The Captain, and his First Mate, Madelynn!!!

Remember this boat from the previous post? We took this boat on a tour up and down the Savannah River!

When we were boarding the boat, the captain was greeting all of the passengers; when it was our turn, he told Madelynn she was such a cutie, she could come up and visit the bridge of the boat anytime she wanted...here she is getting ready to climb the first set (out of 4) to get all the way to the top of the boat, to the bridge!

Here is the captain showing Madelynn the control's on the boat, and what each one does... he said he USED to let kids *steer* the boat but now there are too many legal liabilities involved so he isn't allowed to even let the pretend to :( so sad.

In order to dock the boat, there is a special steering 'stick' that is used, and he stands out over the edge of the boat on this platform...

He was showing Madelynn the different markers he looked for to be sure he docked properly...

Madelynn said that this experience was one of the best of the whole trip! It was so neat, even I was grinning ear to ear from how exciting it was!

Downtown Savannah, GA

After a 13 hour car ride, we FINALLY arrived in beautiful Savannah, Ga. Savannah is one of our family's favorite places to go, next to the Wilderness Resort in the Dells (Wisconsin). The town has so much history, you can practically FEEL it in the air, not to mention everything there is just gorgeous. Plus the beach is 20 minutes away!

Erik was the very best tour guide we could possibly have- I know it probably killed him to

look like a tourist, but we really appreciated

having him there to help us get around; plus it

so great to get to see him and spend time

together!

This is the river ferry we rode up

and down the Savannah River... Madelynn

got to meet the captain!

We ate dinner in this building, the oldest structure still standing in Georgia, 'The Pirate House'. It dates back to I think the 1730's. Madelynn was VERY concerned that ghosts were watching us eat...lol.

There were a LOT of opportunites to take pictures of old buildings...

And this beautiful building caught my eye!

River Street is right on 'the River' obviously.. one of the most historic parts of town.

Dad was VERY interested in the Spanish Moss that hung from the trees... is is a member of the pineapple family, and the branches it hangs on don't grow leaves.

Tybee Island, Georgia

Madelynn and I went with my Dad to Savannah, Georgia. These are some pictures of hour visit to Tybee Island beach. It was a gorgeous day, and Madelynn had a terrific time chasing seagulls and playing in the water. She found some beautiful shells.

We were hoping to take a walk on the Pier, but we had to get to dinner on time, so I took a pic of it on our way out.

I will post some more pics and add some more information about our trip here shortly!

Another Haircut

So John was 'jealous' that Madelynn and I got haircuts... so he wanted one too. Only NOOOO, he didn't want to go to a professional, he wanted ME! to do it for him... needless to say, at the end of it all, we just decided shaving the whole thing off was for the better.... but not before we had some fun first. Check out his wicked mohawk! If only we had some hairspray to get it to stick straight up!

Madelynn has a play room FULL of toys, however... as you can see, it doesn't take much to keep her occupied....

Another Weekend Out on the Town! That NEVER Happens Two Weekends in a Row!!!

So John and I had most of the day to ourselves!!!

We also had last Saturday to ourselves, so it has really been a treat to get to have fun with each other kid-free.

We went out with our friends, Amy and John,

and did some window shopping at the outdoor mall, Clay Terrace. The guys had just TOO much fun at Pier One...

While Amy and I walked around and window shopped a bit, the guy's headed over to Bar Louie to catch the Butler / Kansas City game. Amy and I showed up to meet them during the last 5 nail-biting minutes of the game... and trust me, I am NOT a basketball fanatic, but I was feeling just a nervous about Butler hopefully winning as the three of them looked in this picture!

After we celebrated Butler's win, we headed over to one of our favorite restaurants, The Journey... we had a good time daring Amy's John to try some new things!

Then we headed to Broad Ripple to Cracker's Comedy Club to see Kevin Pollak. We were just a little too early, so we went and hung out at a 'saloon' around the corner- which was one of the most entertaining experiences I have ever been in.

The comedians at the club were very funny... I laughed so hard my side muscles STILL hurt today!

It was sad to have to call the evening to an end, but it was a fun time for everyone, and I am ready to go out again!

A little more about nothing much

SO I GOT TIRED OF MY UNRULY MOP AND FINALLY WENT AND GOT MY HAIR CHOPPED OFF... AGAIN. I SEEM TO DO THIS ABOUT TWICE A YEAR. I GET IT CUT, THEN I REMINISCE ABOUT HOW IT LOOKS WHEN IT IS REALLY LONG, ATTEMPT TO GROW IT OUT, AND THEN DO NOTHING WITH IT WHILE ITS GROWING. IT IS REALLY SILLY TO BE ALMOST THIRTY, BUT STILL DO MY HAIR LIKE I AM IN JUNIOR HIGH (JUST PULL IT BACK IN A MESSY PONY TAIL 95% OF THE TIME). SO FOR ABOUT A MONTH AFTER EACH HAIRCUT, I LOOK LIKE A PROPER GROWN WOMAN. HA HA. NOW IF I START ACTING LIKE A GROWN UP...LOL.

I EVEN SPRUNG FOR MADELYNN TO GET HER FIRST PROFESSIONAL HAIRCUT TODAY, AND SHE WAS SO EXCITED. WHEN MADELYNN WAS A BABY, IT TOOK HER NEARLY 3 YEARS TO FINALLY GROW SOME HAIR, SO SHE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE HER FIRST HAIRCUT BY ME UNTIL SHE WAS ABOUT 3 1/2, AND THEN I TRIMMED HER HAIR MYSELF. TODAY SHE HAD SOME LAYERS CUT INTO HER HAIR (WHICH I OBVIOUSLY SHOULDN'T EVEN ATTEMPT!) AND THEY WERE SHOCKED TO HEAR SHE HAS NEVER BEEN TO A SALON BEFORE... SO IT WAS AN INTERESTING MORNING!

SO... JOHN AND I GET TO GO OUT ON A DATE TONIGHT, WE DECIDED TO GO OUT TO DINNER, AND THEN TO SEE A COMEDIAN LATER IN THE EVENING. IT WOULD BE NICE IF IT WAS JUST A *LITTLE* BIT WARMER OUT, SO WE CAN TAKE THE MOTORCYCLE, BUT IT WOULD JUST BE WAY TOO COLD ON THE WAY HOME... AT LEAST FOR ME!

I AM GOING TO GIVE THIS A TRY!

I am going to give this whole 'blogging' thing a try... although my memory is pretty bad, so it probably won't get updated often enough to keep a reader's attention, and quite honestly, we are a pretty low key, quiet family, so I can't imagine what would be interesting to read about... but let's give it a whirl...

Updates on Miss Madelynn:

Our little Miss Madelynn is in Kindergarten, and has just been doing so wonderfully well. She is an EXCELLENT reader, and has been reading anything she can get her hands on... her reports cards have been glowing, and she just loves her Kindergarten teacher.

She is currently attending A.L.A. Cheer Academy, and in January performed at a pre-game performance at a Pacer game... it was probably scary for her to walk out on the court, and see all of those seats and people, but she performed beautifully, and we were so VERY proud of her! She auditioned for a competition team, and made it for next season, so she has been working hard to perfect her back handspring (sometimes it is scary, but she did it all by herself!)... so look for updates on her progress (she is starting to work on a round off back handspring, and when she gets that we will definitely celebrate!)

John is starting to look for a new motorcycle, so he has been busy looking up different models, etc... he wants me to get my motorcycle license, so I can ride his old bike and we can form our own 'biker gang' (we should adopt the name 'the bogueymen', lol!) but I think I might be just fine and content to ride on the back of his bike! We'll see how that goes, I guess! He has been counting down the days until spring since winter is too cold to ride, so lately there has been a spring in his step as he gets ready in the mornings for work, since he gets to take his bike now instead of driving the car. He is really looking forward to the Indianapolis 500 this year since after trying to go to the race for the last 10 years, he FINALLY gets to go this year! It seems like we always have always had something planned for race weekend...

I am especially excited, since Madelynn and I are going to be on our way to Savannah, GA in less than two weeks! We are going to be traveling with my dad, and his fiance, Cindy. John has to work, so he will be hanging out at home with Violet. He is sad to not be able to go with us, but in July we will be visiting the mega monster waterpark resorts in the Wisconsin Dells, so he is content to wait for that, since it has ended up being one of his favorite places to go.

We have been following Dave Ramsey's 'Financial Peace University', and since last July, we have paid off *pretty much* all of our debt... the few things that are still left are very small and piddly things... so by May, we will be able to say that we are completely debt free, and ready to move on to emergency saving of 3-6 months... it is been a hard journey, but totally worth the effort. I recommend anyone who wants to stop working for their money, and make their money work for them, to take this course.

SO... other than working, and school for Madelynn, we try to get outside when it's nice enough, and go out to eat every now and again, and relax... so I guess all is well, and I will write as soon as something happens that is interesting to write about!