Fall Vacation

Two weeks ago our family was able to take a mini break.  The fates aligned and hubby was able to get a long weekend the same time we were on fall break.  We had a magnificent time for not too much money.  We drove 3 hours east to Columbus Ohio.  It was the best vacation we've had in a long time.

Our hotel was perfect - it was one of those suites ones with a full kitchen, sitting room, and bedroom. Weeman bedded down in the sitting room on the couch bed which helped everyone rest easier and gave mommy and daddy some privacy.  The price wasn't too bad for what we had and they served a great breakfast buffet every morning.

The main reason we went was to visit the Columbus Zoo.  We spent the entire day on Friday and didn't see everything.  Seriously this is a fantastic zoo.  We were lucky that they are a reciprocal zoo with the Fort Wayne Zoo which means we were able to get in for half price.  So our admission fee total was only $20. We were even able to leave and grab some food off site and then come back in the evening for the Halloween Festival without paying anymore.  We just had our hands stamped before leaving.   We've already promised David we'll go back.  They have a huge water park attached that he wants to check out in the summer.  Plus of course we have to finish visiting all the animals.

Obi Wan Kenobi at the Zoo Halloween - costume thanks to Goodwill

He would have stayed in here watching the fish for hours

Best part of the trip - petting Stingrays

The whole zoo was well kept and the enclosures for the animals were nice and large

There were many signs and information shared throughout the zoo about conserving our resources and saving our planet

Checking out an astronaut suit at the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum

First trip to a Lego Store equals happy boy

A spur of the moment stop at a find on the way home - Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapokaneta, Ohio

Dear Blog.... I miss you

Lately I've been feeling the itch to write.  I miss my blog, but I know it's been so long since I've written that no one is reading me anymore.  What I really miss is my Xanga community.  I loved blogging on Xanga, it got me through some of the hardest days of my life as we struggled to get pregnant the first time.  When Xanga went away I downloaded my entire blog on a flash drive.  I couldn't just let those words, those days disappear.  They are the story of our marriage and our WeeMan's beginnings.  So many tears were shed as I wrote them, so many prayers and wished spilled there.

Anyways, I miss the family I built up on Xanga,  the other ladies that were struggling in similar ways to me.   I still "see" them on Facebook, but it's just not the same.

So I'm going to sigh and try to get back into writing on here and hope that somehow it comes close to filling that void.

As far as life right now.... well things are quite different this school year.  My baby is in kindergarten. How on earth did that happen!  One minute he was rocking in my lap and the next he's riding to school with me everyday.  I love having him in my building with me.  I love catching a glimpse of him in the hallway and hearing how's he doing from other teacher daily.  He's sharp as a tack - we always knew he would be.... and huge relief he's decided he likes school and reading and writing.  In fact he loves writing.

There are challenging kiddos in his classroom.  We knew there would be.  Our school is the lowest in the county.  Over 85% of our kids are on free lunch and many of them have horrible home lives.  We debated where we wanted him to go.  It wasn't an easy decision to send him here.  He could have stayed at his babysitter and gone to a county school.  But this was the right decision, for him and for his classmates. We are proud of the way he has accepted some of the kids who have issues and become their friend.  I want him to have a heart for the broken... for the messed up.... for the hurting.  I know that here in this building he's growing that heart.

For me... I'm back in fourth grade, and I'm happy.  I have several kids I had two years ago in second and that was a fantastic way to start the year.  Even more than that though this class has formed a family unit and it feels good to come to school to teach them.  I'm reminded this is where I belong.  Last year was a day to day struggle to get up and get here.  I was miserable, I won't lie I'm pretty sure my kids were miserable.  This year is like a breath of fresh air.

So that's the synopsis of the here and now. I'm planning to try to get back here a few times a week.  My fingers itch to write to document this life that is flying by too fast.