Hi, I'm Just Ridin' My Bike!

Today Hannah rode a big girl bike for the first time.  My friend, Jennifer, gave us a great Strawberry Shortcake bike with streamers, a bell, a basket, and training wheels.  I hinted to Hannah that her Papa might like to "pimp her ride" (I didn't use that phrase!) by getting her a flashy license plate with her name on it.  It shocked me that Hannah's first move was to remove the streamers and all the pink cushy pads.  Go figure.  She's her Daddy's girl.  She hopped on and rode all the way down the street.  She sang a little song comprised of the catchy chorus, "I'm a big girl, I'm a big girl, I'm a big girl."  Anytime we ran up on someone she shouted, "Oh hi!  I'm just ridin' my bike!"  Like she's been doing this for years and years.  We still have braking issues.  When she wants to stop she just slams into things like picnic tables and brick houses.  That's when we decided a helmut was probably necessary.

My Life is Just Like Twilight

I have a bloody vampire bite on the bottom of my feet.  I seem to remember a little girl playing with green vampire teeth earlier today.  I'm not sure how they wound up in the bathroom floor, but I do recall how they became imbedded in my foot.  I have never had to pull neon green fangs out of my foot before.  The bad part, other than that part above, was today at the dentist my really numb tongue lolled it's way over to the drill and was sliced a smidge.  So, I sounded like Elmer Fudd with a large swollen tongue cursing at little plastic teeth.  It's been a weird day.

A Change in Plans

Just as college students change majors, Hannah changes career choices.  A while ago she wanted to be a hobo or dog catcher.  Today she told me that she would actually like to be a "kite holder."  I think that sounds like a great job and it is my duty to ensure that she is properly trained in this vocation.

Ode to a Librarian

This is my Bookmobile Librarian.  When I was 10 years old my next door neighbor Wendy, wrote a letter to the library to get the bookmobile to come to our street.  And he did.  Every Tuesday afternoon Wendy and I were there to pick out our books for the next week.  I chose more than I could possibly read in one week because it has always been my biggest fear to run out of books.  If there was an author that I particularly liked he would bring me more books.  This is how I went through the entire Nancy Drew series.  There were times when Tuesday was too far away and Mom and Dad had to take me mid-week to the library to load up.  This is what kind of nerdy kid I was.  Want to know what kind of nerdy adult I am?  I take pictures with my Bookmobile Librarian, who is still driving that library on wheels.  It is my dream job!

Recession? What Recession?

I think the book business is the place to be right now.  The store is doing so well that we are all holding our breath waiting for the other shoe to drop.  The big, heavy, orthopedic shoe of economic woe.  We stifled all hopes for the 11th Annual Southern Kentucky Bookfest.  We thought because there was no Mitch Albom or Harlan Coben this year, sales would be significantly lower.  We were wrong.  This year we had the hilarious Jill Connor Browne, Ellen Hopkins, and Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind Elmo.  Elmo came as well, although we couldn't afford the larger size Elmo because contractually, he requires a first class seat, the smaller Elmo fits in a carry-on.  Which leads me to think that the Bookfest could save a lot of money if only all the authors would fit in a carry-on.  

See You Soon

Here's where I will be for the next few days:

Southern Kentucky Bookfest

Please join us for the fun! 

I'll be hangin' out with Elmo. Janis Ian, and The Sweet Potato Queen.  Not that I'll talk to any of them, because as you know, I don't like to talk to people I don't know.  I'll be the one hiding behind the cash registers because that's where I feel most comfortable!!!

Monday is Detox Day

Oh, we had a great Easter!  Last night we put food out for the Easter Bunny.  Carrots and jelly beans are what he likes best.  We also left our eggs out for him to hide.  We went to bed VERY excited for that bunny to come.

When Hannah woke up this morning, the first thing she said was "Did the bunny come?"  She ran down the stairs and saw all the baskets.  The bunny was in such a hurry that he accidentally caught some of his cottontail in the door.  Hannah carried it around with her all day.

Before breakfast she had eaten all of her chocolate bunny.  You can tell from her glazed eyes that it was already getting to her.  I swear, I only left the room for 5 minutes to check on breakfast and she had eaten the whole thing and her mouth looked like this (Sugar intake #1).

Then we found that the Easter bunny left eggs outside our house with candy and pennies in them (Sugar intake #2).  

Next we headed over to Gracie's house for her Easter/Birthday party.  By this time Hannah was pretty crazed and wild eyed from all the sugar, but this didn't stop her from swiping a Peep as soon as we got there (Sugar intake #3).  Gracie looked like a princess in her party dress!  Ezra really liked the mulch and as long he had two eggs to bang together he was good!  Jack did his own thing and collected a nice basket of eggs!

Then Gracie opened her presents with the help of Hannah and we all sang Happy Birthday and ate cake & ice cream

 (Sugar intake #4).

Last, but not least, we went to Grandma Lisa's for more cake because it was Grandma Rowald's 89th birthday.  Seated around the table are Grandma Rowald, Grandma Lisa, Paul, Lisa's brother Harry, Barb (Helmut's wife) and Lisa's other brother, Helmut.  Hannah isn't in this picture because she is running around the house like the Energizer Bunny(Sugar intake #5).

We finally took the little sugar monster home and tried to put her bed.  She eventually got in her bed, but talked to herself for another hour before crashing.  Tomorrow will be a no sugar day.  I hope she doesn't have the shakes too bad. 

When You Can't Control the Urge to Nap

We went shopping today and Hannah was such a good girl that she was able to pick out a sucker (because in this house we bribe with sugar).  It was a big, pink sucker that was bubble gum flavor.  Then we got in the car and headed home.  It was so quiet in the back seat that I figured it must be the best sucker ever.  Instead what I found was Hannah asleep, mid-lick with her hand clenched tight around the sucker.  After I pried it out of her little hand I just had to take a picture!

Not Your Average, Everyday Game of Hide and Seek

One of our favorite things to do is play hide and seek.  We play a little differently than most.  One team gets on the golf cart and one team gets on the go-cart and we take turns hiding on the property.  No place is off limits if you can drive your vehicle there.  We hide in the field, under the bridge, in the trees, in the barns.  Yesterday we played boys against girls and the girls had the fast go-cart!!  We totally ruled at hiding.  In fact we hid so well that we had time to take a bunch of pictures.  Finally I had to call the boys to give them clues.  Except when I peeked over our hiding spot under the bridge to see where they were I saw them playing basketball.  We could have been waiting for days.  We are that good at hiding (or the boys have a short attention span.) 

Letter of Apology, Melissa Version

Dear Melissa,

You know that party you had a few weeks ago?  That one that I couldn't attend because of the flu?  Well, a few details have come to light that I thought you should be made aware of.  This morning as Hannah and I were brushing her teeth she informed me that she would really like to brush teeth with Gracie again.  She said that it was a lot of fun last time.  When probed about additional details, it turns out that Hannah really liked Gracie's Elmo toothbrush but would like to bring her own toothbrush over to your house next time so that she doesn't have to share.  The additional details that I got:

1.  Hannah and Gracie slipped away from the party to ensure proper dental hygiene.

2.  There was apparently some sharing of toothbrushes although, 

3.  They brushed their own teeth separately, and 

4.  They decided that it was fun and would like to have a toothbrushing play date again soon.

So, I think we owe you and Gracie an apology, not just for roaming around your house, but also for all the germs that have been spread via the Elmo toothbrush.  I really hope that you are not spending your time at the beach with the sniffles.  Next time we will BYOT, I promise.

Love,

Natalie & Hannah

When the Boddekers Go to the City

After we convinced Cassie and Hannah that we would only be in the car for 45 minutes, therefore it was not necessary to bring water bottles and a backpack full of snacks, we started the road trip to Nashville with a little nap. All that getting ready and asking over and over again what time we were leaving is really exhausting.

Cassie used her birthday money to get a Build-a-Bear(Dog) complete with roller skates.

This is a self portrait taken at lunch at The Aquarium.

We took pictures with a few different animals.  Christian struck his usual "arms crossed" posed, but if you look carefully at the shark photo, it looks like he may be thinking about smiling.

Cassie entertained herself in the dressing rooms while Holly tried on clothes, and tried on clothes, and then tried on clothes.

Cassie, Hannah (and Holly) rode some trucks and cars.

Paul took the Rodeo Bull Strength Challenge and was deemed World Champion Bulldogger.  I don't know what a bulldogger is but it sounds very strong.

Cassie and Christian bungee jumped.

Then we ended the day just as it began, except with extra bears.

Holly Belle

This is Holly before I knew her.  I really wish I had known her from the beginning, but then she wouldn't be Holly, and then we wouldn't have Christian and Cassie, etc. etc.

Here she is when I met her.  Such a responsible sweetie.  The first night I met the kids Holly and Cassie put on a karaoke show for me.  Right from the beginning Holly and I clicked as friends.  When we told the kids we were getting married, Holly was the one who screamed because she was so excited for us all! 

And here is the 12 1/2 year old Holly now.  12 1/2, that's almost 13, which is almost 16, which is almost 18. Oh dear.  We have so much fun together, mainly because I like pretty, pink, polka dots just like 12 year old girls.  I am also distracted by shiny objects just like 12 year old girls.

O.K., So Maybe I Was a Weird Kid

This is the cemetery that was in the back of my neighborhood growing up.  There were no houses back there yet, just some roads and this old cemetery.  At the time there wasn't a gate or fence around it so there were always old beer & soda cans and cigarette butts.  When I was about 11 or so I started riding my bike to this cemetery with bags so that I could do a little clean up.  I started with picking up all the trash regularly and as time went on I advanced to pulling weeds and piecing together broken headstones.  Sometimes my friends and I would go together, but often I went by myself.  It's strange that I wasn't scared.  As I grew older I became more infatuated with the people that were buried there.  I wrote the names and dates down and had my Mom take me to the library where I could do some research.  I'm really not sure how I knew how to do this research, but I'm sure some very helpful librarians showed me the way.  I found that the Covington Family is buried there, their nannies, housekeepers, and their doctor as well.  This family is a pretty big deal in town and have a park, street and various other things named after them.  I also found through my research that they lived in the house down the street that is still there.  It's a beautiful, romantic old house with apple trees lining the drive.  It has this huge front yard and the house sits atop a little hill.  You can just picture the horse drawn carriages going up the drive.  Once I discovered the history behind this cemetery I felt a huge sense of responsibility to the people buried there.  It might have something to do with this.  

Eventually I went to college and had to leave my cemetery behind.  Today I went back to visit, and here is what I found:  

So sad. Apparently there are no weird kids around anymore who like to take care of the dead. There is a poor, old cemetery on our property surrounded by a wrought iron fence with broken headstones all around. I am oh, so tempted.

Roast Beef & Ghosts

Imaginary friends are the best!  They are always there for you and never, ever let you down.  They are never too busy to play or eat with you.  I had an imaginary friend, her name was Cindy Roast-Beef (she hyphenated.)  My poor mother was required to set a place at the table every night for Cindy.  For many years, I'm afraid to say.  Hannah has an imaginary friend as well, his name is "Baby Ghost".  I believe his name originated from this old book at Grandma's house.  He does some things that Hannah isn't allowed to do.  For instance, Baby Ghost puts his feet on the kitchen table.  Baby Ghost also runs around naked all day long and never has to get dressed.  Baby Ghost is allowed to eat sugar lumps from Grandma Rowald's sugar bowl.  Baby Ghost also can say "what the heck" with no consequences.  Baby Ghost takes a bath without having to wash his face.  Baby Ghost has it made, really.  Either an imaginary friend is a common thing to have or I have passed the crazy gene on to my child.  Or perhaps both.  Poor girl.