Away We Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Vegas, Baby!! Tomorrow, Dean and I take our bi-annual trip to the grand city of Las Vegas. We board our plane at 7am only to return late Thursday evening. No kids, no dog, no leaves to rake, no homework to get done, no meetings to go to, no classes to teach for someone else, nothin'. Nothin' but 90 degree days, reading books, evening shows ...and, well, maybe a little Poker. Ok, maybe a little more than a little. BUT, it's our entertainment money, and once the set amount is lost, we are done. It's really just one big 5 day long date. The challenge is to get through dinner without talking about the kids :o)

Speaking of the little devils, they are staying home with their MI grandparents visitng and their Wausau grandparents close by to help out if needed. All is well. I'll be back later in the week....with pics :o) Until then.....I'll put a nickel in the slot machine for ya!

Sisterly Love

Grindey had the opportunity to play with her litter-mate sister, Kuken. It was so fun to see the 2 dogs together. One will never know if they recognized each other, but they were certainly equally playful and excited. FYI, Grindey has the thin white blaze on her head and Kuken has the wider one.

New Beginnings

It's been a big week for us. For starters, the kids began their new school year. I absolutely cannot believe that I have a THIRD GRADER in the house!!! When I taught at Lincoln, 3rd graders were at the top of the food chain and I was only pregnant with Sam back then. It baffles me to think he is that old. And Elle is in first grade, but thinks she's in high school. Every day she wants to look "fashionable". Don't ask. And Jack....he's in pre-kindergarten, everyday all morning long. He loves being at the same school as his older sibs, and I love him there too :o)

In other news this week, I had an interview to begin my substitute teaching, and was accepted. I could start as early as next week. Yikes!! How to be a teacher and a mom is yet to be determined, but I have good feelings about it. I am ready to be in front of the troops again, and after going through all my old teacher stuff, I even feel excited. Who knew???

And last, but definately NOT least...Dean has his last drill this weekend. Ever. He has served 20 faithful years to his country in the Army National Guard and now his time to retire has come. When he leaves Fort McCoy on Sunday, he will not return. God has been so good to us. His entire battalion deploys to Iraq in March, and Dean would be one of them had his retirement not come perfectly this September. Thank you, Dean, for serving your country in ways the rest of us just take for granted. Thank you, God, for letting Dean serve his country here on U.S. soil.

As for our new beginnings...onward we move.