I don't like to brag

BUT,

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!

Sorry to my Auburn readers....really. Don't go.....well just for this post is ok.

This year's game was CLOSE and the Auburn team has nothing to hang their head over. They certainly gave Alabama a run for their money, especially by scoring two touchdowns within the first quarter.

This Alabama fan was skeered. BAD!

But in the end, Alabama prevailed and they move on to face the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship game this Saturday.

I will offer no predictions, but let it be known I will be cheering on MY Crimson Tide!


Oh and I almost forgot.....check out this SUPER DUPER cupcake elephant my step-dad found at one of our local supermarkets:




ROLL TIDE, for another year....phew!

Head 'Em Up and Move 'Em Out

Aren't you relieved that we have finally reached Day 3, the final day of our 5th grade camping extravaganza.

Thanks for enduring it all, but this is the stuff grandparents live for!

Needless to say, everyone in the camp got a better night's rest than our first night. I think we all were exhausted from our full day of fun activities and there was no food delivery truck before dawn! The boys reported they got to sleep before the snoring warthog dad did!

Before heading back home, the kids participated in couple more educational activities and I took a few more pictures (because the first 150 photos were not enough).








Lego-Man and his buddy learned about the Western Cedar Tree and then had to teach everyone in their group what they learned. Raise your hand if you knew pencils can be made with cedar wood??




The kids also had a map reading class that wouldn't have been complete without a scavenger hunt! It was all fun and games until my boy took a little tumble into the nature. He scratched up his hands and leg and he was done!


Before we pointed the horse towards the house, I finally got a couple of mother and son photos (much to someone's dismay):

And here was the view from my rear-view mirror for my entire trip home:







Guess who wants to go to this camp for a week in the summer???

Roughing It- DAY 2

I got a jump start on Day 2 around 0445......meaning 4:45 AM.....before the sun was up....AND 2 hours before I HAD to be up.

Why 0445?? Well that's the time the food delivery truck backed its way into the camp area. Yes, backing up. And we all know what sound accompanies a truck backing up!

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP........now multiply that times 20 minutes!!!!

SERIOUSLY!

Anywhoo, as the moms got ready and met up with our boys, we discovered that most of them had one thing in common....not much sleep. Not because they were giddy with the excitement of being at camp, but because So-and-So's Dad "snored like a warthog", "snored the paint off the walls" and "kept us up all night".

I broke the rules and let Lego-Man have caffeinated coffee, or he wasn't going to make it.


The highlight of Day 2 was an event the camp is known for, the re-enactment of the Underground Railroad. The campers go through a series of stations around the camp that allows them to "experience" situations the slaves may have encountered while trying to get to freedom.

The 5th graders just completed the book "Listen for the Whippoorwill" which is a fictional book about a little girl who attempts to escape from her life as a slave on a plantation.

The children played the part of a traveling choir. That was their cover story as they began their journey on the Underground Railroad.

The camp counselors took their roles seriously and even warned the parents that, at times, the intensity level would get pretty high.

And look who paid the price for looking the landowner in the eye, after being asked to keep his head down:



Yep, that's my boy! I thought the intensity of the moment might intimidate him, but clearly it did not.

As the children moved through the different stations, you could feel the tension level drop as they were moved to more secure areas, until they finally reached the area of freedom.

I think most of the kids and grown-ups enjoyed this activity. And, as a parent, I felt like it was a great way for the kids to get a VERY SMALL idea of what life may have been like for those traveling this trail to freedom.


After a delicious lunch (corndogs with a side of mac-n-cheese), we headed back out on the trails for a few more activities:

The "Sensory Trail" where the kids are blindfolded
and have to figure out what objects they find along the trail.


A brief lesson in Botany.

We all wrapped up Day 2 with a camp fire by the lake. The counselors and even some parents entertained us with a little skit action. My stomach hurt from laughing so hard!!

Awkward moment of the evening came when I had to try and explain to my son's friend what the word "ghetto" means.

As we walked back to our cabin, WITH flashlights, we looked for spiders in the woods. We were told that if you shine your flashlight just right into the woods, you can see the reflection from the spider's eyes.

Umm, yea, just for the record I didn't slow down the pace just to see spider's eyes in the woods. After all, I could look a spider in the eye in the not-so-privacy of my very own cabin!



Day 2, DONE, and I survived!


Barely.

Roughing It- DAY 1

This past week I had the privilege of escorting Lego-Man and almost his entire 5th grade class to a YMCA camp located here in God's country, Alabama.

It was a 2 night, 3 day field trip taken each year by the 5th grade class at our school.

Before I committed myself to chaperoning on this trip I had to clarify one little thing. Would I have to stay in a cabin with the 5th grade girls? Because I only have expertise, right now, on 3rd grade girls.

Nope, the moms of the boys got to stay in a cabin all by themselves. No boys, no girls, just grown women. Check out our DELUXE camp accommodations:




Check out my bunk:




How about these bathrooms:




Too bad you can't see the huge dead spider in the shower, that lost it's life to a half a can of Lysol by another mom within the first hour of our stay!

Unfortunately, the dad's who escorted their daughters on this trip got stuck in the cabins with the other dads and their sons. *snicker* *snort* I mean, too bad they didn't get their own cabin.

Once we got our cabins situated and had lunch we literally hit the ground running.....i.e. hiking. The camp has planned educational activities to teach the kids a variety of outdoors topics.

We began day one with a couple of get to know you exercises, grown-ups included (oh joy).

Check out Lego-Man getting into the spirit of one of the games:

For a little explanation, he had to change 5 things about himself and then the person across from him had to guess what he changed. It must admit these games were a lot of fun and allowed me to meet and develop a "bond" with some of the other moms.


Next we began our official hiking segment of the day, we stopped in the woods to learn about predators and prey. Who wouldn't want their classroom to look like this:

(kids faces are blurred for privacy)

The highlight of Lego-Man's day was our last daylight activity.....CANOEING!

Notice I said, our last DAYLIGHT activity. Because after dinner we went on a "NIGHT HIKE". Yes, that's right....at night.

In the dark.

NO FLASHLIGHTS allowed.

Oooookay.

And, ummm, for obvious reasons, no photos were taken.

The cool factor was quite high for the kids, but this middle aged mom was a bit skeptical of hiking in the woods in the dark. I believe another mom can be quoted as saying, "this in the dark stuff is making me nauseous!"

The kids (and adults who were not nauseous) learned a little bit about the night sky including how to find the North Star. Which was right up mine and my boy's alley. We also participated in a couple of experiments on luminescence. F-U-N.


The night hike completed our activities for day 1. Since day 1 at camp technically got started around noon, I could barely stand the thought of a WHOLE day of camp ahead of us on day 2.

Day 1 wore this ol' gal out.....stay tuned for Day 2.

If the shoe fits....

We've all heard the old adage, but what if the shoe doesn't fit....or worse?!


I spotted this in a local music store.


Don't see it? Let's get a little closer look here:

I just wonder how bad her big toe must throb at the end of the day after being squeezed through that little hole all day?!




How about this Asian inspired look:


Dear College Boy, I bet the sorority girls LOVE this look on their man, huh?





And, from the "bless his heart" fashion collection:


Maybe he was headed home to cut the grass......or something.





Last, but certainly not least, this goes under the "Did you see that??" category:


Can you tell what is on those boots accentuating that lovely red and black ensemble??

Yep, you guessed it:




I had to consult the Google on these babies. **BAM**

"Nomad Yippy Natural Ladies Waterproof Rain Boots with Roses Skulls Rubber Cowboy Western Rainboots"

THEY ARE RAIN BOOTS PEOPLE! No kidding.




And just so ya' know....my shoe motto is: FUNCTION OVER FASHION. Always.

Hellooooooo

Remember me?!

I realize it's been a couple weeks since I've posted something here.

I've missed being here!

And perhaps you've missed me....or not.

During my last couple weeks "off" I have done something CrAzY!

For you, the 58 people who say you follow me, and for those of you who randomly landed here today, I am going to vow to do a little better in my blog posting.

Because, this cRaZy half-hearted-blogger has done something, quite frankly, out of the ordinary. I have signed myself up for Blissdom 2010 in Nashville. And even reserved myself a room at the Opryland Hotel...yee haw!

For those of you who don't know, Blissdom is a conference for BLOGGERS. Ahem. And as of lately, that has not been me.

So, now I have to start blogging again.....or there will clearly be NO NEED for me to attend a blogging conference, and I might as well have thrown some money down the ol' toilet.

Right?

I thought so!

So let's get this thing back on.......ROLL 'EM!