cable (and Internet) is out due to the storm last night... I am betting a WEEK before they fix it... we are at 24 hours right now... Charter is so crappy they are beyond crappy...

but we are watching The Muppets show right now... In this whacky world of virtually the same show over and over (see The Voice, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, America's Got Talent... I havent even gotten to all the Race to somewhere supposed reality shows) I wonder if the Muppet Show would even last two episodes now....i guess it isnt as risque enough now... or it doesnt tell a story (shoved down out throat) about some random person from some random town who might...Might...MIGHT "make it" and make our hearts warm...

or it isnt about vampires or people who want to be vampires or people who got attacked by vampires or sucked blood from vampires or kissed a vampire or played basketball with a vampire...

so another weekend came and went... more on this later (with pix)

but... enough of this wearing the pants around the ankles stuff kids seem to think is cool these days. Do they not know where this came from or what it symbolizes??? or is it too cool for them to even know? Everytime I see some kid doing this (especially a black kid) I smirk and ponder "Do you KNOW exactly what you are signaling to other people"?

"Dumbass...."

... just sayin...

so thats where that sock went... The twins are off to Nanna and Pappa's this week. So, while they are away, I am trying to actually take stock and clean some stuff out of their rooms. Looks like I will only get to I-Man's room this week as I am astounded by how much CRAP is behind I-Mans newly created bunk bed...

those of you reading this with kids... do you ever find yourself wondering what happened to that one tshirt you remember buying for your child? or getting ticked off that the 5 pairs of socks you bought last week are now only two matched pairs? or just where did all those capri suns dissappear to? well.. I found them tonight. behind I-Mans retooled bunkbed. I swear I a stunned...STUNNED at all the crap, toys and trash...I think a severe talkin to is in order once they return...

Speaking of the Bunkbed... Papa was here last weekend and he and I put back together the bunkbed. And it is extremely sturdy now...so sturdy that I have serious doubts how/if we will ever be able to get it apart. But Id rather have that worry than have it collapse. And seriously. I dont really know if we will be able to get it apart without an axe....

and the livin is easy....

So... Summer has arrived. Vacation is here. Except for me... As of now, no HUGE vacation plans are on the docket... as previously mentioned, the Georgia Guide-stones are penciled in for a day-trip, a couple of lake outings if we can work out borrowing the boat from Papa and the rest of the time will see constant visits from various classmates or the twins off to visit their classmates. Meanwhile, I will be off to work everyday, as usual...

... I-Man has footskills trainings every week on Thursday, and pickup soccer matches on Mondays. I find it amusing that these are supposed to be optional, but I swear almost every kid on the Academy teams is there. And the coaches are there too. While they are not running the drills, it is interesting that they are there. And they occasionally yell instructions to players while the drills or games are going on... so much for "optional". I swear these are looking just like normal practices to me... Did I mention that the Easley and Pendleton High School coaches are Academy team coaches too??...

Ryles, meanwhile, has purchased a couple of fish and put a tank in her room. Still kinda wondering where she got this money from, but whatever... she has two fishies named Nemo and Clementine. Lets see how long before they join their friends in the creek out back...

Did I mention that at the All Star Race, I saw Darius Rucker do the National Anthem and Lee Greenwood sang God Bless the U.S.A.... that was cool, but the most impressive thing was the B2 Bomber that flew over. It was almost sorta scary in that you only saw a slier in the distance and there was virtually NO SOUND when it flew over... then after it passed it seems to swerve off and throttle up and you heard it for the first time... but it was eerie how you could really barely see it. Just a sliver. Yeah, I think that tech is working.....

I will be hard pressed to keep my mouth shut if I hear ANYBODY complain about it raining at ANY point in time in the foreseeable future. The creek running behind our house is at midsummer drough level NOW. The only thing keeping the water flowing down the way is the fact that it has created a tunnel under the big rock and is flowing under it. I am sure this will lead to the inevitable breaking of that massive rock eventually... but that is probably decades away...

Three Down, Several more to go....

another year closes out tomorrow for the kids and they will be out of school until...SEPTEMBER FRAKKIN 6th..... what is up with this?

..anyways, Ryles was kinda upset that it would be the last day because she said she would miss her teacher. I tried to explain to her that this is the way it goes, and this wont be the last teacher she will miss. And I told her to make sure to go give her teacher a long big hug tomorrow. I am sure she will appreciate that way more than any card (which is getting from our family)...

...Ryles and I-Man both got awards for school with Ryles getting an award for ALL A's for the year, and I-Man A's and B's for the year...

So.. going into 4th Grade sees the twins in the Gifted/Talented Programs, I-Man on the Academy soccer team, and both probably the equivalent of halfway thru year one on Clarinet and Euphonium. I think they are progressing well...

... and to think people said our children would be at a disadvantage...