Rachel's New Hair Cut

Anna is in the process of growing her hair long. It only makes sense that Rachel would now want her hair short. Rachel's hair has always been long. And, I don't know what possessed her today to want it to get cut short but she asked and I obliged. There are some things that I'm a stickler about but hair isn't one of them. It'll always grow back and it's a way a child can choose to express themselves that isn't permanent. I must admit I was a bit sad seeing her beautiful locks being cut but she was very happy with the end result. And, as long as she's happy, I'm happy!

High Falls State Park

We did not have any plans to travel this month. But, as usual, we were bitten with the bug to get out of the house for the weekend. High Falls State Park is close by so it's usually a good choice for a short weekend trip.

I drove separately from Jeff and the girls as I had some things to finish up at work on Friday and I didn't want to hold them up. But, I made it in plenty of time for dinner. We drove to Buckner's in Jackson, GA, for dinner because the campsite didn't have water available. We ended up having to move to another campsite because there was no water available in the loop due to maintenance being done in the area. Later, after moving our RV, we joined one of the park rangers after dinner for a night hike at the park. I think we all enjoyed the walk after eating so much for dinner at Buckner's.

The girls were anxious to go swimming so we planned to bring them to the High Falls State Park pool on Saturday. But, we were up a bit earlier than they had opened so we took a short hike by the Falls prior to going swimming.

At the base of the Falls, Rachel noticed a dragonfly nearby who then flew into a spider's web only to become the spider's next meal. Rachel was so sad that the pretty dragonfly was now a meal for the spider. She eventually got over it but not after a bit of crying about the whole matter. I didn't take a picture of the dragonfly but below is the spider. He was pretty cool to look at.

We had our run of the pool. There really weren't many others there. We were all amused at a sign outside of the baby pool though. Pay close attention to rule #3 that Anna is pointing to in the picture below. Now, we all know that they had to put this on a sign because some idiot put an infant in the pool that had diarrhea at some point. Am I the only one that thinks that it's a pretty sad state of affairs when people have to be told not to do this?

After spending a couple of hours at the pool, we were all ready for lunch. We decided to visit the local outlet mall in the afternoon to kill some time. The funny part was that Jeff was the one who suggested it. I wanted to take his temperature to see if he was feeling o.k. He never volunteers to go shopping.

After killing a few hours walking around the outlet mall, we ate dinner at O.B.'s before returning to the RV. By the way, if you stop at O.B.'s Bar-B-Que in McDonough, GA, you have to try their baby back ribs. Yummy!!!!

This weekend trip was short and sweet but something we all needed. I know I needed it. Work has been relentless as of late. And, I'm going to be on the road for the next couple of weeks for business travel so it was good to get some family time in.

Pat the Husband

I was reading my August copy of Readers Digest and found this small article on page 26.

An author has written a parody on the children's book, "Pat the Bunny." The new book is called "Pat the husband."

The funny part about this is that right after I read the article above about this book, Jeff came into the kitchen and packed his lunch in a plastic grocery bag and then sat it on the floor right in his path directly in front of the refrigerator. He went to brush his teeth and then I noticed him circling the hallway and looking in the kitchen as if he was looking for something so I asked him, "What are you looking for?" He replied, "my lunch." It was then that I laughed while pointing to the bag on the floor directly in front of him. I then showed him this Readers Digest article about this book. I'm not sure that he found it nearly as humorous as I did. I think Jeff was happier thinking there is a conspiracy under foot.

The Rooms Are Mostly Complete

Rachel's Room
Anna's Room


The rooms are pretty much done. If I wait until their rooms are perfectly clean, I may never share a picture so everyone will just have to excuse any obvious clutter. Anna's room required the most work with replacing the ceiling fan and painting. Her space themed room is complete with glow in the dark stars on the walls and glow in the dark miniature planets hanging from the ceiling. My only dislike with her ceiling fan is that you'll notice there are no light globes. It has some cool space ships that she loves but it doesn't provide much light. She picked out a lamp (in the corner) to provide some additional light.

We kept the colors that Rachel's room had but we got her a new bedspread, etc. She is happy with her Tinkerbell themed room but she still kept her Enchanted poster above her bed.

Clearly, you can see the difference in our children's personality simply by looking at how they choose to decorate their room.

My 20-Year High School Reunion Is Coming Up in September

There's a big world out there. Bigger than prom, bigger than high school, and it won't matter if you were the prom queen or the quarterback of the football team or the biggest nerd. Find out who you are and try not to be afraid of it. - Author Unknown

I can't believe it's been 20 years since I graduated from high school in 1988. Yep, that's me above with the big hair and blue eye shadow for my senior photo. Oh, there were bigger hair pictures that I might feel brave enough to share some time. But, this photo will have to do for now.

I'm sure anyone who reaches such a milestone as their 20-year high school reunion can't help but reflect on what their life has been like and make some determination of whether they have been successful or not. I guess we all have different things that we use as our yard stick of what makes us a success. For me, it's not about the fancy house or the nice car. It's about being secure with who you are and simply being happy.

But, from the standard yard stick, I guess I've done O.K. too. I've been blessed in many ways in the past 2o years. I've enjoyed good health, the love and support of family and friends, successful military and civilian careers, and even some adventure. I earned both a bachelors and masters degrees. Plus, I've tolerated all of the professional military education that the military thrust upon me. I have two healthy children and a husband that loves me despite my many imperfections and who has done so for 14 years plus (that man deserves a medal!). So, I guess looking back....things have gone quite well overall.

My Mom, Me and Jeff (1994)

I think the biggest surprise for me after all of these years is my profession. I never would've guessed my life would be so closely entertwined with the military. I guess I've always been some what of a tomboy but I never had any desire to be in the military in high school. But, here I am ready for my 20 year high school reunion with only 6 years left to retire from the USAFR. No one that I knew in high school would've ever guessed that one. I don't think I ever planned my career in any fashion. Truly, it just happened. My military career led to my civilian career and then things continued to build from there. I can't say that I've had any regrets professionally. While it would be nice to be retiring with an active duty retirement, I was greatful for the work flexibility that I had with my civilian career. That made it much easier in my children's infancy years. It seems that things in my life seemed to fall into place at the right times for the right reasons. So, as I said before, I've been very blessed in many ways.

Jeff (holding Anna) and Me (holding Rachel) in 2004

I'll take lots of photos at my reunion and share those. I can't wait to see all of my old friends again. As you saw in earlier posts, I visited with some friends last month. It'll be so nice to catch up with the rest at the reunion.

Macon, GA

We haven't been camping in a while and we all just felt the need to get out of the house today.


Like most people, the areas that we tend to explore the least are the ones closest to us. And, Macon is like that for us. Partly because it is so accessible and partly because some areas of the city are a bit run down and crime ridden and therefore, not so enticing.


Although, the historic area is quite beautiful...particularly in the Spring when the Cherry Blossom trees are blooming.


I have wanted to take the trolley tour for quite some time and thought today was as good as any day to try it out. Of course, if I read local news or watched the local news channel, I would've known they stopped them last week due to the fuel costs. Evidently, the trolleys weren't very fuel efficient so the city stopped the trolley tours.


We decided to drive to the areas that interested us. Our first stop was the Hay House which was built in the late 1850s. There were only three other people in the tour group with us so that made the tour pleasant since we didn't have to deal with crowds. The house was absolutely beautiful on the inside. Homes today just don't have the same character and quality as houses built a long time ago.


We were all ready for lunch by the time we finished our tour so we stopped at the Market City Cafe located at the corner of Cherry Street and Third Street. I definitely recommend this restaurant for anyone visiting the area. They serve deli sandwiches, soups, pasta dishes and other items. They even have a nice dining area outside as well.


Afterwards, we drove the Ocmulgee River Heritage Trail. This is a nice area to stroll when the weather is pleasant. The children played at the play ground for a while and then we drove through the historic area of Macon once more before returning home.

First Day of School

The girls were excited to start back to school today.

Latest on the Home Front

The girls start back to school on Monday. Anna has the same teacher for kindergarten that Rachel had last year. Rachel met her new teacher last Thursday night.

Also, next week, their gymnastics classes resume. And, we've also included dance for the Fall only. After that, we'd like for them to pick one or the other activity. We wanted them to try out dance to see if they liked it. We are both hoping that they will stick with gymnastics. But, we'll leave that to them to pick. Also, some time early next year, we'd like to enroll them in piano lessons. They are both interested in that as well.

We haven't made any trips in our RV lately. Nor do we have any plans in the very near future. We've just been too busy and, quite frankly, it's just too hot. And, we don't want to deal with the summer crowds. Now, that school has started back, we may have to plan a weekend trip to the beach. But, we are looking forward to the Fall so we can start traveling again. It's also nice to see fuel prices dropping a bit too.

We hope everyone had a fun and safe summer!

How do you know.....

How do you know when your husband has been alone with the kids for too long while you've been gone away for business travel?

While having dinner, Rachel asked Jeff, "Daddy, how do you stay under water for a long time?" In the sweetest (but joking) manner possible Jeff replied, "Well, you tie a string around a brick and then tie it to your ankle....." It was at this point that I interrupted him. I have to admit, though, I laughed quite a bit at that one.

How do you know how quickly children pick things up?

On the way home from shopping today, I put in my Marc Anthony CD and cranked up the "I Need to Know" Song. After we were home, Anna was walking around the house singing, "I need to know. I need to know. Tell me, baby girl, cause I need to know."

How do you know when your family needs to leave someone's home?

We were invited to a pot luck dinner in honor of a friend's son who graduated from the high school and who has recently enlisted in the Navy. After dinner, Anna began to entertain the family dog. I thought he was playing with her when I saw her running around and giggling while the dog chased her. As it turned out, the dog was only interested in sniffing her butt and hunching her leg. Yep. That's how you tell it's time to pack up and head home.

How do you know that the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree?

Rachel got a chocolate chip cookie for dessert with her lunch today. Jeff asked Rachel if she would "share a small piece." Rachel pinched off the smallest piece she could and handed it to him. I'd like to take all of the credit for her response to his request. But, I believe Mr. Jeff has taunted them enough on that particular aspect that this was simply a case of "what goes around.....come around." But, I have to say I was particularly proud of my oldest daughter today. While no words were spoken, it brought up memories of the movie Steel Magnolias when Clairee stated, "Very good, Annelle (substitute Rachel)! You've spoken like a true smart-ass!" Almost brings a tear to her Mom's eye. I had to high-five her on that one.

How do you know how different each of your children really are?

Up until recently, Anna and Rachel shared a bedroom and used the other for toys and such. About a month ago, Anna asked to have her own room again. Now, they each want to decorate their room unique to their taste. Rachel settled on a Tinkerbell theme which I expected. She is my "princess" type of girl. Anna, on the other hand, wanted a space room complete with a ceiling fan with space rockets and a Wall-E pillow for her bed. Not exactly what I would've chosen but then again, she's always marched to the beat of her own little drum.

I'll post pictures after we are done with the renovation.

How do you know when you've pushed your spouse too far?

While walking through the toy section at Walmart, Jeff suggested that the girls should "take a look at this drum set." Of course, I gave him a look that could kill.