorado Springs to  Ft Polk,Louisana. 

We have never been able to spend much time with David and Daniel because they have always lived so far away.  This time they were with us for about a month.  Sondra went down to check out the living accomadations and left the kids with us for about 10 days.  To our happy surprise the kids didn't seem to mind staying with Mawmaw and Granddaddy.  In the meantime after they had been here about a week, we drove up to Elizabethtown KY. to pick up John's mom who is 89 years old.  She lives with John's younger brother in Ohio.  Jim and Becky (John's younger brother), were taking a trip to Europe for the month of June and we had ask her to stay with us while they were gone.  With all the people here, it brought back memories of raising five kids in a three bedroom house. 

John and Charles on our trip to Colorado

Sandra and I on the trip to Colorado.

Monica on our trip to Memphis last weekend.

Paige playing with the boys, drawing silly faces.

Tim and his mother Lynn

We stopped at the Cathedral of the Plains on our Colorado trip.  Absolutely beautiful.

Johnny came in from work on one of the 106 degrees day and hosed down Tiger.  He was loving the cool water.

For a dog that normally hates water, he seems pretty content.



John's mother Rose



A birthday cake for Tracy.  I have two wonderful daughter-in-laws. 

Up until a week ago we were having some of the most pleasant weather we've had in the spring for a long time.  This week it has turned into the hottest weather in ages.  Yesterday the themometer on the back porch read 106.  I has been too hot to get out and go anywhere so we have stayed close to home.  A couple of swims at Johnny and Tracy's have been our big outtings for the last few days.

Matthew celebrating yet another birthday #11

Andrew ready for the BIG WATER BATTLE.

Four generations of Sundquist

My grandson John Pearson just turned 16 and got his drivers licence.  Now he is working his first job and doing his summer football practice as you can see is totally wiped out.

I left my camera in Sandra and Charles's car on our trip, so I didn't get picture of Sondra and the kids on my camera.  Sondra send me a copy of the pictures we made on your camera and I will add them.

As you can see it has been a busy summer so far.  Maybe I will become a little more motivated about posting.  Hope everyone is tolerating the heat well.  I'm glad we got Sondra and her family out of Colorado before the fires started.  Until the next time,  have a good week.

Adventures with the Blue Dodge Van

It's been a few weeks since I felt motivated to blog. Sometimes its hard to have a sense of humor about life, but there is one thing in our life that we never lets us down in the humor department and that is our 1993 Blue Dodge Grand Caravan.

Just a short time after John retired almost 9 years ago, we were driving down Bridge Rd. and as we passed this house there was a van sitting in the front yard with a for sale on it. I had been noticing it for a couple of days and I told John that maybe we should stop and check it out. We stopped and a lady came out and told us she wanted $2,000.00 dollars for it. She had bought a new van after her husband died. She let us take it for a test drive and I told John that we maybe should buy it since we had been looking for something to haul our antique stuff in. We got back to her house and looked at the van a little longer. Finally she said that if we wanted it we could have it for $1,500.00 because the tags and insurance and everything would probably run about $500.00 and she would just like to get rid of it. At that point we owned the Blue Dodge Van with 110,000 miles on it.

The first trip we took in it, we drove from Killen Al. to Lincoln NB over to Ft. Bragg NC to Myrtle Beach SC then back to Alabama. It was a very uneventful trip as far a the van was concerned. We thought we had hit the mother load of Dodge vans.

Our next trip that I recall was to Lincoln NB when Sarah had Luke. Cody was on his first deployment so Sarah decided to come back to stay with us until he came home. When we started home John drove the van and I drove Sarah's vehicle. Luke was about a week old and Sarah had had a C-section so she was still a little medicated or she would probably have chosen to have ridden with John. We were coming through Kansas City and I had already moved over into the far left lane to make the exit heading south when John suddenly shoots off to the right and onto the off ramp. I don't know how but I managed to cross the four lanes of traffic and off the ramp without hurting someone, but I did. We managed to make it to service station and they got us running again. After a grueling trip we made it back to Alabama in one piece. To this day I say thank God that Sarah was on medication.

Then the next time I remember was a trip to Myrtle Beach and coming home we came down through NC to have a more scenic ride. As we were merging onto the interstate heading south just outside of Greenville, the van sputtered to a halt. So here we sat with cars speeding past on both sides doing ninety miles and hour, the temperature must have been 100 degrees. At this point I was learning cuss words that I didn't know John used. Finally I don't know how John got the Blue van running and we made it home one more time.

The next time that I recall, I'm sure there were more times in between, John, Mark and I made a trip to Ohio to visit family. On our return trip as we were coming into Nashville, right in the busiest construction area at the time. The Blue Van gave a little sputter and stopped right off the edge of the interstate. We literally were so close to the concrete barrier that we had a hard time getting out of the van. John couldn't get out on his side because the cars passing were too close. As we were crawling over the barrier a construction worker shouted at us, "You know, that's not a good place to park you car". I just rolled my eyes and said "You think?" We found a tree to sit under for the next 30 minutes or so. John was able to get'er started again and motioned for Mark and I to get in. We crawled back over the barrier and headed south toward home.

Another memorable trip was when the family decided to take a week long trip to Gulf Shores. Sarah drove her own car down because she had to be back to work in three days. That left us with Luke and Charlotte to spend the remainder of the week. The kids were fine after Sarah left and we had fun with all the kids and grand kids. On our way back we made it to the north side of Montgomery and yet again a little sputter and there we were sitting on the side of the road . So here was John and I with two babies in a pretty rough section of town. We managed to get a car rental agency to deliver us a car and when they came to pick us up you could tell they were a little leary of the area and told us we should be more careful about the exits we get off at. "OK" . We had the van towed to the dealership and got a motel room. After three nights in the motel they called and said they couldn't find a thing wrong with the van. Finally we made it home again.

Now, John just handed me a note with some of the places we have been stranded in with the Blue Van beside the above mentioned. St Louis Mo., St Joseph Mo., Huntsville Al., Huntington WV, Corinth MS., Memphis Tn., Bowling Green Ky. and there are smaller places that you have probably never heard of. I will have to say that the nicest place to be stranded was in Corinth MS. A man in the Wal-Mart parking lot and his wife asked us if we needed help. John ask if he could boost us off. He didn't have jumper cables but he took his battery out of his car and turned it upside down on our battery and jumped us off. The lady at the Chevron station offered for us to use her car to go to the dealership and a young girl at the Sav-A-lot offered us a meal on her. Both offers were declined, but I was touched by their kindness. So if you break down hopefully you will be in Corinth MS.

I'm just about through but I have to tell you about our last trip. On my spring break we decided to go visit John's family in Galapolis OH. We got within less than a hundred miles from our destination. You guessed it put-put. There just happened to be a wide shoulder on the road so we rode it for what seemed like miles. It started to rain and again you guessed it the wipers stopped. After a bit the wipers came back on and the car stopped sputtering and John stopped cussing. We made it into Galapolis stayed overnight and drove on over to Marrietta OH the next day. Why you ask? I guess we just like to live dangerously.

It should be rolling over to 300,000 miles soon. We could have purchased a Cadillac with all the money we've spent keeping her running, but for some reason every time we decide to get rid of it something holds us back. Maybe the old man was really ticked at his wife for selling it and continues to live on in the form of a 1993 Blue Dodge Grand Caravan. Doo doo doo do (to the sound of the twilight zone).

Spring Break with the Grandkids

Paige came in for the week also. She hangs in there with all these crazy boys. Bless her heart.


Andrew thinks he is a Greek ship captain.

See no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. YEAH!!

A couple of handsome teenagers. Wow!!

Andrew, checking out a John Deere injury.

Emily getting all grown up.

John Pearson and the Deere.

Wouldn't you think they would all be a little old to be having so much fun on the toy tractor?

Emily still able to do a back bend. I'm Jealous.

OK JP, I think it's Andrew's time to ride.

Our three grandsons from Memphis came down and stayed a week with us, while they were out of school for spring break. I had to work so John got to entertain them during the day. Emily was having ball practice several evenings while they were here, so that meant playing at the park until they were worn out on those days.

They took a side trip to David Crockett park in Lawerencburg Tn. John forgot to carry the camera so he didn't get any pictures. They tried their hand a fishing, but decided it was more fun to swim in the creek. They encountered a couple of snakes while tromping through the woods. Matthew found a one legged frog, but released him into the backyard. They stopped at a thrift store in St Joe and found some interesting hats. Andrew found a black Greek fishing cap, a Russian winter cap and a fedora. Matthew found a fedora that he plans to put pins and fishing lures on. Aaron was just along for the ride.

We had fun just being with the kids. They are all growing up much too fast. I am going to just post some of the pictures we made while they were here. A picture is worth a thousand words.

PONDERING POLITICS

I have more to do tonight than sit here and ponder the future of US politics, but ponder I am. I am not really a political person and I always vote my conscience instead party lines although I have leaned toward the Republican party the last two elections. I grew up listening to my dad discuss politics and he was always a die hard Democrat. As a matter of fact there was a time in the south, if you wasn't a Democrat, you were kind of looked on as an outsider or worse yet just downright freakish.

I have been trying to decide whom I should cast my vote for. Not to offend anyone, but I feel that we need to make another change. The honeymoon lasted longer than the marriage this last time around. I can't imagine another four years of rising gas prices, more people losing their homes, and food prices growing faster that Jack's bean stalk can possibly grow. I am getting ready to quit work in a few months and I really am afraid to make this move. It's better to have a paycheck coming in each week than to be looking for another job in a few months that would only pay minimum wage.

I have been trying to listen to some of the candidates and this is kind of what I deduct.

1. We seem to get some pretty sorry a** people seeking the presidential position.
2. It seems corruption and scandal is the biggest thing on the agenda.
3. I keep thinking that surely there must be at least one upright honest person left somewhere
in America.
4. Why would I want to vote for a person that is doing things that I would be canned for.

I guess I buy into a lot of the Obama criticism. And again not to offend anyone, but I have questions that I would like to see answered. Where did he actually come from? Was his family independently wealthy? How did he get to go to these Ivy League schools? He is only forty something now. How did he get so much wealth accumulated so quickly. He could only have been in his mid twenties when he graduated, quickly found a job making boo koos of money, got elected into congress (or the senate), served part of a term and was immediately elected President of the United States by the age of what? 42. Now I know there are a lot of people that I don't know, but I had never heard of him until he became a candidate for President. Even with Bill Clinton, I knew he was Governor of Arkansas before he was president. Was Obama beamed down from a spaceship. Just kidding about that last sentence.

Now on the other hand you have our Republican candidates. Mitt Romney: Does he have a clue about the trials that mid to lower income people are dealing with. Just having money to buy gas to drive to work every day is a problem with most people. Buying food to feed a family of four or five is sometimes mind boggling. Keeping your kids in clothes. Paying utilities and the list goes on and on. I think his wealth sets him way too far above most people at this time. Mr. Romney, put all your money except for 20-30 thousand dollars in an account, forget about it for four years and try to live on that 20-30 thousand or less for the next four years then come back and run in 2016. I think you would make a great president then.

Rick Santoram: Another that I know nothing about. He seems to have some good values, but to me he seems a little naive and leans a little too much on what his wife has to say. I think we need someone with a little more toughness about them.

Newt Gingrich: I think he is a smooth talker and probably a great debater. He wouldn't be afraid to get right in your face and tell you what he thinks. His problem is that he has the morals of Bill Clinton. I feel that we not only need a president that serves all the people but also has a sense of decency and is honorable in his own life.

Ron Paul: Now this is a name that I have seen on little signs stuck on the side of the road and nailed to telephone polls for years now. He is for the military, jobs, housing, lowering everything that needs to be lowered and raising everything that needs to raised. According to the pamplets I have seen about him he would turn this whole mess around and fix it NOW. He is an older, level headed, patriotic, God fearing person. The only problem I see with him is that he would need a magic wand to do all the things he promises. Does anyone have a magic wand? If you do send it to me and I will fix it myself.

OUR TINY BLESSING

A few short months I got a call from my son Mark and daughter-in-law Paige. It kind of startled me a little bit because they had been home to visit for the weekend and this was Monday. Paige told me they had something they needed to talk to me about. My mind kind of raced as to what it might be. They seemed to be perfectly happy when they left. Was one of them sick? Had Mark lost his job? Was Paige having trouble at school? "Mom we are going to have a baby". My heart kind of flipped flopped in my chest. This was a happy surprise for me. I ask them if they were OK and they told me they were not expecting to get pregnant this soon and the doctor had told Paige that she might never be able to get pregnant, so they were in kind of a state of shock. John and I told them that if you waited until you had everything in order they might not have a baby.





After a few weeks Paige got over her morning sickness and they became adjusted to the idea of having a baby and you could see the excitement in their eyes. They were in the process of fixing up the spare room for a nursery. An ultra sound at the end of the forth month was unable to tell them if it was a boy or a girl. Another one a couple of weeks later confirmed that they were going to have a little girl. They chose the name Caroline Grace and started buying tiny pink outfits and counting down the months until they could bring their baby home and start their life as a family of three.

We got another phone call last Friday and Mark told me he was on the way to the hospital. Paige had gone into preterm labor and hopefully the doctors could get the labor stopped and with bed rest she would be able to carry Caroline a few more weeks. As the night wore on, Mark called several more times and things were not looking good. We decided to go on to Memphis to be with them and give a little moral support. As the hours wore on it was apparent that Caroline was going to be born too soon. At 2:18 on 2/19 she entered into this world but was just too tiny to survive.

As we all took turns holding this tiny baby each of our hearts broke to think of all the wonderful things that we would never get to experience with Caroline Grace. It was so hard to see Mark and Paige grieving and not be able to take the pain away form them. We all know that somewhere alone the way there will be a blessing from this tiny little life that touched all ours lives.

Caroline Grace is our twelfth grandchild and she will be in our hearts forever.

We love you Maw Maw and Granddaddy.

ONE SECOND AT A TIME

Amazingly enough I turned 67 years old this week. Looking back I not only wonder where the year has gone, but where in the heck did 67 years go? I posted on FB the other day that I realized I was the same age as my grand mother when I thought she was on her last leg. Sadly enough she did die at the age of 68. She had some health problems diabetes, high blood pressure and heart trouble to name a few. But wait I have all those things myself. Hmmm.. now I'm starting to wonder why I haven't taken better care of myself?

Getting back to that time thing. Thinking about time and eternity and ever and ever just freaks John out. He can actually have a panic attack just thinking about the ever and ever part. My theory on time is that everything in our life is separated by one second at a time. We didn't just begin life one day have a break then wake up and it was time to go to school, then realize one day that you had finished school, married, had a family, your kids had grown up and had their own family and on and on........

Each minute, hour, day, week, month and year is separated by just a single tick of the clock. Something happened in each second of our lives. I think we look back and only remember the highlights, the big things that had an impact on us. I think back and try to remember the more forgettable stuff like staring into a baby crib and reaching out an touching the soft tiny foot of the neighbors new baby. Recalling how the air smelled when the rain fell on the hot dusty dirt road in the summer time. Taking a cottonwood leaf with the prickly stuff on the front side, then holding it against your skin and smacking it until it left a bright red irritated spot that we called a tattoo. So many things happened in those seconds that it would be totally impossible to remember everything, but every once in a while a fleeting memory of a long forgotten second drifts by and I think, that was an important part of my life.

To celebrate my birthday, John took me out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant called "Franks".

The food was really good and the decor gave the place a feeling of warmth and stepping back in time. The day was fun, nothing earth shattering but one of those days that will come back to me in the future and I will think, life sure was good that day.

AN OLD YEAR ENDS AND A NEW YEAR BEGINS

Johnny, Tracy, Emily and John Pearson outside the Lodge

Suzanne and Monica

Matthew and Aaron acting goofy.

Breakfast the first morning at the Lodge.

John and Charles. Can you believe they both use to be redheads?

Daniel on Christmas morning.

Thank goodness Santa found them

Happy smiles

David looks like a little Wizard in his majic attire.

Ours was not a big tree but it made the boys feel assured that Santa was coming.

Three weeks with Mawmaw and Granddaddy must have worn out Sedlacek's

Sweet Charlotte








Three weeks in Washington

Brothers bonding

Mark looks worn to a frazzle.

Luke and Charlotte at cookie time.

Calgon take me away.














Believe it or not, John and I didn't fall off the face of the earth. I think my last post was shortly before Thanksgiving and our life has been a whirlwind through the holidays. I declare that the older we get, the busier our life becomes. Maybe we just make ourselves feel more important than we actually are. With five kids there are always things going on that we want to be a part of with the kids and grand kids. Makes me wonder what people like the Octi Mom and the Duggars will do when all their children grows up and have children of their own. It could be a never ending trip from one home to the other helping with one special event after the other. There are births, wedding, baptisms, first communions, sporting events, graduations and the list goes on and on.

We left Saturday after Thanksgiving and headed out to Washington. New baby number 11 had arrived on November the 8Th and Sarah needed a few extra hands and we had four ready to pitch in. The little ones were glad to have us there for a while even their other grandparents were leaving Seattle on the same day we were flying in. I think they were glad to get a little more spoiling. Luke and Charlotte were still in school so we were constantly in the car taking Charlotte to school, picking Luke up, picking Charlotte up, running to Karate, gymnastics, Dr's appointments and you name it. As much as Maw maw and Granddaddy enjoyed our visit, we were dragging our hinney by the time the three weeks were up and we headed back to Al.

When we made it back home Sondra, Jonathan, David and Daniel were already here. They had made the trip home from Co. for the holidays. The first week we were home I was sick as a dog and spent more time in bed than anywhere else. I finally got over my ick and we had a nice Christmas. I miss having little ones home at Christmas. They seem to have an excitement that I just can't seem to pull out of my hat anymore. It's sad that we lose that joy and anticipation somewhere alone the way.

We had our trip to the Elk River Lodge for New Year's. All the Krieger's were here this year. For the second year in a row Sarah, Cody and the kids didn't make it home. It was too hard for Sarah to travel with all four little ones. Maybe next year everyone will be able to make it in.

I hope I didn't leave anyone out of the pictures, but if I did I'll get you next time.

Today is mine and John's 46Th wedding anniversary. Where does the time go? I cannot even begin to tell how lucky and blest I am to have met and married John. We have had a lifetime of peeks and valleys, but we have always managed to find a bridge to get from one peek to the other. God has blest us with five children that have all made us proud and blest us with soon to be 12 grand children. I hope that they will always remember the good times and have a special place in their hearts for Maw maw and Granddaddy.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A WONDERFUL DAY AND TOOK THE TIME TO REMEMBER THE THINGS YOU HAVE TO BE THANKFUL FOR.

The Cycle of Life.

Paul relaxing after a tiring day.

Mark giving Paul a welcome kiss.

I have not posted in a while, mainly because I have to get motivated to sit down at the computer and put my thoughts into words. Sometimes it is because I have no words. Sometimes I have too many words going on in my head and I have to be sure that what I say is really appropriate. This time I am torn between overwhelming happiness and the sadness of losing people close to me.





On November the 8TH we were blessed with grandchild number eleven. He was born in Washington state and is all the way across the country from us. We are chaffing at the bits to see him. His name is Paul Atticus Sedlacek, he weighed 7 lbs and 13 oz and was just 19 inches long. Hopefully he grows taller like his dads side of the family. We plan to make the trip to Washington before the New Year. Thankfully Cody got to come home from Afghanistan to be with Sarah for the birth. We will be relieving him later this month at which time he will be returning to finish up his third deployment. The kids are loving having their dad home and Sarah is glad to have him there to bond with Paul and spend a little time with Luke, Charlotte and Mark.

This past week my cousin Ronnie Oldham passed away. He had been sick off and on for almost a year now. He died on 11/11/11. Ronnie was another one of the talented Oldham kids. He was a musician/songwriter and had worked with multiple artist including Percy Sledge, Hank Williams Jr, Narvel Felts and ZZ Hill to name a few. He was in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and had received other musical awards.

It always amazed me how much talent was in my family. My dad and all his brothers could play just about any instrument they picked up and could harmonized there voices so well. We had keyboard players, guitar players, drummers and songwriters. My cousin Judy had a beautiful voice when she was a teenager. She could sound just like Brenda Lee and Connie Francis and would always get up and belt out a few girl songs at dances we had at the rec center. But for all the talent in the family it was not evenly spread around. I myself took piano lessons for nine years and still can't play, even for my own enjoyment. I have numerous other cousins that are every bit as untalented as me. Maybe the talent is there somewhere but the rest of us just have not dug deep enough to find it.

Maybe the next generation will inherit some of the musical talent. Andrew is learning to play the piano, Matthew works at the guitar, Emily is in the chorus at school, John Pearson has a guitar, I think maybe David has some entertaining qualities in him and Luke has been told by his teacher that he has both a sense of rhythm and beat. Who knows maybe the talent is still hidden in one of my grand kids.

For Everything There Is a Season

For every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.

Pre Game Prayer

We are having a little controversy in our small town. I think the town of Killen Al. would rather not be thrown into the spotlight, but unfortunately that seems to be what has happened. We are a small southern town where probably 95% of the people here are sitting on a church pew every Sunday morning and Wednesday night. We have just about every denomination represented in our area. Everyone is basically tolerant of everyone else's beliefs.

We are accustom to praying for everything and everybody. I am happy if a friend being Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or any religious belief says to me "God bless you", because in reality God is God to all of us. It makes me feel closer to a person some how to know that they believe in a supreme being and that unites us in a world family. My problem is that the world consist of something like 95% of people that are considered believers in a higher power and less than 5% of people that profess to believe in nothing. Now my question is how do these 5% of the people wield so power over the other 95% of the rest of us that they can determine when and where we can pray?

There was an article in our local newspaper this past week that read, "Group complains about Brooks' pregame prayers".

Before each home game a student, teacher or local minister says a prayer usually asking God to watch over all the players from both teams. They will remember all the students, parents and everyone traveling to and from the game. They pray that the game will be played in good sportsmanship manner. They don't take these public prayers on the road. I have been to games where no prayers were said, but you better believe that I'm praying from the bleachers. It personally makes me feel better that my grandson is being prayed for before a game.

A young man was hurt at a game a few weeks ago and they thought he was going to have to be airlifted to Huntsville. The stadium was completely quiet even though there were several hundred people there. I knew that all these people were praying for that player. The only exception to the silence were three young girls sitting right behind us and they giggled and laughed the whole time the paramedics worked this boy. I felt that this was disrespectful. I guess no one had ever taught them to pray. I'm afraid this is what we will find when the "Freedom From Religion Foundation" digs it's claws into our rights.

In the complaint filed, this is part of what was written. "It is coercive and inappropriate to ask students to listen while a prayer is delivered at athletic events". I ask why? I felt it was inappropriate to listen to these girls talk, laugh and be disrespectful when there was an injury on the field, but I didn't file a complaint. Maybe I should have ask someone from the Freedom Of Religion Foundation to step in for me. Oh wait that is probably illegal to have a Freedom of Religion Foundation. The government has band everything else that pertains to 95% of our populations beliefs. If they can ask us not to pray at a game, why can't we ask them to come a few minutes late, after the pray has been said. And not to inconvenience these 5%, we can have a section marked off and a pair of ear plugs at each of these seats so they want be able to hear the words "One nation under God" when the "Pledge of Allegiance" is recited. Oh and an eye mask to take to the concession stand so they can't see "In God We Trust" when they pull out the money to pay for the food they buy.

You know I am feeling more and more like the masses are being controlled by the few. I don't ask that anyone believe, do or participate in anything that I do, but please do not take away my freedom to do it. You can continue to not pray, but I think I need all the help I can get. God bless us one and all.

YOU KNOW YOU'RE GETTING OLD WHEN

TRACY!!!! DON'T PUT YOUR PHONE NUMBER ON THERE!!!!!!

Favorite part of the evening.

Emily pretending to sit on a pumpkin

Emily waiting for Fair Food.

Getting ready for the fair

Last week was a busy week, but we also managed to get in a few fun things too. Tracy and Emily wanted us to go to the Lawrenceburg fair on Friday evening. We got to the fair around 7:00 o'clock and it was already so crowded you could hardly walk. Since none of us are big fans of the rides, we walked around for awhile, got something too eat ( Why does fair food always taste and smell so good?) and then went to look at the exhibits. There was a little bit of everything on display. We registered for all the give-a-ways, so we will probably be getting phone calls from every vendor that was at the fair.

Emily loves looking at the animals and was a little disappointed when there were only cows and rabbits on display. Usually she gets to pet goats, chickens and all kinds of little critters. Of course we had to play a few games to try to win a stuffed animal. We didn't walk away empty handed. She came out with a stuffed dog and a stuffed tiger.

It's always fun going to the fair. It brings back memories of when I was a kid and they actually let us out of school and loaded up the school buses and took us all to the fair. I would usually carry $10:00 and come home with $7:50. I loved to go, but I was afraid of most of the rides. You sure don't get out with $10:00 a person now. I can't even begin to estimate how much money is spent in one evening let along for the whole week.

The most enjoyable part of the evening was stopping at the Dairy Queen and getting a strawberry sundae.

On Saturday we carried some things over to the antique booth and later stopped a Stephano's and got a pizza. John and I are still laughing about the pizza adventure. John let me out at the Salvation Army thrift store and he went on down and ordered a pizza. After looking around for a while, I walked on down to the pizza place about the same time our pizza was ready. Well we started eating and as always it was delicious. We took another slice and ate it. I'm looking a the pizza and how much is left, but heck we usually eat the whole thing, so we each took another slice. Well it was all we could do to eat the third piece. I told John to get a to go box and we put what was left in it to carry home. I said, "John, I don't know why, but I just don't seem to have much appetite today. We usually don't have trouble finishing off a small pizza." He looked a little funny and then said "I do usually get a small one, don't I, but I ordered a medium today." Well so much for our loss of appetite. John did tell the lady behind the counter to remind him the next time we come in to only sell us a small unless we have someone with us.

We got in the car and left and got almost to Muscle Shoals when I realized I have left my purse at the restaurant, so we had to turn around and go back. Luckily the lady had found my purse and put it behind the counter. I'm sure she was wondering if we would make it home by ourselves. It gets a little freaky when you have more than one senior moment in one day.

We might as well laugh at ourselves, because everyone else does.