Week in Pictures

This week we celebrated Adam's Birthday. He has recovered from his surgery very quickly, so we were able to go to McGuire's for dinner - Yum! It was wonderful. The best steak I have EVER had. We ordered appetizers too and ended up coming home with 5 take out boxes!! No one could finish their dinner. We came home and sang Happy Birthday to Adam. For some reason he didn't want me to metion his birthday to our waiter. Something about the way they make you kiss a big stuffed moose on your birthday. Some people are such babies :-)

Adam's cake - Orange flavored with white icing and LOTS of sprinkles

Hayden got to go to Super Science Saturday. The science department at the high school invites middle school kids over once a month to do fun science projects and experiments. Oh yeah, they get pizza and soda too. This month was all about aerodynamics. They made lots of different flying "machines".

Hayden's flying toys. They don't look like any big deal in the pic, but in action they are really cool. It's neat how 5 simple objects can all fly with such different styles.

One of Christian's favorite shows lately is "That 70's Show" Here he is "chillin'" and watching TV.

And the Winner is . . . .

Last night at the Stage Crafters Annual Awards Banquet, Jekyll and Hyde won "Best Show"!!

For those of you that don't know, I was one of the cast members. It was really neat to see that all of our hard work paid off. :-)

For those of you that are local and haven't been to a show, you have GOT to come check it out!! It really is a good time. There is just something about live theatre that is so different than anything else.

This year's lineup includes: Is There Life After High School (musical), Wait Until Dark, The Seven Year Itch, and 1776 (musical). A season ticket is only $60 and that gets you into all 4 shows. Or, you can pay by the show ($20 each).

Oh yeah, if you want to be part of the show, come on down!!!! We always need new faces for our cast and crew.

At the Banquet with the happy cast and crew of Jekyll and Hyde!!

Believe it or not, this is only about half of us :-)

Amusing Coincidences or The President Has Good Taste

I wanted to mention this in last night's post. But, I got too tired.

When it comes to choosing music and fashion it seems that Adam and I have something in common with Barack and Michelle.

Coincidence???? You decide

Julie and Adam chose the song "Simple Gifts" to be played prior to taking their vows.
Barack and Michelle chose the song "Simple Gifts" to be played prior to taking the oath of office.

Julie and Adam chose the song "At Last" to be sung for their first dance at their reception.
Barack and Michelle chose the song "At Last" to be sung for their first dance at their inaugural ball.

Julie wore an off white dress for her wedding.
Michelle wore an off white dress to the ball.

Julie's middle name is Michelle. . .

You see where I'm going with this.

Is it just me, or are they shamelessly copying us?!?!??!?

If Michelle starts calling herself "craftastic", I'm gonna' have to do something!

I hope you all know that I am totally kidding. Just thought these were neat and unusual coincidences.

Where Were You?

There are moments in life when you can vividly remember where you were when history was made. JFK's assassination, the moon landing, the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, the 911 attacks. Today was one of those days.

Today, I subbed in a math class at Hayden's school. I had the privilege of watching the inauguration with 40+ Middle School students who couldn't understand why I had my camera out. I told them, first of all, do you not know me?? I ALWAYS have my camera out :-) I didn't really say that, but I did try to explain to them that this was a historic event and I wanted to remember it. A few of them got it, most just looked at me like I was certifiable. Middle schoolers - whaddya' gonna' do?

The whole school watched the inauguration. Some got to watch it live, others (who were at lunch or PE) watched it taped. I watched it both times with different kids. The kids were great, they managed to watch and still get their work done.

Where were you?

--------------------------------

Where was I:

JFK assasination - I wasn't born yet.

Moon Landing - I was 10 days old. They tell me they sat me in front of the TV to watch

Challenger Explosion - at home in Omaha, NE. I had stayed home sick from school that day.

911 Attacks - helping to clean up a campground (end of the season) in Wellfleet, MA.

Our Christmas Letter - 2008

Christmas came quick this year. So, the Christmas cards will sit unsent and the Babcock/Fletcher "news" will be mailed electronically this year. Lots of info in the letter, but be sure to click on the links at the bottom for even more pictures. Parker, Adam, Julie and Lexxie, Christian, Blain and Hayden

Happy holidays again! Christmas really snuck up fast this year for us – there was so much going on in the Fall, and now it’s time for 2009! We’ve enjoyed getting the cards and e-mails already sent out, but ours will be a bit late this year due to several “time crunches”. Julie and I had a nice weekend planned to finish shopping and send out the letter, and then I went and had to go to the hospital for the weekend instead. It turns out that my gallbladder probably isn’t good any more and will be out at the end of the year or soon after, so we are just now getting to all those things we want to share with you and pass along as wishes.

The biggest part of our family’s time this year went to the marching band again. Julie and I are both involved in the Band Boosters and supporting the Style Marchers as they get ready to march in the 2009 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! It takes a lot of practice, and it takes a lot of money too – but we will be there in November with the 200+ strong band and all those floats and balloons. This past summer we had a great family vacation driving to NY and VT, with “paintball wars” on Maple Hill (VT) and even a stop at the Baseball Hall of Fame on the way back down the east coast. One of the great troopers of the trip was our dog Lexxie – we’ve had her for almost 2 years now and she is lots of fun. She’s a Rat Terrier named for Lexington Virginia (for those “in the know” about my alma mater VMI…her birthday is the same date that I became a “Rat” at VMI, and the Rat Terrier was one of Teddy Roosevelt’s favorites – a hero of mine – so it was practically FATE that she would end up with us!). She’s got pep but she also likes to lie down and nap, so she’s perfect for us.

Life in Florida continues to be good, and we enjoy having all 4 boys at home whenever it’s possible. This year we’ve had lots of fulfillment attending Ft Walton Beach First Baptist. Julie and I are part of a great Sunday School class, Christian plays bass guitar in the praise band during service, and both Hayden and Christian enjoy the youth activities. It’s definitely been a good addition to our lives. I continue as the deputy contractor lead for about 85 instructors, at the Air Force Air Operations Center “schoolhouse”, and still get to make a few trips to Vegas and Korea each year, so my travel “wanderlust” is fulfilled. This September I also flew to VT and helped my brother-in-law Jeff (and Bob the Builder) start the ball rolling toward an eventual retirement home in VT. Mostly out of fear for the winter we had the 2 old barns torn down and then built a new garage in about 3 days! Jeff really knows what he’s doing. We’ll finish the outside and continue with the land management plan until it’s time to think about replacing the old house – but that will be quite a few more years so don’t worry. Just keep watching! The rest of my time is spent (still) enjoying my cigars, a new chance to enjoy 2 new pistols (Walther P-22 & a Ruger .357), and spending time with Julie. Julie continues to substitute teach and has kicked up her “craftastic” devotion a pretty big notch at home. In addition to the really great scrapbooking she’s done, she is moving ahead rapidly with paper crafting. You can see some great pictures of the things she’s made on her blog site! She is also still enjoys singing karaoke and acting at the local community theatre. This year she was in Jekyll and Hyde – the musical.

Christian (16) is progressing through his sophomore year at Choctawhatchee HS and was part of the percussion “pit” for marching season – he made the “airplane and rocket sounds” as well as other percussion sound effects for the show “The Air Up There”. We are very proud of him and the band as they defended their Florida class 5A (large) band championship…by four-hundredths of a point! Who says there can’t be stress in a marching competition? Now he’s on to Winter Percussion and hoping for another great season with that great group. He continues to drive (fairly safely!) and has been working hard as part of the school’s “film crew” – creating videos and taping news/interviews for the daily school broadcasts…very creative!

Blain and Parker (12) are also doing great in SC with Paige. Both boys spent almost all summer with us this past year and will be here for Christmas this year. They are doing well in school and activities, which include sports and music. Both played football this fall, although Parker injured his hand during the season. Then Parker injured his finger on the playground…he is certainly active but we hope the injury cycle is over. Blain has been playing the cello and really enjoys it – including a trip they got to take to a theme park. They also got to attend a Clemson football game and have been very busy with the family in SC. This spring they will move across town as Paige remarries, but I expect we will still see them as much as busy schedules allow.

Hayden (12) is in his first year of middle school and also doing well. He keeps good grades and is very interested in science and math…we had a good time building the “Nile Delta” out of salt dough this year, and running through the scientific process to see “the effect of different liquids on Insta-snow” for his science fair project! He’s enjoyed learning and playing in the Chess Club, continues to read daily, and also started on the clarinet in the band…a very good (and fairly quiet) choice as far as Julie and I are concerned – trumpet was one of the second choices!

Julie and I wish you all happiness and thanks for the things that are good in your lives while there is so much turmoil and change in our world. We hope you all have a great holiday season and new year! You can also keep up with our activities and “surf all you want” with the on-line links below:

http://www.juliemichellesblog.blogspot.com/ (blog)
http://www.juliemichelle.smugmug.com/ (pictures)
www.myspace.com/karaokejulie

You've Got a Lot of Gall!

Okay, the big news of the week and part of the reason that I haven't posted lately . . . turns out Adam and his gall bladder decided to get into it with each other this weekend. He woke up in pain Saturday morning. He just put up with it most of the morning, but by 2:00 pm we were in the emergency room. Poor thing, he was miserable! They admitted him around 8:00 Saturday night and that is where he had to spend the weekend :-( It was very frustrating, a lot of testing and waiting. By Monday, they had finally confirmed that his gall bladder is kaput and has to come out. Luckily, it is not infected so it did not have to come out right away. So, Monday evening he finally got to come home. He will be scheduling the surgery for some time after Christmas. He's not looking forward to it, of course. But, in the end it will be a good thing and eliminate a lot of discomfort. Thoughts and prayers welcome :-)

I'm off work today - Christmas break starts tomorrow!! Yeah! The kids get out of school early today so I've been trying to get some things done this morning while they're not around. Got a few things wrapped and organized. Then, I put on a pot of pinto beans with a ham bone we saved from Thanksgiving. The whole house smells yummy. It would be even better if the weather was chilly. But, it's flippin' 70+ degrees this week. Crazy! Santa will have to wear shorts this year I guess.
The boys and Adam put up our Christmas lights earlier this month. This year, Hayden wanted to get up on the roof and help. Luckily, I was inside when the decision was made to let him. It makes my hands sweat just looking at this picture. I am NOT one for heights. Turns out Hayden's not real crazy about them either. Christian is insane and will walk and jump around on the roof like he's on solid ground. He skids and slides and makes me very nervous. One day I just know he's going to slip and I'm going to find him tangled and mangled in the bushes. Hayden is a bit more cautious - for now anyway.

Last week, Hayden had his first band concert. He was very excited about it and it went really well. It was a 2 hour concert with all of the different groups performing (Beginning Band, Jazz Band, Concert Band, Guitar Class, Strings Class, and Chorus). We really enjoyed it. It was especially nice to see our handsome young man all dressed up. He looked so nice!!

Looking sharp!

This is Christian with his girlfriend Nicole. They have been going out for almost a month now. They've been good friends for over a year. She is a really neat girl!!

This picture was taken on Eglin Range. Nicole's dad is in charge of a project to test the effects of explosives on a special kind of glass. The bags are reffered to as "fertilizer." They are 4,900 pounds of real deal explosives - not hooked up to detonators in this picture :-) Nicole's dad invited Christian to come watch the test (the kids were on Thanksgiving break). Once everyone was a safe distance away, they detonated the bags. It made a HUGE hole in the ground, I felt the shock at home (10-15 miles away), Adam felt it at work, but . . . the glass didn't break, only fractured inside and remained intact.


I'm sure I've got more to catch you up on, but I'm going to close for now. Gotta' go get some more Christmas preparations done. Have a GREAT day!!!

Long Time Gone

Hey y'all!! It's been a whole week since I've posted. Unfortunately, this is just a short post to tell you that I will update soon. Let's just say it's been a busy week :-) So, look for a new post in the next day or so. Until then!!!

Arts vs. Crafts

Arts and Crafts!!! That is a term that has brought joy to my heart for many years. Attach those three words to just about anything and you are guaranteed to peak my interest. An Arts and Crafts section in the bookstore - where? An Arts and Crafts class - how do I sign up? Arts and Crafts DIY videos on YouTube - chances are I'm already subscribed :-)

But, although the two terms go together most of the time, it's the latter that is the hook for me. You see, if you asked me to go to an Art Gallery, I'd have to check my schedule. If you asked me to go to a Craft Fair, I'd say "What are we waiting for ?!?!?!?"

The difference between Art and Craft . . . there lies my dilema.

Many times when people see some of the things I have made, their typical response is "You're so artistic!" While I truly appreciate the compliment, that comment has just never set well with me. It has always felt like I was getting undue credit. I just DON'T think I am artistic. My definition of an artist is someone who paints, sculpts, draws, etc. I don't paint, I can't sculpt, and I would be hard pressed to draw anything other than stick figures and cartoons. What I am is someone who has a talent for making things. Sometimes that means copying something that someone else has already created (giving proper credit, of course). Occasionally, it means coming up with my own original ideas. What I am is not an Artist but a Crafter.

So, I have decided to invent a motto for myself.

"I'm not Artistic, I'm CRAFTASTIC!"

I might even have a T-shirt made :-)

I really hope this is an original saying. I did an internet search to make sure that I was not copying anyone. And, while I did find several references to the word "craftastic", I did not see it used in a phrase anything like this one. Please let me know if I am mistaken.

Pictures, Videos, and a Lot of Rambling About State :-)

Okay, some details about the State Band Competition. What a day!!! Christian had to be at Choctaw at 4:45 AM on Friday for the long drive to St. Petersburg. So I dropped him off with all of the essentials. A couple changes of clothes, some DVD's, a pillow and a TON of junk food. The would be competing twice on Saturday. Preliminaries would be in the morning with the best 5 bands from each category advancing to the finals in the evening. A long day that begins with practice after breakfast and ends with trophies presented just before midnight.

Adam, Hayden and I also left for St. Pete Friday morning. We had to wait until the kennel opened so that we could drop off Lexxie. She loves it there and always get a bath and a cute little bandana before she comes back home.

The drive went well for both the band and us. The kids stopped to practice at FSU and their buses arrived at their hotel in the early evening. We had no problems and checked into our room on base. This year, we decided not to stay in a hotel. Instead, we stayed at a TLF (Temporary Lodging Facility) on MacDill Air Force Base. It was really nice. Much bigger than a hotel room and WAY cheaper :-)

The Living Room with a pullout sofa and a pullout chair.

The Kitchen

The Bedroom
No pictures of the Bathroom, but it did have one :-)

Saturday, we went to the Preliminary Competition. We got there in time to see a couple of 4A bands and all 9 of the 5A bands. There were some really good shows, but nothing that made us nervous . . . until Timber Creek came out. They were good. And I had already seen their score from a local competition (92). Now the nerves start to set in. We were the last to compete. The kids did really well, now we will just have to wait and see.

The GINORMOUS screen that shows close up of the action on the field.

The Marine Corp Marching Band performed in exhibition, and then all of the bands came out for Officers and Seniors Retreat. During this retreat all of the 4 year seniors are recognized, 9th through 6th places are announced and awards (captions) are given for Best Music, Best Auxillary, Best General Effect, Best Visual Effect and Best Percussion. These are all of the awards that we swept at our Regional Competition. So, the seniors get recognized, the places (9th through 6th) are announced and the captions begin. Our hearts sank deeper and deeper as Timber Creek won every one of them. It was definitely an odd feeling.

Style Marchers waiting to enter the field for competition.

The stadium cleared out to clean up for the evening competition. Adam, Hayden and I walked a few blocks to a neat little restaurant to get a bite. Our dinner conversation definitely had a theme - Do you really think they'll beat us???? We called Christian to see how the kids were doing. He told us that they were disappointed, but okay. He said that Mr. Hannah gave them all the best pep talk he had ever heard in his life. He said it was like one of those inspirational speeches from a movie, it was that good. That made us feel better. Plus, we knew they would have all new judges for the second performance. The judges for 1A - 3A in the afternoon would now being judging the 4A - 5A bands in the evening and vice versa. It would be what it would be.

We went back to the Tropicana Dome and watched the Final performances for 4A, and then 5A. Timber Creek and Choctaw were the last to perform. Timber Creek did well again. Now it was up to us. As I saw the kids in their ready positions, I just kept saying to myself "Bring it kids, bring it, you gotta' bring it if you wanna' win it." They did, but would it be good enough?

Now we have to wait for the 3 A bands to perform, then the Marine Corp Band, then all of the bands have to march back in for Full Retreat, then the awards for 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A . . . are you people trying to give me a heart attack??? Finally, it was time for the 5A awards. They announce 5th place, 4th place, 3rd place, and then they stop - WHAT???? By now I am on the edge of my seat. Christian told us later that he was physically shaking by this time. The announcer talks for what seems like FOREVER about how much they appreciate the judges and how important and difficult their job is. They talk about how evident it is that their job is difficult because the spread between 1st and 2nd is only 4/100ths of a point!!! Now, I KNOW that we got 2nd place. But . . . when he announces the runner up he says Timber Creek. Huhh?? Holy Crap!! That means WE WON!!!!

Everyone from Choctaw starts cheering. We're not supposed to, it's really unsportsman like. But after losing every caption earlier in the day I think that we all just involuntarily exploded with relief and joy.

Waiting patiently to celebrate. To be good sports, the First Place bands don't celebrate until the other bands have left the field.

Christian and Kyle in the parking lot getting changed, and letting us know that they are NUMBER ONE!!

We tagged the car before we left. But, I had to change "Take State" to "Took State" for the ride home :-) I also had to add "2008 CHAMPS" to each side of the van.

Okay, I can't believe you guys have stuck with me this long. I'm going to go ahead and post this before I even get started on the welcome home in the parking lot. Suffice it to say that I posted 4 videos on YouTube. I also sent them to the Northwest Florida Daily News. So you can see the videos in two places!!!!

Here is a link to my YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/juliemichelle4
Here is the link to the NWF Daily News http://www.nwfdailynews.com/

Peanut Butter, Jelly and Other Ramblings

It's been a couple of days. Sorry about that. Last Sunday, Adam, the boys and I went to an end of season pool party with some classmates from our Sunday School class. It was a lot of fun. We just hung out by the pool and ate and talked while the kids swam. We have such a neat class. We feel really blessed to have found such a great group!!

Hanging Out at Mary and Duane's Pool The kids had a blast swimming - of course

Monday, We raced around after school doing errands. The band had an exhibition that night at Fort Walton Beach High School. So we had to drop Christian and 20 PB&J's off. Now that I think about it, I should have taken a picture of our PB&J assembly line the night before :-) Adam and I had it down!! I was PB he was J - LOL!! We made 2 loaves of sandwiches in no time. Helpful tip y'all. Making a PB and J for future consumption is soooo much easier if you use frozen bread. The bread doesn't squish or rip when you spread the jelly. When your done, pop them back in the freezer. Take them out just before you need to transport them. The frozen bread keeps them from getting soggy or smushed, keeps the sandwich and other items in your cooler/lunchbox cold, and yes they do thaw out in time to eat them. I usually make 10 sandwiches at the beginning of the week, bag them and put them back in the freezer. Then the boys just pop one into their lunchbox/bag in the morning.

In the parking lot before practice

Christian and some of the "Guard Girls"

After we dropped off Christian, Hayden and I went to the post office to pick up a package he has been expecting for weeks. Well, they changed the post office hours and they were closed -grrrr! So, we ended up going to the toy store across the street to look around. Hayden found plenty to do over there.

Lots of fun playing with this remote control construction set.

Video of a weird spinner toy that Hayden was fascinated with.

My First Post

Well . . . not sure what I'm doing here, but I guess it's just like anything else in life that is worthwhile, you just have to go for it. This summer a BIG part of my "me" time has been spent surfing YouTube and the wonderful blogs that people are so generous to post. I have learned so many new craft techniques and had tons of fun putting my new skills to use. I have been scrapbooking for about 10 years now. And, I was just recently introduced to card making and altered art. I am having soooo much fun with it. I hope that sometime, in the near future, I will be brave enough to post my own video tutorial.