Meet Me in St. Louis...

Just back from a wonderful PC Director Retreat. It was great to get re-focused on my business, and re-energized about the trip to Paris! One of the best benefits of being with PC , as almost any consultant will tell you, is making friends that you would never have even met if you weren't in the business. This trip was as much a vacation as a business event! Dee Dee, my dear friend from Indiana, met me in Terre Haute, where we enjoyed lunch and some shopping before travelling the rest of the way to St. Louis together. Having a friend to chat with in the car made the time fly. Saturday night we were on our own, and Dee Dee, Jodi and I were excited that our friend Betty, a native St. Louisan, brought us to a terrific part of the city - the Central West Side, and we enjoyed walking the neighborhoods, people watching, and of course, DINNER!

I don't travel far without looking for a great place to eat! Betty recommended Duff's, and it was fabulous. The four of us spent a few hours just enjoying each others' company along with a delicious dinner. What a fun way to spend a Saturday night!

Ladies - if we ever get to meet in Dayton, I promise to find us another tasty spot to spend an evening! And I'll try not to monopolize the conversation, but I'm not making any promises...

Bye, Bye, Bruce!

This weekend is the AlterFest at Gina's high school. It is a huge, three day party on the school's grounds, with rides, bands, food, beer, blackjack (sounds like your typical Catholic fundraiser, right?). This year we had the Clydesdales there, too.
Art and I were scheduled to work the beer tent from 6-9pm on Saturday night, and we had a good time. It went by fast! Selling beer tickets is the place to be if you want to see your grownup friends and not get stuck hanging with the kiddos. I told Art that I wish I could sell PC products as fast!
Gina was assigned to wash tables in the dining tents - not very glamorous, but she was a good sport. Babysitting cost us $20 - and didn't include a babysitter! We pretty much turned Vincent loose with a pocketful of ride and game tickets. We didn't see him again until he ran out and came begging for money. Luckily, our shift was about over, so he sat in the back of the beer booth until we were done.
Vincent's highlight of the weekend was winning a goldfish. (in reality, it was a FEEDER fish). He named him Bruce (think Bruce the shark from Nemo fame), proclaimed him a "little cutie", and we let Bruce spend the night in Art's giant monogrammed mug from Christine. On Sunday morning, Art and Vincent brought home some fish food, and we fed Bruce breakfast. Upon returning from a day at the pool a few hours later, we sadly discovered that Bruce had passed.
Vincent and I headed to the bathroom, where we ceremoniously said a few words and watched Bruce circle the bowl a few times before going to his watery grave. I gave Vincent a hug, and asked if he would maybe like to get another fish from the store, maybe one that was a little bigger and would live longer. Vincent's reply was simply, "No, I don't want another fish. I don't think I can take any more sadness in my life." Hmm. Wish it were that easy to avoid the sad things in life.
Anyway, his grieving is over, as he and Art are off to the county fair today, and Gina is back to Alterfest for fun (not for working!). And I am having the best Labor Day yet - a quiet house, a good book waiting for me.

Sorry I don't have a photo to include, Bruce wasn't here long enough to get one! :)

They're Baacck! (To school, that is!) It's that time of year - the Sunday back to school ads outweigh the actual newspaper! Both kids are back in school. YAY! (that's me cheering, not them).

Gina is in high school this year, and started last week. She loves it, and has met some new people. The first football game was last Friday night, and it was a crushing defeat - fun for us, not so fun for the hosting team! I think Art is looking forward to having a high schooler - at least until the boys start calling. Hopefully we can hold off on that for a few more years!

Vincent is also back to being a small fish in a big pond. He moved up to the 4th-8th grade campus this year - and so far does not seem to mind being the "little kids" again. His favorite part of the day is still lunch, so not much has changed since 3rd grade.

As promised, here are the traditional photos of the kids standing on the porch. Both of them asked did I HAVE to do this every year, and I told them the truth- Yes I Do. It's nice as they are both on a schedule again, but extracurricular activities have not yet begun, and homework is still pretty limited. I wonder how long this bliss will last....Darn! I blinked! I think that was it.