Caitlin had a wonderful time...

In all of her places she went on the east coast last week. She took a total of 534 pictures, so, I won't bore you with them all (though, I can if you want me to - email me and I'll send you a link to the Snapfish album!), I'll just try to capture the highlights.

Starting with...

Mt Vernon... Caitlin is always easy to see - she's wearing the green hat! This is the group of kids that went on the trip.

And this is the view outside of Mt Vernon. Who President Washington had such a great view? I'm ready to move in!

And Monticello! Caitlin loved this place a lot more than Mt Vernon. I think Thomas Jefferson is one of her favorite presidents now! She sent postcards from here and we finally got ours today.

Here is Caitlin's view of the inaguaration. She is much closer than I thought she would be. She said it was really hard to hear though because it was all echo-y. I guess we all had better views and sound watching it on TV!

I'm just putting this here because I am extremely jealous that she got to see the Lincoln Memorial. It's one of those things that is extremely romanticized for me - books, movies, you get the picture. I can't believe she was standing right there! Of course, she liked Thomas Jefferson's memorial better!

Remember the movie "National Treasure"? Remember how when the star was running away from the bad guys after they visited the Liberty Bell? Well, here is the actual counter that she jumped over and hid behind with the Constitution. This was a favorite place Caitlin saw. They did go to the Liberty Bell as well, but I just had to throw in a picture of her making this silly face. In fact, she has about 100 more of her doing the same thing during this trip. Her grandchildren are going to think something was wrong with her! (Well, maybe there is! :p)

And on to NYC - and the view from the Empire State Building. I think Caitlin is ready to move to NYC. Little does she know it's not really all the glamour of 5th Ave and Times Square!

And after all my fuss about the Today show... here is what they really got to see - the janitor cleaning up. For some reason when they were there the anchors decided not to go outside anymore. Well, at least it looks like it does on TV - though Caitlin says it's no more than an alleyway. And kind of cool since I used to be a total Today show addict!

Oh wait - she did see someone - if you look closely at this picture, you can kind of sort of see Al Roker off to the side. :p

And, before they got on the plane to go home, they stopped to see Lady Liberty. I think this might be one of the few pictures that she is not making that horrible face. Maybe by then she was too tired to do it?

Would you if you didn't have to?

I just finished reading a post about being frugal - would you do it if you didn't have to? You can read the post here. I have always been a coupon kind of girl, but in the last few months I've figured out that you can stock up your home with all sorts of things for pennies. This week for example...

CVS - shampoo - 61¢
Albertsons - 4 Blistex and 2 frozen pie crusts - 7¢
Walgreens - 6 Walgreens brand "Dayquil"
1 box Rice Krispies
1 lg tube Colgate Total toothpaste
2 Reeses Whips candy bars
1 box choc pudding mix
Out of Pocket Total: $9.62, but I am getting a $10 Walgreens rebate and they printed me out a $2 off of your next purchase coupon, so I'm counting that as a money making deal!

Now, we have a serious year supply of Dayquil (and Rik goes through that stuff fast when he is sick - I HATE paying $7/box for it!)

Now, I don't see us having Oprah-like wealth any time soon, but even if we had money to burn, I think I would continue doing this! It's not like I can't go buy a tube of Blistex or some cold medcine and it breaks the bank, but it's kind of addicting to see how much stuff you can walk out of the store legally not paying for! :) If you'd like some advice on how to start, I'd love to talk!

Looking for today's Today Show...

Anyone tape it? Please? I'll pay you for the tape, postage, whatever! Caitlin calls me at 6:45am today and tells me that she is going to be on the Today Show this morning. Of course, I cannot get reception with our new digital converter box for our local NBC station. Turns out there are too many mountains in the way between the broadcasting location and our house. OK - so I am madly trying to think of who might be a) up at this time and b) home. Lots of people I knew that could do this for me I was worried might still be asleep or on their way to work. So, long story short, I didn't get the tape from the source I thought I would get it from. I didn't even see it because I ran madly around work trying to find a TV with reception, which it turns out there are none AND people think I am nuts! I should have just stayed home and watched. :p

I'm thinking I need something more to look forward to than...

A grocery store grand opening??? Yes, folks - that was the main excitement around here this week for me! A Sunflower market was going to open and give out a bag of groceries to the first 200 people there. It was opening at 7am, I didn't have to be to work until 7:30 - so I figured - why not? It made it better than I didn't have to take Caitlin to school this week so I would have more time to do this. A friend and I planned to meet there - but we really couldn't decide what time would be best. After all - how many people are *that* excited about a grocery store grand opening??? Well, it turns out that many people are. At 5am, someone I had casually mentioned that I was going to go, called me and nearly scared me half to death. Hurry! - she said! I'm here and I'm number 25 in line! So, I raced around the house getting ready - and Philip up - who was a great sport about it! We got over there to get #55 in line at 5:30am! I called Ann to tell her, but no answer. She just barely made it about an hour later with #191. When they opened, I was just buying some apples and then out of there. OK, bought Philip a yogurt for breakfast for being a good sport too! I was actually checked out before everyone had gotten in the store! The picture is what I ended up with. The really sad part is that I went back later in the day to actually shop when I had time and someone that worked there recognized me from being there earlier!

Weekend campout and hike...

Rik and Philip spent Friday night (our wedding anniversary!) and Saturday camping with Philip's boy scout troop. They went about 1.5hrs north of here and camped. Rik took a lot of pictures with his new camera and it looks like a place I should have been hiking! :) Here is Philip with Weaver's Needle behind him.

I'm going to need some more hand holding...

Caitlin is off with 33 other 8th graders to Washington DC to see our new president be inaugurated on Tues. She will also be visiting PA and New York City. I'm totally jealous. She's getting to go all these places I would love to see some day! But, right now, she's sitting in an airport in Atlanta (I just checked the flight status!). Hopefully she'll remember to call her poor 'ol mom sometime this week. I bought her a calling card and everything! :) As she pointed out last night, this is the farthest away and the longest she has ever been gone.

I know I'll be watching the inauguration on Tues at work. I got to thinking about it and am a little worried that if everyone on our server is, maybe it will slow it all down with all that streaming! For more info on the inauguration - go here: http://inaugurationday2009.com/



I also wanted to add today the map I found of the inauguration (one of these days I WILL be able to spell that word without messing it up 6 times!!). Caitlin's group is actually ticketed - thanks to Senator John McCain's office (it makes me laugh to think about it!). From this map - it certainly doesn't look like there are that many tickets out there - and I was worried she wouldn't be able to see anything - and while I still don't think she will see much except for what is on the "jumbotron" - I think she might actually be able to see a dot of what is going on!

Things that happened a while ago....

This is our annual turkey trot that Rik and I participate in every year. This year I should have known when I woke up at 3am Thanksgiving morning and heard it raining what was going to happen next... it was still raining when we got up for the race... still raining as we drove to the race... and still raining when we arrived at the race! It stopped raining about the time the race started... but it was really too late - the course was a muddy mess. Usually the course has these mud puddles in it that you have to either jump over or run though (Rik is pictured doing this)... but this time the whole course was a mud puddle - and there are these drainage ditches that run through the park as well - which I never paid a bit of attention to before, but, when you are running through the water up past your ankles - well, you pay a little more attention! I was a lot slower than I normally could be, but I was scared to death I was going to slip and slide through the whole course, so I erred on the side of caution! That's me in the pink hat!

This is so true at our house...

Where do they sell this stuff??? I will be first in line! :)

So, Rik won't be modeling any Speedo's any time soon...

In fact, I think his career is wrecked before it began! He had his appendix out on Sunday morning (this being the reason I am more behind in blog posting than I thought that I would be!).

Sunday

3:00 am - Rik wakes up with horrible ab pains. He had them on Sat, but now they are worse.

4:15am - We arrive at ER.

4:30am - The triage nurse sees us. She tells us it might be a wait because the new shift doesn't come on until 7am. I look at ER waiting room. Sum total of 3 people waiting. Glad I am not here for heart problems.

4:35-7:05am - Rik is miserable and I read a book. Actually, I also freeze because it's 27º out (the first time this year) and the 2nd door in the ERs double sliding doors doesn't seem to be working. We are sitting quite a ways away from it, but it doesn't seem to matter. I also watch man vacuum ER.

7:05am - Rik's name is finally called.

7:10am - Finish book. Wish I had another one.

7:15am - Rik is seen by ER doc who tells him he probably has appendicitis, but wants a CT scan to make sure. Read all about the author at the back of my book.

7:30am - I try to call my house to tell kids where we are. Phone rings and rings and rings and rings. I call in-laws to go prod children out of bed and tell them where we are. Look for magazine in ER. Don't find one.

8:30am - Rik goes in for CT scan. I wish for another book to appear out of no where.

9:30am - ER doctor confirms the appendicitis. Tells us the surgeon should be in shortly. I wish there were an expired magazine to look at.

11:00am - Surgeon schedules surgery for 2pm. Tells us that Rik will be moved to a room. I have had more than enough of bad ER TV and no food by this time. Wishing I hadn't read my book so fast.

12:00pm - I call in-laws and tell them the news.

12:30pm - Caitlin and MIL show up with some lunch for me and my deoderant!!!!! (Who would have guessed I would love it so much??? It just wasn't something I was thinking about at 3:30am when I got up!!!) Too bad they didn't bring a book as well! At least the food kept me entertained for a while!

2:00pm - Rik is moved to the surgical ward. Unfortunately must wait for old lady needing a hip to be operated on first.

5:00pm - Rik goes to surgery. I run home to get his toothbrush. And pick up another book!!!

6:05pm - Surgeon tells me that Rik is fine and that "it was definately his appendix". This cracks me up. That was what we were going for wasn't it??!!!

6:45pm - Surgical nurse comes and tells me that they are moving him to a regular room, but must wait for shift change.

7:00pm - Finally - he's made it to his room. More bad TV. He's looking at me with one eye open as well and kind of drifts a bit.

8:00pm - I decide I should go home and see kids today and let Rik sleep. He looks pretty loopy.

Yes, that was one looooonnnnnngggg day!

He's doing fine now. We went home about 3pm the next day (after he was told he would go home in the morning and I showed up to wait with him w/o a book - you think I would have learned!!!!

The picture is of his breakfast they had served him right before I got there the next morning. Let's see, he just had surgery so let's feed him *bacon* and *biscuits and gravy*! And for lunch there was salisbury steak and mashed potatoes. Who was making this menu?? Wouldn't jello have been a better option???

Philip's concert..

At least the one I had to miss. :( Philip got to play his violin for our church Christmas party. He played "Away in a Manger" accompanied by his Grandma. I was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sad I had to miss it because I was at the school's family movie night (cough*stupid*cough). I hear he played beautifully though. No one in my family thought to record it. :( I only have this picture thanks to a kind soul (thanks Brett).

I won't go on about how much I do not like Family Movie night for MANY other reasons than me having to miss Philip's violin playing. If you really want to hear them, email me! I don't want to fill up all my blog space tonight!

I think I forgot to mention...

All about Philip's awesome cross country season! In the district meets he came in 7th and 9th against about 80 5th & 6th grade boys. We were really excited for him! If you see him - tell him he should go out for cross country when he gets to jr high - I think he'd do really well at it, but I don't think he believes me! (After all - I'm just the *mom*!)