Thursday, January 26, 2012

ALMOST anywhere

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Dear Sweet Husband of Mine,

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You know how I've always told you I'd follow you anywhere?

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Well today as I was walking around the lake,

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it occurred to me that maybe

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I should clarify one thing.

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If you should happen to get a wild hair someday

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and invite me to join you out on a lake

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with ice this thin looking,

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you're probably gonna be

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on your own.

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I'll be glad to cook the fish for dinner though.

Love,
Tracy P.

P.S.  It occurs to me that this is perhaps why ice fishing got started in the first place.
In case "all" the men who read my blog are laughing at me rather than with me.
Note that my husband hasn't begun this ridiculous ritual.  Yet.

Monday, January 23, 2012

When the trees look like jewels...

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...it's really good if you can stay home and take photos of them,
and leave your car in the garage.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Without ever leaving home

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You don't have to go out on a chilly Saturday night

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to take your sports car for a spin

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or even to take your dog for a walk.

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It must be noted, however, 

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that you may be Mr. Moneybags

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or a land baron,

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but if someone else has Boardwalk and Park Place,

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your chances of winning are not so good.

Friday, January 20, 2012

How I got hooked

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As I hear Bethany's bus go by, 
I hurry to the window.

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It's my favorite moment of the day 
to watch her
being her.

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This time, instead of coming in

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she grabs a shovel

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and goes to work.

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Unaware that I grab a camera
and go to work.

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Blissful work.

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My friend Kate asked me the other day
how I got hooked on taking pictures.

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I thought of the years lived overseas.
Of the scrapbooking kick begun before I was even married.

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But today I realized
THIS is how I got hooked.
It's the series that tells the whole story.
Love.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Family field trips

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Although we love our kids' schools and wouldn't want them anywhere else, 

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I have to admit that I envy the fact that homeschool families

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can go on field trips almost anytime.

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We still go on a lot of family field trips,

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but unfortunately they sort of need to coincide with the school calendar.

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We missed a few days of school for our Christmas trip,

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but I think we did a decent job of providing educational experiences.

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Like this trip to the Holy Land Experience.

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And this roadside stop at a cotton field.

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Nothing like seeing for yourself why Eli Whitney was a hero.

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We were passing by this college town,

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so we stopped by for a taste of the college experience.

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And by taste, I mean we visited the football stadium.

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We learned all about westward expansion and the Louisiana Purchase

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at the Gateway Arch.

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And last but not least,
I taught Ben how to use Photoshop.  

All Cars

Because racecars need numbers.

Once a teacher, always a teacher.