First Day of School 2014

Molly and Marcus started their first day of school, back on Monday.  Molly with Ms. Alberts in kindergarten and Marcus in 2^nd with Ms. Krejci...  Kalee and I walked both kids to school, where they met up with their classmates on the front lawn.  When the bell struck 8:30, everybody marched in, like ducks in a row to their perspective classrooms.


Marcus had a slow start to they day.  Meanwhile, Molly woke up hungry and ate two eggs and a bowl of cereal.



After breakfast both kids were in perfect form and were chompin'-at-the-bit to treck off to school.



As soon as we arrived, it was time to lineup, grab a hug, and then head into school.

 

Kool-Aid Days -- Hastings Nebraska -- 2014

Oh Yeah!  Kool-Aid Days in Hastings, Nebraska are here again.  In case you didn't know Kool-Aid was invented by Edwin Perkins in 1927, right here in good old Nebraska.

This year's theme was Truly Tropical, so we're greeted with Hawaiian shirts, and plenty of leis.  Marcus and Molly walked in the parade with their grandma Micki on behalf of her employer, the Hastings Surgical Center.

Don't forget about the big guy! There couldn't be a Kool-Aid parade with out the Kool-Aid Man.



After the parade, we headed over to the festival. Gracie, Chaney, and Marcus all got strapped up to some super jump contraption that would launch them higher and higher as they jumped off an air trampoline below.



Face painters were on hand, just in case you wanted to get your party on.

Don't come back!!

Well, don't come back for two years.

Last week we took Molly to Philadelphia for her yearly checkup. She got a perfect report and Dr. Shields said that we didn't need to come back for two (2) years. Two years!! We met with Dr. Lahey too. She said now that Molly is cured she should start seeing the survivorship doctor. Even more great news! Well worth the six (6) hour wait in the waiting room before her checkup...

The next day we had some free time in the morning so we walked to Rittenhouse Square and got some fresh air. Here's to hoping your summer was as swell as ours!

I'm never going to get used to the open sewer vents in the middle of the sidewalk. First sensation is too warm of air crossing over your legs, then you're greeted by the pungent sent of open sewer. Man, am I glad I live in a city where most of the sewer is separate street and waste-water.

All in all it was a good trip.

East Coast Family Trip #6: Gettysburg National Military Park and Westward Bound

Still in Gettysburg and after we collected all of our pennies, we headed over to the Gettysburg National Military Park. We took the car tour through battle ground that lies east of Baltimore Pike.  We stopped on Culp's Hill to climb the observation tower.  The view from there was spectacular and worth the climb to the top.

Man, with all the cannons laying around, you'd think we're a nation of gun crazed freeks (Why isn't freek in my auto-correct dictionary?).   After our run through the military park, we started heading west again, and towards home.  The rain picked up again, mostly just some summer sprinkles.

By the way, is it just me or do all the houses in Pennsylvania look the same?

East Cost Family Trip #5 - Gettysburg National Cemetary

The next day we woke up from our crazy ice cream an mini-golf induced haze and headed over to the Gettysburg National Cemetary.  There were signs everywhere asking for silence and reservation.  Who where they kidding!  Silence pasha!  Reservation, unheard of!

Our saving grace was that many other attendees leave coins on the graves of unknown soldiers.  As far as the Park Service is concerned, the coins are litter/vandalism, so M & M collected as many as they good.

The coin thing is probably based on some Voodoo and urban legends that say if you pay off the unremembered dead, they won't come to haunt you.  I don't believe in any of that hooey.  Now if I could only get rid of this unexplained itch...