i've ridden a camel & is bribery really so bad when it could be a matter of life or death?

We received some old photos in the mail from my mom today, thanks Mom!  **Side note: Could it be considered cruelty or neglect to let an unknowing adolescent have long stringy hair and a perm?  Anyhoo, moving on.  Apparently I've ridden a camel.  If you asked me yesterday, "Have you ever ridden a camel?"  I would have indubitably answered, "No."

 I have no memory of ever being on a camel, and yet here I am, on a camel.  I can't think of any motivation for my mom to have doctored a photo to falsely accuse me of riding a camel, yet I don't have any memory of this.

Another lost memory: Melissa, Peter, Mom and I are walking -somewhere-, all wearing blue ribbons.  Who took this picture?  Did we win first prize in some competition? Why don't I remember this?
I can't say I remember this particular evening, but I DO remember our back porch.  I used to LOVE sitting out, sleeping out, being out on our screened porch in the woods in Iowa. Cool evenings with noisy bugs and humidity.  Does it get any better? (And that's Granny on the right)
I put this photo in because of the shorts I'm wearing (and because my cousin Emma was -is- so cute).  You can't see it here, but they were white denim with metallic silver stars all over.  I loved them so.  They started out as full length jeans, and then transformed into shorts.  I remember when you bought me these Granny.  Thank you for allowing me to happily violate all fashion sense :)
And this last photo is because I was just talking about this mini-car experience with peeps from the Gathering!  I had always wanted one of these cars, but never got one of my own.  However, Emma had one (age appropriately), and when I visited one year I finally got my chance.  Notice my gangly leg/knee jutting out the side.  I was probably like a year away from getting my permit to drive big people cars, but it really didn't matter in this moment. I remember thinking, how does Emma not want to drive this ALL THE TIME?  She sat in it for like a minute, while I was fulfilling a childhood dream...
I realize this walk down memory lane (or lost memory lane) is probably not nearly as interesting to anyone but me, but that's all I've got tonight friends. I hope you can go and dig through some of your old photos and do some reminiscing of your own.  

P.S

Pray for me: we just got a new student who was expelled from his old school for many reasons, including constructing a detailed plan for killing his parents and two teachers.  So far he's been very polite to me and has shown a ton of skill in drawing.  I, of course, have been giving him lots of chocolate and money...just kidding, but don't think it hasn't crossed my mind.  In all seriousness, though, it sounds like he's been through a LOT of garbage and has major stuff going on.  Hopefully I can provide a safe place for him to feel good for a little bit everyday.  Like I said, he's a very good artist, and I've been told it's his favorite activity.  So I've got that going for me.

P.P.S.

We watched 'Lars and the Real Girl' the other night. Loved it. Recommend it. Think I might watch it again tonight.

P.P.P.S.

What do the "p" and "s" stand for?  please see? perhaps s'mor? pretty sure-this-is-the-last-thing?  probably should-include?

Since Jessica has joined the blog world (yippee for that),  I decided to post a couple pictures of us from the 20th century. 

spring break, baby!

SPRING BREAK!!!! My spring break has officially begun, and it's off to a great start. Ken and Vickie and Janae came up Friday.  Janae spent the afternoon at school with me to check out what teaching is like, then we all had dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant, the Bent Noodle (also where we had our first date, our rehearsal dinner, and our first wedding anniversary dinner).  Janae decided to spend the night, so we rented Martian Child (very heartwarming, very cute), and Enchanted (also cute).   Can I just say, Janae is very easy to be around.  We had so much fun hosting her.  Below is a picture of Gabe and Janae reading Pablo Neruda.  This picture was not posed.  Gabe found someone interested in reading his Spanish/English Pablo Neruda book with him.  Throughout the translations I heard lots of laughing, but I'm sure over all it was a very intellectual experience shared between brother and sister. 

Last night Keri and Charlie came over for dinner--take-out from our favorite nearby Thai place, Thai Garden. Gabe and Charlie watched basketball and Keri and I "caught up" for a few hours. We don't often have people over and it was really nice to have more people we love in our home.  

 Church this morning, and now time to relax and blog.  I'm spending tomorrow with my dear friend Amy and her sweet little Amelie.  I am going to remember my camera!  Every time we hang out I forget my camera which is disappointing because Amelie is one of the smiliest little one year olds you'll ever meet.  

Here are a few more pictures from Melissa's and my hay-days, as requested by Marla:
Awfully serious expression for someone wearing hollow, neon green, plastic glasses.  I remember this moment.  We were playing Bingo.  Something I apparently took very seriously.
Just diggin'.
In the playhouse.  Love the whale jumper Melissa.  You were so cute.

good memories

Midnight Ghost, summer garage plays, sledding at Wash, MNB Bike (and big wheel) races, lemonade stands (never selling any b/c we'd run inside anytime a stranger approached), Marla and Dustin putting Melissa and I in cardboard boxes and rolling the boxes around,  Melissa and I playing patients while Marla and her friend put whatever they could find in the blender to feed to us as "medicine", digging up a dead pet rabbit and being introduced to maggots, conspiring to dig up my dead dog and bring it back to life, spotting an injured "bird" around dusk and upon closer inspection discovering it was actually a bat, making a haunted house in Jones' attic (pealed grapes, etc.), Melissa punching me in the stomach (first time I ever got the wind knocked out of me),  Lodi punching me in the stomach (2nd time I ever got the wind knocked out of me), arguing over who would marry Ryan, My Little Pony, convincing Mel that I should get to play with the real Barbies because if she played with them she would hurt her cheap-o Barbies' feelings, listening to cicadas and finding their hollow skin, playing in my playhouse, Marco Polo--land version, Ryan hitting a golf ball into Lodi's mouth in the middle of the street, having my ring finger practically ripped off from being stuck in Melissa's Big Wheel's broken break, hide and seek in the basement (window wells were the best spot), Maggie, Bonnie, Tiffany, Lucy, Buffy, Morris, Bridget, Jack & Pauline and being terrified to set foot on their lawn, bravely riding bikes on Jack and Pauline's driveway when we were sure they were away, Vera and her stale candy, India, Smokey, riding wagons down the hill, sneaking up to watch Return of Oz and scaring ourselves silly, attempting to irritate each other during sleep-overs by singing Guns 'n Roses songs while the other tried to go to sleep, building card houses at your Grandma Mary's, St. Pat's Days, Playtime Poppy, lightning bug "jewelry", watching you all drive away for the last time and being so jealous that Ryan got to go with...and I'm sure there are a thousand more.  I loved those years so much.  We had so much fun.  Sigh :)