Wednesday, September 12, 2012

An update on the kids, and some other random thoughts...

Not much new is happening, except for a change in the weather. I love fall and can already see the leaves turning. The last few days have been wonderful. There has been no humidity in the air and the mornings have been quite a bit cooler. I've even had to turn on the heat in the car when I take the girls to school in the morning. Starting next week we'll be leaving for school even earlier because Ellie signed up for broadcasting at school. Since this is her last year at High Shoals, she wanted to do the announcements. They do it through video these days. There are only 5 openings for that job and she was chosen. Yay for her, boo for lazy me that has to be out the door 20 minutes earlier. She is quite the natural when it comes to public speaking/reading. Whenever she does oral reports at school, I always tell her she should be a newscaster or a reporter.

The other day, Alex and I went up to Gainesville to fill out some paperwork for him to graduate with his Associates degree in Business at the end of this semester. He's been trying to figure out where to go from here. Music is the only thing that interests him. Lately he's been considering going to Kennesaw or the Art Institute of Atlanta and getting his bachelor in Music. Since we were in Watkinsville, we decided to drop by the recording studio downtown. It may be in the middle of nowhere, but it's made a name for itself. They've been there for 15 years and have recorded for REM and other various well known artists. The boys want to record some of their songs there and are saving their pennies. Alex wanted to talk to the guy and ask him about his career path and how he got to where he is today. The guy told Alex that he went to UGA and majored in Music and did his internship there and landed the job. He told Alex that he really loves his job and asked Alex what he was interested in. Alex told him, music performance, but doesn't want to put all his eggs in that basket. He said, he'd be happy just working around music and helping produce it. While he was at the studio, a guy named Chuck Leavell was in there recording some songs. He was a member of the Allman Brothers Band and is currently the piano/keyboard player as well as the director of music for the Rolling Stones. Alex said he was amazing! After we left there, we went over to the Krimson Cafe and ate out on the patio. Alex was fired up after visiting the recording studio. He and the guy from the studio exchanged numbers.

Tyler has been busy practicing with his band. They have been getting gigs regularly. Tonight they are playing at a sorority party. He really enjoys playing music with his brothers a little better, but they lack the sound equipment. Emily and Tyler are still on their vegetarian diets. Emily loves to cook and is pretty creative. Drew and Alex spend more time with Tyler and Emily or with Laurel and Haley than they do at home. I'm having to learn how to cook for 4. It's really hard when you are used to cooking for an army. We usually eat leftovers every other night or pass a meal on to a neighbor. Ann and Gary got our leftover Jambalaya tonight. They love spicy food!

Yesterday, Georgia and I went to Madison and walked around some shops and had lunch out there. The day was gorgeous. When the girls got home from school, lots of kids came out in the cul de sac and rode bikes and played. They like to make a city with sidewalk chalk. They have stores, a bank, a gas station, even a jail. Gary, across the street, started brain radiation last week and is halfway through his treatments. It was such a nice day that he actually came outside with his walker. It was great to see him up and out! He's done with his chemo, but they are doing this brain radiation as a preventative measure. It's been pretty rough on him, but they are getting close to the end of all his treatments and are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. His walker has a seat on it so he can rest when he needs to. Gary said, he really doesn't need the walker to walk, only the chair for when he gets tired. He sat in it for a while and then got up to walk around. As soon as Gary got up, Emma decided to climb up in the cool chair with wheels. It started to roll down the driveway. Ann grabbed it and put the breaks on it. Yikes!

Buster has been enjoying the cool weather too. Often, after we clean up from dinner and the girls have had their dessert and are getting ready for bed, Keith and I will take Buster on a little walk. We have incorporated "galloping" into our nightly walks. Yes, you heard right. We got it from that hilarious British sitcom, Miranda. The woman is absolutely crazy and one of the funniest actresses I've ever seen. On her show, she decides that it's really boring to walk everywhere, why not gallop? Galloping is "such fun!" So one night, when we were walking Buster (it was pretty dark outside so we were safe) I said, "Keith, let's gallop the rest of the way home." And we did. (Actually, he did because I got so tickled, I wet my pants.) Now, whenever we get to our street after our walks with Buster, we gallop. Yes we do! Life's short, why not? You should try it. Maybe it will sweep the nation!

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