Sunday again, such short weekends. Home alone, Steve and Stephen are camping this weekend with their fellow muzzleloading friends. Shooting targets, cooking over fire and dressing like settlers. Whatever turns you on, I guess. I prefer a nice hotel, a good dinner and a cozy bookstore. And yet, we love to travel together. Needless to say, we see some strange combinations of points of interest along the way. Historical markers are always noted and read, antique stores are visited, funky restaurants are ventured into. And so far, we have avoided sleeping in the wild.

I visited our neighborhood nursery yesterday for my front porch flower selection...I went with pink for the two big pots on the porch steps. I'm having an open-house for my daughter-in-law's new business venture on Thursday evening and needed something pretty. I haven't decided what to do with the back porch or the garden area. I try to be more cottagey back there. This is the year to expand and experiment more with my flowers, no school, no ISU and Steve will be here doing the digging and lifting. I've gotten some hot pink day lilies and gladiolas for one area, I loved the combination on paper, hope it works out in real life. We need more boxwood along the front of our porch, too. We have never done a formal entry there and it needs year round color; the front porch is such a dominate part of our house. We have been invaded by a strange mint plant for years; it covers every cultivated area. All the flower and vegetable beds get smothered under it if we don't diligently pull it out. I wouldn't mind it as a ground cover if it were not so tall, it gets 8-10 inches and doesn't look neat in a bed. Is anyone gardening big this summer? I always had massive vegetable gardens when our kids were home. It was such a chore. Only Trent has followed our tradition of gardening, he and Nina plant everything. Courtney had a small garden last year, but they are moving to a Bloomington apartment this spring. And Stephen is moving to a big farm house, but probably won't have time to garden. They have so many things going on.

Shawn is selling Silpada jewelry; a pricey new line. I hope the poor economy doesn't hurt her chances of success. She is a natural salesperson. So cute and bubbly, she makes everything look irresistible. Mackenzie has to has some sinus surgery done soon; she has polyps. Her specialist is concerned with the risks of surgery, but feels the risk of harboring infection is greater in those sinuses. She is freaking out about it all, in a comedic way. Between the move and the surgery, she claims the world is against her and goes all drama-queen on us. Truthfully, the move is more challenging, she does not accept change well and sees the farm as a threat. I know she will adapt and enjoy the new place, it even has a library, her favorite place in the world. Madeleine and Caleb love the wide-open feel of the farm; I see them getting lost regularly for awhile. They know no boundaries.

Shay graduates this year; oh, my. Prom was last night, she looked so pretty and had a great time, won an iPod Shuffle, stayed til 3:00 AM. The Lifeskills teacher always stays with those kids at AfterProm and they love it. I pray Shayla has a safe group of friends after high school. She is involved with the Special Olympics groups and knows so many good people. But she is so naive and can be taken advantage of, too. But she is such a sunny woman-child, everyone loves her.

School goes on as usual; more challenges daily. Jill, your friend is suffering from bloodclots and will be having surgery soon. He gets spacier by the day, a dear person, but... I will be surprised if he doesn't retire. We were just told we will be 1.5 teachers short next year and will have to revise the schedule once again. I do believe this is a test; for what purpose, I don't know but it cannot be real. We have 3 positions on the Board being challenged in the May election. It will be interesting to see the fallout from this. The ads are getting very inflammatory. Fun stuff. And we just get to Triage the mess. Good thing Safety Academy offered that workshop on Interrogation this spring, except we cannot speak with our Board members.

Obviously, we all made the wrong career choice, but what are you going to do? I love my job, if I could just leave the adults out of it...administration and parents.

It was good to hear from the posters this week. I understand how busy everyone gets as spring comes. Kiristie, we miss your jokes, have you turned serious in your old-age? I haven't heard a pirate joke in weeks. Anna, still looking to move to Lafayette? I hope you find the perfect home for you and the General. Is he staying in the military? Are you staying at NM? Only a few more weeks, Elaine and you can be back home with everyone for the summer. Angela, LimitedToo has the cutest tanks with sparkly horses on them. What size does Abbie wear?

We've rented another Beach house for June. This one is on Dauphin Island in Alabama. The kids are so excited, it has its own pool. We cannot wait; being away with all of them is such a wonderful time. We can visit without the distractions of life. I think I would have loved being one of those old-fashioned families like the Waltons, who all shared a big house. Of course, the menfolk would protest that. Too many loud kids and bossy women!!! I'm sure. The area offeres enough variety for everyone, history, nature and just relaxation.

Gotta go, Gaggle. The family is coming for supper and cakes need to be frosted, hams need to be baked and potatoes peeled. Have a good week, Everyone. Love