Flat Ginny Goes to Florida

This year one of the Neumann family vacations was to Lutz, Florida to visit some family members who live there. And Flat Ginny went along of course. The drive down to Florida was a long one and Flat Ginny seemed to do the best of all of us. She never got hungry and never needed a bathroom break.

On the way down to Florida we passed a place called Dinosaur World. It looked like a really cool place, but we were in a hurry so we didn't go in. We did get a picture of the kids outside the place with a promise that we would try to stop on our way back to Chicago.

We made it to safely to Florida! One of the first days we were there we went to the beach. The one we picked was on Caladesi Island. Here is a picture of the kids posing with Flat Ginny near where we boarded the ferry. On the ferry ride over to the island we saw some dolphins enjoying themselves. This is the first time any of us have seen dolphins in the wild. We were all very excited.

Here is Mommy posing with Flat Ginny with, I think, St. Petersburg in the distance. Flat Ginny really seemed to enjoy the beach. Speaking of the beach, it was much sunnier there than we Northerners are used to. The kids got slight sunburns right through their "swimmy" shirts. It's a good thing that Mommy lathered them up with SPF 50 sunblock.

The day after the beach Daddy and Flat Ginny went bird watching. Here they are posing in front of the Weekiwachee Preserve sign. The Weekiwachee Preserve is a very large nature area that I'm told used to be a strip mining operation that was left to go natural when it was shut down.

We walked a LONG way around this preserve but we saw quite a few birds, with the highlight being an Osprey nest. Below is a photo I took of an Eastern Bluebird that was nesting in the preserve.

The last day we were in Florida we went to the Tampa Zoo. It's is a nice little zoo that has some animals that zoos in Chicago do not have, specifically Manatees. The kids thought they were cool, but I think they liked feeding the birds the most.

At one point we rode the roller coaster there and the kids got a little freaked out. The roller coaster was not especially scarey but neither of them have ever been on a roller coaster before. But, it was great fun.

Flat Ginny had a great time, too. But she didn't want to feed the birds. She was worried that she would wind up being part of a nest somewhere. We didn't blame her.

It was a very hot day so we all sort of pooped out before we saw the whole zoo. Oh well, we saw those things we decided we wanted to see there.

The next day we left Florida, even though we got a late start. I think we left something like 3:00 in the afternoon. We drove all day and eventually stopped somewhere near Chattanooga. We slept like big dogs, got back in the car the next morning and headed toward Dinosaur World.

Dinosaur World is a really cool place. They have scattered throughout the surrounding woods life-sized replicas of various dinosaurs. There is a self-guided tour that is very fun because around each corner is a new and sometimes even larger set of animals to gauk at.

Some of the replicas are struly huge, as can be seen in the picture above.

And some of the replicas are not limited to the dinosaur ear of history. There was a wooly mammoth "garden" with about 10 or so very large replicas and one smaller one that the kids could climb on.

Unfortunately, the trip ended tragically with Flat Ginny being eaten by a dinosaur. Just kidding!

She, and the rest of us, had a great time on our journey. We're looking forward to some more trips this summer. Mt. Rushmore anyone?

Father / Son - Daughter Cake Baking Contest - 2012

Wow, has it been a year already since the last Blue and Gold dinner? Well, it’s that time again.

The Blue and Gold dinner in our ward is always fun and this year was no exception, but someone forgot to bring ketchup for the hotdogs! Oh well, it was fun anyway. Ian got several awards (including his basketball belt loop and some silver arrows he didn’t get several months ago) and basically had a good time.

Of course, we can’t forget the annual “Father / Son Cake Baking Contest”. Below are some photos of the kids making their cakes. To be fair the kids did most everything themselves, at least the decorating anyway. Their Nanna baked the cakes.

Ian’s was a chocolate cake decorated with a fishing rod and fish, and Cami’s was a yellow cake decorated with a husky in the mountains.

Just to make you hungry we made our own butter crème icing. No store bought junk for us.

On a sad note no one but ourselves took a single piece of either cake while other kids’ cakes were devoured. Hmm…They really were yummy so I don’t know why people gave our cakes a pass.

On an even sadder note this will be Ian’s last Blue and Gold dinner because he will be 11 years old before next February and will be in Boy Scouts.

Oh, before I forget Ian won the “Best Sports Themed” award and Cami won the “Most Peaceful Husky” award.

A Message From Flat Ginny

It has been such a long time since we've heard from Flat Ginny that we were beginning to think something awful happened to her, but she's back and ready to go! Here she is in all her glory entertaining us with the "Flat Ginny Show"! We hope you enjoy it...

P.S. Hopefully the video will work with this crazy gizmo...

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A post from Galaxy 5.

Chicago Tardis - 2011

This year's Doctor Who Convention, otherwise known as Chicago Tardis, was great fun. Here Ian and I are seen posing with the major guests that attended. From left to right they are Mathew Waterhouse (Adric), Janet Fielding (Tegan), and Peter Davison (the 5th Doctor).

Ian dressed up as the Brigadier character and he looked great (thanks goes to Mommy for pulling the costume together). I can't tell you how many young attractive girls loved on Ian. They would all coo and hug him and say things like "he is so adorable!" and "you're awesome!" Many pictures were taken of him with these girls and I must say he looked very pleased with himself. I was very jealous...

As part of his costume he wore a mustache which we drew on with an eyebrow pencil. We had gone to dinner at one point and when we left the restaurant we stopped in the bathroom. Ian wanted to touch up his moustache before we left. While he was looking in the mirror drawing it on an older boy came in and saw him. Ian was mortified that another boy saw him putting on makeup, but he and I quickly got into such a giggle that we could barely walk. It was one of those moments to treasure.

This year was a lot of fun because Ian had such a great time. However, it was a melancholy experience for me because my best friend Brian had just died the week before. He always went along with us and enjoyed himself so much. Not only did he enjoy the convention itself but he loved to watch Ian having fun. I told Ian that Brian would have been so jealous that Janet Fielding (from the picture above) was hugging him.

Ian Earning His Bear and His Religious Knot Award

Ian has put in a lot of effort this year earning his Cub Scout Bear and his Religious Knot award. In fact, he put in so much work that he also earned 1 gold arrow point and 4 silver arrow points. He was recognized at last night's Pack Night. Here he is getting his awards from the Cubmaster.

Now that he has earned his Bear, and has turned 10 years old, he is a Webelos. Only one year left and he becomes a Boy Scout. It makes Daddy cry just thinking about it. Time is really flying.

Halloween - 2011

Wow, it's hard to believe but Halloween is upon us again. It does not seem like a year has passed since last Halloween. I guess time flies when you're having fun.

The kids had a great time again this year. Cami was a Ninja and Ian was a Star Wars Stormtrooper again. They got lots of candy (Daddy is happy about that) and they had a great time going Trick or Treating with their friends. Maybe because it was a school night and / or because it was quite chilly out but there didn't not seem to be a lot of kids out this year. Perhaps they were out during the day while I was at work.

Here we are above with the pumpkins the kids carved. Ian's was the "cat" to my right and Cami's was the "vampire" to my left. The little pumpkin to my left is Mr. Husky's that Cami nicely carved for him.

The extra little girl in the picture, dressed up as a monkey, is the daughter of some church friends who came to go Trick or Treating with us.

I can't wait until next year! Actually I can wait. The kids are growing up so fast!!!! Stop them!!

Pumpkin Carving - 2011

This year the kids carved their own pumpkins from start to finish. I think this is the first time they have done the work themselves.

I was surprised that they didn't freak out about pulling all of the icky stuff from the inside, especially Cami because her pumpkin was beginning to rot (slightly). There was a little hole in her pumpkin and I think this allowed air in and it started to turn black inside. There were parts that were becoming like a black liquid. Yuck! But Cami dug right in and cleaned it all out.

They both created their designs and did the cutting themselves. It helped Daddy to know that the kids were using the special pumpkin carving tools that are made for kids and not ordinary kitchen knives. The kids can't cut themselves while using the kid-friendly tools. Phew!

Cami also carved a little pumpkin for Mr. Husky, her favorite stuffed animal. You'll see it in our annual picture of us and the pumpkins.

We carved our pumpkins the night before Halloween and they held up well overnight. Sometimes they begin to dry out and they lose their charm.

Crazy Hair Day - 2011

Ok, so her hair isn't amazingly crazy, but she was happy with it. She decided how it was going to be and Daddy helped her spray the hair color on. Her hair is dark so the colors didn't show up very well. One pony tail was red and other was blue. I wanted to spray her head white so she would have the red, white, and blue thing going on, but she didn't want to.

Ian was sick on Crazy Hair Day this year, so no pictures of him unfortunately.

The First Day of School – August 22, 2011

Wow, it is amazing that summer vacation is already over. I had such high hopes of having some fun family trips, like to Mount Rushmore, and doing lots of fishing and other running around, but work and other factors conspired to make the summer go by almost unenjoyed (new word).

We did go on several trips, and we did lots of swimming and we even managed to go camping once, but it still did not live up to my fantasy of one long, massive vacation. Admittedly I would need to be independently wealthy, which I’m not, to see this hope achieved but one can dream.

Cami is in 3rd grade this year and Ian is in 4th grade. I can’t believe they are growing up so quickly, which is what every parent says I’m sure. One consolation is that they are very cute. By the way, everyone comments on how much Ian looks like me, and he is a very handsome person, so by extension I must also be very handsome. This makes me feel better.

The Neon Grill

This last week we took a camping trip to St.Joseph, Michigan. While there we saw a cool looking place called The Neon Grill. We decided to try their rings (of course!) and here are our thoughts:

Mommy: Liked them but wasn’t overly impressed. Thought the onions were sweet, which is a plus.

Daddy: Thought they were ok. A little undercooked for his taste, but not bad overall. I like my rings a little crunchier.

Ian: Loved them! At one point he said that they might be the best rings he’s ever had. Hmmm. High praise indeed.

Cami: Enjoyed the chocolate malt, but it was not chocolatey enough. In fact, we thought it might have been a vanilla malt when we first tasted it.

St. Joseph KOA

One of the fun things we did this summer was to go camping. We did it last year as well but this year we decided to rent a cabin at the KOA in St. Joseph, Michigan. It was a great choice. Setting up a tent and setting up the cots and mattresses can be a pain. The cabin had beds and electricity and even an air conditioner.

We spent two days there and it was very relaxing. We went during the week so many of the weekend campers were not there so the campground was quiet. The pool wasn’t crowded and there weren’t loud kids running around (except for ours of course). We even did a little fishing where we caught loads of little sunfish. I liked this because I usually end up catching nothing.

Speaking of fishing Aura and I had some spirited debates about a fishing hat I wanted to buy. She says it looked goofy and made me look like a doof (her word). I liked the hat and didn’t care if I looked like a doof. In the end I left the hat on the shelf. Maybe next year…

I really enjoyed making breakfast using our little camping stove and roasting marshmallows over a fire during the evenings was also great fun. Walking all the way across the campground in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom was slightly inconvenient, but it was still very enjoyable. I can’t wait to go again.

The Burpee Museum of Natural History

We went to visit the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, Illinois during our summer vacation. This is a great little museum and is highly recommended. It is a good size to see in only a couple of hours but it still has quality displays in spite of being small. The kids really enjoyed it.

There are some notable features of the museum. First is Jane, the juvenile T-Rex skeleton. ”She” is smaller than the specimen that is in the Field Museum, but it is still the size of a mini-van. I’m glad these creatures are no longer roaming the Earth.

Second are the paleontologists that work in the basement that are happy to speak with the kids and explain how they are extracting the fossils from the rocks they are embedded in. The kids really enjoyed asking them questions.

Ian really liked the replica forest with the giant dragonflies and Cami enjoyed the tunnel you walk through before getting to the museum. Along the walls someone had painted the silhouettes of various animals so you can compare their sizes. By the way, the adult T-Rex dwarfed the whale silhouette. Here is Cami comparing “Mr. Husky” to a wolf.

I was happy that the kids enjoyed the nature displays of current animals and I was especially pleased that they enjoyed the bird section and even knew the names of some of them. I enjoy birding and often the kids go with me. Both of the kids were pointing out birds we’ve seen while bird watching.

Another display the kids enjoyed were the Native American displays with the replica teepees and bison.

If you get a chance go to the Burpee Museum. It’s a great little museum and the entrance fee is reasonable. All of it can be seen in only a few hours and it is clean and well-lit. One of Aura’s complaints about the Field Museum is how big it is and how you can go so deep into the galleries and it gets dark and creepy. The Burpee Museum is definitely not dark and creepy.

Cami’s New Dragonfly Earrings

Cami’s Aunt Ginny gave her some new dragonfly earrings. She was so excited that she put them on right away. And where is the best place to wear your earrings for the first time? The pool, of course!!

Here she is in action.

Another Amazing Magic Trick From Cami

Another Amazing Trick

Ok, here it is. After a lot of practice Cami will once again attempt to make her brother disappear, and hopefully reappear. In the process she makes most of our family come and go, but in the end she comes through for us.

After looking at myself in the video I think I’ll ask her to make my face disappear and reappear as Brad Pitt.

Cami the Magician

Well, as you can see Cami has really been practicing her magic tricks. She can now make people disappear. Ok, you guessed it. It's actually a camera trick that Daddy did, but you can tell that he needs to really figure out how a tripod works. Maybe our next video will be better. I'll post it and you can decide.

They’re growing Up…

A Fun Day at the Water Park

The other day we went to the water park and the kids flopped around in the pool and went down the “lazy river” and had a great time. But, for some reason both of them got it into their heads that they were going to jump off the high dive into the diving pool. “Huh?…”, I said!

The diving pool is something like 12 feet deep, and I was unsure of our kids’ swimming abilities, but there were two lifeguards there, so I figured it would be ok. Here is a video of the kids working up their courage to jump. It’s a collage of the many attempts.

By the way, I was surprised at how well the kids did in the deep pool. They had no problems at all swimming themselves over to the ladders, etc. and didn’t seem freaked at all that the bottom of the pool was way below them.

The Giant Mushroom

There has been a lot of rain this spring and this has led to some mysterious things growing around our house. The other day a mushroom popped up that was truly huge. It was a toadstool type of shroom, and sort of pretty in its own little way. It was so big that it looked like a came out of a fairy tale. I expected a little fairy to yell at us to get away from her house.

Oh by the way, the storm last night knocked out our power and it hasn’t come back on yet. It was quite a storm…

The End of an Era

I was excited the other day when I cleaned out the garage, but at the same time I was sad that my kids are growing up. Seen here are some of the “little kid” items that I threw out. Their baby chairs, their car seats, various toys, and their picnic table.

In truth they never used the picnic table, mostly because of the spiders that spun their webs on it, and the little furniture never got a lot of use. They preferred to sit on the sofa snuggled up against mommy and daddy (makes sense, right?).

But I was especially sad to throw out their battery-operated motorcycle (it stopped working and they outgrew it) and their little horse. The horse was a gift from my parents and they loved it. But, like the other things, they outgrew it and it broke. I might fix it and keep it hidden away somewhere, but don’t tell mommy.

My kids are a lot of fun now that they are growing up but there are times when I see other people at church with their little kids and I long for those days when my kids were small.

Ian Almost Becomes a Girl

The other day we had a picnic in the park. At one point Ian got into one of the baby swings and I swung him for a while. It was great fun.

And then he tried to get out. Oh boy, he got himself so wedged in that he almost became a girl. It took both me and Mommy to get him out. At one point I turned him over and tried to dump him out of the seat. It was all very funny.

Later that same day Daddy fell off his swing and landed on his butt in the dirt. About 10 seconds later Ian fell off his swing and wound up hurting himself, though not badly. He mostly scared himself, but he did cry a lot. It was actually a little embarrassing that he was so loud as he cried. The other parents were looking at us like we were bad parents. Oh well, we had a good laugh about it later that day.

At the Illinois Railway Museum - 2011

Once again this year we went to the Illinois Railway Museum for a reunion of my dad and his coworkers who used to work on the Railway Post Office trains. Ian and Cami are pictured here inside the car that the IRM had running that day. Ian isn’t excited that the girl who is draped over him is his sister.

The kids have really grown up. I looked at older pictures and it is shocking to me how grown up they look in these pictures. I guess time is really getting on these days.

The weather was fabulous. It wasn’t hot (it can be really uncomfortable in the trains when it is hot) but it wasn’t cold either. And it didn’t rain! The mud there can be miserable when it rains.

The IRM also had the old sleeper cars open, but not running. They were really cool. The little rooms looked really comfortable. Each one had a toilet and at least one bed. There were sinks and controls for heat and AC. It made me long for the days gone by.

Balloon Animals

A few weeks ago we went to a restaurant for Auntie’s birthday. At the restaurant there was a man there making balloon animals. The kids enjoyed it so much that I got them a bag of balloon animal balloons so they could make their own animals.

The example above is my first attempt at making one. This design came out of my head. In other words there was no book that I was looking at and I hadn’t yet watched any videos on YouTube or anything. I think it’s a pretty good effort.

Below is my second attempt at making a balloon animal. It’s sort of an homage to Anthony Weiner. It didn’t start out that way. It just sort of evolved as I went along. I’d like to say I was trying to make something non-perverted and that it just sort of turned out to be rude looking, but in reality I was trying to make a pair of boobs.

I have to admit that sometimes I have the mind of a child.

Cub Scout Fishing - 2011

It’s that time of year again when we take the Cub Scouts fishing. Thankfully there is a pond close by that we take the boys to. It’s only about 5 minutes from our church building, and it has a lot of hungry fish in it.

Thankfully every boy (and girl) that went along caught a fish, except I think for one boy that did not, but he caught a bunch last year so he wasn’t too bummed.

Ian caught two fish (a crappie and a bass) and Cami caught one fish (a bass I think). It was a lot of fun!

Does This Dress Make Me Look Fat?

A year ago, just after last year's seminary graduation, our Bishop's wife asked if I could play "Praise to the Man" on my bagpipes for this year's seminary graduation. Well, that graduation ceremony was last night, and I did play.

Originally I was supposed to play along with a slide show featuring the life of Joseph Smith, but for whatever reason that slide show never happened. So, I just played up in front by myself. I was very nervous, but Aura went along and was a great support for me. She took care of my pipe case and other bags as well as reassured me that all was well.

She recorded me with her camera (just audio) and I think I sounded pretty good. I've been practising a lot over the last few months so I could get up to speed and not sound like a fool up there.

By the way, if I sound like I'm playing too fast through Praise to the Man it's because I'm used to playing this tune as a march and not a hymn. I suppose I could have slowed down a bit.

Here is the audio clip of me playing:

Cami Loves the Rain

Cami loves it when it rains, or at least when she can play in the puddles. I got her on video making a mess of herself and her clothes. I wouldn’t doubt it if some of these clothes made their way in to the trash. Just looking at her you can tell that this is just a short portion of the total play time she had in the water.

Mother’s Day - 2011

This year the kids were so excited about Mother’s Day. For weeks they’ve been talking about it and couldn’t wait to make their little treats and crafts for Mommy.

Ian made a Noah’s Ark out of popsicle sticks and Cami decorated the kitchen with all sorts of happy faces, etc. She also made a picture frame out of popsicle sticks and she rolled apples in peanut butter and covered them in sprinkles.

Also, a neighbor of ours gathered up a lot of the kids in the neighborhood and helped them all make little terrariums for their moms.

Mommy really enjoyed all of the attention and the treats, though Cami ate most of the peanut butter apples.