An Overnight Adventure

This lovely image is the motel that Paige & I stayed in last night in Dodge City. Yup. It was a beauty. We had an early morning "appointment," so I decided about three weeks ago that I was going to find a hotel room instead of leaving Leoti before the sun was up. This picture was taken from our balcony view!




Here we have a shot of the lovely "closet" area. The door to the right is the bathroom.

Paige was a little worried at this point. But only a little. I calmly reassured her that all would be "just fine."

Our beds-turned down only after I made Paige help me lift up the mattress & box springs to make sure there were not any "surprises" (like dead bodies) in the box-thingy hotel beds sit on. Haven't you all heard about the decomposing corpse that someone found under their bed in a Las Vegas hotel? You can never be too safe or too cautious, right?

Well, at this point we were both laughing a bit hysterically. Then we took off our shoes. Ummm. There were HOLES in the floor. Yes, there were. You could totally feel them under the carpet. So of course we cracked up all over again!

We did get a decent night's rest, and the room cost a grand total of $68. The reason we ended up at this motel was that when I called around for reservations, the prices were upwards of $169/night. No way was I paying that for a few hours of rest & a shower in Dodge City, Kansas. So I started going through the yellow pages. Lesson learned.

And now, for the reason we were in Dodge City in the first place! Paige & I ran in the Dodge City Days 5K Shootout. I had been wanting to do this for awhile, and I finally found a race that was close to home on a weekend that we had free. Paige agreed to go with me, and my friend Joanne ran, too.

I don't know that I would say I had fun, but I'm glad I got one race under my belt. Now I want to find another one so that I can try to improve my time. I have definitely felt better during runs than I did today!

It was really humid this morning, and let me tell you: Dodge City is not flat. I think the first mile was uphill. That should translate that the last mile was downhill, but it didn't. Miles two and three were up & down. Ugh.

Anyway, Paige did a great job. She won her age division and beat all but one of the high school girls running. There weren't too many runners, but hey, who cares?

Gwen, Paige, & Joanne before the race. Yes, Paige is now taller than me.

Swimming, Baseball, Weekend Getaway, Etc.

It's been a little while since my last update (anyone surprised?), so I am including all kinds of topics! Here we go! The first picture is of Lane at the pool. He was doing underwater handstands, and I was supposed to be taking pictures of him doing just that. Not sure what this picture is. He kind of looks like he is trying out for the synchronized swimming Olympic team.


Lane also played minor league (coach pitch) baseball this year. It was so much more fun than t-ball! There was more action and even some excitement! Lane enjoyed the season and even included baseball in his top three favorite sports. I didn't know he had a favorite, but they are: #1 skiing, #2 baseball, #3 swimming. He was sure to inform us that basketball will never be his numero uno. Sorry, Jason.

As you can see, Casey the weiner dog, makes herself right at home in Lane's bed. She never even tries to sleep with anyone else. Only Lane. Could it be because she has been scolded for even looking at my bed or Paige's bed?

We went to Denver this past weekend. Friday night we went to a Rockies game. The weather was beautiful, the Rockies won, and we even witnessed an in-park homerun, which according to Jason, "Just doesn't happen!"

You know how it never fails that there is some loudmouth jerk who is always a few rows away at every sporting event? Well, there was a loudmouth there, alright. BUT, he was FUNNY! He didn't swear, didn't act obnoxiously, didn't do anything inappropriate. The whole section was cracking up at the heckling he was giving the leftfielder. I still chuckle just thinking about it!

We went to Dave & Buster's for dinner Saturday evening. It was something new & different to try. The atmosphere was pretty cool. They had a huge arcade to lure you in to the back. Lane saw this wall of gumball machines and was awestruck. We didn't visit the arcade (actually the kids didn't even care!).

The food was pretty good. I wouldn't call it fine dining, but it was much better than our lunch at WaterWorld! I think what we liked the best was the ceiling fan contraption. The restaurant had several ceiling fans, and they were all powered & connected by a pulley system. Of course Lane was fascinated.
Water World. Saturday. July. 100 degrees. Need I say more? Well. Once we FINALLY GOT IN THE PARK we had a good time. Never never never again will we go on a Saturday. Enough said.

Book Review: The Worst Hard Time

Since I'm a total nerd, I decided to share about a book I read recently. The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan caught my eye as I was leaving the library one day. It was a National Book Award Winner, which doesn't necessarily mean the book will be a good one, but it was worth a try!

This is a nonfiction account of the Dust Bowl. The book begins with the history behind the settling of the Great Plains region, and then leads into the World War I era, the 1920's, and finally the Great Depression. The majority of the book takes place around Dalhart, Texas, Boise City, Oklahoma, and Baca County Colorado. The author suggests a cause behind the formation of the Dust Bowl and essentially blames the government for encouraging the destroying of native grass in order to plant more wheat.

The book is not a "fun" read, of course, but I really enjoyed it. I don't know much about the Dust Bowl. I have visited with Grandpa Earl & Grandma Lois about what they remember. Now I'm going to have to ask more questions!

I'm not sure that this book presents the situation without bias, but it is an interesting viewpoint. I think I might look for a few more books on the topic and see what else I learn.

Lane

First of all, let me just say how proud of myself I am! Two posts in one day-a new record.

Lane's visit to the optometrist resulted in a new prescription like I thought it would. He had come home from school complaining of having to rest his eyes several times. Poor kid. He is very far-sighted, and the optometrist explained how hard Lane has to work to read or do schoolwork that is up close.

So the doctor explained that Lane was going to get new glasses that would make it so much easier for him to read. Lane was so excited.
"You mean I won't see purple spots anymore when I'm trying to read or do work?" he asked.
"Nope. You'll be able to read for hours with your new glasses."
"Alright!"

Well, the new glasses are bifocals. Hmmmm.

I was worried about Lane adjusting, but the doctor told me that kids rarely have any problems with bifocal lenses. Adults are the ones who struggle. Anyway, Lane will probably have bifocals for a couple of years and then outgrow them. Hopefully just in time for contacts!

Off to watch the Olympic Swimming Trials!!

And so it begins...

I spent yesterday afternoon in my new classroom trying to get a feel for what needs to be done first! I was there for about five hours, and I cleaned out one small closet, one two-drawer filing cabinet, and two shelves.

Notice that I didn't mention putting anything back in the closets, drawers, or on the shelves! My head hurt like crazy after all of that thinking. Result: I was very grouchy with my kids.

So today I went to the store and picked up baggies, plastic storage boxes, and cleaning supplies. Tomorrow morning I plan to tackle some more of the room and organize what is currently piled on the floor. Paige & Lane can help me tomorrow. Lane already informed me that he is a better organizer than Paige is, and she's pretty good!

Lane and I are off to the optometrist. My contacts are telling me that it is time for new ones.