Thursday, July 31, 2008

Biological Father: Chapter 2

Once I decided to tell my story I was going to post a new chapter each week giving myself time to write the different chapters. However, once I started writing the words have flowed out of my head, down my arms to my finger tips and I can't seem to stop them. So I am going to go ahead and post the next Chapter. If you haven't read the first one I really recommend you reading it before this one so that my story will make sense to you. I have kept the Chapters fairly short so that it wont take much of your time to catch up.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

In September of 2002, about a month after my wedding, and three months after my realization I was sitting in my mother’s living room with her and my sister when my mom asked me if I thought she could have a diamond taken out of a ring. I had just recently found a new job as an Office Manager for a Jewelry Store. I told her it would depend on the rings so she went and got them. There was an engagement ring and two diamond wedding band none of which Steph or I had ever seen. We both asked mom what they were and she told us that in college she was engaged to a guy the engagement ring he bought her came as a three piece set.

A few hours later Steph and I went to get all of us some lunch and I told her how I thought I was adopted and gave her all the reasons why plus this new twist of mom being engaged to a guy in college which would have been shortly before I was born. Steph instantly agreed that there was a huge possibility I was adopted but she had no ideas of how I could find out for sure. The only suggestion she had was to ask our Aunt Pat (mom’s sister) but I wasn’t sure how to do that so again I just sat with this information running circles in my head.

Then one night in December of 2006, four years later, I got a call from my sister. The first thing she said to me was “Are you sitting down?” This is not something you ever want to hear from someone because it’s universal for I have something to tell you and it’s not good. I went into my bedroom and closed the door and that’s when Steph tells me that she had just left moms and they had a very interesting conversation. Somehow they had gotten on the topic of mother’s not telling their children who their father was and my sister was saying how she didn’t think it was right to keep that kind of information from people once they are older. My mom however disagreed with her and said that sometimes these moms might have good reasons to never tell their children.

This all lead to my mom telling my sister that the guy she said she was engaged to she was really married to when she was 19. We had even seen pictures of our Aunt and cousin who were the Maid of Honor and Ring Bearer. Of course Steph had a million questions for her but she tried to just let my mom talk. My mom told her that this guy’s name was Mike and he was a pig farmer. She also said that he was emotionally abusive to her so when he moved because of a new job she stayed behind to finish packing but instead of going to him she moved back home and filed for divorce. She also told Steph that she was married for about a year and half.
At this point I am doing the math in my head. She got married at 19 and was married for a year and a half; I was born when she was 21. Yet one more thing that fits with the “I’m adopted” story and now I had a first name and a time frame. I still wasn’t brave enough to ask my Mom because at that time she was going through so very personal hard things and it wouldn’t have been right to throw this at her to.

So there was more waiting and more thinking.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

My Biological Father

Chapter 1

I have been debating writing about this topic since I started blogging a few months ago for a few reasons.

1.) I wasn't sure how to put my thoughts and feelings into words
2.) I knew it would be long

I keep thinking about it and I have finally decided that I'm just going to jump in and do it. I'm not sure how long this will take so please hang in there while I get this out of my system.

I'm not sure where to start this story so I will start where I started. For my wedding I wanted to have a cathedral length veil but I was not willing to pay for one from a store. So my Grandma bought some tulle that matched the color white of my dress and she cut the bottom to match my train, then I sat for weeks and weeks with that veil on my living room floor gluing teeny tiny pearlized beads to it. At the time I worked for a Fitness Center and I opened the club everyday so I was home by 2 in the afternoon. That gave me a few hours each day to work on it before Dave got home from work. During this time I had a lot of time to think about all kinds of things. One day I was sitting there gluing the beads on and this weird thought popped into my head while I was staring at a picture of my dad taken a year before he passed away.

I instantly burst into tears at the thought of this idea being true. No way, but maybe, actually yes! The next hour was so long while I waited for Dave to get home. As soon as he walked in the door I said to him "I think I'm adopted!" I figured Dave would think I was crazy and tell me I needed some help but instead he said that it would explain some things that never made sense to him but he wanted to know why I thought this.

We sat down and I started explaining to him why I thought my dad adopted me.

1.) I look nothing like my brother and sister
2.) I've never felt comfortable with my dad's family
3.) When I was born I had my mother's maiden name but at the age of 3 it was changed to my dad's name. The kicker with this one is I remember going to the courthouse and being in the judges chamber and if I was just taking my biological fathers last name then I wouldn't have had to go through all of that.
4.) Oh yeah, my mom and dad weren't married until I was 1 but they waited for 2 years to change my name
5.) When I was 16 and going to get my temps we had to get a new SSN card because my mom lost mine and the lady told my mom that a Jessica Jurden didn't exist only a Jessica Harmon. At this point my mom made me go out to the car and wait. When she came out she said that the reason they couldn't find me is that when I changed my name they kept my SSN# the same.
6.) My mom got into a fight one time with my youngest brothers father and when I refused to leave the room he told my mom if she didn't make me he would tell me what she didn't want me to know.

Now I know some of those could very easily have other explanations to them but nothing ever added up to me and Dave agreed with me that he thought my dad adopted me. The next question was how to find out for sure, where do I start because I was not comfortable asking my mom. So I just sat with this for the time being. I mean I did have a wedding to plan and that was number one on my list. It wasn't like the truth behind who my father was would change if I didn't find the truth right then and there.

Monday, July 28, 2008

First Annual Wilson Fiesta


We have been trying to get together with a group of our friends since Memorial Day and our schedules just haven't lined up until this past Saturday. Kind of last minute Dave and I threw together a small get together with our friends, Rob & Lindsay their kids Mady and Mason, David and Tiff and their son Noah, and Joe & Christen.

I decided to make Mexican food because it works very well with my famous salsa so the menu was planned to be:

Steak & Chicken Fajitas w/ all the toppings
Corn Casserole (made by Tiff)
Salsa and Chips
Veggies and Dip
Fruit and Dip
Pistachio Torte (made by Lindsay)

Well late in the week I was watching the news and they had a big piece on possible salmonella in jalapeno peppers so all the grocery stores took them off the shelves which meant no Salsa. I still went ahead with the Mexican food though. Of course you can't have a Mexican meal without Margarita's and Cornoa's so all the guest brought the beers and Dave and I provided the rest.

Just as the food was ready to eat a small storm came in so we were all stuck inside to eat. Thankfully it didn't last long so after the meal all the guys headed out back with the kids while us ladies stayed inside for some nice girl talk.

David, Tiff, and Noah left around 8:30 because of their long drive and the sleepy baby so at that point Lindsay, Christen, and I joined the guys and kids out back. I didn't think about pictures until after David and Tiff left so I don't have any of them but here are a few of the rest of us.


Joe & Christen


Rob & Lindsay


Dave & Me

Mady & Emma

Ian & Mason


It was a very nice evening and I think this may become an annual tradition for Dave and I. Next year will be bigger and better. I already have a million ideas on things to do and eat.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Go Back to Cali

I'm not sure how big of a news story this has been in other states but earlier this week Carson Palmer the Quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals (a former USC player) was being interviewed by a radio station and he made some comments about living in Ohio and The Ohio State Buckeyes. Actually here is some of what he said in his interview;

Said Palmer: "I don't watch what I say. I cannot stand the Buckeyes and having to live in Ohio. . . . It drives me completely nuts . . . I just can't wait for this game to get here so they can come out to the Coliseum and experience L.A. and get an old-fashioned Pac-10 butt-whipping."

Now if you have ever read my blog or if you know me at all you know I am a HUGE Buckeye fan. For those of you that have read my blog you don't know that while I'm a Buckeye I am also respectful to other teams and their fans. I'm not big on smack talking or any of that. So what Mr. Plamer said does not make me mad. I do however think it was a stupid move on his part. Being that he is USC Alumni he has every right to root for his team in the upcoming game against OSU. Where he screwed up was talking so negatively about OSU. See in the Buckeye State most people are Buckeye fans before they are fans of a professional team so the majority of Bengals fans are Buckeye fans first. Those Buckeye fans are the ones that pay his salary so stupid move Mr. Palmer, real stupid.

In Columbus we have a morning radio show called the Morning Zoo. The members of the Morning Zoo are pretty big OSU fans too and a few years ago they hooked up with a rapper named Cool Ray who came up with a song in response to Carsons statement and I think it's pretty funny so I thought I would share it for all of you.

I hope you enjoy it;( just click the link below to go to Cool Ray's site and the song should come up if not click on Go Back To Cali)

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=103397529

Go Bucks!!! O.H.I.O

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Friday's Foto Finish Fiesta

This week I'm not so glad it's Friday because it means my week off work has come to an end. Why are vacations always to short?



This week's picture is from today's (Thursday) trip down to my Grandma's house. My kids have two Grandma', Two Great Grandma's, and one Great Great Grandma so the name Grandma was just too common around our house. My mom took the actual name Grandma, Dave's mom got Mammaw both of which Emma choose so that left my Grandma with the name Mimi which is what I called her when I was a toddler.

Anyway, every year when I am off work for the babysitters vacation I take a day and drive the hour and half alone with the kids to Mimis house for a day. We usually don't see Mimi unless there is some kind of family function and then everyone else is around so we don't get allot of quality. These trips during the week are always so special because it's just us and her. I think this years trip meant more than normal for Mimi because her oldest son, my uncle, passed away a few weeks ago leaving her a little depressed. I don't think there are too many things better than a granddaughter, and a couple of great grandchildren to brighten your day.

The kids and I had a wonderful time playing with Mimi and helping her cook lunch. I just wish we could have stayed longer.

Photobucket If you have a picture you would like to share with the world click on the picture of the little girl and head over to Candid Carries for some PHRIDAY PHOTO PHINISH PIESTA PHUN!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Little Brother

Last week I wrote about my younger sister Steph, this week I am going to tell you all about my younger brother Nicklaus.

Nick and Alicia

Back in May I wrote a post about how he was named after the famous golfer Jack Nicklaus but there wasn't much about my brother.

When my parents told me they were having another baby I asked for them to give me a brother. There was no way I wanted another sister. When the doctors told my parents they were having another girl I was the only one that continued to insist it was a boy. I prayed every night for God to bring me a baby brother.

The week Nick was born was an eventful one for our family. At the beginning of that week my dad had surgery on one of his knees and was on crutches. On February 23 Steph turned 2, on February 24 I dropped Steph and she fell off the top bunk bed (she wasn't supposed to be up there in the first place) and she broke her collar bone,and on February 25 Nick was born. I'm not sure how my mom managed that week, I'm pretty sure all the commotion probably sent her into labor.

Unfortunately shortly after Nick was born our father got really sick and died when Nick was 9 months old. With everything going on during that time I don't remember Nick as a baby. My first real memory of him isn't until he was about 2 and our mom got us our first dog. I can see that little blond hair, blue eyed boy chasing Skippy around the backyard.

My favorite memory of Nick as a little kid with out a doubt is the time Steph and I piled up all the dirty clothes and blankets we could find on the floor of the laundry room and sent Nick down the laundry chute into the pile. Steph and I had fun pushing him down and he liked falling into the big pile of clothes so we did this all the time. Amazingly he never got hurt and our mom never knew we did it until we told her a few years ago. I also remember forcing Nick to dress up in our dresses. We really tortured that poor kid.

As Nick grew up it became apparent that he was a gifted student. When I was in the 9th grade and he was in the 5th grade he would help me with my Algebra homework. Truthfully, Nick taught me Algebra just from reading my math book better than my teacher did. There's nothing like your little brother doing your homework to make you feel stupid.

This past May Nick got married to his High School sweetheart who we all love. They built a house together about 10 minutes from me, they have two dogs Zeus (doxin), Daphne (Siberian Huskie) and one cat Titan. Nick works as a Sleep Tech for a sleep clinic and he is going to school to be a Pharmacists. We don't see each other very much because he works third shift.

I am very glad that God listen to my prays and gave me a little brother, life would not be the same without the Nick Man in it.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Police Throwing Trash Were unabke To Be Picked UP

Week 1

Week 2

This is the third week I have posted articles I wrote for my pretend newspaper when I was 6 years old. If you want to see the first two click on the links above. Please remember I am writing them for you exactly like I wrote them back then. Dave hasn't installed the scanner hardware to the computer yet so I can't include a picture thankfully there isn't much if one, just a man in a police uniform tossing a bag of trash onto a pile of boxes. Now for the story;

Police Throwing Trash Were unable To Be Picked Up

Over two hundred police have been fired becaus they have either been digging through trash looking for wine or champan. Most police have got caught because they were bring it into the station. Other police have been throwing trash bags filled with empty wine and champan bottles in aleys with boxes of filled champain and wine bottles.


I have no clue where my inspiration for this one came but it's one of the few that doesn't have any death in it.

Busted Pipes

It was in the 90's yesterday with very high humidity so after dinner I put sunblock and bathing suits on the kids and let them run through the sprinkler. This is only the second time I have had the sprinkler out this year. The first time Ian wasn't so sure of it. At first last night he wasn't either but Emma just kept showing him what to do and before I knew it Ian was getting closer to the sprinkler and staying in front of it longer than Emma. Of course I took some pictures of the occasion. She how happy they were.







Well after about 45 minutes of the playing in it and the water running I decided it was time to turn the water off and I bribed them with having some Popsicles. I walked over to the spicket and turned but the knob wouldn't budge. I went inside and grabbed my gardening gloves thinking that would help me get a better grip. No luck, it wouldn't turn and of course Dave was still at work.

By this time the kids were super annoyed with me because I had not brought them there promised Popsicles. Back inside I ran, grabbed two Popsicle's and took them back outside to the kids. We then walked over to our wonderful neighbors Tom and Shirley's. I told Tom what was going on and he came back over with me but he couldn't get it to turn even with some vice grips. He asked if I knew where the shut off valve was in the basement to turn the water off that way. In The Wilson's House Dave takes cares of all of that stuff especially if it's in the basement because of basement is more like a cellar and creeps me out.

I'm pretty sure Tom saw the panicked look in my face when I told him I didn't know where any of that is. Being the nice gentlemen Tom is he followed me to the basement and followed the pipe the water was running through but couldn't find the shut off for it. It was like it just disappeared into the wall. Both Tom and I looked for close to 30 minutes with no luck so he went back home and I called Dave. I think I forgot to mention that before I went to get Tom I called Dave but he didn't answer which usually means he is with a customer.

I finally reached Dave and he was on his way home. I told him what was going on and he said he would try when he got home. Well Dave couldn't get the knob turned and he couldn't find the shut off so he called our Landlord who had to call his brother who is a plumber to find out where it was. Well the brother said the southwest corner where there was nothing but a wall so our landlord came over to help look. Finally around 9:30, 3 hours after I turned the water on they found the shut off which was hidden behind a panel of dry wall and a shelf. they turned the water off and Dave and I thought everything was good.

Since I spent so much time down in the basement I felt all gross and wanted to take a shower. I went into the bathroom and turned the knob for the shower but no water came out. I thought this is really weird so I tried the sink. No water there, last ditch I tried the kitchen sink and there wasn't any water there. Apparently the only way to get the faucet outside turned off was to turn off the water to the entire house. So Dave went back downstairs and turned the water on long enough for me to take a shower. He had to do that again this morning so he could get ready for work. The plumber brother is supposed to be by today to put on a new facet outside and I'm praying that is very soon.

I know this stuff happens especially when you have an older home like this but it still sucks.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Sausage and Bare Butts

My babysitter is on vacation this week so that means I am on vacation or more I'm off work for the week. Ian always goes down for a nap at 1 and today was no different. I took him up to his room but as soon as I came down I could hear him playing. I probably yelled at him 100 times that he needed to take his nap. Finally around 2 it was silent upstairs.

I spent the next 2 1/2hours watching TV and playing with Emma which is always fun. Around 4:30 Emma and I started dinner. I made my famous Sausage Skillet Dinner which has Kielbasa, Red Apples, Onions, and Potatoes it's fabulous. Ian slept the whole time we were making dinner so it was just Emma and I in the kitchen. Once dinner was done I debated whether or not to get Ian up. I decided to let him sleep because I would rather him be up late tonight than grumpy the rest of the evening. Ian sleeping meant that Emma and I got to eat dinner by ourselves since Dave closes on Monday nights. We talked about all kinds of things but the main topics were her toe nail polish, her Barbie cash register, and what kind of Popsicle she wanted for desert. I snapped a few pictures of the two of us for you all to enjoy.





When we were done eating Emma helped me clean up the kitchen and I gave her a Minute Maid Juice pop (she choose cherry) while I went upstairs to check on Ian. To my surprise Ian was not in his bed and Emma's bedroom door was closed. I slowly opened Emma's door and this is what I found.



Of course I ran downstairs and grabbed my camera because I could not miss getting this shot. Right after I took the pictures Ian rolled over and smiled up at me. I have no idea when Ian went into Emma's room, why he closed her door, or why he took his shorts and diaper off. What I do know is he didn't pee or poop in Emma's bed so it's all good.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Another Year Older

Today is my 27th Birthday. I have officially moved into my late 20's, which is ok but it's not great. :))

My MIL took the kid for the weekend so I could celebrate.

I started off by making the hour trip NE to my good friend Tiff's house for this months bookclub meeting. I did not finish the book this month because I couldn't get into it at all but it was so nice to get together with all women friends and just have some girl talk. Before I left Tiff's I changed into my super cute and sexy little black dress. It's one of those sleeveless collared dresses that has a deep v and three buttons and a large belt at the waist. I wore a big chunky Turquoise beaded necklace with matching earrings and my black 4 inch heels. Let's just say I was One Hot Mama (it's my birthday I can say that).

Then it was off to meet Dave at work for our night out. When I got to his work he was getting out a key to a car which I thought was strange since they were closed and no customers were hanging around. I didn't say anything and just followed him out to our car where he put his brief case in and shut the door. At this point I had to ask him what he was doing and he says. Were taking a Miatia out tonight. Yep work let him take one of the used 2007 Mazda Miatia's. It a silver convertible with black interior (if you don't know what this is, it's one of the two seater tiny cars). It was only 6pm and our dinner reservations weren't until 8 because we didn't want Dave to get stuck with a customer so we took the car for a little spin.

With an hour still left before dinner we decided to do a little shopping at Easton. We went into Target and then into Barnes and Noble two of my favorite stores. Next it was off to Brio my all time favorite restaurant. My meal was the Pasta Fra Diavlio (penne pasta in a creamy tomato sauce with allot of spice) and a Brio Bellini (peach nectar and perseco). Dave got the chopped salad and the Gorgonzola Lamb Chops with a glass of Merlot. For desert Dave and I shared the Carmel Creme Brulee. The meal was absolutely amazing and we had some really good conversations to.

Neither of us were ready to go home after dinner and since the weather was so nice and we had that cute little car we decided to go fora drive. we put the top down and headed out to the country driving all back roads. It was super fun and really romantic. I should also say that at this point I had fallen in love with this car and I WANT IT!!! Once back in the city we headed back to the car lot and Dave taught me how to drive a standard which was pretty cool. We finally went to park the car back in it's spot when I asked Dave where our car keys were?

SHIT, SHIT, SHIT were the next words out of his mouth because he put the car and house keys in his briefcase which was in my car locked. The only person that has an extra key to our house is my sister who was half way across town at a bar for a singles event called Man Market. I gave her a call and she said if we came up she would bring our house key out to us. So back in the cute car we went and drove up to her. She took a picture of us and then one with each of us and her, the one of Dave and I is a little blurry but it's the only one I have.















An hour later we were back at the car lot with the spare key to our car and I was say goodbye to my ride for the night. Then it was home for some coin counting and off to bed.

Today I slept in untill 10, showered and watched some TV. My MIL brought the kids back around 4:30 this afternoon. Emma came in holding a bunch of paper and she proceeded to show me about 15 pictures she drew for me as my borthday present from her, it was very sweet of her.

My mom, sister, and brothers all came over and mom cooked us dinner and she brought a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake. Since I can remember mom has always cooked us whatever we want for out birthday dinner. Mine always has Corn on the Cob from a farmers market and this year was no different. We also had Hamburgers and Hot Dogs on the grill and pasta salad. It was all so yummy!

I would have to say that so far my late twenties have treated me very well, let's just hope the rest of the year is just as good.

Oh I almost forgot, the car for the night and dinner were not the only B-Day presents from the hubbie. He is also getting me the new dinning room set that I have wanted for 3 years. He is so good to me. Thanks D-Doll!

** I just noticed after I published this post that it is my 100th post. If you would have asked me 4 months ago about blogging I would have said I thought it was cool but not for me because I have no writting skills at all. I think I've come a long way since then.**

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Friday's Foto Finish Fiesta

This has been one long week so I just needed a picture that made me smile.



This was taken at the begining of the summer on an evening where both the kids were in good moods. Aren't they precious!

Photobucket As always to join in head on over to Candid Carries by clicking on the cute picture.

My Lil Sis

I am the oldest of 4 kids. I have a 24 year old sister Steph (Stephanie), 22 yearold brother Nick (Nicklaus), and a 12 year old brother KJ (Kirby Jr.). My family is extreamly importnant to me even when I am so mad at them I want to strangle them so I thought I would share a little about each one of them in seperate post.

Starting off will be my little sis Stephanie Lynn. Our family is big on nicknames, most of the time we call her Stephy but I still revert back to Stephy Lou which is what my Aunt called her as a baby. Most of her friends call her Steph so that is what I will call her in this post so I don't embarass her too much.

The day Steph was born I had the chicken pox and I always say that shoudl ahve been a sign. The girl cried for the first year of her life. It wasn't just a cry either it was that screaming thing babies do and it was all the time. After about a week I was done and no longer wanted a baby sister.

When the crying stopped the picking and tormenting began. She drove me nuts for the next 15 or so years. We fought all the time and not just screaming matches. We had fist fights and somehow no matter what the reason or who started it I always got in trouble for it. Steph used to do something she shouldn't and then lie to our mom about it blaming me or Nick and we would get in trouble for it. I remember on numerous occassions chasing each other through the house with knives when out mom wasn't home, by some miracle we never stabbed each other. There was even a time when Steph got me cornored and pushed into a closet when she locked me in for almost 8 hours only sliding saltine crackers under the door for me to eat. Can you feel the love her folks?

Then the summer between my Junior and Senior year, her 8th grade and Freshman year our brother Nick went to stay at my Grandma's house and Maryland which left Steph and I at home alone while our mom was at work and our baby brother at the sitters. Steph got grounded very early in the summer so she wasn't allowed to go anywhere and once I got home from Color Guard practice I didn't have anything to do. This meant Steph and I had alot of time together. Somehow we managed to get along and actually had fun together. We would watch our Soap Opra's and make tons of good snack foods and just veg out untill mom and KJ got home. It was a great summer probably my favorite summer.

Since then we have been very close. Sometimes I wish we could have had that summer a little earlier because the following summer I moved away to college and when I came back she was only around for a year before she went off to school for 4 years. After she graduated from Bowling Green State University she came back to Columbus for a year and I thought we would have some time together but she foudn a job as a Sleep Tech working third shift so I never saw her. Last June Steph moved away again to attend graduate school at Marrietta College. She was one of 25 students selected for the Physican's Assistant program there. It was a huge deal and we were all very proud of her.

Thankfully she is back in Columbus now and most likely for good. She is doing her Clinicals here in town untill next August when she will graduate with her masters. She is very busy goign to work everyday and studying at night so I don't see her much but it's more than I used to. I know once she is done with school and has a real job in a Doctors office, possibly in a pedatrician's office, I will have a little more time with her.

I am so proud of all my lil sis has done and I am glad my parents had her. Life would have been very boring without her around.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Walt Disney World

Week 1

So this is part 2 of my weekly series where I am posting articles from a newspaper I wrote when I was 6. Unfortunately my husband is in the process of rebuilding our desktop so all I have is my laptop which is not connected to the scanner. What that means is no picture of what the article actually looked like.

I will however describe it for you. On the top right corner there is a giant picture of Mickey Mouse dressed in his best Uncle Sam costume, the top left corner is a small picture of a large crowd of people of a parade. The story is written on the bottom half on the page.

Now the story is written like this;

Walt Disney World

Today July 4, 1988 is the opening of Walt Disney World. At 12:00 noon on channels 4-6- & 10 a parade. Over 20,000 people got tickets to get into the amusment park. At 10:00 the fastest roller coster in the amusment park space mountain will be running. There are 100 different rides from roller coasters to kiddie rides. There are also 40-50 gift shops
.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Yesterday I went with the kids and there daycare to the zoo. The morning wasn't bad at all but the heat came on in the afternoon and made it a little uncomfortable. It was still an awesome trip and the kids had a blast. So here are a bunch of pictures taken throughout the day.



Emma and Ian waiting for everyone to pay so we could all go in. The babysitter purchased duck hats for all the kids to wear and Ian did have his on for a while but it seems I never captured a picture of him in it.



Emma and Ian at the Petting Zoo


All the kids and the sitter to. Every time we take a field trip we take a group shot and let me tell you they are so hard to do but it's always worth it.


These are the Moose. They brought on a conversation with all of us parents about what multiple Moose are called. Is it like Mouse and Mice or is Moose the singular and the plural??


Ian and his buddy Andrew


My two kids and a few others trying to see the Wolf who was hiding


These are the Bald Eagles and I took the picture for Dave because they are one of his favorite things to see at the zoo. They really are majestic birds.


One of the Elephants


The Tigers taking a morning nap


The kids and I on the cool Tiger statue


The Manatee


Emma petting a Snake. Ian wouldn't go near the thing, but Emma has no fear.


I don't remember what kind of Snake this one is but it followed your every move and hissed allot.


The big land Turtle and my favorite animal to see


Emma and her friend Mady enjoying there ring pops.


Some kind of Monkey showing off and probably the coolest shot I caught even with the fence in the way


Another Monkey, maybe Orangutan, eating an Orange for his afternoon snack. This was Ian's favorite animal of the day


The baby Gorilla. I wish this shot would have been better but the baby was really far away.


Ian enjoying some Dippin Dots. Oh we had to change his shirt because he got a hold of my pop and spilt it all over himself.


Emma eating her Dippin Dots. Can you tell we were in desperate need of something cool at this point.


Emma with her favorite animals, the Flamingos


Ian before we got out of the parking lot.


Emma shortly after we got out of the parking lot.

Well there it is, out trip to the zoo.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Friday's Foto Finish Fiesta

TGIF!

It's so nice to be back this week and I can't wait to see all of your pictures, but I will have to wait because I will be at the zoo on a real Field Trip with the kids. This is why I am posting my Friday's Foto Finish Fiesta a day early.



This week's picture is of Emma doing the inflatable obstacle course at the 4th of July festivities last week. Emma really wanted to do this one but I was worried she wouldn't be able to get through some of it. I know she is almost 5 but she is such a tiny little girl and I tend to underestimate her power. I finally gave in and said she could try it. To my surprise she flew through it without any trouble at all. I was so proud of her. It's moments like this when I realize my baby girl isn't so baby anymore.

Photobucket All right so really if you haven't joined in the fun there is just something wrong with you so click the cute little girls picture and have some fun.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Summer of '95

Candid Carrie has just written a three part series about how she avoided what was supposed to be her first kiss. If you haven't read it yet you really should it's hysterical. Of course this made me think about my first kiss and I thought I would share it with you.

It was the summer of 1995 and I turned 14 that summer. It was also the summer before my Freshman year in High School. At that point in my life I was considered a late bloomer because most of the kids in my class had already experienced their first kiss and allot more than that. If I had to guess I would say about half the kids in my class had already had sex. I know that may be a bit shocking for some of you and let me tell you it was for me to. See back then I was a very shy innocent girl and I had only had one boyfriend who I never kissed.

My best friend Beth was the complete opposite of me except for the virgin part. She had kissed allot of boys by this time and it killed her that I hadn't even kissed one. At the beginning of that summer Beth started dating this guy and he was good friends with another guy that lived in our neighborhood who I had always thought was cute. His name was Justin, he was a year ahead of us in school and I thought he was so cool. Well lucky for me Beth's boyfriend Jake and Justin hung out with Beth and I allot that summer.

Now remember how I said I was shy and Innocent? Well that lead to a conversation one evening between Beth and I as we were getting ready to go bowling with the guys. She informed me that for the past couple of days she had noticed that Justin was flirting with me, I had no clue. She also told me that he had told Jake he thought I was cute and sweet. Beth proceeds to tell me that he is probably going to kiss me that night which of course sets me into complete panic mode because I didn't know what to do. That leads to a quick lesson from Beth and some practicing on my hand, and of course a very long thorough tooth brushing session.

Bowling that night was pretty awesome and I was able to pick up on the flirting from Justin which made me even more nervous. It didn't help that both Beth and Jake kept giving both of us these looks all night long. I was already feeling enough pressure from the thought of this really cool older boy kissing me and I really didn't need them watching ever single move I made.

Around 10 that night Beth's mom came to pick us up and Justin still hadn't kissed me so I started to think that maybe he didn't like me after all and I was just imagining everything. A little sad and allot disappointed I climbed into the van and sat in the very back. Justin ended up sitting beside me which just confused the crap out of me even more. During the ride home he put his arm around me and then he pulled my chin towards him and kissed me. As instructed by Beth early that evening I followed his lead and did whatever he did to me. It was an amazing kiss that lead to a few more. You could say I was on cloud nine for the next few days from that kiss.

Unfortunately for me (back then) that kiss did not lead to me becoming his girlfriend because his ex came back. It did however work out in my favor because as we went through high school he turned into one of those grunge druggie types and I met my Dave. I should also tell you guys that a few years ago Dave was in a band with Jake (who set Dave and I up) and Justin, it was very awkward for all of us involved and I was glad when Dave left that band.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Over Cofidet Man Shoot

Yes, yes, I know the title is not spelled correctly but there is a very good reason for that.

My mom is in the process of moving and while packing she came across a bunch of stuff of mine that she has kept over the years. She decided that it was time for me to have it since I am an adult. She brought the bag of stuff over on the 4th but with everything going on I hadn't had a chance to look at it until last night when I couldn't sleep.

It was actually quit nice to sit on the bedroom floor with Dave and go through this stuff, some of which I had never seen and other things that brought back memories of my childhood. There was allot of the typical stuff in my bag, baby clothes, cards from my first birthday (I think there was only one card for a girl turning one that year because I had a bunch of them), 1st Valentines Day cards, awards from school, and school projects.

I've decided that some of my school projects, or at home projects would be fun to share with all of you so over the next month or more, depending on how brave I get, I will share something every Tuesday. I guess this is kind of like show and tell.

First up will be a series of articles I wrote for my pretend newspaper. I beg you to keep in mind that this was July of 1988 and I wasn't quite 7 yet, so please, PLEASE try to be kind.



Above is the copy I scanned in so you could see exactly how it looked. I would like to think that for a 6 year old it's pretty darn good. Now I am going to write word for word, letter for letter exactly what it says.

LIFESTYLE NEWS
July 4, 1988

OVER COFIDET MAN SHOOT

Last night Mr. John Lowdemill was shoot at Linn Field. The police belive a man by the name of Bob Still shoot him. It seems Lowdemill and Still had an argument and Lowdemill ran of. When Still caught him he started pounding him in his face. After about 5-15 min Still pulled a gun out and shoot Lowdemill in the brain twice. By the time the police found him he was dead.

Bob Still has been sentenced life in jail.

John Lowdermill
This pitcher was taken 2 years before his death.


So there you have it, my first ever newspaper article. Next weeks will be Walt Disney World.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

The Wilson's 4th of July

So even with everything going on with my family we found some time to enjoy our 4th of July.

We started out Thursday evening going to our usual spot just outside of downtown Columbus to watch Red White & Boom with a few friends. Red White & Boom used to be known as the largest fireworks display in the mid-west, I'm not sure if it still is but I do know it's big. We almost didn't go though because it rained most of the day. Thankfully it cleared out about 6 so off we went. I don't know what I was thinking but I put Emma in flip flops and I wore mine which was a BIG mistake. All the rain left a ton of mud everywhere and I hate mud. The kids didn't care so by the time we left they were covered in mud and so are the mats in my car. The fireworks were pretty good this year, not the best I've seen but still good. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

















Yesterday we started off by going to the parade here in Groveport with my family and some friends. We live about 2 streets back from Main Street which is great for the 4th because it means we can walk to everything and we don't have to find parking spaces. It rained off an on all morning so we grabbed the umbrellas and our chairs and headed off. I was surprised at the amount of people that still came out in the rain, but I'm glad they did. The parade was good and the kids got tons and tons of candy.



After the parade we all headed back to our house for some old fashion cookout food. We all ate way to much and then wanted to nap, but we worked through that and just hung out and relaxed. Around 7:30 we all headed down to the school a few clocks away and staked our claim in the outfield of the baseball diamond for the fireworks. We also walked around and the kids got to enjoy some of the inflatable rides. Then it was back to our seats for some sparkler fun. Finally the fireworks started and as always Groveport did a great job.








All and all I would say that this 4th was a good one and I hope you all enjoyed yours.