Why Do Bagpipes Drone, And Why Do Kids Say The Funniest Things?

Well, another great weekend has come and gone. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping, but boy was it chilly in the shade! Oh well, at least I got the chance to get outside and enjoy the weather.
Saturday I walked down to the local outside basketball court with my friend. We were shooting some hoops when we were distracted by the sound of bagpipes (not something you usually hear in this area). We headed across the road to the public beach and found the source of the drone. There was an elderly man standing at the end of the boat dock playing the bagpipes while three sailboats were pushed from the shoreline into the lake. We watched them sail for a while as they zig-zagged across the water. The bagpipes then stopped as the man climbed into a motor boat and followed behind the sail boats.
On Sunday my friend and I got up enough energy to go for a bike ride. Biking isn't the easiest thing to do in this area since it doesn't matter which direction you go in, you know you'll be faced with at least one big hill to attempt to make it to the top of. We chose the way with the least amount of hills. We were out for a quite a while on our bikes. The good thing about this area is that there is a lot of really nice scenery. I have to admit it makes the cycling more enjoyable.
Over the weekend my friend and I got talking about some of the funny things kids have said to us. I recalled a time when I was berry picking with a group of children and one little boy, who had just turned three, needed to go to the bathroom. Since my house was not far away, I took the little boy and the rest of the children to my house. I took the three year old and showed him where the bathroom was and then stood outside the door and waited for him to finish. As he was sitting on the toilet I hear him call my name. I opened the door and poked my head in. "Yes?" I asked. He pointed to a picture on the wall of a little African American boy surrounded by mountains of toilet paper, and innocently asked, "Is that you when you were a little boy?" I didn't have the heart to tell him that I've never been a boy or African American, so as I tried to conceal my laughter I simply said, "No, I don't know who that is."

Back To Reality

Since I've come back from the UK, things have been absolutely crazy. I can't believe how much has been crammed into just under one week. I feel like I've been trapped in a whirlwind and can't get out!
My flight back from the UK was, let's just say, "unsatisfactory'. I got stuck sitting next to this guy that smelled so awful I could taste it! There were actually a couple times I gagged. Considering I've changed many diapers before now and never gagged, you can imagine how awful the small was. The seat wasn't very good either...I had to strain to watch the movies that were playing. Oh well, at least I got through security with no problems, which was a concern considering the fairly recent threat of bombs on planes.
From the airport I went to see my brother. We went out for dinner which was very nice until he decided to shake the ketchup bottle. The lid apparently was not on tight. Guess who ended up wearing ketchup? You guessed it...me! My brother thought this was rather funny, unfortunately I was having a problem seeing the humour in it. I think what made it worse was watching him trying to conceal his laughter.
Before I had managed to get home I was informed that one of the huge pine trees at the side of my driveway had been hit by lightning and had fallen. Any guesses to where it landed? If you said my car, you'd be correct! The tree actually fell right beside my car, but the branches managed to cause $3000 damage to it. I was extremely glad my insurance covered it. The rear window had been smashed in, the trunk had numerour dents in it, the driver's side mirror had been broken off, and some of the interior panelling in the back seat had come off. Then, because it was raining the water soaked through the backseats and into the trunk. Luckily I have wonderful parents that made sure it was all fixed up before I got home. Although I have had to take it back to the collision place because it had quite a nasty musty smell. They found more water in the front wheel wells and took out my seats to let everything dry. It still smells a little, but nowhere near as bad as it was.
Just when I figured nothing else negative could happen, it did. I checked my e-mail just the other day to find an extremely confusing message from my ex. We broke up three years ago! Get a life! Most of his e-mail was ramblings about astrology and trying to find answers. What was the question?
They say bad luck comes in threes, but I sometimes wonder, 'if it wasn't for bad luck, would there be any luck at all?'. I'm not usually this negative, but sometimes it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know it's there and I'm running toward it; I just wish I didn't keep falling over my own feet!
On a more positive note, I've started working again. I know, who likes work, right? Well I do. I love working with kids. They can really add humour into your life. I had brought back some Union Jack pencils from the UK for these two little girls (ages 8 and 9). "It's the London flag!" the oldest exclaimed. I explained that it was called the Union Jack and that the Union Jack is made up from the flags of the four countries in Great Britain. I said, "There's England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales." At which the youngest responded, "You saw whales? I saw a big seal!". How can you not laugh at that? Kids really do say the funniest things!

UK Vacation

Well, I had an awesome time over in the UK. I got to meet some really people and experience things I'd never experienced before. I spent most of my time visiting with friends and family in England, but did get the opportunity to travel to Edinburgh, Scotland.
Since I'd never been to Scotland before, this was a really cool experience. You could hear bagpipes every time you went "up the toon", or as we would say, "downtown". I got to see and explore the Edinburgh Castle as well as Hollyrood House (a palace), Mary King's Close (an underground village), and the Royal Yacht, Britannia. It was awesome! I also got the opportunity to try haggis. I'm sure it would have tasted better had I not had a good idea of what it was made from. I tried to figure out exactly what it was made from, but all anyone would tell me is "it's just oatmeal and spices". It wasn't until after I tried it I was told it was made from the insides of sheep (there's nothing like eating a sheep's heart, lungs, liver etc.). What surprised me was that they actually had vegetarian haggis (go figure)!

Another cool thing that happened while I was in England was being there for when my cousin's son was born. I don't think I've seen such a tiny human before!!! He was so adorable! He had a mountain of hair on his head. One of the mid-wives actually said he looked like he was wearing a wig! Everyone said you could definitely tell he was one of the family. We went to see him when he was only a day old. My aunt held his hand and he let out an almighty noise from his diaper. "You're definitely like your grandad," she said. Unfortunately, all I really witnessed him doing was sleeping and crying.