Hollywood and God

I was sitting here this morning browsing through some YouTube videos when I came across one by Ray Comfort, Christian author and TV host. He was on the streets of Los Angeles and asked a very interesting question... I'll just post the link to view. I would have never thought of it this way, and I don't believe the people he asked had thought of it in that light either... he made those people and myself think!

A Storm's a Comin'

Yayyyy!!! Our family's favorite band is coming back to The Handlebar in Greenville tomorrow night! That band would be Gaelic Storm, the steerage band from the blockbuster "Titanic". This is about the fifth or sixth time we've seen them, but we can't get enough of them. They were last here in October 2008 and are making their rounds once again. We've been waiting for two months for this date to arrive and now we're so excited that this time tomorrow night we will be stomping our feet and clapping our hands until they're numb.



Most people probably think we need to get a life and they probably wonder why we're SOOO in love with this group. But honestly, our family agrees that this group is better than ANY mainstream artist or band. Forget KISS, Aerosmith or the Eagles! Their concerts are never long enough for me and I could stay until four in the morning listening to those bagpipes, fiddling, and accordion, YES, accordion playing. There is NO other band in the country that can compare to this group's energy and the fact that they are extremely down to earth and "fan-friendly". Not to mention the hilarious stories that are told between songs. I honestly get chills everytime we see them live and am always SO disappointed after the encores are over.


So, since I've spoken so highly of them, I'm going to add a playlist so you can hear what is so special about them. They may not be EVERYONE's cup of tea, but our family thinks they rock!

Jaden's Imagination

I just wanted to make a quick blog about Jaden's imagination... boy does that kid have one. He has so many toys that he could play with, but he'd rather make things out of junk... paper, cardboard, boxes, tape- you name it. I wanted to share a couple of photos of things Jaden's has created just this week. :)


Here is Jaden watching the space shuttle launch this week. He is wearing his astronaut costume and what he is holding is his "head-set" made out of Tinkertoys.


Here is another photo of him with his headset. As he was watching the shuttle launch he would make a crackling noise with his voice (like static over a speaker) and say things like "We are seeing the boosters fall back down to Earth".


And this is what he created yesterday... well, all the cereal boxes are some we had recycled and hot glued together to make a "truck" the other week. But he reinvented it and turned it into his own television studio- "Network Jaden" as he calls it. The things he is touching are lego blocks turned into his "control panel" to control volume, lights, etc. lol He even took some of my file folder labels and labeled the buttons. Over his head is his play camera, pipe cleaners turned into a satellite antenna and a cable antenna (that's what he told me), recycled food cans are being used for spot lights and he also cut a satellite dish out of paper.

Now, I don't want to be one of those mom's that brag about their kids when they pee the right way, but I thought it was pretty cool that he would come up with this stuff. This Christmas we're gonna come out good. We've decided to do our Black Friday shopping at the local recycling center. lol Anyway, I just wanted to share these. Thanks for looking! :)

The School Year is Almost Over

I just thought I'd make a quick entry this morning. I can't believe it, but in just a couple of short weeks Jaden will have completed his first year of homeschooling. I can not believe he'll be a first grader this fall. He is growing up TOO fast.
This year has been pretty good so far. There were times when I wanted to absolutely pull my hair out from frustration and then other times have been very good. I'm so glad I didn't have to throw him into a public school classroom with a stranger to "teach" him. Maybe I'm being too overprotective, but the way things are now I think more parents should be over protective. I just want what is best for him. So far I think we're on the right track... I haven't messed him up too bad yet I don't think. :)
We've had a good time though and he's been able to learn and observe things that he wouldn't be able to see in a boxed-in classroom. We go outside at nights with his telescope, we meet up with our local astronomy group, he learned a little math/economics by setting up his own drink stand at our yard sale this past weekend, taking a trip to Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC, on our camping trip the other week he was able to see a lot of different wildlife, and he went with us to the tea parties and learned about Freedom of Speech. There have been many other opportunities this year to learn outside a classroom. I can honestly say that I don't remember much from those boring text books in school, but I think that more will stick in his mind because we had FUN learning.
I am also glad that we can really focus on astronomy in school for Jaden. He has been hooked on astronomy since I can't remember when. If he were in public school he'd probably study it for a couple of days and that would be it, but we can delve deeper into it and hopefully his love for it will continue to grow. That's a great thing about a homeschool curriculum- you can really custom build it to fit your child's interests. I think that when that happens they are more likely to excel in their studies. So far that's proving to be true... how he remembers all those facts about our solar system, I'll never know.
Anyway, I better end this right here. It's time for breakfast and to get school started in a bit. Only 20 days to go! It's been a fun year, but Jaden and I both can't wait for summer. :)

Nancy Pelosi can kiss my "Astroturf"!

We attended the Greenville Tea Party Friday Evening and had a great time. It is so wonderful to live in a free country where we can speak out and show the government that we're pissed off.

Ofcourse, Obama and his left-wing buddies all are making out "tea partiers" to be everything from "right-wing extremists" to nothing more than an aggravation for them and citizens to spit on. Nancy Pelosi, that lying CNN "reporter" Susan Roesgen, and many in the Obama administration think we've been hired by Fox News... I guess they assume that all protesters are paid (ACORN, wink, wink). We are regular American citizens that genuinely care for our country and aren't out for the attention of the media. Nancy Pelosi said it was not a grass-roots movement, but "what they call astroturf". Well, Nazi Pelosi... you, Obama, Barney Frank, Janet Nepolitano, and all the other left-wing idiots can all kiss my "astroturf".

I knew when Obamanation was elected in November that it was going to be a rough four years and it didn't take long for Washington to prove me right (in more ways than one). I am truly worried for my son's future now. He's already broke and he's only six years-old. I find myself wondering what the country will be like for him when he gets older. I really worry. Apparently, the FBI were out taking photographs of tea party attendees and the Department of Homeland Security has labeled returning vets, anyone that is anti-abortion or against illegal-immigration as "right-wing extremists". Whoa! I mean, one day I cook dinner, take my son to T-ball practice and go to bed, then wake up a danger to my country? How did that happen? Ohhhh, that's right... idiots voted that socialist a-hole into office and he's now marking anyone that disagrees with his marxist agenda as an "extremist". I wonder sometimes if we're on the path to one day being marched into "re-education camps" so that we'll AAAALLL bow to the Obamessiah. I do NOT trust that man and genuinely worry about the country's future.

I guess I don't really have too much more to say other than I suggest everyone next year on April 15th send ONLY what they think they owe to the government. We are the bosses of the government and I think they haven't been meeting demand and deserve a pay-cut. Contrary to what liberals want everyone to think, I don't mind paying taxes... as long as it goes towards keeping the military stocked with what they need, hardworking police, firefighters, roads, etc... I don't want it going to abortions, ACORN, Planned-Parenthood, tattoo removal machines, golf courses, to study blueberries, to save a mouse or other inane $#!^ like that! Let's give Washington a paycut... it's happening to alot of other citizens... why not them?

Alright, I'm through griping, but I leave you with some photos from the Greenville, SC Post Tax Day Tea Party. Oh, and there were around 10,000 people... not 1,000 like some media outlets reported. (And if Big Brother IS watching I just have three words... "kiss my astroturf".)

Here I am with talk show radio host and Fox News contributor Mike Gallagher.

Jaden took this photo of me.

Here is one of those dangerous little radicals. Beware!

My mom and dad attended the rally as well.

I like this sign. Hear that Obama?!

Here is a photo of part of the crowd. Notice the people in the parking garage too.

Russ Cassell speaking. Russ for President!

Gov. Mark Sanford speaking.

Getting Ready to Party!

I'm sitting here this morning just itching to get out this evening and attend the Greenville Post-Tax Day Tea Party. Our family has been getting ready all this week making signs, buying flags and even teaching Jaden about what socialism means so he understands what we're protesting... despite what SOME deluded minds may think, we're not attending to be anti-Obama, anti-government, nor anti-CNN (although they do suck). We are protesting the fact that OUR government has completely forgotten who they represent. We are protesting the fact that once these crooks get into office they forget who put them there and decide to go on their own shopping spree... spending OUR money on ridiculous things. I, for one, DO NOT want to be paying for an overseas abortion. I am protesting the fact that WE THE PEOPLE have absolutely no say in what our money is being spent on and that pisses me off.

So, this evening my family will attend the Greenville tea party along with several other thousand and tell the government to kiss our tails. Call me a "right-wing extremist" if you wish. Apparently, someone that is simply anti-abortion is determined by Homeland Security to be a "right-wing extremist", so if that's the case I guess I'm a twenty-five year-old, radicalized, right-wing extremist, t-ball mom. Sounds scary, doesn't it?

Here are some signs that we've created for the event:

Our Camping Trip

Last weekend we took a short camping trip to Croft State Park in Spartanburg, SC. We had a great time once we got settled in. The campsite was wonderful! Only a thirty second walk from the lake... fishing, kayaking, and roasting marshmallows to our hearts' desire and we couldn't have asked for better weather.

The view from our campsite.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon after Jaden's baseball game and got everything set up. The afternoon flew by and we didn't really have the chance to do to much that day, but we were able to squeeze in a little bit of fishing that evening. The fish were hopping and at one point right after sunset a fish grabbed my line and decided to take it for a ride. I have no idea how big the thing was, but after fighting for about 15 seconds or so the darn thing broke my line. I would really love to know how big that sucker was. LOL By that time it was getting dark though and we had to head back to the tent to get the campfire going for dinner. Gotta love roasted hot dogs over a campfire.

Jack, Jaden and Priscilla kayaking on Lake Craig.

Sunday we were able to take the kayaks out on Lake Craig. We headed up towards one end of the lake and we overheard a guy in a nearby boat saying that there was something called "Turtle Hill" in one of the coves so we headed that way. There were many bubbles coming to the surface in places and at one point something hit the bottom of my boat. About five seconds later Jack asked me if there were alligators up this way. His paddle had also hit something. We had discussed kayaking and alligators before so I think he got a bit nervous. lol Personally, I'm more worried about snakes. ACK! The cove started getting VERY shallow even for a kayak so we turned around and headed back. There is a geocache on the other side of the lake so after kayaking a bit we parked the kayaks on the shore (which turned out to be a bunch of quick sand) and took a short hike to find the cache. After looking for 20 minutes or so we all couldn't find the cache and gave up. It was very beautiful on that end of the lake though and I can't wait to return.

Priscilla and Jaden

We jumped back in the kayaks to return to the campsite and boy was it rough getting back. The winds had picked up and we were all fighting to paddle against it. We eventually made it back though and then had to carry the kayaks back up the steep hill to the site. After that we were pretty much exhausted and rested for a while.

Jaden, Jack and Priscilla hiking up to the geocache.

Ofcourse, the fish in the lake were calling my name and I couldn't resist heading down that evening too, so we all headed down to the shore with our fishing rods. We had been fishing for a while when my line got all messed up. I called Jack over to help, so he recruited Jaden to watch his line for him. Jack had only been over there with me for about 20 seconds when Jaden yelled "Daddy, a fish is on your line!" Jack went running back over there and yanked on it. Sure enough he got it! So, technically, Jaden caught it. It wasn't a monster, but it was a good little fish. :) I decided to try my luck somewhere else since I wasn't even getting many nibbles. Ofcourse, Jaden comes running over to my secluded area to yell at me, "Daddy needs your help!" Jack had caught another small bream. GRRRR... Oh well, I'm glad someone caught something atleast.

On Monday morning we decided to take our (much needed) showers and then head up one of the trails to find another geocache. We started off on an easy horse trail but decided to break off on another to (in Jack's words) make it more interesting. Good GRIEF! The trail was called "Rocky Ridge" (a 3.5 mile horse trail that is rated strenuous) and I see why. Most of it was uphill on uneven terrain. Thank God the weather was turning cooler or I would have never made it! There were also strong gusts of wind and some of the extremely tall trees would creak and bend right over our heads. That made us all a bit nervous as well as an odd sound coming from the woods. We still don't know what in the world was making it, but we all figured we would pick up our speed to get out of there! There were several old building foundations and chimneys along the trail. This area was once part of an old World War II Army training camp so maybe they were remnants from that?? Luckily we made it to find the cache. We stopped to have a snack, but quickly started back since black clouds were moving in and it didn't look too good. We finally made it back to camp after walking 5-6 miles and just as the temperature started to plummet.

Ruins from the old World War II training camp? Checking out the geocache.

Monday night temperatures were supposed to be near the freezing point but we all stayed warm. It even rained a little bit that night. Tuesday morning it was time to pack up and it was a bit rough since the winds were very strong and I thought we'd all fly away while packing up the huge tent. It seems that we picked the right time to leave as it was very cold Tuesday morning. We were exhausted and cold when we arrived home, but we had a great weekend overall. There is something about camping that is just so wonderful... breakfast foods smell so good cooking over a propane stove in the morning... there is no need to keep track of time... your friendly temporary neighbors... sleeping under the stars... and a campfire at night with the sounds of frogs and crickets in the background. It's a wonderful feeling. :)

Perfection! Jaden playing in the campfire.

Our tent. Thanks Mama and Daddy! We love it! Jack and Myself.