My little Jedi's

Aiden went to a birthday party today, complete with a Star Wars theme. One of the decorations was a Obi-Wan robe. Aiden said he sure would love to have one....so I thought, how hard can it be to make?? A trip to Joanne fabrics, 5 yards of brown fabric and a couple of hours at Kari's house, and voila!! two young Jedi's happily running through my house. Thanks to Aunt Kari for her awesome sewing expertise! I am slowly learning how to sew.......maybe I can do the next project all by myself.

The Gazebo

This is what the gazebo looked like when Tim proposed to me (it's a picture of a picture taken by Teena Cook that is in my house)

This is, sadly, what is left of the gazebo......

If you live in Salem, you know where the duck pond is. You also know this is where you go to take pictures at the pond, on the bridge, and with the pretty flowers. There is also a gazebo. It was in this gazebo that Tim proposed to me many (many) years ago, and I have taken many pictures of the kids. Today, a truck rolled down the hill and crashed into the gazebo. All you can see that is left is the roof.
Totally not cool..... I sure hope they replace it...

Just for your information, from the SoSalem website:
Here's something we found on the Salem Museum's website about the gazebo:

This gazebo, or bandstand, stood in the front yard of the original Roanoke County Courthouse that was built in 1841. When the old courthouse was razed to make way for a new one in 1909, the gazebo, at the request of the Salem Silver Cornet Band, was moved to Spring Lake. The Confederate monument replaced it in 1910. The oldest photos of the old courthouse, with horses and buggies and crowds around it on "court day," show the old bandstand apparently in the 1870s period. After its move to Spring Lake, the gazebo was repaired and painted and has sheltered bands for innumerable summertime concerts over the years. At one point the gazebo was in the middle of a pond and people paddled to it in boats. The gazebo was made a Salem landmark in 1979.

Camping......

 

 

 

 

I hate camping. I hate shower stalls, I hate not having a bathroom close by, I hate bugs, spiders etc., and I HATE HATE HATE not having air conditioning. That being said, the church was having a "family campout" last night, and what kind of mom would I be if I didn't go??? So, I took one for the team, packed up more stuff for one night than I did for one week in Orlando, and off we went. It actually wasn't horrible. I mean, I don't intend on doing it again until next year (and absolutely not without an air mattress) but the kids had a good time, I got to chat with some of my friends, and the bathroom was one camp site over from where we pitched our tent. The bugs weren't bad at all, and it actually cooled down late in the evening. All in all, not so bad....(but I still hate camping.....)
:-)

A quick trip to the park

 

 

 

 

Aiden asked Maddie to take him and Owen to the park, and she cheerfully obliged. It was really hot and sticky, but she stayed long enough to snap some really cute pictures! (She took them and edited them. I am stealing them for my blog!)

The Mousetrap Car

Yes, I did say mousetrap car..... For Maddie's science class, they had to make a car out of a mousetrap that would travel at least a meter. Since car making is not my thing, I defer to dad for such things. As luck would have it, Andy was in town visiting from Georgia, and between the two of them, Maddie has a sweet car. I got my friend Patty to paint me the mouse and cheese, and she should definitely make an "A" for effort!

**Update--it went the required distance and was the coolest by far!!** We are waiting on the teacher's decision on who had the best design.........***Update to the update-----Maddie's won BEST MECHANICAL DESIGN!!!!!--Her friend got Best Looking car!