The Weather is Here, Wish you were Beautiful!

We headed out for Florida on Wednesday night at 9pm to move Tim back. He has the certification he needs at this point, and would benefit more by flying here up nort' where the conditions more closely resemble Alaska! It was yet another opp for Dan and I to take a little getaway. This time, sans kids.
Arrival to the Golden Lion Cafe in Ormond Beach: 8 pm on Thursday. Dan's craving for a real Fish Taco kept us trucking through the night!
Friday we just took it easy and checked out the



Daytona Beach Flea Market! Wow! Was that an experience~more stuff than you could imagine! Lunch at a oceanside local hang out called Pips-with live music and I couldn't have been much closer to paradise!
Despite the uncooperative ocean, Dan did all he could to overcome the odds. He came up a bit short, but didn't get skunked. The two fish he caught more resembled bait than an actual ocean catch.




Friday night we experienced just a taste of Daytona night life, but headed home early as every good fisherman/woman should to get up for an early Deep Sea Trip.

Dan set his phone alarm for 6:30 and it went off, just as it should...vibrating. Well, somehow, I was pretty much awake anyway and heard it go off. A moment I regretted time and time again later in the day!
Our ship headed for rough seas at 8 am and two Dramamine pills were enough to hold back the cookies...at least until it wore off.
"Keep Your Eyes on the Horizon"-very important words of advice.
We had decided only to go out for a half day which ended up being the best decision we made the whole time! I spent about one hour staring at this scene you see in the photo. The woman whose arm you can see was pretty confident about the tossing waves, but not so much once we dropped anchor.
We had fun catching and landing some smaller size red snapper, with some exciting moments of some huge fighting fish that won the fight and our hooks/line/bait! What seemed like an eternity finally came to an end and the Captain announced it was time to head back for shore. AHHHHH!!! I turned around and realized that I had all I could do to hold myself together. I checked the time to be sure it was okay to pop more Dramamine, demanded Dan get me two and water, downed them and held back the saliva that so wanted to pave the way for the few contents that lined my stomach. Mind over matter, mind over matter, I mentally coached myself, attempting to block out all other distractions. Everyone headed in for their ride back except for one poor soul. I heard the sound that every person holding back their chow tries to avoid...can't quite write it out it words...something like
"HOOOUUUUWAAAAA!"

Mind over matter, mind over matter. I turned to look and there was Dan, hanging out over the side of the boat. Again.

"HOOOUUUUWWWAAAAAA"

Poor guy. A few moments passed and boom, the Dramamine set itself in and in I went to take my seat to brace myself for the ride back. Dan eventually joined me and made my shoulder his pillow-the ride wasn't quite as bad as the one out.

The rest of the day was spent eating, resting, and sleeping.

We woke up and decided to pack 'em up and move 'em out. Here's the Topel Trip ride home summary:

• Blew a tire on the trailer, put on the spare and found a place to mount up our spare for the spare.
• Made it to Valdosta, Georgia for a hotel stay, Hooters wings, and the Packers/Cowboys game.
• Woke up and headed North.
• Blew another tire, found a place to sell us a trailer tire, found a different place to mount it and back on the road.
• A rock from a semi-truck struck the windshield and became our hot item to watch as it made its way, inches at a time into a big long crack
• Blew yet another tire in the Chatanooga, Tennessee area-took Tim's truck out of the trailer, found that everywhere there closes at 5 pm except the people that know their services are a premium and "bend you over" and waste your time! Okay, okay, I'm bitter, but we finally got the spare tire mounted and headed for home.
• It was a challenge, but we all three made it home alive, without anymore tragedies, at a meek time of 5:30 am Tuesday morning to sleepy, yet excited children, mother, and Brady!

"440 horses drive the wheels of this chrome and steel Like a freight train through the night,My foot is lead and my eyes blood red, And my knuckles showing white, My hair is slicked with oil, and my breathe flows gasoline. Well I'm a smoking' flamin' death machine And the lonely lights of another lonely town Lonely highway I keep rushing down And there's a 100 miles till I sleep tonight Well I've got to put the hammer down."~Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash: "440 Horses"

I've had the time of my life...

It was a weekend to remember! On Saturday, the kids both had their first soccer games. As co-coach for both of them, I will just say that I'm not bragging, only sharing my joy that the kids feel when they play well. Both teams wowed their parents on the sidelines, shooting goal after goal, and playing well together. The young group even sat nice on the sidelines, cheering on their teammates without being prodded! Say no more!

Then on to our "Charity Run." For the kids birthdays, we decided that we wanted to gather with friends, but didn't want people to feel obiligated to bring gifts, nor do the kids need any more "things" in their lives. We already have more than we can handle. So they each chose a charity to donate to for those who felt the need to give a gift. Christian chose the Ronald McDonald House and Mallory chose Jefferson County Humane Society.

We went to McDonald's first and Christian was escorted back through the kitchen to the safe bag where he got to put his money into. The Manager also gave him two free breakfast sandwiches, which was completely unexpected and kind!


Then on to the Humane Society...

Mallory handed off her gifts and in return got to check out the animals in back. Lots of cute puppy dog eyes starred us down and called our names. There were two rats, one rabbit, a mourning dove, and so many cats! Mallory was looking forward to learning more about volunteering there, but found out you have to be 18 in order to do that. She understood (or at least pretended to) and ooohhhed and aaahhhed for awhile!

Sad that they couldn't pet the pets, but we did have our own little critter waiting for us at Grandma & Grandpa Topel's when we got there. Patches is doing well and was happy to see us!

Dan called us and switched up plans on us, which we were all okay with. The original plan was to go to the Dells Speedway to watch Dan's college roommates race. Between his night jobs (tow jobs, silly) and coming down with a bug, he opted out and decided it would be a peaceful afternoon on Rock Lake...

What do Dan, Mallory, and Christian all have in common that I don't??

THEY all caught a fish this year! I have yet to catch one-in fact, I have only seen one other fish so far. Maybe Fall will be my season!

That's one proud daddy!

Supper at Sand Bar concluded our "Dream Day!"

"It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life." ~P.D. James

Fall is near...

How can I tell?

-The kids went back to school last week Monday. Christian started 1st grade with Mrs. Pufahl, having to sit in a desk much of the day will be a challenge for my little ball of fire! Mallory starts 4th grade with Mrs. Williams-who strongly believes that 4th grade is a time to prep for heightened independence level on the children's part. Neither was extatic to go back, but they are both adjusting well!

-Our childcare blessings continue. We were sad that the time with Hannah passed so fast this summer. The kids had an awesome time with her and truly claimed it "The Best Summer Ever!" Only one situation could have made lemonade out of lemons: Heather Laws called and offered her talents for us once again this school year. Praise God! If I do have to work outside of the home as much as I do, the best that could ever be is that the kids have some type of stability after school/at dinner time! Not to mention her patience and organizational skills!

-Soccer has begun for both Mal & C, too. For anyone interested in attending games, they start this Saturday, September 6 and go until October 18th. Every Saturday EXCEPT October 4th: Christian "plays" at 9:05 am and Mallory plays at 10:15 am. On the 4th, Christian plays at 10:40 with Mallory playing at 9:15. I am assisting coach Mallory's team this year and co-coaching Christian's. Chrisitian's strong will and inability to lose has left me uncertain whether or not he will play at all this year. That seems to change each time I ask him. Mallory has shocked me with her ability to be aggressive, especially on defense. I'm excited for both of them, no matter what happens!

-Volleyball is in session for Dan and I. Dan will be playing on Monday nights and I am playing on Wednesday nights. A good get-away/exercise for both of us!

-Add volunteering to the weekly schedule. On Wednesdays, I get to go to school and be in Christian's classroom first at 10:30, then on to Mallory's classroom at 11:15 until noon! Many of you know, this is the highlight of my week and gives me a more meaningful "paycheck" than the one I get at work everyday!

-With the planner quickly filling up, add in a Doctor's appt. for Mallory-not sure, but her heartburn she was having could be another indication of her body not liking dairy products! We'll see!

-The high tomorrow is 60 degrees. A little prelude to what is to come. Batten down the hatches!

"For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad. " ~Edwin Way Teale

Found!

A little digging never hurt anybody! Here's a list of what we found over the Labor Day weekend:

1) Boxes of memories from high school to racing
2) Mice make homes whereever they can and they poop there, too.
3) You cannot possibly clean 5 years of stuff out of a garage in 2 days. Period.
4) You can try!
5) It feels better to toss than to save.
6) My camera! It was in a bag of goodies from my birthday!
7) I found that I can post to my blog without my camera!

"I have memories - but only a fool stores his past in the future." ~David Gerrold