And the winner is . . .

Anna Voelkel has been elected as the 2009-10 Student Council Treasurer!!! *crowd cheers wildly* And according to her, that makes her "famous". :)

A few of our slogans:

"A little change is a good thing"

"In Anna we TRUST"

"Respectful, Responsible, Reliable, and Here for YOU!"

Campaigning was a family affair. Here we see campaign headquarters in full force as Anna and Janae design posters. Even Daila made a few posters! And Anna and I totally used Janae to get the 3rd grade votes. 3rd, 4th and 5th graders voted, but only 4th and 5th graders could run for office. So Anna and I agreed that not many 4th graders would have a sibling in 3rd grade who could push the votes for them. So we definitely exploited that advantage. And Janae LOVED the status that gave her. lol ;-)

Campaigning included a speech which Anna had to deliver in an assembly with all the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. She was the first one to speak! Sheesh! But she was AWESOME! This was a great learning experience for our entire family and the first of many school extra-curricular activities. CONGRATS ANNA!!! We are SO proud!Somewhere between all that campaigning, Anna got braces. Busy gal. Speaking of busy, Anna and Janae have also started a beginning strings class before school two days a week. It's completely free at this point. Ben and I are really curious to see if the girls will take to a musical instrument. We're excited about the exposure they'll get to music education through opportunities like this violin class.

Down at the Lindsey's Farm

Our clan went to the farm with some close friends. Here's a few pics of our adventures: We drove in as far as we could but with only some roughed out "roads" and bumpy terrain, we had a chance to walk a bit too. We parked by a monster corn field and walked down to the creek and thought, "hmmm . . . what now?" None of us really had a plan when we left that morning so our girls were wearing school shoes. So we decided to build a "bridge" (which just became a lil waterfall). So the above picture shows how Daila decided to try out the bridge. :)

The women-folk and the children are enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

What can I say? *blush* We were having a very laid-back, carefree day and Daila was having sooo much fun with her friends. :)

The big girls are bringing down a log to add to a bridge/waterfall.

They worked and played very hard that day.

The lil one was having fun in the water all afternoon with the luxury of stripping down to her diaper from time to time. Daila was doing well at staying dry but I think she finally had enough of it and decided to go all the way.Oh yeah . . . this is fun. Now THAT'S how you play in a farm creek. :)


Ben is roasting a hot dog and the fire was just SO hot. So this is the solution. What a clever guy.


The big girls crossing the bridge.
Maintaining the waterfall by removing debris. She was ever-so-diligent at this task.

Our "Just Like New" Front Porch

Vampires?

Are Vampires Real?

Check out these famous vampires:

(Can you name them all?)

All right, you caught me. Vampires aren't real. The last one isn't even very famous. He's my dad. He may not be a vampire, but he sure does get blood frequently. And he says he feels much better once he's had some. He's been going through quite a bit of blood lately. (His own blood is not doing the job, you see.) It's worrisome but . . .

. . . at least he's not a scary vampire. :) Here's to good health Dad!!

Just a Boring "Run of the Mill" Update

I don't have any fancy schmancy photos to add . . . at the moment . . . but here's what we've been up to (in a nutshell).

Anna will be getting braces soon! Spacers go in on Aug. 27th and braces on Sept. 3rd.

Daila is going to a formal pre-school and doing well. We all started school on Aug. 13th.

I am teacing 4th grade for a few months while the teacher is on maternity leave.

We went to the Magic House on Aug. 12th as a family. It was Ben's first time. We all had a blast and I'm glad we could do it together. The girls earned free tickets for that night through the St. Louis County Library summer reading club. (I also have read a ton of fabulous books over the summer. It's been fun.)

We have spent a couple of weekends down in Sullivan to spend time with the family; especially my sister Paula and 4 of her kids (who live in California but drove out for a visit).

Ben surprised me with a weekend alone together. He arranged babysitting for the girls at Grandma Hamblin's house and we drove to Branson. We raced Go Carts, waited in traffic, went shopping at flea markets, watched some hilarious girls practicing on their mopeds they had just rented, waited in traffic, shopped at the outlet stores, waited in traffic, soaked in redneck crafts (like a whole line of jewelry made out of Confederate flag beads), watched Harry Potter, ate at Olive Garden for free (funny story), and stayed at the same hotel we originally stayed in on our first trip to Branson as newlyweds 10 years ago. All in all it was a very relaxing and enjoyable trip. We were so laid back and easy-going the whole time. No deadlines, no responsibilities. We didn't even mind the traffic. :) We just kicked back and enjoyed each other's company. Oh and the new Branson Landing is beautiful. That was a fun walk. I think I can post a picture of the awsome fountain there.

Well that's about it. We've been incredibly busy and away from home a lot. So I've got to get off this computer and clean up the house. But we've managed to squeeze in all sorts of fun things all summer long. But . . . guess it's back to work now. ;-)

"She Bought Me Because of My Beautiful Legs"

Thanks to my awesome sistah Paula for posting this story on her Facebook profile. I hope she doesn't mind me stealing it, but there's nothing like hearing a story from the source. I knew this story but never thought to write it in "interview format" like most stories are told. Paula is brilliant! :)

Well I hope you all enjoy this story told by my dad to my oldest sister describing some of the events around how my mom and dad first met and fell in love.

"She Bought Me Because Of My Beautiful Legs”

Paula: So, Dad, I don’t remember how you and Mom first met. How old were you?

Ted: Well, I was born in ’37 and got married in June of ’63, but I didn’t hit my birthday yet in ’63 cuz I have a late birthday in December. So how old was I?

Paula: I don’t know, I’ll have to count on my fingers and toes. Um …. I think that would’ve made you about 25 and turning 26.

Ted: Yeah, I think you’re right. And mom is four years younger than I am.

Paula: So when did you two first see each other? Was it at church? School?

Ted: Yeah, it was at church. She bought me because of my beautiful legs. You remember that story…

Paula: No, I don’t remember! (laughter)

Ted: You don’t? Well, we were trying to raise money for something so they had a slave auction. You remember those blackboards on wheels? That would come down to a level just about to the middle of your thigh? We had to stand there with all of our legs bare, and the girls would bid on us. We’d hear, “I want THAT one, with THOSE legs.” Then we’d have to be their slave for a week and do anything they wanted. Take them shopping, whatever … and mom bought ME … because of my beautiful legs. She didn’t know whose face went with the legs! (laughter)

Paula: That’s awesome! I think I vaguely recall this story, but not that well. It’s been a long time.

Ted: Well, I DO have awesome legs. I mean, gee, you oughta see ‘em!

Paula: Mmmmm….?

Ted: (loud laughter)

Paula: Maybe that’s where Locey got his. He runs very fast and has pretty nice legs. Very muscular.

Ted: Oh, yeah, mine are muscular.

Paula: Uh huh! And the rest is history, huh?

Ted: Yeah, the biggest thing was that I had a car. It was an old clunker, but it ran. She always wanted me to take her shopping so she wouldn’t have to carry the groceries back. She was waiting for a missionary, so she wouldn’t date me or anything. But I would take her all over the place and be her slave.

Paula: Even after your week was up?

Ted: Yeah! Well, we had a good relationship which was helpful. I’d tell her I would do something for her, that I didn’t mind taking her places, whether it was to her botany class or just, wherever.

Paula: So, when did you two start dating?

Ted: She wouldn’t date me … so I started dating her roommates! (chuckles) One time I was sitting outside her apartment with one of the girls she roomed with, we were sitting in my car, when LaWana came walking down the sidewalk. I said, “Oh, look ~ there’s LaWana.” Well, this girl had really long hair, so when she turned her head to look, her hair flew around in front of my face. I had been chewing gum at the time, so when she flung her hair around, some of it ended up in my mouth, just as I was chomping down. When I opened my mouth, my gum was gone. It had ended up in this girl’s hair! So when LaWana walked by my car and glanced inside, she saw our two heads bent down, close together. She didn’t know we were trying to get gum out of her roommate’s hair. It looked a little more intimate than that. (Dad keeps chuckling throughout the telling of this story!)

Paula: I seem to remember you telling her that the Lord would provide for her missionary, and that she shouldn’t worry about him because the Lord would provide him with a woman.

Ted: (laughter) Yeah, I remember when she – (LaWana enters the room)

LaWana: What are you two talking about?

Paula: You.

Ted: We were talking about you, and how you bought me because of my beautiful legs.

LaWana: Yes. That was a good purchase, wasn’t it? I have a good eye!

(My mother then came up behind my father, who was sitting at the dining room table, and gave him a hug around his shoulders. He reached up and held her arms while she bent her head in towards him. It was a beautiful moment.)

[Thanks again, Paula. We will all be anxiously waiting for the next installment of your recorded stories with Dad. :)]

Six Flags: Girls' Day Part Two

A Day at Six Flags

The 5 year old boy I am watching for the summer is spending the day with his friend, so the girls and I decided today would be the perfect day to use their free Six Flags tickets. The weather is still supposed to be nice and we had so much fun kicking off our summer with our girls' day in Nauvoo, that we figured we'd do the same thing today at Six Flags. (We actually went with our good friend April and two of her sons, but we still consider it a "girl day summer kick-off" activity.)

Here are a couple of highlights:

1. The view from the top of the giant ferris wheel.

2. Daila and Brody were so cute. Daila wouldn't let go of Brody's hand (or Anna's) until the ride came to a complete stop.

3. Six Flags has a great playground and lots of smaller "roller coasters" but I had a hard time getting any good photos with that kind of action.

4. Daila with her Super Girl cape she "won" at a squirt gun booth.

5. Super Daila and Brody to the rescue on their trusty steeds!!! Daila and Brody rode the carousel a few times while Anna and Jane rode the Log Flume a few times. Daila really enjoyed the Log Flume, but by the end of the day she was losing interest in thrills.

6. Riding the train around the park.