A Day at the Capital

Today, I spent almost the whole day at the State Capital.  Caleb's teacher became state certified (which is really hard to do) and received recognition from the State House of Representatives and the State Senate.  She invited Caleb and I to attend.  I kept him home from school and we, along with Isaac, went to the Capital.  Mrs. H (Caleb's teacher) had been told we needed to be there at 8:00am but we didn't really need to be there until 10:30 for her presentations at 11:15a.m and 11:30am.  We could have gone home and then come back but we would have had to turn right around a half an hour after we got home.  So instead, we toured the State House and spent time exploring.  We learned some great things and I enjoyed being able to spend some time with just my older boys.

After exploring, we went back to wait in the rotunda and stumbled upon a press conference on education.  Since that is a subject dear to my heart I suggested we go and listen.  As soon as Caleb saw the TV cameras, I couldn't keep up with him.  All three local channels were covering the event and Caleb really wanted to be on the news.  He decided his best chance was to walk back and forth behind the press conference, enabling all three cameras to get a shot of him.  And that is just what he did.  He casually walked back and forth for ten minutes.  We weren't home to see if he actually made it on TV, but he seemed satisfied that he did.




Our time spent in the Senate and House of Representatives was interesting (we heard the Senate pass a bill that made it illegal for anyone between the ages of 16-18 to use a cell phone while driving).   Then we watched Mrs. H be recognized by both houses.  We are so proud of our Mrs. H and are really grateful we could be there to see her honored.

After Mrs. H was presented at both houses, we booked it home in time for me to take care of a few things and then I headed back to the Capital with my dear friend Marie.

A member of the House of Representatives was trying to pass a bill that would have greatly hindered our school district.  I had spent the last several days writing letters to all  the members of the House and sending out e-mails to others in my district.  Marie and I went to the Capital to support our school district in fighting the bill.  I was grateful to be with my dear friend.  In Boston, we went together (with babes in arms) to the Massachusetts Capital to stand against the gay marriage initiative.  It was wild to be together again fighting for something we felt was so important.  I am grateful to live in this country and for the freedoms and voice it allows us as individuals.  And I am grateful I could see it in action with a teacher, a friend, and kids I love!!

(PS. The bill failed 11-3.  Hurray!!!)

An Afternoon on General Mills

In November, General Mills came out with these cereal boxes. Did you see them? Well, I bought some Honey Nut Cheerios but didn't realize until I came home that they had a free movie offer. Usually, these kind of deals require you to sign all your personal information away. So I cautiously went to the site and was shocked to find that they didn't ask for anything - not even my name. All I had to do was type in numbers from my cereal boxes, and I was able to print out a movie ticket that was good at several theaters near me. It was awesome. It took two boxes for one ticket and since the cereal was on sale for $1.50 a box, it was a no brainer. I went right back a bought 14 boxes - enough to take our whole family to the movies. (Honestly, now I wish I would have bought more).

My older boys are big fans of the Percy Jackson books and have been anxiously awaiting for the new movie to hit the theaters. So we saved the tickets to take them to Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The boys have known for months that it was opening on Presidents Day Weekend, but they thought that meant it would actually open on Monday. So last night, Adam and I used our General Mills tickets to purchase tickets for the 1:15pm showing today. We didn't tell the boys.

Grammy and Grandpa Mike came to watch the younger three (we decided it would be too scary for them. Besides, I didn't want to rob Aaron of the joy of reading the book by letting him watch the movie first). Adam told Caleb and Isaac we were going to Costco to buy underwear. Which they of course didn't believe, but was the cause of endless jokes the whole way to the theater.

When we pulled up to the theater they knew exactly why we were there and were SO EXCITED (obviously we don't take them to the theater much)! All in all, the movie was fun. The boys liked it. It definitely varied considerably from the book, so if you're a big fan you may be disappointed. But we all had a blast together and enjoyed the movie despite its varying from the book. Thank you Grammy and Grandpa and thank you General Mills!!