BOOK MONSTER

 While Cora has been reading herself to sleep for years now, James never has. He's never sneaked books or lights into his bed. He never gets out of bed once he's tucked in for the night to read elsewhere. And honestly, he's usually fallen asleep or is close to it before we even get up after our bedtime song, snuggles, and talking. We always figured that our "good sleeper" just preferred to go right to sleep (especially since he has scolded Cora repeatedly when they share a room to "stop talking - I'm tired and I don't want to talk"), but it turns out he really enjoys reading himself to sleep! Thanks to Christina and Dawn talking to me about household bedtime reading last week (while discussing AR books and sharing of resources for the boys to test on), I realized that maybe if James had a lamp near his bed, he might read more too. It's hard to get him to stop playing in the evenings and on weekends to read because he reads all day long at school, then has homework when he gets home. He just wants to relax afterward, and we totally get that. But he should be reading more (we all should - well, maybe not Cora, since she already stays up too late with books), for the practice, and also for the joy of it (we know he likes it - he just likes others things more sometimes). 

And guess what? He has ASKED us if he "can go read in his room" multiple times over the past two days since getting his lamp. The first night he retreated to his room directly from the dinner table because he wanted to finish re-reading the first book in the Amulet series (he wanted to take an AR test on it, but hadn't read it since June when he got it from his cousin Eli). He read a quarter of it the day before and the rest of it between dinner and bedtime (though he did stay up 20 minutes late to finish it - he was determined). And it was the first AR book worth more than half a point that he's tested on. Last night was very busy with homework and Scouts, but even though we got home right at bedtime, he insisted on being allowed time to read before turning off his light (he had started the second Amulet book after he finished his homework). Then this morning, as we were heading out to walk Buster, James asked if he could sit in the van and read his book instead. So, we've created a monster of sorts, it seems, but I'm excited for him! He can't wait to start the Minecraft series that Coltin let him borrow yesterday (we told him he had to finish the book he was already reading before starting the next - we don't want him to get confused for AR tests) and was happy to hear that there are 7 total books in the Amulet series, so he has plenty of chapter books to work with for a while. 

I am seriously thrilled by this development. Before yesterday, he had taken 19 AR tests and was nearing 10 points and 10,000 words. As of today he's taken 20 AR tests and has passed the 10 point mark, and after he tests on his current book he'll hit 20,000 words, effectively doubling his word count with these last two books (well, AR test word count - he certainly reads books and other things at home, like comic books and magazines, that he won't ever test on). It's not a competition (between him and his friends, or between him and his classmates - though he does love seeing his AR stickers pile up near the top of the class and he gets to bump his behavior color up a notch for every 100% AR score he earns, which is how he comes home "above purple" some days) and the only set goal for 2nd Graders at Southpark this quarter is to pass tests on 10 books (because they didn't get their STAR Exam levels back until the very end of August and thus had a delayed start to AR testing), but these recent accomplishments make him feel SO GOOD (and he really loves the graphic novels) and I know he's ridiculously proud of himself. Like I said at the end of last year, if he's happy (and meets his goals), we're happy. Being a Book Monster is pretty cool though...

SCHOOL PICTURE DAY 2016

 And the obligatory comparison, which WOW, they have sure grown in a year!

OKTOBERFEST: KIDS NIGHT

 Tonight was Martin's Kids Night Oktoberfest celebration, with instructions for girls to dress as princesses if desired. Well yes, our girl desires.

 Lisa had set up some games for the kids (crown decorating, prince/princess coloring sheets, and castle building), so James and Cora got right to work (we were the first ones there).

 There were four Oktoberfest/fall beers served on the deck, a German dinner menu, and kids were allowed in the Beer Garden. The weather was perfect (fall is really coming y'all - THIS WEEK!) and we had good company (one of James' Cub Scout buddies showed up shortly after we arrived, so the kids ran wild together while the parents enjoyed their beers and the breeze). We don't often go out on weeknights, so this was a nice treat! (And the kids were exhausted when we got home and had a nice, early bedtime - BONUS.)

 James does not own a prince costume and it was too hot to be a dragon, so he chose Antman.

PUMPKIN TOWER

Cora started decorating for Halloween last weekend while I was in Memphis despite my pleas to wait for me (I didn't want to miss out!), but luckily there was still plenty to do (we own far more Halloween decor than we do for Christmas or any other holiday). We finished up this afternoon (well, all except the mantel, since we're waiting on a delivery...) and Cora was a wonderful helper (she gave me some great new ideas that I'll post about when the mantel is complete). She was beside herself when I handed her this door decoration that Gramma sent us last November and quickly got to work decorating the pumpkin faces, on HER closet door (much to James' dismay, but hey, he was busy playing video games, so I let my little helper make the call on location).

 Once it was complete, she changed into last year's skeleton jammies (they mostly fit, but only because I bought them big) and posed and asked me to send a photo to Gramma.

SWEATY SOCCER SWEETIE

I could go on and on about the drama that occurred during Cora's game (we had a bad ref and a couple of ill-behaved parents, and one case of heat stress), but let's just look at my sweaty little soccer sweetie instead (he had a great game!)

HALLOWEEN JUNKIES

The best thing about Halloween decor going up in stores in September is that we have more time to play with all the masks and costumes (and we can spread out the decoration upgrades among multiple pay checks). We spent nearly 2 hours at Walmart today (I know), with 75% of that time spent playing in the Halloween sections. I could have taken a couple dozen photos of the kids in masks, but I was too busy belly laughing at their insanity. Maybe next time...

HIGH HEELS AND HEART LIPS

Cora drew this picture of her and her new best friend at school (Laila). The high-heeled shoes, tiaras, eyelashes, and heart lips are new to her repertoire and I love it! (She more often draws the two of them holding hands beside a many-storied pink house, complete with chandeliers, and the word PANCAKES written in the sky...)

MORNING MULTITASKING

Garbage hauling, dog walking, and soccer homework (they've been doing 10 laps around the house dribbling their balls followed by 50 touches most days this week). I don't multitask in the mornings nearly as well as Jay does... But hey, we haven't been late to school or work even ONCE this year, so go me!

SCRUB 'EM

Both kids have asked to do the dishes this week... 

Yup. Sure thing. Knock yourselves out. AND thank you!

SHELBY FARMS PARK

Robyn was ready for an adventure this morning! She planned a day at Shelby Farms Park Conservancy where we could do anything from hiking to paddle boarding to horseback riding. Being Monday, not everything was open, but the GoApe zipline obstacle course was! While we waited for our appointment time, we checked out the huge playground and got some steps in (I love winning the VivoFit steps challenge), and I made her pose with a life-size stuffed bison (they have a live herd roaming the grounds, which we saw at the end of the day).

The GoApe obstacle course challenge started with a lengthy instructional lesson and practice session. The instructor later commented that the 3 of us (small group!) were some of the most attentive he's seen. Well, when your life depends on following the instructions, you listen, am I right?!

 After a (low to the ground) "Amazon Bridge" and mini zipline practice session, we passed the "point of no return" and began the climb into the trees.

 There were 5 sections in total, each of which started with a lengthy ladder climb up into the canopy (20-30 feet up) after entering a locked staging area (where we could get water to rehydrate and rest on benches between sets). The ladders, obstacles, and "Tarzan Swings" each had us using different safety systems, but one thing was common between them all - ALWAYS STAY CONNECTED!

 I didn't take too many photos up in the trees, mostly because my phone was zipped into my shorts and tucked beneath my harness (making it hard to access), but also because (obviously) we were on the move (I tended to send Robyn ahead so that I had an example to follow) and having fun, and working hard (it was taxing on the arms especially, but also the legs at times, not to mention my nerves!) In this particular set of photos, Robyn is taking the "Extreme" option while I paralleled her on the "Moderate" side.

 Yes, those are free hanging RINGS that she had to navigate through. She says this was the hardest obstacle. And I was so happy I walked the X's and O's instead!

 Net bridge. Just a few stories up and a position that forced us to look down at the ground as we placed our knees (I tended to avoid looking down for fear that I'd lose my balance or become unnecessarily scared - I really was VERY safe and secure the entire time, and I always double checked my connections before starting a new obstacle).

 Here are some videos of Robyn on the Tarzan Swings (version 1 = Practice, version 2 = Extreme):

And here is Robyn crossing the lake one final time (5 of the 6 ziplines crossed the lake), showing how easy it should be to land upright (something I failed to accomplish, except on that first tiny practice run):

In watching those videos, if you assume that Robyn is calm, collected, and fearless while suspended 30ft above the ground completing obstacles, you'd be correct. Me on the other hand? Not so much. And I'm not nearly as graceful either...

(That was my 3rd zipline, I think. Most of those screams were for fun. The first two rides nearly made me pee my pants though...)

Before heading to the airport (BOO!), we had a very late lunch at the Trolley Stop Market, drove over to Arkansas just to say we did (little did we know that Robyn's plane would get re-routed to Little Rock later that night due to weather - DOH!), then walked Beale Street one more time. I am so grateful for this weekend. Robyn is like family to me, she IS family to me, and it's SO HARD living far away from your family. I miss her and Stephen all the time, and since neither of us are very good about phone calls (and she doesn't like social media much, though I'm trying to convert her!), these times that we get together are really fun and special. It had been too long. Thank you, Robyn, for making the trip down to the south, I LOVE YOU!

FLYING TO FLIGHT

 To rave some more about the wonderful food (and drink) we enjoyed on this trip, we ate lunch at Central BBQ (before Sandra had to head back to MS), had a much better beer (than the Mich Ultra) at The Flying Saucer, then splurged on dinner at Flight (where you choose 3 "small plate" entrees and 3 complimentary wines to do your own tasting/pairing - they have recommendations for pairings, but Robyn and I made ours up based off the entrees we most wanted to try and the types of wine we knew we'd like).

I was most definitely not lacking for calories on this trip. I'm priding myself for not making a single poor meal decision for 3 days straight - everything I ate and drank was delicious!

EARNESTINE & HAZEL'S

Robyn did lots of (Google!) research before our Memphis trip (hence the reason we were able to hit so many neat places and restaurants in just a few days), and as we made our way through her wish list, we pondered our "dive bar" options... The pirate-themed bar was too far away from downtown (and our late dinner reservations), so we made the walk to Earnestine & Hazel's instead (which happened to be across the street from the Civil Rights Museum and the Lorraine Hotel, so we got to see that too).

 While "The Bar" looks to be hopping during Happy Hour on their website, it was a dark, empty place on a Sunday evening... Nevertheless, we ordered ourselves a Mich Ultra to share (they had 5 beer can options, no real bar, but we didn't want to be rude) and sat with the bartender for a while to chat (and learned the history of the place). Then we made our way upstairs to look for ghosts. That's right folks, this dive bar is supposedly haunted.

Apparently they open the upstairs bar on Friday nights. It was silent, dirty, destroyed, and someplace that Jay and Stephen surely wouldn't have allowed us in had they known ahead of time (not to mention the fact that on this far side of town - segregation laws meant that black musicians gathered separately to practice and socialize before performing in the fancy downtown establishments - there were very few people on the streets and it was very dark). We didn't see any ghosts, and didn't record any "orbs" in our cell phone photos (most of which turned out too blurry to bother sharing here), but we got a couple miles of (speed) walking in and left with a good story! Had we not had dinner reservations later, maybe we'd have tried the Soul Burger...

MEMPHIS ZOO CREW

After the Gibson factory tour, we walked (and shopped) Beale Street, then headed to Midtown for a street fair (music and craft/art booths) and dinner (we ate at the Beauty Shop). Since we'd taken Uber on our adventures, we were able to enjoy cocktails AND a beer at Memphis Made brewery. Well, I did, anyway. Robyn and Sandra are not beer fans. But of course I posed in front of the brewery and took pictures of the taps for Jay. I had their Scottish Ale, and it was good! We ended the night with "swimming" (the pool was freezing and so was the hot tub, but it felt good to "ice bath" my legs after the race and all that walking) and girl talk. The next day brought an awesome breakfast at the Blue Plate Cafe, followed by many miles walked and many cool animals seen at the Memphis Zoo!

Do not grab, undress, and kiss the animals. I bought one of these signs for my office. (And it wasn't until we were leaving the gift shop, after I'd seen the sign multiple places around the zoo, that Robyn pointed out to me that each warning was listed alphabetically. And no, I was not drinking at the zoo. Sometimes I am not Captain Obvious...)

 I really love Red Pandas - they're my favorite! The Memphis Zoo had two on display and we got to see them walk around, climb a tree, and hang out in the shade beneath the leaves. They're just so pretty and fluffy looking (though I hear their fur is coarse - I don't care, want to hug one...)

 Not to be confused with the only TRUE panda (the Red Panda, which is sometimes called the "lesser panda", just as you said Jean!), the Giant Panda does not walk around or climb much. We attended their keeper talk and learned that they basically eat or sleep. Nothing in between. We witnessed it first hand when Le Le (the male) sat and ate bamboo throughout the 15 minute talk, then promptly crawled up a rock and fell asleep. Ya Ya (the female) awoke from her THREE HOUR nap as we were leaving... You can check out the Memphis Zoo Panda Cams and see for yourself.

 One of the newer exhibits at the Memphis Zoo is Teton Trek, where we saw wolves and grizzlies. The day was overcast and not super hot, so the animals were all pretty active. We got to see the grizzlies chase each other around and play in the water.

I'm not sure any of us could look more awkward here, but... memories.

 Y'all, it was HOT, so we took advantage of every fan and mister we came across!

S'MORES PANCAKES

While mama's away, daddy gets creative to keep kids occupied and happy!

GIBSON GUITAR FACTORY TOUR

 After a drive north, a fresh cookie and hot coffee, and reuniting with Robyn and Sandra, my first Memphis excursion was to the Gibson Factory for a tour. 

 At this particular factory (they have 3, with the one in Nashville making electric and the one in Bozeman making acoustic) they make the hollow and semi-hollow guitars. Being the weekend, the workers (they have about 70 total) were not present and it was quiet enough (when the giant humidifier wasn't running) to hear our tour guide well. He gave us lots of interesting facts, let us ask as many questions as we wanted, and allowed us to hold guitars in all their various pieces and forms throughout construction. If I'm remembering correctly, he said they produce 60-70 guitars per day and that production time is about 50 days from start to finish for a single guitar (maybe it tells you in the virtual tour I linked above, if you're interested). He knew the names of specific workers in each section and is in bands with a few of them. There is ONE GUY who paints every single guitar (there is one sub, if he's sick) and one guy that does the final quality check (playing the finished guitars) before sending them off to the shipping guy (they had stacks and stacks and stacks and stacks of boxed guitars ready to go out on Monday). Some of the equipment they use is original to when Gibson used to be a furniture factory! Their most expensive (and time intensive) step is the 12-14 coats of high quality lacquer (which sets them apart from every other guitar manufacturer). I thought it was interesting that after the guy paints them, they go to 3 ladies who use a set of 3 specific scrapers to remove paint from the edges (before lacquering, of course) - no guides or extreme concentration necessary, they just chat away while peeling paint in perfect lines to give the guitar the signature Gibson look. (I would be so terrified of messing up the ONE GUY's perfect paint creation! But then, I'm pretty sure I'm not qualified to participate in ANY of the Gibson production steps... maybe the mummy-linen style wrapping they do after gluing the front and back pieces together before adding the neck?...) Anyway, pictures were not allowed inside the factory, so we took a few out in the lobby and gift shop (they had a few custom guitars in there that were priced over $10K!)

 I thought this Government Series guitar (pictured below) was especially interesting. It's made with the wood seized (and later returned) by the government during their raid of the Memphis factory in 2011. The color is called "Gunmetal Gray" and it comes with a Bald Eagle holding a guitar neck emblem and an Army green case.

300 OAKS AND 8500 BEADS

This morning I woke up at 4am and drove up to Greenwood (about 2 hours northeast of Vicksburg) to run the 300 Oaks 10K. This is the same location that I ran the Viking Half Marathon back in March (shorter, but similar route, and they sent me a coupon code for it after the half). The course ran along more of the Yalobusha River than the half course did (probably ~2 miles), through the pretty residential areas, and down Grand Avenue under the giant oaks before the big finish on the bridge. It was lightly raining for the first half of the race (and the second half of my drive, as well as the hour I was there pre-race to pick up my packet and warm-up), which meant that the humidity basically destroyed me (since it was 80 degrees). I was not trained to run 10K pace (I spent my summer doing long, slow runs), nor was I trained to race at all, really (like everyone else in the south, I get into the habit of taking 1-2 walk breaks every mile during summer runs just to survive the heat, since it causes heart-rate to skyrocket so quickly), but since I paid for it and I knew it would be a great speedwork session if nothing else, I went. (Plus, it was on the way to Memphis, where I would be spending the next few days.)

I started off too fast (for my current training/fitness level), skipped the first water stop (bad life decision), and was already bonking by mile 3 and wishing I was only running the 5K... I drank some water, dumped the rest over my head, then watched as my friend Lee went cruising by me. I then made it my mission to keep her in my sights and somehow catch back up to her by the finish line. I swear running/races are a mental game... I had another lame mile, but by miles 5 and 6 and I was pulling negative splits and was able to run most of the final mile with Lee. We kicked it in, and while our times were nothing to write home about, she won her age group and I took 3rd in mine. Not bad for a summer 10K, but I think I'll stick to fall/winter/spring races from now on.

We went across the bridge for free food (and beer, though I didn't partake - I had a 2.5 hour drive to complete ASAP), and ice cold water and Powerade, then I gave up on waiting for the awards ceremony (it was taking forever because they had kids' mile going on) and hightailed it up to Memphis. Lee was sticking around, so she grabbed my medal for me.

The kids' mile was a color run (which I had originally planned for James and Cora to do, before I knew that fall soccer was starting earlier than usual this year). As I walked back over the bridge to get to my car, I couldn't help but wonder whether this particular officer was amused or angry about their vehicle...

Meanwhile, back in Vicksburg, Jay was coaching two soccer games in the rain, spending hours at ChickFilA so the kids could play and socialize (small town - they always see someone they know, wherever we go), and going to Hobby Lobby for Cora to choose her little "good week" prize. Which ended up being a bucket of 8500 Perler Beads... They are making some very creative creations these days!

NOT ELSA

I wanted to try something different with Cora's hair this morning and she was not impressed. She refused pigtails (because those are "for BABIES", even though every now and then I can still convince her to wear them) and when I offered braids, I don't think she realized what I was doing because she was happy until she looked in the mirror. Then all I heard, ALL the way to school (good thing it's just a few miles...) was "MAMA, I don't LIKE my hair like this!" with lots of pouting and grumping and fussing. Why? "Because you put my hair in Anna braids and you KNOW I only like the Elsa braid. I don't even HAVE the brown hair!"