Inside at the Henry Ford Museum

Now that it's getting chilly outside, we look for indoor adventures. On Tuesday, both the kids and Rick had a day off. We celebrated by driving to Michigan and spending the day together. After enjoying burgers at Fuddruckers, we made a visit to the Henry Ford Museum. We'd never done the indoor stuff, so it was all new to us.

The museum has a whole section dedicated to the evolution of flight over the past century. We saw some crazy footage of early stunt fliers, inventions by the Wright brothers, and fully assembled airplanes. It was so cool!

Jake just couldn't get this guy interested in the airborne acrobatics.

For a limited time, the museum has a whole Lego Knights Kingdom display. It's all interactive and hands on. The kids would have stayed there all day building castles had we let them.

We learned all we ever wanted to know (and more) about the progression of farming equipment.

We couldn't resist taking a family picture in front of the wiener mobile.

Are you hungry for a hot dog?

He looks good enough to eat.

The Goldenrod still holds the title for fasted land speed record.

Our favorite part of the tour was climbing on the bus where Rosa Parks sat.

I'm so glad Emma still has some years ahead before she is officially behind the wheel. Instead of a Model T, she'll be driving a tank.

I'm not sure what this is, but doesn't Jake look cute?

All aboard!

This is a snow plow-type train.

We need this so our whole family can ride in the Amtrak Century next year.

All in all, it was a GREAT day trip. If you ever come visit us in the great state of Ohio, we'll be happy to take you to the world famous Henry Ford Museum!

What the what?

Jake is 12! We celebrated as a family on Monday evening by going out to dinner. Jake's choice for fine dining was Olive Garden. This was not because he loves Italian food (if you can even call Olive Garden Italian food). He just really likes the breadsticks there.

Whatever. We indulged him since it was a special occasion. We even had the staff come sing to him.

Now, do we look like the parents of a 12-year old? Wait! Don't answer that.

Old Pictures Found!

Our camera is dying, so we've not been diligent about taking pictures lately. We've resorted to using an old camera that we'd given to the kids. This "dinosaur" came out when digital photography was just getting underway, so it's both slow and grainy. Here are some pictures of the kids on their first day of school:

Jake's a little blurry. Sorry.

And here are some more shots provided by Jake's Scout leader:

I think they took this hike about 2 months ago. One of the kids is still in shorts so it MUST have been 2 months ago!

The leader in this pic is our good friend David Luce. His son Michael is Jake's best buddy at church.

I can't figure out if they're resting or drawing a map in the sand.
Michael on the left, Jake on the right.

Pumpkins and Police

In an amazing alginment of the planets and stars, Rick was able to take Emma to a Daddy-Daughter pumpkin carving activity last night. Poor Daddy barely made it after working for18 hours straight with no sleep. Isn't he a keeper?

Here is Emma's girlfriend Bella, carving away:

This is Brother Kebker (the primary president's hubby). He and his daughter carved the bottom out of their pumpkin so she could wear it as a mask. Slimy!

And here is dear Emma's design. Isn't it cute?

She's an artist through and through!

Now, you're probably wondering about the police part of this post. Funny story...I got pulled over for speeding today on my way to teach seminary. I was going 40 mph in a 25 mph zone at 5:40 in the morning. In all honesty, I thought the speed limit was 35 mph on this particular road, so I was quite embarassed to be going 15 mph over the speed limit. I thought I was busted for sure. I think the fact that I was on the way to church to teach teenagers at six in the morning softened the cop's heart. He mercifully let me off with a warning. Whew!

Insomnia

As I begin this post, I think it’s important to note the time. Perhaps it will excuse anything weird I’m about to type. It’s about 2:30 Monday morning and I can’t sleep. Rick is working a 24-hour shift. The kids have been in bed for 6 hours. I’m supposed to wake up in 2 hours to get ready for seminary.

I shut my lights off at 11:00, after studying the scriptures for several hours. You’d think that sort of prelude to bedtime would be ideal for sleep. Not so. After laying around in the dark for awhile, I decided to phone my parents. Midnight in Ohio is only 9:15 for Arizona, so I didn’t feel badly for calling at such a late hour. We had a lovely chat – lots of laughing. Before Dad hung up, he recommended I have a glass of milk to help me sleep. I tried it…an hour ago. Still nothing.
It looks like I’m pulling an all-nighter. I think I’ll recap some of the fun stuff from last week…

Monday 10/12

More rain today. The season is manifesting itself with constant grey skies and downpours. We do get the benefit of some autumn color, but we can’t really get out and enjoy it. Too soggy! I took one of my friends out for lunch at Panera and enjoyed a Fuji apple and chicken salad. Rick slept off a shift, so I spent the afternoon lesson planning. Later, I took an urban rebounding class to test my bladder control. No, it still hasn’t improved.

Tuesday 10/13

I taught my sculpt interval class today. Inspired by the urban rebounding from the night before, I decided to do that for the cardio portion of the workout. It wasn’t well received. 2 people left the class altogether. I guess it’s not for everybody!

Rick and I had a date tonight. We went out to eat and then capped off the evening with episodes of The Office. It was an ideal evening for me.

Wednesday 10/14

Continuing our date from the night before, Rick took me to IHOP after seminary for pancakes. Bad idea. We were sick the rest of the day, especially Rick who ate both our helpings of hash browns. Now we remember why we don’t go out for breakfast…

The Primary Sacrament Meeting practice was at 7:00. All the kids got hopped up on pizza and cookies first, and then we ran through the program. I was so proud of Jacob. He’s just weeks away from moving up to the Deacon’s Quorum, but he still agreed to sing a duet with another girl in the Primary. It turned out so well!

Thursday

Emma’s grade hosted a special Math Night for the whole family. We went down to her school and played all kinds of games. We even got to try out the new-fangled Smart Board contraption thingie. Very cool.

Friday

Jake went with some buddies to the big high school football game. It was weird to send him off with my cell phone and no supervision. Emma and I went window shopping for a while, but we didn’t find anything we HAD to have. Instead we came home and researched costume ideas for an hour. We think we have it narrowed down, but we want it to be a surprise. Stay tuned for pictures…

Saturday

Hallelujah! We had sunshine today. Even though it wasn’t much warmer, I thought we might go to the zoo. It’s too bad the kids wouldn’t cooperate with me. It’s like their getting too old for the zoo or something…

Rick got up around 5:00, and we went out to Abuelo’s for”Sweetest Day”. I had never heard of that holiday until I moved to Ohio, but apparently it’s a thing out here. Whatever. I don’t need a holiday as an excuse to eat out. Can you guess what we did after dinner? That’s right. More of The Office. We watched 7 episodes I think. Don’t judge us.

Sunday

This morning, I mean yesterday, we put on our Primary Program. I’m still the music leader, so I had the special privilege of making a fool of myself in front of the ward. The kids were super shy all of the sudden, so I was pulling out all the stops to get them to sing out. I’m sure it was a scene, not to mention that I was positioned in the middle of the 3rd row of the congregation, giving those behind me a wonderful view of my backside. We sang 10 songs in all, which is a lot for our little Primary. It was very sweet though.

Well, I guess that’s about it. Everyone is healthy and happy, though a bit sleep deprived. I wonder what this next week will bring. Perhaps we’ll welcome a new nephew?

I Heart Daddy

I'm thinking about my Dad today. During my parents' vacay in Sedona, my Dad experienced some chest pain, shortness of breath, and dizziness while hiking. My brave Mama drove him through Oak Creek Canyon to get to the nearest emergency room. He received immediate attention and is doing fine. He went through a stress test yesterday and the results were normal. However, the doctors have called for a catheterization procedure just to check things out. All reports from my Mom indicate that he's feeling fine, but bored. He should be able to go home shortly. Nonetheless, he's in our family's prayers.

Catching Up

Is it October already? When did THAT happen? Let me just stop right here and admit that I've been sleepwalking for the better part of a month. If I don't type up some of our Saunders happenings immediately, they just might slip from my mind altogether.

Rick

Rick, well, he's a narcoleptic now. No, wait! He is nocturnal. His shifts at the hospital have generally been from 10:00 pm to 8:00 am, though it can be longer when the patients back up. What this means for him, is that he is constantly trying to catch up on sleep throughout the day. The guy can fall asleep in mere seconds... if the sun is out. Unfortunately, sleep eludes him at night, when he actually has time off.

When he's not sleeping, or working, he's been growing grass. After a long summer of slowly installing the sprinkler system, he's now able to enjoy "the fruits", so to speak. Our grass is coming in quickly and greenly (just made that up). I'll post a picture soon. Next up: planting bulbs for the spring.

Audrey

I too have sleep issues due to my new calling (see my new blog http://www.sisterseminary.blogspot.com/ for more details). I've gone through a great deal of growing pains as I've tried to adapt to this huge responsibility, but I'm optimistic that I'll see the light soon. I haven't touched my bike since my ride in Cali, but I've stayed somewhat energized by teaching classes at the Y. This little job has turned out to be a HUGE blessing for me. I'm sooooo glad I still have room in my schedule for it.

My house has suffered terribly in the past few months, I'm afraid. I keep thinking that I need to find a wife to do all the cooking and cleaning around here. All the motivation I felt early in the summer to decorate has long since left me. I think I need some house guests to come so it will force me to git 'er done. HINT-HINT!

Jacob

This guy is on fire right now. He absolutely LOVES junior high! Much of his time is taken up with extra-curricular activities and homework. He's learning to play the cello and the flute. He also participates on the student council at school. I can really see his confidence growing. Next month he will turn 12 and receive the Aaronic Priesthood. He's really excited about taking that step and serving with the young men. He can't wait to pass the sacrament, which is why we're going through with his ordination right away, instead of waiting until our trip to Arizona. I'm proud of his choice. I can hardly believe I'll be the mother of a 12-year old!

Emma

Those readers who've met our dear Emmy know what a personality she has. Well, she has personality plus these days. I tell ya, that girl is a character! She really has her own mind about things. Some might say she's an independent spirit. She's working on finding her own style when it comes to fashion, decorating, and living in general. We often find her crafting up a storm with found items from around the house. Currently, she has a GIANT Barbie house in her room made from a collection of cardboard boxes, paper, and all manner of junk. It really is something. She also constructed an oven, microwave, and refrigerator (complete with realistic-looking food). It's all I can do not to go in her room with a big Hefty bag...Emma and I are currently satisfying her crafty cravings by frequent shopping trips to the new Hobby Lobby in town. It's huge AND they accept coupons. We could spend hours there!

Shelby

Yes, I'm writing about our family dog. Animal haters can stop reading here.

Shelby continues to be a joy in our family. She's been with us through thick and thin over the past 12 years. We believe she is showing signs of slowing down, but we try not to think about it too much. To us, she's still the baby of the family. We still can't get over how lucky we were to find such a sweet little mut, especially when we see some of the other options out there (the only thing we don't love about our neighborhood is that our backyard neighbors have 4 yappy dogs). Poor Shelby can't even have her morning constitutional in peace! Fortunately, she does not stoop to their level. She simply ignores them.

Her days mainly consist of following me around the house and taking drives to pick up kids from school. The last time I took her on a walk, it just about did her in. We keep our strolls brief now, just to the bus stop and back. She's so good about this little ritual that I don't even have to put her on a leash. She just trots happily by my side and greets the school kids with a wag-lick combo. She's quite beloved.

Conference

I'd just like to mention that I thoroughly enjoyed General Conference this weekend. I took notes on all the sessions, which helped me focus and remember the messages past a 24-hour period. The messages by Elder Holland and President Monson were especially touching, though the whole weekend was like a spiritual shot in the arm. So much great stuff! I can't wait to use some of the messages in seminary!

Emergency Preparedness

One of my friends has the ingenious tradition of rotating/updating their 72-hour kits every time conference rolls around. We've decided to follow their example. Since we no longer have operable kits, we had an FHE this evening to get the ball rolling. We made quite a shopping list, and spent a good hour looking for good deals on MREs and such online. Those suckers are not cheap! One good find I want to share was a special deal through Costco right now. We just purchased the 1-yr supply of food by Thrive for $799, including shipping. I think this will be a good supplement to the storage we already have (which I need to inventory again). My next step is to tackle the challenge of water storage. Any thoughts you readers have on this issue would be greatly appreciated.