Chase and his morning surprise

I got a call from one of Chase's teachers last night and she was calling to inform me that they were going to be "kidnapping" Chase the following morning. He had signed up to be a new member of a club and they were kidnapping all the new members and taking them to the school for breakfast as a type of inititation. The whole fun of it was catching the kids still in bed and they had to come to school just as they were.

Well, we had to let Chelsey in on the secret so she would know what was going on. I called her this morning. She said that Chase was already up when they came by to get him but he had the look of terror on his face when he opened the door, wondering what he had forgotten......

I really have found out yet if he had gotten dressed already or if he was still in his "pjs", if he'd combed his hair, etc....be interesting tonight to see how it all went.

Walking

So I'm on a walking kick. How else do you get the bulges off the side of your hips that you don't want? Walking seems to work, if I do it and stick with it.

I walked at work yesterday during my lunch time. It's very different walking in the big city than it is walking in the little town I live in. But it can still be serene if you let it. Just observing all that's around. You get such a different view of everything when you walk, the pace is different, your eye level is different and even the leaves blowing across the street can scare the crap out of me. If I haven't told you, I'm practically scared of my own shadow.

I remember years ago when I was in middle school and we lived sort of in the country, our living room was in the front of the house. Directly behind it was the dining room and behind it was the kitchen, but the refrigerator was off the kitchen in the utility room. I absolutely hated it later in the evening when everybody was in the front of the house and I would want something to eat or drink and I'd have to go back there in the dark to the refrig. I'd get to the kitchen, poke my head left and right like a cop with a gun then make a mad dash for the frig knowing exactly what I was after and run like crazy to the dining room and then immediately start walking so I wouldn't get in trouble for "running in the house".

Speaking of walking, it's about that time, and I brought my tennis shoes today so I don't have to walk in my sandals, wasn't that a great idea!!!

Crows Feet.....

This is crows feet. A weed that grows in your yard in August. I know, I'm nuts. It's just one more sign to me it's August !!!

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

August - I Can Just Tell

There's a smell about August, a feeling, I can just tell when I walk outside, I know it's August. Not sure it's something I can put into works. I know there's got to be somebody out there besides myself who knows what I'm talking about. I'm sure most of you will say, who cares, and maybe you're right, just a thought I was having.

1st day of School

How quickly they grow up! Chelsey started middle school yesterday, 6th grade and Chase entered the halls of high school as an official freshman.

Mo State Fair continued....

Ok, so after I made the first post, I was getting interrupted and lost my train of thought, so I thought I'd chime back in and fill in the gaps.

On Thursday, the first day of the state fair, when I got off work that day, I left Columbia for Sedalia and met them there. They had left early that day for Sedalia and took the camper down, got all settled, etc. After a very "clustered" ordeal of trying to get into the fairgrounds that afternoon around 4:45 pm ( thank you Kelley ), I met up with Julie and the girls; well, Jr, Connie and the boys too. The concert started at 7:30 and we were in our seats in the grandstands by 6:45 pm.

I sat on the opposite side of Chelsey and the girls. I told Chelsey I wasn't there to rain on her fun. They were busy taking gabbing, taking pictures and having fun. The real fun though started when the LoCoash Cowboys made their way center stage to perform. And perform they did. Can't wait for their first album to come out in October.

LoCash was actually the opening act that night, for Cross Canadian Ragweed, but after the concert was over, the girls made their way quickly to the merchandise area and waited thru the whole second concert for the LoCash Cowboys to come out and sign autographs. I listened to 5 or 6 of CCR songs and quickly figured out that they weren't for me.

I stayed in the campgrounds that night which after getting to bed at 1 a.m. and leaving by 5:15 a.m. the next morning, makes for a very short night. When I got home Friday night, I crashed on the couch at 7:30 pm and didn't wake up until the next morning. We went back to the State Fair on Saturday and arrived there that afternoon and were walking down the midway about 4:30 pm. All I can say is when you are at the state fair, you had better put on your walking shoes. Chase took a friend and it didn't take them long to hook up with friends from home and they were off. We did take in the Aaron Watson concert in the bud tent. He was good, but a little too traditional for my taste in music, but I can certainly appreciate that he was good. Later on we listened to some of the Gary Allen concert which sounded like it was a pretty good concert too.

Chase and his friend Quentin did a little "redneck camping" as they pitched an air mattress in the back of the truck and slept in sleeping bags. The weather was perfect for it though. Sunday morning saw some rain. We hung around all day to take in the free Kansas concert. We learned that night that they were celebrating 35 years of Kansas. They were amazing musicians, did alot of jamming on stage, sang, but other than that, were pretty boring. (They could take some lessons on a stage show from the LoCash Cowboys.)

Kansas singing "Dust in the Wind"

Kansas singing "Carry on my Wayward Son"

Chase and Quentin doing a little "redneck camping".

And one of the funniest things I saw at the State Fair, the chicken and what I called its "hairdo"
.

So it was another late night arriving home Sunday night at 11:30 pm and I had to be up and at 'um at 5:15 a.m. the next morning. So much for pretty sleep, lol.

LoCash Cowboys - MO State Fair Sedalia 2009

Let me preface the LoCash Cowboys by saying that Chelsey saw them last year of the year before at the Lincoln Co Fair with the Baker girls and has talked about them ever since. They got a signed picture of them then and thought they were great. I guess if I had been a regular at the MO State Fair I would have known who they were since they have been playing at the Bud Tent for the last 5 years, but I haven't, so my first experience came at the Bevier Homecoming on Friday, August 7. And they were awesome.

Chelsey knew she would once again see them at the State Fair as she would be going with the Baker's as Jessi Mae as having her birthday party there and they were going to be camping for 3 nights. The kids and the Bakers left on Thursday morning headed for the State Fair, when I got off work on Thursday, I headed from Columbia to Sedalia and met them and we watched the concert. The girls had no interest in the headliner that night which was Cross Canadian Ragweed and after hearing them my sentiments were the same. LoCash Cowboys played first and energy the have on stage is quite electrifying and quite entertaining. Chris and Preston make quite a team.

As soon as their concert was over they got in line at the merchadise table waiting for them to come out and sign autographs even though the girls knew they wouldn't be out until after the other concert. And to no avail, here they came. The guys were great and took time with each of the girls asking their names and signing their pictures and posing for the cameras. From that point on the girls were in "Locash Heaven". We hung out until the signing was complete and I had asked and the guys were going to be crossing the walkway heading over the bud tent and I metioned that it was a "13th Birthday Party" for one of the girls, so as they came across they stopped and talked to the girls and sang Happy Birthday to Jessi Mae. It was an unfortgetable experience for them I am sure!!

Preston of LoCash Cowboys center stage.

Chris and Preston of LowCash Cowboys.

Preston and Chris the LowCash Cowboys and Chelsey.Chris of Locash Cowboys.

Preston of LoCash Cowboys.Chelsey, Myah and Jordan.

Chelsey sporting her signed picture.

Ta da!

Chelsey, "wheeling around".

Chelsey and April the monkey.

Chase and Quentin "redneck camping"; sleeping in the back of the truck bed.

Words by John Mellencamp..When the walls come tumblin down

Just one short week ago, the pool, although in an unuseable state, was still a recognizeable piece of history for those of us who enjoyed countless hours as youngsters in the sun. Today, the above pictures are what is left of the pool. Not much of all. Pretty much total destruction. But where there is destruction, there lays the groundwork for the progress to come with the new state of the art pool facility to be built and functional by May 2010 as stated in The Democrat today.

The paper described the facility as costing $ 625,000 which was approved by voters this past year and while the funds will not all be collected to pay for the project, the city will be able to finance the project thru the MO Public Utility Alliance.

There are many people to thank for this and I personally am very thankful that it is all finally becoming a reality.

Ode to the Swimming Pool

As all of the kids know in Shelbina, the pool did not open this season due to its bad condition. The town did pass a recreation tax this spring to build a new pool so the private group voted to turn the pool grounds over to the city and they have taken it over. Some of the pool board members who were on the board have started tearing down the facility. I was curious last night and walked down by there to see, and they have taken down the pump house facility and started taking the tin off the bath house and some of the interior fencing inside the pool facility. The paper did say that the contract had been awarded so they should start construction this fall and we will have a pool next near. (even us adults miss it !!!)

Here is what the pool looks like now.

I have so many memories of the pool. From my very first one...going in for swimming lessons at about age 5 and the "adults" telling me if you go down the slide we "promise" we will catch you. Yeah right, 5 gallons of water in my lungs later I came up for air and I wasn't going back!! Well, it's just like riding a horse, you get bucked off, you get right back on. My mom went out and bought a membership later that day and back at the pool she had me.

Can't say that it was a bad idea because I love the water and went on to spend many a hours growing up at the pool including lifeguarding and teaching swimming lessons myself. One difference as a swim teacher...I never promised kids I would catch them and then let them go under like I did. I made them gain their own confidence. I think I was pretty good at it. Both of my kids are pretty good swimmers and have been before they could ever touch the bottom.

Back when I was a kid the pool was a social hub as it was the only pool in the county. It was sort of funny, because the north shelby kids would congregate one side of the deck and the south shelby people on the other. I honestly dont' remember many kids from clarence having a membership but surely there were some. Then in the mid 80's both clarence and shelbyville builts their own pools and slowy that is when our pool started going down. It takes alot of money for upkeep.

It won't be the same pool and it won't have the same rules, but the new pool will be just that, new... and it will be wet and I can't wait for it to get built. (I sound like a little kid, lol.)

Extra Random Pix of Johnson Shut Ins

I'm not sure you can imagine how incredible this place was unless you were there. Of course I thought it was really cool climbing around all the rocks until the next 2 days hit and I woke up and couldn't move my arms because of the soreness. ( oh, am I getting old???? )

Sunday at Johnson Shut-Ins @ Lesterville, MO

My two lovely, adoring children, who actually cooperated fairly well for this photo op.

Ok, I am really not that short, short, but not as short as this picture makes me look. The height difference with Chase is real, but Chelsey was standing on a rock.

My little sweetheart.

Chase, Preston and David in one of the pools of water at the shut-in.

Saturday Float...pictures to be posted later, not digital

Here are some random pictures at the cabin until I get the float ones developed.

Caroline getting Chase wet.

Caroline finding out what paybacks are all about.

The boys playing cards.

Looking for craw daddys.Chelsey and Randi hanging out in the hammock.

Friday nite at the cabin

Me, putting together the poles for the tent. Interestingly, the tent did not have instructions when I opened up the bag, not that I needed them to put the poles together, I think a 4 year old could have figured that out. Hey, but have no fear, we got it figured out, relatively calmly and without too much profanity!! But definitely a beer LATER.I think at this point Caroline and I had put our heads together on figuring the tents out, but got it done. You can see behind the hammock in the pictue below one of the tents. And by the way, they stayed up too.

The hammock was a joint effort by about everybody.

And the fire, what dare you ask is my son spraying on the fire???? His new bottle of AXE deordant I just bought. Did it actually work??? I really don't know, the boys were in charge of the fire and they had it going whenever it was needed (even when it woke me up in the morning, thanks Noah!!)

So Where Do I Begin???

I think as far back as I can remember over the last couple of weeks was to Old Settlers, which was held a lot earlier this year. It was really hard to think of it happening in July, but oh well, it has come and gone now.

On Thursday nite, July 23 ( I think, because I am too lazy to get up and look at the calendar ) we went over and watched the Queen Contest.

On Friday nite, we went over and watched the Family Fued game, of which I didn't hear alot of as I was too busy talking. ( imagine that !!)

On Saturday morning Chelsey went to her friends Myah's house for a birthday sleep over. They also went to Columbia and took in the Boone Co Fair and did a little shopping at the mall. Chase and I headed over to Shelbyville and watched the parade. He left with his friends to go ride 4 wheelers and I stayed and watched the games that afternoon.

Later that night we headed back over to watch Karmen and Kellie perform, who were very talented and quite entertaining. We then took in the festivities and live band at Willey's getting home at an early 2 a.m. By the way, I started vacation on Friday night.....

All I wanted to do on my vacation was spend some time with my kids and catch some rays.... well, I stole as much time with my kids as I could but mother nature didn't cooperate very well in the sun department.

On Monday, Chelsey and I went to the beach in Macon at Long Branch and enjoyed the afternooon with Cami Decker and Amanda Friesz and kids. On the way home, not so much fun as my car overheated in Macon and I had to be hauled home. Chase spent the night at his grandparents on Monday so he could go 4 wheel riding with his friends.

Tuesday, the weather pretty much stunk so I resorted to cleaning out closests and drawers of the kids. What a vacation wish!

On Wed, we headed to Worlds of Fun and by 4:30 pm the kids were done so we went to Cabela's and to see Kansas Motor Speedway. After supper at Longhorn we headed home listening to what turned out to be the 15 inning game St Louis had vs LA Dodgers arriving home at 11:30 pm.
On Thursday, Chelsey and I made a quick trip to Hannibal to get stuff for the weekend float trip and gave her a chance to look at new phones. I was still in great hopes of sun when we got home early afternoon but the clouds came out and ruined that from happening.