THE gtreatest playground EVER!

June 26, 2008


Clemyjontri, named for a families 4 children is hands down the coolest playground I have ever seen! And as a bonus it is wheelchair accessible with special swings etc for handicap kids. Anyone in the DC area MUST go. Since typing is still difficult I will let the photos speak for me...

Note the backrests on the see saw... there were seat belts too. Oh and structure behind them... like a third of the playground.

Slide with a "rock" climbing wall on the left.

SOOO happy!

Better view of that big structure. The kids had moved on to the vehicle section.

Lot's of different cars to drive.

They were all on springs, look behind Maggie, for a bouncy fun ride!

Also behind Maggie is a maze, tons of swings and another play structure. I wish I got some photos of the swings because they were cool, not the ordinary swings at most parks and most handicapped ready.



Waiting for the FREE carousel!

Maggie LOVES horses!

Max climbing on an airplane wing.

Airplane again... hmmm, we have at least 4 pilots in the family already...

Note the firetruck structure in the background.


Here's the other side.

We had soooo much fun!

Catch up

June 24,2008

So much I need to catch everyone up on but I still don't have function of my left hand so it will have to be short notes and photos to fill in the gaps! First, my hand is not expected to get better for a couple of months :o( Second, the dogs are in a new home. YEAH and BOO! The family is fantastic though... they have 2 kids ages 11 and 12 and I think the dogs will get lot's of love. Third, we have been doing some really fun stuff so I will post a couple photos each day - check back! Fourth, our movers are scheduled and flight arranged - YIKES! July 28th we leave for South America!!!!

The other day it rained and as I was looking out the kitchen window I saw this...

Then I noted the SECOND rainbow... cross your fingers blogger is good enough to pick up the lighter second rainbow because it was COOL!

And last, but definitely not least, my children naked AGAIN. But this video is soooo funny you must watch it!

OUCH!

June 20, 2008

PAIN, LOT'S AND LOT'S OF PAIN... I have a pinched nerve and my right hand is numb, like when your foot falls asleep. So, no posts for a bit b/c typing with one hand and a painful neck is tedious and zero fun. oh and did i mention i hate tricare? more to follow, soon, hopefuly...

Maria

June 9, 2008

Sorry for the confusion. Yes Maria, and anyone else who is wondering, the past week was part of our training before moving to Colombia. Now let's hope I don't use any of the training, except maybe the hard surface driving I'd LOVE to pit someone on I-95!

Redneck Rampage Part II

June 9, 2008

This part was really fun! And, to address Morgan's comment yesterday, Mike was hoping to shoot and drive too. He got really excited when he heard one guy ask another if he "brought the AK's". But we'll get to that later...

First off we did the basics. Drive REAL fast in a straight line and stop and fast as you can. That's right BURN RUBBER! EW - it's rather stinky. Anywho, the point is to feel what locking the brakes is and then try it again, and again, and again, with what they call "threshold" braking. Just about locking but then you back off a hair. I think I was going like 75 mph when I hit the brakes. It really is eye opening. You can stop, and stay in control, at some ridiculously HIGH speeds! And, of course, your basic obstacle course. Which wasn't too hard going forward but backward, using only the side view mirrors, much harder than anticipated!

Me stopping with "threshold braking".

Obstacle course. Easy forward, not so easy backwards!

Then we drove really fast in a circle on wet pavement to feel the front versus back wheels slipping and what to do to maintain control. In reality you drive in a circle really fast over and over again 'til your so dizzy deciding how to "maintain control" came down to stop sliding and then figure out where the hell you are!

Note the "crash test dummy" helmet.

Some fun parts were the obstacle courses where you get up to 65 mph and then 15 feet before you hit an obstacle you are told to go right or left to get around it, turn again 5 feet later, and then come to a complete stop 5 feet after that. And the cool part was, I did it! We did some braking into turns too which was tough. So wish I had video of this!

But my absolute favorite was pitting. You match speeds with the car in front of you, come up just behind their back tire about 6 inches off, then do a 3 degree turn into their car and hit the gas. The car will go flying out in front of you and be thrown out of your way. SO COOL! We got to pit and be pitted 2x each. Check out the video!

Here's a view from INSIDE the pitted car. FUN!

Finally we learned to breach barriers. You know like at border crossings or when you're wanted by the cops and they set up barricades. That was fun too but a tad more dangerous. We were told this is only a last resort. Still, how great is it to drive into SOMEONE ELSE'S car and not worry about the insurance ;o) Sorry, no photos or videos of this.

If you all ever get a chance to take a course like this DO IT! It really is applicable to crazy people on the highway, icy roads and, of course, third world countries where lanes and traffic signals are purely advisory!

Oh, I almost forgot the AK's! Our final "test" was to drive, one at a time, through an obstacle course. The catch was that once you got over the hill and could see the course guys were firing rifles at you and chasing you in their car. I had to make it to a "safe zone" while avoiding being shot (I'm sure it was just blanks) and being rear ended, side swiped or pitted by the crazy chasing me. Oh and let's not forget the fun obstacles in the road. All in all a great time!

Trucks, Guns and LOT'S of MUD

June 2-6, 2008

Yee haw I feel like a redneck now! I spent the week driving too fast, smashing cars, driving in the mud, shooting guns and learning to kick *ss in "physical combat". Some of it was fun, other parts... not so much. But I did have a week with my hubby and NO KIDS! Now I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my kids but a break was definitely a good thing. Since we stayed in a hotel we got to go out to restaurants and movies with no interruptions from the midgets.

Okay, onto the topic at hand. The first day we did the physical combat. You know. karate choppin' each other and other dirty tricks. It was fun but I think we should have spent more time on it. Ah well, no biggie, there is a WHOLE day on that later in another course. After that we did some shootin'.

This is where things got a bit ugly, for me anyway. I don't know about you all but I was NOT comfortable shooting a loaded weapon five minutes after being given an explanation of how it works. I did it for about a half hour the first day and an hour the second before calling it quits. It's not good when you holster a weapon in an "unsafe position". Thank goodness for calm hubbies who say "um honey, it's no big deal but carefully take out your gun and..." You get the picture.

Here we are all in a row.

Meet bad guy #3... I think he's dead!

And FYI, when you shoot a gun REALLY HOT COPPER flies out of it and can LAND DOWN YOUR SHIRT! Yes, I have 2 burn marks, one on each of the girls, as proof. No there are no photos of that!

The last day we also shot rifles and shot guns. Well the class did, I did not. Same reasons, 3 guns and 3 minute explanation then firing loaded weapons. Do I have IDIOT written on my head because that just seemed like a really bad idea.

But here's Mike taking no prisoners.

And the Weddles... a family that shoots together stays together. Stacie had some prior training and for some reason, thought this stuff was fun. I don't think she's really a girl :o)

Day three of the course we did some off roading. Not my thing either. Perhaps I am too much a girl for all this! There was LOT'S of MUD and plenty of stuck vehicles. There are a few videos but it's hard to get the feel of how big a hole you were in sometimes. Should have taken video IN the truck because sometimes you felt like you were gonna tip over.

Mike stuck in the mud. See his arms up "um, what now?"

Here's Mike driving through the mud and NOT getting stuck.

Then there's the driving over logs. Scary in thought but in practice it wasn't too bad for the driver. Really ALOT more work for the person giving directions.

Finally there's a video of me getting stuck in a hole. Watch it, it's short.

Doesn't seem like a big deal, right... WRONG!

Here's the truck with the AXLE RIPPED CLEAN OFF! I did hear a pop but had no idea that it was the reason I was NOT gonna make it up that slippery slope. OOPS :o)

Tomorrow I'll post some more of the fun stuff. I REALLY liked the "hard surface" driving. Basically driving really fast and smashing cars. Sooo fun. It was kind of unexpected. I had a bad accident as a teenager and it has stuck with me but this showed me how to handle a car even at crazy speeds while making turns. Enough... I'll post the details tomorrow.

So long, farewell...

June 1, 2008

Oh I am so sad... our dear friends, the Meyers, are leaving to go back home to Colorado. They moved here the EXACT SAME DAY we did, August 4, for a year internship program and now they are heading back home. This year has been FANTASTIC in large part due to our friendship. We will miss them terribly. But, they have promised to fly to Bogota and I haven't been to Colorado so it isn't goodbye really just see you later :o)

Cub's last day at school (Max and Cub are in the Spanish immersion program together).

Mr. Rose singing with the kids. They were pretending to drive cars and go over speed bumps and twisty roads etc. I only caught the last minute but it was soooo funny. Note Max with his "steering wheel" on his head. The second I came in the room he wanted to be with me and sulked when I told him to join his class. Hmmm, do you think he's a Mama's Boy?

One last group photo outside the school. Aren't they sweet together?!

Maggie 3, so pretty!

"The Maggie's" called each other 2 and 3 to make life a bit easier when they were together.

What a ham!

Remember our first play date?

Is it me or did the boys grow ALOT in one year?






Have a GREAT trip guys! Can't wait to see you Bogota so brush up on your Spanish!

***Note Mike and I are going to a training course for week so you probably won't hear from me between now and say, Saturday. The kids have gone to stay with Auntie Lia in Philly. Malia you are THE BEST sister in the world!!!! Have fun munchkins, Mama and Papa are gonna miss you!!!