2. It is possible for a dishwasher to create as many suds as a t.v. sitcom would lead you to believe they can.

3. The fact that your children are no longer toddlers does not mean that they are incapable of doing really dumb things.

4. The world really does revolve around a 15 year old girl…oh no wait…that is not something I learned, just something that someone tried to convince me of.

5. The fact that you completed law school and passed the bar does not automatically mean that you are all that smart.

6. A teenager can decide that they are bored with the mall and need to go to downtown Minneapolis to go shopping…even when the mall in question is the biggest one in the United States!

7. While I in no way shape or form feel that I need a drink at the end of a stressful week…I do enjoy one!

8. My house is way to small and I really really really want a bigger one!

9. Tanning makes me feel better when it starts to get cold and gloomy in Minnesota.

10. I love my life!

Of course this particular blog site was started as a means of our family to keep in touch while spread around the country. I don’t know if anyone besides the Pedley’s and mom even read it…but in any case we continue to post.

I find that my mind has become a blogging mind. I am writing a blog in my head all the time! How weird is that. I started to notice it around my birthday. The fact that I was turning 40 this year seemed oh so monumental in my life. I had a whole blog written in my head about the number 40…40 great things about live, 40 not so great, a U2 song by the name 40, etc…not sure why I never bothered to actually write it. Turning forty was rather sucky actually! I have never been one to fret about the number of my birthday but this one got to me…spent a lot of time in negative places in my head over it. I was in court the day of my birthday and my client flat out refused to believe that I was 40 years old…this should have made me feel better and probably would have if it had not been my client with traumatic brain injury!!   When I was considering my “40″ blog I had noticed that gas prices had falled about 40 cents a gallon in recent history, now a mere 6 weeks later gas prices have fallen a whole $2.00 a gallon!! My goodness, I never thought we would see $1.99 again! My oil refining husband assures me that it will not stay this low so enjoy it while it lasts! We were wishing we could stock up!

Shortly after my birthday Chuck and I headed to Washington DC. This was my first time to this amazing city. I was awe struck at how much there is to see and do there, at the history and relevance to our nation. Just about everything there made me cry for one reason or another and made me incredibly proud to be an American. I had a great blog written in my head about it, and even pitures to post…but it seems so long ago now…

 Our Nation’s Capitol

 Richard W. Peterson - Chuck’s Uncle on the Vietnam Memorial

I went to see John McCain at a town hall meeting. That was a cool experience. I pretty much hate politics so I have never been to anything like that but I literrally had nothing to do that night and the whole family was busy with other things so I decided to check it out. I have to admit that I was impressed with him after seeing him in person, the same would probably be true of Obama if I saw him in person too so it probably doesn’t mean much, but I really enjoyed the event. So soon after my patriotic trip to DC I think it made me feel more like an American or something.

 Likely the Presidential Runner up….unless the media has it screwed up….

We have had an incredibly beautiful fall here in Minnesota. Beautiful weahter and amazing colors. (as evidenced by Elaine’s photography)! It still makes me nervous that winter is coming and still makes me want to flee to California…but it has been one of our better Autumn’s. I think I had a great “mind-blog” written about that too…but I can’t even remember what it was.

So anyway my point being that if you could all hear the blogs going on in my head you would be so amazed and what an intelligent, thoughtfull and witty person I am! It’s too bad that I don’t seem to have the time or actual writing talent to actually get on here and share it with all of you! Maybe I’ll work on that.

The picture of me wasn’t taken by me (Obviously) But the rest were

Enjoy!

-Elaine

By day, I sharpened my public speaking skills on salesmen and my engineering peers. By night, we dated, shared complete thoughts (doesn’t happen often with teenagers), and enjoyed each other’s company while sampling the culture, food, and scenery of our nation’s capital.

I can only imagine how long a person would have to be there to see all of the “must-see” monuments, exhibits and events. We walked the National Mall until our joints ached. We visited many sites, including the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon. The lighter shade of the new bricks on the exterior wall point  you to the exact crash site. Even though I was standing there, I still struggled to comprehend how a tragedy like this could occur. It is beyond me.

I am thankful that not everyone thinks the like me, (too boring and too many bicycles)  however I cannot understand how anyone could think that freedom is not a good thing. At the White House we saw a protestor (whom I smelled way before I had seen). He had set up a tent, sang folk songs and barked to both of the people in his audience about how we need nuclear disarmaent now! (umm, ok…)

This, on the heals of our visit to the Holocaust Museum (the biggest must-see of them all) where we learned of Hitler’s skillful use of terror to persuade entire villages when one villager chose an opposing world view.

I have to admit that the Holocaust Museum changed my perspective on life. I was taught in school that it was a madman who was bent on extinguishing a race of people, which it was, but I never learned how much world-wide culpability existed. There was plenty of shame to go around.

Renee’ and I decided that the entire city is a must-see for our whole family. The history, the government, the monuments, the museums are all are too much for us to not experience together before growing up gets in the kids’ way.

Tentative plans are for late May. Interested? Seeing family there would only make it that much more of an event.

chuck