Change

We've talked about Reid going to school for months. We have driven by the school and listened to Reid yell, "There's my pre-K" for months. We even went and bought her school supplies. But, today, we walked in her school hand and hand. It was real. My baby is going to school.

She was so excited. They took her picture with her new name plate and took her into the gym to meet the pre-K teachers. They were doing some assessments and parents were relegated to the hallway to fill out paperwork. She came out just beaming. We bought her school shirt - every Monday is spirit day and they all wear their school shirts - and I paid for a school year worth of Pickles & Popcorn day purchases (they can buy candy/popcorn every other Friday).

Then, Reid got mad. She wasn't getting to stay at pre-K; she had to go back to day care for the rest of the day. Not her idea of what was supposed to happen! Two more weeks, sweet girl, just two more weeks.

Home Again...For a While!

We are home...and we are staying home for the next six weeks. Hotel rooms used to be fun, an adventure. Now, they just represent some place that we tend to forget stuff.

We were in Norman this weekend for the Oklahoma Division II Swim Meet. This, I can safely say, was not one of my favorite meets and it didn't help that it was kind of a disappointing weekend for Jackson. The meet just wasn't as well organized or well run as the others we have been to. And, you know us, we are experts in swim meets because we have been to FOUR. We were at OU, but the pool was really kind of nerve-wracking. The kids were diving off blocks made of plywood and some outdoor carpet; very weird. And, both ends of the pool were 3 ft. 6 inches...they had kids diving into shallow water. Made me NERVOUS. They also didn't announce or post what event they were on, so we spent most of the weekend asking everyone around, "What event are they on? What heat?"

Jackson had six events and by the end he was pretty discouraged. He doesn't seem to be improving or getting any closer to qualifying times. Two of his events (50 breaststroke and the 200 free) were new for him, so we had no times to compare against. One event he swam .5 seconds faster and the other three he swam 7-15 seconds slower than he has in previous meets. He wants to swim "b" times, which would qualify him for more meets, but he seems to be getting further away from those times than closer.

Sunday afternoon he was pretty discouraged and started to cry. I felt so bad and completely powerless. As a parent, I want my kids to succeed, to find something that makes them happy and gives them a sense of confidence and accomplishment. Swimming seems to be a good opportunity for Jackson, but I also know that he will have to work for everything he gets. He isn't a natural born athlete and his parents are not natural born athletes. It is just discouraging to be into this nine months and not see some progress. And, it is very hard to know how to encourage him to hang in there.

On the school front, we took the kids to Staples last night to buy school supplies. We have an appointment to take Reid for her Pre-K Preview and assessment next Monday. She is ready for day care to be done and to get on with this pre-k business.

We picked up my car today and left almost all of my work bonus with the mechanic (we think he was looking at plans for his vacation home as we were leaving). From what we understand, they worked on the car three days straight, including Saturday and Sunday, and at one point on Saturday the only part of my engine that was still in the car was the block. In ended up needing valve seals and a head gasket.

Other than that, we have a busy week ahead. Damon leaves for CKU/CPR on Wednesday and the kids I need to prep for the Allen's to come visit this weekend. Yeah! Can't wait!

Back to Life

Last week was fun, we had a great time, but we are back to reality. Uggh!

This week has been funfilled in the repair department. We took my car to the mechanic today and they are trying to determine exactly where in the engine the problem lies. The car blows black smoke out the tailpipe in the mornings, just after you start it. So, oil is piling up somewhere and that somewhere is sure not to equal inexpensive repair. They are going to keep it overnight and take a look at the engine in the morning, after it has sat overnight. Then, they will call with the bill. I will be waiting by the phone.

On the home front, we have hired a handyman to install two ceiling fans and mount the new bedroom doors. Because of the "interesting" wiring in this house, it has taken him all day to assemble and hang the fans. He will be back tomorrow to deal with the doors.

Otherwise, I am trying to get back in the groove of working, get bills paid, get Jackson's birthday party on track, and start thinking about packing for this weekend. We will are heading to Norman for the Oklahoma Division II swim meet. Jackson is swimming six events (50 Free, 50 back, 100 free, 100 back, 50 breaststroke, and the 200 free). Two of his events are Saturday and four are on Sunday. He is going to be exhausted, but he is ready and excited to go.

Damon leaves for CKU/Photography next Wednesday, so the kids and I will be solo for two days before our favorite friends the Allens' come to visit. Yeah! The kids are excited to show Price the trampoline. We will hit Kiddie Park if it isn't deathly hot outside. I've already got the menu planned...it involves cream cheese and chocolate. It will be a good weekend!

I am also trying to pull together ideas for Jackson's school PTO. After the PTO sent out four or five begging emails, I finally said I would volunteer to be president. Not sure what possessed me, but I am going to jump in with both feet. Maybe this will be give me the opportunity to go in and change everything I hated about PTO last year. :-) I have set a planning meeting for July 27 for the executive committee and the committee chairs. It will be interesting to see who shows up. We have had some lack-of-volunteer-issues, but most of them have come from lack of communication, lack of specificity in communication, and not really defining roles and expectations very well. We shall see what happens. I am taking the glass half-full approach...hopefully that will last!

Sunday afternoon we are taking my baby to buy school supplies. Reid ends her day care career in three weeks and starts school in a little less than 4 weeks (August 12). Uggh! Staples is running a special promotion Sunday evening, so we are going to take her and let her get the things on her list. I will take Jackson some other day. After five years, the excitement about school supplies isn't there, maybe next year when he is preparing FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL. When did I get so old?

Georgia Vacation

We're home! We had a fun-filled week in Atlanta, saw some great stuff, bought a few things, got wet, and built some great family memories.

Friday, July 3 - Drove from Bartlesville to Memphis, including a drive by Graceland. We didn't take the tour, but we did see the house, the Lisa Marie jet and another jet from the street. I took a couple of pics of the house and the gate from the car.

Saturday, July 4 - We got up and went into downtown Memphis to see the Lorraine Hotel, where Martin Luther King, Jr was killed and tour the Civil Rights Museum. Awesome museum. Jackson studied MLK this year and he wanted to see this. He seemed to enjoy it and really liked the fact you could see blood on the sidewalk outside the hotel room. We doubt it was really MLKs blood, but they have preserved a piece of the walkway that MLK was standing on and there are some red stains on it. After seeing that, we hopped back in the car and drove on to Atlanta. Seven hours later, we pulled into our hotel.

Sunday, July 5 - Georgia Aquarium! This is the real reason we set out for Atlanta in the first place. The GA is the largest aquarium in the world an

d home to three whale sharks. By far, the best attraction I have ever seen. They had five areas and the exhibits were all just incredible. When we got to Ocean Voyager, the kids were beside themselves. Reid was wanting to see "bammerheads" (hammerhead sharks) and she got her wish just as we stepped up to the first window. Jackson wanted to see the Manta Ray and we saw her many times. Damon and I wanted to see the whale sharks. The GA is home to three whale sharks in an exhibit that holds 6.2 million gallons of water. The exhibit can hold up to six whale sharks and they currently have four. The exhibit also had a variety of sharks, grouper, sting rays, and thousands of other fish. Awesome is all I can say.

The shocker of that experience was lunch. I always expect to pay out the nose to eat at those places, but the Georgia Aquarium takes the cake on this one. $63 for four of us to eat lunch. Yes, read that again slowly, you read it right....$63 for lunch...and we didn't have lobster. The kids each had chicken strips, fries and a drink. I had a bacon cheeseburger and drink. Damon had a chicken sandwich, a individual pizza, and a drink. And, we got two desserts to share.

After seeing the Aquarium, we walked across the park area to World of Coca Cola. Very interesting, very fun 4-D movie, and some time in the tasting room.

Monday, July 6 - I have always wanted to see giant pandas and today I got my chance. We headed over to Zoo Atlanta for the day. They currently have three pandas - a mom, dad and baby. The docent was telling us that the zoo pays the Chinese government $500,000 a year to keep the pandas and any baby pandas bred are sent to China once they are weaned. The baby is getting ready to go to China in a couple of weeks.

Tuesday, July 7 - We headed back to the Centennial Olympic Park area and went to CNN for the tour. Jackson got to sit in a news studio mock-up and read the news off the teleprompter. He thought that was pretty cool and the group applauded for him. The tour was very interesting even though we didn't get to see them broadcasting. Due to the Michael Jackson memorial service, most of the broadcast was coming out of California for the day. After the tour, we ate lunch at CNN Center and drove over to the Martin Luther King, Jr. birthplace/burial site. After seeing the Memphis museum, we were disappointed in the Atlanta museum. His church - Ebenezer Baptist - was closed due to some reconstruction work, the birthplace home tours were already full, and the museum just wasn't as well done as the Memphis museum. We also drove over to the Atlanta Underground - not much, didn't stay long.

Wednesday, July 8 - Six Flags White Water! We spent the day splashing and sliding at White Water and the kids had a blast. We also stopped at Archiver's on the way back to the hotel and I left my contribution to the Marietta, GA economy.

Thursday, July 9 - We made a brief stop at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens in the morning. But, between the humidity and Jackson's allergies, we didn't stay long. We went to lunch at CNN Center and then let the kids change into their swimsuits. Centennial Olympic Park has a splash pad, with water shooting up in the pattern of the Olympic rings. Damon and the kids went to that, while I went back to the Coca Cola store to pick up a few things I wanted.

We asked the kids to choose one thing they wanted to go back and see again. They both chose the Georgia Aquarium, so back we went. It was worth another $100 in admission tickets. This time, it wasn't near as crowded and we were able to see some things better. When we got back to the Ocean Voyager, we just sat down at the larger observation window and stayed there for a while. We could have stayed there for hours.

Friday, July 10 - We packed up and headed back to Memphis.

Saturday, July 11 - Home!

It was a really good trip and a fun, family vacation!