Remembering the Alamo...

Remember the DNA Project?

Well this week we are remembering the Alamo! The teenager is growing up... he actually started this history project (that he had 3 weeks to work on) 3 days before it was due... instead of springing it on me the night before... my baby is really growing up!

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Just like any other last minute project... he has been thinking about it for the entire 3 weeks and has some kind of elaborate plan in his head. Carrying out that idea is an entire other story! So as it goes my job is to alter each piece of his "grand scheme" to fit our budget, so I am not spending $40k for an "A" in History.

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It started with the armies... we had to have something to represent something like 6,000 to 250 ratio of armies. He had in his head plastic army men. I KNOW... I tried to detour him... there were no bazooka's at the Alamo... but I was informed "it is just a representation"! Open my mind a little... right!

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So after combing the entire area for 6,000+ army men (who knew they would be soooo hard to find) we finally found them at.... get this... dah dah dah... the dollar store! Yippeee!! I was loving that, and I did manage to get him to scale down the ratio to a manageable number.

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I could just envision us on Wed night at 2am still gluing 6,000 army men on the project!

My next determent would be his need for enough wooden dowels to shave the tops to a point and build a fort scene. I KNOW exactly how much wooden dowels cost, and even the thought of having to cut and shave each one to a point... AHHHHH!

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think... think... think....

The dead tree... that's it!

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I suggested to GW (George Washington) who had just cut down this tree last week (as it still lays in my back yard... I guess we were waiting for a proper memorial or something)... use the tree for your fort!

One of my better ideas! It gets rid of the tree AND serves as a FREE donation to the history project! (until I did some research on the Alamo myself, and the main fort is made of these stucco looking stones... shhhhh don't tell the teenager, the fort is looking pretty authentic, and I don't need any meltdowns on the day before the project is due... "it's a representation")


It is looking like it is coming together... some paint , a little dirt and sage brush, clip off the bazookas and we could be close. Although I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch... it's not over til it's over!
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I am really sarcastic in my posts, especially about my teenager... but I love him with ALL MY HEART, and he is really a good kid... I couldn't be more proud and I am sure these crazy memories will be all I hang on to when he leaves home! Sarcasm is just how I seem to deal with it all in the moment.
But I am cherishing... I promise!!

A clip from my day...

I took one of my favorite drives today... one because it is to my favorite hair lady (it always feels good to have my mane put back in order again) and two because I love the view coming over the hill down into the valley.

Especially this time of year!

You can't tell in the photo, but this is from the top of the hill looking down into the valley and the Owyhee mountains are in the back ground (it took me a long time before I could let mountains come out of my mouth instead of hills... but they are growing on me and kind of look like mountain "wanna be's" when they have snow on them in the winter time).

Then over the snake river... the water can make a 98 degree day seem so much cooler! It's not Puget Sound, but I love the water! (especially if you get stuck out in it until 1am huh Mom... hee hee... you can go read about our once in a lifetime river adventures here one year ago today! )

And Katie... I can't even say enough good things about her!
I love my hair, I love our talks, I love sharing stories... better than any therapist! Just what I needed to day, I left grinning from ear to ear! Thanks Katie!!!

Monday missing you blues...

I think Taylor must have the "Monday missing you" blues today... she is used to all of us being home and playing with her on the weekends, and especially all the bonding time we have on Sundays. She loves to play, but taking being quiet and snuggling watching movies is some of her favorite times too. And then Monday comes and she is stuck with just me all day long.
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I am used to her following me around the house, and sticking to me like glue... and this morning I was doing some chores and she wasn't following me around. So I went looking for her, and found her in our dark bedroom, she had gone back to bed!

I woke her up when I turned on the camera, and the flash lit up the room. But this is terribly uncharacteristic for her. Morgan has snuck back to bed a time or two, but never Taylor!

Then during my lunch break from working this afternoon, I was folding some laundry and I got up to put somethings away and I came back to the living room and found her like this....

Inside the laundry basket I had just gotten the clothes out of? What is going on with this crazy girl today? She must need my attention so badly, she wants to be "next" on my list of things to do today.

So funny!! If I couldn't relate to the "needy" feeling, I would probably blow this off. But I know... when you need some love and attention, hey, you just can't help it. Everyone needs to be and feel loved sometimes... her time just happens to be Mondays!

I LOVE this girl!