Road Trip: Day 3 (continued)

Visited my college campus...Drake University. It was orientation day and the campus was also getting ready to host the National Outdoor Track & Field Championships the following weekend (won by both men's and women's teams from Texas A&M by the way). Lots of changes had been made since I was a student ... a new housing development called the West Village. New restaurants. Redirected roads. Painted bulldogs all over campus.



But there were lots of gems that have remained the same...

Lower left window...The Social Room. Oh Yeah. You know you miss it. This is where I met BFFs Connie Kubicek and Lil' Lori "Lord" Held for the first time.



Morehouse, the other residence hall where Connie and I lived for three years. (Third floor, five windows left of the chimney.)



One of the best traditions at Drake is the Painted Street. It runs through the center of campus and every Drake Relays (April) is it whitewashed and 58 campus organizations gather to paint representative squares based on that year's Relays theme. This year, the theme was "Come for the Races, Stay for the ..." Delta Sigma Pi, my business fraternity, painted this square. Looks like they could have used a dual art/business major to help them out this year. Some squares are so elaborate or clever. I wish I would have taken more pictures of it. The event is so popular, now there is a downtown street painting event where businesses can participate.



Kragie/Newell, my first workplace in the advertising world. Housed in the Butler Mansion, the history of this building is so interesting, I used to give tours to business students, architecture students and any other visitors that came to the agency (in addition to my actual job). Despite the many additions on the back side of the house, I hope they are still giving tours using the script I painstakingly researched and wrote back in the early 90s. This building is also where I met Andy Chenchar, an art director, who happened to be roommates with a guy a named Mark Nault.



After driving around the city all morning, we headed over to the park across from Andy's current house. The park had a great splash pool for little kids and two nice playgrounds for the kids to play on.





We went back to Joe and Ellie's for the barbecue later that afternoon. The neighbors had loaned us a really fun game called Ladder Golf. Totally need to order this for the backyard. The kids loved it!



We saw so many good, old friends ... Greg, Jarred, Jon and Heidi and their son Owen; Molly and her daughter Sofia; Joe's brother Jon, his wife, Dawn and son Jack; and Andy, his wife, Melissa, and their incredibly entertaining son Max. Max and Sarah became fast friends. Max is infatuated with Lady Gaga and likes to give impromptu concerts. Sarah became his wardrobe manager: "Help me put on my fish dress" and "You forgot my shoes" and his announcer: "Introducing Lady Gaga!". Sometimes Sofia was a backup dancer and sometimes Ethan did lighting with a flashlight. He would sing "Walk, walk, fashion baby, work it, I'm so crazy" and morph into Shirley Manson from Garbage and sing "Pour your misery down!" IT WAS AWESOME! Totally crazy but you can tell this kid is talented, even though he's only four. I told Andy I look forward to saying "I knew him when..."

Road Trip: Day 3

Sunday morning, we drove all over Des Moines, showing kids where we met, played sports, went to college, lived, worked, etc. They were mostly bored out of their minds but the new sculpture garden on the edge of downtown was a hit, primarily because some of the sculptures had motion detectors. When someone got too close, a booming voice would say "PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE SCULPTURE." This, of course, encouraged the kids to run away and re-approach the sculpture umpteen times. And sometimes the voice would say "PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE SCULPTURE" when the kids weren't even close to it, to which Ethan would reply "WE'RE NOT EVEN NEAR THE SCULPTURE!" It was generally hilarious and became the best quote of the trip.

Road Trip: Days 1 & 2

DAY 1

We left San Antonio on Friday night around 5:30 p.m. I found it oddly comforting to know that we only needed to get on I-35 and that one road would take us all the way north to MN. Drove to Denton, TX, just north of Fort Worth and spent the night in a hotel. Rock stars have nothing on our ability to destroy a hotel room.





DAY 2

Woke up and swam in the hotel after breakfast. Got on the road around 10 am. This was taken cruising through Kansas. The kids did so much better in the car than I thought they would. They each had a DS. I had my iPad with the Nook application that would read books aloud to the kids (genius!) and a full bag of new library books. We played the Alphabet game, looking for letters on signs and license plates. Pillows, blankies, and snacks galore. We stopped every 2-4 hours and ate or went potty. Made it all the way to Des Moines by late Saturday night and stayed with Joe and Ellie Reser.

BFFs

On the last day of school, we hosted a BBQ dinner for our neighbors that were moving away. Robyn and Jon came too - ex-neighbors who used to live next door. Larry and Arleen, who have been like family to us, are just moving 15 minutes away into a custom home north of town. We are still invited to their house for Christmas and Easter dinners. Phew! But it won't be the same as having them next door and for that, I am very sad.

Andy and Karen, from across the street, are moving to Germany for Andy's job. Going with them are Zac (one of Jacob's best buds) and Julie (Sarah's BFF). Charisse, my brilliantly talented photographer friend, did a mini photo shoot with the girls so we could put together a photo album before Julie left. The favorites:







We left for Minnesota the next day and had to say final goodbyes in the driveway. We knew that they would be in Germany by the time we got back. So...we're ready to Skype! Add us as a contact: shannon.nault

Last Week of School

Tori and I met Dinosaur George at the PTA Convention last February. Basically, he is the Steve Irwin of dinosaurs. So animated, so funny, so knowledgeable...it was a no-brainer to bring him to Hardy Oak for a year-end celebration.

The 3rd-5th graders saw him first. His 45-minute presentation was filled with silly jokes, noises, vocabulary, fossils, bone fragments, and boy vs. girl hilarity. For instance, he said the biggest creature ever to inhabit the Earth was a prehistoric whale-type animal that would span the length of a football field. The largest of these creatures were the females. (Insert wild, ear-piercing screams of jubilation from the female elementary population here.) Later on, he turned the tables by saying that the largest of the Stegosauruses were the males. (Insert much whooping and hollering by the boys.)



But in the end, the girls were victorious. The fiercest of all the dinosaurs were the T-Rexes and the biggest T-Rexes were female. His assistant, Becca, is holding the jaw bone of a female.



This was an example of a female vs. male single tooth.



It was amazing how Dinosaur George whipped these kids into a frenzy and then immediately quieted them down again to stay involved in the presentation. The younger kids (K-2) also loved the presentation - he changed it slightly for them, making the jokes and information more age-appropriate. We are working on a proposal with him to bring a Traveling Museum of sorts to Hardy Oak next year and we can't wait.

On the last day of school, we made a special stop in Sarah's classroom to say goodbye to Mrs. Diamond. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, Hardy Oak is losing eight teachers and Sarah's teacher is one of them. She was reassigned to another school in the district but we will miss her terribly. Her college-age daughter is also named Sarah Elizabeth and we hope to have her do some babysitting this summer.



Lucas - always the center of attention when we visit a classroom.

Will u kill me?

The text began...

"'Will u kill me if I send Jacob home w/ tadpoles?" and two hours later he got off the bus with a baggie of dingy water inside a pink gift bag.

Six of them ... courtesy of the same teacher that gave us Fudge, the guinea pig. They were living in her neighbor's untended pool, so really, how could life with the Naults be any worse? Then Mark came home and asked why we had giant sperm on the counter.

Since that day - about two weeks ago - they have found a new home in a donated aquarium and almost doubled in size.




If there were seven, I would name them after the dwarfs. If there were eight, it would be the reindeer. But since it's only six, the jury's still out. Then there's the fact that I can't tell them apart anyways. The kids were disinterested in them by Day Two, confirming the reason we still do not have a dog.

Fairy Tale Ball

The kids' school throws a Fairy Tale Ball each spring for the Kindergartners. Dressed in the most darling pouffy princess dresses, tiaras, and other sparkling accessories, the girls walk demurely in their plastic glass slippers into the cafeteria.



The most dashing princes and knights (sans any weapons) march in orderly fashion to their snack of muffins and juice boxes. Pictures are taken, hugs abound.




Then the music turns on and all hell breaks loose!

The kids start running around the cafeteria to the tune of "Crazy Frog" and bump into each other like they're in a mini mosh pit. Pretty soon someone's tiara gets knocked off. Shoes are flying. Someone is sobbing inconsolably because there are no more chocolate muffins and "Hey! Get off the stage!"



Lucas and I bolted early, but I'm glad I got to see Ethan and his buds ... enjoying the moment.

Happy 10th Birthday Jacob!

Just like it's impossible that my Dad is 70, it's equally impossible that I have a ten-year-old! When I look at him I still see this little guy!



He's completely interested in details of his birth. For example, he tells everyone that his birthday was supposed to be May 14th (Remember that Susan?! She came and went without ever seeing the baby!). That he was induced. Twice. That he didn't want to come out of my tummy. Today, he's a bundle of questions, pre-pubescent anxiety, giggles and sweat.

Dad brought lunch from McDonald's. I brought Lego cupcakes and now we're headed out to his restaurant of choice ... Red Robin. Yum!