End of Summer Hurrah

To mark the end of summer and the beginning of the school year we went to Adventureland.  This year was a bit different as the kids are old enough to go off on their own, ride the rides they want and have a little freedom.  It is bittersweet to say the least.  Cool and I went off on our own, talked, people watched, walked and enjoyed the day together.  Periodically we would catch up with the picklets and try to enjoy the fun through their spirit and energy.

Cool rode with the picklets on the Saw Mill Splash.  He was pretty sick afterwards since is spins all the way down.


Chip really wanted us to go to the magic show with him.  It was only a 15 minute show but it was good.  The magician did the Houdini trick.


As a family we went to the juggling show.  It too was only about 15 minutes.  The juggler was an actor that was in Law and Order or some other show like that.  He was funny but the music was way too LOUD.  Here he is balancing chairs on his chin.  While he was juggling the fire batons he dropped on of the batons and caught the grass on fire.


I did a lot of people watching while I waited.  These two were sound asleep at a picnic table in one of the food courts.  Eventually they woke up and she barfed her guts out all over the ground.  He stood there and laughed at her.  I informed Cool that if he ever laughed at me while I was puking he would regret it.  He concurred.


Sweet spotted this Amish family coming in the gate around lunch time.  While walking around in the afternoon Cool and I were behind them.  I snapped some shots trying not to get their faces.  They didn't ride any rides, they just walked around.  The best I can guess is the two older ones in front (the woman is holding a 2-3 year old girl and the man is holding the hand of a 5-7 year old girl) are either the parents or grandparents.  There were two boys and 4 teen to twenty year old girls plus the two little ones.  I thought it was interesting that for purses the girls carried ice cream buckets with lids. 


In all it was a fun day.  Not too hot and even though we walked around the whole day, it was quite relaxing. 


I know Dill had fun!  And even though that is a terrific picture of my middling child, the reason I post this picture is to leave you with a taste of the prices.


(c) 2008-2011 Wicked Pickles-Homefrontlines

Saying Goodbye

On July 25, exactly 15 years after we said goodbye to my Grandpa, we said goodbye to my aunt Elaine.  She was born was down syndrome.  It was recommended by the doctors that she be institutionalized.  The family was told she would never walk, talk, be potty trained, be able to care for herself...etc.  My grandparents, who were leaders in this revolution in Iowa, knew it would be BEST to keep Elaine at home.  She did walk and talk.  Learned to cook and clean.  Took care of herself to the best of her ability and became the heart of the family.  Her death is a LOSS to all of us.  She is soooo missed.

The days before her death I sat in a small town hospital, along with other members of the family, taking turns holding her hand, talking to her and smiling at her.  It is a stretch to think that she knew we were there or that we brought her any comfort, BUT there is that remote chance and that is what got us through that time.  We watched her take her last breath at 12:45 am.  We stood there looking.  Tears running down all our faces.  We were frozen.  We didn't want to leave her.

Elaine had a beautiful, albeit long, Catholic mass with my grandparents good friend Fr. Ed presiding.  One of my aunts gave the readings...2Timothy 4:7 "I have fought the good fight.  I have completed the race.  I have kept the faith."  How she managed to say it without breaking down I will never know.  Another aunt had us praying for saints and the sick.  How she managed to say it without breaking down I, again, will never know.  Fr. Ed talked about visiting grandma and grandpa and saying to Elaine, "How is my little sweetheart?"  And Elaine smiling back at him with the biggest, widest smile in the world.  He said it without tears but I swear to you there wasn't a dry eye in the pews. 

The oldest nieces/nephews from each of the families were given parts to read for Elaine's eulogy.  Isn't that a horrible word?  I stood up there reading..."Elaine Cecelia was born to....Elaine always emphasized Cecelia because....Elaine loved her big sister so much...Elaine's biggest brother was her protector while Elaine's other brother was more daring...Elaine's relationship with so and so was hard to explain but Elaine knew so and so had her back..."  Then my cousin got up, "...while it was recommended at 3 months that Elaine be institutionalized....the doctors soon realized and actually recommended that Elaine stay with the family...the strides she has made....moved to the house.....special friend Brian..."  Then another cousin, "Love is patient, love is kind....It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."  The three of us held it together while there was not a dry eye in the pews.  We walked out of the church, following Elaine's casket singing On Eagle's Wings.  We stood in the back of the church, a circle around Elaine's casket holding hands.  Not wanting to let her go.

We drove in the rain the 16 miles to the cemetery where Elaine would lay to rest beside Grandma and Grandpa. Fr. Ed gave a short but nice service.  Each of the nieces and nephews received a flower for Elaine.  One by one we laid them on her casket...our last gift to the aunt who had actually been our gift.

We all stood there looking at her casket, arms wrapped around each other, not wanting to leave her.  Somehow we managed to leave and all met up down town.  A nice glass of wine, a good meal and great company followed the hours after.  We laughed, caught up on each other and vowed to get together more.

We laid Elaine to rest on a Thursday.  We left that afternoon to go home after an exhausting week and actually felt at peace.

Yesterday while I was cleaning my purse I found a crumpled up piece of paper.  I opened it up and a flood of memories came to me.  While I was sitting there talking to Lainy-Bug, singing her songs Grandpa used to sing to us all, telling her stories of the kids, telling her how much we all love her and that it is OK to get in the car and go home and to make sure she gives grandma and grandpa a hug and kiss from me, I continually read a saying that was hanging on the wall.  It was cross stitched and beautiful.  I wrote it down and stuck it in my purse. 

"Sometimes when a light goes out of our lives
And we are left in the darkenss
And we do not know which way to go,
We must put our hand
Into the hand of God and ask Him to lead us---
And if we let our lives become
A prayer until we are strong enough
to stand under the weight of our own thoughts again,
Somehow even the most difficult hours are bearable"

And you know what?  They are.

Des Moines Botanical Center

Down the street, 7 blocks from our hotel, was the Des Moines Botanical Center. We utilized the free shuttle service provided by the hotel because we didn't know where we were going. We soon realized the center was a straight 7 block shot. Oh well.

 
The greenhouse area was pretty darned warm and very humid, as all greenhouses are I guess.


The picklets loved the large coi fish as well as the families of turtles that lived in the stream that flowed throughout the building.
 
 
Sweet was trying desperately to touch a fish as it went by. That was until it actually went by, then she backed off.


I have absolutely no luck in growing aloe plants. These leaves were as long as my arm.

Chip loves bonsai trees and has decided, after looking at this, that he once again wants one. Maybe for his birthday!

One room was dedicated to bonsai trees.

 
I have no idea what this is called but I really love the colors.

 
The water fall was such a nice sound to listen to as well as a beautiful site to look at..

 
This frawn just called my name.

 
This is a banana tree bloom that Sweet pointed out to me.
 
We were wishing these were ripe. We love bananas.

 
I loved this use of the rubber boots. It was gorgeous.

 
The theme around the center was rainbows. There were little facts about them all over. They even had a garden dedicated to rainbows.

 
Dill took this picture of a rainbow sculpture as we were leaving. Depending on the angle you looked at it it either looked like this or 1 dementional. It was pretty neat.

 
Sitting under the unbrella tree before leaving.

We did walk back to the hotel since it was so close. It started raining but we enjoyed that too. :)

 

(c) 2008-2011 Wicked Pickles-Homefront Lines

Back from Vacation...early

We are back from a much needed, way too short vacation. We headed out Thursday and spent the night in Des Moines. We relaxed, went on a couple field trips and enjoyed some great family time. I will post pictures later. Friday afternoon we went to Omaha. Chip and Sweet had a gymnastics competition Saturday morning and we wanted plenty of time to rest before the big event. We walked around the Old Market Area, used the hot tub and ate the best philly cheese steak sandwich. Saturday morning we headed to Sokol for the competition. It was a fun, hectic day seeing many old and new faces and catching up. Watching the kids was the highlight of our day of course! After the competition we went back to the hotel, let the kids swim and relaxed until we had to go to the dance. We headed to the dance about 5ish and hung out for about an hour. By that time we were famished and headed to eat. Fried chicken...yum! Sunday we decided to go back to Des Moines for a couple more days. There is so much history in our state capital that we wanted to see. That was until we checked out from the hotel in Omaha. It seems that they not only charged us once, but THREE times! THREE! We pre-paid for the room because it was a special rate. We thought it was all taken care of. But when we checked out they gave us a bill for more than double what we paid the first time. Then when we checked the account online we found they charged the account double the second amount. We were completely out of money and had to go home. Have you ever had to tell your kids you couldn't afford to continue your vacation? It sucks. I promised the kids we would go to Olive Garden during our vacation and had to rescind on that too. We were lucky we made it home. The front desk manager said the money was refunded to our account but as of this minute it still hasn't shown. We have called the hotel, left a message and still haven't heard from them! Outraged is a mild word at this point! We definitely didn't expect this from a high class hotel. Anyway, Sweet gets to go to gymnastics today because we are home. We are having steak, potatoes and roasted broccoli and purple cauliflower for supper. So, life ain't all bad. We are home, safe and sound, eating a great meal and putting up the trampoline. :-)

Countdown to Christmas: Day 12

“You don’t stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.”

Michael Pritchard

I started this ongoing post at 3:50 this morning. I never got back to it so I thought I would just start a new post.

The papers were delivered to me about 7:30. It took us until 11ish to get them all done. That also included us getting stuck and having to call my knights in shining armor out in the blizzard to dig us out.

It was bitterly cold with high winds, whipping snow and banks as tall as the picklets. I don't understand how the banks got that high since we only received about 3 inches. Musta blown down from MN.

When we got home, Cool had hot cocoa for the picklets and coffee waiting for me. He is feeling much better today, though is not totally 100%. But the fact that he felt better than he has in days was all it took to have a great day. He decided we should have "Family Fun Time". That not only included good snacks but fun for all.

For four hours we sat around the diningroom table playing games. Our first was Scrabble. We got down to the last few tiles we had left and decided if the picklets could make a word AND give us a plausible definition we would count it. Hilarious! Here are the words they came up with.

ovix: a mineral found in Ethiopia
qwinwin: an extint animal from Australia
vlkneercater: a rare Jewish species of caterpillar found in rain forests that cures gallstones, used mainly by Amazon people
bamfone: an ancient musical instrument derived from the woodwind family, originally from Egypt
tallygiti: psychic art used in medieval times to weaken ones enemies in time of battle

I honestly didn't know if we would ever stop laughing!

We then had a rousing tennis match on the Wii. Dill was the overall champion.

Then we played Buzzword. Talk about a game that makes you use your mind. The rules are to work in pairs and you try to get your partner to guess the words that have the "Buzz word" in them. Since we are odd numbered we read the clues to everyone and the first person to guess the correct answer got a point. The game ended in a neck to neck battle between Chip and Dill. They are both very witty and very fast thinking.

We then had "Happy Family Movie Time." We watched Cats and Dogs 2 The Revenge of Kitty Galore. The wit in that movie is subtle and really made Cool and I laugh. While we watched that we ate our supper of pork roast, dinner rolls, peas and salad.

The second movie we watched was The Sorcerers Apprentice. This was such a good movie. I could watch it over and over again. It had a touch of Merlin, Fantasia, Star Wars, love, drama and good versus evil all in one. We all loved it.

It has been said that laughing is good for the soul. I think that is right on. It was exactly what our souls needed today.

(c) 2008-2010 Wicked Pickles-Homefront Lines

Cool's Happy Birthday

We celebrated Cool's birthday not too long ago. The picklets always try to make the day special for him.

They started off with buying him a day old donut and serving it to him, complete with a votive candle, in bed. Nothing but second best for my family!


The picklets put their money together and bought a small scrapbook and some decorations. They worked together for a week making a keepsake for him.


These are my favorite pages. I guess they didn't like his beard. LOL Man were we young. I was pregnant with Chip in this first picture.

And boy howdy were we dorks. Would it surprise you if I said we have another picture just like this second picture only of Cool? Nothing like matching jean jackets to say bumpkin!

I love that they put their math skills to work for his present. It tickles the homeschooler in me and the accountant in Cool! 5+7-2/2=our family


We went to Lone Star for supper. He just loved being sung to. The hot fudge brownie thing was too bad either. <:o)


Happy "Birpday" my love. Your love means more and more each day.

(c) 2008-2010 Wicked Pickles-Homefront Lines

Soup and Lights

Last night was our towns soup supper and lighting contest. We tramped up to the city building and had ourselves some chicken noodle soup, cinnamon rolls and veggies. After eating we drove around town looking at more lights. As if you all haven't seen enough holiday lights I present another slide show for your viewing pleasure.

PS...after getting home Sweet got sick sending chicken noodle soup around the kitchen. Glad she waited until we got home. :-/

Day 5: Lights

Day 5: Drive around and look at Christmas lights.

This was the perfect end to our day.

(c) 2008-2009 Wicked Pickles-Homefront Lines

The Spirit of the Holidays

All too often, in our house, the picklets are consumed with the gimmes. This time of year it is especially bad. New video games are released, ads galore are in the paper and the TV commercials are geared toward brainwashing the kids into thinking they need this or that. This year we are focusing on the "spirit" of the holidays. The "Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus" type holiday. Here are some ideas for you.

Create a countdown chain. On each ring of the chain have some activity for the kids or family to accomplish. I have a list I will post once I actually make the chain and hang it up today.

Make the time to spend together. Cool is taking a week off both jobs for this purpose. Reconnecting with one another is a big deal.

Remember giving is a greater joy than receiving. Clean out the old toys and clothes and give them to a needy family. Make some baked goods and deliver them to a nursing home. Ask a local church about some elderly shut-ins and prepare a meal and homemade cards. Deliver anonymously through the church. Offer to sing at a senior pot luck or just go around and say Happy Holidays to people. Buy some old fruit and veggies from the local grocery (or ask if they have some to donate), go to a wooded area and decorate the trees with the produce. Your furry, cold friends will thank you. Giving doesn't have to be expensive but is so rewarding.

Remember family traditions and create new ones. This is so important. For example, my parents always let me open one gift, of my choice, on Christmas Eve. We have continued this tradition with one difference. The picklets get to open one gift on Christmas Eve but it is the gift of our choice. They know they get a brand new, special pair of pj's on Christmas Eve. So, in carrying on the tradition from my youth, we formed a new one.

Shake things up and observe traditions from other countries: Make pavlova and celebrate New Zealand style. Make rice pudding and leave a bowl out for the barn elf so he will continue to watch over the animals as is done in Norway. Place cotton on your Christmas tree as they do in Argentina. Learn the legend of the Christmas Spider (Germany and Ukraine). Make a Christmas pinata, fill it with nuts and candies and have a Mexican Christmas party. Have children place their shoes outside their bedroom door on Dec. 5th. It is possible that St. Nicholas (with helpful parents) will fill them with treats. (This tradition is celebrated in many different ways all over the world.) Have an adult hide a pickle ornament on the Christmas tree. In the Czech Republic the child who finds the pickle on Christmas Eve gets to open the first present the next morning. Leave your stockings out on January 5th in hopes of La Befana, the Italian Christmas witch, leaving small presents.

Make the season fun: Go look at Christmas lights. Sing to Christmas music. Go caroling with a group of friends. Go to festivals and parades. Practice saying Merry Christmas in different languages. Deck the halls with popcorn and cranberry strings. Make homemade stockings from dad's old socks. Make homemade hot cocoa and watch a Christmas movie. People watch at the mall. Have a ginger bread man decorating contest. Bake cookies together. Use your imagination and then share your ideas with others.

Recycle. In our family the only new gifts come from Santa. Gifts given to each other are either handmade or used. It's cheaper, stretches our imagination and often means much more.

Lastly, don't stress. The holidays don't have to be stressful. It isn't about keeping up with the Joneses. It is about being with family, observing traditions and making your own. Growing up, my dad stressed about Christmas and I never knew it. As an adult I found out he does not have great childhood holiday memories, but he always made the holidays good for me. He still stresses over the season but now makes it fun for his grandchildren. For that I am grateful.

I hope some of these ideas will help spread the holiday cheer in your piece of the world. Happy memory making!

Labor Day Weekend

We had a terrific time camping. Mom, Sweet and I had our birthday trip to the mall for manis, pedis and orange chicken. We shopped till we dropped and shopped some more.

We had great food, great family time and got some much needed relaxation (and sleep).

I didn't take many pictures this year. Not sure why I didn't but here are the three (besides Sweet's fire) that I took.

This was our last night. Notice Gracie curled up by the fire like a good dog? Now notice Millie the Wonder Dog? She disappeared and when we got the flashlight to locate her we found her curled in the chair. Millie is very old, doesn't wander and can't hear. So it was concerning when she wasn't laying by Grace.

This was also Sunday night. The moon was pretty incredible. I thought my camera did a pretty good job photographing it.

Also Sunday night. Cool built up the fire and the flame was at least 6 feet high. Here is Cool next to the fire that Cool built.


Not much in the way of pictures but we have terrific memories.

(c) 2008-2009 Wicked Pickles-Homefront Lines

The Fire That Sweet Built

This is the fire that Sweet built.


This is Sweet posing by the fire that Sweet built.


This is Millie the Wonder Dog coveting the almighty pork chops that cooked over the fire that Sweet built.

One thing I have noticed during my camping excursions through the years is that people do not know how to start a campfire. I have seen people squirt lighter fluid that created a whoosh and a 6 foot flame only to have it die down to nothing. I watched a guy a couple years ago tear strips of paper off sheets and throw them, one by one, into the fire ring, light them and not have anything else to lay atop it to actually keep a fire going. This past weekend I watched a guy bring a fan out of his camper and use that as a bellows to start his fire. I wish you could see me shaking my head right now. My dad taught me to build a campfire when I was pretty young. It has been a skill, though not used alot, that has come in handy through the years. This year was the year Sweet was taught how to light a campfire. We talked about renting her fire lighting services out to the other campers this past weekend.

Good job Sweet! Keep up the good work!


(c) 2008-2009 Wicked Pickles-Homefront Lines