"I'll Never Go Hungry Again"

Back when we were at the musical of Gone With the Wind in London they had aprons with Scarlett's famous line "I'll never go hungry again" on them for 20 pounds. I knew that I could design my own apron with the line and a picture for less than $40. (Mine only cost $15 through Snapfish.com.) I think having the full line written over the silhouetted shot from the movie is far better than just having the words (alone with no picture) printed on an apron. What do you think? Rob took the picture of me modeling my new apron in the kitchen. Now we each have our own since Rob has a blue one with pockets and a white Hawaiian design stitched on it that we picked up at the Dole Plantation gift shop while on vacation in Hawaii.

Stardust to Stardust

Rob and I decided to start reading bedtime stories together again. (We've already read The Chronicles of Narnia, The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh, and even part of Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind until Rob said seeing the movie -- and the musical production-- would suffice for him.)

We just finished reading Neil Gaiman's Stardust and are now able to compare it to the recent movie of the same name. I am surprised to find myself saying this but in this rare case the movie is way better than the book. I wouldn't recommend reading it all really. Robert DeNiro's colorful portrayal of Captain Shakespeare was barely mentioned in the book. In fact it was only 2 pages mentioning some dry, ordinary captain by some other name of the sky ship. And many other progressions of the story differed greatly.

I thank Mr. Gaiman for his basic idea of Tristan Thorne going over the wall to find the fallen star - but I thank the movie makers for completely changing the rest of the story and making it so much better.

Next up: We decided to continue with a movie to book comparison and we'll finally read William Goldman's The Princess Bride. After skimming over the book it looks like this one will at least be on par with - if not even better than- the classic movie. We'll let you know what we think... we start on chapter 1 tonight!

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Silly, Sweet Sara

The other day Sara came over to watch a movie, Miss Potter, the true story of the woman who created such beloved characters as Peter Rabbit. Later we played a round of "Take One" with Scrabble tiles, laughed on the couch and then she actually fell asleep on the love seat because of the heat that would make anyone sleepy. Here's some pics of her hanging upside down over the couch before she dozed off. Enjoy!

"The Wheels on the Bus Go..."

Yesterday I got to see Rob's new skill in action. Awhile ago he was sent off for two weeks to bus driving school. He drove the bus, with me as his only passenger, up to Weiler Castle to pick up some youth that had just finished a H.Y.P.E. (Helping Youth Pursue Excellence) internship and bring them back to Mannheim for their big show.
After maneuvering in and back through a narrow gate he won the admiration of all on board. Now he says he isn't so quick to put down my idea of RVing around North America someday when retirement time rolls around. After all, an RV is nothing compared to the big school bus he now has mastered. I think it would be wonderful to someday see all those National Parks AFN showcases and many of the states that I have never been to. (I'm not even sure I've hit double digits in the number of states I have been to!)
I wish I had a picture to post of "Rob the Bus Driver" to show you-- but perhaps your imagination can work just as well for this one.

A Belated Dad's Day

While I didn't forget to call my dad this past Sunday- it does appear that I forgot to make a post in honor of him. I love this pic of my dad looking out to sea. It was taken at the Giant's Causeway in North Ireland on our big trip of Scotland and Ireland last May. He is standing on a rock formation known as "The Giant's Boot".

These next two pictures were taken in Belgium. The first out on the coast and the second in Brugge. I love you Daddy. I can't wait to see you next month. I'll always be your "Hunny-Bunny."

VBS Week

I know I didn't post this earlier, but-- School's out for the summer!!!!
School finished up last week. Rob and I then had a four day weekend to enjoy together and plan an upcoming cruise for later in the summer. This week I am helping with Vacation Bible School.
The theme this year is "SonForce Kids- Special Agents". I am working with first graders and am having fun playing games and making crafts while seeing skits about special agents and stories from the Bible.
So far it is a pretty cool way to start the first week of summer.

Another 100

I was surprised yesterday to see that my hit counter had gone over 200. It seems not that long ago that I posted about having passed the 100 mark. While the first 100 took a little while this second hundred snuck up on me awfully quick.
I hope that all of my reader enjoy the blog. Again, leave me some comments and let me know how I can make it better for y'all!

Weiler Castle

Last weekend Rob and I went with the youth group to Weiler Castle in Bessenbach. While Rob soon became known as "Ranger Rob" because he was never far from the big bonfire, I simply helped out where needed. The theme was "Questing for Excellence" and I think that for the most part the kids did acheive that.
Rob and I headed up a few hours behind others since we had to wait until he got off from work. So while they were getting scared inside the big castle as a big wind and rail with hail storm blew threw and knocked out the power- Rob and I were driving in it! The next day our mission was clear- there were plently of trees down and branches to clear (and burn- Rob's favorite part it seems.)
I am looking forward to returning to the castle sometime for a future service project. It was so nice of Jim & Kristen to give us the big suite with the tower room. The building and grounds are just amazing- not to mention the kids we got to bond with over the weekend.