Ice fishing part 2 and boys will be boys

Here is a picture essay of ice fishing. Look closely. You will see no fish, no lake, no poles. We didn't either. Here is why. We underestimated the snow on the road, and the thick slippery ice under the snow. Really the snow in Rapid wasn't that deep. So as we came around the bend, hubby says are you going that slow or sliding? Umm sliding, sliding right towards the very steep embankment. We get stuck. We get to use our fishing buckets-those came in handy for digging. We drove down to the parking lot TRIED to drive up. Got stuck again and finally turned around and deserted the xterra. I called my bestest friend Suree and her lovely hubby came to pick us up. Here are the pics of us patiently waiting...

Hubby retrieving small fry from a time out. Notice the open gate, no one told us we COULDN'T or SHOULDN'T

I just liked this one...

Hubby had the patience of saint today, very impressive...

Boots, those came in handy

PEACE...

Boys will be boys part..

Now here is the other part of the story. Hubby decides we will get chains today and go back out. I am excited, ready to go. My best friend's hubby says, "Well hey if you are heading back out let me know Cher can stay home and I will go." Hubby tells him, "Yeah that would be great". The thrill of danger, excitement, and testosterone is so thick you can cut it with a knife. They get to buy big man chains, wrestle with the chains, tromp in the snow. Farmer blow, swear and conquer nature all in an afternoon. Do all powerful man work. Just like a couple of boys I know building a snow fort. Boys will be boys! Now I wish I had been there with my camera for that!

Ahhh...

Surly child had pink eye yesterday, missed school and was an absolute grump. Today he went to school which cause the sky to open up and magically we are in a good mood. Weird, who knew GOING to school would make Big Fry in a good mood!

don't forget...

I am still working towards my goal of 100.00 for Special Olympics. If you want to see me in a tutu give just a little. It looks to be a brisk 19 degrees on Saturday! Scroll down to the minion picture for the link

The hubby...

yes I have one. I talk about him so rarely in the blog world that I feel kind of bad. (Don't worry the buffalo picture will make sense-keep reading) Hubby is gone this week, and I forget how comfortable it is having him around, very noticable when he is gone. I can't even begin to describe what this man puts up with. My devotion to my work for one. The man is a saint. He picks all the slack that needs to be picked up when I have late nights, parent meetings, work on weekends, or sit with the laptop on my lap all night.

He can sometimes be a true Mr. Mom. Who else made angel food cake and the Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes (HIS cookbook, not mine) before he left for Jersey. Yep that's him, so the boys would have "something good" while he was gone. Who taxis the kids around to all their various events, ortho appts, piano, guitar? Today I HAD to and I can tell you I was scrambling and still had to pawn my kids off on neighbors because of 7:15 AM meetings.

Who didn't raise an eyebrow when the Kohls credit department came calling because the last two months went neglected-well ok the bills are his responsiblity, so his fault. He puts up with my mood swings, anxiety (now that isn't easy), and all my other awesome quirks.

This past weekend he did something that reminded of me of how awesome he is. The guy is a PLANNER and a DOER in a big way. And you would never know it. I keep joking about getting a horse when we retire-and lots of land to have a spread, maybe be like a fake cowgirl. It is a running joke that he will NEVER do this having grown up on a ranch-I can't even picture that! So we are talking about school and school boundaries etc... and he says "Could you be a principal in Rapid if we didn't live in Rapid? I say sure and ask why. He proceeds to tell me he has been thinking about the economy, interest rates, our retirement etc-see one more reason I love him-these things never cross MY mind. He tells me how he has been researching buffalo-yep Tatanka. And that we should start a small HERD and then sell them. He tells me, "they are sturdier than cattle", "natural to the land here", and "there are lots of farm subsidies and grants for women ranchers", "it may be a great investment". I naturally said "What? Do you even know what to do with a ranch animal?" He rolls his eyes and says "What do you think I did the first 20 years before I met you?". Hmmm not sure.

We talk some more, I ponder. I like it. I can picture it, I know our kids would LOVE it. It's big and crazy, but if there is a guy who could do it he can. And maybe, just maybe I will get that horse!

Not what I signed up for

As my oldest and dearest friends know I am not a "people person". I make friends slowly, dig in deep and keep a few. I have been known to not have a lot of empathy or a filter at times. Definitely not like Karen who meets and loves everyone, or Carey who is constantly funny, or Chris who dares new things. Bobbi, I know touches people through her strenght of faith.
It is weird that with all of these non-people traits of mine that I do FEEL for people and very much so, especially those who I work with and for-teachers, parents, students all of them.
Yesterday one of my first year teachers in her early 20's asked to talk to me. She told me she has cancer-early 20's people! Not married, no children, her family isn't here and she has to tell me, her boss this. I was devastated. She said "this really sucks" and all I could say was "I know". There are a few other whoppers from the week that I could tell, but my professional ethics are strong.
I just want to scoop some of these people up and make it better. All these parents who are lost, grieving, given up control. Moms who are in terrible patterns of behavior that cost their daughters' a future-think TLC's "Intervention", and that is no exaggeration. Staff who struggle with illnesses, relationships, tough kids, and their own parenting worries and woes-we do laugh about lots of those.
I have gone from digging deep with a few, to digging deep with many. This whole huge extended family is not what this private person signed up for but I think it may be just what I was made for.

Well there, there are my random Thursday thoughts!

Life is just too busy!

So our year resolution for Sunday dinner cooking has not sustained itself for one reason or another...we try, really, really try
My "on the wagon efforts" of eating went to pot the last two weeks....at least the exercise, fitness journal, and water are intact. Except I can't find the exercise journal at this moment
I too make a list of groceries and a menu for at least 3 homemade meals a week, we are luck to eek out one.
The shirts that big fry put holes in the sleeves still sit in the basket with the thread and needle from hobby lobby still in the bag. I put them there a month ago.

The house IS A DISASTER

The time is flying so fast I never posted about my 7 year milestone (maybe fading away the importance of the date isn't all bad)

This pace is crazy.....plain crazy

Don't forget....

If you can give just a little bit to a good cause! A little over a week until the freezing plunge. I have my costume figured out, "Agnes". I will even be wearing a tutu!

I blogged to soon...

...the weekend wasn't quite over yet:(

Amazing

It's amazing how you can be soooo frustrated with your child and then turn around and be so in love and amused at the same time. I can't write about them all, you would be bored, so here are the highlights:

Midterm grades are approaching, this nine weeks have not been kind. The 3rd week of no orchestra sheet turned in-another BIG FAT F. A reading assignment not turned in-due to "I didn't have time to get it in, we did other stuff all day in classes". Can you just feel the steam??
We may turn it around-we have a new binder, "Like everyone else", some new post its to use for organization and the even bigger threat of no computer games until all grades are above a C.

Teaching Big Fry that correct spelling while texting is important-otherwise whatever you type will be shown to all my work friends and we will laugh hysterically.

Hubby drew the short stick and took Big Fry to open skate to meet a...wait for it... girl

The blowing wind and the idea for a children's book that Big Fry came up with, priceless.

weekend phrase

Don't strangle your first born
Don't hurt your firstborn
It is just a phase
This has be a phase
The first half of the school year cannot be a fluke
Don't strangle your first born...

exasperation

My oldest child is expasperating me...
He is STILL sitting on a math assignment that is two weeks over due, causing his math grade to go from an A to an F. This was after he had an A at the end of the nine weeks up until the LAST day before grades are posted and then AGAIN didn't turn something in-another F dropping a the final grade to a B. I am not a big worrier about grades, but poor grades due to lack of turning finished s&^t in drives my crazy.
This was after he told me a week ago he DID hand it in, then tells me "I thought you meant something else"
Ugggg then 2 F's in a row for not TURNING in the orchestra practice sheet. There goes another grade dropped.

AND this doesn't count the whopper lie and stupid boy stunt he and a neighborhood friend pulled this weekend.

Lucky for him I read my new teen guide book on my time away in Florida, otherwise someone may have been looking for a new home.

THEN he tells me no one in his group will let him help with the project. When he asked to help, the kid said, "Yeah you can help by just being quiet" GRRRRRRRRRRR.

This tops off my annoyance with missing boot camp tonight because of working late AND wanting to emotionally eat a big slice of the leftover cold stone cake...

Year number 3!

It is that time of year my friends to made the big plunge! I am once again spearheading our schools fundraiser for the Special Olympics. Our theme is "Minions". This year we get to dive in a clean pool of cold water and not a nasty pond, so we hoping to get lots of jumpers! If you want to give for a good cause click below.

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/despicableme/2011-Rapid-City-Polar-Plunge

Ice fishing...

...in true Griswald style. Hubby has an "itching" to do something with the boys that is "fun". We love fishing so why not ice fishing. He goes to Scheels get some gear-poles, bait and such. The salesman tells him "they're really biting" and "there will be holes all over the place, just find one". So we load up the car with poles, bait, and ummm ice digging tools. These include a umm crow bar, big chisel, and a plastic slotted spoon. We dress for the occasion snow pants, winter coats, hats, gloves and tennis shoes-the children anyway. We pick up some McD's and away we go.
We arrive on the ice ready to go. There they are, beautiful holes, like little white ant hill mounds. He starts chipping and banging, chipping and banging. Ice is flying we are all watching gleefully waiting for water to shoot up. Waiting. Finally he breaks through and water bubbles up. Now the deep hole is full of water and the crow bar is too short. Small fry runs back with a tree branch-from a nearby hole. I am guessing leftover from another Griswald like family. The slotted spoon is now hand to remove bark and floating ice. Big fry takes over the hole perched on a bucket. Hubby is energized, he moves on to another whole for small fry. More chipping and banging and then doh there it is a ^%%$&*(. Full swing of the hammer hits hand, but he keeps going for a second hole. We sit perched on upside down buckets over ice holes, snot running down our faces and the wind blowing. 5 minutes later Big Fry says "Can we go now?"

No fish for us, but one trip to Urgent Care to make sure the hand wasn't broken. It wasn't. The only thing that would have made the trip better was a classic picture of small fry sitting on a bucket watching his beloved dad dig him an ice hole. My battery was dead, our Griswald expedition was complete!

A long goodbye...

I know when I get back to reality, hopefully the bitter cold has blown over, that I won't have time to write about my trip so here it goes.
I sit here now with my tummy extremely full. Finally a yummy meal, with lava cake dessert! I have waited all week and tried to be really good, no vacation overboard eating.
The week has been good. The sessions were not as spectacular as I would have liked or gave me all the answers for student achievement and learning. They did give me seeds for thought which is a place to start. Go slow to go fast as I keep telling teachers. Working with poverty students (which my school is considered) is HARD, HARD WORK, there is no quick fix for that. The brain research sessions we went to were fascinating. I went to a personal favorite, boys and learning-once again fascinating and always a good refresher for me.
My other random thought was I would not make a good traveling employee. I miss home. I have been texting constantly-good grief what would we do with out those damn phones! Pay attention more I am sure. Here are some snippets:
This one was on the phone with small fry:
SF-Are you at the ocean? -his most favorite thing ever!
Me-I am, I found a live clam today bigger than my hand. It creaked open and snapped shut as I was holding it. It made me jump and scream.
SF-Seriously!! Oh, I wish I was there.
Me-Me to...

Before this next one you must know that trying new foods is something I NEVER do-no lobster, crab, shrimp NOTHING!

Texting with a tweener
Me-I am eating at a place with gator tail, we ordered some
BF-Eat some for me
Me-I tried some just for you
BF-Was it good or rubbery
Me-Actually good, like a light chicken nugget
BF-I want to be there!
Me-I know, I had chocolate lava cake to!
BF- Not fair I want gator!
Me-Cake was better
BF-Can you get me a gator head?
Me-With my bare hands?
BF-You can buy it in some gift shops

Gator heads?? South Dakota here I come!

quick hello

HELLOOOO you frozen people! Heading to the beach!