A Man in Michigan

A man in Michigan is suing a publisher of the Bible. Apparently, some passages caused him to feel bad about himself. I wonder why he isn't suing the author?

Found Another One

Rachel actually let Quinn sink her into the sand so they could be the same height. Pretty cute.

Went to a wedding

. . . and found the all-time winner for best guest party favor. Hilarious. Can anyone contribute to this post?

Thank you!

Uncle Terry and Aunt Gail are our vacation super heroes.

BTW, that is not a two-headed dog, but the picture is very funny. Their names are Molly and Roscoe. Quinn kept calling them Moley and Rascal.

Yes, Iowa.

It sounds kind of boring, but not really. Mike's Uncle and Aunt built a cottage on a lake and it was like our own private resort. Check out these pictures. The kids got to go tubing. Mike and I attempted to use a jet ski. One of us does not have a very good sense of balance, so that plan had to be scrapped (after I was DUMPED and nearly drowned!). We each had our own bedroom, so it took a lot longer for us to get on Rachel's nerves (ahhh, preteens).

Guess where we were?

No.

Quinn just asked, "Hey, Mom? Can you go outside and get me that lighter I found? I want to show Dad how I can light things up."

Fireworks

They were interesting. Started out with an old, old bomber flying loop-de-loops. The first five loops were pretty cool. The next fifteen loops got a little bit old. The pyrotechnics were nice. We probably should have gotten a little bit closer. Instead of driving to the parking lot and sitting in the lawn area with everyone else, we decided to back into a country ditch a couple miles away (so we could avoid traffic!). Well, we got stuck in the tall wet grass and Mr. Rellim was not there to push us out. Fortunately, some strong, nice drunk people were up to the task. Happy 232nd!

Happy Birthday, America!

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."

— Thomas Paine, author

Sunfall

I kinda like the word. According to Quinn, that is when fireworks will start tomorrow.

What Did You Say?!

Quinn and I were walking this morning and I had just reprimanded him for trying to burp or pass gas with every step, when he said to me, "Mom, you know, we should really think about the national debt."

"What about it?" I asked, certain that he had inadvertently used a phrase that he had no idea about.

Instead, I was floored with this response, "You know, the national debt is over 5 trillion dollars now and with every war, the debt continues to skyrocket. The only way we can pay off the debt is to raise taxes and I'm not really into paying for other people's poor spending choices."

"Uh . . yeah . . . I agree with you," I said.

Where did he get this information? SCHOOL HOUSE ROCK music cartoons!!!!!!!

WRONG Answer

Rachel asked me why a certain group of boys are "nice and normal" when they talk to her but "act all weird" when more girls are around. I told her that the boys probably feel comfortable around her because she is nice to them while the girls she mentioned are often giggly and flighty.

"What do you think?" I asked Mr. Rellim.

Mr. Rellim replied, "Well, Rachel, the truth is that boys have only one thing on their mind and it makes it hard to concentrate."

"What thing?" asked Rachel.

I shot the man the look of certain death if he were to continue.

"What thing?" asked Quinn.

"Oooooh!" said Rachel, then fell into a silence that lasted until she and her brother started laughing hysterically.

I hope they were thinking about Scooby Doo or American Idol.

Friends for Lunch

Haven't seen Mr. Rellim for about 30 minutes. I'm getting lunch ready for some friends, so he decided to go detail the van. OK, so I asked him to do it (for my birthday 3 weeks ago!). Better late than never?

When Does Life Begin?

Not such a tough question, is it?

All Smiles

Quinn with his spoils after four days of basketball camp. Seems he made two of ten free throws in the contest today to claim the free throw champion medal for all boys his age.

Illiterate

Friends of ours recently welcomed a baby daughter into their family. (Keep in mind these friends raise pigs.) Their four year old son asked if he and his sister were illiterate.

It took them a while to figure out that he was really asking if he and his sister were littermates.

Corpse Flower

We just missed its blooming - and it only happens once every six years. Oh well, that means we also missed its stench. They don't call it a corpse flower for nothing. Yes, it really is about six feet tall. Native to Indonesia.

Fancy Schmancy Wedding

Yet another Rellim wedding provides food and fun. This one was a bit on the "uptown" formal side. At least I thought so, until the bridal party joined in the paper bag dance. During this dance, everyone placed a Jewel/Osco paper shopping bag over his head to have a dance-off. The set-up was that only one person was unknowingly left to dance while the others watched. Very entertaining. Congrats to Andy and Kristi!

Elizabeth Jane circa 1845

Rachel spent the entire day as a volunteer pioneer. Most of the morning she hoisted a scythe and harvested a wheat field. For noon victuals, she made biscuits at the fireplace and picked lettuce from the garden. Now at home, she is enjoying a long shower. (A person can only rough-it for so long!)

Guess Where We Were?

Rachel and my mom posed near the Arch in St. Louis. We did not take the tram to the top. Did it once in 1977. Scared me enough to last over 30 years. The elevator at the Hilton was exciting enough for me.