Random Tid Bits

1. Next week I have the whole week off. I mainly took it off to take the boys to and from camp. It's about a 25 to 30 minute drive to their next camp. The camp that they will be going to is at Lake Zorinsky. They will be canoeing, fishing, going on hikes, swimming, doing archery, and more. I think it will be fun! Some firsts for the boys with fishing and canoeing. Travis hates fishing, so it's not anything we've done.


2. The camp the boys wrapped up is Fine Lines. It's an We're not taking a vacation this year. We're just doing fun things on the weekends. It was a writing camp for all ages. I have to be honest that I was a little nervous because there was construction all over the area where it was at - including inside the building. I had the boys meet me outside. I was also a little anxiety driven over the fact that it was for all ages. I knew little Isaak would be one of the youngest campers. They did pretty good. We got on Mica about writing better, and he wrote a pretty good story. 


 Our Meeting Spot








3. Our hot water heater has an issue. We won't have hot water until Monday. :( 


4. A person passed away here this week due to an asthma attack. I've been having issues with nocturnal asthma for about 4 weeks now. 5 or 6 o'clock rolls around, and I'm wheezy and coughing up a storm. I hate spraying in my inhaler. I get every side effect listed. I'm thankful that it's there to save my life if needed. 


5. I'm so down about all the shootings lately. Words can't express the sorrow that victim's families must feel right now! I thought by having a president that is part black that racism would get better.
   
   There seems to be 2 sides: People that love guns and people that want them banned.
   
   Then there's the other 2 sides: People that hate blacks, and people that hate cops.
   
   There's bad and good in blacks, whites, cops...
   
   I like the idea of freedom to bear arms because one of those gun owners could save lives in a mass shooting situation. People should be able to protect themselves. The flip side is that guns do get into mentally unstable people's hands. A mentally unstable person could do damage in other ways besides using a gun.
   
   I don't know what the answers are. It would be nice if I could wave a magic wand and say, Ok we all have to play nice now.
   
   I'd love it if families would go back to 1 person staying at home. I think it's sad that kids raise themselves to an extent. We're too busy to fix meals, grow our own food, keep a clean house, and play with our kids. It wouldn't have to be the mom that stays home. Playing video games, watching tv and eating crap can't be good for our kids. We're limiting recess, and many creative outlets from our education programs. When I say "Our Kids" I'm talking about the world's children. I limit a lot of screen time for Mica and Isaak, but I'm not perfect. 

By one of my favorite artists -  James Victore. I don't like his work because it's "pretty". I like it because his work speaks the truth. His podcasts on YouTube are just as truthful.

Something Pretty - Artist Unknown

This one is just ingenious. It's a poster by Milton Glaser. He's famous for the I Heart NY logo, the Bob Dylan poster, and he designed all of Brooklyn Brewery's stuff.

Random Tid Bits

1. What to do when the boys won't focus? In our house we either put them to bed early, or have them go out to do yard work.





2. Cops the show was here in Omaha filming. You know the show: Bad boys, bad boys, what ya going to do? What ya going to do when he comes for you? A guy went to rob a Wendy's. The Cops Crew was with the Omaha police. The robber pulled out a BB gun, and fired shots. The BB gun looked and sounded like a real gun (see picture below). The robber was a threat to everyone around, so the officer shot and killed the robber. A stray bullet hit the sound guy from Cops, and killed him to. It's a pretty crazy story. You can read about it here. The robber was a repeat offender. His family thinks he shouldn't of gotten killed. He was the one reasponsible for all this going down. If it weren't for that robber, the sound guy from Cops would still be alive.
   
   This is where the story gets even crazier. The Omaha mayor (lady in blue) signed a contract with the Cops Crew saying that from such and such date, to such and such date Omaha was not liable if something happens to any of their crew. After the contract was up, Omaha would be liable. It was 4 days after the contract was up. Why the show was still with our police is questionable if their contract was up. Now the city of Omaha might be taken to court. It's all still up in the air as to what's going to happen.
   
   The teen behind the counter was terrified. She had a little newborn baby at home. I'm so glad she wasn't another casualty in this mess!





Source

3. Mica started doing Common Core math this year. He's struggling to understand it. Homework is taking longer than it should because he doesn't understand it. Daddy helps him because they get home before I get home. They also leave later in the morning than I do. Daddy said, "At first I do not get his homework, but once I look at the example it makes sense." It's an adjustment that I knew was going to happen sometime. We'll just keep plugging away at it. 


4. I'm happy that this weekend coming up is a long one. 


5. My boys were super happy to do the ice bucket challenge. I know they don't really get what ALS is, but they did enjoy getting cold water dumped on their heads. We still got the word out, and donated. I never thought that kids would get excited to get ice water dumped on their heads.