Let it snow...

Luke says this is crazy talk, but I am ready to move...and to move where it is cooler. I am tired of this warm weather during the winter months. I want seasons, and specifically, I want snow.

Luke just looks at me and shakes his head. He tells me I don't know what I'd be getting myself into, and he's probably a wee bit right. But, it doesn't change the fact.

I have lived in Florida for 23 years (19 if you subtract the college years in NC), and I will admit that my blood has thinned. In fact, I get cold so easily that I think sometimes I may have water running through my vains. But, the first part of my life, I lived in cooler climates. I was born in Maryland, lived there until I was nine, and then moved to Michigan, where we lived until I was 12 and we moved to Florida. So, it has been a long time since I lived anywhere with significantly cooler weather. And, I will admit that my parents' recollection of Michigan may be a less fond one than mine. I remember snow days and snowmen and skiiing and ice skating on frozen ponds. I think they remember shoveling the driveway and sidewalk, and navigating wet, icy roads in hazardous weather conditions. And having to let the car warm up before they could go anywhere. And even I remember the week that we were without power in the middle of winter and had to go stay in a hotel b/c the house got so cold, and when we came back home our fish had frozen in its bowl.

So, yeah, sure, there are setbacks to snowy weather. But I just really want to experience it again. And I want my kids to experience it, too. Snow can be fun.

Of course, as I said, Luke thinks I'm crazy. But this is coming from someone who was born in Florida and has never lived anywhere else. So, see, he's been deprived of all the winter adventures. Good and bad.

I feel like change is coming...and maybe it'll bring some cooler weather the Granlund way.

Happy New Year!

I'm not one for making New Year's Resolutions, but I am going to make three this year.

One: To eat something healthy ever day. I figure it's easier to add something in rather than take something out. I need to make some better choices about what I'm putting into my body. I definitely need to eat more fruits and vegetables. And we have two great juicing machines...I need to start using them more often.

Two: To update my blog more regularly. hmm...too vague. Maybe...update it once a week?

Three: I am not sharing this one here.

Mental Note: I was contemplating adding this one as a fourth resolution, but that would just be too many to keep track of. So this is more of a "note to self." ---- Take more pictures. And definitely more non-posed pictures. Those are the really good ones, when you catch a true smile or a moment of reflection. I'm tired of all my pictures being posed just right with everyone smiling. Who smiles all the time? It's silly to try to capture the perfect picture every time.

Exhilirating

I waved my Obama sign this morning at the corner of a very congested intersection in Orange Park (Blanding and Kingsley, for those of you who know the area). And I must say, it was incredibly fun.

I was with a small group of Obama supporters (there were 5 people when I got there, but by the time I left, there were about 15 of us). Of course, there were McCain folks on the same corner, but down a bit. They were nasty (called one of the Obama volunteers a "baby killer," to her face; totally uncalled for), and they kept trying to edge in on us. But, the "Yes We Can" crowd held our ground.

I was pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction the Obama team seemed to receive. We got lots of honks, cheers, and thumbs-up. And, actually, it seemed as if we were getting more honks than the McCain crowd. But, since we were standing so close together, it was a little hard to tell.

The enthusiasm was really infectious among the Obama crowd. I absolutely loved being out there and part of the group. Every time somebody honked and waved, our group would yell and cheer even louder. It was terrific.

Of course, we did get some negative reactions, too. There were a few thumbs-down, a number of middle fingers, two shouts of "get a job," and somebody called us a bunch of "g--d--- communists." But I just laughed and blew kisses to those people. Like I said, it was totally fun.

Well, I promised the boys an election party tonight, so we're off to the store to get some balloons. I hope we'll be celebrating Obama's victory, but either way we'll be celebrating the end of George Bush's reign. It's all good.

Much fun at Sea World

We took a family trip to Sea World last weekend. Luke's mom, Frances, went with us, and everyone had a good time.

They have a great kids' section at Sea World ("Shamu's Happy Harbor"), and even Deacon could ride most of the rides. Wyatt, who has NO fear, loved the Shamu roller coaster. We got there early Sunday morning (the park was almost empty), and Wyatt and Luke got to ride the roller coaster three times in a row without having to get off. I'm pretty sure that was the highlight of his trip.

We also got to take Wyatt on a grown-up ride, the Journey to Atlantis (the log flume/water ride). Looking back, it might not have been the best move as a parent to take a small, 4-year-old on said ride. I'll admit, I was a bit scared while in the "boat." There are some big drops on that ride. But, Wyatt loved it. He had a huge grin on his face after it was over and asked to ride it again, so I guess that means he liked it.

(Some if the pictures are in sepia tone because we gave Wyatt the camera and didn't realize he'd changed the settings.)

The "boys" waiting in line to get in the park.

Wyatt took mommy's picture.

Wyatt catches Melinda and Luke hammin' it up!

Wyatt "sky-high" on a trampoline.

Probably my favorite photo.... :) Luke's mom was a

real trooper!

More fun at Sea World

More pictures.... Wyatt on the merry-go-round.

Deacon playing in the giant sand box.

Riding the whales....

On the nose...

Not to sure if Deacon is unhappy about the

scarecrow, or if he's practicing for the roller coaster.

Tomorrow

I'm so excited about tomorrow I can barely stand it. Aaaaahhhhhh! I just want it to be 9:00pm tomorrow night so that I can break open the bubbly and start the party.

And if for some reason the election is stolen from us, well...I don't even want to think about it.

Cowcat "Granlund" update

Well, Cowcat was still hanging around after we returned from Sea World. So...we "caught" her, brought her inside on Sunday night, and Monday we took her to the clinic. She's been spayed and had her shots, so I guess she's ours now. The boys love her, and I have to admit I was so happy when I saw her in our backyard on Sunday night (the night we returned from our trip.)

Update: She's been with us for a week now, and things are going fine. But, I did make the mistake of letting her out with us in the backyard on Thursday while we were playing. She stayed in the backyard for a while, chasing lizards and trying to catch a mole, but eventually I looked over and she was gone. We have a hole in our fence, and I suspect she took full advantage of it and decided to visit some of her old haunts. She was gone for about 5 hours. I was worried sick, kept checking outside every 5 minutes. But, Luke found her (in the neighbor's yard) when he got home.

Guess I should look into getting her a collar.