Butterflies

This has been such a fun project at our house. I hope the kids want to do it again next year. The only draw back is that the caterpillars and chrysalis' don't smell all that great. Other than that, the life of a Monarch is unbelievable.

We started with these little guys....Jack couldn't get enough of them.

When they are ready to make a chrysalis, they make a J, like this.

Then they shed their skin and made a chrysalis. Remember?Before they get ready to hatch, it would appear that they turn black. However, the chrysalis isn't black at all, it's just the black of the Monarch's wings that you see.She the wings?The chrysalis is actually clear.Here are a couple of them after they hatched.You have to make sure their wings are fully dried before you try to set them free. Here is one that we took out too soon.I ended up bringing it back in so the wings could dry more.

Did you know they migrate to Mexico? If you have a 2nd grader you sure do.

Did you know that you can tell the difference between boys and girls? Here is a picture of a boy. I didn't make the caption big enough, but it says "This is how you can tell it's a boy. There is a swelling in the line." I had no idea!

And would you believe that I got video of one hatching? You'll be able to hear that I'm a little excited about it. Ok, so I was a lot excited about it. I couldn't believe that I got video of one making the chrysalis and coming out.

What a wonderful, beautiful and simply amazing process!

DSU Homecoming Parade

On Friday I was super nervous what kind of weather we'd be having on Saturday for the parade. I told the kids that I'd take them rain or shine. Thank you Jesus for giving us shine. :)

I called Grandma Sandy and Papa Ken that morning to see if they'd want to sit with us. The kids thought it was a great idea. Tracy and her kids were in the parade, so we were happy to save them a spot.

It was cute - Natey woke up Saturday morning and was in a panic because "WHAT IF DAWSON HAS TO WALK IN FRONT OF A FIRE TRUCK????". Dawson isn't a fan of loud noises and Natey was so worried that his buddy's parade experience would be ruined due to a fire truck. Luckily, Dawson wasn't near a fire truck.

How about some visual aids. Here the kids are waiting for the parade to start.I'm telling you, Jack is a total gamer. He's playing Chuzzle on my phone.Here is the Madison High School Marching Band. They sounded great! I really love the bands.The Rost girls made appearances at different times in the parade. Amber stood with us until Shayla went by. I love me some Amber.Check out this cool truck. I don't know who owns it, but it's awesome!The Dueul High School band was there too, and not that I have interest in them, but I loved their outfits the most. :)The families of the 211th walked in the parade. I think we got a half a bag of candy from them. The kids L*O*V*E*D it! Here are Tracy and Caymen.

And Katie and Braelyn.

Remember when the Shriners had those itty bitty motorcycles? Well they are movin' on up. I wonder how many hours they spent practicing this?

Natey's right, totally cool!

Later that day, Tracy and I went to Sioux Falls. I had a blast. I even got my nails done. Other than doing them myself, I've never had them done 'professionally'. It was fun - and now I have blue tips. :) Check out Tracy's blog to find out about her parade experience.

Once bitten, twice shy

I chose to believe that when Ferber came back from his last deployment that he was home for good. In my brain I knew that wasn't right, but I let my heart believe it. I guess it was just easier that way.

Here we are again. Although this deployment isn't for as long, it's just as hard. For some reason I thought it would be easier. I don't have a clue why I thought it was going to be, but I did.

We had supper with Tracy and Ferber last Thursday night. It was just like old times. The boys ganged up against us and Tracy and I acted as if it weren't happening. When we left that night, we decided that we weren't going to say good-bye, not yet.

I wasn't going to go to the Activation Ceremony. I didn't like it in 2003, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like it in 2009. Then, I realized that I was being selfish. It wasn't about what I wanted to do, or not do in this case. It was about showing my friend(s) that I support them and care for them.

So Natey and I went. I did well through most of the ceremony. Then I lost it....and I couldn't get it back. Heath is a police officer and works with Justin when he's not on active duty with the guards. He spoke at the ceremony. He got chocked up - and that's when I lost it.Here are a few other pictures from the ceremony. Caymen wasn't really into it. She was into seeing what Grandma Sandy was doing, then what we were doing, then what her Mom and Dad were doing - and so forth. ;)
No matter how many times I tried, I couldn't get this picture to go the other way. So there.

I was so very proud of our community. I was happy that the gym was just as packed for this as it would be for a basketball game.This young kid, 18 or 19 years old, was being interviewed right in front of us. I couldn't hear all of what he was saying, but Ferber confirmed that this kid just finished up Basic and volunteered to go with the unit. He's 18 or 19 years old! I couldn't commit to a basket of nachos when I was his age. His actions are commendable.Natey spoke to Grandma Sharelle that night. He told her all about the ceremony. I don't know exactly how the conversation went, but Nathan couldn't believe the "Governor of Pierre" was there.

And so was John Thune.

Both men shook hands with all the soldiers. I was very happy to see that they looked each and every one in the eye and said Thank You to them. Nicely done gentlemen.

Here are a few more that I loved......

Saying good-bye to Ferber on Saturday night sucked. I bawled and bawled. Natey and Claire gave him a hug too, and said good-bye. Poor Natey bawled all the way home. When we got home he said "I missed my dad when he worked at the fair for a week. We won't see Mark again until Clarie's in kindergarten" as tears fell from his face.

I thought this time would be different. I thought it would be easier. I've been friends with this man for 12 years. He's been my buddy for an awful long time. And I was wrong. It hurts - again.

I asked Tracy to take a picture of Ferber and I before we went to the football game Friday night. I didn't want to wait and take it on Saturday when I knew for sure I'd have cry eyes.

Not many things or people can bump Keith Urban off my wallpaper. However, this did.

Pray for Ferber, Heath, and the 111 other soldiers of the 211th Guard Unit. Pray for Peace for their families.....and friends.

Science at the Meyer house

Natey's 2nd grade class has been busy raising caterpillars to butterflies in their room. Nathan could get extra credit by bringing caterpillars to school, but instead, he thought it was more important to show the process to Claire and Jack.

One day we went caterpillar hunting and found 7 of them. I've never done this, so it's been as much fun for me as it has been for the kids. Even Jack's into it.

We've been waiting for the caterpillars to make their chrysalis'. Can you believe I caught one in action? Holy smokes I was excited!!! Natey says they'll stay in their chrysalis for 10-14 days before they hatch into beautiful butterflies. I'm SO excited!!! Stay tuned!

September 11th

There are 2,823 reasons to remember this day.

2,823.

Remember it.

Honor them.

Do.
Not.
Forget.

Remembering Chad

On Saturday, I took Nathan and Claire to Sioux Falls to see the Canaries play. None of us had ever been to a game, so the excitement level was through the roof.Chad Mechels' children got to throw out the first pitch.

After the kids threw out their pitch, the announcer told the crowd how he was Chad's roommate in college and started to read a poem. I was already a bit emotional watching the kids, but when this guy read his poem, it was game over. I lost it. Bawled like a baby - and turned off the camera.We had a great time. There were some girls from the US Women's Softball team there as well.

It was a bit chilly so we didn't stay for the whole game, but we enjoyed sitting in a group of people that loved Chad and wanted to show support for his wife and children. It was a fun time and I'm very, very glad we went.

Do you remember that I said that Jack has become a gamer? I'm not even kidding.

It's bad.

Bad.

Don't even make the mistake of thinking that you're getting on his computer. It would be a huge mistake. He'll scold you, throw a fit, maybe even hit you, then tell on you.

It's bad.

Bad.

But really, when the kid says the word computer like a foreign exchange student, who wouldn't give him a turn?