Hello Old Friend

I haven't blogged in over a year. Bad blogger, I know. I didn't feel like I had anything interesting to say, but then I realized that there are two or three blogs I read on a fairly regular basis and those folks aren't writing about momentous things either.

Here's the update:
Me - moved into a spacious classroom with WINDOWS; took a class to renew my teaching certificate; got a Nook tablet for Christmas; gained 5 lbs due to the stress of taking a graduate course, teaching 59 Honors sophomores and 23 AP seniors, and maintaining my role as MOM/WIFE/social secretary/chauffeur/maid/#1 guard fan...

Daniel - organized the garage (lots of peg board - even one dedicated to Owen's Nerf guns), put foot through garage ceiling (again), working too hard, came in runner-up in his fantasy football league

Owen - taking trombone lessons, made region band as an alternate, is first chair of his school's Honor band, making good grades, taking Algebra 1 as a 7th grader, addicted to X-Box Live

Sara - successful band season (Breakthrough), made INDIGO (only the 2011 8th place finisher at the WGI Championships in Dayton, Ohio...and that's before they had Sara), making good grades (all A's on her last interim report), got her braces off, got her learner's permit and is learning to drive

Never-ending snow event

If you're reading this, you lived it too. No need for me to go on and on about missing 5 days of school because of 6 inches of snow and 1/4 inch of ice. It started out as fun and now we're all just so over it. Can't we just go back to school? Not until Tuesday! Great...it's only Thursday now.
Anyway, here are some pictures of the crazy things people in Spartanburg County do when it snows.

Ride on a mattress being towed by a jeep.

Ride on a chair bolted to some skis and being towed by a truck.

Switch places with friends for the chair-ski ride. Throwing snowballs at the riders from the back of the truck is apparently fun too.

Dry your pants with a hair dryer instead of in a clothes dryer.

Forget Legos. Use storage containers to create a snow castle.

Find an abandoned tractor and pose for pictures.

Snow angels? That's normal. How'd that get in here?

Camp-o-rama 2010

Daniel practices his aim for Nerf Wars with the boys.

Owen is ready for battle!

Daniel and Pa hanging out on the front porch.

Sara using her new camera.

Tracy and Devin. Look, he's bigger than me now.

Ham sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, presents, Camps...what else could you possibly need for a fun Christmas celebration?

Neither rain, nor snow will keep the retired postman from Christmas dinner

Zeb is happy about the snow. (Yes, that IS a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hat he's wearing. No, I don't know why.)

Only one of us seems happy about the snow.

Watching a You Tube video on the iPad. Check out the kid who got books for Christmas. It's hilarious.

Scout seems to be intrigued by Zeb. She stared at him for the longest time.

Despite the miraculous Christmas snow beginning to fall, the Toneys and Todd came over for a traditional Christmas dinner complete with the broccoli casserole that both Jeri and Zeb had asked about in recent weeks.

Santa was here

Boo and Scout got their very first Christmas present, a fuzzy blanket. Boo seems to have taken control here, but now that it's on my chair in the bedroom, Scout uses it the most.

A very rare hug between Sara and Owen. It's a Christmas miracle!

Santa emptied the Lego section of the workshop this year.

Sara's tiny haul. Do not feel sorry for her. That gift in front is a big one.

Though there had been predictions of lumps of coal in stockings or another rock incident, Santa came this year with some awesome gifts. We gave each other some neat things too. Daniel got a big flat screen for the bonus room so he can enjoy (read: see) his video games. I got a comfy chair for the bedroom so I can read, relax, or take a timeout when needed.

Later Christmas Eve

Sara got the giggles while opening presents.

Madeline too.

Daniel got the jacket he wanted.

Grandmama and all of us.

Madeline and Grandmama

We spent time with Grandmama and Madeline. We had lots of fun opening presents and just laughing together.

Breakfast with Nanny

Christmas Eve brought a visit from Nanny at breakfast time. We ate some warm sausage gravy and biscuits and grits before opening presents.

Sara is about to open her warm peacoat.

Owen knows the sound of Legos.

My mom and I are thankful to share another Christmas together.

Happy Hollis-Day

Our Christmas celebration usually begins with a visit with the Hollis family before things get too crazy. We all had some yummy spaghetti and Jon's special "Cool-eo" dessert before opening presents and having some fun times.

It's the most chaotic time of the year...

OMG! My brain is frazzled from all this semester's end activity, my fingers and toes are numb from the bitter cold, and I'm just plain worn out from all of the running around, but as Andy Williams keeps proclaiming from my iPod, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." It should be and it could be and it would be if we didn't try to cram EVERYTHING into it, but we try our best to make it PERFECT. Well, perfect isn't in my vocabulary this year. Imperfect can be wonderful too.

Let's look at a few examples:
Christmas cards - I've only done these a few times over the years and always when I planned WAY in advance (you know, buying and addressing them in September). The last time I bought them to send out to "everyone" I had them all ready ahead of time and never got around to putting stamps on them and sending them. The solutions? 1) Cards for folks at work I love and depend upon daily to keep me sane (no stamps needed either). 2) This very personal message:

Hey, you. Yes, you on the computer.

Merry Christmas!

3) Facebook. If you're my friend there, you'll receive two very personal messages from me this year. Wow, two! Better than a real card because all of your other friends can see how much I care about you too.... 4) a real gift. If I love you that much, you're getting something tangible from me already. I hope you like it.

Shopping Trips and real life - One of my favorite YouTube videos is "David and the Dentist" where after a medically enhanced trip to the dentist, seven year old David asks his father, "Is this real life?" Yes, David, it is but when Mama has to run around after work shopping for gifts for teachers and friends, clothes for guard or band concerts, etc., you can expect a very real dinner of something simple that evening - like Hamburger Helper. Hey, it's Christmas-y-ish...okay, so maybe not, but it's warm and quick and the best part Owen loves it. Owen is in culinary heaven this December :)

Housecleaning -My normally clean-ish house is a bona fide WRECK right now. Christmas, two busy parents, two busier children, and two rambunctous kittens have destroyed any sort of order that once existed there. It's not dirty, just scattered, smothered, and covered. Christmas break is coming. My three helpers and I will have it cleaned up before YOU come over and it'll look all "Leave it to Beaver" and you'll say on your way home, "How does she do it?" ;)

Happy Thanksgiving

Daniel put Sara in charge of the Thanksgiving pictures this year. Here's her photographic essay of our day with family.







We had quite a crowd - Granny & Pa, Devin, Cameron & Austin, Grandmama & Madeline, Grandpa & Zeb, Nanny, and the four of us, but apparently none of us was as exciting to Sara as the guests featured here. :)

Guard: Fall '10

Another marching band season has just wrapped up. The Rebel Regiment presented "To Boldly Go", a Star Trek themed show which was terrific. The music was great, and the guard was fantastic, as always. It was a powerful and moving show. We had lots of fun following them to competitions locally, in Tennessee, in North Carolina, and to State at Irmo. They won several Grand Championships, and placed 5th at State. They were disappointed at the State results, but overall it was a great season.
And so as one season ends, another begins. Winter guard tryouts (for the vets) were held yesterday and Sara made the JV guard this year. She is so excited and we are so excited for her. Way to go, Sara!

Launch Delay

Okay so Friday we learned that the Shuttle launch was delayed from Monday to Tuesday because of some leaks that were found during an inspection. That eliminated me from the trip because I had to be at school on Wednesday. I said a big no to driving home from Cape Canaveral Tuesday night and going to work on Wednesday. I did check airlines, but found no cheap flights that would be any better. Anyway, the trip was delayed from Saturday to Sunday and we were all able to go to Charlotte to see the Rebel Regiment claim another Grand Championship!
So, on Saturday, we found out that the repairs were a little more extensive than expected and that the launch was delayed until Wednesday. That meant the gang couldn't leave on Sunday. We gave Owen the okay to miss two days of school for this and nothing more than that. So, the plan was reformulated so that everyone would go to work/school on Monday, but leave early (for Owen that meant missing band and computer lab - I can deal with that) so they can leave at about 2 this afternoon.
Hopefully there will be no further delays and they'll take lots of pictures for us all to see. I'm not too sad about missing it. There is so much going on here this week - State this Saturday so lots of hub-bub leading up to that and its Homecoming at my school so lots of hub-bub associated with that. I won't be lacking for excitement one bit.

UPDATE: So, the launch still hasn't happened. A series of cracks in the foam of the fuel tank is being investigated. It looks as though it will be mid-December at the earliest for a launch or even some time in February. The gang made a valiant effort "suffering" in Florida until Friday of that week, but jobs, school, and real world responsibilities called them back home. They did manage to see some of the sights (Sea World, Cape Canaveral, Daytona Beach) and have some fun times together.

The countdown has begun

We are right at two weeks from our latest Camp Adventure and there is excitement brewing at the Camp House.
As you all know, my husband and son are space junkies. They love Star Wars, Star Trek, you name it. Anyway, NASA is phasing out the Space Shuttle Program and there are only a few more shuttle launches left. Well, Daniel decided that he wanted to see a launch. The program began when we were kids so we've grown up with the Space Shuttle. We were in the 10th grade at Dorman the day Challenger exploded at takeoff. He was the one who ran into my class and told my teacher to turn on the tv. We watched together the day Columbia disintegrated during re-entry. It has just been part of our lives and now it's almost over. So, he wants to see it in person.
He did some research and found out about the lottery to get tickets to the launch and, somehow, his name was selected to buy tickets. I tell you when he sets his mind to something, he makes it happen.
Anyway, the launch is scheduled for November 1st which creates a long weekend for Owen and I since election day has schools closed that Tuesday. So we're packing up and heading to Florida again. Sara isn't going with us because that's the same week of her State band contest so she can't/wouldn't miss practice for anything, but Daniel's sister, mom, and dad are going with us so it'll be a family affair for sure. I am less excited about the Space Shuttle than I am about seeing Owen and Daniel's faces when they see it blast off. It will be for them, like going to the Folger Shakespeare Library was for me, a surreal moment when dream meets reality. I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Update

Well, we've made it to the end of the longest week ever and I thought I'd post so you'd know how things are progressing at the Camp house. We now have restored phone service (but only one of the phones actually works) and restored DirecTV (but the DVR is not functioning properly so they're sending us another one). The heating and air conditioning was fixed yesterday.

Today Daniel is expecting the electrician to do a whole house inspection, the appliance repairman to evaluate the refrigerator and stove, the plumber to check on the hot water heater, the garage door guy to install a new garage door opener, and the contractor to evaluate the structural damage.

Right now our kitchen is essentially shut down - we have the extra freezer in the laundry room and the microwave. The stove top still works, but the oven doesn't so I'm not completely comfortable using it. The insurance guy asked me to make a list of all the refrigerator contents that were lost and assess their value - it was like shopping in reverse. I did learn that we seem to be big fans of cheese and salad dressing. We had more of those items than anything else. The insurance company has agreed to reimburse us for those items and the meals we have to eat out because we can't cook at home. Sounds better than it is. Eating out is fun when you have time to go where you want and relax. It is not fun when you have to wait on everyone to get home and then find something quick so the kids can get back to do homework.

We are planning to shop tonight for a new wireless router and two telephones. We may also have to shop for new applicances. Tomorrow the Geek Squad is coming is evaluate the computer. My feeling is that we'll have to shop for another one of those too. Still, during this ordeal I have not had to visit a hospital or funeral home. Thank you God. The Camp Family Adventures continue...

"We've been hit"

Those were Owen's words on Sunday morning seconds after lightning struck our home. Our memories are all a little different about exactly how it all happened, but here's my version:
We had been to Tennessee on Saturday following the Rebel Regiment (they swept the competition) and had gotten home around 2:45 am so we slept in that morning. Around 11, Daniel was making some grits for breakfast, I was talking to him in the kitchen, Owen was watching TV and Sara was upstairs on facebook. It was a rainy morning, but not a stormy one. We had heard no thunder. All of a sudden there was a tremendous boom, the entire house shook, the smoke detectors went off, and then the power shut down. We stood there stunned for a second. Sara came running downstairs thinking the kitchen had blown up and Owen said, "We've been hit" as if we were in a war zone. Daniel looked out the front door and saw that it looked like a war zone too. He said, "Get out." Sara used her phone to dial 911 and gave it to me. We grabbed the cats and took off for the garage. We didn't see any fire so we loaded everyone in the cars and moved them across the street.
The fire department got there in maybe 5 minutes time. They searched the house and used some sort of thermal detector to look for hot spots. After awhile they declared the house safe to enter and help Daniel put a tarp on the roof.
Here's what we saw:
A couple of holes in the roof as the entry point with some damage to siding and shingles.
The ceiling of the front porch blown down onto the porch.
Debris from the ceiling had broken one of Sara's windows.
Pieces of shingle, insulation, and soffit all over the yard.
A stove that worked, but an attached oven that didn't.
A refrigerator that seems to be dying (still keeping cool inside, but HOT to the touch outside).
2 lights out and 3 outlets out in the kitchen.
All outlets out in the garage (including the door opener).
A fried wireless router and DSL splitter (with scorch marks on the wall).
A computer that turns on, but doesn't work.
A fried surge protector that saved everything it was supposed to (a miracle worth celebrating).
No phone service and no directv (lines and equipment).
No heating and air conditioning (yeah, we did just buy a new heat pump...).
There may be more, but that's what I can think of right now. I'll post pictures when we have a computer at home up and running.
But, what's more important than what was lost is what was spared - our lives. All four of us and our beloved pets were completely untouched. God held us in His Hands that day and protected us. Yes, we are inconvenienced and yes, it will cost us some money (even with insurance), BUT we are alive and we have each other. We are so blessed.

Back to Tennessee

Man, we sure do seem to make this drive quite a bit. Anyway, this weekend we're heading up there with the Rebel Regiment. We've been to a couple of winterguard shows at nearby Volunteer High School (a shout-out to all the nice people there), but this time we're up the road just a bit for a band competition at Dobyns-Bennett High School. There are several schools in that area with top-notch guards so getting to see their full bands should probably be quite a treat. I'll post details and some pictures soon!

Anniversay Getaway

Dolphins :-)

A gift from the hotel for our anniversary. Strawberries were great, but I'm not a champagne kind of girl.


The old married couple having dinner overlooking the harbor.

This year for our 17th wedding anniversary Daniel and I took a break from the hectic Camp happenings and went to Hilton Head (without the kids). Even though without the kids is in parentheses, it's a big deal. We hadn't taken a trip without them since 2003 when we went to Chicago. It's just not something we've done much. While we missed them, it was great to focus on us for two days and RELAX. Maybe we'll make it a new tradition.

Back to School

Another school year begins on Monday and the school-goers here are generally in favor of the idea.
Owen will be in the 6th grade. He misses his friends and is looking forward to his last year as a kid. Next year he goes to middle school and with that comes some good stuff - riding the bus, and a possible cell phone. I think he craves a routine. Summer is so carefree - right up Sara's alley- and Owen is a rules and order guy. He likes to know what's happening, when, where, how, and why. I hope he takes my class. Students like Owen are wonderful!
Sara is also looking forward to heading back, or moving up, in her case. She is a high school student now. When will I get used to that? She's at the freshman academy this year and taking some challenging classes. While she is a free spirit, she's creative and smart and won't back down from a challenge. I hope she takes my class. Students like Sara are wonderful!
This is my 18th year of teaching. When you add those to the 17 years I spent as a student, I am starting school for the 35th time. I love all the back-to-school hoopla - fresh notebooks; a clean, reorganized and redecorated classroom; a few new clothes; the whole bit. I am looking forward to the students' return too. This year has been difficult to begin with three furlough days right off the bat. It took some of the excitement away for me. Less time to prepare and no one likes to start on a negative note. It can set the tone for the whole year, but it won't. I won't let furlough days or budget cuts or an over-crowded classroom spoil this year for my students. This is the only year they get in 10th grade or 12th grade (hopefully) and we'll make it a success.

Technology Invasion

Gadgets, gadgets, and more gadgets!!!

Recently we've been blessed with some new toys at our house. First, Daniel received an iPad from his mom for his birthday. He was completely surprised and he absolutely loves it (the rest of us do too). Because of that, we had to get a wireless router to set up a network for the house. That purchase enabled Owen to use the internet settings on his DSi. Good stuff!

To top that, my boss at the schoolhouseused some grant money to purchase Kindles for my AP Literature class. Wow, school without textbooks? Awesome!

The only thing I need now is that robot to do all my housework for me.

The Quiet House

There's a strange new sensation going on at the Camp House - silence. That's right. The beginning of the summer was marked by visits from friends and general hub-bub and the ending of it seems to be enveloped in silence. Sara is at guard camp (8 am-9 pm) and Owen is at a friend's house watching a movie. The kittens and Maggie are all asleep and I am all alone. It happened so fast. Those little people who were always under foot and needing something are no longer. They have been replaced by busy big people with their own schedules and agendas. I am free to clean the house, watch a television show of my own choosing, or surf the web without interruption for hours at a time. The freedom I longed for is here and I'm not so sure I like it, but here it is nonetheless.