November 11, 2011

Outside Temp: 42 F

Happy Veteran's Day!  Thank you to all those who serve.

What I cooked today:
Burgers and Mashed Potatoes: With all that was going on today, I was lucky to at least pull some ground beef out of the freezer.  So, when we got home from the game, I was able to throw together dinner pretty quick. 

Update:
The boys played Tri-Cities and WON, again... 36-20. The boys are really getting better and I really like this team. The boys who are really good don't hog the ball ... They all play as a team and everyone plays. Connor was in for more than a quarter and did an excellent job of keeping his 'opponent' occupied. When there are only 5 players, and Connor keeps one of them from getting the ball or being useful at all, he's really important. Allen is trying to figure out how to guard without fouling, but he's learning. Only one foul today! The coach thinks he might want to play Football in the fall. :)  We play Centerville tomorrow morning, so I hope we all get a good night's rest. 
The kids had a Veteran's Day 'thing' at school today.  I've already written about how awesome the school lunches are, and how the kids enjoy the fresh food.  For today, the school invited all the senior citizens (and new folks, like us) to join them for lunch.  We had baked ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, yams and pumpkin custard with real whipped cream.  Yumm!

It was really neat to have the local senior citizens come to school.  We sat next to a couple of gentlemen from town for lunch, and I am always reminded at how much information they have to share.  We talked about how we're planning for winter (since we have no clue) and they were more than happy to share their wisdom with us.  We talked about fishing and hunting and ways to heat a house and really simple things like that.  And the ladies just laughed at Ryan and his energy and laughter. 

Ryan, as one would expect from Ryan, just ran around and chased a few of the high school girls calling 'You're mine!"  and "I'm going to get you!".  The girls took in in stride and laughed it off, although Ryan is getting pretty aggressive in his tactics.  Of course, since the school is only 36 students, everyone already knows Ryan pretty well.  It's great to find a place that is willing to accept his 'uniqueness' without judgement or irritation. 

Katie and Connor's classes did a cute little 'presentation', complete with sign language.  I was going to take pictures, but I realized I would have to get the other kids in the picture, then I couldn't post them without permission and it might get ugly.  So, you'll just have to believe me when I say, it was cute.

The school is interesting, in that it reminds me of what school was about 40 years ago.  After lunch, we all went into the gym.  Once we were settled, we all stood while the pep band played the Star Spangled Banner and the flags were presented.  We then said the Pledge of Allegiance.

After the Pledge, the high school students (all 7-8 of them) took turns reading the President's Address for Veteran's Day.  I didn't know there was a Presidential Address for Veteran's Day.  Then the 1st and 2nd graders said a few words about the flag, and the 3rd - 6th grades did their little skit.

We took a few moments to ask all those in the audience who had served to stand, so we could thank them.  Then we had a member of the Air Force come by and talk about his service.  He was part of the group that does the construction of new bases in war zone.  He was their with his wife and 2 cute little girls.  When he talked about his tours of Iraq and Afghanistan and Qatar, I thought of how rough it must be for his wife and family.  While he said he wasn't part of the troops that did the fighting, I thought about how important his job was.  He was very modest, but I think his job is one of the most important.

Now, those who know me well, probably know how much I want to throw in something political about government and wars and stuff like that.  But today is not the day for that.  Today is about thanking those who choose to work and fight for our freedom.  They aren't doing it for the money or the benefits or the recognition, but for something much more important than all that.  So, to those people who have made the choice to serve in our Armed Forces, I say Thank You.