Sunflower Field

There's something about a sunflower field stretching for miles upon miles that makes you feel like you're chilling on cloud nine. People from across the region, including us, flocked to a field off of Main Street to see and photograph the gorgeous fields of yellow.

The beauty of the sunflower field put me in such a good mood.  All the way home I sang "You are My Sunshine".

Easter Eggs

Every year, like so many other families, dying Easter eggs has been a tradition.  My sons are grown, so now the tradition continues with the nieces and nephew.

Washington DC

Friday, the 20th of January is Inauguration Day. Instead of focusing on the politics, I thought I'd share the trip we took this fall to Washington DC. 

 Students from Great Britain took a two week trip to visit our country.  Todd and I hosted one of the teachers who came along to chaperone.  My favorite day trip we took was to see our nations Capitol.  It was a gorgeous day and I enjoyed walking throughout DC to see all the monuments.

 Mr. Trump recently opened a hotel in DC.  We happened to pass by on our way to lunch.  It just looked like another hotel with flashy gold signs everywhere.  Honestly I wasn't that impressed.

With all the uproar during this years election, the British visitors were fascinated with our presidental  debates and learned a lot about our political process. 

In fact, I learned A LOT during this election too. It was inspiring to see all 3 of my boys get involved with politics and have civil conversations about it.  

 The most excitement we had was getting caught in the middle of a protest in front of the White House.  We got to see Secret Service men run across the White House lawn chasing someone down.  You could see the sharp shooters on top of the roof from where we stood.  It was difficult to get photos because of the extra security blocking tourists off from getting too close to the gate.

Whether we like it or not, Mr. Trump will become our 45th president and will take up residence in the White House for the next 4 years.
I just hope there won't be gold glitter and neon flashing signs in the lawn.

Super Moon

The moon is a familiar sight in our sky, brightening dark nights and reminding us of space exploration, past and present. But the Super Moon — on Monday, Nov. 14 — will be especially “super” because it’s the closest full moon to Earth since 1948. 

 My husband was able to capture these gorgeous photos of the Super Moon.  I love how you can see the different colors and make out the craters.

We won’t see another Super Moon like this until 2034.

Ice skating in 1975

I was 7 years old and remember watching World Figure Skating Championships on TV.  I thought Dorothy Hamill was beautiful.  Although I don't remember who won or who didn't, I knew I wanted to be just like her.   It was exciting when my sisters and I got ice skates for Christmas!

My Dad took us to a local ice rink that he played hockey on. The rink was located at The Hill School. Each winter my mom would dress us up warmly, even put baggies over our socks.  (Not sure why she thought this would keep us warm).  At first I clung to the walls as I went around the rink. Eventually I let go and had a lot of fun!  I loved the smell of the rink, the outdoor food trucks with french fries and the best hot coca ever.  To this day I can still smell the aromas.  Skating is one of my favorite childhood memories that I share with my sisters.
The rink was torn down around 10 years ago and replaced by a modern indoor rink.  My son played hockey on the newer rink a few times.  It really is a nice facility, but it's not the same as an outdoor rink.

A little trivia... The Hill School is a private school where Donald Trump's children attended.

The Evil Queen

 I have become a huge fan of Once Upon A Time on ABC.  My favorite character is Regina, The Evil Queen.  This halloween we attended a costumer party.  I've never been to a costume party before!  It was so much fun dressing up and being EVIL!  

My second favorite character from the show is Captain Hook. 

 Instead of Todd dressing up as Prince Charming I found a pirate costume!  

 Happy Halloween!

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers.  I love how they bloom a variety of different colors.  

The first two years, bushes didn't bloom at all.  I thought I had dysfunctional hydrangea's.
I've seen many bushes full of blooms in other peoples yards and have often wondered how they did it.

Last year - AHA! - I had a bunch of blooms!

I can't wait to see how many I get this spring!!