These Go To Eleven

Finally something worth posting!!  It just took me a month to get it here (and a YEAR since my last “real” post).

In August and September, we spent almost 3 weeks traveling around South Dakota and Wyoming.  It was the most amazing trip ever.  If I can get my face out of Facebook, I’ll try to post a real summary of our trip.  For now, I just wanted to point out something in my photos that I found really interesting.

Here are the collections of rocks Simon and Alvin found on a beach near Grant Village in Yellowstone National Park.  Since you can’t take stuff with you from the parks — not even rocks (shame on you if you did!), we took photographs of their treasures.  I found it so interesting the difference in their collections.

Simon’s collection looked like this:

Alvin’s collection looked like this:

Isn’t that fascinating?  Or is it just me?

Don’t anyone drop dead! I’m posting on my blog! So much for my new year’s resolution to blog more. Damn Facebook. It has taken over my life. There is just something appealing about writing to/for people you actually know (well, except I don’t actually know Laura, but feel like I do since we have a common mutual friend — small world!).

Anyway…

Soon we will be spending 17 days in South Dakota (Black Hills, Badlands, Mitchell, De Smet) and Wyoming (Yellowstone and Grand Tetons).

Anyone have specific recommendations? We have pretty much everything common on our list. Would appreciate some uncommon advice.

Thanks.

I had to extract myself from Facebook long enough to look at my stats and laugh my head off at one of my recent search hits:

laren me how to fit nitrous in rimot car

This is by far my best search hit yet.  It comes from Google India and I must applaud this person for his/her efforts.  In case you couldn’t figure it out, here is my English translation:

teach me how to put nitrous in my remote controlled car

I hope he finds what he was looking for.  What I don’t understand is how on earth this hit brought him to my blog???  I wonder how many new hits I’ll get based on my translation?

Colleen at The New Unschooler tagged me for the 4th Picture Folder, 4th Photo meme and it seemed so easy, I couldn’t ignore it (not that I would have ignored it if hadn’t been so easy — or would I have?)…

Here are the rules:

1. Go to the 4th picture folder on your computer.
2. Post the 4th picture in that folder.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag 4 more bloggers.

My folders are dated, so since I got my first digital camera in early 2001, the fourth folder was 2001-06. I knew right away the photo was going to be one of Theodore since he was born that year. What fun it was to find the 4th photo!! It really brought back memories.

Regular readers of my blog may recall that my youngest son is a competitive gymnast.  He’s really good (if I do say so myself!).  Seeing this photo again reminded me of a bunch of other photos similar to this one that I took in June and July of 2001 when he was 5 and 6 months old.  The kid had amazing control of and awareness of his body.

I called this photo “Strength Training for the Great Crib Escape”:

I swear he was trying to do a forward roll here:

He never did anything the easy way:

So it was no surprise at all to me when he foiled the barricade and climbed the stairs at 6 months:

And just look where it has taken him:

I’m now tagging (gosh it was hard to select only 4, but nice not to have to select a lot or I would have just let people select themselves):

Throwing Marshmallows

Wistful Wanderlust

Day by Day Discoveries

Get In Hang On

“An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox. “  ~Lao Tzu

Anyone else notice the similarity?

Maybe there was a Jumbotron in the grass by the sidewalk.

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A scene from one of my favorite movies of all times comes true!

I Triple Dog Dare You!

I was tagging photos today and I found this funny stick figure picture taken on the driveway in January 2005.  I wish I knew which kid drew it.  They all deny it.

No doubt this is a stick boy.  Don’t you just love the front and rear views?  Too funny.

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What I really want to know is how this:

Became this:

And how I ever survived those days when I had 3 in diapers.

My baby turned 8 on Wednesday.  It hardly seems possible.

Nothing says Happy New Year like a big dinner with family.

I make no resolutions nor promises, but I do want to try to blog more this year.  I have a lot to say and not enough time to figure out how to say it in an interesting way.  Perfectionism sucks.

Happy New Year!

Just in case your playground is too dark (saw this in front of me at the Taco Bell drive thru lane recently):

 MERRY CHRISTMAS!