Gotta love Halloween!

A few of the children went out this year to trick or treat. None of my children like Almond Joy candy bars. However, I love them and they all gave me their Almond Joy candy!!! Yahoo.

The other night it was our Trunk-r-Treat at church. There was a chili cookoff. I had signed up to bring chili and got a call that morning to remind me. I was so busy Wednesday with a Pampered Chef fundraiser and getting Alyssa's Halloween costume finished so the chili was an afterthought. Around 3p.m. I started getting the chili together. I threw in it whatever I could find, didn't follow a recipe. There was everything from hot sauce, onions, hamburger, all kinds of beans, tomato soup, spices and much more and so it was surprising to me that I tied for first place.


Lastly the Iowa Hawkeyes won their game again today. Now we are 9 and 0!! Yahoo. Go Hawks!

It's still raining. It has been a steady rain for the past 36 hours and I am already tired of the gloom. The leaves outside are beautiful but the wind and rain are ripping them off the trees before we get a chance to enjoy them. The view of the trees out my office window is unbelievable. It looks like a Bob Ross painting. Bright oranges, reds, and yellows, with the occasional green pine tree mixed in. Now if we could only get some sun. I am still holding out a little bit of hope for an Indian Summer but it is looking less and less likely as the days go by with continued nastiness.

Every year, the high school puts on a concert in the auditorium called Sounds of the Stadium. It is my least favorite concert to go to because it is so loud. The students all put on their band uniforms and perform their marching program in a concert setting. Marching band music is not meant to be played indoors. Every year, they do have a piece they play just for that concert called the stripper. It sounds like something out the Full Monty. They get about 10 boys - usually upperclassmen - to perform a little strip tease. It's all a huge joke with the crowd going wild as the boys remove their uniforms piece by piece down to their tee-shirts and shorts (not undershorts) underneath. Caleb was one of the strippers again this year and did such a convincing job that I got an email from a former co-worker telling me that he has a future as a chippendale dancer. That prospect doesn't excite me but at least she enjoyed the dance.

Our lives pretty much revolve around concerts and youth activities. As Mom and Dad can attest to, it gets a little exhausting. Last night we actually had a break. It is amazing how nice it is to come home from work and realize that you don't have anywhere to go or anything in particular to do.

Concert

Concert season has officially started. Usually I drag my feet and dred going (at least on the inside). Last night was West High School's Fall Chorale Concert. There are five choirs at West in addition to the two show choirs. The show choirs didn't perform but the others were great. Caleb played percussion for one of the Treble choir's songs - he's a pretty good drummer. I wouldn't tell him to his face (gotta keep him humble) but he is a much better percussionist than I ever was. Last year he was a member of the Bass choir but this year he is in the Concert Choir. They sing all of their songs a capella. I was very impressed that they could sing in a mixed formation and do such an incredible job so early in the year. Their last number was "Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho" and although I have heard this piece done many times, these guys hit it dead on. Their diction was nearly perfect, their dynamics were good, and their pitch was right on - particularly the men's parts. I wish you all could have been here to have heard it. All these years of going to ear-wrenching concerts is finally paying off. Now if I can make it through Alyssa's first ever band concert and Brenden's first ever choir concert next week I'll have it made.


I added a couple pictures that I took at the concert last night. Can you find Caleb in his Choir?

The 2nd picture is Caleb with Bailey his girlfriend. Can you see Daniel's head inbetween them in the background. I took 5 pictures and there was another sibling in every single one so I gave up. Actually it's funny to me.

So much to say

First, It's been a long time since I've posted pictures and I realized this today and decided that it's due time you all were updated. So here it is my post and it's gonnna be long so get some popcorn.
Back in August we celebrated Brenden's birthday. He loves Ghost Busters and I found this shirt. He wears it all the time.

First Day of School for everyone. Daniel and Caleb. Daniel was not happy about being a Freshman, but now that the school year is over a month over he is doing well and seems to enjoy it. The pictures of those two were fuzzy and I'm not sure why. Could be I had the camera on a weird setting or something.

Jared and Brenden both in Middle School.

Funny pictures of Scott and Alyssa. They are both in Elementary School. Alyssa is in 5th grade and Scott is in 2nd grade.

Brenden went out for football this year. He is #14

Lastly, my Aunt Donna sent me this gorgeous quilt for our bed.

I absolutely love it. I saw it when I went to Ohio in May and told her if she ever wanted to make another quilt I'd pay her to make this exact one. I thought it was fabulous. Next thing I know she mailed it to me. This truly was a surprise and I'm so grateful for this. It looks so great in our room and is the exact colors that I love.

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The reinvention of conservatism

I am largely disillusioned with politics. Both by the politicians themselves as well as many of the ideas they espouse. Party lines are more blurry now then they ever have been in the past. I am not sure if Republicans are simply cheap Democrats (that is a Rick Santorum phrase, not mine) or if Democrats are expensive Republicans. Either way, it seems that it all comes down to money, not right and wrong. Although I can't stand the self-righteous intolerance of the far right, I equally cannot stomach the whatever-feels-good attitude of the left. I do, however, find myself much more attracted to the idea of the importance of personal responsiblity and personal accountablity that is predominatly preached by conservatives. Liberals seem to think that I am too dumb to take care of myself and therefore need to be watched over by the government. However, this seems to an up and coming idea among some conservatives as well.

I just watched a 30 minute talk given by Rick Santorum at the University of Dubuque last week. He spoke as a guest of the American Future Fund. It was a good talk that dealt with the fundamental problems underlying the dogma of both parties. One of the points he makes is that if healthcare reform passes, we will experience a permanant change in the idea of America. Already the government owns GM and parts of the financial industry. When it gets its hands on healthcare (more than it already has, that is), we will be on a heading towards an iceburg that we can't change. Why not uncouple health insurance from employment like auto or life insurance? That way issues of portablity and pre-existing conditions and eventually price, will be non-issues or in terms of price, at least manageable.

Every year, the University sends me a contract letter telling me how much I will be making in the coming year. I have great benefits - about $18,000 a year worth. I have a great healthcare plan but my issue with this is why not pay me that extra $18,000 a year and allow me to choose the coverage I feel is necessary? I would at least like the option to make that choice. Herein lies the fundamental problems with both parties. Republicans and Democrats simply assume that I am unable to look after myself and therefore perpetuate this ongoing problem. Any "fix" of the healthcare system will only be a band aid unless we focus on our responsibilty to care for ourselves and design a fix that supports personal accountablity. I, for one, am tired of paying for the government to bail out big corporations and lazy individuals with no sense of responsibity. Ronald Reagan once said, "Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other." The government belongs to us. We need to curb its appetite.