First Day of School - August 15, 2011

Summer, as always, ended too soon and school is already a week past. Little bit of shock for some who have been on the couch most of the summer. Names will be withheld to protect the lazy.

Class Schedules are:

Bex (Junior) - American Lit, College Prep Math, Physics, U.S. History, Journalism, Cross Country, Basketball and Track

Absie (Freshman) - English, Geometry, World History, Biology, Art, Spanish, Basketball and Softball

We took the usual "forced" first day of school pictures. How much more fake can Abigail's smile get? We quickly jumped in the car after these were taken. I had already preempted any fighting over who rode in front of the car by giving Rebecca upperclassman privileges for the first week. Abigail will get this coming week in the front.

I believe Abigail's backpack gets the award for heaviest. It's no wonder we are all at the chiropractor when having to lug around these monstrosities. I should send the school a bill!

I leave you with this final thought as we jump into our second week of school...

If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers. ~Edgar W. Howe

A Short, Open Letter to My Children

Dear Holmes Children Still Living at Home (Not to Be Confused With the One in College),

YOUR LACK OF PREPARATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN EMERGENCY ON MY PART -- NOW OR EVER.

Thank You,

The One Who Gave Birth to You and Still Hasn't Forgotten the Pain

Oh, Canada - Part Three

This is the part where you can truly say, "OH, CANADA!!!!" There's a long story about how we traveled from a dump motel on the American side to the 33rd floor of the Embassy Suites on the Canadian side but I will save that for when I see you in person. I don't want you to miss my facial expressions and hand gestures.

This was the view from our room. I'm tearing up now just thinking about it in all its glory. I don't believe I've ever seen a view that was its equal and, might not again.

This is a little picture I'm titling "Jeff's Happy Place."

Wow. Just wow.

The flowers were incredible! Every color and kind you can imagine.

I was freaking out (ask Jeff) over the size of the hydrangeas and the hostas.

The hanging plants were huge!

This is a little picture I'm calling "My Happy Place."

The Falls at Night with Illumination

The colors would change every 30 seconds. Gorgeous!

And then, fireworks! Magical.

Absolutely one of the best trips of my entire life. Thank you, Michael and Christie, for getting married in Buffalo, New York, so I could go to Niagara Falls!

Oh, Canada - Part Two

On Sunday morning we drove to Niagara Falls on the American side. On this side you park your car, walk several yards down and then all of a sudden you see this mist rising up. The color is incredibly blue and the mist is so fine it looks like smoke. The water is just rushing by, a beautiful sound and the mist does get you wet a little. The rainbow just sits there, a permanent part of the creation. It's really breathtaking.

This is a view of the American Falls with the Observation Tower in the background. Yes, we walked out on that platform. It looks scarier from a distance. At the base of this tower is where you board the "Maid of the Mist" boat to travel "through" the Falls.

This is a side view of the Bridal Veil Falls, the smallest of the Falls. I put my camera strap on my wrist and leaned over the rail just a bit to get this picture. Jeff didn't want me doing that. It was perfectly safe to do.

This is a picture of what I called the "Crazy People." They donned heavy yellow ponchos and special shoes to go underneath the Falls and walk around. I just didn't feel like I needed to get that close to the action. And of course there's the whole wet, frizzy hair issue...

Closer view of the Observation Tower

Looking back at the American Falls from the Tower

On the boat! A little scary because we didn't get a side spot to hold on to any railings. We had to balance ourselves on the floor of the boat and each other. There were several times I felt like I was going to slip and fall down. If it hadn't been for Jeff's great balancing act...

View from the "Maid of the Mist," we are IN The Falls!

This post feels like one of those scenes from a movie where the friends of the vacationing couple are sitting around watching slides of their recent travels. I kept taking pictures of every available angle of the water. And here's the view from the tower, and here's the view from the boat, and here's the view from the....well, come back tomorrow for the VIEW from the Canadian side.

Oh, Canada - Part One

When I heard that my friend Melissa's son was getting married in New York I immediately set about finding a way to go. With lots of finagling by Jeff and airline miles, we discovered it was cheaper for us to fly into Toronto, Canada than directly into Buffalo, New York. We flew into Toronto around midnight on Friday, July 15, got in bed around 1:00 a.m., rose early, got dressed and headed south to the States.

After some driving and rerouting on Queen Elizabeth Way, around Lake Ontario, we arrived at the wedding with 20 minutes to spare!

This was our first view of Niagara Falls from the bridge coming back into the States. I was so blown away by this first glimpse and had no idea how much better it would get the next day.

My sweet friend, Melissa and I at the reception.

Isn't she lovely?

Bride and Groom

We sat at the Davis Family table.

Bubbly sendoff for Michael and Christie

After the wedding we drove back to Niagara Falls.

Stay tuned for Part Two. THE FALLS.

To Justify My New Blog Background

And in case you thought I was stretching

the truth about the

HEAT!!!!!

Photo taken by Abigail in the car on August 4, 2011

Pictures of Our Summer

You might think this would be a collection of photos of swimming in the pool or other outdoor activity. Due to recent temperatures somewhere in the heat of the planet Mars, most of our fun has been inside. In the cool. (Maybe too cool? See blankets on both girls.) On the couch. Reading. Can't beat that!

Side Note: I'm not sure about the random stool standing in the middle of the room, but an educated guess would have it as a leftover table from Abigail's lunch of Ramen Noodles, which she ate while watching TV on a "reading break."