For Laughs

Because you should never go through life without seeing this:



or this:



Why am I thinking about these skits? Because we saw this at the Smithsonian:

Tomato, Tomahto

Growing up as a military brat with parents from the Midwest, I often wondered what accent I ended up with. (Mom, I tried to resist, but I just had to end that sentence with a preposition). This very quick quiz told me what I'd always suspected: I have a midland accent.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland   "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
Boston
North Central
The South
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Wild, Wild, Wild, Wild Animals

My wild chickens hatched at our local zoo on Tuesday.


My friend, Melissa, and I braved the wilds without husbands, but with 8 creatures.

Here is Gem with a cougar.

And here are my big kids with the sea lions.

After Gem freed Shakespeare from a giant spider web . . .
We joined our friends: you've met Muppet and Adrenaline, but I'd like to introduce the 6 year old who is sticking out his tongue--"Ondependya" (something he says before he charges--we don't know why), and the little guy standing in front--"Cub".
Popcorn and Cub looking at the gorillas.

Funny moment: I called Gem over to see the rhinos that were mating and Shakespeare came running, exclaiming, "They're still doing it!" A lady next to me laughed and said, "Well, I guess that's one way to teach them."

85 Degrees =

Treehouse Complete

Here are some pictures of the final product. Notice the zip line to the left of Dad's arm in the first picture. The white bar hanging is the zip return pole (just pvc pipe).



The steps from the lower to upper deck are only tacked down at the bottom to allow for movement of the upper deck. When the wind kicks up it feels like a ship rocking up there.



Dad and me.



Nana and Grandpa with kids.



Sinatra checking out the heights.

Southern Sledding

Our snow is long gone--actually, we only had one good snow and it melted the next day. So what do kids in the south do to compensate?

Pine straw sledding.

For all the Yankees, pine straw is the southern version of mulch--dried up pine needles. When I moved here I had no idea what it was. In fact, when we lived in Indiana I remember my southern grown friend asking me about a good place to get pine straw. I laughed at her. Well, now she lives here and it's her turn to laugh at my Yankee self. I still call a shopping cart a "cart"--they call it a "buggy". It sounds more refined I guess. I just can't imagine Scarlet O'Hara pushing a cart, buggy fits the south.



Pine straw sledding is what Works for Me this Wednesday! For other great tips visit Rocks in My Dryer (the link is in my side bar).

Geography Challenge

53

Post your results in the comments. Make sure you type fast and know how to spell the country.

$10 Fares from Here to There

Don't walk, RUN--no,SPRINT to the Skybus web page and book a flight for June/July today. We just purchased round trip tickets for five, for a grand total of $160. No, that's not a typo, that's the total (all 5 people): from here to Indiana, direct flight. We pay an extra $5 for each bag. You don't get peanuts or a beverage, but who cares!!!

Skybus has a deal that the first 10 people who book a flight get $10 one way fares. If you catch two one way flights, that's $20 plus about $12 in taxes and fees, for a grand total of $32. After the first 10 the price goes up in increments. I think the next jump is $45/seat. The earlier you book the better.

You can even sign up to receive an email notice when the new available dates open up. That is how Jon booked these flights for us for $10.

Happy flying!

The Greatest Win on Earth

When I grocery shop it is through my computer. I order online then show up and they load it in the back. As a result, I get email advertisements from them every once in a while. The other day I got one for a canned food drive that the grocery store is sponsoring in conjunction with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus that is in town. If we bring one canned good each, to the coliseum on Friday, we can see the elephants up close during their feeding time and hear a talk that the trainer will give about the feeding, care and training of the elephants.


At the bottom of the advertisement was an entry to win 4 free tickets to the circus. I signed up. Today they called. We won!!! We'll be going to the greatest show on earth this weekend. I'm so excited! The kids will love it.