It's a Jungle Out There

The 3rd grade class at Plano Elementary put on their spring musical tonight. The title "It's a Jungle Out There". I hope they didn't pick that title because we live right next to the school and our yard has looked exactly JUNGLE-like. Thank goodness dad got our lawnmower fixed this week and Matt was able to mow. All the props and costumes were made by the 3rd grade parents and faculty/staff. I made the adorable monkey mask (and 8 others) that Karson is wearing. I thought it was pretty crafty until I saw some of the other masks--TOO CUTE.

Leah, Karson and Kayla monkeying around.

More jungle friends.

Feel free to skip this segment--it's a little wordy--I do want my daughter to read it one day though especially if she's taking a public speaking class in college =).

I was confused when most of the jungle kids came into the gym and seated themselves. I expected to see my Karson among them but couldn't find her. Believe it or not, my 9-year old daughter can sometimes be confounding. From the minute the spring musical was announced, she's been excited. I know she had her heart set on a speaking part (she MUST get this desire from Matt because I DO NOT enjoy speaking in large crowds). This musical only had a handful of speaking parts. Lo and behold, Karson did not get one of those. She came home one sad, SAD day after school and was in a MOOD. She buried her face in the couch pillow and wouldn't talk. All I got out of her is that she had NO IDEA if she was a monkey or not or whatever and that she didn't have a speaking part and life as we knew it was OVER! I was completely baffled because the week prior she had told me she was FOR SURE a monkey. I had been scrambling around trying to find her a brown outfit (the leggings we had, the shirt we needed). I tried to console Karson telling her that she got a speaking part in last year's Christmas play, and that there are probably a lot of kids that would like speaking parts--blah, blah, blah. I'm sure all she heard was dead air. I was so confused. I texted her teacher and emailed her music teacher trying to figure it all out. Her music teacher told me the next day that Karson was a monkey but did not have a speaking part. SO, I simply assumed she would be part of the jungle crowd this time and not have any distinct part in the musical--NOT TRUE. Although she didn't get to speak, she was part of the opening number walking in and part of a foursome of monkeys that had their own "bit" in the musical (see "Goin' Bananas" video below). AND, she even had her name printed in the program. Sheesh, all that drama for nothing.

~NEXT~

The musical premise: King Leo is a victim of the corporate jungle! He has money, power, and fame, but he still has not found happiness. His trusty servants, Spot and Stripes begin a quest for the key to happiness.

Do the cheetahs know the answer? Nope, they are just a bunch of party animals.

What about the monkeys? *Well I have to tell you my sweet Karson has a heart of gold--speaking part or no speaking part--and fortunately, at this point, seems to be a happy young lady.*

The monkeys spend all their time "Goin' Bananas".

Maybe the hyenas have the secret? Nah, they tell jokes and laugh all the time. Karson's friend Leah was the lead hyena and did a wonderful job.

I believe the elephants have found the answer. Good friends and life's simple pleasures, such as stopping to smell the roses are where true happiness is found.

C-UTE!

Karson and her friend Kaylee after the show.

The entire 3rd grade cast. We are fortunate to be in the company of some of the finest people in Plano. I'm thankful for the friendships Karson has made along with our family. A special thanks to the talented music teacher Ms. Tiffany Cothran for working so hard on this. We are incredibly grateful for you!

I Smell Old People

...reads the inside of the birthday card I picked out for my dad. It's not to accurate though. My dad could run circles around many people my age. He celebrates #62 today. He's not the kind of guy who wants you to make a fuss about his birthday. I think I inherited that trait. He also would just soon you not get him any birthday presents either. He's a pretty content guy. Of course his family completely ignores those two requests and forces him to celebrate with them =).

Dad's thought-filled gift. With mom's birthday gift, Shannon and I put together a basket of her favorite things. I decided to do the same for dad. The first thing I did was put together a MIX CD. Dad and I speak the same love language when it comes to music. We love all kinds (although I have to admit Barbershop is stretching it for me). When we went to Frankfort, we spent lots of time talking about all the music we liked. NOW puts out a good mix CD, but I have so much music on my iTunes, I decided to make him a compilation of all the songs he likes including his current favorite, Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger". SIDENOTE: this has to be mentioned in this post because I think it's hilarious and typical dad. When he and I were going to Frankfort, one of our discussions included what our favorite car on the road is? He asked me what I liked, to which I resoundingly replied a DODGE CHARGER. I then proceeded to tell him that it was my dream car, however it wasn't practical with three kids and all that, so my practical dream car would be a Honda Pilot SUV with 3 rows of seats. I asked him what his favorite was (I'm sure you're guessing a new truck or SUV) and he replied, the Ford Taurus. Yep, any car in the world, a FORD TAURUS. That's dad.

Okay, back to the birthday gift. I found this cute little wooden basketball goal at the Lake Cumberland gift shop. It's right up dad's alley. Gift shops are the best places to find nifty gifties.

And last but not least, I got dad his favorite thing in the world SNACKS. From orange cupcakes to Ding Dongs, dad is a sucker for these things. I'm not entirely sure dad's ever had a complete meal (j/k)--he pretty much lives off of snack foods. I can't say that I blame him, these are some of the best treats out there.

We went to my parents house to celebrate tonight with cake and ice cream.

My dad's favorite cake has and always will be from Riley's bakery.

Mom put five candles on the cake--one for each grand kid to blow out.

THE man and his cake.

Dad and his BFF Miles--two peas in a pod.

Enjoying the basketball goal. I think Evan hit FIVE in a row. He's got the magic touch.

My dad is one of a kind. I posted this on Facebook today: "Happy birthday to the voice in my head telling me to love God and others, to be faithful, to be a committed person and someone others can count on. Thanks Dad for being that example for me in every way! I hope you have a wonderful day!" My dad has lots of strong values and has always expected those out of Shannon and I. And, although he will never figure out how to burn a CD on his computer or place a bid on eBay, he's still one of the smartest people I know. I love you dad, thanks for being you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Lake Cumberland

Where can one go when there is a four-day weekend and everyone is itching to get out of town?

We got a break from school this week. We wanted to take a mini-trip that didn't require spending a small fortune since we are going to Pigeon Forge in three short weeks for Spring Break. The answer for us~a STATE PARK. We are fortunate in Kentucky to have lots of beautiful parks to choose from and many are close by. I started googling state parks because I remembered taking the kids to Cumberland Falls years ago and loving it. I specifically wanted a place that had an indoor pool and even better a hot tub. I found the perfect place at Lake Cumberland State Park which is in Jamestown, Kentucky and only an 1 1/2 hrs. from our house.

Since Matt is considered a state employee, he got a discount on the price, even better.

We got this little cottage #518 for next to nothing. It had four double beds and two bathrooms.

And the view from our back porch was simply breathtaking.

The only thing worth complaining about was/is the closest grocery store is about 25 miles away. Fortunately, we had made a Walmart run prior and stocked up on stuff. SO, if you plan to come here during the off-season when the Country Store isn't open, bring plenty and don't forget ANYTHING.

The weather wasn't supposed to be very cooperative Thursday and Friday so pool time was a must. We did most of our swimming on Thursday afternoon.

Our little water babies. We stayed at the pool around two hours and then got out since it was starting to storm badly outside. Plus, Matt wanted to catch the UK/WKU game.

How Matt spent his time~glued to March Madness =).

Isaac followed in his footsteps back in his room, glued to Sharkboy and Lavagirl. This was before he came down with a fever yesterday.

My poor boy feeling puny. Of course, I forgot to pack the Mucinex and Ibuprofen. Matt did manage to get a thermometer and chewable Tylenol at the lodge gift shop. However, Pap and Nana came to join us yesterday afternoon and were able to swing by our house before leaving town and pick up the medicines. Pap also brought his boat so he and Matt were able to do some fishing.

Lots of snuggling on this trip.

And some weirdness. Miles kept telling me he was thirsty. I guess I didn't realize how often the kids drink water throughout the day which is at their disposal in our refrigerator. I told him, when you're thirsty, go get a drink out of the sink. And, he listened.

It's hard to tell but there are deer in this picture. They come right up next to the road. We also saw some wild turkey.

Well, not these WILD turkey's but real life ones. The kids had a good time on their Razors. We thought about bringing bikes, but the bike rack we got didn't work with kids bikes. I'm glad we didn't end up hauling them there. The weather wasn't great so it would've been a lot of trouble for a short moment. The scooters were perfect.

There was also two cool playgrounds close to the lodge, but they were only able to play at those on Thursday since it started storming.

I think the highlight of the week was playing ping pong in the game room.

We logged a couple of hours here. It's made Isaac want to buy a ping pong table with his poster money.

We ate dinner in the lodge dining room last night which has DELICIOUS! Matt and I ordered out from the dining room on Thursday night and were pleasantly surprised by how good it was. We could've eaten there every meal.

Miles and Matt goofing off.

Our short little trip was exactly what we needed and catapulted us forward to our next break.

SPRING BREAK GET HERE SOON!

A Day at the Capitol

We spent an enjoyable day in Frankfort, Kentucky today (I got this shot of the capitol from Frankfort Cemetery). Isaac attended a luncheon along with other winners across the state for the agriculture poster/essay contest that he entered and won for his age group. I was kind of hoping we could make it a family event, but Matt's schedule simply didn't work out with the trip. And, I didn't want to pull Karson out of school for the day especially since we are out tomorrow and Friday. Isaac's absence was excused and considered academic enhancement.

My dad graciously offered to take us, and we're so glad he did. The event was so very special. I'm glad dad got to be a part of it. Here are the boys on the steps of the Kentucky History Center after we arrived.

Isaac posing next to his poster. It was neat how all the posters were lined up and framed. They also had the posters and essays flashing up on the big screen. Isaac sat at the winners table with kids around his age. **Winners went from kindergarten-12th grade. Every single kid/teen that won was THERE (glad we didn't skip out--we had considered it when Isaac said he didn't want to go initially). That was a total of 24 children.

A delicious lunch provided by local farmers. The food was excellent. Of course, Isaac didn't touch it. I was kind of surprised because it was burgers, macaroni, and potato fries. BUT, I think he may have been a bit nervous and didn't feel like eating. I thought the caramel apples were wonderful but an odd dessert choice at a luncheon. I tried my best to look lady-like as I gnawed into my apple and stringy gooey caramel =).

Isaac posing with commissioner James Comer.

Posing with the group of winners.

And posing with the MAIN reason he came, his check.

Don't you like his blue tongue?

After lunch, we made our way over to the museum which was rich in Kentucky history. The kids went through all the exhibits fairly quickly. It was FREE and very neat.

I planned to take the kids sight seeing but wanted to see what the history museum staff thought would be age appropriate and entertaining for them.

Of course the first SITE was the museum itself--very cool.

SITE TWO: Daniel Boone's Gravesite in Frankfort Cemetery.

I never knew a graveyard could be so fun for kids. The thoroughly enjoyed rolling down the hills.

AND, there's nothing like being at a graveyard and filming a new version of "The Thriller" with Pops singing in the background. Dad and I think this area was the original cemetery or at least it looked incredibly old. The tombs were all broken and dated. There was a iron fence around it that set it off from the other areas of the cemetery. The cemetery itself was huge, but we only made a stop at Daniel Boone's grave.

SITE THREE: Sonic Drive-In for Happy Hour (not recommended by the history center staff, just my own personal experience--a MUST).

SITE FOUR: Kentucky Fish and Wildlife ~ Salato Wildlife Education Center

This place is every little boys dream.

We saw animals. Most of these exhibits were outside (with the exception of the snake(s)). Isaac was all over the place, running here, there and everywhere. I kind of preferred the inside exhibits myself. It was a toasty day.

We learned how to hunt and fish.

We caught some large mouth bass. The fish hatchery area was probably the most interesting area for all three guys =).

SITE FIVE: heading back to Bowling Green. Well we didn't make it to the Governor's Mansion or the Capitol. But, I'm hoping we can come back again sometime in the near future and visit those.

And, I have a piece of Frankfort that came home. All the winners got a potted plant to bring back. Isaac can hardly wait for me to get in the ground.