Billy's Stew

The boys have shown a great interest in cooking lately. Here is a receipe for Billy's Stew, made up by you guessed it.....Billy! (And it was delicious!) Rice Milk Tomato Sauce 3 Cheese Mix Hot Sauce Turkey Pepperoni Chicken

Back to School

Both Mickey and Minnie were invited into Billy's class this week to help with the STEM Science project they are doing all week. (It is a wonder that Billy is allow back into the school since he ate lunch with JJ last week, and got his class so riled up with his antics that they were told...."You can't go acting all silly like that just because JJ's grandpa is here"! Yes, you read that right, not only did he get them in trouble...but he also used a false identity in the process so he could not be blamed later!)

Anyway, I digress....Mickey helped Billy's group learn about Hurricanes, and all week they will be building their knowledge. Then, on Friday they have to take what they have learned, and build a structure that would withstand that storm. (Minnie worked with a group about Thunderstorms.) I am not sure if he was relived, or a bit disappointed, but later that evening, Billy commented, "Dad was no where near as obnoxious as I thought he would be!"

Cool Hats

Thanks to Great Aunt D and Uncle D.....the boys are sporting new hats this morning for school. They were brought back from the Virginia Tech Football game this past weekend. The hats combine many of the Billy and JJ's favorite things....VT, Camo, Football....and the Wounded Warrior Fund (which the proceeds from the hats went to). We watched the game, and loved the uniforms from the team (also camo for the event) and thus it was such a treat for D&D to bring them one of their own. Billy and JJ were excited to show them off at school today.

The Plight of our Tooth Fairy.....

She has been worked hard lately....JJ has lost 4 teeth this month and Billy 1...that is a pretty heavy schedule for the T.F. Sometimes she neglects to show up on the expected night. The boys worry if she misses the mark that J-Wow has caught her in the middle of the night. But, thus far she has always made up for it the following night, usually leaving an extra dollar. Perhaps she should receive hazard pay for our house....all these lost teeth....the crazy watch dog!

Summer Bucket List...

As I am putting out fall decorations, I guess it is time to put away our Summer Bucket List. We were pretty ambitious with what we wanted to accomplish. I say we did pretty good, but left many fun things for 2013: DONE: -Go Camping -Plant a sunflower cave (did it but only two came up:( -Visit New Market Battlefield -Have a Phinneus & Ferb Marathon -Host Backyard Olympics -Make our own travel/mileage sign -Visit Rt. 11 Potato Chip Factory -Make J-Woww Homemade Dog Treats -Visit Luray Caverns -Do a Mud Run -Teach Jessie to Fetch (moderate success here) -Update Cub Scout Uniforms -Maintain Fairy Garden -Touch the bottom of the pool (JJ- w/ feet...Billy w/ hands) -Ride Bikes in the 4th of July Parade -Do the Color Fun as a Family -Work on Smalley's Ranch UNDONE: -Attend Drive-In Movie Theater -Visit Appomattox Court House -Run in G-Ville Firecracker 5 (the power outtage left us unmotivated!) -Visit 'Dad's Pool' in C-ville -Have the boys learn laundry (a DEFINITE must-do) -Start a YouTube Channel -Build a Dog House

Future AT Thru Hikers...

We have a wonderful family that we have been hiking a lot with lately. Billy and JJ just adore (and look up to) their son, WillieT! He is a budding outdoors man and has really influenced the boys to love hiking even more. We think it is entirely possible that three will hike the entire Appalachian Trail together one day. The parents have the plan to meet up with them every so often with food supply....hike a bit, then retire to a comfy hotel!

On the Campaign Trail

Paul Ryan came to the burg on Friday, and took Billy to check it out. It was a first political rally for either of them. Billy is really interested in current affairs and has been asking a lot of questions about the election. It is my hope that he grows up understanding the importance of voting....as both an amazing right, and a huge responsibility. Here are the two things Billy most remembers from his speech: ***"A government that is big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take everything you have" ***"It is our moral duty to not leave the country bankrupt for our children and grandchildren" Billy enjoyed looking out for the secret service the most (especially the 'sniper' on the roof at our exit!) and we both think it is neat that on the slight chance that Romney/Ryan win (although we hope so) - we have seen the next VP of the USA up close and personal!